Tag Archives: workouts

Lazy Snow Day

Make sure you check out the guest post I did yesterday for Heather of For the Love of Kale! It’s got some new lower body workout ideas – and felt! You’ll see…

Hey, guys. I hope your weekend was fabulous! Mine really was. I went to bed around 1 or 2AM both Friday and last night. If you know me even a little bit, then you know this is unheard of. What’s even more unheard of is that I slept til 10:15AM yesterday. And I got out of bed, saw that it was a “snow day”, and declared it a day to relax.

The timing couldn’t have been better, because yesterday was really completely in line with the “happiness goals” I outlined for myself in Friday’s post. I started the morning off with YogaWorks Body Slim (link on the Workouts page because it was such a good cardio workout) by the fireplace, and followed it up with a snack.

Rug = yoga mat?

1% cottage cheese with blueberries and a sliced banana. Kellogg's freebie bowl.

I tore my way through the DVR with Kourtney and Kim Take New York (no shame), Grey’s Anatomy, and Dance Moms (again, no shame). Coffee by my side all day.

I have the same PJs as Kourtney, and my dad can't take a steady iPhone photo.

Half regular, half toasted butternut decaf. Vera Bradley mug.

And I accomplished one of the happiness goals of taking a bubble bath (more decaf coffee instead of wine, because I was going out later).

 

Honestly, the bubble bath was not a de-stressor! Ah! I was trying not to get my hair wet, and kept slipping and almost going under the water as I tried to lean back and read, so that was a bit annoying. And since I wasn’t submerging myself, I kinda started sweating and did not feel like I was getting very clean! This paragraph is FULL of first world pains, but this happiness goal backfired just a little bit.

Also made sure to post my to-enjoy list, even if Friday’s was a bit late. Saturday’s needed TWO tweets – good sign!

Getting a manicure yesterday helped me de-stress too! Color is OPI's Warm & Fozzie (Muppets collection).

I’m adding another goal to the list as well, thanks to the inspiring blogger Kasey of PowerCakes! Yesterday, she came up with a great idea called #MirrorlessMonday. Today, and upcoming Mondays, you can comment on her blog or tweet her (@PowerCakes) with a part of your body you love the most with the #mirrorlessmonday hashtag. Also, try making a conscious effort not to scrutinize yourself or even any little part of you in the mirror. This is a good goal for every day, but sometimes when it’s a habit (I know it is with me), it’s good to start small. I’m adding #MirrorlessMonday to my list of happiness goals!

I have to admit for me today, #MirrorlessMonday has already not been mirrorless. This is a bad habit! At least it’s increasing my mindfulness throughout the day. It’s a step.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post (there was a teaser picture for it up on the blog yesterday), because I have a fun night at the casino to share with you guys – I met someone pretty awesome there!

What do you think about #MirrorlessMonday? How was your weekend??

Random Workout and Duffy’s Sports Grill

Hi all! I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s post on the Taste of New Haven: Canal Quarter tour that I did recently. If you  haven’t read it, check it out. You’ll be drooling by the end!

She might have my male readers drooling too #cheesy

Yesterday I was finally back to my sweatier workout routine after work. The day I got my wisdom teeth out (Friday), I did a relaxing YogaWorks Core Flow video in the evening, because I was so stiff from sitting around all day. It felt great, especially all the twisting poses. My back REALLY needed that. On Saturday and Sunday, I stuck to high-resistance elliptical sessions with some good magazines, and mat work. But yesterday I got to the gym, and I had HIIT on the brain. I got on the Step Mill for 30 minutes with the above latest issue of “Self” (and some “Entertainment Tonight” Golden Globes coverage) and did speed intervals, levels 15-17. It ended up coming out to just a little over 4 miles and I finished it off with…

Random Total-Body Moves:

Done and done, I was so ready to go home after that. It was 8pm by that time and I was starved. Luckily I came home to roasted Brussels sprouts and chili. Oh, the joys of living at home.

Let’s get back to my Florida vacation recapping, yes? 

I think it’s so cool when two “separate worlds” combine in unexpected places. An example of this occurred our second night in Florida, when my dad arranged for my godfather AKA his best friend, Joe, and his son AKA one of my best friends, Greg, to join us for dinner at another old favorite spot, Duffy’s Sports Grill!

Greg and his family were also in Florida for the holidays, and I didn’t want the trip to come and go without at least one meet-up. Greg lives in Boston right now (he goes to law school at BU), but his parents live very close to us in CT and he and I both went to UConn, so it felt funny for our two CT-based families to be meeting for dinner in Florida, of all places! We actually have met up in a similar manner on a trip a couple of years ago, and it’s always a good time.

Dad, Joe, and Greg after a Duffy's meet-up in Florida '09.

Duffy’s started out as a little place that only served burgers, hot dogs, and chips – not even fries! It’s certainly expanded since then, with locations all over the east coast of Florida. My parents have adored the place for years and years, since before I was even born.

We arrived to find that the restaurant was, as usual, absolutely packed. My grandma is a Duffy’s MVP, so we did get a little bit of priority on seating, but still had to wait awhile. When you go to Duffy’s, you have to expect a wait if you don’t want to end up disappointed. Eat a snack beforehand – ha!

Sis and I.

Duffy’s also has two-for-one happy hour all day, every day. When you order a drink, they just bring you two of it. That’s Florida for you…never in CT would I see that. Lame.

Go Mom! 2-for-1, 2-for-1!

We were finally seated, though had to switch tables because we were mysteriously split up when there were tables available next to each other that we could have pushed together. There was also a slight incident in which our waiter forgot to take Greg’s dad’s order – but we hunted him down!

Posing with the siblings.

Despite the fact that Duffy’s is a “sports grill”, the menu really has options for everyone thanks to Florida’s abundance of fresh seafood. I always get fish whenever I can when I visit Florida. I consider it a waste not too – it’s so fresh!

I ordered my go-to white fish, the mahi-mahi with a baked potato and black beans. My mom got the exact same thing. We LOVE all three of those components.

I arrived at Duffy’s STARVED, and then ended up getting too full that I could not finish all that. Not like me!

Greg had never had kobe beef before, and Duffy’s is continuously voted Best Burger in FL, so he got a kobe burger. We were all disappointed to see that Duffy’s had gotten rid of their fantastic french fries and replaced them with shoestring fries! These are SO much less satisfying than regular fries, and our waiter agreed. He said it had been only a week, and they’d already had so many complaints that a plan was already being implemented to change them back. Don’t mess with a good thing!

Greg still enjoyed his burger, but he wasn’t blown away.

Duffy’s is a great place with reasonable prices, and I recommend giving their seafood or burgers a try if you’re in eastern FL – after they get their old fries back, of course.

How do you feel about shoestring fries?

Let me know if you try my workout moves!

First Restaurant Visit of 2012: La Petite France

Happy Hump Day! For me it’s more like a Thursday because I’m taking this Friday off work, but not for a fun reason (hate you, wisdom teeth). Had a bit of a bummer yesterday when my favorite spin class was full – got to the gym a bit later than I usually do on Tuesdays. The combo of New Year’s Resolutioners and weather that’s too cold for outdoor workouts always makes spin hard to get into at my gym until about March or so. Hope I have better luck next time, but I got a class in this past Sunday that was great, so all is well!

Ended up doing the Step Mill, my go-to machine for an efficient HIIT workout. I worked my way up to Level 16 speed intervals for the first time recently, and always do 30 minutes, so I wanted to push it and see if I could do 40. Felt like I was gonna die by the end, but I did it! Magazines are SO helpful (and the evening news during the fast intervals, when I’m climbing so fast there’s no chance in hell of me reading a single word).

If you want some cardio machine reading ideas, Diva on a Diet might be able to recommend “Working Out Sucks!” to you, since she won it recently in my giveaway. Thanks for the shout-out, girl!

Workout talk done, now who’s hungry?!

Of course I had to start 2012 with a visit to a newish-to-me restaurant on New Year’s Day, right? The star of today’s post is La Petite France Bakery & Cafe of West Hartford, CT (conveniently located on Farmington Ave, right by Blueback Square). I call this place “newish” because I did have a chance to sample one of their indulgent plain croissants at Bethany’s holiday brunch last month! After one bite I knew I would need to make my own visit, since I am a self-proclaimed cafe-enthusiast.

Remember these? Plain, chocolate, and almond croissants.

My good friend Kelly has been away at law school in Michigan all semester, and after we figured out that between our schedules our only day to meet up while she was home on winter break was New Year’s Day, we knew we had to make a date. We frequented Starbucks and Cafemantic at UConn together, so a cafe seemed an appropriate choice for a lunch spot!

I loved the exterior of the cafe from the very start. I’ve never been to Europe but it certainly looked authentic to me! I was totally starved after a good Stair Master session at the gym, so lunch sounded great to me. Of course the pastries looked incredible…but at lunch time, I’m always craving savory.

It didn’t take long at all for me to decide what I wanted. I was sold when I saw a build-your-own salad option, with an ingredients list that included some of my favorite creative salad best ingredients!

I love the casual setup of the coffee prep table!

I ordered a mixed greens salad with prosciutto, goat cheese, roasted red peppers, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and balsamic vinaigrette. I couldn’t believe that the salad was one price, meaning I could add a ton of ingredients and get a more-interesting-than-chicken meat option, for a completely affordable price! The salad also came with a crusty piece of baguette.

This salad was so, so wonderful. The prosciutto was out of this world and the dressing was one of the best balsamic dressings I’ve ever had. The baguette was perfect, nice and crusty just the way I like them, and the veggies were abundant.

Of course, seeing as we were at a cafe, we had to get our caffeine on. When I saw that LPF has mugs for their coffee and espresso drinks, I was even more excited!

Jealous of Kelly's cute mug.

I selected my usual nonfat cafe au lait sprinkled with cinnamon, and Kelly got a cappuccino, which looked perfectly foamy.

I would love the chance to come back to La Petite France and do some studying sometime. The atmosphere is exactly what I work best in.

The cafe is also very active on social media. We’ve been known to trade a few tweets, and they even linked to my post about the croissants on their Facebook!

I will definitely be back to La Petite France Bakery & Cafe. A welcome addition to West Hartford Center!

When was the last time you pushed yourself extra in a workout?

Have you ever been to a French cafe – or France?!

Winner: Anytime Fitness “Working Out Sucks!” Giveaway

Thank you to all 61 of you who entered my FitFluential giveaway for Anytime Fitness CEO Chuck Runyon‘s new book, “Working Out Sucks! (And Why It Doesn’t Have To)“. Entries closed last night at 11:59PM EST, which means that this morning I was able to pick the winners! I used a random number generator to pick three numbers from 1 to 61. And the winners are…

Tara Burner

Lizzie

Alexis

CONGRATULATIONS! Please email your shipping address to me at caitplusate@gmail.com. If you didn’t win the giveaway, you can always head over to Amazon and purchase a copy – it’s only about $10! And if you buy $15 more (that’s not very hard to do on that site!) then you can get that good old free shipping 😉

It was really interesting to read about the different workout excuses people have used, because almost all of them were covered (aka “shot down”) by Runyon in his book. I could also identify with a great deal of them, like:

  • I don’t have time.
  • I just don’t feel like it.
  • I’m hungry (in this case I just eat a snack and THEN go).
  • I’m sore.
  • It’s so cold out that I don’t want to leave the house (even to drive to the gym).
  • They say it’s better to get an extra hour of sleep than work out.

I do want to say that my views of these excuses are not quite as “hardcore” as Chuck Runyon’s views in the book, as I mentioned in my review. As part of my journey to find balance and be less rigid with my working out and eating, I’ve been trying to teach myself that it’s okay to miss a workout every now and then. Usually my rest days are the ones in which I don’t have time because I’d rather get an extra hour of sleep than wake up really early to fit a workout in before work, on the days that I have class or errands or plans after work that would prohibit my usual post-work group fitness class. Why look, there’s two of the listed excuses justifying my rest days! But the thing is, Runyon’s book does advocate one or two rest days each week. So from my view, if an “excuse” becomes “reasoning” for when the schedule a rest day, that seems fine to me. It’s when the rest days start outnumbering the workout days that you may want to take a look at your “reasoning” again!

Now that we’re on the subject of workouts, I guess I could recap this morning’s workout for you. I woke up surprisingly well-rested and relaxed after an evening of wining and dining last night with my wine-loving partner-in-crime, Kelly (recap to come). I arrived at the gym too late for the start of the 8am spin or Group Step class, so I took to my go-to cardio machine, the Step Mill. I always set it on speed intervals, level 15, but last time that seemed to be getting too easy, so I upped it to level 16. Wow, I was sweating and out of breath during the fast intervals, and the slow intervals were a good little recovery, but my heart rate was still up. After just 30 minutes I’d completed an efficient HIIT cardio workout – my favorite kind, because they’re over faster 😛

Actually kinda hate you.

Then I took to the mat for planks, push-ups, v-sits, and leg lifts. After some pigeon posing to get those glutes stretched, I was outta there.

Image credit.

Congrats again to the winners!

Did you work out today or are you planning to do so? What’s on the agenda?

Group Core and Catsup and Mustard

Have you entered the giveaway to win a copy of “Working Out Sucks!”, the new book from Anytime Fitness’s CEO? You have until Friday night!

I got to try a new group fitness class yesterday! After Casey and I finished up a sweaty hour-long spin class with one of my favorite spin instructors, Jocelyn, we were feeling pretty wiped. Jocelyn announced to the class that she had just been certified in Group Core, a Body Training Systems class that would be coming to our gym soon. She planned to practice in a conference room and needed some guinea pigs. I was intrigued – I’m ALWAYS down to try a new group fitness class, so Casey and I volunteered!

The equipment required was very simple: a towel, a mat, and a 10-lb plate. The 25-minute class was extremely efficient and consisted of 5 songs. They were pretty good, not the best I’ve heard, but I did like that Britney’s “Circus” was on there!

This class really did work the entire lower body, even legs. Lots of dynamic movements while holding the towel (never tried that before) like lunges with an oblique twist, and squats with arm raises. We also did squats followed by simultaneously raising the 10-lb plate to one side and our leg on the other, which challenged my balance, something I can always improve on.

The ab work was very tough. I sometimes find myself unchallenged by abs, but this class actually had me having to take breaks during the last song. The entire thing was planks and oblique crunches, without much rest at all. I totally felt the burn!

If your gym has Body Training Systems classes, I highly recommend finding out if Group Core is on the schedule or if the gym is considering getting it. If they aren’t, why not try to change their minds? It really is great to get in a good lower body workout in just 25 minutes!

I have some exciting plans tonight – a friend I met through Twitter, Olivia, is meeting me for dinner tonight at one of my favorite local spots!

Chef Corey Wry is a local celeb in my area. He first opened up a delicious, low-key breakfast and sandwich place in Manchester, CT called Pastrami on Wry in 2005 (the Elvis pancakes are the stuff of dreams). His most recent (third) restaurant, Chops ‘n Catch, serves fancier steak and seafood fare, with an emphasis on local ingredients. The fish is excellent and the baked potatoes are giants, just the way I like ’em.

The man himself, courtesy of chopsncatch.com.

His second restaurant is like the filling of a PB sandwich (no, I don’t like jelly) or an Oreo – you know, the best. And it’s where Olivia and I are going tonight!

Catsup & Mustard lives true to its motto of “eat, drink, laugh”. As you can imagine from the title, an emphasis is placed on burgers and fries, though there are plenty of other options for all kinds of diners, from the picky child to the healthy living blogger to the unique-burger-obsessed foodie (and I am very aware that those last two can be found in the same person). Catsup & Mustard was even featured on an episode of Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives! You can find a recipe submitted by Corey himself for Catsup’s Buried-Under Cheeseburger Salad on FoodNetwork.com.

Image courtesy of catsupandmustard.com.

But if you’re going to go to Catsup & Mustard, please don’t order that. Go home and make it yourself! Instead, I’d recommend the quesadillas from their Appetizers section. Or one of their amazing turkey burgers (yes, a restaurant that makes a good turkey burger exists). Or a burger with pastrami layered on top. Perhaps a spinach salad with salmon strikes your fancy? How about grilled cheese and tomato soup? Those are just some of my favorites, and all can be paired with their many varieties of fabulous fries.

One order is more than enough for two or three people. Make sure you ask for the dipping sauces – the Kicked-Up Catsup is delicious and unique.

The first time I met my new “blend” (blog friend), Bethany of More Fruit Please, we met at Catsup & Mustard for dinner. Guess it’s my go-to spot for meeting new friends! She hadn’t been since moving to the area, and I wanted to show her a nearby go-to spot.  I chose the Garlic-Parmesan fries, my favorite flavor (obviously, I’m Miss Garlic), for us to share.

Bethany was torn between the Pretzel Grilled Chicken and the Turkey California. I immediately advised her to go with the turkey burger – I’d had the grilled chicken sandwich before, and it wasn’t anything special, even with a pretzel bun, which was actually too overpowering for the meat. The Turkey California is a turkey burger on a golden roll topped with chardonnay onions, turkey bacon, avocado, and a spinach-tomato-bleu cheese salad. It’s one of my dad’s favorite things he’s ever ordered there (and mine too).

All sandwiches come with a side of coleslaw and a famous Corey half-sour pickle.

I wanted to try something I hadn’t ordered before, and I was craving greens since I’d been wining earlier that day, so I got the Teriyaki Salmon salad on baby spinach, with cucumber, carrot, roasted red pepper, and a tasty sesame vinaigrette. The salmon was cooked to perfection and the combination of the dressing and teriyaki gave it an Asian flare.

All salads come garnished with crunchy and satisfying potato "whistle stix".

I cleaned my plate, and had a hard time not finishing more than half of the fries!

Of course, I asked for, received, and consumed three half-sour pickles on the side. I also brought three more home – jackpot!

I had a great time meeting Bethany and am already excited to go back tonight with Olivia. Thanks to Corey for providing local, fresh, unique food to Connecticut!

Have you had any good (or bad) experiences with restaurant turkey burgers? I’m wondering because I rarely have good experiences, except for at Catsup or another local favorite, Max Burger. I eat my dad’s at home all the time though!

Have you ever tried Group Core or something similar?

Anytime Fitness Review and Giveaway: Working Out Sucks!

You’re probably confused by this post’s title, right? Read on!

There are plenty of reasons why being a FitFluential Ambassador is awesome. A supportive community, plenty of health advice, blogging tips…I could go on forever. Another perk is getting the chance to interact and work with fitness and nutrition-related brands, which just so happens to be my passion and dream career. Thanks to FitFluential, my dreams are coming together already!

There’s a new gym in town, literally. Anytime Fitness, a 24/7 health club, just opened a new location in my hometown of Glastonbury, CT. In fact, my friend Kelly, a fellow social media enthusiast, just joined with her mom! I haven’t had a chance to check out the facility, but she had nothing but good things to share. With her membership she received three personal training sessions, two of which she has used already. She adored her trainer! Her mom (they joined together and got couple’s pricing – how cool is that?) did not have as good of a personal training experience – her assigned trainer seemed less personable and a bit too “hard-core” in her attitude. However, Kelly and her mom both love the look and feel of the gym so far. She even told me about a virtual classroom in which members can select classes anytime (even spin classes – a bike can be wheeled into the room) so that group-fitness lovers, like me, can do a variety of instructed workouts on their own schedules!

The owner of the Glastonbury facility, Andrew Breton, is also a fellow UConn alum (and a CPT himself)! If you live in the area,  you can sign up for a free 7-day pass online.

Now I’ll explain the post’s title. The CEO of Anytime Fitness, Chuck Runyon, has written a sassy, tell-it-like-it-is book called “Working Out Sucks!“ This 224-page paperback also has an important tagline on the cover – “(and why it doesn’t have to)”. The book is about the reasons why working out sucks, the excuses we all make for not taking care of our own health, why those excuses don’t matter, and ways to start changing your lifestyle that are simple and small. Runyon is also joined by Brian Zehetner (MS, RD, CSCS), who offers nutrition and fitness plan advice, and Rebecca Derossett (MSW), who offers advice on beating the psychological challenges that stop so many from adding movement and nutrition into their lives.

Chuck Runyon and co-founder Dave Mortenson, courtesy of FranchiseChatter.com.

Chuck Runyon starts by naming pretty much every excuse one could come up with for not working out, and then shooting it down in anywhere from one to three pages. No long, scientific explanations, just simple a simple “these are the facts” mentality. He does a very good job poking holes in the excuses, including some holes that I had never thought of myself. I recognized many of the reasons I used to cite for skipping a workout when I had just started my fitness journey and was going to the gym regularly for the first time in my life. Sometimes he sounds downright harsh – after all, we are all human, and I think that if a few of these excuses “win” and serve as the justification for a missed workout every so often, it’s really not a big deal in the overall scheme of things. However, the book is targeted to those who are just starting a fitness routine, so their “bigger picture” probably doesn’t contain an overall already-active lifestyle. If excuses are your problem (even if only occasionally for the already-active readers out there), this section is worth a read for some good mental tools you can store away to fight those excuses when they start creeping into your mind.

Rebecca Derossett’s psychology-focused section, which comes next, is also helpful in regards to the mental roadblocks that may get in the way of living a healthy lifestyle. She certainly has the education and expertise to back up her advice and tips. However, her section is not quite as relate-able (and not nearly as sassy!) as Runyon’s. Those who do not enjoy his tell-it-like-it-is writing style may enjoy Derossett’s writing more, though it is not gentle by any means! Her section also contains a lot of very inspiring success stories from a variety of Anytime Fitness members. That variety is key, because the number of readers who can relate will increase.

I consider myself a foodie first, so I was really interested in what Brian Zehetner had to say about nutrition and how those without much knowledge of or experience with it could make beneficial changes. He addresses important subjects like the carb debate, fiber’s benefits, protein needs, healthy fats, water intake, and supplements. Zehetner breaks down each subject and gives a very clear-cut bottom line. I think that’s what’s missing in a lot of nutrition advice, so I was impressed by that.

He also authors the next section, about what kinds of fitness (and how much of it) readers should be doing. The message is simple: movement is beneficial. It doesn’t have to be your typical exercise. Getting up and walking is a start for some, and that’s perfectly fine. I like that this book didn’t focus on just a “workout plan”. The message was really to just move – there are a whole lot more ways to do that than there are on a list of what you can do at a gym! That fact makes the message more attainable, something that could reassure those that were put off by Runyon’s feisty start to the book. Zehetner stresses the importance of stretching, something I know that many of us, no matter how active we already are, can do more of. I know I could! It’s nice to see that the typical “calorie-scorcher” areas of fitness aren’t the only one being promoted here.

The final portion of “Working Out Sucks!” contains a very useful, realistic 21-day fitness and nutrition plan – essentially, it’s a collection of “sample days” that gives great ideas for workouts and options for each kind of meal or snack. Someone new to fitness could simply find a day with a cardio plan, and follow it. A ravenous snacker could keep to book by his or her side and refer to the last section for endless healthy snack alternatives. Those who have been working out for awhile could even refer to the workouts as a source of a new routine (always good to change it up!), and healthy eaters who are getting bored of their go-to meals can use the back pages for new food ideas. I really like that rest days are incorporated into the plan. This serves as a reminder to dedicated fitness buffs that rest is OK – I know I need that reminder a lot (not saying I’m a buff or anything ;-))

Overall, I found this book to be a useful, to-the-point tool for relatively inexperienced readers who are looking for solid advice on how to eat well and work out. A lot of confusion that’s probably out there regarding “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts” is cleared up. The tone may not be for everyone, but can definitely be used as effective motivational self-talk against those pesky excuses!

Lucky for you guys, I have three copies of “Working Out Sucks!” to give away! Entering is easy – just comment and tell me an excuse you’ve used in the past to get out of working out (mandatory). For an additional entry, you may tweet “I entered to win the @AnytimeFitness book #WorkingOutSucks from @CaitPlusAte! http://wp.me/p1SfTW-nR” and leave a separate comment saying you did so or the second entry won’t count! US readers only please. Giveaway will be open until this Friday 1/6/12 at 11:59PM EST. GOOD LUCK!

Also, please join in a Twitter chat tonight at 9PM EST to discuss the book further – just use the hashtag #WorkingOutSucks!

FitFluential LLC compensated me for this sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Greetings from Florida!

Oh my goodness. I am so excited to be in Florida right now for my first paid-week off from work! I am currently devouring Publix birthday cake, AKA the best grocery store birthday cake ever, and feeling a bit stressed over the pile of recaps I need to do for the blog. But my dad has declared 2012 “the year of chill” AKA “chill twenty-twelve“, and I am trying to take a cue from his book, and worry less. Already with his new chill attitude, I’ve noticed less stress on this vacation – it’s contagious!

A meal from what seems like eons ago, AKA dinner on the 21st.

Baked potato w/Sweetfire Salsa courtesy of Tara, turkey sausage and turkey burger w/spicy yellow mustard, and coleslaw.

I’m still sharing things from a week ago – and that’s a bad sign, since every single day has been absolutely packed with good times, good food, and good workouts! OK, maybe not so much the good workouts.

The fitness center at the hotel where my parents are staying (my siblings and I prefer to shack up at our grandparents’ apartment, which is way cozier to me than any hotel) is quite sub-par and has been forcing me to use the treadmill for my cardio. Still better than running outside in this FL weather I’m no longer used to! I did manage to score a free pass to an LA Fitness, but it was good for only today. I took a Bootcamp class, which was pretty hard, though not as challenging as I’d like. Still, I thought I’d post the routine for you guys since it would be pretty easy to replicate at home!

Bootcamp Workout (created by Janina of LA Fitness in Palm Beach Gardens, FL):

Super easy, right? No equipment necessary (except a mat or a soft surface in general). Remember I did not create this workout and I am not a personal trainer so proceed to use it at your own risk!

The beloved belated Publix birthday cake for my mom.

I have been sticking to my early sleep schedule and just finished my cake, so it’s time to go read and then hit the hay. Gotta be up early to hit the hotel gym again – treadmill, blahhh.

Do you work out while on vacation? What is your attitude towards doing so?

Get Your Weekend On

Happy Friday! I’m so glad it’s the weekend, but when am I not? This week has been the busiest I’ve ever had at work but has also flown by the fastest. I’m excited to relax and stick around CT this weekend. Plus, my sister is coming home for the week on Sunday!

In terms of workouts this week has been pretty good because I got to attend two of my favorite classes at the gym, Step and Interval Training, which also happen to be some of the hardest classes there. It worked out well though because due to class this week, I ended up with a rest day both Tuesday and yesterday. As usual it was a little bit tricky to get through rest days without getting rest-less, but I did enjoy getting out of class last night at 7:30 and knowing I could go home to a tasty dinner.

Mom's homemade chicken and chickpea chili, topped with broccoli and pico, whole grain taco shells on the side.

I ate out a couple of days this week, which I plan to recap soon, but on Tuesday night I was also at home for another mom-meal.

Sundried tomato shrimp, caramelized onions, and roasted Brussels sprouts!

I SO loved having these Brussels left over to put in my salad lunches this week.

Also just hung up some more cubicle decor, this time coffee related! So many people have maps hanging in their cubes, and this is my kind of map…

Awesome right? I received this poster at the Cafes do Brasil brunch (still a couple days left to celebrate by the way)! So cool to see where all the coffee comes from, and how cute is that little engagement ring box graphic with a coffee bean inside (in the lower right corner). That’s the real way to my heart!

Hoping to get out of work on time for Group Step and then a dinner out with my mom and brother – a repeat of last Friday. Sorry for another short post, but it’s time to get my weekend on.

What was the best dinner you had this week? Any good Friday plans?

Comparison Traps and Tennessee Recap: Part Two

I wanted to get something out that’s bothering me today before I continue my recap of my Tennessee vacation. The issue of comparison traps was on my mind this morning after my trip to the gym. I got up a bit later than I’d have liked but still made it in time to catch the last 30 minutes of spin class. I worked hard and got in a great cardio workout. A couple of others came in late too, but when the class ended, they both stayed for the next class. I was all ready to go do some abs and be on my way, but it immediately bothered me that the other women were staying and I was not.

I started wondering if I was being lazy, if I should stay for the next class. I thought of all the others who were leaving when I was, but had been there the entire hour, not just 30 minutes.

Then I tried to tell myself – I did what I wanted. I sweated, I feel good, and now I can go about my day. And that’s what I did, and I’m proud of myself for that, but it’s STILL bothering me! I often get caught in a comparison trap, even though I know when it comes to working out, quality > quantity and I certainly had some quality time with that spin bike.

Does anyone else get suckered into comparison traps, and getting caught on quantity instead of quality when it comes to working out?

Enough of that – thanks for letting me vent, and now I’ll get onto my Tenneseee recap, which oddly enough starts with workout talk!

As I mentioned earlier, I did manage to get in a few workouts on this trip. Each morning I woke up and headed down to the hotel gym.

Classy mirror shot and morning eyes.

Conveniently enough, coffee was set up each morning by the elevator for those of us (aka my mom) that cannot work out without caffeine first. Luckily I can save my coffee as a post-workout reward! I prefer it that way.

The hotel gym was fairly nice and had a TV with an accessible remote – a must when I am doing cardio without a class to drive me! I had magazines just in case, but the TV was preferable for my elliptical/treadmill sessions.

I used that weights machine to do some stuff, but mostly stuck with body weight moves or the free weights.

Creepy dark corner with yoga mats and a stability ball! I did some abs over there and felt sketchy.

Our room was pretty nice too! We stayed at a Four Points Sheraton and used our Starwood rewards points to get a good deal. Not only was free coffee at the elevators and in the lobby each morning, but there was also a fresh basket of apples at the front desk 24/7!

We had a fridge, microwave, and sink in the “kitchen” area, so there was plenty of storage for snacks and (mostly) libations. My family has a Diet Coke addiction – my brother and I are the only ones that do not partake.

We had two of those TVs, one in the “living” room and one in the bed room! What was funny was if one was on, you could definitely hear it from the other room, so watching both TVs at once would prove to be difficult if we had run into that situation.

Something I liked about this place that may sound weird was the design they chose for the bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and lotion (see above). I hate it when hotel toiletries are in those stiff bottles that are absolutely impossible to squeeze. I know, I know, first world problems. But does anyone else feel me on this?

The Four Points Sheraton does need to keep in mind though – ROOMS NEED TWO BARS OF SOAP! One for the hands and one for the bod, no? We could barely even get them to give us extra soap when we left a note and a tip for housekeeping. My Nana Connie has had the same problem there and always packs extra soap now when she stays there. Weird!

We took a nice walk around the campus on our second day (Saturday) and headed to the book store for some SHOPPING! I love Vol gear. For those of you who are confused, yes I went to UConn. Yes, I root for Tennessee. I was raised that way and it will never change! There’s nothing like SEC sports anyway (sorry Big East). And now I have not only my parents to support, but my sister the new Vol as well!

The bookstore had some pretty random stuff, but also some really cute purchases for me!

Immediately after I jokingly posed for this photo, someone legit exclaimed that they wanted to buy this?!

Unfortunately, my Nana Connie said this pasta isn't good at all.

I tried on a sparkly orange hat as a joke, but ended up realizing after we left the store that I really loved it, so we went back before the game to get it! I pretty much haven’t taken it off since.

Giving off a power-errand-runner vibe.

After cleaning out the book store, my mom and I walked to get a special treat for lunch that we can barely find in CT nowadays – QUIZNO’S!

The beloved Q! Spotted: the mom taking the pic.

I had two chains I aimed to visit on this trip – Quizno’s and Chik Fil A (that comes later). Quizno’s is my favorite sandwich chain of all time and its slightly higher prices (compared to Subway) are completely justified by the quality of its ingredients.

Any place with a pickle bar is a winner.

I knew there was plenty of food coming at the tailgating and game later that day, so I went with a small Veggie sub on wheat. It had lettuce, tomato, pickles, olives, banana peppers, sautéed onions and mushrooms, cucumbers, and guacamole. With a million pickles on the side, of course.

Beams of light shine on the holy Quizno's – behold!

What follows is my favorite food photo I’ve ever taken so far – hopefully that will happen more often once I get my new camera!

This sandwich was SO GOOD. Quizno’s never disappoints me!

Next up, I’ll recap the tailgating and the football game itself!

Do you typically drink your coffee before or after your workout (or both)? What’s your favorite sandwich chain? Who do you root for in college football?

At-Home Workout + My First Thai Experience

I’m back from Tennessee and so far have had a bit of an iffy experience being here in New England post-Alfred. Yes, the winter storm was named Alfred.

I had some cozy snacks by the fire last night with my parents, got in bed, and went to sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night though both freezing and starving! I ended up having more snacks by the fire and curling up there in a ball. My bed was not warm enough! My dad woke me up at 5:30 and had me move to my parents’ bed and that was a bit better. Still no power at my office today so I am at Whole Foods charging and have been working on blog stuff all morning. This day is flying!

Whole Foods coffee and the workout I used this morning!

This morning I created my own lower body weights and cardio interval workout. It lasted about an hour (55 minutes?) and was quite good! The key is to move from exercise-to-exercise with NO stopping. I designed it so that different body parts get rest while others are working, so you never have an excuse to not be moving. Those are my favorite kind of workouts! I thought I’d share it with you guys since you seemed to like the last one I posted. This one can be done anywhere – all you need is a set of dumbbells (I used 10 pounders).

Lower Body/Cardio Intervals Workout (always consult your doctor before trying any new workout – I am not a trainer!)

Phew! Re-writing that made me tired, ha! I re-fueled after immediately with a banana and some Cinnamon-Raisin Swirl PB.

 

Switching gears, I’m excited to finally share my first Thai experience today! Last Wednesday night, I continued my wild and crazy streak of going out to dinner after a day of work and the gym. Unfortunately when I arrived at Thai Angel to meet Jeff and Kim (friends, couple, and my favorite restaurant companions), SaveNowCT deal in hand, my appetite was feeling thrown and I wasn’t that hungry. Sometimes this happens to me after I work out – anyone else? It doesn’t make much sense to me!

I still wanted to sample a couple of different items and get in a full Thai experience. My first choice was the Chicken Satae. Looking back, I wish I had gone with something more adventurous – I eat chicken all the time! But the dipping sauces on the side were enough to make even the blandest of chicken (and this was actually quite delicious meat) taste beyond amazing.

The Thai food I was most excited to experience was the peanut sauce, and it didn’t disappoint. This tasted awesome! I’ve already been craving since then. I think I could honestly dip anything in this sauce. No really, anything, try me!

The second sauce was called a “cucumber sauce” on the menu, but honestly tasted nothing like cucumber. It was delicious, a sweet vinaigrette, but I felt a bit misled! I was excited to try a cucumber sauce since I love cucumbers. The dressing was still good and tasted like a typical sweet chicken marinade, but the peanut sauce overshadowed it a bit with its general awesomeness.

I have always wanted to try the Fresh Rolls since seeing them all over blog entries about Thai food. I’ve seen photo after photo of veggies and shrimp wrapped in rice paper, with peanut sauce on the side, and after seeing each photo I’ve been more and more excited to order them. They did not disappoint, but the sauce did. This promised peanut “sauce” was more like the exact same vinaigrette that came with the chicken, with chopped peanuts floating on top. I quickly abandoned it and dipped the rolls in what I consider to be the real peanut sauce.  I really liked the rice paper – such a cool concept!

Kim ordered the Chicken Mango Curry, an adventurous choice for her, since she usually gets the Chicken Pad Thai. The dish came with veggies, mango, chicken, and jasmine rice in a mango curry sauce.  She really enjoyed it and said the mango paired well with the chicken. I was curious as to how veggies and fruit would go together in the same dish, but when I thought about it, I love mango salsa in my salads, so it totally makes sense!

Jeff chose the Squid Red Curry. He had never tried squid, so it was another exciting choice and he was pleased with it. The squid did not look the way he and Kim pictured it (they were thinking of something like calamari), but he still enjoyed its taste. His dish came with squid, red curry spice (dry chili) cooked in coconut milk with bamboo shoot, carrot, pineapple, bell pepper, basil.

Overall I’d say I really enjoyed my first Thai experience, and am excited to go back and try a more adventurous dish when my appetite is behaving. I’m thinking a curry, with squid! Thanks to Thai Angel for hosting a great daily deal and preparing a very good meal for us!

I am so glad the family is moving to a hotel tonight. Can’t deal with another night without heat, and we are near the casino so it means a yummy dinner there!

Please let me know if you use and/or like the workout!

Have you ever had Thai food? What’s your favorite Thai dish?

Meet Caitlin

I’m a 28 year old full-time working girl living in Boston (previously lived in Connecticut). I’m passionate about food/drink, restaurants, self-love, fitness, and the ever-present search for balance. I write about that journey on this blog – I hope you enjoy!

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Design Credit

My header was originally designed by Mai Le and later tweaked by Chris Roggi to match this theme, which he helped me customize. He also moved me over to self-hosting! Both can be contacted through their sites for design & development work!

Disclaimer

I am not an RD and do not have any official training, certifications, or degrees in nutrition or fitness. This blog is a way to write about my life. Any views I express are mine alone, based on what works for me, and should never be taken as medical advice. Always talk to your doctor or a trained professional before starting a new diet or fitness plan. In addition, this blog and its content are in no way affiliated with Kate Gosselin, “Kate Plus 8”, TLC, or any related affiliates.

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