Massage Anyone?

My home scale shows a 1.4 lb loss from last week!  I'm probably going to Weight Watchers tonight rather than tomorrow and get my official loss recorded.

Yesterday I left work about 2pm and went home to wait for Benny to finish getting ready.  We headed up to Heidelberg Haus.  I ordered Kassler Rippchen (Cooked, warm smoked pork chop, homemade German potato salad, bread & butter).  Benny ordered the Currywurst (Two fried sausages smothered in curry ketchup, homemade German potato salad, bread & butter).  Now, I've tasted potato salad before (many, many years ago) and didn't like it so I figured that I'd give mine to Benny.  Well, their potato salad looked like mashed potatoes so I went ahead and tasted it.  Besides the sour taste (assuming pickle relish) it wasn't bad so I ate mine.  We walked around the shop while we waited for our food.  For dessert I had a slice of one of their cakes...it tasted kind of like a dry version of Boston Crème Pie.  Benny had a cheese Danish.  He bought some bread and a copy of Das Boot.

For the massage I went to see Anna Waggoner of Therapeutic Massage Indy.  When I arrived she greeted me and had me fill out an intake form (for lack of a better term) with my information and pain issues.  She led me to the room and left me to undress and get on the massage table.  I didn't see a stool but surprisingly I didn't need anything to climb on it.

Anna had me start out by laying on my back.  I think there was a lavender scent in the massage cream she was using.  She began with my shoulders and neck.  Anna was immediately able to tell that my right side was tighter than my left.  My arms were next followed by my legs and feet.  The pain that I've been having in my thighs from Jillian's workouts didn't manifest while she worked them.  Once the front side was done she had me turn over on my stomach with my head in the headrest.

At this time my allergies decided to toy with me.  Almost immediately my sinuses started closing up making it difficult to breathe through my nose.  I didn't say anything to Anna but I'm sure she could hear it in the nasal sound of my voice.  Again she started with the shoulders and neck from this side.  I was doing OK until she hit a spot on my back next to my right shoulder blade.  I'd say the knot is between the size of a clementine and a small apple....or at least that's how it felt.  I kind of jumped when she got there.

Image Courtesy of Ambro | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

At some point I mentioned that I had foam rolled my legs because of long term pain but never said what side it was.  Anna was massaging the hip and thigh area on the right side and moved to the left.  She asked if I had hip problems on my right side because she could feel the tension there too.  Even though I only feel the pain periodically during TOM Anna could feel a difference right away!  What is with my right side having all these issues?  I think it's been that way all my life....pain/injury starts on my right/dominant side.

When we were all done she gave me a little bottle of water to drink.  I didn't think that I was thirsty but took a sip anyway.  Anna said she could see that I looked more relaxed at the end than I did when I walked in the door.  (A coworker said I looked more relaxed today also!)  We got home and both were hungry again.  I'm not sure what Benny ate but I had an apple and that took care of me for the night.

I fell asleep on the couch while Benny was watching Das Boot; I just can't watch a movie where I spend my time reading the subtitles the whole time and miss out on whatever they're doing.  This morning I woke up feeling a little more rested than normal.  If I could I'd have a massage every day then maybe my sleep would become restorative again!

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Banana Bread

I can eat banana bread more frequently than I can bananas themselves.  I could eat few slices a day every day while only one banana every other day.  It's been a few months since I made some but had the ripe bananas from my March Shakeology Challenge.  Austin loves doing all the prep work and of course eating the banana bread.  Benny doesn't like bananas but loves banana bread!  I adopted this recipe from the 125th Anniversary Edition of The Good Housekeeping Cookbook.

Makes 1 Loaf, 16 Slices, 5PP

Ingredients

2 Cups Flour

3/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 Cup Margerine (or butter)

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Large Eggs

4 Ripe Bananas (Although I think I had 6 this time)

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Cinnamon (to taste)

This is how the cookbook says to do it.

1. Preheat oven to 325.  Evenly grease your 8-1/2" x 4-1/2" loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl, with a wire whisk, stir flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, with a mixer at medium speed, beat margarine and sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Reduce speed to low; alternately add flour and banana mixtures, beginning and ending with flour mixtures, occasionally scraping the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Beat just until blended.
4. Pour patter into prepared pan.  Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (about 1 hour).  Cool loaf pan on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

This is how we do it.

1. Preheat oven to 325.  Evenly grease your 8-1/2" x 4-1/2" loaf pan.
2. In the bowl with a mixer at the first speed, add each ingredient one at a time (usually bananas first), occasionally scraping the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Beat just until blended.
3. Pour patter into prepared pan.  Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (about 1 hour).  Cool loaf pan on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

Doesn't that make things simpler?  I never grasped the whole keeping the dry and wet ingredients separate.  To me it's a waste of time and dishes! LOL  Everything still turns out wonderful and people come back for more.

I've had the banana bread warmed with additional margarine.  I've spread peanut butter on a slice.  Austin has put Nutella on his before.  This time I tried something different - a slice of pineapple.  It wasn't bad.  Would you eat your banana bread plain or top it with something?

I'm sure that there are different things you can do to make a healthier banana bread.  The recipe I saw on Weight Watchers used whole wheat flour but it only saved 1PP.  So I'm happy to have that extra PP.  It's something everyone likes so why mess with a good thing?

Linking up with Jill for Fitness Health & Happiness and Banana Bread Day on February 23rd.

Staying Healthy After 40

There have been a lot of studies and statistics on aging over the years, and one thing that people have noticed is that they are more prone to gaining weight, and becoming unhealthy after they turn forty. Does this mean that anyone over the age of forty is unhealthy? Absolutely not. All this means is that there is a greater chance for someone to become unhealthy after forty because of natural causes. For the most part, these things are all physical. One example of this is our metabolism – it tends to slow down after a certain age.

 

So, if you are over the age of 40, how do you stay healthy? What are some things that you can do in order to keep yourself in the healthy zone?

Let’s take a look.
 

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Stop Smoking

This is one of those things that’s a lot easier said than done, and it certainly no small task. However, it is also one of those things that can significantly improve your health (at any age). How does it improve your health? It has been proven that smoking can cause cancer, cardio issues, and skin issues. If you stop smoking, you can improve the way your skin looks, limit your chances of lung cancer, be healthier, and look younger overall.

 

Eat Right

People talk about this all of the time, yet not a lot of people actually make the commitment and go through with the decision. This partly has to do with the fact that eating right is not easy (by any means), and partly because sometimes it becomes easier to just go buy fast food.

One thing is for sure – if you begin eating right now, it won’t be difficult to continue doing so later. Eating healthy provides benefits such as losing fat, having healthier looking skin, and putting a stop to certain diseases/challenges.

 

Don’t underestimate how much younger you will feel by substituting unhealthy foods with healthier ones!

 

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Exercise 5 Times A Week

It can be easy to say that you are too busy to work out, but the truth is that we will always be too busy. If you don’t make time now, you never will. It’s time to fully commit to maintaining a regular workout schedule. Taking five hours out of the week to work out five time a day (that’s one hour a day) can significantly improve your health after 40.

 

One of the best ways to ensure that you are going to stay committed to working out is to create a workout schedule for yourself. You are much more likely to do something if it’s already planned out and ready to go. So, make a schedule for yourself. Maybe you want to work out a different muscle group every day of the week, or maybe you want to do different cardio exercises every day of the week. No matter what your goal is, stick to it!

 

Take A Look At Your Family History

It can be extremely beneficial to take a look at your family history. Why? Well, first of all it is always better to know if you might be prone to something ahead of time because then you can do something to prevent it. Also, it can definitely be beneficial for you to know past conditions because you can pass on the knowledge to your kids.
 

Photo Credit: madelineyoki via Compfight cc

 

Consider Cosmetic Procedures

Cosmetic and Plastic surgery procedures become relevant after forty because the benefits can be incredible. Certain procedures like the tummy tuck, liposuction, or breast augmentation can really improve certain areas of your body that naturally begin to sag, droop, or loosen.

 

About the author:

Anna Inslee currently resides in Florida and spends her time writing about the benefits of liposuction Toronto, and other health/fitness relatedsubjects.

Journey Year One - Nearly 75 lbs Lost

I weighed in last night down 3.4 lbs...that's just .2 lbs shy of having lost 75 lbs since starting my journey a year ago today!  I would've liked to have the full 75 lbs directly coinciding with the anniversary but I'll take it anyway.  Might as well go ahead and call it the unofficial 30% loss.

Weight Watchers Journey

This is where I started one year ago.

 

This is where I started the second 16 weeks.

 

This is where I started the third 16 weeks.

 

This is where I started the fourth 16 weeks.

 

 

Beachbody Journey

 

It all began with Tai Cheng in May.

 

I enjoyed the whole experience so much that I came to the realization that the thing I'd been hiding from essentially my whole life was my passion, my purpose for life.  I'm supposed to be helping others on their journey to improve their overall health and wellness.  So I signed up to be an Independent Team Beachbody Coach.  I'm exploring the variety of certification programs so I can expand beyond Beachbody and Weight Watchers to be a true Health & Wellness Coach.

 

Slim in 6 round 1 was next.

 

Then came Body Gospel.  Too bad Beachbody discontinued the program last month.

 

 



Slim in 6 round 2 led me into the holidays.

 

I was sidelined a while dealing with the vertigo.  Never did I dream that I'd miss working out!  It's pretty much gone now but I do have the occasional spin when I'm laying down for the night.

 



Rockin' Body was my way to start working out again.

 

I'm anxiously awaiting the ship notice for the 21 Day Fix.

 

 

To celebrate my first year on this journey I am happy to announce that I'm getting a massage!  Now Benny said that he wants to come with me so he needs something to do while I'm relaxing.  Afterwards we'll go out to eat or something.  He said yesterday that he'll hang out at the Heidelberg Haus so I need to find a place near there.  Benny's having surgery next Friday to remove a stone in his salivary gland/duct so I need to schedule and go before then.  Such a lot to cram in a week!



 



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Chicken Penne a la Cassi

When I was cooking dinner Saturday night I came across this recipe on the back of the pasta box.  Not sure why it caught my eye this time.  Perhaps the random picking up of spinach at Aldi's triggered it.  I didn't have and/or use some of the ingredients so I decided to modify the recipe into something I could make.  Thus Chicken Penne a la Cassi was born (thanks Shaina for the name idea).

Serves 4

Ingredients

8 oz Penne Rigate, Cooked

2 Chicken Breasts

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Cups Fresh Spinach

1 Tbsp Minced Garlic (approximate)

1/4 Cup Rice Wine Vinegar

1 Can Diced Tomatoes

Crumbled Feta (as desired)

1.  Cut up chicken into cubes and put into a baggie with olive oil and your choice of spices.  Zip closed and mix well to marinate the chicken.  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
2.  Cook the chicken until the pink is gone, stirring and flipping the pieces over.
3.  Remove the chicken from the pan, leaving the juices in the pan.

4.  Add spinach and garlic to the pan, sauteing until spinach is wilted.  Add vinegar and continue cooking.
5.  Add tomatoes and cook until they are hot.
6.  Add penne and chicken to the pan and gently toss to combine.

7.  Sprinkle each serving with crumbled feta.

How would you change up this recipe?

Weight Loss Tips for People Over 40

There comes a certain age where you start realizing that things start slowing down and start becoming more difficult. For example, it has proven that your metabolism slows down significantly after a certain age. Additionally, it becomes harder to lose fat and gain muscle. For some, this can be extremely discouraging. For others, this can be a motivation to work harder than ever before to remain physically and mentally healthy.

However, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that you can do to increase your chances of losing weight and becoming healthier. After all, you aren’t 20 anymore, right?

Here are some tips for those of you who are over 40 and are trying to lose weight.

Be Aware

One of the greatest actions that you can take in order to being losing weight is to be aware. That’s right – KNOW that you want to lose weight, and KNOW what is going on in your body. The popular phrase, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you” does not apply to losing weight. Make regular appointments to see your local doctor to ensure that you know everything that you need to about your health and overall body weight. This means fat, muscle, diseases, etc.

If you know exactly what you want to achieve, it will be much easier to make clear, concise goals in order to achieve your goals.

In this case, what you don’t know will surely harm you in the long run and it will definitely prevent any kind of plans and action to take place.

Image Courtesy of stockimages | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Aerobics and Stretching

Before you reach a certain age you can jump into a workout (although it isn’t advised) without stretching. Also, what is cardio? Younger men don’t need to run and stretch constantly, but it’s something that is very smart to get into (if you haven’t already) when you reach 40. Why? Well, there are studies that prove stretching being one of the healthiest things you can do for your joints and muscles.

As far as cardio (aerobics) goes, it is vital that you keep your heart pumping and working hard. Not only will this keep your heart I shape, but it will attack your fat and burn those extra stubborn calories that always stick around.

You will be shocked as to what 30 minutes of cardio a day can do for your health and life.

Warming Up

Just like with stretching, warming up is one of those things that is essential when you turn a certain age. Take the extra ten minutes to warm up before your workout to avoid any injuries and to ensure that you get the most out of your workout.

The consequences of not warming up include hurting yourself, and not being able to lift as much as you could have if you took the time to warm up.

Some simple things that you can do to warm up are taking the bar (without any weight) and repping it out in full motion.

Image Courtesy of dan | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Lose The Carbs

One of the easiest ways to increase your overall body fat percentage after a certain age is to eat a lot of carbs. An even faster way is to eat a lot of unhealthy carbs. So, make sure to watch what you’re eating.

Making healthy food choices can benefit your overall health (everything from fat loss, to avoiding heart problems and clogged arteries). As a general rule you should always watch what you are eating. One thing that you can do in order to ensure you make healthy food choices but still enjoy what you eat is to have certain days (or times of the day) where you are allowed to eat certain “unhealthy” foods to leverage out all of the healthiness. For example, you can eat very healthy for three days, and then have one day where you don’t necessarily have to eat extremely healthy (treat yourself on this day). Some have found that this method works very well for motivation and weight-loss.

Consider Coolsculpting

Coolsculpting is one of the best ways to get rid of that stubborn fat without any surgery or cuts. This is a cosmetic procedure that focuses on freezing the fat that you have (as opposed to “burning it”) and allowing the fat cells to die and therefore get rid of fat in the most natural way possible.

This procedure is for both men and women who are in shape, but have that extra fat that they just want to get rid of once and for all.

About the author:

Anna Inslee currently resides in Florida and is a motivational writer for various blogs and news outlets. Some of her specialties include Coolsculpting, fitness, and beauty.

Weigh in Wednesday

Well, I was up 1.4 lbs at weigh in last night.  TOM's really made me super hungry this time around; I don't remember ever feeling this hungry before!  It was like no matter what or how much I ate my body craved MORE.

I went to the gynecologist yesterday for my annual exam.  I hadn't seen this doctor since last February so he had no idea of my journey.  After sitting in the waiting room an hour and nearly passing out because it was so hot I finally got back to the room.  It was colder there so, along with the bottle of water they gave me, my temperature dropped and I was chilly by the time the doctor came in.  He had an intern/shadow (I don't know what he was called) with him.

We chatted about what I've been doing to lose the weight.  The doctor said that he had even joined Weight Watchers in January to lose the 20 lbs or so he needed to get back to his triathlon (I think that's the racing he said) shape.  My doctor is so tiny it's hard to imagine that he needed to lose any weight!  He's addicted to Coke for the caffeine and has never been able to go for more than 6 months without having any soda.  The doctor said that he got a job at 7-11 in college just for the free soda!

I was glad to finally get the DVDs from the library Saturday.  The Blu-ray player was refusing to play the workouts anymore.  I kept getting the annoying spiral of death!

The Ballet Body Upper Body workout was the only DVD I had from the library so I tried this Saturday morning.  Never again!  The portions standing up weren't so bad but trying to hold myself up in the positions on the floor were too difficult for me.  Needless to say that DVD went back to the library Saturday afternoon.

Some of my holds had arrived during the week so I got additional workout DVDs.  I've been doing Brooke Burke's 30-Day Slim Down this week.  I enjoyed the Cardio Burn workout but not the Tone & Sculpt.  It just didn't seem like it was enough work for me.  Either way I couldn't imagine just doing these two workouts for 30 days.  I only burned 240-ish calories with the Cardio and under 200 for Toning.  My body craves MORE!

I picked up a couple of Jillian Michaels' DVDs to try - Jillian Michaels for Beginners & Body Revolution.  I also got Yoga to the Rescue for Neck & Shoulders that I'll try Sunday.

I found several discount opportunities through Groupon and Amazon Local with spa deals.  Now to decide what specifically to do.  Which sounds the most appealing to you?

Massage: 60 or 90 Minutes | SoBRO Bodyworks

https://local.amazon.com/indianapolis/B00HU8KMR6

 

One-Hour Massage | Therapeutic Massage Indy - Anna Waggoner, CMT

https://local.amazon.com/indianapolis/B00I4J1M6K

 

Torc Body Contouring: One or Three Treatments | 7E Fit Spa

https://local.amazon.com/indianapolis/B00H7NK8VY

 

Massage: Aromatherapy or Stress Relief | Zeta Spa Massage

https://local.amazon.com/indianapolis/B00GTWZLWU

 

Swedish or Deep-Tissue Massage | Hygeia Healing Hands

https://local.amazon.com/indianapolis/B00GR8GMM4

 

90-Minute Acupuncture Session with Consultation | Acupuncture Pain Relief Centers of Indiana

https://local.amazon.com/indianapolis/B00FKJ5IAI

 

Custom Therapeutic Massage | Healing Touch Massage and Wellness

https://local.amazon.com/indianapolis/B00GXHUFZO

 

One or Three Massages | Dimick Family Chiropractic

https://local.amazon.com/indianapolis/B00GWVO3HW

 

Slimming Seaweed Body Wrap and 30-Minute Swedish Massage | Complexions Spa

http://www.groupon.com/deals/complexions-9

 

60- or 90-Minute Therapeutic Massage or Ashiatsu Massage | Quiescence Experience

http://www.groupon.com/deals/quiescence-experience

 

30-Minute Swedish Massage, a Microdermabrasion Facial, and Mani-Pedi | Fierce Image Spa & Salon

http://www.groupon.com/deals/fierce-image-spa-salon-1

 

60- or 90-Minute Massage | Healing Touch Massage and Wellness

http://www.groupon.com/deals/healing-touch-massage-and-wellness-2

 

90- or 60-Minute Massage | Broad Ripple Massage Practice

http://www.groupon.com/deals/broad-ripple-massage-practice-1

 

One, Three, or Five Body Contouring Fat-Cavitation Sessions | Front Porch Wellness Spa

http://www.groupon.com/deals/front-porch-wellness-spa-1

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