Tuesday, June 28, 2011

I Almost Puked.

Guess that means I did something right.


Here you go.

I'm experiencing a time shortage, but this link right here will lead you right. It's, of course, my favorite website in all the land, bodyrock.tv. Zuzana knows how to beat the fat right off of you. For serious. 

I finished this workout in 31 minutes and 13 seconds. I subbed in a couple different exercises for the ones that  required the dip station since I'm lacking, and I use a 25 pound plate instead of a sandbag. Do what you feel, people.

Also, the raw vegan diet is still going well. I think it is working in my benefit for sure. Gotta be looking fly so I can cornhole me a hot gangster rapper :)

Now get off the computer and go burn a calorie. 

I'm off!



Saturday, June 25, 2011

I've Decided To Quit Cooking.

Alright, kiddie cats. It's been long enough.

I haven't fallen off the wagon or anything. Just been busy. Still working out. Still not eating anything that I wouldn't eat. What?

Anyway.

I decided yesterday that I was gonna be raw vegan. It's going well so far.
I'll keep you posted on what exactly I'm eating and all that neat stuff.

I'm a bunny.

Also. I've been doing some really great workouts. I've been making up my own. But, of course, I've been getting all my super awesome moves from Zuzana. Duh. She's the best.

This is what my most recent workout sounded like......

-5 minutes of interval skipping
-Diamond runner push ups-30
-Happy Monkey -30
-Surfer-30
-5 minutes of interval skipping
-Side plank lift (L)-25
-Side plank lift (R)-25
-Mountain climbers-50
-5 minutes of interval skipping
-Plank Jumps-50
-Jumper-20
-Pendulum-50
-10 minutes of interval skipping
-Sandbag mini squats-50

The End



I've been doing a lot more yoga and stretching before and after my workouts as well. I'm feeling like a rubber band. It's good.

You should probably try making up one of your own workouts. It'll be fun. Just click on this sentence right here. It will take you to a place where you can learn how to blast off all your fat and be strong and good. Pick a few moves you like and bust it out.

Sorry this is a plain and boring blog entry and not all picture-filled and aesthetically exploding for your eye-type area. I'll try to make the next one better.

Until then.....

Don't be poisoning yourselves with all kinds of disgusting, corn syrup filled,  hydrodge-o-nate-ed-fals-iiii-fate-di-date-erated non-nature created kind of stuff. Got it?

Sloth hand.




Monday, May 23, 2011

Short and Sweet.

I just got through with my workout for the day (evening).
I didn't get to do it this morning like I usually prefer, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut sometimesyoudon'tgetwhatyouwant.

Anyway.

You all know how I love to refer you to Zuzana.

Since it's a million o'clock my time I wanted to make it short and sweet so I could get to bed at a reasonable hour. Six minutes is short. I just blasted off a fair amount of calories....that's pretty sweet. I think I'm winning. Super. Click on this link right here and you too can feel your legs melt off. I hope you bust it out with me and quit being weak. Just do it. You could be done by now.

I'm going to bed. I hope everyone is really happy and positive and awesome. Don't eat any fried hogs tomorrow. You'll thank me later. Peace, love, and fat blasting.


   
Whatever could this be?




Friday, May 20, 2011

Oh Em Jee.

I just got through with a super brutal workout. Zuzana really knows how to treat a girl. Seriously. I had to pace circles around my house to cool down enough to even stretch it out afterwards. This sucker was only 12 minutes long and I damn near passed out towards the end. I love bodyrock.tv so hard. I've never come across any other workouts that can prove themselves to be so intense and effective in such a short amount of time.I never get bored, and I never even have to leave my house. All I need is my interval timer and I'm good to go.


This is what just happened to me. 

These workouts are super short and rewarding. PLUS Zuzana is way hot and you get to watch her break them down for you. I'm so thankful that this site exist and that I happened upon it one fateful day. Her constant encouragement, good attitude, and motivation has most definitely helped shape where I am at today. Not to mention the diet tips, which are imperative to achieving and maintaining your fitness or weight-loss goals. I love that anybody can write in and post their pictures and tell their story. It's truly inspirational and helps me stay on the right track.

ALRIGHT. Enough with the sappy nonsense. 

Click right here on this link. It will take you to a land where all your dreams can come true. To a place where miracles happen and fat turns into energy and just flies right off your body. Like I said before; this workout is ONLY 12 MINUTES LONG. Just do it and get it over with. Don't you want to feel super strong and ultra hot?  I know most of you people have a fancy iPhone or Android or something. Quit playing your lame prancing unicorn versus space hogs game and download an interval timer app. Do something beneficial for yourself. And when you do PUSH YOURSELF TO THE LIMIT. 12 minutes. Make it count. If you puke then you know you did something good. Here's the link again in case you somehow missed it the first three times.

Oh, and put down those Cheeto's. Nuclear bio-cheese powder isn't doing you any favors.

Good vibes to all.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Coconut Flavored Blog

Hi friends.

Good to see you here. How was your day? Oh?...... Yeah?....... Wow. That's really awesome.

Now let's talk about something else.
I went to the farmers market a few days ago and got stocked up for the apocalypse. So. Much. Food. It's great. While perusing the aisles (and getting my mind completely blown) I happened across some coconut flour. I've come across several delicious sounding recipes that call for this particular ingredient and it was dirt cheap so I went ahead and threw it in the cart. Good move. I have since made several tasty treats. First one being these delicious pancakes right here. I didn't take any pictures because I was pretty much gobbling them up straight out of the pan and, quite frankly, they were ugly. If you click on the link it will take you to some kind of coconut flour genius' blog were you can discover all sorts of wonderful things. I subbed out the eggs for ground flax seeds to make them vegan and used up the last of the maple syrup I had leftover from my cleanse. These things were awesome and packed full of protein and fiber so they kept me full all day long.

The next coconut flour adventure took form in the shape of coconut lemon cookies. These things were great. My band mate and I finished them off pretty quickly last night while we were practicing.

The actual cookies didn't survive long enough for photo evidence, but here's a little glimpse of some serious dough action.

I have about a trillion lemons leftover from my cleanse lemonade drink so I'm trying to use them in as many things as possible. I found a coconut almond flax cookie recipe and decided to make them coconut lemon flax cookies instead. I also cut out the sugar. Here's the original. Mine went like this....

1/4 cup ground flax seed
3/4 cups water
1/2 cup coconut oil melted
3/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 tsp sea salt
juice from 1 lemon
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes


Mix all that good stuff together. Plop spoonfuls on a baking sheet. Stick in an oven that has been preheated to three hundred and seventy five degrees Fahrenheit. Let them hang out in there for about 15 minutes. Take them out of the oven. Behold their beauty. Wish they weren't as hot as the dickens. Let them cool down before you go sticking your grubby little hands all over them. Shove them in your face.

These cookies stayed super moist, kind of crumbly, and extra yummy. 

Shall we move on to coconut recipe number three? I think so.......

I feel like posting photos of the food after I've already started eating let's you know that I truly think it was irresistibly delicious.

That is a Cilantro-Lime-Coconut Adzuki Bean Stir Fry.  A recipe that I modified from here. This was seriously delicious. I had to hurry up and put the leftovers in the fridge so I would quit stuffing my face. The original recipe called for mangos but mine aren't ripe yet so I just used it as a guideline to create my own dish. Here we go......

The Sauce
2 inch piece of ginger minced
1 clove garlic (or more) minced
1/2 cup cilantro
juice from 1 lime
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 Tbs agave nectar

Everything else
1 onion sliced
1 1/2 cups or so adzuki beans
handful of snap peas
2 carrots sliced thin
1 Tbs coconut flour
 Tamari or soy sauce to taste
handful toasted peanuts

For the stir fry; put your onion, snap peas, and carrots in a wok with some hot sesame oil. Cook for about 10 minutes. In the meantime blend together all your ingredients for the sauce in a food processor.

Once your onions and everything are nicely cooked stir in your adzuki beans and sauce. Let them simmer up for a minute and stir in the coconut flour to thicken it up a bit. Add your Tamari to your liking. I used about 2 Tbs' or so. 

Plate it once everything is good and hot then top with sliced avocado, toasted peanuts, and Sriracha. Eat it. Love it. Then eat it some more.


Hope you enjoy all these coconut themed recipes. They're truly delicious. After pigging out it's important to make sure you're blasting off some calories with a good workout. Today I did a pilates video that had my abs and buns burning like wildfire. I'll let you know what I decide to bust out tomorrow. Something good, I'm sure. Yesterday I did 100 burpees (10 variations 10 times each) and 20 minutes of interval skipping. Burpees are a great full body exercise that will definitely get your sweating.



Check it out and sweat it out. Here you have Zuzana breaking down all the different burpee variations. Pick a few that you love then get at it.

Hope everyone is having a super day. Good vibes to all and tidings of grain free goodness. Thanks for reading. See you next time.










Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Sorry About The Delay

I made it through the master cleanse. All ten days.
Thanks for tuning in. All your good vibes for sure helped me stay on track. I feel great now and think it was definitely worth the effort.

There have been some technical difficulties and other happenings that have delayed my blogging. So I'm glad to be back. I did my first post-cleanse Bodyrock workout yesterday. It was awesome getting back into it.


This is the workout I came back with. Check Zuzana out.

You can get the workout breakdown by clicking here. The whole thing was only 12 minutes long. Super short, but super effective. I hope you guys will do it with me. 

I went to the farmers market a couple days ago and got super stocked so I've been making some new and interesting recipes. I only have a few minutes until I have to get ready for work so I'll be posting some tasty recipes later on.

Hope everyone is keeping those good vibes rolling. I'm especially trying my best and focusing on the good right now. I'm in the process of making some life changes that I believe can turn out to be super positive. When a door closes a window of opportunity opens. I'm working on getting some bigger and better things accomplished in my life, so my main motto needs to be carried out in full force right now.


Hope everyone is staying away from stuff thats not good for you and stretching out those legs. I'll see you in the near future with some recipes and sweat inducers.

Peace, love, and vegan grain-free cookies : )

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Day Nine - Let's Sleep This Thing Over

I'm here, folks. But barely.
I am more glad than you will ever know that tomorrow is my tenth and final day of the Master Cleanse. I am even more glad that I mustered up the willpower to see this thing through. I feel pretty proud that I have made it this far.
Not eating for ten days (almost) is an interesting feat to take on. My brain is ready to chew and swallow.

I feel pretty weak at the present moment and intend to lay/sleep as much of the next 24 hours away as I possibly can. I intend on drinking my juice type beverages at midnight tomorrow for the official ending ceremony. So a bit more than 24 hours in actuality. My face is ready.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading along on my little journey and sending me all of your positive vibes. Having people behind me has really aided in my giving this my best shot.

I will be back tomorrow. Hopefully victoriously.

Peace and good vibes to all.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Day Eight - I'm Getting Antsy

I've made it through day number eight of the Master Cleanse. Almost there.
I'm so thankful to all my friends and family who have supported me through this so far and sent me all the positive vibes. Without people rooting for me I may have caved by now and jammed my face with God knows what.

I'm really stoked that I only have two more days until this beast is over. I went to the store today and got prepped for my return to the world of eating food. You're supposed to take three days to transition back in. Day  one is supposed to be orange juice feast, so I got some of that. Then soup for day two and raw food on day three. We'll see how that goes. I've got about thirty thousand meals planned out in my head right now and a grocery list as long as a bus.

I was pretty drained today and found myself to be quit homicidal while at the grocery store. This is probably in part to my pizza face. I was warned that the cleanse can push toxins out of your body in the form of breakouts. But, severe acne is no fun even when forewarned. They're beginning to clear up now, which is good, but had managed to knock my confidence level down a few notches. I guess we all need a little dose of humility every now and then. Here's mine.

Hope you're having a lovely and peaceful day. Don't be eating any processed sugar flavored sugar, and keep those good vibes rolling.

See you tomorrow.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Day Seven - Getting Closer

It's the seventh day of my Master Cleanse. I'm holding in there.
I've been thinking about what I'm going to eat on Friday once I've completed this shindig.

Food has been engulfing my brain all day now, but I've been strong. Making food for other people and smelling it kind of helps ease my anxiety for whatever strange reason. You'd think I'd turn into Godzilla and go on a feeding frenzy having to handle so much tasty stuff. Fear not. The townspeople are safe in their beds.

 I want fruit. Bananas in particular. I'm also planning on making this butternut squash and red lentil dal. Don't ask me what dal is. I don't know. I've got pretty much all of these ingredients here already and it looks delicious so I'm gonna go for it.

I'm looking forward to getting back to bodyrocking also. There are some great new workouts up and I'm itching to get my energy back on track so I can blast some shiz out. The cleanse has been doing it's job at helping me lose this last bit of fat I needed gone, so I'm confident that I can get super tight once I get back in the game. It'll be interesting to see how and if my endurance and strength were effected. I'm sure I can be back in working order in no time.

Keep the positive vibes coming my way. I only have three days left to go. I'm getting pretty restless. Like senior-itis.

Hope everyone is having a peaceful and productive day.
Good vibes to all.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Day Six (And A Rewind On Five)

Hey there,

I am now on day six of the Master Cleanse.

It's Sunday and I've been laying around all day. I ventured out briefly to pick some lemons earlier, but other than that I've been enjoying not doing one single thing. This is typical of most Sundays for me.

My energy is a little low today. I think this is probably in part to my over doing yesterday. I wasn't doing anything real crazy or anything. Just some hula hooping and yoga, but I felt the effects soon after. Doing abdominal exercise while on a cleanse is not a great idea.

Since then, I have recovered from my little episode and am now making sure I take'r easy today.

I feel good about what I have accomplished so far and am still looking forward to finishing out these last four days. I watched some videos on Youtube earlier about people who have gone to complete 40 days on the cleanse. 40 days makes my 10 look pretty weak in comparison so you won't hear any complaining from me.

I'm not really hungry. The cayenne is still doing it's job there. I grabbed some limes while I was out too. You're allowed to substitute them in for the lemons so my next batch will be a limeade. Hold onto your hats!

It's been a peaceful day for me. Hope it's been the same for you. Happy Mother's Day if you're a mom.

Good vibes to all.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

This.


(The following is copied and pasted from the Youtube description box. I'm not qualified to translate on my own)

Embodiments of Love! Understand the truth that love is Atma and Atma is love.

"Love is the path.
Start the day with love.
Spend the day with love;
fill the day with love.
End the day with love.
This is the way to God."
Sathya Sai Baba


Sarva Velala
Sarva Velala Sarvathra Barvi Yunna
Atma Kanipinchadelako Andru Janulu
Pala Yandunna Vennanu Korinantha
Pondagaluduruga
Sarvulu Anandamappa

Meaning:

The Atma is ever present at all times, but people ask: "why can't it be seen?"
By mere asking is anyone able to get the glimpses of butter present in milk?

If butter has to been seen, then certain processes have to be gone into - boiling, curdling, churning etc. So too, by certain Spiritual disciplines, like repeating the name on the tongue, He who dwells in the heart can be visualised; the Immanent God can be experienced as Real.
Sathya Sai Baba


There are millions of living beings in this world. All of them have originated from God. Therefore, the same God is present in all of them. People give many names to God as Rama, Allah, Jesus, etc., but God is only one. Atma is another name of God; it is the same in everyone. The real name of Atma is love. Love is only one, but it is present everywhere and can alleviate all sufferings. One who is endowed with love is free from all sufferings.

What does Atma mean? It means love only. It is love that unites all. If you imbibe this principle of unity, then all will become one. When you attain this unity, you will have purity. When you have purity, then Atma Tattwa (principle of the Self) will manifest in you. Therefore, you must have unity to attain divinity.
Develop faith in the Atma Thathwa. From faith comes love. When faith and love go together thus, your desires will be fulfilled. Both faith and love are most important for a human being. All others are like passing clouds, which just come and go in between. Do not attach much importance to them.

In fact, faith is the reflection of love, and love is the very form of God. Hence, Love is God, Live in Love. Truth is truth for all times -- past, present, and future. It will never change. That is why it is said, "Truth is God."

Do not think that God is present somewhere in a distant place. God is not separate from us. The entire universe is an embodiment of Divinity. Therefore, constantly contemplate on that Divinity, who is none other than Unity.

In this manner, one with faith in God will never be put to harm. Hence, develop unflinching faith. Your firm faith in God confers on you all types of knowledge. Where there is faith, there is love. Where there is love there is Atma. Atma has no specific name or form. Similarly, faith has no form, and divinity is also formless. Love is God. Live in Love. Truth is God, God is Truth. The entire creation has emerged from truth.

The creation emerges from truth and merges into truth,
Is there a place in the cosmos where truth does not exist?
Visualise this pure and unsullied truth. Sathya Sai Baba

The same Atma is present in all. When you take the Atmic principle into consideration, all are one. So many individuals are present in this Hall. The Atma in all of them is one and the same. There is one sun in the sky. It gives light to the entire world. Similarly, God is like the sun who illumines the life of everyone. We engulf ourselves in darkness when we criticise others. Therefore, love all and serve all. If someone abuses us, let him do so. Abuses will merge in thin air. Therefore, always think that nobody can criticise you. Have faith that God will always protect you. Develop unflinching faith in God. There are many people who deny the existence of God. If there is no God, where have you come from? What is the place of your origin? If you don't have faith in God, all your life becomes a waste.
Sathya Sai Baba

Man should get rid of Ahamkara (the feeling that he is the doer). As long as the ego is dominant, the Atmic consciousness will not develop. The egoist cannot recognize the Atma. It is egoism that is at the root of all of man's troubles. It is delusion based on the misconception that the body is real and permanent. The truth is otherwise. One should recognize the evanescence of the body and the senses and control the desires prompted by the sense organs. Desires are insatiable. The pursuit of wealth, power and position can only end in misery. Instead, one should take refuge in God and dedicate all actions to the Divine.
Sathya Sai Baba

Friday, May 6, 2011

Day Four - Feeling Good, Feeling Great

Hey kids,

I woke up feeling like a million bucks today.
Had the usual picnic at the park. It was tops..............

.......I parted from the computer for a little bit......

Now I'm back just for a second to let you know how it's going.
I've made it through day four. Tomorrow is halfway.

I'm not going to type any more. I just wanted those who may be interested to know that I have not failed.

Peace be with you.
See you tomorrow.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Day Three - Up and Down

I've gotten through my 3rd day on the Master Cleanse.

It's been weird. I was kind of delusional for the first half of the day and pretty sluggish with sudden spouts of energy. I'm feeling pretty normal right now. I've upped my dosage of cayenne in the lemonade and I think it's helping a lot.

The past few days are kind of blurry. Each day has felt so long that it's hard to comprehend that this is day three. It's like they're all smashed together.

I've felt really slooooooow for a majority of the day. And I haven't really wanted to talk. Typing is fine. It's the actually forming of words and making them come out of my mouth. Definitely something different for me. An ideal environment to complete this cleanse would be somewhere completely isolated and very sunny and warm. Starving yourself on a deserted island would be tops.

I had a mild flash of doubt earlier that I could see this through. I'm not sure what sprung it, but the doubt is gone now. I've been working on eliminating all negativity from around me. WORKING on it. I've not achieved such a great feat as of yet, but I hope to only form positive and productive thoughts from now on. I don't like being negative and it seems that when I actually do or say something not so nice I end up sticking my foot in my mouth or have it come back and bite me in the ass. SO. Let's just play nice.

One of my best good friends lent/gave me a great book a while back. I read it again the day before I started the cleanse as a little uplifting leap.


This book is great. It's about an oppressed flower and a lucky cricket. There is a Buddhist (I think) prayer in the book that I really like and say frequently. I'm sure it could translate into whichever faith you're going with. It's pretty legit and straight forward. It really melts my anxiety and helps bring me peace of mind when I put it on repeat in my brain. It goes....

From the unreal, lead me to the real.
From darkness, lead me to light.
From death, lead me to eternal life.

Simple as that. I've seen variations of this all over the place. Most recently in a book on yoga that I've had for a while. It's a good one.



I was searching youtube for that prayer and came across this. The translation is in the description box. It's pretty beautiful and sums up what I'm going for at this point.

I hope everyone is having a peaceful and happy day. Good vibes to all.




I'm In Sloth Mode.

It's the morning of my 3rd day on the Master Cleanse.

I feel reeeeeaaaaaaaalllllly slooooooooooow. And like I need to stay that way.
I've been burning a lot of sage. It helps clear my sinus' and cancels out negativity simultaneously. Double duty.

Also, hippie deodorant doesn't work but I use it anyway so I'm not poisoning myself with aluminum.

I'm ready to take on day three. Not with  much energy, but with endurance and will power. I'm not hungry, but I feel weak. Today would be perfect for a mugging. I'd probably just give them my purse freely without a fight.

Murphey Browntown is really cute.

Hopefully my calm and tranquility will infect all the children I am scheduled to sit on today.

I'm charging my crystal in the sun.

I have rocks in my pocket.

I'm making Bela Bartok my soundtrack until I want to make someone else my soundtrack.

I need stamps.

Can you carry me?

Grandmas are neat.

Did you know that you can have up to 75 chickens in the city here?

My left armpit sweats more than my right. Why is that?

Where are my hardrives when I need them?

These are some of my thoughts and statements of the morning. Were they weird? Probably.


Thank you for the positive vibes being sent my way. I'm sending them to you too.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Day Two - I'm Confused

Hey.
It's the second day of my Master Cleanse. Going well.
It was a bit more tricky for my brain today than yesterday but I held up just fine.
Being around and making food actually kind of helped ease any anxiousness, as odd as that sounds. We'll see if I feel the same way tomorrow.
I went to the store to buy more lemons earlier. I'm allowed to have decaf tea, so I got a couple of those as well. For some reason buying the tea made me really excited to see this thing through.

Party time.

I've been practicing the yoga sequence I posted in this blog from the other day. It's going well. I love back bends but my handstands need some work. I'm trying to prevent the loss of too much muscle mass while on this thing without doing anything too strenuous. The yoga and pilates seem to be doing the trick.

I'm excited to see what I can achieve once I'm able to start Bodyrocking again.
I think it's going to be good.

Well.....that's all I have to say.

Keep sending the positive vibes my way. I'm sending them to you.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Day One - Mind Games

This is going to be short and will, probably, contain no pictures for your fancy little eyes.It happens. I have a special guest in town and I don't want to be rude.

The point of this is; I am attempting to complete The Master Cleanse. I wanted to give a little insight every day to let you know how I'm holding out. So. Here it is.

I haven't strayed from the lemonade concoction. Neat.
I'm not really hungry physically per-se but mentally it has been a little tricky.
The lemonade is pretty good and I think the cayenne in it helps numb my insides properly so I don't feel like I'm starving to death.


From what I understand, the first two days are supposed to be the hardest to get through. I will admit that at this point ten days is seeming like a hot minute but I'm going to do my best to stay on track.

Any and all positive vibes of strength and good tidings sent my way are much appreciated.

One day down. Nine to go.

Monday, May 2, 2011

I Started Writing This Yesterday.

I started writing this yesterday and didn't finish it.
You should listen to this.



Someone showed me this video a couple days ago and I am forever grateful. I've been trying to incorporate more dance parties into my life. This helps with that.

I got a lot of exercise in yesterday. It was great. I'm feeling it today. I did 100 burpees, 30 minutes of skipping, a lot of walking around at a festival, and a ton of yoga.

I just picked my favorite types of burpees from this video.




So my workout went like this-

PART 1

10- One Leg Burpees
10- Starburst Burpees
10- Sumo Burpees
10- Commando Burpees
10- Frog Burpees

PART 2

30 minutes of interval skipping

PART 3

Repeat part one

I'm preparing to start the Master Cleanse this week. I've been practicing a lot more yoga and meditation. I think the two will help me get through the 10 day fast and reap all the benefits the cleanse has to offer.


                                                                 

I really like this series. I'm not quite on this womans level, but I hope to perfect this series through lots of practice. 


I got some locally grown beets from a little stand a couple days ago and roasted them, along with a parsnip, with garlic, shallots, mint and rosemary on 400 for about 45 minutes. They turned out fantastic. I'll be eating the leftovers as one of my last meals today before starting my cleanse.




I hope everyone has a beautiful day. Hopefully I can stay on track and give you daily updates on my cleanse journey. I've never attempted one before, but I think I'm in the right state of mind to complete the entire thing.

Wish me luck.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

I Might Even Be Sweatier Than Yesterday

Hey people friends.

I just finished my workout for today. It was killer. My neighbors probably think all kinds of crazy things are going on inside my house.


This week is abs and core week at bodyrock.tv.  I'm really glad Zuzana is always keeping it fresh with the new workouts. I really love the rolling knee tuck push ups. My arms feel like spaghetti. It's great.

My time for the first part was just over 17 minutes. I don't feel too great about that, but that just means I'll have to push harder next time. Here's the link to the workout breakdown. I would love it more than anything if you'd do it with me. You'll blast off a million calories before you even know it and you'll get STROOOOONG.

Moving on......

The green olive tapenade was a success. It was really delicious actually. I used it like I would a pesto with my favorite mung bean fettuccine 


I cooked some yellow squash, roma tomato, and button mushrooms in olive oil and crushed red pepper. Tossed in my fabulous mung bean pasta with some arugula until it got just a little bit wilt-y, stirred in a couple tablespoons of the tapenade, then topped that bad boy with some toasted pecans. Boom!

I eat a lot of these bean pastas. They're unbelievable and, from what I understand, are hard to come by. Here's a link for you to buy some online in case your local hippie store doesn't stock it. They also have a black bean spaghetti and a soy bean spaghetti, so search around. You'll be glad you made the switch from traditional. It's way tastier, organic, grain free, and has a mind blowing 20 grams of protein. 

I bought some parsnips a few days ago. I've never used them before but I think I might mash them up with some carrots tonight. I'll let you folks know how it goes. Hopefully delicious-ly. 

I'm off to shower now before I go sit on some kids. Don't be sticking any garbage in your mouth today. It doesn't matter how much you work out. If you're eating Twinkie and mayonnaise sandwiches then you're gonna look like one. 

Happy Tuesday :)

Monday, April 25, 2011

Am I Dead?

Yowzers, guys.

I just got through with a super brutal, fantastic workout. So sweaty. So great. Click right here and let cyberspace take you on a journey to fat blast heaven.


Zuzana is the best.

Follow that link above and do it with me. You're gonna die, and your legs are gonna fall off, and it'll be the best. My time for the first part was 4 minutes and 5 seconds using a 25 lb plate. My time for the third part was 5 minutes and 28 seconds. Friendly competition, anyone?

This is what I looked like when I finished. I put the sunglasses on so you people would think I am less unattractive.

Super Sweaty

I followed this workout up with 20 minutes of interval skipping. I was even more gnarly when that was over. I took some pictures, but I'll spare you. I need a photographer.....or a real camera at least. Thanks for putting up with my less than stellar, self portrait, cell phone photography. 

This is what I ate for lunch today.


I was talking to someone a few days ago about what I usually eat and realized I don't utilize the good ole salad like you'd think I would.  I whipped this thing up today and it was pretty good. It's just arugula, roma tomato, button mushrooms, seared yellow squash with rosemary, a shaved carrot, pecans,and chickpeas. I threw some crushed red pepper on there and a lemon and chive dressing and called it a day. Pretty good. Pretty easy.

I'm getting ready to make something with this green olive tapenade I bought last night. I've never had it before, so let's hope this experiment goes well. 

I'm sure it will. 

In the meantime; be sure you're avoiding high fructose corn syrup. That stuff's for the birds.



Friday, April 22, 2011

Where'd All The Cookies Go?

I'll tell you where they went. Right in my belly.
I made these grain-free vegan chocolate chip cookies a few days ago. They didn't even last long enough for any kind of photo evidence to be acquired. Delicious. Like, serious delicious. They stay super soft and chewy. I would say they are even tastier than your traditional in a lot of cases. I can only allow myself to bake delicious treats like this on infrequent occasions because I'll eat them all day long if they're around. I guess they're not really that bad for you anyway. They only thing that I would be concerned about is the sugar content in the agave nectar....... Meh.


That's me and my cookies...... if I were an ant and my cookies were a huge green M&M.

Despite gorging myself on health cookies; I got a pretty good workout in today. I felt like busting something out super quick so I went with this 4 minute workout and then added some stuff afterwards.



Don't let the length of this workout fool you. You'll be begging for mercy within the first 30 seconds. If Zuzana says it's effective then you should believe her.

Here's the breakdown.

I followed this up with 10 minutes of interval skipping, 30 leg lift star crunch butt lifts, 40 bicycle crunches, and some yoga to wind down, including my new favorite the headstand

I can't stop doing headstands. I've been doing them everywhere. All the time. Challenging all the kids I babysit to headstand contest. I'm getting really good. My goal is to push up into a handstand from the headstand position. I'll get it soon enough.

I hope everyone is having the most super day ever and not eating anything tainted with high fructose corn syrup. Do that 4 minute workout and let me know how it treats you. It's gonna blast the L-B's right off of you.  If you don't believe me just ask me.

Thanks for reading!




Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Longest Hug Ever

Hi friends,

Glad to be back. I was gone for the better part of a week working at the Wanee Music Festival helping sling smoothies for Hippie Dips. I was in need of an adventure of some sort, and this could not have been more perfect. It was probably the most relaxing week of my life. My phone was dead the entire time and, most of the time, I was clueless as to what day it was. I met so many awesome people and heard tons of great music. Most importantly; I was also able to keep up with my workouts, never strayed from my diet, and never touched a sip of alcohol. I even blasted off a few more L-B's! Wooooo!

I packed a good amount of food to bring along so I didn't have to worry about finding anything at the festival, but I ended up discovering a couple of healthy options anyway which I was really grateful for. I was wandering around and perusing some of the different vending stands when I came across Outback Kate's. They had the most delicious vegan black beans that damn near brought a tear to my eye. Mixed up with tomatoes, peppers, and onions, the beautiful blond woman running the stand was kind enough to barter with me on several different occasions in exchange for fresh fruit smoothies. This one incident goes to show that eating healthy and staying on track is possible in most all situations. It's easy to make good decisions if you plan ahead a little bit and survey your options carefully. Just because you're surrounded by deep fried carni food doesn't mean you need to succumb to any corn dogs. 

I got tons of exercise throughout the week. I did lots of jump lunges, push ups, ninja jump tucks, interval skipping, yoga, and most of all dancing and hula hooping. It was great. I feel cleansed and refreshed. My brain is still a bit in hippie land but I'm glad I came home to several new workouts on bodyrock.tv so I can keep up the momentum and excitement while transitioning back into reality. I'm back on my 6:00 a.m. routine and feeling good.

I just finished this workout a few minutes ago. I'm glad it's full of new exercises so I can start back totally fresh. It was a lot of fun to do and only took a little over 20 minutes to complete. I followed it up with a bit of yoga. I've been practicing headstands a lot recently. I think they're a new favorite.


Watch Zuzana show you how it's done.

Click on the link above to get the workout breakdown so you can do it with me. You'll be glad you did.


I'm charging my crystal.

These are a few of the goodies I came home with. I found the meditation beads on the ground. Someone informed me that it must mean I have good karma :)

I hope everyone has a beautiful, peaceful, and productive day and remember to stay away from processed junk food.  Thanks for reading.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Rise And Shine




Good morning (Unless it's not morning for you, then good afternoon, night, whatever...)

I've started a new morning routine as of recently. I've started waking up an hour earlier, at 6:00 a.m. I've began doing this so I can achieve more with my day and have a bit more time to spend with myself.

This is my schedule-

6:00 a.m.-wake up, put water on for coffee, start oil pulling, start an episode of Glee, stare at the internet

6:30 a.m.- spit oil out, brush my teeth, drink delicious coffee, keep watching Glee, continue staring at the internet

7:00 a.m.- do a short pilates or yoga exercise

7:30 a.m.- leave for my first job of the day, narcolepsy wake up service (Hi Erick!)

9:30 a.m.- get home, procrastinate, bodyrock, eat food, drink more coffee, shower

12:50 p.m.- leave for work

I feel way more alive and awake getting my day started like this. I've been needing to incorporate something else in with my regular workouts and the pilates and yoga are really doing the trick. I was not stretching nearly enough before, and I think I'll start seeing some great results from it soon.

If you've never heard of oil pulling before go ahead and check out that link up there. I started doing it a little over a year ago, went on a brief hiatus, and recently jumped back on the wagon. I can definitely see and feel the benefits from it.  

Waking up early feels really great. I love not being rushed and having time to sit and think about everything I'm going to do that day. This post really sparked my decision to set my alarm clock back an hour, and for that I'm grateful.

Wai Lana knows how to start her day right.
Watch this and try not to smile at the same time.



Thursday, April 7, 2011

That Was Good

Hey buddies,

It's morning time as I type here in Atlanta. I haven't gotten my workout in for the day, but Zuzana has a brand new one up that I'm excited to do later. Yesterday i did the Not Afraid workout. It was amazing. I was dripping halfway through.

Check out Zuzana being all awesome and stuff.


This was a great workout. I was glad she introduced some new moves. Especially the new variation of ninja jumps, which are a favorite of mine. I love when I can start off a workout in the morning being cold and wearing a sweatshirt then having to shed it 10 seconds later and be dripping sweat. I also love when it's through and I have to do laps around my house to cool down. That's when you know it's good.

Sundried Tomato and Artichoke Quinoa Rissoto 

I made this a few days ago. I actually made it two days in a row because I loved it so much. It's a recipe from here.

1/2 and onion diced
2 or more fat cloves of garlic minced
1/4 cup artichokes chopped
5 sundried tomatoes sliced and diced
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1/4 cup veg stock
1/4 cup plain soy milk or whatever you prefer
1 Tbs fresh chopped rosemary
5 or 6 portobella button mushrooms chopped
1/2 cup chopped almonds-toasted
optional-nutritional yeast

Cook your garlic, onion, and rosemary in a bit of olive oil for about two minutes on a medium setting. Add quinoa, soy milk, and stock and simmer for about 10 minutes. 

In a separate pan cook your mushrooms on low medium for about 5 or 6 minutes.

When there's about a minute left on your quinoa stir in tomatoes, mushrooms, and artichokes. Let it all be happy together in the pan for a minute.

Plate and top with toasted almonds and nutritional yeast if you're into it. I'm just ok with the nutritional yeast so I just do a very light sprinkle on top. Some people are more serious about it. It's up to you. 

The second time I made this I added asparagus and yellow squash which was excellent. You can pretty much do whatever you want and fix it accordingly to what you have in your kitchen.

I'm going to be gone all of next week to work at a music festival in Florida. Anyone else going to the Wanee Festival? I'll be working at the Hippie Dips smoothie stand. Come hang out with me if you're there. 

I've been debating on what I'm going to eat while I'm there. I did some research on low glycemic fruit and am considering doing a combination of a smoothie and raw food fast. I'm going to be sure to bring lots of protein powder with me so I don't turn to mush. Any suggestions? I'm definitely not going to be eating carni food.

Alright. Time to shower and wash the goat smell off of me. Hippie deodorant is kind of pointless.
Hope everyone has a fabulous day and does their workout and avoids processed junk food.



Sunday, April 3, 2011

My Arm Hurts

Hey friends,

It's been a few days. Good to see you again. I managed to get a fair amount accomplished this weekend. I got my backyard mowed with much effort. I got the lawn mower from someone off of Freecycle (thanks Libby) and both times I've used it, it's taken some serious string pulling action to get started. That's why my arm hurts.

The yard is looking splendid though. I even edged around the fire pit and such with a scuba diving knife I had acquired from some poor soul a few years ago. My yard partner and friend for life, Cassie, brought some plants over, so now we've got some actual progress going. Things are good.

Last night we went to a drum circle at Lake Claire Community Land Trust. It was a neat time. Brought our hula hoops and danced our little hearts out. We met a guy named Twinkie who gave us some leads on some events that sounded quite interesting. Always glad to have options. We didn't get there until after dark, so I'm looking forward to revisiting during daylight hours to check out the gardens. All in all it was a productive and good day.

Today I did this workout. It's one of the few workouts that are filmed in real time so you can follow along with Zuzana if you don't feel like setting your own interval timer or just plain don't have one.  Check it out.


For those of you in need of a bit more motivation or an inspirational word I would suggest you click on that link up there and read what she's got to say. Reading what Zuzana posts' everyday and watching her videos absolutely helps me keep my eye on the prize. I see the changes I have made in myself this far and know that to keep on track I have to be aware of how I am treating myself, and the decisions I make at all times. You can't go do some crazy workout then binge out on fried chicken and jelly doughnuts and think you didn't just set yourself right back at square one. 

This is one of the diet challenges featured on bodyrock.tv/ that sparked my grain-free movement. Going grain-free was a personal decision that I feel I am benefiting from immensely. That diet challenge link DOES NOT require you to give up grains completely, rather adjusts how you eat them. If you are not ready to make the leap into a grain free lifestyle or haven't even given it a thought, you should give this diet a whirl and see for yourself what kind of results you can achieve. 10 reasons to give up grains. <---- those should get your wheels turning.

NOW.

Let's move onto something tasty.



This here is mung bean fettuccine with arugula, sun-dried tomatoes, asparagus, toasted pecans, and everything else that is delicious. 

I am in love with this pasta. It's only ingredients are organic mung beans and water. Perfect. 
This stuff also has 20 grams of protein per serving. WHAT! Not to mention how delicious it is. 

Grain free and ultra tasty. I'm getting the vapors. 

For two servings I used half a package of mung bean fettuccine (That's a link to order some. You can probably find it cheaper at your local hippie store.)
5 or 6 sun dried tomatoes- sliced (I rehydrate the packaged kind. Oil packed will work too)
1 yellow squash - sliced and diced to your preferred shape and size
 5 or 6 portabella button mushrooms- sliced
7 or 8 stalks of asparagus- chopped
1/2 cup raw pecans - chopped
3 or more Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs dried rosemary or chopped fresh
3 cloves garlic -minced
couple handfuls of arugula
salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flake to you liking 

If you're re-hydrating your tomatoes go ahead and do that. You can start toasting your pecans in a separate dry pan over a low-medium setting. Tossing every so often. It's ok if they get a little burnt. They're gonna be good. 
Get your pasta ready according to the package directions and set aside.

In your olive oil over medium low heat cook garlic first, then add rosemary and the rest of ingredients in order of how quickly they cook. So, asparagus, squash, mushrooms, tomatoes. Give them a little salt.

 I like to keep my veggies a bit crisp and full of goodies, so don't overcook them. 

Add arugula right before tossing in your pasta. Work it all together and add your crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper as you like.

Plate that stuff, top it with your pecans, and BOOM!

You can mix this recipe us as you like. Add in or take out according to what you've got in your kitchen. 

I hope everyone is having a great Sunday night. Thanks for reading and remember to avoid processed junk food. No one wants to look like a brick of Velveeta. 









Wednesday, March 30, 2011

I've Had This Song In My Head

I heard this song for the first time a while back and have been hooked on the band since. It's been months and this song is still on repeat in my brain......

I got my workout in early today like I prefer. It was great. I was dripping sweat by the end and I felt like a million bucks. The whole thing only lasted 12 minutes and included 12 different exercises. It was super fast paced and a lot of fun. And, as usual, I threw in 20 minutes of interval skipping afterwards for maximum fat blasting. Summer is just around the corner and I want to make sure I feel and look the best that I possibly can. 

Watch Zuzana rip it up. She's even got a tutorial in there if you're in need of some guidance. 

Here is where you can find the workout breakdown. Since I don't have a pull up bar I replaced them with sumo push ups. And since I am also lacking the dip station I just did dips from a chair. My favorite exercise was the clapping push up. Mainly because I only recently found out that I'm actually pretty decent at them and they make me feel really cool and tough. The prisoner jump squats are brutal and good as well. 

I think I'm going to probably talk about how important the interval skipping is in each blog post if you're looking to burn fat. I love my jump rope and my jump rope loves me back. Get one. Use it. Watch the fat melt right off. If you're new to skipping rope it's gonna seem a bit tricky at first. Stick with it. If you practice every day you'll be jumping like a pro in less than a week and feeling fine. I was terrible when I first started, and after sticking with it for like three days I had fancy feet like whoa. Forreal. 


I have some soup cooking up on the stove as I type. It's a recipe one of the mom's that I work for was so kind to pass my way. It started out as a type of Minestrone but I modified it into more of just a vegetable type soup. I'm pre-making it for my lunch/dinner tomorrow because I have a jam packed day ahead of me and won't have time to cook in the morning. I'll take some pictures when it's ready and post the recipe tomorrow. For now, I hope everyone has been avoiding eating processed junk food and have made good food decisions. It's important to remember that no matter how much you work out, you're not going to see half the results you should if you're polluting your body with garbage. 

That said; I hope you do this workout with me, and are focusing on good, and trying your best. You'll feel better if you do.

Thanks for reading.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Focusing On The Good and Trying Your Best.

So. I just got finished with my workout for the day. It's late by my standards. 10:31 p.m. to be exact. I usually like to go ahead and bust out my routine first thing in the morning but I was dragging all day. I even thought about skipping my workout all together! WHAT?! This will not stand.

I sat around and procrastinated on my couch for a hot minute, and thought about the guidelines I'd decided on for myself a few days ago.These guidelines would be: Focusing on the good and trying my best.

Is skipping a workout conducive to trying my best or focusing on good? Am I working towards attaining my personal goals by sitting around the house like a cold pickle? No. So I decided to knock some sense into myself.

I know I can always count on Zuzana to motivate me and get me excited to break a sweat, so I end up clicking on bodyrock.tv multiple times a day and it hasn't failed me yet.


I don't know about you, but watching this definitely doesn't make me want to sit around and eat Ding-Dongs.

That is the workout I ended up doing tonight. You can get the breakdown here. One of the reasons I love these workouts so much is because of how fast paced they are. You don't even have time to think about quiting. Some of these exercises may look hard or scary but the most important thing is that you're TRYING YOUR BEST the whole time. Even if you can only do three reps it's better than zero. I can't believe how much I've improved and how much stronger I am than when I started. 

I tacked on 20 minutes of interval skipping afterwards to really get that fat blasted. The whole thing, workout and skipping, only took 38 minutes. Add a few minutes of warming up and stretching afterwards and you've done yourself good in less than an hour. What more can you ask for?

Here are 12 jump rope moves to blast off 1000 calories an hour!


I set my interval timer for 20 rounds of 10 seconds rest and 50 seconds work and then mix it up. 


Oh yeah, I don't have a dip station like Zuzana has in that video so I put a broomstick between two barstools and POW! Reverse pull ups all day long. 

Now go try your best and focus on how good you're gonna feel after you burn off some calories. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a new delicious recipe up. In the meantime, don't even think about eating any processed junk food. High fructose corn syrup is not your friend.