Who is ready for another challenge?

It is that time of year again!  New Year resolutions will be in full swing tomorrow and then being failed by about 12pm :)

How about you stick to that resolution this year of eating better and getting active with our January Challenge!

2013 January Challenge

Details:

1. It is free
2. There are prizes for most % of body comp lost
3. It will be over in time for your Valentines day decisions
4. We will be pushing more of a maintenance phase this time when its over so you are really ready for those spring break vacations
5. You will have support from me and all the others competing with us!

Recommendations:

1. Drink 80oz of water per day
2. Eat at least 7 servings of fruits and vegetables per day
3. Eat protein at each meal
4. Completely avoid processed and fried foods
5. Avoid gluten, high fructose corn syrup and trans fats
6. Workout at least 3 times per week
7. Take a fish oil or similar supplement daily
8. Limit alcohol to 1 drink per week
9. Limit dairy to 1 time per day
10. Stick to these recommendations at least 80% of the time.  The closer to 100% you are the better the results you will have.

Initial measurements start 1/7 and all measurements must be completed by 2/16.

If you want to join us let me know so we can set up your initial measurement time for next week.  I will also supply you with a food list and other helpful info!

If you have friends, family or co-workers that also want to join they are welcome.  You will be more successful with support.

For more motivation and help "like" my Facebook page
www.facebook.com/stephaniewinters30

Happy New Years Eve, Eve

Happy almost 2013 to everyone!

What a year, 2012 has been a year of joy, changes, travel, playing, crying, dancing, working, teaching, running, weddings, happiness, sports, unknowns and love.  

My year included:

• lots of family time with my baby girl
• another happy year with my amazing husband
• job changes
• gaining an appreciation for "date night"
• travels to Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada, California
• watching Adam play a lot of basketball and softball
• Addison's first birthday
• getting even healthier and fitter
• weddings of some great friends
• my Broncos ending the regular season 11-0 and securing the #1 seed in the AFC
• the worst/best Christmas ever

My Christmas season started off normal and exciting.  Addison didn't like Santa this year which was not surprising.  We had some great celebrations with friends, co-workers and were getting ready for all the fun with family to begin Christmas Eve.  I then received called from my brother and step-dad Christmas Eve morning and they were concerned about my mom.

I then drove to Blaine to check on her.  She had her tonsils and adenoids removed the previous Thursday (20th) and had been doing fine.  When I got to my moms I found her delirious, with labored breathing and cold.  We took her to the ER expecting there was an infection from surgery or dehydration.

For the next couple of hours we watched doctor and nurses run in/out of her room trying to figure out what was going on.  Finally after a couple of hours they felt she was stable enough to move to the ICU and wait for more tests to come back.

Things they found going on with her: 
Lungs
Heart 
Kidneys
Liver

Lungs- right lung collapsed, has pneumonia and on was placed on a ventilator until Friday afternoon (5 days).  There is still lots of fluid in there but at least is now clear. The pneumonia is still being treated with antibiotics. They feel the pneumonia was caused from her not taking deep breaths after surgery because of the pain.  Some blood and a scab from the surgery site fell into her lung while she was sleeping Sunday night which collapsed it.  She probably didn't wake up because of her pain medication.

Heart- Started with really high enzymes.  They were not sure if she was having issues with it or if it was just the stress of everything else.  Now its doing great, high enzymes she had Monday have now came down. Her blood pressure was really low from being dehydrated but has been finally stable.  Her blood pressure was so low it damaging the kidneys.

Kidneys- In kidney failure and not coming back yet. She was super dehydrated from not eating and drinking after surgery because of the pain. They started dialysis last week and that will continue this week.  Also because they cant give her a lot of pain meds because of possible further damage to her kidneys they were keeping her heavily sedated.  She is now conscious but still having trouble focusing and thinking from all the toxins in her body.

Liver- In liver failure, hepatitis, cirrhosis and some still unknown spots.  Today it was still failing and enlarged but not getting worse. She was born with liver cancer and 2/3 was removed with her gallbladder and she had chemo when she was 6 months old so her liver has always been damaged.  There is also the daily ibuprofen from headaches from not sleeping well because her tonsils were too big, years of drinking and the recent pain meds from surgery.

She is on the road to recovery, it might be long but at least there is a road.  We have been very fortunate to have so many thinking and praying for her this last week.  We have also been fortunate to have the doctors and nurses working around the clock attending to her every need.  2013 will be a much better year for my mom!

Here is to a Healthy and Happy 2013.  Tell those you care about how you feel and make the time to do the things important to you in life.  Who knows what 2013 will hold!

My mom, Addison, Adam and I in North Carolina this summer

Christmas Eve, I left the hospital for a bit to eat with Adam, Addison and my brother Tyler

Christmas at my Moms just a couple of days before her surgery

Christmas Eve, Eve celebration with friends

Playing at her great grandmas

Addison got to spend Christmas day with my grandma and dad.  She got an motorized Harley Davidson!

Playing at her great grandmas again, poor Addi was moved all around this past week

Merry Christmas Eve, Eve

Good night, or morning I suppose as it might be when you get to this.  I hope everyone is enjoying their Holiday time with family and friends.  Sorry for any of you who had to go shopping this weekend, the malls we drove by looked like they were packed!

I am sure there will be a lot of food choices over the next few days and not all of them will be the best.  Try to still eat vegetables and protein.  I even recommend starting your meal with vegetables, and then protein.  At least that way you can get some healthy options!

If all else fails at least stick to some workouts!  I plan to start my day tomorrow with a good workout, and did a great job of it this last week.

Have a great next couple of days, enjoy your time with family and friends, stay somewhat conscious about your food choices and get ready for a great 2013!

Almost 2013

It is hard to believe but its really almost 2013.  Did you get all you wanted out of 2012?  If you didn't, there is still 13 full days left of 2012, plenty of time to do some things :)

What do you want to accomplish in 2013?  Where do you want to go?  Who do you want to be?  The great thing about January 1st is that every year we can get a fresh start on a new year.

But....

Do we really have to wait until Jan 1, or Monday or any other 1st to start? No!  I do recommend waiting to start something until your ready, but in all honesty if you always wait until your ready or the time is right not a lot would get done.

When it comes to goal setting here are some tips I have

• Create a big picture
• Make it realistic
• Break the big picture into smaller little goals and tasks to accomplish along the way
• Write the small goals down
• Start working on a plan to hit the small goals
• execution!

Here are the top "New Years Resolutions" according to usa.gov

• drink less alcohol
• eat better
• lose weight
• find a better job
• manage debt
• manage stress
• recycle
• quit smoking
• take a trip
• save money
• volunteer

Does one of your 2013 goals fit in there?  If so, try to make it SMART

• S - Specific (or Significant).
• M - Measurable (or Meaningful).
• A - Attainable (or Action-Oriented).
• R - Relevant (or Rewarding).
• T - Time-bound (or Trackable).

But most of all find ways to stick with it in 2013!  If you need help let me know!  Here is to a successful 2013

Nike Fuel

Curious about Nike Fuel and what it is?  Check out this post I wrote for OSR!

http://osrptfitness.blogspot.com/2012/12/what-is-nike-fuel.html

Tuesday night dinner

Who else is thankful for AWD and winter tires this week! I just love when a 15 minute drive turns into 60+, at least it is pretty outside.

Tonight we had a yummy classic of fish and chips!

We had baked tilapia with lemon pepper and sweet potato chips (a sweet potato chopped into small pieces and baked as well).  It was filling, tasted good and warm on a cool night like tonight!

I am also planning for a great workout in the morning.  Since Life Time Academy is on a short break I will get time to workout tomorrow!

-10 minute warm up of basketball
-TRX Circuit
-Right shoulder strength
-Cardio and core work
-Lots of foam rolling my sore neck

Lastly, if this has not been a good week so far, there is always tomorrow!

Good Reads

Here are some good articles, posts and other blogs I read this last week, enjoy!

All about cardio training
http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/930/Is_Aerobic_or_Anaerobic_Training_Best_For_Getting_.aspx

Food Ratios for Athletes and more
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-Fueling-Station-Sports-Nutrition-Newsletter.html?soid=1103304917818&aid=7TzFsjByLtQ

Sugar free hot chocolate
http://healthylivinghowto.com/1/post/2012/12/healthy-recipe-hot-chocolate-mix.html

200 Health and Fitness Tips
http://www.lifetime-weightloss.com/blog/2012/12/1/200-health-and-fitness-tips-for-our-200th-issue-of-flourish.html
       My personal favorites are:

1. Your abs don’t get lean by doing lots of sit-ups.
2. Abs are made in the kitchen.
3. A personal trainer who only focuses on exercise is as valuable as a smartphone that only makes phone calls.
4. If a cereal claims to have as much protein as an egg, realize it’s not the same quality protein found in an egg.
5. When you celebrate, do it without including food.
6. If you choose to drink alcohol, opt for clear liquor, tequila or red wine.

Recap of OSR's blog, including some great Pilates abdominal exercises and running information
www.osrpt.blogspot.com

Hope you enjoyed our first real snowfall of the year and didn't have to spend all day stuck in traffic

Quick Dinner and Review

Looking for a quick, yummy and filling dinner?

Try turning the oven on, placing some chicken tenders that are lightly seasoned (I like lemon pepper) on a pan and cook!  After the chicken is about halfway done add a pan of asparagus with some sea salt and then you have a quick, easy, yummy and filling dinner.  I like to add some Ken Davis BBQ sauce in with the chicken as well!  This is a great dinner for me on non workout days.  If it had been a workout day I would have added some quinoa or brown rice.

Here is the finished product from last night!

It also goes perfectly with my new saying of stick out your left hand on your plate, that should be your protein amount.  Then stick out your right hand and that should be your color.  Hard to eat bad when your following that!

Review  

It is always fun to get mail, when its not bills.  When I got home today I had a box on the front step and it was my order of supplements!  Its even more exciting to open a box.  As I opened the box and started to put things away, I came to the realization we have a lot of supplements!

Our supplement cabinet, this does not include the 5 jugs of protein powder in the next cabinet and the fish oil and probiotics in the fridge!

So if you open a cabinet and it looks like this, or similar.  And you are not sure why you have all the things in there you do time to read up on some of my previous supplement posts!  Enjoy......

Supplement Breakdown

Pre/Post Workout Nutrition

Links

Have a great rest of your week!

Healthy past time favorite!

Good old spaghetti night!  Who doesn't remember coming home excited for spaghetti night?  You had grandmas, your moms and even at your friend house.  My personal favorite growing up was our carbo loading dinners before basketball games, something nowadays I WOULD NOT recommend.

These days our spaghetti night looks much different from the gluten filled pasta, high fructose corn syrup filled sauces and garlic bread oh garlic bread of the past.

Spaghetti night tonight involved:

• Salad-Romaine leaves with celery, carrots and peppers with a light olive oil dressing
• Gluten free, brown rice noodles, Tinkyada to be exact
• Grass fed ground beef
• Victoria Italian veggie marinara, yes I could make the sauce from scratch but who has all that time on a Monday night
• Southern Vineyards Oktoberfest White Table Wine, again its a Monday night, there is football and I have been dealing with a sick kid all day

That looks way different than spaghetti night of years past, but let me tell you it was still good and good for us, well mostly.

 The main course

Pasta Sauce, Costco special 

The gluten and wheat free pasta, I really like it and cannot tell a difference, I also have not had regular pasta in a long time so my taste buds might be skewed.

The wine, yes there is still some left, I try to stick to serving sizes with my alcohol

Good night, and how about those Broncos! Playoff bound!

Vitamin D

Are you taking Vitamin D? Do you know why? Are you getting enough or have you had your levels tested?

My short answer about Vitamin D: It is essential for bone health, energy and also been shown to help with most autoimmune disorders and cancers. You get some from the sun but as soon as you shower it rinses off. Even most southern states are populated with Vitamin D deficient kids and adults.  My daughter has been taking vitamin D since she was 1 week old.

My long answer about Vitamin D:

• It is a fat soluble vitamin we get from the sun or certain foods like Vitamin D milk.  
• Since it is fat soluble, you can take too much, research has shown taking 50,000 IU daily over several months can lead to toxicity (that is a lot)
• For a normal healthy adult it is recommended to take 4,000 IU daily
• Low levels have been associated with mortality, bone health, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis  cardiovascular disease, cancer, rickets, birth defects and higher risk of catching viruses.
• Yes, you can get vitamin D from the sun, but just an SPF of 8 can reduce your absorption by 95%, plus when its cold and the sun is far away there is not a lot of time to spend in the sun
• 1913 is when taking Vitamin D was first discovered as beneficial
• Those with thyroid issues should really consider taking it to boost calcium absorption
• Canada recognizes it in their health system and on their labels that Vitamin D is the best nutrient for bone health
• There are 5 types of Vitamin D, D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5.  Vitamin D2 & D3 are the most beneficial for humans
• Vitamin D has been shown to help with brain function, especially later in life
• Vitamin D has also shown to help complications with Diabetes including blood glucose metabolism

I highly recommend you take Vitamin D, get your Vitamin D levels tested and share some of this info with friends and family so they can realize the importance of vitamin D.

Some additional resources on vitamin D:

www.webmd.com

www.reuters.com

www.newyorktimes.com

www.diabetes.org

www.douglaslabs.com