An hour is just too long!

I can go for a LONG run. I did a half - marathon and was on my feet running (Galloway style - run/walk intervals) for 3.5 hours. But I just can't do other cardio for that long. I get bored, I make excuses, I just never get it done.

And I am not alone!

Enter Beachbody - they now have 2 (almost 3) workouts that are about 30 minutes a day! No wonder I love this company. :) I am a mom, a wife, a teacher and carving out 60 minutes to workout just doesn't happen for me. But I can find 30 minutes. I can find 30 minutes every day!

P90X3 (watching the informercial now) is P90X accelerated! I did P90X and had great results but couldn't keep it up. The time just killed me, and I quit 6 days before the end of the program. I tried INSANITY and did 1 week, but again, the long workouts, while awesome just didn't fit my schedule.

P90X3 is 30 minutes a day. FocusT25 is 25 minutes a day (5 days a week!) 21 Day Fix is about 30 minutes a day WITH a revolutionary portion control clean eating program to help you dial in the most difficult part of anyone's fitness journey - nutrition!

I am starting the 21 Day Fix as soon as it comes out - February 17th or earlier! Come and join me on my journey and see how much you can change your life in a short amount of time.

I am changing lives and chasing awesome this year. Come join me.

www.beachbodycoach.com/coachbeckycooper

Mad

I am mad. I am spitting nails angry.

What am I angry at? Conventional Wisdom. The conventional wisdom that told me at 17 and 5'11 I should weigh 113lbs. The conventional wisdom that has told me throughout y adult life that I must be a lazy glutton because I could not eat little enough or workout long enough and hard enough to lose weight.

The conventional wisdom that constantly tells me that I can save money by cutting back on my credit card spending (don't have any), go out to eat or for entertainment less each month (haven't gone out to eat in except for with family that picked up the bill in 4 or more years, haven't seen a movie in 5) by cutting back on things like TV and internet (haven't cut back on internet, no cable, no satellite TV...).

I am mad at the conventional wisdom that never told me that the problems I have had with my teeth and my nails for the last 20 years have a direct correlation to my weight, energy, overall health...

I wish I had found and stuck with primal style eating 15-20 years ago. I am happy that I have found it now, and I am glad that I will be rebuilding the next 2/3rds of my life to be optimally fit and healthy, but I am angry that it took so long. I am going to use this angry to change me, change my family, and eventually change the world!

Mmm, Chicken Fingers

My boys are not all that different from your average toddlers/preschoolers. They want to run and play and jump around. They are super stubborn and that stubbornness will often show its face at meal times.

Not tonight! Earlier this week I discovered an excellent trick to making chicken nuggets from scratch instead of relying on store bought packaged nuggets chock full of things I do not want my kids eating. Yogurt, specifically Chobani yogurt (of course). I made the nuggets as chicken fingers tonight and had another successful batch, and thought it was time to share :)


Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 - 1 C Chobani 0% plain yogurt
• 3 chicken breast, sliced into strips or nuggets
• 1-2C whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1C rolled oats
• Garlic, pepper, onion flakes or other spices to taste
• 1T oil to fry the chicken in (I used coconut oil)

Direction

• Preheat oven to 425
• In one bowl combine bread crumbs, oats, and spices, set aside
• In a separate bowl whip together yogurt and eggs
• dip chicken pieces in egg/yogurt mixture - be sure to coat the chicken completely
• place coated chicken pieces in the bread crumb/oat coating - shake and mix to cover completely
• once all the chicken pieces or "breaded" fry lightly in oil, 1 min max on each side
• put all the chicken in an oven safe dish and bake for 10 minutes at 425 
• serve and enjoy!

The yogurt really keeps the breading on the chicken and the chicken itself moist. Monkey ate most of his (inhaled really) and Moose ate 1 finger before falling asleep in his chair :) I ate four (or um, maybe 5) myself and they were yummy! I am so glad to have a crowd pleasing chicken nugget/finger recipe that is so easy to make.

Oh - and the ranch dressing Monkey has to dip his finger was made with half mayo / half Chobani yogurt :)

Are there any family or kid-friendly favorites you have remade into a healthy meal?

Little Changes

The hubby (my wonderful hubby) had to pick me up / drop me off at school today to deal with some car issues. Unfortunately, on our way home one of the rear tires on the car completely blew out. Never a good thing, but I took advantage of the situation by fitting in a second workout. The garage we got the car towed to was straight down hill from where the tire blew. I knew that the total distance was a mile or two and thought to myself "I can at least walk down the hill and burn an extra 200 calories for the effort - that means I can eat more for dinner!"

I grabbed my sneakers out of the car, kissed the hubby, and waved as he and the tow truck driver headed down the hill.

I started up my miCoach app, set my playlist for shuffle, chose "free workout" - meaning I had no pace or distance goals for the workout - and headed down the hill.

I started off around a 17min/mile pace for my warm up and thought I would "wog" with my usual walk breaks down the hill. After my first 5 minute jogging stretch I thought "I can go a little longer".

I can go a little longer - it was my mantra down that hill. I can go a little longer. And I did. I jogged for 20 minutes straight with NO WALK BREAKS! I ran for 1.54 miles - I have never run that far without walking. I have not run a mile since high school or junior high - and even then I had to take walk breaks.

And I know that the downhill run is slightly cheating, but I am not letting it diminish my pride. I felt good when I hit the bottom of the hill. I was still thinking "I can go a little longer".

I can go a little longer. I can run a little faster. I can make a few more small changes. I got this. I can make it to my finish line this time. I can go a little longer.

Sometimes plans change

So I should have graduated this past spring with a degree in Adolescent Social Studies and Special Education. That did not exactly happen. I had hoped to be able to test out of subjects or take them in summer school. That did not happen the way I wanted either. I still need a couple courses to finish my degree, and there are no jobs out there for teachers right now. I mean really, like no jobs - a lot of the school districts within a 1.5hr drive from me have actually cut positions and laid off teachers.

Given this dilemma what did I decide to do? More School! I am going to add to my certifications and get a childhood education and Students with Disabilities 1-6 added to my certifications. It will only require one more semesters worth of classes. I might even add an adolescent English with classes next semester. At that point I could basically walk into a school and say, okay, I can teach kids from grades 1-12 in Special Ed, Social Studies, ELA or general classroom. Whatdaya got? :)

This does put another year of stress on my family that I didn't want, but I think that it will work out for the best in the end. And really, if I could get in a 6th or 5th grade classroom I could teach all the subjects I like!

The other newer development lately in my half marathon training has been the addition of a partner! My neighbor has been working out with my for the last few days - and we are doing some cross training this afternoon that I am excited about.

Sometimes plans change, but change can be good.

Day 23 with a karmic booty kick!

So 2 days in a row I have been late to my student teaching job. The first 2 days of my student teaching. Why have I been late? Because I keep getting stuck in the snow in my driveway. Since my driveway is all dirt and gravel we generally don't shovel. My superb winter tires on my Ford Taurus can usually just power right through the snow - however with all the freeze and melt I keep spinning out on the ice/refreeze/runoff and slid into the dirt embankments.

This morning's adventures I feel was karmic payback for ignoring my alarm and sleeping an extra hour instead of getting in an extra workout this morning. I will not being doing that again! Instead of getting in extra cardio this morning I got to spend an hour shoveling the ice and hard packed snow out of my driveway with a garden shovel. In sneakers. And slacks. And a dress shirt. With the boys in the car. Okay actually I took the boys back inside and put on a movie for them as soon as I called AAA, but still. It was not fun and for the rest of the day my feet were cold, my booty was super sore, and my slacks were wet.

I wanted to talk myself out of my workout tonight, but as I was changing into workout gear after work I noticed that I could feel the muscles and bones in my back and hips much easier than before. My hips still have a few layers on fat on top of them, but the curve from my waist to my hips feels slimmer and smoother than it did just a few weeks ago.

I wanted to ignore my workout tonight, but then I thought of the people who have told me - through the blog, or email, or Facebook or in person - how proud they are, how I am motivating or inspiring them. I thought of how proud I am of myself. I did not want to disappoint us.

I wanted to sit on my couch and eat giant greasy dripping steak subs on a squishy soft white sub roll, but then I thought about how I am trying to get rid of my "white food" cravings and addictions (white rice, white flour, white sugar - even though I am Irish to the bone I have never been a fan of white potatoes :)) and bought high fiber whole wheat pita pockets and lean steak for a sandwich. I grilled the steak with baby spinach and a drizzle of soy sauce and added half a slice of cheese, and stuffed it into the pitas. I grabbed 3 wilted stalks of celery (I didn't want chips, but did want some crunch) and had a satisfying and filling dinner.

I vowed that no one will recognize me a year from now - I am starting not to recognize myself now. And I couldn't be happier with this new person.