30-Day Fitness Challenges App

Would you pay $2.99 for an exercise app that does pretty much what you can do on your own? Most people wouldn’t. I, however, did.

Why?

Because there are times I need more motivation and more reminders than what I can provide for myself. I’m also a sucker for new things.

There are not many days that go by where I do not find myself on the iPad at least once for a brief amount of time.

My writing and reading are flourishing but my fitness has been left behind in the dust. I have more motivation to sit on my butt and use my brain (or lack thereof on some days) than make my muscles burn.

So I bought the app thinking I would do one challenge at a time. It’s from the same people who keep up the 30-Day Challenge website. The app has a variety of 30-day challenges you can put yourself through and gives directions on how to do every exercise. It keeps track of your days, times for those timed challenges, gives you trophies when you complete challenges, allows you to share your progress online, and you can set it up to remind you to do the exercises at any time of the day. It seems you only need the internet if you want to share your progress and update your profile.

If you’d rather not pay money, the website – 30 Day Fitness Challenges – has every challenge the app has for free. The only differences are that you do everything yourself and your trophies are the results you get from your own hard work.

Is the app worth the $2.99?

Not if you don’t need it. But if you’re like me and you enjoy that added bit of technology and motivation that comes from apps then you might like this one. At $2.99 it’s not exactly a bank breaker after all.

Right now I’ve finished Day 11 for Plank, Day 2 for Easy Push-Up, and Day 2 for Butt.

Plank – steadily increasing holding time in plank position. 1^st day you hold it for 20sec. By day 30 you’re holding it for 300sec. Right now I’m up to 60sec. I’ve never been a lover of planks and my core has always been weak so being able to do 60sec is an amazing feat for me!

Easy Push-Up – steadily increasing number of push-ups. 1^st day you start with 3 push-ups. These are full push-ups – on your toes. By day 30 you’re up to 20 push-ups. It’s difficult. I had to give up on my last arms challenge from another site because my shoulders couldn’t take it. But the reps few and I’m doing well so far. But, yes, after having done the plank challenge beforehand and then 4 of these push-ups…I grunted. I’m weak. But also proud that I can do 4 respectable full push-ups.

Butt – 3 exercises in this one. Day 1 starts with 5 Bridges, 10 Lunges, and 15 Squats. Day 30 ends with 60 Bridges, 70 Lunges, and 90 Squats. I believe this will actually be pretty easy considering I previously attempted the Lunges and Easy Squat challenges over a month ago. The lunges were awesome and I did well. The squats I had to quit because my hip flexors were screaming at me after a while. Limping and nasty pain followed.

This will be different though because by Day 30 I’ll be up to 90 squats as opposed to Day 8 or something on the Easy Squat challenge.

Do you prefer to have apps “help” you along with exercise or do you like to do it all yourself?

Yoga for Bad Posture and Back Pain

Sitting at my desk for long periods of time, I tend toward bad posture. It doesn’t help that I’ve always been tall. For some reason being tall is, at times, an embarrassing thing for me and I’m overcome with the desire to hunch my shoulders and curve my back to be shorter.

Bad posture is painful. Not just painful to see in others but literally painful. At this very moment my back is killing me.

But there are ways to fix bad posture and help with back pain.

By the way, I apologize for the long infographic here. It’s really helpful though!

Yoga can be beneficial in helping people correct their posture. But, then, yoga seems to be helpful for everything in life.

There are tons of moves that help with back pain but these are simple and don’t require a whole lot of flexibility.

Happy stretching!

What do you do to fend off bad posture and back pain?

How to prepare for a 5k

For some reason, though my desire to exercise remains the same in Winter, my desire to run decreases. This isn’t because the weather is too nasty and cold to run outside – I’m not a huge outside runner for various reasons. I enjoy it but I don’t do it as often as I probably should.

I’ve lost a lot of speed over the winter from being running lazy. Despite having regained a lot of it, I’m still slower than I was at the beginning of Fall.

I kept telling myself I’d train for real for my next 5k to get that speed back. I mean, I had completed a goal and managed to consistently run 3.1 miles in under 35 minutes before winter hit.

But suddenly the 5k I’m aiming for is right around the corner and I haven’t even gotten back into the habit of running regularly! Where did the time go? How did this race creep up on me?

I have until May 3rd to get ready for the Apple Blossom Run. It seems a little late to start formally training now.

Of course, the first ¾ mile is downhill so that’s helpful.

Well, maybe I’ll surprise myself like I did last time I participated in this race. I guess the only thing I can do is cross-train, strength train, and perhaps speed-train. Intervals would probably be most effective at this point.

Oh yeah! And update my playlist! Woo! My favorite part!

For those out there who’ve planned better than I have, here’s a 5-week 5k training plan from SparkPeople.com that’ll get you over the finish line without dying.

(On a side note, this is the plan I used to train for my first 5k some years ago.)

If this one isn’t for you, they have easier and harder plans available so don’t toss the site aside because this plan isn’t suited for you.

And for those who have done at least one 5k and are now looking for a PR, here’s a training plan from Fitness Magazine that might be helpful. Likewise, they have other great plans available so you might consider giving them a look. Go to Fitness Magazine for further instructions on what they consider an “easy run,” “surges,” etc.

At Fitness Magazine you do need to register with the site to get training plans but it’s free and easy to do while at SparkPeople you don’t need to register at all.

And remember! …

What’s your favorite kind of race? What’s your favorite kind of challenge?

*DISCLAIMER: I’m not responsible for injuries that occur while trying exercises/routines found on my blog. Always consult your doctor before trying new exercises and always listen to your body. If you feel pain, stop. Unless you’re in the Olympics and are about to win a gold medal or you’re going to save someone’s life, injuries aren’t worth it.*

Embracing a Gluten-Free Lifestyle

Why Change?

I had plateaued with my weight loss and my body felt absolutely awful. Half the time I felt as if my blood had been poisoned and I was always tired and had to push myself to get moving. Slogging through life.

How Did I Modify The Virgin Diet?

The Virgin Diet by JJ Virgin didn’t work for me. She doesn’t advocate moderation because if someone has a peanut allergy, the tiniest bit of peanut is still going to be disastrous for them. But I cut what allergen’s I could easily cut (corn, soy, peanuts) and kept the others in strict moderation until I could deal with them separately. I worked in baby steps cutting back on sugar. It took a long time but that’s the way I work – baby steps.

My weight began dropping off again but the more it dropped and the longer I went with moderating and lowering certain allergens, the stronger the side-effects became.

What Did I Discover?

After a time I came to realize that my two main problems were gluten and dairy. When I cut them out of my diet entirely, I felt great.

But it was difficult keeping those two allergen’s out of my diet altogether. Namely because my favorite foods include pizza, beer, and chocolate chip cookies. But every time those foods would make an appearance in my system, I’d suffer through the following:

• Bloating
• Nausea
• Painful Gas
• Acne
• Diarrhea
• Water Retention
• Heartburn/Indigestion
• Feeling of Blood Poisoning

How Have I Taken Out Gluten From My Diet?

A gluten-free diet is not cheap. At all. When people complain that they can’t eat healthy because veggies are so expensive, that’s not far from the truth with gluten-free items.

Now, if you want to take the organic route, it can be cheap enough because contrary to what people say veggies are not that expensive.

Here’s a list of substitutes that worked in my diet:

• Peanut Butter –> Almond Butter (MaraNatha)
• Bread –> Rice Cakes (Quaker)
• Crackers –> Crackers made of Seeds or Brown Rice (Organic Baked Brown Rice Snaps Unsalted Plain, Van’s, etc)
• White/Wheat Flour –> Gluten-Free Flour (Arrowhead Mill’s, Chebe, Namaste, etc)
• Cheese –> Goat Cheese
• Milk –> Coconut Milk, Almond Milk (Silk)
• Whey Protein Powder –> Brown Rice, Soy (Plant Fusion, Brown Rice Protein Powder, Soy Protein Powder)

That’s mostly it. What? No cookies?

Before you ask, yes, there are non-dairy chocolate chips out there. It took a long time but I found them!

What kind of snacks are available other than crackers, veggies, and fruit?

• Pamela’s cookies
• Larabars
• Granola (my fav is Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola from the dispensers…I think it’s organic; careful – some granola has added ickies)
• Banana Chips (again, I get mine from the dispensers)

Yep. My diet can be very plain. But you can make lots of really yummy things with those substitutes and fruit/veggies.

For example:

• Rice Cake with Almond Butter, drizzled with Honey – Dessert
• Rice Cake with Almond Butter, topped with sliced Bananas – Snack/Breakfast
• Goat Cheese mixed with Fig Jam spread on Brown Rice Snaps (a little goes a long way so keep it light) – Dessert/Snack
• Chocolate Soy Protein Powder, Banana, Strawberries, Peaches, Spinach, Unsweetened Original Almond Milk blended in a Blender – Breakfast Smoothie

Sounds yummy to me! When I want something really special, I’ll get the baking ingredients and make it myself like I do with pizza:

• Chebe Pizza Crust Mix (allergen-free except I use real eggs instead of egg substitutes)
• Montchevre Goat Cheese
• Tomato Paste (try to spread it light)
• Spinach
• Mushrooms
• Black Olives
• Pepper, Garlic Powder, Basil

It was absolutely delicious! There was something about either the crust mix or the goat cheese though that didn’t agree with me and made me painfully gassy. My belly was literally inflated to the point of looking 6 months pregnant. I hadn’t tried either kind before so I don’t know which one the culprit was. I don’t remember what kind of pizza crust mix I used before. I’d hate to think it was the goat cheese because it was really yummy. Not too sharp like the previous kind I used.

It’s really disappointing because Chebe was the easiest/quickest pizza crust mix so it didn’t take nearly 2 hours to make like the previous attempt with the other mix. But there are other flours and mixes available so it’s not a big deal.

This isn’t the first time Chebe has disagreed with me but I thought the other times were from sugar because they were hand pies. I may have to watch my step with them in the future.

Is it easy keeping gluten out of my diet? Not at all. It seems everywhere I go has mostly gluten products. And when they do have gluten-free food, it’s horribly expensive. I’ve never been more encouraged to eat home in my life. Even going to a friend’s house can be difficult unless they know I avoid certain foods and are considerate enough to cater to that.

What’s the hardest part of being gluten-free for you?

How to Get Rid of Jigglypuff Arms

Jigglypuff huh? Somebody watched Pokemon growing up. Except I think I was in high school so I was halfway through growing up, childhood-wise anyway. And yes, I still have fond memories of Pokemon and would probably play the Gameboy game again if I found it in a certain childhood suitcase. (Yes, I know exactly where it is. Sad, huh.)

Is it bad that I still have the suitcase I used as a kid? It has a patch on it but I remember my mom putting the patch on before I was a teen.

You know what it actually says? It says that is one well-made suitcase! I used it my entire childhood, still have it (used for storage now), and I’m 32 years old. Only that one patch on it too. What a bag!!

By the way, I know Jigglypuff’s song to put people to sleep too. And I sing it in my Jigglypuff voice.

Yep. Nerd over here.

“And that’s okay!”

So! A show of hands for all those ladies who can wave hello and goodbye with their underarms!

What? It can’t only be me who can do this amazing feat!

And for all the liars out there who won’t admit that they can do it…Here are some ways to get rid of that rotten underarm jiggle!

Those rotten triceps. Always weaker than the biceps, stronger than the shoulders (at least in my case), and never looking as good as either.

I’ve been Jell-o deep in war with my triceps my whole life. And even if I get them nice and taut (HA! As if), they’ll always be marred because of the numerous stretch marks – scars of the ongoing war.

I don’t mind scars though – they’re my battle wounds! Each scar has a story to tell and people should be proud of their scars though I have difficulty when it comes to stretch marks. Unless they’re on my belly. My belly stretch marks really are battle scars – surgery and pregnancy. I’ll wear a bikini and show those off, no problem.

Work it! Get rid of the Jigglypuff Arms! Good luck!

What are you favorite exercises to get fight underarm jiggle?

*DISCLAIMER: I’m not responsible for any injuries incurred while attempting the exercises found on my blog. Always consult your doctor before trying a new exercise and always listen to your body. If you feel pain, stop what you’re doing. Injuries are no fun.*

Off the Meds and Diet Change

I’ve run out of the doctor-prescribed Omeprazole (heartburn) and, since the doctor was the one to advise me not to be on Omeprazole for the rest of my life due to its side-effects, I don’t want to ask him for more.

So what do I do when everything gives me heartburn? I found out the meds were also masking the worst of the gluten and dairy side-effects which is why I was able to eat chocolate chip cookies without feeling anything (the meds, however, did not prevent my acne outbreak due to the gluten/dairy…yuck).

Here’s something interesting…

My first order of business is to cut out the dairy and gluten from my diet…again. The gluten has been pretty easy…for the most part. The dairy, however, is a toughie mainly because of the chocolate chip cookies.

All I want to eat these days is chocolate chip cookies but I can’t because when I tried one little Chips A’Hoy cookie, it made me sick to my stomach. Ugh! I’ve had 2 days of healthy “clean” eating (clean = healthy and free of dairy/gluten). The first day I had no heartburn (yay!) but yesterday I got it 3 times. I was really tired so I think that may have exacerbated the problem.

Zantac was able to clear that up though so that’s progress. The heartburn had gotten so bad before that no amount of Zantac would work.

Coffee triggered the heartburn at one time though. Looks like I may have to cut back on it. I could almost cry. Maybe drinking 1 cup in the morning and saving the 2^nd for the afternoon would be okay? Sigh.

I don’t know about “raw milk” in the picture above. I’ve never tried it. In place of cow milk, I drink almond milk. I used to drink the dark chocolate almond milk but it became too sugary for me…and chocolate started triggering my heartburn too. Now I stick with unsweetened original almond milk. Only 30 calories and tons more calcium than cow milk! It has, like, 1 gram of protein though FYI.

On a side note, flax seeds are great for constipation. My favorite snack these days is Pumpkin Seed Flax Plus Granola. It’s delicious! Eat 2 servings of that and I’m high-tailing it to the bathroom!

Eating at night and eating when I’m not hungry also have their burning consequences so I’m endeavoring to control how much I eat and when I eat.

It’s difficult, not because I’m hungry but because I’m used to habitually eating.

Not that I can eat ice cream (or even want to anymore), but I thought the piggy picture was cute.

I’ll end this with a laugh…

HAHA! Yeah, I actually don’t eat pig anymore though I indulged the other day with ham in my salad. Yum! Nowadays my bacon is turkey bacon. The best thing would be to cut it out entirely but at least it’s not as fatty as pig.

How do you deal with allergens and having a finicky diet?

Spring Break

My son had spring break last week and the weather was supposed to be bad in Seattle for our planned weekend trip so we ran off in the middle of the week to have fun.

There was a case of bad driving judgment one day in downtown Seattle and another case of a demon truck driver sent to kill us in the mountains on the way home, but overall it was fun.

My new bra came in after we got back and just in time! I was down to 2 old bras and both were too big. The underwire on my best one broke and jutted out of the fabric in an attempt to skewer me in the ribs. So much for that. I could’ve tried to take out the wire but I tried that on a previous bra that went into the trash some months ago. It didn’t work.

So I try on my new bra…only to find that it’s really tight because I’m super bloated from all the chocolate chip cookies, goldfish, and wraps I’ve gorged on since my parents left.

I’m shedding water now but I can see that it’s no longer only water I need to shed. Yuck. I had been hoping the added weight wasn’t real – that it was retained water. Some of it was but some of it wasn’t.

Oh well. This bra will serve as a reminder whenever I open the pantry for a snack and reach for the cookies or for the goldfish.

Luckily the last time I had goldfish they didn’t have their cheesy goodness taste so I no longer want to eat them by the shovel-full.

My son’s new shoes came in as well. We didn’t like our pick from what was in town so we ordered from REI.

What? So expensive!

Nah, not really. They were on sale and my husband had his rebate so it wasn’t bad. In fact, compared to our town options, it was cheaper.

A couple days later we went on a hike and consecrated them in dust and dirt. For the first time we made it to the top of Saddlerock Trail. I don’t know if one could call it a mountain or if it’s technically a hill. My son has never been able to reach the top before so we were very happy to finish the hike this time.

It took 50 minutes to hike up the trail and 35 minutes to get back down. A 4-year-old’s pace is not the fastest. But that’s fine. I had agreed to the hike for healthy family outside time, not exercise. Boy was my butt burning sometimes though! There are some steep places.

I found out after sliding a couple times in one section on the way down that my everyday shoes are nearly flat on the bottom where the balls of my feet are – I wear them every day to exercise (when I’m not running) and I tend to be on my toes for the most part.

Time to get the hiking boots out again!

What outdoor activities do you enjoy doing?