Tag Archives | workout

Upper Body Burner + Cooking Dinner on the Weeknight

By on April 16, 2013 in cooking, exercise, workout

I haven’t turned off the news or stopped stalking Twitter. Staying up to date on this horrible tragedy seems to be the only thing I can focus on this week. I just cannot fathom what all of those people are going through.

It leaves me in this weird place where I don’t want to focus or care about anything else. It all just seems insignificant but I know that we will all have to move forward.

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It was a somber day at work. Nothing of consequence happened and the day passed in a haze. Once I arrived home I headed for the gym for a tough upper body workout that I came up with on the fly.

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My arms, back, and chest hurt today, not going to sugar coat it. I used a heavy weights and pushed hard through the sets so my DOMS is well deserved.

I came up with dinner on the fly as well last night. I am really trying to actually cook after work rather than throw random contents of the fridge/freezer on a plate and call it a meal. I think it is an important part of work/life balance. I enjoy cooking once I actually start…I just need to remember that.

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I sautéed kale in olive oil with salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast, and added in a bit of shredded chicken while the pasta was cooking. Once drained I added the pasta to the kale mixture, added in a bit more EVOO, and sat down to a lovely meal.

One last thing before I go…

It was a big day for my plus one! After a long hiatus he tied up his new Nike’s and headed out for his first run in years. I am beyond proud and so excited to welcome a new running buddy.

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This is the beginning of a beautiful career for him! :)

Question: Do you cook dinner during the week or rely on quick staple foods?

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Leftovers and Little Old Ladies

By on April 9, 2013 in D.C., food, rest day, Washington, weather, workout

I awoke to the sound of birds chirping at my window Monday morning. It was lovely. The sun was streaming through my open window, I just had a lovely 10 hour sleep and the day held so much promise. Cheery thoughts, no?

That doesn’t happen often with another workweek looming ahead but it is hard to be sour when the weather is so beautiful. I woke up a few minutes early to do some yoga since I knew my body was going to hurt from the race. Boy was I right. I can tell the weak-spots in my legs and will be working to incorporate new exercises into my strength training routine. Beyond my legs, I also seem to have a very stiff back. This is due either to the exercises I did on Saturday morning or my bad posture.

Sitting all day certainly does not help the stiff situation so I made a conscious effort to take lots of walking breaks and get out of the office during lunch.

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Along the way I saw the cutest little old ladies carrying their grocery bags home. My friend and I joked that we could be just like them one day, so I snapped a picture. It’s not weird if you take pictures of strangers because you think they are cute, right?

For lunch I incorporated Sunday night’s dinner into leftovers.

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I made a steak salad with organic power greens from Trader Joe’s, steak, asparagus, and tomato. It was delicious paired with a few pieces of the fresh baguette I picked up at the market on Saturday.

After work I had a nice little dinner on the balcony.

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It is truly amazing what the proper lighting can do for food photos. Dinner included Trader Joe’s lentil chips, 1/4 avocado with sea salt, hummus + salsa, carrots, and 1/2 vegetarian chili. It was the perfect combination of crunchy and satisfying.

Afterward my roommate and I went on a nice long walk on the Mt. Vernon trail and caught up on each other’s lives. With big changes on the horizon we are making a sincere effort to hang out as much as possible. The night reminded me of the lazy days of summer and kind of felt like a weekend. It was so nice to step away from the grind and do something different!

Questions: How do you take advantage of beautiful weather? What was the best thing you ate yesterday?

Comments { 6 }

Fit Things Friday

By on April 5, 2013 in running, workout

Let’s talk about fitness n’ things. This article, in particular. Sometimes I feel like Thought Catalog is the cooler, more well-written version of my thoughts. Insightful, yet amusing is usually what I am going for when I post but I am well aware that  I rarely, if ever, comes across that way. I will soldier on! I realize the article I linked to is a bit counter-intuitive as it is all about feeling out of shape and NOT working out but we all have those days. And when we do, I just want someone or something to relate to, you know?

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(This was one of those days)

And on the opposite end of the spectrum is a fun little workout I made to share with you guys. Lately, I am all about getting the most out of the little time I allocate to my workouts (damn you, snooze button!). So I try to come up with workouts that incorporate a pinch of cardio, a dash of weights, and a little cool-down. It may not look like much, but remember that something is always better than nothing!

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This was the perfect early AM sweat session. I’m still on the fence about working out before work. On the one hand I love having it out of the way but on the other hand I find that I am definitely more tired throughout the day and often more hungry if I ran. I think I will stick to mixing it up for now and just do what I can when I can.

Questions: Do you prefer AM or PR workouts? Why do you prefer one over the other?

Comments { 7 }

Quick Cardio Workout and Coffee Winners!

By on March 22, 2013 in giveaway, workout

I only have a few things to share today so I will keep it snappy.

- Apart from a long run on Saturday morning I plan to keep things low key this weekend and I could not be more excited. I’ll be hanging out with this guy doing the family bonding.

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He looks thrilled.

- I did a great treadmill cardio workout yesterday morning that I can’t wait to share with you guys. It works on speed and endurance simultaneously which is great for those workouts when you’re short on time.

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Adjust your speed according to your ability but be sure that the 2 minute sprints are all out! You want to be breathless by the end. I mean, you’re already on the treadmill so you may as well make it worthwhile, right?

- Finally, the winners of the Keurig Coffee Sample Wellness packs are (according to Random.org):

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Savannah, Ashley, and Logan please send me an email with your mailing address to jennifer@knackfornutrition.com so I can pass along your information to Green Mountain!

Question: What are you most looking forward to this weekend?

Comments { 3 }

The One Where I Try Not to Overeat

By on March 20, 2013 in binge eating, food, hunger, overeating, snacks, work, workout
I was going to write a What I Ate Wednesday post but sometimes I feel like a bunch of pictures of food doesn’t tell the whole story. It can be much more interesting to understand the thought process behind the choices of a professed overeater. It’s a vulnerable thing to openly share these types of things on the Internet but if you’ve been reading for a while you know that blunt and honest is the way things go.
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Upon waking I asses the damage from the night before. I’ve been pretty good about tracking on MyFitnessPal this week so I am a happy girl knowing I stuck to normal portions and didn’t eat for comfort.
I make a light breakfast to hold me on until mid-morning. It’s always smart to eat something before heading into work as I am never sure how long my commute will take.
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(Everything bagel thin with a schmear of almond butter and a banana)
Before I know it the morning is half over and I am famished! I inhale the second part of my breakfast and am glad I waited until I was actually hungry to eat it.
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(Greek yogurt, peanut flour, honey, and 1 cup of Cheerios)
I have a small window for lunch on this particular day so I eat when time allows.
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(I made a salad that turned out better than expected and snagged the small half of a blueberry Panera bagel from the kitchen)
During my meeting I had lunch dessert and still felt decent about my choices.
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I got back to my desk around 3pm which is approximately the time each day that my resolve to eat healthy and mindfully goes out the window.
I ate my afternoon snack (a kids clif bar and 2 clementines) even though I wasn’t hungry and immediately wanted more food. Funny how the mind works I drank water and tea in attempts to thwart the cravings but I was not successful.
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Snack number two was a hard pretzel with almond butter, 1/2 diet coke, and 3 peanut M&Ms. At this point it all became mind games. I got more water and told myself that my evening run would suck if I did any more damage.
So it was head down and mouth shut for the rest of the day.
After a commute home and a quick change of clothes I inhaled a banana in hopes it holds me over long enough to run.
Spoiler: it did the trick.
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I did a 5k run and a bit of walking afterward to cool down and promptly headed home to shower and fix dinner. I was really hungry and didn’t want to cook (what else is new during the work week) so I came up with a random, yet delicious quick dinner.
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(Cup of Trader Joe’s vegetarian chili, tortilla chips, and green beans)
I packed the exact same thing for lunch so I should be in good shape for today.
So there you have it. The good, bad, and ugly of a professed overeater. Sure, this is mildly embarrassing to post my deep dark emotional eating issues but I find these types the most interesting to read so I figure it never hurts to put yourself out there! My overall calories were a bit higher than I would have liked but I did the best I could. Here’s to fighting those mid-day munchies!
 

Question: How do you best avoid eating for comfort?  

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Fitness n’ Sugar

By on March 19, 2013 in cookie butter, giveaway, workout

On the fitness front:

- Last night I passed on Chipotle for the gym. It had been 3 days since my last sweat and I knew I was headed down a slippery slope. If you know me at all in the past few weeks, this is a big deal. I’ve been a lazy bum lately and much prefer chips to weights. I hurried out of work last night and headed to the gym to complete ZWOW #60.

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Have you guys heard of Zuzana? She is of BodyRock TV fame but branched out and created her own YouTube Channel a while back. I’ve been a fan for a while, as most of her exercises can be done sans gym equipment.

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The workouts are tough but quick which fit the bill for Monday night.

– The newest song by Macklemore is so fun to work out to! I love the beat!

On the sugar front:

- There is an epic candy stash at work you guys. During meetings we all just pick at it. I probably had 3 or 4 chocolates today but managed to successfully avoid my ultimate downfall.

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They were sitting right in front of me for an hour long meeting. I need to just say no to candy. But I didn’t. Today’s another day.

-Speaking of sugar, I bought a jar of cookie butter at Trader Joe’s over the weekend and I’ll be damned if I binge on it.

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I’m determined to prove to myself that I can eat normal portions of it.

P.S.

-The Keurig Coffee GIveaway is open until Friday!

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Three of you will have coffee and tea for days!

Question: Is there candy in your office? How do you avoid it?

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