the best shaker and boot camp “gurus”

What’s the best shaker for protein shakes you ask?

I’ve been on a quest for the best shaker for a while. I’ve tried lots of different bottles, but none of them ever met my expectations. I read somewhere about the Blender Bottle, so I did some research and could only find good reviews.

I bought two a few weeks ago, and they haven’t let me down. It’s definitely the best shaker that I’ve owned. It doesn’t leak, and because of the wire whisk on the inside there are very few “proteiny” lumps in my shakes now. It says on the website that you can use it to mix up pancake batter and the like (probably would be good for eggs as well…), but I haven’t had a chance to try that yet. I’m sure it over-performs on this feat like it has on all the others.

Anyway, I highly recommend this product – well worth the money, well made, and lives up to its claims. Check out the link above if you want to know more.

About the boot camp gurus…

“Boot camp” style classes are all the rage right now, but I’m not really jumping on the bandwagon. I’m not exactly a big fan of some overly muscled guy in army fatigues screaming at and overtraining overweight women. Sure, I guess all that yelling and screaming might work for some, but not all.

The big issue that I have with these types of classes is that most of these women aren’t properly assessed prior to beginning the program. Their fitness levels aren’t equally matched with the type of training they are about to partake in. Their body alignment isn’t tested and their joints (and possibly heart and lungs) aren’t properly prepared. – An overweight or obese person doesn’t need to be doing plyometrics… Just think of all the weight already on their joints, and some of these teachers are instructing their clients to jump! – This, in turn, leads to many of these women getting hurt and discouraged during the course of the program.

My advice is this – if you are looking for a “boot camp” style class, choose wisely. Pick an instructor that is compassionate, properly assesses and prepares participants, and has been in the industry for a while. There is terrible regulation in the fitness industry, and you can be easily duped by someone that sounds like they know what they are talking about when they really have no clue…

great oatmeal recipe

I’m a weirdo when it comes to oatmeal I guess, but I don’t like mine all mushy and slimy. I never liked the kind that comes pre-packaged (you shouldn’t eat it either, look at all the extra sugar that’s in there). My husband and I are both big fans of chocolate and peanut butter together, so it just makes sense to make our oatmeal that way.

Here’s how I’ve been making mine lately:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal

Warm up a small amount of chocolate calorie countdown milk in the microwave (less carbs). Put old fashioned rolled oats in bowl, natural peanut butter, a little honey, and add milk. Mix well and enjoy. Lately I’ve also been adding a little coconut to the mix. If you make it this way, the oats don’t get all mushy and gross, they still have some texture.

If you do like mushy oatmeal, you can add it all together in the bowl and then warm it up in the microwave.

I haven’t tried it, but if you wanted more protein for breakfast you could add in a scoop of chocolate protein powder and water instead of the milk.

Let me know what you think!

you don’t HAVE to gain weight over the holidays!

Whew, it has been a whirlwind of activity this past week. We had three different Thanksgiving dinners, and lots of lets-get-together-because-we’re-not-working dinners that weren’t the typical Thanksgiving fare, but were still out of the ordinary nonetheless.

I’ve been thinking about it, and I think a lot of people think it’s inevitable that they will gain weight over the holidays. “It’s going to happen anyway, so there’s really nothing I can do about it.” They just kind of fall into that mindset. I think that thinking is totally wrong. You have the choice to let outside forces act on you, you are in control. It’s your responsibility to control what goes into your body. Be proactive and if your goal is to maintain your weight (or even lose a little) over the holidays make it happen. You choose how you react to your surroundings.

With that being said, I’m not one of those trainers that tells people that they shouldn’t eat what they want at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. The holidays come around once a year and I think you should enjoy them. Maybe practice some moderation if you’re more prone to overeat, but eat what you want. There’s a lot of time leading up to Thanksgiving and a month between Thanksgiving and Christmas – use this time to your advantage. Exercise your butt off during these times and know that you can look forward to the reward of great food and time with friends and family. Eat clean any time you’re not at a party or gathering and enjoy yourself. You only live once.

The mindset you need to have is that you don’t have to wait until the New Year to make a change. Start now!

I’ll post some tips for keeping the holiday pounds off later this week.

what have you eaten today?

Aaron and I got back this afternoon from a weekend retreat up in Kentucky. Anytime we go to B.A.S.I.C. Training in Hardin we reap the benefits of Bob’s endless study and discipleship, and it’s always nice to get to catch up with friends as well. It’s important to get fed spiritually as well as physically.

The big question: What have you eaten today? It’s a Sunday, so more than likely most people have strayed a little (or more than a little) from their clean eating habits. I’ll be the first to tell you that I haven’t eaten the best since I found out I am pregnant… It’s really hard with all the food aversions and cravings for the bad stuff – I’ve probably eaten worse these past four months than I ever did in high school. It’s been interesting to say the least. I haven’t gained too much weight though which is good, and I’m planning on hitting the gym and my diet super hard after the baby is born (for the record, I can’t wait to get back to that lifestyle!!). I’ve been reading the Precision Nutrition system and plan to follow it (hopefully) while I’m still pregnant. It’s funny though because the two things I need to be eating the most of (lean protein and vegetables) really don’t sit well with me right now. It’s really sad because I love meat, but currently grilled chicken makes me gag… I just want you to think about it though: what have you eaten today? Do you run for the “easy” stuff, the processed junk or do you eat real, whole foods? When you grocery shop, are most of your foods coming from the inner part (mostly boxed, packaged, processed foods) of the store or do you buy mostly from the perimeter (where the unprocessed, real food is)? The goal is to buy as much “un-manmade” food (lean meats, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low-fat or fat-free dairy) as possible. Eat out as little as possible, after all there’s no telling what chemicals and other preservatives are in that stuff (I really don’t want to know – I’ll just stay away). Plan your meals ahead of time so you’re not running to the snack machine or picking up fast food. I also always tell my clients that they NEED to allow some cheat meals. This will keep you from crashing and burning and eating an entire half gallon of ice cream or a whole pizza by yourself. If you keep the cravings at bay by eating small portions of the “bad stuff” once or twice a week you won’t be as tempted to gorge on junk food. Dr. Berardi calls this the 90/10 rule (eat the right stuff 90% of the time and you can let yourself slide 10% of the time).