Pilates Power

I almost didn't make it out of bed this morning. I woke up and went to swing my legs out of the bed and - HELLO - sore calves, quads, and hip flexors! I have not felt this sore in a long time. It has probably been since I started back into a fitness routine after Phinn was born that I have woken up feeling this sore.

And it feels GREAT!

I'm sure that sounds crazy, but sometimes the pain reminds me that I am whipping this body into tip top shape - no easy way out here!

At the beginning of August, I started taking more Pilates classes; both mat classes in a group setting, and private/duet/trio lessons using the various types of apparatus. For those of you that are unfamiliar with Pilates, it is "a body conditioning routine that helps to not only build flexibility, but also strength, endurance, and coordination in the legs, abdominals, arms and back." (Thank you, Wikipedia!)

Now, what is the difference between mat Pilates classes and private lessons with the apparatus, you ask?

In the simplest break down, mat Pilates is done on a mat, only using your body and gravity to complete the exercises. Private Pilates lessons (often studios will do duets or trios which can save you some $$!) use various pieces of apparatus to provide additional resistance, and each apparatus has its own series of exercises.

Mat style Pilates class. Make sure to arrive early to get a good spot for your mat :)

The Reformer - In my opinion, slightly resembles a Medieval stretching rack, and can,
at times, feel like that (depending on the exercise), but totally worth it!

The Barrel - Great for abs! Ab work is pretty much the only exercise I have done on this so far.

The Pedi Pole - Ah, yes! I was introduced to this apparatus last week. What a core
work out!! Not a bad one for your arms either!

Both styles have been providing me with great workouts for my legs, hips, glutes, core (in Pilates it's referred to as your "powerhouse."), and arms. It has also been a great way to stretch and strengthen muscles between runs.

I highly recommend trying Pilates. It's a great cross-training method for runners. It's also great for those looking for a lower impact exercise.

Don't be fooled by what you see or think you know, because as long as you have a good instructor, you will sweat and you will be feeling it the next day (or two)! So make sure you have a spouse, roommate, or friend who can push you out of bed the next morning!!

Also, a vie balance first! Be on the look out for my very first guest post from my friend and USPA Pilates apprentice, Alia Staples. She will be able to speak more to the benefits of Pilates, why she fell in love with it, and how to select a good studio.

Target Remorse

I think all women have this. You go into Target. You have your list. You start picking up things on your list AND then your eyes wander from that list and the flood gates have opened. Items that were not on your list start pouring into your cart. You get to the check out and the cashier announces your grand total. You look at the number of bags you have (which is not very many), scratch your head, and think "My total is what?! How the heck did that happen??"

Well this happened to me just today. I had my list. Phinn and I were on a mission and a time schedule. We were to be in and out or so I thought. We checked out and there the cashier broke the news to me - $140!!!

"No, you don't understand," I thought. "I just came in here for a few things. I didn't buy anything expensive."

As I walked to the car feeling immediately remorseful (or as my husband calls it "Catholic guilt"), I wondered how I let this happen. Now usually I would just wallow in my guilt for the remainder of the day, but this time I was enlightened. I asked myself, "If I were on a strict budget, what would I put back to bring that total down to a more respectable number?" I decided to sort my purchases as soon as I got home into three piles - gifts for others, needs, and wants.

And here they are:

Gifts for Others

Needs

In hindsight the toy car probably belongs in the "wants" but that was the only thing that
could keep Phinn occupied while I tried to round up everything on our list.

Wants

Clif Crunch Bars, La Croix sparkling water, two running shirts (which is pretty much my
everyday wear nowadays), and there may be a bag of Twizzlers shamefully hidden in the glove box of my car.

Now I can see the err of my ways, but how can I atone for it? Return one of the running shirts? Possibly. BUT I think it will also be beneficial to learn from this exercise. I feel like I have a few options.

Option 1: I need to purchase a pair of horse blinders that will only allow me to see what is on my list.

Option 2: I need to be banned from Target.

Option 3: I need to strengthen my ability to identify something as a "need" vs. a "want" before I toss it in my cart.

I'm going to attempt Option 3, but won't be opposed to enacting 1 or 2 if all else fails!

Being Baby's Personal Chef

Eating has always been important to me. My grandma would be the first to tell you that and then she would comment about the video they have of me from Thanksgiving after I turned one. Supposedly, I really made up for weighting just over three pounds when I was born. Luckily I have a mother who is very health conscious (Until I had siblings I thought an ice cream cone was just that an ice cream cone, no ice cream!), so instead of falling in love with oreos and potato chips I have a great appreciation for the taste of fresh produce, seafood, whole grains, AND of course the occasional homemade chocolate chip cookie or two.

Now with my own family it is important for me to instill healthy eating habits and a healthy appreciation for good food from the beginning. When Phinn started eating solids, I was determined to prepare all of his food. I made apples, peaches, pears, avocado, bananas, mango, blueberries, yams, squash, cauliflower, carrots, peas, eggplant, cucumber and I am sure there are a few I missed. As he is getting a little older and the list of approved foods is getting bigger, I am getting to have more fun making things for him.

The best part of making baby food is that it is really pretty simple. You just need a little bit of time for food prep and a food processor. Most of the beginner, stage 1 solids just require some peeling, dicing, steaming or roasting to soften, and then you toss it in the food processor and voila! you have meals for your baby. I found that fresh fruit is great to mix with cereal in the morning and after the four day "introduction" phase mixing a "like" and "dislike" is an easy way to get a clean plate.

Now that Phinn has moved on to eating more finger foods, I make him a little fruit salad, sliced veggies, whole wheat noodles, hummus, and have even made him apple bran muffins and banana buckwheat pancakes.

I try to make everything as organic as possible. I at least stick to the "Dirty Dozen" list. Whole Foods, our local farmers markets, and even our local Kroger have great produce selections. You may worry about the cost of organic food, but really when you are making your own baby food you usually come out ahead or at least break even.

If you are interested in making baby food, here are some great websites:

Wholesome Baby Food

Homemade Baby Food

Here are some yummy recipes that I have been baby tested and approved:

Avocado-Banana Mash-Up (Thanks to Laura Saros!)

1 ripe avocado
1 banana (Great recipe for using up those rapidly aging bananas in the kitchen!)

Peel and remove the pit of one avocado. Peel and slice one banana. Add ingredients to a food processor or if they are very ripe you can just use a fork and mash. Add a little water or milk if you want a creamy consistency.

Apple Bran Muffins (Based on Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook recipe)

2 1/4 cups wheat bran
2 cups organic milk (I used 1% because that's what we have.)
2 tablespoons plain nonfat yogurt (I used Greek yogurt because it's just better in my humble opinion!)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (plus an additional teaspoon for the muffin topping)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 small, sweet apples (such as Gala or Golden Delicious), peeled, cored, and diced
1/3 cup granulated sugar (for the muffin topping)

Preheat over to 350.

Place the wheat bran, milk, and yogurt in a large bowl and stir to combine. Let the bran mixture sit at room temperature until the bran softens (about 30 minutes).

Place the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon in a large bowl and whisk well to combine.

Add the bran mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in apples. Do not overmix the batter or the muffins will be tough.

Spoon the batter into muffin cups. Combine remaining cinnamon and granulated sugar and sprinkle over the top of each muffin.

Bake muffins until they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean - approximately 20-30 minutes.

WARNING: These can be awfully messy finger foods so they are great to have right before a bath ;)


Banana Buckwheat Pancakes

Buckwheat Pancake Mix
1 or 2 ripe bananas (another great recipe to use up those bananas! I don't know about you but my bananas seem to go from perfectly ripe to past the point of no return awfully fast!)

I follow the recipe for the pancakes. You can just use egg yolk too if you want to avoid egg whites. Then I mash the bananas and add them to the batter. I'll also add a dash of cinnamon for a little added flavor. Then prepare as you would any other pancakes. Store additional pancakes in the refrigerator and you'll have breakfast for your baby for a week!

What's on the menu this week?

Jeweled Yams: Diced and ready to be cooked

Cooked yams and chickpeas ready to be processed into a gourmet baby meal!

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Puree, Creamy Sweet Pepper and Eggplant Puree, and we are going to start introducing some cheese.

Greetings from Charlottesville!

We love it here! I know it has been ages since I have posted anything, but you know what they say - life happens!! Between a very mobile baby, working, unpacking, and exploring Charlottesville, this has been my first opportunity to really sit down and write. (Phinn is asleep *knock on wood* and Hunter is in DC for work.)

I am in love with Charlottesville! What a perfect city, especially to raise a family. We have a cute townhouse that is within walking distance to downtown's walking mall and the farmers' market, there are more gyms, parks, Pilates/yoga studios, and running groups than you could shake a stick at, Hunter's commute is 30 minutes or less... I could go on forever. I have found a great moms' group, we have wonderful neighbors... seriously someone stop me! I truly feel that this is the spot that our family will take root.

Phinn and I have been going for our daily morning run ranging somewhere between 3-5 miles depending on heat, whether or not I have to work, and how sore I am. Did I mention Charlottesville is practically all hills? You go up a hill then down it only to find another one waiting for you. He still loves riding in BOB. I swear if we miss a morning or are late getting started, he gives me this look like "Mom, where's my BOB ride?" My neighbor - also a Midwesterner and to go off on a tangent, in my opinion Midwesterners make the BEST neighbors the are always friendly! - is also a runner and mom to an 18 month old boy. She and I have been meeting up on Saturdays to attend Charlottesville's training group for the Women's Four Miler in September. She has also offered to do long runs with me as I half/full (trying to decide...) marathon train. If that isn't friendly, I don't know what is?!

Phinn and I out for a morning run. This is pre-soaking sweat in heat and humidity. (Sounds lovely right?!)

Phinn representing the Hokies behind enemy lines!

I have also started attending Pilates mat classes at a local studio and am more than pumped to try the reformer method next week. (Shout out to Alia for coaching me through how to pick a good studio and convince me that it is worth it!) I feel like Pilates is going to be the keystone to reaching the body I have been working for. (I have stopped saying getting my body back because it is always going to be different - which is a beautiful thing - and I have every reason to believe that I can be fitter now than I ever was before pregnancy.) I was really struggling with the cost of Pilates and I found myself thinking "Well toning your core really doesn't matter. You are just going to have more kids eventually and have to do it all over again." DANGER! DANGER! That is exactly what I did NOT want to be thinking. In my opinion, looking at getting back in shape that way is only going to set you up for either A LOT of hard work down the road or is going to enable you to be complacent and make excuses as to why you aren't getting in shape. So I am not going to let myself go down that path and am dedicated to finding the most cost effective approach to managing my fitness goals while staying within my budget.

Another awesome thing about Charlottesville is that they have a yoga studio for kids! (Also walking distance from our house!) They have classes for children starting in the womb (Ok- actually that one is a little more for Mom!) all the way through high school. I have taken Phinn to their Inchworms Class which is for crawlers up through 24 months. It was pretty much social hour for him which don't get me wrong is great but not at what they were charging me. However, I can see him getting a little more out of it when he is a bit older. Luckily they have yoga story time on Fridays for a very reasonable price, so we'll be going to that every now and then.

I have also been going to Baby Boot Camp on my days off with Phinn. He mostly gets to sit in the stroller and watch while I get some good cardio and weight training. He does get to hear some pretty funky children song remixes and usually a story or two all incorporated into the workout routine. This has been a great opportunity for me to meet other moms. I even met a mom who moved here from St. Louis last summer! We bonded instantly over how great St. Louis is and how Charlottesville reminds us of the Kirkwood/Clayton area.

So as you can see, I have found some great ways to stay fit and active as well get out there and see what and who Charlottesville has to offer, and I couldn't be more pleased with what I have found! I promise more blogging and pictures to come :)

Easy Peasy Salad

I have been looking for some new, EASY recipes to try out for the spring and summer and came across this delicious chicken salad in the May issue of Runner's World magazine. The thing I like about recipes like this is that they don't require you to use your oven or stove which heats up your house which is definitely a plus as the temperatures creep up, and they are cool and refreshing. I love having a cool, crisp salad on a warm day. Plus you can make enough so that you have leftovers which are perfect for lunches.

Chicken Salad with Peas, Feta, and Mint
(AND a whole lot more too in my opinion!)


Lemon-Chive Dressing Ingredients

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup light cream or half-and-half (I went the half-and-half route but am thinking next time I'll try Greek yogurt for less fat and added protein)
1/3 cup finely minced fresh chives

Salad Ingredients

1 cup shelled peas, blanches and refreshed (In a time crunch, I used frozen peas)
3 small spring onions, cut into thin rounds
3 ounces Greek feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup mint leaves, cut into a chiffonade (Seriously?! Again time was an issue, I just cut them!)
3 cups shredded chicken or turkey (Here is where a rotisserie chicken from your grocery store will save you some more time.)
8 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
2 baby Romaine heads, thickly shredded
4 radishes, halved and thinly sliced (Who knew radishes were so yummy?!)
1/4 cup finely chopped chives

To make dressing, combine the lemon juice and salt in a small jar. Shake to dissolve the salt. Add the cream and chives. Shake to blend. Taste for seasoning. In a large, shallow bowl combine all salad ingredients. Toss with just enough dressing to evenly coat the ingredients. Enjoy!

And Here Are the Pictures...

As promised, here are my six month check in pictures:



Weight: 113 pounds (-2 pounds pre-pregnancy weight)

It is kind of strange how you can weight less but still feel like your body is so different. I guess I thought when I reached my normal weight again that I would feel just like I used to. I'm sure it seems so different to me but probably a lot less noticeable to others. In some ways though I'm kind of enjoying my new figure, like I have hips (or at least more than I used to!) which I feel gives me a little more womanly appearance. The important thing I have realized is to feel comfortable and happy with yourself. It IS NOT about what the scale says. It IS about feeling healthy and appreciating the incredible things that your body can do.

I still feel like I have some work to do on my stomach muscles. I have been looking into some more exercise programs that incorporate intense ad workouts such as pilates and PX90 but have not committed to anything just yet. I am hoping that with some dedication (meaning actually doing my Tracy Anderson video on a regular basis) and time, I should be able to get them where I want them to be - tight and flat ;)

Six Month Check In Part 2 - How Do I Look?

I remember having these grandiose ideas about how my body would rebound after childbirth. I thought that come the holidays (less than two months after Phinn was born) I would "wow" everyone with my fabulous post pregnancy body. I thought that less than four months after Phinn was born I'd be able to run a half marathon. I remember less than six weeks after Phinn was born I pulled out my loosest pair of pre-pregnancy jeans, only to find that when I pulled them up, they wouldn't go over my thighs. I think that's when I realized the road to getting my body back was going to be longer than I thought.

I was itching to exercise, so I tried to start off small by just going for walks but over did it a couple times and ended up laying on the couch with a bag of frozen peas under my rear. (I think that bag of peas were affectionately named mama's bag of butt peas from there on out!!)

After conquering a few short walks with little pain, I moved on to Tracy Anderson's Post-Pregnancy DVD. The first time I did it, I certainly felt it the next day. It hurt to sit up, lift my arms, and carry my baby! I guess that's what happens when you use muscles that were not only rusty but had also been stretched beyond belief. Now, I cannot get enough of her workout. It still kicks my butt (which I secretly love!) and I think I owe it a lot of credit for my physical rebound. I am looking into her Metamorphosis program which is 90 days of workouts semi-tailored to your body type.

I started really running at the beginning of the year in hopes of completing a half-marathon in March and then begin training for a full in November. Well as you can imagine - and as fellow moms know - having time to get in a decent run can be pretty impossible. Some days you feel like you have a better shot of winning the Powerball! I will say that I have gotten much better about making the time because you eventually learn that is the only way it is going to happen. I have added a treadmill to my wish list to help me squeeze in more runs, especially longer ones.

Whether or not I run a marathon in November is still up in the air. I want to run because it will help me meet a lot of my personal goals, BUT I do not want my family time to suffer because of my crazy training schedule. I have given some thought to just doing the half and putting the full off for another time. I may be able to convince my mom (and current running buddy!) to do the half with me which would be lots of fun. I just want to keep running as enjoyable and stress free as I can.

As the weather has improved, I have also gotten much better at running outdoors. Phinn and I take BOB out daily- three or four days for runs and the other days for long walks. I try to get my exercise in first thing in the morning. It seems to get those happy endorphins going and makes for more productive days.

Well between my workout DVDs and running, my body is looking more fit again! I think it started around month five that I actually began to feel like my exercising was paying off. I dared to try on my more fit pre-prego clothes and they fit - nicely! I didn't have to lay on the bed to button my jeans or do lunges to give myself some breathing room ;)

Post Pregnancy Transformation Weeks 2, 3, 7, 8, and 11

There are some things that I still haven't quite adjusted to such as having boobs. For whatever reason, they make me feel like I look bigger. I also have some pretty terrible stretch marks on my stomach. I have used creams and what not but I figure there isn't a whole lot I can do for those until I'm done having kids. I'm adjusting to the loss of bikinis (not that I was ever a huge bikini beach/pool goer with my fair complexion!) and wished that I would have had the confidence to rock my baby bump in a bikini last summer. Oh well! At least super sleek, sexy retro one pieces have made a comeback!! One piece options have come along way from the one-piece with an attached skirt days of our moms - thank goodness!!

Five months post-pregnancy

So it has been six months and it has been a hard and at times frustrating journey to get my body back and I'm by no means done yet BUT I am feeling healthy, feeling fit, and fitting into those skinny jeans which is an added bonus!

Stay tuned for some up-to-date pictures! ( I have been slacking on taking pictures of myself, but I'll get someone to snap a couple before I run tomorrow.)