moved!

so i decided to make the switch to wordpress because i like the set-up and think it's easier to deal with then blogger. :)

http://www.essentialingredient.wordpress.com

head on over!

intimidated by the pull-up bar

Mom, I'm surprised you didn't comment on my last post. If you comment, I'll bring you a treat next time I come over to do laundry. :)

today i am feeling GOOD! the weather is amazing, my workouts are awesome, my eating is going pretty good for the most part, and my cold is quickly leaving my body. (i hate having a cold when it's nice outside. makes it feel so much worse.)
i am just all about embracing life today.
i plan on getting some things accomplished....like...
- selling my textbooks via barnes and noble. check.
- cleaning the apartment (much needed....it's been neglected because of school & finals week)
- organizing apartment (i got way too much crap. time to go to goodwill)
- work on my new managerial activities! (got a promotion at the gym :) i am now "service desk coordinator" and get to train staff, communicate with all departments, come up with new ideas, and basically be an assistant to my manager)
- practice my step n tone routine for my first class tomorrow. CHECK & it went awesome!
that's about all the time i have for today.....might have to some tomorrow too.

moving on.
bootcamp because i love to post my workouts. :D
okay..so this morning i wasn't feeling it as much as monday. it seemed intimidating. but i still pushed through and felt great after as usual.

we had 6 different stations. 1 minute at each station. we rotated through the whole thing 3 times.

#1: slideboard mountain climbers (these are much harder on a slideboard!)
#2: squat w/ 25 lb kettlebell (easy enough..until you get to round 3)
#3: pull ups (i put my knees in a resistance band to do assisted pulls up because i can't even do one pull up) it looked like this: scary, right? i though the band was going to come up and slap me in the face each time i was done.

#4: hanging knee tucks. again.....intimidating. but do-able. i almost felt like a trapeze artist. gosh..they are strong..

#5: rope exercise that looked like thiswhy do all the pictures on google feature males? well..i guess it makes me feel even more badass.
this one suzi (wednesday b.c. trainer) kept telling me to make big circles. these things are heavier than they look. especially right after holding yourself up from doing hanging knee tucks.

#6: run two laps with a heavy sandbag. enough said. felt like i was on the biggest loser carrying their weight that they lost. power to them....that sucked.
speaking of the biggest loser....i have cried at literally the past 3 episodes. it makes me so emotional.
obviously i need to go into this field of helping people live a healthy lifestyle.
last night i went to dinner with my dad & his fiance, val, and they asked me what i would want if they won the powerball lottery. (they buy tickets all the time and are convinced that they're going to win at some point.) i said i wanted to own my own fitness studio for group fitness classes like kickboxing, yoga, step aerobics, cardio intervals, and much more. i also want to help people learn how to make nutritious choices and just basically counsel them into living healthier lives. THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO. why am i not pursuing this more?

anyway back to bootcamp...
we did all those 3 times then headed in straight to core work. suzi is the champ at teaching core and i think mine has gotten much stronger because of her. i no longer hate doing core exercises and can hold a strong plank for more than 1 minute.
we did...
bicycle crunches for 30 sec.
basic crunches for 30 sec.
plank pose for 30 sec.
all 3x
easy enough. :)
she came around and tried to push us over during planks. ha

alright..well off to tackle my to do list. & watch little fockers at the same time.

random eats. banana almond butter muffins. bootcamp relay.

whoops. it's been a while. finals, babysitting, working at the gym & coffeeshop, and practicing my step aerobics routine has taken over my life.
doesn't leave too much time to blog about it.
i did take a few pictures, however, of my recent eats. so ill start with that. then end with a recipe of muffins that i made & i took to work & were gone within a couple hours!

favorite bowl of oats: 1/3 cup oats, 1/2 whipped banana, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp chia seeds, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp chunky natural pb, & 1 tsp unsweetened coconut

i bought so many strawberries. used them for my protein shakes. gonna be sad when june is over & the
some steamed broccoli, carrots, chickpeas all drizzled w/ ranch? & sweet potato wedges
mexican salad w/ romaine, tomatoes, black beans, mushrooms, cheddar cheese, and sweet potato

another mixture of steamed veggies drizzled with ketchup
my love of roasted sweet potatoes
these are seriously crack.
random salad w/ leftover quinoa
and feta because feta makes it betta

kale artichoke ricotta pie. this was delish. i got the recipe here

so i was at wal-mart the other day. (hate that place). and i spotted maranatha almond butter for only $4! couldn't believe it. this stuff is not that cheap. it's usually $8-10 for a jar at the co-op. i snagged a jar & decided to use it with some ripe bananas that were sitting on the counter in hopes of making a delicious baked good.
i couldn't decide until i came across heather's recipe. yes please.

Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Banana Muffins
adapted from heathereatsalmondbutter

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe mashed bananas
• ¼ cup almond butter or your favorite nut/seed butter of choice
• ½ cup sugar or 1/4 cup stevia (i used 5 packets of pure via)
  
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ cups oat flour (I pulsed 2 cups old fashioned oats in my food processor)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt (omit if using salted nut butter)
• ½ cup dark chocolate chips
• ½ cup chopped pecans (i left these out since i didn't have any)
  

Directions:

Mix first 5 ingredients until creamy. Stir together oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add dry ingredients to banana mixture stirring to combine. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Bake at 350 degrees 18 – 20 minutes in paper lined or greased muffin pan.

Yield: 15 muffins. (i only made 12 muffins)

these were so good! each one had 157 calories, 23g carbs, 3.5g fiber, 3.8g protein



grinding the oats took about 30 seconds
mash mash mash....



i took about 8 of them to work and they were gone by the end of the day. :)

this weekend was pretty good. i worked, practiced my routine, did an off day workout that consisted of this:

12 push-ups
12 deadlifts (i used 45 lb bar)
12 tricep pushups
3 rounds of stairs
all 3x

12 chest press (did this on stability ball w/ 15 lb dumbbells)
12 sumo squat w/ 15 lb dumbbell
12 chest flies (on ball w/ 15 lb dumbbells)
run 2 min. fast
all 3x

12 bent over row w/ 15 lb dumbbells
12 lat raises w/ dumbbells
12 russian twists w/ 12 lb med ball (each side)
all 3x

12 kettlebell swings
12 box jumps
12 burpees
all 3x

GREAT workout.

today's bootcamp this morning was also awesome. we competed against the cy-fitters. (Cy-fit is a group exercise class that consists of 30 minutes on the spin bike followed by 30 minute strength moves)
we all got into pairs and did a relay race. we each had a card with markers in different orders and we had to run around the gym finding the cones with the colors and each one had an exercise we had to do.
krystal was my partner & this was our order:
15 side band steps each leg, 15 monster walks with bands & backwards
50 kettlebell swings (25 lb)
20 burpees
30 tricep dips
side shuffle long side of track, lunge forward & backwards on the short sides
sled push down & back
30 pushups
30 ball tucks
20 wall balls

it was fun!

outdoor bootcamp

i took a few pictures of my recent eats from the past week. its been a busy one!
finals this week. AH.

greek yogurt w/ fresh strawberries & bagel thin with lowfat cream cheese.



this would be tofu w/ salsa & spinach. i drenched and spiced the tofu like crazy. it tastes like nothing if you don't.
and a tofu scramble.
inside two la tortilla factory tortillas.
this was my cinco de mayo lunch.
gotta celebrate with my favorite food.
outfit that i wore on cinco de mayo. just for fun.
my favorite bowl of oats.
1/4 cup oats, 2/3 cup almond milk, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, chopped green apple, cinnamon topped w/ peanut flour sauce & chia seeds
mmmmmmmm.
snackage: green apple slices on top of a sandwich thin w/ almond butter.
today, however, i had unpictured protein pancakes.

bootcamp was outside this morning! loved being outside. :) the work out was a killer too.

run two laps around the gym
squat and flip tires
15 squats
roll tire back
15 tricep dips on tire
1 lap
squat and flip tire
15 incline pushups on tire
roll tire back
20 cross over mountain climbers
1 lap

squat & overhead press w/ resistance band (1 min)
rows w/ resistance band around pole (1 min)
chest press w/ resistance band around pole (1 min)
suicide runs
x 3

1 easy lap
ab work
easy lap

DONE.

holy burn. im going to be sore tomorrow.

time to study for finals. :(

8.8 mall to mall

I FINISHED! & I ran the entire thing! :)
i am still on runners high a day later.
i can't believe it.
8.8 miles in 1:28. this is crazy for me because i do not consider myself a runner. (now i do.)
i have never ran more than 4 miles straight. [i ran the 5 mile july 4th race last year, but had to stop and walk]
i didnt even think i was going to run. i thought i would just walk it. maybe it was the fuel from 1/2 cup of oats + banana? nah..it was just my DRIVE! i kept repeating in my head "mind over matter, you can do this, sharelle. its all mental."
well i stayed at a pace of 10 min/mile the whole way and did it. i am so proud of myself right now. im just..speechless.

50

Sharelle Allamand, F21

Cedar Rapids, IA

1:28:03

1:30:10

2:06

10:00/M

i placed "50" because it was a time prediction race. the winner was the person who came closest to their predicted time. they were 2 seconds off! my mom & stepdad were 20 seconds off!
i was 2 minutes faster than my predicted time. :D
i also was the youngest runner there. [there was one 16 year old but everyone else was 25 or older.]
i have been grinning ear to ear these past 24 hours.

after the run, i went to work at the coffeeshop for 9 hours then came home and finally got to crash, put some biofreeze on my legs and fall into a deep slumber.
woke up for bootcamp & actually did pretty ok!

for our work out we did 5 minute rounds at each station:

station #1:
sled push (high)
sled push (low)
20 pushups
20 situps

run 1 lap

station #2:
25 jumping jacks
20 goblet squats
15 diamond pushups
10 burpees

run 1 lap

station #3:
40 mountain climbers (total)
30 tricep dips
20 incline pushups (using a step with 3 risers)
10 plank up downs

run 1 lap

#4:
20 sumo deadlift high pulls (20 lb barbell)
20 push press (20 lb barbell)
20 arm wide pushups
side planks (30 sec each side)

run 1 lap

#5:
25 decline pushups
20 ball tucks
15 ball pass
plank hold (30 sec)

run 1 lap

#6:
prisoner lunges (20 each leg)
20 side ball throws (each side)
10 ball slams

walk 1 lap
stretch

i hardly did more than one round of each. my muscles were on fire today!

breakfast [sticking with my meal plan!]:
1 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt w/ 1 cup strawberries [about 185 cal]
1 bagel thin w/ 1 tbsp low fat cream cheese [180]
total: 365 cal


also had 2 cups black coffee.
ready to tackle this day. after catching up with reading blogs all morning im about ready to start on some much needed homework. health psych is my first final next week so im going to focus on that first. i just got an email about the exam and its 5 essay questions. (1 for each chapter)....actually excited about that. i rock essay tests in comparison to multiple choice.

i like it green.

(photo courtesy of wearenotmartha.com)

yesterday was beautiful outside.
too bad i had to work.
and guess what? today is beautiful outside.
and i have to work.
hopefully it's beautiful tomorrow because it's the mall-to-mall run! 8.8 miles running from lindale mall to westdale mall. like i said earlier, i might have to walk it if my calf is giving me issues.
im taking a rest day today so im crossing my fingers that ill be ok.


i had a very refreshing lunch today. i decided to have a green monster smoothie! (my meal plan said salad, but that's too hard to consume while working at the front desk at the gym so it looks more polite to drink my lunch instead of shoving food in my mouth while checking people in.)


in the smoothie:
1.5 cups of almond milk (52 cal)
1 large handful spinach (7 cal)
1 medium frozen banana (105 cal)
4 strawberries [i just picked up a pound for 99 cents!] (22 cal)
2 pumps of sugar free torani strawberry syrup (0 cal)
1 scoop vanilla whey protein (120 cal)
1 scoop ice


i topped it with a half cup of kashi good friends high fiber cereal (80 cal) and slurped the smoothie and let the cereal soak into it and ate it with a spoon!


this has kept me full for a good 3 hours already.
im also sipping on some chai green tea.
im all about the green today.

so i was reading Bobbi's blog and thought that i should also incorporate a "spring into summer throw down" challenge!
52 days until the first day of summer (june 21st) and i feel that is the perfect time to really focus on some serious exercise and nutrition goals.

here are a list of my goals so far:
- drink more green tea
- limit coffee consumption to 1-2 cups per day
- eat more greens. at least once per day (whether it be smoothies, salads, or side dishes)
- do boot camp 3x a week (m, w, f mornings @ 6am)
- do yoga at least once a week. hot yoga if possible
- run, walk, or bike 30 minutes per day
- keep on drinking the large amounts of water
- take vitamins every day (CLA, B complex, and biotin)
- floss 2x per day and brush 2-3x per day (sometimes i forget at night!!)
- no more than 2-3 tbsp of nut butter a day

if i think of more, i will add to the list.

heres some other goals that do not involve exercise or nutrition:
- clean & organize apartment
- get rid of clothes that dont fit!
- make a hook for my keys (my room-mate always loses her keys)
- do other fun crafts
- use my crockpot!
- finish my online class (due july 15th! have barely started...)
- work on my continued goal of becoming a group fitness instructor

Tentative Schedule for upcoming week 5/1-5/7:
S: 8.8 Mile run(walk); Work @ Java 1-9:30pm
M: Bootcamp @ 6am; hot yoga @ 9am; work 1-5; practice step; STUDY
T: last day of human biology lab; bodycombat 8:30 am; practice step; work 5-10pm; STUDY
W: Bootcamp @ 6 am; hot yoga @ 9am; practice step; class 5-8:30pm; STUDY
Th: AUDITION @ 9:30am; Step N' Tone (teach warmup and 1 combo) @ noon; Muscle Mix(teach step) @ 5:30pm; STUDY
F: Bootcamp @ 6am; work 1-5
Sat: work 7-11; bodyattack @ 11am; babysit 12:30pm

phew, busy week ahead of me thats for sure.

what are your goals?

breakfast yesterday: 1 sandwich thin w/ half a banana(ate the other half before boot camp), 1 tbsp pb, and 1 tbsp honey. sprinkled with cinnamon.

this powered me through my step one-on-one training.
i also had some frozen red grapes somewhere in there.

lunch was 1 cup steamed zucchini drizzled with mustard(been my go-to "dressing" lately!), 10 food should taste good multigrain chips, and a veggie wrap with 1 tbsp hummus, 1 slice tomato, 1 slice reduced fat cheddar cheese, and 1 cup spinach wilted.

i love me some colorful veggies. yep.
dinner was some bulgur wheat(i ran out of quinoa) with some mixed veggies.
and i did a lot of snacking last night.
ugh. sometimes i binge eat when im bored. then i feel like complete crap afterwards. =\
but i cant dwell on it.

todays breakfast was 2 of these waffles drizzled with sugar free syrup:
surprisingly very tasty. :)
i also tried eating a grapefruit, but couldn't stomach it. the initial taste is really good, but the after taste tastes like a chemical for some reason. anyone have any suggestions without putting sugar on it to make it taste less "household cleaner" like?
i regrettably threw it away.

today is my rest day. after a long hard week of working out, my muscles are shot. i feel the soreness all over my body. and tomorrow is the 8.8 mile run. i honestly don't think ill be able to run any of it because my calf keeps acting up, but ill definitely walk fast.

only one more week of real "school" then its finals week. AHHHHHH.

how?

i think i'm one of the only ones who didn't care to watch the royal wedding. i dont even like weddings all that much anyway. everyone thinks im crazy, but i can never picture myself getting married.
and as a little girl, i never imagined or dreamed of an extravagant wedding. never even thought about it actually.
instead i fantasized about becoming a singer and being famous for that.
i dont even have a good voice. haha, but i do have rhythm so maybe i should have been a dancer?

during my step training today, my instructor asked if my parents have musical experience. aside from playing the flute and being in choir, i think thats all my mom really did. they were both heavy metal listeners & my mom probably got most of her moves from jane fonda.
i, on the other hand, did play piano & violin. and sang in choir. and did dance. so maybe that's where my talent for figuring out musical sequences came from.
my step trainer said she'd hire me. very encouraging!


anyway..something i've been thinking about lately is how do i teach my friends & family how to eat right. they are stuck in their mostly meat and hardly any fruits and veggies way.
well...they should look at this food pyramid because im pretty much obsessed. maybe i should make posters out of this and hand them out to them?
its so frustrating. i just want them to get it.

day 3 full of protein & muscle mix

today's lunch included almost 70 grams of protein. my jaw dropped too.
back when i was a vegetarian i dont think i even got this amount in a day.
things have definitely changed.
but this meal plan has been keeping me so full that i dont think ill ever not try to eat this much protein.
protein is good for muscle recovery as well and i have been working my muscles like a mad woman this week.

lunch day 3: 4 oz homemade chicken tenders (plain chicken breast cut into strips, dipped in egg substitute, then coated in panko bread crumbs seasoned with cayenne & garlic powder. bake for about 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. dipped in mustard.)
1 cup cottage cheese on the side. looks like a huge amount. and it was. but for 160 cals and 28 grams of protein...sure did keep me full.

i ate this after my first step n' tone class of the day. (i only shadowed the instructor in this one.) was a good work out!

before i headed to my next one (4 hours later) i had a snack of 2 wasa multigrain crackers with two spreadable garlic and herb cheese wedges.

my second class to shadow was muscle mix. not only did i shadow... I TAUGHT THE LAST HALF. which was 30 minutes of strength training. i was so nervous. this instructor had to leave early so she had me teach. here's what i had the class do all to the beats of 32 count music.

Squats w/ dumbbells - singles, 2 counts up and down, 3 counts down, 1 count up, hold&pulse, singles
Lunges w/ dumbbells - same as above
Deadlifts & Rows - singles, hold at bottom, single rows. down, row, up.
Shoulder press (on ball) - same kind of counting
pushups off ball - 2 counts down and up, singles
bicep curls with a wall sit (i think they hated me for keeping them sitting on that wall for so long)
tricep overhead extensions on ball
tricep dips
chest press on ball
chest flies on ball

abs:
plank - 30 sec
twisting plank - 30 sec
side planks - 30 sec
weighted crunches

stretch & cooldown

they all clapped when it was over so i took that as a good sign! and one girl stopped me when i was leaving and told me i did a really great job. YAY!

that left my tummy grumbling.
enter dinner #3: 3 oz grilled chicken strips (more protein yo), 1/2 red bell pepper, 1/2 cup yellow squash, 2 cups green beans, 1 cup corn

holy vegetables.
think i got my veggie servings covered.

yeah, just an allergic reaction to the universe.

anyone else miss the OC as much as i do? it kind of lost its' viewers after marissa died. but where has she gone in the entertainment business? she tried that one show where she was a model addicted to drugs..(wait isn't that her real life?) but it flopped after episode 1. i watched it, it sucked.
the OC was the best. i do love gossip girl, but miss the comic relief of seth cohen. adam brody is definitely number one for celebrity guy crushes that i have.
at least i still see him doing movies (scream 4 - has anyone seen it?!) and same with rachel bilson. oh and ryan...hes on some show where he plays a cop i think.

anyway even though all my friends made fun of me for being so obsessed with this show - i have all 4 seasons and still watch them constantly - it was a great time in my life. i wanted to live their lives, no matter how dramatic it was. i wanted to wake up and be able to go to the beach whenever i wanted. still do. i still envy people who get to have beautiful weather and a huge ass house.
iowa isn't cutting it for me anymore. even though i think it's really "safe" here and the cost of living is very manageable compared to other states, this gloomy-ness is killing me. i woke up before 8 am today and haven't moved from my bed. it's now 10:30. the sun makes me want to go outside and embrace it. and i miss it. and im not going to see it for another week if that. boo. :( im done complaining now.

yesterday's eats:
lunch was a turkey sandwich on a sandwich thin. (smart deli "soy" turkey, tomato slice, mustard, sandwich thin)
dinner was fab.
shrimp pasta. baked shrimp brushed lightly with olive oil, whole wheat spirals, vodka sauce, and broccoli.


i also had unpictured greek yogurt with honey and a dip into the peanut butter jar.

this morning i woke up so sore.
not good because i have to shadow two classes today that are both half step and half strength. and im teaching during one of them! im teaching a half hour of strength today. im so freaking nervous. but i have to be confident.

this mornings brekkie: 1 cup fiber one + 1/2 cup natural cinnamon squares, 1 cup almond milk, 1 cup frozen berries
see what i mean about not leaving my bed. i was even too lazy to grab my camera and used my webcam for this breakfast. weak.