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September 17, 2014

From Workout to Work

Good Morning friends! I went to Java Jog this morning for the second time in a row and it’s quickly becoming a highlight of my week! I love the burst of energy I get from a good morning run, running with others keeps me motivated to push myself farther than I would if I ran alone, and the cup of free coffee afterwards is just the cherry on top!

I have to be at work at 7:30am each morning and the jog is at 6:30am. As you can imagine, that doesn’t give me much time to freshen up before work and when I live on the other side of town, well there is no hope for a shower. I’ve compiled various items that are absolutely necessary when going from a workout to work. It’s proven to work for myself and I remain fresh throughout the day even though I’m unable to get a good shower after being gross & sweaty. Luckily, my work is fairly close to the run, so I get to work a few minutes before everyone else and I can change & freshen up in the bathroom.

1 // Deodorant

2 // Body Wipes

3 // Razor, just in case (not a necessity)

4 // bobby pins (I don’t typically wear my hair down on this day, bobby pins help tame the mess)

5 // Face Wipes

6 // Baby Powder (helps absorb the sweat quicker & gives you a fresh feeling)

7 // Dry Shampoo (helps eliminate the appearance of greasy/sweaty hair)

8 // Make Up Bag

9 // Body Mist

I was quickly able to wipe off, throw some dry shampoo in my hair and toss it in a bun, change into my dress for the day, apply some lotion & a touch of makeup and be on my way. I may not want to workout before work and get ready in the bathroom every day, but this routine makes it easy to do a couple times a week if necessary. The coffee at Sneaky Beans was extremely hot when I got it to. By the time I was dressed and at my desk to start work, it was the perfect temperature for drinking! I’m looking forward to this being a weekly part of my schedule!

Questions of the Day:

Do you have any morning group runs in your area that you participate in?
What are your gym bag essentials? What did I leave off that you use on the regular?

July 14, 2014

Unplug

Good Morning!

How was your weekend? Mine was absolutely wonderful & relaxing. I don’t get a lot of empty weekends so this was exactly what I needed. Nick was out of town for bachelor trip and I stayed home the entire weekend doing a lot of nothing. I did workout, of course! I’m looking forward to a 30 minute evening walk later today to loosen my muscles and take a little break from my more hard-core workouts. I may make it an hour walk if the weather is nice and I’m enjoying myself. Tomorrow I’ll go to HIIT, so I want my body & muscles and to be well rested for that so I can give it my all.

Excited to see this little monkey on Friday!

When I left for the gym yesterday, my phone was close to being dead so I decided to leave it at home. Honestly, I’m so attached to my phone sometimes that I truly enjoy the peaceful moments when I choose to forget about it. I don’t unplug nearly enough! As I enjoyed this true alone time, it made me think how important it is to unplug. Do you find yourself checking your phone regularly throughout the day, even if you know it hasn’t vibrated or made a noise alerting a phone call or text message? I do this ALL.THE.TIME! My phone, the social networking, all of it can be such a huge distraction for me. I don’t leave my phone alone enough, but when I do, I appreciate the lack of stress it brings and the freedom I feel when I’m not attached to it.

Maybe unplugging means something entirely different to you! I encourage you to unplug regularly, it’s good for the soul – as I learned yesterday during my quiet workout and drive.

I’ve mentioned time & time again about the challenges that Nick and I do. They vary in time frame and activity. Right now I’m in the middle of a 21 day workout challenge where I workout for a minimum of 30 minutes every single day for 21 days. This will help me establish a habit of working out. I’ve currently completed 14/21. If I’m sore from my workouts, then my 30 minute workout becomes a walk (like today!) I have one week left of this challenge and then it’ll be time for a new one. I’m challenging myself to unplug for 1 hour every single day for a month. For me, unplugging will be silencing my phone and leaving it somewhere. I’d love to know if you’re interested in joining me on this month long challenge! Unplugging can mean something entirely different for you – whatever it is, unplug for one whole hour every day for an entire month and my hope is that you’ll find peace & relaxation during that time.

Switching gears…

I have a delicious & simple dip to share with y’all today! Now that I’m a vegetarian, it’s extremely important for me to bring something that I can enjoy to parties & office functions. Of course, I want others to enjoy it as well and I want it to be healthy! When we had a baby shower in our office, I signed up to bring a veggie tray, but I didn’t want to bring ranch dressing and veggies – 1. overdone and 2. not healthy!

I made this delicious ranch dip that was 2 ingredients & was a hit at the office!

Ingredients:

Your selection of veggies (I chose baby carrots, celery, cucumbers [home grown], and grape tomatoes
Plain Greek Yogurt
1 packet of Ranch dip

I know this is ridiculously easy… Slice up your veggies, arrange to your liking (I enjoy alternating my colors), Mix up 16 oz. of your greek yogurt + ranch dip.

It’s healthier than plain ranch dressing because you add in that protein rich yogurt. You’ll also surprise your co-workers or party-goers – The taste is different from your regular ranch. The greek yogurt adds an extra ounce of flavor! Everyone who tried it, loved it! By the end of the day, the entire bowl of dip was gone and there were a few veggies left over. People will thank you for bringing the veggie tray because everyone else probably brought the fattening stuff!

Questions for the day:

If you joined the month long unplug challenge, what would you unplug from?
Share your healthy office-party food, what would you bring?

July 8, 2014

Mini-Card Workout

Good Morning!

This week is being consumed with Series 6 studying. I have 3 pretty slow days at work this week so I’m using that time to study.

Yesterday, I opted for McAlister’s for LUNCH (without realizing that I’d be eating that again today) and it hit the spot with a veggie spud & veggie club.

I love my clubs with some honey mustard! McAlister’s has excellent honey mustard too! I decided to eat at my desk (which I really need to break this habit) so I could watch my online videos and take notes for my Series 6.

Who else looks forward to Sweet Tea Day? It’s one of my Top 5 Favorite Days of the Year! It’s coming up VERY SOON! July 24th!

After work, I started planning for my potential visit to see Meg in September and although it’ll be a super quick weekend, I think it’ll be a lot of fun and completely worth it! I probably spent a good hour and a half mapping out my options! I love planning! I then made my trip to the grocery store for the week and stocked up on some fixing for smoothies & lunch items for the week. After the grocery store, I went to workout.

I’m loving the workouts from Julie @ Peanut Butter Fingers! A lot of them are a little more challenging than I can do right now, but I hope to build my way up. Sometimes she’s all “Hey, this took me 20 minutes” and I’m all “Hey, that’s impossible… took me an hour!” But whatever, she’s super great and her workouts keep my boredom at bay!

My WORKOUT last night consisted of a 10 minute treadmill workout to warm-up, a Circuit workout, and then a 2 minute cool down on the treadmill.

My Killer Incline Walking Workout kept me at a speeds of 4 & 4.3, but the incline went anywhere from 2 to 12!! I was sweaty when I finished up and moved on to my circuit.

Click on the Workout to go to Original Post!

I used a 5 pound weight just to get a feel for how this workout would go. There were certain exercises that I could have used a heavier weight on so I’ll try that next time! I’m really loving my local gym because it’s not too crowded during the times I go so I feel completely comfortable setting up my station and getting to work!

Using notecards cut in half has been my ideal way to remember what exercises I want to do! I don’t have to keep it on my phone (Which was especially nice for this because I needed to use my phone as a 1 minute timer) and I don’t have to remember what my workout is, I can just bring it on this card. If the card gets sweaty or gross – no big deal! I strongly suggest finding quality workouts online and writing them down on a mini-card. By finding different workouts online through Pinterest or other bloggers, I’m consistently motivated to stay on track with my workouts and using this card system helps me go through the workout quickly. Another idea I’ve had is to keep my cards if they don’t get gross during the workout, so eventually I’ll be able to grab one and go! Using a file card box, I can sort them by type of workouts or which muscles are worked.

This morning, BREAKFAST started out as 2 pieces of toast w/ peanut & jelly with a side of pineapple greek yogurt. Eating the yogurt wasn’t very appealing at the time, so I opted for a smoothie! I tossed in the pineapple greek yogurt with some spinach, blueberries, OJ, peanut butter, and flaxseed. I drank that on my way to work this morning.

Today, my friend Lacy is coming town, so I’ll have lunch with her and then drop her off at the airport! I’m looking forward to another HIIT class this evening – this will be my Tuesday ritual!

Check back tonight for my day at Disney re-cap from this past weekend!

Questions this morning:

What heart-rate monitor or workout watch do you suggest? I need to start looking for a good one.
How do you keep from boredom during your workouts?

From Workout to Work

Unplug

Mini-Card Workout

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