Morning workouts have returned!

Thanks to Exercise TV and my dear friend Namaste Mari, I have successfully been able to incorporate some sort of exercise in when I get up in the morning.

I’ve even had a partner working out with me for support!

But Jillian’s “Boost Your Metabolism” proved to be too much for Suzie, so she rested while I finished the workout. She was out of breath!

“Boost Your Metabolism” (the abbreviated 25 minute version anyway) was the first workout I did on Exercise TV in a long time but I actually did not do it in the morning, it was 4 in the afternoon!

But it was quite challenging still, so I felt the need to mention it on the blog. The next morning, I did Jillian’s “Yoga Meltdown” which wasn’t very calming or reflective the way Yoga tends to be but it was definitely challenging for my muscles; I was even sore later that day!

This morning, I did Cheryl Burke’s “Disco Abs” which was a lot of FUN but I did not feel it in my abs at all. Still, dancing at 5:30 in the morning was enough to wake me up and get me going for the day. I’m so glad morning workouts are back in my life!

Do you work out first thing in the morning? What do you do?

I wanted to start running but now that summer is coming to a close, sunrise is getting later and later. I’m way too chicken to run in the dark…by myself at least!

Exercise TV: Yoga Fitness Plus

Yesterday, I took a day off to spend the day with my husband, see a movie and attend a concert! But earlier in the day I took my dog for a 2 mile walk, so we both got some exercise 🙂

This afternoon, I sort of felt like taking a nap but instead, I decided to wake myself up with a invigorating yoga routine! I looked up the Exercise TV programs on my cable box and found Yoga Fitness Plus with Elise Gulan.

The program was really challenging, including a lot of strength and ab moves and a lot of advanced poses that I am not quite ready for. But the instructor would indicate what someone at a lower level can do.

Usually, I would get annoyed with a really vigorous yoga program and just turn it off but instead of getting frustrated, I just went down into child’s pose or stayed in downward facing dog when I felt like I needed a rest or couldn’t do what the instructor was demonstrating. This was the first time I had ever done that!

One thing I did not like about this program was that there was no relaxation at the end. After an intense workout, that is my favorite part! But it is definitely a good one to do if you are looking to work up a sweat and get your muscles on fire.

It felt really good to be doing yoga again after quite the (unintentional?) hiatus. I look forward to trying more programs and hopefully getting back into classes again soon!

Do you prefer yoga classes (or videos) or do you like to do your own flow?

Jackie Warner’s Total Body Workout

After reading what a good workout Mari had with Jackie Warner last week, I decided to give the Exercise TV program a shot tonight.

I love Jackie Warner. I watched the show “Workout” when it was on a couple years back and I think she is just totally cute. But I know she is brutal too, so I knew what I was getting myself into.

The workout program is 44 minutes long, including a warm up and cool down. She isolates several different parts of the body: quads, hamstrings, glutes, chest, back, bis/tris/shoulders, upper abs, lower abs, and obliques.

Each section has three different exercises followed by a “power burn” where you repeat all three exercises quickly. They were all challenging, by I was especially pushed by the upper abs and quads exercises.

Perhaps I am just in good shape, but this workout wasn’t as scary or intense as I thought it would be. That being said, I am sitting here and my muscles are totally fatigued. Especially my legs and abs.

I do wish their had been more upper body stuff but this program gave me an opportunity to hit a lot of muscles I tend to ignore. I definitely recommend it!

Here’s what my lazy dog Suzie did while I worked out! She is so lame.

I’d like to try some of Jackie’s other workouts too. I think there are a couple more on Exercise TV that are shorter and more focused on a particular area of the body. Plus I know she has DVDs too 🙂

Hit me: what are your favorite TV or DVD workout programs?

A different kind of Thanksgiving

Hello friends! I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving 🙂

Before we left for my in-laws house, I did the 33 minute Yoga Sculpt program on Exercise TV after hearing Caitlin rave about it. It was insane! I was shaking and sweaty by the end of it.

I’d started this one before but gave up on it, but since Josh was in the same room, I think I made myself finish it this time 🙂

After that workout, I needed a snack to refuel!

Then it was time to head out for dinner!

I didn’t take any pictures at dinner because it was a pretty special time and I didn’t want to spoil the moment and be like “Hey, care if I take pictures?”

But here’s what I had for dinner:

• A delicious three bean salad made by my stepmother-in-law
• Corn
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Mashed potatoes (which were made special for me without milk or butter!)
• 2 little rolls that I spread with my own Smart Balance Light
• Cranberry sauce

I stopped eating when I was full and the food was put away after we ate so it was nice to not even have the temptation there.

We watched some football and at one point everyone (but me) was asleep! See what happens when you don’t eat turkey? Ha ha.

Several hours later, we finally had dessert. I brought my leftover Chocolate Crescent Wraps from Wednesday night.

This Thanksgiving was unlike any other I have ever experienced. It was the first one I’ve celebrated with my in-laws, my first one as a vegan, the first one I can remember that I did not eat too much or feel like taking a huge nap afterward.

In other words, while Thanksgiving was a special time with family, when it came to everything else, it was just an ordinary day. That’s what I liked most about it.

What I’ve been up to

Hey guys!

So my camera batteries died yesterday morning, boo. I have literally no pictures to share with you right now but I did want to tell you what I’ve been up to the past couple of days.

Yesterday, I went back to work feeling much better from the cold I caught over the weekend. Thank goodness for healthy eating, rest and vitamin C. I swear, it works wonders.

I also ate a piece of cake! A co-worker of mine celebrated 30+ years of service, so there was a small celebration. Wait, I did take that pic with my cell! I tried to take more throughout the day but they were all crappy and blurry so this is the only one.

The cake was huge and it had a section of the book “Ethan Frome” written out on it. Someone spent a lot of time on that!

I know this cake had to contain eggs and dairy so it was sort of a sayonara to such things as October 1st is tomorrow. It also held me over so well (I ate it after lunch) that I was not hungry again until dinner time 🙂

I also took a nice hour plus long walk with a friend last night, first real exercise I’d had in a while. It felt so good. I’m off work today (had a dr. appt earlier) and think I’m going to check out some of the Exercise TV programs I saw the other day.

I’m really feeling yoga today so it will likely be something like that.

I’m also currently baking some Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate brownies that I’m taking to girl’s night tonight. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, or if you are just looking for some really great animal-free recipes, Happy Herbivore is a must!

If they taste half as good as they smell and look, we are all in for a treat later.

Tomorrow is the big day, the moment of truth. I’ve definitely been able to eliminate meat from my diet with absolutely no problems. But dairy has been showing up in interesting places and I’m also concerned with inconveniencing my family and friends a bit.

But this is a change I really want to make, for my health, because I don’t want to put anything in my body that I’m not completely confident in.

And I know eventually the inconveniences will fade and it will become my way of living, second nature. Here we go…

Hope you are having a good day too!

p.s. Today I also tried the new Starbucks VIA instant coffee. I got a sample a week or so ago when I stopped there with Mom. I have to say, it was quite tasty and I liked just being able to add hot water to it instead of loading up my coffee maker. Definitely convenient. I may have to look into it, at least for the weekends 😉

Sick day

Hey guys, I am so sick! I hate feeling this way but it is important for me to get some rest and get healthy. So I stayed home from work today.

I work in a department with a lot of people and the last thing I want to do is spread this around. The University that I work for has been urging us to stay home if we are sick specifically for that reason.

I did everything right but I guess whatever Josh had just overpowered me.

For breakfast this morning, I went to town on some oats with 1/2 a banana and peanut butter. I had so missed “real” oatmeal, but I still have some of that 5 grain stuff left 😉

I also had some coffee with Almond Breeze. Then mid-morning, I snacked on the other half of the banana from this morning (it was huge) and some more peanut butter.

I wish I felt better because I discovered today that I have Exercise TV! It’s like having an entire collection of workout DVDs on demand, at your fingertips. I’m most excited to try some of Jillian Michael’s programs and lots of yoga and dance programs.

Many of the programs are short, so I was thinking I might try one in the mornings just to get the blood flowing and wake up 🙂 But when I am feeling better and can breathe through my nose again.

Hope you all have a good day and staying germ free!