Tri Training

I am adding a new topic to this blog, because why not cover everything??

I'm training for triathlons! 

It makes sense right? I am a very indecisive person who wants to be good at everything, so why not train and try to be the best at the three most grueling endurance sports in one race?

This is hell for some people, but will be heaven for me. 

Due to my own stupidity, I still have a while to go before I'm allowed to run again (achilles tendonitis) so I've been killing myself on the elliptical to keep my cardio up (looooots of high rep/resistance intervals) But TODAY, I started my swim program! 

It's ok Mom, it turns out I'm a much better swimmer than we all thought! I survived!! 

Here's proof:

I will occasionally post my progress, it'll keep me motivated =) 

ps if anyone finds a decent road bike on craigslist please let me know, looking for a 9 speed, 50 frame size  

tasty alternatives to your fav foods

I freaking LOVE food. I am a foodie through and through and am always making up new recipes and wanting to try new things. But I also love my body and being healthy, so I try not to over do my yummy splurges. Lucky for YOU, I have come up with some great, healthy alternatives for your favorite meals. 

1

FUN FACT: Our stomachs are not able to digest grain. I swear a majority of problems people have with their stomachs is due to how much grain they're eating. But what about those of us who loooooooove Italian food??

I'm obsessed with Italian food.

Say hello to your new best friend: brown rice pasta

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Whaaaat? Nooooo that can't be healthy for me!! That looks like normal pasta! Well my dear, this stuff is so much better than normal pasta. Sure, rice is still a grain, but because of its genetic makeup it is way easier for our bodies to digest. This stuff also has waaaaay more nutrients than normal pasta. If you're a whore for perfect, al dente pasta like I am, you will not be disappointed. Even leftovers taste perfectly cooked, doesn't get mushy like normal pasta (I'm eating some nooooow) 

2

My second alternative I actually learned from Dr. Oz (yes I'm a viewer and you should be too). This goes hand-in-hand with our current Italian food theme. Use cooked cauliflower as a filler for pasta. I know I just ranted about how tasty and amazing brown rice pasta is, but that doesn't mean you're skimming out on carbs (just bloat). So, use half pasta, half cauliflower, same amount of sauce (we'll get to that later) and you won't even notice the difference! 

3

Would I give you all of these pasta tips and skip out on a sauce tip?? NOOOOO! Ok, raise your hand if you love alfredo... you know you do. We're going to take another half-n-half approach to this. If you make your own alfredo sauce, make half of the amount then add a can of fire roasted tomatoes, some thyme and you will NOT miss the full alfredo experience, especially the calories!! 

4

Chicken parm is next. I've never been a big fan, mostly because I didn't grow up with it, but I know a ton of people are obsessed with it. Replace the egg with just egg whites, replace the bread crumbs with GROUND FLAX SEED and some Italian seasoning. What the hell is ground flax seed? 

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It's this gorgeous stuff. I put this shit on everything! Salad, popcorn, smoothies, scrambled eggs. Go buy yourself some and do the same because it's good for you! It's a great thickener if you like your smoothies frothy or your scrambled eggs more hardy (I mix it in with the raw egg). It has a subtle toasted, nutty taste so don't worry about it over powering other flavors. 

I have some more tricks up my sleeve but I can't give them all away on one post. I hope you try these and if so leave me a comment!! 

what I love about this very moment

I am in love with style

not necessarily fashion, but style

The whole idea of dressing well is a free-for-all right now and I

LOVE

it 

Want to wear overalls with a bandana and striped cardi? Do it

vintage tee and cutoffs? more power to you

men's dress shirt with pink shorts? rock it, man

Designers are finally starting to realize that they're not the ones setting the trends, they're the ones following it. Style starts on the street and in the real world. 

YAY!! 

body image

I'm going to stir up the pot a little here and address the most controversial topic in the fashion industry

body image

The fashion industry has completely changed the image of the 'perfect woman'. From beauties like Marilyn Monroe and Betty Page, both very curvy woman (around size 8/10) to beauties like Miranda Kerr (size 2 I'm guessing) 

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The absolute worst thing any girl can do is to look at any of these woman, or ANY models and say 'I want to look like her'. Your body physically cannot look the same because no two bodies are built the same. 

This is a mistake I have spent the majority of my life making. 

Since I have a foot in the fashion pool, and the other in the health pool, I think I'm pretty qualified to give an informative opinion on this matter. 

There are currently a few laws in place in Europe which penalizes design houses for hiring models with less than 5% body fat. Here are a few statistics on body fat percentage for women:

Anything over 30% puts you at a severe risk for heart disease, diabetes, auto immune disorders, stroke---you name it, it's ALL PREVENTABLE

Anything less than 10% and you will lose your monthly period (along with all chances of having kids) you will begin losing muscle mass (because your body is quite literally eating it) and you will most likely be sick all the time because you're starving. 

Your goal should be between 18 and 24

To counteract the fashion industry's infatuation with semi-skeletal models, some houses have started using plus size models to show the world that it's 'ok' to be a little bigger. This rises a whole new problem. Many plus size models are actually unhealthy because of their higher body fat percentage. 

As humans, we are so drawn to the opposites. It's almost like we are so heavy-headed that we can't just have a different opinion from someone, we have to have the OPPOSITE opinion of someone. 

That's shit. 

So I'm going to say that both sides are wrong. Let's promote ATHLETIC bodies. 

Yea, a lot of people are gonna sigh and groan and think hell no. 

You're saying that because you don't know how amazing it feels to accomplish something you thought was impossible. 

Achieving an athletic and fit body really isn't hard, in fact, it's probably one of the simplest things you will ever do. Eat healthy, be active. 

No one says you have to start out by running a 5k every day. Don't be too hard on yourself, keep thinking positively, stick to your routine and I guarantee you will see results in your mind, body and soul.

^that's a deal no one should pass up!^

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To help, I'll share my secrets, and you should trust me since I'm an aspiring personal trainer and dietitian. 

Breakfast: 2 glasses of water, 1 packet instant oatmeal and black coffee or green tea

Lunch: Fiesta wrap!! Fat free tortilla, Weight Watchers fat free Mexican blend cheese, 1 quarter ripe avocado, lean turkey lunch meat, spinach, hot sauce (this can be a breakfast burrito too, swap the turkey for scrambled eggs!) 2 glasses of water

Post workout smoothie: blueberries, ginger, almond milk, protein powder, ground flax seed, greek yogurt, bilberry nectar 

Dinner: Turkey meatballs and veggies (here) or chicken soup (here) lentil soup, baked flax chicken (I'll post those recipes later) a big, yummy spinach salad with egg and walnuts and chicken and cranberries--yum!!

Throughout the day snack on almonds, carrots, greek yogurt, a protein shake, leftovers, green tea and drink tons of water! 

I stay away from: gluten and flour in general, sugar (including fruit with a lot of sugar) fattening and processed foods and snacks, anything breaded or fried, dairy (other than low fat cheese and yogurt) 

I'll do another post soon including things that I swap in my diet to avoid cravings =) 

I do something active every day. I love distance running, but if I'm having an off day then I'll jump on the elliptical for 35 minutes at level 3/4 (70 reps/min) and do some abs and push-ups>> done in 45 minutes! 

Play your Zumba game on Wii, do mountain climbers and jumping jacks while watching a movie, just get in 30 minutes of cardio a day. This is a great starting point, once you do this, you'll notice you'll have a lot more energy to do more. 

If you have ANY questions at all please email me or comment me, I would LOVE to answer them. Tell me about your goals, tell me about your concerns, I want to help! 

i miss portland

I ventured to Portland for my spring break. 

This was about 3 weeksish ago, I know, I should've blogged about it earlier but I just got busy and have been since I got back.

ANYWAY

At the risk of appearing more like the tourist than I actually was, I only took pictures at Voodoo Donuts, so to even out this blog post, I will space each event with a picture from Voodoo. 

I arrived at University of Portland at about 6pm. Kati was not answering her phone so I decided instead of sitting in my car on campus like a creep, I would make good use of the navigator on my droid and try to find the Nike store. 

This worked out GREAT

(sarcasm) 

I got lost, so I found a Starbucks and decided to calm my nerves with a green tea. The man in line behind me was WAY too interested in what I ordered, Portland Creep #1. 

After a slightly frantic phone call from Kati (because I was lost) I used my expert sense of direction and found my way back to UP. You may wonder, "Britters, how is it that you have an expert sense of direction, yet somehow get lost all the time?" 

Well young observer, I am a human compass, I always know what direction I am facing... As long as I'm between a huge body of water and a mountain range, AKA western WA. 

After this adventure, Kati and I decided copious amounts of mexican food and tequila were in order. I mean, would ANYONE turn down copious amounts of mexican food and tequila?? I think not. 

We arrived at Cha Cha Cha's on Lombard (street name relevant to the story) And Lauren was going to meet us there! After already receiving our food and downing a marg, we got a call from Lauren asking where we were. She was at Cha Cha Cha's, Kati and I were at Cha Cha Cha's, but not at the SAME Cha Cha Cha's....dkjk3!>!3948jek?!?!?!?!

Apparently, there is more than one Cha Cha Cha's in Portland, there is one on Lombard, and one you have to CROSS Lombard to get to. This is where a smart phone navigator lead another astray. Lauren quickly realized this and was soon in mine and Kati's presence at the correct Cha Cha Cha's (why can't it just be Cha Cha's? I think two 'Chas' would get the point across) 

Crisis averted. 

I spent the night at Lauren's and the entire next day was 'Lauren Day'. Basically, anything Lauren did, I did, it was amazing!! We went for a run, went to Chemistry class, ordered the SAME coffee at BRITTANY'S Espresso (I was offered a job because all the baristas there spell their name the same way as me) hung out in the library while she interviewed someone for a class (I read Wuthering Heights on my phone) We went to sushi for lunch (some chick stole my calamari) then went back to her place and watched funny youtube vids until track practice (which I skipped because their 'easy' day was 40 min at an 8:30 pace, ahem, 'easy'???)  THEN we showered and got dressed to impress and headed out for Thai. 

Pad Thai with tofu and thai iced tea. Yum. Is there anywhere to get bubble tea in Pullman? I miss it. 

It was Friday, and after a super long, stressful week, student teachers must drink away their problems at the local, creepy, purple painted tavern-->> Kati didn't join us for Thai food. 

But that's ok, Lauren and I decided to take the Max(x)? to Voodoo Donuts! Little did I know this would only be first visit to Voodoo for the night and not my last! 

I'm great at taking pictures. 

The Max(x)? is full of Portland's Finest, or a bunch of dirty hipsters, thugs, gangsters and homeless people, or maybe they were just college students... This was a Portland experience for surzies. Lauren and I clung to our to-go donuts and the railing for dear life as the men around us with tear drop tattoos and heroin-induced elbow injuries stared. Portland Creeps #'s 2, 3, 4, 5, 6......

After many cat calls and bullet-dodging (I'm kidding, Mom, but only about the cat calls) We arrived safely at Lauren's apartment and I headed out to meet up with Kati and Brian for a night out. 

Kati was basically running around in her underwear getting ready while Brian laughed and welcomed me with a beer (what a guy) This would be my first time meeting Kati's new beau, Josh, so I was quizzing Brian about him while helping Kati figure out what to wear. We eventually headed out to the Thirsty Lion. 

Kati facebook tagged us 'in a taxi' 

After a drink that tasted like straight lemonade (umm where's my tequila?) I realized that Brian and his friend knew every single crazy story involving me and Kati. With a reputation to protect, and people to keep entertained whilst Kati flirted her ass off, I told my fart story. 

I'll save this story for another blog post. I'll just say that my reputation was protected and I exceeded all expectations.  

We closed out the bar and headed to Voodoo Donuts, because Kati wanted Josh to buy her a grape donut-- girrrrrrrrrl, you gold digger! Then we headed home, in another taxi. 

I crashed on Kati's floor and woke her up a mere 5 hours later to go running.

Successssssss

We went to Saturday Market after a few large cups of coffee, where I bought more coffee. Kati had to leave for a bridesmaid dress fitting and Lauren was still at track practice, so I figured it was about time to head back up to Seattle. It was St. Patrick's Day, afterall, and I decided that a crazy day with my slightly Irish, not-really-Irish-at-all parents was in order. 

I got lost again. I ended up on the Portland State campus and somehow found I-5 after looking it up on my phone, the only time the whole trip the smart phone navigator didn't lead me astray. 

I was welcomed home with an aperol cocktail, a guinness and shephard's pie, ooooh what a sweet life! 

Portland supplied me with a great weekend with great friends. I saw so many people and things that would get shot at by rednecks if they existed in Pullman.

Portland, I miss you. 

Sick F*ck Soup

This is the soup I make for myself when I'm sick and I force feed it to my friends when they are also sick. FAT FREE GLUTEN FREE && ORGANIC 

got my bases covered? good. 

Your Weapons:
Better than Boullion chicken stock base
water
chicken
spinach
green tea
rosemary/thyme/both/other herbs
garlic
bay leaf

Cut the chicken into chunks and cook with a little bit of olive oil. Set about 32 oz of water to boil, add 3 teaspoons of the chicken base. Add garlic, chicken, spinach, and bay leaf, let it brew for about 5 minutes. Add tea bag and let brew for another 5 minutes. Remove tea and bay leaf, add herbs and serve!