New year New You Workout plan for January 6th-10th

Here it is!

Ready to challenge yourself this week? Kick off the New Year right. Follow this workout plan to get your blood pumping, your muscles burning, and kick up your metabolism! You may hate me while you are doing these, but you will love me when your done! ;)

Monday Cardio:
"15 Minute When I Say Jump HIIT Cardio Workout" by Fitness Blender

Tuesday Strength:
"15 Minute Crossfit Workout" by XHIT Daily

Wednesday Cardio Yoga:
"Power Yoga Vinyasa Flow Cellulite Reduction FULL CLASS exercise weight loss workout flexibility" by Ali Kamenova

Thursday Cardio:
"ZWOW 53 Time Challenge Tight Body Workout" by Zuzka Light

Friday Strength:
"#1 Home Strength Training Exercise Class" by HA Sfit

I want you to check in each day on my facebook page at www.facebook.com/leanandcleanwithmandi. We need to keep each other accountable!

Let me know how you like these! I promise next weeks yoga will be a little more relaxing :)

Have fun with this and remember, you don't have to be perfect. It is completely ok to modify exercises to your level. Just as long as you are moving.

Stay Active
~Mandi

I'm back! Let's talk about a plan for a New Year, New You!

Hi All!

2014 is fast approaching. A year ago, I made it a goal of mine to start this blog and it has been fun, although I slacked a little for the 2nd half of the year. I'm ready to do something a little bit different with it this year. I am going to be researching the web high and low to find some great, effective, fun workouts and develop weekly plans out of them. The goal is to provide you each week with a new 5 day challenge. I am going to have them strategically lined out to include 2 cardio, 2 strength and 1 yoga/stretch routine. This is how it will look: Monday-Cardio, Tuesday-Strength, Wednesday-Yoga/Stretch, Thursday-Cardio, Friday-Strength. We are going to Sweat, Burn, Stretch, Sweat and Burn!!! Saturday and Sunday will be for resting, however don't be a couch potato on those days! I will post the whole plan on Sunday, and will be posting each individual workout daily on my face book page... www.facebook.com/leanandcleanwithmandi. I urge you to "like" my FB page as I will be sharing motivation, recipes, articles, etc there as well.

I am hoping by doing this, it will encourage and motivate and make it easy for you to follow a plan. Some people are intimidated by figuring out what to do on their own, so I want to help and provide this for you. I would love for you to follow my plans, share them with others and keep me posted on your progress, before and after pictures, weight/inches lost and anything you want to share! I am truly excited to be doing this and want you to be excited too!

Which brings me to my next point. Accountability. I know that to work out on your own, even to eat healthy on your own, can be challenging. Only a small amount of us can be so motivated to live a healthy lifestyle, we will do it no matter what those around us are doing. However the majority of us need a boost in motivation. I believe accountability is one of the most helpful tools to be successful for yourself. If you know that there are people doing a challenge along with you, who are counting on you to motivate them, who are wanting to share with you in the experience, you will be highly motivated to complete your goals. So by participating in this challenge, I want you to feel accountable to me. And to others who are also participating. I want you to check in here on the blog or on my face book page...each day if you have to...to let us know you completed your workout! And if you made healthy food choices that day! Or whatever you want to share! I want this to be a community where you can feel comfortable, accountable and successful! If you feel like skipping out or giving up, remember that I will be a smidge disappointed, because I have worked hard to develop these plans! I have watched every second of these workouts, to make sure they will be the best I can find! You don't want to let me down, now do you? ;) lol....ok....now get geared up because I have put together an awesome plan starting Monday January 6th! I can't wait to share it with you! You are going to love it!!

Stay Active
~Mandi

Guest Post-Personal Story

As a way to restart my blogging, I thought you all might like to hear from someone other than me about their personal health and fitness journey for once....so meet my little bro, Kyle. Yes, he is the one who did Insanity about a year ago...sooooo what's happened since? Here he tells us....

"Insanity: Been there... Done that... Got the T-Shirt (Literally, there's a picture on my facebook!)

As all of you have probably read the blog about me having major success doing Insantiy, it was true. If you didn't read it, here's a quick recap: At the beginning of this year, I weighed the most I ever had in my life at 242lbs and decided to join a 90 day weight loss competition. For the first 60 days I stuck to the Insanity program pretty hard core, not missing a day, and lost 30lbs. Then, I used the Insanity dvds to lose another 10lbs for the final 30 days.

Before I talk about the workout habits, I'll start by saying I changed the way I ate. I got rid of drinking soda and alcohol for the duration of the contest. I never missed a meal and always stayed full. I cut out the carbs while cutting back on the sugars and sodium as well. Chicken was my best friend.

Insanity was great, especially for a guy like me who had never worked out before. But for those of you who are looking to get in shape, I'm here to tell you there are other options. Let me go on record now and say that I'm not knocking Insanity, that it is a great program and you really are guaranteed results. By doing Insanity, I learned how my body reacts to certain workouts and what workouts were best for me. But let me explain why I have since changed my mind on how great the program is. For the first month, you are working out 45 minutes, six days a week. Doesn't sound too terribly bad, but it gets worse. The second month, you're working out from one hour to one and a half hours for six days a week. All the workouts are very high intensity work outs that work out every muscle in your body (which is a very good thing). But why are you guaranteed the results? Because you're simply just being active. And with this program, you're being extremely active. Insanity was a great start, but, in my opinion, it's not realistic to continue unless you don't work and get bored during the day. And if you're anything like me, you're a busy person who can't dedicate that much time in working out.

So what happened after I lost the 40lbs? Nothing good. I stopped working out because I was tired of the routine. I stopped eating healthy because I deprived myself of all the good unhealthy foods for 90 days. Then, seven months went by and the weight started coming back. I gained back 27lbs before I decided to start a healthy lifestyle again. Let me explain a little bit further on why I stopped.

I knew the weight was coming back, I wasn't blind. I could start to feel uncomfortable again but I was scared. I was scared that in order to get back on the right path I would have to work out for an hour every day, 6 days a week (even though my sister told me that you don't have to). Day after day, I would tell myself, "Well, I will start next week" but never did.

Finally, three weeks ago, I got a group of friends together to all participate in another competition. This time, I'm taking a new approach. As you've probably heard my sister say before, never ever tell yourself you're going on a diet. Diet's will not last, you have to commit to a change in lifestyle. This time, I'm trying to find a realistic lifestyle to start living. My sister told me about a website, www.fitnessblender.com that has page after page of free workout videos. They literally have so many different types of workouts, I dare you to visit the site and tell me you can't find some that works for you. They rate their videos 1-5 (1 being easy, 5 being most difficult) and have lengths from 5 minutes to over an hour. This year, I spoiled myself and bought a smart TV and found out I can watch these videos on the TV. Therefore, I can again work out in the comfort of my own home and not embarrass myself at a gym.

These past three weeks, I've lost 8 lbs. I've targeted the videos on FitnessBlender where the difficulty is three or four and 15-20 minutes long. I work out about 4 -5 days a week and have gone back to my healthy eating habits. I did get discouraged last weekend when I ate pretty bad and thought I ruined a week of weight loss, but I learned that by going back to eating right and continuing to work out, your body gets rid of the bad stuff really quickly.

So at the end of the day, I'm here to say, just stay the course. Don't think you have to work out with the extreme of programs like Insanity or P90x, just start small and get active. Let yourself have your cheat meals and not worry about it. As long as you continue to work out, you'll be just fine."

And there you have it! If that's not inspiration that you can do it, I don't know what is. It is easier than you think and so within your reach. Keep it simple, stupid...right ;) lol...eat clean, fresh, healthy and exercise realistically and smart. You make the decision to pull the trigger, I can give you ammo!!

Hope you enjoyed hearing his story and feel inspired to begin your own! :)

Until next time,
Stay Active!
~Mandi

Cellulite + Chicken and Squash Recipe

Happy Labor Day Weekend.

I have been thinking about something to write about in my blog and I decided to discuss cellulite. If you are a women and reading this, you probably are cringing because we all hate cellulite and we want to know, why do have it and what can we do about it?!?!

I wish I could say I have found a quick fix to this problem, but unfortunately it doesn't exist. As a woman, we have 3 layers of fat, or adipose tissue. We tend to carry the majority of this in our lower body. There is connective tissue that connects our skin to our muscle by fibrous cords. The adipose tissue cells accumulate between these tight cords and poke through the collagen causing a dimpling, puckered look.

There are certain factors that contribute to the worsening the appearance of existing cellulite. Hormones, such as estrogen, weaken the collagen in our connective tissue causing more dimpling. Weight gain also contributes due to too many fat cells trying to be contained between our muscle and skin. Stress, genetics, fad dieting and lack of physical activity also are culprits to the problem.

Cellulite is not a medical condition. Many of us have cellulite and it doesn't exactly mean you are unhealthy or not fit. I have had cellulite since I was a teenager on my thighs. Even when I weighed 105 lbs and ran almost everyday, I had cellulite. I have cellulite now, even though I am the most physically fit and toned than I have ever been. It is a fact that I have had to learn to accept.

I researched a few different types of "treatments" that I wanted to share. First are over the counter creams. There are no studies that show these work and most people do not see any effects. Also some of the ingredients can cause skin rashes. I have tried some myself and have not found any to work. Another treatment is laser. These can work temporarily, but take multiple treatments and are expensive. They tend to last only about 6 months. Then there is liposuction. I used to joke and say I was going to do this. But in reality, it can change the shape of your body, but doesn't take cellulite away. It can actually make it worse. Think of it this way, if you had a barn full of cows and took the cows out, the barn might look nicer, but the barn is still there. All you have to do is open the door, and back comes the cows. That's liposuction. It's very easy for those fat cells to accumulate back into the existing open spaces.

What really works? Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight by eating clean and exercising. Increase your muscle tone. This helps to decrease the appearance of cellulite. Stay hydrated. I know you are thinking, really Mandi? That's the same thing you preach over and over again. But it's true, everything boils down to altering your everyday lifestyle habits to healthy, fresh, clean choices and physical activity!

Here is a recipe I have been wanting to share with you because it is delicious!
Chicken and Squash Bake:
(You could use zucchini instead of squash and olive oil or coconut oil instead of butter)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, each cut into about 4 strips (about 1 1/4-1 1/2 lbs)
Garlic salt (or garlic powder to decrease sodium)
Lemon Pepper
10 cups yellow squash, washed, sliced 1/4 inch thick (cut large slices in half)
6 ounces fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
3 tbs of butter (or oil)
4 ounces sliced Muenster cheese (or any cheese you would like)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 9x13 baking dish and place chicken inside. Sprinkle with garlic salt or powder and lemon pepper, turn chicken and repeat. Cover with foil and bake for 60 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. After about 30 minutes of baking, heat 2 tbs butter or oil in a large stock pot. Sauté squash until tender. Add remaining tbs of butter or oil to pot. Add spinach leaves. Cook and stir just until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and toss with a pinch of salt if desired. Take the dish of chicken from oven, uncover and spoon the squash mixture over the chicken. Place slices of cheese on top, enough to make a thin layer over the vegetables.

If you prefer to Grill ( I prefer it this way rather than baking as above):
This is much faster! Sauté veggies, grill the chicken and assemble in the greased baking as above. Broil in the oven just until cheese is melted and top is browned.

I hope you have a great rest of your Labor Day weekend.

Stay Active

~Mandi

 

 

Benefits of Eating boring old Celery + Recipes+ Yoga video

To celebrate the last day of my 20's I am going to write about celery. Pretty dang boring. However....celery has a ton of health benefits that may surprise you. And I have two celery containing recipes to share.

Before I go into the list of benefits, I have to share with you my celery story. I will admit, I am NOT a huge fan of eating celery straight up. When I was 5 years old and in kindergarten, we had to take turns bringing snacks. So when my turn came to bring snacks, my mom packed me up with a big container of cut celery stalks with peanut butter. Sounds great right? Well not for me. I hated it! And to this day still do. If you like celery, having with some natural peanut butter is a really great nutritious snack. I just can't do it. But because of all these nice things below, I really should eat more celery!

Anyways....back to the good stuff. It is 95% water and contains a lot of natural fiber. This is great for your digestive tract. Celery also acts as an anti-inflammatory, especially in your GI tract, so for me that is a great benefit.  It contains a lot of vitamins and antioxidants such as Vitamin A, K, C, potassium, calcium, folate and magnesium, which help boost your immune system. The tops of the stalk have about 5 times magnesium and calcium than the stalks so it is good to chop those up and put them in your salads. Celery is natural diuretic, meaning it helps your body's fluid balance by flushing out excess fluid and uric acid. This is good because it naturally balances your sodium and potassium levels. This also helps with urinary tract infections, kidney and bladder infections (not meaning this is a cure, it just may aid in prevention). And this fluid and electrolyte balance is great when you are working out. The high level of calcium in celery helps to calm the central nervous system which can help with anxiety and stress. Cardiovascular health is improved because it contains something called phthalides, that relax the lining of the arteries and may help with blood pressure and cholesterol. It also is just an overall great food because a half a cup of chopped celery only has 8 calories. So if you are trying to loose weight, it's a great snack.

So there you have it. Who knew there were so many fun facts about celery?! :)

I have two recipes to share that contain celery and you must try these because I have made both in the last week and they are superb!

Chicken Salad: (click on the link to find recipe)
 I boiled my chicken breasts then cut them up into small pieces. And I used 1 cup of mayo with olive oil.

Moroccan Vegetable Curry:
1 onion, diced
1 zucchini, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 qrt Vegetable broth
1 can lite coconut milk (found in Asian isle at the store)
2 tbs curry powder
4-5 packets of stevia sweetener

In a large stock pot, brown onions in a little olive oil. Add broth, coconut milk, stevia and veggies to pot. Add curry and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook 15-20 min until celery and carrots are tender. If you would like it thicker, dissolve 1/2 cup of corn starch in 1/2 cup of water and add to the pot. You can serve it over brown rice or cous cous or you could eat it alone. We also will add shrimp to this for a protein.

I hope you try those as they are very good recipes. The curry makes your kitchen smell amazing!

Here is a yoga routine I did today that I really liked:

Stay Active
~Mandi

What the heck is Gluten and why do I keep complaining about it? Plus a yummy Pesto recipe.

What a beautiful morning it is sitting on my brand new patio set listening to the birds chirping. In brain storming some new topics to write about, I thought I would write about gluten. Those who know me personally, probably get so sick and tired of me whining about my gluten related GI issues and probably wonder, what the heck is she even talking about?!

No it's not a new hippy dippy diet bandwagon I wanted to jump on. It really and truly is an actual health issue that dictates what I can and can't eat. Here is a little history about me and my weeny stomach issues. When I was 20 years old, I began noticing that whenever I would eat, I would feel like I had a brick in my stomach, nauseous and usually would end up with diarrhea. I eventually went to the Dr. and was told I had IBS, which made sense to me, and was given an anti spasmodic medication. This did help with the cramping, but obviously not the symptoms. So fast forward about 7 or 8 years. I go back to the Dr. with the same continued issues, only now they are way worse. I was advised to have a colonoscopy which,  a year later I ended up doing. It basically was normal and I was again told I had IBS and again given the same kind of medication. It was about 2 months later my mother read an article in a women's health magazine about gluten and brought it to my attention. I read up on it and did my own experiment eliminating all gluten from my diet for a week. Then on a Friday night, Brian and I had a gluten containing dinner and I was right back in pain, bloating, nausea and diarrhea. And such is my life currently.

Gluten is a protein composite that is in wheat, and grass related grains such as barley and rye. It is found in anything that is made with flour. It is also used in soy and many sauces, ketchup, BBQ sauce, etc as a stabilizing agent. It is used in many medications and vitamins as a binding agent. The gluten protein is what makes things stick together and hold. It give elasticity to dough to allow it to bind. About 15% of the current population is thought to have some sort of gluten sensitivity or allergy.

Gluten causes inflammation in the small intestines. The symptoms are abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, muscular, bone and joint pain, headaches, vertigo, depression, anxiety, exhaustion and poor dental health. Obviously if you have a true allergy to it you can have rashes, itching, hives and anaphylaxis. These are the people with celiac disease which goes way beyond just the sensitivity.

A gluten free diet basically consists of eating fresh, clean food. (you have never heard me enforce that, right ;)....). It's fruits, veggies, lean protein, beans, rice and most dairy.  There are many products these days that are gluten free such as bread, pasta, tortillas, cookies, etc. But be careful, just because it says "gluten free" doesn't mean it's healthy. If normally you don't eat cookies in your healthy diet, don't start just because they are gluten free. But it is nice to have options. I have tried many pastas, breads, pizzas and really they are tasty to me. The biggest thing is to avoid anything made with wheat, flour, barley and rye. This is why you can't drink regular beer. Any anything that is breaded will have flour in it. Basically if in doubt, I don't eat it. The biggest concern with a gluten free diet is that you may not get enough fiber and vitamins such as zinc, vitamin B, iron and complex carbs. This is because many wheat products are enriched with these. But I do use a gluten free fiber supplement most of the time and I take a B vitamin and multivitamin.

Now I am not perfect by any means, and again, those who know me sure know when I have slipped because it really is uncomfortable and I end up in the bathroom with regrets. The best way to describe how I feel when I have loaded up on gluten is like I have a hangover. I am very fatigued, have a headache and major stomach issues.

I hope this has helped increase your knowledge on the new and growing issue.

The recipe I want to share is one I found in the paper a few weeks ago. As I grow basil and mint in my garden, this was perfect!

Basil Mint Pesto:
1 cup fresh mint leaves
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted walnuts (sounds weird, but it's good!...spread on baking sheet at 350 degrees for 5-7 min)
2 cloves of garlic, cut in half
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 pepper
2/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Place mint, basil, nuts, garlic, salt and pepper in food processor. Pulse to finely chop. While running the processor, add oil in a steady stream. Process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in cheese.

As I have a ton of basil and mint, I plan to make a lot of this and freeze it in ice cube trays. Then transfer to individual freezer bags to have for this winter. It's great with chicken.

Stay Active
~Mandi   
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Sunscreen: The How's and Why's

Good Saturday morning. I first want to say that, the reason why I have had a "hiatus" from the blog, is because this spring and summer have been EXTREMELY busy. And since I have a desk job working at a computer all day, I found it hard to come home and get right back on the computer. But, things are slowing down a tad and I enjoy sharing my random health thoughts, so I want to get back to by blogging.

I wanted to talk about sunscreen since we are in the middle of summer and it is getting hot outside. I personally have been a huge sunscreen advocate most of my adult life, because let's face it. I don't want to be leathery and wrinkle up by the time I'm 40 and look like I'm 80. Don't get me wrong, I love being out doors, basking in the warmth of the sun, camping, gardening, walking the dog, etc. But, the many years as a teenager I slathered tanning oil on and baked myself for hours, is starting to show. Lot's of freckles on my body and brown spots on my face. What do we always say, if I knew then what I know now? But yeah right, you can't talk a teenage girl out of cooking her skin!!

I did some research and read that only 1 sunburn resulting in blisters as a child increases your risk of skin cancer, especially melanoma,  as an adult by 50%.  And most of us have probably had way more than 1 bad sunburn. This is why I feel sunscreen is so important. Properly wearing sunscreen will help prevent risk for skin cancer, pre-aging of skin, wrinkles, brown spots and dilated blood vessels just to name a few things.I don't know about you, but I definitely do not want to encourage all that.

So what do you look for when buying sunscreen? Well as of December last year, the FDA has started regulating the labels on sunscreen so you can feel better about what you are buying. It has been shown that an SPF of 15 or higher is adequate. If you plan to be in the sun for many hours, do at least 30. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, SPF 15 blocks out 93% of UV rays, 30 blocks out 97% and 50 blocks out 98%. So even 100 SPF will not block out UV entirely. The takeaway is, you don't really need the SPF higher than 50, BUT you will most likely see me with a bottle of 70 SPF, because...well, I like to be overkill. But totally not necessary.

You want the label to say "broad spectrum" for this will block UVA and UVB rays. UVB are the rays that give us the red sunburn. But the UVA rays silently and invisibly cause damage.They penetrate deep into the skin and that's where we get the wrinkled, leathery skin. UVA causes cell damage to our epidermis which is where skin cancer is mostly found. So you don't need to burn to be at risk.

Use a generous amount and apply 30 minutes prior to sun exposure. Reapply after 2 hours, no matter what SPF you are wearing. Also reapply after getting wet, sweating and/or toweling off. The highest sun exposure hours of the day are between 10-4 so be sure to wear sun screen during those hours. Also when it's cloudy outside, as 40% of UV rays make it to the earth, even when cloudy.

Now what about those people who say sunscreen is poison for our body and we shouldn't wear it? Well from what I can find, it is thought that the chemicals in sunscreen are absorbed into our skin, to our blood stream and liver. It is thought it can cause other diseases, cancers and hormone imbalances (although I could not find which ones). While, I do think this may be true, I read that it is a very slow absorption and I personally fear skin cancer a lot more. (I am a nurse, I have seen some very devastating cases.) But, to meet in the middle find a broad spectrum sun screen with zinc or titanium oxide as those are more natural ingredients and they sit on the surface of your skin and don't absorb deep into your skin therefore it doesn't make it to your blood stream.

Oh and be sure to use a sunscreen on your face and neck. I personally use a daily moisturizer, Cereve (you can get at any drugstore) that contains SPF 30 as well as my makeup has SPF in it. You want to have youthful skin for as long as possible and this will help!

I think that's it. Sorry for the long blog, but I had lots of info to share. Now go have fun in the sun, just protect your precious skin! :)

Stay Active
~Mandi                                                   
"Like" me on facebook! https://www.facebook.com/LeanAndCleanWithMandi