sugar & steak
Eatin' with The Eatons
Recipe for Success to a Healthy Lifestyle
May 13th
My personal recipe for maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle:
- I plan out my workouts 5 days a week – I set a goal to workout Monday – Thursday and Saturday. I enjoy having Sunday and Friday off – so if I workout as planned I reward myself with rest days, if I skip a workout I have to workout on Sunday
- I push myself during my workouts and usually leave as a sweaty mess but satisfied.
- I drink at least 3 liters of water a day – I have a 1 liter water bottle and I tell myself I have to refill it 3x throughout the day…. and I pee A LOT
- I eat salad daily – not just any salad but a huge mesh of vegetables, both colorful and crunchy. My favorite salad dressing is cottage cheese mixed with salsa – delicious!
- I don’t pay attention to carbs, fats and protein as much as I look out for added sugar and sodium in my food.
- I drink green tea at least 5 times per week – my after dinner dessert is almost always decaf peppermint green tea.
- I don’t keep highly processed, cookies, crackers or junk in my kitchen – if it is there I will eat it and for my own sake I can’t keep them in the house.
- I limit my carbs (breads, pastas, etc) to whole grains – and only every once in a while.
- I choose not to eat red meat. I get my protein from fish, chicken, beans and other plant sources.
- I accept that I am NOT perfect. I do have a sweet tooth and when my husband comes home with Reese’s Pieces – I almost always indulge. But I also get a good workout in and jump back on the health bandwagon after that. I work hard and eat healthy so I can enjoy a treat once in awhile.
- I surround myself with healthy people who encourage my decision to live a healthy lifestyle. Support from friends and family is vital in maintaining over a long period of time.
- I use exercise as my stress release. Some turn to stress eating, smoking or drinking. When I get stressed I start running.
- I am a sleep snob. I get 8 hours a night on average. I figure out when I need to wake up and I will stop what I am doing to go to bed to ensure I get my full 8. Yes I am an adult with a bedtime!
- I recognize how blessed I am on a daily basis. I say thank you and I tell the ones around me I love them. I thank God for all he has given me and am constantly searching for new ways to help others.’
What keeps you striving every day towards your healthy life?
Daily Exercise :: 1 Week Countdown to Costa Rica
Mar 7th
Today is my official 1 week countdown until Costa Rica. I realize you cant change your body in one week.. trust me ive been working on it for years! But I know that if I get in 7 good hard workouts I will feel that much better about myself as I stand on the beautiful beach of Tamarindo!
Today I did a Treadmill Circuit and repeated it twice which took about 60 minutes. This is all done on a 2% incline.
Warm up – 4.5 mph - 5 minutes
Increase to 6.5 – 10 minutes
Increase to 7.0 – 5 minutes
1 minute sprints alternating from 9mph (1 min) to 6 mph (1 min) – 10 minutes total (5 sprints)
Repeat this cardio circuit twice.
*As always end the workout with 10 minutes of walking up hill on a 13% incline at 4 mph.
Keep up the Cardio this week!
P.S. My husband trimmed off his beard this weekend so to avoid any suntan lines the fabulous sun next week will bring!
2011 Blizzard Workout
Feb 2nd
I had some time today since I was cooped up in my apartment due to the 24 inches of snow the Chicago weather decided to dump on us. I took advantage of the time and decided instead of sitting in my apartment working I would take the work and walk with it.
My Pre Workout Snack:
Half of a Whole Wheat Pita with Peanut Butter and Honey
I spent 60 minutes walking uphill on a 14% incline at a speed of 3.3 – nothing crazy fast, but enough to get a bit of a workout while I got some work done. I brought up my files and my I phone and I responded to emails while making notes on various items.
Once my hour of walking was done, I put my work away and begun a thirty minute interval run. I began by running on 6mph for 1 minute and increased it to 9 mph for a 45 sec sprint. I alternated this until the 30 minutes was up. I finished the workout with a one mile cool down run.
Next I jumped over to the dumbbells and did the following routine:
25 Sumo Squats
25 Reverse Lunges with overhead press
1 minute Plank and Side Planks x 2
25 lateral step ups / each leg
25 DB Deadlifts
TADA! Done with my workout for the day… What did you do for yours?
1.25.11 :: After Vacation Workout
Jan 25th
Josh and I spent the weekend in Breckenridge, CO. snowboarding for six hours a day… I have never experienced the level of soreness that have in the past two days… it was wonderful! We worked out hard on vacation and indulged in yummy food in our down time! My favorite work outs are the first ones back from a vacation where you know you enjoyed food that isnt necessarily the healthiest.
I spent an hour on the stair master sweating it out. I have had clients tell me that they dont need to waste time climbing stairs in the gym.. they do plenty of stairs in their daily lives. I challenge everyone to spend at least 30 minutes on the stair master at a challenging level and enjoy the burn.
Daily Workout : 60 minutes on the stairmaster
Have a great Week!
You Know Those Times You Make Yourself Workout?
Jan 18th
This morning was one of those mornings where the last thing my body wanted to do was get out of bed! My sheets felt warmer then ever and 30 more minutes of sleep sounded divine. Luckily I had my loving and motivational husband next to me whispering in my ear ‘lets get up and work out‘….. ok so it might of sounded more like ‘if you dont want to get up and work out its ok we can go back to sleep‘… none the less the voice was there and I was well aware of my choice to get up or sleep and you better believe I got up!
All I need is the voice motivating me .. who cares what it is actually saying!
I made it onto the treadmill and started out with a warm up 1 mile run and begun to plan my workout while I ran.
I knew I wanted to hit my arms and here is what I ended up with:
Dumbbell Chest Press
Incline Fly
Tricep Extension
One arm Row
*Repeat
Bulgarian 1 leg squat with dumbbell curl
Deadlifts
Lateral and front raises
Lat pulldown
*Repeat
Simple + Healthy: Spaghetti Squash
Jan 16th
A delicious way to have a very low calorie dinner is to experiment with spaghetti squash. I finally took the time to try this vegetable that I have been reading so much about!
Ingredients -
1 Spaghetti Squash
1 t olive oil + extra to rub on the squash
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 can of no salt added diced tomatoes
1 T fresh basil
1 t oregano
Preparing the Squash -
Step 1: Buy a Spaghetti Squash
**Pre Heat Oven to 400 degrees**
Step 2: Find a heavy duty knife and cut the squash in half length wise.
Step 3: scoop out (like a pumpkin) the seeds and junk in the middle of the squash.
Step 4: Rub the cut area with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to bake.
Step 5: Place the squash cut side down on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 35 – 45 minutes.
Step 6: Once the squash is baked, use a fork to pull apart the meat of the vegetable. It will resemble spaghetti very closely. Place your serving on your plate and top with the below topping. ENJOY!
*You can use a variety of toppings including marinara sauce, cheese sauce, herbs and butter – let your imagination and taste buds lead the way!
Preparing the Topping -
1) Use 1 t of olive oil to saute the garlic until fragrant 1 – 2 min.
2) Add the can of tomatoes + basil and oregano
3) Let simmer for 10 – 15 minutes
What do you eat your spaghetti squash with?
Heart Pumping workout
Jan 16th
You will notice I always am changing up my routines and trying to keep it interesting and challenging for me. Today I integrated both cardio and strength throughout.
** Drop and do a 30 second Plank after every two exercises**
Jumping Lunges – 45 sec / 15 sec rest x2
20 foward lunges with band reverse fly
15 incline chest press
Jump rope for 2 minutes
Upward Row and Upward Rotation – strengthening your rotator cuff
20 Back lunge with knee raise + Bicep Curl when your knee raises up
Ab Work: 25 Sprinters Crunch / 100 Oblique touches with stability ball
20 Deadlift with calf raise
mountain climbers – cross body crunch with knees – 45 sec/ 15 sec rest x2
15 straight arm pullovers on a stability ball
15 on each leg – Lateral Lunge into a curtsy lunge
Side plank – 45 sec/ side x2
quick sit up with 4 sec roll down
15 stability ball one arm fly
Repeat 2 – 3 x
Do you enjoy having the cardio mixed in with the strength days – or separating the two days out?
1.15.11
Jan 15th
Quick 40 minutes on the elliptical.
Today is a great example of a day my body is telling me to be lazy and it wants to sit on the couch… but i know I need to get moving.
Just enough to get my heart pumping.
1.14.11 Workout
Jan 14th
Short and Sweet Posts which will include my daily workouts and any other inspiration that comes my way that day! I hope these workouts encourage you to keep your routine interesting and reaching your fitness goals!
Warm up
Run 1 Mile
- 25 Squat with an Overhead Pres
- 15/leg Back Lunge with knee raises – holding dumbbells
- 15/leg Lateral Step up with dumbbells
- 15 Stability Ball Pikes
Run 1/2 Mile
- 15 Stability Ball Butt Bridge
- 15 Deadlift
- 15/ leg 1 leg Squat with dumbbells
- 20 Bench Leg Lifts – working lower abs
Run 1/2 Mile
- 25 Plie Squat
- Side Plank – 45 seconds each side
- Regular Plank – 45 seconds
- Plank with Cross Body Mountain Climbers
Run 1 Mile
Cool Down
Marathon Time
Oct 8th
Less than 48 hours to go until the 2010 Chicago Marathon. It’s been awhile since we’ve written anything as we’ve been busy, well, running…and with Caroline setting up her personal training business. I’m very excited that we’re so close.
Over the past month, I’ve run farther than I ever have, with runs of 18 and 20 miles. 18 miles was the best run I’ve ever had, while 20 was miserable. I’m hoping for a similar experience on Sunday to that 18 mile run. The weather has been perfect for running, but now it appears that it could get fairly hot on Sunday. When the weather was still warm we would start running at 6 A.M. to try and avoid the heat. Due to the staggered start, we may not start until 8 A.M. this time. Regardless, I know how to handle the heat now, and will be fully prepared for the race. I will keep my pace slow and walk if I have to. My only goal is finishing, and I aim to achieve it.
I am going to achieve a life goal this Sunday. Good luck to everyone running!
