I attempted 3 new flavors, 2 of which were successful as in they taste like their inspiration. The 3rd flavor tastes good but nothing like I intended. The successes were Banana Nut Bread and Oatmeal Raisin Cookie. .Blueberry Muffin is the one that didn't turn out. It was just dates, dried blueberries, pecans, and vanilla. It's good but doesn't taste like a blueberry muffin. I think mainly because what we all think of as blueberry muffins are very artificial and loaded with sweeteners and other various ingredients that I can't pronounce. I'm going to give it another go and try it differently to see if I can achieve the sweetness I had in mind. Anyway, here are the rough recipes...I didn't really measure when I made them and you don't have to either!
Banana Nut Bread
1/2 c. dates (18 or so), rough chopped
1/4 c. (or a bit more...yum!) dried bananas, I used unsweetened
1/4-1/3 c. walnuts, depending on how much you like walnuts
vanilla
cinnamon
The process is the same as the other versions.
Fine chop the dates in a food processor.
Add the bananas and walnuts and chop them in with the food processor.
Add vanilla & cinnamon, to taste.
I used wax paper this time to shape them and let them chill. Then I cut them and wrapped them individually in wax paper and I like how this worked a lot better than the plastic wrap.
On to the other super success!
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie
1/2 c. dates
1/4 c. raisins
1/4 c. oatmeal (NOT INSTANT!)
vanilla
cinnamon
nutmeg
Again, the same process:
Rough chop the dates and then fine chop in a food processor.
Add raisins and chop again.
Add oatmeal.
Add vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg to taste. Remember, nutmeg is a very potent flavor so a little goes a long way. Start with a small amount and add to it until it has a desirable flavor for you. I like more cinnamon and half as much nutmeg.
Shape with wax paper & chill. Cut and wrap individually. Grab and go!
I recommend storing all Tarabars in the fridge for freshness and texture (firm instead of soft). There are no preservatives! ENJOY!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Jace Matthew's Birth Story
I just realized so many family and friends never got to hear/read Jace's birth story! I wrote it a day or 2 after he was born but never posted it publicly.
It's fun to re-read his story and relive the feelings. I'm grinning ear to ear remembering exactly how things played out. It's also fun to see how far Ally's language skills have come in just a short 6 months (things she said are recorded in the last paragraph). She now says complete thoughts with surprisingly good grammar instead of the broken sentences of the fall.
Just a warning: This is a very detailed story of our entire birth experience and includes words like cervix and placenta among other things, if these topics bother you or make you uncomfortable. ;-)
It's fun to re-read his story and relive the feelings. I'm grinning ear to ear remembering exactly how things played out. It's also fun to see how far Ally's language skills have come in just a short 6 months (things she said are recorded in the last paragraph). She now says complete thoughts with surprisingly good grammar instead of the broken sentences of the fall.
Just a warning: This is a very detailed story of our entire birth experience and includes words like cervix and placenta among other things, if these topics bother you or make you uncomfortable. ;-)
Sunday Sept 26, 2010
Ally fell asleep cuddling with me on the couch at about 10:30pm and I took her to bed and commented to Ryan on my way up that wasn’t sure I could get her there because I had been having so much pressure and sharp pains on my cervix that day.
I came back downstairs and sat down on the couch and felt a little leak that I assumed was cervical fluid so I went to the bathroom to clean up. I discovered it wasn’t cervical fluid so I smelled it to see if I’d peed my pants (haha!) and nope, no smell. Maybe my water broke?? I went back and sat down on the couch and felt it again so I headed back to the bathroom and had a little more leaking there. I was fairly convinced at this point that it was my water. I went to the basement and told Ryan I was pretty sure my water had broken and he said, “So what’s that mean?” I told him it didn’t really mean anything, I was just telling him what was going on and that it could be 24-48 hours before anything started. I called the midwife and she said she’s seen a lot of moms be wrong about rupture but just in case something was getting ready to happen we should get to bed immediately and get some rest and we’d talk again when/if contractions got started. Good thing we’d eaten dinner just a couple hours earlier so I was well fed and hydrated! I told Ryan we needed to head to bed and he didn’t argue. J We went to bed and I was texting Am (BFF/doula) to let her know what was happening. We decided she should go ahead and head this way since she had a 2 ½ hour drive from Sedalia
Contractions started about about 11:40pm and were 3-5 minutes apart and lasting at least a minute (I didn’t time them very well since Ryan was asleep). I finally woke Ryan up at about 12:45am and told him things were definitely moving along and I was having to work through them already. I asked him to call Carolyn, our midwife, and let her know what was going on. I talked to her for a bit as we tried to decide when she should come. She said I’d had about 7 contractions in the short conversation and she was going to go ahead and head this way. I heard from Am about this time and she was in Lee’s Summit
Carolyn got there shortly before 2am and Am closely behind. I was SO happy to see Am! Carolyn checked me soon after arriving because I was displaying signs of being fully dilated and I was disappointed to learn I was only 4cm but Carolyn assured me that things would probably move quickly based on how I was reacting to contractions and the “catch” in the middle of them. I told her I was having such intense pressure that felt like my body was pushing without me and it was taking my breath away. She suggested I blow hard through the contractions and see how that felt. She said I could also try sitting on the toilet. I said I would try anything so we started blowing through contractions. Carolyn, Am, and Ryan both blew out with me to keep me breathing deeply and it helped so much to look into their faces and see the support and calm help I had. After a few more contractions we moved to the bathroom and I did 3 contractions on the toilet. They were hard but seemed purposeful so I was confident through them.
Funny side-story here…When I headed to the bathroom, Ryan and Am stayed back and Carolyn kept motioning for them to come. We’d forgotten to tell her before that the bathroom is kind of my sanctuary and a very private place for me and I don’t like anyone to be around when I’m in there. I don’t even talk on the phone to Ryan while I’m in the bathroom! Haha! Ryan and Am continued to stay back and Carolyn continued to motion them over so they came cautiously. They kind of peeked around the corner of the bathroom door looking for my reaction and when I didn’t ask them to leave, they stayed but kept a small distance and let me have my privacy. It was fine since I wasn’t using the toilet, it was just something to sit on. This was the only time that Am said she saw discomfort on Ryan’s face. I didn’t get a feeling of discomfort or uncertainty from him at all. Such a wonderful man.
We went back to the pool and Carolyn checked me again and said I was a 7 and if it was ok that she was going to leave her fingers there for a couple contractions to see what was happening. I blew hard through these and remember kind of shaking my head. Thank goodness I had Ryan right there in front of me to hold his hand and hear his reassuring voice. He was so calm. From here on, I dilated 1cm with every contraction! Carolyn said at this point to keep blowing because my body was pushing very effectively and she didn’t want me to use my strength to push since it would be too aggressive. She said I could give a little grunting push if I felt so inclined during contractions but to mainly blow. I could feel the little head pushing my hips apart and really coming out quickly. He crowned and the burn was more intense with the blowing than it was with pushing with Ally but it was much more gentle on the tissue. She had me pant after he crowned so the rest was gentle and that was HARD!! One more contraction and he was out and on my back. I heard Ryan and Am giggling about the gender and Carolyn told them not to say anything to me, to let me see for myself. I turned over and picked up the Huffling to discover my SON! He was born at 3:10am on September 27, 2010, only 3 ½ hours after the onset of contractions! A man with a plan! Am took pics of his arrival and Ryan set up the camcorder. I don’t know if I’ll ever want to watch it but it’s nice to know we have it.
The after pains this time were much more intense and I definitely had the urge to push the placenta out, unlike with Ally where I felt nothing. I had a lot of burning afterward too which was actually really painful. The warm water no longer felt good. I nursed little Jace during this time and shared kisses with Ryan. After that, Ryan held Jace while I ate a little something (cantaloupe and apple cider) while still in the pool. Then we gave Jace to Am so Ryan could help me out of the pool and to the shower. It was so nice to get a shower right after and be in my own bathroom! I didn’t get to shower until the next day with Ally, in the hospital. I showered quickly, put on deodorant, brushed my hair and teeth and got settled in bed to nurse again. Ryan started making phone calls at this point since it all went too quickly to call our parents during the labor. We weighed him but decided to delay measuring until our postpartum visit since Carolyn’s chiropractor husband says that’s better. 8lbs 10oz and she estimated he was probably 20 ½”. (He was 21 3/8” at 5 days old.) Carolyn left around 6:30am. Am left at about noon (earlier than she planned but was needed at home).
My family came at about 6am and Ryan’s later that afternoon. We got about an hour of rest before Ally woke up at 8am. We brought her into our room and she met Jace who she calls Baby Zace (can’t make the ‘j’ sound yet). She talked about “baby out Mommy” and “baby Mommy nummies”. She did a lot of giggling and had lots of hugs and kisses for him. She picked up his hand and waved it and said “baby zace hi!” It was so cute and we got lots of pictures that tell the story. My Mom came and stayed with Ally so we could sleep and get a bit refreshed after being up all night. J The gal doing my placenta encapsulation (Lily) came at about 1pm to get it set up and was back the next morning to put it in pills. She was so sweet and I’m so glad I did it. I have much more patience for Ally Rae and feel more energetic and balanced.
I hope you enjoyed Jace's story! It was such a fast and simple birth, I'm surprised there was much to tell!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Painting, and Cuddles, and Growling, Oh My!
This has been a trying week in my world but there were still some good times. I started reading Love and Logic for Early Childhood yesterday and pieces of it are really speaking to me, and even working in just a day of practicing them! I'll do a feature post on that when I'm done and have some time using it under my belt so I can really share its effect. Here are some sweeter moments from this week caught on camera.
Ally: "Mommy! Take my pick-sure!"
Ally painting fun. She painted a sunshine, or so she told me.
Ally likes to lay on Jace and he thinks it's hilarious. Silly boy.
Here she is laying on him again...and he's playing with her hair. I wonder how long until he decides to get back at her by really pulling it! ;-)
Growling! He uses this sound when he's frustrated, hungry, or just wants my attention. He'll mimic if you do it at him.
On the move with a little growling and a plank.
Dancing in her Cinderella dress and Snow White shoes. Jazz hands!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
"Tarabars"- The Recipes
I love the Larabars for post workout! So many nutrients and very little ingredients. They're made with real foods and no allergens (except in the chocolate chip flavors). They're vegan-friendly and an easy mid-afternoon snack for those sweet cravings (or am I the only one that gets those?). Sounds perfect doesn't it? It would be if they weren't $1.59+ per bar! I eat one a day following my crazy Cathe workouts and I workout 7 days a week right now. That adds up to a whopping $11.13 every week or $578.76 a year, pre-tax! I had to find a way to make these myself so I started searching the net for copycat recipes.
My fave flavors only contain 3-5 ingredients each and can be purchased at any grocery store. Dates, cashews, peanuts, semi-sweet chocolate chips, vanilla, cinnamon, and dried cherries.
For my recipes that make 4 bars here's the money breakdown:
Purchased at HyVee (I plan to begin buying these items in bulk somewhere to cheapen it even more):
$1 for 4oz of dates
$1.67 for 1/3 c. raw cashews
$0.09 for 1 Tbsp semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
*The amount of vanilla and cinnamon in this is so little that I really think it isn't worth counting.*
That comes out to about $0.69 per bar. HUGE savings of $6.30 per week, $327.60 per year! This is totally worth the 5 minutes it takes to make a batch.
On to the recipes and pictures!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
4oz, or about 18 whole, pitted dates
1/3 c. raw cashews
1 Tbsp semi-sweet mini chocolate chips or more if you're a self-diagnosed chocoholic
dash cinnamon
few drops of vanilla
Rough chop the dates. This makes it easier for your food processor but I have been successful with leaving them whole as well.
Side note: I tried using my Magic Bullet and it failed miserably, even if I rough chopped the dates first.
Add the cashews to the minced dates. I like to really finely chop these because I don't want a large piece of nut in a bite. I like a smoother texture to my bars but you could leave these chunkier if you like that crunch.
Add the cinnamon and vanilla.
Add the chocolate chips. Don't go too crazy with the food processor here. Just pulse it enough to mix the chocolate chips in. I really like mini chocolate chips for this.
Dump the finished mixture on a sheet of plastic wrap and mold with the wrap to your desired shape. This just helps keep your hand from getting sticky. If you're a plastic free home, feel free to use parchment or even your hands. You could roll these into balls or into one flat bar like I've done.
Put in the fridge to set for a bit. If you've done one large bar, cut them into 4 smaller bars and wrap/store individually for easy grab 'n go. (I'd already eaten a bar from this batch...)
I store mine in the fridge since there are no preservatives and I like them to have that chill when I eat them as well as a stiffer consistency vs. soft, room temperature.
Variations I've tried with success so far:
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
Replace the cashews with 1/3 c. peanuts (salted or unsalted based on your own personal preference; I like unsalted)
Peanut Butter and Jelly
These are a really pretty auburn sort of color with the added cherries.
2oz or about 9 whole dates
2oz or about 1/4 c. dried cherries
1/3 c. peanuts (again, salted or unsalted is your call)
The process is the same. Rough chop the dates and then mince in the food processor (with cherries for that recipe). Add nuts. Shape, chill, cut.
These recipes are tweeked to my personal tastes and texture preferences. Play with it and find what you like best. You can't go wrong really, especially if you stick to small batches.
I'll post more recipes as I try new ones. I'd like to do a Cinnamon Apple, Blueberry Muffin, and Banana Nut Bread but we'll see if I can figure it out since they aren't flavors offered by Larabars. They do have an Apple Pie but I think I can do better. ;-)
ENJOY and happy "cooking"!
My fave flavors only contain 3-5 ingredients each and can be purchased at any grocery store. Dates, cashews, peanuts, semi-sweet chocolate chips, vanilla, cinnamon, and dried cherries.
For my recipes that make 4 bars here's the money breakdown:
Purchased at HyVee (I plan to begin buying these items in bulk somewhere to cheapen it even more):
$1 for 4oz of dates
$1.67 for 1/3 c. raw cashews
$0.09 for 1 Tbsp semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
*The amount of vanilla and cinnamon in this is so little that I really think it isn't worth counting.*
That comes out to about $0.69 per bar. HUGE savings of $6.30 per week, $327.60 per year! This is totally worth the 5 minutes it takes to make a batch.
On to the recipes and pictures!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
4oz, or about 18 whole, pitted dates
1/3 c. raw cashews
1 Tbsp semi-sweet mini chocolate chips or more if you're a self-diagnosed chocoholic
dash cinnamon
few drops of vanilla
Rough chop the dates. This makes it easier for your food processor but I have been successful with leaving them whole as well.
Side note: I tried using my Magic Bullet and it failed miserably, even if I rough chopped the dates first.
Add the cashews to the minced dates. I like to really finely chop these because I don't want a large piece of nut in a bite. I like a smoother texture to my bars but you could leave these chunkier if you like that crunch.
Add the cinnamon and vanilla.
Add the chocolate chips. Don't go too crazy with the food processor here. Just pulse it enough to mix the chocolate chips in. I really like mini chocolate chips for this.
Dump the finished mixture on a sheet of plastic wrap and mold with the wrap to your desired shape. This just helps keep your hand from getting sticky. If you're a plastic free home, feel free to use parchment or even your hands. You could roll these into balls or into one flat bar like I've done.
Put in the fridge to set for a bit. If you've done one large bar, cut them into 4 smaller bars and wrap/store individually for easy grab 'n go. (I'd already eaten a bar from this batch...)
I store mine in the fridge since there are no preservatives and I like them to have that chill when I eat them as well as a stiffer consistency vs. soft, room temperature.
Variations I've tried with success so far:
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
Replace the cashews with 1/3 c. peanuts (salted or unsalted based on your own personal preference; I like unsalted)
Peanut Butter and Jelly
These are a really pretty auburn sort of color with the added cherries.
2oz or about 9 whole dates
2oz or about 1/4 c. dried cherries
1/3 c. peanuts (again, salted or unsalted is your call)
The process is the same. Rough chop the dates and then mince in the food processor (with cherries for that recipe). Add nuts. Shape, chill, cut.
These recipes are tweeked to my personal tastes and texture preferences. Play with it and find what you like best. You can't go wrong really, especially if you stick to small batches.
I'll post more recipes as I try new ones. I'd like to do a Cinnamon Apple, Blueberry Muffin, and Banana Nut Bread but we'll see if I can figure it out since they aren't flavors offered by Larabars. They do have an Apple Pie but I think I can do better. ;-)
ENJOY and happy "cooking"!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
No More Words
Since yesterday's post was so wordy and a more serious topic, today is more storytelling via pictures. Enjoy the cuteness, I know I do!
Jace cut his first two teeth last week!
And Ally demonstrates the correct way to watch Finding Nemo; in your panties and slippers, laying on the trampoline, eating oranges.
Jace cut his first two teeth last week!
And Ally demonstrates the correct way to watch Finding Nemo; in your panties and slippers, laying on the trampoline, eating oranges.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Oil cleans oil?
Why yes, yes it does!
I'm going to jump right in to one of the "crazier" crunchy things I do. My hope is for one of two things: you either understand the idea better and think maybe I'm not that crazy (I know I'm not completely sane, I have 2 children) OR you're intrigued and want to give it a go for yourself.
Simply put, I wash my face with oil. Yes, I said oil. I've gotten rid of ALL of my other skin care items, thus saving me major bucks and I'm no longer putting things on my skin that are potentially harmful or I can't pronounce. I've estimated it costs me maybe $50/year vs. $50/month like it used to.
Let me start at the beginning. I have always battled with my skin care. As a 3rd grader I started seeing a dermatologist. I started wearing makeup in the 5th grade to hide the embarassment that was my face. I tried every medication that was offered and experimented with all the usual suspects from the store.
After all that stuff ripped up my skin, made me miserable and my skin looked worse than ever, my Mom and I decided it was time to cave in to the ProActiv infomercial. I was a soon to be sophomore in high school by this time. I used it religiously and my skin looked amazing. It was a miracle! I continued using it through high school and then into college. Of course, as a broke college student that $40/mo wasn't doable so my run with ProActiv ended. It was at this time that I found Nutrogena which worked great and was more affordable. However, after awhile it stopped working and I returned to ProActiv after graduating and getting a "real job". Once again, I was clear and confident.
Fast forward 3 years to the year I got married. I'd been using ProActiv for 3 years and I noticed I had added an additional 2 products to my skin care routine, a mask and a moisturizer. I was using 5 different bottles of stuff on my face every single day. I was pretty clear but it was a lot to keep up with and it got me thinking.
When I got pregnant with Ally my skin freaked out with the hormones and the chemicals in my skin care routine were not safe for pregnancy (benxzoyle peroxide, salycilic acid, sulur). They had been known to cause early contractions which can in turn result in miscarriage. I found one over the counter cleanser that was free of all those chemicals to use while I hunted for a more permanent answer.
I'd gotten close to several mamas during pregnancy that used something called the Oil Cleanse Method (OCM) and it sounded ridiculous but they swore by it and I figured it couldn't make things worse, and I was out of options. I researched it and the metod behind the madness made sense.
The website I used for my information and routing: The Oil Cleansing Method
The basics. When you cleanse/wash your face, the idea is to remove dirty oils. Doing this with traditional cleansers strips the bad oils as well as the good oils from your skin which in turn causes dryness and then your body creates additional oil to compensate. Breakout. With the OCM you're essentially replacing the dirty oils with clean, nourishing ones so your skin remains in balance.
This is done using 2 oils: one carrier oil and one cleansing oil. You can use any food grade oil, preferrably organic cold pressed. Extra virgin olive oil and sunflower seed oil are common ones. I chose sunflower seed oil because I prefer the smell. That is your carrier oil...the oil that delivers the cleansing oil and acts as a moisurizer. The cleansing oil is always castor oil. It cleans but can also be very drying so it's used in a very small amount. For acne prone skin, an 80/20 split of carrier/cleanser works well. Dry or aging skin tends to prefer closer to 90/10. It's not an exact science, just trial and error. If your skin feels tight after washing then you know you've used too much castor oil; greasy and it's too much carrier oil. The beauty of using this system is you only need this one product. You can also use just a small drop as an additional moisurizer following cleansing if you need it.
My personal routine is a little more simple than what I read about. I just wet my face with water hot enough to open the poors, massage the oil blend into my face, and gently wipe off with hot washcloth, pat dry. Do not scrub. The heat from the water melts the oil off and leaves my skin naturally moisturized. I also have added a few drops of tea tree oil to my little bottle of oil cleanser. It's a natural anti-bacterial and a great addition for those with acne.
That's pretty much it. I've been using this for 3 years now and haven't had a breakout since!
Sorry for the boring format of today's post with no pictures. If you've made it this far you deserve a cute consolation picture so here you go:
Apparently Mommy's workout today was incredibly boring...
I'm going to jump right in to one of the "crazier" crunchy things I do. My hope is for one of two things: you either understand the idea better and think maybe I'm not that crazy (I know I'm not completely sane, I have 2 children) OR you're intrigued and want to give it a go for yourself.
Simply put, I wash my face with oil. Yes, I said oil. I've gotten rid of ALL of my other skin care items, thus saving me major bucks and I'm no longer putting things on my skin that are potentially harmful or I can't pronounce. I've estimated it costs me maybe $50/year vs. $50/month like it used to.
Let me start at the beginning. I have always battled with my skin care. As a 3rd grader I started seeing a dermatologist. I started wearing makeup in the 5th grade to hide the embarassment that was my face. I tried every medication that was offered and experimented with all the usual suspects from the store.
After all that stuff ripped up my skin, made me miserable and my skin looked worse than ever, my Mom and I decided it was time to cave in to the ProActiv infomercial. I was a soon to be sophomore in high school by this time. I used it religiously and my skin looked amazing. It was a miracle! I continued using it through high school and then into college. Of course, as a broke college student that $40/mo wasn't doable so my run with ProActiv ended. It was at this time that I found Nutrogena which worked great and was more affordable. However, after awhile it stopped working and I returned to ProActiv after graduating and getting a "real job". Once again, I was clear and confident.
Fast forward 3 years to the year I got married. I'd been using ProActiv for 3 years and I noticed I had added an additional 2 products to my skin care routine, a mask and a moisturizer. I was using 5 different bottles of stuff on my face every single day. I was pretty clear but it was a lot to keep up with and it got me thinking.
When I got pregnant with Ally my skin freaked out with the hormones and the chemicals in my skin care routine were not safe for pregnancy (benxzoyle peroxide, salycilic acid, sulur). They had been known to cause early contractions which can in turn result in miscarriage. I found one over the counter cleanser that was free of all those chemicals to use while I hunted for a more permanent answer.
I'd gotten close to several mamas during pregnancy that used something called the Oil Cleanse Method (OCM) and it sounded ridiculous but they swore by it and I figured it couldn't make things worse, and I was out of options. I researched it and the metod behind the madness made sense.
The website I used for my information and routing: The Oil Cleansing Method
The basics. When you cleanse/wash your face, the idea is to remove dirty oils. Doing this with traditional cleansers strips the bad oils as well as the good oils from your skin which in turn causes dryness and then your body creates additional oil to compensate. Breakout. With the OCM you're essentially replacing the dirty oils with clean, nourishing ones so your skin remains in balance.
This is done using 2 oils: one carrier oil and one cleansing oil. You can use any food grade oil, preferrably organic cold pressed. Extra virgin olive oil and sunflower seed oil are common ones. I chose sunflower seed oil because I prefer the smell. That is your carrier oil...the oil that delivers the cleansing oil and acts as a moisurizer. The cleansing oil is always castor oil. It cleans but can also be very drying so it's used in a very small amount. For acne prone skin, an 80/20 split of carrier/cleanser works well. Dry or aging skin tends to prefer closer to 90/10. It's not an exact science, just trial and error. If your skin feels tight after washing then you know you've used too much castor oil; greasy and it's too much carrier oil. The beauty of using this system is you only need this one product. You can also use just a small drop as an additional moisurizer following cleansing if you need it.
My personal routine is a little more simple than what I read about. I just wet my face with water hot enough to open the poors, massage the oil blend into my face, and gently wipe off with hot washcloth, pat dry. Do not scrub. The heat from the water melts the oil off and leaves my skin naturally moisturized. I also have added a few drops of tea tree oil to my little bottle of oil cleanser. It's a natural anti-bacterial and a great addition for those with acne.
That's pretty much it. I've been using this for 3 years now and haven't had a breakout since!
Sorry for the boring format of today's post with no pictures. If you've made it this far you deserve a cute consolation picture so here you go:
Apparently Mommy's workout today was incredibly boring...
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
One Hot Mama...Almost
I get a lot of questions from friends and family about my workout habits and routines so I thought I'd share my current endeavor.
It has always been a goal of mine to see my body in a very specific form, to the point that I considered doing fitness show competitions. I want to be somewhere in the 17-19% body fat range, a maximum of 115lbs, and have a 24" waist with the body fat being the most important piece (since it tells the most about one's level of fitness and composition). I came pretty close the year Ryan and I got married. I hit the 115lb mark and had the 24" waist but I was still about 21% body fat. I looked good. Sorry if that's conceited. I was proud of the way I looked because I'd worked to achieve it.
I don't naturally stay fit, I work for it just like everyone else. I gain weight when I have babies or hold processed eating habits, and have flab to lose just like the next mama. I do drop weight pretty quickly after my babies but only because I put forth extreme effort to do so along with staying active (almost to a fault) through my pregnancy. I did a high impact aerobics class the night before Ally was born and did kickboxing just days before Jace's birth. Anyway, I digress. Back to my fitness goals and journey to them.
I recently decided I was going to invest in an at-home DVD program I'd had my eye on for quite a while, Cathe Friedrich's STS (Shock Training System). She's my favorite fitness guru and pretty much embodies everything I want my body to be. Her workouts I already own are tough so I knew I wouldn't be wasting my $200. The program is 3, four week sessions or mesocycles as Cathe calls them. Each mesocycle has a different focus but all are based on using heavy weights, 60-90% of your 1 rep max (how much weight you can lift if you only do 1 repetition of any given exercise). The first cycle stresses endurance, second is hypertrophy, and third is strength. You do a different DVD every single workout which I LOVE. Yes, there are 41 DVD's to this system. I get bored so easily and boredom keeps your body from changing because it knows what's coming next. It's all about shocking the muscles, hence Shock Training System. www.cathe.com/sts for a full explanation and pics of my fave fitness female.
I started by taking circumference measurements and skin fold measurements with calipers as well as taking a before picture. I wanted to document the change with each mesocycle so I could see for myself since I am my own toughest critic. I found I had about 3" to lose in my waist and 8-10% body fat. I started at 121 lbs with a goal of 115. Here's my "Before" picture (please forgive my self-picture taking and crappy lighting):
The means to my goal were/are:
STS Mesocycle workouts on Mon, Wed, Fri
Cardio of various forms (kickboxing, step, hi-lo, boot camp, HiiT) on Tues, Thurs, Sat
STS Ab Circuits daily (7 different core workouts that are part of the STS program)
Continue my fairly clean eating habits (with the exception of my homemade raw milk ice cream and Friday night dinner/cocktails date with my Honey, yum)
I chose to workout everyday to really shock my body and get the most out of the system since I wasn't about to give all that effort and not see maximum results! As a side note, it takes 21 days to develop a new habit.
I started my workouts on January 31 and completed the first mesocycle on February 27. I then took a one week active rest as directed by the program. This week included teaching my normal Baby Boot Camp stroller fitness classes and of course the perpetual motion of a mother.
These workouts took me to new levels of the word challenged. I could barely carry my empty water cup up the stairs after the first workout! "Something tells me I'm into something good!" -Herman's Hermits.
So I worked through each of those first 12 workouts one at a time and felt accomplished each time and most certainly cursed at the TV during each one. What I loved was that even Cathe the Fit visibly struggled using her chosen weights. She and her crew weren't all grins and happy, perky, non-sweaty models. I felt an extreme sense of accomplishment when I finished the final workout, I actually mustered enough energy to jump up and down; it had been a leg workout day.
I took a new set of measurements on March 7 when I started mesocycle #2. Much to my surprise I'd lost 3lbs, 7.5" total body (2.5" in my waist measurements alone), and exactly 4% body fat! The first 4 weeks had gotten me halfway to my goal! This makes me really anxious and excited to see what the next 2 mesocycles will bring. Here's my first "After" picture:
I'll update after the completion of the second mesocycle with new progress and pics!
Happy Fitness!
It has always been a goal of mine to see my body in a very specific form, to the point that I considered doing fitness show competitions. I want to be somewhere in the 17-19% body fat range, a maximum of 115lbs, and have a 24" waist with the body fat being the most important piece (since it tells the most about one's level of fitness and composition). I came pretty close the year Ryan and I got married. I hit the 115lb mark and had the 24" waist but I was still about 21% body fat. I looked good. Sorry if that's conceited. I was proud of the way I looked because I'd worked to achieve it.
I don't naturally stay fit, I work for it just like everyone else. I gain weight when I have babies or hold processed eating habits, and have flab to lose just like the next mama. I do drop weight pretty quickly after my babies but only because I put forth extreme effort to do so along with staying active (almost to a fault) through my pregnancy. I did a high impact aerobics class the night before Ally was born and did kickboxing just days before Jace's birth. Anyway, I digress. Back to my fitness goals and journey to them.
I recently decided I was going to invest in an at-home DVD program I'd had my eye on for quite a while, Cathe Friedrich's STS (Shock Training System). She's my favorite fitness guru and pretty much embodies everything I want my body to be. Her workouts I already own are tough so I knew I wouldn't be wasting my $200. The program is 3, four week sessions or mesocycles as Cathe calls them. Each mesocycle has a different focus but all are based on using heavy weights, 60-90% of your 1 rep max (how much weight you can lift if you only do 1 repetition of any given exercise). The first cycle stresses endurance, second is hypertrophy, and third is strength. You do a different DVD every single workout which I LOVE. Yes, there are 41 DVD's to this system. I get bored so easily and boredom keeps your body from changing because it knows what's coming next. It's all about shocking the muscles, hence Shock Training System. www.cathe.com/sts for a full explanation and pics of my fave fitness female.
I started by taking circumference measurements and skin fold measurements with calipers as well as taking a before picture. I wanted to document the change with each mesocycle so I could see for myself since I am my own toughest critic. I found I had about 3" to lose in my waist and 8-10% body fat. I started at 121 lbs with a goal of 115. Here's my "Before" picture (please forgive my self-picture taking and crappy lighting):
The means to my goal were/are:
STS Mesocycle workouts on Mon, Wed, Fri
Cardio of various forms (kickboxing, step, hi-lo, boot camp, HiiT) on Tues, Thurs, Sat
STS Ab Circuits daily (7 different core workouts that are part of the STS program)
Continue my fairly clean eating habits (with the exception of my homemade raw milk ice cream and Friday night dinner/cocktails date with my Honey, yum)
I chose to workout everyday to really shock my body and get the most out of the system since I wasn't about to give all that effort and not see maximum results! As a side note, it takes 21 days to develop a new habit.
I started my workouts on January 31 and completed the first mesocycle on February 27. I then took a one week active rest as directed by the program. This week included teaching my normal Baby Boot Camp stroller fitness classes and of course the perpetual motion of a mother.
These workouts took me to new levels of the word challenged. I could barely carry my empty water cup up the stairs after the first workout! "Something tells me I'm into something good!" -Herman's Hermits.
So I worked through each of those first 12 workouts one at a time and felt accomplished each time and most certainly cursed at the TV during each one. What I loved was that even Cathe the Fit visibly struggled using her chosen weights. She and her crew weren't all grins and happy, perky, non-sweaty models. I felt an extreme sense of accomplishment when I finished the final workout, I actually mustered enough energy to jump up and down; it had been a leg workout day.
I took a new set of measurements on March 7 when I started mesocycle #2. Much to my surprise I'd lost 3lbs, 7.5" total body (2.5" in my waist measurements alone), and exactly 4% body fat! The first 4 weeks had gotten me halfway to my goal! This makes me really anxious and excited to see what the next 2 mesocycles will bring. Here's my first "After" picture:
I'll update after the completion of the second mesocycle with new progress and pics!
Happy Fitness!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Randomness
You'll find I'm a bit random in my thoughts and I jump around a lot (literally and figuratively). I just can't do any one thing for very long and that often times includes completing a thought or expressing an idea. I'm also not a talented writer or a master of words so forgive me if all of the wit in my posts comes from the things my 2 year old says.
A little about me and my life. I'm Tara, a stay at home mom of two amazing children. I have Alexandra Rae (Ally) who is 2 1/2 and Jace Matthew who is almost 6 months. They both are a blast (read: challenge) and I learn something from them everyday, typically about how to better myself as a person and a peaceful parent.
My partner in crime is Ryan and we've been laughing, loving, and living as one since October 7, 2006. He inspires me daily and keeps me grounded. We try to live the idea that marriage is working as a team, and support and kindness go a long way in growing and sustaining love.
Before becoming a mom I was a fitness professional doing in home personal training and teaching 15-20 group exercise classes a week including step aerobics, weight training, bootcamp, kickboxing, stability ball, and traditional hi-lo (old school floor aerobics). My bachelors is in Sports Medicine and I've done a lot of coaching in gymnastics and cheerleading over the last 10 years. I currently use my knowledge to keep myself healthy and I lead a couple of stroller-based fitness classes each week, but will most definitely return to the world of teaching and coaching when my daytime hours free up with kiddos in school.
My guess is, this blog will be pretty eclectic with topics ranging from my current cross stitching project and my obsession with fitness to homebirth, breastfeeding, and pretty much anything "crunchy" or holistic/natural/alternative. I'll try to spend more time approaching the controversial topics from a place of education and less time on my soapbox, though I'm sure there will be some of that too because if you have no passion for the things you practice, then why bother?
Now, where to start?
A little about me and my life. I'm Tara, a stay at home mom of two amazing children. I have Alexandra Rae (Ally) who is 2 1/2 and Jace Matthew who is almost 6 months. They both are a blast (read: challenge) and I learn something from them everyday, typically about how to better myself as a person and a peaceful parent.
My partner in crime is Ryan and we've been laughing, loving, and living as one since October 7, 2006. He inspires me daily and keeps me grounded. We try to live the idea that marriage is working as a team, and support and kindness go a long way in growing and sustaining love.
Before becoming a mom I was a fitness professional doing in home personal training and teaching 15-20 group exercise classes a week including step aerobics, weight training, bootcamp, kickboxing, stability ball, and traditional hi-lo (old school floor aerobics). My bachelors is in Sports Medicine and I've done a lot of coaching in gymnastics and cheerleading over the last 10 years. I currently use my knowledge to keep myself healthy and I lead a couple of stroller-based fitness classes each week, but will most definitely return to the world of teaching and coaching when my daytime hours free up with kiddos in school.
My guess is, this blog will be pretty eclectic with topics ranging from my current cross stitching project and my obsession with fitness to homebirth, breastfeeding, and pretty much anything "crunchy" or holistic/natural/alternative. I'll try to spend more time approaching the controversial topics from a place of education and less time on my soapbox, though I'm sure there will be some of that too because if you have no passion for the things you practice, then why bother?
Now, where to start?
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