Fat vs Muscle

I hear people say all the time "muscle weighs more than fat" I don't know who started this, but they must have missed school that day. There is absolutely no way that one pound can more weigh than another. A pound is a pound whether it is muscle, fat, feathers, rocks, cookies or apples. You cannot change how much a pound weighs.

The thing you need to look at is how much space it takes up. Muscle takes up so much less space. Like a pound of rocks takes up a lot less space than a pound of feathers. A pound of apples takes up less space than a pound of Hershey's kisses. So stop saying a pound of fat weighs more than a pound of muscle. That can never happen. These two weigh the same, but the one with muscles looks much smaller. That is because the muscles take up so much less space. To get a lean toned body you should focus on building lean muscle mass. Do not focus on what that number on the scale says. Focus on getting healthy and building your muscles. (Don't worry women you will not get bulky. We have less testosterone and our muscles will not bulk up like this).

 

 

I would much rather carry around some tangerines than some grapefruits. Wouldn't you? So be sure to focus on building those muscles!!

Scrumptious Saturday!

I like anything pumpkin...Wait let me rephrase that I LOVE anything pumpkin. I think that still is not a good enough word...OK I am OBSESSED with anything pumpkin. I mean it is so awesome!! I know a lot of people are really excited when the fall comes because there is pumpkin everywhere, but I am here to tell you friends pumpkin is not just for the fall. I love it all year. I am going to give you all my recipe for my yummy scrumptious pumpkin muffins. I kind of made up the recipe on the fly. My picky 7 year old has gobbled them up since I made them. First before I give you the recipe let's talk pumpkin. So here are some benefits to one of my favorite foods. Seriously pumpkin is amazing!

 

 

So yea pumpkins are awesome!!!!

 

 

 

Ok the first thing I did was make my pumpkin puree. You can use canned, but I like the fresh pumpkin. If I don't use fresh I get the organic pumpkin that is in a carton (at whole foods) not in a can. To puree your pumpkin just cut it in half and scoop out the middle (save your seeds to do roasted pumpkin seeds) and place it down in a dish. I put a little water around my pumpkin. I bake for about 60 minutes. After it has cooled just scoop out the middle and put in a food processor or blender and voila yummy pumpkin puree. Make sure you get the right kind of pumpkin. This is what I use.

 



After making the yummy puree it is muffin time. So finally what you have been waiting for here it is...The pumpkin muffin recipe!!

15oz of pumpkin puree (homemade or carton or canned)
1/2 cup of applesauce (homemade or organic unsweetened)
2 large organic eggs (flax eggs can be used as well, 1tbsp of flax with 3tbsp water= 1 egg)
1tsp organic vanilla
1/2 cup organic coconut sugar (you can also use brown sugar)
1 3/4 cups organic spelt flour (oat, coconut, wheat, or quinoa would work as well)
1tsp baking powder
2 1/2tsp homemade pumpkin pie spice (nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, and ground cloves)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

I always mix all my ingredients together in the order listed. I know every recipe says do dry first in a bowl, and then a separate bowl mix your wet ingredients and then in another bowl mix them all together. Seriously who wants to do that many dishes? I have a Kitchenaid stand mixer and just dump everything in there, and mix.
I used silicone muffin tins, but use whatever you have. If you have paper lightly grease the bottom with a little organic olive oil.
I use an ice cream scooper so I can get roughly the same amount in every tin. Bake them for 30 minutes. With the applesauce they will be a little softer on the inside. You can freeze them to pull out to eat during the week. Let them cool down and then enjoy.

You could add some other ingredients in there if you want. Nuts, chocolate chips, peanut butter, bananas etc... I don't want that other stuff in the way of my yummy pumpkin though. I am a pumpkin purist :)

Happy Birthday!! belated...

January 27 marked the 7 year anniversary of me becoming a mommy. Oh yeah and it was my son's 7th birthday. Is that a coincidence that they are the same day?? :) This is my oldest sweet baby. It was emotional for me on his birthday. I always think of him as my little baby. Which he will always be, but now he is a big baby! He is about 4 1/2 feet tall and weighs 56 pounds. He wears a size 3 in his shoes and 8/10 in his clothes. So yea he is a big baby :)

 

 



January 26 2007 I was induced for my first baby to be born. It was a mix of emotions for us. We were very excited and nervous at the same time. I was induced at 5 pm with him on a Friday night. My amniotic fluid was very low, and it was a necessity for him to be born. I was very upset about it. I wasn't ready and this wasn't part of my birth plan were the thoughts I kept thinking. Of course him being delivered safe and healthy was the most important thing so of course we said let's do this. I had made it to 6 pm Saturday January 27 and was miserable. The contractions were reading off the chart, and I had no epidural. I was in misery. I had gone 24 hours with an induction and was so ready for him to be born. The doctor checked me, and I was at 3cm. I was crushed. I screamed and cried and said get him out of me know. I lost it. I said give me a C-section (of course I didn't want one, but I was miserable). I finally said give me an epidural. I know realize I would have been fine without it and really did not need one. I could have made it without one. After delivering without an epidural and being induced I know I could have made it. That was the point where I was going to start advancing quickly, but being a first time mom I did not know this. I had never planned to get an epidural. I wanted it all natural. So to be induced and now get an epidural I was so unhappy, but I kept thinking as long as he is safe that is all that matters. I will say after I got the epidural I was like a different person. There was a big whirlpool tub in the bathroom which I couldn't use obviously because my whole body was numb. So my husband decided to take advantage of this awesome tub. I was finally calm and playing cards with my mom. It was almost 8pm. He went in the bathroom, turned off the lights in there and got in a nice warm Jacuzzi tub. Then there was suddenly a knock on the door. My mom was telling him ok it is time to push now. Wow what a wasted bath right? So I pushed for a short time for a first time mom. He entered the world at 8:49 pm. So after almost 28 hours of labor my baby was finally here. I couldn't wait to hold him. The nurses seemed very concerned as they were pumping lot of liquid out of his lungs. They wrapped him up quickly and let me hold him for about 5 sec and then rushed him out of the room. My heart sank. Where did my baby go? Why is he not in my arms? He was in respiratory distress. It was awful. They got him stabilized, and Daddy got to go in there to help give him his first bath. After several hours I finally got my baby back in my arms. He was so sweet and tiny. It was finally real I was a mommy. It was amazing.

He had a dramatic entrance into the world, and has not stopped since then. I am so lucky to be his mommy. He is so amazing. He is so smart and strong. He is in the first grade, and gets straight A's and reads on a fourth grade level. He is just so amazing. My little 7 pound 8 ounce baby is growing into such an amazing little boy. So happy birthday to my sweet little man!!

He had a ninja turtle party yesterday. It was so awesome to celebrate with his friends and our amazing family. He had a wonderful time. Which as a mommy is all I really want for my baby. I can't wait to celebrate so many more wonderful birthdays for my big boy!!

Clean eating

I think fitness is about 20% of getting healthy and 80% eating. I never use the diet word because I am not on a diet. This is the way I eat. Diet is something that is short term and never works. Instead go for something long lasting. Eat clean, whole, fresh foods everyday and drink lots of water. This is the only thing that has worked for me. It was hard in the beginning and I felt very lost, but now it is like second nature to he. As I said this is just the way we eat. So I made a calendar for anyone that is interested in eating clean. This is helpful in getting you started. Let me know any questions you gave about clean eating. I would love to help.

New month...new you!

What are your goals for the month of February? This is the shortest month of the year. So plan to rock out this month. This is also the last month before my 1 year fitness anniversary. One year ago in March is when I changed my life forever. I want to finish strong. So in my mommy fitness group I made two calendars for the month. Join us and follow along with either one or both of the calendars. If you have any questions about any of the exercises leave them in the comments and I will get back with you. Rock out this month with me! 

 

Throwback Thursday

It has been awhile since I have done a throwback Thursday. So here is one. First off I have never ever shown people pictures with my exposed stomach area. I have always been self conscious of this area. I have never had a flat stomach and I have stretch marks. Then I realized I have come a long way. I have stretch marks because I earned them between my weight loss and my three babies. I am not perfect, but I am real and proud of what I have accomplished. So the first picture in this is from Easter about 2 years ago, and the other one is from yesterday.

Last Year

Last year I consider to be my year. My life changed forever last year. I have an amazing husband and three beautiful children. I was fulfilled in that area, but I was not happy with myself. I decided to make a change, and finally get healthy. I have said for years and years I am going to do it this year. Nothing ever worked for me. I realize now that I was just not ready. Nothing will ever change until we are ready for it to change. Nobody else can do it for us. I got off my butt and finally did something about it. I joined a gym and started strength training.  I stopped eating unhealthy processed crap and drinking sodas, and now eat clean organic foods and drink only water. I cannot believe how much better I feel about myself. I am amazed by the things that I am now able to do. I know if I put my mind to it anything is possible. Last year I went from a size 20/22 to an 8. I lost over 50 inches all over my body, and I lost 90 pounds. All of this happened from March 2013 to December 2013. Anything is possible as long as we believe it is.