spend small fortune at Lululemon: check

spend rest of evening in leggings and a long-sleeve top, while wrapped in a blanked in front of the fire: check

I checked things off my to-do list today.. :p

FITNESS

I also ‘checked out’ Seattle’s newest “signature” LA Fitness, and well frankly, I’m jealous! Super nice new gym with electronic locks on every locker and personal televisions on ever cardio machine. Seriously Scottsdale, lets get it together! :p

I hit Arms and Hamstrings today, which included:

Biceps: BB curls, hammer curls, static single arm curls

Triceps: extentions, pressdowns, dips

Hamstrings: single straight leg deadlifts, seated curls, weighted kickacks

My attempt at respectable cardio failed due to a lack of being able to breathe (grr, stupid stupid sickness!), but I’m hoping to be back to normal by the time I get back to Arizona. Tomorrow I’m working Shoulders & Glutes, and am going to try to make a Yoga class.

FUN

Shopping! My and my mom hit up the mall for a little post-X-mas shopping. On my priority list was Lululemon, Williams & Sonoma, and Crate & Barrel. I think I hauled at least 15 items into the Lulu dressing room and finally decided on 2 tops and one pair of pants. I also found a great table set, but unfortunately it’s all bubble-wrapped up for travel so I’ll have to model it in action when I get home!

NUTRITION

Even if it’s a bit belated, I must  recap Christmas dinner because it was just that darn fantastic! The menu included:

• Appetizer platter: roasted Parsnips, pickled Beets, roasted Kabocha squash slices, crackers with Port Wine cheese
• Halibut poached in a wine & lime sauce
• Mushroom Quinoa
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• Spinach Salad with Delicata squash, Tomatoes, Pecans and Cranberry Vinaigrette
• Dessert: Medjool Dates stuffed with Cream Cheese and topped with a Pecan, and Russian Tea Cakes
• Chardonnay

The 26th

Pre-workout I still wasn’t hungry, but post-workout was another story. I had another delicious bowl of Pumpkin Oats made with real Pumpkin puree, half a pack of Jay Robb’s Vanilla Protein Powder and a tablespoon of SunButter.

The goodies patiently wait for the oats to finish cooking…

My appetite has been non-existent this trip, I’m guessing due to my lack of cardio, so the only other thing I had today, meal wise, was Protein Kabocha Oats. When we got home from shopping it was the only thing that sounded good, so I went with it! This mix deserve special attention..

1/4 c Oats

2 tbsp Oat Bran

1/2 c UVAB + 1/2 c H20

4 Kabocha Slices blended with 1/2 pack Jay Robb Vanilla Protein Powder (stirred in at the end)

almost empty SunButter jar

Keeping in line with kickin the sugar, I made a raw dessert (Snickerdoodle dough balls to be precise) from the recipe archives of my fellow Arizonan, Averie, from Loves Veggies & Yoga. I followed her recipe except I didn’t add the agave and was too lazy to dig out my mother’s dehydrater, so I just chilled them for a while.

Sugar-Free Check-In: I did so good until late tonight, when I caved and had a Russian Tea Cake. Making it completely sweet-free of course would have been better, but I’m not going to beat myself up just yet because it’s a vast improvement from yesterday, and I think if I can keep it to 1 sweet for the next two days I’ll be happy. It’s so much easier when I’m home, don’t have any sweets in the house and have all my favorite substitutes surrounding me. I’m missing my variety of protein powders right about now!

I tend to only make it back to Seattle once a year, and every time I’m reminded of why I love it: Green trees, hills, snow-capped mountains, brick house, health focused, sustainability focused, Puget Sound, floating bridges.. the list goes on. Oh that reminds me. Check out the whole bean coffee section at the standard local Safeway.. we do not have this in Arizona!

With the proper wardrobe, perhaps I could live here again

I decided that one of two things occurred: 1) the doctor was wrong and I didn’t/don’t have the flu, or 2) my bad ass immune system took care of business.. but either one’s fine with me, because both result in me spending Christmas in Seattle.

FITNESS

I had high hopes of working out today, but when I was winded climbing a flight of stairs at the mall, I figured I should probably give it a couple days before I go back to Spin. I am going to Yoga in the morning though So happy.. this is the longest I’ve gone without working out in long time.

Unfortunately, with my trip to Seattle being cut short I’m not going to have enough time to make it to the mountains, but I’m looking forward to Snowboarding when I get back in town (yes there’s snow in AZ :p )! Not only is it a blast (adrenaline junkie much?!), but it’s also a great leg workout (not to mention arm workout if you spend as much time on your rear as I do).

How Snowboarding Gets You Fit

NUTRITION

Oats were back on the menu this morning. And today starred, Peanut Butter Cup Oats!

1/2 c Oats

1/2 scoop Chocolate Protein Powder

1 tbsp Carob Powder

1 tbsp Better n’ Peanut Butter

Dirty Sexy Chai

There’s a great little coffee shop nearby that serves a drink called the ‘Dirty Sexy Chai.’ It’s just Chai + Milk of choice (& they have soy and almond options) + espresso (dirty) + vanilla syrup (sexy). It’s fantastic.. so naturally I had to figure out a homemade version. Being that I have chai tea and an espresso maker I could duplicate it exactly, but I’ve never actually learned how to use the espresso maker, so I went with a shortcut..

6 oz UVAB + 6 oz H20

1 Starbucks Via

1 tbsp Sugar-Free Chai Concentrate

1 tbsp Sugar-Free Vanilla Syrup

sprinkle of Stevia Extract

Heat up liquid, mix in the rest. Enjoy!

Shoppin Snacks

Before leaving for the mall I snack on Kabocha with Pumpkin Hummus..

Later I had a special treat in the form of a slice of Gingerbread loaf from Starbucks. Definitely a treat, but worth it

For dinner I made a wrap with the leftover Sweet Potato & Spinach mix from last night + Cottage Cheese + Chicken Breast (sorry for the crappy picture, I was hungry :p )

FUN

SHOPPING!

Since I’m going home, I actually needed to do some Christmas shopping! No complaints, I don’t mind the crowds and I haven’ t been overdone on holiday music quite yet. I hit up the main mall to pick up a couple things.. can’t share because my Mom reads this, but I also picked up this for myself..

Love BSN Cinnamon Roll. I stopped eating it during cutting because it’s too high in carbs & sugar, but this stuff is the best for cooking if it can fit your macros.

It was a cold day for Arizona, but apparently I forgot how to correctly layer because I was roasting with my big coat in the mall, but cold with just my little tank. My confused tank-top + scarf look was too comical not to capture..

Next I stopped at Cost Plus World Market. I’d never been there before, and I’m going to have to go again because the place was being picked dry. I was however super excited, and surprised, to find these…

What I like to refer to as my “coffee shop” was getting dangerously low, but I hate paying the exorbitant shipping fees, so this was a fantastic find.

My final stop was one of my faves, Barnes and Noble. I could wander around there for hours.. and that’s pretty much exactly what I did Yet again, I bought myself a little present…

I almost also got ‘Food to Live By’ by Myra Goodman. Have  you read it? How is it? Are there any other nutrition/clean eating/cookbooks you recommend?

Fun Links

Based on this list of Stress Fighting Foods I should be the most relaxed person ever!

I capped off the night with a little Hot Chocolate.. but still need to pack.. I have a feeling that’ll happen tomorrow afternoon. My parents internet is super slow, but hopefully I’ll still be able to get posts up. Happy Christmas Eve Eve!

I had a lovely fitness-filled day off! This morning I had posing practice, check-in and leg workout with my trainer. 1 week out from FAP I am around 117lbs and somewhere around 7.8% body fat. My bf went down just slightly from last week, which I was a little surprised about. I’m suppose to be maintaining at this point so last week my low-carb day was upped to 50 grams and cardio cut to 30min a day to accomplish this, so today we moved them up to 60 grams. You don’t hear me complaining, that just means oatmeal for breakfast everyday!

On another exciting note, I decided to do Figure as well at Fitness America. It was recommended that perhaps I have more of a figure look for FAP, and am overall more of an NPC Fitness girl. I guess I’ll find out soon enough, but I figure why not do figure too since I’m there, especially since the more I can get up on stage and improve my stage presence the better!

I’m slowly working my way through my pre-comp to do list, which looks something like this:

To Dos:

• Hair cut & color – Scheduled for Saturday
• Wax
• Mani & Pedi – Scheduled for Tuesday
• Bikini for media
• Tanning (x4 for FAP, x4 for AZ NPC) – Scheduled indefinitely.. ok over the next 2 weeks
• Stage makeup – partially purchased
• Stage jewelry – Have a ring and earrings but still need bracelets
• Bedazzle costume.. Been putting this off, I’m not to crafty :0
• Costume shoes
• Pickup fitness/figure suit – tomorrow!

After running errands all morning, I got a bunch of tasks done around the house before heading to spin! I found this outfit on sale today at Sports Authority. Many of my gym outfits are currently warn-out or not fitting so this was a happy find:

Ready to spin spin spin

You may have picked up on my slight obsession with my Monday & Wednesday spin class. I am super crazy picky when it comes to fitness classes, so when I find one I like, I never miss it. I got to the gym early so I worked on biceps & triceps which I hadn’t focused on since last week. Spin class rocked as usual.

Whole Foods Delights

After the gym I headed to one of my very favorite places, Whole Foods! I am a bit of a seafood brat so I will go out of my way to go for their fresh selection. I of course then found myself wandering the isles and look what I found!

Artisana selection grew!

The last time I was at Whole Foods they only carried Artisana‘s Coconut Butter (which I love love love), but I’d been curious about their other products. But much to my delight they are new also carrying Walnut Butter, Pecan Butter and Cacao Bliss. I really wanted to get the Cacao Bliss, but I figure there’s no need to dance with the devil at this point (they also have Barney Butter which I can’t wait to try), but it’s definitely going into the basket come December. I did however spring for the Walnut Butter. It’ s ingredients are raw walnuts and raw cashews. So I figure since I can eat those in whole form I should be ok with them ground up.

More isle wandering revealed:

Holiday Tea Yummyness

They had all of the Celestial Seasoning’s Holiday tea flavors (Sugar Plum didn’t fit in the pic)! I’ve been dying to try these, so I bought one of each. I drink a ton of tea these days and immediately following dinner initiated taste testing. First up was  Sugar Cookie..

First I tried it plain and it was just ok, but when I added a splash of Unsweetened Almond Breeze and a tbsp of SF Cookie Dough Syrup it became wonderful! Later on I mixed up Pumpkin Pie in a Bowl topped with a tbsp of the new Walnut Butter and tried the Gingerbread tea flavor. The Walnut Butter is pretty dry so there’s no pretty spreading but it was a nice addition. It’s not sweet at all, which I like, and I’m sure that will help me not to eat to much of it (ok I admit it, I’ve been known to have nut butter binge issues on occasions). And so far Sugar Cookie’s in the lead.

That's a lotta orange

Chances are the other two tea flavors will be tested by the end of the night, and I’ll keep you posted tomorrow. Glad this week is flying by! Have a wonderful Thursday everyone!

What products tempt you to over-indulge?

Fitness

Started the day with a good leg workout with the trainer. Even though overall I can tell I’ve gotten a bit weaker than I was over the summer, I felt much better and energized today. Next it was off to try on my posing suit and finalize my rhinestone pattern. I should be able to pickup the final product this weekend, and I’m so excited, I love it! Later in the evening it was back to the gym. I got in about 20 minutes of hills on the elliptical before spin, which rocked tonight. My legs pretty much decided to stop working about three-quarters through, but that’s ok, felt awesome!

$ Dollas $

One of my favorite things, which I have not done in ages, is shop! There are a ton of things I still need for the shows, so on the way home I swung by my local  mall (Scottsdale Fashion Square is pretty much amazing and I hadn’t been there since they opened the new Barneys).  On the list of things I needed: a bikinit for media sessions, stage makeup, headphones, green athletic shoes, under-garments for my costume and jewelry for the posing round.  After finding an acceptable bikini (still looking too) and crazy bright & fun makeup from MAC, I warmed myself with a Starbucks drip coffee and decided to do a little fun perusing at Crate & Barrel and Williams & Sonoma. I had to pull myself away from this adorable item:

yes yes, I definitley want

Can you tell how excited I am for holiday cooking?!

Rich Latte Deliciousness

I got a new protein powder in the mail today, Syntrax Nectar Latte, and so far it gets 4 gold stars! It’s a whey isolate and zero-carb, but still manages to have a super rich and full flavor. I haven’t tried a standard shake, but it was awesome as protein fudge.

Protein Fudge

1 Scoop Protein Powder (whatever is your fave)

1/2 tbsp Coconut Oil

1-2 tbsp Unsweetened Almond Breeze or a Sugar-Free Syrup

Optional Add-Ins: extracts, nut butters, spices

*First mix the Protein Powder and Coconut Oil (if the oil is solid you will need to heat it briefly). Next add in just enough UAB, SFS or H20 to create a syrupy texture. Pour into a small tupperware bowl and freeze. It will come out fairly hard at first but thaws quickly to a perfect fudgy texture. Enjoy!

Have a wonderful Thursday!

What do you normally do on your free days? Do you clear your schedule or pack’em full?

Sunday my mind said “you should go practice your routine”.. my body said “f@#k no!’

My body says, “I’m hungry and want carbs”.. my mind says, “too bad, you’re not giving in now.”

Sunday was my 3rd low-carb day, so basically I’m hungry all day. But on the positive side, it’s always fun to plan the carbs I’m going to get on day 4, Carb day!

This is what appeared this morning:

Lovely I know, haha. The result of routine practice yesterday.. I bruise easily.

I did make a trip to Sprouts Farmers Market today to stock up on my Walden Farms products along with fresh Tilapia (I feel so lucky to live someplace with amazing markets everywhere, including Sprouts, Sunflower Farmers Market, Whole Foods & Trader Joe’s!). I eyed the bulk foods trail mix & granola sections, wandered by the fresh veggies and even tempted myself by glancing over the baked goods. I couldn’t help but pickup this cute little pumpkin, our only Halloween decoration so far.

Killer with his pumpkin friend

Even though I have an actually desk, this is where I spend a significant amount of my at home time.. in front of the computer with my stuff spread out everywhere. I seem to take up a lot of space for someone my size

For a snack I mixed in 1 oz of my new Sugar Free Peanut Butter syrup into this giant protein pancake. Sadly the PB taste got lost when I cooked it, but the batter was amazing.

Big ole Protein Pancake

Dinna

Dinner was scramble Egg Beaters (0.5c) and Egg Whites (0.5c) with Grilled Tilapia. That white stuff on top is Walden Farms Ranch Dressing (look for a post on my opinion of these products coming soon). Not the prettiest meal, but pretty filling, which is what I needed today!

Thankfully I got in some school work and reading while preparing and packaging foods for the next few days- Chicken Breast, Spinach Bars, Tilapia and Sweet Potato (gooo carb day!).

I should buy stock in Gladware

And then came:

Cookie Dough Ice Cream!