Wednesday, February 8, 2012

My blog has MOVED!

I'm happy to say I finally moved my blog over to wordpress -- and got a fancy new domain name too... Please visit me at my NEW blog location:

www.AmyRomeroFitness.com

And PLEASE, subscribe to my feed there. If you were subscribed here, those subscriptions do not carry over, sadly :(

Let me know what you think of the new site!

Thanks!
Amy

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Jari Love's Get Extremely Ripped 1000 Hardcore - GIVEAWAY WINNER!

Thank you to everyone who read my review & who entered to win this DVD.

I used random.org's random number generator and have drawn the winner. That winner has confirmed their email and address - CONGRATS to Amy Lacks for winning. I've emailed Collage Video and they'll be sending out your DVD soon. Hope you love it!

There's another review and giveaway coming your way soon...it's Jazzercise Burlesque! Should be fun...keep your eye out here for it.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Eating Heathy on a Budget

Since I get this question often, I thought I'd talk about it a bit here.

I realize that junk food is typically less expensive than  healthy food. But there's ways around it! You can still eat healthy with just a little planning and a possible change in mindset.

Here are my tips, but I'd love to hear yours in comments below!

* First, always, always, always check the weekly ads for your local grocery stores online. Write down all the things you *may* be interested in and what the sale price is and at what store. Once you've done this for all your local stores, compare the items and their prices. Whichever store has the most items you may need for the best prices, you'll want to go there.

* Since you're eating some protein with every meal (every 3 hours), you'll want to find some protein sources that are inexpensive. (You ARE eating a little protein every few hours, right??). Meat does not need to be the only protein source you have. In fact, any vegetarian or vegan will tell you that you don't even need meat at all and you can still get plenty of protein. Some options include: black beans, kidney beans, cannelinni beans, lentils, nut butters, and greek yogurts. Other beans will work too, these are just some thoughts to get you headed in the right direction. You can incorporate beans into a TON of meals. Add them to salads, put them in your casseroles, your soups, etc. Buy your beans in bulk instead of cans to get the most for your money. Get creative, and definitely check out some recipe websites. I love using www.allrecipes.com

* If you are going to use meats as well, buy things such as boneless skinless chicken breasts (more convenient than whole chicken or skin-on types). But only buy them whey they are at the cheapest during the sale cycle. I typically only buy them when they are the lowest, which around here, is $1.99 per pound. I stock up because they won't be that low again for several weeks. Look for discounted lean meats as they approach their expiration date & freeze it. Just eat it before the new stuff you have stored!

* Use Whole grain brown rice in lots of meals. If you buy it in bulk and not in the '10 minute' packs, it's extremely inexpensive and it's filling, easy on your blood sugar and goes with TONS of foods. Use it in casseroles, as a side dish, or under grilled chicken with yummy sauces. Some people even use it in place of spaghetti noodles, etc. Get creative here too!

* Buy frozen veggies when they're on sale. They are fresher this way than in the cans. And they stay good for MUCH longer than fresh produce, so you don't waste money on that bag of fresh carrots you bought that went bad before you could use half of them. Of course  use fresh when it's something you really prefer - or if you use it alot. For instance, we use broccoli alot. I put it in casseroles, in salads, and in stir fry. So I can buy fresh broccoli and it won't go bad before I finish it. But if it's cheaper frozen that week, I'm not afraid to use it that way either. Whatever works!

* Double your dinner recipes so you can use leftovers for lunches. It'd typically cheaper and healthier if you cooked your own food rather than getting TV dinners or lunch out somewhere. Just make sure if you're doing this that you ARE making healthy dinners! :)

So that's all I can think of for right now.

What are your best tips for eating healthy on a budget, please tell us below!

~To Your Health~

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Weekly Challenge #4

I hope everyone's been following the weekly challenges. I've been doing them all, of course and love the feeling of accomplishment.

This week I thought I'd do a challenge that was fitness related. Seeing as how the blog is called Amy Romero Fitness. :)

So, your challenge this week is to DO something that makes you sweat 6 days out of 7. I'll be lenient here...and saaaaay, 30 minutes each time. So, if you can only go for a walk, do it. Just take 1 minute out of every 3 minutes and power walk. Pump your arms and move it! Get a sweat going. Then those other 2 minutes, walk normally. Do these intervals for 30 minutes. If you're able, do more. Go run. Pull out an old workout DVD. Or just make an effort to do your current workout HARDER, really push yourself. And do it 6 days out of the week. If you're not sure what you can do, be honest with yourself. Have you TRIED before? How do you know what you're capable of until you try?

Got it? Good!

Now tell me, what workout will you be doing?

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Musings on Running

So running is what got me started on my fitness journey. My husband, my friend Amy and her hubby Troy were all runners and they were always after me to join them. I just didn't really want to. Didn't have that urge, you know? Then a year ago I realized I wasn't happy in my own skin. I'd put on a little weight and just wasn't happy. I knew that I needed to do something instead of ignoring it. So I put a date on it and just STARTED. I went and ran 2 weeks after sinus surgery. It's just the date I picked so I stuck with it. It wasn't easy. I didn't think it would be.

But running is what got my motivation up. I saw progress. I lost some weight, I felt better. And it was mostly due to running. (better diet, too of course). 

And it went on from there. Several races. Then a half marathon last November 2011. I was actually enjoying running all throughout the last year. I mixed in some other stuff. Physique 57 & Turbo Fire. Had even better results. Then that half marathon snuck up on me. The training was tough. On my body and my mind. I felt like everything was revolving around running. So the half came and went. And I was officially burned out. Not unusual, I knew. But still, today, January 28, 2 months after the half, I still didn't feel like running. Just didn't.

But I my hubby misses me running with him. And I miss being outdoors during my runs. So I went back and looked at the pictures from the half marathon. I had fun. So I went for a run today. 2 miles only. But it was nice to be out and at it again. Some of the pictures are below...

So there. I've laid it all out there. And I'm a big proponent of laying goals out there. So here's one. My goal is to get 2 runs in per week. 3 miles each. (ish). I have a 10k I've already signed up for that's in 6 weeks. So I'll have to get in some longer runs too, but I'll be happy with the average week at 2 days, 3 miles each. I won't be changing my schedule otherwise, though. I still have Chalean Extreme 5 days a week, 3 strength training and 2 cardio + yoga. Perfection. But I need those runs back.

Who will help hold me accountable?  Have you ever gotten burned out doing a particular workout?

~To Your Health~



Amy & Me - Richmond Half Marathon 2011
See? Super happy!
My hubby, Miguel, Me, Troy and Amy. The dream team. Sorta.