Workout For A Happier You + prAna 30 Days of Yoga Challenge

Good Friday Morning!  I actually woke up early and did a 45 minute walk on the treadmill today, something I haven't done in a while.  I love the way I feel after a morning walk, it gets me moving and puts me in a good mood for the day.  I didn't get my workout in on Tuesday or Wednesday this week and I felt the difference on those days.  I am more tired and I am definitely more cranky!  My usual workout time is about an hour or so after breakfast, which works out perfectly for me.  Then post-workout I have my shake, take a shower which leaves the rest of my day for chores, errands and having play time with my little one.  It also sets the tone for my day.  I really am much happier on the days that I workout...thanks to those happy little endorphins that are released during exercise.  Since it is winter here and really hard to get outside for a long periods of time, getting a workout in is the best mood booster.  I am going to try and incorporate more yoga into my weekly workouts too.  I used to go once a week to a studio and I love how practicing makes me feel.  I have a few yoga DVD's that I love.  I am going to try and get up at least once a week and get it in first thing.  Do you love the way you feel after a good sweat session? 

On Monday prAna and Sweat Pink will kick off the 30 Days of Yoga Challenge. I am excited for this because yoga is something that I love, but don't always make the time for.  I need to get back to it so I can work on my flexibility, it will also allow me to add meditation back into my life!  I participated in the fun madlib...read along then feel free to make and share yours!  Stay tuned as you will see updates all month long about the 30 Days of Yoga Challenge, I hope you will join me! 

When I think about yoga, the first thought that comes to mind is_relaxation_. Yoga challenges(verb) me and makes me feel refreshed (noun).

That’s why I am SO thrilled (adjective) to participate in prAna’s Take The Leap 30 days of Yoga Challenge with Sweat Pink. I plan to Down Dog (yoga pose) my way to a more relaxed (adjective) and flexible (adjective) 2015!

For me, the biggest challenge when it comes to yoga is making the time for it. Taking the Leap with prAna and Sweat Pink is a great way for me to face/ conquer / achieve / find time for my happy place on the mat (same challenge / or be creative!).

My favorite place to yoga is home (noun) because it is so convenient (adj).

Here’s a photo of me in my very tree pose and best crow pose:

I tag Michele from A Pace of Balance, Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Upala from Pretty In Pink Fitness and Amber from Bold Fit Mom to join in! [tag 2-3 people]

I want these fabulous bloggers to share their very best yoga pose photos, this fun madlib and of course, I challenge them to join me on this fun 30 day yoga journey.

Come on y’all, Take the Leap with me!

Join prAna’s & Sweat Pink’s #TakeTheLeap 30 Days of Yoga Challenge and be eligible for a chance to win $500 worth of new prAna gear from their latest collection as well as gift an additional $500 worth of prAna gear to the person of their choice... because isn’t giving as important as receiving? They just launched their new Spring Collection so you best get on it!

If I win I would gift the $500 to my mom [insert name and blog URL (if applicable) because she deserves it!

Join the Take the Leap with prAna and Sweat Pink Facebook group / event which we’ll use for updates, sharing,and inspiration: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1525412337742204/

and event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/423377431152799

And join the challenge on Instagram, Twitter, and your blog using the hashtags:

#TakeTheLeap

#prana

#sweatpink

And of course, tag @prana @FitApproach

YOGA ON!

Want to play? Just copy/paste the above and fill in the blanks where I have bolded & underlined and make it your own. Or use this link for the template! 

Today I am linking up with Nicole at FitFul Focus for her Fit & Fashionable Link up and Jen from Pretty Little Grub for her FYI Friday Link up.  Head over and check them out, if you blog be sure to link up! 

You can still link up to our Wild Workout Wednesday post here.

I hope that you have a wonderful Friday and weekend! 

Sweat Pink No Excuses Challenge Week 3 +Benefits Of Meditation

Happy Monday!  If you have been following along with the Sweat Pink No Excuses challenge this month you will know we are in week 3!  If not, that's cool too, you can hop in and join the fun this week.  I love all the challenges set for this week.  Today's was to stop, drop and breathe....take 5 minutes and meditate.  Seems simple enough so after my workout I grabbed my yoga mat and dimmed the lights.  Then I laid out my yoga mat and grabbed my little one and took 5 minutes to calm my mind and sit in still peacefulness.  It really was great to stop and quiet my mind even if it was just for 5 minutes.  In this day and age it is so easy to go, go, go and not really take the time to slow down.  I really enjoyed today's challenge and I think I will add it in daily post-workout.  Do you take the time to meditate?  Make sure to try it out today and post a pic to your fave social media site with the #SweatPink and #NoExcuses.

Here are all the challenges for the week so you can join in and share:
Monday 1/26- Stop drop and breathe...do a 5 minute meditation.
Tuesday 1/27- 90 Second wall sit
Wednesday 1/28- Jumping jacks during your favorite tv show
Thursday- 1/29- Grab a partner and sweat for at least 20 minutes
Friday- 1/30- #FreeFriday- do any activity that you love
Saturday 1/31- Share your favorite healthy eating cooking hack in the kitchen 

In keeping with today's challenge I wanted to share some of the benefits of meditation:
Physiological benefits:
1- It lowers oxygen consumption.
2- It decreases respiratory rate.
3- It increases blood flow and slows the heart rate.
4- Increases exercise tolerance.
5- Leads to a deeper level of physical relaxation.
6- Good for people with high blood pressure.
7- Reduces anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate.
8- Decreases muscle tension
9- Helps in chronic diseases like allergies, arthritis etc.
10- Reduces Pre-menstrual Syndrome symptoms.

Psychological benefits:
1- Builds self-confidence.
2- Increases serotonin level, influences mood and behaviour.
3- Resolve phobias & fears
4- Helps control own thoughts
5- Helps with focus & concentration
6- Increase creativity
7- Increased brain wave coherence.
8- Improved learning ability and memory.
9- Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation.
10- Increased emotional stability.

Spiritual benefits:
1- Helps keep things in perspective
2- Provides peace of mind, happiness
3- Helps you discover your purpose
4- Increased self-actualization.
5- Increased compassion
6- Growing wisdom
7- Deeper understanding of yourself and others
8- Brings body, mind, spirit in harmony
9- Deeper Level of spiritual relaxation
10- Increased acceptance of oneself
(Source)

I really want to make the time to meditate daily as the benefits are so great.  Do you think this is something you can incorporate into your day?  Let's sit in quiet peace and breathe in all the benefits of mediation and quieting the mind!

Today I am also linking up with Running Rachel and Fitness Cheerleader for #Motivate Me Monday!  It is always beneficial to start your week out with a workout game plan and a great workout!

Wild Workout Wednesday Week #2- Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Hi!  It is our second week of Wild Workout Wednesday!  Each week I will be linking up with Annmarie of The Fit Foodie Mama, Amber from Bold Fit Mom, and Upala from Pretty In Pink Fitness.  We will be bringing you lots of awesome workout motivation, recipes, new workouts to try and much more!  You can join in by reading along or link up with a healthy living or fitness post and snag our button to share on your post and site.  To check out all the "rules" of the link up you can visit my page with all the info.  I look forward to reading all the posts that are linked up today!

Grab your cup of coffee and join me for a little bit... Today I want to talk about something that I struggle with and have been working really hard to overcome.  The feeling of wanting results like yesterday!  In this fast paced world where you can get almost anything you want when you want it, it is hard to be patient.  I have shared with you my struggle with my past of restricting then binging.  I have been keeping a journal and really thinking about why this is something that I really struggled with.  It all comes down to wanting quick results.  Maybe you can relate...you have been off your routine of working out and eating healthy and are feeling pretty sluggish, so you decide to make a change.  You decide to get back to working out and cleaning up the foods you are eating.  This is was me.  I would hop back on the wagon and go full force.  Usually swearing off sugar, wine, cookies, cakes and anything that was what I considered "bad" for me.  I would look for a challenge to join, or a restriction diet to follow that promised quick results.  Believe me when I tell you I have tried it all...Weight Watchers, Jillian Michaels Body Revolution, Paleo, South Beach, The Eat Clean Diet...I could go on, but you get the idea.  What do all of these things have in common?  Restriction!  (Although I will say that Weight Watchers is great for allowing treats within your points, so not a total restriction program).  There is even a program I considered that consists of having 2 shakes a day as meals then one actual meal...like only eating real food once a day...no thanks!  But this was the mindset I was in.  What can I do for a short term fix that will get me results NOW?!?

Then one day something changed...I stopped and looked at what was the cause of all my ups and downs.  Why was I only able to stay on a "program" for so long before I gave up and started to binge eat on all the foods I had been avoiding?  I would see many success stories of people who had succeed on these programs and I started to wonder if the problem was me, my lack of commitment?  Then I realized that anytime I started something new and I would restrict foods I would immediately crave those foods.  For example when I started Paleo about 3 days in I was in the Panera drive thru getting a bagel...something I don't really eat or even crave for that matter, but because I "couldn't" have it I absolutely wanted it.  So I ate it, then I felt guilty about it.  This is not the way I want to live...in this pattern of restrict/binge with a side of guilt.  It was suddenly clear to me...the pattern was obvious and I made the decision to stop doing this to myself and my body time and time again.

I made the decision that I was going to commit a full year to getting myself where I wanted to be.  This doesn't just mean with my weight or body, but mostly with my mindset.  I decided that enough was enough and I didn't want to keep repeating the patterns that I had for most of my teen/adult life.  I talked with my friend Amanda from Balanced Brunette about tracking macros and reverse dieting.  She figured out my ratios for me and told me to eat whatever I wanted in those macros, and that includes brownies, wine, pizza, etc as long as they fit in my macros for the day.  This feeling was so freeing.  I had tried IIFYM in the past, but I don't think I was in the right mindset for it at the time.  Now for me it is not something that I am doing as a quick fix, it is something that I am doing to change my relationship with food.  Nothing is off limits...it's just fitting what I want into my day.  I am not worried about the number on the scale, I am not worried about losing x lbs in x weeks.  I am changing my life and my mindset.  I am deciding that I don't want to continue on the way I have been, and that it is time for something new.  A new way to view food and free myself from restrictions.

So far things are going really well. It has been about 3 weeks with tracking my macros and working out regularly and I feel like I am moving in the right direction.  Working out has never been an issue for me, I enjoy it and I love the way I feel when I am done with a great workout.  I am working on adding muscle right now and challenging myself with new workouts.  I eat to fuel my body.  I eat within my macros and I eat the treats when I want them.  I don't stress about not being 100% in my macros every singe day, but know that getting as close as I can is perfect.  I am a work in progress, it will take time to get to where I want to be without tracking macros and just being able to listen to my body and eat according to that.  For now though the tracking keeps me on the right path and moving toward reaching my goal.  I did mention that I will be doing reverse dieting when I get back from my trip to Florida in February and I will be sure to share that journey with you too.  I want to get my metabolism built back up so I can then drop calories to lose weight I won't have to cut my calories too low (which would result in the restrict/binge pattern all over again).

I am not stressing about quick results anymore.  I have learned that Slow and Steady Wins The Race.  I will get to where I want to be with my weight (don't really care what the number is, but I will know when I get there) and then maintain that weight for the rest of my life.  I do want to have another baby, so I know that by getting my metabolism up and getting myself to a healthy maintainable weight, when I get pregnant I won't gain the weight I did with my first one (60 lbs!! EEK!).  Things that are worth having take time.  The programs that promise quick results are the ones that are not going to be maintainable for the rest of your life...you are not going to be eating out of color coded boxes forever, or drinking 2 shakes a day for the rest of your life.  Think about what you want in the long run...a healthy relationship with food, a fit and healthy body and eating food according to your goals...plus leaving room for the treats you love.  Yup, this sounds exactly what I want for myself...you too! 

Don't forget to link up with us today for Wild Workout Wednesday.  Grab our cute little button and add your link!  We would love to have you!

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Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe

 Do you ever have too many bananas and they ripen too quickly before you can eat them all?  For some reason I always do!  I am like a banana hoarder, and I hate to run out of them since I use them daily in my post workout shake.  I had 2 really large very ripe bananas hanging out on my counter and a recipe that I had been wanting to try.  Last night my little one and I gathered all our ingredients, the food processor and some muffin tins.  It was the perfect cold and snowy night to bake.  These made a great snack for her, she has been picky with her eating some days and she also loved them with breakfast this morning...as did I!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 1/12 cups of Old Fashioned Oats
2 ripe bananas
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup honey
2 Tbsp ground flax seeds
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tins with foil liners.
• Place oats in food processor and pulse for 10 seconds or until oats are well chopped.  Then add all ingredients, except chocolate chips and walnuts, in processor until well blended.  Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts then divide among muffin tins, mine made 18 muffins.  
• Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpicks come out clean. 

Nutritional Facts (input in My Fitness Pal) Per muffin- Calories: 99, Fat: 1g, Carbs: 18.6, Protein: 2.8, Sugar: 8g, Fiber: 1g
*Store in an airtight container on the counter.  You can freeze and save for later as well.

I had 2 for breakfast with 2 scrambled eggs, 3 Applegate chicken & sage sausage links, and a cup of coffee.  I usually workout about an hour an a half after breakfast so this is a perfect pre-workout meal for me.  I love breakfast...I don't know how people can skip this meal!

Today is day 2 of the #SweatPink #NoExcuses Challenge.  I have had a few people ask for the daily challenges for this week.  The total challenge is 4 weeks long, so when I get next weeks on Sunday I will post the schedule so you can be prepared.  If you want to see what others are doing you can search the #sweatpink or #noexcuses on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.  Yesterday #noexcuses was trending on Facebook...awesome!  I saw a lot of plank pics, and I posted mine too!

Here is this weeks schedule of challenges:
Monday 1/12- Hold a 30 second plank (any variation)
Tuesday 1/13- Walk or Run 1 mile
Wednesday- 1/14- 10 Burpees
Thursday- 1/15- 20 squats (any variety)
Friday- 1/16- #FreeFriday, choose any activity and share
Saturday-1/17- Share a healthy snack or recipe

To get involved:
*Complete the daily challenge and take a pic (of you, your timer, treadmill, workout selfie) and post to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook (any or all) with the #sweatpink and #noexcuses.
*You can also tag myself @angelenamarie1 on Twitter and Instagram, and post your pic to my Facebook page.  Depending how many people participate and tag me, I may do a giveaway at the end of the 4 week challenge!
*Have Fun!  The challenge is meant to keep you moving and focused on reaching your goals you have set for yourself...just keep moving one workout at a time!

I also wanted to share a link to an article posted by Oxygen Magazine about How to Eat to Grow Lean Muscle.  It has so much great information about women, lifting and nutrition, you really should take a few minutes to read it then bookmark it.

Lastly, don't forget tomorrow is Week 2 of our Wild Workout Wednesday Link Up.  Be sure to stop back by and add your link to a fitness or healthy living post, it can be recent or something from the archives you would love to share!  Thanks to everyone who linked up last week!  We look forward to having you back next week! 

I am linking up Running Rachel and Fitness Cheerleader for #MotivateMe Monday...Yea, I know it's Tuesday and I am a day late to the party, but as they say better late than never ;-)