MAADD Fit

Bad day....

2010-07-31T11:16:00.000-07:00

So today is not a good day....Actually I have been having a series of bad days here lately. I don't want to elaborate, but I do have a point. I've been slacking on my workouts and I've not been eating as well as I usually do. I am very unhappy with myself about this and am determined to turn this around....even though I'm still battling the "bad day" syndrome. My point being, don't let your bad days affect your efforts like I have. I could see how it would be really easy to completely fall off the wagon at this point. (I won't though) Keep up the good work everyone!

Goofing off....

2010-07-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

So, we (the fam) were goofing off today, and this picture became a product of our silliness. I was quite proud of my little muscles I have produced. I've been working on my arms here and there, but mostly concentrating on my glutes and abs, so I was shocked to see any definition there!

Halfway....3/4 of the way? Just not there yet...

2010-07-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

OK, I've have had numerous requests to see after pics, which I was reluctant to do, because I am not at the "after" phase. I still have a bit of work to do, but I did it anyway, and am calling my halfway pics...even though I think I'm a little more than halfway done....anyway...here ya go, peeps!

Dinner: Wheat Pasta and Tomato

2010-07-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

This was my dinner tonight. I was something I kind of made up.....actually my dad gave me the idea. He described it to me over the phone, it was a dish that a friend of his made because she couldn't have something that came in store bought spaghetti sauce.

Wheat Pasta

2 Tbs of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 chopped tomato

1/2 minced garlic

1/2 tsp garlic salt

a pinch or two of basil

salt to taste

Boil the wheat pasta as you normally would.

In a skillet, saute the minced garlic, and EVOO, and garlic salt for about 5 minutes...give or take. Then add in the chopped tomato and basil. Mix and pour over pasta. Sprinkle the basil over the pasta, as desired.

HINT: Some people think that EVOO is a little rich or strong, so you can always add a 1/2 cup of water while your saute-ing to even it out a little.

This recipe is for a single serving....double up for more!

Ispiration....

2010-07-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

It just hit me in the head...and thank goodness. I was feeling a little lost and confused today. I'm sure a lot of people get in that rut, but I don't think it's resolved as quickly as mine was today. So THANK GOODNESS!
Moving on...I took my CPT exam yesterday and passed. I am officially a Certified Personal Trainer. I guess I'm not moving on from the above post, because the certification is what got me in my rut. Once I passed the exam I was like "what now?". I don't really want to "be" a personal trainer. What I want to do is educate people about how to eat, what to eat and what a little exercise can do to maintain great health. It's a simlpe concept. But how do I do this? Why would anyone listen to me? I'm not sure, but I do know that I've soaked up an enourmous amount of information about nutrition , anatomy and exercise in the last year or two and I've applied the concepts that I believe to be beneficial ....and the results are phenominal. Some one told me the other night that they didn't even recognize me! Now that's what I like to hear!
So, now I'm moving on. I'll talk to you all later!

My after picture....soon to come

2010-07-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

I'm getting a little anxious because it's getting close to time to take my after picture...I am so hesitant to post a before picture, it's rediculous! I will tell you this...I've now lost close to 30 pounds and I went shopping for jeans the other day and I currently wear a size 3 in juniors. I bought one pair, but I was able to ask my 16 year old neice if she had and jeans she didn't want anymore, as she wears a size 3, too. I plan on losing a few more pounds, so I'm not exactly ready to purchase a new wardrobe yet!

Ok, I guess I owe you guys a before image....This was at Christmas Time 2009. I am on the far right in the orange shirt. Completely rediculous! I was wearing a size 11/12 in jeans. I think I weighed about 145 here and my current weight is 117 as of yesterday. The other 2 ladies in the pic are my sisters Angel and Wendy, incase you wanted to know who they were! :) Hoping to post an after photo soon!

BB.com App

2010-07-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

If you haven't tried the new Bodybuilding.com App for Iphone or Ipod Touch...you should it's pretty awesome and there are some pretty awesome peeps on there to chat about fitness and nutrition! There are forums that you can go through and usually find that any fitness question you might have has already been asked and answered. Also, there's a progress tracker, which I love!

Slimming Pasta

2010-07-18T22:39:00.000-07:00

Yep...it's awesome! AND awesome for you! I think it would be great even without shrimp, if you aren't a shrimp eater!

(I got this recipe from the August Issue of Oxygen.)

Ingredients:

8 oz Whole Wheat Pasta
Olive Oil
2-4 Cloves of Garlic
1 lb of Brussel Sprouts
1/2 tsp of Nutmeg
1/2 cup of low fat Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tblspn of Crushed Red Pepper
Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1 lb Shrimp cooked and peeled

1. Cook Pasta according to package directions, reserving one cup of drained water

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large pan. Saute garlic until fragrant, but not brown. Add brussell Sprouts, and nutmeg to pan. Cook until the sprouts become bright in colot, about 5 minutes.

3. Add reserved cooking liquid from noodles, cheese, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to pan. Cook for 5 more minutes over medium heat.

4. Add drained pasta and shrimp to mix to combine and heat through. Serve.

My Birthday

2010-07-09T00:40:00.000-07:00

My birthday was great! I woke up to breakfast in bed and surrounded by gifts....no Ipad....sigh. And then a day full of phone calls, texts and FB messages wishing me a Happy Birthday. Nothing from Twitter....thanks tweeters...lol The only downfall is that I did not get to work out. I want to work on my shoulders with my weights and didn't get to do it. I was a little lazy today, but I am committed to go strong tomorrow and make sure it gets done! Hope you all eat great and make time for some MAADFitness tomorrow, too!

WASABI!!!!!

2010-07-09T00:29:00.000-07:00

I tried Wasabi flavored almonds today and boy they are spicey, but I absolutely love them. What's your favorite snack?

What a day!

2010-07-09T00:22:00.000-07:00

I had numerous requests today, which snowballed from a conversation, to create a list of the foods I eat. It kind of went a little further than a food list, though. So, I created a page with this information. I'm also hoping to get a couple of interviews with some fitness celebs to post here on MAADDFit. That would be great....if I could possibly get it accomplished. :)

Psych....

2010-07-08T10:41:00.001-07:00

I just have to say that I am unbelievably anxious for Wednesday night. Psych season 5 premieres. Yes...I'm a Psych-o. I think I will run on the treadmill until Wednesday at 10pm just to pass the time. lol

Which Whey....Protien?

2010-07-07T23:48:00.000-07:00

My gosh I was devistated when I saw Consumer Reports did a section on the popular brands of whey protien. I used to drink Muscle Milk, until that article came out. Apparently Muscle amongst other similar products contain high levels of Arsenic and Lead. Higher levels than are allowed by the FDA. I had been drinking it for a while and I haven't died yet, but still. That is seriously freakin' scary. WTH were they thinking. Hearing something like this makes me so angry, especially when it's something that I use daily. What Protien do you use? Message me!

The fam

2010-07-07T23:39:00.000-07:00

It is terribly difficult to feed my family clean meals and snack ALL the time. I've found that the easiest way to avoid feeding them crap is to not buy it, but my family and my husbands family seem to always send the kids home with snacks. I feel like such a jerk for wanting the throw them directly in the trash, so I rarely do. How do you help your "outside" family understand that we don't want our children to eat the crap, without upsetting them? It's very difficult. I've tried to be subtle, I've even bought my inlaws Clean Eating Magazines, but I don't think anyone was phased by it. They probably thought I was crazy. LOL Any tips? Anyone, Anyone?

2010-07-07T23:34:00.000-07:00

Quick Note: I'm exhausting this evening, but I was able to get in some good reps tonight! If anyone has any good exercises for the inner thighs, let me know because I need it! Badly.

Oh no you didn't!

2010-05-14T12:24:00.000-07:00

As shallow as this sounds, I had Swedish Fish today. I work so hard to not eat anything that isn't as close to natural as possible, and then I go and eat something that couldn't be any further away from being natural. It was so mindless....I didn't even think about it, I just did it. Such is life. Which brings me to the topic of the moment....Calories and fast food.

**First, I'd like to say, calorie counting is NOT the way to lose weight. Think about this....If you ingest 1000 calories worth of candy bars in a day, is it close to being the same as having 1,000 calories of carrots and celery in a day? The human body was not designed to consume Snickers. The source of your calories means way more than you think.**

Why do people eat fast food? Probably because it's fast and tasty? Is it worth? Probably not. I'm going to pick on McDonald's today. Their Big Breakfast with a large biscuit is 1150 calories, which is more than half of the recommended daily calorie intake. Their Chocolate Triple Thick Shake is even more than that coming in at 1160 calories for the 32oz size. And you know that famous Double Quarter Pounder with cheese? It's 740 calories with a whopping 1380 mg. of sodium. That's more than a third of a whole day's worth of calories in one burger. I was really shocked to see that McDonald's 5 piece Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips coming in at 660 calories. It's name is a little deceiving. It almost sounds healthy. Check out thier Nutrition List Here!

Eating McDonald's or any fast food for that matter is never a good idea. There's the high calorie factor and the low quality factor. Quality is never in the equation at fast food restaurants. If you haven't yet, watch the movie Supersize Me. It's a documentary about a guy who consumes McDonald's at every meal for 30 days and monitors his physical and mental health during this time to see the effects of a fast food lifestyle. It also explores how corporations like McDonald's push their poor nutrition on society to make a buck. .....sigh.

Who doesn't know Tosca?

2010-05-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't know of Tosca Reno? If you said "not me", then shame on you! Tosca Reno is a wonderful lady who is known as the "queen of clean eating". She's written numerous books about eating clean in the passed few years...they're a must have for anyone who wants to be healthier and sport a trimmer waist line! What's "Clean Eating", you ask? Click here to find out. Tosca Reno was once overweight, and through the process of clean eating and exercise she has transformed not only her body, but her health as well. If you read the original "The Eat Clean Diet" by Tosca Reno, you can read for yourself how she recreated herself.

Tosca is married to Robert Kennedy, publisher of Oxygen magazine and Clean Eating magazine, to which she contributes to. I *love* to read Tosca's columns because it amazes me that a woman over 50 years old could have a body like hers. It's insane...she has the booty of a 20 year old!

I had the chance to meet Tosca Reno at The Arnold Fitness Sports Festival a couple of months ago, which was an unbelievable treat for me. (I also got to see Arnold himself.) She was so sweet. I was also able to meet Stacy Kennedy, Editor of Oxygen magazine and fitness model Amber Elizabeth. I encourage anyone in the Columbus, Ohio area to try to make it to this festival next year, it's so inspirational.