Feasibly Fit Mom

Menu (Tuesday): Freestyle

This week, we're going freestyle: I've committed to making 5 meals this week, and so far, so good. 

• Trader Joe's frozen seafood mix over pasta
• BLAT or BL(E)AT: (Morningstar Farms bacon, lettuce, (fried egg), tomato) 
• Veggie "taco" salad 
• Pasta Primavera, emphasis on the primavera 
• Cobb salad 

So far, the seafood mix over pasta and taco salad have been easy to make and hit the spot! FitDad and I are still sitting down on Saturday or Sunday to choose our meals. This has been working well, and we make the shopping list at the same time.

* * *

In case you missed my tweet, check-out Simplemom.net...she meal-plans a month at a time! And this month she's even going with an eat local-eat seasonal theme. 

Meal Plan Report Week 3: How'd we do?

How'd we do on our Meal Plan? Not great. Actually, not at all. However, rather than focus on the fact that I didn't make any of the following meals (let alone shop for the ingredients), we did a few things well:

The meals we missed:

Monday (Leftovers): Sauteed Swiss chard, eggs and toast

Tuesday (Wildcard-our favorites): Grilled veggie sandwich

Wednesday (Soup): Tortilla Soup

Thursday (Crockpot): Vegetarian chili

Friday (Salad): Cobb Salad

Saturday (Eat out!)

Sunday (Breakfast for Dinner): FitSis' frittata

Instead, I focused on using ingredients we already had in our pantry and fridge. One standout was the lemon egg-drop style Greek soup, Avgolemono (I used this recipe). Only a few ingredients, easy to make and some desperately needed protein from the eggs. 

Also a bonus: we saved money on groceries this week by about 20% not planning on dinner each night. 

In this vein of focusing on what went right, I really like this post today by blogger Amanda Soule, over at Soule Mama. Her blog humbly focuses on her idyllic daily life, knitting and sewing in the woods with her four creative and spirited children. After a particularly challenging day and night, this post and pictures hit the spot for me.

Fitness Trend Alert: Fun

Seems I've seen a lot lately on incorporating some fun into workouts. So much in life is work, why not lighten the load while you're lightening your load? Our motto for Central Coast Adventure Boot Camp was "seriously fun fitness for women." And we meant it. Are you enjoying your workouts? If they could use a boost, read on:

(Photo: pfly)

Here are a few ideas:

Blogger MizFit goes calls them "playouts" and shares a video of her joyful playground workout with her kiddo here. 

At the recent annual American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) Annual Health and Fitness Summit in Atlanta, fitness experts talked on discovering the child within us all and incorporating these interests in our workouts.

And finally, (lucky us, locals!), local trainer and lifestyle expert, Lisa Huck, is offering a new Field Drills workout. Fun drills, sprints and plyometrics for the energetic kid in all of us. Download the flyer here.

NASCAR drivers cross-train

Hit the gym to improve performance in your favorite sport: driving. More about NASCAR's fitness fanatics here.

Guest Post: Feasibly Fit Grandma

Awww, my mom is the best! Here's her experience staying in shape as a fit, babysittin' grandma:

Hi Amy,

As I mentioned to you yesterday, you inspired me to work on becoming a "Feasibly Fit Grandma" again. So, using your tips, I managed a 15-minute workout while FitBoy's Cousin was playing in his crib during his quiet, alert time.  

I rolled out my yoga mat and grabbed by weights from under the crib. The first 10 minutes were spent doing Pilates/physical therapy exercises for my back (I frequently wear FitBoy's Cousin in an Ergo, and he's getting heavier so I need to keep my back healthy).  

The next 3 minutes, I worked on arm exercises...flye, chest press and skull crusher. The last 2 minutes were stretching while FitBoy's Cousin started to fuss because it was just about "lunch" time, and he wanted his mommy.  Now that the weather has warmed up again, we'll be getting out for our stroller walks with the dog.

Thanks for inspiring me.

Love you,

Momxoxo

P.S. I'm also back to doing Wii Fit  workouts, especially the balance and yoga exercises.

Walk + Shred Workout

It was an awesome day yesterday for a walk: clear, bright and warm. We met with Stroller Strides for our walk on the Bob Jones Trail. About 3 miles in all, a parade of sorts: Strollers and carriers, babies and toddlers. FitSis and my nephew joined us for the walk and then she and the boys and I scooted over to Honeymoon Cafe for a quick and early lunch. We both had walked the boys in our Ergos and ended up pushing empty strollers along the way, so we were hungry. It was a good reminder that I need to start keeping snacks for myself in my car again. 

* * * 

Later, after getting FitBoy down for his nap, I popped in the Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred DVD, which I've been wanting to check out. My impression of her from The Biggest Loser is that she's a bit extreme, both in the exercises she assigns and her motivational style. Nonetheless, I was curious what some of my clients (and about 900 Amazon reviewers) loved about her DVD. 

The Level 1 workout was reasonable. Not easy, but not too hard. My only hang-up was that she doesn't offer an alternative to the jumping jacks, saying that 400-pound people can do them, and so should you. Only thing is, most of us have some lateral (side-to-side) knee joint instability or weakness, so a lower-impact alternative is reasonable to offer. Other than that, it's a solid full-body workout and plenty of high-quality compound movements.

The workout kicked my butt, in a good way. It was right on target with what I've been doing. I don't recommend, however, doing the workout 30 days in a row, as it is intended. I think 3-4 days/week is reasonable...and feasible. I think FitDad and I are going to do it together during the boy's nap tomorrow.

* * *

Today we took it easy and spent some time with family. FitSis and my mom made some homemade soft pretzels today while I rested with FitBoy and caught up on some TV shows. Perfect!

Choices, trade-offs and exercise

Lately, I've really started to appreciate the trade-off between getting things done and exercising. Especially now that FitBoy has more of a schedule. When it comes down to it, on a day when I have managed to get absolutely nothing accomplished, it takes only a 20 minute workout to feel like a productive human once again. Workout Mommy nails the choice in yesterday's blog post. Love it.

Sister-time speed workout

At my mom's house again today and with FitBoy and my nephew watching Grandma cook lunch, FitSis and I sped away for a 20 minute run and found-object workout:

• 2 minutes walk
• 5 minutes jog
• 15 incline push-ups
• 15 squats
• 15 dips
• 15 step-ups

 

We run past the tree and work out near the rocks on the left.

• Repeat once
• 3 minute jog 
• 2 minute cool-down  

And the best part: Lunch with the family back at the ranch.