So Scrumptious Sunday: Sticking to Eating Healthy While Eating Out

We will be switching things up a little and move So Scrumptious to Sundays instead of Saturdays.

Fitness Mama has started this year off RIGHT.  We ended up creating running groups for mamas because there was so much enthusiasm for getting active.  We, ourselves, also have a few goals this year and it would be helpful for US to have a group of people to run with for support as well!  Running holds a special and dear place in Christelyn's and my heart because it was our love for running that brought she and I closer than ever.  For me personally, I may do all these fitness classes or take yoga classes...but I always come back to my one true love.  RUNNING!  It re-sets me, gets me back to feeling strong, and I always feel like I've had my best workouts when I run.  And we both definitely want to share this with all of you mamas.  Follow us on the Fitness Mama Facebook page and let us know if you're interested in joining us for a walk or run!  The runs take place on Saturdays, thus the reason for the So Scrumptious switch.

Stay tuned for more updates regarding our running groups!

Eating healthy doesn't have to mean boring salads everyday.  One of our fellow mamas shared this picture
with us: grilled chicken breast and portobello mushroom, wild rice and spinach.  Healthy, nutritious, YUMMY and definitely not boring.  

Eating healthy doesn't have to mean boring salads everyday.  One of our fellow mamas shared this picture with us on Instagram (thanks @debvelio!): grilled chicken breast and portobello mushroom, wild rice and spinach.  Healthy, nutritious, YUMMY and definitely not boring.  We will be sharing more ideas for nutritious meals so, for more ideas, stay tuned!  And don't forget to tag us on social media of your yummy healthy meal/snacks!  #fitnessmama #soscrumptioussaturday @fitnessmama_

You're NOT on a diet.  Instead, you're eating healthy right?  But what if family members have invited you to eat out?  Or your BFF wants to celebrate her birthday with a dinner out with the girls?  Are your healthy eating plans foiled?

They don't have to be.

You can eat out and still stay close to your healthy eating plans.  It is best to cook your own food at home because you can control the amount of salt/oil/etc. that goes into your meals.  But it is just unrealistic to NEVER eat out because while WE are trying to eat healthy, our friends, co-workers, families may not be.  And who wants to miss out on all the fun of being with friends and family?

We worked on this list of strategies that we use to stay eating healthy while eating out:

-plan ahead.  look at the menu online and figure out smart choices.

-choose soups that are NOT cream based.  

-try to always order a salad.  While the veggies will give you a nutritious boost, it will also get you full quicker so you don't end up filling up on rice/bread/pasta. 

-get the dressing on the side too!

-cut the portion in half.  Most restaurants will give you an entree on a plate that is bigger than your head.  :)  You don't need all those calories in one sitting.  Split it in half and take the other half home.  Or share one full entree with a friend!  That half + your salad will probably be enough.

-don't try to 'clean your plate'.  Recognize when you are full and then pack the rest.  Alot of times we eat while we socialize and not pay attention to how we are feeling.  

-stick with ordering water or unsweetened ice tea

Do you have any strategies for eating out while sticking to your healthy eating plans?  Share them with us!  

Be Fit Series: Planks

Planks are one of our favorite exercises. Maybe not while we are actually doing them though. lol 

YES, they will definitely force you to bring out that inner beast BUT like every exercise we've featured in our Be Fit series, it is very effective in working out ALL of your core muscles and also your endurance. This is a great exercise for ab toning. A big problem with planks is that a lot of people don't know the proper form and then end up putting strain on all the wrong places. 

Forearm planks:

Start at the top of the push up position. Next, bend your elbows and lower yourself down until all your body weight is resting on your feet and forearms. Hold this pose for 60 seconds. Your body should be forming a straight line from your feet to your head; no sagging at the hips and do not arch your back. Brace your abs (muscles should be contracted, like you're bracing for a punch). Relax your shoulders and try to keep them away from your ears.

If you can't do 60 seconds, try going for 15 seconds, rest, then repeat, Then increase your time and build up to 60 seconds. I always feel so strong at the beginning but by the end, it feels like the last ten seconds are the longest 10 seconds of my life! At this point, if you're like me, it is most important to keep proper form in mind. To challenge yourself once you've mastered the 60 second #plank try lifting a leg off the floor, reducing floor contact, and hold.

Be Fit Series: Push Ups

Click here for more information on our Be Fit Series.  

Push ups are an exercise you will see again and again in a lot of workout routines because it is so simple yet so effective. This is because it works out most of your core muscles in ONE exercise. While it targets the upper body (chest, arms, shoulder) it also strengthens your abs, lower back and legs. 

Proper form includes: *straight body. Don't sag at the hips or back. Your body should be a straight line from head to toe. *feet are together, hands are a little more than shoulder width apart. Your body weight should rest all on your feet and hands. Place hands on the ground, right under the shoulder/armpit area. Do not place hands too far out so that they are above your shoulders. *lower body to the ground until your elbows are at 90 degrees. Exhale on your way up. We usually do 3 rounds of 10 push ups, resting in between rounds.

There are different modifications to the push up to make it easier or more challenging. Beginners: Do push ups from your knees with your ankles up. Or assume regular position on your feet and then lower all the way to the floor, and then push up from there. BUT once you can do 12 of these, challenge yourself and do regular push ups and don't become complacent. Push ups are meant to be uncomfortable. BUT SO EFFECTIVE. Try going slowly at first and go at your own pace. 

Be Fit Series: Wall Sits

Click here for more information about our Be Fit Series.  

Wall sits are a great exercise to add to your workout routines. This is an exercise that targets more than one area, perfect for our busy mamas with very little time. It mainly strengthens your quads, where you will feel most of the burn but it also targets a lot of your core (hamstrings, glutes + abs). 

Strengthening your quads can also help prevent knee issues. Runner's knee=weak quads + tight hamstrings and calves. I suffered from runner's knee within the first six months that I started running.  My leg strength could not keep up with my drive and determination.  So no matter what I did that pain really made me hit a wall.  It wasn't until I did a TON of research that I figured out what the issue was: weak leg muscles.  So I did a bunch of different exercises that work out ALL the muscles in the quads so that they are all equally strong and it worked....no knee pain since.  One of those exercises is the wall sit. 

Stand with your back against the wall. As you bend your knees, slide your back down the wall until your knees make a 90 degree angle. Your thighs should be parallel to the floor. Take care that your knee does not go over past your toes; you may need to re-adjust to avoid this. Hold this move for 30-60 seconds. Rest and repeat x3. If you can't hold for 30 secs., try putting your knees at a 45 degree angle and then progressively go lower every week. There are different things you can to do make this even more challenging as well. Hold weights to your chest or rest them on your thighs. Or lift one foot off the floor and hold (this will really work out your calves!).

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Be Fit series: Walking Lunges

We've been posting some of our Be Fit series memes lately on our social media pages.  We felt that with any exercise, it is important to know exactly what muscles you are working out so that you know if it is an exercise that is safe for you to do or if it is in line with your overall goals.  Also, we talk a bit about proper form so that you ensure you are working out the right muscles.  We are passing all of this information to you mamas only because we plan to share some workouts that we do at home (ALL created by Christelyn and then tested/used by both of us).  Some of these workouts that she put together were just workouts that she created or learned during her journey.  A lot of them we use when we can't get to the gym because as busy moms, that is not always possible.  And we wanted to share these with you in case you needed some ideas for what kinds of workouts are out there.

Some of the exercises that you see in the Be Fit series will be combined into ONE workout.  The Be Fit series is meant to pass along information so that when you see it is time to do a plank in one of the workouts we share, you already know what we are talking about. 

#Walkinglunges are a great functional exercise because they mimic everyday activities: picking up the baby from the floor, picking up bags of groceries, etc. Like most of the exercises we love to do, this one targets a lot of different muscles, saving us time. It targets all four muscles of the quads and also your hamstrings and its also great for building stability, endurance and strength. 

We add hand weights to increase intensity. You can even add a bicep curl to this to work out your arms. 

Proper form is important so that you don't hurt your knees. Stand straight and then take a step forward. Lower hips to the floor. Your back knee should always face the ground; it should come close to the ground but never touch the ground. Your front knee is directly over the ankle, never veering off to either side; it should not go over the toes. Both knees are almost at a 90 degree angle. Push off with your back foot and come back to start position. This is one rep. Alternate legs, moving forward. Complete 2-3 sets of 15 reps each. 

Stay tuned for more from our Be Fit Series and some Fitness Mama workouts!

Fitness Mama Fit Mama of the Month: Shalane

Happy New Year mamas!  It's Get It Girl Wednesday!  But we are going to switch it up a bit for this week.  We felt it would be the most perfect day to (re) introduce the first of these regular posts.  Fit Mama of the Month will be a new series of posts that will feature different women and their stories.  We are hoping that with these posts, more mamas will be inspired to make, start or keep their fitness goals for themselves and their families/friends.  We used to feature a motivating story every week; check out previous posts here.  We wanted to start this back up again because your stories inspire US to keep going in our own fitness goals.  We also hope that with any of the women we will feature, something about their story inspires YOU or speaks to you to motivate you.  If you can relate to the women we feature, then perhaps their path to fitness will contain some ideas you can use in your own path or with your families!  Because remember, our goals may be the same.  But how we get there will always differ and will tailor to our own unique challenges.  All of our past Fit Mama of the Week/Month ladies from past and present are either on Facebook or Instagram so most likely you can find their contact info somewhere on our pages; so if you have any questions for them please ask away!  ALL of them are such sweet, helpful, motivating women and I know they will welcome any questions or comments and they all will offer any support you need.  You can also let us know and we can forward anything to them.  I am always so proud and amazed at the wonderful Fitness Mama #fitfam community that surrounds us.

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Our very first Fit Mama of the Month is Shalane!  Read below about our interview with this inspiring mama.  She is a full time working mom of two active boys but she has found a great balance and has figured out how to just make it work and #makeithappen

Name/Age: 

Shalane.  I'm 27 years old.

Do you have children?  

Yes.  I have two boys, ages 7 and 5.

Shalane's boys.  :)

Do you work outside of the home as well?  

I am an application analyst in IT @ Sutter Health. I work full time 8-5 for the most part, but at times when supporting hospital go lives on the Sutter EHR, I work 12 hour days and even weekends at times. 

Have you always been into fitness?  If not, why did you start?

I have not always been into fitness. I had my first son at 20 years old and returned to my pre baby weight pretty quickly. I gained about 10 pounds before I got pregnant with youngest child at age 23 and then after my youngest son was born I slowly started gaining weight and reached my heaviest weight of 215 pounds early last year. I had some difficult challenges to get through and my primary care doctor put me on an antidepressant. I gained about 20 pounds on the medication and stopped taking it after 1 year. 

I knew that I needed to step my fitness goals up but this proved to be difficult being a working mom to two young boys.  I have always worked full time while raising my boys. The only thing on my mind after getting off of work was getting home to my family. I hated being away from them all day. I felt guilty not devoting the rest of my time with them. I actually felt like I was being selfish to take any more time away from them. I had myself convinced that I did not have the time to work out. There were points where I would find some motivation and would join the gym but after about a month with hardly any results, I would quit. I began to feel like I could not do it. I tried weight watchers with a friend and saw some results of a few pounds but that did not last either.

I pretty much lost all confidence in myself and settled. I began to feel depressed. The hardest thing for me was making fitness apart of my every day routine. I was so set in my daily schedule of working 8-5, picking up the kids, making dinner, giving baths, and then once homework came when my boys went to school, there was just no time. 

December 2012

December 2012

I had a few very close friends that lost a lot of weight and who were inspiring to me. I began to think, if she can do it, then so can I. I joined a gym about 8 months ago and started doing zumba classes. That motivated me to start running. I ran about 30-40 miles in a span of a couple months and cut out soda and started making better choices. I tried to go to the gym 3-4 days a week for an hour. I started gaining some confidence back and was a lot happier when I starting focusing on myself a little more. It made a huge difference in my outlook on life. 

Shalane with her personal trainer/November 2013

Six weeks ago, I decided to step it up and take my fitness to another level and hired a personal trainer. He has me on a very strict nutritional intake and I have learned so much about nutrition. I weight train 3 days a week and do plyokikboxing twice a week. On an average night after the gym, I get home between 7 and 8 pm. I take my son to basketball practice once a week and have a lot of fun introducing new exercises to them that I do that day in training. They love it.  I make sure to go home focused and at my best and spend some time with them and get their bath in. 

My mom and boyfriend and are a great support system. Daddy usually takes care of homework with the boys and my mom helps out so much. They are pretty much in routine with my schedule now and understand that all the time I spend at the gym is for myself and for them so I can be around as long as possible for them.

 

Shalane's mom 

 

Shalane and her boyfriend/November 2013

My trainer is the best. He goes above his call of duty in my opinion and has helped me so much. He has taught me to never say, “I can’t”.  He has told me time and time again, that the training never gets easier, you just get stronger”. I have lost just a little over 30 pounds and have a long way to go. This is a lifestyle for me. This is not temporary or "until the weight comes off". I have met some wonderful people who inspire me and encourage me and it means the world to me. I am happier than I have ever been. I am now inspiring others and it feels great. I am feeling very confident in myself physically and 
internally.

October 2011 and present

April 2012 & November 2013

You mentioned a little bit about how you work out.  What else do you do to stay active?  What do you do as a family to get active? 

To stay active I weight train, run, and do plyokikboxing. I exercise with my boys and we have a lot of fun. My littlest laughs and says mommy’s squatting or mommy what is that exercise called. LOL. Next summer I plan on getting a bike and going on family bike rides.

Shalane with her plyokikboxing class

Making a commitment to getting and staying fit is something that is not easy.  How do you stay motivated?

Making a commitment to stay fit is definitely not easy, but it is rewarding in so many ways. I follow some inspirational people on Instagram, including people such as my dear friend #fitnessmama. My personal trainer helps add to my motivation and just takes it up to a higher level. Group classes at the gym are also motivating; meeting people who are living the same lifestyle is awesome. 

How do you balance work and family and then trying to stay fit at the same time?

My family is very supportive so it makes it easier to balance fitness and family. My boyfriend and I both live an active lifestyle and I enjoy working out with him when my mom can watch the boys. It's always fun when he joins me for plyokikboxing. My mom helps a lot with dinner for the boys. I feel extremely blessed. 

A lot of our readers have questions about nutrition and what to eat.  We know the right answers will be different for everyone but can you share with us what you would eat on a typical day so that we can get some ideas?  

On a typical day my nutrition intake consists of:

Breakfast: oatmeal and a protein shake.

Snack: carrots, celery or fruit

Lunch: Chicken and veggies/salad

Snack: veggies or fruit

Dinner: a protein shake with fruit and veggies (this is because I have a personal trainer and so this is part of my personal plan) A healthy dinner choice would be chicken/fish and some veggies. 

What is your favorite snack?  

My favorite snack is celery with peanut butter at the moment. My kids enjoy this too. My boys also like apple slices with peanut butter. They also like oranges, watermelon, and pineapple.

What are some of your fitness goals for 2014?

My fitness goals I am working on at the moment are burning fat while leaning out and building muscle. I am 30 pounds away from my pre-baby weight. But I won’t be stopping there. I also want to run a ½ marathon this year.