Today's Workout

This is a recovery week, so Zach and I choose light, maintenance workouts to help our muscles rest and recover from three weeks of tough stuff.

Today we did a routine called 100/30/20, and it's a workout that anyone with a jump rope and 40 minutes can do.

• 100 jump ropes
• 30 crunches
• 20 push ups

Take the above set and repeat 8 times. Change up the type of crunches and push ups, and mix things up on the jump rope, too. Bounce on one leg, go fast, go slower, cross-overs, whatever floats your boat. 

This morning Zach suggested we substitute some pull ups for push ups; or, more accurately, he said why don't we do both pull ups and push ups in the set. I said no. Instead, I rotated either push ups or pull ups. And for the record, even though I got a dirty look for saying no, Zach only made it through three rounds of pull ups and push ups. 

A Freezer Full of Venison!

This is a happy autumn site at our household:

It means Zach was able to shoot a deer, and I don't have to shop for ground beef for about six months! This doe was about 83 pounds, and netted 43 one-pound packages of ground venison, along with several packages of backstrap and cutlets (that I must confess: I chicken fry. We all have our vices, right?).

Many people cringe at the thought of making dinner out of Bambi, but I'm not one of them. There are several reasons why, the first being that we can process a deer for about $2.50 per pound, while ground beef is running about $3.80 per pound these days.

Secondly, venison has about one-third the fat of beef. Here are the rest of the specs for a three-ounce serving of venison:

• 130 calories
• 26 grams protein
• 2 grams fat
• 67 mg cholesterol

And finally, venison is as free range as it gets. No hormones or antibiotics there. Zach and his Dad set up feeders and plant gardens to attract the deer, and other than that they're eating what they find in the forest.

I use ground venison in anything I'd use regular ground beef: tacos, spaghetti, meat loaf, chili, hamburgers, etc. Venison burgers do require a little seasoning and TLC, because the meat is so lean. Ordinarily I use 80/20 chuck for burgers, because fatty meat makes the best, juiciest burgers! But when we have venison, I use it whenever and wherever I can.

The Shakeology Experiment: Bottom of the Bag

Here we are: the bottom of the bag.

Zach has been drinking Shakeology for one month. He has been very happy with the product. He likes the way it tastes, he likes that it keeps him full, and he likes that it takes about one minute to fix every morning. (And because inquiring minds want to know: The pooping? Still awesome.)

He has maintained a seven- to ten-pound weight loss, depending on the time of day. This is the guy who will lose anywhere from three to four pounds at night while he sleeps. He knows this because of all the note taking. For the spreadsheets. The Spreadsheets!

I've been spending a lot of time talking about what Shakeology has done for Zach, but very little talking about what is actually in Shakeology. Here is the equivalent of what you would have to eat for every cup of Shakeology:

• 10 cups cauliflower
• 4 cups broccoli
• 4 cups mushrooms
• 4 cups radishes
• 3 cups lettuce
• 1 cup of peas
• 7 carrots
• 3 raw onions
• Plus a shot of wheat grass

Much is made about the cost of Shakeology - it is about $4 per shake - but when you take into consideration where else your money (and your nutrition) might be going, four bucks starts to not look so bad:

Stop at Starbucks much? (Click for larger view) 

How about Jamba Juice?

McDonald's for a quick lunch?

So in a head to head cost competition, Shakeology beats the McDonald's. But the thing is, the Big Mac Value Meal will cost you a lot more than $5.19 in the long run. 

The new bag of Shakeology should arrive this week. And I've been told that if I want any, I should buy my own! (In the most loving way possible, of course.)

Monday Nutrition Tip of the Week

How do you put vegetables in your breakfast?

Sure, you could cut up some spinach and tomatoes and put them in your scrambled eggs, but the kids probably won't eat it. Instead, try this recipe for pumpkin spice oatmeal, a serious favorite at our house. The idea for this recipe came from Deceptively Delicious, but I've modified it a bit for our tastes.

One cup of pumpkin has only 30 calories and is high in potassium and beta carotene. You can find canned pumpkin in the baking aisle with pie ingredients. But be sure to get 100% pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling! The pie filling has a whole bunch of sugar in it.

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin 
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice or nutmeg
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• Raisins or dried fruit (optional) - I'm not allowed to put raisins in the pan...I have to put them on my bowl separately. And yet my kids will eat raisins by themselves all day long. Just add it to the list of things that don't make sense when it comes to kids.

In a saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla, and spices. Bring to a boil and stir in the oatmeal (and dried fruit, if using). Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes, until the oatmeal is soft and creamy. Spoon it into bowls and add extra milk to cool it down. Enjoy!

It's What's for Dinner

When I'm at a complete loss as to what to fix for dinner, that usually means it turns into a "veggie night." (Or my other go-to, brinner.) I went for the veggies tonight:

Nice and colorful!

On the left we have a spinach salad with tomatoes, red onions, walnuts, and raspberry vinaigrette (ugh! I just remembered I was going to put mushrooms on it, too! Forgot.)

At 5 o'clock we've got the yellow squash and zucchini from the garden.

And the top right is mashed sweet potatoes. I bake them in the oven first, then remove the skins and mash them up with a fork. I put a tiny amount of butter, about a quarter cup of applesauce, and copious amounts of cinnamon in them, and stir. The applesauce is a low-fat way to moisten up the potatoes and add a little more sweetness to them. It's a better option than a whole bunch of butter!

One person who missed this dinner tonight was Zach. And by missed it I mean that he wasn't here because he had to be at a JV football game, but also because he's become a big fan of veggie night. When we got married I would never have thought he'd let me serve dinner that didn't include a piece of meat with it, but he has really come around in the veggie department.

I think the thing I like about veggie night is that I can pile my plate as high as can be and not feel bad about it. You can't get too many veggies, right?

Our Workouts This Week

If you follow P90X by the book, it has you on a strict schedule. You work out 6-7 days a week, with three "active" weeks followed by a fourth week of "recovery" (which, with core synergistics and yoga, still seems pretty dang active if you ask me).

Once Zach and I graduated from the first 90 days of P90X, we both agreed that we still liked the workouts and the routine...but not the 6-7 days per week stuff. So we decided to go Monday through Friday, keeping Monday and Wednesday as upper body (chest/back and shoulders/arms), Tuesday as a plyometric day, Thursday as another cardio, and Friday as legs/back. (And Saturday as a "sleep past 5 a.m." day! Yay!)

To create some variety in our workouts, we bought P90X Plus and eventually graduated to receiving the One on One workouts with Tony Horton in his home gym working out by himself. Sounds boring, but it's actually quite entertaining.

At the beginning of each month, Zach and I discuss what the first three weeks' workouts will be. Right now we're in our third week of the cycle, which means next week is recovery week. Here is what we've been doing for three weeks:

• Monday: Chest, Back, and Balls (One on One)
• Tuesday: Plyometrics or Interval X 
• Wednesday a.m.: Shoulders & Arms MC:2 (One on One)
  Wednesday p.m.: Cardio Workout with the Teachers
• Thursday: Yoga (usually a cardio, but since we're doubling up on Wednesday, we moved yoga into the mix.)
• Friday: Base and Back (One on One)

It's been fun receiving a new One on One workout in the mail every month. On the day that it arrives, we sit down and view it together as a family. I was alarmed, however, when we previewed Chest, Back, and Balls. 

Whaa?

Huh?

Yeah, right.

But here's the thing. Zach made me try it out, and it turns out I can do some of that stuff. Now, not "The Lever" -- that thing he's doing on the pull up bar up there. I've not come close to completing that exercise. But I can do this one: 

I'm not breaking any repetition records or anything, but I can get up there and do 10 or so. And if he comes to an exercise I can't quite accomplish yet, I use the perfect push up handle bars, or just get down on the floor (and knees if I have to!). And if necessary, I lie down in the fetal position for a few minutes. It's good for ya sometimes.

**************

The following is re-posted from Tony Horton's Facebook Page:

Why P90X works

Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010

I hear 20 times a week - "P90X has changed my life!" I heard it a hundred times in Dallas this weekend. P90X is NOT a workout program that focuses solely on weight loss (which still happens) like most programs. It's not a pill, potion or processed food program to help you look different. Lives are changed because P90X goes much much deeper than smaller dress sizes and lower numbers on a scale. It cuts right to the core of who we can be. Poor eating habits and lack of physical activity keeps us from learning, growing and thriving. P90X grads are completely different people in every way - after 90 days. Physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually in many cases.

I'm trying to teach people that short term diets, gizmos and gadgets cater to the lowest common denominator. P90X on the other hand, exposes our greatness. P90X grads have moved away from the archaic methods of the past. They know that the numbers on a scale and eating manufactured factory food to lose weight does NOT work and does NOT excite or motivate them. It never did. If it had, these things would have worked long term. Companies with big ad budgets and shiny media campaigns fooled them once, but after P90X they've learned the truth. 

Change is hard for most people because of the lack of authenticity in things they've tried in the past. They bought into the quick fix plan and were disappointed so they make excuses to prevent further disappointment. Pre P90X, people didn't have time. After day 90 they continue to make time because their lives are better. They want to feel good every day. They want their health, strength, flexibility, coordination, balance, self esteem and energy go through the roof. They do NOT want the future to be filled with aches, pains, illness and disease. The P90X devotees around the world know that 6 days a week of muscle confusion and healthy food is the only way to get there. They see through the smoke and mirrors and refuse to be fooled again.

Do you want to look good in a dress at a wedding in front of a bunch of people who don't care, or do you want to change your life? If you said yes to the dress go buy somebody else's program. If you want to be super fit, healthy and at the top of your game (for the rest of your life) buy P90X!

Fall Garden

In the past week or so we've been enjoying yellow squash and zucchini from our first ever fall garden. Zach and I have planted summer gardens for quite a few years, but this is the first time we've ever done a second planting. Drew helped me plant both the summer and fall gardens, and the kids really enjoy going out each day to see how much the plants have grown. And I like the fact that they learn where food comes from.

Gardening in Forney is a challenge, though. We moved here three years ago after living in East Texas for three years, where Zach and I enjoyed an inflated view of our gardening prowess. The combination of sandy soil and a garden located on land formerly used as a horse pen meant that the first year we had 468 tomatoes and 14-pound zucchini. We thought we were the valedictorians of gardening.

Let's reminisce some more about the famed garden of 2005, shall we?

Enormous squash plants!

23 zucchini and two squash.

You thought I was kidding about the 14-pound zucchini? I was not. I weighed them.

I remember walking out to the garden of 2005 and yelling, "Stop growing!" to the tomatoes. I did not know what to do with them all.

Fast forward to 2010. We've moved 60 miles to the west, but might as well be on the other side of the universe as far as soil is concerned. The soil in Forney is nasty black clay that is as hard as a rock when it's dry. On the 100-degree summer days cracks form in the ground and you literally cannot see where it stops. I think maybe China.

Conversely, step into the black clay when it's wet and you have a mess on your hands (feet). The longer you walk through the soil, the taller you get, because it builds and builds on your shoes. You can then try to wash it off with the hose, which takes 47 minutes, or wait until it dries and chip away at what is now as tough as concrete. Can you tell I'm bitter at this dirt? I am.

So needless to say, the gardening is more difficult. This summer we had decent squash and green beans, three tomatoes, and a few cantaloupe. When early August came and it was clear the garden was dried up, we decided to try a fall garden. I read that you can grow vegetables in this climate until November, and that the fruit (or veggies, in this case) has a richer taste because it matures in cooler weather.

I had seeds left over from the first planting, so we just tilled up the garden a few times and re-planted green beans, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumber, and cantaloupe. The green beans came up, but were immediately and mysteriously chewed into nubs. I suspect the rabbits, because bugs and weeds have been remarkably absent for the past few months. The cantaloupe and cucumber never came up. My lone champions of the fall garden are my squash.

Ally confirms the rabbits ate the green beans.

See? These plants are puny compared to 2005...

But the squash taste so good, and there is nothing better than going out to the garden, picking some vegetables, and cooking them for dinner within minutes of taking them off the plant.