16 Week Bumpdate

Yea today I’m officially 16 weeks pregnant!

1.) Size:  Baby S is now the size of an avocado…

2.) Exercise: 

Monday- Crossfit and I almost croaked… it was a hard workout.

Tuesday- I did a ton of yard work

Wednesday- REST DAY

Thursday- Hubby and I went on a 2.5 mile hike

Friday- Crossfit, I felt great and loved the workout.  The owner of the gym told me I look great and my arms and legs     are staying very toned… I NEEDED TO HEAR THIS!!!

3.)  Symptoms:  This week started off rough, I still had a lot of nausea and major fatigue.  However between yesterday and today I feel pretty damn good!  I’m still not showing too much but my boobs WILL NOT quit growing!  And the bigger the bra the uglier it gets folks!

4.) Cravings:  It’s so cliche but I haven’t been able to stop eating pickles this last week.  Bread and butter pickles to be exact!  I’ve eaten them with literally every single meal.  I can’t get enough!  My mom pointed this out to me last week when I was visiting her for Mother’s Day and I told her I’ve always liked pickles, but its crossed “like land” and now I LOVE them!

5.) Stretch Marks:  None yet…. I drown myself in cocoa butter every day when I get out of the shower so I like to think that it helps!

6.) Movement:  I still haven’t felt anything, but at my doctor’s appointment yesterday she said that’s completely normal and first time mother’s usually won’t feel movement until at least 18 weeks.  We heard the heart beat yesterday and it was 160.  My mid wife said she could hear a TON of movement.  I like to think the baby is in there dancing… I can’t wait to feel it!!!
7.)  Other exciting things this week: This weekend will be spent relaxing and spending time with friends.  My friend Amanda’s birthday was yesterday so we are celebrating this Saturday at a winery… I can’t wait to get “drunk” on cheese and crackers:)!

Carpe Diem…

Hello Strangers!  So I was pretty sure I had put my blogging days behind me, I was having a hard time finding things to write about and with the weather getting nicer the thought of sitting in front of a computer more just didn’t seem like my idea of a good time!  However, I did something REALLY FUN this past weekend and had to share it with whoever is still reading this thing:)!

The Cleveland Color Run!!!

This past Saturday myself and five of my friends ran in the Color Run that came to Cleveland.  The idea to do this race came up in early April.  Two of my friends are getting married this summer and were looking to get into shape so I started teaching a bootcamp class at my friends house Tuesday nights.  Eventually the class grew to about 6-7 people and when we heard about the Color Run we thought it would a fun first 5k for the girls.  These past few months I incorporated a lot of running into the classes so the girls could get used to it.  When we registered for the Color Run we registered as a team called, “The Bootcamp Bitches”!  My friend Meaghan who was registered had to drop out because her boyfriend took her on a whirlwind trip to Chicago this past weekend so I got my BFF Jill to take her place!

Since everyone but Jill had really trained for the race I let the rest of the team go ahead once the race started I stayed with Jill.  The race wasn’t chipped or timed which was really nice, you were simply there to have fun and finish!  The race had five colors stop where a team of people would squirt a chalk like powder all over you.  I still pushed Jill and we walked/ran our way to the finish line!

When you cross the finish line you head to a designated area with the color packet you were given in your race packet and then you go crazy and throw your color all over everyone!  The rest of the team waited for Jill and I to do this so it was fun we got to share that moment together!

After the race we all headed to Bar Louie’s to grab a cocktail and some lunch to celebrate!  It was a beautiful day with some wonderful people!  If you’re an avid runner or just someone who wants to have fun, the Color Run is for you!  Hands down this was one of my favorite races!

Just one of those days…

Even though today was absolutely beautiful I’m glad it’s over!

My day started by sitting in rush hour for over an hour and a half…

Once I finally got into my office I was in meetings and on the phone for 5 straight hours…

Luckily I was able to sneak away for lunch and meet up with two of my favorite old co-workers.  We ate at The Market and Cafe & Wine Bar on W. 9th!  I can not describe to you how much I fell in love with this place… the food, the decor, the company!  If you haven’t been there… GO!

Since I primarily work from home I headed back home around 3pm and the weather was spectacular!   85 degrees in Northeast Ohio in May… I’ll take it!

However on the drive home the light in my car that lets me know if my tire pressure is low, came on… I decided to pull into the nearest Lube Stop to have them check my it and they informed me my back left tire had a tear and two punctures in it.  They were able to patch it however suggested I get it looked at.  So guess who’s getting a new tire this weekend…

By the time I got home I decided a needed to soak up the sun to make the day worthwhile.  I managed to convince my hubby that we should load the bikes up and head to the towpath as soon as he got home.  He agreed!  It was exactly what the doctor ordered.  We rode 10 miles!  Fortunately today’s #mayfitchallenge was…

May 3rd- sweat

Words can not describe how happy I am that tomorrow is Friday!

What was the highlight of your day?

Breakfast & Catch up!

Yea I still have readers:)!!!  Staying on the #mayfitchallenge bandwagon today is…

May 2nd- Healthy Breakfast

Todays breakfast consisted of:

100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thin

1 Tbsp. Almond Butter

1/2 Banana

1 egg/2 Egg Whites w/cayenne pepper

There’s nothing like a good healthy breakfast to start your day out right.  I HAVE to eat breakfast, going without it is not an option.  Whenever some asks tells me they are having a hard time losing weight the first question I ask them is, “What do you eat?” Most of the time their response never starts or includes with breakfast because they skip it .

Need a few facts on why you should eat breakfast…

• Studies show that eating a healthy breakfast (as opposed to the kind containing doughnuts) can help give you:A more nutritionally complete diet, higher in nutrients, vitamins and minerals
• Improved concentration and performance in the classroom or the boardroom
• More strength and endurance to engage in physical activity
• Lower cholesterol levels

The more weight that I lose the more I am starting to realize the mind-body connection and that food really is fuel for our bodies.  Don’t get me wrong I still love ice cream so at times food can be for complete pleasure but moderation is key!   If you are going to spend hours working out everyday but not change your diet you are NOT going to see the changes you are striving to see in your body.  It really is that simply!

Be sure to check in on my workout tab!  I’m now doing Crossfit three days a week, as well as running with friends and teaching a bootcamp class.  Although I have been MIA this past month life has been really good and I’ll try to catch up a bit in each post!

Sabbatical… officially over!

My blogging sabbatical has officially ended!  I had writers block so I decided to take a short break but now I’m back:)  Hopefully I still have some readers.  Soooo what have I been up too???

This is by far the best out of everything… Crossfit!!!!  If you don’t know what Crossfit is here is a quick idea!

Two words to describe it… HARD CORE!!!

I went through “on ramp” which is basically a two week crash course in all the basics of Crossfit at a facility in Akron.  It basically teaches you how to lift properly and work on your form.  Tomorrow I officially start in WOD’s (workout of the day) at a new Crossfit facility, 5 minutes from my house:)!!!  I am excited/terrified!  I have been extremely sore after each teaching class so I can’t even imagine how I will feel after tomorrow!

I had kinda of hit a plateau with my weight loss, however after starting Crossfit mixed with clean eating I have lost 5 pounds within the last two weeks!  I am now down a total of 37 pounds since my wedding in Sept. 2010 (I use that date since that was when I was at my heaviest)!  Very exciting stuff!

Another endeavor that I have embarked on is I have began sharing my love of fitness and health with some of my closest friends:)   Six of us have started a group via Facebook and real life called, “Boot-camp Bitches” (we’re seriously getting shirts made right girls;).  A couple of the girls are getting married this summer and other’s are just trying to get in shape to feel better.  We meet on Tuesday nights at my friend Amanda’s house and transform her basement into an ass-kicking gym of sorts.  I create and lead the class and push the girls to their limits!  The workout isn’t for me since I do Crossfit in the mornings on Tuesday’s but I do occasionally participate so it’s becoming a two-a-day for me!  It’s really fun to get to not only see everyone during the week but also see everyone improving and showing such an interest in something that I am really passionate about!  I love my friends:)!!!

We decided to celebrate Mardi Gras a couple weeks ago after class:)!!!

Have you ever heard of Crossfit?  What are your thoughts?

Never forget…

Words cannot describe how happy I am that it’s Friday!  Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!!

Don’t forget  that tomorrow morning is the Virtual Run for Sherry Arnold who was taken during a run in Montana and killed by two men.  I won’t be joining a group to run because we had last minute plans come up so I will be on my treadmill running a 10k in Sherry’s memory!

I work out… at home!

How many of you don’t have time to go the gym or can’t afford a gym membership? Working in the wellness field I hear those two things ALL the time. Since I do 95% of all my workouts at home or outside I thought I would write a post today on, “Working Out at Home”.

1.) Cardio- Pick your poison

Three years ago I invested in not only a very nice treadmill but also my health. Ohio weather can be straight crap sometimes but I knew that by having a treadmill in my house I absolutely had no excuse to not a least get in a walk on the days I didn’t feel like going balls-to-wall exercising. I taught myself how to run on my treadmill and typically use it 4-5 times a week. I honestly can say I have surprise myself how much I really do use it.

My most recent “larger” fitness purchase was my spin bike that I got last week! I’ve already clocked in nearly 6 hours of riding time so far! So, so far so good!

And my cheapest but most ass kicking cardio choice…

http://www.forzamma.com/Fitness-Conditioning/products/59/

Some other great cardio options are: Walking outside, dancing, running stairs, kickboxing, burpies, step ups.

“To help manage busy weight and prevent gradual weight gain, aim for 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity most days of the week. To maintain weight loss, aim for at least 60-90 minutes of daily moderate physical activity”- U. S. department of Health and Human Services.

2.) Strength Training

Strength training is a love hate relationship for most people, especially me! Most of you know just how important strength training is but I found this phenomonal article on Women’s Health that pretty much summed it up for me:

“According to the National Center for Health Statistics, a mere 21 percent of women strength train two or more times a week. What you don’t know: When you skip the weight room, you lose out on the ultimate flab melter. Those two sessions a week can reduce overall body fat by about 3 percentage points in just 10 weeks, even if you don’t cut a single calorie. That translates to as much as three inches total off your waist and hips. Even better, all that new muscle pays off in a long-term boost to your metabolism, which helps keep your body lean and sculpted. Suddenly, dumbbells sound like a smart idea. Read more at Women’s Health: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/weight-training-tips#ixzz1lnijjGgU“

Ideally you want to perform 2 to 3 sets of movements to focus on your:

Upper Body- Pectorals, Lats, Deltoids, Triceps, Biceps

Lower Body- Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Calves, Hips

Waist- Abs, Back

My at home strength training equipment includes:

Exercise ball

Free Weights: 2lbs, 5 lbs, 8 lbs, 2 changeable weights that go from 10-25 lbs.

Exercise Mat

3.) Develop a plan

http://thecityvilletips.blogspot.com/2011/01/cityville-tip-1-plan.html

Now the key is developing a plan! There are a ton of great tool on the web that can help you do including BLOGS:)! My favorite is bodyrock.tv that I have talked about a zillion times! These are kick-ASS workouts so beware.

Example- Yesterday I completed this at home workout!

-Run 1 mile (outside or on the treadmill)

-Lower Body Strength

*Step-ups w/15 pounds- 15 each leg

*Squats w/15 pounds- 15 times

*Deadlifts w/15 pounds- 15 times

*Ball Curls holding 15 pounds on chest- 15 times

*Plank- 1 minute

I repeated the running piece 4 times (total of 4 miles) and the strength 3 times. I finished with a 10 minute cool-down walk on the treadmill and stretched.

See folks it’s that easy!

Do you prefer working out in a gym or at home?

Reflecting…

The weekend is over and I’m sad, two days is never enough!  Since I haven’t been blogging as much as I would like to the last few weeks I thought I would type out my reflections of the weekend instead of just lying here in bed sad that it’s over!

Friday night Mike and I had a “date night”.  We went to 3 point in Akron.  The service and food were really fantastic!  I got the tilapia and Mike got the chicken alfredo.  We were going to see the movie, “The Woman In Black” but on the way we stopped home to let our dog out and decided to just stay home and get a movie on demand.  Mike loves going to the movie theater but to me nothing beats putting on my pj’s and laying on the couch!  That’s comfort baby!  We ended up watching the movie, “In Time”.  I really liked it and Mike thought it was just ok.  I mean how can you go wrong with JT?  He ALWAYS brings sexy back in my book!

On Saturday I fully intended on sleeping in but my internal clock had other plans because I was up and at em at 8am!  Waking up my hubby before 10am is just not an option so I took advantage of my “alone time” and began reading a new book I just got via my Nook.  It’s called, “The China Study” and if health/nutrition interests you at all I highly recommend reading this book.

“In The China Study, Dr. Campbell details the connection between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, and also its ability to reduce or reverse the risk or effects of these deadly illnesses. The China Study also examines the source of nutritional confusion produced by powerful lobbies, government entities, and irresponsible scientists.”

Once the hubby finally woke up we ran some errands and then bummed around until it was time to go to our friend Tom’s birthday celebration.  We headed to Rivera lanes in the Ak-rowdy for a bowling extravaganza!  Never underestimate a bowling alleys bar, they make there drinks STRONG!   The night ended at a few more of our typical hang spots dancing and drinking way to much!  I think my face says it all in this picture…

Mike and I didn’t get home until 3:30am (didn’t you know 28 is the new 21)!!!!  I admit when I laid down to sleep last night I prayed to the hangover gods to take mercy on my soul.  Luckily I didn’t wake up until 11am this morning and felt great.  I had a 6 mile training run to get in today so I immediately ate breakfast (another hangover cure I believe)…

Green Smoothie

1 cup of raw baby spinach

1 tsp. of peanut butter

1 banana

1/2 tsp. of cocoa powder

1 fiber one vanilla yogurt container

ice

2/3 cup water

Blend and enjoy!

After breakfast I immediately changed into my running gear and headed to my favorite running trail, Sand Run!  Seriously fellow Ohioans how flipping beautiful was it out today!  I am loving this weather.  Since it had been awhile since I ran outside and on this difficult trail my goal was to pace myself and to take in the beautiful scenery.  I think I only looked at my Garmin maybe twice the entire run.  I finished in 66 min flat and I was really happy.  Good run + no stomach issues= happy Angela:)!!!

The rest of the day I was a straight bum until I cooked Mike and I a delicious feast for dinner.  Which included this…

We’re not big football fans so we decided our Superbowl Sunday would consist of good food and catching clips of the puppy-bowl.  The puppy bowl is the most funny/cute thing I have ever seen in my life!

Speaking of funny have you guys seen my new favorite commercial on TV right now?

http://youtu.be/VQNE0QTIItE

What was your favorite part about your weekend?

Whatever Wednesday #2…

Welcome to the second edition of “Whatever Wednesday”!  I worked 13 hours today so bear with me people!

1. Someecards is the best website known to man and makes me laugh each and every day!  It’s cards like this that keep me coming back for more!

2.  This weekend we have NO plans except for using our gift card to this delicious place and I am pretty excited!  They have a new section on there menu called the “SkinnyLicious” section.  I need to do some investigating and figure out many WW points I’m gonna spend before I got there or its all over!

3.  The highlight of my day was eating a tiger roll for diner from the most delicious sushi spot in Fairlawn, Big Eye!  I’m 100% positive I could eat sushi every single day and not get tired of it!  Yumo!

4.  For Christmas my mom bought me a ton of high thick socks to wear with boots in the winter but so far I have mostly been rocking them like this…

5.  Even though exhaustion set in after my delicious dinner tonight with my knee high socks and tennis shoes in tow I hopped on this tonight…

I got in a 2.65 mile walk in 45 minutes and it was a friendly reminder to myself… “you will NEVER regret a workout”!

6.  Today my hubby sent me this video via email and it seriously made me question the future of mankind…

7.  Now its time to drink a delicious cup of Yogi tea and head to bed… I could drink this stuff just for the inspirational quotes on the tags alone!

Monday funday….

Monday came with a vengeance this morning! I had to be up at 3am today to be at work by 5am this morning. Ehhhhhhhhh…. I was good and went to bed at 8pm last night so I’m not completely dragging but my internal clock is alittle like WTH?!?!

This weekend was fun and as usual went by way to fast:(!!! Saturday was a busy day! I started the day by getting my hair colored and trimmed. Since I am letting it grow out I went back to my natural color (dark brown) so now its low maintenance for awhile while it grows…

Saturday afternoon I headed outside to complete my first “long run” for my Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon training. Since it was SO beautiful out I had to run outside! I also managed to drag the hubby out with me:). We completed 3 miles outdoors then I jumped on the treadmill and ran the last mile solo.

Then it was time to get beautified because Saturday night was girls night:)!!! This picture pretty much sums up the night we danced our asses off!

Sunday I was pretty much under the weather (hungover) all day. Why can’t I accept the fact that I can no longer party like a rock star:-(!!!

Today is back to reality… back to eating healthy staying on point and getting a good workout in! Hope you all have a happy and healthy Monday funday;)!