For The Sake of Cake

What’s beautiful to you?

I very vividly remember the first time I realized I had “wide hips.” Is this weird? I must’ve been around 16 or 17, and I was checking out my outfit in a full-length mirror. Where had these hips and thighs come from all of a sudden? Okay, this isn’t a post about teenage growth spurts (thank God!) but it is about Under Armour’s What’s Beautiful Campaign, which I’m participating in as a partnership with Fitfluential.

I guess the whole point of my (irrelevant?) tangent is that if it weren’t for my “thunder thighs”—said with love!—that I once viewed as a negative, I never would’ve been able to train for and carry myself a full 13.1 miles.

The What’s Beautiful Campaign encourages female athletes—of all ability levels—to declare a goal and just go for it, whether it’s something big or small, short-term or long-term.

My goal? Set a 5K PR!

Since I’ve been running shorter distances post-half marathon, I want to work on increasing my speed and running a sub-30 minute 5K. I know that’s not fast for some, but goals should be individualized and this is something that will take work for me to achieve!

The What’s Beautiful Campaign allows participants to document their journeys—through photos/videos/etc.—and offers prizes to top performers. Swag bags are given away weekly, and 3 grand prize winners will get a trip to Costa Rica for a 4-day yoga + surf retreat.

I think the real goal of this campaign goes beyond winning prizes (they are some pretty awesome prizes though, aren’t they?!). What I like most about the What’s Beautiful is the sense of community that’s developing. You can join teams—I’m on a bunch of different teams myself—and motivate others to reach their goals while also working towards accomplishing your own.

Consider this your formal invitation to join me—and many others—and be part of the What’s Beautiful Campaign!

What’s a current health/fitness/life goal that you’re working towards?

Confession time…

Ever since Christmas, I’ve come a bit unhinged.

I’m sure most of you can agree that it’s difficult to stay on track – eating healthfully and working out regularly – during the holidays. Heck, it’s hard to do those things during the ordinary day-to-day.

After Christmas and New Year’s, I knew I needed to make a conscious effort to watch what I was eating and perhaps shed a few of those annoying pounds I put on after taking one too many cookies from the Christmas platter.

I was introduced to the Lose It! website and app, and have found it helpful in keeping track of what I’m eating, and how much energy I’m expending during my workouts.

First and foremost, I want to stress that Lose It! isn’t just an app. As I stated above, it’s a website, too. I find it convenient – and sometimes easier – to input my daily eats when I’m at the computer as opposed to always having to do so on my phone.

There are many other great advantages to Lose It! Some of my favorites…

• Bar code scanner – While the food database on Lose It! is plentiful, there is also the option to scan a product’s bar code and obtain the nutritional stats that way. (You can also manually enter information about a product/food).
• Set and track goals – When first registering for Lose It! the user inputs his/her goals – how much weight they want to lose and in what period of time they hope to do so. Lose It! then helps the user visualize their goals and timeline for weight loss. You can weigh in as frequently as you’d like, and Lose It! shows your progress in chart form.

Home screen of the app, before entering in any data for the day

• Connect with friends – This website and app allows users to connect with and help motivate their friends as well as create groups for even more motivation!
• A plentiful exercise database – Lose It! isn’t just about food… you can enter in your physical activity for the day and Lose It! will “credit” you those calories burned. There are tons of exercises to chose from – seriously, anything you can think of!

• Reward badges – Users are awarded badges for various accomplishments, both big and small. It may seem sort of silly, but I really like stuff like this! Who doesn’t like getting a gold star for a job well done? It’s all about celebrating small victories, and the badges help users to do just that!

The Lose It! website and app (available for iPhone and Android) are free to use, but there’s also a paid, “premium” version. So, what’s the difference? Premium features are as follows:

• Users have the ability to set more goals.
• You are able to link your Lose It! account to other devices, such as the Nike+ Running app and the Fitbit Ultra activity tracker.
• Users are able to create challenges and invite other users to help with motivation.

The premium service is $39.99/year or just over $3/month… well worth it, especially if you’re looking to up the motivational factor.

Overall, I was impressed with the service that Lose It! provides. The database is ample, it’s very user friendly, and the added extras – like reward badges and bar code scanner – improve the service overall.

Have you ever used Lose It? Do you count calories or keep a food journal? I wasn’t doing this to obsess over calories, but I do find that keeping a food journal makes me much more mindful of what I’m eating!

I was provided with a free premium membership in partnership with Fitfluential, LLC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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You didn’t think I’d forget to announce the NuNaturals giveaway winners, did you?

The four winners are…

#1 – Danielle

#2 – Allie

#3 – Cassie

#4 – Stephanie

Congrats ladies! Please email me (4thesakeofcake@gmail.com) with your mailing info, and I’ll pass it along to NuNaturals!

Thanks to everyone for entering! If you didn’t win, don’t worry – you can enter the discount code “BLG0613” on any NuNaturals order and receive 15% off!

Happy New Year everyone!

How did you spend your NYE? Chris and I went out to dinner with my mom (my dad had to work!) and then we went over to his parents’ house to bring in 2013. I was so tired, so we ended up heading home around 12:30AM and went straight to bed.

I woke up this morning to the sound of my alarm; it was time to get out and run the four miles I had planned. To my surprise, Chris asked if he could tag along.

First run with my new Garmin!

So let’s recap… it takes me about a month+ to be able to run four (slow) miles and Chris just wakes up one day and says, “I think I’ll run four miles today.” Seems fair! It was fun to have the company!

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I always try to make a few resolutions at the start of a new year. I know some people find resolutions to be silly – and maybe sort of pointless? – but I always appreciate a “fresh start.”

While these aren’t my only goals for the new year, I did want to share the fitness and health goals I hope to achieve in 2013.

#1 – Finish the Disney Princess Half Marathon.

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This will get crossed off my list early on in 2013. The farthest I’ve run so far is about 6.5 miles. I really need to focus and work hard to be prepared for February 24th!

#2 – Take my vitamins regularly.

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I wrote a post about taking vitamins back in July, but have since become remiss at actually taking them. I want to make a conscious effort to take my probiotic, B12 vitamin, and Viactiv chew daily; I just need to force myself to make a habit of it!

#3 – Cut back on sugar.

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I’m sure it’s obvious from the name of my blog, but I love sweets! Perhaps I’m being more mindful of my sugar intake because I’ve been eating way more sweets than usual – thank you Christmas cookies – but this is something I need to work on. Just to be clear – sugar and desserts are not being eliminated from my life (I definitely plan on having dessert today!). I just want to lessen the amount I’m eating overall; this should be pretty doable.

I’ll try and remember to check in with these goals throughout the year!

Did you make any fitness and health goals/resolutions for 2013?

Hey everyone!

Welcome to a new week and a new month. I love when the first day of the month falls on the first day of a new week… it’s a fresh start!

Before jumping into any October goals, I wanted to recap how I did with the goals I set back in early-September.

#1) Complete all prep for each school day before leaving work for the night.

For the most part, this was a success. There have only been a small handful of days where I’ve had to make a last minute worksheet or re-read/take notes on something the night before a lesson. Some days – like today when I had to leave right at 3:00PM – it’s difficult to get everything in; it definitely requires perfect time-management skills!

#2) Work on securing a few freelance opportunities.

Yikes – this was definitely a fail. While this item still remains on my to-do list, it’s usually the thing that gets cut when “time’s up” at the end of the night. If I know myself, I’d guess I won’t get around to this until Thanksgiving or Christmas break… sigh… Guess I have to take care of the job that pays the bills first.

#3) Save, save, save!

Another success! I manage the $money$ in our house, and I make it a point to save – even if it’s just a little bit! – each week. It helps that Chris gets paid weekly, too. We’ve still got a few months left until we go to settlement on our house, so this is a goal that will be carried out through the rest of the year (and the rest of our lives, actually!).

#4) Give BodyFlow another chance.

And another total fail! I didn’t even glance at the group exercise schedule for my gym to see when it was offered. It wasn’t that I was purposely avoiding it; the month just really got away from me. I think this will be a goal I carry over to October.

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In other “life news,” today marked the first “official” day of Disney Princess Half Marathon training. I made it 1.9 miles before I called it quits (yes, just 1/10th of a mile short of a full 2). For some reason, the bugs were horrific around my neighborhood this evening. I must have accidentally eaten at least 4 or 5, and my shirt was covered in dead bugs at the end of it. Yes, very disgusting! What’s up with that?! Anyway, I completed the last .10+ on a walk with Stewie!

Speaking of Stewie… So as not to make this a completely picture-less post…

Apparently, this is his new thing. He’s not a big fan of the leather couch, so my husband put his bed – which he rarely lays in normally – on the couch. All of a sudden, he’s all about the dog bed. What a goof.

Did you set any goals for September? If so, how did you do?

Does your pet have any strange habits? Stewie has so, SO many, but another common one is constantly resting his chin on something… me, a pillow, a toy, his paw, whatever – he must have his chin supported at all times!

It’s been a few months since I’ve written a goals post. I figured that with the fresh start of a new school year, it would also be a good time to set some goals!

Work-Related:

• Complete all prep for each school day before leaving.

Ask any teacher and they can vouch for the fact that a lot of work is done at home. Although I try to play catch up on the weekend and start each new week well-prepared, there are always things that need to be done at the last minute. I want to make sure I do any next-day preparations before I leave work. That way, the only stuff I’ll be bringing home with me is grading.

Blog-Related:

• Work on securing a few freelance opportunities.

I’ve been meaning to work on this for a while now, but never got around to it. (I probably should have done so during the summer months when free time was plentiful!) Although my schedule is already pretty busy, I’m hoping to find time to fit in some writing assignments outside the ones I set for myself here on the blog!

Home life-Related:

• Save, save, save!

For those of you who don’t know, Chris and I are currently in a rent-to-own deal for our house. We’ll be settling in a few months, so we’re getting ready to write the biggest check of our lives!

August was a tricky month; I haven’t be paid since August 10th, thanks to a wonky contract year (yes, I get paid this coming Friday!). Admittedly, I was a little nervous about how things would go with such a large gap in my pay, but thankfully Chris gets paid every week and has been working a ton of over-time. Everything worked out just fine!

Now that we’re back to a two-salary income, we plan on socking away as much as possible to ensure our savings isn’t fully drained come settlement time!

Fitness-Related:

• Give BodyFlow another chance.

I tried BodyFlow once about a year ago and wasn’t a fan. However, after speaking with Lauren and Sara at last week’s blogger meet-up, I think I want to give it at least one more try!

Have you set any goals for September?

Hi there! I hope everyone enjoyed a nice day off & 4th of July yesterday. My day was pretty low-key. Chris & I had to purchase a washer/dryer during the day, then we went to his parents’ house for dinner in the evening.

This morning I was up bright & early for BodyPump. I had plans to go to the 6:00AM class on Tuesday, but I overslept. I think I was still recovering from moving! I was determined not to ignore my alarm this morning though; it had been over a week since my last Pump class!

We did the newest release this morning & it’s definitely a challenge. There were some jumping squats involved & let’s just say it wasn’t cute.

I have a few unrelated things I want to cover tonight, so pardon the randomness of this post!

First, I wanted to review my June goals. (I know, I’m a bit behind.) To be honest, I didn’t do so hot…

1) Try out more new recipes.

I did so-so on this one. I’ve tried a few new things, but not as much as I would’ve liked. Now that we’re somewhat settled in our new place, I plan on continuing this goal throughout July, especially since we have a nice, big kitchen!

2) Bake more often.

This was pretty much a fail. I think the only thing I baked throughout the month of June was Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies. These were delicious (& only $4.85 for the mix from Swanson!) but it was a mix, not from scratch. I already have something earmarked to hopefully bake this weekend.

3) Work up to running 3 miles.

I can definitely run 2 miles straight, but not 3. If I’m shifting blame, I’m going to blame my lack of success on the weather. I’m really not a fan of the treadmill, & it’s just been too hot to run outside. It looks like the weather may be cooling down a bit next week though!

4) Work on strength training independently.

Total fail. I didn’t go near the weight section of the gym once in the month of June. I have been pretty consistent with BodyPump though.

5) Drink more water.

Success! I’ve definitely been upping my water intake, partially out of necessity to survive in these super-hot temps.

I’ve decided not to do a separate goals post for the month of July. I still have some things I want to work on from my June goals, so I think I’ll stick with those that weren’t so successful.

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Next up, I have a new recipe to share with you all. As I was unpacking earlier this week, I started flipping through an old cookbook & found a recipe for sweet ‘n’ sour meatloaf. Of course, I made quite a few tweaks & adaptations, but I think my version turned out wonderfully!

Pretty simple, right? I love meatloafs because they are so easy to prepare. Throw everything together, pop it in the oven, go about your business, & enjoy. This one will definitely be added to our rotation!

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Last but not least, I have a few house photos to share, as promised. I figured I’d start with the master bedroom & bathroom.

 From our bedroom door. Don’t mind the boxes or dog toys scattered about!

I hope to turn this into a little dressing/make-up area. Let’s see what Chris thinks about that…

View from the bed.

Nice big walk-in closet with plenty of room; looks like it’s time to go shopping!

View from the bedroom looking into the bathroom.

Whirlpool tub that we’ll probably never use because we’re too cheap to pay for the water to fill it! (I only wish I were kidding.)

Double sinks… praise the Lord!

Stall shower, a first for me!

As you can see, things are definitely a bit bare & “sterile” looking… & they’ll probably stay that way for a little while. Furniture that looked gigantic in our apartment looks dwarfed in the new house. We’ve got quite a bit of space to fill!

What’s one thing you would have in your dream bathroom? How amazing would heated floors be?! Not in these temps, of course, but in the winter?! Perfection!

Good evening everyone! How was your Monday? Today was my last full day of teaching. All that’s left are finals – half days for the kids tomorrow, Wednesday, & Thursday – graduation Thursday evening, & a half day Friday. Then… it’s summer! I’m already looking forward to my celebratory lunch date with my mom on Friday.

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I realized that it has been a while since I wrote a “monthly goals” post. I’m not exactly sure why they fell by the wayside, but I figured with summer coming up, & with a little extra time on my hands, it would be good to distinguish a few things I want to accomplish throughout the month of June.

Food Related Goals

1) Try out more new recipes.

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This was something I was pretty good about when Chris & I were first married. I didn’t have much experience in the kitchen & basically had no choice but to try out new things. However, I’ve recently fallen into the habit of repeating meals quite a bit. There’s nothing wrong with this, but I figured with some extra time on my hands for meal preparation, why not try some new things?

2) Bake more often.

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This goes hand-in-hand with goal #1. More free time = more time to do what I really enjoy, which is baking. I have quite a few cookbooks – & pins – that I’m dying to work through!

Fitness Related Goals

3) Work up to running 3 miles.

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I know this is chump change to some of you more serious runners out there, but I’m a beginner! Right now, I can run just under 2 miles before I feel like death. I’d like to work up to 3 in the month of June. Hopefully, I’ll be able to sign up for a 5K at the end of summer or early fall.

4) Work on strength training independently.

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While I’ve been pretty good at attending BodyPump twice a week, I’d like to become more comfortable using the strength training equipment available at my gym. That’s the one area of the gym where I feel pretty clueless. I think having some time off work & being able to go to the gym during the “off” hours might make me feel comfortable enough to start poking around the weights area!

5) Drink more water.

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This is a perpetual goal of mine. Since my job as a teacher isn’t really conducive to chugging tons of water, I plan on making up for my lack of H2O in the summer months.

Have you set any goals for the month of June?

How often do you try out new recipes?

If you live in the northeast, chances are you experienced some pretty exceptional March weather today!

When I heard the weather folks calling for 70* weather, I asked Chris if he wanted to plan a run together.

Thursdays (along with Tuesdays) are normally my “BodyPump days,” but it felt good to switch up my routine, get outside, enjoy the warmth, & exercise with my husband.

We ran around our apartment complex & throughout an adjoining neighborhood. We used this as an opportunity to “house shop” as well, pointing out different properties that we liked (& didn’t like!) along the way.

Once we were done with our workout, we took the pug for a nice, long walk, which he loved!

Speaking of the pug… I just have to share this photo Chris snapped of the two of us last night. I look completely ridiculous (my eyes are half-closed!) but the pug looks too cute & I have no shame…

Almost every night, Stewie jumps at me while I’m blogging at the computer & he absolutely loves when I sit him on my lap like this. It certainly gives new meaning to Tina’s Blog Dogs series!

Back to today… after we had worked up an appetite, we returned back to the apartment & I got to work on one of my favorite dinners:

I made Cheeseburger Skillet Pie for the first time back in October & have loved it ever since!

This recipe requires very few ingredients & minimal dishes (which equals minimum clean-up, too!).

I enjoyed this serving x2!

Before I head out for the evening, I wanted to quickly run down some goals for the month of March. I did the same for December, January, & February & want to continue since it helps to keep me accountable.

1) Eat more vegetables – This is the food group that I could really stand to get more of!

2) Drink more water – I mentioned how important drinking water is in a previous post, but I know I don’t drink nearly enough.

3) Get more creative in the kitchen – I usually rely solely on recipes created by others, but I’m making an effort to try out some of my own meal ideas this month!

I feel like there’s one more that I’m forgetting, but oh well; it’s been a long week!

Do you prefer to workout inside or outside?

Hi everyone!

If you follow me on Pinterest, you might have noticed that I recently created a new board – Blog Topics – as a place to pin articles that I find interesting enough to discuss on this blog.

A few days ago, I pinned this article from Shape titled “Can Too Little H2o Impact Your Mood?”

I know that for me personally it is difficult to consume tons of water on a daily basis. Being a teacher, I can’t just up & leave my class to run to the bathroom after guzzling water all day. However, I do try to drink plenty of water once I am home for the night.

As you may have guessed from the article’s title, it discusses the correlation between water consumption & mood:

“According to a new study from the University of Connecticut’s Human Performance Laboratory even mild dehydration, defined as an approximately 1.5 percent loss in normal fluid volume, can alter your energy level and mood. In the study 25 women and 26 men were tested. Each was healthy and typically exercised for 30 to 60 minutes a day. In three separate evaluations 28 days apart each test subject was put through a battery of tests that measured things like concentration, reaction time, learning, reasoning, and memory. These results were compared with a separate series of tests the subjects took when they were not dehydrated.

In the young women mild dehydration, whether after exercise or not, caused fatigue, headaches, trouble concentrating, and the perception that the tasks they were asked to perform were more challenging. In the men, mild dehydration led to difficulty with memory and, while they also experienced fatigue and anxiety, the mood changes were not as substantial as those seen among women. The scientists also noted that we don’t feel thirsty until we’ve already become one to two percent dehydrated, when we’re already feeling the cognitive effects.

The take away here is that if you always feel tired, run down, stressed, and fogy in the brain, which can lead to poor food choices and skipping the gym, a lack of fluid could be a factor.”

An interesting article that I thought was worth sharing! It has definitely brought to my attention the need to do my best to stay as hydrated as possible.

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I also wanted to do a quick check-in on my February goals, seeing as tomorrow is the last day of the month.

1) Get more sleep – Somewhat Success

I think I’ve improved my sleeping habits a bit throughout the course of the month. I’ve been making a serious effort to be in bed by 10:00PM every night (even though I might not fall asleep until 10:30PM) & I have also been making sure to get a solid 8-9 hours on the weekend to recharge. There’s always room for improvement with this though; if only I could make my to-do list a bit shorter!

2) Add more variety to my workouts – Fail

So, if you’ve checked out my Workout Log recently, then you’ve probably noticed I haven’t made much improvement here. After some reflection, though, I’ve decided that that’s okay. I get an equal amount of strength training & cardio throughout the week, & I’m not bored with my workouts at all, so… “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” If I get do start to get bored with my workout routine & therefore unmotivated, I know that will be the time to mix things up.

3) Continue to grow For the Sake of Cake – Success

I’d definitely consider this to be a success! I’ve seen several new visitors/commenters pop up, & I couldn’t be happier. It’s so fun to hear from a variety of people & receive everyone’s input & feedback.

FYI – for any new readers – be sure to check out FTSC on Twitter, Facebook, & Pinterest!

Off to get some relaxing in & hopefully watch The Real Housewives of Orange County! Have a great night.

Do you think you consume enough water throughout the day?

Did you set any goals for the month of February? If so, how did you do?

Monday has arrived again!

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I had today off of work for the President’s Day holiday. I managed to make today a productive one, & checked quite a few items off of my task list:

• 6:00AM spin
• Laundry
• Preparation for the work week ahead
• Grading
• And now, blogging

After 6:00AM spin, I practically ran into the apartment to get my French toast casserole in the oven. I switched things up a bit this time around, & used a cinnamon-raisin bread which was absolutely delicious.

It was a great way to start the day!

I spent the remainder of the morning work on my to-do list, but took a break to make smoothies for Chris & I. This was my first time incorporating spinach into a smoothie, & what “they” say is true – you really can’t taste it!

Ingredients (for 1 smoothie) included:

• 1 frozen banana, cut into pieces
• 1 c. milk
• 1 heaping tbsp. plain Chobani
• 1 heaping tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 handful of spinach

Served in a Phillies Tervis, in honor of pitchers & catchers reporting!

Not the prettiest color, but Chris & I both gave it 2 thumbs up! We definitely need to work on incorporating more veggies into our diet, & I have a feeling this may be a new go-to.

The rest of the afternoon was spent working with a sleepy pug by my side. He just loves to lay in the sun, surrounded by his toys!

Before I knew it, dinner time rolled around & I headed into the kitchen!

When I’m meal planning, I always ask Chris if he wants anything in particular for dinner during the week. Yesterday he said “parmesan-crusted chicken.” A rather specific request, but a good suggestion!

I used this recipe from Kraft. I liked it because it didn’t require too much work – no dredging in milk/flour – & also saved us some fat/calories. The recipe suggested serving the chicken alongside of rice & asparagus. We went with brown rice, but I subbed in spinach, sautéed with garlic, since Chris isn’t a big fan of asparagus.

I loved the flavor combinations & the fact that this meal came together quickly.

One thing that I’m determined to work on this week is creating more “complete” meals. I think I’ve got the main dishes down; I feel pretty comfortable in the kitchen, & try something new several nights a week. One thing that I usually forget about though is a side dish. As I mentioned before, I could really work on including more veggies in my diet, & having them as a side with dinner seems like the easiest way to accomplish this goal. When meal planning this week, I was sure to include at least one side dish for every meal (with the exception of one night when we’re having soup).

So tell me, because I really need some advice…

What are your favorite side dishes? Any ideas that go with various main dishes are welcome! Preferably quick & easy, too!