Christmas Mix Giveaway Winner!!!

We have a winner!! Congrats to Natalie Cates!

 

Natalie said...

 

Like a G6 is definitely amazing. I have always wondered what in the world a G6 actually is, cause if I'm going to sing it at the top of my lungs I should probably know what it is right? Have you ever wondered what it is...well aaathankyou Urban Dictionary.

Thank you Far East Movement for informing us what a G6 is. I honestly thought it was probably something sexual or dealing with drugs, so I feel pretty good about this news. I guess the message of the song still isn't the best...whatever. It pumps me up when I'm working out. If you haven't heard this song click HERE and listen. You'll love it.

ANYWAYS...that was a total tangent. Wow. Natalie...email me at megolina21@gmail.com so you can claim your prize!

There really is no place like home for the holidays

 Not only are my clients and coworkers the funnest people in the world. They are the most generous too. Can you believe all these goods?? I can't. still. Apparently I talk about frozen yogurt as much as I eat it because I received several gift cards for fro yo. Yes please. Anyone want to join me?

 After working super early this morning, my dad and I hopped in the car and drove all day to get here. Utah was like 20 degrees. Arizona is like 60 right now, and it's night time. I already feel good about it.

My mom is so incredibly festive. I love it. There is nothing better than walking into a house decorated to the max. She has instilled in me, a love for the holidays because she makes them so special. It is just so fun :)

 If you look closely you can see short haired, blonde, bobbed, high school Megan in the background...

Speaking of Christmas...

Here are my final holiday survival tips for you:
- Drink LOTS of water. Water is great way to detox your body from all of the junk! It also will help keep you full and less snacky.
- Choose the best things, not everything. It's Christmas. More than likely there are going to be some foods that you just don't get to eat all year round. Let yourself indulge, but just don't go crazy. Instead of wasting your time eating the crappy, over cooked, run-of-the-mill cookie your neighbor brought by, eat your grandma's special caramels that she only makes once a year....you get it.
- Move. Workout if you can. If you can't take everyone sledding, go skiing, shovel snow. Turn the kitchen cooking session into a dance party. I love a good kitchen dance party.
- Remember what you're altogether for. Christmas is about celebrating the relationships and the people we love. Stop focusing on the food and focus on the PEOPLE. They will love you back. Those triple stack oreo's covered in chocolate drizzled in caramel rolled in peppermint dusted with sugar, won't. (Although that might be a good invention...)
- Enjoy yourself. I am one who tends to feel guilty for eating bad food, and not exercising. My goal this Christmas is to avoid those feelings. Exercise when I can, eat the best I can, and most importantly enjoy how blessed I am to be with so many people I love. I encourage you to do the same!! If things don't go perfectly. It's ok. You can start fresh after Christmas.

Oh, and also speaking of Christmas...tomorrow I'll announce who wins the Christmas Mix Giveaway. I can't wait!

Oh there you are IT bands...

In my running-less past two months I must not have used the good ole' IT band in all of my cross training much. Since I've been running the past two days they have let me know they are both definitely still there, and working extremely hard for me. AKA...I'm sore. It is crazy how changing up your routine can do that to you, even if you've been doing other exercises.

I am a HUGE. HUGE. HUGE. (Do you believe me?) believer in a theory called muscle confusion. The basic idea of muscle confusion comes when you keep your muscles guessing from one workout to the next. There is some benefit to sticking to a workout routine for a few months...

- easier to track progress
- necessary increases in weight (for lifting) or intensity (for cardio) can be calculated
- you know what to expect time-wise

But, I think the benefits of changing up your routine far outweigh the benefits of not doing so. Your body was made to work efficiently as far as body processes go. This is most definitely true when it comes to burning calories. You body wants to be able to burn calories in the most efficient manner possible. If you are doing the same routine over and over again your body will become very efficient at what you are doing, and you won't receive the same benefit the 15th time you did the workout as say, the first time you did the workout.
The best thing you can do for your body is keep it guessing. Add intervals into your cardio, increase your speed, increase your time. If you are lifting weights keep your muscle groups that you are working on a schedule, but do different exercises working the same muscles muscles in your different workouts. Increase your weight, work in some isometric exercises, and some cardio bursts into your resistance training as well.
You don't necessarily have to get sore every time you workout. That isn't your only indication of progress. In fact, the more you workout the less sore you will be, generally speaking. However, in keeping the body guessing you will keep yourself burning LOTS of calories, improving, and seeing results! Plus who likes to do the same thing over and over?? BORING.

So change it up!! Mix up your routine!! 

Side Note: In case you were wondering what happened after the great blizzard that was yesterday...I didn't make it out of Highland Park until 2:00 PM. (Even at this point I BARELY made it out.) I was so stir crazy I decided I had to go to the gym. I have had a Golds membership since I was like 15, and I still have it because there is a Golds literally twenty steps from my house. It's very convenient. I LOVE Elevate, the gym that I work at, but is 20 minutes away. So when I want to just get in and out this works great.
Anways...it was off to Golds. I was so tired of being cooped up all day I did some running, some ellipticising, some chest and triceps, and some stretching. I ended up being there for about 2.5 hours because I was dreading the fact of going back out in the blizzard. And I know tomorrow's car ride is going to be very inactive. Don't worry that I was one of three individuals working out at the gym. There were six employees behind the desk. What is wrong with this picture?
I came home and shoveled some snow for like 30 mins, because I didn't want to get stuck again; and it's never a bad idea to burn some more calories, right?

For everyone else knee deep in snow...for the average 150 lb person

Shoveling snow: 410 calories per hour
Sledding: 475 calories per hour
Skiing/Snow boarding: 400-500 calories per hour
Cross Country Skiing: 500 calories per hour
Snowshoeing: 565 calories per hour

My favorite appliance of the week? My hot chocolate maker. If you don't have one. Get one. I just measure out the water. Pour in the sugar free hot chocolate mix. Turn it on. a few minutes later it's heated and stirred to perfection. Delightful.

I hope your last day of Christmas preparation is awesome! My day will be filled with early morning clients and then a lot of time in the car...but it will all be worth it when I'm warm and snow-less in Arizona!!

p.s. You have until tomorrow night to enter the Christmas Mix Giveaway. Just saying.

You win this time Mother Nature...

This morning went a little something like this...
5:15 AM headed to work

Attempt #1 = FAIL.
Mother Nature: 1 Megan: 0

I canceled my first two clients because it was pretty clear I wasn't going anywhere. I came back inside and set my alarm for an hour later. Unfortunately I was wide awake, and kept wondering if I was going to be able to make it for my next client. I decided to be productive instead. I got up, made some oatmeal, read my scriptures, and did some stuff for work.

7:00 AM headed to work...again.

Lucky for me another trainer at Elevate, Ashley, is my neighbor! She called me and asked if she could get a ride with me because her car was stuck. I was glad I wasn't struggling through the white stuff alone. P.S. My North Face Coat may just be one of the best purchases EVER. It is so warm!!

7:15 AM - Ash and I still trying to get out of Highland Park, with no success. My car at this point is completely stuck. Yikes. This is what we're dealing with here folks.  

Attempt #2: FAIL 

Mother Nature: 2 Megan: 0

 Luckily we were able to push my car back into my driveway with the help of an early rising neighbor boy.

 Ash and I decided that we should make the best of the situation and take some photos to send to Cody to prove we at least tried to come to work today!

I ended up having to cancel all my clients for the morning! I came back inside to sip some sugar free hot chocolate, watch the today show, bundle up in my blanket, and read blogs. Hopefully pushing cars around in three feet of snow burned some calories this morning, right? Does anyone else have weather like this??

P.S. Tomorrow is the last day to enter my Christmas Mix Giveaway, so do it! :)

Some mornings are awful, and some mornings are GREAT...oh and some recipes taste better made over.

This morning was a GREAT morning. Benita and I hit the gym for an early morning run. I was really excited and a little nervous, because this was only run #2 since I busted my ankle/foot about two months ago. I managed seven miles!! It was a tough workout. I'm trying to work on increasing my speed. Hard as it was it felt SOOOOooo good. I am still wearing my ankle brace, but I feel like it's getting stronger.
The morning continued with a warm and welcomed shower, delicious oatmeal, and a snowy drive to work. Usually I detest the snow, as you know from all of my complaining, but today it was delightful. It made me even more excited for Christmas!!

Guess What? you have two more days to enter in to the Christmas Mix Giveaway if you haven't done so yet. I've loved hearing what everyone's favorite workout songs are!! So fun. 

Leisa asked if I could health-ify a meatloaf recipe. I don't like beef, so this was a little harder for me to test in my own kitchen, however I did my homework. Don't you worry. I asked around, did some searching, and found a recipe that looks SO yummy. 

A normal slice of meatloaf has around 400 calories,  and about 30 grams of fat. With this healthier recipe you'll save about 125 calories and 22 grams of fat. Yes, please.

Healthy Meatloaf Muffins 

(recipe from Cookinglight.com)

 (Photo from Cookinglight.com)

Ingredients: 
1  teaspoon  olive oil
1  cup  finely chopped onion
1/2  cup  finely chopped carrot
1  teaspoon  dried oregano
2  garlic cloves, minced
1  cup  ketchup, divided
1 1/2  pounds  ground beef, extra lean (raw) (I think you could probably use ground turkey here.)
1  cup  finely crushed fat-free saltine crackers (about 20)
2  tablespoons  prepared mustard
1  teaspoon  Worcestershire sauce
1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
2  large eggs
Cooking spray

Preparation: 

Preheat oven to 350°.
Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, chopped carrot, dried oregano, and minced garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Cool.
Combine onion mixture, 1/2 cup ketchup, and the remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl.
Spoon the meat mixture into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Top each with 2 teaspoons ketchup. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160°. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Nutritional Information:  Serving Size = 2 meatloaf muffins

Calories: 276 (28% from fat)

Fat: 8.6g (sat 3g,mono 4g,poly 0.8g)

Protein: 28.7g

Carbohydrate: 21.7g

Fiber: 1.8g

Cholesterol: 131mg

Iron: 3.9mg

Sodium: 759mg

Calcium: 48mg 

David Bonom, Cooking Light, MARCH 2006

This is a great family friendly meal, and could also be frozen for some easy dinners in the future. I love that this is pre-portioned out. If you are trying to stick to a calorie allotment having portion controlled meals like this one is going to help you a ton! Don't forget to send me your recipes you want made over at megolina21@gmail.com 

Zucchini Cookies, Pizza, and A Some Sylish Bloggers

First of all. If you haven't entered the Christmas Mix Giveaway do it right now. You have until Wednesday, December 23rd!! :)

This weekend has FLOWN by, sheesh...
I'm not mad about it. That just means I am a few days closer to being in warm Arizona with the family. I spent the day making Low Fat Zucchini Cookies for my clients for Christmas. They are such a tasty treat. People won't even notice they are healthy.

I have such great clients. I always have a hard time deciding what to give my clients for Christmas, but I like to show them that healthy food can taste good too! If I had all the money in the world I would buy them all Ipods, treadmills, exerspies, personal chefs, and a full closet of workout gear for Christmas. Unfortunately, if I did that I would be living one the streets, so for this year we're doing zucchini cookies.

Because I was busy baking and wrapping all afternoon I wanted something quick and nutritious for dinner. I decided on a personal sized pita pizza.

These are an incredibly cheap, easy dinner, that you can be really creative with. (You can even make your own pita's.) They are SUPER kid friendly. You really could make any kind of pizza you want. You could even stuff the pita and make it into a panini or calzone of sorts...hmmm...I like where that is going. Set the oven to 450, and throw your pizza's in for 4-5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Watch to make sure thy don't burn! My pita had the following...

Move over Totino's.
Man it was delicious. And the nutrition facts for my pizza?
227 calories, 4.7 grams of fat, 38 grams of carbs, 6 grams of fiber, and 11.2 grams of protein. Hey-Yo...I like it. Don't you? For dessert I had a huge fuji apple, and some natural peanut butter.

A dinner of champions. That is for certain.

Darling Kristy over at Sweet Treats And More, gave me a stylish blogger award! How nice is that?

If you haven't checked out her blog yet please do...but with warning that you will probably want to make every single thing you see. She is crazy good at making mouthwatering delights! I'm not quite sure I'm a stylish blogger...or what that even is, but Thank You for the award sweet Kristy!! How fun is blogging and meeting new friends? I love it.

*To accept this award, there are 4 rules:*
1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. Share seven things about yourself
3. Pass the award on to bloggers you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic.
4. Contact the bloggers you picked and let them know about the award.

Seven things about myself?? Hmmm...

1. I am the youngest in my family, and I've always loved being the youngest. I have three brothers and two sisters, who I totally look up to. My parents are amazing as well.

2. I don't eat sugar. It's been about three years without it now. My only exception is frozen yogurt. I have to have some sort of sugary outlet right? I also usually allow myself a "free day" on some holidays. I'll probably work one in to Christmas this year...I've been craving chocolate covered cinnamon bears.

3. I LOVE to bake. People think I'm crazy because I bake a ton, and I never eat what I make. I usually give it away. I love to cook and bake new things regardless of if I am eating it or not. It's like therapy to me. 

4. I LOVE the sun. I realize that there are dangerous UV rays and all that...but there is nothing I love more than laying out in the sun, feeling so warm, and getting tan. Summertime = bliss.

5. Working out is my sanity. I heard it put once that getting in a good sweat everyday is like allowing all the bad energy to leave your body. I agree with this one hundred percent. I feel so much better when I get my exercise in. 

6. I am a Certified Personal Trainer. I graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelors degree in Exercise Science with a emphasis in Fitness and Wellness Management in 2007, and I have been working as a personal trainer and nutrition consultant ever since. I LOVE my job. L-O-V-E. 

7. I love optimistic people. It's amazing what a positive outlook can do in any negative situation. Don't worry. Be happy.

Bloggers I have recently discovered (That I am passing this award on to)

Janae at The Hungry Runner Girl 

* I think Kristy already picked her but Janae is my homegirl...I just had to.

Jenn at Running Sane  I just found her blog and I already love it.

Becca at I Heart Eggs

Nicole at Fitness Nic

Shannon at A Wise Bitterness 

Kate at Runnin' to The Altar

and

Melissa at Melissa Dishes

I feel like I could have mentioned like 500 blogs. Oh, and for the record I would have mentioned Kristy if she hadn't been the giver! Her blog is one of my faves. :)

Put A Little Spin On Your Lettuce

Are you ready for Christmas? I'm almost there! I did some Christmas shopping today, and it is a zoo everywhere. It didn't even bother me though, it just made me more and more excited that Christmas is officially ONE week away! I feel like there are two things that make me act like a 5 year old. Disneyland and Christmas. Both so much fun! Today for lunch I was really craving sweet potatoes, so I decided to put some in my wrap. I washed my sweet potato, poked holes in it with a fork, and put it in the microwave for 6 minutes. Then I peeled it and diced it. I ate it with spinach, chick peas, a little salt and pepper, and a drizzle of fat free dressing. It was tasty.

 I added a side of steamed broccoli and carrots. I know I've raved about the La Tortilla Factory Wraps like a bazillion million times, but if you haven't tried them at this point you are just plain crazy. You can get a pack of 20 at Costco for like 5 dollars. SO worth it.

 A couple of years ago for Christmas my mom gave me a salad spinner. I was a little weary of what in the world she was giving me, but let's be honest Elaine knows best. I realize that some people don't even know what that is, but it is one of the greatest kitchen appliances I own. I LOVE IT. One reason I think a lot of people don't eat salads more often is because of the preparation that is involved. Washing and drying lettuce can be a total pain, it's true. Get yourself a salad spinner. You can wash all of your lettuce at once, and be done with it! (And it won't become soggy or wilted.)
1. Place all of the leaves in the strainer like bowl and run water over them, giving them a good wash down. Most of the water will drain right through.
2. Place the bowl into the spinner and spin the rest of the liquid off. Just like that. Done.

After that you can throw your lettuce into a Ziplock bag or a tupperware and have it ready in the fridge. Remember that preparation is part of what is going to help you eat healthy and reach the goals you are aiming for! Washing and cutting up your produce when you get home from the store is going to make your life a lot easier when you go to reach for whatever it is you're eating.

Do you ever use salad spinners? Do any of you even know what that is??

Don't forget to enter my Christmas Mix Giveaway. You have until the 23rd to enter!!