writing to you from abroad.

Well, more abroad than I usually am at least.

I love this one. 

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I was lucky enough a year ago to purchase my BodyMedia armband that I use to monitor my activity and calories…which I love dearly all on its own. But then in December they were running a string of giveaways, which I just happen to enter one day, just for the heck of it. Well, the next morning I wake up and BOOM! I have an email that says, Hey! You just won a vacation!. So after I resumed my normal breathing, I emailed them back to say thank you and got all the details on our stay…

…Which we are currently on! 

We are staying at the AMAZING Turquoise Place in Orange Beach, Alabama. My jaw hit the floor when we walked in and I couldn’t believe that this could possibly be one room, and then wondered who could afford to stay here without being blessed enough to win a stay. (Maybe one day…). One half of the condo is the size of, if not bigger than, my entire house. We are on the 19th floor directly looking out over the ocean. And I could not be happier.

the best way to have a healthy breakfast…

In the realm of being healthy, while we have been here I have been strict with my working out, so that I can enjoy our stay and still feel good about myself. It is to the point now that when I don’t workout and do what I need to do to stay healthy, I just don’t feel like myself at all. So I have been utilizing the fitness center and taking my first runs on the treadmill this week. (Yes, I mean my first runs on a treadmill ever. lol.) So the first day we were here I just did one of the pre-programmed workouts, the glute blaster, and it was great. I didn’t stop, and I listened to the advice of my dear husband and just paced my breathing. (It helps to have an ocean view to motivate you..) It ended up being about a mile and a tenth at different levels of incline and speed. Then yesterday I kind of just went for my own thing and ended up running 2.15 miles at a variety of inclines and sticking at around 4.5-4.7. I honestly am not sure where that stands around other speeds that some do, but for me, a non-runner as it is, it was fast enough to get my heart pumping and burning some calories.

Just actually finishing a run without having to stop was amazing for me in itself because usually I always have to stop, and can never control my breathing. So it was an accomplishment, and I intend to beat my distance today when I go to workout.

I really think that working out on vacation solidifies all the hard work I have put in because I know many people don’t take the time to continue caring for themselves when they do. I think that it is important to stick with your program, so when indulging some you are still conscience of your health. I know I have personally enjoyed eating out and splurging some with my foods, but at the same time I am still completely aware of the choices I am making and know that if I want to indulge, I have to workout to burn off those extra calories.

We have been out and about and playing soccer on the beach, walking on the beach, swimming, just being active in general and I think that is the best thing we could be doing. By staying active we are staying healthy.

So that is my message today, being on vacation doesn’t mean you should give up on being healthy and doesn’t mean that you should just throw all caution to the wind and let yourself get out of control. 

I hope that all of you are having a lovely morning and have a very Happy Easter!

and then there was…

Peanut Butter.

I personally have been in love with the J.I.F. jar from a young age. Now that I am older and living a healthier lifestyle, I started to take a more natural route when it came to picking my favorite peanut butter out. Now that I have learned to COOK, I decided it was time to learn to make my own.

As fate would have it, a small (very small) box in the food section of my Women’s Health magazine mentioned how to make your own nut butter, and Kroger happened to have a giant pile of bagged peanuts that were on clearance just begging me to buy them.

After three days of shelling peanuts…about two hours of shelling peanuts…I finally had enough to mix up the easy recipe and took on the  challenge.

The results?

Deliciousness. In a jar.

So are YOU ready to make your own peanut butter? You better be!

The recipe is very simple, and from the rest of the article I grasped that you could do this with any kind of nut butter that you would like to make. My next task is almond butter, because who can afford 6.50 a jar?? 

Make Your Own Nut Butter

• 2 Cups, nut of your choice (in this case, peanuts.)
• 2 TBS. oil of your choice (the article suggests peanut, vegetable, or canola)
• 1/8 tsp salt (if you are using already salted nuts you may not need the extra)

First you want to add your peanuts and salt to your food processor (I actually did this in my Ninja blender) and grind as fine as they will process. Then, slowly add in the oil until you reach the desired consistency that you are looking for while mixing. For a crunchy peanut butter, stir in the desired amount of chopped peanuts to your jar and stir.

And that’s it. I added all mine into a mason jar and put it in the fridge since it was not sealed and it sets up exactly like a regular natural peanut butter does once it is opened. I would think you could add other flavors to this base, such as honey or raisins and cinnamon (like another peanut butter company I LOVE, Peanut Butter & Co.).

Peanut butter is a great source of proteins and healthy fats that keeps you feeling full. When you eat it in the natural form, such as this, you don’t have to worry about the added sugar or other processed ingredients that go into the non-natural peanut butters. And for someone like me, that is important.

So that is what I have for you tonight! I hope you are all having a great evening! Off to get in another great workout.

Until the next time…

strong girls. gymnast abs.

These girls are so STRONG. This is the first video of a workout that I can remember posting, so trust me it’s good! I have been through this workout a few times now and after the first minute I was feeling it! For something quick to add on to your normal workout, and something fun to do when you are up for a challenge, this is it!

biggest loser finale – bob’s d.o.c. workout – take two

phew.

Thank you RipDeck.

18:26!! Cut a minute off my time, cried watching all the inspiration on the TV, my favorite contestant wins the show, and I get in a great workout despite feeling ill. It was a good night. <3

Goodnight everyone!!

juice.

Just do it. 

Sorry Nike, your phrase has been taken for the purposes of telling people more they need to do. (Does it help if I tell people I love your training shoes and think they should own a pair? I hope so.) 

Back to business! I have recently been watching as many food documentaries that I can possibly watch around everything else that I have to get finished through the day, and after watching Hungry for Change, I was sold on buying a juicer. Not because I intend on going vegetarian and plan on going on a 6 month long juice cleanse, but because I saw the benefits of shoving numerous servings of vegetables and fruits into a juicer and drinking them instead of trying to eat them all everyday.

I’m not going to lie to you and tell you I am one of those people that love salad and could give up my potatoes for only green vegetables for the rest of my life. For those that truly love them, I think you are amazing and I’m getting there, but it is a process, just like everything else on this journey. But I am going to tell you that I know and understand how important getting in a balanced amount of all the food groups is when it comes to whole body health. By not eating and trying new foods and cancelling out eating a food just because we don’t like it one certain way, we are missing out on so many vital vitamins and essentials that our body needs and wants.

Think about it. 

Our bodies work everyday, all day, non-stop, for our ENTIRE life. When it stops, WE stop. I believe that fact should teach us that we should be treating it with respect and giving it the nourishment that it deserves.  So let’s get to it!

After my Breville juicer arrived at my doorstep (along with beginner guide to juicing I bought to go with it!), I had a lot of fun going to the store, filling up my cart with veggies and fruits and going on to turn it on and start making my own juice!

I have tried a few different recipes, some better than others, but my favorite so far has to be this metabolism boosting juice for two reasons: 1) it’s delicious and 2) it has TWO ingredients!

Yum.

1 Peeled Grapefruit

1-2 Peeled Lemons

Peel and Juice and Drink! That’s it.

It is a fantastic blend of sweet and sour and just the right amount of tartness. Grapefruits and lemons are great for detox and weight loss, so it is great to have such an easy way to get two for one in a glass.

So there you have it. I suppose I might sound pushy telling you to go out and get yourself a juicer, but I will tell you that you won’t regret it if you DO decide that you want to try one out. I was skeptical, but now I am sold. After buying the juicer, I decided to watch Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, and I was totally convinced that I made the right choice (it’s on Netflix!).

Now it’s off to some night time yoga and trying to get some rest for the night. I hope everyone has a lovely evening or day, wherever you are.

-Holley-

I feel the fire

…and it burns. 

In my legs that is. Along with the rest of my body. Wow. Have you ever had a moment where you look back and wonder what exactly you were thinking? That moment when you put together a workout that sounded pretty good on paper, and it was very good, but it kicks your butt? Well I just did!

I felt horrible yesterday and into last night and was really worried that I wasn’t going to be able to workout today. But then the more I thought about it, the more I realized that taking a day off because I didn’t feel 100% was the sort of excuse that can easily get me off track with my workouts, and really I felt better this morning anyway. As destiny would have it, I stumbled right onto this pin on Pinterest….

Can you get any more of a sign??

I had seen this picture before, but it was one of the first ones that came up while I started my morning Pinterest look around, so I thought maybe since I needed a boost I would try something new to get motivated.

I recently had a comment posted from the lovely people at RipDeck to try out their app and I have to say, I’m hooked! It is an app that uses the idea of the playing card workout that I did a few weeks ago, and puts it into app form so that you can make numerous different works, store them, and have them all at the touch of a button, along with keeping your time for you (and letting you give them a snazzy name as well). I just did my first workout with it and I was laying on the floor in a pool of sweat when I was finished.

What was that workout you ask? I’m not sure you want to know. Of course you asked because you are all interested in being healthy! If you are up to a challenge then I have one for you. I am proud of myself  for coming up with this personal challenge of a workout (and terrified at how much of Jillian Michael’s-like it was). I call it…

Squats Saved the Queen! 

The number cards are worth their face value. Jacks, Queens, and Kings are worth 12. The Aces and the Joker are worth 15. 

Your suit exercises are as follows.

• Clubs – Jump Squats (the “spring” like motion of this is a challenge!)
• Diamonds – Push-ups (these are almost in all my workouts because I am determined to get better at them!)
• Hearts – Burpees (you know how much we all love them)
• Spades – Squats to Press (who says you have to work one muscle group at a time??)
• Joker – Star Jumps (because you have to laugh at how horribly they hurt, yet how effective they are)

There you have it, pain in a nutshell, but I guarantee you after you make it through and cool down you are going to feel amazing. I tried to add in cardio with the strength so that my heart rate would stay up through the whole workout. I have learned to love metabolic training for this reason! I was feeling it so much after I was finished I forgot to take a “sweat evidence” picture to put along with the blog for you, but let me tell you, it worked up a good one.

I have really felt on the right path this past week with my workouts. I feel strong and thin and happier. It is amazing what a good workout will do for your moods and your self confidence. Not only does it boost how you look on the outside, but really it boosts your mental health as well because you can be proud with what you are accomplishing with yourself. Following Through with the goals that you set. I told you, that was my new thing. Making sure I do what I need and want to do. And it feels great.

I really hope you all are having a fantastic week so far, thank goodness it is Friday! I will have lots of exciting updates to come, but those are all top secret for now, I can’t wait to share them though! :)

I love a good secret…lol.

So until next time!

-Holley-

If you are at all into fitness apps like me, don’t have the desire to carry around a pack of cards with you when you go places and just want to have a virtual workout deck on your phone, I would recommend the RipDeck app. I’m not just saying this because they asked me to check it out, I really do mean it! So get on your phone and get to downloading, then try out my challenge. And if you don’t have a phone that can download it or don’t have a cell phone at all, don’t feel left out, grab a deck of cards and try my challenge anyway! ;) 

Midweek Motivation

I keep this on my lock screen of my phone to remind me each time I look at it that I control who I am and what I am going to be. The choices I make today shape who I will be tomorrow. <3