Birthday Wish List: Fit February Style!

My 29th birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and while I will not be at my goal weight as I was hoping here, I am definitely on my way!  With this new attitude to kick butt and take names, I was thinking of all the fun stuff that I would like to have for birthday.

A Bondi Band, preferably this one.  This is meant to keep the sweat off your face.  There have been times during yoga where sweat has been dripping down my nose....real attractive.  I love the colors and the print and $8, you can't beat it.

Fabulous, no?

Either an iPod shuffle or an arm band that will fit my iPhone 5.  I would just clip the shuffle to my shirt/strap and only download workout music on it.  I have taken my phone and headphones to the Y when running on the treadmill there, but the earphone cord is not long enough to reach if I set my phone on the treadmill ledge.  I like the earphones I have because they have a clip to wrap around my ear and stay in place.  This will also help when I start running outside.  We all know music helps get the body pumped!

Love the blue!

This one is awesome because it fits the phone WITH the Otterbox on it.

Moving Comfort Juno Sports Bra.  I have heard this bra is amazing and helps keeps the girls in place.  I am a bit heavy chested so anything to help would be nice.  My girls Mamalaughlin and SkinnyMeg swear by 'em.

Any color would be awesome.

A Polar Heart Rate Monitor watch or Garmin Forerunner 110.  The Polar only measures your heart rate and calories burned, whereas the Garmin does that and tracks running distance and average pace per mile.  It has been frustrating to try and enter calories on MyFitnessPal (username:Farfignoogan) when I do classes like BodyFlow and Zumba.  Even the treadmill calculations are different at the Y and at home.  I would like to be more specific, so I can maximize my weight loss opportunity!  The Garmin is a little more pricey, but I am hoping to step off the treadmill and get outside once the weather warms up and my body gets back its running groove.  Once I gain more confidence in my endurance, I may even look into 10Ks and Half Marathons around here.  WATCH OUT!

Love these colors!


Running Gear.  Old Navy has really cute workout tops and pants, I have heard Lululemon is amazing and would love to own their products, and a new shop that is pretty sweet is Ruffles with Love on etsy.  They sell super cute tanks with funny/encouraging sayings on the front.  Here are some examples of the ones I like:

                                     

 

This one would be perfect if I decided to do a half!

 

HOW CUTE IS THIS FOR WHEN MAMA HAS HER PREGGER BELLY?!!

So....that's it!  Fun workout gear!  I am hoping to post Brody's 18 month update this weekend!  Stay tuned!

Fit February: Some awesome workout apps and my workout schedule

Hey y'all!  So, a couple days ago, I suggested the My Fitness Pal app which is amazing at tracking your calories and diet.  Let's get movin' and groovin' now, shall we?

I'm talking about exercise, baby.  Gettin' yer workout on.  Along with being more conscious of what I eat, I have been sweatin' it up and feeling fabulous.  Really, it's amazing how that spike in endorphins can just make you feel skinny.  Before I share two apps that I love using, I thought I would share the workout schedule I am following right now.

Starting with Monday:  Rest Day.  Sorry to start it off so boring, but really it's the only day that I do absolutely nothing so my muscles can relax a bit.  And it's a Monday.  I always have a case of the Mondays.

Tuesday:  Body Flow at the Y during the day.  I am lucky that I can be flexible while babysitting my niece and taking care of my son and hit the gym for an hour during the day.  If you have never heard of Body Flow, it is a Les Mills class that is like very intense yoga.  When I was much thinner, I went to these classes on the reg and totally saw my body change because of it.  I even took an instructor training class, but decided not to work at the Y since I was starting my student teaching.
So far, I have been going to Zumba at a church on Tues. nights as well.  This will change soon though, because my sister-in-law is starting up a weekly bible study that night.  I might have to add cardio at home on the treadmill.

Wednesday:  Zumba at the Y first thing in the morning and then Body Flow right after 'work.'

Thursday: Same as Tuesday.  Body Flow and Zumba.

Friday:  I take it a little easy on the weekends and have started the Couch to 5K app (which I will talk about in a second :) ).  This is just a 30 minute walk/run (for now) on the treadmill.

Saturday:  So far, I have only been running on the treadmill using the app, but I noticed that the Y has a Vinyasa Yoga class at 9 on Saturday mornings and then a step aerobics class after.  I may try to add those lovelies in this weekend to see how I feel.

Sunday:  C25K app on the treadmill.

AND THIS IS WHY I REST ON MONDAY! :)  haha

So let's talk about this app.  It's awesome.  It's FREE.  and it's so so easy to use.

After you download it, you'll notice that it's a 3 day a week program.  That is actually nice because if you are struggling with it, you can always continue it throughout the week until it is easier for you to get through it.  So far, it has been okay for me.  It transitions nicely.  I LOVE that the screen has the countdown to your next run/walk, and it even has a *beep* and then a voice letting you know to 'begin jogging/walking now,' 'halfway through,' etc.  So, if you were running outside and had your phone strapped around your arm or waist, you would still be cued through your earphones.

 Need some motivation while you're jiggling all over the place?  The Songza app is for you!  Another free one!  This app is so cool.  It recognizes the time of day and day of the week, so on the 'home page' it gives you a few playlist suggestions, such as 'Entertaining Cool Friends' (Friday night), 'Waking Up Happy' (Wednesday morning), or 'Working Out' (Thursday afternoon).  It even has 'Lauren Conrad's Workout Playlist' under 'Popular.'   The really cool thing is that you can still listen to the Songza playlist with your C25K app open, AND the song will quiet so you can still hear the 'beep' and notification to walk or run.  Pretty darn cool.



SO there's that!  Run your buns off!  While listening to fantastic hits like WHOOMP, THERE IT IS!

Fit February: A Tasty 200 calorie snack/breakfast

Hey guys!  Been workin' your buns off?  I have!  Been trackin' your calories on My Fitness Pal?  I have!  Since mid January I have lost about 4 pounds!  woop woop!  I was just trying out a couple different snack foods that could carry me over to my next meal, and I thought that this one was delicious!  The main ingredient is low fat cottage cheese.  Now, I know a lot y'all just said BLECH!  SO, you could replace the cottage cheese with some greek yogurt, but I am not sure of the calorie difference.  Here are the ingredients:

1/2 cup of Low Fat Cottage Cheese

*I chose low fat instead of fat free because you lose all the flavor with FF


1/2 cup cut up strawberries

1/2 cup blueberries




1/4 cup Fiber One cereal (aka rabbit food)



1 Tablespoon of Agave Nectar (aka a quick squirt)





Satisfies the four major food groups:  Crunchy, creamy, tangy, sweet.    Go try it!

I've got another app that is super duper awesome for you tomorrow!  (.....or Thursday)

Fit February

Hey there my blogging amigos!  I have deemed this month.........

Fit February

I have GOT to get in control of this beast!  And by this beast, I mean my body.  I have posted in the past about my time with Weight Watchers and weight loss, but I fell off that wagon after a couple months and during a very busy time (1st birthday season).  

It was when I stepped on the scale and my weight went into the next decade, I knew I had to stop it before it got worse.  

It really started mid-January when I started to run on the treadmill again, got motivated by some fun weight loss blogs, and was graciously given a Y membership.  

So, I am hoping to be more present this month with weight loss updates, foods I am eating, inspiring quotes, cool apps, and great workouts.  I took measurements of different parts of my body and hope to see a decrease in numbers.  (Don't worry--you'll still see cute pictures of my baby boy.  He'll be 18 months on the 10th!)  

I will start you off with an app that I am sure you have heard of, but might now how just how great it is.

My Fitness Pal

source

It is a free app for you to download that will keep a daily food and exercise calorie count.  When you sign up, you enter your current weight and activity information and then input your goal weight.  It will give you a 'budget' of calories for the day and then as you eat and exercise, you track it on your app.  It has SO many different restaurants and products already in the system that you can search for, AND there is even a barcode scanner.  I have had even the most random off brand products display full nutritional info.  When you exercise, it will 'credit' calories back to you and at the end of the day, will tell you 'If you continue to eat like this, you will weigh ___ in 5 weeks.'  That will definitely keep you motivated!  It is available on a bunch of different devices and you can even connect with friends for encouragement and accountability.  My user name is farfignoogan.  I was tired of typing in usernames that were already taken. :)   Here is a super quick review of the app from Redbook magazine online.

I just noticed that they have an online program that does the same thing.  Check it out.

Sign up and get fit with me!