Lately...What I have been up to

This semester has been quite relaxing compared to last semester. Remember last semester, I took 19 units, one of which was chemistry? It was so stressful and I was so busy. Take into account that I was training for my first half-marathon during that time, I was pretty wiped out. I don't know how I survived last semester. 

This semester has been quite different. I am not taking any classes for my major (the upperclassmen got priority). However, I am taking classes for my General Education (GE). I'll be pretty much done with my GE. I am taking 13 units this semester. They are all cultural classes. Asian American Woman, Society and Culture of the Middle East, Spanish and English. I am loving my classes. Even though these classes are not for my major, they will help me in my career. I'll be in contact with many people from different cultures. Learning about these cultures will help my understand my clients/patients better. Along with that, I have been volunteering more. It's a great resume builder!

As you see, I am trying to balance my workload with volunteering (and from last semester). Anyway, there is something that I have been wanting to talk about. 

Listen to your body. That is something I should have done after my half-marathon. Training for one puts a lot of pressure on your body. I was running 30+ miles a week, along with doing boot camp. I slept an average of 5-6 hours a day. I was so busy with school. I overworked my body. I felt my calves tightening and starting to hurt. My knees started to hurt as well. I still worked out after my half-marathon. Even though I wasn't putting in as many miles, I should have let my body rest. 

I am paying the price for it now. I feel more tired and exhausted. My body still feels sore. After my half-marathon, I should have given my body a week rest to recover. Instead, I'll be doing it now, starting tomorrow. I may do pilates, yoga, and walk. But for the most part, I'll be resting. My body needs it. Hopefully, my muscles recover and grow. Hopefully, I won't feel as tired anymore. 

Have you ever overworked your body? If so, how did you deal with it?

What have you been up to lately?

Bootcamp and Classes

This past week has been quite busy for me! I have to say, it was pretty eventful. Classes, tarea, bootcamp, crashing classes, and many other things. I think you get what I mean.

I was able to get into 3 classes that I was wait listed for. I'm so happy! As you know, some departments or professors allow only a certain amount of people into their classes for whatever reason it may be. I was able to get into Chemistry, Government, and Food Safety and Sanitation. I was already enrolled in 3 other classes, so, that means I have a lot of studying to do. But, hey. It's something that has to be done! I think I'll enjoy my classes this semester.

It took a while to get into Chemistry and Government. The professor wouldn't add anyone into Chemistry the first day. I had to wait. The next class meeting, I attended the class. Even then, he told the wait listed people to leave since it was no point. I stayed and talked to the professor. He let me in! With government, the professor said that there would be a very slim chance that she would add other students. I did the homework and she let me in the next class meeting. If you really want to get into the class, persevere and show that you really want to be in the class. It may pay off at the end!

Also this week, I did bootcamp for the first time! I attended two classes this week of bootcamp. I have to say, it was pretty fun. Meagan, the instructor, is awesome. She really keeps us motivated and is very energetic. It was so weird working out in a class environment (since it's been a while since I did a group workout) but it was really fun. Maybe adding this bootcamp can help with my half-marathon training. It's also important to strength train too! My legs were sore after the first class, which says something. =)


Do you like group fitness classes?
What other classes do you recommend I should try out?

Tip of the Week: Getting in physical activity when you have a desk job

Happy Tuesday everyone!

This week's tip is something that everyone can incorporate into their life. I know that most people work or study. They are glued to their desk most of the day. It's hard to get in physical activity when you're always sitting down, studying or working.

Well, here are a few tips to burn a few extra calories and get some physical activity in.

• Make a standing desk. You burn more calories standing than sitting. If you are willing to, you can create a desk tall enough so that you can walk on a treadmill while working/studying. 
• Have some hand weights around your desk. You can take a mini break and do some bicep curls or shoulder presses or whatever exercise you want. 
• Switch your chair for a stability ball. You'll have to work your core to stay still! 
• Drink more water. That way, you'll have to get up and walk to the bathroom more often. Also, it's nice just to take mini walk breaks. 
• Instead of sending a quick email to a co-worker, just walk to their desk. Things can be talked out faster than typing. Also, it's good to get some physical activity in. 
• Go for a walk during your lunch break. Then, eat after. 

Incorporate these into your routine little by little and you'll be surprised on how this can impact your health. 

Do you have any tips on getting in more physical activity? 

What's your favorite exercise?

Exercising while on Vacation

Exercising while on a trip/vacation is something not most people would think about doing. It's a time to relax and have fun, right?

Well, exercising on vacation may not be a bad thing. Some may say it'll take time away from other things you have planned and it's a rest period for the body. However, exercising while on vacation CAN be fun and it'll help you slow down the weight gain from lounging around and eating out during your trip. 

I mention this because on my previous post, I wrote about my trip to China last summer. And, you know what? I still exercised and did some physical activity most days of the week. Some of it was fun, some I had to plan. Here's what I did.

During the tour, we went to a lot of places and it included a lot of walking and long bus rides. One fun activity we did was walking/climbing the Great Wall of China. You should see how steep some of the steps were. It was scary but it was a good workout. There were temples we visited that included walking up many steps. Those are the fun ways to "exercise" while on vacation. Also, I did a lot of walking while in Taishan, where we stayed for a week or two. 

The planned exercises were things I did in the hotel room before leaving for tour and going back to the hotel room after the tour. There weren't many cardio exercises I did in the hotel room. Some things I did were:

• mountain climbers
• jumping squats
• push ups
• sit-ups
• pilates
• yoga

I did that whenever I had time. Top it off with the humidity, it was hard. Seriously. Just walking after 30 seconds outside, you start getting sticky and sweaty, which is not fun. I was lucky there was air-conditioning in the places I stayed at. Even then, it didn't completely cover up the humidity in the air outside. 

Well, how can you incorporate this into your trips? The main thing I'm trying to say is find activities that you can do on the trip that are fun but also require physical activity. You can go biking if you are in a great area to bike in. If you are near the woods, hiking would be something to consider. If you're near the beach, it may be fun to go jogging on the beach as the sun is either rising or setting. You can even go swimming too. 

It's not impossible to exercise while on vacation. You don't need to go to the gym during your trip or vacation. Make it fun. Enjoy the environment you are at. You'll be happy that you did. 

Do you have any tips while exercising on vacation? 

What places have you traveled to? 

Changing my Routine

I changed my workout routine.

WHY? 

I changed it because I feel that weight lifting isn't for me. Yes, I will be doing strength training but it won't be in the form of lifting weights.

Instead, I will be doing body weight exercises along with yoga.

You see, I want my body to be like how it was a couple years ago. In my opinion, I had the right amount of muscle and fat. My weight was perfect too. At this time, I did yoga nearly everyday and I ran for 20-30 minutes. Here's a picture.

And here's a picture of me from last year in Hong Kong, before I started lifting weights. I also had increased the amount of exercise I do.

My thighs (now) have grown in size due to muscle and I don't like it. I liked how my body looked BEFORE I started lifting weights in the weight room. I'm hoping that changing my routine back to the running and yoga will help lengthen and lean out my thighs a little bit.

It's also good to change your routine once in a while, which is also why I'm changing it. It's good to have muscle. It's good to strength train. But, lifting weights is not for me.

I will still do body weight exercises (push-ups, squats, lunges) and yoga, but I won't be lifting weights. Hopefully, that's enough for me to preserve some muscle.

How often do you change your workout routine?

Do you think it's beneficial to change your workout routines?

Do you have any advice on how to lean out muscular legs (thighs in particular)?

Elf 4 Health Update!

Hola everyone. I'm sorry I haven't been updating everyday about the Elf 4 Health Challenge. Life has just been hectic the past couple days, you can say.  Anyway, here's an update.

Wednesday's challenge was to bring and give a healthy snack to a friend. I did just that. I made Dark Chocolate Chip Banana Protein Cookies. My friend loved them! The only thing she said to add is raisins and it would be perfect. She said that since there were oats, it'd made sense to add raisins too. I'll do that next time. The cookies are simple and easy to make and require very few ingredients.

Also on Wednesday, I got to hang out with an old friend at school and I met a new one too (a friend of my friend). She's pretty cool and she's from Hong Kong. Oh, I miss Hong Kong. Anyway, we ate lunch together and hung out for a bit before I went to class.

Thursday's challenge was to try a new workout. Guess what workout I did. That's right. I tried Cassey Ho's Bikini Blaster Arm Workout from blogilates. It killed my arms but it was a great workout. I love her workouts. Her ab workouts are killer too. You should try them!

Today's challenge was quite easy for me. The challenge is to not wear make up for a day. Well, guess what. I don't wear make-up. I really don't think it's necessary to wear make-up. Sometimes, it makes people look fake if they put on too much too. I like being natural. What I did instead for my challenge is to dress up a bit.

Also today, was my registration day for classes for next semester. It's crazy how fast classes fill up. With the economy and all, I'm not surprised. It is a hassle though and a huge pain trying to search for any open class to fulfill graduation requirements. Anyway....

I've been obsessed with dried fruit and nuts recently. Yes, you can call it trail mix. Peanuts, almonds, cashews, sesame, craisins, raisins, sunflower seeds, dark chocolate chips, yogurt chips, peanut butter, you name it. I've been craving them. I even ate some trail mix today at work today. I also ate a lot of craisins yesterday too. Trail mix and craisins are delicious! The trail mix I ate had craisins in them. And, they had yogurt chips. Delicious.

So, I plan on making these healthy chocolate chip cookies sometime during the weekend or next week. I love her blog. It has so many healthy (healthier) recipes. Maybe I can make these for the holidays.

So, what's your favorite cookie?
Do you wear make-up?

Elf 4 Health Day 3: New Workout Challenge

Hey everyone!

Today is Day 3 of the Elf 4 Health Challenge. I'm sorry about not posting yesterday, but yesterday was writing a Thank you note to someone.

So, for my new workout challenge, my Elf Buddy, Samantha, from Runningandcupcakes, said I should try this new workout.

http://www.runningandcupcakes.com/2012/10/31/30-20-10-hurricane-workout/

I tried it today after going on the elliptical and boy, it was more challenging than I thought it would be. I did the set 3 times, each about 10 minutes long. Thanks again for the workout. I can't wait for tomorrow's challenge, which is to get up early and mediate and reflect. I think it would be good for your mental healthy and reflect on how things are going for you right now. It'll help reduce stress, which I have a lot of right now.

Here's an article about benefits of meditation:

 http://www.project-meditation.org/benefits_of_meditation.html

Anyway, back to my life.

I forgot to mention that on Sunday, my cousins from SF came over to visit. We went out to Sizzlers to eat and it was delicious! I ordered the Lemon Herb Chicken with baked sweet potato and unlimited salad bar. It was delicious. Then, I ate some of my cousins sweet potato fries and fried shrimp. I love shrimp. After, I ate some ice cream. I was full but the food was pretty much good to me. I love sweet potatoes.

So, yesterday, I made some red bean paste and this time, it looked so much better! The last time I made it was about a year ago, but I didn't have a food processor to mush up the beans. This time, I did. It tastes so good.

I even ate some with whole wheat toast. My dad and I just like eating it by itself.


Also yesterday, I tried my other PowerBar I bought.

It's the Chocolate Peanut ButterCrisp PowerBar. I really expected more from this bar. It was rather plain and bland. I did taste the chocolate and the peanuts but there wasn't much to it. I surprisingly like the apple cinnamon a lot better.

Today, I bought Quinoa. I've been wanting to try it for such a long time. Finally, I am able to. I bought the organic kind at Costco.

It's hard to explain how this tastes. It's really light and fluffy. There is a bit of a nutty flavor too. Texture wise, it may be a little too soft for my liking but it's still pretty good.

So, what new workouts have you guys tried?
What's your favorite grain?