What The Pho?

Went to Pho last night after a 90 minute workout.....

Phở is a Vietnamese noodle soup, usually served with beef (phở bò) or chicken (phở gà). The soup includes noodles made from rice and is often served with Vietnamese basil, lime, and bean sprouts that are added to the soup by the person who is dining.

Me:  Person who is dining...

I get no meat.....
Just give me the broth and all the other stuff

Hot soup (spicy too) on a cool Fall day?
Sign me UP.

Basil, bean sprouts and fresh jalapeno 

SO GOOD.
If you've never tried PHO you are missing out.

Happy Friday!

Me vs. My Thighs: Thighs 1 Me 0

I read a GREAT post the other day from Vanessa at Gourmet Runner called 

My Thighs Must Love Each other that made me LAUGH OUT LOUD!  It got me thinking.....

I would love for my thighs to be more toned.....so why is it that in the game of Me vs My Thighs the score is

Thighs 1 Me 0???

I'm not letting my thighs win....Soooo starting today I am doing 100 leg lifts on both the outer and inner thigh for 100 days.  I do crunches and sit ups before before bed anyways so why not add these to the list. It only takes 5 extra minutes.  PLUS I've got 2 pound leg weights to kick it up a notch (see below red leg weights).

Will let you know how the game of Me vs My Thighs works out....


On a side note.  I got this necklace this weekend and have worn it pretty much every day (no, I'm not extreme at all -wink-).

This necklace makes regular outfits seem more exciting.  I love a good accessory....

Happy Thursday!

xo

Sarah

Jessica's Lifestyle Makeover Update!

Goal Weight: 140 by Oct 1

Weigh in Last Week: 151

Weigh in This Week: 150

Total Weight Loss This Week: 1

Total Weight Loss Since May 30th: 20

Slowly, but surely the weight is coming off....once you get to the last few pounds it gets TOUGH!

Hopefully next week Jessica can say BYE BYE 150's... 

How To Push Through The Last Few Pounds

1. Drink lots of water 
2. Change up your workout (do something new)
3. Track your food (this is the hardest one)
4. Incorporate extra workouts that are fun like hiking, walking with a friend (or dog) 
5. Stick to fruits and vegetables for snacks
6. Watch sodium intake

The Egg McGrecco 240 Calories 7.5 Grams of Fat

Who needs McDonald's breakfast sandwiches when you can get the Egg McGrecco?  

240 Calories

7.5 Fat

 100% Delicious in 5 Minutes or Less

Use reduced fat cheese

PS - I got these earring for practically nothing this weekend.  They make me happy.

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

I'm Going Green

Found these green colored jeans and fell in love....

When I started thinking about it there are really many things I love that are green.

I've never met an avocado I didn't love...

***Very large avocado stuffed with a rice dish.  DELICIOUS!

And come to think of it The Muppet Movie is coming out pretty soon and I know my good friend Lindsey (who is Kermit obsessed) will probably get a group of us to go....

Who doesn't love Kermit!!??

Anyways here is my quick Monday treadmill workout.  

Feel free to join me!

5 Minutes - Fast walk warm up

5 Minutes - Sprint for 40 seconds walk for 20

5 Minutes - Run

5 Minute - Run at incline 8.0

5 Minute - Sprint for 30 walk for 30 at incline 8.0

5 Minute - Walk at incline 10.0 (try not to use hand rails)

5 Minute - Run for 45 seconds at sprint for 15 seconds at 8.0

5 Minutes - Run for 30 walk for 30 at 10.0

5 Minutes - Cool down 

Sunday: The Day Of Rest......Sorta. Plus a New Healthy Recipe.......Sorta.

I like to reserve Sundays for being lazy.  However my version of lazy is kind of twisted.  

Sunday, September 25th 2011

8:30am: Taught a 1 hour Spinning class.  The spinner attendees really help in keeping ME motivated.  Who would've thought?

10:00am Kissed a dog and two cats for 15 minutes

Squiggy:
The chubby one who likes to wear my shoes

 

Lenny:
The mischievous ladies cat

Ruby:
The sweet snuggler who NEVER barks or howls

How could you pass up hanging with this???

10:30am - Grocery shopped (BORING but necessary)


12:00pm - Cooked healthy pasta salad while also catching up on DVR (SNL with Alec Baldwin).  I'm a total multi taker.  Doing one thing at a time just isn't for me...haha

I love Barilla brand pasta.  Especially the Piccolini. They have Mini Zucchini and Spinach Rotelle &
Mini Tomatoes & Carrots Farfalle
BRILLIANT!

Here is my recipe.  Really not a recipe.  I just throw stuff in a bowl that sounds good.  I promise it works.

Here are the ingredients.

This is the final product.

 

1:15pm - Lay around and watch football with my husband.  Read magazines, blog and pretend to watch football.


Have a RESTFUL Sunday!

xo
Sarah

Killer Calves & Copy Cat Outfits

I'm all about incorporating fitness throughout the day.  I'll randomly do sit ups, sporadic exercise, dips you name it.  Yesterday I did a little calf work and OH MY I am sore today!  

Here's how it works:

On Step 1: Do 10 calf raises

On Step 2: Do 20 calf raises

On Step 3: Do 30 calf raises

***Dog not necessary for calf raises

Keep adding 10 more calf raises every time you go up a new step.  

I've got 9 steps so by the time I get to the top I'll have done a total of 450 calf raises.  You don't have to do as many steps......AND if you don't have steps in your house or apartment building use an outside curbside.  You won't feel it right away but the next day your calves will be sore!  

Sleek, strong calves make me happy.

I also pulled a total copy cat move this week with an outfit I saw in a magazine.  I wish I could say I created all of my outfits on my own but that would be a big fat lie.  I get a little help.....When I see an outfit in a magazine I cut it out and put it on a cork board.

Here is my version based on what I had in my closet....

Have a GREAT Saturday!!

xo

Sarah

Get Up & Go

Friday Book Review: Skinny Bitch

Ok, so I'm kicking off Friday with a book review.  But before I launch into Skinny Bitch can I just say I love the outfit I put on today?  Total cost of the outfit was under $10 including the shoes!  Not bad.  Plus I love mixing patterns..

Happy Friday!

XO,

Sarah

A few friends recommended the book Skinny Bitch....

After reading I now know I am definitely not a 

Skinny Bitch kind of girl.

This book was on the New York best sellers list and I'm not sure it's because of the content but more about the clever title.

Here are 4 things I found useful from this book:

• Carbs are GOOD - Thank goodness!  Giving up carbs is not something I care to do.  Whole wheat pasta rocks.
• Know what you are eating - The message around knowing where you food came from was great.  These women do a lot of research on the ingredients from the foods they are choosing to eat.  Love that.  They tell you to trust no one....not even them.  I tend to agree.  If there are too many ingredients in something I've never heard of I usually pass.
• Get rid of SODA people! - Soda both diet and regular are terrible for you and have NO nutritional value.  Transitioning out of drinking soda for good is a good idea.  Water still trumps all and not only keeps your hydrated but can aid in increasing metabolism.
• Meat intake - I'm not currently a vegetarian but was for about 5 years.  I don't think I can give up meat for good but seriously reducing my intake is something I am seriously considering.  A co worker of mine calls it a flexitarian.  So as of today I am now a flexitarian which means I'll try and skip meat at least 4 days a week.

Here are 3 things from the book I thought were a little too crazy:

• Give up coffee???!!  No thank you!  That was at the beginning of the book and I almost put the book down for good at that point.  They claim it wreaks havoc on your body.  I work in the coffee industry and am likely to NEVER give up coffee.  I'd be out of a job if I took a "no coffee" stance.  If you are drinking one cup a day like I am it is very good for you.  It's 98% water and has 0 calories!  If you need it to stay awake then you might have a problem on your hands.....but in general one cup a day has never killed anyone or hindered them from reaching their fitness/weight loss goals.
• Fake Food- In their "Let's Eat" chapter all foods begin with the word FAKE.  Fake chicken patty sandwich, fake egg sandwich, fake bacon, fake chicken caesar salad.  All foods that begin with "fake" freak me out.  I like to eat minimally processed foods or things that start with the word fresh.  Just a thought.
• They recommend you give up coffee, alcohol, dairy, meat and sugar.....BORING!  Have we heard of something called MODERATION!  Hello!?  

Have an amazing weekend!

2 Songs of the Week: Raise Your Weapon & Ghosts N Stuff by Deadmaus

This music isn't usually what I love but for workouts they are awesome.  They are each over 6 minutes so it makes your 45 minute run seem shorter.  Ok, maybe that's just me!  Anyways they have few words so you can let your mind just focus on the task at hand....running (or walking or whatever it is you do).

Flats + Heels = Ankle Boots = Less Back Pain = Healthy

I walk a TON for work.  Constantly on the go.  I LOVE high heels but they get ruined so fast when I wear them for work.  I also love flats but they are a bit too casual for work.....SO......I've fallen in love with ankle boots.  These ones in particular.  

I've got a cork board on my desk and I pin up everything I'm asking the universe for....IT WORKS.  I swear.  

Wedge heel shoes are much better for your back because they distribute weight more evenly where as a heel puts more pressure on the ball of your foot.  This means I can have less aches and pains during the work week and still look stylish (or at least I think I'm stylish haha).  

I gave it a go this week

On a side note....I'm also a fan of scarves.  HUGE FAN.  This one is Cynthia Rowley and I got it for $16 bucks.  TOTAL STEAL.

Even Lenny was a fan.  

They work in jeans too....

I would hate to ruin the pedicure I did MYSELF!  

PS - I started doing pedi/mani's myself and I'm actually really good at it.  

Save myself $35 buck a pop and don't get harassed about adding a bikini wax or eyebrow wax to my service...HAHA

Have a happy hump day!

Do you have a "go to" shoe for work?

xo

Sarah