#MotivationMonday

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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.

#MotivationMonday

Get inspired. Be inspired. Inspire others.
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#MotivationMonday

Get inspired. Be inspired. Inspire others.
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Get It Girl Wednesday: Fitness Mama Christmas FitMix + Holiday Eating Tips

Did you guys know that Christmas Day is Christelyn's birthday??!!

It's a big deal around here.  Santa visits.  And then we have birthday CAKE!

But only a small slice.  ;)

We know it's the holidays and you may have MULTIPLE holiday parties to attend, making it challenging to stick to your healthy eating plans.  Below, we put together a list of things you can do to try to keep focused on your goals. Taking a proactive approach and having a plan will definitely help you stay on track!

-Don't starve yourself.  A lot of people skip breakfast/lunch so that they can have extra calories at dinner.  We don't recommend this because you just end up eating the equivalent of breakfast, lunch AND dinner (x2?) because you are SO hungry.  You also end up spiking your blood sugar way high when you eat a big meal like this.  Ever feel sleepy after a big meal?  A lot of people jokingly call this 'food coma' but it is no laughing matter.  Your blood sugars are spiked, pulling all of your body's resources to digest the food and to get rid of all this sugar.  This is why you feel sleepy; you don't have energy to do anything but digest food.  This is a very simplistic explanation but continuous patterns of this lead to diabetes.

-Avoid mindless munching.  Absentminded snacking on top of a big dinner leads to overeating.  Hang out away from the chips and dip.  Or make your own healthy dip of homemade hummus.  Which leads us to the next tip....

-Bring your own food!  Potluck or not, create a plate of something healthy.  You can easily make a low calorie, low sodium spinach dip and bring cucumbers and carrots to dip.  Or what about a colorful salsa fresca with pita chips?!

-Stick to protein and veggies.  This is one of the commandments I live by for everyday, not just holidays.  I find that if I avoid all of the white rice, pastas and bread, I don't feel as weighed down and I can easily recover and get back on track the next day.

-Don't snowball into bad eating habits until 2014.  So you blew it had a slice of cake (or two?) on ONE day. Don't overreact and give up because you slipped.  One splurge won't undo a whole week of healthy eating....unless you give in and let it.


Bottom line is, if you do end up overeating, don't be too hard on yourself.  Just get back on track the next day.  And maybe add an extra workout to burn off those extra calories!  And I have just the thing to help you with that!

It has been awhile since our last one but we are releasing another workout mix for you mamas!  In order to celebrate Christelyn's birthday and Christmas, we put together this mix for you to get your workout or run on.  It's a mix of Christmas songs and recent top 40 hits to get you into #beastmode to work off those extra holiday calories!

Content warning: Some songs may contain explicit language.

Fitness Mama Christmas FitMix

Click on the link above to download your free workout mix!

Connect with us on Facebook and Instagram (links are up above near the blog banner!).  Tag us with your workout pictures whenever you use our mix!  #fitnessmama  Have a great workout!

#MotivationMonday

Get inspired. Be inspired. Inspire others.
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#MotivationMonday

Get inspired. Be inspired. Inspire others.
Pin it. Share it. 

Get It Girl Wednesday: Workout Do's and Don'ts

Daily workouts are important if you want to see results quicker.  I know you've heard that saying 'abs are made in the kitchen'.  And yes, nutrition plays a HUGE role in losing weight and/or getting and staying fit.  I am a huge believer in good eating habits because eating clean to see results was a lesson I recently learned over the summer that finally got me over a plateau I was on for like three years.  lol.  (Thanks Christelyn!)

But working out and eating well should be paired together to reach your optimum fitness level and it will definitely get you to your fitness goals quicker vs. just doing either one alone.  Here are a few workout do's and don'ts that Christelyn and I have compiled based on our experiences.

-Do Prepare.  Get your necessities ready...water, towel, headphones, etc.  And don't forget to set up that playlist before hand.  Stopping your workout to mess with your gadgets to find a song impedes your goal to get to a certain heart rate.  

-Don't Exercise on an Empty Stomach.  Plan ahead and eat your big meals 1-2 hours ahead.  If you're past that, have a light snack 45 mins. before your workout.  This will ensure that you are fueled for a good workout.  Working out with no fuel will risk that you will be cannibalizing your muscle tissue which you DO NOT want.  If you don't have available sugar stored, your body will then try to convert your muscle tissue into energy.  Remember, eat better.  Don't eat less.  

-Do Stretch and Warm up.  Do you ever wonder why when you start a run and you're already tired in that first half mile?  Then you feel disappointed that you couldn't run further?  Ask yourself if you remembered to stretch and warm up!  It takes a while for your body to warm up those muscles so that you perform at your best.

-Do Challenge Yourself.  Workout at a level that challenges you but at the same time try not to workout too intensely.  Some people skip a lot of days and then workout SUPER intensely to make up for it.  We highly discourage this to avoid injuries.  But we do encourage getting off that elliptical to try something new.  It can get uncomfortable doing new things or exercises you aren't used to but you may see results quicker.  

-Don't Waste Your Time on Isolation Exercises.  This goes along with the previous tip.  Do exercises that target MULTIPLE muscle groups.  As busy moms, I know our time is very limited so we encourage you to use your time WISELY.  For example, at my gym, I do a class called CardioMix where we're constantly moving to fun, upbeat music to get the heart rate up but at the same time, we have free weights in our hands to work out our arms and also a step board to work out our legs.  If you don't have access to classes like these, you can create a circuit workout at home that combines cardio with strength training.  For example: jump rope 60 seconds, set of push ups, set of lunges, squats with arm raises, set of burpees and then start the whole circuit over again until you've worked out for 30-40 mins.  Follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram for workout printables you can do at home!

Do Get Adequate Rest.  Make sure you get enough rest.  Take at least one day off a week from training.  One of my favorite workout gurus is Jillian Michaels and she always says that exercise is the architect and RECOVERY is the builder.  Trust in the process because after a week of working out, your body is still doing work even if you aren't at the gym and you're resting.  

#MotivationMonday

Get inspired. Be inspired. Inspire others.
 Pin it. Share it. 

#MotivationMonday

Get inspired. Be inspired. Inspire others.
Pin it. Share it.

Get It Girl Wednesday: San Francisco Mermaid Run 2013 Race Recap

When I think back at the Mermaid Run we did a week ago, the first thing that comes to mind are the AMAZING views.  I have completed a lot of races and there is no doubt in my mind that this course is in the top three of the most beautiful, most scenic courses I've ever ran.  I think that that alone is worth the price of registration!

But before I show you the pictures let's talk about the race.

The Fitness Mama team decided to register for the SF Mermaid Run (Sirena 10 mile) when some of us did not get past the SF Nike Women's Marathon Lottery Draw.  Since we wanted to do a race in the Fall, we found the Mermaid Run and registered right away.  The Mermaid Series puts on a lot of races, triathlons, and duathlons specifically geared towards women.  When I read their mission statement on their website, I knew this was the right race for #teamfitnessmama

Mermaid Series Mission Statement:
"Mermaid Series is building a welcoming community that inspires women from all backgrounds to uncover and realize their full potential.  Mermaid Series strives to serve as a catalyst for change in women's lives as they set and discover new goals for themselves in fitness and in life. By providing training, support, motivation and eco-friendly events we are committed to the pursuit of our participants healthy lifestyle.  Our events aim to provide an opportunity for a positive change while making each woman regardless of their ability feel welcome."

Fitness Mama is all about supporting and inspiring women in their fitness goals and so it was nice to find an event that also supports this.

After a few months of training and checking in on our Mama's who were doing the race, the event came quickly!  Before I knew it, it was time for bib pick up!

This race allowed for three different opportunities for bib pick up.  The Friday and Saturday before the race at different Sports Basement locations and then the morning of the race (this was highly discouraged by the event staff).  I went to the one on Friday in Sunnyvale and picked up a few bibs for our ladies.  The bib pick up situation was one of the only cons to this race.  I've been to MANY bib pick ups and sadly, this one was the worse ever.  :(  It was disorganized and the line was out of control and confusing as they zig zagged across eachother in a tiny room.  It could have been because I got there early, right when they opened.  But two hours later, the situation was the same.  And yes, I was there for nearly two hours.  I was so annoyed that I forgot to take pictures for the blog which I usually do at every race bib pick up.

Good news was that I did make it out alive, equipped and ready with our bibs, SUPER cute dri fit race tops, free mermaid athlete headbands and other freebies!

Sunday, November 10th was the day of the race.  I woke up at about 5:20 am for this 7am start time.  I was planning to get up earlier because I know how slow I move at that early hour but woke up at what I considered late.  I quickly got dressed, shoved some food in (banana + peanut butter as always) and my sister and I left Alameda at about 5:40.  We got to the SF Marina area right at 6am and the Marina Green parking lot was about half full.  This was a relief because I know how difficult parking can be here which is why we arrived an hour before start time.  As we sat in the parking lot, we watched the lot fill up to capacity in like 10 mins.  So just a head's up...if you plan to do this race next year, come early to get parking.  Otherwise you might find yourself parking a mile or more away.  The Marina Green parking lot is a half mile away from start.  This isn't really an issue for me because the event organizers did warn us repeatedly.

My sister and I arrived at the start/finish area and the place looked packed!  It was fun and lively...just what I need to wake me up for this race.  

My sister and I ready for the race.  Just to give you an idea of where this start/finish line is, you can kinda see the Palace of Fine Arts right behind/between us!

So the only other con that I have to report is the bathroom/porta-potty situation.  There just were not enough and the lines were really long.  The last thing you want to worry about is having to go pee right before a TEN MILE race.  :(

This above picture is the line at 6:50am.  You cannot even see the end of the line.  My sister and I were about 20 people from the front of the line when I took this picture.  Luckily we made it to the start at 7am with only minutes to spare.  Fitness Mama tip: If running this race, go to the bathroom at the Marina Green lot where you parked your car.  :)

Christelyn ran the 5k and her race start wasn't until 7:30am and so her arrival wasn't as early as mine.  But we were fortunate enough to meet up with her seconds before I started the 10 mile.  

My only picture at the start line and I got photobombed.  lol

As we stood at the start line, music was blaring and the Mermaid run ladies were doing a great job hyping everyone up for the Sirena 10 mile.

And then the race began.

Mile one was nice and flat.  I had a tough time warming up and I was feeling like this was going to be a LONG ten miles.  I just felt slow and tired and was feeling like I wanted to walk in the mere first mile!  I hate that feeling.  Truthfully, I had not trained the way I normally do for this race because of a busier than usual schedule at work plus I was going through some minor medical issues.  A week before the race, I was really still on the fence about doing the race at all because of these reasons.  But I REALLY wanted to run with my girls and see that Golden Gate Bridge so I went forward with it even though I felt unprepared.  I figured I can take it easy and not worry about my timing.

The volunteer event staff were plentiful at this first mile.  They held up some entertaining signs.  I didn't stop to take pictures but Christelyn did during her 5k.  

My sister and I LOVED this one.  :)

After the first mile the hills started.  And these were some serious hills.  Insane hills that were no joke and seemingly never ending.  We were just going up and down (it felt like mostly up!!! lol) for like two miles.  I was dying.  My sister was doing so well and she pushed me to go harder and not walk for a long time.  At one of the last hills, I just could not do it and ended up walking for a bit to conserve energy.

Once we hit mile 3, we were on the Golden Gate Bridge.  The bridge itself wasn't completely flat but the incline is nothing compared to what we just went through a mile ago.  And it wasn't until mile three that I finally found my stride and felt at ease.  I was able to relax into a rhythm, enjoy the scenery, and remember just why I LOVE running so much.  So so much.  <3  Because just a mile ago, I was cursing those hills!  I was glad to find that inner peace that running gives me and I was feeling like I could really do this without so much walking.

As you can see, the views are stunning.  Running this course really is something you HAVE to experience at least once in your life.  It is just beautiful.  

so glad to have experienced this course with my sister!

This is an out and back course.  Once you get to the Marin County side of the bridge, you get a much needed aid station then you turn around to go back.  When you turn around and look at the bridge and the city of San Francisco it kind of takes your breath away because it is just all so pretty.  Be sure to soak this all up and take it all in at this point if you do this course.  It was a perfect day.  No fog to cover the views!  

View from the Marin County side

As I mentioned before, I was able to find my happy place and do most of the rest of course easily.  On the way back, there were no more tough inclines so that also helped.  All we encountered were more beautiful, scenic views.  The last bit of the 10 mile course merged with the 10k and 5k courses.  I only took a few photos at this point but Christelyn was able to get some pictures in with some of our Mamas who were running with her.

At the end of the course, I don't know why I thought it was going to finish where it started.  Well it did.  Sort of.  But since I was thinking in my head that I was seconds away from finishing because I had the start line in view, I was hugely disappointed that the finish line was in a different spot.  After just running 10 miles, I was ready to be done but the course took me through a couple twists and turns before I can see the finish.  This was all mental and of course it was hard for me to focus after being disappointed.  lol.  It wasn't even that much of a difference of where the start and finish were but I was SO DONE!  You know that feeling where it seems you are just giving all you got?  I was at that point.  :)  I even said OUTLOUD ''where is this darn finish line?!" and thankfully a fellow mermaid cheered me on and said "it's just around the corner!  You're almost there!".  And she was right.  My sister and I crossed the finish and officially became 'Mermaid Athletes'!  

Us at the finish line







The atmosphere and the support during this race was unbelievable.  It felt similar to NWM but perhaps not as chaotic because it is smaller.  I would recommend this race to anyone especially if you have not experienced running over the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge.  Take the advice I listed above and you will have a great experience!  

Instead of big medals we got these SF Mermaid Run necklaces.  It was a nice change from the medals I usually get and they are so cute!

Damn it feels good to be a Gangster Mermaid!!!

                                 

Which race would YOU say was your most favorite course?  Why?