The Perfect Form

March 8, 2010

This is going to be a short post guys! I have so much to do this week in such little time – AARRRGGGH! I’m currently taking an online quiz and decided to take a break from it. I ran this evening with friends and the husband. I decided to take it easy this evening to help Scott run the proper way by fixing his form and showing him how to breath properly. I took a jogging class last semester and that’s where I learned proper form and body mechanism. It really helped me prepare for my first 1/2 marathon, which was this past November. It’s really important to break bad running habits to prevent future injuries, plus by having  proper technique you are able run quicker, more efficiently, and with less stress on your body. Here are a couple of tips I learned from my jogging class last semester, hope this helps you run a lot better and injure free!

BODY POSITION

  • Tall posure: head and shoulders high, pelvis tucked

ARM POSITION

  • Shoulders squared and relaxed
  • Elbows flexed at 90 degrees
  • Hands cupped (not clenched)

ARM ACTION

  • Arms swing from shoulder joint (not elbow joint)
  • Elbows drive backward only
  • Thumbs drive back past hips
  • Hands do not cross the midline of the torso

SOME COMMON ERRORS AND CAUSES OF POOR RUNNING TECHNIQUE

  • Overstriding: poor posture/leaning  too far forward/reaching too far forward (way ahead of the hips)
  • Understriding: lack of leg strength (hamstring, glutes, calves), lack of hip flexibility, foward foot placement/jamming the foot forward
  • Too Bouncy: too much application of force downward and not enough backward, too much flexion at the knee joint upon ground contact
  • Upper body stiffness: lack of shoulder flexibility, lack of awareness as to what the arms should be doing
  • Over-rotation of the upper body: lack of core strength, lack of awareness as to what the arms should be doing 

I thought this was cute:

(source)

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Posted by sheila

Being Active is FUN!

March 7, 2010

A popular topic within my circle of friends that comes up often is physical activity. This past weekend my bestie asked me to help her and her husband start some kind of exercise program. I love helping my friends become active and start a lifestyle that promotes healthy living. I never ever force my way of living to my friends, I live it, and I hope that my lifestyle inspires them to make healthy choices in their own life. They know that if they ever have a health question regarding fitness and nutrition, they can come and ask me. One thing I try to tell ‘em over and over again is that being active is fun, it doesn’t have to be a chore. Exercise doesn’t have to happen at the gym, it comes in different forms. Some of the things I like to do as a physical activity, besides going to the gym and run is ride my bike, walk the dog, clean the house, play golf, walk on the beach, kayak, dance, and something I want to take up soon – gardening. Most of these activities are fun and some don’t even cost a thing, just your time. People make exercising so complicated and I really think it’s an excuse. Don’t see exercising as a chore because if you do, you’ll struggle with it and it won’t be fun. Make it fun for yourself, do things that you enjoy, as long as you’re moving around you’re burning calories and doing your body good!

My weekend was fun! I helped host/plan a girls’ night and I decided to teach people how to make sushi. I brought all the ingredients for the sushi, I made some shanghai rolls (mini egg rolls),sauteed edamame, and my grandma made some of her awesome wonton soup to serve at the party. Everyone enjoyed the food and we had awesome night!

The bestie decorated her coffee table with some goods. She’s too cute!

Sushi ingredients: short grain rice mixed with roasted black sesame seeds, sauteed spinach,

pan fried crab legs, egg, shredded carrots, avocado, cream cheese, and cucumber

Hot foods: wonton soup in crock pot, shanghai rolls, and edamame

Let the sushi making begin! Everyone had fun making them!

My sushi in the making – crab, sauteed spinach, carrots, and avocado :)

Scott and I went for a nice bike ride around town Sunday evening with another friend. We met up with her and rode around for almost two hours! We rode all the way to downtown Brownsville, it was my first time riding my bike there. I think I’m starting to like bike riding a lot, it’s a nice break from running.

We got home at about 8pm, I went straight to the shower, and then had dinner. We had leftovers, I made Kristin’s Creamy No-Cream Pasta last night and it tasted extra good today! I also had some Edy’s Slow Churned Thin Mint Cookie ice cream for dessert – yummy!!!

I roasted some broccoli, artichokes, and garlic in the oven and mixed it in the pasta.

It gave the meal an extra touch!

hello there, beautiful… 

(I had 1 1/2 servings ;) )

Btw, we saw Alice in Wonderland last night. We loved it! It was Tim Burton’s take on Alice in Wonderland and it was very entertaining. Johnny Depp was amazing, like always :)

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I’ve got to get back to studying, 5 more school days ’til spring break! Woo hoo!  :)

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Posted by sheila

Live a little!

March 4, 2010

I have been craving this bad boy for the past week! I saw a sign on one of the DQ’s here that said Mint Oreo Blizzard, so I immediately texted the hubby “Mint oreo blizzard…. drool… must get one soon…” But then I did the unthinkable, I looked up the nutrition facts for a small mint oreo blizzard:

I was heartbroken when I saw 20g of fat and 580 calories for a small size order! GGGrrrrrrrrr! Why do the things that tastes soo good have to be so bad for you?! I’m going on a date with Scott tonight and he promised me a blizzard for our dessert. So I’m going to live a little but instead of stuffing my face and eating the whole container I’m going to share it with my love. It’ll be romantic and we’ll be both saving ourselves from tummy aches and extremely smelly gas later (sorry TMI!). I get that when I eat a lot of sweets that’s why I only eat it once in awhile. Btw, today’s workout will only be 45 min. of spinning class. I’m really sore from last night’s workout and yoga killed me! I did an advance yoga class and it consisted of a lot of downward dogs, planks, cobras, etc. My upper back, shoulders, arms, and abs are beyond sore. It hurts to sneeze!

Do you let yourself enjoy a really good, delicious treat once in awhile? I hope you do! We all gotta live a little!

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Posted by sheila

Two a day

March 3, 2010

I meant to write a post yesterday but my day didn’t end ’til about 11:30pm. I set my alarm for 7:30 this morning so I can get my butt in the gym but I snoozed it and slept in instead.  My plan was to do two split workout sessions today, cardio in the morning and yoga at night but instead I’ll be doing both tonight. That means 2 hours in the gym, haven’t done that in awhile! I find doing two one hour session workouts very affective for me. I like to do my cardio in the mornings and yoga/strength training in the evening or vice versa. I prefer ending the day with yoga or short laps in the pool because it helps relax my muscles from all the high impact exercises I do. I also notice I am not as prone to injury while I run, do plyo, other types of exercises which is awesome! One thing I don’t ever do though is do two types of high impact workout. I like to take care of my joints and muscles and so by doing too much high impact workouts in one day can cause overtraining and then can eventually lead to injury. Listening to your body is the best way to go, there’s a time to push your body and there’s a time to slow down and rest.   Do you ever split your workouts during the day?

I was a cooking machine yesterday! We have our bible study group on Tuesday evenings so I was preparing for that all day yesterday. I made brunch for myself first after my workout. I had an open face sandwhich that had guacamole, microwaved egg, angus beef slices that I bought from Sam’s, and dried basil all on top of half of sandwhich thins. I also made myself a glass of green monster with spinach and a scoop of protein powder. Yummmmy!

I made some rice krispies yesterday and I was lazy to flatten ‘em out so I made ‘em into balls. I made half of it regular and the other half with peanut butter morsels *drool*. GOSH! It was delicious!

I might just have a ball before my intense workout that’s waiting for me at the gym. I’m attending a Body Attack class – a mix of running & plyometrics and a bunch of push ups. And then I got an hour of yoga afterwards – looking forward to it!

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Posted by sheila

Weekend recap & new blog name/look

March 1, 2010

I had a craaaazy but fun filled weekend. Brownsville celebrated its 72nd annual Charro Days Fiesta and it’s basically celebrating the relationship between Brownsville and Matamoros, Mexico. The celebration lasts for 3 days and it includes 3 days of parade, lots of food, dancing, and different kind of activities in downtown Brownsville. I only participated in one event which was the Annual Charro Day 5k Classic & 1 mile. I ran it next to my husband and friends and it was my first time doing the event. Lots of fun! If you want to know more history on Charro Days you can read more here.

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After the run we stayed around to watch some of our friends receive their awards for placing in the race. We got home close to lunch time and I was starving. I had some leftover chicken and pasta from dinner the night before and had two servings of mixed greens (no dressing).

Scott and I took a nap for half an hour and then got ready to go to the flea market to hang out with friends and look at interesting things. I had my first elote – corn on the cob mexican style and it was muy DELICIOSO!! I ate that thing like there was no tomorrow. The husband and I also shared a huge drink of freshly made agua fresca – limeade. The weather this past weekend was gorgeous by the way! The sun was out, it was in the low 70’s – perfect weather to be out!

Sunday came and had a little get together with friends after church. We had a little picnic at a friend’s house, had bbq, played a little bit with the soccer ball, jumped on the trampoline, and got on a see saw for the first time in 20 years!

How was your weekend? Did anything fun?

Okay so now onto the new blog name & look. Foodie on the Move. Do you like it? I’ve decided to change the name of my blog because I feel I’m at a different season in my life. I still like to run and I’m still thankful that God has given me a desire to keep myself healthy and be able to spread this desire of mine to other people. Life is busy and crazy for everyone but at the same time it’s filled with beautiful things. We sometimes have to stop what we are doing and reflect on it to really appreciate life and ourselves. I feel being healthy is not just about eating right and exercising, it is more than that. I enjoy my life and being healthy and active but that’s not my whole reason why I enjoy it. It’s so much more than that! I want my blog to reflect who I am and the things I love, wether it’s my husband, cooking, food, exercising, traveling, shopping, etc. It’s a journey! I’m Foodie on the Move, I love food, I love being active, and there’s so much more to me than just these two things. I have a crazy, beautiful, healthy life and I want to share it with you. :)

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Posted by sheila

“Sty”lish

February 25, 2010

Stylish clothes

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Stylish way to apply pink makeup

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Not a “sty”lish thing to find on your eye in the morning

Yea I thought I’d make a joke out of my sty on my eye. I’ve gotten these a couple of times in my life and when I when I would get ‘em during my childhood years my mom would ask me, “Were you looking at something you weren’t suppose to?!” Ever since then until I was grown up, I thought that was the cause of styes. Ha! Very clever, mom! Anyway, I think I did a pretty good job covering it up with make-up, right? The thing about styes is that they actually give me an eye lid, instead of it hidden. LOL. I knew an asian girl once who taped her eye lids so she can stretch ‘em out. I don’t think it worked though.

Enough about my sty. Here’s another not so stylish thing. It was clever but not stylish. I didn’t know what else to do!

This is stylish! A tofu press!!!

(source)

Hope you guys enjoyed that! LOL. Btw, the answer from the TRUTH thing from last post is *drum roll*

I sent a birthday card to one of the backstreet boys. It was Howie D and I was “in love” with this member of the band and I wanted to show him how much I cared. Hahahahahaha. Yea that was laaaaaaaaaaame. I was in my teenage years and was obsessed with BSB, specifically Howie D. :P

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Posted by sheila

First time to…

February 24, 2010

Be late to class this semester. I snoozed way too long this morning and it was my fault because I didn’t get to bed ’til about close to 2am last night! I got out of bed, brushed my teeth, fixed my face,  put on some dirty jeans, pullover sweater, tennis shoes, prepared an untoast whole wheat bread with PB and a couple of slices of bananas, and left to school. I arrived 5 min. to class, I hated it, but oh well atleast I wasn’t punished for it.

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Make and eat kale chips. For lunch I decided to have leftovers from lunch yesterday, lemon pepper tilapia. I’ve been wanting to try kale chips and so I made some as my side. I used this awesome simple recipe. I did put a little bit of my touch to it so I added some garlic powder, ceyenne pepper, and onion powder. It came out sooo good! Only thing is I might’ve overcooked them just a little bit, so watch for it when you bake ‘em.

Recieve a blogger award. Thanks to Diana for nominating me! It makes me feel good to have someone like her give me a blog award – she’s freaking awesome! :)

As part of this award, I have to use my noggin/brain/largest organ I have and come up with six outrageous lies about myself and one truth. Readers, you pick out which item is the TRUTH out of the lies. So here goes:

1. I hate eating cereal for breakfast.

2. My favorite type of fish to eat is Tilapia.

3. I sent a birthday card to one of the Backstreet Boys.

4. I absolutely love going to the dentist.

5. I hate getting flowers.

6. I’ve never ever dyed my hair

7. My favorite cartoon growing up is Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Guess which one was the truth?

Now that I’ve shared my little lies and ONE truth, I nominate the following ladies to do the same:

  • Tiffany – A Dantat’s Life
  • Betty – My Daily Inspiration
  • Katie – Health for the Whole Self
  • Tiffany – Through a Glass Darkly
  • Nikki – Nifty Eats
  • Diana – Strawberry Shortstuff
  • Allie – Live Laugh Eat

Once nominated, here is what you have to do:

1. Thank the person who gave this to you.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you.
4. Tell up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth.
5. Nominate seven “Creative Writers” who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies.
6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them.

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Posted by sheila

What a day!

February 23, 2010

Tuesdays are always so busy for me and today it was extra busy. I studied from 10a to 5p for an anatomy test I had this evening. In between studying I swept and mopped the floor, I also cooked, prep ingredients, and got stuff ready for game night tonight with our friends. We host a bible study group for college age people every Tuesday nights during the week and we took a break this week and decided to have game night. It was really fun!

One of our friends decided to show us some of his sweet Napoleon Dynamite dance skills from the movie. He actually did the whole dance in our living room! I recorded him in my camera and wanted to uploaded on here but my camera just ran out of batteries; I’ll post it tomorrow. For now here’s the dance scene from the movie:

Breakfast this morning was simple and I tried out Fage greek yogurt for the first time! I was pronouncing it pha-jeh  until I read the back of the container… Fa-yeh … interesting. Been saying it wrong all this time! Dar dar dar dar! :P

I added strawberries slices in my yogurt and I didn’t realize it had a paper thing when you opened it.

The yogurt was pretty good, tasted kinda like cottage cheese to me – lol! I added a few drizzle of agave nectar to give it a little sweetnes.

Lunch was baked lemon pepper tilapia with a side of TJs’ basmati rice mixed withveggies and I added cilantro when it was about to cook. I used 1/3 measuring cups for the rice, looks like something you would eat at a fancy restaurant, eh?

After a loooong day of studying, doing house chores, cooking, and spending good time with friends I can feel my brain shutting down. Don’t want to feel like this tomorrow:

(source)

 This girl is heading to bed, y’all! Goodnight blog world!

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Posted by sheila

Crowder, Phở, Girl Scout Cookies oh my!

February 22, 2010

My trip to Houston this past weekend was fun! It was refreshing to be able to getaway and spend some time with the in-laws. Next time we see ‘em will probably right before we move up there, since I have to take care of some stuff for school. I don’t even want to think about moving right now, I just got done talking to a good friend of mine about that. It’s bittersweet, I’ll save that for another post at another day.

We went to a concert at Scott’s mom’s church and saw The David Crowder Band. They are one of our favorite christian bands and it was really cool to see ‘em live!

David Crowder played a Guitar Hero guitar during the concert. Somehow, they were able to turn that guitar into a real guitar. The drummer is a genius, he was the one that turned it into a working real guitar! Btw, doesn’t he have awesome hair and beard?! His beard is called The Crowder. I’m trying to convince the husband to grow his out so he can have a crowder, he said no. :(

Dinner at Willie’s after the concert. I tasted fried pickles for the first time 8O and oh boy were they goooood! Btw, for some weird reason my left arm looks super buff on this pic. My arms aren’t huge like that… only when I flex   kidding! ;)

I also split this Samuel Adams with my MIL and hubby. It was the hubby’s first beer ever and it was my first Samuel Adams. I hate the taste of beer but the Samuel Adams commercial always makes me want to taste their beer… I didn’t like it, too strong and it left a weird taste in my mouth. Scott didn’t like it either but my MIL finished her share so I guess she liked it.

The next day, Sunday, we did a couple of shopping and for a late lunch we had some vietnamese food – YUM!! I ended up eating Goi Cuon (Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls) with hoison peanut sauce and Phở! I was really excited that I got to eat to some Phở, it’s been 3 years since I had eaten one, so this one was a real treat for me! I can’t wait to move to Houston, all the different kinds of eats!! YEESSS!! HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!

Lastly, before driving back home we encountered boyscouts at Gander Mtn. selling coupon books and girl scouts at Lowes selling their infamous cookies! I bought my first girl scout cookies ever in my life – Thin Mints Cookies (the husband suggested it). I was pretty excited, could you tell?!

I couldn’t help but think about the scene in the movie The Pacifier of when the girl scouts got into a fight with some boys scouts that have been picking on them. It’s a cute movie and I found a clip from that scene. It’s in a different language though, I couldn’t find an english version of it.

How was your weekend? What was your favorite part of it?

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Posted by sheila

Shaun T’s Insanity owned me!

February 19, 2010

Breakfast this morning was glorious! I made myself 1/2 a cup of oatmeal cooked in water and soymilk with half a banana, dash of cinnamon, tsp. of vanilla extract, walnuts, and agave nectar. I’ve been cooking pumpkin oats for the past couple of weeks and I must say I’ve really missed my creamy, banana oatmeal with almond butter. I was all over this bad boy!

I’ve been so busy these days! I’m not only in school and working, I am also doing observation hours at a rehab clinic. I’m required to do a minimum of 40 hours of observation with a physical therapist for the schools I’m applying for at the end of the semester. I’ve been enjoying every moment of observation. I’m mostly observing children right now from infants to junior high kiddos with different diagnosis and disabilities. They are all so fun in their own little ways! I love children and I have to admit the kids at the clinic has stolen my heart from day one. I hope to one day work at a children’s rehab clinic, God willing.

I am on day 3 of Shaun T’s Insanity 60 days workout. I cannot move my arms, it hurts to walk, it hurts to get out of bed, sit on the toilet, and my calves are soooooore. I decided to do this workout because I want to challenge myself and I want to see how far I can push myself. Insanity deserves its name and I must say Shaun T owned in yesterday’s workout. I started off with the workout like this, confident and ready to take on whatever Shaun T throwed at me:

After 45 min. of sweating, hurting, screaming, being high on endorphins, and collapsing at the end, I knew Insanity was going to push me past my limits. My face pretty much stayed like this after the workout but I have to admit I felt great afterwards.

I look forward to the next workout with Mr. Shaun T and his gang. Since I just started off, I am going on my own pace during the workout. Every week you’re suppose to get faster and quicker with the movements, that’s what I’ll be looking for. I love new workouts and new challenges because I like to push my body and I never ever want my body to get used to the workouts I do. I’ve never ever done an exercise program, this will be my first one and I think 60 days isn’t that bad. It’s only 2 months and I’m taking a break from long distance running but I definately want to continue working on my endurance, speed, and agility. I am doing other exercises other than Insanity. I love cross training so I do weights for strength training, yoga to help with flexibility, swimming to take some time off of high impact exercises, and cycling to keep up with aerobic training. I love that Shaun T encourages you to eat for fuel. I love to eat as well as exercising hard, so I guess I found the perfect program for me :) .

Dinner last night was delicious and fresh. I bought organic salmon for the first time and I could dfefinately taste the difference. I usually buy farm raised salmon because it’s cheaper and organic salmon is $11/lb. at our local grocery. It was worth paying that much for the salmon though. It literally melted in your mouth and it blended and cooked so well with the marinade I made for it. I served it with brown rice salad and steamed veggies, the husband devoured it!

I’m going out of town this weekend, H-town (Houston)! We’re going to be spending some time with the hubby’s family and attend a David Crowders Band concert on Saturday. I’m looking forward to getting away, I need it.

Do you ever feel like that sometimes? Where you just feel like you HAVE to get away and recharge?

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Posted by sheila

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