Wednesday Workout

Warm Up:
5 mins of Jump Rope


Perform the following Circuits 3 times through before moving to the next


Circuit 1 (3x)
Dumbbell Squats 30s
Jump Squats 30s


Circuit 2 (3x)
Alternating Dumbbell Lunges 30s
Jumping lunges 30s


Circuit 3 (3x)
Alternating Dumbbell side lunges 30s
Low Jacks 30s
(similar to a jumping jack, but keep your knees bent and jump in and out. Arms can be close to your side)


Circuit 4 (3x)
Pushups 30s
Burpees 30s


Circuit 5 (3x)
Tricep Dips (30s)
Squat Thrusts (30s)


Circuit 6 (3x)
Flutter Kicks (30s)
Mountain Climbers (30s)

Reflecting on my Cleanse and Looking to the Future.

I have officially made it 4 weeks on a Healing Cleanse!! I started with the goal of 5 days and it turned into almost 30. I listened to my body and my spirit and just went as long as I felt necessary. I also felt fantastic and saw no need to stop because I did not feel deprived in any way. In fact, I felt more full and nourished and alive than I'd felt in nearly my whole life! 

My intention now is to move beyond the discipline and more into the freedom of living this way. I am adopting it as my personal best and flourishing in it so that I can be purposeful and impact others to live in the same way. 

I know many of you wonder why I care so much about the things that I do. "Why does Liz keep posting about all this health and fitness stuff? Ugh. What a weirdo." :) Don't lie. You've thought that a time or two. Well, I'll tell you that it's not because I am obsessed or paranoid or a hypochondriac or a conspiracy theorist or any of those such things. And if you know me at all, you will know that I am quite laid back (in a very hyperactive way) and nonjudgmental. I might disagree with you, but I'll love you nonetheless, and if you invite me over to your house for a hot dog and some ice cream, I'll gladly eat them with you because I just feel blessed to be with you. 

I share what I do, who I am, and what I believe because I have strong conviction in these things, and because I REALLY care. I am overwhelmed with an eagerness to help people learn how to adopt a healthy lifestyle. I think this stuff is serious. I look around me and see overweight, sick, depressed, tired people everywhere I go. I hear people make excuses for their conditions and I know the excuses come from a place of helplessness. People are overwhelmed and they are burdened. They feel powerless to change their habits because there is so much else going on. They say they'll get to it later when they feel better, but they never feel better. Their bodies only get sicker and the resolve of their minds and will in their spirits deteriorate with it. And everyone around them is impacted. We are interconnected and I feel that God has called me to help bring light to the aspect of our physical health not only for the sake of ourselves, but for the sake of others, and for the sake of his Glory. If you gave me a precious gift, you would hope that I cared for it. God wants the same for the gifts he gives you. Your body is one of those gifts. 

As I have spent time over the last month really filling my body with good nutrition and being disciplined in saying NO to the poison that is out there, I have fully recognized the healing power of food. Although I have been super healthy the last few years, this is a whole new level! My thoughts have never been clearer. My energy has never been greater. My body is healing its chronic ailments. I am happier. I am more purposeful. I just feel great and through it all, I have had the well-being and clarity to pursue what God is leading me to do with courage and confidence. I am more sure about what God is asking of me than I've ever been.

I have GREAT plans for the future. I am so excited about the things that I will be able to share with all of you!!! There is so much coming down that hatch.

I'm going to close with these thoughts....

You only have this ONE body that God gave to you. Are you taking care of it? I truly believe that we have to be accountable one day for how we use this vessel and how we care for the vessels of our children. Let's stop turning a blind eye to things that matter. THIS MATTERS. Living a healthy life CAN be done. I can help you learn how.
There are so many out there with genuine afflictions. Are your afflictions the cause of your own hand? Choose this moment to care for the only body you will ever have. It's hard to live a life of abundance in a vessel that is broken. There is so much life to be lived. Whether it's for only a day or a hundred years, live them well! As I've said before,

"You cannot add days to your life, but you can add life to your days!"


Now that I am easing back into a "post-cleanse" way of eating and living, I will begin sharing what that looks like with all of you. You'll see recipes, meal plans, fitness routines, and personal challenges. Make sure to check out my facebook page where I post a lot of information that will help educate you about adopting a healthy lifestyle. 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Fit-List/234310136626646

Nutrition for Nails: More Evidence of Juicing. Here's the highlight of my whole month!!!

My whole life, I have been a nail biter. Besides the fact that I have the ugliest hands in America (as you will see in a moment), I have weak nail beds that tear and break easily. Any time I've ever gone to a nail salon to get a manicure, the techs laugh at me and tell me I should just get acrylic because pretty much, I am a hopeless case. I mean this happens EVERY TIME.

Anyway, I noticed recently that biting my nails took WAY more effort. I thought to myself, HMMMMM? Am I crazy or do my nails feel strong? I was also having to do a lot more biting because they're growing faster. I thought, surely this is all in my head, but MAYBE my body is giving me stronger nails and so MAYBE I should stop biting them once and for all and try to grow them out. I took advantage of this new ambition by taking my girls to the salon for a DIVA DAY. 

I told the nail tech not to laugh at me, but I wanted just a manicure because I was going to try and grow my nails out. I then proceeded to go on and on about how weak and brittle my nails are, so that I didn't have to hear it from him and because I talk to much, when all of the sudden he says words I never thought I'd hear in my life, 

"Actually, Ma'am. Your nails are very strong and thick. You can grow these out no problem."

WHAAATTTTT???? 

I then asked him to take a picture of my nails and began telling him all about Juice Feasting with great enthusiasm, at which point he told me I was kind of crazy and then told some other lady something probably more offensive in his native tongue. It's ok though. I'm used to it. But he was thrilled that I knew what Bok Choy is. Lol. We're friends forever. 

So, now I have a new goal. To GROW MY NAILS!!!! This is a very exciting thing for me. I always said in my next life, God would give me pretty nails. It looks like He's going to give them to me in this life. :) 

We'll check in in a month to see how things are progressing!!!

I cannot believe I am posting a picture of my hands as they are the most shameful part of my existence, but hey, I'm just putting it out there and hoping you love me anyway. If not, it's cool. I'll have some fabulous nails in not too long!

Liz's Nails Before

5/4/2012

Wednesday Workout!

For any exercises you are unfamiliar with, you can google them or find them on YouTube. Eventually, I'll just record myself doing the workout. 

A. Full Body Circuit: 8 Mins
Perform the following 8 exercises for 50 seconds giving yourself 10 seconds of rest in between. Push as hard as you can and do as many reps as possible within the 50 second time frame

• Jump Rope
• Reverse Lunge with bicep curls using Dumbbells (Alternating)
• Burpees
• Pushup with Dumbbell Row (Alternating)
• Jump Squats
• Tricep Dips
• Mountain Climbers
• Jump Rope

B. Lower Body Tabata: 4 mins

Perform the following 2 exercises back to back. 20 secs work/10 seconds rest. 4 times through

1. Sumo Squats using Dumbbell. 
2. Sumo Jacks

C. Upper Body Tabata: 4 mins

1. Overhead Dumbbell Press
2. Divebombers

D. Ab Tabata: 4 mins

1. V-ups
2. Plank Jacks

E. Repeat Full Body Circuit Above: 8 mins

There's your 30 min hard core Wednesday workout!!

GET FIT! DON'T QUIT!!

Your Monthly Super Food Challenge for May

I'm gonna keep the challenge simple, but it will be very practical in helping you adopt healthy habits for a lifetime. AND it will trickle down to your children who will hopefully develop the same interest and love for foods that nourish and give life. 

So, here it is!

Each week, take a trip to the grocery store and choose one or two items (preferably a vegetable and preferably organic) from the produce section that you have never tasted, have never heard of, have never seen, and/or have never cooked. Commit to making dinner once or twice a week using that item(s). Find a recipe that includes what you have chosen and give it a go. You may even just want to eat it raw or add it to a salad. It doesn't necessarily have to be cooked. 

But here's the most important component of this challenge...Educating yourself and educating your family about what you have put on their plate. Find out what the health benefits are of what you are eating (Google is fantastic for that). Learn about them yourself and then share them with your spouse and children at dinner. Have the kids help you prepare the recipe if possible.

Celeriac (Celery Root) was my brand new Super food adventure for the week. I didn't recognize it at the store and certainly had never cooked with it. I took it home and found the following recipe after learning it's nutritional value. 

Celery Root and Ginger Gold Apple Soup

While you are sharing the nutritional value of your meal with your family, make sure that you are not talking about its FEATURES as much as you are talking about its BENEFITS. 

For example 

FEATURES of Celeriac would be:

High in Vitamin B

Rich in Potassium and Magnesium

Strong Celery Taste

BENEFITS of Celeriac would be:

Improves your memory

Makes you smart

Burns fat

Releases water retention

etc....

Tell your children that super foods make super kids! My girls love the thought of longer hair after eating something nutritious. :)

I will be sharing my super food selections throughout the week and my recipes. I'd love to get feedback on what you have found and are feeding your family. Let's share these ideas, plans, and results with each other on my facebook page.

I hope this is practical enough. The journey toward health doesn't have to be rushed. Just enjoy it!

You asked for it...You got it. The Nutrition Facts are In!

Many of you have been asking me about calorie counting while juicing. You want to make sure that you are staying on track with your personal goals. I have never calorie counted while juicing or doing a raw cleanse for a number of reasons:

1. Because it is an arduous task to log all those fruits and veggies in. The will power and strength needed to juice and cleanse are hard enough to maintain and that is where your focus should be. 

2. Because I'm not sure it would be accurate since I am extracting the juice and not eating the whole fruit or veggie

3. Because I know that I am not eating too much. You can never eat too many fruits and veggies. The calories from nuts and oils would be more of a concern.

4. Because we are healing and resetting our bodies prior to adopting a more manageable and healthy way of eating. 

At any rate....because I love and care for you so much AND because I don't want to keep having to answer the same question, I have undergone the monstrous task of logging in my daily eating plan. You can thank me later. ;)

Bear in mind this captures more of my post cleanse diet. I chose this one because it is more realistic long term. Also, you can just see the calorie content of my foods and do a little math of your own. You can exclude the grains, starches, and protein powder and replace them with more juice if you are in the detox phase still.

But MOSTLY I did this because I wanted you to see the nutrition you are getting in comparison to the Recommended Daily Intake of nutrients created by the FDA. It will astound you and it will prove that you can get MORE than ample protein on a plant based/vegan diet!!

Ok. Here we go........

This is the FDA'a Recommended Daily Intake of nutrients based on an adult 2,000 calorie diet.

Total Fat grams (g) 65

Saturated fatty acids grams (g) 20
Cholesterol milligrams (mg) 300
Sodium milligrams (mg) 2400
Potassium milligrams (mg) 3500
Total carbohydrate grams (g) 300
Fiber grams (g) 25
Protein grams (g) 50
Vitamin A International Unit (IU) 5000
Vitamin C milligrams (mg) 60
Calcium milligrams (mg) 1000
Iron milligrams (mg) 18*

*(If you start using MyFitnessPal, you will find that it is nearly impossible to reach the RDI for iron no matter what you eat. This diet allowed me to reach my iron intake my 141%!!!! It's usually around 17%. This is exciting for someone who can quickly become anemic). 

Here is my detailed diet list. All my juice is listed under breakfast. I make one 16 oz in the early am and another 16 oz in the mid morning using 2 different juice recipes. 

My Lunch and Dinners are the same except I have quinoa at one and a sweet potato at the other. 

My snacks are afternoon and evening.

HERE IT IS!!!!! We'll compare at the end.

April 29, 2012

FOOD	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Cholest	Sodium	Sugars	Fiber
Breakfast
Fresh - Carrot Stick, 2 Large (7 1/4" - 8 1/2")	60	14g	0g	2g	0mg	100mg	6g	4g
Cabbage - Red, raw, 0.5 cup, chopped	14	3g	0g	1g	0mg	12mg	2g	1g
Apple - Pink Lady - Small, 1 apple	55	15g	0g	0g	0mg	1mg	14g	3g
Beets - Raw, 0.5 cup	29	7g	0g	1g	0mg	53mg	5g	2g
Pepper - Green Bell Pepper - 1/4 Cup, 1/4 cup	7	2g	0g	1g	0mg	1mg	1g	1g
Sunkist - Orange, 1 large	71	17g	0g	1g	0mg	0mg	13g	4g
Chard - Swiss, raw, 1 cup	7	1g	0g	1g	0mg	77mg	0g	1g
Celery - Raw, 0.5 cup chopped	7	1g	0g	0g	0mg	40mg	1g	1g
Ginger root - Raw, 1 tsp	2	0g	0g	0g	0mg	0mg	0g	0g
Frontier - All-Natural Ground Turmeric Root, 1/4 tsp	0	0g	0g	0g	0mg	0mg	0g	0g
Kale - Raw, 1 cup, chopped	34	7g	0g	2g	0mg	29mg	0g	1g
Earthbound Farm - Organic Raw Baby Spinach, 3 oz	20	3g	0g	2g	0mg	65mg	0g	2g
Endive - Endive, 2 Piece	36	6g	0g	2g	0mg	4mg	1g	5g
Frontier - All-Natural Ground Turmeric Root, 1/4 tsp	0	0g	0g	0g	0mg	0mg	0g	0g
Ginger root - Raw, 1 tsp	2	0g	0g	0g	0mg	0mg	0g	0g
Celery - Raw, 0.5 cup chopped	7	1g	0g	0g	0mg	40mg	1g	1g
Organic Biologique Romaine Mix - Romaine Mix, 1 cup	10	2g	0g	1g	0mg	7mg	1g	1g
Chard - Swiss, raw, 1 cup	7	1g	0g	1g	0mg	77mg	0g	1g
Pepper - Green Bell Pepper - 1/4 Cup, 1/4 cup	7	2g	0g	1g	0mg	1mg	1g	1g
Beets - Raw, 0.5 cup	29	7g	0g	1g	0mg	53mg	5g	2g
Cabbage - Red, raw, 0.5 cup, chopped	14	3g	0g	1g	0mg	12mg	2g	1g
Kale - Raw, 1 cup, chopped	34	7g	0g	2g	0mg	29mg	0g	1g
Granny Smith - Green Apple (Med), 1 Apple	80	22g	0g	0g	0mg	1mg	17g	5g
Lunch
Earthbound Farm Organic - Fresh Herb Salad, 2 cups (85g)	15	4g	0g	2g	0mg	70mg	0g	2g
Barleans Flax Oil - Flaxseed Oil, 0.5 tbsp	55	0g	6g	0g	0mg	0mg	0g	1g
Nutiva - Organic Chia Seeds, 0.5 tbsp (12g)	30	3g	2g	2g	0mg	0mg	0g	3g
Points Plus - Avacado- Fresh, 1/2 of a medium	50	3g	5g	1g	0mg	0mg	0g	1g
Fresh - Yellow Onion, Chopped 1 Tbsp, 2 tbsp	8	2g	0g	0g	0mg	0mg	1g	0g
Generic - Sweet Baby Peppers - Raw, 3 oz	40	8g	0g	1g	0mg	5mg	4g	3g
Pompeian - Balsamic Vinegar (Aged In Oak Casks), 1 Tbsp	5	2g	0g	0g	0mg	0mg	2g	0g
Japenese Radish - Daikon Root, 0.25 cup	15	1g	1g	0g	0mg	102mg	0g	1g
Generic - Sweet Potato, 1/2, 90 g	81	19g	0g	2g	0mg	33mg	6g	3g
Dinner
Barleans Flax Oil - Flaxseed Oil, 0.5 tbsp	55	0g	6g	0g	0mg	0mg	0g	1g
Nutiva - Organic Chia Seeds, 0.5 tbsp (12g)	30	3g	2g	2g	0mg	0mg	0g	3g
Points Plus - Avacado- Fresh, 1/2 of a medium	50	3g	5g	1g	0mg	0mg	0g	1g
Fresh - Yellow Onion, Chopped 1 Tbsp, 2 tbsp	8	2g	0g	0g	0mg	0mg	1g	0g
Generic - Sweet Baby Peppers - Raw, 3 oz	40	8g	0g	1g	0mg	5mg	4g	3g
Pompeian - Balsamic Vinegar (Aged In Oak Casks), 1 Tbsp	5	2g	0g	0g	0mg	0mg	2g	0g
Quinoa - Cooked, 1/2 cup	111	20g	2g	4g	0mg	13mg	0g	3g
Generic - Daikon, Raw, 50 g (raw)	10	2g	0g	1g	0mg	10mg	1g	1g
Snacks
Hershey's - Cocoa Natural Unsweetened , 1 Tbsp (5g)	10	3g	1g	1g	0mg	0mg	0g	2g
Plant Fusion Protein Powder - Unflavored, 1 Scoop (30 g)	120	3g	2g	22g	0mg	390mg	2g	0g
Quick Added Calories, 45 calories	45	0g	0g	0g	0mg	0mg	0g	0g
Maranatha - Peanut Butter - Creamy No Stir Organic 16oz, 1 Tbsp (32g)	90	3g	8g	4g	0mg	33mg	2g	1g
Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Old Fashioned Rolled Oats - Oatmeal, 1/4 cup dry (48g)	95	16g	2g	4g	0mg	0mg	1g	3g
TOTAL:	1,500	228g	42g	68g	0mg	1,263mg	96g	70g

Totals	1,500	228	42	68
Your Daily Goal	1,553	213	51	58
Remaining	53	-15	9	-10
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein

So as you can see, I exceeded my Recommended daily protein by 10 grams!!!! I consumed not ONE source of animal protein. The proof is in the pudding....or the PRODUCE shall we say. ;) You can get all the nutrition you need and THEN some by eating this way. AND you'll feel energized and nourished. Can I get an AMEN!


RDA is on Left. Mine is on Right in Blue

RDA                                                                                    
Total Fat grams (g) 65 41

Saturated fatty acids grams (g) 20 4
Cholesterol milligrams (mg) 300 0
Sodium milligrams (mg) 2400 1262
Potassium milligrams (mg) 3500 3540
Total carbohydrate grams (g) 300 228
Fiber grams (g) 25 67
Protein grams (g) 50 67
I don't know the exact # but it told me my percentages. I think I got more than enough!
Vitamin A International Unit (IU) 5000 1473% Whoa!
Vitamin C milligrams (mg) 60 990%
Calcium milligrams (mg) 1000 91% (not bad)
Iron milligrams (mg) 18* 141%!!!!! This is the most astounding of all

Cheers to Health!!!