To those who can’t run, ride!

Hello Mizfit-ers. Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys today. I’m Morgan and I blog at Life After Bagels.

I write about everything health related – food, fitness, I do some recipes, I chat about meal planning, budgeting … oh and studying. I’m a mature student.

One of my favourite “healthy” things to do is cycling. I’m new to it, but man I love it. This will be my third summer with my bike. I call him Jason Bourne. (Yeah I seriously named my bike. Serious. And for the record my boyfriend has the same bike as me and has named it Ted Dibiase) … moving along …

Have you ever read a blog and fell victim to workout envy? When I first started blogging I thought that I was supposed to run. Everyone was running it, so I did it too. But my knees suck. They weren’t made for pounding the pavement. I kept having dreams of running a marathon but couldn’t get my mileage up to even run a 5k. I top out at about 2k before my knees just give up.

I used to get upset. Why was everyone else running and training and racing?

And then I found cycling.

Hallelujah!!!

Cycling is way easier on the body and it gives you a major workout.

I use my bike for exercising, commuting, running errands, and for fun! My bike is a hybrid which means it’s tires are “in between.” They’re skinnier than mountain bike tires but fatter than road bike tires. It’s perfect for going to between our pothole ridden roads and gravel or dirt paths. Last summer I challenged myself to find new paths to ride on around my city. Toronto is a HUGE bike city. More than half of Torontonians are cyclists.

This year I get to join the most famous ride in our city. I’m so excited to be participating in the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Ride for Heart fundraiser. On June 3rd I’ll be riding 75 km in the name of fighting heart disease and stroke. My fundraising goal is $1000. It’s a biggie! If heart health is important to you I would be so very appreciative of a donation towards my big ride

CLICK TO DONATE

Thanks for letting me invade your internet today. I hope you’ll check me out over at Life After Bagels or visit me on Facebook or Twitter.

So … holla if you’re a cyclist! What do you use your bike for? Anyone getting a bike for the first time this summer?

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It’s BADMINTON time, Baby!

I yammered lovingly on Monday about how I adore our morning routine.

Active play is a huge part of what I love about our trio & since we’re all morning people we tend to git our PLAYouts on before school rather than after.

Additionally, asolutely nothing sets me up for a better day than belly-laughing at how flipping uncoordinated I am some movement as a family.Some of our PLAYouts are sweaty-active like the SKIP IT.

Others are more, uh, games of strategy (oooh brain fitness) like the below:

(disclaimer: yes I am wielding a marshmallow gun.  in this highly organic morning PLAYout one of us shoots said ‘mallow gun in the air whilst the other 2 run around & attempt to catch plummeting ‘mallow with mouth.  I am nothing if not a healthy living role model.)

Yesterday morning’s PLAYout was, to my tremendous surprise, the mac daddy of them all (to completely misuse a dated phrase): BADMINTON.

We grabbed the rackets & birdie pretty much ONLY because they were blocking the back door on a whim & yet quickly discovered how, for us, badminton is PLAYout  perfection.

Allow me to share why:

There are rules, but we dont need no stinkin’ rules.  As a family we like to stick to athletic endeavors where there are very few rules and regulations. We’ve learned through trial & error this works best for us.  We have more fun.  We waste LESS TIME debating proper protocol.  We get RIGHT TO THE PLAYout & squeeze in more activity.  Sure there exist hard & fast badminton rules but, really, who knows them offhand? We just hit the birdie back and forth.  No out of bounds, or point system, or (if youre us) net.Anywhere works.  We are rebels.  We play STREET ‘MINTON (we neither endorse nor advocate this).  The older two of our “we” recall playing lots of badminton at cookouts with and without nets.  Pretty much anywhere from an empty parking lot, gymnasium or playground to a fancy grassy court will do!It’s working out without noticing you’re exercising.  Hence the fact the three of us deemed it PLAYout perfection.  You squat, you lunge, you run, you work on hand/eye coordination, you focus on balance, you tax your core as you LAUGH & attempt to keep the birdie aloft as you do so.  It’s full body exercise your  brain wont register as working out.  This fact is always a WIN in my book.It’s inexpensive.  Indeed badminton has been an Olympic sport since 1992, but let’s be honest none of us are headed that way.  Our “set” is from the Dollar Store.  It sat outside in the rain, and Texas sun for months before we FINALLY decided to give it a try and it STILL worked just fine for our needs.

(The Tornado is very proud of the posed pic above)

Now you.

When was the last time you played badminton? Was it an adult-organized game or more of the renegade Street ‘Minton (shhhh) we played?

And, if it’s been EONS or never since you’ve ‘mintoned, are you now sufficiently motivated to snag you a set at your local Dollar Store?

please to table the shuttlecocks & hit us all up in the comments below.

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Tags: family fitness, laughing, PLAYouts

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Weekend Quote: Clearly Defined Goals and My Anniversary

By the time you read this I’ll probably be in Ocean City! Tomorrow, April 28th, is The Husband’s and my 11th Anniversary.

wow.

We’ve been together as a couple now for 17 years. SEVENTEEN YEARS.

I feel old.

In those 17 years we’ve built quite the life together.

There’s no doubt I’m the catalyst. The Husband tends to be a more content person then I. He’s been working the same job since college. I’ve had 4 plus now my own Business. He wants to eat the same thing at the same restaurant every time we go out. I’m constantly looking for new places and new dishes. He wears pretty much the same clothes and even has the same hairstyle since college. I, well, let’s just say I’ve changed, a lot, my hair, my clothes, even my body. Honestly, I think he’d probably still be living in the same apartment if it wasn’t for me pushing for us to move and buy a house.

I guess you can say I’m the goal orientated one.

“In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.”
Robert Heinlein

That quote says it all for me. I don’t do well in the daily minutiae of life. I thrive off “the next thing.” I need to see something in my future or I start to feel stagnant, bored and depressed.

This is a blessing and a curse.

There’s no doubt I wouldn’t be where I am in life if it wasn’t for my goals but it’s hard for me to feel content. I recognize it in myself and it’s something I’m working on. The Husband helps. A lot.

Even though I get frustrated at his lack of motivation and foresight (seriously, he’s even the worst grocery shopper EVER because he can’t think passed what he wants to eat that day) I also, in a weird way, admire it. We are polar opposites and it works for us.

I push him. He grounds me.

Here we are 11 years ago on our Honeymoon.

I think he looks exactly the same. I barely recognize myself.

Ok, enough reminiscing. I have to go pack! We are leaving in a few hours and tomorrow is the OC Half Marathon. I’ll be back Monday with a full recap! My goal is to run it in 2:15 and record the experience on the gopro but I’ll be content with any time. ;)

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Food Trap Alert! Voskos Greek Yogurt, Dr. Praegers Sweet Potato Pancakes and Dole Fruit Smoothie Shakers

Voskos Greek Yogurt: Huh? Who? What’s this yogurt? Can it compete with that big dawg, Chobani? Voskos is thick & silky. Tastes pretty good, too. But it has less fruit chunks than Chobani and a bit more tangy tartness on the taste buds. That tang actually points to less sugar, but it also has less protein than Chobani. Voskos is nice and fancy with the “no GMO’s and no artificial hormones” hoopla, so why the hells does strawberry flavor contain modified corn starch? It’s more than likely used as a thickening agent. Because it can’t get thick on it’s own? Modified corn starch is like Viagra for yogurt. Be careful because the Voskos label warns that the product “contains milk”. Are there really people out there with such deep levels of stupid that they can’t figure that out?

Price Paid: $1.50, Calories 120, Fat Cal 0, Total Fat 0g, Sodium 50mg, Carbs, 16g, Fiber 0g, Sugars 15g, Protein 12g

Dr. Praeger’s Sweet Potato Pancakes: Excuse me, but no. These are not the kind of cakes you drench in a tsunami of syrup. These cakes are made for healthy snacking, a light meal, side-dishing, or something along those lines. They’ve won a place in my stomachs that can’t be beat by any other sweet potatoe-ish packaged product. They’ll remind you of a hash brown. Nice and hearty, too. Just bake it up for a few minutes on each side and begin to bask in tasty clean eating gone all kinds of wonderfully right. The fine list of acceptable ingredients is “Sweet Potatoes, Egg Whites, Potato Flakes, Onions, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Arrowroot, Brown Sugar, Salt, Pepper”. Ahhhh. Now go. Go enjoy some for yourself.

Price Paid $4.29, Calories 80, Fat Cal 20, Total Fat 2g, Sodium 140mg, Carbs 12g, Fiber 1g, Sugars 6g, Protein 2g

Dole Fruit Smoothie Shakers:  This is a “fruit & yogurt kit” that you pour juice into. Then you shake it up and it transforms into a smoothie. No blender required. The concept is great, but there’s too many gray area variables that can screw with the final result. My freezer is apparently freezier than the one at the store. I had to semi-thaw out the contents before it would even shake & mix. You pour the juice of your choice up to the “fill zone” before shaking. I did that. But the shake tasted more like the juice than anything else. It did achieve an impressive smoothie consistency, but overall, it’s not a win. People who don’t usually do smoothies might think the world of Fruit Smoothie Shakers, but if you’re a smoothie-making connoisseur like I am, it might just piss you off.

Price Paid: $3.99, Calories 90 (w/o juice), Fat Cal 20, Total Fat 2g, Sodium 35mg, Carbs 17g, Fiber 3g, Sugars 23g, Protein 3g 

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Wordless Wednesday: RIP Rosa.

Rodeo.

Home.

4-24-12

Resting place.

RIP

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Tags: goldfish

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

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Ghetto Grillin’

{photo credit}

So let this be an example to ya. Whether it’s ghetto grillin’ or getting fit once and for all, if you want it bad enough you’ll find a way to get it done.

Raise those hands if you won’t let obstacles crush your fitness goals this week. Raise ‘em high!!!!

(…on second thought, after careful consideration, this may not be ghetto grillin’. There’s too much green grass and some woods out back. Let’s call it hillbilly grillin’ instead.)

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Ninja Fusion Circuit (Home Workout #6), plus My Eating Snapshot For Today

My morning workout is done. This is how it went down.

NINJA FUSION CIRCUIT (after a thorough warm up)

50 reps Tuck Jumps (gah!)40 reps Abs on the floor20 reps Jump Kick, left20 reps Jump Kick, right5 reps Dive Bomber push ups (killer!)5 mins Kickboxing Intervals: 45 secs boxing / 15 secs high knee jog

Completed circuit 3 times: total time approximately 30 minutes. I am Ninja. Hear me R-O-A-R!

Tuck Jumps Demo

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Dive Bomber demo

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And gotta top off all that well earned fitness-funk with healthy eats all day long. Here’s what I’m eating today…

BREAKFAST GRUBBIN’: Tropical Shakeology in the blender with 1 cup water, 1 ripe banana, 6 frozen strawberries

MID-MORNING SNACKAGE: Nope. Never hungry for morning snack (thank you, Shakeology).

LUNCHTIME FEEDING: Steamed broccoli, baked sweet potato with nutmeg & cinnamon, no butter. Pack of Belvita golden oat biscuits.

MID-AFTERNOON FORAGING: Greek yogurt with fresh blueberries, plus coffee with cream, no sugar (around 4pm).

PRE-DINNER SNACK ATTACK: Godzilla-sized handful of organic tortilla chips with salsa.

DINNER FRO DOWN: Roasted chicken with vegetables and big ass piece of cornbread. Yesss!

EVENING COUCH-ASSING: Cup of mint green tea with Stevia. Bowl of cereal (maybe).

Recommended Grocery List

Make your fitness and eating choices count! Today brings you one day closer to achieving your goals!

XO,

Josie

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