curvy fit – Runs With Hips

Permission to be Paleo’ish

January 27, 2015January 27, 2015 runswithhips

Hello, Hip Huggers!

This is Day 2 of me tracking my calories and I feel like I am finally in a mind frame of peace. I admittedly have
gotten very relaxed with food portions and fat intake since transitioning from a Paleo to LCHF way of eating.

Now that I am revisiting daily low intensity fat burning cardio, I need to reduce my fat consumption by a bit.
In that, I’ve decided to cut back drastically on the cheese, and dairy. When I initially began
eating Paleo, I was at my most fit! I didn’t indulge in those to groups above and alongside a bit more
cardio, I was very positive about my weight and my physique.

I would like to reduce my overall body fat percentage and lose about 10 lbs. over the next couple of months.
So, I have recalibrated my workouts 15 minutes of full body circuits and 30 minutes of low intensity, fat burning cardio daily. I know the true change comes in dietary changes, so I am back to eating Paleo~~ish.~~

So after a happy Paleo breakfast of kale, mushroom, and eggs along side some ~~burnt~~ bacon and black coffee, I was ready to get my sweat on for the day. We did a leg circuit as follows:

***4 Rounds with 5# weights***
15 Curtsy to Squats
15 Squat Pulses
15 Lateral Lunges (each side)
15 Lateral Walks (each way)

After that burn, we went on a 3 mile stroll around the park. Me getting a good post workout stretch…

Me getting in a gratuitous ~~yoga pose~~ stretch…

Once we got back to the crib, my neighbor friend showed me a cool little set of intervals that boosted my heart rate thru the roof! We used the sloped curb and did these drills about 2 minutes. I’ll record it next time and share it with you all!

78 Minute workout. 630 Calories burned. ~~Poor lighting~~.

***

Home and looking for food. I desperately need to buy groceries, because eating wraps everyday is a wrap getting kinda boring.

So, I chopped up some peppers and boiled potatoes, threw in sausage and cracked an egg.

Nothing fancy, but Paleo approved!
***
Stretching and off to the library to find a good ~~yoga~~ Paleo living book!
Catch you later!

Question: Are you Paleo? LCHF? Low GI? Let me know!

Fitness, Yoga

#SundayFlow

January 25, 2015January 25, 2015 runswithhips

Happy Sunday, ~~Heathens~~ Hip Huggers!
So glad you stopped by to see me before service!

imagesOD9KSIKZ

Let’s!!
****
Sunday vibes begin with #churchflow selfies on the way to worship!
I didn’t wash my hair after yesterday’s run so it looked like a bird’s nest.
I’m ~~thinking something~~ glad nothing flew into it!

Turquoise on #fleek!! I am obsessed with this stone.

***

I didn’t get up bright and early for cardio or stretching, so both must be done today.
First on the agenda was some yoga. My muscles have been mad sore with all this running.
I feel like it took twice as long to push past the muscle resistance as usual today.
I spent a lot of time ~~on my back~~ bending and breathing. Once I loosened up,
#Yogaflow began to feel refreshing, healing even.

Eagle pose is my least favorite yoga pose. Nothing personal, but I just don’t see/feel
the benefits of this pose. There is such a huge risk in too much weight being put on the
supporting knee and you can’t see anything! I just don’t get it. But, all is coming so maybe
some perspective will along with that. Until then, this will be a random thing.

I am a little more partial to backbends. I love anything backbend. This pose was a bit more
challenging coming down on the forearms, and rising up on my toes. Still needs some work,
but practicing backbends often is paying off. Wheel pose variation is workin’

Another great favorite is the Compass pose. I remember posting it on Facebook
and my friends went crazy! Like Barbie doll legs. I tried to convince them
it wasn’t that intense, but does require a great deal of flexibility in the hammies and hips.

Last pose to make the list is this yummy stretch! Upward Dog in my opinion does not
get the love it should, it is not just an easy pose. Those quads burn! I need to regularly
practice anything that stretches these genetically tight hip flexors. I love Upward D!

I have been especially careful about stretching my wrists. I do a lot of inversions,
and recently started practicing peacock pose, an arm balance where to wrists are torqued
backwards and you’re balancing primarily using your abs on your elbows for support an d
digging into your solar plexus. It is ~~brutal~~ challenging, but I’ve made some progress. No, not
enough progress to show but ~~sooner or~~ later, I’ll have something to share! For now, just the stretch.

***

Just wanted to check in and share my yoga on the Sunday afternoon. I’m off for a quick #Strollflow around
the neighborhood to soak in the last bit of sunshine today. Hope all you Hipsters have enjoyed your weekend
and are ready to conquer the Mondays!

Enjoy the rest o’ your Sunday!

Question: Is there a yoga pose you are not so crazy about? Please share!

Eating, Fitness, Lifting, Running

Friday Food Fight

January 23, 2015January 23, 2015 runswithhips

Hello Hip Huggers and Happy Friday!

Started my day sipping some coffee scrolling thru Facebook looking
for a laugh and was dinged today’s Timehop from 3 years ago..

A lot of food?! Hahahaha!! I’m fighting back tears!
Y’all I had this eating thing down to a science!
Seems a bit high maintenance now but eating
healthy and really managing my portions, was a
recipe for weight loss success.
***
Speaking of unsuccess, I saw a peek of the sun so I got up for a 2 mile run.
I am glad there is no such thing as a bad run because this one
would have qualified for sure. I had to fight for and thru this run!
Wet and muddy everywhere, my jacket felt itchy, my new gloves were hard
to get used to, and my foot arches ached after just a quarter mile into my run.

But it was too pretty of a sky to let my body talk me
~~into~~ out of 2 miles. I have needed this mental run for some
days now and I was gonna knock it out!

TKO! 3 Mile Run, slow but steady.

***
Home and I need to lift something! I pulled out my
favorite arm blast and did my ~~best~~ sets.

Here’s the Arm Work; 3 Sets of 10:
**Used with 8 lb. weights**
10 Curl to Press
10 Side to Lateral Raise
10 Row to Fly
10 Single Tricep Extensions

Followed up that routine with
shoulder burnouts. Burnouts are
pretty much another routine performed
after the primary workout to work muscles
to full exhaustion, so use a super light weight!

**Used with 3 lb. weights**
All one Set:
25 Side Lateral Raises
25 Front Raises
25 Shoulder Presses
25 Arm Circles
***
After that ~~tapout~~ burnout, I needed to recharge.
I also needed a carb, to refuel these glycogen stores.
I grabbed a lavash, cooked up a couple pieces of bacon
and egg w/ cheese, and used leftover pico de gallo, salsa, and
ranch from my birthday meal and voila… food at last!

Now, I need to grab a few things from Aldi before my kiddos
get out of school and we’re all in here fighting for food.

Enjoy your weekend, Hipsters!

Question: Do you care about pace when running?

Fitness, Lifting, Running

Birthday Bounce Back…and Biceps

January 22, 2015January 22, 2015 runswithhips

Good Morning, Hip Huggers!
No secret my bday was yesterday’s past,
and I was bestowed the perfect gift of a
beautifully peaceful day… if that is ok.

To the future!

***
I am incredibly grateful to see another year before me,
but I am not a huge birthday celebrator.
I am pretty content with a new pair of shoes
and a lemon cake with lemon frosting.
Because I am easy to ~~forget~~ please…

(source)

I thought I was hard remember until
I was getting ready to start my old faithful
daily 3 mile trot around the park when got a tweet
that my story was ~~finally~~ featured on Yogaudacious!

This is an awesome little space for yogis to share their stories
about their, our first experiences with yoga.
Yoga is a beautiful practice to have a part of one’s daily life, and
I am grateful for the chance to share. Thank you, ladies.

Check out my feature here!

Let me share my workout! Got going on my balmy 3 miler.
Breezy, yet sunny, no one but the ~~strays~~ landscapers.
I was certainly gifted with a beautiful day!

Returned to mi casa and ~~tripped over~~ onto the weights!
Here’s a bulletin for any new Hip Huggers:
I absolutely love lifting heavy. I see the most change
when I am challenging my muscles on that level.
However, there is a season for everything.
I am currently in one season of working full body and
keeping my heart rate high through the duration
of my workout to burn some unneeded fat.
I’m sorry, I can’t curl 15’s for 4 sets of 10
and still have juice to do exploding lunges.
I ~~will die~~ can’t.
So, I unapologetically grab these 8 lb. weights
and go to town on these guns after cardio:

15 Bicep Curls
15 Single Dumbbell Rows
15 Single Tricep Extensions
15 Alternating Shoulder Presses

4 sets of that and my arms were screaming!
Less can be more! I cant stress that enough.
Birthday Bounce, Biceps and Back Done!

Like a ~~Birthday~~ Boss!
***
I was on the phone talking to my sister yesterday,
and she asked when I was going to start posting workout
videos YouTube. I concluded ~~never.~~ the last thing folks
need is another know it all. Buuuuut, I must say
there aren’t a whole lot of workout videos for the
pear shaped beauties of the world such as myself.
I mean, you don’t need a plus size video to work out,
but it does help when you can see someone else who
looks like you getting a workout in or just showing
a ‘How-To! Albeit sweating and looking crazy, like me!

“Mirror, mirror on the wall,
whose the Hippest Runner of them All?”

That may be a stretch, but vlogging sure wouldn’t be!
A good project I can work on in
the coming months… stay tuned, Hipsters!

Question: Do you do exercise using online fitness videos?

Eating, Fitness, Lifting, Running

Fog, Food, and Free Weights

January 20, 2015January 20, 2015 runswithhips

Hey Hey, Hip Huggers!

This morning, I had planned for a run.. but the fog was ridiculous!

(source)

So, while I waited for the sun to come and do it’s thing,
I cooked up this complete breakfast and grabbed a book to
keep me busy. Just until the fog let up a bit.

2 hours, a LOT of fog still lingered… and no sun.
Visibility had to be 10 yards or so. Just too dangerous
to run, even at the speed I planned on sloshing about at.
So finally, I opted for a quick lifting sesh instead.

For the first time in quite awhile,
I concentrated on just one muscle group
and keeping my heart rate between
70 – 80% by still having an active rest in between.
My workout consisted of:

Shoulders:
15 Dumbbell Presses
15 (ea.) Single Shoulder Presses
15 Pulse to Full Presses
***

Between each of these sets, I performed 15 squats
to keep my heart rate up and immediately jumped right
back into the shoulder work with little recovery.

3 sets of all that and I was toast.

I felt very alive after that burn, so
still wanted some cardio… any cardio!
Luckily, my neighbor text and asked if I wanted to stroll, yo.

***
Showered, stretched, and satisfied.
Now I’m home snacking on a banana
with a few ~~handfuls~~ nuts and berries.

***
I’m currently updating my blog page… hyper complicated.
So be patient if ‘ish looks weird on here. I’m a novice.

Wish me luck, I need a fresh outlook for the New Year!

Question: What is your favorite social media site?

Fitness, Yoga

Nab the Grab

January 20, 2015January 22, 2015 runswithhips

Helloooo Hip Huggers!!
How was your 3 day weekend?
I spent mine trying get my life together…

Just couldn’t capture it.
***
The weather here in Dallas has been perfect!
The sun has been in a very festive mood.
For the first time in weeks I’ve been able to
expose skin and show off some new kicks!

Speaking of kicks, I haven’t been kicking up my heels running lately.
Not much lifting to report either, but I haven’t been standing still.
I had an awesome yoga session Saturday morning
once I shook off the cobwebs and got down to the mat.
I really just wanted to fold and bend a bit,
so I didn’t set any intentions for practice…

Triangle Pose

I later changed my mind and decided to nab the grab…
Triangle Pose with a Bind

Once I finally opened up and could bend a little,
I warmed up my back and core with wheel pose.
My mantra this year is to open up my back, and I have
been keeping that mindset as I go into every practice.
That may not always happen, but that’s what intentions are all about.
So, I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on Jesus ~~backbends.~~
I figured I’d see how ready my hands were to nab my feet in a full bow pose…

Nabbed It! I love how yoga always gives me a new
perspective on triumphs. Whether it be trying something new,
or doing something better, yoga has taught me
that any process takes time and in that,
be gentle to yourself and be okay in the ‘in between

Be in the In Between.
How’s this ~~capture~~ for perspective?
***

Now, I am off to Workout + Walk for my WOD!
I’ll catch you Hip Huggers later!

Question: What color is your yoga mat?

Eating, Fitness, Lifting

Strep in the Name of Love

January 15, 2015January 15, 2015 runswithhips

Hello Hip Huggers!
Yesterday morning, I had a lovely appointment at my doctor’s office.
My throat had been feeling mighty sore and I wanted to rule out ~~death~~ strep….

Not 2 ~~Legit 2 Quit~~ lucky. Boo.

Good news, I just barely have it and felt better after just 2 doses yesterday.
Perfect, because I’d planned a workout with my neighbor this morning.
It has seriously been almost 2 months since we had a good, tough, workout together.
So, Pamela had to push past the pale prognosis for her pal.
For ~~friendship~~ fitness sakes.

Workout: Full Body Circuit with Weights

We absolutely slayed our poor, unassuming arms.
I put together an 8# weight circuit of lateral raises, combo curls, combo presses, and
dumbbell rows. Just enough to reacquaint ourselves with the arm muscles, and get a burn.
But, I love working full body so I had to add in some squats and lunges.

I had an unexpected errand earlier, so I hadn’t eaten anything pre workout. ~~Novice~~.
So post workout, I was sure to get my 2 legit groups in; greens and proteins. Love.

Now I’m sitting here baking spaghetti squash and contemplating the next quarter of my life!
Getting more and more excited about getting out of my own ~~ass~~ head and
finally pursuing my dream of becoming a legit certified personal trainer.
The true corner stone for a fitness based career, no matter how big or small (no pun intended).
Sharing fitness is something that I truly love and I feel its my call of duty to the world, before I expire.

Fitness and Family, 2 Legit Loves!
See you after tomorrow’s workout, Hip Huggers!

Question: How often do you do Full Body workouts?

Eating, Fitness, Running

Rooting for the Red Team

January 3, 2015January 3, 2015 runswithhips

This song Aloe Blacc has been in my brain since the holidays.

This song reminds me of ~~Robin Thicke~~ my Root Chakra.
Why you ask? Because ~~I’m a weirdo.~~
I carry my stress worry in my hips/lower back.
So, anytime I hear the word red as of late,
I’m subtly reminded to tend to that chakra.
Chakras are influenced by, of many things, color,
and the Root chakra likes red. So this year,
I am making a conscious effort to eat more red foods,
paint my toes red, drink ~~way more~~ red wine, and wear more red.

Absolutely.
***
Proof of my happy breakfast: I scrambled up some eggs with white cheddar,
and danced some turkey pastrami and crunchy red peppers.

I couldn’t sit for too long and daydream.
The kiddos go back to school Monday, and I had lots to do.

I got busy and washed & combed my girlies hair.
Folded clothes. Watered dying plants. Cleaned bathrooms.
~~Took a siesta~~. Just tried to get my ~~mind~~ house right.

Since I hadn’t lifted a ~~finger~~ weight since early December,
I opted for a quick session to get my muscles warmed up
and reminded this is how we do…

But I was feeling myself and just couldn’t stop running.

8 mile tempo run and arm workout for the win~~ter~~!
Kept it under 11 minute miles and felt ~~red~~ great!

***
For recovery, I made a quick salad.
Romaine hearts, cherubs, feta and lots o’ leftover chicken
with my ranch and black ~~gold, Texas~~ tea so I wouldn’t
crash and burn after that long run!

Took a nice Epsom salt bubble bath
for these hard working muscles.
And now finishing up blogging about my day
with you awesome people.

Powering down, Hip Huggers!

Question: What’s your favorite color?

Eating, Fitness, Running, Yoga

Last Minute Call for Alcohol!

December 31, 2014December 31, 2014 runswithhips

Hello, Hip Huggers! It’s New Year’s Eve!!

Absolutely and Always.
***
I actually just returned home from a last minute physical (for insurance purposes).
Lucky for me, my hubby went ahead and signed me in… the wait was 2 hours!
But I got the BEST news to end 2014: I have the BEST lab work I have had
since regularly going to the doctor for physicals 4 years ago… a la weight loss.
With the exception of my 35 inch waist and BMI of 30.3, I was very happy with my results.
The big kahuna, my total cholesterol is 189: 101 Ldl & 79 Hdl
I am a low carb, high fat eater, so I always anticipate my Ldl to be elevated.
My Dr. said my Hdl is so good, she has no worries about the Ldl, and to continue my eating plan. Yuss!!
* Fasting glucose was 66;
* Triglycerides awesome at 45;
* Blood pressure 117/71
Pleased to say after finding an eating plan I love this year, I am in great health!

***

Got home … and was starving! So I whipped up a few eggs, sautéed some mushrooms,
and shredded some Kerrygold cheese. Sliced up some red peppers, brewed some peppermint tea,
and now I am sharing my hectic afternoon with you all on the low low ~~blood sugar~~.

Also awesome, if you follow me on Instagram or just watch the ticker over there,
you will see I didn’t wait until the New Year to get back to running a bit!
I ran 5 miles last Sunday after I blogged and I ran 3 Monday.. .yeiii!!!
If I can manage 10 miles a week, Lifting Wed/Fri., and yoga all up in the mix,
I think I will have found the solid ground of balance I have been seeking… at last!

While we’re ~~grounded~~ here, last night was my husbands last minute Christmas party for his job.
Late I know, tis the season ~~to buy a planner~~.
I was tagged to Stop Drop and Yoga before we left so,
here’s my dressed up version of Ustrasana, or Camel Pose.

I’ll be repeating this ensemble ~~sans the backbend~~ as we head out for the night!
Visiting friends ~~in Egypt~~ an hour away and ringing in the New Year with old friends and new memories!
I was trying to figure out a festive gift to bring, then my neighbor brings by some of her hand crafted Coquito!

Alcohol!! In a sassy bottle to boot! Perfect ~~last minute~~ timing!
And something us liquor enthusiasts can all enjoy!

***

And as this year comes to a close, Hip Huggers, its been a fantastic year blogging with you!
Here’s to an even more blogtastic year!! Thank you, ALL!!

Happy 2015!!!
Safe travels all if you’re getting out…and stay warm! See ya next year!!

Uncategorized

Boom! and Bloom

June 21, 2014June 21, 2014 runswithhips

Happy Solstice, Hip Huggers! Today started out absolutely gorgeous!

Summer is in full bloom!

I jumped in yesterday with a quick share about my natural hair feature, because

a) I can’t hold water, and

b) It was a special post that earned its own special spot.

**Quick Friday Recap: **

Yesterday was my hubby’s birthday so that is my excuse explains by leave of absence.

Not from running though! I got a good run in about 9am.

Funny, my brain said 6 miles and my body adamantly said 5. My plan was to break even, or at least

convince my body that was the plan…

Friday Workout: 6 Mile Run

Clearly, the gams lost… I just have a weird peeve of half miles –

so I knew that wasn’t happening.

Today’s run was a little smoother. I knew I was running 6 miles, so I could totally zone

and win races in my head, as we should.

Saturday Workout: 6.2 Mile (10k) Run + Yoga

Some Sirsasana (Handstand) Love.

And I love this filter! It’s called Bloom.

My shoulder felt good, too! Just needed a few days

To rest I guess, glad I obliged and backed off of the challenges.

I’m good at listening to my body, totally over overdoing it.

***

I’m also ~~totally~~ over 27 miles for the week! Boom.

So a 3 Mile run is the ONLY running I am

Planning to do tomorrow. Boom.

Long time since I’ve been able to

Tout those stats .. ~~boom~~

I’m encouraged!

And rehydrated.

I found this absolutely perfect quote on a Yoga page and

It just absolutely speaks my heart about being the best you…

Bloom Big, Hup Huggers 🙂

Question: Do you find yourself competing? Does it help or hurt you?