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http://healthyheartjourney.wordpress.com

Yoplait Fiber One Yogurt

Today, I had the great opportunity to attend the Healthy Life Expo and even more, I was able to attend to do a taste test for the Yoplait Fiber One Yogurt thanks to the ever wonderful Jen who connected me to Liz! It was a great opportunity for me to get out and now I get to write about the food I tested! This is really exciting and I never would have thought I'd have the opportunity to do so. So thanks to both Jen and Liz.

So tonight as a little snack, I tried the Strawberry Yoplait Fiber One Yogurt. Quite frankly, it was delicious! I really enjoyed it and it is the perfect snack. I also love that it is approved by the Hungry Girl because I use a lot of her recipes. As I was saying - great snack. It is 50 calories, 5 grams of fiber, 0 grams of fat, 3 grams of protein. I like it because I know I will always keep these in the house now for those small pangs of hunger in between meals. I was just telling my mom the other day that the world is all backwards. Fruits and vegetables should not have to stay in the refrigerator, because then we would be snacking on those all the time instead of grabbing a handful of chips because it is right there when you walk in the kitchen (for me, at least.) That being said, I am glad I will have a snack that I can grab quickly and not have to cut up or anything of that nature.

I also have the Key Lime Pie to try, but in venturing to the Fiber One website, I also see they have Peach and Vanilla flavors to try!

I think as I come across recipes and products that I would full endorse, I will definitely start writing about them here,

Stress Eating & Soda:

I am learning that I stress eat and that I love diet soda. These are two things that will bog me down in my journey. I am not entirely sure how to conquer this problem. During the day, I generally don't realize I am not drinking anything until after lunch. And then all I want is my Diet Pepsi. I think if I can eliminate this, I can win. Soda, diet or not is terrible for you. I know this, and I know you who is reading this knows this as well. I think the stress eating will be another beast. I notice that when I come home from a rough day at work, I bypass the piece of fruit I normally eat and go straight for the carbs. It's all a mindset thing - I know if I can shift my mindset, I can beat this problem. Now to work on my mind.

So, I get to the gym tonight and realize that not only did I wear my hair down today, but I did not have a hair tie. I didn't let it ruin my workout, but I felt so silly working out with my hair going everywhere. Such is life. If that is the worst thing that happens, though, I think I am okay.

I did forty minutes of cardio today and it felt so good. I love the feeling when I did strength training because I like to see how far I can push myself, but even more - when I sweat and sweat and sweat from cardio, it's my feeling of accomplishment. I love feeling my face heat up. The thing about the gym is that when I leave work, all I want to do is go crawl into bed, but when I am able to work out, it really helps clear my head from the day. It's my time to think through things: love, life, work, friends and so forth. I know I should be focusing on me, but it's nice to have that time to just THINK. At work I have so many moving pieces to my day, there is never a moment of rest.

Even more exciting! I didn't think it was possible, either. I am going to the Healthy Living Expo this weekend. I am really excited to check everything out. I'm going by myself because I am sort of lame, but also because I just want to. I don't really feel like I have offline support for this journey I am on, so I don't think anyone would really get why this is important to me. Regardless - I am pumped to attend! I am doing a Yoplait Taste Test, too - so I get in free. WOO HOO.

I have keep repeating my mantra of: I CAN DO THIS.

The Workout:

So for me, it's all about the workout. I KNOW how to eat healthy. I know I shouldn't be filling my day's calories with simple carbs and that I should really trade a candy bar with a piece of fruit or some veggies. I'm actually really good at it. There is usually one day in the week in which I just cave. Tomorrow for example, I already know I want Chipotle for lunch. Chipotle is probably the worst thing I could eat, but I know if I don't just give into the craving, I'll continue to want it. I'm actually only doing Chipotle because it is for a co-worker's farewell fiesta. I am "taking one for the team."

On a side note, I am actually fasting (900 calories a day) and not eating out/buying groceries (save for tomorrow) and donating all the money I would spend to Haiti. I feel really good about it, because it is honestly a wake-up call to how much we eat. I was driving to the gym after work and I was absolutely starving. I was okay to work out, but I just reflected on the whole idea in the car. I CAN go fulfill my hunger whenever I want. It just puts everything into perspective for me.

Anyway - the whole point of this entry is my workout. I am LOVING my workout lately. I have been doing about 20 minutes of cardio (I get really bored if I do anymore - this is bad), which is usually a combo platter of run/walk on the treadmill (walk 2 minutes, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute, run 4, etc) or using the Spin bike. The spin bike has been really hard on my knees, which just makes me push more. I want to grow the muscle in my legs so that it isn't painful in my knee. Beyond the cardio, I have a mix of strength-training I do. I use the different machines for my legs and arms in addition to doing lunges with weights, crunches, planks - and really, I do not know the name of the half the stuff I do. The trainers at my gym give me tips, which has been fantastic!

Oh, and my tip of the day: EAT BREAKFAST. My energy level when I eat breakfast versus when I don't is mind blowing. So, just do it.

We're only human

I must say that I have been pretty proud of myself the last couple of weeks. Even when I have wanted to indulge in some naughty eating, I have managed to steer clear. Unless you are talking about the piece of chocolate cake I shared with a college roommate this past weekend. Then that is a completely different story.

If there is anything this year has taught me so far from a trying to eat healthy and exercise regularly perspective, it is that we are human. I have tried to make ridiculous goals in the past - no sweets, no dessert - thinks of that nature. It really only led me to WANT those things so much more. I have found that disowning fast food has done wonders for me. I've eaten at Subway a couple of times, but I am fine by that. I don't miss fast food at ALL. It helps too that even when I want that piece of chocolate, or small latte to know will be the worst thing I will eat that day. I just keep reminding myself that I am human and humans are wired to make mistakes, and that just IS what it is.

This weekend, I purchased a new pair of gym shoes! So incredibly excited. I used them yesterday and it was working out on clouds. It's a huge step up from the shoes that literally had holes in them. So I am excited to continue using them. They are a delight and my feet didn't hurt after my workout. I am trying to get to the gym three days a week. I am starting there because I have been so infrequent in regard to my workout regime, that if I start slow and work my way up, I will be more successful. Small goals are good and achievable.

I am loving my journey to a healthy heart, really!

PS - Wear Red Day is coming up next month. More details to follow on how all of my wonderful readers can support women's heart health!

The season of baby & wedding showers.

This is going to be a difficult spring and summer for me. I say spring so soon simply because I consider January to be the beginning of the end (of winter.) Today was a baby shower, and I have another one next weekend. I, however, cannot let next weekend be a repeat of this weekend in any way shape or form.

I need to eat a nice meal before I go to the shower so that I'll just want to nibble on veggies and drink water and somehow avoid the cake. This is hard for me because cake is probably on of my most favorite things to eat. But, for the time being, I must avoid it. I will eventually ease it back into my diet because it isn't like I eat cake every day, but this will be best for now.

Secondly, I have a three day training this week. Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided. I think I may go into the office early those days to do e-mails, etc. and then eat breakfast at that time and show up just in time for the training to start. I don't want to have to stare down the bagels, cream cheese and muffin choices. Hopefully there will be fruit. I LOVE fruits and veggies, so that isn't an issue for me. I could eat them day and night and never get sick of them. I always worry about lunch being provided because sometimes that means pizza. Then what do I do? It's not like I can excuse myself to go buy myself a salad or something of that nature. I don't exactly have a plan, so I am interested to see how it goes.

At least I can count on my workout routine to always be there for me. It never steers me wrong.

New Year, New You.

Like many others, I have come to a decision on my new year resolutions. I actually think I have decided on fairly reasonable resolutions. I am going to take the stairs at my parking garage. Which really, only means I go UP the stairs because I already take the stairs down. Very simple. Additionally, good bye, fast food. However, I did decide that I would allow myself to eat Subway. I need to be able to eat something on the fly from time to time.

I'm really excited to KEEP my resolutions this year. I think it will be fantastic.

My workout today was fabulous! I like when I have enough time to mix cardio and strength training. I can feel the burn in my muscles still, which is fun. Yes, fun. I say fun because I know that I did myself a favor by pushing myself tonight.

Next step: Conquering lunch. I am hoping to find many delicious, easy, brown bag lunch ideas.