All fruit smoothie!

Today I decided to make a fruit smoothie with some fruit that we had here at the house and I decided to take pictures while I made it to make a blog post about it. Kind of like a "how to" type of post to help you and show you how simple it is to make one! Not only does it taste great it is also great for you. This is probably one of the most healthiest "meals" you can have. Not to mention, when you are done, there is not a lot of work involved when it comes to cleaning up!

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

1st step: Decide what fruits you want to use. You can use any fruits that you like, it doesn't have to be the same ones that I use here. Today I decided to use strawberries, blueberries, bananas, oranges and apples.

2nd Step: Cut up your fruits to small cubes if possible and peel off any skin or excess that you will not eat/drink.

No need to cut up the blueberries since they are already small in size.

3rd Step: Place all of your cut up fruits in the blender and add 1 cup of crushed ice. If you do not have access to crushed ice, simply place some ice cubes in a plastic bag, wrap a towel around the bag and crush.

4th Step: Blend all of your fruit and ice until you get a nice smooth mix. Add bananas to the mix. I like doing this after blending the fruits together because the banana tends to stick to the blades when mixed in first.

5th Step: This step is optional. I started doing this to help use the smoothie as a meal replacement. If you do not wish to do this, it is perfectly fine also. I am using some strawberry flavored protein that I bought at GNC.

6th Step: Blend everything together very well. I usually let the blender run for a minute straight to ensure that all of the ingredients have mixed enough to where I am not tasting one ingredient more than the others.

Last Step: Relax and enjoy your healthy meal or snack!

Thanks for reading! Until next time, stay focused, stay strong and stay positive!

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead(Movie Review)

So I was scrolling through the movie list on netflix and stumbled across a movie titled "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead"(Click here to watch the trailer). The movie follows an Australian named Joe Cross through his journey to lose weight through "juicing". Joe was a 100 pounds overweight, one steroid away from becoming a professional  baseball player and was suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease. In hopes of changing(and saving) his life, he took up juicing for 60 days in a row to reboot his body. Along the way he met and spoke to hundreds of people across America who were overweight and unhealthy, but felt like they did not have the will power to make the changes and take the challenge that he was doing. Joe did find two people who were willing to take him up on his challenge and the film documents their changes as well. I will not give away any more about the movie, but I would HIGHLY recommend that you take the time to watch it. I may even consider juicing myself to see if I have the will power to take on this challenge. Until next time, stay focused, stay strong and stay positive!

Insanity Fit Test (Part 2)

"Quick Ladder"

So yesterday I did the second fit test in the Inanity workout aka day 15 of the program. I did improve in every area of the test, some more than others and some just barely but still progressed either way. I am happy so far but nowhere near satisfied! Shaun T is definitely my favorite workout instructor with Tony Horton in a close second. They just seem to be really great motivators and always seem to push me to my limits and beyond. If you haven't tried P90X or 10 Minute Trainer, I would highly recommend them! You can see my test results from day 1 and day 15 below.
                                   
                                               DAY 1                                    DAY 15
Switch Kicks                             80                                         100(+20)
Power Jacks                              40                                         48(+8)
Power Knee                              95                                         102(+7)
Power Jump                              25                                          33(+8)
Globe Jump                               8                                            9(+1)
Suicide Jump                             12                                          13(+1)
Push Up Jack                            19                                          21(+2)
Low Plank Oblique                    35                                         39(+4)

I'm hoping I can improve more on the bottom four categories by the time the next fit test comes around in two weeks. Thanks for reading! Until next time, stay focused, stay strong and stay positive!

July 5, 2012

So this past week has been a pretty good one for me! I tried some wheatgrass for the first time and let me just tell you, it was awesome! It gave me a boost of energy like no other energy drink has before! The fact that it is healthier than all others makes it that much better! Also, I have started making fruit smoothies for breakfast rather than eating what I normally do. I used to eat a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter, a granola bar and a cup of orange juice. I think I like drinking the smoothies rather than my normal routine. Yesterday I tried the green berry flavor of shakeology and sadly have to say that I did not really like it too much. I did finish my shake bit I forced down the last half of it so it is definitely something that I will not be purchasing. I am still interested in trying the chocolate and strawberry flavored that they do offer. So I am not giving up on shakeology just yet! I missed my workout yesterday, so today I caught up and did day 10 & 11 of Insanity. It was tough but I survived it and I'm glad I did it! This past week I lost 3 pounds, so I was pretty happy about that! I'd say at this point I am eating and drinking healthy about 90% of the time, which is the highest percent I've ever been at. It has been a long road to get to where I am currently at and a ton of hard work has been put in over the last six months! I'd say that I am happy with my progress but I am not satisfied! I still have a long road ahead of me but can and WILL get to my goal. If I can do it, anyone can! If you have any questions feel free to send them my way. If I cannot answer you, then I will do what I can to get you an answer! I am by no means any type of expert but I do know a little about this stuff now since I have been at it for six months! Until next time, stay focused, stay strong and stay positive!

June 28, 2012

Today for my workout I did two Insanity workouts. I was originally planning on starting on Monday, but I ended up buying a new car this week and it took a lot longer than I thought it would that night. So Tuesday I began the program rather than Monday since I got home pretty late. The first of the two Insanity workouts today was by far the hardest of the two. About midway through the workout, my left leg began to feel tight and I could not seem to stretch it out enough to get it loose. So that first workout was a little rough but I managed to make it all the way through it. With my leg still feeling a little tight I was thinking about calling it a day but I was finally able to stretch it out and decided to make up the day that I was down due to buying my car. Luckily the second Insanity workout consisted mainly of stretching so that helped me out even more! Yesterday I was a little sore which surprised me a little, considering that I was still working out, just not as extreme as Insanity. Today I was still sore but not quite as much as yesterday so that didn't take to long to get over, which makes me happy! Tomorrow I have the "Pure Cardio" workout in the Insanity program, in my opinion, the hardest workout of month 1. It may be a late workout tomorrow, one of my former players that I used to coach has convinced me to coach his select team this weekend and we have practice tomorrow from 6pm-8pm. No excuses, I will stay committed to this so even if it is late, it will still get done! Until next time, stay focused, stay strong and stay positive!

Getting back to Insanity....the workout program!

So I planned on starting the Insanity program on Monday but a trip to buy a new car ended up taking way longer than I expected! With that said, I ended up starting the program yesterday(Tuesday) with the fit test. My results from the fit test are as follows: Switch Kicks: 80, Power Jacks: 40, Power Knee: 95, Power Jumps: 25, Globe Jumps: 8, Suicide Jumps: 12, Push Up Jacks: 19 and Low Plank Oblique: 35. This is my third time doing this program and I am definitely looking forward to it, something that I did not say the first two times around! LOL! I am still on the DASH diet(see previous post to find out what this diet is about or click on the link) but am not eating "healthy' 100% of the time. I know, I know, the only way I am going to reach my goal is if I commit 100%! That is the plan, trust me it is but as you may know, it is WAY easier said than done! Today I did day two of the Insanity program and followed that up with a 10 Minute Trainer(program by Tony Horton) and a quick dumbbell set. I am pretty exhausted today but I sure am glad I am starting to get back on track as far as my exercising goes. I am waiting to get some samples of Shakeology from my beachbody coach to see if that is something that I like. If it is, I plan on purchasing some and using it to help get me to that 100% eating healthy that we all want to be at! Until next time, stay focused, stay strong and stay positive!

Note: Click on links to find out more information about the workout programs, diet and more on Shakeology.

Credit: BeachBody.com and DashDiet.org

Long overdue update!

So since January 1st, I have stuck with my two new years resolutions of eating healthier and exercising more. I am very proud of that and proud to say that I have lost 47 and 1/2 pounds! I am far from where I want to be but not quite what I once was! I am still continuing to do the DASH diet and use the Insanity programs by Shaun T. I plan to update this more regularly and hope that I can inspire or help even just one person looking to change their lifestyle! If I can do it, I know anybody can! Until next time, stay focused, stay strong and stay positive!