The Past Month in a Nutshell

I can't believe that I haven't talked to you in a month! I've really missed blogging, and I have been thinking about so many things that I want to blog about so hopefully I can do that and catch you up on the past month in a couple of posts.

I knew I wasn't going to be able to blog as much after starting work, but I didn't think I would go a whole month!  Hopefully, you have been able to get some healthy updates in the meantime from my Tweets if you follow me on Twitter.  If you don't do the Twitter thing, you can still catch my tweets in the black box on the side of this blog.

So things have been very busy... started work as you know, getting adjusted to that schedule, went to training for a week in Orlando, FL, then came back for a couple days, and then headed to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving, but now I'm back for a while... until Christmas.  Even with all this craziness, I have still managed to squeeze in workouts and healthy eating.  So I want to share that with you and get you all caught up on the past month.  Hopefully, this post isn't too long... there is a video at the end! So here we go... :)

October ~ Halloween

Let's start on a light note.  This has nothing to do with healthy eating or working out, but we never got to chat about Halloween!  That seems so long ago... Well, I was Maverick from Top Gun (his dark hair and all) and Sam was a cowboy (I know, I know... pretty original being a Texan).  

Me (Maverick) & Sam (Cowboy) 

Me, Tina Tuner, & Legends of the Hidden Temple

That was a fun time, and a very last minute costume, but it worked out.  I couldn't get used to that dark AND straight hair all night... it confused a lot of people, including myself and Sam. What were you for Halloween?? I want to be an athlete or something/someone athletic next year... any ideas?!?

November 

After a month of work, I finally started to feel like I was adjusting to the new 8-5 routine.  I know I said that I was planning on working out at 5am, but that hasn't been as consistent as I would like as my body has adjusted. Which reminds me of something I have learned to do really well after overdoing it one too many times... listen to your body!  I'm still enjoying my morning smoothie, but, instead of the 5am workouts, I have been going to heat yoga class at least 3 times a week, and on the other 2-3 days of the week I have been doing a CrossFit workout, which I talked about in this post (watch the video if you haven't already!).

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The combination of Yoga and CrossFit is absolutely amazing!  Yoga is the complete opposite of CrossFit, but that's what I love!  My body never gets bored, and it's constantly challenged.  And one thing I love about CrossFit is that it's a full body toning and an intense cardio workout, and I'm usually done within 30-45 minutes.  I burn the same amount of calories, if not more, than I used to burn during 1.5 hour long workouts where I would do weight training, then abs, then cardio. 

I usually go to the following websites to get my ideas:  CrossFit Seven, GSX CrossFit, Brandt CrossFit, CrossFit JAX.

Here are just a few examples of some CrossFit workouts that are easy to do while traveling that require only body weight or minimal weights.

Workout 1

4-5 Rounds of: 

 10 Pull Ups (or Pull Downs)

20 Pushups

30 Sit-Ups 

40 Air Squats

400m run (sprint)

Workout 2

Two Rounds of:

25 Pushups

25 Air Squats

25 Kettlebell Swings 

(if you don't have a kettlebell you can use a dumbell)

25 Box Jumps

25 Pull Ups (or Pull Downs)

25 Walking Lunges 

25 Sit Ups

25 Wallballs

 25 Burpees 

(some people know these as Squat Thrusters)

Workout 3

As fast as you can:

25 Kettlebell Swings

400m run

25 Overhead Squats

(I have yet to perfect the overhead squat using a barbell like in the video. At home, I just use dumbells, or if you don't have dumbells, then just focus on keeping your arms up like in the video and squatting.) 

400m run

25 Burpees

400m run

25 Tricep Dips

400 m run 

25 Wallballs

400m run

25 Pushups

Workout 4

10 Rounds of:

10 pushups

10 situps

10 squats

Workout 5

3 Rounds of:

1/2 mile run

50 air squats

And here is a list of many more body weight workout ideas.

Along with CrossFit, I always visit Tone It Up TV to get workout ideas from Tone It Up, like their amazing ab circuit that you can do anywhere!

Sam and I go to yoga class together at least once a week, and then we follow it up with dinner to-go from Spiral Diner.  I always crave greens after yoga, so I go with this delicious salad...

This is the Chef's Salad with Vegan Ranch Dressing.  It's salad greens with carrot, cucumber, olives, tomato, cheese (non-dairy), meat-free bacon bits, and grilled tofu. It's one of my favs.  

I have also started my own little ritual.  On Sundays, I go to heat yoga class (I try to make it to the 90 minute class as opposed to the usual 75 minutes), and then I follow it up with a scrumptious veggie sub from Great Outdoors.  Here's my sub order:  Wheat bread with avocado, lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, tomato, cucumber, pickles, black olives, bell peppers, onion, regular mustard, and... here's the kicker... sunflower seeds! It's amazing, just try it. 

Mid-November

The week before Thanksgiving was spent in Orlando, Florida at training for work.  It always makes me a little nervous when I go to these events where I know breakfast and lunch will always be provided by the hotel, and I basically have zero control over my meals.  So what did I do??  Well, when I registered for training I made sure to note that I was vegetarian (except for the occasional fish and sushi), and that I had a mild dairy intolerance... that way, hopefully there would be some options for me.

I must say I was really impressed with the hotel.  Every dish at every meal was labeled.  It would either say "vegan", or "contains dairy or gluten."  Apparently, I was not the only one with dietary restrictions.  It worked out so well! And I also packed A TON of snacks.  Here's my list of snacks for this trip:

Unsalted Gluten-Free Pretzels 

Trail mix made of almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, & dried berries

Peanut Butter Granola and another kind of trail mix

 (I forgot to save the bags, I can't remember what brand! I will let you know.)

Nut Butter Packs 

 [source]

Annie's Organic Bunny Classic Saltines

Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds
(if I have a dessert craving, a couple of these satisfies it.)

Peanut Butter & Cinnamon Roll Lara Bars

Cliff Mojo Peanut Butter Pretzel Bar
(THIS IS MY NEW FAV!!)

 

 [source]

Vega Whole Food Vibrancy Bars 

 

Vega Vanilla Sport Performance Protein Travel Packs

Boku Superfood

Jay Robb Shaker Bottle

I used the shaker bottle to shake up a pack of Vega protein powder and Boku superfood with water and ice every morning for breakfast after my workout.  It didn't taste bad at all!  Well, it was nothing like my usual morning smoothie, but it definitely did the trick. The hotel had bananas and fruit so that was good for snacks too.  I was really glad I had all my snacks because the hotel provided morning and afternoon snacks... and they were usually not the healthiest options.  They always had organic tea available, so I got hooked on mint tea after meals, which I definitely recommend.  It settles the stomach.

So the food crisis didn't really end up being a crisis at all.  I was in training during the day, but our nights were free.  We found some great restaurants.

And you can't go to Orlando in November and not go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Disney World right?!?!! I can't tell you the last time I was at Disney World... it's always fun to be a kid again.  I highly recommend trying it sometime.  So here is a little video collage I put together of Mickey's Christmas Parade and some other fun things at Disney World.  Enjoy!! (Oh ya, and the restaurant inside Disney World had vegan ice cream and cookies... blew my mind... must be why Mickey and Minnie never appear to age... hehe.)

Now doesn't that get you in the mood for Christmas!  Starbucks has the red cups out... Christmas music is playing in stores... I have already had some "egg" nog (Silk brand Nog, which is actually tasty)... it's officially the holiday season!  So I will end this post on that lively note.  My Thanksgiving post will be up this week! Two in one week... I'm trying to make up for lost time :)

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season so far!  Have you made any good holiday recipes that I should try?? 

With Love, Health, and Happiness,

Cami

Thought of the Day:  Be thankful... for everyday, for your health, your safety, your happiness, and your family and friends.  When you're working out and you are tired and feel like you can't go anymore, just be thankful that your body is allowing you to push yourself... many people don't have that privelege.