The change You Want to Be!

Many of you may know that a year ago today my dad had a massive heart attack. For my dad this meant a major lifestyle change. Not just a change in diet but also he had to begin a workout regimen. When something major happens like this it also changes those closest to you. I am so proud of my parents, their diet has changed and they workout 3 days a week. My dad has lost over 40 lbs and my mom is looking awesome too.

I want to make sure you make a change in your life so that you can live the healthiest lifestyle for you, prevent heart attacks, diabetes, high cholesterol, and of course hypertension. Ok the nurse in me had to speak about health issues that come along with being overweight and unhealthy.

Many of you requested for me to put up weekly workouts for people to follow. It's hard to go to the gym if you don't know what to do while you are there, so I want to help out with that. I am putting up a five day workout. It would be amazing to do all 5 days but at least do 3 of the 5 days. If there are things on here that you do not know how to do you can look up videos on YouTube! Don't just skip them ladies. :)

Day one: Legs and Biceps

* 10-15 minutes of cardio of your choice
* Biceps cable cord (3 sets of 12)
* Leg extensions ( 3 sets of 12)
* Alternating dumbbell curls- do a challenging weight (3 sets of 12 on each arm)
* Leg curls (3 sets of 12)
* Barbell curls (3 of 12)
* Standing calf raises (3 sets of 12)
* Cool down with 20-45 minutes of light cardio

Day Two: Shoulders and Triceps

* 20 minutes of cardio of your choice
* Flat Bench Press (3 sets of 10)
* Tricep kick backs (3 sets of 10)
* Tricep Dips (3 sets of 10)
* Overhead dumbbell extensions ( 3 sets of 10)
* Decline Bench Press ( 3 sets of 10)
* Alternating dumbbell forward raise (3 sets of 10)
* 20 minutes of light cardio for cool down

Day Three: Legs and Biceps

* 8- 10 minutes of Cardio
* Foward Lunges (10 each leg- 3 sets)
- if you want a challenge: hold dumbbell a while doing the lunges!!
* Straight Leg Deadlifts holding dumbbell a (3 sets of 10)
* Seated Calf Raises (3 sets of 10)
* Chin ups ( 3 sets of 10)
* Preacher curls (3 sets of 10)
* Cool Down: 20-60 minutes of light cardio

Day 4: Chest and Shoulders
* 20-60 minutes of cardio exercise of your choice
* Pec flies ( 3 sets of 10)
* Flat and Lateral Dumbbell raises (3 sets of 10)
* Overhead Press ( 3 sets of 10)
* Incline bench press (3 sets of 10)
* Dumbbell Pullovers ( 3 sets of 10)

Day 5: Back and Triceps
* interval train: Jog for 2 minutes and sprint for 30. Repeat this for 5 sets :)
* Lat pull downs with bar (3 sets of 10)
* Cable Rows ( 3 sets of 10)
* Dumbbell rows ( 3 sets of 10)
* Tricep pull downs with rope ( 3 sets of 10)
* Tricep kickbacks with dumb bells ( 3 sets of 10 each arm)
* Seated Dips ( 3 sets of 10)

So this is a challenge for you guys. Lets prevent health issues by taking care of ourselves. Do not compare yourself to others in the gym, you be competitive with yourself. I do believe its wonderful to have a workout partner to encourage you and challenge you, but make sure they are as committed as you are. Lets do this challenge together ladies. Let me know how you are doing with this over Facebook or twitter.

( Workouts from Live strong)

Goals Met, Inspiration Found, and Future Planned

As many of you know I have been training for a marathon since December. I met my first goal in my training this weekend with the men seen in the picture above (Carlos, Ryan, and Justin). This was Justin, Ryan, and my first half marathon; its amazing to reach goals with friends and especially your husband. Some may think that they could never run 13.1 miles and there were times where I definitely thought I would never get there. You definitely have to put your whole heart into it. It takes time and dedication to reach goals, but if you put all you have into it you can do anything that you dream of. My time was better than I thought it would be, but I definitely have a long way to go to reach my goal pace. The boys did incredible and I am so proud of each of them. To think that we all burned around 1700 calories was a great feeling. If you ever want to run a  half marathon or marathon I would definitely recommend this one. Many people say that running is boring, which can be true, but this run was gorgeous. We ran down the battery and up king street (lots of amazing stores) and then back down through a water front park. The history of Charleston was seen all through the run which kept it interesting.  If I had just been running for the fun of it I would definitely taken pictures along the way. Here are a few pictures from the race:

This was on the way to the race in the car.

Right before the start line :)

When we finished our first half!!

After the race was over we saw a man with an incredible t-shirt on that said, "13.1 still easier than chemo". Of course it brought about a lot of questions. His wife had died of cancer back in August and now his daughter is running 12 half marathons in 12 months to raise money for  VCU Massey Cancer center. For those of you that know me  you know that cancer is my passion. I one day want to have my dream job which is working with children with cancer. This organization really touched my heart so I wanted to share it with all of you to make sure we give/ pray for a cure for cancer. It affects so many people and we need to find a cure for this terrible disease. We all have been affected by cancer in our lives. I personally have seen it all in my family and friends, beginning with myself being diagnosed with Melanoma back in 2007. My grandmother died of Leukemia and my sister in law's sweet mother just passed about this past year with pancreatic cancer. Team up with me to stop this terrible disease. www,stilleasierthanchemo.com

This past weekend proved to me that I definitely need to do more than just running to increase my time and pace for my marathon. My sweet friend Mallory told me about an amazing workout challenge to do and I wanted to share it with all of you. The website is called www.toneitup.com . There are workouts on there for every day and also nutrition plans. Everyday you check in for your workout through posting a picture on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. There is a community page where you can find friends or people in your town or state to keep you accountable. Today will be my first day with this and of course I still have my running plan. So for you that tell me you do not know what to do in the gym this would be good for you to try. It also has youtube videos to watch if you are not 100% sure what an exercise is and it will show you how to do it. Find me on there and we can be encouragement to each other.

Thank you for all your support with my Marathon training. I could not do it without all of the encouragement from you guys. Spread the word about my blog :)

Half Marathon Week

As I prepare for this weekend of running my first half marathon it makes me think if why I started back running to begin with. Justin has been an incredible inspiration. Even though he hates to run he started with me so we could have a goal to reach together! I cannot wait to meet him at he finish line even though he will finish way before me. (My little legs just don't keep up). If you have a significant other or just a friend it's an amazing thing to do together. You have something fun together and its accountability. It's amazing how much harder you want to push yourself when you have someone right beside you encouraging you the whole way.
I also think of my friend Erin. This girl is incredible! She ran her first marathon last year and has run several halves. She is the one who encouraged Justin and I to actually train for a WHOLE MARATHON in march :) Erin is an incredible inspiration to me. She always ask me how running is going and tells me how her runs went for the day. When I've had a bad run she's always the first one to tell me to not stop trying that even she has bad days ( which I don't believe). We share healthy recipes and ways to be active. She is also the one who encouraged me to try being a vegetarian. I am so thankful I am now, it makes a huge difference in running :) also she is a yoga instructor and of course showed me how important yoga and stretching can be.
I encourage you to find those people in your lives who encourage you to stay healthy and never give up on something you know you can accomplish.
God has also been my #1 inspiration. He reminds me all the time that my "talent" comes from him. If I ever give up I'm reminded of this, how I should run for his glory and for those who cannot run. Frequently I remind myself of how blessed I am to be able to run freely and whenever I want. Some people would do anything to run or even use their legs. For those of us who can remember how blessed we are and use your talent and ability :)
Wish me good luck this weekend as I meet my first big goal in running! I'm overwhelmed with excitement and will definitely post pictures.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. ( 1 Corinthians 9:24)

Remember PEACE, LOVE, and FITNESS :)

Protein Packed Enchiladas

Last night I actually made dinner.. I know it's crazy, but they actually turned out really well. I am a vegetarian so I will tell you the way I made mine as well as the way I made Justin's. Let me start off with a list of ingredients that you are going to need:
- Three Large carrots
-Two onions (any kind is fine, I used red)
- Two cans of diced tomatoes (NO SALT ADDED)
-Salsa
-Chicken (optional)
-Lentils
-Lime
-Cumin
-Chili Powder
-Tortillas (We made 10 with this recipe)
- Fat Free Greek Yogurt
-Fat Free Cheddar Cheese
-Olive oil

You want to start out by putting some olive oil into a frying pan and letting that heat up. Once this is heated up place the chopped onions and grated carrots into the pan until they are soft.

Once these are soft, place into a pot and add the tomatoes (drained) and lentils. Also squeeze the lime into the mix and add chili powder to taste.

Once this is done you are ready to begin putting them together. Place the tortillas into a glass pyrex dish.  Fill them to however much you want, and then fold them over and flip them upside down. This is also where you can add chicken if you are not a vegetarian. Add the chicken first at then the mixture. Make sure that the mixture from the pot is not too watery before you place it into the tortillas or they will get soggy.

After that you want to mix the greek yogurt and cheese into a small dish. Mix together and then spread over top of the tortillas. You can add cheese (and low sodium salsa) on top as well.

Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. They are really good and full of protein :) Hope that you enjoy.

Peace, Love, and Health :)

If you can BELIEVE it you CAN do it :)

Many of us give up our "new years resolution" within the first month. Don't make resolutions such as I want to lose 10 lbs or I want to cut out soft drinks. Make a new lifestyle. You can do this ladies :) it takes 4 weeks to begin to see change. We easily want to stop if we don't see a pound of the scale or can't finish your first mile within that first week. Do not give up..

Working out and running is totally a mind game when it comes to giving up. I finally got over my mind game with running. When I began training for this marathon I could not even run 3 miles due to the games playing in my head. The past week I ran 10 miles without stopping. I promise there were many times when my legs were sore, but it goes away. I continuously tell myself, "Kayla you aren't dying, hurt, or vomiting keep running". I want each of you to fight through each run or work out. I promise you will be so proud of yourself when you fought through the burn. I remember someone telling me when you hurt it's your fat crying for help. Work hard. Set goals for each week. It is easier to keep short goals than long. For those of you who want to begin running their are training plans for every kind of race. If you normally don't run try the couch to 5K challenge. It's a weekly running plan to get you to the point to run 3.1 miles! I promise once you accomplish that you will want to continue to increase your mileage.
Other way to encourage to meet your goal is to have a workout partner or running partner; this helps with amazing accountability. Other ways to encourage a goal is to sign up for a race. This way you have to start training so you can finish a race.
Ladies lets start living a healthy lifestyle. Encourage each other to stay active and eat healthy. If you don't give up you will be able to have that body you wanted or reach the mileage you want to. If you stop you are going to get to summer and say why did I give up! Surround yourself with healthy habits. Don't go down the candle aisle at the grocery store or the brownie aisle at that. Remember that feeling of how bad you want to be on the best shape of your life!

Post Run Hydration

Yesterday I began my new year on the right foot. My husband and I continued our training for our Marathon with a 4 mile run and of course yoga afterwards. I thought about what I was going to blog about next when we got home and realized quickly I need to talk about how important it is to rehydrate your body after working out.

As soon as we got home we immediately replenished our electrolytes with a nuun tablet. You can get these at any running store and they actually taste really good. My personal favorite is grape, but there are several other flavored such as: pink lemonade, fruit punch, and lemon lime.

Not only after a run or work out but throughout the day you should care a bottle of water with you. Justin and I both carry around a 32 oz Nalgene bottle. The better your body is hydrated the better it will perform. Lately we have began spicing up our water a little bit; we have added mint, lime, and cucumbers into our Brita. This water combination is also a very good detox for our bodies.

Last but not least we have to fuel our body with protein to feed our muscles. I know that it's easy to grab already made up protein shakes at the grocery store but usually they are packed with sugar. We buy the leanest whey protein at our gym and make our own at home. It's really simple, add almond milk (unsweetened), all natural peanut butter or almond butter, and all natural oats, and begin to mix in a blender. After you started the blender and the peanut butter is good and mixed in add the protein powder. If you add the powder at first with everything else it will stick to the sides. Then enjoy... It's very delicious.

So remember to hydrate. You will see a great improvement in your overall tightness and your performance :)