MY THREE GLUTEUS MINIMUS-ES-ES

So, my friend made a joke that the butt is made up of three muscles: Gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus. Then he politely wrote and I quote "U must have 3 gluteus minimus muscles. LMBO!" Yes, he said it just like that- then I asked him why he ever had any friends-LOL. He kindly (not really) sent me a butt workout online. I looked at the workout and decided that I'd do it one morning. Check it out!

To view the online workout click HERE!!

GET THIS IN YO' LIFE

This is a picture of the stadium that I'm now using to go running....get some of this in yo' life. This is something that will make you regret you ever gained any weight in the first place. I'm going to call this my "baby beast" because nothing beats the BEAST of all BEASTS (Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Fl).

If you're more advanced hop up to the top...then throw up-lol. I did four of these, which is okay because I did interval jogging/walking (with incline) for about an hour before I got there. One workout day this week is going to be purely dedicated to the baby beast & we'll see how many times I get to the top. I could've done 5 on Monday, but calmed my butt down quick. My goal is 7- well, see...

My Failed Attempt

SALSA MAMA!!

I GOT UP ON SOME I.P. or did it GET UP ON ME???

*Pics after just 30 Minute of Insanity Plyo*

Well, as I step up my weight loss game (and try to stop being lazy), I decided that I would do a little Insanity Plyometrics to shake up my evening. Plus, I was seriously craving some ice cream and I wanted to test the theory that exercise would curb my sugar craving. Well, just so you know, I didn't want to eat again until the next afternoon, so it certainly works-lol. This is the second time I've done this workout and I did about how I did the first time. I get to about the second/third set and feel like I'm about to throw up. The video you are seeing is the 2nd and 3rd time through the routine. For those of you who don't know, he goes through about 2 routines, 3 separate times. I didn't want to speed this up, so you'll see one of my favorite routines today. The first routine is kinda boring to me, so I'm showing the second one. I like doing unique excercises and the first routine is really standard. I only had 30 minutes before I had to get ready for church, so I cut this short anyway. It was cool, that morning, I went walking/jogging/running..."2-A-DAYS", get one in atleast once a week!!!

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup...the Remix

So Monday, I told you I made Chicken and Gnocchi Soup... well here is the recipe below from EHOW:

•1 cup chicken breasts, cooked and diced
•4 cups chicken broth
•2 cups cream
•½ cup celery, finely diced
•1 garlic clove, minced
•½ cup carrots, finely shredded
•½ cup onion, finely diced
•1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
•1 tablespoon extra virgin oil
•½ teaspoon thyme
•½ teaspoon parsley
•Freshly grated Parmesan cheese - optional
•1 pound potato gnocchi

Step 1
Sauté the onion, celery, garlic, spinach, carrots in the olive oil till the onion is nearly translucent.
Step 2
Add the chicken, chicken broth, and spices. Bring to a boil.
Step 3
Slowly add the gnocchi into the boiling broth.
Step 4
Turn down the heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

MY TIPS: In order to find Gnocchi, go to any grocery store and look in the isle that would sell pasta OR go to the frozen food section as they sometimes come frozen. They look like soft, white balls of dough. Also, to make this dish healthier, just add more veggies. I added frozen peas; I also increased the amount of spinach, carrots, and onions. Be careful because spinach can overpower the taste of the dish. I did not include chicken because I didn't feel like cooking any...probably would've passed out from the meds if I had to stand any longer-lol. I used a little less gnocchi and no thyme; I added parsley and marjoram instead. I used half and half instead of all cream, and a tbsp of wheat flour (to thicken it up). That optional dash of Parmesan in the recipe was a definite ingredient for me (yummy). HOWEVER, my chicken broth had LOW sodium, and I used the Parmesan as "my salt". This was an great dish, easy to make, filling (for such a small serving), and decent in calories...anywhere from 200-250 per cup. HAPPY EATING!!

Down for the Count :3, 2, 1, zzzzzzzzz

*Excuse the background, but this pic is awesome &, well, I like it!*

Sorry my THICK CHICKS! I had a tooth from the crypt removed today. It literally looked the like face of Crypt Keeper with blood- ah, seriously!! Anywho, I've been doped up and knocked out & I'm about to get back to that now. I did however, cook me some homemade Chicken Potatoe Gnocchi Soup- very tasty. I don't know if it's healthy, but I'll hook you up with the recipe and provide pictures when I come out of the comma...till then, take my advice and STAY AWAY FROM THE CANDY!!

SOME MIDDAY MOTIVATION

Sorry, I was at a business seminar and I was determined to post from my phone, but was not able to do it. However, I got this thought from one of the speakers, he said: "You are not rewarded in this life for simple showing up and playing the game. You have to get in and WIN!!" How true is this... many sports teams play the game, and they play it well, but at the end of the season, they'll get a nice pat on the back. But winners, push hard, play hard, practice hard, lose battles, and win the war. In your weight loss goals, its great to be a player, but don't you want to accomplish your goals?? Don't you want to look back and say to yourself that you won?? I certainly do, and I certainly will!!

Troubled Waters

Okay, so for the last week and a half, my mind has been completely out of it. NO EXCUSES- I have not been getting up to go to the gym. I know what you're thinking...go after work- yeah, that's not gonna happen. But let me tell you the amazing thing that's happening in the midst of my bafoonery...I CAUGHT IT EARLY!!! I recognized it and now I've recommitted myself.

Normally, this process would take me 2 or 3 months, but in a mere week and half, I see the dramatic impact that exercise and a proper diet has made in my life. Its so good now, that even when I ate my first unhealthy and over proportioned meal in weeks, by body immediately reacted to it. I felt bad and I could not eat a lot the next day.

As I start my new gym membership (bc I'm terrified to go to my apartment gym due to the outbreak of recent criminal activities---YIKES), I'll remember that I had started to lose 4 pounds a week and it'll push me harder. Let me make a note that I do feel like a professional running back up in this piece. My muscles feel like they are 3 times the size they were before I started getting on my "healthy lifestyle" kick. I do KNOW that by the end of the year, it'll be worth it. I'll be 140, flirty, 30 (yrs old) and fabulous before long...

The BMI is just a lot of BS, Part 2

*Comic taken from: cartoonstock.com*
THE BMI has become known as the "quick and easy" way to calculate body fat percentage for adults. There are better tests to calculate body fat percentage, but they take up a lot of time. I'm still slightly dumbfounded that a person who is 6 feet tall would have to weigh about 177 lbs in order to be considered "normal". I say all of this to say, take it all with a grain of salt (which BTW has like 10 grams of sodium-lol). Your BMI estimate is not the end all to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Even Serena Williams is considered "overweight" according to the BMI, based on some sources. So, lifestyle is important when considering these numbers.

At first, BMI numbers were utilized by insurance companies to set rates and premiums. Historically, the BMI percentage rates for "normal" was within the 27.8% & 27.3% body fat range for men and women, respectively. However, in 1998, the National Institutes of Health consolidated that number for both men and women and decreased the "normal threshold" to 24 percent for all sexes.

In spite it all, the DATA still proves that their is a correlation to being "obese" and falling victim to chronic diseases. So, the most important point, is that we still have the secret to living our healthiest life...exercise regularly and eat well!!

The BMI is Just A Lot of BS, PART 1

On July 5th, after spitefully enjoying only one holiday meal for the day (I only had that one mean the entire day), I began thinking about my measurements, and their impact on my health. After searching on my phone (because there was no way I was getting out of my bed to get to a computer before 1pm), I discovered a variety of opinions about what people view as overweight and what people view as obese. A picture of a young woman online caused alot of grief over her weight...some calling her a "fat nasty pig" and others saying "she looks good".

Soon after, a discussion of her being unhealthy began..."BMI" someone wrote, "she's just fat and unhealthy". Then another wrote, "BMI is not an accurate assessment of her being obese or overweight!" After trying to find the clinical trials and history of the BMI, I discovered that this is positively, absolutely true! It is not an accurate assessment your percentage of fat. The clinical trials for BMI were performed on men, without respect to race, age, or muscle build. Matter of fact, I discovered that the creator of the actual BMI, Ancel Keyes, stated:

It’s one thing to estimate the average percent body fat for large groups with diverse builds, but quite another to slap a number and label on someone without regard for these factors… misgivings are gaining traction across the world of medicine: BMI simply doesn’t work when it comes to individual measurements.

Take me for example: I'd have to be about 136 lbs to be at the bottom of an "overweight" category. My goal is to be about 140 lbs, but this would still make me "overweight". I am a thin rail at 140 lbs and I'd probably toggle between a size 7 and 8 (mostly because I have huge legs). But I have friends my same height who would easily be in a size 5 or 6 at 140 lbs. Another case and point, a lady at my job, about my height weighs 170 lbs and she looks how I did at 200; I was about 167 lbs at the time. I didn't believe her and she didn't believe me...she brought her scale to work and sure enough, we both weighed almost completely what we said. I WAS BLOWN AWAY!!

So, in essence, this scale is somewhat bogus...tune in for Part 2 on Friday. For now though, STAY AWAY FROM THE SCALE!!

OUT!!

I've been working on some new stuff for you guys, but I've been out this week, and trying to catch back up. Tune in next Wednesday so we can pick up where we left off. I've been absolutely slammed at work, but I promise good stuff next week! Until then...