My very own pre workout

Linda here...I have something to admit.  I don't take pre-workout, or supplements for several reasons.

Reason 1: Money, I don't want to spend it on supplements, been there done that, over it/ I'm cheaper than Megan...
Reason 2: I forget to take them anyway, so they sit in my purse for years.
Reason 3: I don't feel its necessary for me to pump all this crap into my body anymore.  This one time, I took a fat burner and thought I was having a heart attack for a month, that's all it did for me...scum.

So here's the other thing, my wake- up time is 4:30 am...I know I know, its OBSURD.  Sometimes I smack my alarm clock and say "no way in hell" and roll over, sometimes, at least once a week, which means I have to catch up on Saturday to make up for that missed workout. 

I took a brief 1 month hiatus from lifting a short while back and I'll admit it's hard to get back into, especially when you have no help from pre-workouts or supplements.  Now I am back into it and I am determined to do this all natural because...reasons above. 

Last night I had the brilliant idea that I would make myself a coffee, stick her in the fridge and gulp it down cold this am pre workout.  I did just that.  I sprung up with my alarm this morning (because husband yells at me if I don't, it wakes the sleeping bear), got dressed, dodged some friendly cats and opened the fridge.  "Oh ya I made a coffee"...and down the hatch.

image

Let..me...tell..you..

IT WORKED.  Hot damn, I was ON FIRE. Got me through the whole workout and then some. Here is the recipe to my very own home made pre workout...don't laugh...okay laugh I like it


-Regular coffee, no flavoring etc (I used a Kcup, so 1 Kcup)
-1/4 Cup of almond milk
-put in fridge
-consume next morning.

DONE, that's it, no flavoring, no sugar, no artificial sweeteners, I drank it just like that.  I mean if you feel the need to put something else in it, go for it I won't judge you, but it worked just as well as pre workout worked for me in the past, minus the whole tingling skin bit, I hated that about pre workout, also they always tasted DISGUSTING to me.  Coffee is coffee it tastes like coffee.

On a side note, I am by no means saying pre-workout is stupid, I just don't like it cause it makes me tingle for weeks then stops working and it makes my wallet lose weight.  Basically I'm cheap, and this is a frugal way to fuel workouts.  Try it out, it might work!  Or maybe it won't and you can comment about how much I suck, it's fine I'm cool with it.


 

Best most easiest breakfast ever...and why you should join a CSA!

So we over indulged for Easter....and I know I'm not really feeling much of anything besides blah. My hubby even said he wasn't feeling today when he left for work.  So I loafed around for a good hour and a half...made a cup of coffee and decided on  making this for breakfast.

Seriously people....it took 2 minutes.  Literally.  2 minutes.....

My dad came down for Easter dinner yesterday evening, so I wanted to make an Easter meal that was as clean as possible but yet still would be eaten by our 5 year old.  In the midst of all my grocery shopping, I got a box of baby heirloom tomatoes.  They are so colorful and cute and delicious.  So as I was staring at my refrigerator this morning wondering if my hubby looked at our CSA application, I got my box of tomatoes out and whipped up this.

All it is is jasmine rice I had cooked up (because I cook it in bulk every week for easy meals....and because if you don't eat jasmine rice, you really don't know what you are missing), a poached egg, and a couple sliced up baby heirlooms.  As the egg poached, I nuked the rice and tomatoes.  Top it with the egg and some pepper and voila.  Heaven.  The tomatoes are so fresh it's ridunk. You will thank me.

Back to my CSA....I love CSAs.  I think everyone should participate in a CSA program near you.   What is a CSA you ask?  Community Supported Agriculture.  A farmer offers "shares" to the public to buy (typically $300 for half share of $500 for a full share).  Every week for 20+ weeks, you receive a box with your share of vegetables and other items the farmer has produced.  It has perks for both the consumer and the farmer.  The farmers receive the payment early in the season which allows cash flow for their farm to operate.  If any of you are like me and live on a working farm, you know how hard it is to maintain a farm on its own cash flow.  My neighbors are currently storing grain in hopes that the prices go up to sell it so they can recoup some of the money they have lost on other crops.  The farmer also provides you with the freshest, hand picked vegetables out there.  You get to be a part of the farm, and most of the times the farmers include their share holders in pickings or other events on the farm.

You might be like "whatttttt $300 for vegetables? Are you crazy??" But....that's $300 for 20+ weeks worth of organic, pesticide free, locally produced vegetables.  I don't know about you, but every week I go to the store I spend $100+ on groceries....and 75% of that is fresh vegetables.  Do the math...you will save a ton of money during the growing season.  Another thing I love....you get whatever vegetable is in season....you don't pick and choose, so it opens up your palate to new vegetables and new ways of cooking them.  The one CSA that is local to me offers a Budding Farmer program for elementary school kids. For $48 a season, they will  send educational material and fun stuff home every week for your kid to learn more about farming.  I literally could go on and on about how much I love CSA's and how I think everyone should participate, but I will spare you.

So that being said.....go to www.localharvest.org and find yours today!!!!!

Body Image vs. Body Images

We are going to hit you up with a two person post today, because we both have things we want to say about this topic.

I (Linda) was going through the VS website drooling over their adorable bikinis when I came across this image, and got real upset.

Okay I get it, we are all different shapes and sizes, some of us are thin, some of us have a lot of curves, some of us have no curves, doesn't matter, we are all females.  This image however, it upset me.  Why?  Well it's not because this model is super svelt, it is Victoria's Secret after all, I get it, the models are thin and that is what is attractive to the brand and the fit of the bikinis, I'm over that.  However, look a little closer.  You can see where she had a shadow, that has been removed because the photoshopper was nipping her in further at the waist and gapping her thighs more, to emphasis what?  Curvy-ness?

You know what this image emphasizes to me?  It emphasizes why it is hard to be a teenage girl, why women say things like "omg I am so fat" and why everyone is looking towards the next best fad diet or cleanse to "get skinny".  I am exhausted by it, it makes me angry, and sad, it makes me want to take all the teenage girls into my arms and hold them close and shelter their eyes from the world.  It makes me want to follow my goddaughter around at all times just to make sure she never ever has to deal with bullying or "mean girls" or whatever.  It makes me want to throw my desk up on itself and tell the fashion industry to fornicate itself...in nicer terms.

I sent this image to Megan, and her first response was "this is why we have the problem we have", and she is right and I agreed to the millionth degree, so much so that here we are ranting about it in a post.

I won't lie, sometimes I feel "fat", sometimes I nitpick myself, I do it, more than I should and people, like my husband for example, cant for the life of them understand why.  My cellulite bothers me, but he doesn't even see it, like at all.  I hate that my thighs rub together, he's never noticed that.  My arms are flappy, but to him he sees nothing but a perfectly functioning arm.  Okay maybe my husband is just a really good guy (he is), but it's also because he doesn't dwell on this stuff, because, well because he is a man.  Us women, we are bombarded with these images that seep deep into our heads and sit there and burn into our brains and remind us "hey, you are imperfect".  And we are, we are imperfect, we are all imperfect, so is this model, because someone thought it necessary to change her image to make her look SMALLER.  WHY???  Why can't we be real about it.  We are all different shapes and sizes and colours, why do we expect to fit into the same mold?  Can we please stop it?

Can we please accept it and be imperfect?

I saw a post on instagram the other day, it said...

"You are not fat, you have fat.

You also have fingernails, you are not fingernails"

 Heyyooo! So it's my turn (Megan).....I agree with EVERYTHING Lin says.  I know everyone has a different take on what is "hott" and "skinny" and "fit", but instead of loving you for who you are, we are constantly bombarded with being smaller is being better.  I can't go and buy a pair of jeans without having to look at a picture of a size 00 model wearing the pair that I want and making them look amazing and then grabbing my size 4's off the shelf and having a moment of self loathing in the dressing room.  My husband asks me DAILY why I don't wear jeans and why I wear leggings alllllllll the time instead. Simple answer -- a) they are comf...lets be honest here  and b) society today has given us such a warped sense of what we should look like it's uncomfortable to squeeze into them and realize they look NOTHING like what they looked like in the picture. I haven't bought a pair of jeans in 2 years.  Not  a single pair.  

Okay so where am I getting at with this.....instead of focusing on how small you are, we should be focusing on how strong we are.  I no longer focus on what my scale says, but instead on did I up my max today doing curls or did I PR on squats.  I eat clean-ish for the most part, but I don't hold back. If I want something, I work it in my day.  I am active, I workout almost every day. Once.... I trained to be a bikini competitor and the experience taught me a whole heck of a lot.  I was unhealthy....starving....and when I quit training, I still wasn't near stage weight.  I wasn't going down that path again.  I love life and want to live it.  Below are 3 pictures of my absolute idol -- Libby DiBiase.  She is everything I strive to be....strong, healthy, fit, and beautiful.

Focus on strength. Focus on being healthy.  Focus on being fit.  Don't focus on fitting in to your size 0000000 jeans.  I care about if I can run that distance.  Can I row that 5000 meters? Can I lift that?  I took a picture of myself the other day and sent it to Lin.  I looked at it and realized, I am fit.  Yes, I have abs. No, I'm not 100 lbs.  I have quads that are defined. No, I'm not 110 lbs.  I have arms that get noticed.  No, I'm not 120 lbs.  I'm 140 lbs.  140.3 to be exact....and I STILL wear the same clothes I wore when I starved myself down to 115lbs.  Sure, I'm not going to be that stick thin waif walking around the beach, but I'm okay with that.  I'm the only girl in my gyms weightlifting club.  And I'm okay with that.  You should be okay with yourself too!!  Take your strengths and focus on them.  Don't get caught up in society today. Be the best version of you that is possible.