2014 Winter Olympics Workout

We are so so so excited for Sochi!!  We've got some decorations, and some Russian recipes picked out to try for the Opening Ceremonies.  Trust me that was harder than I thought it was going to be.  I've been pinning a bunch of ideas to make the next two weeks awesome.  Even though the Olympics themselves are pretty awesome by themselves.  My favorite is probably the time capsule from Paging Supermom. 

I don't know about you but I always get so inspired by all of the athletes so I thought it would be fun to make a Sochi Olympics workout to counter all of the sitting and watching I will be doing over the next two weeks.  Here it is if you want to join me!  All I know is I really hope no one crashes.  Cuz I hate burpees.  

What is your favorite sport to watch in the winter Olympics?!!  Mine has got to be snowboarding, but I really look forward to watching the ice skating with Ivy.  I remember loving it SO much when I was her age.  

Five Things For Friday: Clean Recipes

If you don't have a foam roller can I just tell you... GO GET ONE!  It will be the best frenemy you have ever had!!

Ok guys.  You know my goal is to get in to some booty shorts at some point this year.  I've been trying really hard to keep my diet super clean.  I am on MyFitnessPal {my username is Jennwarnick} every day putting in my stuff and trying to eat a lot of veggies and protein.  I've made my diary public so you can check out what I've been eating for ideas.  I've had a couple people ask me for the recipe links of stuff they have seen me eating on there.  So here are a few of my faves I thought I'd share...

No bake energy balls from Gimme Some Oven.  

I work out first thing in the morning and since I try to stay in bed as long as possible I don't have time to eat any breakfast.  Not that I really want to either.  I'm still waking up and jumping around on a full stomach is no bueno.    So I started keeping these in the fridge.  I just grab a couple every morning on my way out the door and they give me just enough pep to make it through my workout.  She has a couple different varations on her site you should try them all out. 

Ginger Cilantro Baked Tilapia from The Kitchn

This is probably my favorite dinner right now.  It is so easy and we all love it.  Well, Ivy just likes her tilapia baked plain but loves it when I make this dinner.  I just use the frozen tilapias from Costco.  The longest part is cooking the brown rice to go with it.  

Source: biggest-loser-recipes.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Biggest Loser Pancakes

This is our new go to pancakes.  I add about a half teaspoon of baking powder to the mix.  They are really yummy and super filling.  Even Ivy who could probably win the world championship pancake eating contest only eats three.

Sweet Potato Pancakes from The Gracious Pantry

These are on my list to try.  I am loving sweet potatoes right now and these just sound way yummy to me.  If you are looking for a good source of clean eating recipes check out The Gracious Pantry.  Tons and tons of good information on there.

  
Crockpot Tortilla Soup by Chef in Training

Umm this is our favorite soup.  To keep it clean you need to nix the all the cheese and sour cream and tortilla chips.  Try making your own by just cutting up some corn tortillas and tossing with a little bit of olive oil and salt.  Bake at 400 until crispy.  We also add avocado.  I cut out the chile powder so Ivy will eat it.  I also have just used diced tomatoes and some onions instead of Rotel.  Might be awesome for the Super Bowl eh?  

Have a fun weekend!  And I'd love any other recipes that you have been loving so go ahead and share em! Also I'm thinking Monday is a good day to start Round Three of the Ruffled Sunshine 24 Day Challenge.  See ya then!

2013 Fitness Goals

Is it too late to tell you my New Years Resolutions?  I hope not.   I really wanted to get them written down.  They have been sitting in my head and I'm kind of visual so this will help solidify them for me.  First up are my fitness goals for this year.  

Nothing too crazy.  The booty shorts one is going to be the hardest for me.  I don't want to run around in them or anything.  I just want to know that I could wear them and feel ok about it.  And you know the whole swimsuit thing...  Its going to be hard because of the whole pear shape thing.  But hopefully all of these other goals will help me get that one done.  

How about you?  Did you make any fitness goals this year?

The Five I Like {Healthy Recipe Blogs}

How's it going?  Did you survive the weekend?! I hope so!  I've been running to the bathroom every 10 minutes but I'm doing good!   So I promise this will be my last challenge post for a while!  

One of the difficult things about eating healthier is coming up with different ideas of food to eat!  And dinners that your whole family will eat! Here are five of my favorite websites to check out for new things to try.  I also love them for the loads of information about the whys and hows to be healthy!

Carrots and Cake

 This is a new one to me and a new favorite.  Its a little bit of everything from recipes to fitness tips and how to have a balanced life.  Just what we are striving for with our 24 day challenge!

Skinny Taste

Skinny Taste is the first healthy recipes blog I started checking out.  I love the lasagna roll ups!

Rabbit food for my bunny teeth

I love how pretty this blog is and her recipes are awesome!

How sweet It Is

This girl is funny and her photos make me want to eat it all, even if I don't like a single ingredient!

100 Days  Of Real Food

I mentioned this blog the other day.  She has SO much great information about eating unprocessed food and its geared towards feeding families.  

I hope you found some new sites to check out.  What are some of your go to's for new recipes?!

Get Set. 24 Day Challenge Starts Tomorrow!

Ok guys.  I'm so pumped that we are in this together!  Before we get started I do want to say that I am not a doctor or a professional so please don't take what I say as the official word on being healthy.  I've just learned what has worked for me and wanted to challenge myself to get back on track and thought it would  be fun to do it with my friends. Are you ready?!

I'm going to go through the ground rules and details of the 24 day challenge.  It is really easy to explain.  BE HEALTHY.  Thats it.   For 24 days we are going to be the healthiest we can possibly be.  There are only 4 things we have to do.  They are simple, but sometimes its the simplest things that are the hardest.  So if your ready lets...

The first rule is most likely going to be the hardest for almost all of us.  But it is going to make the biggest difference.  And really it will be what makes or breaks it for me and you.  

Ummm... I don't know how to say this strongly enough.  But here is a little tough love.  WE ARE NOT GOING ON A DIET!!  Eating clean isn't "a diet" it is a lifestyle change.  It is changing your diet.  Diet as in the food that you eat.  Not I'm going on this new diet called the clean diet.  

It isn't rocket science.  We all know what we need to do.  Its just the actually doing it that is hard.  

Eat healthy food.  Eat food that is good for you.  That's all there is to it.    A great website with a whole lot of information and ideas for you is 100 Days of Real Food.  Here is a general idea of what eating clean is...

Remove any processed or refined foods from your diet.  This includes but is not limited to anything made with white flour or sugar.  

Don't rely on packaged food.  If you are buying food from the store and it is in a package make sure that there are 5 ingredients or less.

Buy local as much as you can.  It is the height of garden season so getting fresh vegetables and fruits should be fairly easy.

The obvious would be to stay away from candy, ice cream, baked goods and those things that are yummy but you know aren't good for you.  

Eat 5 small meals a day. Depending on how active you are and your  goals, each meal should be around 300 calories.  If you are really active shoot for between 300 and 400 calories per meal.  Since exercise is part of the challenge, please don't starve yourself.  You need to eat for fuel.  1500 calories should be the minimum you eat in a day.  To help you get a good feel for how many calories you are eating use some kind of calorie counter like MyFitnessPal. 

Does that about cover it for eating clean?  If you have any questions feel free to ask me or google. 

**DISCLAIMER**  If you feel like you need to go on "a diet" or some other program to help jumpstart you to eating clean, then feel free.  I personally don't agree with anything that says I can't eat something that I know is healthy.  And I'm a firm believer in not taking any kind of weight loss pill/shake/anything.   I could go on and on about that but here is my one thought for you.  I know that you want results quick and easy, but how much more satisfaction would you get from knowing that any results you see are from your very own hard work and determination?  Yes its going to take longer.  But my guess is your results will last longer. 

Moving on...

Ok this one is not so complicated.  Drink 80+ ounces of water a day.  Drinking out of the same cup or water bottle that you know how much it holds will help you keep track.  No soda, juice or alcohol please, just good ole water to wet your whistle.   Next up...

Again pretty straight forward.  Sleeping 8 hours {or more if you are lucky} is really good for you.  So we are going to do it.  

And last but not least, my favorite!

You gotta do it.  You need to sweat for at least 30 minutes every day.  Rest on Sunday.   There are so many resources out there to help you get going.  Buy the 30 day shred or hit the road running.  I don't really care as long as you are moving.  And secretly I will be insanely jealous that you can and I can't.  I'll be doing strength training and working on getting my knee better.  If you are already on the exercise wagon, then switch it up.  Add strength training or a yoga class.  Push yourself to do something new.  Some of my favorite programs are free and so awesome.   BodyRock.tv is amazing.  Twelve  minute workouts that kick your butt every day.  I love the Nike Training Club app.  I'm pretty sure it is on android and iOs.  Again I could go on and on.  Let me know if you want a full list! 

I think that about covers it for ground rules.  There are just one more disclaimer {also known as my personal opinion},   and then you can go and get set.  Kick off is tomorrow!! 

**DISCLAIMER** This challenge is not the see how skinny I can get in 24 days challenge.  Or the see how much weight I can lose in 24 days challenge.  This is the see what happens if I am the healthiest I can be for 24 days challenge.  It will make all the difference if you shift your thinking away from feeling like you are depriving yourself of something when you pass on a cupcake or soda.  Focus on the positive changes you are making and how hard you are working toward your goal and you won't miss that cupcake I promise!   

The Ruffled Sunshine 24 Day Challenge

Who needs a challenge?  Are you up for one? Because I have one for you.

Here's the thing.  I've quite literally kicked my own butt trying to get in shape for the past year.  I know its a constant work in progress and sometimes I need a goal, some kind of "thing" to keep me motivated.  My knee injury has got me down BIG time.  {I tore my mcl surfing six weeks ago if you hadn't heard.  I know super bummed.}  I need a new "thing" to help me get out of this funk.    So I came up with a 24 day challenge to push myself.    

 I've grabbed a couple girlfriends who were looking for a bit of a challenge as well.  We are gonna rock it and then we are gonna party.  Sound like something you are intererested in?!

Good.  I've got a game plan to help us out...   

Today is September 4th.  We will officially start on September 6th.  That way we end on the 30th all nice and tidy like.  I'm also giving us a couple of days to get our game plan in motion.  Today your assignment is fairly easy.  

Ugh.  The moment of truth.   It has got to be done though.  I'd also suggest taking a before picture so you can physically see what changes occur!  I made a measurements sheet so you can easily keep track of your stuff and compare notes at the end.  

You can download your measurement sheet HERE.  Then print it out and write down your measurements in the day one column Yeah, you have to weigh yourself too.  To find out your body fat percentage just google body fat percentage calculator and fill in the info and it will spit out the number for you.  From experience doing all this really does help make it all more real.  

Ok.  Thats probably enough for one day.  I'd love to hear from you if you are going to join me!  Get your measurements done and I'll be back tomorrow to help us get set.  I'll give you ALL the details then.   Kick off is Thursday so get ready to rock it!

Insanity.

*** I know you guys really don't care about these exercise updates, but I feel the need to own up to it more and try harder if I'm putting it online.  Don't hate me!***

 You know how I finished P90x?  Well right after we finished that we jumped right in to Insanity.  Umm its insane, and I pretty much hate it!  It is a cardio workout from the same company that does P90x.  It is ALL cardio, so basically the complete opposite of what I had been doing before.  When we are finished I am all red faced and I stink and sweat is dripping down my face.  Want to know the most annoying thing?  I have to wash my hair every day.  I hate that, just sayin. ;)

For Insanity they have to do a fit test every two weeks and take your measurements.  Here are my results after two weeks...

Not bad for two weeks.  I have been trying harder to eat more healthy with this program so I think that has helped quite a bit, and my energy has been way up. Or it was until I got sick, BOO!!  I was down for about 4 days but I am still feeling so worn out.  Mandy and I both got sick at the same time and had the same thing, so luckily I'm not holding her back.  Ugh.  We did our third fit test yesterday and I really thought I was going to throw up.  I'm stuck in that vicious cycle of not having good energy because I'm not working out, but not being able to work out well because I'm so wasted from being sick.  So we are on "recovery week" three!  Hopefully we are fully back to normal by next week so we can finish the dang thing.  Cuz honestly I want it to be over, like yesterday.

These numbers are based off of week 2, not totals for the whole program, does that make sense?  For example after week 2 I had lost 1 pound.  I lost another 1.4 pounds by week 5.  So far doing insanity I've lost 2.4 pounds.  Not bad for taking a week and a half off I guess.  Although it might have been better if I hadn't of bought that  bag of cadbury mini eggs a couple of weeks ago. Those things are like crack, seriously.  

Thanks for letting me post this stuff.   It really does help to keep me accountable.  To say thanks I've uploaded a blank notecard I put together for keeping track of my progress.  Just right click and save the image above.  Then you can upload it to PicMonkey {an AWESOME Picnic replacement} or use photoshop and keep track of your own results. 

How To Save Pinterest Photos To Your Phone

Ok so this is kind of a fitness tip too.  I exercise first thing in the morning, you know before I actually am awake and can think a normal thought. That way I can't talk my way out of it.  But I do like to stretch and do a few exercises in the evening, especially if I'm watching TV.  Thats where my handy Pinterest app tip comes in handy.  If you have the Pinterest app you can save photos to your phone, like one of those exercise things you see, so you don't have to go digging through Pinterest for it. 

Open up your Pinterest app and choose explore.  It will pull up a list of topics to search through.  For this I'm going to look in fitness.  You can also search things like exercise, abs, leg workout...

Scroll through until you see an exercise you might want to try.  I think that lean legs pyramid looks pretty good so I want to try that.  Sigh, since that is the area I need the most work on!

Tap the photo you want to take a closer look at.  You might have to scroll down a bit but see that button that says More?  Tap that.

It will pull up this screen.  Check it out, you can save it to your camera roll!  Tap that button.

After you finish checking out all the other fabulousness on Pinterest you can go see your photo in your camera roll.  See my Instagram photos?  And yes I am kind of considering homeschool.  But thats besides the point. There is my lean legs pyramid at the end.

Now I can get lean legs while watching 30Rock and the Office.  Oh geez this looks tough.  I hate jumping jacks!  

Pretty snazzy eh.  Now you can have exercises within reach instead of reaching for the cheetos!  Want to know something terrible?  When I was nursing Ivy I would watch the Biggest Loser and eat cheetos.  She was literally sucking all the fat off of my body so I felt completely justified.  At least they were the natural cheetos... just sayin.