Kara

Wellness Witness Workout #4

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I try to post a workout idea for you each week. Here is one that we did this morning at the local Wellness Witness Workout.

*Remember, the style of workout is called REST BASED TRAINING. That
means you will push until you can’t keep going, and then you rest until
you’re ready to start back. You should be breathless, have burning
muscles, and be hot.
*Use as heavy of weights as you can manage with good form.
*Attempt these exercises at your own risk. Wellness Witness is not
liable for any injuries sustained while attempting these workouts.

(If you aren’t sure how to do any of these moves you can find videos on YouTube)

Set 1 (Each exercise should last 30 seconds)
Plie squat/stand/overhead tricep extension
Lawnmower with L arm
Lawnmower with R arm
Switch Jumps (Jumping Lunges)
Crunch with punches
*Do this set four times. After the 4th time, you can rest up to 30 seconds before starting Set #2.


Set 2 (Each exercise should last 30 seconds)
Squat with an overhead press
Burpees
Squat/side leg lift/side raise with arms (do this for 60 seconds)
Push-ups
*Do this set THREE times. After the 3rd time, you can rest up to 30 seconds before starting Set #3.

Set 3: Only do this set ONCE
SLOW Bicycle Crunches (30 seconds)
Plank (30 seconds)
Rest 10 seconds
Plank 30 seconds
SLOW Push-ups (30 seconds)

Why I don’t care about “Buns of Steel” or “6 pack abs” and you shouldn’t either…

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Earler this week I did a quick pinterest search on “fitness”.

Here were some of my top results:

“Build a better booty”

“Shape that Tush”

“Sexy Abs Fast”

“Get a Bikini Body to Turn Heads”

“Sweat  ‘til you don’t jiggle”

“Betty’s Bootylicious Butt Workout”

——————————–

And the list went on.

These posts were accompanied by pictures
of women half dressed, wearing a tiny bikini, or featured a zoomed in on, half
covered body part. 

These posts and websites boasts claims like “Give us 60
days, we’ll give you the body of your dreams!” and “Follow our plan to be your
sexiest self yet”.

 These sites make
promises about what they can do for your physique, for your “bikini body”, and
for your level of attractiveness to others.

Friends, I need you to know…that is not what I am doing
through Wellness Witness, nor is it what I plan to do at any point in the future.

 

I don’t care one bit about your “buns of steel” or
your “six pack abs”, and I don’t care if your jeans are a size 2 or a size 22.
What I’m after? Helping point you to the One who made you, who knows you, and
who loves you. 

 
If you are looking for a site that will feature
someone dressed in a bikini or skimpy outfit jumping around telling you “come
on, work harder if you want to look good in those jeans!”, you’ll need to keep
looking.

My prayer for Wellness Witness is far deeper than just helping you improve your
physical condition. My prayer is that lives are changed for the glory of God
and that you begin taking care of the tool you were specifically given for your
mission- your Body.

You see, for me, this journey started as a physical one, but God used it for so
much more. When I started I THOUGHT I wanted a smaller body, better abs and
toned legs, but turns out, what I really wanted was freedom from the cycle I
had been trapped in for years.

What I needed was to finally see myself through
God’s eyes and to recognize the gift that He had given me.

What I eventually
learned is that we are given health so that we can in turn use it to serve
others.

It’s not about drastically cutting calories or obsessively exercising. It’s
about saying to God, “You created me. You gave me a specific purpose and THIS
specific body to help me accomplish it. It’s YOURS. I am simply entrusted with
it. I want to treat it in a way that honors You, all the time. Not just when I’m
“Dieting” or “on plan”. “

And me posting a picture of me wearing next to nothing is NOT going to
accomplish that. Nor will me encouraging you to obsessively watch every bite of
food you put into your mouth so you can have abs of steel. I WILL encourage you
with healthy tips, healthy recipes and spiritual motivation but it’s for a
bigger purpose than ‘abs of steel’, it’s so you can have a body fit for whatever
calling you’ve been given.

 For today, know this: I will seek to
prayerfully post what God has nudged me towards. And (with His help) I won’t post things that
don’t bring glory to Him. I hope that you’ll stick around and join me on this
journey, but if what I’ve described isn’t for you, I’ll understand that you won’t
be following along.

To those that have jumped in and allowed me to speak encouragement along the
way, THANK YOU! You’re a blessing in my life and I can’t wait to see what God
will do through this little ministry. As always, I’m praying for you and
cheering you on!


I’ll leave you with a quote from Jimmy Pena of www.prayfit.com . He along with others like Alisa Keeton from www.revelationwellness.com and Clark from www.peak313.com and Michelle Myers from www.myerscrosstraining.com and www.crosstrainingcouture.com are trying to rescue and redeem the fitness industry for Christ. And so am I. An army is rising up, friends. Will you join us?


Kid Friendly Almond Crusted Chicken Nuggets!

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Yesterday I tried a new recipe for a slow cooker (low sugar) pork bbq. It was pretty much a fail. Both kids cried over having to take their required number of bites, and I had to force myself to eat it, also.

Tonight, I was determined to find a new recipe to share with all of you that was in line with my own personal nutrition goals, and one that my family also liked. It’s a difficult job to please my kids who would love to eat either a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a happy meal every day.

I found a recipe online and then made some changes. While baking it, and shortly after taking it out of the oven I decided that I had yet again found a dud of a recipe, and started to mentally prepare myself for the battle that would ensue with my kids over making them eat it.

However, they took their first bite of a nugget and my son said, “I think I like this!”. I expected my daughter to tell me it was horrible (because they did NOT look too good, to be quite honest), but the more she ate, the more she said she liked them.

Each child had THREE servings of these nuggets!

I love that they are made from ingredients that are healthy and that they don’t include any of the artificial junk that our typical frozen nuggets are made from.

Here’s how I made them:

Ingredients needed:
1-2 lbs chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 c. coconut oil
1 c. almond meal (I bought mine already made, or you can grind down your own from almonds)
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the 1/2 c. coconut oil and put into a small bowl.

Mix dry ingredients and put into a second bowl.

Drop the chicken pieces into the oil, then lift out of the oil and drop into the dry mixture.

 

 

Coat the chicken well and then put onto a foil lined cookie sheet.

Bake around 16-17 minutes in the oven. Mine weren’t quite brown enough for me, so I ended up broiling them for a few minutes while keeping a close eye on them.

They weren’t pretty. I didn’t expect to like them and I certainly didn’t expect my kids to. But they did. And not only are they eating CLEAN chicken nuggets, now they’re also getting extra protein and fiber through the almond meal and the added benefits of the coconut oil. These are going to be a weekly item for us from here on out!

Enjoy!!!

 

Mexican Food…madeover! TWO OPTIONS

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I L-O-V-E Mexican food. In fact, at least twice a month I eat it for my indulgence meal. We used to really love having Taco nights at our house and I would load up my biggest dinner plate as high as I could pile it with all sorts of delicious, yet NOT fat loss friendly foods.

I’ve experimented quite a bit trying to come up with a way to replicate this, and although my latest fat-loss friendly version isn’t AS good as the original, it’s a great option!

My first task was to find a taco seasoning recipe that I could use in
place of the chemical laden version I used to buy in the store.

Here is an example of a REDUCED SODIUM version I used to buy often:

Please note: the FIRST ingredient is Maltodextrin, an artificial sweetener! Read more about it here.
Besides that you will find corn starch, partially hydrogenated oil,
silicon dioxide, sunflower and cottonseed oil, a “spice extractive?” and
“Ethoxyquin”.After experimenting with several recipes I found
online, I came up with a version that was perfect for my family. This
version is NOT considered “HOT” as my kids don’t eat things too spicy.

Here’s what I used:
3 TB Chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
3 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp black pepper

I mixed all of these together and put in a bowl with a lid. This
batch made THREE servings for the amount that we use per pound of
hamburger. I use TWO TABLESPOONS per pound. If you like things spicier,
you may want add more. I also add HALF CUP water when making tacos and I
add it at the same time as the spices.

Brown your hamburger in a pan. (I cook mine also with chopped peppers and onions)

 

 

Add 2 TB of your Taco Seasoning and 1/2 cup water (Add more if you like it spicier)

 

 

While it’s browning, I tried to make a more fat-loss friendly alternative to standard taco shells.

I purchased some low carb tortillas that had a decent overall carb balance.

Next I put them on a large cutting board, put a little olive oil on them, and spread it around with my fingers. You could use a pastry brush if you have one, but I”m a simple girl and my hands worked just fine.

Next I put some sea salt and some garlic on them to give them a little flavor. You can flip them over and do the same thing on the other side. Then, grab a pizza slicer and cut into pieces.

Put in oven that has been preheated to 400 degrees and bake for 10-15 minutes.

To make this into a meal I thawed out some oven baked brown rice that I had frozen from before. (Recipe here)

I chopped up lettuce, and tomatoes,  fixed some black beans and then put it all together.  Oven baked chips on the bottom, taco meat, a little rice, a little bit of black beans, a LOT of lettuce and some salsa.

SO GOOD! (*Not as good as when it was covered in cheese and ranch dressing, but still good)

For my kids, I simply used a couple of the tortillas and filled them with the meat and some cheese. My kids normally take their required 3 bites and then don’t eat any more, but my son actually LOVED these and my daughter ate half of hers. WIN.

OPTION #2

As I mentioned above, one batch of the taco seasoning is enough for me to make THREE batches with meat. Last week I didn’t have any ideas for dinner so I took 1 lb of hamburger and 2 TB of the taco seasoning mix, mixed it well and formed into patties. I cooked them in a skillet on the stove and then wrapped them in lettuce and topped them with salsa.

 

DELICIOUS!!!!

I also had one the next night along side some sauteed spinach and some
leftover potatoes. I think I liked them even better this way.

I keep the taco seasoning mix in my pantry all the time now so that whenever I need it, I’m prepared.

Hope you enjoy these two mexican food options!

 

Sunday Meal Prep- BEAT THE CLOCK: 1 HOUR!

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Each week I spend a while on Sunday afternoon working on prepping snacks and meals for the week.

 

I’ve had many, many questions about it and my post on Sunday meal prep is still one of my most popular posts to date.

Most comments that people make are along the lines of, “How do I get started?” and “How do you find enough time?”

The answer to the first question is simply DO WHAT YOU CAN. When I first started on this a year and a half ago, it took me twice as long to do half as many foods. Now that I know what recipes to do, what to purchase, and how to maximize my time (THROUGH TRIAL AND ERROR) it is much, much easier.

The answer to the second question is pretty simple, too. USE WHAT TIME YOU HAVE. I no longer take Sunday afternoon naps and this is the time that I use to meal prep. Amazing how once I cleaned up my diet I no longer need or want to nap! 🙂 But even if you do still enjoy a nap from time to time, you still have enough time to prep some foods ahead to make your week easier.

Today I decided to set my timer for 1 hour and to tackle anything that I could within that hour. After the hour was up, no more prepping, chopping, washing veggies, or cooking.

Here’s what all I finished in 1 Hour:

1 Dozen hard boiled eggs

Three bags of protein shake ingredients

10 bags of washed organic baby carrots

8 bags of washed, chopped organic celery

10 salads for lunches this week

5 bags of low sodium deli ham for snacks

11 egg muffins made with either ham or beef plus spinach, onions, and peppers.

Several bags of hummus and celery

10 containers of nuts for the week for snacks

1 large bag filled with any salad toppings I will use during the week- I take this to work on Monday and use it all week.

1 large pork loin trimmed and prepped and ready to be cooked first thing tomorrow in the slow cooker.

A dozen soaked and rinsed apples

Things I didn’t get done:

*Energy Bites/Protein bites for the week

*Dishes washed/kitchen cleaned

The only supper that I got prepared today was the slow cooker pork bbq that I will serve tomorrow. The recipes I’m making later this week do not lend themselves to prepping this far ahead, so I’ll have to do it either the night before or when I get home in the afternoons.

Here is what my kitchen looked like at the end of 1 hour:

 

 

 

I now have my breakfast taken care of for every single weekday, my lunches packed and ready to go, snacks for myself and for the kids, and a start on supper for at least one night (if not two as we normally eat warm-ups at least once).

Hints and Tips:
1- Multi-task with your time! While I had my eggs boiling, I sauteed my beef and veggies for the egg muffins. While my produce soaked, I mixed my eggs and egg whites and poured into muffin pans.
2- Recruit help! Once I get the lettuces chopped and rinsed, I let the kids help soak, drain and then spin them.
3- Lay out all your storage containers ahead of time. I knew that I would need to make 10 salads, so I laid out all the 8 bowls we had and then set out two quart sized bags. I put the lids I would need underneath them.
4- Have all ingredients out and ready to go.
5- If you’re chopping a vegetable for one recipe and you know you’ll need it for another- go ahead and do it all at one time. Chop once, use for multiple foods.
6- Try to keep your kids/husband out of your way as much as possible. 🙂 I did have to stop a few times to deal with kid arguments. It’s a part of life, so don’t get bent out of shape if it happens.
7- Have ingredients as close to ready to use as possible- I had to open a new jar of natural pb and it took a good five minutes to get it all stirred and ready to use for the protein shake bags.

Regardless of if you choose to prep a little or to prep for the week, make it something that doesn’t overwhelm you. Start small and then add as you go. You will be AMAZED how much time this will save you during the week!

There are a ton of great resources out there on meal prep= a quick google search should turn up hundreds.

GOOD LUCK! If you happen to tackle it for the first time, let me know how it goes!

Choose your HARD.

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My alarm went off at 5:17 (I have this weird thing about waking up
at odd minues- I could never do a 5:15 or a 5:20- it’s always an :11 or :17, :47,
etc).
I immediately thought about how much I wanted to continue
sleeping.
I considered how busy the day ahead was going to be.
I thought about all of the day’s demands: taking care of my kids,
my husband, my students, my home, my body.
I didn’t want to get up. It was hard.
But I knew that a group of twenty some ladies were counting on me.
And I knew that they were experiencing the same thoughts and
having to CHOOSE to get going even when everything in them said to stay put.
So I got up.
 I put on my workout clothes, spent a few quick minutes with
Jesus, and then hopped in my car to drive to the park to meet my workout group.

I Showed up.

And even as I arrived, I still wasn’t ready. I had a bit of a grumpy attitude
and questioned if I really should be doing these classes three times a week. I
began to doubt the calling that I had been given.

But then the first lady showed up. And then another, and another,
and still more. Twenty one brave souls showed up, and even though several were
brand new and we were missing a few of our regulars, we had a great time.
When it’s dark, and the responsibilities of the day lie ahead, it
can be difficult to face the day with enthusiasm. It can be hard to KNOW that
the benefit is going to outweigh the cost.
But then, we begin.
We consciously CHOOSE to start off our days by honoring Him with
our health.
We lift our weights and cheer each other on,
and as we do, we lift our spirits.

We push through when tired, and in turn, we are given energy.

We persevere when we want to quit, because we know that what we are pursuing
through these workouts goes way deeper than a number on the scale or a clothing
size label.

And before I can believe it, the workout is done. We stretch and
then close in prayer, praising God for bodies that move, for hearts that are
willing, and for the sunrise we have watched.
And then, the day begins.
For the next 16-17 hours, someone else is going to need my
attention, and will be making requests and demands from me. In order for me to
be able to do all that I have ahead of me, putting my quiet time and exercise
time first is CRITICAL.

Do I ever want to get up that early if I had the choice? NO. But I do it
because it is a matter of survival during this busy stage of life.

Some things that help me:
1- Tell a friend (or schedule to meet one) that you plan to get up and workout.
Ask them to hold you accountable. Even consider setting up a check-in that you
can do by text, email or Facebook post to let each other know that you’re up
and moving.

2- TRY to go to bed at a decent hour. I know, I get it. Late
evenings are the only time I have to myself, but I know that if I stay up
really late, I will NOT make myself get up and the rest of my day will suffer.
3- Move your alarm clock away from your nightstand. Set two
alarms. If you have to physically get up out of the bed to turn it off, you’re
more likely to stay up.
4- Lay out your workout clothes the night before OR SLEEP IN THEM.
Yes, it’s true, I do this at times.
5- Pack or lay out any items you will need for your workout the
night before. For me this means finding my car keys so I’m not frantically
searching in the morning, packing my basket with weights, my workout list, my
speaker, a sweat towel, my mat, my water bottle, my donation bucket, and my
liability forms.
For you, this may simply be getting your workout DVD loaded into the DVD player
or setting up your mat/weights wherever you will be working out.
6- Put your workout on your calendar. Seriously. Schedule it into
your day before it even begins. It also helps me to write down HOW I feel after
a workout and the thoughts I have about how good I feel so that when it’s
another day and I don’t want to get up, I can REMIND MYSELF of the benefits.
7- Keep records of the progress
you are making. Document how many days in a month you made it up, write down
the length of time you spend exercising, or the mileage you cover, or the
amount of weight you are able to lift. Also consider how you feel- with each
passing week, are you feeling stronger? Have more energy? Are you more patient
with your children and/or spouse? Are your clothes feeling looser?
Getting up early is a practice that will take a while to develop.
They say a habit takes 21 days to form. Some say this is not the case and it
actually takes much longer. It WILL take time and there will be times you will
blow it.
It IS hard to sacrifice your sleep to try to honor God with your
body through exercise, and there are indeed seasons in life when this will not
be possible. Give yourself grace for those times and keep telling yourself that
‘this too shall pass’.
But know that even if it IS HARD to get up to exercise, it’s also
HARD to not do so. When I don’t exercise, I am tired. I am grumpy. I don’t have
energy to tackle the tasks that God sends my way. And if I stopped exercising
and taking care of my body, I would gain back the weight I have lost, slip into
my old patterns of medicating with food, and THAT would be hard. You get
to choose your hard.
Here’s evidence: The picture on the left was taken before I had to leave for a workout a couple weeks ago. I did NOT want to get up and going, but the picture on the right tells you why I did. It was taken right after finishing the 30 minute workout and I was a NEW woman.
I’m praying for you and cheering you on, friends! What you do with
your body MATTERS. I know there are some that can’t get up and exercise, ones
who have physical limitations and or illnesses. I never want to take for
granted this gift of a healthy body. If you can move it for the glory of God,
you should.

love y’all!

*Please note before sending me any comments, I understand that
exercising early in the day is not the only time that matters. Some of you have
to do so at night, and that is great. Whatever works best for you is what you
should do. If you’re looking to gain more energy, impact, and endurance in your
day, however, early morning is best for 99% of us.