Teacher Fitness Thursday: Favorite Workouts

Only one more morning to wake up for school, then just a few more days until Christmas. I'm hanging in there, but my motivation is almost gone. Today my post has absolutely nothing to do with school, though. It's time for my fourth link-up, and I'm going to actually leave this one open until the next one begins (so you have until January 15 to link up). We're going to begin talking about what will be on a lot of people's minds after the holidays - getting back in shape.

You know...we all overindulge on that yummy candy, especially as elementary teachers who have such sweeties bringing in lots of chocolates and goodies that would just be rude to ignore, right? I've been doing alright pacing myself so far, but I know it's the toughest time to eat well. I'm going to share my two personal favorites for staying in shape today, and I can't wait to hear what you enjoy!

I really like to dance, and Zumba is such a blast if you've never tried it! It's kind of Latin inspired, but you will break quite a sweat and get in a REALLY good workout. I bought a DVD to use at home last year, and that's okay, but I would strongly recommend getting plugged into a Zumba class instead. I know you may feel silly dancing in front of people, but it's even sillier to dance alone in your living room at 5 in the morning. The workouts usually last about an hour, but even doing it once a week is great! One of my friends and co-workers teaches a class after school every once in a while, and another one started up a few weeks ago. I missed the first few classes, but I plan on jumping in again after the holidays!

Since Zumba really wasn't working for me to use on a regular basis with the amount of time it takes, I found this great DVD over the summer and began it. I will be honest with you. It hasn't been opened the entire month, BUT it works and I need to get off my lazy butt! Jillian is fantastic, and this workout is only 20-25 minutes which is perfect for a busy teacher/mom. She breaks the workout into three sections (3 minutes strength, 2 minutes cardio, 1 minute abs) and then has a quick cool down. Plus there are three different levels, so you can work your way up!

What do you like to do? 

Teacher Fitness Thursday - "Healthy" Recipes

I'm SO excited for this month's Teacher Fitness linky because our topic is something we all love (although it really gets us in trouble this time of year) - FOOD!! For me, I love carbs and chocolate, so holiday time is my downfall. I mean, how can I turn away from all that yumminess that my family makes? So PLEASE share any great recipes/tricks for making yummy food healthy.

When I was looking at my Pinterest board, a lot of the foods I had pinned were desserts that may not have actually been as healthy as I hoped (or it was too expensive/unreasonable to make it "skinny"). So I went through one link and found this amazing website full of ideas - www.skinnytaste.com. Have you been there? Tons of great ideas, and it lists portion size, calories, points, carbs, etc. I love it! Here are a few favorites of mine:

Recipe and picture from skinnytaste.com

Maybe I'm weird, but my FAVORITE Thanksgiving food might actually be mashed potatoes. I know I can have it any time of the year, but I love good mashed potatoes. I could fill an entire plateful of just that and be happy! I've seen where you use cauliflower instead, but I don't like cauliflower and think that tastes awful. This recipe for Skinny Garlic Mashed Potatoes only contains 159.6 calories for almost 3/4 cups AND it uses the best - Yukon Gold potatoes. Most recipes are well over 200 calories for 1/2 cup, so that's a few calories saved right there!

And of course, I HAVE to share a dessert. My favorite for this time of year is the peanut butter pie! When I read the recipe, I got a little discouraged because it calls for Better n Peanut Butter, which is $43 on Amazon - yikes! Ain't nobody got time (or money) for that! But I went back to Pinterest and found a few people who used alternatives, like PB2 or other reduced fat peanut butter. Now, that I can manage. Then make sure to get a reduced fat graham cracker crust (mmm...) and maybe leave the whipped cream off the top entirely, and you have a yummy pie that will only be about 220 calories!

Okay, I can't wait to read what you found!

Five for Friday with a Thanksgiving FLASH FREEBIE

Wow, it's been almost two weeks since I posted! Sorry for the absence. As usual, things have been very busy lately. I can't wait until Thanksgiving break so I can sit and catch my breath...at least for a day or two!

This weekend was really nice, so we actually headed down to the beach on Sunday after church. Keagan didn't understand that the water would still be cold, so he kept pulling me closer trying to get in. We did let him sit and throw sand for a while! 

I made a new Thanksgiving craft to go with my door theme:

Right now, the kids are still working on their writing (we're having a hard time focusing on one topic), but I hope to share them soon! This craft is FREE in my store until later tonight as a thank you to all of my wonderful friends and readers. I have guests coming for dinner, and I will be changing it to paid after they leave, so be sure to grab it. AND PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!!

Click on the image QUICK for your freebie!

I'm LOVING Erin's creations, especially with my 5th grade students! We are working on context clues right now, and I was thrilled to be able to use this freebie with them. Here's a sample of what's inside. It really is great for helping them realize the types of context clues, and there's another great activity that goes along with that.

She also has an awesome pack for Thanksgiving related activities that I may be purchasing to use next week. 

Last night, I was SO excited to finally meet two wonderful VA bloggers that I have become "virtual friends" with over the past year. Andrea (right) from Reading Toward the Stars has become a good friend of mine after I found her two summers ago when doing a "reading specialist" search on blogger. She lives across the state, and we've been trying to get together for over a year now. She and a co-worker (I can't remember her name, but she was SO sweet) came to Richmond for a conference yesterday, and we decided it was time! We also met up with Nikki (left) from Teaching in Progress. Nikki's a hoot, and we had a blast at Cheesecake Factory talking and hanging out! I think we could have stayed there all night if Andrea and her friend hadn't had a 3 hour ride back that night to get to school this morning. I just barely missed Courtney from Polka Dot Lesson Plans who made the SIX hour drive to Richmond, but she had to leave after the conference to see her sister. Next time, Courtney!

And finally, just a reminder that next Thursday is my monthly Teacher Fitness linky party! This month, we're going to share yummy "skinny" recipes that we can make during the holiday season. I know this is the toughest time to eat right, so I'm looking forward to some great options that won't bust my calorie goal for each day!

Teacher Fitness Thursday: Motivation

Today is the second month of Teacher Fitness Thursday, and I want to talk about motivation. Who or what motivates you?

Love this picture I have on my Pinterest

I know this has been an issue for me recently. I have actually gotten down to a number that I like, but there's still a lot of "muffin top" that makes most of my pants unflattering on me. I'm not exactly happy with my shape because I can't actually buy bigger pants since my legs (and butt) are back to being skinny. It's not proportionate, and it eats at me.

When I started my weight-loss journey about 2 months after having Keagan, my sole motivation was getting back into my pre-pregnancy clothes. It helped for a while, and I was slowly able to wear most of the tops and dresses again. I had mini celebrations when these items fit and when I could actually button pants from before (with my overhang, but still). I've been able to do that for a while, though, and I've struggled to find new motivation. I think that's why I've hit a lot of rocks where I just give up and stop working out for a season (like right now). My motivations aren't deep enough.

What I need to focus on are positive people who are becoming stronger and healthier even if their body types aren't perfect. I know I'm too hard on myself, but the truth is that I shouldn't just give up on workouts just because I'm not seeing the body image that I had before. Honestly, that was more of a teenager body anyway, and I don't need that! I should embrace my curves while trying to tone and define them a little more.

Some positive people I like to follow:

Mama Laughlin: This girl has had two kids and lost a whole heck of a lot of weight! She's very honest on her blog and shares the good and the bad. Right now, she's pushing herself even more and actually training for a bikini competition just to prove that she can. Do I have ANY desire to do that? No. But props to her for the confidence she has found and is spreading to others through her blog.

The Biggest Loser in general: I just really love this show! It's more than just a competition. It's a life-changing event, and I have so much respect for the coaches, "contestants", and everyone else involved with the show. They do so much good, and I have cried multiple times watching it. My FAVORITE contestant from the show is definitely Danni, the winner from last season. She just has such a positive attitude and really works hard to stay healthy.

Before, During, and After Blog: Bethany is actually a personal friend of mine from elementary school. She had a baby near the end of the school year (taught high school math in DC before deciding to stay home this year), but she continued with CrossFit through the ENTIRE pregnancy! Seriously. This is a picture of her at 8.5 months. All I wanted to do when I was pregnant was sit on the couch and eat whatever I wanted. Now she also shares about how she handles being a new mom and the real struggles with losing weight after baby.

I'd love to see what inspires you to get up and get active! Maybe we can help each other come up with more ideas. I know I could use a few more ways to help me actually get out of bed and pull out my workout DVDs. 

Confession: I didn't end up working out yesterday. My excuse? They are painting the inside of our house, and we don't have any of our blinds up. Who would have actually seen me working out at 5 am? Nobody probably. Maybe the garbage men? But now I can't do my workout in the living room (where our only TV is) because we have furniture in the middle from the kitchen. Guess I need to find other ways to be active at least until our downstairs is finished. Shopping trip tonight? Maybe!

Oh, and don't forget that tomorrow is the big day for our Super Sleuth Blog Hop. You won't want to miss it!

A Reflection on Fitness and some reminders

I'm linking up with two posts today, but they are related to one another. Plus this is something I've been struggling with lately and want to get out there. I know I'm not the only one or the first linky wouldn't even have become a topic. Click on the icons below to join each linky.

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The first is a new linky from Sunny Days in Second Grade. Each week leading up to the new year will focus on a different truth. Sometimes we need to sit back and be completely honest with ourselves. For me, I've been in a bit of a rut when it comes to fitness. It started a few weeks ago when I got sick and couldn't do my workout, but I don't have an excuse anymore. It's time for me to get back into my routine and wake up early to work out. I've lost my weight, but if I want to really tone up it's going to take some dedication. 

And that leads me to my "Tried-It". I wanted to share what I've been doing to get in shape (and what I WILL start back tomorrow). 

I bought Jillian Micheal's 30 Day Shred off eBay during the summer because I LOVE her on Biggest Loser and liked the idea of a quick 20 minute workout. I did Insanity at the end of last school year, and it was great. But I was waking up at 4:30 every morning, and although I was gaining muscle mass I wasn't seeing the inches go from my waist, which is my problem area since giving birth. So I decided it was time to switch things up.

This workout has three levels that get progressively more difficult. Each level has:

• a quick warm up
• 3 sets of Strength (3 mn.), Cardio (2 mn.), and Abs (1 mn.)
• a short cool down

It takes about 25 minutes for all of it. I have done levels 1 and 2, and when I started level 2, I saw my weight start dropping quickly! I actually lost about 5 pounds just in that stretch (which also coincided with the beginning of school and me becoming a little more active in general). If you're looking for a good workout, I would recommend trying this!

Two quick reminders before I go:

I know I'm a week late technically, but this Thursday will be the second Teacher Fitness Thursday, my monthly linky party. I want to talk about motivation this time around because I know I need it! What motivates you? Get your posts ready, and PLEASE help spread the word! I'll be honest. I was pretty discouraged when only 2 people linked up last month. I hope this will become more successful and really help create a community of teachers who want to get healthy.

Then be sure to stop back by my blog on Friday for the big blog hop. I can't wait to see what other great freebies have been created for you (and me)!

Teacher Fitness Thursday - Eating Healthy

Hey yall! I'm so excited to kick off my very first week of Teacher Fitness Thursday! This will be a MONTHLY linky party starting on the third Thursday of each month and remaining open for the rest of the month. Each month, we will focus on a new topic for how to stay fit.

This month's topic is eating healthy. Feel free to link up with a story, what's inside your lunchbox, a recipe, or just some tips! There's a few different ways you can go with this. Mine is a combo of my story (especially with this being week 1) and a few tips for eating healthy!

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Before I got pregnant, food was never an issue for me. My metabolism took care of everything! I mean, it slowed down some when I went off to college and was eating more frequently, but it didn't take a lot of work to get it back off. A few days of being sick and I was right back in the game! I actually weighed 95 lbs before I got pregnant (I know some of you are sick reading this, but bear with me), but I never worked out or tried to eat healthy.

When I got pregnant, I still ate what I wanted and actually brought a pair of regular jeans with me to the hospital thinking I may go home in them. Boy was I wrong! I had gained close to 50 pounds during my pregnancy, and I only lost 11 naturally by my 6 week check-up. I knew it was time to do something!

So I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app on my phone and started tracking calories. It was really hard at first because my portions had grown immensely while I was pregnant, and I had to scale back a little at a time. For a while, I just focused on eating as close to 1200 calories as possible - forget that 500 may have been from one slice of Chocolate Creme Pie. That still worked for the first month, but after that I HAD to change things up.

I pinned a million things on my Pinterest board every day, but one of my favorite weight-loss pins is from Bob Harper. The link was broken, but the picture is all you really need!

I liked that this list was very specific with the rules. I don't follow every single one of these and I don't do them all the time, but it helps to have them in the back of my mind and take a few of them to heart. For me, I started with not drinking my calories (water only MOST of the time), going to bed hungry (I read somewhere that you shouldn't eat 3 hours before you go to bed, so 7:00 is my cut-off time), planning my splurge meal (although I usually just have one and say "That will be my splurge for the week!", and I TRY to eat my carbs before I leave school - so as close to lunch as possible. This actually means that I usually try to do my dessert with lunch instead of dinner. For dinner, I try to stick with veggies and a meat. This is a little harder now because my husband does not need to lose any more weight and has to have heartier meals now, but I stick with it pretty well for the most time.

What do you do to eat healthy?

New design, Giveaway Winner, AND A New Linky Party

Hi friends! Have you noticed anything new around here lately? I am in LOVE with my brand new design that Megan made! If you're in the market for a fresh new look for your blog, I highly recommend "A Bird in Hand Designs". Not only is this one beautiful, but Megan's prices are reasonable and the turn-around time is super fast!

Please feel free to grab my new button and add it to your blog roll if you do that kind of thing. I'm actually not an owl person OR a fall color person, so this one fits me SO much better!

I also wanted to officially announce the winner of my pencil sharpener giveaway. I promise that I didn't forget about it. It has just been a really long week. I'll explain in more detail tomorrow in the Five for Friday (that I may start today while I actually have some time).

Like my new matching papers I got with the blog design?

I even contacted Sarah already, and her pencil sharpener is in the mail. For those of you who didn't win but still want one, remember that Classroom Friendly Supplies is donating $1 of the sales for EACH PINK SHARPENER to cancer research. It's such a worthy cause to support, PLUS you get an amazing pencil sharpener.

Oh, I'm planning on starting a new monthly linky party for teachers who want to get/stay fit and hold each other accountable.

We'll do this on the THIRD THURSDAY of every month, and I will try to share the topic earlier in the week so you're ready to link up when it's time! The first date will be next Thursday (Sept. 19), and we will share about how we try to eat healthy. This can be what you pack in your lunchbox, a favorite recipe, a meal plan, tips, whatever! I would love to get as many people to link up as possible (my last linky party was a complete flop), so please spread the word if you have other bloggy friends who are trying to stay fit!