Resolution Recharge Day 8. A Recipe and a Challenge!

Good Morning! We're done our first week, every one's been pushing hard in the classes and hopefully you've come along and done an exercise challenge or two. Before we hit the weekend I wanted to share another one of my favorite snacks. I usually make a big batch of these and then just reheat them during the week. Add some extra veggies and you have a great lunch or eat alone as a mini-meal on the go.

Mini Pizzas

The trick to these tasty treats is to pretoast your english muffins, this way you won't get soggy crusts once your toppings go on.

Ingredients

English Muffins (whole wheat preferably)

low sodium tomato sauce

Italian seasoning

Veggies of choice (peppers, tomatoes,onion, mushrooms etc..)

protein of choice( think quick...deli meat, leftover meat from dinner,)

Cheese (for the small amount your using, I go with full fat for the better melt!)

So here's the super quick run down. I pop the english muffins in the toaster or oven depending on how many I'm making. While they're toasting, I combine a can of tomato sauce with about 1.5 tbsp of italian seasoning.Keep the leftover sauce in your fridge for your next batch (It won't be long before you make these again!)  Dice up your veggies making sure they're small since they'll only be under the broiler for a few minutes. Dice up your meat. Cade and I decided on bacon today. I cheat and have the kirkland pre-cooked bacon. Very fast and pretty good for stuff like this. Shred your cheese. Once the muffins have toasted, spread a generous amount of sauce on (1-2tbsp). Load on the toppings and sprinkle with cheese. This is about 1/4 ounce at the most per two halves. Broil in the oven or toaster oven until the cheese is melted and enjoy. These heat up well in the microwave and are great for school lunches. This is a great alternative to pizza nights. The kids have a blast making their own mini pizzas and I can control the fat content.

 We enjoyed our pizzas with baby carrots and snap peas, my two favorite lazy veggies. From bag to mouth in two seconds flat.

So there's your snack idea and here's your fitness challenge for today. Get out and do an extra 30 minutes of exercise above and beyond what you have planned. So if you're doing nothing, get out for a walk, run, bike ride, (come to class tonight!) if you already have your workout planned, then add in an extra walk. Nothing to strenuous. We're just trying to add in an extra bit movement today. It's the small changes that pay off big. Try to make this a social event. Go with your spouse, kids, friends. Skip the coffee date and get moving.

Have a great weekend and I'll be back on Monday!
Sarah

Resolution Recharge Day 7! Diet Day

So yesterday we took a moment to talk about motivation and what it is that drives us to take care of our health. Today we're moving onto what we're fueling our bodies with. Keep in mind that I'm not a nutritionist. I've taken multiple nutrition courses, and I make it a point be as informed as possible on the latest, greatest diet research. This advice is based on what works for me and from my own personal experience. If you have any questions, I can answer to the best of my knowledge but please consult a dietitian if you want some serious advice on overhauling your diet. So today we're going to start a dialogue on diet.

My First Tip is EAT BREAKFAST!! Yes, I yelled that at you. It really is that important. Think of your metabolism as a furnace. Food is the fire. If you wait until 10am before anything hits your stomach, you've wasted precious calorie burning time. Eating a healthy breakfast also sets up your eating pattern for the day. So ditch the donut and go for a healthy mix of carbs, protein, and fat. Think, high fiber and low sugar. Here are some of my favorites...

Eggs with tomato slices and one piece of high fiber bread.

Steel cut oatmeal with berries and a few almonds.

High fiber bread (5 grams is awesome!) with peanut butter and apple slices.

Greek yogurt with grapes and celery (weird but good)

Now, I'm getting hungry:) Hopefully one of these will inspire you in the morning. If you have any great healthy breakfast ideas, post them to the comment section or on my facebook page. Let's share our knowledge!

Come back tomorrow for a favorite snack recipe! Easy and delicious!
Sarah

Resolution Recharge Day 6!

We're getting close to finishing off the first week of Resolution Recharge. How has everyone been doing? Today we're going to talk about goals ( I know at least half of you rolled your eyes, but bear with me!). It is so important to know why your doing something. To say you want to lose weight to look smokin in your bathing suit come July may be enough for some people but for most it's just simply not enough motivation to get the results you want. It is really important critical to have some well thought out reasons for why your busting your butt and saying no to life's dietary temptations. To give you an idea of where to go with this, here are my reasons for doing what I do.

I want to look great in a bathing suit but the real motivation here, is that I want to be comfortable in my own skin. I don't want feelings of self-consciousness to hold me back from living any part of my life.

I want to be strong enough to take care of Isaac (my special needs son who is wheelchair bound) for as long as possible. (i.e. functional fitness!) Along with this, is that I want to be the mom at the park who is playing with her kids, not just watching them from a bench.

I want to be free from addictions to food that are harmful to my health. A cookie occasionally is fine but eating the whole cookie jar...not so much.

I want to push myself beyond what I think I am capable of. God has blessed me with good physical health and I never want to take that for granted. I don't want to set limitations on what I can do if I put my mind to it. (Future Marathon perhaps?)

So now that I've given you some examples of what motivates me, I want to hear what motivates you. Go around the house and put up pictures or sticky notes at critical places (the fridge, bathroom mirror) to give you daily visual reminders of why your coming to my class and busting your butt or getting out for that walk in the pouring rain...

And just for fun, do a squat hold for as long as you can and let me know your time..

Get into a squat position and hold it, the more parallel your upper thighs are to the ground, the more difficult it will be. Make sure your toes aren't going over your knees as well.

See you tomorrow!
Sarah

Resolution Recharge Day 5!

Good Morning! I know you have already visited the bathroom for the forth time this morning because everyone is busy guzzling the water:) Today I'm bringing you an exercise challenge! So make sure you warm up, then get moving with this AWESOME move!

 The Reptile!

 Start in a plank position with your body in a straight line and head in line with body.

 Bring your right knee to your right elbow while maintaining the plank position. Turn your head to look at your knee.

Return to the starting position and complete a rep on the opposite side. 

Here's the easier variation from your knees.

Your goal is to complete 100 reptiles! Do it all at once, in sets of ten, twenty's etc.. But make it your goal to get it done!

Have a great day and see you tomorrow!

Sarah

Resolution Recharge Day 4

It's Monday, Monday, Mondaaay, it's Monday, Monday, Mooondaay. Maybe not as exciting as Fridays, but I love a Monday for resetting our mindsets after the weekend. If you overindulged or slacked off on your diet and exercise plans, start anew today! I have a super easy challenge for you today. Drink your water! This post from last year has lots of information on why this old school approach is still a vital part of shedding pounds and feeling great. Short and sweet. See you tomorrow with an exercise challenge. Keep in mind that tonight is the last night to get your fit test done at Kinkora if you want to get in on the prize action! Have a great day everyone!

Sarah

Resolution Recharge Day 1 is here!

Hey guys, I am so excited to be started this month long challenge to spur us on into the spring! Don't be caught off guard and spin into a panic come March. If the weather here today is any indication, it will be shorts season soon. The earlier we focus on working out and eating right, the more confident we'll feel come summer! A big HUGE part of having the body you want is diet so I'll be posting a few recipes a week to give you some ideas for healthy snacks and meals. In fact here's one of my go to easy snack ideas. This is perfect for an in between meal snack. It's loaded with fiber, healthy fat, and satisfies the sweet tooth!

Apple Pie Toast

Ingredients:

1 apple shredded (I use my cheese grater)

1 piece of high fiber bread (fav is Mack's Flax by silver hills)

6 almonds

Cinnamon

This is honestly the quickest, easiest recipe and it just tastes plain good:) Start by sauteing your apple in a pan with a couple shakes of cinnamon. Cook just until softened. In the meantime, toast up your bread and chop up your almonds. When toast is made, top with warm cinnamon apples and chopped almonds. If the apple you've used isn't the sweetest, add a touch of honey on top or agave syrup, but it's pretty sweet on it's own. 

There you have it! See you on Monday with an exercise challenge and go to this post to find out how to enter the resolution recharge challenge!

Resolution Recharge is Here!

So how is everyone doing with their New Years Resolutions? Are you struggling to stay on track? Well don't beat yourself up over it, your in the majority. If you're going strong, that's FANTASTIC! Either way, I have some good news for you. This coming Friday the 3rd will be your chance to re-energize your body and mind to make the lasting changes you want. This Friday, RESOLUTION RECHARGE begins! This is a month long event filled to the brim with mini challenges, healthy recipes, prizes and more! Each weekday starting on Friday you can expect to see something exciting on here to keep you pumped. And to participate fully in the challenge here are the details...

To qualify, you must...
1. Commit to coming to one Fit Fast class per week. (Check out the drop in classes tab for details)
2. Come to class either this Friday or the following Monday (6th)  early and have your body fat percentage taken (it's just a number don't freak out!) I'll be at Kinkora anytime after 6:30 or again after the 8:15 class.
3. Participate in a 6 minute fit test on either Friday or Monday. This will be part of the workout for the day.  

At the end of the month the person who improves on their fit test the most and the person who improves their body fat % will both win a prize! Up for grabs is my favorite workout tool...

Prize #2 is two free months of fit fast classes. So make sure you come to every class to take full advantage!

I cannot wait to get started with this and stick with me through this month and you'll see some great results! Even if you can't come to the class to be part of the prize action, make sure you check in for a month long motivating extravaganza!

P.S. make sure to leave a comment if you're participating with me!