Pushing Our Luck: Week 3 Recap

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Run DMT

If you’re just hearing about March’s Pushing Our Luck Challenge for the first time, it’s not too late to join in the fun. Basically, we’re following the One Hundred Pushups Program and tweeting about our achievements: #pushingit. Then, each Thursday, I’ll host a linky party for you to link up and share your recap post or add your Twitter handle.

Before I could begin Week Five (my week three), I had to perform an exhaustion test. Just like it sounds, I had to do as many push-ups as my little girlie arms could do. And yes, I am still doing alternate push-ups. Don’t judge.

I finished 46 push-ups. Anymore and I may have landed face first onto my yoga mat. As @jellisfl1 would tell you, I’ve been known to kiss a gym floor with my forehead and I rather not do it again. I love fitness and all but my forehead doesn’t need to feel the love.

Based on my good form pushups (46 total), I would begin Week 5/Level 3. Truth be told, I wasn’t happy about making Level 3. I wanted an easier, less vigorous, fewer reps placement. Oh well. There ain’t no rest for the wicked and I’m going to have some wicked arms in a week. BOOYAH!

Due to a busy St. Patirck’s Day, I didn’t perform the exhaustion test until Sunday and then I had to rest for 2 days before I could begin Week 5. On Tuesday, after finishing Week 5/Level 3/Day 1, I had such Jell-o arms. Holy gelatin mold, Batman! But the next day, I had no pain, so I guess Level 3 was a good fit.

This morning, I finished Week 5/Day 2. Even though I been through this program before, I don’t remember the increased number of sets. I was worried, but I like more sets with fewer reps. I pushed out those bad boys and showed them who’s boss honey badger.

Since I started the week a little late due to late start on my exhaustion test, I’ll do Day 3 on Saturday. Pinkie swear. Then, it will be time for another exhaustion test (and another vlog, of course). After that, I should be able to start Week 6 on Monday and have two days done for next week’s linky party.

So far, I’m excited about my progress! On Saturday evening, my friend, Tara, complimented me on my back muscles and asked me what I was doing. How freaking awesome is that?! Of course, I told her all about the Pushing Our Luck Challenge and the Hundred Pushups program. I think she’s going to give it a try. Why not? It doesn’t cost anything but a commitment to a better you.

What about you? How are you doing? Did you have to repeat a week or are you pushing forward?

Link up and share your pushup progress. Also, remember to tweet #pushingit to share your reps and progress.

Denise Mestanza-Taylor+

Irish Oatmeal Leek Soup

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Run DMT

I have to confess. I found this recipe in a place other than Pinterest.

*gasp*

Remember that social network everyone was obsessed with before Pinterest? You know, the one where you collected friends instead of ideas, objects, bodies, food, home décor, etc. you wished you had?

Remember Facebook?

Sometimes I remember to visit Facebook too, which is where I found this tasty soup.

I follow Fila Toning and you should too if you love motivating discussions and recipes related to fitness and healthy living. Someday I hope to be part of the Fila Toning team. Until then, I’ll keep lurking following the Fila Toning Facebook page.

Last week, the Fila Toning Team shared a recipe.

Sounds interesting and different, doesn’t it? My family loves Potato Leek Soup, but it’s not the healthiest soup. But Irish Oatmeal Leek soup sounds like a healthy alternative. So, of course I pinned it…

…which led me on a path exploring skinnytaste.com, but that’s a whole other post.

I shared Skinny Taste’s Irish Oatmeal Soup with my non-Pinterest hubby, Iron Chef Allan, to hear his thoughts on it and he thought the same. “That sounds interesting.”

One trip to my local Publix and I found all the ingredients. You know, the whole six ingredients in the soup. You have to love a recipe with only SIX ingredients!

Although we don’t use light butter, I opted for the full fat of 1 Tbsp of butter, so my finished soup isn’t quite as healthy as Skinny Taste’s, but the results were tasty nonetheless.

So this once referred to as an interesting Irish Oatmeal Leek Soup can now be called a simple, tasty, slightly healthy soup.

And one we will definitely eat again.

Just out curiosity, I visited Spark People to calculate the nutritional contents of my full fat version. Incidentally, there is only one fat gram difference between using regular butter over light and no difference between the saturated fat content between light and regular salted butter. Plus, regular butter has less sodium! So go on and drop small slice of full fat butter when making this soup or opt for canola oil instead.

Also, the original recipe states to cook the oats for 45-50 minutes, but I found the oats still too raw and chewy after that cooking timeframe. I continued simmering the oats on the lowest setting for a few hours which allowed the soup to become thicker and creamier (more mushy), but that’s a personal preference.

Irish Oatmeal Leek Soup
(From skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients

1 Tbsp butter

1 ½ cups (3 large) leeks, white and pale green only, sliced thin

1/2 cup Irish steel cut oats

4 cups fat-free reduced sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth

1 ½ cups non-fat milk

Fresh cracked pepper and salt to taste

2 tbsp fresh chives for garnish

Directions
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally until the leeks are soft (about 15 minutes).

Add the broth and then milk to avoid scalding the milk. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil.

Add the oatmeal and fresh cracked black pepper to taste. Return to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once a boiling, reduce heat to lowest setting, cover and simmer until oats are tender, 45-50 minutes. For a thicker creamy soup, allow soup to simmer for three hours.

Serve garnished with chopped chives and fresh ground pepper.

Thanks for joining our weekly Friday Food Fight! Can’t wait to see what everyone is flinging this week!

*Also submitted at*

Denise Mestanza-Taylor+

Pushing Our Luck: Week 2 Recap

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Run DMT

Wow. Week Four (my week two) was brutal, but I pushed through it. Day 1 started simple enough (under 25 reps), but Day 2 was much harder. I also pushed myself with the last max set by finishing 40 reps rather than 36.

But I’m not going to lie. I dreaded Day 3 and its set of 33 reps in the middle. I rested for the appropriate 120 second between sets, except for the third and fifth set. For those two sets, I rested for 3-4 minutes before performing the longer sets.

The max set of 40 just about did me in. As I pushed out the last two pushups, the pushups became slower and my arms shook, but I finished 40 reps. Surprisingly, my arms aren’t killing me yet.

And just for the record, I’m still loving my abs with 200 ab exercises (80 crunches, 60 bicycles and 60 cross-over crunches) on my rest days. I’m still doing planks too.

So, now I rest for two days and perform an exhaustion test. I’m excited/nervous/anxious to see how I’ll do. Of course, I’ll record it again so you can see my foolishness how I did. I’m hoping to be higher than the 30 reps in my initial test. I should be higher, right? But then, I would be happy to be in the middle column or column one for Week Five rather than column three again.

I’d be ok with that.

What about you? How are you pushing it? Are you happy with your progress?

Link up and share your pushup progress. Also, remember to tweet #pushingit to share your reps and progress

Denise Mestanza-Taylor+

Pushing Our Luck: Week 1 Recap

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Run DMT

So, I performed the initial test and vlogged about it which placed me at Week 3/Column 3. Even with the multiple sets, Day 1 and Day 2 was a piece of cake was a cinch. (I suppose I shouldn’t use cake metaphors when describing my workouts.) I had a bit more difficulty with Day 3, but I finished each set strong. Onto Week 4! WOOT! WOOT! Awwwwww….push it. P-P-Push it real good!

Since the pushup challenge is only 3 days a week, I also threw in some ab exercises (200 reps) and planks (2 x 30 seconds) on my rest days. I’m not crunching every day, but at least I’m still loving my abs.

How did you do? Are you moving on or are you repeating a week?

Link up and share your pushup progress. Also, remember to tweet #pushingit to share your reps and progress.

Denise Mestanza-Taylor+

Raising Runners, Part 3

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Run DMT

As part of our annual running tradition, I registered the girls for the Too Good for Drugs Gasparilla Junior Distance Classic. Due to her ripe old age of ten, this would be Allana’s last year to run the kids’ race.

For Allana’s age group she had to run 1 mile (four times around the University of Tampa track). Last year, Allana was nervous to run the track, but this year she exuded confidence.

She paced herself nicely and thanks to her pink bandana, she was easy to spot. She’s a stunner (stylish runner) in the making for sure.

And my little stunner wore her hot pink bandana and confidence all the way to the finish.

Unfortunately, Emmalynn didn’t quite have the same experience.

Due to a poor PA system, we didn’t hear the all call for the 6 year old start. She missed her race (1/8 mile) and she had to run with 7 year olds (1/2 mile), although it didn’t bother her because she could run with her friend, Lily.

Emmalynn, like Allana, started with a lot of confidence but with a little too much speed. About half way into her race, she got a cramp in her side.

But poor Emmalynn just couldn’t run and walked the remainder of the way. The pain was too intense for her.

Allana tried to encourage her to keep going by running with Emmalynn for part of the way.

My poor baby learned an important running lesson that day. Sometimes you have good races and sometimes you have bad races. Just never give up and you’re always a winner.

But like The Penguin always says, “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”

March Challenge: Pushing Our Luck

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Run DMT

My Twitter running tweeps (@ForrestGump49er @runningrealtor1 @amanda_mowry @runningmom2boys @runmama2girls @SeeKateRun1 ) and I love a good challenge. I think we have an addiction to challenges. 100 Ab exercises? No problem. I’ll see your 100 and raise you 100 more. Yes, it’s an addiction and it may be time for an intervention, but not before we start another challenge!

For March, we are Pushing Our Luck by taking on the One Hundred Push Ups Program. Of course, we’ll still be working the abs, but if you follow #pushingit, you will be able to follow our push-ups progress and join our Twitter support group.

To begin the Pushing Our Luck Challenge, you have to first perform the One Hundred Push Ups’ initial test to determine your level and starting point. I vlogged my performance test, so you can get a good laugh an idea on how it works.

That’s right. I do girlie alternate push-ups and there ain’t no shame in that. Hate the game, not the player.

So, 30+ alternate push-ups are still push-ups as defined by Steve Spiers (the mastermind behind One Hundred Push Ups) which places me at Week 3, Day 1, Column 3 for the start of our March challenge.

Where will you start?

Perform your test. Write up a post or make a vlog, whichever you prefer, and then swing back here to link up share your post. Please be sure to add the Pushing Our Luck button to your post and link it back to Run DMT to help spread the word about our March challenge.

Then, follow the One Hundred Push Ups program each week by doing your predetermined level of push-ups three days a week.

As for me, I will be starting Day 1 tomorrow (Friday, March 2) to be on schedule for our weekly linky party every Thursday in March, which will include a full report of my progress and a linky. I would love for you to share your progress each week too.

Remember to tweet #pushingit to share your reps and progress.

Hope this makes sense!

If you have any questions, leave a reply in the comments section below.

Good luck!

Love My Abs Challenge: The Last Day

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Run DMT

Our Love My Abs Challenge is winding now, but the crunches will continue!

I am so in love in the results of the last few weeks. After 4 weeks, I feel stronger, but I feel and look leaner. I can’t believe how much I shaved off my waist in such a short time! The shorts I’m wearing in this photo are size extra small and that just blows my mind.

Even though the challenge is over, I will continue to do 200 reps a day and slowly increase because I think it’s so important to continue strengthening my core.

How did you end the challenge? Are you stronger and leaner too? Link up and tell us all about your lovely abs!

Little Lion Man caught a nasty cold and it was difficult to do crunches with a crying green snot toddler clinging to me all day. So I totally flaked and missed Days 23 & 24, but I was back on track on Day 25 and finished the challenge strong by moving up to 200 reps and two 30 seconds planks a day.

Day 25

80 crunches

60 bicycles

60 cross-over crunches

2 x :30 planks

Day 26

80 crunches

60 bicycles

60 cross-over crunches

2 x :30 planks

Day 27

80 crunches

60 bicycles

60 cross-over crunches

2 x :30 planks

Day 28

80 crunches

60 bicycles

60 cross-over crunches

2 x :30 planks

Day 29

80 crunches

60 bicycles

60 cross-over crunches

2 x :30 planks

For March, I am leading a new challenge: “Pushing Our Luck”. Basically, we will be following the 100 hundred pushups plan for the next four weeks. The challenge starts tomorrow March 1, so stay tuned for my initial test (a vlog post) and all the specifics to the challenge tomorrow.

For a sneak peek and a good laugh, watch my initial 100 pushups test from three years ago.

Love My Abs Challenge, Week 4

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Run DMT

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?

Random Thoughts about a Swelled Head, a Shrinking Waist and a Princess Problem

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Run DMT

Marathon Training In the past few weeks, Run DMT has been spotlighted on several websites and it’s giving me a big head.

Marathon Training Schedule compiled a list of top running blogs and Run DMT is #64. Then, RN Central.com shared 50 Inspiring Blogs for Your Post-Pregnancy Weight Loss and Run DMT is #5 on the list. How exciting is that?!

I’m flattered to be considered an “inspiration” to others for post-partum weight-loss and I hope yours is going better than mine because I’m sill struggling to lose the last of my baby weight 19 months later. What’s that old pregnancy rule of thumb for weight-loss? Nine months up, nineteen months down? That sounds about right.

Five unflattering pounds are still sticking around from my pre-pregnancy weight but I don’t put a whole heck of a lot of value on the scale since most of my old clothes are fitting me.

So the numbers on the scale are not dropping but I am definitely toning and shrinking inches, thanks to our Love My Abs Challenge. If you haven’t been following along, you should go over there RIGHT NOW and check it out! Each week, I’ve been sharing photos and a brief recap of my progress.

Tomorrow, we’re moving onto to Week 4 and 200 reps, but it’s not too late to join in the fun. Even if you fell off the wagon, you can simply start over at 100 reps at Week 1. It’s not about how many reps or how long, but more about making a commitment to a better you.

Speaking of wagons, I will be catching a carriage ride over to Orlando this weekend for the Disney’s Princess Half Marathon. I don’t feel prepared at all for this race, but it has nothing to do with training. I still haven’t figure out what to wear!

Should I be Belle or Tiana?

Both princesses are equally smart, brave, fearless, beautiful and good role models for my girls (next to their mom, of course). But…
If I dress as Belle, I’ll wear a yellow running skirt, matching yellow top, a tiara and carry a red rose.

If I dress as a Tiana, I’ll wear a green top, green shorts and a magnolia rhinestone hair clip in my hair. I wanted to find a green tutu to wear over my shorts, but I haven’t had any luck yet.

As any stylish, runner (a.k.a stunner ) will tell you, tiaras and tutus are a must for any Disney Princess race. I think what I wear will be a game time decision, but I would love to hear your vote: Belle or Tiana?

The girls have the Gasparilla Jr. Race on Saturday. Next year, Liam will be old enough to run the Gasparilla Jr with Emmalynn, but this is Allana’s last year to run it as she’s getting too old for it now. The thought of it makes me all melancholy, but she’s moving on to bigger distances with her mom.

And who knows maybe she’ll run a Princess race with me someday. Then she can be Belle and I’ll be Tiana! There. Problem solved. Hopefully, by then I would have found a green tutu or made one or bought one of these shnazzy sparkly skirts. A runner mom can dream, can’t she? Like a wise mouse once told me, “If you dream it, you can do it.”

And now for my running stats!

I suffered from a stomach bug for two days after the Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon, but I think the forced rest helped me run under 30 minutes for the first time in nearly a year.

2/15

3.1 miles

Time 29:35

Ave Pace 9:33

Max Pace 7:31

2/16

4 miles

Time 41:09

Ave Pace 10:17

Max Pace 7:59

2/18

6 miles

Time 1:13:27

Ave Pace 11:51

Max Pace 8:56

2/21

3.1 miles

Time 30:21

Ave Pace 9:48

Max Pace 7:06

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

Chicken-Mushroom {and Spinach} Quesadillas

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Run DMT

Photobucket It seems that I’m on a bit of a spinach kick.

But after having my wisdom teeth pulled, I was craving greens. I seriously missed salad, fruit and any other good for you food.

So imagine my foodie thrill when I found this quesadilla recipe in a cookbook I stole…er I mean…borrowed from MIL.

My MIL (a great cook) has stacks upon stacks of cookbooks and every time I visit her, I ask to borrow one. She’d be happy to know that her cookbooks are being used, loved and becoming very soiled. I always say a clean cookbook is a wasted cookbook and one that gets donated to the public library.

Stealing the cookbook, So Easy, from my MIL was a true treat as we’ve tried several easy recipes and they’ve all been delicious and a HUGE hit with every Taylor, from the tiny one to the oldest one and everyone in between.

This quesadilla recipe will be a regular rotating meal on the menu, for sure. And funny enough, they’ve been so easy to make!

Without going into a big review of the cookbook, I just want to add that I absolutely love the nutritional information listed alongside each recipe. With trying to eat health and watch my cholesterol, that information is so helpful!

This quesadilla recipe calls for “cooked chicken” and Krieger recommends keeping pre-cooked chicken on hand whether it’s rotisserie chicken or packaged chicken found in the refrigerator section of your grocery store. For the purpose of this recipe, I pounded out two chicken breasts and sautéed them in a little olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

Also, the original recipe calls for whole wheat tortillas, but my kids won’t eat them. I used white, but I’m sure any flavor would work well with the filling.

Chicken-Mushroom {and Spinach} Quesadillas

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion chopped

8 ounces white mushrooms, coarsely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups cooked diced skinless boneless chicken breasts

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano

2 cups baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground black pepper

4 – 10 inch flour tortillas

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over a medium heat. Add onions and sauté until soft. Add mushrooms and cook until mushroom water has evaporated and they begin to brown, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add chicken and spices and stir until all spices are incorporated. Add spinach, salt and pepper and cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.

Lay tortillas on an electric griddle on a low heat (or prepare a large skillet with cooking spray). Sprinkle half the tortilla with 2 Tbsp of shredded cheese. Using a slotted spoon, top each tortilla with ¼ cup of chicken filling over the cheese. Then, add sprinkle another Tbsp shredded cheese over the filling. Fold the tortilla over to make half-moons, pressing down lightly to seal them closed. After about 2 minutes, flip tortilla and heat other side for about two minutes.

Slice each quesadilla in half. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Thanks for joining our weekly Friday Food Fight! Can’t wait to see what everyone is flinging this week!

*Also shared at*

	secret mom thoughts on Our Own Joan of Arc
	debi9kids on Our Own Joan of Arc
	susan2956 on Our Own Joan of Arc
	jagelees on Our Own Joan of Arc
	Stacy Uncorked on Our Own Joan of Arc

Run DMT

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Tag Archives: health

Pushing Our Luck: Week 3 Recap

Irish Oatmeal Leek Soup

Pushing Our Luck: Week 2 Recap

Pushing Our Luck: Week 1 Recap

Raising Runners, Part 3

March Challenge: Pushing Our Luck

Love My Abs Challenge: The Last Day

Love My Abs Challenge, Week 4

Random Thoughts about a Swelled Head, a Shrinking Waist and a Princess Problem

Chicken-Mushroom {and Spinach} Quesadillas

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