Relieving Stress Is Just A Gym Away

Relieving Stress...

Three final exams in 24 hours is not fun. Especially when it isn't even during Finals Week. Neither is needing to pack and clean your apartment all at the same time. Oh well! I'm back and done with all that chaos!

I noticed a new crowd at the gym today and it made me realize what my blog topic should be. 

    ...Is Just A Gym Away

In high school I did a DECA project with Danielle M. and Sarah N. where we changed the marketing plan for Sport & Health during the recession. Through our research we found that most people go to the gym to relieve stress, not to look good (even though, that was the second highest reason for going). 

Cool huh? Exercising pumps up your endorphin, improves your mood, and allows your mind to focus on a single task which results in energy and optimism (thank you, Mayoclinic). So, if you're studying for finals, going crazy cleaning your messy apartments, or even just stressing about life, get off your bum and go walk around the track or on a treadmill, lift some weights, Youtube some Dance Central or Zumba moves, do some yoga, play a game of.. anything!  They will help so much. I always run when I'm stressed and it seriously makes the biggest impact!

                      

                              Click for exercises

Click for yoga poses

Healthy Meals with "Power Foods"

Here are some foods you can snack on while you study to help you relive your stress!

We cooked all of these a few weeks ago and LOVED them!! You can use the same ingredients for quite a few of the meals. 

These Chicken and Avocado burritos were so good! Did you know avocados are a great stress relief food? Very high in vitamin B! I forgot to buy cilantro, so we used spinach and pesto (to add some flavor) instead. We also used whole wheat flat breads and made them in our panini maker. They were awesome, light, and filling. 

We used the same whole wheat flat breads for this meal too. It had all the great flavors of a juicy hamburger, but was less calories, and I didn't feel guilty eating it! These two meals were pretty quick and easy to make. Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps.

This spinach (which is another stress relief food) and tomato pasta tastes better than it looks. We used whole wheat noodles, used fresh spinach instead of frozen, and cut down the amount of cream cheese. It was delicious. I would make it tonight for dinner if we weren't cleaning and packing tonight! So good!!! 

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Pass the Weight-loss and Workout Plateau

   HAPPY NATIONAL SIBLINGS DAY

My big brother as a little boy

What a week. I admit, I cheated a bit. Our car broke down, so I spent a few days driving all over northern Utah to get it fixed. We ate out and I ate desserts because that's what you're supposed to do when you're stressed, right? After all, desserts spelled backwards is stressed. Just makes sense. JK we all know that's NOT what you're supposed to do. But, a big thanks to my big brother for taking his Thursday night and full day Friday to help me fix my car. He rocks. And because it is National Sibling Day, I will tell you about him and how awesome he is! Blows my mind he's still single. He's the greatest. He plays rugby for USU and is going to grad school this summer for accounting. He's been my best friend forever. Here he is... Let me know if you want to be hooked up with him ;) Thank goodness he doesn't read my blog posts! At least that I know of...

Little Lyssa :)

Why stop with my brother?! My sister's cute too, huh? She's the little one in the back. If you can't tell, the major winks are apparently a family thing we like to do? Boys, if there are any that read, she's
single too. Darn best sister ever. She keeps the peace in our house and is going to school to teach special ed, or something like unto it. She's funny, smart, and loves... puppies? I don't know, that's all that's coming to my mind. Rock on.



Enough of me trying to brag about my siblings. There's a real issue I'm writing about today...
Weight-loss and Workout Plateaus. They're the worst, right? We've all seen it at some point. You see awesome results from a diet or more exercise that you're doing, then, all of a sudden, it just stops. You're not alone. Here's why you see this sudden stop in progress and a few quick fixes to try.

WHY DOES IT HAPPEN:  

I feel like we can all agree that Jillian Michaels has a good grasp on what she's doing. From her workout videos to Biggest Loser, she's got the whole diet and fitness thing in control. She explains that when we diet and exercises we decrease calories and increase exercise (duh). Our body tries to conserve those calories for the energy it needs resulting in our metabolism slowing down. BUT she believes plateaus are a myth. Say you cut out soda or candy, whatever it may be, your body will eventually get used to not having it. "Focus on what really matters", she says, "how many calories your consuming and how many you're burning."

HOW TO MOVE PAST IT: Keep your body guessing. The best thing you can do to move past it is increase your calories for a two-three days. (Sounds weird, right?) Anywhere between 1,800 and 2,400 calories. Of course it should not all be candy and cake and sugar. But, cheat days ARE GOOD. Don't feel bad about cheating on your diet, but when your cheat day(s) is/are over, count your calories. Don't loosen up the rules just because you liked the taste of your dessert yesterday. You'll have another cheat day before you know it.  Be strict again, but don't go under 1,200 calories.
Shocking your body is what it needs to get out of that plateau. 

Changing up your exercises is a great idea too. If you run every day and use the same three machines to work out certain body parts, change it up. Try a "Pintrest exercise" with moves you've never tried before, pull up Zumba videos on youtube and dance, try out the machine you've always wanted to (can be a great excuse to talk to the cute girl/guy you've been wanting to!), what ever you do, don't do what you normally do :). Here are a few "Pinterest exercises" I've been trying. I throw on my Spice Girls Pandora station and make my workouts fun! The workouts are tough, which is good, because when they get easy you need to change them!

Click for Workout

Click for Workout

Click for Workout

Interview with Janie

Everyone, meet Janie. I met her my freshman year at Utah State University. She's seriously the nicest person I've ever met. I loved living close to her! Janie is from Farmington, UT. She's an FCHD major and wants to be a high school counselor when she graduates. Her favorite healthy meal is a Subway sandwich loaded with veggies, and her guilty pleasure is Cadbury eggs (isn't everyone's?!) A fun fact about Janie is that she's a sucker for boy bands. N Sync, Backstreet boys, Jonas Brothers "love 'em all."

Janie shared with me her experience, struggles, and dieting secrets along her journey to success. Take a look!

When did you start your diet transformation and what was your "breaking point" that caused you to start?

In August Janie had lost 50 pounds!

I have always been overweight, even as a small child. Growing up I tried all kinds of diets. I did weight watchers several times and was successful, however the weight alway seemed to come back. High school is when I realized just how bad it was. I remember looking at my senior picture and thinking, "is this how I want to live my life?" I lost a little bit of weight that year, but after my freshman year of college, I had gained it all back and then some. I was mortified. I hated myself and the way I looked. That is really when I started. I signed up for a half marathon and began training for that. I cut down my portion sizes and cut out treats and fast food. I worked hard, and by the time I completed my first half marathon, I was down thirty pounds. That was about a year ago, and since then I have lost about 25 more through constant exercise and mindful eating. I still have about 50 more pounds to lose, but I'm so much happier with myself. I am confident in myself and have learned to accept my body. It has been the HARDEST journey of my life, but the most rewarding and life changing. And I am running my second half marathon in about a month!

Wow, thank you for sharing, Janie! And good job on another half marathon! I don't know how you do it!! Do you know why you seemed to put the weight back on?

Yes! Definitely. I would be super strict for a while, but as time went on, I would be more lax, and eventually just stop [dieting] all together.

At her heaviest, she was a size 19/20.
Here she is in single digits in March.

As you've watched yourself go through this transformation, what have you learned? about yourself? About dieting? What products work/don't? 

I have learned so much about myself. I have learned to love myself, to have confidence in my own abilities. I learned to be patient and to not expect immediate results. I have learned that it's ok to make mistakes, and it's not the end of the world if I don't eat perfectly that day, or if I don't exercise six times a week. I have learned that's it's about balance!

Very true. And you're still working on reaching your goals, right? Do you have any advice for those who are working hard to healthier and are learning to love their body?

Yes! Still working on many goals . My advice is to never give up. If you screw up, try again tomorrow! Start recognizing the small changes in your body. You won't have a six pack overnight, but the small changes you see, be proud of! Be proud of your body and be proud of your courage to become healthier and happier. It's YOUR body, so love it.

Is there anything else you'd like to share? Experiences, tips, do's and dont's, etc.

Tips that have worked for me: not eating after 9, drinking 64 ounces of water. (This was tricky for me at first, so I used propel packets and dumped them in my water. Made it easier to drink!) not bringing money to campus. (So I couldn't buy fast food/vending machine items. I also LOVE the light progressive soups. You can eat the whole can and not feel guilty! 

WAY TO GO JANIE!!!!! 

How I Lost Two Inches in One Week

Guess who lost two inches and three pounds in just one week?! This girl!!

My stomach feels smaller, I eat less and the healthy foods help me feel great. Through the day I always eat about 1,100 calories and I notice a huge difference. I also have been able to enjoy a treat or two each week and still have noticeable changes.

Sorry it took so long to post. Three tests in two days that all count for half of my grade in the courses. Not a fun weekend!

I'm not going to spell out every meal I ate, but I'll add the good dinner recipes we had and exercises because I found some awesome ones!!

Recipes: 

It was a long week, and I wanted to mix things up a little bit. Here's a great copycat recipe for Cafe Rio that we love. I didn't add rice, dressing, or guacamole to keep calories down. Great meal!

Kraft's Fresh Takes are so great. There are so many flavors and you can change up your boring dinners. We love them! Here are the different kinds and recommended recipes. 

Workouts: 

First, a workout tip. My husband introduced me to these, and it's a great little energy boost before a workout. It gets your heart pumping a little more and helps you burn more calories. It's great :). 

Leg Workout

Seriously, this one is a killer. I've done it three times and my legs feel like they're going to fall off. My cellulite has noticeably gone down and my legs and butt look and feel great! Give it a try! I split up the big sets into a few separate parts (100 squats= 4 sets of 25 etc.) Let me know what you think.

Love Bob Harper's circuit workout. Swings are one of my favorites. When you use weight that's a little heavier, you can feel it all through your back, arms, legs, everywhere.