I love you blog world

Thanks for all of your sweet comments on my blog post yesterday! Pushing through mental blocks is definitely an issue of mine that I want to work on. I know I can run a 12 minute mile without stopping, I just need to get over the mental block.

Yesterday I had an awesome 20 minute weight-lifting session while I waited for one of the treadmills at our apartment gym to be free. I used 15 lb dumbbells instead of the 5lbs I have at home. (Bad idea! I wish our apartment gym had 10's!)

Minute 20-18: tricep kickbacks with a lunge.
Minute 18-16: chest press with dumbbells.
Minute 16-14: tricep dips
Minute 14-12: bicycle crunches
Minute 12-10: Squats with bicep curls.
Minute 10: planks. (kill me now!)
Minute 9: side planks (30 secs on each side)
Minute 9-7: Lat pulldowns (weight machine at the gym)
Minute 7-5: Pec machine (no idea what this is called.)
Minute 5-4: Crunches while doing some tricep thing. (real specific right?)
Minute 4-2: Dead lifts
Minute 2-1: lunges with bicep curls

I did this from memory. I prefer to workout with videos. After the 20 minute weight-lifting sess, I ran 2.25 miles on the treadmill. I ran for 10 minutes straight. I was pretty impressed with myself. After ten minutes, I alternated running 2 mins and walking 1 min. Baby steps people.

I still haven't been food blogging but I have been tracking my eats for my trial run of Body for Life. I'm actually kind of surprised that I haven't been taking pictures. I guess I've been busy. I will share my trial run tracking notes with you Friday morning! Along with a real post. Until then, thanks for being so awesome and helpful!

New product finds!

I shop at multiple grocery stores. Trader Joe's is local, Whole Foods is 10-15 miles away, Gelson's is 9 miles away and Fresh and Easy is close but rarely shopped at anymore.

I'd rather be at the grocery store than most places. I consider this a problem. I wandered around Gelson's for an hour the other day while talking to Mari on the phone.

But let's backtrack.

Have any of you tried Peeled Snacks? They are pouches of dried fruit. You can find them at Starbucks. The company sent me some to sample. I have been slowly enjoying them because they are so good!



I ate some dried cherries on my lunch break the other day. Yes, I take my lunch breaks in my car. I'm anti-social remember?



Salad bars are the best. This salad was $9 at Gelson's. I know that's ridiculous but I only get it once in a blue moon. It was filled with lettuce, spinach, croutons, cheddar cheese, bacon, chickpeas, edamame, zucchini, corn, bell peppers and my favorite dressing cilantro pepita. Honestly I'd eat almost anything dipped in cilantro pepita dressing.



Body for Life sugggests eating cottage cheese for a quick protein boost. It's an easy snack but I hate watery cottage cheese. This whipped version is almost like ricotta cheese. Love it! Mari suggested it and I'm so glad she did. 16 grams of protein in half a cup!



I also bought these. I will be trying them and reviewing them soon.



And I finally tried this video. I only had 30 minutes to workout before going to work at the middle school so I made it snappy. 15 minutes total body workout and 15 minutes upper body workout. I burned 300 calories!

I love that the workouts in this dvd are customizable. I will be trying it out more often. I plan on doing lots more weight training. I will have to pick up some 8lb dumbbells at Tarjey.



My Body for Life book came so I browsed through it while eating chobani and granola. I'll try to do a book review soon. I'll admit...the book is kind of outdated and cheesy...



I also tried this new Luna bar! Chocolate cherry almond. I think it tastes like a candy bar. The cherry flavor is pretty strong as well.



YUM! I bought 2 other flavors to test out. Eating six meals a day is going to be a challenge for me so I need to find some snacks that clock in at under 200 calories with more than 10 grams of protein. Any suggestions?

Body for Life Challenge

So I decided to challenge myself to a 12 week Body for Life Challenge! I've been reading all about it on fellow blogger's blogs and am totally motivated to start my challenge! I ordered the book on Amazon and a few new DVDs to kickstart the whole thing.

I don't think it will be easy, but I do hope it will work. Once I get the book and start reading through it, I will have Andy take before photos of me. I am considering posting my measurements and starting weight as well but that makes me kind of nervous. Not sure what I'm going to do!

Never heard of Body for Life? My girl Janetha has a great explanation on her site. I really need a kick in the pants before our Kauai trip. I found some old weigh loss logs from 2002...I weigh 20 lbs more now than I did then! YUCK.

So today I tried a HIIT workout. (High intensity, interval training) I did 20 minutes of weight training. I used machines and did not take a break between sets. Then I did some Jillian inspired supersets for maximum burn. I was totally feelin' the burn!!

Then I got on the treadmill. I set it at 20 minutes.

Minute 1-2: walked at 3.8 mph with a 0.5 incline
Minute 2-5: Ran at 5.5 with a 1.5 incline
Minute 5-8: walked at 4.2 mpg with a 1.0 incline
8-12: ran at 5.5 with a 1.5 incline (this is tough for me!)
12-16: walked at 3.8 with a 2.0 incline
16-18: Ran at 5.5 mph with a 0.5 incline
18-20: walked at 3.5 mph with a 0.5 incline

Cooldown 7 minutes at a 3.5 mph speed with a 3.0 incline. I didn't have a plan in mind, just a wacky workout. My heart rate stayed between 165-180 and I burned 686 calories. My heart was pounding through the supersets and the run.



Last night my best friend Tiffany, her boyfriend Gary, Andy and myself decided to go mini golfing. It was blacklight mini golf and under the sea themed. So down. I love whales!





Unfortunately my camera does not respond well to dark lighting so I needed to use the flash. Which makes it look less exciting.



Shark attack?



Then we drove to another mini golf place to get some Farrell's ice cream! Andy is from San Diego and used to take me on dates to Farrell's before the San Diego location closed down. This one is in Santa Clarita.





They make an ice cream sundae that looks like mashed potatoes and roast chicken. Creeptastic?



I need this lamp in my kitchen.



Tiff and I shared this (not BFL approved) banana split. It's okay, I haven't officially started BFL!



This morning, I made some banana-chocolate chip pancakes before working out. I should have made protein pancakes! I didn't think about it till now.



After our workout Andy had a protein shake with Jay Robb's strawberry egg white protein.



He just added some skim milk to the blender bottle and shook it up. He said it was pretty tasty!





I had some Jay Robb Chocolate Whey Protein but in smoothie form.



I used half of this Amazing Meal packet to amp up the greens and chocolate flavor.

Then added 1/2 cup unsweetened plain almond milk, 1/2 cup green juice, 1 frozen banana, 6 frozen strawberries and some cocoa powder.



SO GOOD! Jay Robb's protein powder is sooo delish.

Any of you interested in trying Body for Life with me?

Tapas at Julian Serrano in Las Vegas

The yogurt parfaits at Bouchon Bakery were so delicious. Crunchy granola with currants, vanilla bean yogurt and fresh berries at the bottom. It was the best breakfast I've had in Vegas! (Well, the best healthy breakfast!)

We went to the gym at Canyon Ranch inside of the Venetian. I wish I had brought my camera. It was lovely. I ran 4 miles on the treadmill in 55 minutes. I rarely workout while on vacation so I was pretty pleased with myself!



After the gym, we walked to Aria since we didn't get a chance to check it out last time.

Isn't that restaurant cool looking?



We headed to Julian Serrano for some tapas and sangria.



The sangria was fantastic. We got a pitcher of it.



First up, toasted bread with manchego cheese. It was like bruschetta only more delicious!



Lobster with molecular pineapple. The seafood-phobe in me balked at this but I tried it and enjoyed it. It tasted more pineappley than fishy anyway!



Gambas! Shrimp with a buttery garlic sauce.



Fried potatoes with a spicy tomato sauce and bechemel. um, holy creamy deliciousness? You know this wasn't low-fat!



Dates stuffed with almonds, wrapped in bacon and deep fried. Honestly, they were heaven. I'm going to have to buy some dates!



Chicken croquetas. These were VERY good.



Huevos over french fries with chorizo. I have never tried runny eggs before this. They were so buttery and delicious, I have been missing out!







Serrano ham.



And more ceviche.

We were full after this meal but not uncomfortably so. Splitting the tapas between four people definitely helped. Plus we took our time with the meal and enjoyed every bite.



Then we walked it off. This is the Bellagio. I love the floral displays they do!







It was super windy in Vegas so we didn't get to relax by the pool which was a bummer. But it was nice weather for walking around. Hopefully I burned some of those calories off!

I'm interested in starting a Body for Life challenge. In fact, I just ordered the book off Amazon. Have any of you tried it? Janetha, Mama Pea and Em have inspired me to try it out!