Tag Archives: workout

April 22, 2013 · 1:07 pm

Barrels, Beautiful Weather, and Breakfast Burritos

Happy Monday! The weather is finally starting to get nice here in Chicagoland and it’s wonderful!

Here are a few pictures from over the weekend.

On Saturday we went to my dad’s house because he was celebrating the new addition to his bar – a Jack Daniels barrel.

I have mentioned before that the men in my family are big Jack Daniels collectors, and apparently a Jack Daniels barrel is a pretty awesome thing to own.

Marlene made the best dessert that night:

Yes, that is a giant ice cream sandwich. Life doesn’t get much better.

Danny brought the French silk pie sitting neglected in the background.

When we went to Panera on Saturday afternoon, Jaden ordered a black cherry smoothie so on Sunday, he decided that we must recreate the same smoothie at home.

Both smoothies were delicious and if he never ordered it, I would have never thought to use cherries in a smoothie.

In our smoothie:

frozen dark cherries
black cherry Chobani Greek yogurt
almond milk
crushed ice

Pretty simple and so good!

On Sunday afternoon, we went for a walk since the weather was so nice out.

Today

I got quite the workout in today:

Cardio Fit & Tone Class -60 min. (6am)
5 minute ab workout
BodyPump – 60 min (9am)
2 miles outside – nice, slightly windy

I woke up at the wonderful hour of 5 am today to go to the gym. Danny usually gets to the gym at 5:30 am on weekdays so he got to sleep in today. I know a lot of people wake up at 5 am or even earlier, but it’s tough! I usually have some trouble falling asleep at night, so it was extra tough for me to get up this morning, but I did it!

The reason I went to the gym so early is because I am trying to take more classes that the lead fitness instructor/ personal trainer at my gym teaches, and her classes are usually at 6 am. And of course I couldn’t miss BodyPump, so after I got Jaden on the bus, I went back to the gym for BodyPump.

I also had two miles on my 15k training plan for today and I debated switching it to another day, but it was only two miles and I was feeling good, so I just did it. It was a pretty good run and I was able to finish it just over 19 minutes – not bad for me

Breakfast

I had breakfast after the cardio class but before I went to BodyPump. I had tortillas leftover from the weekend, so I decided to make a breakfast burrito.

My breakfast burrito included: egg whites, green and orange pepper, spinach, red onion, and a bit of Mexican blend cheese. I would have added salsa but we ate it all over the weekend.

It was nice to have something different for breakfast for a change and it had more protein than my normal breakfast.

Have a great afternoon! I am feeling a little sleepy….

What time do you wake up in the morning? Go to sleep?
What time do you work out?
If you had a choice would you rather cook for yourself or have a personal chef. I like cooking but I would love a personal chef!

runeatplay

9 Comments

Filed under Breakfast, Family Fun, Fitness, Recipes, Working Out

Tagged as breakfast, burrito, fitness, giant ice cream sandwich, gym, jack daniels, smoothie, workout

April 12, 2013 · 3:03 pm

Lunch Date

Happy Friday!

I’m really happy that today is Friday – this week seemed so long. Both the kids were sick and missed school this week, the weather has been cold and rainy, and the week has just been dragging by but luckily, it’s Friday!

Today’s Workout:

3.35 miles, treadmill

Usually I go to BodyPump and Zumba on Fridays, but Danny had the day off today, so I was able to go to the gym at 7 am. My 15k training plan had three miles for today, so I ran them on the treadmill. The weather is still yucky outside.

After the gym, I stopped and got a post-workout Friday treat:

Our anniversary is on Monday (yes, tax day), and Danny usually takes the day off so we can spend it together just hanging out and eating lunch and stuff. It’s nice because the kids are at school, so it’s just the two of us.

We had some errands to run this morning, which ended up taking more time than we expected, so by the time we were done, we were starving. We stopped at a nearby Portillo’s for lunch.

I had the sandwich and salad combo – a chopped salad and a roasted veggie sandwich.

I forgot to say no chicken on the salad, but I just eat around it…or give it to Danny.

We shared some cheese fries. You can’t go to Portillo’s and not have fries. They are the best.

After lunch, we headed home in time for Jacob to get off the bus.

Later this evening, we’re heading to Dick’s Sporting Goods to look at shoes and workout clothes. For Valentine’s Day, we decided that we weren’t going to get each gifts and we were just going to spend the money each picking out a workout outfit.

We had planned to do that today but we didn’t have enough time, so we’re going to the store tonight. I guess it’s kind of like a Valentine’s/Anniversary present to each other.

Tomorrow night, we’re going to Maggiano’s for dinner, and I am so excited! We also went there on our first wedding anniversary. And we went when we were in Vegas a few years ago.

Vegas:

We were deciding between Maggiano’s and The Cheesecake Factory. We went with Maggiano’s because we could make a reservation and they have delicious food.

Have a wonderful weekend!

When is your anniversary? Do you celebrate?
Any plans for the weekend?
Ever been to Portillo’s? Maggiano’s? Cheesecake Factory?

runeatplay

10 Comments

Filed under Fitness, Lunch, Working Out

Tagged as anniversary, fitness, gym, lunch, portillos, running, workout

March 20, 2013 · 12:51 pm

Weight Loss Wednesday!

Last Night’s Workout

Cardio Dance – 60 minutes

Danny also had a dentist appointment yesterday, so he was home at about 5:05 pm. Since Cardio Dance starts at 5:15 pm, I usually can’t go, but since Danny was home early I had just enough time to get to the gym. And it’s always easier to go to the gym when the sun is still shining rather than when it’s dark outside.

Cardio Dance is pretty much Zumba - the workout is just a bit more intense, there’s a lot more jumping, and my heart rate gets up faster. It was a great class, and my legs are still sore today.

After Cardio Dance, I stopped by Jaden’s school and picked up some candy that we ordered for a fundraiser. I bought a few candies for Easter, but I opened the chocolate covered caramels when I got home.

I had two pieces as an after dinner treat – 54 calories. Not bad.

As I’ve said before – I believe in everything in moderation and always save some calories for an after dinner treat. I was very proud of myself for only eating two. Those little candies are the ones that I have sometimes a hard timing stopping once I’ve started eating them.

I was hungry when I got home from Cardio Dance class. Danny made me salmon belle mar for dinner while I was gone. (Salmon stuffed with crab – bought pre-made at Target). I also threw together a quick veggie salad.

I used romaine lettuce and added red pepper, green pepper, cucumbers, and pickles (my fav)! I topped with the a bit of garlic hummus as dressing.

I like making salads at home, but I always get stuck on the dressing. Dressing from a bottle isn’t as good as dressing from a restaurant, and I can never find a bottled dressing that I like. Or I buy one and don’t use it often and end up having to throw it away. So, lately I have been using hummus as dressing.

Weight Loss Wednesday!

We’re going into the second week of the FitFluential DietBet. When I first weighed in, my weight was up quite a bit – I was coming off a weekend of eating a lot and other things were going on…so my weight is down quite a bit this week. I have lost about 3.5 pounds since last week, but that just puts me back at my normal weight.

Danny also joined this DietBet with me (because I asked him to…repeatedly). He is doing awesome as usual! He has lost about 3 pounds since last week and now weighs less than 200 pounds. His first mini goal was to weigh under 200 pounds and he did it! He currently weighs 198 pounds (he’s 6’3″) and he’s still going.

He has lost about 21 pounds since January! He seems to lose weight a lot easier than I do. Maybe it’s a male thing

Today’s Workout

Plank #20 – 3 minutes and 5 seconds
BodyPump – 60 minutes
2.72 miles treadmill, walked

The other day my BodyMedia Fit band broke.

I admit that I experienced a moment of panic. I have been wearing this device constantly for three months, and it measures my calories burned, steps taken, and sleep.

Although I have gone my entire life without wearing one, I have grown used to it and checking my stats everyday. So, when it broke, I panicked. Luckily, it’s still holding on by a thread. I emailed BodyMedia, and they were awesome enough to send me out a new band at no charge.

I love a company with great customer service that stands behind their product. Now I just hope that it holds on until the new band arrives

My picture taker:

Don’t forget that today is the last day to enter my Albion Workout Clothes giveaway!

What’s your favorite way to workout?
Favorite dressing? I need ideas!
Ever have a good experience with customer service from a company? Bad experience?

runeatplay

16 Comments

Filed under Dinner, Fitness, Working Out

Tagged as bodymedia fit, caramel is delicious, dietbet, dinner, fitnes, gym, plank, weight loss, workout

December 13, 2012 · 1:37 pm

Treadmill Workout

Yesterday

Last night for dinner, I had salmon belle mar.

Salmon belle mar is salmon stuffed with crab, and it is so good. I buy them already made at Target. They also have tilapia stuffed with crab, but I wasn’t a big fan of that one. If you live by a Target and you like seafood, I recommend trying it!

Today’s Workout

I was short on time at the gym this morning because I’m watching my niece early today, and my brother dropped her off at 9:30 am.

So, I had to be in and out of the gym this morning. Whenever I’m pressed for time, I find that a HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout gets me the most bang for my buck.

During a HIIT workout, you work at a high intensity for a short time followed by a recovery period for a short time. I usually do one minute at high intensity followed by a recovery time of 1-2 minutes. During a HIIT workout, you’re body uses fast-twitch muscle fibers which are for short and powerful bursts of energy. Fast twitch muscle fibers need more energy than slow-twitch fibers, so you’ll burn more calories during your workout.

I am not a fast runner by any means, so my high intensity is usually at 6.5 or 7.0 mph followed by a recovery at 3.5-4.0 mph. This is what works for me. I keep the incline at about 1%.

Here was my workout this morning:

I left the gym nice and sweaty and felt like I got a good workout in. I also wore my Mizunos for the second time and so far so good.

Well, I’m off to make lunch for McCutie Hungry Face! Have a great day!

Questions of the day:

Do you workout when your pressed for time or do you just skip it?
Favorite fast workout?
What’s for lunch today?

runeatplay

5 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as fintess, gym, hiit, mccutie, mizuno, running, treadmill, workout

September 1, 2012 · 11:25 am

It’s Not my Fault Candy Tastes Good

Well, last night sucked. I think I ate my body weight in candy.

I ended up not going to my nephew’s football game, like originally planned. Instead, I went to my dad’s house and hung out there with my dad, brother, step-brother, sister-in-law, and niece. My dad was in Canada for 10 days and just got back.

And I got to play with this baby doll:

I know that one of my biggest problems is my sweet tooth. I love candy and sweets, and it’s something that I’m working on. I have also decided that I am a “social eater.” I do fine with my diet all day long when I’m by myself, but once it’s the weekend and I’m around family and friends, I eat like crazy. Sigh. And this weekend isn’t going to be any better. We’re going to my grandparent’s house today and there will be cake involved, and I have a special dinner tomorrow. One day at a time, one day at a time.

Today’s Workout

Boot Camp – 60 minutes
Elliptical – 33 minutes

Only one more boot camp until the Biggest Loser is over! Luckily, my gym offers boot camp year round as one of the fitness classes, so I can continue to go after the Biggest Loser is over. Today’s boot camp was tough. We had to run an obstacle course, army crawl, do push-ups and sit-ups on a stability ball, biceps and triceps with a body bar, and more.

After boot camp, I did 33 minutes on the elliptical before calling it a day. I stopped and treated myself to a McDonald’s coffee. It’s been far to long since I’ve had one.

Then I stopped at the store (story of my life) and I invested in one of these anti-puff eye rollers.

I take about a billion pictures of myself to put on the blog, and I have noticed that in all the pictures under my eyes always looks puffy. I figured that you guys didn’t want to constantly see my dark under eye circles, and since I try to avoid mirrors at all costs during the day (which is why my hair always looks so crazy), I thought I’d see if this eye de-puffer thing worked.

It better. It cost me $12.99.

Post workout breakfast in my car consisted of an Atkin’s bar and a clementine. Pretty much because I was super hungry and it was all that I had with me.

This afternoon we’re headed to my grandparents house. I’m making my orzo and spinach salad to bring with, of course. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, then you know that I bring this dish to every single family gathering. I don’t look at it as repetitive, I look at it as my signature dish. And I’ll keep making it until someone says enough already, Heather!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Questions of the day:

Does your family live close? Do you see them a lot?
Are there ever situations where you eat too much? Anyone else a “social eater”? Please, anyone?
Do you have a “signature dish” that you make?

runeatplay

20 Comments

Filed under Biggest Loser, Dinner, Family Fun, Fitness, Recipes, Working Out

Tagged as Biggest Loser, candy, family, orzo and spinach salad, puffy eyes, workout

August 19, 2012 · 9:34 am

Cooper’s Hawk

Yesterday’s Workout

Biggest Loser Boot Camp – 60 minutes

Date Night Dinner

Last night, Danny took me on a date night dinner to Cooper’s Hawk restaurant.

He had been there once before for a work outing and wanted me to try it. Cooper’s Hawk is a winery and restaurant, which is funny because neither one of us drink wine, but the food is delicious.

Last night’s dinner was my “splurge night”, so I ordered what I wanted. The nice thing about Cooper’s Hawk is that they bring you a separate Life Balance Menu with healthier options. But did I order from it? No.

We started with complementary pretzel bread, which was warm and delicious.

I debated getting soup. I normally don’t order soup at restaurants, but I read great reviews of their crab and lobster bisque, so I went ahead an ordered a cup. I am so glad that I did. The soup was so flavorful with chunks of crab, lobster, and shrimp. I’m usually not a shrimp fan, but in this soup I didn’t mind the shrimp.

For my meal, I ordered the flatbread and salad combo. I got the caprese flatbread with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, red onion, basil, pesto, and balsamic reduction. It was outstanding. I don’t really like tomatoes much – I don’t mind them as much cooked – but I did pick some of them off. I only ate about half of my flatbread because I was getting so full.

For my salad, I got the caesar pesto chopped salad. The best part of the salad was the creamy caesar pesto dressing. It’s one of the best dressings that I’ve ever had. The only thing that I was slightly disappointed about was that some of the lettuce was a little brown. I think that if you’re going to a nice and expensive restaurant, none of the lettuce should be brown at all. It wasn’t a very big deal and everything tasted amazing.

Danny had a steak with the most amazing potatoes – they were shredded potatoes with creamy white cheddar and scallions. I helped myself to a few bites of those.

And even though we were pretty full, we ordered dessert. I saw a Reese’s ice cream cookie on the dessert menu and knew there was no way that I could leave without trying it. It had Reese’s peanut butter cups cooked right into the cookie!

We shared the cookie and ice cream, and I think we finished it in about 60 seconds. Perfection.

After dinner, we walked around a bit, and then went to pick up the kids from Danny’s parents, who watched them for us.

Also, we finally have a water heater and water! Thank you to my brother-in-law and husband who put the water heater in, and thank you to my brother and sister-in-law who let me shower at their house.

Questions of the day:

Did you do anything fun on Saturday? Any plans for today?
Do you share meals when you go out to a restaurant? I always have to steal a few bites of Danny’s fries or potatoes.

runeatplay

9 Comments

Filed under Biggest Loser, Dinner, Fun

Tagged as boot camp, cooper's hawk, date night, dinner, ice cream cookie, workout

July 3, 2012 · 8:13 am

Lots of Food and A Tough Workout

Nuun giveaway winners:

Carmel Atanasu-teeters
Kristin

Congrats! Please email me at runeatplay@hotmail.com with your shipping address asap, and I will ship out your selected flavors of Nuun.

Over the weekend, we went on a family fro-yo trip.

Followed by a family Whole Foods trip.

The family that eats fro-yo and buys overpriced groceries together, stays together. While we were there, I picked up a few things that I made for dinner last night.

First, I tried the mango jicama salad from the deli.

It was a different taste, I thought it was good, but not good enough that I’d buy it again.

I also bought maple tamari salmon to try. The guy at the fish counter recommended it, so I figured I’d try it out. I had him cut the 6 oz piece in half, so I could eat it two nights.

I’m the kind of person that likes a little bit of lots of foods, rather than a big portion of one food. I think it makes me feel like I’m getting more food, and I love a variety of food at once. So, I have the fish guy cut the salmon in half so that I can have other sides with it and not be over stuffed.

Besides the mango jicama salad, I had corn on the cob and steamed brussels sprouts.

Baby McCutie Love Bunny got to eat fun stuff, like puffs. Because how can eating puffs not be fun?

About an hour after dinner, I went to my Biggest Loser workout (and yes, it was a mistake eating that close to working out). This was the toughest workout yet. We split into two groups, and half of us went into the spin bike room. In there, we split in half again, and some of us did the Spin bike and some of us did strength with hand weights.

When it was time to switch, I asked if I could just stay on the Spin bike since I had done BodyPump earlier in the morning. That Spin bike was tough! By the time I got off, my quads were feeling it. Then we switched with the first group so they could come into the Spin room. We ended up doing more strength training while the second group was doing Spin. I just stuck to five-pound weights. We did tons of squats and upper arm exercises.

I’m not feeling too bad this morning, so I’m going to Butts and Guts class this morning. Have a great day!

Questions of the day:

Do you like a variety of food at once or stick to just a couple of foods at meal times?
Is there an expensive food that you love and will splurge on? I think the WF mango is overpriced, but I will always buy it because I love it.
Any plans for the 4th tomorrow?

runeatplay

7 Comments

Filed under Biggest Loser, Dinner, Family Fun, Working Out

Tagged as Biggest Loser, fro-yo, spin, whole foods, workout

April 24, 2012 · 2:40 pm

Winner, Winner Red Robin…Lunch

First, some exciting news! Well, exciting for me, not really for you. The Bliss website held an Earth Day Pinterest contest over the weekend, and I won! I won a $200 Whole Foods gift card! I am so excited. This is by far the best prize I have ever won. I kind of feel like I won the lotto. With a $200 Whole Foods gift card, I can probably buy four bags of groceries! Thanks so much to the Bliss website for this awesome prize.

You gotta play to win.

Today’s Workout

Butts and Guts Class

I went to a fitness class this morning and there was five of us ladies there. I much prefer this to the overcrowded room like yesterday.

All by myself…

We did a lot of cardio and kettle ball exercises today. After my workout, Jaden and I shared an apple.

Yes, we shared it. I also cut paper towels in half, much to my family’s dismay.

This afternoon, I met some family at Red Robin for lunch.

Unfortunately, Red Robin doesn’t have a “lighter” menu, but they do have a cool nutrition customizer on their website. I have a weakness for Red Robin’s fries, and knew that I would be eating some. So, using their nutrition customizer, I was able to figure out a light and healthy option for lunch that included some fries.

I had a side house salad, without cheese and croutons, and with ranch dressing on the side.

I also had an order of steamed broccoli.

The best way to go to Red Robin? With crazy hair, no make-up, and sweaty workout clothes.

Since I ate so light, I was able to have fries! I stuck with a small amount because sometimes all you really need is a taste to be satisfied.

My brother likes the fries too.

The best part of Red Robin if you’re a kid? The balloon.

Questions of the day:

Do you try to order healthy when you go to a restaurant, or do you just eat what you want?
Any tips for healthy eating at restaurants? One tip I’ve heard is to immediately put half of your entrée in a to-go box. Restaurants portions are huge and half is usually about the right portion. Plus, you’ll had leftovers!

If you won the Skinny Pop Giveaway, don’t forget to email me @ runeatplay@hotmail.com with your mailing address!

runeatplay

19 Comments

Filed under Family Fun, Fitness, Lunch

Tagged as are, awesome, fries, healthy restaurant eating, red robin, workout

April 14, 2012 · 11:11 am

Mommy and Me

Yesterday’s Workout

42 minutes treadmill

Danny got home early yesterday, so I was able to go to the gym. I started with walking two minutes and then running two minutes. After doing that a couple of times, I felt good so I bumped it up to four minutes of running and two minutes of walking. I felt a lot better running than I did the day before. I completed 3.20 miles total. (If your new around these parts, I’ve had a few injuries that prevented me from running for a while – tight calves and plantar fasciitis).

Dinner

For dinner last night, I made the No Name salmon. It was definitely worth the money – it was delicious. And it was so nice and easy to cook. You just pop it in the oven or on the grill and a little popper thing pops out when it’s done.

I also had carrots, green pepper, and celery with hummus and some grapes.

After dinner, Jaden and I went to Mommy and Me Night at his school.

There were games, crafts, and a decorate your own cupcake station. I had one small bite of Jaden’s cupcake. Don’t hold back on the sprinkles there, Jaden.

Today’s Workout

Yoga – 60 minutes
Lift and Tone Class – 45 minutes

I woke up at 7 am this morning because my body doesn’t believe in sleeping in on the weekends. I went to yoga at 8:30 am and then afterwards I stayed for a new fitness class that my gym is offering – Lift and Tone. It’s a full body workout using dumbbells, body bars, and a stability ball. I was nice and tired by the time I was done. And hungry.

I came home and had a strawberry greek yogurt and a 100 calorie pack of almonds.

This afternoon, Danny and I are heading to Whole Foods and Woodfield Mall before we have our anniversary dinner date at The Melting Pot. I can’t wait!

Questions of the day:

What time do you wake up on the weekends?
What was the last store that you went to?

runeatplay

3 Comments

Filed under Dinner, Family Fun, Fitness, Working Out

Tagged as dinner, life and tone, mommy and me, no name, workout, yoga

December 18, 2011 · 3:35 pm

My Lungs Don’t Like to Work

Workout

4.52 miles treadmill
20 minutes stationary bike
10 minutes stretching

I woke up and went to the gym this morning, planning on running on the treadmill for a bit. However, my lungs didn’t agree and thought that running was a dumb idea. And since your lungs help you breathe, you essentially have to listen to them.

I was pretty wheezy today and my chest felt tight, and since I didn’t have my inhaler with me, I decided just to do a walking workout with little bursts of jogging. My wheezing has no rhyme or reason to it. I don’t have asthma (I don’t think), I just get wheezy sometimes.

So, I walked for 1 hour and 5 minutes on the treadmill with a little bit of jogging and switching between and incline of 1 and 5. I did a total of 4.52 miles and then hopped on the stationary bike for 20 minutes and finished up with 10 minutes of stretching.

After the gym, I went to McDonald’s for coffee. Surprisingly, I wasn’t in a Dunkin Donuts mood. (I don’t think that has ever happened). McDonald’s coffee it was!

I also had a thinkThin white chocolate bar. And in case you haven’t see enough close up self pics, here’s another one:

For some reason, I expected this bar to be all white chocolate, but it was just covered in white chocolate. Still yummy, though.

Then I ran a few errands with my dad, and I found these Harry & David’s peach preserves at TJ Maxx, so I was a happy girl. I never find Harry & David’s at TJ Maxx!

I used the peach preserves on my bagelwich for lunch – so good and quite sweet. I also had a the same salad as yesterday, except without salmon and I added spinach. I decided to spare you the picture of the lunch that I’ve eaten three days in a row.

Only one more week until Christmas! Do you have any fun Christmas traditions? We go to my grandparent’s every Christmas Eve and then we come home and leave out cookies and milk for Santa Claus! And carrots for the reindeer!