22 Minute Hard Corps - Military Workout Deploying Soon!

 Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers


4 Medium Bell Peppers, cut in half,
                seeds removed
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-1/2 lbs boneless and skinless,
               chopped into 3/4 pieces
1 tsp ground chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp sea salt or Himalayan salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup Grandma's Tomato Sauce
               (recipe in the Fixate cookbook)
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen corn kernels
5 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, reserve some for garnish
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
Hot pepper sauce to taste, optional

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place bell peppers, skin side down, in large baking dish; set aside.
3. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
4. Add onion; cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent.
5. Add garlic; cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute
6. Add chicken, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper; cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
7. Add Grandma's Tomato Sauce, quinoa, beans, corn, cilantro and lime juice.  Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes or until heated through.
8. Add a heaping 1/2 cup of chicken mixture to each pepper half; cover lightly with foil.
9. Bake for 35 minutes, or until peppers are tender; remove foil.
10. Top each pepper evenly with cheese.  Bake for 3 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
11. Served sprinkled with cilantro and hot sauce.

21-day fix: 1 green 1 yellow 1 red and 1/2 purple.

Don't Judge Me

This blog was intended to be about me, my life and my fitness journey.  Well my life ends up being a little more interesting than just myself or my journey.  Although I wish sometimes it wasn't.  I just want a boring life like most sometimes.

I am part of a group on Facebook that is for support of those that are caretakers to someone in their family.  When I moved in with my Gram I joined it, not because I felt I was her caretaker but because maybe they had some advice on how to move from the stubbornness or some exercises or maybe just people to vent to when my feelings had been hurt.

Recently I did become her caretaker and I'm not going to tell you how hard it is or how stressful.  You might already know that.  But I came across the below note and it really rang some bells and truths for me.  I've already had others complain and try to pass it off like I'm doing something wrong.  Just anything.  And I am not sure if it's because they are  jealous, upset or what.  But I am doing my best and that is all there is to it.  None of them know.  They can pretend to know, but they don't.  Visiting someone weekly or even daily in a nursing home or assisted living isn't the same thing.  Making someone lunch daily isn't the same thing.  The day you have to wipe your mother's bum then you can judge me.


From a support group on FB:

Someone on an on-line site commented that if you haven't been there, you cannot really understand what it's like to be a caregiver. A reply to that comment very aggressively stated that the responder didn't understand why not, that just because you haven't done it doesn't mean you don't have sympathy for those who do.

The responder actually proved the first poster's point. People who have never been caregivers really, truly CANNOT understand what it is like. 

Sympathy and empathy are two different things. And that doesn't mean that sympathy is bad, but sympathy alone does not grant understanding. Sympathy is what you get from people who have never experienced what you're going through, dealing with and experiencing. Those have never walked the journey you are currently making are only able to look on, not join in. They may feel sorry for you, but they can't comprehend the reality of what you're enduring.

There is a huge disconnect between caregivers and those who turn away. The caregiver sacrifices a significant portion of his or her life to take care of another person. Those sacrifices cover many areas: financial, time, personal relationships, personal time - the whole gamut of a life. Many caregivers have little or no personal life of their own, because they are constantly in attendance upon the person who needs care. It devastates their finances, and wrecks their relationships - even marriages - and interferes with raising their own families. And it can permanently affect, and destroy, the caregiver's health, because of stress and anxiety, even personal injury. It's very easy to incur permanent back injury while trying to assist those with mobility impairments.

People turn away for all sorts of reasons. For some, it's because they don't know what to do or say, or how to help. They feel helpless and inadequate, and no one likes to feel that way, so the tendency is to avoid a situation that would cause those feelings.

For all too many, it's selfishness, pure and simple. They just don't want to give up anything of their own lives. But they are not going to admit that, especially to themselves, so they say, "Jane's taking care of mother, so they don't really need me." They turn away so they don't have to see - and admit - that Jane really needs a break. If they don't see it, their conscience won't prod them into admitting how selfish they are.

Too many caregivers end up hearing blame and accusation that they aren't taking "good enough" care of the patient. Sometimes, unfortunately, it's actually true, but that really isn't always because the caregiver is being abusive or uncaring. It can be because s/he is overwhelmed or burned out and just can't cope any more.

A lot of times that accusation comes from someone who doesn't want to admit that they should be helping, so they find someone to whom they can divert the blame - the caregiver. 

Caregivers are frequently isolated socially. The only contact they have with others is about the patient's needs and care. No one really seems to give a tinker's dam about the caregiver's needs. Some of them reach out for support from groups, but many cannot even get out of the home to go to a group support meeting. There are some good on-line support groups, which have been literal life-savers for their members, but not everyone has access to a computer, or even the time to use one if they have it.

We need to be educated not only about how to care for our loved ones, but on how to take care of the caregivers.

The Master’s Hammer and Chisel

What is The Master’s Hammer and Chisel™? For the very first time, trainers Sagi Kalev and Autumn Calabrese have teamed up to create an expert program designed to help you craft a powerful, perfectly defined body. The Master’s Hammer and Chisel is an innovative resistance training system that incorporates three muscle-sculpting phases—Stabilization, Strength, and Power—or SSP Training. This is how Sagi and Autumn help you efficiently build, chisel, and refine a masterpiece physique in just 60 days.

What makes The Master’s Hammer and Chisel incredibly effective and unique? • The Master’s Hammer and Chisel is built on the three phases of SSP Training— Stabilization, Strength, and Power. Other workouts only focus on one or two phases, which might give you decent results. But The Master’s Hammer and Chisel program incorporates all three methods to help you relentlessly chip away fat and carve every muscle for a strong, visually stunning body in 60 days. • 12 brand-new, 30- to 40-minute workouts that combine Sagi and Autumn’s proven techniques for 60 days of hardcore resistance training. • Sagi and Autumn make eating for your goals simple. That’s why they included their easy-to-follow and completely customizable nutrition plan, along with 7 portion-control containers that show you how to portion out the right amount of food to help you reach your unique fitness goals. • Flexible nutrition that allows you to lean out, sculpt and maintain, or build muscle. • Includes options to adapt certain exercises if you have limited access to equipment. • Includes a modifier who demonstrates some moves at a lower intensity.


The Master's Hammer and Chisel Challenge Pack with Shakeology 

The Master's Hammer and Chisel Challenge Pack with Performance Line

Plant a Tree

“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.”


Do you understand what that means?  Focus on what is going on now.  But we can’t focus on several things at once.  Our minds just don’t work that way. I am very bad for trying to do too many things at once.  I try to use lists because I focus better but mostly everything is all in my head and I'm running around like a mad woman.  I'm washing dishes and the kid wants a drink while the husband is talking to me about going to the store and dinner is on the stove.  I forget to get my son his drink.  I have no clue why my husband is going to the store (crap. Do I need milk?) And dinner is now about done cooking and I still have to put the potatoes on.  The whole time the water is running and I am still not done with the dishes.  Does that sound familiar?  At all?

Trying to do so many things at once isn’t efficient or healthy!  Who wants a crazy person living with them?

My loving and darling children used to wait until I was a crazy person.  I would have so much going on so I was only half listening.  There were extended curfews, chores being put off, getting ungrounded a day early …. I mean seriously.  They knew that I didn’t listen the entire time and they took advantage of it.  Who can blame them?  Served me right.

A few years ago I learned about mindfulness.  It was taught, so to speak.  And it did help with particular things.  If I was busy with one thing and my son asked me a question, I stopped what I was doing, made eye contact and listened.  He appreciated that and I heard every word he said. And really how long does it take to stop and listen?  I think it took me longer to type that.  

Focusing on one thing at a time makes you more productive.  Multi-tasking leads to confusion and inefficiency.  I am very bad for that.  I don’t have ADD but shiny things do tend to distract me.  I can’t sit and watch a TV show without making a to do list and messaging someone on FB.  I can’t cook dinner without looking up other things on my phone.  My phone is a big problem for me and I know that I’m not the only one.  It sidetracks you.

I got a new phone – just what I needed, lol and I was playing with the apps and the new little gadgets.  I came across this app called Forest.  Forest is a productivity app.  It’s a cute and funny concept but it totally worked for me.  You start this app and the default is 30 minutes.  I set mine to 60 when I tried it out the other day.  When you start this, you “plant a tree”.  For that hour your tree is growing and if you decide to start playing with your phone or exit the app your tree dies.  Now of course, it is not a real tree but for me it’s the concept. I really couldn’t believe how long that hour was.  I actually held my phone and watched it countdown the last 2 minutes.  I also forgot that I planted my tree and picked up my phone to do whatever more than several times.  I am not sure if this surprised me or not, but I know what DID surprise me is how many of us tolerate it from other people.

Planting the tree really worked for me and it made me mindful.  I still need to practice and even suggested to hubby that next time we go to dinner we should both plant a tree. I do have a lot going on in my head but I was forced to write it down and look at it later instead of taking time away from my family to be on my phone doing it right then.  So I wrote them down, and then the next day I planted another tree and looked at my list.  My house did not blow up. The sky did not fall.  I did get a little bit of anxiety but I got over it.  So being mindful isn’t going to hurt me and like I said, I do need to practice. It was a start.  Working from home make it SO easy to get sidetracked whether it’s sidetracked with family or house things or sidetracked with my business.  Being able to plant a tree to be mindful of what I am doing right now in that moment was rewarding.

Get the Forest app here

PiYo

PiYo is a low-impact, high-intensity body-transformation program. It uses the most effective Pilates- and yoga-inspired moves set to a fast pace to help you burn fat while you sculpt long, lean muscles. You’ll carve every inch of your body without jumps, without weights, and without straining your joints. And rest assured, there’s no complex choreography to learn. Chalene Johnson takes you step-by-step through the moves where you’ll use your body weight to lose weight and get intensely defined! You get your strength, your cardio, and your flexibility training all in one program.

Why is PiYo effective? PiYo delivers the muscle-sculpting, core-focused benefits of Pilates along with the flexibility and power of yoga. PiYo’s low-impact compound exercises engage multiple muscle groups at the same time—while keeping your body in constant motion. As you progress from one fluid movement to the next without rest, you’ll maintain an optimal heart rate to incinerate calories throughout the whole workout! The result? You get a low-impact, high-intensity, total-body workout, giving you a physique that’s long, lean, and powerfully defined.

Chalene Johnson will help you power through it. High-energy celebrity fitness trainer and New York Times best-selling author Chalene Johnson has revolutionized the fitness industry by turning her lifelong love of health and fitness into exciting, challenging workouts that scorch calories and burn fat. Her efficient, results-driven workouts and ability to inspire students to reach their fitness goals has made her Beachbody® programs, including TurboFire®, Turbo Jam®, and ChaLEAN Extreme®, some of the most popular in-home exercise programs in history. Her live fitness classes—Turbo Kick®, hip hop HUSTLE®, and PiYo—are featured in thousands of health clubs all around the world. In addition to being a hands-on mother of two, Chalene is a highly sought-after motivational speaker on subjects ranging from start-up businesses to time management. She originally created the PiYo class because she wanted a workout that would provide hardcore results—without destroying your body. Chalene loved the benefits of yoga and Pilates but got bored with the sitting still in yoga and the repetitive motion in Pilates. Plus, she wanted to move and burn crazy calories! PiYo gives you the best of both worlds and more. Now, with the PiYo home fitness program, she’s making this popular class available to you at home!

PiYo Challenge Pack

PiYo Kickstart Challenge Pack