Anyone besides me in need of a little energy boost?

So what's draining my energy? These cuties right here! But hey, it's so worth it.

Energy is especially hard to come by for new mothers, and particularly, I'm now finding, if you already have a young child in the house.

If breastfeeding, you can't count on caffeine to get you through the day. So what can you do? Eating a nutritious diet can make all the difference in the world, whether you're sleep-deprived or not. I have gone through periods of meticulously clean eating, filling my plate every few hours with whole grains, lean meats, vegetables, and heatlhy fats. And I have had days where I have severely strayed. I could almost immediately feel the difference in my level of energy and in the way my body felt and responded to physical activity, and even in the simple day-to-day tasks that needed to be done.

So I've picked out a few energy-friendly foods and some simple ways to implement them into your diet. Also, a few foods to avoid so that you don't destroy all your efforts to gain a little energy.

1. Water

So simple and yet so very important. Without adequate water our cells have trouble receiving the nutrients they need in order to function well. This results in fatigue. If you have trouble drinking water throughout the day invest in a big water bottle (like a Nalgene bottle where you can see exactly how much you're taking in), fill it up, and carry it with you everywhere you go. If you can't stand the boring taste, add some lemon slices or lemon juice to it.

2. Whole Grains

Whole grains such as oatmeal, brown rice, and sweet potatoes have complex carbohydrates that break down slowly once ingested. These keep you fuller for longer which helps to maintain your energy level throughout the day.

3. Lean Protein

Our bodies and muscles need protein in order to function, just make sure that the protein you eat is of the lean and clean variety. Lean cuts of fish, chicken, and turkey are great. An easy way to add protein to your day is to bake some chicken early in the week or on the weekend and keep it in the fridge so that you can easily add it to salads or whole wheat pasta later on.

4. Bananas

These are such an easy, easy food that I absolutely love. They have potassium, an electrolyte. Without a sufficient supply of potassium our muscles and bodies become weak and fatigued. You can slice up bananas and add them to cereal or yogurt. Or you can eat them whole with any meal or snack.

Make sure to avoid high fat, high sugar sweets, greasy fast food, and sugary drink such as sodas and "juices." The carbs in these foods break down much too quickly and only leave you feeling hungry again soon afterwards.

The key to maintaining sustained energy throughout the day is to eat clean foods frequently, or every two to three hours. This isn't a cure for those sleepless nights with a newborn or the endless day spent shuttling kids from here to there and here again, but it will make a massive difference in the way that you feel everyday.

Trying to Eat Healthier? Here's the Plan...

I will slowly be adding posts from now on, now that my baby girl is here. Whoever said having two children is just the same as having one was obviously not staying home with them everyday! Life is now very busy and I'm still becoming used to it. Please continue to bear with me.



People and friends often ask me about what they should eat, something I haven't touched much on yet. I could tell you all day long the right and wrong things to eat. We all kind of know what they are anyway, don't we? Here's the thing. The best way to go from eating junky to eating healthy is to eat with a plan.



If you begin your day with a thought-out or even written-out plan of what you would like to eat or should eat, you are much more likely to eat those things, instead of whatever else may come into your view and try to tempt you. I know this from my own experience and from the successful stories of people such as fitness models and competitors, who absolutely must follow a plan to ensure their success. The same can work for all of us!



So instead of waking up and saying to yourself, "Yes, I'm going to eat healthy today!" wake up (or better yet, pre-plan the day or night before so that your kitchen is stocked up) and think or write out what you plan to eat.



Plan to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two or three small snacks in between. Snack here does not mean cookies and chips, of course. It means healthy snacks like veggies and hummus (I like carrots and hummus, although my husband thinks it's a disgusting mix...so try putting together whatever you like), peanut butter and an apple (make sure you measure out your peanut butter though. It's high in calories and before you know it you could have dipped half the jar out!), a good protein shake or bar. Breakfast should be a good-sized meal. Don't be scared to begin the day out right. Oatmeal is a great breakfast food. Add some scrambled egg whites and a piece of fruit on the side and you're good to go. Lots of people skip breakfast thinking they're getting a better start on their dieting day if they go without. It catches up with them at night, however, and they end up snacking on whatever sweets or cereal they can find. Sound familiar to anyone?



For lunch and dinner focus on having a lean protein source (fish, chicken, turkey, beans), a whole grain (brown rice, couscous, whole wheat pasta), and vegetables. Some people can have a small after-dinner snack (remember, a healthy one), but others notice that they put on pounds, or the pounds refuse to come off, if they eat so close to bedtime. In time, you will learn your body and what works best for it.



It is even helpful for many people to write out exactly what they have eaten during the day. By doing this, you can see exactly how well (or not so well) you are doing. And you can't pretend that you never ate that Oreo or that just one bite didn't count. All those "one bites" and little extras add up. So maybe, if you are just beginning to eat healthier, keep a journal of what you eat everyday. See how you do. See where you're doing great and where you need work.



The important thing to remember is to start with a specific plan in mind! It will make all the difference!



These are very, very basic ideas of what and how you should be eating every day in order to change the look and health of your body. I would love to offer more suggestions if you happen to need them! Feel free to send me a message or email me at fitamanda7@hotmail.com .



Thank you all for reading! See you back here soon!

PS~That's my little family (minus me, I'm always the one taking the pictures!) up there. Enjoy!

She's Here!

Emma Isabella Robles was born on cinco de mayo, two weeks early! She was 6 pounds 5 ounces and is the most precious thing ever! (Except for my son, Carver, of course!)

I wanted to give an update for those of you who may be checking into the blog and not seeing anything new. I may not be actively updating every single day for the next week or so. I'm sure you will understand! I will be busy adjusting to not only having a new baby, which is an adjustment in itself, but to having a new baby AND a two year old running around. A brand new adventure for us! Keep checking back; I will try to update as often as possible for you. Thank you all for your patience and for the comments that you have already sent to me! We are so blessed!

More Pushup Talk

Yay for pushups! I, personally, love pushups. It seems that the exercises that many people dread the most are the things I love to include in my workout and my clients' workouts. Even my elderly class members and clients regularly do pushups. Some stick with knee pushups, but I have some who are in their 60's who can bust out some toe pushups as easily as they can anything else. Practice and consistency make anything possible!

I discovered this awesome pushup calculator that actually lets you know what sort of health level you are on based on your sex, age, and the number of pushups you can do. The only thing I don't like about the calculator is that, if you are female, you only get the option of having "girl" (or knee) pushups calculated. Um, hello. Some of us girls can do regular pushups. I know some of you may think I'm crazy, but honestly, once you start doing them they really aren't so bad. In my classes I encourage my participants to try at least one real, full pushup. If one a day is where you start, that's great! Any start is a great start!

So here is your challenge for today. Get down on your floor and see just how many pushups you can do without coming down for a rest. Then, go to this website, type in your sex, age, and the number of pushups you were able to do. Then hit the Calculate button. You will be scored based on your input information, which should give you a good idea of where you stand.

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/PushUps.html

According to an article I read on the New York Times website, at 40 years old a woman should still be able to do sixteen consecutive pushups. That means that in our 20's and 30's we should be capable of many more than that! (If there happen to be any men reading, by age 40 you should still be able to pump out 27 pushups.)

How many can you do?

Good luck!