Adaptability in Action

Here's another great essay, written by Denis Waitley. It really is an interesting perspective, if you think about it. How many times do we do the same thing over & over again, expecting a different result? It has been said many times, but this is the definition of insanity. If you want a different result in your life, your workouts, your career or your love life, you need to do something different. Check out the essay & let me know your thoughts.

Rebecca

***********************************************************************************
In a way, human beings behave like bees. If you place several bees in an open-ended bottle and lay the bottle on its side with the base toward a light source, the bees will repeatedly fly to the bottle bottom toward the light. It never occurs to them to reverse gears and try another direction. This is a combination of genetic programming and learned behavior.

Put a bunch of flies in that bottle and turn the base toward a bright light. Within a few minutes, all the flies will have found their way out. They try all directions—up, down, toward the light, away from the light, often bumping into the glass—but sooner or later they flutter forth into the neck of the bottle and out the opening.

We often allow ourselves to become locked in our present circumstances—even if we are unhappy and really want to be reaching in a new direction. What we’re doing may make us miserable, but at least it’s familiar. One of the most important factors in achieving personal success is the willingness to try things out, to experiment, to test new ground. In fact, this is the only way to learn and progress: trial, error, feedback, knowledge, trial and success. It is a far better thing to try to succeed and fail, than to do nothing and succeed.

This week:

* Try it
* Change it
* Do it

Stop stewing and start doing!

-- Denis Waitley

Insanity- Day 11: Hanging In There!

I have so far stuck with the Insanity workouts, & it is really going well. I am still sore, but the good kind of sore. I seem to be able to keep up better with the DVD's, but there have been a couple of times that I skipped over a few minutes due to the time I had available.

I did Cardio Circuit yesterday, kind of twice. I taught a class in the morning & used many of the Insanity moves on them. Then, later on in the day I did it again on my own, but skipped a few minutes to leave to go to the YMCA with the hubby. Then, I ran/walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes. So, overall calorie burn for the day exceeded 2000 calories. I was hoping for 2500, being motivated by "The Biggest Loser", but didn't quite make it. 2000 calories is good though.

I've been hearing from those that are further on the Insanity journey that the second month gets really hard. I have to say I am up for the challenge, especially if it gets me ripped & fit!
I am determined to get those 6 pack abs by the end of the year!

My food intake has been pretty good, but we had a family reunion over the weekend, then went out to eat with the hubby later that night. Didn't really overdo it at the reunion, but the dinner was probably another story, even though I tried to do good. We went to eat at Ruby Tuesday's. I got the Ruby Mini's without cheese or mayo, because I was in the mood for burgers, but wanted the salad bar too (they have an incredible salad bar! Mmm...). Of course it came with fries, so I had some of those, but was rather pleased with myself for my choices. Then Sunday woke up feeling sick to my stomach & ended up eating toast & crackers & Sprite, which didn't help the weight loss much. Hoping for a better result after this weekend.

Today is Cardio Recovery that I am going to do a little later this afternoon. I also taught yoga this morning, so this is basically going to be an easy day. Tomorrow is a spinning class & Cardio Power & Resistance, so saving up some energy for that!

Until next time,
Rebecca

Success Is Not an Accident by Brian Tracy

Sometimes I find stories or essays that really speak to me & I want to share them with the rest of you. This is one of them. I truly believe that we can accomplish anything we want in our lives, as long as we focus on that & realize that the first step is to think about what we do want, not on what we don't want. This essay by Brian Tracy explains that beautifully.
Rebecca

*************************************************************************************

Success is not a miracle, nor is it a matter of luck. Everything happens for a reason, good or bad, positive or negative. When you are absolutely clear about what you want, you only need to copy others who have achieved it before you, and you will eventually get the same results that they have.

This is referred to in the Bible as the Law of Sowing and Reaping, which says, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that also shall he reap.”

Sir Isaac Newton called it the third principle of motion. He said, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

For us, the most important expression of this universal law is that, “Thoughts are causes and conditions are effects.”

Put another way, “Thought is creative.” Your thoughts are the primary creative forces in your life. You create your entire world by the way you think. All the people and situations in your life have only the meaning you give them by the way you think about them. And when you change your thinking, you change your life—sometimes in seconds!

The most important principle of personal or business success is simply this: You become what you think about most of the time.

It is not what happens to you, but how you think about what happens to you, that determines how you feel and react. It is not the world outside of you that dictates your circumstances or conditions; it is the world inside you that creates the conditions of your life.

—Brian Tracy

Dr. Oz's "10 Years Younger in 60 Days" Challenge Day 5

On to day 5! How are you feeling so far???

• Do your Everyday Basics!


• Do the Yoga workout.


• Stop the calorie-restricted diet, BUT continue to eat nutrient-rich, calorie-poor healthy foods with ingredients that increase longevity. We'll call this the Age-Buster Food Plan.

If you haven't tried yoga before this challenge, you will begin to feel the differece almost immediately. If you are a little intimidated to try it on your own, look for a class at your gym, a yoga studio nearby, or a parks & rec class.

Dr. Oz's "10 Years Younger in 60 Days" Challenge Day 4

Day 4 already! Here is the doctor's order for today:

• Do your Everyday Basics!
• Do the Age-Buster 20-Minute Workout.
• Continue with the last day of your calorie-restricted diet.

Check out his website at www.DoctorOz.com for this day & others!

Makers of Quorn, the Chicken-Flavored Fungus, Sued for Not Disclosing Dangerous Reactions

I found this through "The Huffington Post". I'm not suggesting that you do or do not eat this product, but just passing along the information so you can make the best decision for you and your family.



Vat-Grown Mold Tastes Like Chicken but Makes Some Violently Ill

WASHINGTON—An Arizona woman has filed a class action lawsuit accusing Quorn Foods of not disclosing on labels the fact that some people have serious allergic reactions to the main ingredient in its Quorn line of meat substitutes. That ingredient happens to be a fungus—mold, actually—discovered in the 1960s in a British dirt sample. The company grows the fungus in vats and processes it into a fibrous, proteinaceous paste. But more than a thousand people have reported to the Center for Science in the Public Interest that they have suffered adverse reactions, including nausea, violent vomiting, uncontrollable diarrhea, and even life-threatening anaphylactic reactions after eating the patties, cutlets, tenders and other products made with Quorn's fungus.



Photo Credit: Stacey Greene
"I was vomiting so hard," said Kathy Cardinale, who ate these Quorn patties.

The nonprofit food safety and nutrition watchdog group is serving as co-counsel in the case. Connecticut State Marshals are serving the company, whose U.S. headquarters are in that state, with the suit today. The case is filed in Superior Court in the Judicial District of Stamford-Norwalk.

Kathy Cardinale, a 43-year-old advertising executive, ate Quorn’s Chik’n Patties on three separate occasions in 2008. Each time, within two hours of eating the product, Cardinale became violently ill. Thinking she had had a stomach virus, Cardinale didn’t realize that she was reacting to the Quorn until the third time she ate one of the patties, after which she vomited seven or eight times within two hours.

"I felt like the soles of my feet were going to come out of my mouth, I was vomiting so hard," said Cardinale. "Once I began to research Quorn online I realized I wasn’t alone and that other people had similar stories. It was unbelievable to me that the company knew this was going on and wasn’t warning consumers about these problems."



Photo Credit: Stacey Greene
Clockwise from upper left: Quorn’s shape-shifting fungus takes the form of "chik’n", "turk’y", or unspecified "grounds."

Quorn Foods, which is British-owned, markets its signature organism as being related to mushrooms, truffles, and morels, since all of those are fungi. While that’s true, it's as misleading as claiming that humans are related to jellyfish since they’re both animals, according to CSPI. Quorn's fungus is named Fusarium venenatum—"venenatum" is Latin for "venomous."

As early as 1977, a study found that some people have adverse reactions to Fusarium venenatum. That unpublished study conducted by Quorn's developer found that 10 percent of 200 test subjects who ate the fungus experienced nausea, vomiting, or other gastrointestinal symptoms, compared with five percent in a control group. The company claims the rate of illness is trivial, though a 2005 telephone survey of consumers in Britain—where the products have been marketed longer and more widely than in the United States—commissioned by CSPI found that almost five percent of Quorn eaters experienced adverse reactions. That was a higher percentage of people than that of those who reported allergies to shellfish, milk, peanuts or other common food allergens. Since 2002, more than 1,400 British and American consumers have filed adverse reaction reports on a website maintained by CSPI, quorncomplaints.org.

"It's almost unheard of for a company to market something as healthy when it actually makes a significant percentage of its customers sick within minutes or hours," said CSPI litigation director Steve Gardner. "It is the company's legal obligation to warn consumers about these serious adverse reactions, and getting the company to meet that obligation is the purpose of this lawsuit."

"Quorn Foods should either find a fungus that doesn’t make people sick, or place prominent warning labels about the vomiting, diarrhea, breathing difficulties, and other symptoms Quorn causes in some consumers," said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not disagree that Quorn products cause sometimes-severe allergic reactions, the agency still considers the Quorn ingredient to be "generally recognized as safe."

"At a time when the public and doctors are deeply concerned about the rise in food allergies, it is deeply distressing that the FDA knowingly permitted a powerful new allergen into the food supply," said Jacobson. "We call on the FDA to revisit its policy."

CSPI's litigation department has, since its founding in 2004, sued a number of leading national food companies and has secured agreements improving food labeling, marketing, or product formulation with Anheuser Busch, Frito-Lay, Kellogg, KFC, Kraft, Sara Lee and other companies. CSPI's litigation activities helped spur the removal of artificial trans fat from restaurant food and helped return millions of dollars to consumers from makers of the dietary supplement Airborne.

Daniel Blinn of the Connecticut firm Consumer Law Group is serving as co-counsel in the case alongside CSPI’s litigation unit.

From the website www.cspinet.org

This is really cool!

Will beat 126,667 times, pump 1,858 gallons of blood, and push that blood nearly 8,533 miles throughout my body!

Created by MyFitnessPal.com

Dr. Oz's "10 Years Younger in 60 Days" Challenge Day 3

On to day 3 of Dr. Oz's "10 Years Younger in 60 Days". Be sure you start with day 1 & realize this is something you can start at any time & at any age. Okay, here is day 3:

• Do your Everyday Basics!
• Do the Yoga workout.
• Continue the calorie-restricted, body-basic diet.

That's it for today. For more information, go to www.DoctorOz.com.

Dr. Oz's "10 Years Younger in 60 Days" Challenge Day 2

If you are following along, this is Day 2 of Dr. Oz's "10 Years Younger in 60 Days" Challenge. Even if you haven't started yet, really pay attention to what he is saying. I mean, who wouldn't want to be 10 years younger, at least health-wise? If you watch shows like "The Biggest Loser" or go to Real Age & take that survey, you know your body has it's biological age, as in how many years you've been on this earth, & your actual age, meaning how old your body thinks it is from what you've done or not done to it in the years you've been on this earth. Even if you can't start today or even next week, do start. Your life & body is a gift & should be treated with the utmost respect & care.

Day 2
SHOUT IT OUT!

• Do your Everyday Basics!
• Do the Age-Buster 20-Minute Workout.
• If you're a smoker, begin a Smoking Cessation program like this one.
• Make your goals known to your friends and family. By doing so, you'll provide a sense of pride in your accomplishments and it will put on the pressure needed to stick with the program for 8 weeks.

THE CALORIE RESTRICTED DIET

• Do your Everyday Basics!
• Begin a calorie-restricted diet like the Dr. Oz Diet Plan and continue for 3 days. You'll recalibrate your settings to become accustomed to eating better foods — and a more sensible amount of them.
• Eat about three-quarters of the amount of food you usually eat. Remember, only healthy foods! Drink lots of water or as much fresh-brewed green tea as you like — this will help curb hunger and prevent dehydration.

This does it for day 2. Remember, you can get more information about this at www.DoctorOz.com. I'd love to hear your questions, comments & experience with this challenge!

Dr. Oz's "10 Years Younger in 60 Days" Challenge Day 1

I don't know anyone that doesn't at least respect what Dr. Oz has to teach us. I am a self confessed mega fan of his. If you didn't know, he now has his very own show. I highly recommend it if you haven't caught it yet.

He started today a "10 Years Younger in 60 Days" Challenge that he is doing in conjunction with Bob Harper from "The Biggest Loser". Here is what they have prepared for this challenge:

Day 1:

• 1. THE EVERYDAY BASICS:
  

• This is your daily to-do list.
  
• Walk 30 minutes. Walk consecutively at a rate that slightly elevates your heart rate or 3 times for 10 minutes.
• Floss and brush your teeth.
• Drink lots of water. If you're drinking coffee, try to replace it with green tea.
• Take your pills. Omega-3s 30 minutes before lunch and dinner and a multivitamin and calcium 2 times a day. Women over the age of 40 and men over the age of 35 should take 2 baby aspirin (165mg) with a half glass of warm water before and after — with your doctor's approval.
• Sleep. 7-8 hours a night.
  

• 2. TAKE STOCK

• Do your Everyday Basics!
• Buy the following items, which should run you less than $115: a tape measure, heart-rate monitor, pedometer, blood pressure cuff, a good pair of walking or running shoes, and a notebook or access to a computer in order to record your results. Record and date answers to all self-tests in your notebook.
  
• Measure your blood pressure, heart rate (first thing in the morning and at the height of your daily exercise — remember, you're walking 30 minutes a day!), height and waist size. You should measure your waist be circling the tape measure at your belly button while taking a deep breath and sucking in. Your waist should be half your height. Record all of your measurements
• Make a doctor's appointment for blood testing.
• Clean your pantry. Toss any food with any of the following as the first 5 ingredients: saturated fat, hydrogenated fat, primary omega-6 fat (corn oil, soybean oil), simple sugars ending in —ose or —ol, syrups, and any non-whole grain, and anything with 4+ grams of sugar per serving.
• Shop for healthy foods. Avoid the above and pick up items like those featured in the Dr. Oz Diet Plan.
• 3. ASK THE TOUGH QUESTIONS:

• Ask yourself these big-picture stress questions, which can help identify things to work on while on the 60-day plan. Remember, be honest with yourself!
  
• Is your perceived level of stress more than you enjoy? Remember that actual stress is a more predictable driver of aging than our perception of stress.
• Do you control most of the stress in your life or do you feel like a rat in someone else's environment?
• What activities did you do 5 years ago that you can't do today?

This is just Day 1 of 60. I will continue to post the days, but this can also be found at www.DoctorOz.com.

Insanity- Day 5 Pure Cardio

This Insanity workout really was pure cardio, but I really had fun doing it. I still am not able to totally keep up with everyone on the DVD, so I just go as hard as I can. I burned over 400 calories by the time I was done too!

One thing I am really liking able the Insanity workouts is the stretching. I have always been pretty tight in the hamstrings (even though I teach yoga) & Shaun T. focuses a lot on stretching. I could tell today that I am getting deeper into the stretches & I feel a lot less tight all over too.

I know that this is working (how could it not?). My face is thinner, my belly flatter, my arms are getting more defined & my energy level is up. I feel lighter too, but I'm not stepping on the scale until Monday.

Meal plans for the day:

• Meal 1- Double Chocolate Shakeology with 1 T. powdered peanut butter 350 calories
  
• Meal 2- Apple & 20 almonds 188 calories
• Meal 3- Chicken, Spinach & Ricotta Quesadillas 304 calories
• Meal 4- Mushroom & Barley Soup & Banana 280 calories
• Meal 5- Turkey Sandwich & Almond Granola Bar 380 calories Total: 1502 calories

Yesterday, I only burned around 1375 calories, by the time I took off the heart monitor. Not too good, but the workout yesterday wasn't a massive calorie burner overall.

Although a good portion of this posts in this blog are going to be about my fitness routines, I have lots of things gurgling around in my head that I want to write about too. So be on the look out for other types of posts too!

Insanity- Day 4 Cardio Recovery

Recovery is right! Although this Insanity workout wasn't nearly as hard as the others so far, it still had it's challenging moments. Shaun T. has us holding squats which really make the quads burn, doing a variety of plank exercises (my favorite!) & holding lunges too. It was basically a power type yoga class. Nice & refreshing & helped work some of the soreness out of the muscles!

My eating was spot on yesterday. Instead of keeping a food journal of what I have eaten, I am making out the menu the night before. That way, I have everything ready to go, calories counted & mind set on what to eat for the day. If I do slip up or skip eating something, I'm adding that in.

Here is the menu for today:

• Meal 1- Double Greenberry Shakeology 320 calories
• Meal 2- Oatmeal, banana, 20 almonds 388 calories
• Meal 3- Homemade veggie soup & turkey sandwich 400 calories
• Meal 4- Apple & almond granola bar 240 calories
• Meal 5- Chicken, Spinach & Ricotta Cheese Quesdillas 306 calories (I'm planning to have 2)

Total: 1624 calories

I took my blood pressure yesterday. It was 100/60, which I am proud to announce. I also burned 1925 calories, according to my heart rate monitor.

I have to say, I really am enjoying this, in a weird, twisted way. It is hard, no doubt about that. But, even after just 4 days, I can tell I have more energy, mental alertness, less pudgy & bloated. It is fun to be challenged in a way that I wouldn't necessarily do just on my own. Although I realize it is going to continue to be tough & challenging, I am looking forward to seeing the results I get from this.

Insanity- Day 3 Cardio Power & Resistance

Insanity, Day 3. What can I say? I'm more sore than I have been in recent memory. I do have more energy too though, afterwards. I ended up feeling a bit queasy in the tummy shortly after finishing this workout. It has pretty much passed now.

So, my favorite part of this one was the V pushups. This exercise you do by being in a downward dog sort of position & then do a pushup movement. Never done one quite like that before. Definitely felt it, that's for sure!

I did start wearing out towards the end again. Hoping as time goes on I can keep going hard, even at the end. I guess I will see the improvement when I do the fit test again.

Food wise, stuck pretty close to the plan. The oatmeal spilled over in the microwave, so only ate about half of that. I didn't end up eating the granola bar. I did eat 2 chocolate chip cookie bars after dinner & had a glass of severly watered down lemonade with dinner, so hopefully it pretty much balanced out. I did burn 2050 calories by the time I took the heart rate monitor off, so still had a calorie deficit by
my calculations.

The meal plan today is similar to yesterday's. This is the plan:

• Meal 1- double chocolate Shakeology 325 calories
• Meal 2- oatmeal with 20 almonds 288 calories
• Meal 3- homemade veggie soup & turkey sandwich 400 calories
• Meal 4- banana & almond granola bar 280 calories
• Meal 5- taco salad 420 calories
  Total: 1713 calories

I burned 250 calories with this mornings workout & am planning on doing some running this evening, so should be creating a pretty good calorie deficit today!

I did decide to order the Results & Recovery Formula that Shaun T. recommends. I really hope that it will work as it says, to help recover faster & see better results. Will keep you posted!

Insanity- Day 2 Plyo Cardio Circuit

Started Insanity Day 2 off being a bit sore from the fit test yesterday. Not too bad, but enough to confirm that I did in fact do some work yesterday. Good to know.

Hadn't watched the plyo cardio circuit dvd, so wasn't really sure what I was in for, but I did start off pretty strong, I think. Looked at the heart rate monitor a few times, & each time it was in the 160's, so I know I was working at a pretty good pace.

So, once I got towards the end, I did start to peter out a bit. There is a spot where Shaun T. tells you to look into his eyes & dig deeper, & that seemed to help for a few seconds anyway. Then there is the dramatic music towards the end, like in a movie when the hero is determined to finish what he (or she) is doing, to make it to the end. I found it a bit amusing, thinking like that.

Overall, I did push myself, I did burn 300 calories, according to the heart rate monitor, & I am feeling soreish but energetic. And, I didn't feel ill afterwards like yesterday. That may be due to the fact that I didn't eat before hand. Thought I would try that out to see how I felt, & I felt pretty good.

Next is cardio power & resistance. I think I am going to try to watch some of it today so I can have an idea of what I am in for.

Another aspect of Insanity is the eating plan. Didn't do the greatest yesterday, so last night I went through the Elite Nutrition book & wrote out what I was going to eat today. The plan is based on 5 meals & eating 40% protein, 40% carb & 20% fat. Each meal contains approximately 300 calories, & has instructions about how to scale it up to either 400 or 500 calories depending on your individual caloric needs. Therefore, these five meals a day will provide anywhere from 1500 calories to 2500 calories per day.

I used the Harris Bendedict Equation to determine my caloric needs. This formula determines your basal energy requirements, which is the energy required to maintain your current weight without exercise.

For women: 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years).
This number for me is 1289.1
Then you determine your activity level.

• If you are sedentary, your exercise factor is 1.2
• If you are lightly active, your exercise factor is 1.375
• If you are moderately active, your exercise factor is 1.55
• If you are very active, your exercise factor is 1.7
• If you are extremely active, your exercise factor is 1.9

So you take your total from the equation, & multiply it by your exercise factor. That gives me a number of 2191.47. That is how many calories I can consume a day, if I have exercised & been active, without gaining or losing weight. If I wanted to lose weight, I would knock off 500 to 750 calories from what I eat & if I want to gain weight, add about that much. Females can't go below 1200 calories without suffering & males can't go below 1500.

Here is my food plan for today:

• Meal 1- Double Greenberry Shakeology with unsweetened almond milk & 1/2 OJ= 370 calories
• Meal 2- Oatmeal & 20 almonds= 288 calories
• Meal 3- Homemade veggie soup & turkey sandwich= 390 calories
• Meal 4- Almond granola bar & apple= 280 calories
• Meal 5- Hamburger, corn, baked beans= 454 calories

This puts me at around 1782 calories for the day, 409 below my active metabolic rate.

I also didn't post a few starting measurements. Right now, I'm at 122 lbs & 13% body fat (15.9 lbs); 86.1% lean body mass (106.1 lbs); body water 35.9 L. Not too bad of a starting off point. I will get my "before" pics put up in the next few days too.

That's all I have for now!

Insanity- Day 1 Fit Test

Okay, just finished my Insanity Fit Test a little while ago. Have to say, I feel a bit pukey. I burned nearly 200 calories. I did better on some of the fit test than I thought. Overall, I think it will be an interesting journey.

Here are the fit test results:
Day 1
Switch kicks: 125
Power jacks: 56
Power knees: 98
Power jumps: 66
Globe jumps: 9
Sucide jumps: 16
Pushup Jacks: 20
Low Plank Ob: 36

Be back tomorrow to give you an update & review of plyometric cardio curcuit. In the meantime, you can follow me on facebook at www.facebook.com/iowagirl69 and on twitter at www.twitter.com/iowagirl69. If you want more information on Insanity, check out http://www.extremehealth4life.com/.
Until tomorrow, my friends!
Rebecca

My Journey to Insanity Begins Today!

I finally did it. I got "Insanity", the most recent Beachbody workout program. It is made by Shaun T. of Hip Hop Abs fame, and is touted as "the hardest workout program ever put on DVD". From what I've read & the video blogs I've seen, it really is & I am a bit nervous.

I've used plenty of the Beachbody programs, as well as other forms of exercise. The thing is, I seem to suffer from ADD, & end up wanting to try something new after a few weeks of doing pretty much the same program. I am determined to stick with the 60 days of "Insanity", which is one reason why I am going to blog about it. I hope by doing so, I not only keep myself accountable, but also help motivate others.

That being said, I am off to do my fit test. I will come back later to share the results of the intial test. And check out the "Before" pics. I definitely plan on making an improvement there!