LM Combat: Day 1!

Hey All!

Today I woke up nice & early to make sure I got my workout in for the day. I had some evening plans & I don't want to be screwing up on Day 1! The workout today was "Combat 30: Kickstart". I LOVED IT!

It may be hard to compare programs already, but LM Combat reminds me of Turbo Fire, just less coordination required. Turbo Fire is more choreographed, where as LM Combat is pure punches & kicks. It definitely got my heart rate up this morning! I feel like the routines will be easier to learn as well, and then I can really add intensity to kick it up a notch.

As far as eating, I'm on the 1200 calorie plan for this week. Normal caloric intake will be 1800 cals after week 1. I was a little nervous about getting hungry...1200 calories is a bit low for me. I made a point to eat every 3 hours and didn't feel hungry until dinner. Whenever I got the urge to snack, I just got up from my desk to get some more water.

There is a whole page of the nutrition guide dedicated to "The Wonder of H2O" with some ways to 'dress up' your water. I added a squirt of lime and some crushed up mint leaves to my ice water today. Someone at work asked me if it was a Mojito! Not quite, but still yummy.

Sure it's a mojito. Minus the alcohol & sugar! :-)

On deck for tomorrow is 2 workouts - my first HIIT workout of LM Combat as well as a stretching session, "Inner Warrior". Check back tomorrow to see how it goes.

I'll leave you with this motivational thought:

Commit to be Fit!

Get out there and get it done! Have a great night!
♥L

Recovery Smoothie

The potassium from the banana and all the antioxidant goodness from the blueberries make this an excellent post-workout smoothie. Simple to make, I usually drink this after my long runs!

Just 5 ingredients!

Here is what you will need:

- a good blender (of course!)
- 1 scoop Vanilla protein powder of your choice (I use Vega Sport)
- 1 c Non-dairy milk (I use Almond Breeze Unsweetened)
- 1 banana
- 1 c blueberries
- 1 container non-dairy Greek style yogurt

The yogurt may be the toughest thing to find. If you are not vegan, plain greek yogurt will work just as well!

Blend all ingredients together, adding ice if you want the smoothie thicker or more milk if you want it thinner. This will make 2 servings. You can freeze the additional serving for later, setting out the frozen smoothie to thaw ~a half hour before you want it!

♥ L

Experimenting in the Kitchen

I took some vacation time this week from work since I had a few more days to use before the end of the year. With my extra free time I've been able to sleep in, go to the gym with Jon (a nice change from going by myself) and do something I love - experiment in the kitchen!

Being a vegetarian since early college, and more recently a vegan, I can't tell you how many times I've heard "so where do you get your protein?" Depending on my mood you'll get a sarcastic or informative answer! Truth is, I have no issues getting enough protein from my diet, because I eat a variety of whole foods. Yes, protein makes up a lower % of my calories as opposed to protein or carb percentages, but I promise I am in no danger of a protein deficiency!

When I am working out and trying to build muscle, I will include a protein smoothie into my eating plan. Sometimes though I would love to EAT my protein and not DRINK it...especially in the cooler, winter months. Enter the protein waffle. I first heard of these through Jon, who gets a powder mix for waffles from an bodybuilding store, adds water, and boom - protein waffle. I've also seen other people on Instagram make protein waffles/pancakes, but had never tried myself.

If you know me, you know I bake from scratch. The same applies to waffles/pancakes - I haven't used an Aunt Jemima mix in years. So I just had to figure out how to tweak my own recipe in order to get the right consistency of the batter with the inclusion of my vegan protein powder. My final inspiration came from the blog The Guiltless Life.

Ta-Da!

This was a chocolate chip protein waffle with a peanut butter sauce & bananas. Yum! I found the waffle to be a little sweet (I think from the Stevia) and I had to use a lot more almond milk than what TGL calls for. Next time I think I will omit the Stevia and this should be perfect! I used Vega Sport Vanilla protein powder as my protein of choice - vanilla goes with anything!

Jon and I rented some movies to watch over the long weekend so I thought I would make a snack for us to enjoy while we watched. Remember this post? I love the mix of sweet - salty - crunchy but the marshmallows were a little overwhelming to me. Smaller marshmallows or bigger chunks of chocolate may balance the mix better, but I thought I would try a rice krispie treat concept this time around.

Mega RK Treat!

I think my balance of marshmallow to other ingredients was still unbalanced, but it was a step in the right direction. The cinnamon flavor from the cinnamon toast crunch really pops in this mix! A great evening/movie snack. I ended up rolling the mix into a log and cutting into individual pieces for grab-and-go convenience.

Today my plans include taking advantage of the mild weather we are having here and going for my long run OUTSIDE!! I can't believe it's December 1st and we are getting into the 50s today. Also, I have some black beans left over from Thanksgiving cooking so I'm going to try to make some homemade burgers from those to eat tonight & also freeze for later. I will post on how that experiment goes later!

Stay Positive,
L♥

Snack Time at the Movies

"I don't know about you, but whenever I go to the movies I really crave s'mores!"

Ok, so maybe I was lacking a bit of sleep this past weekend since I was watching after my 1-year old nephew, but I'm pretty sure I heard this quote right. I was expecting "popcorn" or "candy" to come at the end of that sentence. S'mores? I want to know what movie theater this person goes to!

I cannot remember the name of the show or the host for the life of me (I blame a sleep deprived Laura!) however I do remember the concept of her show was to come up with reduced cal versions of foods we all love. Since she loves to have s'mores while at the moves (still trying to figure that one out) she came up with this alternative:

2 c popped kettle corn
10 chopped up tootsie rolls
1/2c cinnamon toast crunch or similar cereal
1/2c mini marshmallows

Basically you put everything in a bag and shake it all up and keep on hand or sneak into the movie theater with you. I made a few tweaks:

2 c popcorn (not kettle)
1 tbsp dark chocolate chips
1/2c cinnamon toast crunch
1/2c mini marshmallows

It is a very tasty treat, not too high in calories if you are watching that sort of thing, and a lot less messy than a real s'more if you would like to indulge while watching your favorite flick! Enjoy!

Splurge Calories

Let's talk 'diets' for a minute. First off, I advocate lifestyle changes as opposed to fad diets. Think 'going vegetarian' or 'cutting out processed foods' as opposed to 'Atkins' or 'Nutrisystem'. Diets always made me feel constricted which just made me want to rebel agaisnt the diet!

It takes time to learn what works for you. For me, it is having a certain calorie limit each day, and trying to maintain a good balance of carbs, fat, and protein. Even when you figure out what fuels you well and keeps you healthy, who doesn't like a treat from time to time? For some people it is a "cheat meal" once a week, for others it is a piece of chocolate or glass of wine each night. For me, it is what I call splurge calories!

Each day I allot 100-150 calories of my calorie limit to what I call "splurge calories". Some days, I just want some pasta with my lunch. Some days, I just want an iced latte after work! Planning these calories ahead of time allows me to enjoy my little splurges, without blowing my calorie limit for the day! And if I don't have a workout planned for the day, the splurge calories go away! It helps to not deny yourself of the things you enjoy - plan for them - and you won't overindulge later.

There you have it, splurge calories! How will you spend yours? Let me know in the comments!

Review: Justin's

I give the chocolate peanut butter cups a 4/5. I really REALLY like chocolate PB cups out of the freezer. Bonus points for being dark chocolate.

I give the coffee mug a 5/5.