Body/Mind Hack: How I am tricking my stomach and mind

Thought I would share my latest body/mind hack experiment. I am on a quest to drop more weight and build more muscle but, I have to be honest with myself, weekends are tough. I tend to be in one place for a long period of time and am offered lots of free food. I tend to eat more than I should or need to and also eat things that probably aren't the right choice.

Check Out These Lower Carb Side Dish Options!

I am always looking for ways to spice up my low-carb meals and when I saw the post "7 Classic Carb-Heavy Dinners—Made Lighter" from the prevention.com I was intrigued. It is defiantly a post to keep in my Jimmy D's Pintrest Cookbook.

Low Carb Vegetarian Chili-Mac

Cold and snowy day here in NC. Nothing like sitting inside and dreaming of warmer days. What a perfect time for comfort food! Specifically, the tried and true American dish Chili-Mac. This craving presents a bit of a challenge for us low-carbers since just about everything in the meal screams carbs. Add to that the concept of trying to keep it vegetarian and it seems like this dish just isn't an option. Determined, I threw on my thinking cap and came up with this delicious recipe!

LOW CARB: Exciting Cauliflower Crust For The Pizza Lover!

As you know, I am always looking for new ways to enjoy my low carb lifestyle. One thing that I kinda miss is anchovie and onion pizza (don't judge me!).  The good news is that after some searching I found one and was happy  to add it to the "Jimmy D's Low Carb Cookbook!".

DIY Coffee Concentrate for your Low-Carb Protein Powder Drink

Earlier this month I posted a review of Trader Joe's Vanilla Flavored Soy Protein Powder for all of us who follow a Low Carb Lifestyle. In part two I want to share with you how I enhanced my protein drinks with coffee concentrate.

Low Cost Protein Powder for your Low Carb Lifestyle

I was looking to get away from the WalMart protein powder I decided to give Trader Joe's Vanilla Flavored Soy Protein Powder a try.

COST: It a little over $10 for the tub and that was just about 1/2 of the price of  Whey Isolate from WalMart. You also get more so that is a plus.

CARBS: DaliyBurn reports that the carbs in Trader Joe's Vanilla Flavored Soy Protein Powder is 1g per serving. Total calories are 120.

TASTE: Defiantly has a different taste then the Whey Isolate. It's more of a grainy flavor. I had to add some Splenda to the mix. Arguably this adds cost.

Pushing Your Boundaries: Why I Run Tough Mudder.

A FaceBook friends post last night reminded me why I run Tough Mudder. It was a simple post and right to the point. All that it said was, "Going to bed early. Hope I can sleep. Tomorrow is Tough Mudder New England 2013!!!!".  It's that excitement that makes it all worth it.

People wonder why someone would get so excited about running a long distance with the only breaks being a bunch of horrendous obstacles deigned to destroy you and your spirit. I spent a good portion of the morning going over that question and the only answer that I could come up with was, "Because I can".

Describing itself as "Ironman meets Burning Man," Tough Mudder is a 10-12 mile obstacle course designed by British Special Forces that tests participants' "strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie." - Sarah Flanagan Huffington Post

Last year I had to opportunity to run Tough Mudder SC and Tough Mudder UK Midlands. This year I have added a Ninja Warrior Conditioning class (strength training), Kickboxing and Yoga to my already existing running and martial arts training. I can't wait to see the results in this years Tough Mudder North Carolina and Tough Mudder Berlin!

Although this post my seem like glorified self-promotion, it's true message is this. I never thought that an event like Tough Mudder  would be something that I would enjoy. Honestly, I never thought that I could do it but with hard work and setting small achievable goals I successfully ran my first event. Now I am running Tough Mudder and I think you can to!

Time For A Walk!

Yesterday's warrior conditioning class left me with blisters on the bottom of my feet. In hindsight I needed better foot position on those plank jacks. So today I decided to take a motivational walk instead of my normal run. Some sort of office exercise is important because it helps me shake off morning stress and stay limber.

The good news is that today's NC weather is beautiful. I am burning calories, I am changing my mental state, and most importantly I am happy. Can't ask for much more.

On a side note,  have you ever came to the realization of something and then ask yourself why didn't I think of that before? The other day a Tumblr quote from Richard Carlson ,the author of "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff", was in a thread I was reading. All that is said was, "will this matter a year from now". Don't get me wrong, I've heard it before. I just hadn't really thought about it. Anyways, its had been a rough week for me. Work stuff, school stuff, tests and lots of exercise left me a bit frazzled. Add to that a few other bumps in the road and I was about ready to crawl under my desk, curl up in a ball and chant "mommy". Ok, maybe not but that's is when the value of that statement hit me. Is it really going to matter in a year? Of course the answer was "no" but what did matter is that I continued doing what I needed to do and ignored all the other crap. Why? Well, because achieving your goals is important and is what matters. It's a whole "forest through the trees" and "stiff upper lip" kinda thing. (insert smug Jimmy D face)

So when life gives you those lemons I suggest doing three things. First, ask yourself is this really going to matter a year from now? This puts your current issue in perspective. Second, go for a walk or run. This will clear your mind and change your state. Third, you knew it was coming, make lemonade! This will quench your thirst.

LUNCTIM RUN: Conditioning Your Knees For the Long Runs

Today's lunchtime run (5k) was productive. I wasn't able to get the time that I wanted but was able to keep the my goal pace for the first two miles. After that my feet and lower legs started to hurt so I figured it would be in my best interest to slow it down a bit. They probably still sore from this weekends 15 mile run and 15+ mile hike. 

I am still a novice runner. Up until about a year ago I was still in the "do what ever needs to be done to complete the race" mode. Now I am focusing more on energy management, training and running theory. "A Beginner’s Guide to Running" from NerdFitness.com has some great points on the right running techniques and foot placement. Even REI has a "Running Basics" page that outlines everything that you need to know. So for now my main focus is strengthening my knees and core. All in preparation for a full Marathon run!

Today was a Slip-n-Slide workout:

Had a busy and eventful morning but was able to squeeze in Warrior Conditioning Class with MH.  We started out with a mile sprint that I was able to keep it under 9 minutes. I am working on getting it under 8. After that we moved back to the Dojo and started some CrossFit inspired kettle bell upper body workout stuff. Near the end MH had us do this cool exercise that was plank based. Basically you were in plank and then you kicked out a leg and go up on your fingers in various sequences. I really liked it but I kept on slipping on the mat (lot of sweat).

This mornings weigh-in was good. Only 2 lbs from my next milestone. For me a mile stone is every 10 lbs. My original goal had me at one more mile stone for a total of 12 more lbs to loose. Will decide what I want to do after that.  I have been working hard on building muscle mass and over all conditioning so the weight hasn't come off the scale as quickly as I wanted it to.  The good news is that I can really see the results in my measurements. So if I was going to give any advice on weight loss, it would be to measure yourself in multiple ways. (Weight, measurements, fit).

WARRIOR CONDITIONING UPDATE: Small Steps Lead To Big Accomplishments

Any day you get an opportunity to exercise is a good one in my book!

The Warrior Conditioning program that I have been going to mixes things up every other class/week/month. Right now we are focusing on strength.  Today's session started out with a good run. Sadly, I was slower then normal due to a sprained ankle but still was able to complete the trek in an acceptable amount of time. I guess that I will have to tape myself up for this weekends Rugged Maniac North Carolina race.

Jumping Roping: A Simple way to burn fat and improve performance.

Today's lunchtime run was hindered by a injury that I obtained last night while participating in an extreme jump roping demonstration. Ok, I can't lie. The truth is that I was attending the Physical Activity night at my daughters school and was showing my awesome jumping skills to the other seven year old participants. Needless to say, I landed the wrong way on my left foot and hurt myself. Not bad, but enough to limit today's run.  

Smoothies Give You Super Human Powers!

I wanted to get a quick post out and tell you about my newest kick, juice and vegetable smoothies! Now there is a lot of hype about using juice to detox your body. Since this is a quick post I don't want to get into the pro's and con's of detoxing your body this way but I do want share with you the reasons why I think that turning your fruits and veggies into a smooth drink is a great idea.