Try Something New

"Everyone has a 'risk muscle.'  You keep it in shape by trying new things.  If you don't, it atrophies. Make a point of using it at least once a day." 

~Roger Von Oech

I'm a fan of trying new things... new food, new movies, new music, new workout routines, etc.  You never know if you are going to like something until you give it a try.  So in the spirit of being adventurous, I wanted to tell you about a few new things that I have tried lately.

TEA TIME 

In the evening, about an hour or so before bed after my dinner has settled and right when I'm starting to crave something sweet, I have a cup of tea.  I just realized... does that make me sound old?? Oh well, I like it, and it works. :)

It's so soothing, and I know I will love it even more as it starts to get cold outside.  It just warms your belly and makes you sleep like a baby! And a bonus... it totally kicks any sugar craving you have.  If you still want something a little sweet, you can add a dash of milk (I prefer almond milk) and agave nectar or honey to your tea.

As a result of this new thing, I just had to organize the tea drawer. Check out some of the teas!

Aveda's Comforting Tea is one of my favorites.  Yes, Aveda the salon, and where I get my hair done.  I know you wouldn't think to get tea there, but they actually have a lot of really good organic products and their tea is one of my many favs!  The tea is 100% organic and you can buy it loose leaves or in tea bags.  It has a hint of licorice flavor.

FOAM ROLLER

Another new thing, is my love for the foam roller!  I finally bought my own foam roller to have at home. My muscles are always craving a good massage to release the tension, BUT I am definitely not going to pay for a massage once a week... which is why spent $15 to get a foam roller!  I should just call it my masseuse from here on out.  It's my on-call 24-7 masseuse... how nice is that! This video shows you the great ways you can release tension using the foam roller.  It really is like a deep tissue massage.  

When I was trying to find an instructional video, this was the first one I clicked on... and you will not believe who is in it... Katrina from Tone It Up!  It's from 2007, so it was before her Tone It Up days.  She goes through all of my favorite positions with the foam roller.  And speaking of Tone It Up... have you checked out the Tone It Up Fat Burning System yet?? I have been incorporating a lot of things from the plan into my lifestyle, and I'm loving the results.  

SUNBUTTER

For the first time, last week I tried SUNFLOWER SEED BUTTER!  Oh wow.  I never thought to look for sunflower seed butter instead of just your regular peanut or almond butter, but I have seen it mentioned a few times on other blogs so I had to give it a whirl.  And I'm glad I did! It's superb!  On toast, by itself, on top of a rice cake with honey, or my favorite... with a banana.  Sunflower seeds are loaded with benefits so I definitely recommend adding this one to your repertoire of nut butters.  But, as with any nut butter, 1-2 Tbsp is an appropriate serving.  It has good fats that your body needs, but it is still fat, so don't go crazy.  Here is the brand that I found near all of the other nut butters at Central Market.

WORKOUT SHOES

My new workout shoes! I wanted something that wasn't very constricting on my feet.  The whole "running barefoot" movement with the Vibrams has taken off, but I just can't go there yet.  I have read about a lot of injuries from people doing too much too fast with those shoes.  But I do believe, that a less constricting shoe (a shoe that provides you with free movement) helps to build the muscles in the foot.  After suffering from an ankle injury and surgery a few years ago from playing basketball, I am still trying to rebuild those muscles in my feet.   So I opted for the Nike Free Hyper TR.  So far, I love them!

CROSSFIT

With my full-time auditing career about to begin in 7 days (still cannot believe that!), I had to re-evaluate my workout routine.  It needed to be fast, but effective.  I wanted my to get my heart rate up but also build muscle too.  So this week, Sam and I started CrossFit.  What is CrossFit?  

I have only done 2 workouts so far, and I love it.  I'm so sore today after yesterday's workout, which was 30 clean and jerks as fast as you can.  That doesn't sound like a lot, but wheww... I was sweating and my muscles were dead afterwards.  It only took about 45 mins with the warmup, workout, and a little extra abs.  Exactly what I was looking for!  There are many CrossFit websites that will give you a WOD (workout of the day), which tells you what to do that day.  If you can find a CrossFit gym in your area, that is what I recommend.  I would liked to have joined one of the CrossFit gyms nearby, but the times just didn't work out my work schedule.  So we just do the workouts at LA Fitness early in the morning, and sometimes we have to adjust the exercises if we don't have the proper equipment.  But, the CrossFit main website is really helpful in that it provides you with substitutions if you don't have the necessary equipment.  I'm really excited to see the results from CrossFit, so I will keep you updated!  I have to show you this other CrossFit video too... it's really motivating.

That's all I have for today!  I know it's been a while since my last post, but guess what... my LAST CPA exam is THIS Friday!  Ahhh, I thought it would never get here.  Let's just hope it goes as well as all of the others.  So you probably won't hear from me again until after that.  In the meantime, have a great week and if you're feeling up to it... try something new, you never know what might come of it. 

With Love, Health, and Happiness, 

Cami

*** One last thing!  Remember my post about Healthy Living Blogs, which is basically a directory for healthy blogs all over the world. Well, they just started a segment called "Friday Features" where they feature a few of their blog members.  AND I was one of them!  They asked me several questions you might be wondering, like how did I come up with the title of my blog, what is something "shocking" about me, and more.  Go here to check out my interview with Healthy Living Blogs. It was very exciting to be featured on such a great website.  Thanks Healthy Living Blogs!