Category Archives: health

Love My Abs Challenge, Week 4

Posted on by Run DMT
16

If you’re just hearing about February’s Love My Abs Challenge for the first time, it’s not too late to join in the fun.  Basically, we started with a 100 dally ab exercises and tweeted about our achievements: #lovemyabs.  (This week we move up to 160 exercises.)  Then, each Wednesday, I’ll host a linky party for you to link up and share your recap post or add your Twitter handle.

That’s it.  Now sit-up and take action!  Show your abs some love this February!




To be honest, I am really not happy with this photo, but has nothing to do with results, because clearly my abs are showing.  My disappointment has more to do with bad lighting and PMS.  I must have taken (no lie) 50 photos of my abs but I just couldn’t get the lighting right.

And then, I wore the wrong shorts.  See, my cute little running shorts have a scrunchy elastic waist. So every time I sat at the computer to inspect my photos, I would get these little elastic marks in my abdomen.  Now, you may think, “No big deal. You can’t even see it.” Remember you are dealing with a woman PMSing and there is no rational behind loathing a photo.

Had the lighting or my knowledge on how to use my fancy DSLR camera been better, I think the definition and progress would have been clearer.  Oh well.  One more week to make the magic happen!

I may hate the photo but I love my abs!

 

Day 16

80 crunches

40 bicycle

40 cross-over

25 push-ups

2 – 30 second planks

40 pilate hip rotations

2 x second supermans

 

Day 17

80 crunches

40 bicycle

40 cross-over

 

Day 18

80 crunches

40 bicycles

40 cross-over

1×30 second plank

 

Day 19

80 crunches

40 bicycles

40 cross-over

2 x 30 second planks

2 x 30 supermans

(50 pushups & 40 tricpes dips for fun)

 

Day 20

80 crunches

40 bicycle

40 cross-over

 

Day 21

40 crunches

60 bicycle

60 cross-over

2 x 30 planks

25 pushups

 

Day 22 – Moved up to 180 reps.

60 crunches

60 bicycle

60 cross-over

2 x 30 planks

50 pushups

 

How about you? Are you giving your abs some daily love?

Love My Abs Challenge, Week 3

Posted on by Run DMT
18

If you’re just hearing about February’s Love My Abs Challenge for the first time, it’s not too late to join in the fun.  Basically, we started with a 100 dally ab exercises and tweeted about our achievements.  (This week we move up to 160 exercises.)  Then, each Wednesday, I’ll host a linky party for you to link up and share your recap post or add your Twitter handle.

That’s it.  Now sit-up and take action!  Show your abs some love this February!



Although I raised my reps to 140 this week, I didn’t try any new exercises.  With a half marathon only a few days away and to avoid injuring myself, I wanted to keep things simple and routine.  This week may have been less adventurous as far as ab exercises were concerned, but the results were pretty staggering nonetheless.

I think I see some abs forming there.

Day 9

60 crunches

40 bicycles

40 cross-over crunches

Day 10

60 crunches

40 bicycles

40 cross-over crunches

Day 11

60 crunches

40 bicycles

40 cross-over crunches

Day 12 (Rock ‘N Roll Half Marathon)

60 crunches

40 bicycles

40 cross-over crunches

On Day 13, I was recovering from the half marathon and suffering from a 24 hour stomach bug, but still managed to squeeze out some crunches.  It was not a pretty sight.

60 crunches

40 bicycles

40 cross-over crunches

On Day 14, the Plank Police hunted me down on Twitter and shamed me into doing some long forgotten planks.  It was only fair to show my abs some extra love on Valentine’s Day.

60 crunches

40 bicycles

40 cross-over crunches

2 x 30 second planks

Day 15 – I moved up to 160 reps.

80 crunches

40 bicycles

40 cross-over crunches

I am so impressed with #lovemyabs progress!  Are you loving your abs too?

Spinach Empanadas

Posted on by Run DMT
13

PhotobucketThree weeks after my wisdom teeth extraction and I’m still on a forced soft foods diet and probably will be for another three weeks since my steenky holes are slow to heal and still pretty sensitive. *sigh*

Besides losing weight, another upside to my soft diet is that it’s forcing Iron Chef Allan and me to think beyond our family favorite menu staples.  During the process, we’ve dusted off some long forgotten cookbooks to find new dishes to try.  This Williams-Sonoma Spinach Empanada recipe was found in one of those dusty old cookbooks, The Best of Taste.  While rediscovering this cookbook, I found a few more recipes I’d like to sink my teeth gums into and if they’re tasty, you’ll find them here on Fridays for my weekly Friday Food Fight.

Although the recipe calls for pastry dough, I opted to use the empanada dough found in the freezer section of my supermarket.

Oh and see those yummy crispy edges?  Um yeah, about that…I couldn’t eat that part but the dough and filling was yummy for my gummy!

Spinach Empanadas

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 Tbsp garlic, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced

½ lb spinach, chopped

¼ cup pine nuts

1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and chopped

½ tsp ground nutmeg

Salt

Fresh ground pepper

1 package of frozen empanada dough (10 count)

Directions

In skillet, heat olive oil over a medium heat.  Cook onion until soft, stirring often.  Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute.

Add tomatoes and cook until softened, about five minutes.

Add pine nuts and spinach.

Cook until spinach wilts, about five minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in chopped egg and nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray baking sheet lightly with cooking spray.  Using a slotted spoon, add 1 Tbsp of filling to each round.

Lay on flat surface and fold dough in half.  Pinch edges with fork prongs to seal.

Carefully move filled empanada to baking sheet and brush with olive oil.  Then, repeat steps with remaining empanada rounds.

Bake for 25 minutes or until slightly golden brown on edges.

Serve plain, with side of aioli or a dash of Tabasco hot sauce. (I served mine with a cup of homemade tomato soup, but I’ll tell you all about that next week.)
‘
Thanks for joining our weekly Friday Food Fight! Can’t wait to see what everyone is flinging this week!


*Also shared at*

Love My Abs Challenge – Week 2

Posted on by Run DMT
13

If you’re just hearing about February’s Love My Abs Challenge for the first time, it’s not too late to join in the fun.  Basically, we started with a 100 dally ab exercises and tweeted about our achievements.  (This week we move up to 120 exercises.)  Then, each Wednesday, I’ll host a linky party for you to link up and share your recap post or add your Twitter handle.

That’s it.  Now sit-up and take action!  Show your abs some love this February!


A week into the challenge and I’m already seeing a difference in my waist.  Although I didn’t measure myself with a tape measure at the start of the challenge, I would estimate that I have lost about an inch around my waist.  The real measure is the reduction of spillage over the top of my pants.  My muffin top is deflating.

No real ab muscles popping up yet, but I know there in there somewhere.  I’ll just keep at it.

Here’s a photo of my abs after one week and a rundown of the ab exercise I did this week.  I also learned about the #plankaday challenge via @runningmom2boys and @Amanda_Mowry,  so I’m plugging along with planks in that challenge too.

Day 2

(Unplanned resistance training thanks to Little Lion Man pulling my hair with every crunch.)

40 crunches

40 bicycles

40 cross-over crunches

1 minute planks

50 pushups

Day 3

40 crunches

40 bicycles

40 cross-over crunches

20 reps of pilates

50 pushups

Day 4

2 x :30 planks

60 crunches

60 cross-over crunches

50 pushups

Day 5

60 crunches

60 cross-over crunches

2 x 30 second planks

Day 6

60 crunches

60 cross-over crunches

2 x 30 second planks

25 push-ups

Day 7

60 crunches

60 cross-over crunches

50 push-ups

Day 8

40 crunches

40 bicycles

60 cros-over crunches

Like I said, I’m already seeing results.  How about you?

Random Thoughts about Getting Physical and Rocking ‘n Rolling

Posted on by Run DMT
2

In the last two days, I’ve been inside three doctors’ offices.  First, I had a 6 month follow-up for Little Lion Man’s hip dysplasia.  According to the nurse practitioner, “Everything looks great”.  His hips are developing normally (excellently) and now our visits will occur once a year.   Honestly, as fast as little man has been running and climbing these days, I knew everything with his hips would be fine and I didn’t have any worries.

Then, today I had my annual physical.  My cholesterol is high again (240), but I think that might be related to my soft foods diet as I have been eating a lot of eggs.  Also, my vitamin D was low, which is so weird to me living in sunny Florida and all.

Apparently, a vitamin D deficiency is a typical diagnosis as people age, especially for someone with darker skin or someone who consumes a vegetarian diet.  I don’t eat enough fish or beef liver, but I’m sure it’s a combination of everything.  I have been prescribed a vitamin D supplement once a week but I prefer ten minutes in the sun as a prescription.

I also had a follow-up with my oral surgeon today for my wisdom teeth extraction.  When I mentioned to him that I am still have some pain, he said that’s to be expected for up to SIX WEEKS!   Oi vey.  At least I’m healing well and he seemed pleased about that, but I still need to stay on soft foods for a little while longer.   Ugh.  I really miss almonds and tortilla chips with salsa.

Speaking of my soft foods diet, I lost another 3 pounds for a total of 7.5 pounds.  I’m happy about the weight loss, because my clothes are fitting a bit better, but I’m not too thrilled about the way I’m losing weight.  Oh well.  At least I’m only 10 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight.

On a related note about my weight, my general practitioner said, “You don’t look like you weigh 135 pounds.” Um…thanks?  I’m all muscle, baby. Yeah, I hide my weight well since most of it is tucked away in my juiceful butt.

This Sunday is the St. Pete Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon and I feel pretty good about it.  Even though I haven’t really trained as much as I had hoped, I think I’ll do all right, especially since I threw in some resistance training last week.  Yes, every once in a while, I run with a stroller to remind myself how much I hate running with a stroller.

Last Sunday, I ran 10 miles and it felt good.

10 miles

Time 1:47:55

Ave Pace 10:48

Max Pace 8:07

 

Here are the rest of my runs:

2/2/12

4 miles

Time 41:04

Ave Pace 10:16

Max Pace 7:36

 

2/3/12 (stroller run)

3.1 miles

Time 34:07

Ave Pace 10:58

Max Pace 8:26

 

2/07/12

3.1 miles

Time 31:37

Ave Pace 10:12

Max Pace 8:05

 
And in case you haven’t heard…for the month of February, I’ve committed to showing my abs some love with my #lovemyabs challenge.  Every Wednesday, I’m hosting a linky party.  So, stop by tomorrow to link up and see everyone’s progress.  I’ve already noticed a difference, but I’ll fill y’all in tomorrow.

 *Proudly submitted to Stacy Uncorked, because when I blog about my training, it’s usually pretty random.*

Stacy

Chicken Pot Stickers for Chinese New Year

Posted on by Run DMT
6

PhotobucketGung Hay Fat Choy!

Did you know that Chinese New Year is a 15-day long celebration?

That’s 15 more reasons to eat Chinese food!

Of course, I didn’t cook 15 Chinese dishes, but I did serve my family Chinese Chicken Pot Stickers this week, which are always a huge hit with my family.

The preparation is a bit time consuming (about an hour), but if my whole family eats without complaint, then it’s totally worth it.

I’ve modified the Steamy Kitchen recipe to include ground chicken, because we prefer chicken and we typically don’t eat pork.  Also, my local supermarket doesn’t carry dumpling skins, so I use wonton wraps, which seem to work fine.  The pleating part gets a bit tricky, though.

Of course using the wonton wrappers, I make way more dumplings than my family could ever eat in one sitting, but they are great leftovers.

One of these days I’ll visit an Asian market to buy dumpling skins to make real Chinese Pot Stickers.  But for now, this will have to do.  Like I said already, it works and it’s just as tasty too.

(By the way, that’s Hot and Sour Soup in the background from our local Chinese take-out restaurant.  I have yet to learn how to make that.)

 

Chinese Chicken Pot Stickers

Ingredients
1 package of frozen dumpling skins, defrosted overnight in refrigerator or 40 minutes room temp (Do not microwave or set in water.)
1 pound ground chicken
3 stalks green onions, cut into 2 inch sections
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, drained and rinsed
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine (or dry sherry)
2 Tbsp canola oil
¼ cup water

For the slurry
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water in a small bowl water

Dipping Sauce
1 teaspoon Asian chili sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Directions
In a food processor, add the chicken, green onions, garlic, ginger and bamboo shoots and pulse several times.  Then, in a large bowl, combine soy sauce, salt, cornstarch, ginger, rice wine.  Add chicken mixture and combine well.

Spoon 1 teaspoon of the filling onto dumpling skin. With your finger, dab a bit of the cornstarch slurry around the edges of the dumpling skin. Fold over and press to secure edges. Make sure edges are sealed tightly. Shape the dumpling so that it has a flat bottom. Cover loosely with plastic wrap so that it doesn’t dry out.

When ready to cook, heat a large nonstick pan with canola oil over medium-high heat.  (I use an electric griddle.) When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the dumplings, flat side down to the pan. Let fry for 1 minute until the bottoms are light golden brown.

Pour 1/4 cup of water into the pan and immediately cover with a tight fitting lid. Turn heat to medium and let the dumplings steam for 3 minutes. Open lid and let the remaining liquid cook off about 1 minute. Cut into a dumpling to make sure that the filling is cooked through.

Remove to plate covered with paper towel to drain excess oil and water.

Wipe the pan clean with paper towels (or wash) and repeat with remaining dumplings.

Serve with dipping sauce. (Serves 6-8)

Thanks for joining our weekly Friday Food Fight.  Link up and see what everyone else is flinging this week.  



*Also shared at*

#LoveMyAbs – Week 1, Day 1

Posted on by Run DMT
6

I don’t know if I’ll post every day of the challenge, but I’ll definitely tweet #lovemyabs every day to keep you up to speed with my progress and my daily ab exercises.

Since today is the official launch, I thought I would do a no holds barred post and put my abs out there for the whole blogosphere to judge see.

Here I am. Day 1:

Good lord.  I need a tan and a six-pack.  Hopefully in four weeks, I’ll have both.

As for my ab exercises, today I did 120 reps.

40 crunches

40 bicycles

40 cross over crunches

February Challenge: Love My Abs {Launch & Linky Party}

Posted on by Run DMT
17

Runners know the importance of adding ab exercises to training but fitting it in is the real chore of core training.

If you follow me on Twitter, then you may have seen me occasionally use the hashtags #sixpksabs or #100pushups.  See, my Twitter running tweeps (@ForrestGump49er  @RunningRealtor1 @tryn2bfit @runningmom2boys) and I often try to encourage each other with these small challenges.

So, to keep up the motivation and support, I had an idea for a new challenge starting February 1.  It’s a challenge to work our core, called #lovemyabs.

Basically, during the month of February, each participant attempts 100 daily ab exercises.  Do all 100 reps at once or break it up throughout the day.  It’s entirely up to you and what fits best into your lifestyle.

Then, each week slowly increase by adding another set of 20 reps.  In other words, the first week you do 100 reps.  Then week two, you attempt 120 reps. By week three, you go for 140 and by week four, you should be close to 160 reps.

The plan would look something like this:

Week 1: 2/1-2/7 = 100 reps

Week 2: 2/8-2/14 = 120 reps

Week 3: 2/15-2/21 = 140 reps

Week 4: 2/22- 2/29 = 160 reps

This is just a guideline.  If you can do more reps, then go for it!  If it’s too much, then try a set of 10 reps ten times throughout the day.  Remember the important thing is to show your abs some daily love.

Also, this isn’t just about doing 100 crunches every day, although you could totally do that if you want.  There are so many great ab exercises out there, so mix it up and have fun!

And by the end of the challenge, you’ll have over 3000 ab exercises under your belt.  Now, you gotta love that!

If you want to join the #lovemyabs challenge, grab the button, link back to Run DMT and sign the linky below. By joining the linky party, others can visit your blog to show support and offer encouragement.

Blog about your #lovemyabs experience daily or write a weekly recap because we want to see your progress.

Then, swing back here every Wednesday to link up and share your #lovemyabs post.

If you’re not a blogger, you can still participate.  Simply add your Twitter ID/profile homepage to the linky party and tweet about the challenge using the hashtag #lovemyabs.  Talk it up on Facebook and Google+, too.  Encourage your friends to show their abs some love too.

<a href=”http://deniseisrundmt.com/2012/02/01/february-challenge-love-my-abs-launch-linky-party/”><img src=”http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k224/DeniseMOTG/Run%20DMT/Feb_LoveMyAbs_Challlenge.png” border=”0″ alt=”Photobucket”></a>

So who will love their abs this February?


Janathon 2012 – Day 30

Posted on by Run DMT
1

PhotobucketThis morning I woke up and I felt nothing.  I had no jaw pain.  So I jumped out of bed, threw on some running clothes and ran out the door.  It was a chilly, crisp Florida morning, but I felt warm all over because I WAS RUNNING!

And it felt so good.

I only did three miles and took it easy.  I worried about injuring myself if I pushed too hard after 3 weeks of forced rest.  Then, about halfway into the run, I felt my jaw throbbing.  It didn’t hurt too badly, just more annoying than anything else.

It wasn’t a great run.  It wasn’t a bad run.  For me it was just right, because I got out there again.

3.1 Miles

Time 31:19

Ave Pace 10:06

Max Pace 7:06

Only one day left of the Janathon!  I need to make tomorrow a good one!

Random Thoughts about Soft Foods and Going Soft

Posted on by Run DMT
5

Yesterday I had my follow up with my dental surgeon for my wisdom teeth extraction.  Everything looks good. My body is just taking its sweet ass time to heal itself.  *sigh*  I’m still experiencing pain particularly in the bottom left side of my jaw, but the 800 mg ibuprofen helps control the pain.

He also said he wants me to continue on a soft foods diet for 2-3 more weeks until my next follow-up visit.  Have I mentioned how shitty a soft foods diet is?  If someone has any suggestions besides potatoes, toast, pasta, oatmeal, soups, yogurt or applesauce, I am all ears.  I feel like I’m carb loading without the luxury of being able to burn the carbs.  Speaking of carb loading, my doctor said I could drink beer which is good because wine was burning my steenky holes.

And if someone tells me one more time about all the weight they lost on a soft foods diet, I may just throw my yogurt at them.  I haven’t lost a pound because my body just doesn’t work like that.  It’s like my body feels a famine has hit and shifted into survival mode to begin storing fat.

I haven’t started running yet, but my surgeon said I could start whenever I feel ready.  I figure I would just judge the pain each morning.  If one day I wake up and feel nothing, then I’ll run.  That just hasn’t happened yet.

On good days when the pain is minimal, I try to do house work.  However, I think I’ve tried to do too much too soon because the next day, my jaw hurts like a mother.  Then, I waste the day doing nothing but lying around until the pain subsides.  It really sucks.

I really hope I feel better enough to run an easy 3 miles soon because Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon is only 2 weeks away.  YIKES!  Someone please tell me that I can do this.  I’m sure it’s all
in my head, but I feel like I’ve lost my strength.  I feel so weak, which I am sure is a result of the pain and this stupid soft food diet. I guess you really are what you eat.   I would love to be able to run an easy 10 miles with my friends, Faith and Chrissy this Sunday.  We’ll see.

The worst part is I brought it upon myself, like a sadist.  I should have done it 20 years ago when I was younger and my body would have healed faster and my parents would have paid for it and my mom would have played nursemaid and done all my laundry for me.  But I was too busy having fun living life.  Now I have a real life with a family and children depending on me and I can’t do squat except sit around eating fattening soft foods all day.

But there is an upside to all of this!  I’m being forced to rest which probably a good thing given the problems I had with my heel and my self-diagnosed plantar fasciitis.  Either all the ibuprofen in my system has helped with the issues in my foot or not being able to run.  Either way, I haven’t felt any pain in my foot for weeks.  When I wake up in the morning, I can walk flat instead of using the sides of my feet.  It’s all very strange.

Speaking of plantar fasciitis, Suncoast Running is hosting an injury prevention clinic this Thursday at 6:30.  I’m planning to attend even though I seem to have healed my heel, but I’d still like to go to learn how to avoid the issue in the future.  Hopefully, I’ll learn some good tips.

Mmmmmm…tips.  Great.  Now, I’m hungry for beef tips.

Picture of Beef Tips and Artichokes with Merlot and Black Pepper Gravy Recipe

*Proudly submitted to Stacy Uncorked.*

Stacy