Hello Weekend! I’ve been waiting for you. This is the 4th blog of the week. #Exhausted. Best. Week. Ever! And on a further skippy note, here in Chicago we have great news! We are beginning to thaw out from a very long, very cold, very icy winter! Spring is coming. Or so they claim. We have had sub-zero windchill temperatures this week, and “Unprecedented cold weather”but this weekend we will hit 50 degrees. Can. Not. Wait! I think winter may finally be over. Thank goodness because I think everyone is sick and tired of talking about the cold winter. At least I am!
Springing Forward
With spring looming ahead, we also need to set our clocks ahead to start Daylight Savings Time. Spring Forward! Losing an hour of sleep isn’t fun, but longer days with sunshine sure is. So is a new season.
10 Things To Do When You Set Your Clocks Forward
- Replace the batteries in your Smoke Detector and Carbon Monoxide Detector. Making sure to replace and test these devices twice a year can be the difference between life and death. Make sure to help any elderly loved ones in your life as well. If they can’t do it on their own, some fire departments have programs that will assist.
- Reverse the direction on your ceiling fan. In the Spring fan blades should rotate counter-clockwise to help cool down the rooms. In the Fall, switch the direction to clockwise which helps pull down the warm air that gets trapped near the ceiling. Both of these measures help save cost on heating and cooling.
- Flip and rotate your mattress to help promote even wear and tear. Unless you have a no flip mattress. Then just rotate it.
- Schedule a furnace inspection. This should be done twice a year to make sure your furnace is running as efficiently as possible.
- Replace the filters in your heater and air conditioner. This should actually be done several times a year to ensure they run as efficiently as possible.
- If you have a fireplace, scheduled a chimney sweep in the Fall and in the Spring take some time to clean up the fireplace and brush down the walls.
- Drain your water heater. It is recommended that you drain one quart of water from your water heater every three months. Make sure to check the owner’s manual for your water heater for further recommendations and how to drain the water correctly.
- Go through you medicine cabinet and first aid kit and discard any expired or discolored products. Dispose of any prescription medication that is expired or no longer needed. You can search on FDA.gov for how to safely dispose of medications.
- Go through your pantry and dispose of any expired or stale/opened foods.
- Daylight Savings Time is also a good time to start rotating your wardrobe. Wash your winter clothes and inspect them for damage and wear and tear. If you have clothes you know longer wear put them aside for a garage sale or donate them. Pack away clothes for winter and start washing and inspecting your Spring and Summer wardrobe.
These are just a few suggestions of home preparedness tasks that should be done at least twice a year. Plan to tackle one or two items a day in the days leading up to the time change and then you will be ready for the next seasons to start. Source: Premediatedleftovers.com
Spring Break!
And Spring Break is also right around the corner. Whether you are traveling or not, it still is time for a break from reality which is always a good thing. In case you are lucky enough to be going away for spring break and are thinking perhaps you should have stuck with that 30-day Ab Challenge (no judging here), it’s never too late!
And if a few planks and lunges don’t appear to be enough, there is always the 7-day Pre-Spring Break Cleanse!
So your whole plan to lose 10 pounds before spring break failed?
The meals aren’t strict. The most important thing if you are looking to avoid bloat and have more energy, clearer skin, etc., is to eat mainly veggies and fruit, lean protein, and avoid cheese, starches, other dairy products, and excess sodium and added sugars.
- Egg White + Spinach Omelet
- Non-Fat Greek Yogurt with Blueberries
- Spinach / Pineapple / Banana / Almond Milk Smoothie
- Egg White Super Breakfast
- Protein Berry Smoothie
- Kale Kleanse Juice
- Egg White + Tofu (or Lean Turkey) scramble
Avoid: If you are looking to “de-bloat” try to avoid salty breakfast meats, cheese, and starches (potatoes, breads, etc.)
Salad is going to be your holy grail for this week. I don’t care if it’s a kale or arugula or spinach salad, just eat all those leafy greens and absorb all those nutrients and benefits. As for salad toppings:
The Dos:
- Tomatoes, Peppers, Flax seeds, quinoa, cucumbers, carrots, berries, citrus fruits, avocado, edamame, chickpeas, raw almonds, lean grilled white meat or tofu, vinegar, cracked pepper, lemon juice
The Don’ts:
- Cheese, bacon bits, beef, creamy dressings, oil, salt, croutons
Dinner is going to consist of 2 veggies and 1 protein. The veggies can be anything you like, grilled or raw. The protein should be a lean protein. Have it with at least 2 glasses of water! Yay freedom of choice.
- Celery or carrot sticks with guacamole
- Chickpeas
- Edamame
- Oranges/Grapefruit
- Cherry tomatoes
- Frozen grapes
Avoid snack crackers, chips, candy, chocolate (you know, the usual)
So unless you already have one, expecting a 6 pack in a week is like expecting Mike Trout to miraculously leave his girl friend and get drafted to the DBacks and then you meet and fall in love and you also have prime seats to all games and you live happily ever after in your baseball fairytale dream. Is that just me? This is awkward.
But seriously, as far as workouts, you’re gonna kick your ass this week. I’m not just talking cardio, I’m talking lifting and squats and abs and toning muscles you didn’t even know you had. Normally, I would say workout about 5 days a week, having rest days for your body to recover and make sure you don’t get mentally tired of your workouts. But this week, here is the schedule:
Day 1:
- Cardio: 5 mile run
- Toning: Abs/Arms/Back
Day 2:
- Cardio: This Treadmill Workout
- Toning: Legs and Butt
Day 3:
- Cardio: 3 mile easy run
- Toning: Abs/Arms/Back
Day 4:
- Cardio: This Treadmill Workout
- Toning: Legs and Butt
Day 5:
- Cardio: Swim, Zumba, Biking, Trail Run (anything fun you want to do that equals 60 minutes)
- Toning: Abs/Arms/Back
Day 6:
- Cardio: This Treadmill Workout
- Toning: Legs and Butt
Day 7:
- Cardio: 7 mile run
- Toning: Abs/Arms/Back
What should you be drinking during this cleanse?
1.5 liters of water a day. Other than water, stick with unsweetened tea, and coffee (if you want it sweetened, use Stevia)
Also, NO ALCOHOL. You have plenty of time to be belligerently drunk during the following week. You can lay off the Smirnoff and Heineken for this one.
What should your sleep schedule be like?
Make sure you are getting enough sleep. Coming from someone who has chronic insomnia I know that can be a lot to ask but shoot for 8 hours at least.
Other tips:
- Get organized with your life now. Take this week to get everything together because lord knows you’re not gonna want to do that during Spring Break.
- While this cleanse is meant to get your body healthy and looking good and ready, make sure to not stress or get yourself down about how you look, you’re hot home skillet biscuit. Like really hot. Other people know it, you should know it too.
Source: Fit-Personality.com
Or, better yet…why don’t you just embrace who you are, love yourself the way you are and just concentrate on enjoying yourself? Your choice but I am angling towards the latter. 🙂
Song of the Day: You Make me Feel so Good, by Book of Love Such a zippy little tune!
You make me feel so good, so good
You make me feel so good, so good
And you feel it baby
You make me feel so good, so good
You make me feel so good, so good
And you feel it baby
Best lines of the week:
Do you think anyone has the rights to “My husband is a jackass.com?”
Is there a Bite Me emoji?
We don’t want to sound needy
Tell him about our napkin business. Maybe he will want to invest
I have a great spa we can go to. I will buy 12 bottles of Veuve
And this happened. Hello Terry. This is _______…. (more to come).
#WF It’s a thing.
Random things about me
I don’t like the circus
My hands and feet are always cold
I drink my coffee black
I can never sit still.
I cannot just watch TV. I need to be reading a book, playing on my iPad, computer or reading a magazine.
If you can make me laugh, you will be my friend forever. Regardless.
If you make me smile, you will be in my heart forever. Regardless.
My new favorite TV show: The Following (so not a Terry show, but I love it anyway)
The Bachelor is a horrible, horrible show. Like a train wreck, you can’t help but watch. But I remain perplexed that anyone would go on national TV and act like that. What happened to women empowering one another? For the most part women do not back stab one another like that. At least not the women I’ve encountered. Of course there are always exceptions…
The fact that Kim Kardashian’s change in hair color is making national news is a sorry state of affairs of what is happening to news and our country. If I never saw or heard about another Kardashian, I would be DeLighted!
New dog. New emoji. 🙂
Hello Weekend. 🙂
xoxo,
T.
