This is a kettlebell workout for the outdoors.

Or in the very least a kettlebell workout that shouldn’t be done on your wood or tiled floor because if you are like me you might drop the bell once. Or twice.

Regardless, this is a fun kettlebell workout. Not to mention quick kettlebell workout for those day you…well…don’t want to workout but know you probably should. You know those days.

Yeah, this kettlebell workout is for those days.

Anyway a quick word of caution: don’t fight the bell and pay attention. If you feel it slip let it go and get out of the way. The bell always wins. Always.

Catch Me If You Can – Kettlebell Workout – Michigan

A. Swing-Catch-Squat-Reach
B. Around the Body (Alternate directions)

Set a timer for 30/30 (A/B) intervals and 8 rounds. Feel free to do more or less but I did 8 minutes and it was just what I needed for the time I had. 

Tips: There is point at the top the swing where you feel the kettlebell “float”. This is where you catch it. Also you don’t need to transiotion between moves smoothly. It’s okay to stop the bell after the reach and then start your around the body. It’s also okay to set the bell back on the ground to start your swings after your around the body. You’ll be less likely to bang your knee. Lastly, I noticed near the end I was getting tired and I wasn’t dropping my hips during my squat and instead I was dropping my chest a little. This is easier but it’s also wrong. Be mindful of that.

We filmed this kettlebell workout at Sleeping Dunes National Lakeshore where we climbed the dunes.

It was spectacular.

My moody (now) teenager even enjoyed it. At least for a few minutes.

Well…that’s that. Have you ever dropped a kettlebell during your workout? What do you do when you are having one of those days?  Have you done a kettlebell workout this week?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States.

The post Catch Me If You Can! – Kettlebell Workout – Michigan appeared first on Girl Heroes.

So I haven’t got back to a regular workout schedule since we’ve been on the move and to keep myself accountable I’m going to post my weekly workout locations again.

As much as I miss my little gym at the campground in Breckridge, I’m loving the adventure of traveling full time again.

I’m loving working out with a view of the city.

I’m loving working out in the solitude of the mountains.

I’m loving hiking through amazing rock formations.

I’m loving my new Lucy Perfect Booty Pants.

No matter how lean I get my booty (and thighs) is always the last thing to lean out. I can be rocking a six pack (Admittedly it’s been awhile and I’m totally ok with that.) but I’ll still have plenty of junk in the trunk to tame. In other words, I’m always on the lookout for pants that flatter and shape my derrière.

The team at Lucy decided to build off of their “perfect core technology” and apply it to the derrière, hence, the “perfect booty” pants. The pants have built in compression panels that are designed to help you to engage the glutes for a more effective workout. I can’t honestly say that they consciously remind me to engage my glutes more but the strategically placed seams do give my booty a boost!

The Perfect Booty Pants may be all about the booty but they didn’t forget about the tummy. I really love seams on the front of the waist.

While the price of these pants is, admittedly, a bit on the steep side, the quality is outstanding. I’ve worn them in the gym, outside on the ground, around town, and I’ve yet to find one loose thread or pill in the fabric. It’s also worth mentioning that I never dry my nicer workout pants in the dryer. Never say never because one day I spaced it and threw these pants in the dyer on high heat. The pants made it through looking as good as new and without any shrinkage. It’s a good thing because I got the short length (I’m 5′ 3″) and the length fits perfect.

I still may not have a “perfect” (Perfection is relative, right!) booty but the Lucy Perfect Booty Pants do a darn good job of making the most of what I got!

So what are you loving lately? 

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States.

Disclosure: I was provided a pair of Lucy Perfect Booty Pants for the purpose of this review.  All opinions are my own.

The post Loving Life and My Lucy Perfect Booty Pants appeared first on Girl Heroes.

In today’s chemical laden world eating clean sometimes means more than fruits and vegetables.

Over the years, I’ve slowly been replacing plastic with glass and stainless steel.

I started with our water bottles.

Then moved on to food storage containers.

But I have still been using plastic for packing lunches.

Until I tried the MIRA Stainless Steel 3 Container Set.

Mira Stainless Steel reusable containers are made of 18/8 food-grade stainless steel and have non-toxic snap on lids (in fun colors I might add) that are free of BPA, PVC, and lead.

They are a perfect size for lunch or snacks on-the-go.

The larger container is 16 oz, the medium is 8 oz, and the small is 5 oz.

The only downside is that the large is a bit small for this monster sized salad girl.

Each container has a snap on lid and so far I haven’t noticed any leakage.

 The three containers nest inside of each other for space saving storage.

A huge plus since my kitchen is smaller than the average closet.

Mira has generously offered to giveaway one set of stainless steel containers to one Girl Heroes reader.

You have a few ways to win. Just fill out the form below.*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway open to US residents 18 and older only.

*If you are on your phone it may take a few moments for the form to load or if you received this post through email you may need to click through to see the form.

Have you made the switch from plastic? What is your favorite lunch or snack to pack?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States.

Disclosure: I was provided a set of Mira stainless steel containers for the purpose of this review.  All opinions are my own.

The post Eat Cleaner On the Go with Mira Stainless Steel Containers – Giveaway appeared first on Girl Heroes.

This winter I took about a four months break from kettlebell workouts.

It’s not that kettlebell workouts aren’t one of my favorite ways to workout. I got really tired of lugging my kettlebells down to the fitness center at the campground in 10 degree weather. Call me lazy or call me practical but switching to dumbbells and machines (for cable exercises as I’m not crazy about machines for much of anything else) was a nice change. It was good for my body and for my mind.

And I can be excited for kettlebell workouts again!!!!

Now that we are back on the move it’s time to step up my kettlebell workouts.

This kettlebell workout which was filmed in Wisconsin is a perfect way to “step it up”.

Step It Up Kettlebell Workout

1. Press – 5
2. Steps Ups – 10
3. Row – 5
4. Step Ups – 10
5. Modified Pistol – 5
6. Step Ups – 10
7. Incline Push Ups – 5
8. Steps Ups – 10
9. Swings – 10

Repeat circuit 3-5x.

This is a great beginner/intermediate kettlebell workout.  An advanced version could substitute double kettlebells (I tried but the steps ups were BRUTAL with double bells), full pistol squats, and/or regular or decline push ups.

Northern Wisconsin was beautiful. We visited the Apostle Islands National Seashore but, unfortunately, didn’t get to out to the islands. Someday we want to go back in the winter because the sea caves along the shore become ice caves. They look magical!!!

The best part of our time in Wisconsin was meeting longtime blog friend, Katie from Cookies and Crafts. She was just as awesome and funny in real life as she is on her blog!

Alright well that’s about it. Thanks for sticking around even though I haven’t been posting much. We’ve been busy here in Colorado Springs and even managed to pull off a surprise party for my 13 year old son last week with guests from three different states.

I can’t believe I’m the mother of a charming thirteen year old. How did this happen!

Hope you are having a great week and enjoy the kettlebell workout!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States

The post Step It Up Kettlebell Workout – Wisconsin appeared first on Girl Heroes.

I’ve filmed some kettlebell workouts in some amazing places all the way from California to Maine.

Places like the Florida Keys, near wild horses on Assateague Island and in front of the NYC skyline.

But sometimes it’s the simple unexpected places that stand out.

Places like this park we stumbled upon in Des Moines, Iowa

First of all, I had no idea Des Moines was a cool city!

Second of all, look at these leaves!

Beautiful!

It almost makes me wish for fall.

Almost.

Double Kettlebell Workout – Iowa

Part One

A. Double Kettlebell Clean and Press – 5
B. Double Kettlebell Bent Row – 5
C. Push Ups – 5

Repeat A-C 4x.

Part Two

Tabata Double Kettlebell Swings

Set a timer for 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. Repeat 8 times for a total of 4 minutes. (Here is a brief intro to Tabata and its benefits.)

I’m really happy with this double kettlebell workout. My form is better than some of my others (If you ever want to improve your form. Film yourself 4o times and you will get better.) and it is a challenge. Plus it’s over really quick. Gotta love tabata kettlebell drills especially double kettlebell tabata drills! Evil laugh….

Getting Personal

Last week I said I was not motivated. Well I’m still feeling down. Not as down as a few weeks ago but still not myself and I don’t really know what’s going on.

Perhaps it was the long winter? Despite all the snowboarding the four of us were in an RV for four and half months while the temperatures dropped below freezing.

Or perhaps it’s the uncertainty of our life? We aren’t sure where we are going to settle down. Truth be told, I don’t like the idea of settling down at all but my oldest who just turned 13 thinks he may want to go to high school. We want to honor that desire so we are thinking about places to settle. I’ve learned I am a gypsy at heart and this nomadic life feels right almost like finding a soulmate. It will be hard to settle when the time comes.

Or perhaps it’s the stress of being a single income family working freelance. Some of Brent’s biggest clients aren’t giving him the work like they did when we lived in Ventura. It can be stressful as I’m sure many of you understand in this down economy and I realize there are many people in tougher situations. He could look for a normal job but we both agree that being able to live the nomadic life is worth the uncertainty that comes with working freelance.

Or perhaps, it’s the sugar. The sugar. In fact, I’m certain that is a big part of it. I’ve struggled with my sugar addiction for the past year and a half and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that while my mood has gone down my sugar consumption has gone up. Sigh.

Well that’s enough. I’m not going to throw myself a pity party. At least not on my blog. After all life really is beautiful and if you don’t have downs then you can’t have ups.

Do you like where you live? Are there any places we should check out as a possible place to settle? What about double kettlebell workouts? Do you love them as much as me?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States

The post Strength and Endurance Double Kettlebell Workout – Iowa appeared first on Girl Heroes.

I haven’t picked up my kettlebells for weeks. Truth be told, I’m still struggling with motivation in general but watching this kettlebell cardio circuit that we shot in St. Louis Missoris just may change that.

Maybe.

We loved St. Louis and I loved that we unexpectedly found this park the morning we decided to film the kettlebell workout. I had been asking around if there was a good place to get pictures of the arch (it’s hard to get the entire thing in the frame because it’s so tall) and everybody kept saying not really. I considered doing the workout on the busy square  downtown but it was busy. It may not seem like it but I’m really shy and if possible I like to shoot the kettlebell workouts in more low traffic areas if possible. So I looked at the map again and saw Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park right across the river from the arch. It was perfect with a great view of the St. Louis skyline and it was quiet! Why didn’t anyone know about this place!

The is a kettlebell cardio circuit. It’s perfect for non-strength days or on it’s own whenever you need a quick but effective workout. Love kettlebells!!!!

Kettlbell Cardio Circuit – Missouri

1. Down Ups – 8
2. Kettlebell Reach – 8
3. Jump Squats – 8
4. Two Handed Row – 8
5. Swings – 8

As many rounds as possible in 8 minutes.

I was trying the two handed row with an underhand grip and I’m not crazy about it as it can put a lot of pressure on the wrist through hyperextension. So if you do that just be aware of your wrist position and make sure they aren’t bending backwards too much. A lighter kettlebell will help this.

___

We finally left Breckenridge a few days ago. It was a bittersweet goodbye. We had an amazing time snowboarding (you can see all of our best pictures here) and being part of a community for four months. It’s going to take a few days to adjust to moving again and getting back on track with my workouts. I’ll write more about it next week because my grandparents are visiting us right no. They came out for my oldest son’s 13th birthday and we want to spend as much time with them as possible.

Alright well I hope you are having a great week! Do you ever use kettlebells for cardio circuits or do you prefer using them solely for strength?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States

The post Kettlebell Cardio Circuit – Missouri appeared first on Girl Heroes.

This kettlebell workout is only two moves and the sets are based on the 8 letters in the word Illinois. Like most of my workouts, I try to always connect some number in the workout with the number of letters.  Although there have been a few I was running low on creativity and just wanted to get done.

I’m particularly fond of this kettlebell workout for its versatility. Once you have the swing down it’s great for beginners through advanced. It can be easily modified by decreasing reps and/or sets or using a heavier kettlebell.  It works well on its own when you don’t have a lot of time, as conditioning workout for non-strength days, or as a finisher on strength days.

Illinois

A. Swings 
80,70,60,50,40,20,10

B. KB Toss
 80,70,60,50,40,30,10

Start with 80 reps (or whatever you think is a good number for YOU) and the next set reduce reps by 10 until you get to 10 reps of the swing and toss. Red lipstick and dark eyeliner are optional but highly recommended!*

*We were on our way to visit friends and going out that night so I changed in the car in the car to workout. However, I’ve done more ridiculous things like combine leopard heels and kettlebells.

I also want to say thank you to Jen for interviewing me in her Lady Lifter Spotlight last week. I interview a lot of women here on my blog so it was nice to be on the other side. Speaking of interviews would any of you like to be featured or have someone would you like to “nominate” as a Girl Hero? I’m always on the lookout for inspirational women. And inspirational does not mean “super buff” or someone who has lost a lot of weight. (Although that’s fine!) Girl Heroes are women who are doing their best to choose health in our not so healthy culture. Anyway you can email me if you are interested jenn (at) girl-heroes.com

I haven’t been blogging much over here because after Thing One asked me, “Do you think one day I’ll be nostalgic for this trip? For living in the RV?” I started to feel like I really need to catch up on capturing our adventures on my travel/family blog. It’s kinda embarrassing how far behind I am!!!! When we left I imagined being able to keep up on everything (and not be 6 months behind editing workouts!!) but the truth is I only have so much time and energy. My family and life come before the computer. If they didn’t I don’t think I’d have anything to write about or even be on this trip! Anyway, it’s really important to me to catch up on our travels before time starts to scratch away at those memories. Have you ever seen those blog to book things? They look like the yearbooks I got in high school. My desire is to turn our other blog, Newschool Nomads, into a “yearbook” that captures the memories and brief histories of all the places we have gone and give one to each of the boys when they leave our nest. Sniff. So I’m going to do my best to post a few times a week over here but for right now catching up on the memory book for my kids is my top priority.

Alright that’s it….I hope you enjoy this short kettlebell workout and let me know if you know someone (or YOU…don’t be shy!) who would make a good Girl Hero!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States!

The post A Windy City Workout – Kettlebell Workout – Illinois appeared first on Girl Heroes.

Mary is a newlywed and a personal trainer who, through hard work, transformed her body. She has kept the weight off for over 6 years and has developed quite the physique!  Mary loves, “REALLY! I LOVE IT!” , lifting weights and training for life and competition in figure shows. Mary lives in the city of Minneapolis right by miles of city lakes, so she love to run those also.

In addition,  Mary also enjoys knitting and reading and COOKING! She has been with her husband about 16 months, married about 8 of those months, and has an adorable 6 year old stepson with whom she enjoys reading and drawing mazes. “He is fantastically creative!!” she exclaims! Last but not least, she has 2 cats who never pitch in and help with the dishes.

Mary writes a faith and fitness blog, Fit this, girl! and is a co-leader of the womens ministry at her church, The Exchange Church Minneapolis!  

Girl Hero Mary

Ma

You lost 40 pounds! How does your lifestyle now compare to then?  In other words how is your before weight loss story different than your after story?

I was really in the throws of depression and quite simply low self esteem and it was a spiral that took my weight and health down. I was up and down, very uneven. My lifestyle changed with my emotions and there was no consistency at all! Sticking to a healthy lifestyle took a bit to adapt to and to create habits around, but I simply kept doing the same things over and over, but this time, they were HEALTHY things. I joined a gym and made sure that I used it three days a week a the least, I had joined weight watchers and counted points day in and day out, I took advantage of those lakes and ran those when I could. But, even when I over ate or missed the gym, I STILL got back up and did it over and over again. I saw change because I didn’t give up and was consistent in what I did! 

 I used food before, to an extent we all do, but I used it and let it control me! I would eat when sad, when lonely, to celebrate. I found solace in sugar, in the foods that got me high and opted for more to stay that way when I crashed! I ate way more than I should have at every sitting and ate whatever junk I wanted to. Now, I don’t let food control me, sure I mess up, but it doesn’t dictate what I do, how I feel or to keep me happy. I use food for fuel and to keep my body running as well as I can. I would never have eaten salads or healthy foods, now I eat clean most of the time. I have the occasional treat, but I plan it and plan to enjoy it.

You say the biggest obstacle you faced was yourself. Can you expand on that?

I didn’t want to succeed. I wanted to stay at my pity party, population me.  It was scary to think that I could lose weight. If I lost weight then I was succeeding and that meant that I would have to step up and LIVE up to that. I became my biggest obstacle because I was afraid of the responsibility of success, It was easier to stay a failure than to try and succeed and then be accountable to that new level. Then I would have to examine the reasons WHY I overate and over drank, I would have to examine the reasons why I had low self esteem and fear. I would have to have an accountability, even to self that I hadn’t had before.  That is not within my comfort zone.

Do you find losing or maintaining harder?

I think losing and maintaining have many of the same elements. There is a level of sacrifice, there always is. You have to workout and eat right to lose weight. Developing new habits is essential to success. Those often take sacrifice. It’s not easy, but once you reach your goal, it feels amazing. Many times when we reach the goal, we think that the journey is over. But this road is one that once we start down, we are always on. Nike says there is no finish line, I believe that, we are not through. If you are not moving forward you are moving backwards. John Wayne says that you can be on the right track, but if all you do is sit there, you will get run over. Not that we have to keep losing, but we always strive to move forward to NEW things. Getting better and better, faster, cleaner, stronger and move on to helping others. We don’t want to stop and stay where we are and  we certainly don’t want our weight or our suceses to go backwards. To Maintain doesn’t use the same tactics, but its the same mentality in that we are not “done”, there is always more to do.

What does a typical day of food look like for you when you are off season?

You know, this is only my second season of competing in figure and prior to that I was marathon running. I don’t really want to have an “off” season, I want this to be a lifestyle of eating healthy and working out. Here is what this past 18 months did look like for me. I started eating clean, because as a trainer, I wouldn’t want my clients eating the junk processed stuff I was. I actually had a co-worker trainer call me out on eating free junk food from the kitchen at the gym (go figure, right!). A close friend had told me about Tosca Reno’s Eat Clean Diet and I looked into it. I started eating clean and lifting using a split routine and my physique changed!! I ate greek yogurt with fruit for snacks, spinach salads with chicken, quinoa, fish tacos, eggs, veggies and ALL kinds of goodness. When I met my husband and we were married, I was just 2 months out from my second show and didn’t know how to jump back into normalcy of clean eating. Contest prep diets eliminate much of the healthy fruit sugars and carbohydrates that a regular clean eating diet has in it. After the wedding and honeymoon, I slipped on even regular clean eating. Add a new step son in the mix and I was licking the tuna helper off my fingers more than once a week. What it took was willpower and God power to bring back my natural gifting for discipline. I picked another show and am now working towards being on stage in June for the third time. Some trainers and competitors will gain a lot on an “off” season and then lean out for show time. I lost my 40 pounds once and I don’t aim to do it again! I don’t see anything wrong with eating full fat, healthy fats in moderation and that is usually what I do when I am not in prep mode. 

You’re a personal trainer and you also teach group fitness classes? Can you tell us a little bit about all that!!!!

In the past I have really enjoyed teaching bootcamps, kettlebells and TRX classes, currently I teach Spin!! I enjoy small group or one on one training best, because I can focus my attention on the needs or one client making sure their form and technique is proper, it makes ALL the difference to see results and gains in strength! I have worked as a personal trainer for 3 years now and it is a dream I saw come to be after a long hard road to my own health and wellbeing. 

Has getting physically stronger impacted you mentally or spiritually?

A spiritual leader in my life once told me that I had an anointing for discipline. I believe I do. Body building and weight lifting is my gifting so it helps that I excel at this. I haven’t had anything that I have felt I did as well as this or enjoyed as much. In gaining physical strength I had to dig into my will and my spirit. As a Christian and someone who walks by faith, my emotions don’t really get to play a part in this, which is a 180 from my days of emotional eating and drinking. I bring my thoughts and emotions before God and give them over to him in all their weakness and imperfection and He replaces them, He becomes my strength. I believe also that in order to train the way I want, I rely on God for strength to get through, he provides the gifting and the strength to bring me all the way.   I have gotten stronger by going to Him in my weakness and time of need: When I don’t want to go to the gym (it happens, sometimes), when I am eeking out those last few reps and sets, I do it because He has called me and equipped me. 

How do you stay motivated?

I try new exercises and even work with trainers, this way I stay excited about my plan and my muscles enjoy a new program periodically too. Same with eating, new recipes are always popping up on my pinterest and on the table. Seeing results is a big motivator and I chose performance based results often: can I lift heavier, can I run faster. When you see strength and growth that way, it really propels you forward. As a trainer I am inspired by my clients everyday and they motivate me. They work incredibly hard and I would be foolish to think that they are the only ones benefiting from the relationship, I learn so much from them and am challenged to be better.

What does a typical week of workouts look like for you?

I lift split body routines which is back/biceps, chest/triceps, shoulders and legs. Mostly because they are primary and secondary muscle splits and they will get full rest if you do it this way. So 4-5 days of lifting and 4-5 days of cardio as well. I do change it up sometimes and do push/pull days or all upper body to just spice it up. To fatigue a single muscle group and the secondary muscles with a hard and fast 40-45 min weight routine creates the perfect burn for me.  

What is your favorite exercise?

I could work shoulders ALL day. I love it. Presses, overhead or arnold presses are great and a single arm push press is a  great challenge.

Any advice for people looking to lose weight or just beginning an exercise program?

Start where you are: join a program that is easy to follow, like Weight Watchers. They teach you how to eat differently and make better choices overall. Too many drastic changes at once can leave people open to failure early on and often. Programs like Weight Watchers meets you where you are and moves you forward from there, no guilt. Join a gym and get a buddy and then stick with it! 8-12 weeks will pass before you will see true results in the direction you want, but in 6 months or a year, you can create a new person with new healthy habits and lifestyle! 

 You’re a personal trainer. How do you respond to the question, “How do I get abs?”

Diet! Build them in the gym, grow them when you rest and eat clean so they show up! Having “abs” you can see means you are eating and living lean and mean. Go after it!

Just for fun…if you could have any super power what would it be?

Maybe when I snapped my fingers, I had a Starbucks Coffee in hand? Or the ability to just beam anywhere, here in MN, it’s cold. Flying is out of the question, so beaming up, for sure. 

Thank you Mary for sharing your story with us!!!

You can connect with Mary on Facebook, Twitter, and her blog, Fit this, girl!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States!

The post Girl Hero Mary appeared first on Girl Heroes.

We had a good amount of unexpected snow last week which meant more time than usual on the mountain and less time for the computer.

There is nothing quite like riding in powder. It feels like like floating.

Exhilarating. Freeing. Soul soaring.

We are powder seekers.

And we fit together “like legos”.

We finally made it out to A-Basin one morning last week….

…where we found some more fresh powder.

We went with my new Australian friend, Helen. I met her in my snowboard class the week before. After A-Basin in the morning, we went to Keystone to ride for the afternoon.

Later in the week, we went riding with some of our fellow gypsy friends. We called this shot “Pieter and the Shredders”.

There was falling and laughing.

And jumping.

And cheering for those of us (ahem) who were more timid on the double black diamonds.

This is me riding down Whale’s Tail, one of the easier double blacks, for the first time. (As you can tell) I’m not an awesome snowboarder but I have a TON of fun! I think this was my favorite run of the season so far!

Just hanging out with the two coolest little boys I know.

We are leaving the mountains in three weeks from today. It’s going to be bittersweet but I’ll tell you this: I’m looking forward to flip flops.

So yeah I got a lot of riding in last week. I also got in my regular strength training workouts.

Monday – Strength Training and Snowboarding
Tuesday – Snowboarding
Wednesday – Strength Training
Thursday – Snowboarding
Friday – Strength Training and Snowboarding
Saturday – Snowboarding
Sunday – Rest (I needed it!)

I’m also still on track with my step goal for the year. Last week my daily average step count was 10,589.

While it looks like a really happy week, I was actually struggling with some minor depression. I managed to push through but it wasn’t easy. Five years ago it would have knocked me out and I would have been in bed all week. Nowadays, I know that getting outside and working out help me more than any sort of medicine.

Finally on Friday after a week of off and on sadness, I went to the gym and just for fun tested my pull up. Much to my surprise I did one. Then I did two more! I had lost my pull up a few months after we moved into the RV. Over the summer I got a portable pull up bar and set a goal to get my pull up back. It feels so good. Nothing makes me feel as strong as being able to do pull ups.

Lastly, I wanted to share a great experience I had with a company, Ladies Only Sportswear. I finally decided to purchase a couple of Handful bras and when I received them two days later (crazy fast shipping) one of them was cut strange. I contacted customer service at Ladies Only and they sent me another bra right away no questions asked and covered the return shipping for the defective bra. I’m loving my new Handful bra and right now Ladies Only has them for 20% off and free shipping.  (I’m not an affiliate or anything. I was just super happy with their customer service that I wanted to share!)

Well that’s it! I hope you had a great week!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

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For as long as she could remember Katie struggled with her weight but in 2009 she made the choice to “get healthy once and for all”.  Almost a year and a half later ,Katie had lost 125 pounds! What I appreciate most about Katie’s story is her honesty and down to earth attitude. She openly shares about everything from her “ever constant battle with binging eating” to worrying about her kids being overweight to buying clothes at thrift stores on her blog Runs for Cookies.

Not only is Katie an inspiration to her blog readers but she is a wife and stay at home mom to two boys and four cats.

Girl Hero Katie

In 2009 you “decided to lose the weight and to get healthy once and for all”. Was there a catalyst for this decision? How long did it take to lose 125 pounds?

My elder son, Noah, wanted to take the training wheels off of his bicycle, and he wanted me to run alongside his bike while he learned to ride the two-wheeler. I barely made it down the street before I was gasping for breath; I physically couldn’t do it! I felt like a terrible mom, and I vowed that when it was my younger son’s turn to learn, I would be ready. I started calorie counting, and eventually, exercising. It took 16 months to lose 125 pounds.

You counted calories right? Do you still count? I hear a lot of people talking about counting calories as if it’s this horrible thing. (I don’t think that.) Do you feel that way?

I switched back and forth from counting calories to counting Weight Watchers’ Points (which is essentially the same thing). I think calorie counting is a great way to lose weight! I didn’t have to eliminate ANY foods from my diet; I could eat anything I wanted, as long as I planned for it and counted it. In the past, I’d tried all the fad diets, but they were impossible to keep up with for the long term. Counting calories/Points is something I can do forever without feeling deprived.

How did you family and friends respond to your decision to change your lifestyle?

At first, I think my family and friends thought it was “just another attempt” that I was making, so nobody took it too seriously. It wasn’t the first time I’d tried to lose weight! Once my results became visible, and they saw that I was sticking to it for the long haul, they were very happy and encouraging for me. My sister called me every week to ask how it was going, and when I reached 100 pounds lost, she treated me to a makeover. When I reached my goal weight, my parents gave me $5 for every pound I’d lost, and I used the money to fly to Minnesota to run a race with my brother. I have a pretty awesome family!

Do you find losing or maintaining weight more challenging?

Honestly, it’s pretty much the same. Losing weight was slightly more challenging because I was eating a little less than I am now, but the only thing that changed from weight loss to maintenance was the amount of calories/Points I was eating. Right after I lost the weight, my weight bounced up and down with about 15 pounds, because I had a very hard time adjusting to maintenance–I kept trying to eat “intuitively”, where I didn’t measure my food or count calories. But that just didn’t work for me. I need more structure than that. Now, I finally feel like I have the hang of it!

Can you tell us a little bit about how you took up running and why you love it?

I never imagined that I would one day call myself a runner. I was making a bucket list near the beginning of my weight loss, and I put a very ambitious goal (at the time) to enter a 5K race and RUN it. I’d never even run a mile before, so a 5K seemed nearly impossible. My friend Renee helped me get started, and she signed up for a race with me. She kept me encouraged to keep going, and somewhere amidst the training, I became hooked on running. I loved the way it made my body feel! I ran a 10K after that, then a half-marathon, and now, I’ve run two full marathons. Every time I get done running, I feel like I did something amazing for my body. And it allows me to eat more!

Getting fit clearly changed you on the outside. Has there been internal changes as well?

I always thought that if I ever got thin, I’d be very fun, loud, and outgoing; in reality, I’m still the same shy, introverted woman that I was before–but setting and reaching goals has made me see a whole new side of myself. I have much more confidence in what I can accomplish now, and I step out of my comfort zone all the time to do things I never would have before. I’ve even been on national television twice (The Dr. Oz Show in 2011 and the Today Show in 2013), which is something I never would have had the courage to do before I lost the weight! I also used to be terrified of flying, and after I’d lost 100 pounds, I faced my fear on a tiny little, two-seater, open-toppped, airplane. I almost threw up before getting on, because I was terrified, but I was SO excited afterward when I did it!

You have struggled with binge eating. I particularly enjoyed this post. Is binging still a struggle for you? Can you share a little bit of your experience in overcoming binge eating?

Binge eating is something I’m probably going to have to deal with forever, unfortunately. I’ve had long stretches of time without a single binge, but I’m always fighting the urge. Binge eating is something that relaxes me when I feel anxious or stressed, so I’ve had to find other ways to deal with that. I’m a much happier person when I’m staying binge-free, so I’m always trying to find ways to replace the binge eating. Right now, I’m six months binge-free, which I’ve written about here!

What motivates to continue of this health journey?

My blog readers! My blog readers continue to inspire me every single day. I recently started a series on my blog called “Motivational Monday“, where my readers share what they’ve done in the previous week that made them feel proud. People have shared everything from walking their first mile to running marathons, to reaching weight loss milestones… and reading all the things they are doing makes me want to set and reach more goals for myself.

Any advice for others who are starting their own journey to improve their health?

My best advice is to only make changes that you’re willing to live with forever. Don’t give up your favorite foods to lose weight, because you know that you can’t do that forever; likewise, don’t vow to work out six days a week for two hours a day–that’s unrealistic to maintain forever. I made changes that were do-able, and I just kept at it every single day! The persistence is the most important thing.

Thank you Katie for your honesty and sharing your story!!!!

You can connect with Katie on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and her blog, Runs for Cookies.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States!

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