Go Heavy or Go Home!

My Workout Today.  Chest & Triceps

I love lifting (heavy) weights.  I strength train 4 times a week (Chest/Triceps, Back/Biceps, Legs, Shoulders, and I fit in Abs twice a week), and do 1 hour of cardio 3 times a week.  I've learned that doing too much cardio was hindering my strength gains and I wasn't getting the results I wanted.  Below is my Chest/Triceps workout that I did this morning.  I did 3 sets of 10 repetitions for each exercise.  I've also included the weight that I used for each exercise.  Always use a weight that is comfortable for you.  Be sure to challenge yourself with your weight (you want to complete all reps with good form, but feel like you can't continue after the last one).  I rest for 1 minute in between each set.  Remember, ALWAYS start with a warmup (I usually warmup for 3-5 minutes on the elliptical machine), and ALWAYS end with a cool down (I use this time to deeply stretch the muscles I just worked).

Wide Pushups (on toes)
Incline Dumbbell Chest Press (35lbs each dumbbell)
Flat Bench Dumbbell Flyes (20lbs each dumbbell)
Decline Bench Flyes (17.5lbs each dumbbell)
Bench Triceps Dips (I use straight legs & elevate my feet on another bench)
Lying Triceps Extensions with Bar (30lbs bar)
Dumbbell Kickbacks (12.5lbs dumbbell)
Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extension (30lbs dumbbell)
Cable One-Arm Triceps Extension (15lbs)

I complete my muscle building workout with a teaspoon of L-Glutamine mixed in water (to help with muscle recovery), and a whey protein shake (within 30 minutes of my workout to get optimal benefits).

What's For Breakfast?

Stove-Top Steelcut Oats With Bluberries & Walnuts

Breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day.  After a long night of fasting, your body is craving nutrients.  I always like to start my breakfast off with a 16 ounce glass of water to hydrate my body.  This morning I made stove-top steelcut oats topped with cinnamon, blueberries, and walnuts, accompanied with egg whites for my lean protein.

The health benefits of steelcut oats, blueberries, and walnuts make this an excellent breakfast combination.  Steelcut oats are an excellent source of fiber (5g 1/2C dry), protein (7g 1/2C), and iron (20% RDI 1/2C dry).  Blueberries have the highest antioxidant capacity of all fresh fruit, they neutralize free radicals which can affect disease and aging in the body, they aid in reducing belly fat, they help promote urinary tract health, they help to strengthen cardiac muscles, and help promote brain health.  Walnuts are a rich source of energy.  They are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, 25g of walnuts provide 90% RDI of omega-3 fatty acids, and they are an excellent source of vitamin E.  What an excellent way to start the day!

I prefer to make steelcut oats in my crockpot (I love my crockpot!).  It's so convenient to wake up to a hot breakfast, especially on busy mornings.  However, movie watching last night with my husband threw me off schedule, and the steelcut oats never made it to the crockpot.  Luckily I had an extra 20 minutes this morning to throw them on the stove!

1/2C steelcut oats
1 1/2C water
pinch of salt

Add oats, water, and salt into a small pot.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes.  Top with cinnamon, blueberries, and walnuts.  Yummy!!!

Kick Your Sugar Habit

10 Tips To Help Kick Your Sugar Habit 

Today I was explaining to my 12 year old son, who asked me to take him to the store so he could purchase a soda, that sugar was like a legal drug, and many people are addicted to it.  Of course he didn't believe me, which led me to surf the internet for articles on sugar and the harm it causes to the body.  In my searching, I came across many tips to help kick the sugar addiction.  I narrowed these tips down to 10 tips which were listed on multiple sites.

1. Eat regularly

2. Choose whole foods

3. Eat a healthy breakfast incorporating lean proteins, healthy fats, and phytonutrients

4. Drink plenty of water

5. Get plenty of sleep

6. Beware of artificial sweeteners

7. Read nutrition labels

8. Add spices for flavor

9. Detox (there are many different detoxes, research to find one that fits your needs)

10. Daily multi-vitamin, omega 3 fatty acids, and vitamin D3.

There are so many more tips out there to help kick your sugar habit.  Be sure to do your research.  Everyone is different, find tips that fit your lifestyle and will work for you.  Begin applying these tips to your daily living, and in no time you will have kicked your sugar habit!  

By the way, my son never did get his soda!

Clean Eating Food List

Clean Eating.  That term use to scare me!  I use to think that eating clean limited you to lean proteins and veggies.  Boy was I wrong!  There is so much variety when it comes to eating clean, and the food is so delicious.  Your body will soon begin to crave it.  Below is a basic list to get you started on your clean eating journey.  Be creative, research recipes, and have fun!

Oils

• sunflower oil
• coconut oil
• walnut oil
•  avocado oil
•  olive oil
•  grapeseed oil 
•  pumpkin seed oil

Fatty proteins

• avocado
• coconut
• walnut
• cashews
• almonds 
• nut meal/flour 
• seeds 
• all natural peanut butter 
• salmon 
• sea bass
• mackerel Limit, high in mercury
• bluefish
• trout
• mussels
• bluefin tuna

Lean proteins

• soul
• flounder
• cod
• halibut
• mahi mahi
• red snapper
• orange ruffy Limit, high in mercury
• ahi tuna Limit, high in mercury
• swordfish Limit, high in mercury
• tilapia
• grouper
• corvina
• cobia
• egg whites
• chicken breast
• extra lean ground turkey
• london broil
• top round
• turkey
• pork chops
• game meat
• bison
• tofu
• tempeh
• shellfish
• scallops 

Flours

• spelt flour
• wheat flour 
• oat flour
• chickpea flour 
• rice flour 
• quinoa flour 

Sweeteners

• coconut sugar
• applesauce (no sugar added) 
• Stevia in the Raw or Truvia

Fruits

• honeydew
• cantaloupe
• watermelon
• apple
• papaya
• pear
• raspberry 
• blackberry
• blueberry
• cherry
• mango
• guava
• orange
• passionfruit 
• strawberry
• tangerine
• tomato
• grapefruit

Crockpot Steelcut Oats

I love my crockpot, and since my oven stopped working I love it even more!  There are so many healthy, easy to make recipes for crockpots.  A family favorite at my house is Crockpot Steelcut Oats.  I love waking up to the aroma, and it's a big hit with the kids on busy school mornings.  Best of all, it's healthy!

2C Steelcut oats
6C water
2C unsweetened almond milk
3 apples (peeled & diced)
2Tbsp cinnamon
1/2C raw sugar OR honey

Optional:  before serving garnish with chopped walnuts.  Yum!

Spray crockpot with non-stick spray.  Add all ingredients, stir.  Cook on low 7-8 hours.  Stir before serving.

**Note:  This recipe makes a pretty big batch, which is perfect for my family of 6.  For a smaller batch, just cut the portion of ingredients in half.

Spinach Mango Smoothie

This smoothie is so delicious, healthy, and filling.  Great for a mid-day snack.

1/4C plain greek yogurt
1C water
1/2 banana
1/2C frozen mango chunks
1C fresh spinach packed
1TBSP ground flaxseed