Halloween Survival Guide

Well, it's here. The day every year that we love and dread. The day we lose the eat-your-dinner-before-you-get-any-treats battle with our kids, because well, they've already been eating candy all. day. long.

It's also the day we beat ourselves up for eating too much dang candy. I'm totally speaking for myself here. I'm pretty sure I'll be going through my toddler's trick-or-treat bag and sneaking as many Reese's Peanut Butter Cups into my pockets as I can. Or I'll give each little goblin a nasty sucker while I jam 5 Twix Bars in my mouth.

I know myself. I have a major weakness--chocolate! Add peanut butter, and I'm like Pavlov's dogs...my mouth waters at the very thought. So guess what? I'm totally giving myself permission to indulge. And if you want it, I'm giving you permission, too. That way, we won't be beating ourselves up over every little lick of candy, bite of sugar cookie, dab of frosting. It's OK.

I've never been an official "dieter." I tried the South Beach Diet for a few weeks. It drove me crazy! I craved things I'd never even eaten before...just because I couldn't have them. So I try not to obsess over food. Especially on days where I'd be setting myself up for failure. Like Halloween, for example. I'm generally a healthy eater, but I allow for indulgences (probably more often than I should admit). Halloween is one of the occasions where I just know I'm going to eat candy.

But guess what? I haven't bought any yet. I will go to the store tomorrow AM to stock up. And probably on candy I don't like. [Well, I like it all, but am less tempted by fruity varieties.] Suckers, gum balls, life savers, etc. Like I said--chocolate is my weakness. I'm banking on my own little trick-or-treater-dressed-as-Mickey-Mouse bringing me home what I really want.

So I will have chocolate, but not all day long. And I won't eat three pieces of candy each time the doorbell rings...cuz I won't really like the kind we give out. I will work out in the morning. I will eat some of my MIL's homemade goodness that is her Chili to help stave off major cravings. But I will indulge. And it probably won't be pretty. But I'm OK with that. For tomorrow.

Other survival ideas include giving away non-food items. Tattoo stickers. Pencils. Sugar-free Gum. Why is the focus of so many celebrations on the food anyway?

What are your Halloween/holiday survival tips? You know what to do. Leave a comment!

How to separate the leg from the buttox

DAIRY AIR

(photo from here)

I was recently asked the following question:

How do I tone the spot where my leg meets my butt?

You all know the spot, right? The rear end may sort of continue onto this spot. If you're lucky, there is a distinct separation of leg and bottom. We've already established with our workout myth busters that you can't spot reduce, but you can definitely tone specific areas. Here are my three favorite moves for toning this lovely gray area...the one we want to be leg, but that can easily be confused as part of the derrière.

(Sorry...no pictures this time. My 2-year-old photographer just wasn't up to the task.)

MOVE #1

Double and Single Leg Bridges

Starting position: Supine on the floor (lie on back), with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, arms at your sides.

Action: Squeeze buttox and lift hips towards the ceiling (making sure legs are bent at 90 degrees). Pause, and lower back towards the floor (without returning completely to the floor). Repeat reps.

Variation: Try this move with single legs for added difficulty. Cross right leg over left thigh, or extend right leg out straight. Complete reps, then switch sides.

MOVE #2

Squat

Starting position: Stand up straight, pull in your abs, make sure your feet are hip distance apart.

Action: Slowly lower the body, moving the hips back as if sitting in a chair. Make sure the weight of your body is in your heels (so you don't fall forward), and go as low as you can (aiming for about 90 degrees). Pause, then return to starting position. Repeat.

Variation: Try this on a single leg, add hand weights, or a dumb bell for a challenge.

MOVE #3

Lunges

This is the move I love to hate! It works! And there are soooo many variations, it never stops working!

Starting position: Standing with feet shoulder-width apart.

Action: Take a BIG step backwards (or forward). The weight of your front foot should be in the heel. The back heel is raised, so weight is in the ball of the foot. Both feet are facing forward. Lower to the floor, to about 90 degrees of flexion. Make sure your front knee never extends beyond your toes as you go down and up. Complete reps, then switch sides. See here for a picture of the lunge with my paper plate workout!

Variations: Add weight, put either back or front leg on elevated surface, do walking lunges, etc.



What are your favorite separation-of-the-leg-to-butt moves, or what areas are you looking to define?

Slow Down!

We're (I'm) back! Did you miss us (me)? I won't bore you with the details of where I've been. But the high school reunion? Survived it. Finances? Budgeted. Hair? Cut. And an unexpected one: Cable? Cancelled.

In an effort to simplify our lives, we decided that cable just isn't worth it. We'll see if we change our minds when reality sinks in, and we can no longer watch what we want, when we want.

As a last ditch effort to watch the dozens of never-watched Oprah's on my DVR before pulling the plug, I watched this episode. It was advice for overwhelmed mother's, and really for all of us to slooooooooow down. I bawled my eyes out listening to Brenda Slaby's story of how she changed overnight from supermom, role model, and assistant principal to the "most hated mom in America."

Why? She strayed from her regular routine, and simply forgot that her two-year-old daughter was sleeping in the car. She normally wasn't the one to take her kids to daycare, but her husband had a dentist appointment, so she agreed to take little Cecilia on this particular day. Her daughter was asleep in her carseat, and with a mind focused on the tasks at hand on this first-day-of-school morning, Brenda simply forgot. And after EIGHT HOURS in a hotter-than-heck-sort-of-August-day-in-Texas, lifeless little Cecilia was discovered.

I remember hearing this story, and thinking it impossible that one could seriously forget a sleeping child. But after watching the show, my mind turned to numerous occasions where I was so focused on where I was going, or what was coming, that I could have easily been the one with disastrous consequences.

To name a few mindless acts, I've left the stove burners on for hours. I've left curling irons plugged in. I've left the front door wide open on a hot summer day, with AC on full blast ALL. DAY. LONG. I've left my kids unsupervised in the tub while trying to multi-task. I've locked myself out of my car with my kids inside.

I'm sure the list could go on. This show really was a good reminder for me to SLOOOOW DOWN. And more importantly, to live in the now. To focus on my kids when I'm with them, without thinking about the million things looming on my to-do list. Or the hundreds of blogs I have to read. Or write. Or the laundry that isn't folded. Or the workout that isn't done. You get the idea.

This was part of the motivation to cancel cable in the first place. After a tiring day "at the office," unwinding with hours of TV was perpetuating the tiredness problem. We'll see if my mind becomes a little more focused and a little less clouded.

So here's my advice to you mom's and otherwise BUSY people--slow down! Stop trying to live up to the unrealistic image of the "perfect mom." Do the best you can. Get some sleep! You'll be happier, healthier, and a better mom/wife/student/employee/fill in the blank, as a result! Plan for the future, but live in the present moment.

Have any of you had any close call reminders to slow down? Please share!

High School Reunion

My 10-year High School Reunion is next week. I feel like I have so much to do before leaving town for a weekend with my High School BF's.

• Clean and scrub my house. (It's a pre-leaving ritual I HAVE to do).
• Create a new budget.
• Organize our finances (up until now I've pretty much left them up to my husband. I'm ready to turn over a new leaf. Maybe I'll spend less if I'm more aware of where it's all going...we'll see).
• Find a babysitter in California for my 8-month old (unless she decides to take a bottle before then, so I can leave her home).
• Pack for myself and baby.
• Pack for my 2-year old and his stay at Grandma's.
• Probably pack for the husband and his man-weekend-pheasant-hunting trip. Ewwwww.
• Shop for what-I-consider-suitable-snacks for my trip (we all know I need my fiber).
• Gear up for some most-likely awkward reunion conversations (Yeah...I do remember that time...errrr...what was your name again?)
• Get out old Yearbooks for a refresher.
• Cut my hair. (I want it long again, but this in-between length will never do.)
• Get a pedicure.
• Find something suitable to wear (for each of the 5 days I'm there).
• Lose the last 9 post-baby pounds.
• Workout 3 times a day in a last-ditch effort.
• Hurry and start a successful business.
• Wonder why I care about impressing people I haven't seen for 10-years, and probably won't see for another 10 (besides my girlfriends...but why would I need to impress them?)
• Decide that cleaning, packing, and budgeting will have to suffice.
• And maybe just one new outfit.

Do any of you have times where you want to appear beautiful, successful, happy, intelligent, fill in the blank with desirable qualities, etc. I'm pretty sure no one else will care what I look like since they'll all be worried about themselves. So I guess I'm not going to care either. I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darnit people like me! You like me, right?

Burn a lot more fat in a lot less time! This week's workout: interval training.

How can you burn more fat in less time? INTERVAL TRAINING! This is a super popular training method for long-distance runners (known by the Swedish term: fartlek, which means "speed play"), but is a great way for anyone to burn a lot of fat FAST. And we are nothing if not all for saving time AND energy.

Basically, the idea is to work out at levels of HIGH speed and/or intensity interspersed with short intervals of recovery. So you bring the heart rate WAY up, then down a bit, then WAY up again, then down, etc. During the intense interval, you work out at your own personal maximum level. To the point where you could not possibly continue at that level any longer than the interval. You are breathless, anaerobic, etc. Someday I'll rant about my obsession with heart rate monitors. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts are a time when I absolutely adore mine.

Interval training is a great way to boost your metabolism, burn fat, and reach your fitness goals! (Not to mention increase your threshold and VO2 Max). You can read a lot more about interval training here. If you're a cardio finatic, but feel like your workouts are losing their effectiveness, this workout is for you. The length and intensity of each interval can be adjusted to your own fitness level, and PRE (perceived rate of exertion).

Here's one of my favorite kick-my-booty on the treadmill interval workouts. Adjust the speed/incline/interval time to your own level.

0:00-6:00 Warm up, 3.5 mph, 5% incline (RPE: 3-5)
6:00-9:00: RUN! 7.0 mph, 5% incline (RPE: 9-10)
9:00-12:00: Walk 3.5-4.0 mph, 5% incline (RPE: 6-7)
12:00-30:00 Repeat minutes 6:00-12:00 three more times, alternating 3 minutes of sprinting on an incline with 3 minutes of walking on an incline (RPE:9-10 and RPE: 6-7)
30:00-33:00 Cool down, 3.5 mph, 0% (RPE: 3-5)

Music is ESSENTIAL for me during these crazy intervals. Three minutes is a long time to sprint on an incline, so listen to your body, and listen to some heart-pumping music to push you along! This workout can also be transferred to a stair-climber, stationary bike, rowing machine, outdoor running, etc.

Have fun!

Also, if there's anything specific you'd like us to discuss, send us a line at fitmepink@gmail.com, or as always give us a shout out in the comments!

Today's Topic...Falling Off Course

Just in case you've missed us, we're back! We fell off the fit-a-wagon for at least a week, but we're jumping back on.

Sometimes in life, you just need a break. Sometimes while blogging, you just don't have the words. Sometimes when you're dieting, you just need a sweet. Sometimes when you're in a crazy streak of working out, you may have days when you just don't wanna. And that's OK. Maybe the right thing to say would be, "Do it anyway." And yes, if you can force yourself to actually do it, more power to you. But that's not the horn I'm tooting today.

It's OK to occasionally relax. Let your body recover. Rest. Sleep in!

While my husband was training for his last marathon, I felt like I was too. Only I never crossed the finish line. I just ran with him for the workout and the company. After his marathon, my body was tired. So one day as I put on my running shoes, I just couldn't do it. I took them off, pulled out my Yoga mat, and let my body recover with some relaxing poses.

I would probably call myself a compulsive worker-outer. I totally beat myself up if I miss a workout. Especially cardio. I'm addicted. But sometimes a girl just needs a break. And I'm trying to learn to give myself permission to take one.

And I'm giving you permission, too. Are you going on vacation? Take your workout clothes if you feel like it, but if you don't, don't. It's really not the end of the world. And life awaits you when you get home. If you wake up tired and the thought of running is pure torture? Don't run. If you'd rather die than do Turbo Jam one more time, don't do it.

I obviously don't preach this way of not working out for every day life, but sometimes your body knows what's best for your body better than your mind does. If your body feels tired and achy, it probably is. Relax! Or find something new that re-energizes you. Get a video from the library. Go to a new class at the gym. Jump rope with your kids. Working out shouldn't be torturous!

So here's my advice for the day, to be taken with a proverbial grain of salt. Take. A. Break. or Try. Something. New. or Take. A. Nap. Make some time to fill your motivation wells, get organized, make a plan, then when you're ready (and only then), get moving.

Now give me some motivation. My wells are near empty. How do you fill yours?