This hit home for me based on the amount of Mexican food I at last night. Nom nom nom. It is my favorite and I have a very hard time resisting chips & guacamole! My sister, Donny & I went to see Sully (I love Tom Hanks) and had dinner beforehand. Look at me going to a movie on a weeknight!
Happy Friday! October is here, can you believe it? Wild.
Time for Anything & Everything Friday, which is a weekly post where I discuss five random topics of my choosing. I try to keep them health-related, but that isn’t always the case. I am talking about my bootcamp goals, healthy breakfast foods and SQUATS!
Bootcamp Goals:
I had two goals for this session of bootcamp. One was health/fitness/weight loss related and the other was lifestyle related. I wanted to floss my teeth every day for 8 weeks and I am happy to say that I did in fact do that! It has become part of my morning routine, which is awesome because I feel like I’ll keep doing it, even though session is over.
My other goal was to do one full pull-up. Honestly, I was terrified of that goal because I wasn’t 100% sure I could do it. I am SUPER proud to say that I can do not one, but two pull-ups! It took a lot of work and some different techniques for building strength in my lats. I was pretty strong before, but this took strength in completely different muscles. I’d like to keep focusing on pull-ups so that I can eventually do 5-10. In terms of training, I used static holds, negatives and partial reps (from the bottom) to help increase my strength to do a pull-up. It was a great change for me to focus on something not weight-loss or fat-loss related and it is empowering to know that I can now do a real pull-up! I am super stoked.
I will post a video (hopefully soon) of my TWO pullups!
Healthy Breakfast Foods:
A lot of people think that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It gets your metabolism going and can help you to eat less the rest of the day. Regardless, mornings can get really hectic and breakfast easily be the thing you skip over to save time. Don’t do that! Instead by some breakfast foods that can be made quickly or stockpile some freezer breakfast items to keep at your office. What types of foods? Well Audrey Bruno from Self.com compiled a list of the 10 Best Healthy Breakfast Foods at the Supermarket, with the products coming from what editors of the magazine prefer.
The obvious choice is a bowl of (healthy) cereal or granola and milk. Another option, frozen waffles or whole grain bread can be thrown in the toaster and ready in minutes. Individual packages of quick oats is one of my favorites! They are quite popular now a days so you can find a variety of flavors. Check out the other options using the link above.
Squats:
Squats are one of my favorite exercises to do and there are quite a few variations to try if you want to mix things up. So which squats are the best? Laura Williams wrote this article for the Thrillist Health page with the best squat variations. Her article These Are The Only Leg Exercises You Need and goes through over ten different versions that you should try. Obviously, some are more difficult that others. For example, beginners can try the body weight squats, dumbbell squats and low pulse squats. However, pistol squats are a more advanced move and require a great deal of strength. Check out the list and work a few of them in on leg/glute day next time!
Microwaving Foods:
Do you ever heat food up in the microwave, step away and hear the “pop pop pop pop pop” of the items exploding? I’d say I’ve done that a time or two. One of the worst is spaghetti sauce. It gets everywhere AND it is bring red. Yikes!
Well MaryGrace Taylor from Greatist.com is here to help! She describes The Right Way To Microwave Food So It Doesn’t Explode and talks about potatoes, eggs, squash, oatmeal and yes, spaghetti sauce! She includes tips to try to avoid the mess when it comes to microwaving foods. I don’t use the microwave very often for fully cooking foods, but this information helps with heating up my prepared meals.
Fall Road Trips:
Donny & I had a blast on our (one and only) road trip that we took together last year to Florida. We have talked about going on a road trip in the northeast during the fall to see the leaves changing colors. After reading this article I think we need to do that sooner, rather later.
Tasting Table poasted a travel guide called Worth the Drive with six road trip destinations and where to eat along the way. The one I am most interested in is Portland, Maine. I want to go there anyway, let alone on an amazing road trip! Plus, the Portland Farmers Market made the list so you know it is a good one! There are six cities and each one details hotels of interest, things to do/see and of course restaurants and food to eat! Check out Portland, but also the other cities on the list. Anyone want to go on a road trip?!?!
That is all for Anything & Everything Friday. Have a great weekend. Eat some good food, move a little and have fun!
