Showing posts with label Whole Life Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Whole Life Challenge. Show all posts

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Chicken, cabbage and apple

Ingredients

Chicken Ingredients:

3 cups apple juice
3 cups water
8 tsp salt
6 tsp coconut crystals
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp rubbed sage
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Braised Cabbage, Fennel, and Apple Ingredients:

2 cups cabbage shredded
1 cup fennel bulb julienne
1 cup Granny Smith apple julienne
1 cup onion julienne
4 cups apple juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp caraway seed
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Fennel fronds for garnish

Instructions

In a large container that you can seal, whisk together all "chicken ingredients" except the chicken.
Add chicken breasts. Let brine in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight for best results.
When you're ready to start cooking, preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit degrees.
Place chicken on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.
Place chicken in oven and roast for 25 minutes or until internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit is achieved.
While chicken is in the oven, heat a large pot or Dutch oven on medium high.
Add olive oil, cabbage, fennel, apple, and onion to the pot. Cook, stirring often, until ingredients are wilted.
Reduce heat to low, add remaining ingredients, and season with salt and pepper
Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
Slice chicken and serve over cabbage, fennel, and apple mixture.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Paleo risotto recipe

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower, chopped
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
3 tablespoons ghee (or Kerrygold butter)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound of sugar- and nitrate-free prosciutto ham, chopped
Pink Himalayan sea salt
Fresh ground organic black pepper

Directions:
Heat a (preferably cast-iron) pan and add all but 1 tablespoon of ghee or butter.
Once heated, add onions. Cook for about 10 minutes until golden and caramelizing. You can go up to 30 minutes for a sweeter taste – this part is all about the chef’s preference.
Once done, add ham and cook for 3 minutes.
Turn off the burner and place a lid on the pan.
While the onions are cooking, break apart cauliflower and boil until fork ready.
Strain the cauliflower, then use a hand masher to get it to semi-lumpy.
Once done, add remaining ghee or butter. Also slowly add your coconut milk. Add 1/4 cup or less at a time until you reach your desired consistency. The right amount can vary, so go slowly as not to water it down. You want a rich, creamy texture.
Once this is done, throw it into the onion-and-ham pan and turn the heat back up! Add all remaining ingredients and heat for about 3 minutes.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Jim Schoemel Run

Started my 5th WLC on Saturday and ran in the Jim Schoemel run for ALS. Using this run time for my start workout value Category: 5K Place: 131st out of 285 Bib: 3844 First Name: Jane Last Name: McHowat City: St Louis ST: MO Time: 33:31 Pace: 10:48/mile Gender: F Age: 56 Gender Rank: 66th out of 186 Age Group: 50-59 Age Group Rank: 8th out of 34

Monday, April 6, 2015

Paleo Restart/Whole30/WLC again

Today is the day I am starting Paleo again.  I'm going to do the Whole30, then it will segue into another Whole Life Challenge starting in May.  I have really got to go 100% as I am hopeless when trying to stay on track but eating regularly.  I had coffee with almond milk this morning-hard to get used to again!!!!

Monday, October 13, 2014

Lulled into a false sense of security

Four weeks into WLC, I thought I was doing so well.  I had lost 6lbs from my starting weight and my clothes were feeling more comfortable.  Well, here comes the weekend.....
We had pizza on Friday night.  No big deal, I had won some indulgence bonus points.....
Saturday-free day bonus points-didn't exercise or stretch, had regular milk in my lattes, went out for dinner with Sam and Caroline.  Made the free day count....
Sunday-ran the Go! St. Louis 5 k in the morning, had regular milk in my coffee, ate well the rest of the day.
Definitely didn't drink much water this weekend, but did OK yesterday
Monday morning-step on the scale.  Put on 3 lbs since my low weight on Thursday.  So, it took me 4 weeks to lose 6 lbs and 4 days to add back 3.
Let this be a lesson.....

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Whole Life Challenge update

I am half way through Challenge #4 and have been doing pretty well.  I have had a few treats along the way, but still have a perfect score because I have had enough bonus points to apply.  So far, I have lost about 5-6 lbs in weight and lost 1 1/2 inches off my waist.  Thank goodness I can wear my cords again because the weather is definitely getting cooler.
So far, the lifestyle challenges have been eating with no distractions, making "to-do" lists , positive thinking and sleep (my least favourite, but should not be).

Monday, September 29, 2014

WOD ideas from WLC

“Bread & Butter”
Every minute on the minute for 10, 15 or 20 minutes, do:
5 push ups
10 bicycles
15 arch ups (lying on your stomach, pull your head & chest off the ground while simultaneously pulling your legs off the ground)
“Run & Squat”
Repeat 3-5 times for time
Run around your block (no more than 1/2 mile)
25 – 40 squats
“On & Off”
Repeat 1-3 times
30” push ups (“=seconds)
30” rest
30” bicycles
30” rest
30” lunges
30” rest
30” burpees
30” rest
30” flutter kicks
30” rest

Monday, September 15, 2014

Tips from WLC

Suggested Workouts:
1. WLC official workout – interchange the movements written to get variety
2. Go for a run
a) easy, slow, recovery for 15-30 min
b) short intervals:
3 min warm up
4-8 x 30” hard; 90” easy
3 min cool down
3. Handstand kick ups & walking
4. Do as many Push ups as I can in 10 minutes
5. Repeat 5x:
jumprope for 1 min
Squats / lunges / bicycles for 1 min
Total time: 10 min
Suggested Stretching:
Monday – Pigeon
Tuesday – Side Lying Pretzel
Wednesday – Couch
Thursday – Ankle (calf/achilles)
Friday – Squat
Saturday – Hamstring
Sunday – Thoracic Extension

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Whole Life Challenge #4

I am trying another Whole Life Challenge.  This will be my 4th one.  I have cheated quite a bit on the last 2 I did, but this one is (hopefully) going to be a good one.  The site and the scoring system are a little different this time, so hopefully it will keep my interest.  I have been doing the Challenge with essentially the same team of players for a while and we are good at cheering each other on, so we will see how it goes.  I have really got out of the habit with exercising and am starting at the bottom again.  Hopefully this will get me back on track with that too.
I did well on Day 1.  I had no oat oatmeal for breakfast, eggs and a banana for lunch and chicken, roast vegetables and stuffed tomatoes for dinner.  I had a piece of cherry clafouti for dessert.  Only 51 more days to go!!!

Saturday, June 28, 2014

End of WLC #3

The WLC ended today.  I did measurements etc and I have done better than I expected.  My workout score increased by 14%, my weight was down by 4 lbs and I lost 2 inches on each of my measurements.  Need to keep it up now....

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Trying a new kind of challenge

After having done the Whole30 challenge three times and the Whole Life challenge twice, I've confirmed my suspicions.  I figured out that I will commit whole-heartedly to a challenge the first time, but after that I know I can do it.  Any subsequent time, I don't feel the need to do it 100% because I know I can do it-I've done it before.  Every time I do a challenge, I think "I'll do it right this time".  Every time, I don't.  So, now I have to come up with new challenges for myself.
I'm at the end of WLC #2.  I really have done horribly this time.  I tried to convince myself that I was trying to re-educate myself to eat fairly well indefinitely.  Unfortunately, the end result has been that I now weigh more than I did at the beginning of the challenge and that my exercise routine has been sketchy at best.
I'm going back to my roots and doing something in Lent.  Starts today.  I'm going for a lofty goal, combining Whole30 and WLC.  Every day, I'm going to try to achieve the following:
Eat right (this is my Whole30 part)
Take a supplement (I take fish oil, but I think I'm going to add Ginkgo since I am doing research with it)
Exercise for 10 minutes every day (this will be walking on many days)
Mobility for 10 minutes (I do this while I am heating water for my tea-3 minutes 3/4 times a day)
Drink 60 oz water each day (I do this mostly with tea, easier to do at work than at home)
Sleep 7 hours at night (this will be the hardest)
Optional from WLC-read, meditate, do something I love, act of kindness....
If my suspicions are correct, I should be able to do this.....
Starting weight is 123.8 lbs

Monday, January 27, 2014

More WLC workouts

WLC Build-A-Workout Process

A.  Pick 1 - 3 movement(s): squats, push ups, sit ups, burpees, bicycles, hollow rocks, lunges, arch rocks, running, jumping rope, or any bodyweight exercise you can think of.

B.  Pick an ‘on’ time. (10, 20, 30, 40, 60 seconds) - this on time is the amount of time you’re going to do the movement, as hard and as fast as you can.

C.  Pick an ‘off’ time. (10, 20, 30, 40, 60 seconds) - this is rest time.

D.  Pick a number of times to repeat the cycle (between 3 and 10).

E.  Write it down.

So here is one example:
A. Push ups & Squats
B. ‘on’ - 30 seconds
C. ‘off’ - 40 seconds
D. 5 cycles
E. At go, I’m going to do as many push ups or squats (my choice which I do, no set pattern) as I can in 30 seconds. At the end of 30 seconds, I take 40 seconds off. And at the end of that, I start again with as many squats and push ups as I can do in 30 seconds. At the end of the second 30 seconds, I take 40 more seconds off. I repeat that 5x until I’m finished.

A few notes:
1. If you realize you haven’t done enough at the end of your workout, you can a) just continue to add more rounds, or b) go through the build-a-workout process again with another movement or different pattern.
2. You could choose to do push ups only for 30 seconds, rest 40 seconds, and then do 30 seconds of squats - and alternate like this back and forth for a total of 5 cycles.
3. Make sure you keep track of what you do, and how you did (tracking the total number of reps of each movement.
4. The workout will vary a LOT depending on the amount of work time and rest time you choose... play with it.  You could even do one ‘on’ set for 10 minutes... so you don’t really have off time except for not having the physical ability to do more.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

WLC week 1 suggested workouts

1. Run out, Run back
Measure a distance from the front door of your house - 1/2 mile, 1 mile, 1.5 miles, 2 miles.
Starting at your door, run out to the turn around of your choice.
Make note of the time it took to get there.
Turn around and run back.
Try to beat your time to get there on the way back.

2. Run the block
Starting at your front door, run the loop around your block - easy.
When you get back to your house, kick it into gear for the next loop - hard.
Repeat this pattern for at least 10 minutes. 
See what the fastest time you can complete one loop in is.

3. Pace?  What pace?
Starting at your front door, start running. for the first 2 minutes, keep it easy.
Then…
30” - go hard & fast
1:30 - easy
30” - go hard & fast
1:30 - easy
30” - go hard and fast continue at will up to 6x.
Finish with 2 minutes easy.

4. TV Time
Plop yourself down in front of the TV, but instead of on the couch, make a space for yourself on the floor
a. Plank Hold - from elbows or hands - 4-7 minutes (if you think that’s hard, watch this)b. 15-20 reps - Dynamic Prone Cobrac. Lateral Plank Hold - same as plank, just turned sideways - 1-2 minutes each side.

5. Split Pea Soup
For 10, 15 or 20 minutes, be in perpetual motion (as much as possible).
Perform as many total reps (in no particular rep scheme) as possible using the following movements (can also be done in front of the TV).
BurpeesSquats
Push Ups
Lunges
Sit Ups

6. Run Squat, Run
Repeat 3 - 5 times
Run 1/2 mile (or shorter)
40 squats

Monday, January 13, 2014

Whole Life Challenge has started

The challenge started on Saturday.  I did my beginning measurements and fitness assessment and am off and running-so far, so good

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Whole Life Challenge, Round 2

Yes, I decided to sign up for the Whole Life Challenge again.  It starts on January 11.  I got the pre-game instructions today.

1.  BEFORE PHOTOS
Take a ‘before’ photo and upload it to your profile.
 - Wear clothes that really allow you to see your body
 (this is for YOUR benefit - we know it's uncomfortable) 
 - 3 views (front, side and rear)
 - Upload one that is the best portrayal of your body on Day 1
 - Check privacy settings to ensure privacy

2.  MEASURE YOUR BODY
Three options:
(A) Weight
(B) Body fat percentage
(C) Girth Measurements

For girth measurements:  use a cloth tape and measure,
1. Your body’s circumference at your waist, and
2. Your body’s circumference at your hips.
Add the total of these (in inches) and enter it into your
profile on the site.

3.  TEST YOUR FITNESS
Complete a MEASURABLE workout.
It has to be something you can measure, either with a stopwatch,
measuring distance, or by counting reps. The most important thing
is that the workout is relevant to YOU and your life, and that it is
measurable. 

OFFICIAL WLC New Years Workout


Complete as many reps as possible (AMREP) in 11 minutes of:
800m Run (1/2 mile) (or 1,000m Row); followed by
75 Squats; followed by
50 Sit Ups; followed by
25 Push Ups; followed by
as many Burpees as possible in time remaining.
Count ALL reps completed in under 11 minutes
(squats + sit ups + push ups + burpees) as your
score.

Monday, November 4, 2013

End of Whole Life Challenge

MeWorld
Days Recorded Score5532 avg
Inches Lost7avg
Workout Improvement2719 avg
Acts of Kindness734,529 total
Minutes of Mindfulness70472,060 total
I have finished the Whole Life Challenge.  In some ways it was hard, in others it was easy.  During the 8 weeks, I managed to stay on track for 3 work dinners, John's wedding, John's birthday and a dinner to celebrate my Citizenship.  Amazingly, I also survived a trip to Dallas, including the airport both ways.  It was very strange to be in the airport and not get a Starbucks at every opportunity.  At the end of the challenge, I was surprised to find my workout had improved because I haven't been doing as much Crossfit as I had at the beginning.  I had also lost inches, hopefully won't put them back on!!!

RankNameCommunityTotal
1
Jane McHowat
None605
2
Elizabeth Pogostin
None591
3
Sydney Saito
None532
4
Leeny Hoffmann
None302
5
Amy Nash
None288
6
Marileana Garcia
None188
7
Anne Bosch
None118
8
Samara Campen
None63
9
Gina Stiffler
None0
This was our Paleo Crossfit team.  It's interesting that one person paid to enter the challenge and then never entered a score at all.  Watching the scores every day, I figured out that most people are like me and once they lose a few points or forget to record a score on any day, they give up completely.  Only one other person stayed the distance and recorded scores and reflections every day.  I think this is probably the reason why most diets fail.....

Monday, October 28, 2013

WLC week 8 workouts

Day 1
Repeat 3x:
1 min shuttle run (25 yards)
15 sec rest
1 min max 5 push ups, 10 squats
15 sec rest
1 min max sit ups
15 sec rest 

Day 2
Easy cardio/metabolic conditioning of your choice.  Minimum of 10 minutes.  Keep heart rate in recovery range.  Finish feeling good and fresh, not tired and wiped out. 

Day 3
2 min jumping Jacks
15 squats

10 push up

1 min run in place (high knees)
15 squats

10 push ups

1 min burpees
15 squats

10 push ups
2 min jumping jacks 

Day 4
Easy cardio/metabolic conditioning of your choice.  Minimum of 10 minutes.  Keep heart rate in recovery range.  Finish feeling good and fresh, not tired and wiped out 

Day 5
repeat 2x
2 min squat hold
2 min prone cobra hold
2 min plank hold

Monday, October 21, 2013

WLC week 7 workouts

Week 7 Workouts 
Day 1
2 min warm up 
¼ mile run
1 min max squats
¼ mile run
1 min max push ups
¼ mile run
1 min max squats 
2 min cool down 

Day 2
Easy cardio/metabolic conditioning of your choice.  Minimum of 10 minutes.  Keep heart rate in recovery range.  Finish feeling good and fresh, not tired and wiped out. 

Day 3 
Repeat a total of 4 times:
30” sit ups
30” squats
30” push ups
30” rest 

Day 4
Easy cardio/metabolic conditioning of your choice.  Minimum of 10 minutes.  Keep heart rate in recovery range.  Finish feeling good and fresh, not tired and wiped out. 

Day 5
2 min warm up 
1 min sprint
2 min rest
1 min sprint
2 min rest
1 min sprint
2 min rest 
2 min cool down 

Day 6
For time:
100 sit ups
100 push ups
100 squats 
scale to 70, 80 or 90 as appropriate

Day 7 
Easy cardio/metabolic conditioning of your choice.  Minimum of 10 minutes.  Keep heart rate in recovery range.  Finish feeling good and fresh, not tired and wiped out.

Monday, October 14, 2013

WLC Week 6 workouts

Workouts:
Day 1
2 min warm up - run, jumprope, jumping jacks 
3 rounds:
1 min squats
1 min burpees
1 min sit ups
1 min rest 
2 min cool down - run, jumprope, jumping jacks 

Day 2
Easy cardio/metabolic conditioning of your choice.  Minimum of 10 minutes.  Keep heart rate in recovery range.  Finish feeling good and fresh, not tired and wiped out. 

Day 3
3 rounds for time:
5 push ups
10 sit ups
15 squats
20 burpees
15 squats
10 sit ups
5 push ups 

Day 4
Easy cardio/metabolic conditioning of your choice.  Minimum of 10 minutes.  Keep heart rate in recovery range.  Finish feeling good and fresh, not tired and wiped out.

Day 5
1 min plank hold
1 min prone cobra
1 min plank hold
1 min prone cobra
2 min max lunges
2 min max squats
1 min plank hold
1 min prone cobra 

Day 6
Sprint 8's
Run, Row, Ride
8 rounds:
30" of max effort for distance
90" of easy recovery (not stop)
- Do as many of these as you can.  If you are supposed to be starting one, but you can't breathe, then simply take it off… recover the full 2 minutes and start on the next one. 

Day 7
Easy cardio/metabolic conditioning of your choice.  Minimum of 10 minutes.  Keep heart rate in recovery range.  Finish feeling good and fresh, not tired and wiped out.