Move It!

All right, starvation alone is not going to get this weight off fast enough. Time to throw in some exercise. I have three little kids and I hear stories all the time about how women just drop the pounds simply by chasing their busy little children around. So you'd think with three little ones 4 and under I'd be a rail, right? WRONG!

I type for a living. I sit in a chair all day and type. Medical reports. I listen to old men drone in my ear all day and try not to fall asleep. But I have to make a certain amount of money to help supplement the family income in these tough times, so I sit and type as much as I can while my children run WITHOUT me behind them, and destroy my house. My exercise is shouting at them from my chair. It's not working out so well for me. Time to get off my butt (well, first surgically excise it from my office chair - it's kind of become ingrown) and move it!

DILEMMA: It's freaking hot outside.

OTHER DILEMMA: No extra money for a gym membership right now.

YET ANOTHER DILEMMA: No workout videos at the moment. I had a great "Dancing With The Stars" workout video that I LOVED because it didn't feel like working out. It was me attempting to dance like they did on the video, but actually looking more like I was suffering an epileptic seizure for 30 minutes straight. But still, it was fun. Anyway, somehow it's disappeared. I have the case, but that does me no good.

SOLUTION: Get creative!

Rollerblading is supposed to be a great workout, but I don't own any and how do you want me to roller blade with three little children 4 and under? Huh?

Okay, here are two great ideas, which have worked for me and I love them. In fact, as soon as I finish typing this post, I'm doing one of these ideas.

IDEAS:

1. Put on some socks, put on a show you like (or music, but the show is more distracting) and slide back and forth in rollerblading motions on your tile or linoleum floor. Yeah. It really works. Great for the thighs and buns. I just watch my show, slide back and forth like I'm rollerblading and next thing I know my show is over and my thighs and buns are KILLING me! Just slide your left foot out, slide your right foot in, slide your right foot out (No, don't shake it all about. This is not the hokey pokey. CONCENTRATE!).

2. Put on some fun music. My husband has trained his little monkey puppets to love techno/club music, which I personally find to have no real musical substance, but the monotonous beat causes convulsions in my children and keeps them entertained for hours, so I put it on and we jump around and convulse together (blinds tightly shut, of course) for as long as we can stand to.
This one especially works the calves. Great cardio too. It's awesome! Try it!

So, there are my tips for the day.

OH! Brooke requested some juicer recipes. I'll share a few a day with you. I've got fruit and veggie combos for you. I have a whole book of these and I'm going through and trying each one and check marking it and making notes to either alter it or note whether or not I can stand to drink it. Some of them are rough. Healthy, but rough.

First of all, let me just say, you can juice any fruit or vegetable and just drink it straight. Very healthy. But here are some fun combos:

FRESH CELERY BLEND

1 head of celery (washed)
1 large carrot (washed, cut off ends)
1 small wedge of lemon (about 1/4 a lemon)

Celery is a natural water pill. It decreases bloating and swelling. Carrots are good for your eyes and skin. Lemon is...sour. This one is not like, "Wow! I love it! I wanna' drink ten glasses of this stuff right now!" But you do get some satisfaction knowing you're doing something extremely healthy for your body and you can down it in a few gulps so you don't have to taste that celery for too long. Sorry, I hate celery...even with peanut butter on it. But I force myself to do this one sometimes because it's good for me and I can get it down my throat pretty fast.

GOOD MORNING DELIGHT

1 large carrot (washed, cut off ends)
1 medium red apple (washed, remove stem)
1 pint fresh strawberries (washed)

This concoction is one good way to start the morning and I've found that I actually don't really need to eat for at least an hour afterwards, sometimes two. It seems to satisfy me. Not bad tasting either. Not my absolute favorite, but pretty darn good considering it's fruits and veggies mixed, which is always difficult for me to get excited about.

PINEAPPLE-ORANGE BLAST

4 pineapple spears (top removed and skinned)
1 medium orange (peeled)

DANG GOOD! One of my favorites! Good one to drink after a meal. The acidity in the fruit eats away at whatever you just ate. Breaks it down easier. And so delicious.

Here's one tip. The white stuff between the fruit and the peel of the orange, you know the stuff you pick off as much as you can before you eat the orange? That's called the pith. It's full of vitamins and nutrients. When juicing, try to keep as much of that on as possible.