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Eating Before or After Exercise?

I always wondered about whether it’s better to eat before I work out or after.  I’ve done both before, and lately I’ve eaten dinner, waited for an hour, then did my workout.  Usually afterwards I do not really feel so hungry which is good, since I figured taking in more food meant consuming more calories.

Anyway today I worked out before I had my dinner, and I felt really hungry afterwards.  As I ate I wondered if my work out was worth it because I just burned calories. I did some research and I found out that within the first 45 minutes after you exercise, there is a “metabolic window.” Enzymes that replenish muscle carbs are at their highest levels.  Insulin is also at peak levels, which rebuilds protein stores. By consuming a mix of carbs and protein at this point will maintain muscle, replenish glycogen stores and reduce the amount of fat your body stores.

If you eat before working out its always best to eat something, especially if you’re a morning exerciser, since most likely the last time you ate was probably the night before since you’ve already burned a good amount of calories sleeping.  It also makes sense to fuel up your body on an empty stomach, otherwise you’ll definitely have no energy and feel sluggish during the workout.  You want to make the best out of your workout so make sure you have energy to do it!

What are your thoughts?  Do you eat before or after you work out?  Let me know in the comments!

Snack Reviews!

So for the past few days or so I’ve been trying some new snacks and I just wanted to review them all in one post. I love trying out new food and all the better if I enjoy it a lot. Some things were not my ‘cup of tea,’ but it’s better to try and find out rather than not try and never know, right? So here goes.

I found out about Chobani from a bunch of food/fitness blogs that I read and I must say, Chobani absolutely rocks! I got a response from them with the quickness and they sent the yogurt when they said they were going to, which was the day after I heard from them!

Chobani was nice enough to send me a bunch of different flavors to try.  My first taste of Chobani was the Strawberry flavor.

The yogurt is really smooth and creamy and really yummy.  There is some sugar in the yogurt, but is 0% fat free. If you ever tried Fage yogurt, it’s kind of the same texture, but in my opinion, Chobani isn’t as thick, which I like.  I also tried the Apricot flavor, and I love that one, so far.  I still have more flavors to try!

The nice people at EAS Myoplex sent me this a few weeks back, and I have too much food in my house and only got a chance to try this stuff recently. I really enjoyed the bars, but the drink was a bit too much for my taste. To each his own, I guess. If you’re kind of hungry and you’re about to work out, the bars are a great power booster, and has a blend of high-quality proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals.

I tried a couple bars over the weekend, Balance Bar in Honey Peanut and the Larabar in Chocolate Coconut Chew and both are yum. I enjoyed the Balance Bar the most. It tastes like a candy bar! The Balance Bars have 9g of protein and wholesome ingredients. There are a bunch of different types and a variety of flavors!

The Larabar has an interesting combination of Fruit and Nut, and Coconut, and to be honest I wanted to enjoy this one more. Each bar has 1 serving of fruit, no sugar and each flavor has no more than 6 ingredients. Larabar has a bunch of different flavors which I am looking forward to trying though!

Can you believe all these pictures were taken with my iPhone? 

Protect Your Eyes!

I recently found this sunglasses website that has a wide variety of sunglasses great for protecting your eyes from ultra violet rays.  I know for myself I always have sunglasses at hand when I’m driving, living in Florida and all.  Sunglass Warehouse had a great selection of sunglasses on their website, and you can easily find sunglasses by type or trend, which is always good.  From the looks of this site, it looks like it’s a pretty easy site to order from, their prices are affordable and they offer free shipping too over $25.

You can check out their wide variety of Polarized Sunglasses.  Protect your eyes from the ultraviolet rays!

Taking Medicine When Fighting A Cold

I was talking to a friend about the fact that when fighting a cold you’re better off just resting it out and drinking a lot of fluids, instead of taking a bunch of antibiotics and other medicine.  I don’t know about you, but whenever I get a cold I always feel even worse after taking medicine.  When I don’t take medicine, I usually get over a cold in 3-4 days.  I know some people who have been fighting a cold for more than 7 days and they usually have taken some sort of antibiotics.

I guess it really is a preference, but as much as possible, I really try to avoid taking any type of medicine, unless I am really suffering, otherwise I just let it make it’s way out of my system.  A common example would be the typical headache.  Usually, when you have a headache, it’s best to drink a lot of water, instead of popping an aspirin.  If you’re absolutely in pain and agony, then make that aspirin your last resort.

I really wonder what others think about this subject, so feel free to voice your opinion in the comments.

Planning Is Key!!

Do you ever feel like when you’re on a roll, there’s something that kind of stops you from being on that roll?  I have.  I went 2 weeks with working out 5 times and 2 days off.  I did a lot of the 30 day shred dvd and it really gives me a good workout, but I feel like maybe it’s not enough.  I missed 3 days of working out and today I started again.

The way I’ve been eating has been fairly good, but I know it can be better.  I really have to find out ways to figure out how to eat healthy and clean on a budget because I will be spending a lot of money in the next few months and I need to figure out the best way to eat healthy without spending a lot of money, because I have been spending a lot of money on food than anything else!

So my next challenge is really trying to achieve this, and I think the first thing is to plan a menu one day a week, preferably before the work week starts and figure out what foods I can use more than once, as well as prepare before hand.  So this weekend, I will be planning a menu and will spend less than $40 on food to start.  That sounds like a lot for one person but it’s a starting point.  Then from there I will try to decrease the spending amount.  I guess in a way this is like being frugal and healthy on a budget but I’m sure there are people that can relate. 

I start next week.

Jillian Michaels Is Crazy But I Respect Her

I just finished another workout and I am beyond pooped! I did the Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred DVD workout yesterday and today and I decided to kick it up a notch and tried Level 2, which is really really tough! I can’t imagine how crazy Level 3 is, but I should probably master Level 2 first. If you want a workout that makes you feel like you’re going to fall to the floor, I recommend this DVD!  Jillian Michaels makes you work!!  I was practically crying during the last circuit but I pushed myself best as I could.

And the winner of the giftcard is…

Congrats to Baghead of UnknownDieter who won the 24 Hr Fitness 90 Day Gift Card! I hope that you will enjoy the facilities and work towards your fitness goals!

Whole Foods Getting A Makeover

I always thought that Whole Foods was way too expensive, but again, their food is quality and very health friendly, so I figured that was the trade off.  Because of the economy slump, Whole Foods is looking for change their image of being considered as “Whole Paycheck.” 

The New York Times reports that, “Now, in a sign of the times, the company is offering deeper discounts, adding lower-priced store brands and emphasizing value in its advertising. It is even inviting customers to show up for budget-focused store tours like those led by Mr. Hebb, a Whole Foods employee.”

I really like Whole Foods because their store is really clean, eco friendly, and health conscious.  I do agree that their prices are pretty steep when it comes to certain things, but hopefully with the makeover, we’ll see more lower prices in the near future.

Plastic Bottles Dangerous?

In addition to eating healthy and clean, I’m also a fan of living green.  You gotta stare somewhere, sometime, right?  Well, I’ve been using reusable tupperware and plastic bottles to consume food and drink, and I heard about how certain plastics can be harmful!  Really scary considering I use these things to store my lunch and drink fluids.

BPA, or biphenol-A is a potentially harmful chemical that can leach into your food or drinks which are contained in some plastics.  The worse thing about BPA is that is can cause health problems such as infertility or cancer.  If you turn over your plastic container and it has a #7 recycling code on the bottom and the letters ‘PC’ then BPA is present.

The best thing to do to keep food and drinks safe is to heat foods in glass or ceramic containers, and never plastic.  Also with water bottles the best kinds are the steel versions like Klean Kanteen Water Bottles or Sigg Water Bottles.  They’re eco-friendly too. :)  I really need to get me one of those water bottles!

How Has Fitness Changed Your Life?

It’s been one year since I’ve started Workin’ On My Fitness and it has been quite a journey since I actively started working out and deciding on living a healthy lifestyle.  I didn’t realize how much of a difference I felt physically every time I finish a workout.  Training for, then running a 5k, and finishing it made me realize that I am capable of challenging myself physically after not working out regularly.  As this site grew, I have learned a lot in one year, and I want to continue learning and living a healthy life.

12 Million Lives is a campaign that 24 Hour Fitness started with the idea of how fitness can change your life.  On their site, 12MillionLives.com, you can read the many stories of how people have come to put fitness into their lives, and how it changed for the better.  After reading some of those stories, I was totally inspired.  Every time I read inspiring stories about getting fit and living healthy, it always makes me want to do even better for myself.

24 Hour Fitness was kind enough to give me a complimentary 90 day fitness pass to 24 Hour Fitness, and I want to pass it along to one of my readers.  There isn’t a 24 Hour Fitness nearby enough to where I live unfortunately, which is fine because my intention was to give it to someone anyway.  So, if you want to enter to win this 90-day fitness pass (valued at $99, no strings attached, limited membership and good to use at one 24 Hour Fitness club only), comment on this post, and let me know.  Pass this post along to your friends who you may think can change their life just by including fitness in their everyday life.  I really want quality answers.  From those answers, I’ll pick the best response from the lucky winner and send out the pass.   If you don’t win, you can still get a free 7 day pass from 24 Hour Fitness from their site.  Find the nearest 24 Hour Fitness near you!

All you need to do is provide me the following to be eligible:
Subscribe to my blog via RSS or Email (if you haven’t already done so!)
Name:
Email: (just so I can personally contact you)
Answer this question:  How has fitness changed your life for the better, and what have you done to achieve it?

The contest will close on Friday, August 1 at 3PM EST, and I’ll draw the winner and announce it on Sunday, August 3rd, so enter as soon as you can, and good luck!

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How To Stop Being Hungry All The Time

I’m sure that most of us at some point in their life, including me, has felt like they’ve eaten too much.  Sometimes I feel like after I eat a meal, I start feeling hungry all over again!  I wanted to know why I was feeling this way, so with a little research, I was able to figure out why.

Eating wayy too fast. This happens a lot, especially when I’m at work and lunchtime starts creeping closer.  I would wait until I was so hungry to eat, when I finally got my lunch I would wolf it down and in 5 minutes I ‘d be done.  Then probably an hour later, I’d feel hungry again.  So lately, I’ve been eating slower, enjoying and savoring every bite of my food, and I’ve actually found that to work.  It takes about 20 minutes for your body to realize that it’s had enough.  Now when I have lunch, I take my time, and eat as I catch up on reading blog posts in my Google Reader.

Knowing if I’m REALLY full or not. A recent example happened to me while I was on vacation.  In Vegas, there are lots of buffets, and the idea is to just eat and eat so you get your money’s worth.  I definitely did, and I’ll admit it wasn’t a wise choice because once you know you’re full, you’re full.  Going overboard and over eating results in feeling really sick and then you really think about the value of eating at a buffet.  Sure, you may think you got your money’s worth, but I think health is more important.  Good thing I don’t live by any buffets!

Eating whatever you want. That sounds easy enough, but I’m saying this with some kind of control.  With a mentality of wanting to avoid junk foods like chocolate and cookies will just make you want to indulge even more when you actually get to eat a piece of chocolate (its like gambling… you just want to pull that slot machine one more, leading to another one more and so on).  Have a mentality where you’re going to have at the very least 2 pieces of chocolate and then put it away, knowing you’ll have more for another day. (I say chocolate because I actually just had two Hershey kisses and stopped there - it was dark chocolate btw!)

So whenever you’re eating, enjoy your food, savor the flavor because food is a treat in itself!

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Back From Vacation, Back On Track

I’m back from my vacation – learned a lot, saw a lot and experienced a lot too.  A vacation in my opinion is to get away from the normal grind and do something totally different.  Las Vegas is a crazy city, not to mention really hot this time of year!  I wish that I went during another time of year, but now I know!

I did a lot of walking around, and ate a lot too.  I came to the conclusion that the buffets are more of a value than restaurants and a lot tastier!

Now that I’m back home and back to reality, I have to get back on the track of being healthy and exercising regularly.  After work I went to Greenwise and bought the rest of this week’s lunch, and will prepare my meals the day before so I don’t have to scramble in the morning, which gives me more time to sleep and get ready for the day.

As far as exercising is concerned, the only time I can is after I get home from work, so I plan to work out at least 2 times for this week and gradually increase as weeks go by.

A plan always helps and definitely will help to stay on track!

View some pictures of me on vacation…

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I’m On Alltop!

Just wanted to drop a quick line to let everyone know that WorkinOnMyFitness.com is featured on Fitness.Alltop.com!  This is really cool because I’m included with a lot of popular fitness blogs on the web.  So I feel really good about this.  Alltop.com is categorized by niche so you can pretty much read the top blogs in that niche.

Thanks Alltop, for including me in the list of fitness blogs!

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Vacation!

Tomorrow I’m leaving on vacation and won’t be back until late Saturday.  I’m heading over to Vegas to do some relaxing and attend a convention with my bf.  So it’s kind of a work/play trip.  Being that I’ll be in Vegas, I know its a place of buffets galore!  So I will try to eat as healthy as possible and burn off calories with a LOT of walking!

I’ll be really busy, so I probably won’t be posting this week, but will be back to regular posting when I get back!

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Portable Fitness: 6 Week Plan to a 6 Pack

I was happy to hear that my boyfriend wanted to start working out again. He started his new job 6 months ago and was so busy, he had no time to get into exercising. Right now he’s not happy about it and decided to find a workout plan.  He told me his goal was to get a 6 pack, so he went to MensHealth and found this downloadable routine called the “6 Week Plan to a 6-Pack.” There are a series of workouts and you can even watch them on your iPod and computer.  I think even if you had a compatible cell phone too!

The workouts are by PumpOne and I looked at the plan, and it seems to be promising. In addition to the video, there is a version you can print out and take with you, such as the gym, as well. You will need certain equipment.  My boyfriend wants me to get in on it, and I’m definitely not complaining. I’m just glad that he finally wants to workout with me.

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A Powerboost with PowerBar Energize Bars

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a PowerBar representative about their Energize line, and was happy to try out some of their products, notably the Energize Bars and Electrolyte mix.  I found them to be really great for when you need a quick boost while working out.  The flavors come in Smoothie flavors such as Tangy Tropical, Berry Blast and Creamy Citrus.  The one I enjoyed was the Tangy Tropical, since I’m a tropical fruit lover.  The other great thing about these bars is that they have a bunch of vitamins in them, so you’re getting a doseage of vitamins, without taking an actual pill.

Each of these bars have the following:

• Made with real fruit + 17 vitamins & minerals
• No artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners or preservatives
• 6 grams of high-quality protein
• Fruit C2 MAX optimized carb blend with the same ratio of glucose to fructose proven to deliver more energy

I like the fact the Electrolyte mix is portable and easily made with a bottle of water.  I’m love anything that puts some flavor in my usual water… so it’s great, especially when I’m doing a tough workout!

It’s amazing how many products PowerBar has come up with to help rev up your energy when you’re on the go.  Thanks again PowerBar!

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A New Direction

For a while now, I’ve been thinking of the direction of where this blog is going.  My intention of this blog is to share with others living a healthy lifestyle, and that can’t really work unless I’m living a healthy lifestyle.  For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been eating a lot better, and really came to the conclusion that I really like eating as natural as possible, especially anything organic.

With weekly trips to Greenwise and sometimes Whole Foods, I’ve also really gotten into living green, and want to continue living that way, by recycling, and reusing, as well as just simplifying my life.  I realized that my room is just full of stuff that is just collecting dust, and I came to the conclusion that I’m a packrat!

With that said, the direction of this blog is going to change a little bit, as I want to be committed to sharing topics that are related to natural/organic eating, living a green lifestyle and ways to live a simple life, all the while exercising and being fit, which is all tied up to living healthy and fit.

Hope you’ll join this journey with me!  Of course, I always welcome suggestions from my readers!

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Soreness & Foodness

So I thought I was going to be unable to work out but after I saw this DVD I’ve been wanting to try at Walmart, I decided to just go ahead and do it anyway, even if it was already 10PM. I’ve never worked out that late before, but it wasn’t bad at all, but the workout definitely kicked my butt!

I got the Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred Workout and seriously, that lady is hardcore. I was literally feeling really sore by the end of the workout. But I guess if a workout does that much to you, you must be doing something right. The workout is about 20 minutes long and there are 3 Levels, 1 being the beginners workout, and 3 being the more advanced. The workout is based on an interval system 3-2-1, which starts with one 2 minute warm up, 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs repeating this interval system 3 times ending with a 2 minute cool down. Sounds easy enough right? Nope! Literally, you are working hard and there is no stopping. You’ll also need hand weights and an exercising mat if you don’t have carpeted floors.

I think I overdid myself though because all I had were 5 lbs weights, and I was having a lot of trouble at the end, not to mention the push ups. I was able to do 2 regular push ups but then had to revert to knee push ups, which also was a challenge with my one bad knee. So I gotta get strength to do the regular push ups! I totally recommend this DVD to anyone who wants to try a new workout out. I’m really glad that I got this one!

Today I actually made my own lunch like, cooking style! Usually I pop something in the microwave, oven or boil water and mix stuff together, but this time I cut veggies, boiled and made to taste. I made a Salad Nicoise Sandwich which is basically veggies and tuna in a pita. I regret that I didn’t take a picture, but this is what it pretty much looked like.

I was surprised that my mom and sister ate it and liked it!  There wasn’t much left when I got home. Usually no one eats what I make, I guess they’re afraid that it will taste bad. LOL.

Also, I wanted to show y’all a picture of me and some gear provided by FitCouture.com (thanks so much again!).  They sell a bunch of fitness clothing and it’s pretty comfy!  The clothes are very fitted but you can still move around in them.  Love the yoga pants especially, even though they look like pants on short lil me.  HAHA.

I’m wearing the Vegas II top and the Barcelona Workout Capris, but to me they’re more like crop pants!

Check out FitCouture.com for more fitness clothing styles!

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Happy 4th of July!

It’s 4th of July, which means, fireworks and food!  Today I’m taking a break and enjoying some traditional 4th of July food, and so should you!  It’s okay to take a break sometimes, but just remember to pick up where you left off!  I know I will… starting with a run, or maybe a bike ride tomorrow morning!

Right now, I’m watching the Nathan’s Hot Dog contest, and it still amazes me that people can eat that many hot dogs!  Competitive eating has been a sport for a long time, and although it’s not so much of a healthy sport, people find it entertaining to watch, like me!

The competition was pretty much between Joey Chestnut and Takeru “Tsunami” Kobayashi, with a tie of 59 hotdogs! They did a 5 hot dog eat off, and Joey Chestnut won!

Anyway, be safe and have a fun July 4th everyone!

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My Newfound Obsession with Tea

So recently, I’ve become really into teas, and have steered completely away from coffee.  I decided to check out this tea store called Teavana, and I was really confused!  There were so many different types of teas I was kind of intimidated!  Luckily, I got some useful help from an employee and got to try different types of teas with different flavors.

Because I stopped drinking coffee and turned towards teas, I wanted something that was similar to the caffeine level of coffee and I learned that this one type of tea is the coffee lover’s tea.  So I ended up going with a blend of that called MateVana.

Here is the description of the tea on the Teavana website:
A deliciously smooth herbal tea that is perfect for coffee lovers. It does contain caffeine, but many people have a different reaction to this stimulant since it is blended with the other natural xanthines found in Mate (theophylline and theobromine). Together they create energy without jitteriness or addictive tendencies. This tea is also a wonderful diet tea, since it curbs hunger. MateVana does contain milk and nuts.

Health Benefits of MatéVana® Herbal Tea:
Mate teas are a cardiovascular aid, hunger suppressant, and mental and physical stimulant. Mate contains several different Xanthines, besides caffeine, which when blended create a different kind of energy, which will not cause jitters. Also includes some Rooibos tea, which is high in vitamins and minerals and contains antioxidants.

In my opinion, these teas are great because the sell it straight up unlike in stores where they’re already in filters. The tea leaves are fresher, resulting in a fresh taste. I guess I’m becoming a tea snob! LOL. But if you want good tea, you’re going to have to pay the price, right? Along with organic cane sugar, it’s a great drink to start your day.

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Healthy Shopping at Greenwise

I was pretty surprised how my legs had started to feel sore after my Tae Bo workout.  It was strange that it started feeling sore mid morning as I was at work.  But I guess that’s a good thing, right?  I don’t really feel the soreness too much now.

I had a pretty good day as far as eating healthy is concerned.  For breakfast I had a piece of organic honey wheat toast with almond butter spread, which by the way is really good!  I’ve never tried it before, but now I’m hooked!  I also had some cut up strawberries and my Teavana Roobios Mate Chai tea.  I brought some light snacks such as organic cheddar cheese cut up in small cubes with some everything toasted flatbread.  For lunch I had a cut up banana and a piece of toast with almond butter spread.  I was surprised that I wasn’t starving soon after that, like I usually am after eating lunch.

After I got out of work I went to Greenwise Market, which is pretty much like a Whole Foods.  If you’re a Floridian, you will notice it’s part of the Publix supermarket chain.  The store had just opened a few weeks ago and I’ve been back and forth pretty often for the past few days because I’ve become a food geek!  I picked up some food for the next couple day’s lunch.  I love trying new healthy, organic foods, and I’m looking forward to trying everything I bought.

Here’s a picture of my purchases:

Organic Soups: Butternut Squash & Creamy Tomato, a sweet potato (planning to make sweet potato mashed potatoes), Amy’s Pizza, Fage Yogurt and Honey

Feel free to suggest any foods you think I should try out!

I also have a pretty cool giveaway that I’m going to be revealing soon, so keep checking back!

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Me and Tae Bo

I was thinking about the old days when I used to work out with my cousin and we’d workout to the first released Tae Bo video tapes. This was back when I wasn’t so worried about my physical appearance, but did it to just hang out with my cousin and get fit.  Then I was kind of a snob to Tae Bo and didn’t really do it anymore.  Fast forward a few years later, I started thinking of really good workout DVDs and I thought about how Tae Bo was a good work out back then and decided to try it out again.  As I looked up Tae Bo videos on Amazon I was amazed at how many videos Billy Blanks had made since the first set that I had on VHS.  (What’s VHS? LOL)

After looking at the vast selection of Tae Bo videos and read reviews later, I decided to get the Billy Blanks’ Tae-Bo Cardio DVD. It had a lot of good reviews and the workout wasn’t too long, and I wanted another cardio video.  The one I got was about 45 minutes and to add some challenge to it, I used some 2 lb. weighted gloves.  The work out was fairly challenging, especially with the weighted gloves.  I wondered why I wasn’t sweating as much as the people in the video, but then I came to the conclusion they probably crank up the heat in there to make you work harder so you can sweat!  That’s just my assumption.  Anyway, I enjoyed it and will cycle it as my cardio workouts, along with Turbo Jam of course.

If you don’t want to buy it there’s always renting it off Blockbuster or Netflix too! 

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Sugar Free Candy: What Do You Think?

Right now I’m watching this special on the Food Network about candy.  Yeah, candy is probably not associated with being healthy, but I just remembered an experience as I was watching it.  Sugar Free Candy.  It may be a good idea to get a different spin of your favorite candy without the sugar, but is it really better?

My opinion: Nope.  When it comes to candy such as mint Life Savers or Werther’s Butterscotch candy in sugar free form, I’m the type of person who can’t help but have more than one piece.  In sugar free form, too many of these candies can make your stomach feel not so good, and you find yourself going to the bathroom.  So after that experience, I will probably stay clear of sugar free candy, except maybe sugar free gum, since you’re chewing flavor and not consuming it.

For me, as for candy, I’ll have dark chocolate from time to time, since it’s known to help lower blood pressure and is loaded with antioxidants to prevent heart disease.  At first I wasn’t too fond of it, but as I got older, I started to appreciate it more.

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Making Me Feel Like Dancing!

I was ready to pop in a workout video until I remembered to order these really cute yoga pants online from Victoria’s Secret… by the way, they’re 2 for $40 and they’re super duper cute!  Then my sister comes in my room and my music is playing, and she starts dancing.  I know it may sound kinda weird, but there’s this one type of dance I’ve been trying to do for like, ever.  The first time I saw it was when I saw Kendra from the Girl’s Next Door on Celebrity Rap Superstar.  She was performing some song and she was doing some sort of booty dance.  I told my sister about it once and turns out she knows how to do it!  LOL.

So I was getting booty dance lessons for the past 1/2 hour before I started writing this post.  We were laughing and dancing to my playlist of music - consisting of the new N.E.R.D. album, Seeing Sounds and Flo-Rida’s In the Ayer.  I didn’t realize that dancing can be such a workout.  Especially the booty dancing as you’re moving your abs up and down and let me tell you, it’s hard!!  Hopefully with some practice in front of the mirror, I can master the dance that is the booty dance. Haha.

Now I know why my sister is so skinny!  So I guess if you don’t want to be restricted in doing exercise moves, make a playlist that comes out to 30 minutes, and dance in front of your mirror!

I’m a dork.

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Feeling Good, Feeling Great.

Seriously, when you’re really busy, it’s really difficult to be healthy and fit in a workout.  Eventually you start to realize how out of shape and yucky about yourself.  I know first hand because I’ve been there for the past 4 weeks.  I’ve been helping my boyfriend launch a blog and its been really eating up a lot of my time, along with 8 hour work days, work outs and eating have just been something I really put on the back burner.  Until now.

I really lost focus and the thing is that I’m unhappy about it.  When I’m unhappy about something I start feeling depressed.  I neglected this blog for a while, and I remember almost 1 year ago when I started this blog, I wanted to really become healthy and fit.  That’s why I started this blog.  After finding this other blog about eating healthy, I became inspired in wanting to not only eat healthy, but learn how to cook.  I know eventually I won’t be the only person who has to figure out what to eat, so I realize that I needed to start learning.

As for exercising, I started doing Wii Fit again on Sunday.  Yesterday, I didn’t work out at all because I had to go food shopping.  Healthy food shopping.  Unfortunately Walmart’s produce is really unappealing.  I really wanted to buy more fruits but the selection at that particular Walmart wasn’t too great.  Not very clean in my opinion.  Anyway, I managed to get some Organic honey wheat bread, Annie’s Organic Mac & Cheese, Walnuts, Tuna, Salmon “Tuna,” Bananas and Kashi Honey Oat Waffles.  That should hold me over for the rest of the week, until I go to Greenwise for next week’s prepared breakfasts and lunches.  To save money, the boyfriend and I are going to start cooking meals instead of eating out.  I’ve already found some recipes I can’t wait to try.

Today, I did 20 minutes of Turbo Jam and I forgot how great I felt after a workout!  Instead of the music that the video plays I played some techno music (Kaskade and ATB) on my computer.

Also, I opened up a Twitter account especially for the blog so if you’re on Twitter add me!  FitnHealthySue.  I’ll mostly update with my workouts, food and updates to the blog here.

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Healthy Habits

I found this really interesting article on Readers Digest about some helpful healthy habits we all should consider. They really stressed the idea that these tips were not a diet, but more of a life changing thing that eventually one can stick to. Personally, I’m not a diet person, I believe in proportioned eating with healthy in mind. I believe its ok to eat something not so healthy but not over indulge. Exercise is also an important factor and goes hand in hand with a healthy diet.

In a perfect world, I could wake up at 6 am and work out and take my sweet time, eat a healthy breakfast and head over to work, followed by a healthy lunch, getting out of work and having a nice sensible dinner. BUT of course in order to do that planning and adjusting is something to get used to. And the way to start is by developing habits that are small but attainable to be adjusted into the everyday routine.

Two habits I’ve been incorporating is sleeping before 12 and eating a filling breakfast in the morning. My next two habits I’d really like to incorporate with my everyday routine is waking up at 5:45am-6am and work out in the mornings since working out at night is most definitely a no go, as well as packing my lunch for work instead of buying out. That way, I can control what I eat and save money too.

What habits would you like to incorporate in your everyday routine?

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Finding Ways To Work Out Without A Gym

Yesterday I had to cancel my gym membership with the gym I was part of for about 2 years. There were a couple reasons why I canceled, and for a while actually, I’ve been meaning to cancel. The first reason was to cut my personal expenses. The second reason was that I wasn’t utilizing the gym enough to make it worth it. Trust me, I felt pretty bad canceling, but at the same time, it’s for the best.

That doesn’t mean that I’m going to stop exercising though. I still can use the small gym in my community and I have the essentials for working out at home.

Here is a list of the equipment I own and from there, I can figure out different types of exercises I can do with them:

Pair of 5lbs Free Weight dumbbells, which gives endless types of workouts to tone your body – available from Amazon.

Stability Ball & Resistance Cords– I have the Oxygen Fit Body Ball and Slastix Toners I was given by them. (check them out!)

I also have some workout videos and Wii Fit, so there’s plenty of things to do, and its so much fun that you don’t even realize that you’re working out!

As for cardio, if you don’t have a treadmill or one that’s accessible, there’s always running outside. There’s also bicycle riding and rollerblading too, even if its for 15-20 minutes. For an indoor workout, there’s also always my 20 min cardio Turbo Jam DVD! Netflix is also a great way to try out different workout videos without actually purchasing them.

So with these ideas in mind, I guess there really isn’t any excuse for me not to work out (and you too)!

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Starting Up Again, After A Fitness Hiatus

It’s June 1st and I’m seriously ready to restart a fitness and wellness routine. It’s always nice to know you can get a fresh start at the beginning of a new month. I’ve been putting it off for way too long, and I’ve constantly felt like I need to really change for way way too long. I’ll admit, I’m really not happy with how I look, no matter what anyone else says to me otherwise.

I recently read some tips for starting and sticking to a fitness/wellness plan and here are some of the ones that I felt applied to me (and may apply to someone getting back into it all, too).

1. Prepare. I think this is the most important because just like anything in life, it’s better to plan. You can think of this as an appointment in your calendar, like a doctor’s appointment or an important meeting. Mark it on your calendar or planner. Create an alert on your cell phone so you can’t forget.

2. Start Slowly. Just because you know you’ve ran 3 miles before doesn’t mean you can do it as simply if you’ve been out of it for awhile. It’s probably better to start out slowly and gradually build up your distance and even speed.

3. Be Positive. Think about the gold at the end of the rainbow. Preparing and making a goal, and sticking to it is really hard! I know because I’ve been there, and I personally battle with this myself. Hard work reaps great reward and you should constantly remind yourself with that.

4. Think Healthy In Every Situation. When it comes to eating, think healthy. I’m not so much a dieter, personally, but more as a portion controlled eater. Try doing something active at the very least 10 minutes a day - run around with your dogs or walk around the mall with a friend.

5. Record Your Progress. Recording your progress with show you that you’re doing something and it will definitely be interesting to look at after a long period of time. I’m going to start logging in my food intake at The Daily Plate. If you use it, add me and lets motivate each other!

It’s summertime so even if you didn’t work out in time for “bathing suit” season, it’s never too late to start!

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Ok, I Have Some Explaining To Do.

Yes, I am aware my last post was on May 6. I haven’t written for more than 2 weeks and I feel terrible about it. Life (work and outside work) has been so busy, I haven’t even hit the gym or exercised. At all. Every week I wanted to, I would get side tracked with something to tend to.

I’m proud to say that I’ve been getting better as far as my eating goes. I don’t eat much junk food like I used to, and a lot of my lunches are prepared so I don’t have to run out to get fast, cheap food. Logging my food is somewhat getting easier, but I still need to get used to logging it everyday. Knowing what I eat everyday in a log makes me realize how much I’m eating and a long list means I’ve eaten too much.

Today I got a WiiFit, and the truth is, I was never planning to buy one. This morning, I read this really good review about it, and how the blogger was going to engage in a 30 day WiiFit challenge and the idea really sparked my interest. I was really curious to see if this game really worked. More on Wii Fit later, but I really want to make WiiFit a daily thing. So far, the game is really fun and it’s also really cute.

I’ve read a lot during my break on blogging, so I’m happy to learn and ready to share with you all soon.

Happy Memorial Day to everyone, and be safe!

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Today is International No Diet Day!

Today is International No Diet Day, which declares a “day off” of weight and food obsession. A lot of people are affected by how much they weight and their eating habits, so take the day off and enjoy the way you look now.

In my opinion, dieting should be something we do because we want to be healthy, not to be dangerously skinny.

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I Know, It’s Been A While…

I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I’ve been battling a cold for the past week and this past weekend.  Geez, being sick really takes a toll on your energy level, and all I wanted to do is rest and get better.

Right now I’m feeling way better than I did on Wednesday - I even had to stay home from work, and then I spent my weekend celebrating my 3 year anniversary with my boyfriend having dinner as I was sniffling away.  I even went to the beach, counting on the fresh air to make me feel better, and it did help.  So I’m now at this point - Monday morning and still blowing my nose and coughing, but feeling ok.  I would hope this will all be gone by Wednesday, but we’ll see.

I’ve been reading all the emails I’ve been getting, and I know I’m really slow at getting back to you, I will get back to you, promise!

..and I am aware of the issues on this blog - I have a bunch of fixin’ to do too!

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I Know, It’s Been A While…

I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I’ve been battling a cold for the past week and this past weekend.  Geez, being sick really takes a toll on your energy level, and all I wanted to do is rest and get better.

Right now I’m feeling way better than I did on Wednesday - I even had to stay home from work, and then I spent my weekend celebrating my 3 year anniversary with my boyfriend having dinner as I was sniffling away.  I even went to the beach, counting on the fresh air to make me feel better, and it did help.  So I’m now at this point - Monday morning and still blowing my nose and coughing, but feeling ok.  I would hope this will all be gone by Wednesday, but we’ll see.

I’ve been reading all the emails I’ve been getting, and I know I’m really slow at getting back to you, I will get back to you, promise!

..and I am aware of the issues on this blog - I have a bunch of fixin’ to do too!

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An Alternative Way of Doing Cardio: Rollerblading!

A new week means a fresh start in eating right and exercising for me. I had planned to go running but instead I decided to go rollerblading. The last time I went rollerblading was probably in the summer for only a few minutes. So today Glen and I went rollerblading around the park. We rollerbladed around the park for about half an hour, and I definitely could feel the burn in my legs. I was curious and I looked up online to see how many calories you could burn rollerblading and it’s between 600-800 an hour, but since we only went for half an hour, we probably burned 300-400 calories.

I really like working out outdoors rather than the gym, so I’m considering getting rid of the membership and just work out in the neighborhood gym, as well as outside and home. It’s one expense that I don’t have to worry about. You can still be fit without the gym, so I’m definitely going to find different ways to exercise.

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Revisiting The Big Picture

It’s been a while since I’ve written regularly, and lately, I haven’t felt the healthiest and with relatives visiting for over a month, it really made me fall off track.  Now that everything is back to normal, I can get back on track.  I really do have healthy intentions and I sometimes feel like I’m hard on myself, but I guess that could be both a good and bad thing.

I never felt really bad about how I look, but I do feel self conscious at times, especially when I wear clothing.  Truth is as I get older, I feel more conscious about what I look like because I am getting older.  I hate making excuses for myself, and in reality, I just need to push myself more, while not being so hard on myself.  Pushing myself to exercise as much as I can every week, staying away from fast junk food and just educating myself on being healthy and applying that I’ve learned.

I’ve thought a lot about why I started this blog, and I know that I wanted to start this blog because it would help me lose weight, but after a while, I realized that it is a lot more than that.  This blog is helping me become more aware of living a healthy lifestyle.  Sure, I provide information about health and fitness, but not so much how it affects me, and the emotions that affect my health.  So from now on, I hope to incorporate that into my blog.  Being totally healthy is not an easy journey, but it is definitely something that can be done.

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