Goooaaaaaal

Before sharing my goals, I have to share this video. That’s me in a workout video with Jeanette Jenkins! Cool, right? This was filmed in May when I went to Cali, and I’m so happy FitSugar finally posted it yesterday. I look like a goofus in the video, but I don’t even care. I’m sharing it anyway!

Click on the Image to See the Video on FitSugar

Back to those goals…

I planned two little short-term goals. One is for the week, and one is for the month. I’ve never been that awesome at goal-setting or goal-attaining, but this is worth a shot, right?

Month Goal

I want to practice yoga more frequently. I normally only practice yoga once a month because I find it incredibly boring. However, I truly believe in the healing and rejuvenating powers of yoga.

Yoga improves my running and my flexibility while also lowering my stress levels and making my entire body feel more relaxed and refreshed. Sitting at a cube all day, wearing dress shoes, and staring at a computer screen is no fun. Some barefoot yoga with hip openers and back stretches helps undo the damage!

Kitties Distract Me

Now, if only I can stick to it… I’m shooting for three times per week. Each practice can be an hour long or just 10 minutes. Feel free to join me!

Week Goal

My tummy hasn’t been agreeing with all the weekend junk food me lately, so I’m giving it a little break. For as long as I can stand it (a few days or all the way through Friday), I’m limiting my caffeine intake by swapping 2 cups of coffee for 1 cup of tea. I’m also increasing my veggies and cutting out meat. I’ll also be cutting out all dairy and gluten. Luckily I don’t have lactose or gluten intolerance, but I’ve heard both can make you feel a bit more bloated and blah. Sooooo, why not? It’s just a few days, right?

Last Night's Dinner

On a side note, I actually thought I might have a gluten intolerance a year or two ago. I was losing my hair, experiencing major tummy troubles, and having horrible acne breakouts. No medicine was helping, and I was running out of options. It turns out the issue was just high stress. I had a lot on my plate; thank goodness I got better!

Do you set up goals for yourself? Do you have any current ones?

Granola Fairies

Workout

I decided to work out again today since yesterday went pretty well.  I didn’t push it by hitting up some heavy weights at the gym, but I did do a full-body routine.  Yup, it was another freebie DVD from Jeannette Jenkins.  This one was the Blast the Belly Fat DVD, and I completed all 73 minutes of it.

I liked this DVD, but I wasn’t loving it.  I love circuits, and it is comprised of a warmup, three circuits, mat work, and stretching.  The first two circuits got my blood pumping, but I was dissapointed in the third.  I guess I just wanted a bit more strength training instead of just core toning.  I think there are some great core moves here, but I’m not one to work my obliques much.  (In my opinion, it makes your torso wide – toned, but wide.)

Latest Crave

I love my Mizuno running shoes.  I’m going to need a new pair of kicks soon though, so I have started shopping around a little.  While browsing the Mizuno site, I saw my latest crave.  Check out the Rider Running Tee.  Saawheeet!

I usually wear faded soccer tees and shorts at the gym.  Yeah, I’m that girl.  Whatever.  It’s 5 a.m., and I’m there to sweat.  However, I do own a few cute tops and capris, and I have to admit – looking good leads to feeling good, which leads to a better workout.  Sooooo, if the hubby approves, I know what might be arriving in the mail soon.  You all know how much I love getting packages!

Love Grown Foods (or in my opinion, Likeable Granola Fairies)  

Speaking of packages, granola fairies over at Love Grown Foods sent me goodies.  It took me a while to review all the flavors, but I loved every minute of it.  As you all know from my WIAW post, I had Greek yogurt with fruit and granola every day this week.  (Don’t worry; I also tried a little nibble of each flavor sans-parfait since plain Greek yogurt can be overpowering.)

Leia Likes Cranberry

I received Simply Oats, Apple Walnut Delight, Raisin Almond Crunch, and Sweet Cranberry Pecan flavors.  Let’s just say my homemade granola isn’t going to taste so good anymore after having the real deal.

Simply Oats + Oikos + Raspberries

Apple Walnut was delightful, but it was my least favorite.  The dried apples were okay, but it just wasn’t that flavorful.  Oddly enough, my hopes were highest for this one.   The original flavor was good too, but it wasn’t my favorite either because it was the least exciting.  If you’re in the mood for regular granola, this was pretty darn tasty.  It’s crunchy but a little chewy at the same time.

Mango + Plain Greek + Apple

My second favorite was the cranberry flavor.  Wow!  Those aren’t overly sweetened Craisins; those dried cranberries still have a hint of tartness to them.  They were great plain and in the parfait.  I bet they’d also rock a baked sweet potato!

Berry Good

My favorite flavor was actually the one I was least excited to try.  Funny how that works sometimes, isn’t it?  Raisin Almond Crunch was like a York Peppermint Patty commercial, except I wasn’t transported to a snow covered mountain peak.  Instead, I was transported to a cushy chair by a fireplace with warm milk + this granola in one hand and chia tea in the other.  The spices were perfect, and they made me feel all warm n’ fuzzy inside (but not actually fuzzy – that’d be wierd).

Food Scale Strikes Again

The price and calorie-count usually keeps me from buying granola.  (Let’s face it – not many people can justify those calories unless you’re hiking the AT.)  However, I would totally consider buying this again.  The small serving size is surprisingly filling.  If you’re a granola fan, I highly recommend it,

Weekend Plans

We meeting friends at a beer  restaurant for dinner tonight.  Then Saturday starts off with a trip to the lake, followed by a local brewery outing with a buddy from out of town.  I hope our buddy brings some of his beer with him because he is a freaking amazing home brewer.  I can’t wait until he gets a job as a brewmaster somewhere.  I think I see another brew review coming next week!

Jeanette Jenkins Workout

Good morning!  Here I am in the lobby, loving some complimentary coffee and Internet.  I enjoyed another Trader Joe’s bagel with whipped light cream cheese in the room, just like I did yesterday.  Kevin and I began the day Wednesday walking around Hollywood… and making another trip to Trader Joe’s.  The TJ’s is so much bigger here!  We saw the Chinese theater, the Kodak theater, and lots of shady stuff in between.  Bail bonds, anyone?

Can you see the "Hollywood" sign? It's there. Promise.

Popsugar Inc. picked me up and brought me to the studios just in time for lunch.  We all had salads, but the salads came with hard, greasy breadsticks, which I ate and sort of enjoyed.  I’m not the kind of girl to turn down bread!  I got a quick makeup touch-up before Jeanette arrived for our shoot.  (Recognize that outfit from my race day???)

Sweating on Camera

Group Shot

We filmed a quick workout video that should be posted on FitSugar some time in June.  I hope it’s soon!  I thought I was going to get to workout with Jeanette, but all we did was the video.  Luckily that was still pretty cool.  I just wish I had known to workout on my own at the hotel before arriving.  Jeanette sweetly offered to mail me a collection of her other workout DVDs.  Yay!  I think she felt badly that I didn’t get a workout.  :)  Nice lady.  Very high energy and very loud.  But very nice lady, indeed.

After the shoot, I was driven back to the hotel.  I quickly showered, and one of Kevin’s friends picked us up to show us the town.  We ate sushi (well, I had seaweed salad and salmon sashimi) and drove around to see the sights.  I really wanted to hit up some of the bars we passed, but Kev and I were pretty worn out again.  Sigh.  Tonight, we will see a hint of night life.  It’s “the thing” to do here, and I can’t believe we still haven’t!

Trip Details

Yesterday’s post mentioned a trip, and now you get to hear the details.  I won a trip from FitSugar to Hollywood, CA.  Woohoo!  We get to stay in a sweet hotel, enjoy a nutrition consultation with C&J Nutrition, a fitness consultation with Jeanette Jenkins, and do all sorts of workouts.  Although we have the evenings free to see the sights, I don’t think we’ll party too much since I have to get up at 5:00 a.m. for the workouts.  Thank goodness I’m used to that!

We leave tomorrow for the trip, but don’t worry, I’ll bring my laptop and camera so that I can document all of our activities.  Although I wish there was more room in the rigorous schedule for sight-seeing and relaxing, any day on vacation is better than a day at work, right?

I can’t say I agree with Jeanette’s logic in this clip.  In fact, I believe the opposite, but it’s always good to hear new perspectives.  Maybe I’ll learn some good stuff I can share with you all.

Tomorrow morning I might try and squeeze in a little pilates before flight, but today I had a regular gym session.  I did 20 minutes on the elliptical before hitting the weights.  In order to fit in the elliptical, I had to skip one exercise and superset a few others, but I made it work.  The elliptical felt gooood after the hard run I had Saturday.   (BTW, just found out I got 3rd place for my gender/age group!)  At least I allowed myself to recuperate on Sunday.  Kevin, a buddy, and I all went boating for a few hours.

Capt. Tiff

I got burnt to a crisp a little toasty, but I’ve got to be tan for Hollywood, right?  I can’t wait to tell you guys all about it!  Have a great week, and be sure to check in with me tomorrow to hear about our flight, nutrition consultation, and foodie dinner.

What are some must-do, must-see, or must-eat things in Hollywood/LA/Santa Monica?  I need some tips!