Kickboxing Chic’s BodyBlog

Uh, both?! Now 11 weeks pregnant, I start my second “Fit Pregnancy” journey. Although, this second time around has not been as easy as the first so far. With my first, I just had the typical first trimester extreme fatigue/exhaustion so I just had to will myself through my workouts. I have a lot of willpower and self-discipline so that wasn’t much of an issue. This time around I still have mass fatigue, but also nausea, cramping, and a very up/down appetite. The thought of vegetables and protein just added to my nausea. And those are my diet staples! I didn’t completely fall off my clean eating rocker, as McDonalds and ice cream didn’t ever sound good either. But often times, bagels, bread, and bananas were all I could manage. And I usually keep that stuff to a minimum. The next six months are not about me, so I haven’t beat myself up too much over it. After the baby is born I know I’ll be able to get myself back into pre-baby shape. And if it is like the last time, I will be in even better shape. I actually plan to blog my pregnancy and post-pregnancy journey to use it as marketing material for my personal training career. It will help ‘make it real’ for others and I strongly believe that practicing what you preach builds a lot of credibility.

Next week I’ll start posting pictures as I’m starting to pop out. Well, at least I think this little pooch in my abdominal area is pregnancy related.

There is this poster at one of my gyms that says “Cardio doesn’t have to be hard”. The poster is part of a series of posters for some supplement company (I won’t disclose the name as they should be embarrassed for making such a statement). When I first saw this poster, conveniently hung behind the row of treadmills, I’m like “what??!!” If cardio was easy and gave you the same results as “hard” cardio, then wouldn’t everyone be doing cardio all the time? I, personally, am not a big fan of cardio. But it is an unfortunate necessity to a lean body. I enjoy some group fitness classes (indoor cycling and bag/gloves kickboxing), but classes rarely align with my schedule. So I’m left to my own devices. In which case, I hit it hard and get it over with as quickly as I can without killing myself. As mentioned in previous posts, I’m a big proponent of HIIT. Meeting my sweat and calorie quota through a quick cardio HIIT session is usually not a problem. And with a warm-up and cool down, cardio is done and over with in about 25 minutes. Here are a few things I do to keep cardio interesting and challenging:

·         Endless versions HIIT cardio – I created several flavors of HIIT cardio. You can adjust the work/rest interval periods, resistance (stationary bikes, elliptical), incline (treadmill), and speed. There are so many factors to play with that the options are virtually endless.

·         Hit the pavement – Although I trained for and ran a marathon once, I no longer go out for a “run.” The primary reason being that I’m afraid of dogs (a dog took a bite out of the back of my hamstring several years ago while jogging). So what I do now is sprint up/down my street. We live in a cul de sac that takes a sharp incline about 2/3 of the way up. I sprint up and jog back; rinse and repeat about 10 times. There is also this very short, yet very steep hill around the corner from my house. I’ll also throw in a few sets of high knees or high skipping up this steep sucker (jog down). Now we’re talking lactic acid.

·         Vary the equipment – I alternate between the elliptical, treadmill, and stepmill. And sometimes I just put on my boxing gloves and hammer away at my punching bag. Before I know it, my hair is a sweaty mess.

·         Do plyometrics and BW exercises instead – I also get my cardio fill by putting together 5 or 6 high intensity exercises, such as box jumps, burpees, jump squats, jump lunges, jumping jacks, etc, into a circuit. Then repeat 3-4 times. I can easily maintain a 70-85% max HR, plus plyometrics can be used for strength training too (bonus!!)

With that, I completely disagree that “cardio doesn’t have to be hard.” If you want to see results and don’t have 3 hours to spend in the gym, cardio needs to be hard and challenging work.

I often get asked about what I eat and how I manage to prepare healthy yet quick and convenient meals. And occasionally I get funny looks in the kitchen at work because people aren’t used to seeing such plain, whole foods. So I thought I’d come out of the closet with some of my nutrition tactics. Maybe you do some of these too, or perhaps you may consider adopting some of these strategies. I just can’t be held accountable for any strange looks or comments you might get as a result. And if you have any equally strange, yet effective, practices, I’d love to hear them.

·         One packet of taco/fajita seasoning lasts me at least 3 times. We make taco something-or-other at least once a week (healthy versions of course). To make it a quick dinner, we use the taco seasoning packets. But due to the sodium content, we only use about 1/3 of a packet with each package of lean ground turkey/beef. I don’t miss the excess sauce at all.

·         Kid size dishes. I often use my son’s dishes to help keep portions small. Especially for small treats.

·         Small forks and spoons. To slow down the eating process, I use salad size forks and teaspoons to help make individual bites smaller.

·         Steamed veggies at work. I fill a sandwich bag with raw veggies and when I get to work, I put about 1 tablespoon of water in the baggie, zip it up except for a small crack, then microwave for 1.5-2 minutes. Vola… steamed veggies!

·         Basil and tomatoes make everything better. I love the taste of basil, especially with some diced tomatoes, fresh ground pepper, and a touch of olive oil. Have you ever noticed that when you buy basil at the grocery store, you typically get a big bag or plastic container of it even though your recipe calls for a couple tablespoons? And depending on how fresh it is, the rest only lasts 5-6 days. So to prevent the waste and jazz up my food, I often add basil and diced tomatoes to chicken, fish, and steamed veggies.

·         Egg white omelet without having to dirty a pan. I have this small, round Corningware dish that is good for the microwave. I spray the bottom/sides with butter-flavored no-stick spray, put in my egg whites and whatever veggies I have on hand (usually spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers). I usually put it together the night before. Then in the morning after my workout, I pop the bowl in the microwave, cook for 3 minutes (stir once or twice), and BAM… an egg white omelet. Depending on how hardcore I am with my diet, I may or may not add a tablespoon of shredded cheese. Oh, and of course Tabasco.

·         Cottage cheese… my daily dessert. I usually need to have an evening snack around 8pm. My staple is a cottage cheese/yogurt mix (1/2 cup total) or cottage cheese w/ a little Splenda and cinnamon. In both cases, I also top with a ¼ cup of cereal (Kashi Go Lean, Trader Joes Fiber Os, other high fiber/healthy cereals). I absolutely love cottage cheese with cereal! My husband tolerates my strange eating habits for the most part but he thinks this one is really weird. I say ‘hey, don’t knock it until you try it!’

·         Spray dressing is the best invention ever! There are more and more of these on the market and we have about 4 different flavors in our fridge. I tried making my own… didn’t work so well. If I don’t use a spray dressing, I still measure my dressing. Sometimes just half the suggested serving size is plenty.

I’m sure there are other strange little things I do to keep my calorie intake in check and make a clean eating lifestyle tolerable. But these are more of my everyday ones. Maybe I’ll post a “part II” when I come up with new ones or think of others I do on occasion. Again, I would love to hear yours.