Ice cream sandwich alternative

While I was sick I ate a ton of frozen yogurt and low fat ice cream. I hated eating so much high sugar, high calorie items that I started to look for an alternative. I started to look for one that would utilize my protein powder, but since my son is going to be eating it I decided against including that in my recipe search.

I looked on Pinterest and found this receipe:

Here is a link to the recipe on southernplate.com: http://www.southernplate.com/2009/07/low-sugar-ice-cream-grahamwiches-and-a-hamilton-beach-mixer-giveaway.html

Since my power was out Monday, and the ice cream I had left in the freezer melted, I decided to make this with the items I had at home for a treat after dinner. I had everything but milk. I only keep Almond milk at home so I just used that.

The Almond milk didn’t allow the pudding to thicken like regular milk so I put the bowl in the freezer for an hour before spooning it onto graham crackers. Here’s what it looked like once I took it out of the freezer.

Here’s the finished product:

 

I have to say they are pretty darn good! Pinterest is proving to be good for something other than wasting time after all!!

Cardio day!

I really liked the treadmill workout I found on pinterest so I did it again this morning. Here it is again:

My legs deserve a break after my workout last night and this workout!! Thank goodness tomorrow is upper body!

25 Followers!

I am very excited!!!!  I hit 25 followers last week!  Thanks to all that have followed my journey in quitting the gym and doing my own workouts!

Tempo leg workout

I really, really, really wanted to do an interval workout tonight! I put one together and was all set to do it but I am going to save it for another two weeks since I really need to mix things up.

My workout for today is focused on lower body: legs, hamstrings, glutes.

The tempo for the exercises is broken up into 3 different tempos, one for each set. Breakdown is:

Set 1: 2 – 1 – 2 down for two counts, hold for one count, up for two counts

Set 2: 3- 2 – 1 down for three counts, hold for two counts up for one count

Set 3: 1 – 2 – 3 down for one count, hold for two counts, up for three counts

Workout breakdown:

This was hard on my lower back. I decided to add an 8 pound hand weight to my sand bag tonight since my lower body is a lot stronger than my upper body. I think the total weight of the bag is a little over 20 pounds. I probably should have taken the extra weight out during the dead lift since that is the exercise that bothered me the most but I didn’t. I was stubborn! I also had a lot of issues counting during this workout. I actually figured out one of the issues I was having at work while in the middle of counting out a set so I completely lost track tonight. That’s what I get for doing a workout so late at night!

I will post the video once it’s uploaded.

Trail run

I am finally feeling better!! My throat and ears don’t hurt nearly as much as they did the past 6 days. To celebrate I decided to go on a trail run on one of my favorite trails.

It was a nice afternoon when I started but had to turn around early due to a thunderstorm that was rolling in.

The run was not a good run, but I guess I will take feeling better over not having a good run. I felt so slow and sluggish and like I couldn’t find my rhythm. Can’t win them all!

Running Buddy

I’m going to get a little girly for a moment here so be patient with me.  I feel like such a goober for how excited I am about this but I might have a running buddy (I’ll shorten it to RB)!!  I don’t have a chance to meet many new people so when I do I turn into a little kid.  I actually got to know RB through a co-worker.  RB signed up to do the Tough Mudder with my team all because my co-worker was going to sign up too.  We’ve been emailing about the Mudder, as well as some other races, and decided to meet up with one other friend of hers this morning.

I was a little nervous about the run last night.  I wasn’t afraid I would make a fool of myself and trip over my own feet, I’ve been fighting a strange virus since the weekend.  That’s an actual doctor’s diagnosis, not my own webmd.com diagnosis.  I feel fine physically but my throat feels like it’s on fire and I feel a ton of pressure in my ears.  So naturally I was nervous that I was going to wake up this morning, feel like I got hit by a bus and not be able to make it.  Luckily, I woke up this morning not feeling any better but also not feeling any worse so I put on my running gear, walked the dog for my warm up, and headed out to the park.

The workout fairy must have sprinkled me with dust last night because I actually had a great run this morning.  I’m not sure if it was the excitement of meeting some new people, being around other adults, or just worrying about me (and the dog) and not having to be drill sargent mom this morning that made things great but I am not complaining!

We covered 3.32 miles in about 30 minutes.

I didn’t use my Nike+ app because once I got to the park I realized that my headphones were dead I just didn’t even bother to fiddle around with my phone to start the app.  I was just going to run and have fun.  I used mapmyrun.com to figure out the distance once I got home.  It was the perfect distance and pace for me this morning and I feel ready to tackle the final day of month end today!!  Financial reports are due today so I will finally be able to breathe a little easier and not work as late for the next couple of weeks.

Here’s to a great start to the day!

6 pack and gunshow workout

To mix things up a bit with my workouts, I’m going to take a more traditional approach to my workout schedule for the next two weeks. I’m going to focus on one body part a day with 2 days rest a week and at least 3 days a week where I will also add cardio.

Here is the workout breakdown I did this morning:

This workout really showed me how much work I need to do on my back and upper body strength. I struggled through all the assisted pull ups.

Here’s the link to the workout:

Tight legs and butt pyramid workout

I actually did this workout on Friday I just had issues getting the video to load. I think I did the workout over maybe 5 times to get it to record! Needless to say it was hard for me to move this weekend. I only recorded one round to help with upload speed, and quite honestly that is all I could handle after doing it 4 times through. BRUTAL!!!

I’m going to switch my workout routines up a bit and incorporate more workouts that go for reps than time for the next few weeks. I’ve been doing the short, high intensity interval workouts for over a month now and it’s time I shook things up a bit!!

Here is the workout breakdown:

Here is a link to the video:

Inspiration

I was extremely excited, and wowed, when I saw that Kunda, at http://kktrainingsystems.wordpress.com, nominated me for the Very Inspirational Blogger award!  I actually read his post a couple of times out of excitement!  Kunda is not only a fitness professional, but also a great writer.  I am always able to take away new ideas and information from his posts, and that is inspiring!

I started my blog as a personal workout journal.  I have always been active.  I swam competitively for years, played tennis from the age of 4 all throughout college, and I was in the fitness industry for about 8 years as a group fitness instructor, personal trainer, and gym manager.  The gym, and working out, has always been my security blanket, my “me” time, so when I found myself not being able to get to the gym with my long commute/work hours, my son’s schedule becoming busier and just life in general getting in the way of my normal lunch time workout I kind of panicked.  I started relying on my workout DVD’s in the mornings, or evenings, and eventually the gym membership became one of those expenses that wasn’t a necessity any more.  As the DVD’s became boring, I found myself creating my own workouts to provide a challenge / variety and videoing myself allowed me to see how hard I was pushing myself, where I could improve and more importantly keep an eye on my form.  I didn’t really think that anyone would really read my blog, let alone follow me or nominate me for a blogging award!  I’m just a single mom, and like most people I know, I am always looking for ways to save money.

The acceptance of the award come with some requirements:

1. Display the award logo somewhere on the blog.
2. Link back to the blog of the person who nominated you.
3. State 7 things about yourself.
4. Nominate other bloggers for the award and provide links to their blogs.
5. Notify those bloggers that they have been nominated and of the award’s requirements.

I already shared a bit about myself up above, but here are 7 other “fun facts about Sarah”:

1.  I have an unhealthy obsession with spreadsheets and budgets, but I am an accountant so I guess that’s a good obsession to have in my profession!

2.  I learned how to snowboard two years ago and love it!  I figured since it’s going to be years before I leave Maryland to move back south where I LOVE the heat and lack of season changes, I might as well try to enjoy winter sports as much as possible.

3.  After sharing number 2 it’s going to sound weird to share this BUT I have never been a fan of cold weather.  I love the heat, the hotter the better, and would much rather be sweating and hot than be cold.

4.  I cannot stand to hear people whistle.  It’s such a horrible sound, like nails down a chalkboard to me.

5.  When I find something I like, I obsess over it.  I hear a song I like I play it over and over again.  I find a meal, recipe, food that I like I eat it until I grow tired of it.

6.  I would love to get back working in the fitness industry in some way.  I loved the interaction with my class members / clients and, even though it has been years since I last talked to them I still think about them and wonder how their journey is going.  I hope that once my son is older, he’s 7 ½ right now, and wants to spend more time with his friends than me, I will be able to work my way back.  In the mean time, I’m just going to savor the time I have left of him actually acknowledging my existence, and the fact that he wants to spend time with me, before that desire is gone for the teenage years!!

7.  I bought a  house this past December.  It’s an older house, that needs some work, not a lot but some areas more than others.  One of the areas that needs work is the kitchen.  My oven only broils and I have two working burners on the cook top.  Because of these limitations I am trying to learn how to cook / bake healthy recipes in different ways.  I recently found a way to bake bread in my crock pot that I will post soon!

My  nominees for Very Inspirational Blogger are:

Kunda at http://kktrainingsystems.wordpress.com.  Even though he nominated me, I have to nominate him as well.  His knowledge, writing skills and presentation are very informative and I always learn something from his blog.

Stephanie at http://modernchristianwoman.com/.  Her recipes, approach to life, and creativity keep me reading.  I love the fact that she keeps cost in mind and general pantry items with her recipes.

Danielle at http://shemakescents.com/.  Danielle’s site provides food for my inner finance / nerd side.  Fashion, finances, freebie & sale alerts…enough said!

Dr. Black and Dede Cummings at http://livingwithcrohnsandcolitisbook.wordpress.com/about/.  I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2002.  Their posts and knowledge about Crohns and Ulcerative Colitis have given me new ideas and thoughts on how to adjust my life style to make things a little easier.

John at http://fitfor365.wordpress.com/.  I love his workout spreadsheet, the honesty and the desire he has to make a change in his life.

I am inspired by a lot of people everyday, but those mentioned above are who are inspiring me lately in blog world!

WOD: Treadmill Cardio

I focused on cardio today. I didn’t film it, the written version is self explanatory and me on the treadmill would just be boring. Here’s what I did:

It was a good cardio workout and I have a feeling I am going to be sore!!