I've been taking pics of my meals lately, so here's some pics!
New creation: I was running out of ideas, didn't want too many carbs or calories since I wasn't going to be blasting a usual workout...so this is what I did for lunch:
1/2tbsp chia seeds+1/2cup frozen blueberries microwaved and cooled--chia jam
1.5 tbsp brown rice vegan protein
1/4cup 5 grain cereal (thats half a serving)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
---It tasted way better than it looks! After this, I rushed to the pilates studio for 2 hours of training and practice classes.
For dinner, I made tuna with LOTS of greens. Cucumber, celery, spinach, and avocado type of greens, to be exact.
I swear I'm going to dedicate a post to my FAVORITE superfoods next. Look out for avocado, chia, flax, spinach, and some more staples in the Body By Liz lifestyle.
A few days ago, I hadn't eaten for about 5 hours, and ate this AMAZING creation of a meal. Got my proteins, carbs, fats, veggies, and YUM FACTOR, all in one.
This is: 3oz eggwhites w/handful chopped kale, a sliced cucumber with 1/2tbsp chia seeds gelled with water, 2 slices ezekiel toast with 1/3 avocado spread on them
This was breakfast over the weekend. Looking at this pic makes me HUNGRY!! This was my first time making chia jam!
Left bowl: 1/2cup 5 grain hot cereal with chia jam, made with 1/2cup frozen blueberries, 2 strawberries, 1/2tbsp chia seeds
right plate: TON of spinach, 4 oz eggwhites, leftover chia drizzle
Now THATS How I fuel my beautiful body on a daily basis. I do NOT STARVE, I do NOT eat "low carb" or "low fat".... I eat well balanced meals, don't obsess over calories, while I do keep track in the back of my mind, and measure carefully. By properly fueling myself every day, and replenishing my muscles after tough workouts, I am able to make the progress everyone has noticed...the RIGHT WAY. I'm not getting "skinny" or "wasting away" as some people have jokingly said to me (I hope they were joking, at least..), I'm getting LEANER and more athletic, and healthier altogether, and loving EVERY minute of it!! The best part of being an athlete is eating like one, well...and looking like one with no clothes on!
Eat CLEAN!!
XOXO
Today turned into a super busy day, even though I only had 1 class, and was done at 10:45. After class, I stocked up on water bottles from the grocery store, and came back to my dorm and ate this:
1/3small avocado on a piece of ezekiel
3oz eggwhites with spinach
I ran to one of my professor's offices (literally, ran) to drop off an assignment, and ran to the gym. It was a nice warmup! I definitely needed it since I only had an HOUR for my workout today. When I got on the treadmill, I was feeling loose and ready to run FAST.
I planned to do 2 miles in 16 minutes, and finished them in 15:50. Then, I kept running until I made it to 2.5 miles in 19:30. WOO!!! Pretty quick right? I walked for a minute, and hopped off the treadmill.
--calorie burn: 223 calories
Strength:
Superset 1: 3 sets, 12,10,8 reps
Chest Press (20,25,30s)
One arm bent over row (20,25,30s)
Superset 2: 2 sets 15 reps
Plank-row-tricep kickback 15lb dbells
Upright row with 25lb plate
Superset 4: 3 sets 10 reps
Tricep extension on bench w/30lb dbell
reverse shrugs on dip station
twists on dip station
-->lightweight assisted dips 3x8reps
-->lightweight assisted pullups 8 reps
TREADMILL AGAIN
min 1-shuffle left 4.0
min 2-run backwards 5.5
min 3-walk 4.0
min 4-shuffle right 4.0
min 5/6 run backwards 5.5
Strength training cal burn: 233 cals
Less than one hour, I burned 455 calories (just in the gym..) Between all the running around, who knows how much I burned off.
I inhaled 1/2scoop protein with water and a green apple, and ran back out to do some pilates training for a couple of hours! *Insert more calories burned*
After all the hard work: This is what I treated myself to
-5oz liquid eggwhites
-1.5tbsp protein
-1/4 cup oatbran
-1/2tbsp flax seeds
-jam made with 1/2cup frozen blueberries and 1/2tbsp chia seeds
It looked like this:
And words cannot explain how frickin AMAZING it tasted because I was SO hungry.. this was well-deserved. Try it!! Im looking at it and getting HUNGRY again!
XOXO
Happy National Football day, to those of you who remotely care about football. I sure don't, but GO GIANTS. Gotta represent New York!! I'll definitely be watching the half-time show to see people i KNOW DANCING FOR MADONNA!!! Should be fierce.
If you're a pizza, wings, beer type of person (which I don't think you are, since you're reading MY blog...) There are some really easy ways to counteract the impact of your superbowl splurge. How? Well, use EVERY commercial break as a timed interval of cardio movement, plyometrics, or strength training!! I'll give you some exercise ideas so you can WATCH the commercials while you WATCH your waistline.
--Before the game starts: Warm up for 5 minutes, light jog in place, reach arms overhead, stretch your sides, take a light back bend. bend and straighten your knees. Get loose.
1st commercial break:
Alternate between jumping jacks and jogging in place for the entire time until the game is back
2nd commercial break:
Squat jumps and calf jumps
3rd commercial break:
Tricep dips off the couch or coffee table, or on the ground if you're a bit weaker, and a Tricep bridge isometric hold
4th commercial break:
Hold one full unopened beer bottle in each hand. Laterally raise until they meet over your head
Use the same bottles to mimic dumbbell circles
5th commercial break:
Sit on the ground, legs off the ground, toes together, arms overhead. Control the movement as you bring your arms to toes, and lay back to hover about 6 inches off the ground.
Still on the ground, feet still elevated, make a table top with your knees bent and together--russian twists
6th commercial break:
lay on your side (facing the TV!) with forearm positioned below your shoulder. neutral spine, hips stacked, one foot on top of the other. Lift your hips, hold 1 count, bring them to the ground. 30 reps per side. This should fire up your obliques on the side closest to the floor, but also engage the other side on the controlled descent.
REPEAT breaks 1-6 until the game is over!! After the game, stretch and congratulate yourself for not being a complete BUM.
As for some tips on WHAT TO EAT, or WHAT TO BRING... here's what I would do if I were going to a superbowl party:
GOT GUAC? Choose guacamole (make your own, maybe!!) before chips and pretzels! Give yourself 2 big spoonfuls of guac on your plate, and steal all the veggies from the crudite platter! These healthy fats in the guac paired with the fiber and water content of veggies like celery and baby carrots will satisfy you WAY better than potato chips, tostitos, and pretzels.
--If you are going to bring something to the party, bring something that YOU can safely enjoy! Slice up 1 BIG avocado, mix in some all natural salsa (10cals per serving), and surround it with sliced red/yellow/orange bell peppers, celery, cucumber, and baby carrots) Anyone else with diet concern will be absolutely THRILLED to see the veggies and raw guac.
--If you want to bring some crackers, bring something like Mary's GONE Crackers, which contain natural ingredients like millet and flax seeds. The same company also makes something called "sticks and twigs" which look like pretzel twists.
Drink lots of water, because we often mistake thirst for hunger. Cold ice water spikes your metabolism too! So throw some cubes in that cup.
If you plan on drinking alcohol, drink 2 glasses of water for every 1 alcoholic drink you consume. Unless you WANT to miss half the game because you're peeing, you'll slow down.
Remember that you ARE NOT the one playing football, you're just WATCHING. Watching football isn't torching calories, so you're going to have to WORK OFF whatever you pigged out on at some point, because you will feel guilty.
Speaking of "pigging out.." AVOID THOSE "PIGS IN BLANKETS" .. I've read the ingredients on the boxes of those things, and trust me...if you knew how many artificial and gross things are in those processed pieces of shit you wouldn't feel so compelled to eat them. And the sodium is through the roof, which will make you feel nice and PUFFY in the morning.
I could go on and on...but i won't. Eat a big salad with some solid protein and tons of veggies around 5pm before you start the festivities, so you will be FULL and not have as much desire to eat snack food. Go Giants !! XOXOX
First Friday of February workout:
-20 minutes of warming up on the treadmill. It took me 10 full minutes to even start sweating! My heart rate was 91 while I ran at 6.5 .. I was friggin comatose!
Circuit 1: 2 sets 12 reps, bigger kbells 3rd set (18lb/26.2)
-Windmills w/18lb kbell
-Upright row w/18 lb kbell
-Bicep curl w/18 lb kbell
-Suitcase squats w/ 2 18lb kbells
Back to the treadmill:
-1 mile in 7:59
-hit 1.5 miles in 12 minute
-ran slower, cooled down til i hit 15 minutes
Circuit 2: 3 sets 12 reps, increase weight each set
Lat pull down
Tricep extension w/rope
Stiff arm lat pull w/rope
Deadlifts:
Warm up: deadlift w/ bicep curl 15 reps 45lbs
Deadlift w/ bent over row 12 reps 65 lbs
Deadlift 95 lbs 12 reps
Deadlift 135 lbs 8 reps
Squats:
Warm up: squat 45 lbs toes slight turn out 15 reps
split squat 45 lbs 10 reps each leg
squat 65lbs 12 reps
squat 95 lbs 12 reps
squat 135 lbs 6 reps
This was SUCH a HARD workout for me, and somehow i burned like 500 calories in OVER an hour. My heart rate was super low the whole time, but i KILLED myself and felt the burn.. it also felt REALLY good to crank out a quick mile like that since I've been nursing this stupid old lady hip!
Operation booty 2012! Hoping to become BOOTY BY LIZ quality...
XOXOXO
Happy lifting
How do you wake up in the morning? Are you an early riser? A natural morning person? A rock hard sleeper that needs a SWAT team to wake you?
I don't know about you, but I wake up on the early side 7 days a week. Not super early like 5am, but I RARELY sleep past 8, even on saturdays and sundays. During the week, I need to wake up at 6:15-6:30ish to make my breakfast and get ready for my 8am classes. I go to sleep between 11-12 every night, but the early mornings do NOT happen for me without my guiltiest pleasure of all: CAFFEINE.
It is almost unheard of for me to start a morning without coffee. I find myself in a constant debate over whether or not i LIKE my coffee habit. Mind you, I don't get a little cup of coffee. Not a 12 oz kinda girl. I'm a VENTI STARBUCKS kinda girl. Yeah. That type of caffeine boost. Splash of soy. (NEVER PUT ANYTHING BUT NON-DAIRY OR SKIM... COFFEE SHOULD NOT HAVE AS MANY CALORIES AS COFFEE CAKE!!)
And, to be honest, if I'm dragging towards the end of the day, or if I'm stuck with unplanned afternoon hunger but want to wait to eat...I usually fix it with , GUESS WHAT... MORE COFFEE!!! If I'm NOT tired, and just want the appetite suppressant, I make sure i do the decaf situation. I'm just slightly obsessed ... Starbucks sent me a gold card in the mail. On occasion, I do something I hate EVEN more... I drink Monster ZERO. It has L-Carnitine! When I read the label on the energy drink, I wanna just hit myself...what kind of chemicals am i drinking? What the heck is that doing to my body? Would I ever recommend someone else drink this shit?!?! I have the same talk with my crazy self when I pick up a diet soda.
Well, friends..at the end of that conversation I often have with myself, here's the reason I never fail to end up with: These bad habits don't make me fat. My stomach can still look ripped after I drink a huge iced coffee. (Coffee also makes you go to the bathroom...always a plus.) While Monster has a ton of awful disgusting chemicals, there are ZERO calories. No sugar. No high fructose corn syrup. And hey, L-Carnitine is a fat burning supplement right?! At night, when it's 2 hours before bed and I can't eat anything, a decaffeinated diet soda fills my tummy with bubbles, and makes me not want to eat. While I consider these bad habits, I like to think that everything is relative. I try SO HARD to not put junk in my body, and i can say 100% that Monster and diet soda is the ONLY form of "bad" food I put into my system. I eat WHOLE foods, NOTHING processed. I wake up 15 minutes earlier than I really need to, just to chop up friggin celery and cucumbers to eat during my 3 hour workshop classes while other kids eat bagels from the deli and DISGUSTING PROCESSED PROTEIN BARS.
(Sidenote: YES, I KNOW LUNA BARS TASTE AMAZING. YEAH, THEYRE 180 CALORIES. JUST KNOW YOU'RE ONE STEP UP FROM CANDY. ITS LIKE INJECTING A HERSHEY BAR WITH PROTEIN JUICE. PLEASE DON'T COMPARE YOUR LUNA SHIT TO MY EGGWHITE WITH SPINACH. THANKYOU.)
So here I am, looking at the bottle of water next to my bed. Why can't I just drink water? Well, I DO drink MORE THAN 3 Liters of water EVERY SINGLE DAY. I bust my ASS in the gym. I eat SUPER CLEAN (most of the time. and i mean MOST. i really don't slip up much.) So, after wrestling with this habit of mine that I HATE in this blog, I'm curious to know if anyone else has the same problem?
--By the way, i HATE when people tell me "drink tea." Because here's what happens when Liz Brody drinks tea:
---brew the tea, decide it tastes like leaves, but smells really good.
---smell it until its cold, add 1 splenda (more GARBAGE!!) and drink it.
---Voila, I ruined tea!!
So, just don't tell me to drink tea. Because I'll get mad. But I love tea. Don't get me wrong. I just need splenda. womp. Stevia is ehhh, a bit strange tasting.
Much love.
By the way, I ran 4 miles, and did a quick booty and ab blast today and torched 501 cals in less than an hour today!!!
XXOXOX
Tuesday's tough stuff:
Circuit 1: 3 sets 12 reps, increase weight each set
Seated low row
Seated cross-cable delt pull
One arm low row w/torso twist
Toe touches on bench w/10lb ball
Russian twists on bench w/10lb ball
Circuit 2: 2 sets 12 reps increasing weight, 3rd increase weight and drop-set until absolute fatigue
Tricep pull down with rope
High face pull on one leg with rope
stiff arm lat/tricep pull with rope
Circuit 3: 3 sets as many reps as possible, using heavy dumbbells, drop-sets
Bicep curl to overhead press (20s, 25s)
Chest press (20s, 25s, 30s)
Arms overhead L-crunch on bench (12 reps per set)
Circuit 4: 3 sets 10 reps
Reverse shrug using dip station
full twist w/oblique crunch
Circuit 5: 2 sets until fatigue
Lateral raises on one leg (8s, 10s)
Reverse flys bent over on one leg (10s)
Foam-rolled, stretched out my shoulders A LOT, and did more scorpions and hip flexor stretches. 90 minutes, 586 cals burned, 35% from FAT. It's crazy how hard the Stair monster is , yet doesn't burn as many calories as running. For me, running is usually relatively painless. My body has become so well-conditioned for running, that I don't feel PAIN after running a 7:34 mile, just lots of sweat.
I wish someone could get a photo of how SICK my back and shoulders look when I work out. Today, when I was working hard on the dip station, I saw striations in my shoulders! I was so shiny (aka sweaty) and ugh I just remember looking at myself in the mirror and thinking DAMNNN my shoulders look hot! (If only my booty had the same prominence...) I took a photo before I worked out today because I liked the outfit I wore to the gym, but you can BARELY see the definition in my shoulder caps thanks to my crappy cell phone quality.
I cant help but smile when I look at this photo: that top is a size 2 from lululemon, and those pants are a size small, and I have to pull them up sometimes! You can't tell from the photo, but the back of my pants have grey detailing that matched my shirt perfectly. If you care...haha.
Anyway, I would love to hear from anyone who follows my blog!!! BOTHER ME!! You can also read my twitter at twitter.com/lizbrody or mention @lizbrody on twitter. I tweet about everything, but you know i can't help but tweet about food and exercise!!
Much love.
Burn some calories tomorrow!!
xoxoxo
If you've been paying any sort of attention to my blog, you know I ran myself into a little hip flexor tweak. Well, after a few tough days away from the treadmill, I returned to it today. Here's how it went:
--First, I WARMED UP before getting on the treadmill. Dynamic stretching and loosening up the hip joints and hamstrings. Not just hitting the ground running like I usually do. Oh, AND I got to run in some BRAND new sneaks. Same model I always wear, but a new pair. I run out of my shoes SO FAST because I'm always ... running!!
--ON the treadmill:
--walk 2 minutes at 4.0
--ease into a 6.0 stride
--4 rounds of 6.0/6.5/7.0 (1min intervals)
Nice and warmed up at this point, I ran mainly between 6.8 and 7.0, and didn't run faster than 8.2. After I had been running for 15 minutes, I felt comfortable with my pacing and hips. No pain! I ran 3.5 miles in 32 minutes, and cooled down with a minute of 6.0, then 4.5, then 3.5.
It was a GREAT, but not crazy intense 35 minutes.
THEN, I moved onto my 2012 mission: operation booty.
i NEED to build my glutes!
circuit 1:
deadlifts 60lbs (10,12,15 reps)
goblet squats 30lbs (10,12,15 reps)
tricep support roman chair crunch (10,12,15 reps)
Circuit 2: 4 sets 12 reps
hyperextensions: no weight 2 sets, 10lb plate 2 sets
obliques off hyperextension bench
Circuit 3: 3 sets 10 reps
Alternating back lunges holding 10s
Side lunges w/reverse fly 8s (really 6 sets of flies)
dip station L-sit
Hanging ab crunch to pike
Circuit 4:
Swiss ball glute extensions 2 sets 25 reps
swiss ball straight leg bridge 2 sets 25 reps
30 sec static hold in each position
--plank dips 3 sets of 10
--downward dog-plank-pushup 15
plank walks
I cooled down my workout with lots of stretching for my hip flexor.
Worked out for 90 minutes, and checked my cal burn at exactly 1:30.
668 calories!! Circuit training burns SO much its unbelievable.
Try out some of my strength training workouts, I promise they won't disappoint (and neither will your growing muscles, either.)
XOXO, Liz
New creation: I was running out of ideas, didn't want too many carbs or calories since I wasn't going to be blasting a usual workout...so this is what I did for lunch:
A few days ago, I hadn't eaten for about 5 hours, and ate this AMAZING creation of a meal. Got my proteins, carbs, fats, veggies, and YUM FACTOR, all in one.
