Are you working too hard or hardly working?

After months of hearing my spin class instructors talk about the benefits of using a heart rate monitor, I finally bought one for myself! For as much time as I spend at the gym, this purchase was well worth it. Because I can track my calories burned and heart rate, I can easily determine how hard I'm working (or not working!)

I learned that my maximum heart rate is 184, my 70% target is 129, my low end is 124 and my resting heart rate is 65. Knowing this information is very valuable because I've learned that I'm burning more calories than I thought during my spinning workouts (good news) and that I sometimes tend to have a heart rate over 184, which means I'm working too hard. Also, during my step/kickboxing class yesterday, I learned that I was not working hard enough. I was able to do some of the advanced moves and use my arms more to get my heart rate up where it should be.

Get one! I found mine at Target for $49.49!

Tasty and simple recipe from Clean Eating

My latest favorite magazine is Clean Eating magazine. I am not much of a cook, but even I can handle many of the recipes and tips they offer. I highly recommend subscribing! We tried this recipe last week and it tasted great and provided leftovers for lunch!

Turkey Sausage Ragu
Serves 4
(I did some substitutes that are in parentheses)
477 Calories/17.5 Fat/11 Fiber Per Serving

Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme (I used dried thyme)
8 oz spicy Italian turkey sausage, casings discarded (I used 12 oz)
1/4 tsp chile flakes
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine (Good excuse to have wine with dinner! I used Rosemount Shiraz.)
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, torn (I used dried)
1 large bunch kale, cleaned and stems discarded, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
8oz whole wheat pappardelle, fettucine, or tagliatelle pasta (I used 12 oz whole wheat egg noodles)
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, for garnish (I didn't add this)
Parmigiano Reggiano, for garnish (I used low fat grated parmesan)

Instructions
1. Set a pot of salted water over medium heat to begin boiling for the pasta while you prep the rest.

2. Add 1 tbsp oil, onion, and thyme to a separate large pot over medium heat. Stir well, cover, and cook until onion is softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add sausage, chile flakes, and garlic. Continue cooking 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Off the heat, deglaze the pan by adding the wine. Return to heat and allow to reduce for 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes, oregano, and kale. Stir well, cover, and cook 5 minutes. Remove cover and continue cooking 10 minutes, or until sauce is slightly reduced and thickened. Stir in additional 2 tbsp oil and the balsamic vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. When the sauce is almost finished (when 10min remain), add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions. Drain well and toss with sausage mixture. Serve topped with a drizzle of olive oil and grated cheese.

Fat blast

I'm heading south for a few days in March so I can get out of this cold weather. Warm sun means less clothes, so I've been putting a bit more effort toward my food tracking and exercise routine. I'm not a believer in crash diets, but there are a few things I've been doing like cutting sodium and drinking a lot of water. I've also been changing up my workouts to help burn more fat:

Body shock
Overloading muscles can keep your body guessing. Instead of resting in between my sets while weightlifting, I've been doing all sets in a circuit without rest. Also, instead of three sets of each exercise, I've been doing four.

Mix it up with cardio
Instead of supersetting, incorporate cardio between lifting sets. This can burn a higher percentage of calories from fat. Try jogging in place or jumping rope for 30 seconds in between sets.

Jump!
Plyometrics (jumping or skipping) can burn calories quickly and build muscle because you're working against gravity. Exercises like Box Jumps work well and I also recommend Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred DVD if you want to incorporate this practice into your workouts.

Ideas for exercising at home

It's the time of year when finding the energy to bundle up and deal with the winter weather is difficult. Couple that endeavor with finding energy to go to the gym and your workout may likely never happen.

Here are some ideas to continue your activity at home without the hassle of going to the gym:
--Invest in a Swiss ball and try some of these exercises.

--Workout videos can be hit or miss, but I have found success with Ellen Barrett's Crunch videos. This one is my favorite.

--The old stand-bys: Pushups, situps, lunges, squats and plank. These can be done during commercials while watching TV and provide great results over time. While these exercises may seem elementary, make sure you are doing them properly. If you don't know how to do these exercises properly, check out YouTube.com for instructions.

--If you need some cardio, climb your stairs, jump rope (or just jumping period), or try some kickboxing moves.

Fruit and Veggie Abyss

I am in the abyss. Or, at least that's what I call the time period from which football ends, yet I still have weeks to wait until I can enjoy the outdoors once again. This time also means that I struggle with comfort food cravings and cannot find a decent fresh fruit or vegetable. I went to the grocery store yesterday and the apples were bruised, the green peppers were shriveled and I was at a loss in produce. I KNOW I need to have healthy foods at hand to snack on, but there were no appetizing items in site.

I decided that I needed to stay away from the 100 calorie pack aisle and get creative. So, I bought some dried figs. I could eat a sleeve of Fig Newtons in one sitting, so I thought I might like the fruit. Here's the quick and dirty:

--They are delicious!
--Figs are rich in calcium, iron, phosphorus and potassium.
--1 fig is about 20 calories with 1 gram of fiber.
--A 1/4 cup serving provides 244 mg of potassium (7% of the DV), 53 mg of calcium (6% of the DV) and 1.2 mg of iron (6% of the DV).
--Figs are fat-free, sodium-free and cholesterol-free. (WOOT!)

Now I'm on a mission to find more get-me-through-the-abyss fruits and veggies. Ideas?

Get out of your chair!

If you have a desk job and you are still spending 8+ hours per day in one of those crappy chairs your office provides, what are you waiting for? It's time to upgrade your seat and have some fun. Time to buy an exercise ball!

I've been sitting on an exercise ball at my desk at work for over a year now. I rarely use my desk chair because a) the ball is fun, and b) the back pain/stress I was experiencing due to bad posture is gone! I find myself getting up and around more instead of staying seated all day. I've also started a trend around the office!

Check out this article for more benefits, then head to Target and buy yourself a ball!

Step away from the kitchen!

It's 6:00 p.m. You walk in the door exhausted from the work day - and famished! You walk in the kitchen because it seems like a good place to go to unwind. You open the fridge, the freezer and the cupboards, grabbing and munching mindlessly. Sound familiar? The last thing you want to do or think about is spending 30-60 minutes cooking a healthy dinner after you've had a long day.

1) The best way to resolve this (as you know) is you plan ahead. Cook and freeze your meals on Sundays, find a 15-minute meals cookbook, use your slow cooker or stop at Subway instead of McDonalds.

2) Make sure you're eating snacks throughout the day. Have an apple at 4:00 to help hold you over until dinner. Also, keep up with your water drinking. You should drink half of your weight in ounces per day.

3) If you have tendencies to wander to the pantry before dinner (or after!), find a go-to instead. Make a list of things you enjoy doing that will satisfy you the same way food does. Call a friend, read a book/magazine, work on a hobby such as knitting, learn an instrument or new language or exercise! Refer to this list and use it when you are struggling with your willpower.