Get Fit Workout: Take a Hike!

Going to the gym everyday or working out at home can become boring, even if you switch up your routine. The best thing you can do to get out of this workout funk is to go outside! Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all had gorgeous hills and continuous views of nature to hike around? Yes, yes it would be. But sadly, we all don't have that. I've put together some outdoor workout spots that still work great, even if you don't have lush amounts of nature where you live.  

At a Park

On the Beach

In an Open Field

On the Bridge

What's your favorite place to workout outdoors?

What kind of workout do you do outside?

Get Fit Workout: Pilates

Pilates is by far one of the best workouts I have ever done! Pilates, to me, is a cross between yoga and a hard core ab workout. The goal at the end of each of my pilates workouts is to feel long, lean, and strong. What I love most about pilates is the abilty to strengthen and tone muslces without using added weight. I don't want to be bulky. I know that lifting light weights won't necssarily make me huge, but I'm already that. I was blessed with an average stature of 5'6, the shoulders of a linebacker, and the hips of a woman who has, or should have, 10 kids. God bless genetics. 

I love this workout from POP Pilates, blogilates, that I found on YouTube. They have so many different pilates workouts! All varying in length and need. 

This video is the POP Pilates for Beginners - Total Body Workout. It's almost 30 minutes long, which is perfect if you need to squeeze a quick but effective workout into your schedule!

Have you tried pilates before?

What workout is best for your body type?

Side note: I am not endorsed, sponsored, or paid by any of the companies mentioned above. 

Get Fit Recipe: Gnocchi and Veggie Skillet

Now that I'm allowed to have vegetables, grains, and dairy again (YAY!), I've been coming up with a ton of healthy recipes that allow me to enjoy my favorite foods, without over doing it! This turned out so good! The amount it made could easily feed 4, served with a side salad. B ate half, and I split the remainder for my dinner and for lunch today. This meal is super easy and quick too! All together in prep and cook time, it maybe took 25 minutes. 

Ingredients:

1 Package of Gnocchi

1/2 of an OrganicYellow Onion (chopped)

2 C of Organic Baby Spinach

1/2 of a can of Organic Crushed Tomatoes 

1 TSBP of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 C of Vegan Parmesan Cheese 

Salt and Pepper to taste 

Quick note: You don't have to use organic produce. According to the "Dirty Dozen", which I will show at the end of the post, the only ingredient that is highly recommend to be organic is the spinach. I used regular gnocchi, but you could always substitute in whole wheat gnocchi if you prefer it. 

1. Heat the EVOO in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Chop your onion while you wait for it to heat up. 

2. Toss in your chopped onions and stir the around until completed coated with the EVOO. In a smaller pot, start to boil a fair amount of water, just enough to cover the gnocchi. Be sure to add just a pinch of salt to the water, this will flavor the gnocchi. 

3. Once the water has begun to boil, add in the gnocchi and cook according to the package. Cook times vary depending on which type of gnocchi you're using. Mine took about 6-7 minutes to cook. 

4. Add the spinach to the skillet and let wilt while stirring the spinach into the onions. 

5. Once the spinach has wilted, add in the half can of crushed tomatoes. Mixing into the spinach and onions completely. Add in the parmesan cheese and stir. 

6. This step is optional, but I added two full ladles of gnocchi water to my veggie sauce to help thicken it up. 

7. Once the gnocchi is ready, when it starts to float, drain and stir into the veggie sauce. 

8. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy! 

Do you like gnocchi?

What recipes do you use it in? 

As promised, the "Dirty Dozen" and the "Clean Fifteen"

What do you think about these lists?

Health Update: 2 Weeks

It's been two weeks now that I've drastically changed my eating habits in attempt to get my thyroid back in order. I've been limited to only fruit, poultry, and avocados. I tried my first avocado the other day and I loved it! I was so excited! It's been an emotionally taxing two weeks. There's been many tears, questions and hunger induced fights. 

I know it's been tough on B too. He's the one who has to deal with my emotional roller coaster. Obviously he can't stop eating what he normally does just because I can't have it. He works hard, he needs his fuel. But to watch him eat some of my favorite food while I eat some grapes is tough. There have been nights that he doesn't want to eat dinner with me because he does't want to upset me. Which is a nice gesture, but the fact that he didn't want to eat with me upset me too. But I think he understands. I mean he's being a serious trooper. He's been so supportive. 

I only have two more weeks left before I can start eating vegetables again! Except for mushrooms and garlic, I have to wait 2.5 more months for those. I've never been so excited for veggies in my entire life. I've been looking up recipes and pinning recipes on pinterest for vegetarian/vegan meals. Also in two weeks, I get most of my grains and dairy back. This kind of scares me because I don't want my body to get freaked out and gain back all the weight I've lost. The whole plan is to ease my way back into dairy and grains by only having them a few times a week for the first month or two. 

Updates: In the past two weeks my energy levels have drastically increased, I've lost 12.8 pounds, I've started eating things I would have never thought to try, and my anxiety about certain aspects of my life has decreased. I've also come up with some great recipes and found some amazing workouts! 

Recipes:

Basic Fruit Salad

Pineapple Chicken with Quinoa

Baked Apples 

Workouts:

Yoga for Beginners  

Kickboxing

Tip:
Alternate Your Workouts

To check out these recipes, workouts, and tips, scroll through my blog archive for that and other great posts! 

Have you been working on improving your health? 

Get Fit Tip: Alternate Your Workouts

One of the best tips I've ever gotten in regards to keeping my motivation to workout is to alternate your workouts! When you go to the gym ever day or workout to the same DVD, doing the same tedious workout, it gets boring. When something gets boring, you stop doing it. You want exercising to be fun! Because I don't have a gym membership, I workout in my office. I have four different workout DVDs that I like to rotate through to keep me excited about exercising! 

When I'm feeling stressed, this workout has proven to be the best for me, kickboxing! Kickboxing is by far one of the best stress busters I've come across. During the workout, I envision what is stressing me out, and it becomes my target for the remainder of the workout. I have Fat-Burning Kickboxing Workout for Dummies. It is crazy good! The DVD has a warm up, three workouts, and a cool down. It also has a step-by-step tutorial on how to correctly execute the moves in each workout!

If I'm not in the mood for a hard cardio workout, I like to do pilates! To me, pilates is a cross between weight lifting and yoga. You're continually strengthening your body, but with your own weight, and you're stretching out your muscles. Once the workout is over, I feel like a powerhouse! I feel empowered knowing that I don't need anything but my own body to strengthen myself! The pilates DVD that I'm currently loving right now is Element: Pilates Weight Loss for Beginners. 

When I know I need to get my butt in gear and do a hard workout, I pop in Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. OMGoodness this thing is hard! I feel like I'm in bootcamp every time I do this workout! She's no joke. Although it's definitely a great workout, you have to be prepared for the craziness of this. I suggest watching the DVD before you try it, just so you know what to expect. 

My last workout that has, lately, been my go-to routine is Rodney Yee's Yoga for Beginners. This DVD has two separate routines, which concentrate on separate needs. I like to do the energizing routine in the morning to get me stretched and ready for the day! If I've had a long day or my body is sore, i like to do the rejuvenating routine. It's perfect before bedtime. It helps me find my center and feel peaceful before resting. I also like to do quick yoga routine that target certain muscles groups like more, which I talked about last Friday! 

All of these DVDs can be purchased on Amazon for a great price! I checked around my local stores, and Amazon just couldn't be beat! 

Side note: I am affiliated with Amazon, being that I am a part of the Amazon Associates program.