Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Card Deck Exercise


I'm sure some of you are familiar with this exercise but I have recently learned about it and thought I would share it just in case there are others like me! 

If you don't have a gym or a DVD player to get your workout in, I'm sure that you have a deck of cards laying around your house. Or you can grab one from most gas stations for nothing. I'm know you are wondering how a deck of cards is going to help you get your workout on but hang in there and trust me.


For each suit assign a workout move. For example: hearts - burpees, clubs - push ups, spades - squats, and diamonds - jumping jacks or stance jacks. For face cards (king, queen, ect.) assign an amount; jacks 10, queens, 15, and kings 20. Whatever amount you want to do based on your level of fitness. 

Now grab a card, for whatever suit it is perform the assigned exercise for the amount on the card, or the amount you have chosen for the face card. Then make your way though the deck of cards as fast as you can.

This exercise can be intense so if you can't make it through the first time, just try to accomplish more the next time. Soon you will be running through the deck twice!

Hopefully a few of you guys learned a new tool to add to your workout arsenal! Every little bit helps!

Question:
Have you tried the deck of cards workout?
What are the moves you assign?

Eat clean, train hard, and inspire others!
-Jaren

What I Ate Wednesday #13


Good afternoon! Its another WIAW post and I'm going to continue posting like I have the last few weeks. Instead of posting everything I had in one day, I'm posting all the things I ate during week that caught my eye! This girl likes variety! 

Peas and Crayons

----What WIAW isn't about----
Comparison - Judgement - Restriction - Guilt

----What WIAW is about----
Celebrating one of the glorious things we all have in common: We all eat!

chicken kabobs, sweet potato cubes and barley.


scrambled egg with a black bean burger and milk


shrimp and veggies with brown rice from Genghis Grill


vegetarian pizza from BJ's


chocolate frozen yogurt with gummie bears from Chiller Bee


low fat cream cheese and crab stuffed chicken with brown rice and veggies


lunch at Cafe Express - turkey mini sandwich with turkey chili and a spring salad


lunch at Panera - half smoked turkey sandwich and a cup of soup


and lastly I have been fighting a sinus infection so my sweet fiance cooked me chicken and wild rice soup!


Eat Clean, train hard, and Inspire others! 
-Jaren

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Guest Post - Iron: Kryptonite for Wonder Women

Hello! Today we have another guest post from Logann! 



You may remember her from this post about food labeling! Today she is going to talk a little about  So enjoy!


Iron: Kryptonite for Wonder Women



Women have many responsibilities and we take care of pretty hefty to-do lists on a daily basis. We also exercise to stay healthy, happy, and wonder women.  But there is a kryptonite to being a woman; iron deficiency. What can we say, it comes with the package and totally sucks. Good news is we can fight it and keep it at bay as well as iron anemia, which is a more severe form of iron deficiency. 

Iron deficiency limits how much oxygen gets to the tissue and muscle.  The results are fatigue, poor attention span, and in some cases decreases immunity, so you are more prone to infection.

There are 2 types of iron sources: heme and non-heme.  Heme iron comes from hemoglobin and is a protein in the blood that carries oxygen to tissues.  Heme can be found in animal products: beef, pork, chicken (got to looooove those thighs), eggs, and fish. 

Non-heme iron comes from plants products and is also what is used to fortify foods.  Now, non-heme iron is not as available as heme iron.  This is referred to as bioavailability and what it means is the iron may be there and you may eat but not all is being absorbed, only a portion of it. Here are some sources of non-heme iron in decreasing order:
§  Fortifieddry cereals (great for snacks!)
§  Fortified instant oatmeal
§  Pumpkin seeds (great addition to trail mixes or homemade granola bars)
§  White beans (always awesome in salads and pasta)
§  Lentils (I like using grains like this as beds to lay my proteins on at dinner, it looks super fancy and taste…well…fancy)
§  Spinach (um, what can’t we put this in, seriously!!)
§  Kidney beans (I open a can of these on Sunday and add them to salads, omelets, pasta, and stir-fry)
§  Chick peas(I love these in salads they have a starchiness that is just so good, all hummus, and falafel are made with chickies)

The requirements for women ages 19-50 are 18mg per day.  However, if you are a vegetarian or vegan your needs increase to 33mg to adjust for bioavailability since the only sources of iron are non-heme.

There are two more gadgets for your anemia-fighting arsenal: Vitamin C and A

Vitamin C increases the bioavailability of non-heme iron containing foods (WOOHOO).  By adding a food with vitamin C or hey why not multiple foods with vitamin C to your meals you will increase intake of all sources of non-heme iron in your meal. Here are some good sources of vitamin C:
  • Bell peppers in all colors: add them to spinach salads, or in a grain salad
  • Grapefruit juice: have a cup with your breakfast to boost the iron in your cereal but remember to watch your serving size (juices can be high in sugar, I really enjoy Simply® or you could make your own)
  • Fruit, really any fruit is going to have a decent to great amount of vitamin C. These can be added to salads, or separately at the end of dinner or with a snack with a fortified cereal or crackers. I’m a HUGE fan of lemon on my sautéed spinach or lemon olive oil vinaigrette on a spinach salad! 

Vitamin A helps take iron to storage and keep it there so getting an adequate amount of vitamin will help fight off anemia.  Good sources of vitamin A are:
  • Carrots
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Kale
  • Spinach
  • Butternut squash
  • Cantaloupe
  • Milk, cheese, eggs

And before we sign off, another shot of the adorable Winston!



 
Eat clean, train hard, and inspire others!
-Logann {and Jaren}

Disclaimer: Logann is not a doctor, but she does give good tips!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Busy Wednesday!

Good evening!

Today I sadly won't have a WIAW post because I have been running around like a CRAZY person! CRAZY PERSON. And taking pictures of food sort of just slipped my mind. I'm human, and I'm sorry. Thank goodness I'm only getting married once, because I think if I had to do this again I'd go nuts. I got a lot done today though - rings inspected, wedding jewelry ordered, ring bearer pillow, garter, and bridesmaid presents!



Thankfully after next Friday I will be shifting out of planning mode and into party mode! I'm ready for things to slow down. {Though school starts next week - ugh accounting blows} Less than seven weeks; and yes I'm having all kinds of crazy wedding anxiety dreams about anything from not having wedding shoes to having the wrong dress to sleeping through the ceremony and walking out into an empty reception hall. I did to find some kind of sleep aid tea to knock these dreams in the butt.

Today I went to the gym and got a good fifty minutes of elliptical cardio in. Logann was going to do super sets and she ended up talking nutrition with a bunch of older gentlemen. When I got home after some sushi {yay} and errands I did some weights, squats, push ups and crunches. Sunday I did a bunch of lumberjack squats while I was watching Extreme Makeover Weightloss Edition and I'm still sore from that today! That is probably my favorite move!



This afternoon I received an email from a lady asking to do a guest post on the blog and how I felt about it. I would love to have guest posts! So if any of my readers would like to post - just send me a rough draft, pictures, and links to your social media and I would be glad to share! My only preference is that I don't want posts selling a product or service. I would love posts about transformations, tips on nutrition or exercising! 

Come back tomorrow for there will be a guest post collaboration from Logann! 

Eat clean, train hard, and inspire others!
-Jaren

Monday, August 20, 2012

Marvelous in My Monday #8


Marvelous in My Monday is a link up party started by the wonderful Katie over at Healthy Diva Eats. You just post about marvelous things that have happened to you over the week. 


1. Austin - Last weekend I got the opportunity to go visit my sister in Austin with the fiance in tow! Friday night we made homemade sushi, Saturday we spend the morning in the park and the afternoon at the springs swimming, and Sunday we headed home after breakfast! We had so much fun, and it was great to just hang out and enjoy the end of the Olympics. This weekend she came home and now I get to spend a whole week with my sissy!





2. Madness - I am a H U G E Muse fan; 90% of my workout music comes from Muse. Today they released their new single "Madness" and it was instant joy to my ears!


3. Clean Room - Yesterday I was having a not so great day and I came home to find my fiance had cleaned my room and made my bed. INSTANT HAPPINESS. There is nothing from going from a Level 10 Disaster Area room to a clean room. I think I even sleep better with a clean room. It is the small things in life.


4. CHECKS - Nothing like checking things off the wedding to do list! NOTHING. In the last few days we got both our cakes ordered, ordered our cake topper off of Etsy, got the rental paid for, and all the table linens picked out! Load off for sure! And I love it that my fiance is so involved and he has even picked out lots of stuff for our wedding! All that is left is little things and presents! 

Well my friends I am off to go cook some kabobs for dinner and enjoy my new marvelous DVD, The Hunger Games.

Eat clean, train hard, & inspire others!
-Jaren

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

What I Ate Wednesday #12

Good afternoon! Its another WIAW post and I'm going to continue posting like I have the last few weeks. Instead of posting everything I had in one day, I'm posting all the things I ate during week that caught my eye! This girl likes variety!

Since I have been MIA I will be tossing all the food pictures I have taken since my last WIAW! Be prepared for a picture over load.



Peas and Crayons


----What WIAW isn't about----
Comparison - Judgement - Restriction - Guilt

----What WIAW is about----
Celebrating one of the glorious things we all have in common: We all eat!

"WIAW is about food and fun! It's about making new friends, breaking out of a food rut, noting changes in your diet/lifestyle, inspiring yourself & others, embracing fruit & vegetables, nourishing your body with the foods that work for you, finding new ways to eat your favorite foods, and so much more" 
<3-peas & crayons

Lets get cracking! Lots to share!

i've been living on fruit...



you can't live in texas without wanting good bbq every so often... nothing like good turkey...


or bbq's chicken and veggies on the grill... our dinner for logann's birthday.


and desert...


veggies make great snacks...


one night the fiance cooked gumbo... delicious!


then i begged him for froyo after...


lunch date with a friend - grilled chicken and a sweet potato...


the wonderful shrimp and wine pasta the fiance made that night....


lunch date with the fiance to cheer me up after kiwi's passing... didn't help much.


freebird's date with my parents....


breakfast - easy sandwich and an egg!


pre-graduation dinner for the fiance... best sea bass EVER.


cake balls from the fiance's graduation party... not going to lie - i made myself sick...


my mother got placed on a no tyramine diet for health reasons so its been slim pickin's for dinner - but healthy none the less!



breakfast!


spent the weekend with my sister! we made sushi!




we went to a wonderful hole in the wall mexican restaurant - best tacos EVER.



And that's all folks!

Eat clean, train hard, and inspire others!
-Jaren

PS. Yay for a new banner. Still not 100% sold on it yet? Any thoughts?

My Darling Kiwi

I know it has been 14 days since my last post, but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to type this. Even now, it is hard - as in I'm bawling my eyes out with snot running down my face. {Not a pretty sight at all}

Two weeks ago today, my darling Kiwi passed away. She went quickly, thankfully - I am glad she didn't suffer long. I feel terrible because I wasn't home; my parents were and my mother stayed with her. After she passed I just needed time to myself since she was a big part of this blog and my life. 

I remember the day we found her, the day she was born... I love all my pets but she has always held a special spot in my heart. She was me with furr, we literally were inseparable when I was at home - she was my shadow and my partner in crime. I know I'm lucky to have had fourteen wonderful years with her... But it doesn't make the lose any easier. It is like losing your best friend, your sibling or child. It is performing those little tasks during the day that make me miss her the most - like taking a bath, cuddling on the couch or in bed with a book, or working out. Every day I think it will get better and instead I miss her more, in everything I do.

So here is to my baby girl, my little stinker... I miss you and I love you and I hope you are in a better place. Life is just not the same without you.


Give your furr baby a hug tonight, I know I will be hugging all of mine. We are lucky to have their unconditional love and friendship.

Eat clean, train hard, & inspire others,
-Jaren

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