My Favorite Thing Friday

Seriously, Friday already?  You know you love life when Fridays sneak up on you way to fast! My favorite thing today is a favorite among many!  Drum roll please.... YOGATOES!  Some of you may be saying to yourself, YOGA WHAT? while others are raving fans already!  I first learned of YogaToes a few years ago but it wasn't until recently that I ordered my mom and I a pair...Yep, I am officially in the fan club! 

I love my feet.  But, if feet could talk they would tell you a much different story.   My feet, much like yours, take a beating day in and day out.  When I'm not pounding them on the pavement during a run, I'm squishing them into a pair of pointy-toe pumps.  Both of which, I can't imagine living without. So, I am attempting to be more mindful of showing my feet a little love that they so very much deserve. 

While intrigued by YogaToes, I have to admit I was skeptical of my purchase.  As soon as I received them in the mail, I slipped them on my toes.  It was just a matter of minutes before my skepticism flew out the window. They truly felt fantastic - not just during, but after I took them off as well. 

YogaToes are shown to relieve stress and tension, soothe stiff muscles, increase circulation, and relieve pain.  In my case, they certainly help relieve all that built up tension and make my feet feel much less achy...all within just 15 minutes! 

According to the official YogaToes® website, it states the following:

YogaToes are designed to naturally treat and prevent foot problems like bunions, Plantar Fasciitis, and hammer toes. They work by spreading, stretching and exercising toes. YogaToes patented design fits between, above and beneath toes to gently stretch them apart and away from the balls of your feet. This supports a return to a natural and healthy state, helping you avoid costly surgeries.

By placing the toes in a separated position, tight, weak muscles become more flexible and resilient. The joints in your toes should begin to realign as tissues become supple and strong. This realignment is the main component in helping fend off foot pain as well as a variety of foot problems, including bunions and hammer toes.

Bunions, Plantar Fascilitis, Hammer Toes?  No thank you! 
I will gladly wear these to prevent ALL of the above! 

Just a little vacation for my feet!

Without a doubt, YogaToes are definitely deserving of being my favorite thing every day of the week!  Yours too?

Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,
Mrs. Skinny Fat

High Five to Me - Healthy, Happy & FIT!

It gives me great pleasure to give myself a "High Five" for finally gaining control of maintaining a challenging, and constantly changing, fitness regimen. This is, after all, a big portion of what this blog is about.  As I had noted in my posts early on, staying committed to my workouts has always been a struggle for me.  While I was four years into the clean eating lifestyle, I could not seem to get a handle on getting fit...leaving me to be as I describe skinny fat. 

During this time running was in the mix, but as I learned over the years just running doesn't mold the body to perfection (defined by me of course).  Yes, I ran several half marathons but it's not like I was speed training, or breaking new records...and I was surely not consistent.  I'd go two weeks on, one month off; one week on, one week off; one month on, three months off...so as you can imagine - gains in my quest to be fit was nearly impossible. 

In my desperation to tone my body, I joined several group fitness classes, the gym, a yoga studio, etc.  While all taught me new things about myself - especially yoga - it just wasn't a sustainable lifestyle of me.  In other words, I failed - at every single one of them.  First I missed one class here and there, then a whole week, and then I was too embarrassed to even come back.  I know that I shouldn't have felt ashamed for letting my life take over and not sticking to the commitment as I had promised myself I would...but I did. It was easier to not face the crowd and be out the money - in each instance - so I was left to start over time and time again. 

In June of 2011, in other words just four short months ago, I made what I can easily call now the best decision ever as it relates to reaching my fitness goals. Via a Google search, I discovered Cari's OneonOne Fitness Training.  I immediately clicked "How to Get Started" and after reading through the content, I was sold.  In addition to her words, Cari's overall fitness appearance had me rest assured that she didn't just talk the talk.  I knew without even speaking to her that she was capable of molding me - that is of course if I was ready to commit to the challenge. 

Picture above - Fit Girl Cari Draft, Personal Fitness Trainer,
& Owner of EcoTrek Fitness (outdoor group workouts)

Pulled from Cari's website she so eloquently says it just right...

"As a personal trainer who designs custom-made workouts for clients, I always get fired up when the peeps seem motivated to get in shape... but three months later, several of them have just “run out of time”, “run out of money” or simply lost their desire to get fit and healthy for whatever reason.  There are several stages a person goes through when they come to me for help. Stage one would be thinking about making a change; then there’s deciding to change, making preparations to change, and finally, initiating actual changes! Sometimes when clients contact me too early in their process, they are doomed to fail.  The most successful fitness clients I have are the ones who have linked regular physical activity to the things that are important to them. Everyone needs to see, at some point, that regular exercise is essential and has to be a priority; once you find yourself in the stage where you are ready to initiate actual changes, THAT is the time to contact me!"
 

It was as if her words were meant for my eyes only.  I was ready. I quickly filled out the required questionnaire, submitted it via email, and Cari reached out to me within hours. We chatted shortly about my goals and set up our first meeting at local park.  During that first workout together, I was quickly aware just how out of shape I was. As I told Cari, looks are deceiving - I may be "small" but darn it all I huffed and puffed my way through it.  She was encouraging and made it known that resilience and discipline was going to be key in my success. 

One of the first things I told Cari was,
"I need you to help me get arms like yours!"

I have since met with Cari a total of four more times.  Each time, I get a brand new strength training workout that I commit to doing twice a week at home (I do them right in my backyard), along with running four times a week.  I've gone from the girl who hated ab work to loving it, to dreading pushups to thinking I'm pretty fantastic at them.  While we only meet once a month, Cari keeps a pulse on my progress. I love bragging to her - she was the first person I told when I bought my size 2 shorts, and the first person I told when I bought my first size 0 dress.  Each and every time with every mini goal under my belt I asked her, "Is this for real?"  My waist has went from a 30.75'' (across the belly) to 27.75''.  I haven't quite reached all of my fitness goals, but I LOVE that I am finally on the right track.  I'm closer now than ever before to being truly skinny and FIT.  Skipping workouts is not an option.  I'm as committed to them as I am to clean eating and that right there is worth a whole lot of high fives!  

This is the Before Clean Eating ME...

This is the After Embracing Clean Eating & 3 Months of
Personal Training with Cari Draft ME

Calls for a High Five or two, right?

Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,
Mrs. Skinny Fat

Treated with Simplistic Goodness

I love having clean eating friends!  Last Friday, one of Mr. & I's favorite couples treated us with an awesome clean meal the night before our big kayaking excursion. In my opinion, it's often the most simplistic of ingredients that is the most impressive!  I so very much enjoyed  all of the purple ingredients used as part of this meal. Purple has, after all, been recently praised as the new green.

Yellow Peppers, Purple Potatoes, Red Onion, and Garlic
Drizzled with a little Olive Oil and Organic Seasonings

Did you know that purple potatoes are linked to lowering your blood pressure? In a new study by Joe Vinson, PhD, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton, purple potatoes were found to lower blood pressure as well as oatmeal can without adding unwanted pounds, due to the high levels of phytochemicals found in purple potatoes. Read more...

Awesome Tilapia topped with Red Onions, and Organic Seasonings --
Garlic, Sea Salt, Red Pepper Flakes, Ground Pepper...

All prepared easily on the grill and done in a matter of minutes. 
Thanks for treating us J & D with such deliciousness! 

Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,

Mrs. Skinny Fat

My Favorite Thing Friday

Who doesn't love Fridays!  Today seems like the perfect day to kick off a new weekly feature called, "My Favorite Thing Friday".  As the name unveils, every Friday from here on out I will feature something that I just can't live without!  From kitchen appliances, to supplements, to my favorite foods, we'll uncover all my best discoveries.

Today's favorite is so simple but it is truly my BFF.  It's none other than my favorite water bottle.  I have learned over the years that not all water bottles are created equal.  I have tried a variety of the seemingly best water bottles - from Siggs to the glass favorites - and while I oddly felt "good" about spending $20+ on a water bottle, I hated drinking out of them.  Yes, my water bottle has to be safe - BPA Free - but I also need to be able to down the water easily. 

Every morning, I jump start my body with drinking a liter of water and this carries on throughout the day 4 to 5 more times. My water bottle never leaves my side.  So while my cupboard is filled with all of the market's best, my go-to bottle is the Nalgene OTG (on-the-go) BPA Free bottle found at any major retailer. As the website describes, the Nalgene OTG bottle offers a easy one handed operation so you can pop the top and take a drink without letting go of your momentum...or anything else for that matter. They normally run around $10, but I was able to stock up recently for half-off.  A steal! 

                                  


What's your favorite water bottle? 

Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,
MSF

Ohhh Treadmill We Meet Again

On my drive home from work this evening there was a light rain but the sun was shining bright.  It looked so romantic!  I was eager to take it all in with a long run outside.  I raced in the door, grabbed a snack, and started to gear up.  I was so anxious to get out and enjoy the daylight - felt like I couldn't get ready fast enough! About 90 seconds into the run, everything about the "romantic" sky started to turn really dark - then lightening - then downpour...it all happened within minutes. Thankfully, I wasn't far at all as I had no desire to get caught up in a crazy storm.

See why I ran home in fright?  Yikes!

So tonight for the first time in months, the treadmill and I were destined to reunite.  I've been dreading this day - mostly because it had been so long since I have had to use it that my mind was making it worse then what it actually is...if that makes sense.  While I love running, I do not love running on the treadmill.  So instead, I do a 60 minute program that KICKS my butt.  There's a whole lot of sprinting, some jogging, a little walking, and lots of incline.  At times, the program literally makes me feel like I may puke and yes, when this happens I feel kind of like a badass - a crazy one - but still! :)

During tonight's treadmill workout, I couldn't help but think about the Biggest Loser contestants.  How essentially every contestant during that very first time on the treadmill and all they can think/say is "I can't...I can't..." and the trainer is screaming at them to keep moving and to get their hands off the treadmill.  My heart always goes out to them because of how far they have to go to reach their goals.  As I let my mind wander thinking about their journey,  I look down and my hands are holding onto the treadmill. WHAT! I had just completed another set and had about 30 seconds of walking on the max incline. I never even realized that I automatically grabbed the front bars.  Crap!  I let go...and through the next 50 minutes I had to constantly remind myself to not grab the bars during those brief walking periods. It was so HARD. I swear it made the workout that much more intense. Clearly, just those 30 seconds of holding the bars after every set was like taking a mini - yet unnecessary - break.  The workout was excruciating as ever...and the sweat was dripping off my body.  I had to morph my mind into that of a trainer and scream at myself internally, "Let GO of my Treadmill. Why Are you Holding on the Treadmill? Don't be WEAK!"

Treadmill, you didn't go easy on me...but I think I held my own pretty well.  I certainly will be able to rest easy tonight knowing I owned those grueling 60 minutes.  To our many more reunions, as darkness comes faster and the nasty weather - sadly - makes its way here.

Until we meet again.

Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,
MSF

Broken Finger Setback

Saturday was my best friend's wedding.  I haven't even had the opportunity to write about yet.  The entire day I was without a computer...yeah, I'm not quite sure how I made it either. The day was picture perfect - and I, of course, will be writing about it soon enough.

That evening while burning calories on the dance floor I pulled off some fancy move that left me with a broken finger. I didn't realize it was broken at the time as after three glasses of wine my pain tolerance was rather high.  Sunday, I woke up to a throbbing finger and distant memories of clutching my hand in discomfort the night before. Even though everyone I asked said it was fine, I decided to visit the ER and get xrays - I just wanted to be rest assured that it would heal properly.  All the while at the hospital, I was feeling rather silly for even coming.  So you can imagine, I was quite shocked to learn that it was indeed fractured. 

So here I am.  My once 90+ word per minute typing (just guessing here) has now dwindled down to about 10.  I am well aware that there's a gazillion things that would be worse than a minor broken finger setback, but I am human.  Frustration does hit me here and there when tasks - such a typing -  takes me 10x longer than it normally would. 

There's a lesson in everything, right? Perhaps my patience needed to be tested some.  Over these next four weeks of healing,  bear with me as I work my way through the kitchen, getting my posts up, responding to your emails, and making the workouts happen.  Tomorrow I meet with my trainer...should be interesting!

"A man who is a master of patience is a master of everything else." - George Savile

In the meantime...

Keep it clean & enjoy the ride!

MSF

Hands Down Best Salmon Ever

Last night, we had hands down the best salmon ever.  Two key factors contributed to this:  extremely fresh fish (Lake Michigan at its Best!) and a complimentary recipe.  My gal pal, Lindsey, introduced me to this recipe a couple of years ago, and ever since it's been a go-to in my household when it comes to making white fish, especially rainbow trout.  This is my first time ever trying it with salmon...so good!  Thanks Lindsey! 

Ingredients

Wild Caught Salmon Fillets

White Wine
Yellow Onion

Scallions

Red Pepper

Yellow Pepper

A little olive oil, garlic, ground pepper, and sea salt.  

Take a little olive oil and coat the bottom of the aluminum foil, place fish on top, add some white wine (maybe a 1/3 cup total), then top the fish with your peppers, onions, and your spices - in this case, ground pepper, sea salt, and garlic powder. 

I used an Apple Wine called "Eve" created by Ciccone Vineyards in Suttons Bay, MI. 

Covered with aluminum foil and placed it on the grill.  Let it cook until you can flake it with a fork.  I honestly didn't pay attention to the clock - just checked on it every so often. 

Chopped up Avocado, Cherry Tomatoes, and Cilantro makes for a perfect pairing with the fish - and is also really pretty on the plate!  

Impress your guests tonight with this gourmet, yet super easy, recipe!    

Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,

Mrs. Skinny Fat

First Lunch on the Go: Total Success!

My first opportunity to show off my skills in successfully packing the cooler came at lunch time.  In a matter of minutes, I whipped up a delicious, perfectly paired, lunch for two.  Not as fast as Jimmy Johns but it was definitely WAY tastier and healthier! 

Here's what I did:

• 2 Chicken Breasts (clean & loved) - seasoned with ground pepper, sea salt (just a dash), a poultry blend and onion flakes.  I pulled out some aluminum foil, added just a touch of olive oil to the bottom and maybe an 1/4 cup of water, put the chicken on top and made a pouch with the foil. Once ready, I walked it out the grill - which the Mr. had already graciously fired up.  This took about four minutes to complete...

I then grabbed from my handy cooler the following:

• Leftover Brown Rice, Quinoa, Chia Seed Mix - plus black beans and sweet corn thrown in
• 2 Handfuls of Green Beans 
• 3 Handfuls of Fresh Spinach

I took more foil, lightly coated the bottom with olive oil, and put the leftover grain concoction on top.  On top of those I put the handfuls of green beans, and on top of those the handfuls of spinach.  I made the same pouch with the foil and walked it out to the grill. 

Let everything cook for 15 minutes or so...and tah dah!

Open your mind to simple options...and you'll be amazed with how creative simplicity can truly be!

Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,
Mrs. Skinny Fat