300

So, back at the beginning of December I started this post.... think, since I did the workout today, it's about time to finish it, eh?

You've read a couple of times now my mention of The Jedi - my bud at school who gets me through LONG days of class, arduous group assignments, and kicks my BUTT at the gym.

Hello, Jedi! (Totally stole your Facebook profile pic, I know. Good thing you heart me so much! HA!)

So, he's a little bit, well...many things. hahaha He's my bud, he's hilarious, he's intense as all get out (yeah, don't cross him. Or, don't do anything that'll make him THINK you crossed him even if you didn't.... OY!) And DON'T worry - he and Mr. Man get along GREAT and everything's on the up and up. :P Goofs.

You may notice...the Jedi has had some success in the gym. hahaha (Hey, he picked his profile picture for a REASON, right? I mean, don't we all??)

You may have also noticed over time on my little blog here, how seldom I mention resistance training in between my running, occasional love affairs with Yogilates, and keeping up with life. So, naturally, being buds with a weight-room aficionado I volunteered myself as a workout buddy and the Jedi AGREED to whip me into shape.

Part way through the semester he brought me"The 300 Workout"

300. As in Gerard Butler. Remember that movie? I mean, I didn't even see the movie and I know all about the insane exercise and training those men went through to get ripped like that. Oy oy OY!!!

(swoon Oh Mr. Butler, whatever else I may think of you I will always love your accent, your singing, and those ridiculous abs...)

Okay, so before you go WHOA I want MY abs to look like that and google "300 WORKOUT" (which I totally did, by the way) STOP! hahaha I DID that already. (Whoa...is there such a thing as a writing-echo? Holy redundancy, Batman?) 'Cause I'll admit, when the Jedi showed up with this cue card with a list of exercises and reps and said "this is the 300 workout, you know from the movie" I was skeptical. 'Cause I'd SEEN clips of these guys exercising and some of the insane off-kilter things they were doing with medicine balls and obstacles... I almost puked FOR them just watching! So I found this 300 disclaimer article very interesting and informative. So READ THAT, okay?? Do NOT kill yourselves because I brought it up. (Am I now safe from litigation by anyone? Please? I hope so. hahaha DON'T KILL YOURSELVES DOING THIS STUFF)

Okay, THEN I found this super-cool, quick youtube clip of a guy from Men's Health demonstrating the workout! WOOHOO! (If you want to adopt the workout WATCH IT CAREFULLY and take note of FORM, okay? It's SO important to do it RIGHT)


But here it is. (I have to refer back to this list a lot when I'm in the middle of it 'cause I'm a little focused on remembering to BREATHE and not what-comes-next hahaha)
* 25 pull-ups
* 50 deadlifts at 135 pounds
* 50 push-ups
* 50 box jumps with a 24-inch box
* 50 "floor wipers" (a core and shoulders exercise at 135 pounds)
* 50 "clean and press" at 36 pounds (a weight-lifting exercise)
* 25 more pull-ups -- for a total of 300 reps

And BEFORE you freak out...I can't really do all that. I mean, I can, and do, do all 300 reps. BUT...my pullups are either on those magic gravitron machines that negate some of your body weight OR (thanks to some awesome Christmas presents - THANKS everyone!) at home I put my feet on a chair slightly in front of the doorway my bar's in and let my legs help (seriously, 25 pull ups is a lot in a row.... and I'm a GIRL with SCRAWNY SCRAWNY arms!).... where it says 135lbs I currently use 45 - the Jedi can do it with 135, but the deadlifts he literally has to strap the weight to his hands or his grip gives out - 50 is a ridiculous number. hahaha AND...today for the clean and press I only used 10lbs - I can't remember what I was using before Christmas, but it should have been more than 10lbs 'cause that was too easy.

So there you have it. I LOVE this workout. It's SO hard and SO intense, and apparently wasn't even meant as a workout as much as a fitness test....but let me tell ya' WHAT a difference it made last semester. Unfortunately I went a little hog-wild with my Christmas celebrating, but I'm right back on that horse today!!

DO NOT KILL YOURSELVES and really MOST of you I'd say DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.... and almost NEVER by yourself. Okay? Okay.

Back to basics

Okay, so, the Bravo-challenge is on!! hahaha We busted out the WiiFit yesterday, as I mentioned, and so bright and early this morning I weighed myself again for our challenge updates.

Yeah, somewhere, magically as I slept I lost 3.3lbs.

Do you see why I hate WEIGHT as a measure of fatness or fitness or whatever? It's so....NOT! hahaha BUT I DID read relatively recently in 'Women's Health' (obviously the be-all-and-end-all; forget what my professors teach me, if it's not in 'Women's Health' it CAN'T be true! hahaha Ohmigosh I'm KIDDING folks - geeze!!) that people who DO weigh themselves every day(ish) lose whatever-percentage more weight than those who DON'T because it's that CONSTANT reminder or something like that. They backed it up with some study... let me know if you want a more succinct description and I'll see if I can track it down.... ;)

SO, back to the weighing-game.

TODAY: 167.3 lbs Just glancing back at my previous WiiFit stats it looks like my lowest was 165.3, so I'm only up 2 lbs in however-the-heck-long it's been. Meh. There could be worse things.
ALSO today ran 5km on Optimus Prime after Little Miss went to bed. Mr. Man WiiFitted it, too - two days up for him! yay!

Stealing Posts!

I just hopped over to Steph's blog for a minute and found myself reading some GREAT stuff, that, frankly SHE stole originally so I don't feel too bad posting it here. ;) hahaha

If you have a few minutes, pop over and read this tidbit cited as being from Bob Moorehead.

But my FAVOURITE steal for today:
"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever." -Lance Armstrong

(I DID get my run in already today - just a SLOW 5K, but it's done) :D

I love moleskin

Before I get into today's actual post I just have to acknowledge and THANK everyone for the concern over my poor poor feet and the ginormous blisters I've developed! I had Steph look it up in a book, my mother-in-law find and forward how-to-treat-and-prevent websites (this one, and this one) - ALL of which information I will admit I found helpful. APPARENTLY you get blisters if your shoes are too tight - who knew?! I figured if I was getting blisters it meant my shoes weren't tied tight ENOUGH because there'd be extra room to slide around....yeah, that means after getting the first set of blisters LAST week I've been tying my laces like vice-grips.

"...here's your sign...."

*sigh*

ALSO - I thought if I maybe taped 'em up I'd be able to run some more this week instead of sitting on my tookus (read: butt) waiting for them to get better BUT when I was out erranding with Little Miss yesterday I FORGOT to go to the drugstore! I know, I know. I'm all about winning prizes for schmarts this week. BUT my darling dearest Mr. Man stopped off on his way home from work, talked to the pharmacist, and I've now been introduced to the BEST thing EVER - moleskin!

OH how I love moleskin!! It's just this sticky-soft thing you stick to you - I put it right over my (popped) blisters (it DOES suggest on the packaging you not adhere it directly over top of blisters JUST so you know), put on my socks, and laced my shoes like a NORMAL person instead of akin to a clamp - NO PAIN! I didn't even FEEL my blisters! BOOM BAM baby! Oh, it was great. I mean, as great as running 5K on a treadmill in the school gym can be.... ;) hahaha

I don't know how fast I went, though, 'cause part way through my hand slipped and I hit the 'STOP' button which...yeah. Helps with my whole being SMRT this week. hahaha OH well.

OH, and my leg's been bugging me lately, so I did yogilates last night - how long has THAT been, eh? I do still love it and look forward to making more time for it...later. hahaha After finals, maybe.

I forget if I wanted to write about anything else today - great, eh? GEEZE!! I think the moleskin being amazing was the main thing...and thanks for the concern and help!! :)

Speaking of concern and help - aren't mommies WONDERFUL?? I love mine. :) *sigh*

Triglyceride Oxidation

I learned something kinda' cool yesterday in exercise physiology that I thought you lovely folks might find interesting. We've been learning about/reviewing the adaptations the body experiences as a result of different types of training, i.e. strength training (any resistance exercises: weight-training, pilates, calisthenics - the stuff that you do to make you stronger - super-dee-duper important, by the way - we should ALL be doing it) and endurance training (basically aerobic exercise: running, jogging, swimming, cycling - the long drawn-out exercise that makes you want to shoot yourself half-way through). Specifically yesterday we talked about endurance training and I found the most interesting thing about it is that with training your body adapts such that it grows better and more dependent on oxidation of triglycerides to fuel endurance exercise.

Did you catch that?? ;)

BASICALLY the more cardio training you do over time the more your body is going to burn FAT to fuel your cardio session as opposed to carbohydrate. A marathon runner's body uses more fat stores to fuel a run than a (previously) sedentary, fat person.

CRAZY, no?? SO...make sure you have some endurance training in your regime if you're trying to lose some of the jiggle! hahaha

It's been a busy week - it's Friday already. I'm not as far along with my homework as I had hoped, but I'm not behind...yet. I got one assignment handed in yesterday and got started on the next; unfortunately my poor brain is screaming for a break and isn't churning out this 10 page paper on obesity (I may have some more interesting things to write about soon!) very quickly.

BUT, Little Miss is away at daycare today for a field-trip to the Sugar Bush to learn all about Maple Syrup production, so I find myself with a few extra hours than budgeted for - hopefully (once I get the heck off blogger!) I'll get a good amount of work done.

This week, Mi and I tackled a 10K run on the treadmills at school. UNFORTUNATELY I'm a bit of an IDIOT and appear to have not taken the time to really properly tie my shoes so by about 5K my feet were getting really uncomfortable. By 8K I couldn't run properly anymore due to the enormous blisters I'd managed to give myself so had to stop. It was really disappointing not to finish the 10, especially for such a silly reason!! But I did run 8, and then walked the last 2 - walking didn't rub on the feet in the same way, thank goodness!!

That's all of note, really, I think. We played an AWESOME game of soccer last night, which was a blast - kudos to all who came out and played.

OH yeah, and I weighed myself on the WiiFit, finally, this morning:
WEIGHT: 165.3lbs
BMI: 26.57

JUST as a reminder - when we started this thing I was at:
WEIGHT: 179.5lbs
BMI: 28.84
SO it's been slow going, but it's been going. 165.3 is the lowest I've hit so far, so new milestone for me! Hooray!!

Okay, time to write this paper! Wish me luck! :D

6 and 25

I had the best day on Saturday. It was great. We were supposed to watch Girlie on Saturday but her family's plans changed so we ended up with the day all to ourselves to do absolutely nothing. NOTHING! I can't remember a Saturday in recent history where we've had NOTHING to do. It was fantastic.

And on our day of nothing both Mr. Man and I spent some quality time with Optimus Prime. That's right, folks, Mr. Man ran on my treadmill!! PLEASE let's all give him KUDOS and encourage him to keep going!! GO MR. MAN! GO MR. MAN!! :) (I love you, sweetie!)

AND on Saturday, watching 'P.S. I Love You' (I love running on a treadmill!) I ran SIX kilometers. That's right, six. Not five. Six.

I felt like a superhero when I finished. :)

Okay, and the OTHER thing I wanted to post today because I spent SO much time on it the other night 'cause I'm SO silly and occasionally fill these things out for my unwinding-time, is that 25-random-things-about-yourself list from Facebook. I figured I spent so much time on it and no one's reading it and I feel totally ripped off so I'm posting it HERE too so it gets more exposure. hahaha I'm lame, I know. BUT it will also tell you a little more about ME and since you're here reading...about me..., I thought you might actually be interested. ;) So humour me. ;)

1) I've never ever been anywhere inside Canada outside of Ontario. I've literally driven across the United States, gone to school, vacationed, visited friends...but never in my own country.

2) I am absolutely beyond reason TERRIFIED of 'poking and prodding' – surgery, doctors, rectal thermometers (GAH for a STUDY I'm in!! KILL me now, PLEASE!). I'm as active as I am and I've never conquered tampons without fainting. ;) Surgery on my face this past December put me over the top – it was AWFUL. I'm seriously seriously seriously into 'preventative' medicine just so hopefully I never ever ever ever ever ever ever have to go in for something more serious than my cyst was!

3) I absolutely LOATHE being shushed. I'm a loud person, I know, but 'shhhhhhhh' is so degrading, embarrassing – it like, points out that I have no control over the decibel of my voice and I'm a grown woman for pity's sake! It's humiliating.

4) I almost equally loathe having to repeat myself when I've gone unheard – OBVIOUSLY I did a good job of keeping my voice down for a change, why the HECK can't you give me kudos and LISTEN?!

5) I'm seriously addicted to checking my e-mail. We may need an intervention, soon. I land on Facebook when there's no e-mail (most of the time) to try and quell the urge for a message or response from someone, but usually end up wandering away and coming back in five minutes or so.

6) I'm super-de-duper proud of my blog, http://redlovestomove.blogspot.com, especially when it helps motivate someone else. I'm mortified when I hear a guy has read it! Hahaha But THRILLED for the support at the same time! Go figure.

7) I only have four credits left (= one year) after this semester to finish my undergrad. FINALLY. And then we can move on with our lives. I can't wait.

8) My most favourite thing in the world is my kiddo. I LOVE being a mom. I wish I had more time for it. After school's out....

9) If there's something sweet in front of me and I have one I literally cannot stop. I'll eat cookies or skittles or whatever it is until I feel like I'm going to puke, and then I'll eat more. The trick for me is to not start eating them in the first place....some days (most, recently, actually!) are better than others.

10) I'm absolutely paranoid about my weight/size/appearance at just about every moment of every day. I really don't think you ever FULLY recover from disordered-eating problems.... I've turned down invitations to go out and have fun because I felt too fat that day. Strangely...I felt amazing when I was pregnant... hahaha

11) I always had oodles of guy friends when I was younger and now that I'm a wee bit older and a wee bit really married I find I have a hard time finding the balance between appropriate and inappropriate – I tell Mr. Man EVERYTHING just to be safe – if I ever feel like I have to hide something I'll know I'm over the line. Hopefully. ;)

12) If I weren't LDS I can almost guarantee you I'd never have had any kids. I LOVE being a mom. It was worth all the terrifying poking and prodding and doctors visits a thousand times over. I wonder if I'd have gotten married....

13) I am a terrible gardener. My thumbs are about as far from green as a thumb can get! (What IS the opposite of green?? Red? - THAT'S my problem....red's my favourite!)

14) I'm (usually) a fantastic cook. When I bother. Which is seldom.

15) I despise hot. Except for the inconvenience of snow ie. my car getting stuck, I much much much much muchly prefer winter to summer. You can always add a layer or a blanket or snuggle, but there's only so many layers you can take off...

16) I study kinesiology at school, but started at Brock undeclared before switching to accounting. THEN I found my head (no one in their right mind actually goes through accounting, SERIOUSLY!) and switched to kin. I LOVE my program.

17) I gave birth to Little Miss without any assistance from any medication of any sort. It wasn't as bad as I freaked myself out for and I'm definitely tough enough for that. I don't think it makes me better or worse than anyone, just there it is. I did it!

18) I'm contemplating growing my hair out long again, but figure I need to lose another 10 lbs or so to pull it off properly. Easier day-to-day upkeep as in I can throw it in a ponytail and go!! hahaha And I'm ALWAYS on the go sooooooo........ But I do oh so love my short(er, now) hair.

19) I very very rarely have anything to drink other than water. I prefer water in most cases. Most of the time in all cases, but there are occasions when a root beer just sounds so gooooooood...

20) I really only play the piano at church – if I try to practice at home now Little Miss takes over. She likes to grab my fingers and make me 'play' what she wants to play. I consequently never ever practice. As is evident on Sundays!

21) I can sing. Relatively speaking not a lot of people know that about me – it didn't really come out 'till we came to St. Catharines. I don't remember how it came out down here....when I was the primary music leader I 'couldn't' sing. Huh.

22) I am currently wearing a robe with a towel on my head as accessory. The robe has Tigger and Eeyore on the back. :) I am a walking (well, sitting....) fashion-plate!

23) I'm really really really bad at seeing things outside of the box. When I build with Little Miss's mega blocks, I build 4 walls and that's it. When I'm being creative. Usually it's just a tower. I'm HORRID at pull-these-things-together questions on tests at school. HORRID. I can tell you everything there is to know about something if you give me the something, but if you give me everything I can rarely come up with the something.

24) I spend most of my time wandering/sitting around with this awful burning sensation in my shoulders. It takes more effort to 'relax' my shoulders than to leave them be, and leave them be hurts most of the day.

25) It took me a LOOONG time to fill this out – 25 things is a LOT, even for someone as talented at talking about herself as I am!! WOW! I hope I haven't come across as too narcissistic! :)

(The fact that I wrote it on Facebook and then posted it on the blog probably doesn't help decrease the narcissistic factor... hahaha What can I say?! I am who I am!) ;)

OH YEAH! I almost forgot!! For anyone who actually read to the bottom - yay for you! - I weighed myself on Saturday. Yeah, weight is really a silly measure for this whole...how's my health thing. BUT sadly, it's one of the easiest ways we have.... ANYWAY, I gained 4.9lbs in THREE DAYS. Stupid weight. But I can tell you from the acne on my face that 'Auntie Flow' is on her way soooo... you know? LADIES - the scale is NOT any way to define yourself, okay?? Use it as a MEASURE, not as the be-all-and-end-all of your self-esteem!!

I'm really done now. ;)

Happy New Year

Hi there!

I haven't blogged because I haven't exercised. I still haven't, but figured I should let you know what's up. :)

I'm just now, finally, getting this stupid cold up and out of my chest, so should be able to get back at it hopefully this week. Now, of course, because I've put that out into space the rumbly remnants of this stupid cold will hang on forever... I had every intention of running over the Christmas break, buuuuuuuuut.... there we have it.

I would, though I haven't worked out yet (don't worry, I will. It's actually REQUIRED in two of my classes this semester: 'Training Principles', and 'Functional Fitness Assessment & Exercise Prescription' - I'm REALLY looking forward to these classes!!) like to FINALLY give you the rest of the low-down on my super-amazing-awesome Christmas presents!!

FIRST off, I got a gift certificate for a fantastic little runner's shop, where I quickly went to procure a new pair of SHOES!!


Asics GEL-CUMULUS 10

Remember how I had an inkling my runners were a bit too big and the beautiful blisters I managed to give myself?? Yeah, they were SO too big. AMAZING I was previously that inept at running-shoe buying. I can't stress ENOUGH the importance (and absolute PLEASURE) of having a pair of shoes that fits you properly (AHEM Blue Belle!).

SO with the stinking cold I had the whole break (which really just between yesterday and today has seemed to FINALLY vanish) I haven't run with them yet but I've worn them ALL over my mom's house for days on end, and can't wait to hit the track with them tomorrow (right, Mi??) It's going to be like running on clouds....

Okay okay okay, and I know I mentioned my incredibly-awesome-way-too-generous present from Santa and the conspirators (Mom and Mr. Man) - MY TREADMILL!! So after days and days of research, in-store testing, exhaustive questioning of sales staff bargain hunting and finally indecisiveness I was able to narrow my search to two machines. hahaha I could NOT decide from that point, to Mom made the final, executive decision, being the gift-giver, and I am getting....(drum roll, please....)

NordicTrack Elite zi

I'm super stoked. It's got a 3.0 chp motor, 60inch long belt, adjustable cushioning that reduces impact up to 33% as compared to road-running AND is the machine that a relatively negative-on-NordicTrack site reviews as being NordicTrack's best, and ticket back into the treadmill game. AND it's on SALE! hahaha

I won't have it for a while, though, because I hemmed and hawed so long that we didn't get it ordered before Mom left for vacation to Florida , but the plan is to order it pronto when she gets back next week. I'm sure I'll have tonnes to report when I do get it, so be as super excited as I am. :)

If you ever have an inkling to shop for a treadmill, do yourself a HUGE favour and do some research!! In most cases we found sales staff COMPLETELY useless and unhelpful. My decisions were based on going to the stores, seeing the models, the prices, picking what I liked, going home and checking out every review site I could possibly find and comparing them with the manufacturer's claims and on and on and on. By the end of the process I was helping other people in the stores maneuver around the useless sales staff.... So be careful - it's a big purchase and you want a machine that's going to do what you want it to without breaking down a few months in.

Hopefully I go for a run tomorrow on the track at school. Check back and make sure I do, will ya'? ;)

Free time filler

So I don't know what happened this week, but wonderfully I had three lectures and two labs cancelled due to profs and T.A.s being away at conferences and ONE case of hey-there's-a-test-coming-take-a-break!! SO I've had some "free time" to do things I wouldn't normally do...like finish homework, study, and/or fit in an extra run! It's been absolutely FANTASTIC!!

Oh, totally on another note, I learned what I thought was the coolest horrific thing today in a class I had that WASN'T cancelled. ;) Lemme go find it, hang on.....

OKAY, so I don't know how much sense this is going to make here, but I thought it was incredibly interesting. We were talking about Types I and II diabetes in class and how either the wonder-drug-hormone insulin OR the contraction of muscle (i.e. exercise) amps up the body's response to glycogen blah blah blah...but basically that muscle contraction (say it with me now - EXERCISE) is going to have the same or very very similar effect as an insulin injection to counter-act diabetes. Okay, crazy, eh? WELL, THEN we were told WHY doctors won't tell their patients this - can you BELIEVE your doctor wouldn't tell you that?? BASICALLY in the medical profession there's a push for "evidence-based-treatments", which sounds great to me, 'cause then I know my doctor has something backing up his claim, right? Right?? Well, maybe.... Evidence-based means that there has to have been some peer-reviewed study done and published and all what-not AND studying things costs money, of course. Well, hello, who the heck do you think pays for the studies? DRUG COMPANIES!!! So like, the only "evidence" for treatment your doctor has access to you cure what ails you is what the drug companies have paid for him to be able to tell you. They're obviously not going to pay to find out if exercise is going to cure your diabetes problem after a meal because that's going to put them out of insulin business - I'd DEFINITELY rather run than stick myself with needles. (I'm SO grateful not to have experienced diabetes and pray it stays that way!)

Okay, so you may have already known all that, but it just blew my mind to have it explained so horrifically clearly to me. That's why if you go to the hospital for a pain in your back they give you some pills to pop whereas if you go for a massage or chiropractic treatment you're actually going to have someone pay attention to the PROBLEM. GAH!

TODAY:
Ran with Mi, but I only lasted for 3K - previous to the run I'd been limping around campus with an incredible pain shooting through my back - that evil one that rears its head sometimes and I write about. ANYway, it was acting up and I didn't want to push it too far 'cause I had soccer tonight, so I stopped after 3 so as not to impair my ability to walk/limp back to my car. Did some yoga stretches though, which felt amazing in the painful area, so there we go.
Soccer - lost 2-1. I played like a bum for the first half, but then got my head in the game, I think. Tough team we played. Still fun, but lots of concentration needed, which makes it a slight bit less FUN and more effort, you know? Anyway. That's that.

Wii Fit measures:
Weight 173.1 lbs
BMI: 27.81

Going Ape

This was passed on to me from Mi, because last week I had a banana for dinner. :D

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS
Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia
High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure
This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power
200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school ( England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation
High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers
One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn
Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness
Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites
Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves
Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work?
Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers
The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control
Many other cultures see bananas as a 'cooling' fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking & Tobacco Use
Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress
Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes
According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts
Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. Maybe it's time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, 'A banana a day keeps the doctor away!'

PS:
Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time! I will add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe, polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit!!

TODAY:
60 minutes Yogilates this morning. Had a REALLY hard time with it today for some reason. I mean, obviously, I've had some time off, but I seemed extra-stiff. Mi suggested maybe just midterm-stress??? ANYWAY, whatever it was, I got through it.
Ran 3K, walked 200m with my water bottle, ran 1.8K, walked 400m for a total of 5.4K. I made the mistake of going with Mi. hahaha I knew she'd be faster than me but DANG I was having a hard time. Anyway, I felt the need for water after 3K and she suggested walking a lap with the bottle so I could get good and hydrated. AND my breathing in check. hahaha Sweet girl, that. ;) To do the 5K took 34 minutes. The walking severely added to the time. Anyway, I think I'm going to try to kill myself again next Tuesday and run with her again. ;) hahaha Wish me luck!

Let's get serious

Okay, so I just wanted to address a couple of things.

FIRST off THANKS to everyone for comments both on and off the blog - it really helps with my own motivation. ESPECIALLY people who are setting their own fitness goals - I LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear about them!!

Here's the let's-get-down-to-business part: I hope that you realize that, at least for now, this is a HUGE part of my life - I go to school every day to study the human body and how it works and moves and why things do this and that and the next thing. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE what I do. Granted, cellular physiology can get a bit dry but when you put it in the big picture - HEY COOL! (Did you know you use calcium in your MUSCLES to allow for the use of energy? That's right, it's NOT JUST for your bones!)

For quite literally years now I have been immersed in all things physical/fitness related. I can't get enough.

SO if you're setting your OWN goals and/or plans and think hey-maybe-I'm-NOT-as-up-on-this-stuff-as-my-buddy-Red-because-I'm-a-genius-at-economics (FASCINATING subject, by the way) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE feel free to tap into ME and get some feedback! And no OF COURSE I don't think I'm the be-all-and-end-all of fitness knowledge, obviously. Well, I hope that's obvious. Mi, if you read this post you'll laugh - you KNOW I'm not smart in all things this-related! hahaha BUT hopefully I can help dissuade some of the silliness that a lot of us find so easy to buy into.

TAKE IT SLOW - you don't want to lose weight to fast! Your body likes its weight where it is, even if you're 300lbs! It takes being a weight for about a year for that weight to be your body's new favourite weight SO, SERIOUSLY with weight loss you want to go at the pace of the tortoise. If you take a hare approach to it your body is going to try DESPERATELY to snap itself back to it's favourite weight, wherever you just came from. Don't DO that to yourself - you want the hard work to pay off for good!!

I was asked in the comments on my last post if I'd recommend the Wii Fit - it totally depends on the person. Any training regime is going to depend on the person - do what you love to do! My CONCERN with the Wii Fit is that it's probably not enough for an active person. You have to use it wisely, I'd say, to get a good workout from it. On the OTHER HAND, if you DO weigh 300lbs and live on the couch, the Wii Fit will get your ginormous butt OFF the couch and won't let you push yourself too hard, so it's awesome for that.

My FAVOURITE part about the Wii Fit is the charts and graphs so I have a visual of my progress. Even with my weight yo-yoing back and forth each day, as everyone's does (YES that's normal), I can see a general downwards trend in my weight. It's very encouraging. So, take that as you will - Wii Fit is FUN and for some people, the perfect fit to get started exercising. For me...it's just fun and a good way to track myself.

Okay, longest post ever?? Probably. If you ARE working on your own goals and want some input from a way-too-pushy me, please by all means feel free to drop me a line in the comments or e-mail me: redlovestomove@gmail.com. This stuff is WHAT I DO so I'm ALWAYS happy to help. :)

TODAY:
60 minutes yogilates - interrupted by a phone call, which I would have just let ring BUT I forgot to turn the ringers off after putting Little Miss to bed and so DASHED to the phone the instant I heard it. THEN it was about work so I took a breather for a few minutes while that got sorted out. Was actually like, right at the 30-min mark, so broke things right in half.

Wii Fit measures:
Weight: 175.3lbs
BMI: 28.17

And I realize I'm BEYOND due for photos of the jelly doughnut - I'll get on it, eventually. Kinda' hasn't been priority lately. ;) My legs are hard as rock, though, in case you were wondering. muahahaha!