Category Archives: Health

Workout after being sick

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Today I went to the gym to try to get my body moving. It’s been over 24 hours since my fever broke. I always press for people to avoid workout when sick or right after sick. However, light exercise right after being sick is ok, depending on the illness. I took to a spin bike and did light resistance. Just a little to get my legs moving and blood flowing. 💪🏻

Ever wonder why they say not to workout while sick or before your fever breaks? Here’s a brief explanation why……

Stress of workouts creates these microtears in our muscles. These microtears from the stress are a normal process of damage and repair. The body uses inflammation to signal and start to repair the damage caused by working out. Inflammation in the body is maintained by the immune system. When you workout while sick or before your body has fully recovered from being sick you are diverting the immune system away from fighting the infection. Instead it’s working to repair muscles. If you were almost over the illness, you can actually cause it to come back!

While working out is great for our health, in some instances it can be damaging. Listen to your body. If you don’t have much energy, or feel exhausted, the gym is obviously not a good idea. Wait until you are feeling a little more like yourself. Make sure you have an appetite, especially if you are like me and got that 24 hour flu bug! Make sure your body is ready to go back. When it is, ease into your workout to be safe. Better to start out slow than push yourself and do more damage! 😳

You only get one body in this lifetime! Take care of it! 💙

Sleep troubles

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On occasion I struggle to fall asleep. My mind races with all the things I need to do that week and the next thing I know it’s 3am and I’m still staring at the ceiling. How I laid there for 4+ hours just thinking without falling asleep is beyond me!

Over the years I’ve tried a few things here and there to help me fall asleep. I’m not really a fan of sleep meds, so anything organic and natural I’m all for. Here’s a few things that work for me:

•Melatonin- Your body produces this naturally, but you can buy melatonin supplements at almost any wellness or grocery store. It is a hormone released by your brain that tells your body it’s night time and time to sleep. It naturally makes you tired

•Drink a glass of milk (doesn’t have to be warm)- Milk contains an amino acid called tryptophan that causes sleepiness

•Earplugs- Sometimes sounds keep me up. I’ll hear something outside and it startled me or makes me think of something which gets my mind racing

•Avoid your phone and the tv- being exposed to blue and white light from your phone, tv, computers, etc at night prevents your brain from producing melatonin

•Take a walk- Taking a walk before bed can help tire your body but also tire your brain. I’ve noticed when I go for a walk at night my mind runs during the walk. I make my mental lists and think about the week. Then when I get into bed I’m physically and mentally tired

As I said, these are things I’ve found that have worked for me. Everyone is different. Some of these things won’t work for some people. But if you’re having sleep problems give one (or more) a try. See if it works for you! Happy sleeping! 💤

Random fact of the day

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For those of you who don’t know, I used to teach high school health. One of my favorite things to do every day was have a random fact written on the board for us to discuss before we started the days lesson. I have a list of my favorite ones still saved. I’m going to start posting a few every so often. So here goes today’s……

When you sneeze your body is getting rid of infected cells and an average sneeze will spread over 100,000 virus cells up to nine meters. On average, adults catch two to three colds each year. School-age children can have 12 or more colds in a year. Yikes!

Cold and flu season is fast approaching! Cover your mouth and nose people! 😳 🤧

Sometimes a salad isn’t what it seems…..

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Food can be VERY deceiving. People see certain meals and because there are healthy items in them, they automatically think it’s a healthy meal. What we often forget is the added sauces and things that completely kill the meal. For example, my dinner last night was an ahi tuna salad. It has seared tuna, arugula, mango, tomato, noodles, avocado, almonds and a ginger dressing. Doesn’t sound too bad right? Take a look at the nutrition breakdown:

920 cals

64g fat

60g carbs

33g sugar

36g protein

Notice how high the calories and sugars are! 920 calories in ONE serving. Just because it’s a salad does not mean it’s going to be healthy. The little items like dressing, noodles, and the avocado jack up the sugar, fat and calories drastically! Yes things like avocado are great for you. But in the proper amounts. If you removed the dressing, noodles and cut the avocado amount in half, you would see a drastic drop in these numbers

By no means am I telling you to not eat certain things. Im just encouraging you to be cautious. Enjoy a salad like this every so often. But I wouldn’t recommend it daily. As I said before, just because something has healthy items in it, that doesn’t make it healthy for you. Know what you’re eating! Don’t be afraid to be high maintenance at a restaurant and ask to remove things or put dressing on the side. Especially if you’re trying for a healthier option. You can make restaurant meals work for you and your diet!

Happy eating! 🍴😉💙

Self Care

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Self care….. it’s any necessary human regulatory function which is under individual control. Basically something YOU need to keep yourself feeling sane and like yourself. It’s how you take care of you!

We all have things we do for self care. Me? I consider mine a cup of green tea, face masks, writing, workout and sleep. These are all things that keep me feeling grounded. They help me to relax. They are things that just make me happy and they’re for ME. I don’t have time to do each of them every day, but I try to incorporate each at least once a week. Green tea has become my go to every morning and of course my workouts in the afternoon. Sometimes I can sneak in a writing session and a face mask while Ryder is napping. But that’s only occasionally because his naps are when I get everything around the house done!

Everyone is different. Some people’s version of self care is a massage, facial, taking a bath, eating a treat, talking to a friend, going out to eat, or just having some quiet time. Do whatever works for you! Self care is important. We work so hard to take care of others around us we sometimes forget to stop and take a minute for ourselves. Especially moms!

Whether it’s once a day or once a week. Take some time for a little self care and do what makes you happy. 💙

Leg day exercises

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Leg day! These are 3 of my favorite exercises to do on leg day. Really easy and sure to get your butt and inner thigh sore the next day!

•Side step squats with plate

•Front lunges

•Barbell deadlift

The side squats take a little coordination since you’re squatting then lifting the plate. Sometimes I look funny because I zone out, get off on my squat/lift and get myself all confused. 😂

I typically do 4 sets of 12 for each. But you can adjust to what’s best for you! Happy lifting!

A twist on cheat meals

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I went out to dinner on a cheat meal night and was craving a burger. The restaurant burger and fries totaled to 1273 calories. Mind you, it would have been a little less without the bacon and fried egg but some cheat meals are worth the extra calories!

During the week one day I was craving a burger but it wasn’t a cheat meal day. So I decided to make a healthier version of the cheat meal I love. The burger is topped with a little cheese, cilantro, tomato, onion and a tsp of chipotle catchup. The fries are lightly tossed in olive oil, pink salt, and pepper, then baked. The homemade burger and fries totaled to 599 calories. That’s less than half the calories of the restaurant version! This is a great trade for the restaurant version if wanting a healthier twist on a cheat meal!

When you’re doing a healthy diet, you don’t have to eat boring meals. Granted I wouldn’t recommend eating a homemade burger and fries every day. That’s a little more red meat than you need and there are better options than white potatoes. But this is definitely a great option on occasion. I love to take my favorite restaurant foods and mimic them at home in healthier ways. It beats eating baked chicken, rice and broccoli every day like I used to do! Healthy eating doesn’t have to be boring. You just have to be cautious of what you are putting into the meal or on the meal.

Happy eating!

The grocery store diet

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I love telling people I’m on a diet. They always ask “which one?” I respond with “the grocery store diet.”😂 I typically get a confused or blank stare. Then I explain it’s where I go to the grocery store, buy food and that’s what I eat.

People often confuse the meaning of the word diet. A diet is what you eat! If you eat only fast food you have an “unhealthy diet!” If you follow something like Atkins, it’s called a “fad diet.” If you eat a balance of fruit, veggies, etc you have a “healthy diet.”

When I go to the grocery store I get 90% of my food from the walls of the grocery store. Next time you go to the grocery store, look at how it’s laid out. If you follow along the wall you’ll see veggies, fruit, meat, dairy, etc. In the middle of the store, where the aisles are, is all your processed foods. I try to avoid those aisles unless I’m getting something like crackers or tuna. Plus, if I roam the aisles I’m sure to get something not on my list that I really don’t need!

Next time you go to the grocery store try the “grocery store diet” and stay along the walls when getting food. Happy shopping!!

Note: Some produce departments are spread out in one area and they have just the veggies along the wall. The fruit will be on islands. I still consider this “the wall” because it’s not in an isle. 😉

Shoulder day exercises

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Shoulder day! Here are a few exercises from my shoulder workout this week!

I wish I was one of those people that looked cute when working out. 😂 I make weird faces and pull my neck so I have a double chin sometimes. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Oh well. Whatever gets the job done!

•Front raises 4 x 10 w/ 25lb plate

•Lateral raise 4 x 10 w/ 10lb DB

•Shoulder press 4 x 10 w/ 15lb DB

•Front cable raise 4 x 10 w/ 10lb weight stack

Obviously you can adjust the weight and reps to cater better to your own body. These are just what I am doing for the week! Happy lifting!

Leg day exercises

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Leg day! My favorite day! Here are a few exercises from my leg day workout! I know there are “real” names for some of these exercise moves but back when I was a gymnast, this is what we called them and it’s just stuck. Call it whatever you need in order to remember the exercise! 😉

These will get your butt and thighs burning. You should feel it in your butt, thighs, back and arms the next day!

•Squat raises (version 1) 4 x 12 w/ 25lb plate

•Cross lunges 4 x 12 w/ 40lb bar

•Teeter Toters (this is what we called them when I was a gymnast) 4 x 10 w/ 20lb KB

•Squat raises (version 2) 4 x 12 w/ 25lb plate