I have been able to work out 3 days now on a plan to do either step or the treadmill every other day. I usually do crunches, lunges and stretching afterwards. Sometimes I do pushups too. Not nearly as ambitious as you two, but gotta start somewhere as I’ve been very inconsistent. My cooking and eating plan has been quite good however I must report. You can check out my latest recipes on ddcastro.com where I’ve just added a few things. My student videos have provided some new good ideas for eating.

hawaii photo

Not a picture of me exercising this time, but a photo taken on our last day in Hawaii… just reminiscing about warm weather while it’s raining outside tonite

I might have mentioned this…but I also make a sort of mexican salad mix with qinoa, black beans, cilantro, tomatoes, corn, and onions that I can combine with lots of things. I mix it with salad with cooked shrimp on top sometimes, or spread it on top of a tortilla with some salsa and sprinkle cheese on top- pop that in the oven and you have a nice qinoa pizza! I’ve also mixed it with scrambled eggs in the morning- that’s really good. It’s just a good healthy mix to add some fiber and protein to whatever you’re eating.

on a soup kick thanx to Donna

But starts with 8-10 whole peeled garlic cloves sauteed in olive oil with onions until carmelized, then add the tomatoes and a couple of slices of sourdough bread and the chicken broth to soak up, then take it to the blender. Wow, it was a great texture and flavor, really rich without having any cream in it. Hope you’ll try it or a version of your own. BTW I’m putting together a web page now with recipes and cooking videos if you wanna check it out. ddcastro.com

Also, I’ll be away from school and yoga and my biking routine, so I’ll need to figure something else out as far as exercise. I started off really well- I was in the mountains all weekend- we took a 4-hour snow hike one days through a foot of snow without snowshoes. It was so beautiful, but talk about burn. Ouch. Then we took another one-hour hike through not-so-deep-snow another day. Maybe while I’m home I’ll do some kettle ball with my mom…and probably go horseback riding and take walks.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The one thing I don’t cut out is sugar I can’t do it! Too big of a sweet tooth! Although I don’t eat it every day, and when I do indulge it’s small amounts. Some cookies here, an ice cream there…As long as I balance it with the rest of my diet I think it doesn’t hurt. It helps to not keep a bunch of sweets in my house. The only thing I have in case I want some sugar are animal crackers because they’re not too bad for you. I have cut out some big sugar things, such as soda, which I don’t ever drink unless I’m making a mixed alcoholic drink. Not even diet soda- that stuff will get ya.

As far as working out goes, I think biking to and from class everyday has contributed to my shape and my feeling good. On top of that I run or do the eliptical in the gym a 2-3 times a week, yoga 1-2 times a week, and throw in some other spontaneous exercise such as bike riding on trails, taking hikes, etc.

It’s nice that people have noticed by efforts- it makes me feel much better about what I’m doing. I’ve had some friends comment and ask if I’ve been working out. That always helps with motivation!

So small changes that we make are not noticeable right away, but over time they’ll start to become noticeable if we remain consistent. Patience is key!