It's ok to brag...

Facebook is like the cost of entry into the social media world, right? I mean, you have to have a page. And you absolutely must waste an ample amount of time each week stalking old friends (to see if they got fat) or to check out people's party pics (living vicariously through them). Right?

Well as you are checking out a random friend's cousin's bachelorette party (of which you know no one in the pictures), you are bound to come across the very cocky post every now and again. Many are related to working out:

"I just killed it at the gym. #irock!"

"Got up at 4:30am to get my 15 mile run in this morning!"

"Yay for me. I took 7 aerobics classes today and then went for a 10-mile bike ride. Feeling sort of tired now. LOL!"

Or the endless check-ins from people at 24 Hour Fitness.

Brag, brag, brag.

If it's a day that you slept through your alarm, ate a donut for breakfast, then accidentally had three cocktails for dinner, those kinds of post make you feel sort of...well...guilty. I mean the only sweat you worked up today was the nervous kind when your boss asked you about a presentation that is dangerously past it's deadline. You think, that person is such a bragger!

Well, change your mind on that one, please. Pretty please. I give you permission to brag when it comes to taking care of yourself. Document your workouts! It will keep you and other motivated. When I see posts like that, I try to think GOOD FOR THEM! Then I think, what else I can do to be kind to myself in the health department - an extra few push-ups, a couple jacks, some yoga, a bowl of fruit. You get it.

So, now, Naked Stretchers. Whenever you finish a workout - large, small, intense or moderate, post about it on Facebook, or this blog, or on Twitter or on LinkedIn - whichever site is your social media poison of choice. And tag me! I will say something awesome like "you hot, fit thing, you!" or "you are fabulous." Or something equally as charming :)

Brag away, please!

Nakedly yours,
M

Healthy, Iron-Rich Salad

Ok, so Pinterest is my new obsession for all things health, fitness, food, kids and baby. I could literally spend hours trolling people's boards and pin myself into oblivion. It's actually quite a good way to keep yourself from actually shopping. It's like shopping without the dollar signs and argument with the hub. So, when I stumbled upon this salad recipe, I had to give it a go. And boy howdy, this preggo lady was in heaven.

It's healthy, it's rich in iron, it's raw, fresh and clean. All the things that add up to a good meal for baby girl (and her large and in charge Momma). Did I mention I've gained 18 pounds so far? Yep. 13 more weeks to go...what will the total be? Ugh. I can't bear to think. Anyway, that's another post for another day...

Now back to my green, red and brown heaven in a bowl... I saw this picture with ingredients listed on Pinterest, but there was no recipe attached. So I just created my own version...

What you'll need:
1 avocado
2 big handfuls of cherry tomatoes
1 cucumber
a bunch of cilantro
1 can of organic black beans
3-4 generous handfuls of fresh baby spinach
olive oil
lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

So easy. Dice up the avocado, tomatoes and cucumber. Dump into a largish bowl. Wash and add the baby spinach. Rinse black beans, pat dry and add to your bowl. Tear up the cilantro and let it join the party. Drizzle olive oil sparingly and shake on the lime juice like it's Cristal and you are some hot, rich celebrity. Stay with me here. Add salt and pepper to taste. I'm quite heavy-handed with black pepper. And toss it all up, you healthy thing, you.

Let it sit in the fridge to let the flavors marry or just serve it up immediately. I served my salad over plain brown rice to add a little carb action. You remember my immutable law of staying full, right? Carbs plus protein.

Anyway, it was delish! And instead of that full, nauseated, why-did-I-eat-that feeling you sometimes get after dinner (I mean not that you ever have that, but you know, imagine others who might feel that way), you will feel GOOD about what you just devoured.

Now, it is not a kid-friendly meal. I gave E a bowl with rice and everything sans the fresh spinach and he looked at me like I was an alien. Maybe that's actually what I look like to him. At any rate, he ended up eating PB&J, yogurt and strawberries for dinner.

But for you and the other adults in your household this is the salad of all salads!

Give this a go for din or as a cute little look-at-me-and-how-healthy-I-am lunch at work. People will look at you with jealousy as they heat up their sad little Lean Cuisine or drag in their greasy bag-o-burgers. Score for you. And all the more reason to stretch naked, my friend.

Nakedly yours,
M

Credits: Photo courtesy of Pinterest

The Dallas Morning News!

The Dallas Morning News wants to do a fitness profile on little ol' me!!! I am so excited! They are going take pics during my class this Saturday at 24 Hour Fitness Valley Ranch, 11:30.

The focus of the story is about continuing to exercise while pregnant, which I am clearly (and some days painfully) doing :)

I'm pretty sure I know what to say, but the big question is WHAT THE HECK AM I GOING TO WEAR??? I have to look super cute, trendy and Sretch Nakedy. Natch!

I want all my Naked Stretchers to come take my class! I promise it will be one of the best you've ever taken!!!! And I'll add one more exclamation point to that!

And if you are curious about the growing bump, I will post a pic-y soon :)

Dessert Alert

There is no denying my sweet tooth with this pregnancy! I had to have something sweet today and discovered an amazing low-fat, kid-friendly, delicous treat.

Mix equal parts natural peanut butter with light cool whip. Stir until smooth. Spread on a graham cracker and top with banana slices.

Easy and A-mazing! I intended on having only one graham cracker spread but ended up eating two :)

I was going to take a pic, too, but it didn't last long enough.

Thanks Weight Watchers for the idea!

New Year's Resolutions

First of all, Happy New Year! I hope that you are still going strong with your New Year's Resolutions. For once, my resolutions have NOTHING to do with losing weight! I suppose that will come in June when baby girl is born. But breastfeeding should take care of a lot of that weight gain (fingers crossed). And hopefully the rest will come off quickly when I get back into my exercise routine after I recover from my c-section.

Ok, so what are my resolutions? Some are health related, some are family-related and some are just plain fun :)


1) Have a healthy baby! I'm going to do this by eating well, exercising as much as I can and trying to find time to rest more. I will teach classes as long as I still feel well. Hopefully until April, but I won't beat myself up if my body tells me otherwise. I'll go on more walks with Baby E (which I'm going to have to find a new name for him since he won't be the baby anymore!) Well not the smallest baby. He will always be my baby :)

2) Cook more! I have fallen victim to laziness a bit in this area. It's become far easier to pick something up or to eat peanut butter sandwiches. But I think that cooking is so important to overall healthy eating for my family. Healthy recipes rich in lean protein, whole grains and veggies are high on my list! Plus Ad Man is trying to lose weight. He says the "diet" starts tomorrow when he goes back to work. I'm going to make a meal plan for all of us each week and we have to stick to it. Of course, I'll build in some opportunities for us to eat out and have fun every now and again, but the more you plan to more money you save and the healthier you eat! I made our first family meal plan and we've stuck to it perfectly so far! I'll do another post in the next few days so you can see what I put together!

3) Project Life! My friend told me about this awesome way to scrapbook and capture all the little moments in your life, called Project Life. I bought a starter kit and binder for both myself and my sister-in-law. Anyway, you take a picture of your family/kids each day for a year. Then there are all these cute little cards and patterns that you slide into these page protectors. Add the pictures, then you simply journal what you were doing that day or a little saying/date and there you have it! I'm going to print pictures every other week and then sit and do the journaling once per month. I have it marked on my calendar to keep me accountable!

3) Blog more! Yes, my Naked Stretchers. I am going to blog more. Yes indeedy!

4) Get organized! Ok, ok, This is on like everyone's list. But I've already started down this path. Ad Man and I purged out closets, got rid of oodles of things we don't need and put organization methods in place. I'll blog more about how my kitchen organization is making cooking and eating healthy easy!

5) Play, teach and love more! Play more with E. Teach more to myself and to E. Love unconditionally - E, Ad Man, June Bug and myself!

There you have it! I would love to hear your New Year's Resolutions. If they are health and fitness-related, I might be able to give you some advice. So let's hear it!

Healthy Pregnancy

So why this topic? Well I'm pregnant with baby #2! Yes, Ad Man, Baby E and I are thrilled to announce that we are expecting a baby girl in early June! I'm calling her June Bug since we haven't decided on a name yet.

I know that many of you know this already from Facebook or taking my classes, you can already tell!

So, having survived my first trimester (whew the exhaustion and nausea were wild), I'm ready to focus my efforts on having a healthy pregnancy - via healthy eating and exercise.

Will I continue to teach? YES!!!! I am planning to teach until April. However, I will listen to my body and stop when it tells me to! I have started to modify my activity a bit. I don't jump as much in TKB and just demonstrate a lot of the drills in Nike Training Club. But, still going strong with exercise.

Will I teach after June Bug is born? Of course! Hoping to stick with my current schedule. I will keep everyone posted as my delivery comes closer! I should only be off April through August. Back for sure in mid-August, early September. I will have lots of great subs filling in, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, I am using oodles of willpower to avoid sweets. My weakness all the time, but especially during pregnancy!

I'll keep everyone update on my pregnancy and growing healthy baby! I'll post belly pics, too. I know that I love looking at other people's growing belly pics :)

Add some Pumpkin for Your Little Punkin'

I love the taste of pumpkin - pumpkin spice lattes (thanks S-bucks), pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins. Mmmm...delish. And did you know that you can add pumpkin puree to muffin mixes, pancakes, cake mixes and more to make it low-fat? Holy cow is it amazing.

Pancakes
I like to add pumpkin pie mix to pancakes for me and Baby E. I just add about half of a can to dry mix, then add a little milk to moisten it up. Cook on a skillet like you normally would. And poof! Healthier pancakes with some extra nutrition.

Cakes & Muffins
Add pumpkin puree to spice cake mix (no other ingredients) and bake as normal (add a few extra minutes until set). And you have low-fat muffins that taste like heaven!

Add to any cake mix and you have low-fat and amazing.

Oatmeal
Oh and you can add pumpkin puree to oatmeal with a little brown sugar, too!

So many options. Try some and let me know what you think! Or create some ideas of your own. Pumpkin puree goes a long way in the taste department!

Healthy Turkey Day? Can it be done? 5 Easy Tips to try this Turkey Day!

I say "heck, yes!" You can easily substitute all the fatty and high-calorie items with lower-cal versions.

But come on. Seriously?

Who is going to do that? Who is going to skip the mashed potatoes and do mashed cauliflower instead? Who plans on substituting pecan pie with a fruit salad for dessert? Not me.

There are a few occasions in which a little indulgence is appropriate. In my opinion, Thanksgiving is one of those occasions!

Let's look at the numbers...

The average person will consume more than 4500 calories and 229 grams of fat on Thanksgiving day alone, according to the Caloric Control Council. Holy Cow! Pretty daunting stat!

I certainly don't want to consume three+ days worth of calories in one sitting. But I also don't want to be the sad Pilgrim at the table turning down the broccoli cheese casserole! I do think there is a happy medium.

Just in time for you to prep your shopping list, here are my suggestions for a Sorta-Guilt Free Turkey Day

1) Choose 2-3 vices, not 33 – If you LOVE mashed potatoes, have a scoop. If you die for pie, have a sliver. If you can't get enough of the weird sugary green jello stuff that always seems to don the table, have a serving. But don't scoop up a serving of everything! Use your judgment – if it's overly creamy or cheesy, put it on your vice list. And only have a few of those vice items.

2) Exercise in the morning and take a walk after the meal – For years I ran the YMCA Turkey Trot with the BFF, we always did the 5K fun run, which was just enough to burn some calories, get us moving and set the tone for a great day. Now that we both have kids, go to Thanksgiving celebrations out of town and generally have busier lives, we don't do this together anymore. Insert sad face here. But there are Turkey Trot-style events all over the country. You could even stage your own Turkey Trot with your kiddos, hubs and family. This year, we are going to try to go to the one in Oklahoma City. We are spending T-Day with Ad Man's fam, by the way.

And then after the meal, encourage everyone to take a walk. What a cool tradition to start!

3) Eat the good stuff first – And by good stuff, I mean healthier stuff, first. Some of the best items on the menu that have great nutrition and are lean on calories are turkey, roasted sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, salads (with dressing on the side), homemade cranberry relish, veggies and pumpkin pie. Fill up on those first and then dig in to the vices. You'll feel full and eat less of the guilt-ridden gravy.

4) Bring a healthy dish – Often we are subject to eat the food as it is prepared by Grandma (who sneaks in enough butter to make Paula Dean proud) and we don't know if it is low-cal. So, why not consider bringing a healthier dish? No one will know that you made the green bean casserole with low-fat cream of mushroom soup. Here are some suggestions:

• Bring whole wheat rolls instead of starchy white rolls. 
• Make a sugar-free jello dessert with light cool whip. 
• Perhaps a non-traditional dish like a whole wheat pasta toss with olive oil, mozzarella and tomatoes. Yum. That actually sound A-mazing. Maybe I'll make that for dinner...

5) Skip Seconds – As hard as this may be, skip going through the buffet line a second time. I am an absolute sucker for mashed potatoes. I have been known to have three scoops of taters before calling it quits. I know right? That is a recipe for bloating and having to unbutton my pants. Anyway, try really thinking through the healthy options + a few indulgences on the first trip. And don't keep eating after you feel full.

So there you have it. I wish you a fabulous and wonderful Turkey Day with friends and family! Gobble Gobble!

Thankful Day #5: Hugs

Today I'm thankful for hugs. I'm not like a super huggy person with acquaintances and certainly not a work huggy person. But my family and friends, I could hug all day long, especially Baby E. His hugs are the best. There is something so magical about your child seeing you from across the room, sprinting to you at full speed with an ear-to-ear grin and collapsing into your arms. Ahhh...heaven!

Pass along a hug today!

Thankful Day #4: I'm thankful for my energetic 2-year old

I am thankful for my Baby E in many, many ways. He is the most amazing person in the world and I am so lucky to be his Momma. I am thankful that he has a great sense of humor, he is so smart and inquisitive, he is affectionate and caring and VERY energetic.

He keeps me on my toes and I love running after him at the park and playing each day. He teaches me something new about life, about being a parent and about myself each and every day.

I don't always appreciate running after him down the aisles at the grocery store when he gets a wild hair to "race Momma. Race. Go!" But that is a different story for a different day.

Thankful Day #3: I'm thankful for Nike shoes

Addicted. That's the only way to describe it. Yes, I'm addicted to Nike athletic shoes. I have 10 pairs that I rotate between my classes each week. They are just the best. That's it! Hands down!

Here are my dream shoes right now...wouldn't they be so cute for Zumba!!!!

Thankful Day #2: I'm thankful for peanut butter

Peanut Butter. Mmmm. I feel just terrible for all those people out there that are allergic to peanuts because they miss out on a very important food group.

I eat all-natural peanut butter on whole wheat toast for breakfast most mornings. Packed with protein, fiber, potassium, a little creaminess and a little sweetness. Gives me energy and keeps me full at least until 10 am!

Thankful Day #1: I'm thankful for Squats

Some people hate 'em. But I L-O-V-E squats. I love that they help lift my booty and keep the cellulite away.

Thank you squats, because some day when I'm a granny, I won't be embarrassed to wear tight leggings.

To cleanse or not to cleanse? That is a darn good question.

So my sweet Mommy friend, Robin, wanted to know my opinion on detox and weight loss cleanses - and not the spa, relaxing scrubby kind.

There are oodles of cleanse programs out there – celebrity cleanses, master cleanse, etc. They essentially include a period of time where you do not eat solid foods and replace meals with a fluid provided by the cleanse (for purchase) or a blend of things you make yourself. The master cleanse, for example, is a blend of water, honey and cayenne pepper three times a day for a few days.

The promise is that your body will be cleansed of all toxins, chemicals and foreign bodies. And generally there is some sort of weight loss promise or jump start to weight loss.

And in my opinion cleanses are not necessary and quite bad for you in the short-term.

This is my gut reaction to this, but wanted to substantiate my opinion with an expert. So, I consulted Ad Man’s Aunt Nancy, who has been a certified nutritionist for 25 years.

Over granola one morning…ok well actually we were eating BBQ, but that is irrelevant…we chatted about cleanses. And she agreed that cleanses are not the way to go for a couple reasons:

1) You are denying your body nutrition – Cutting nutrients out of your diet for any period of time is depriving your system of the necessary elements that create energy and keep things running smoothly. If you’ve ever skipped a meal and felt light-headed or energy sacked, this is what you will likely feel like for several days.

Additionally, your body could go into “starvation mode,” meaning that it begins to think that it will not receive fat and nutrition again. So when you do start eating again, it will hang on to the fat as storage should it be deprived of food again.

Which, holy moly, I don’t need any more fat stored anywhere!

2) Losing weight quickly is never what it seems – So remember the last time you had a stomach bug and you didn’t eat anything for a day or so. At first (after you feel better), you are like OMG I lost 3 pounds! Hooray! And then when you start eating normally you gain it back in no time? Well, that is true of a cleanse as well. You might have some initial weight loss because you aren’t eating anything (hello, of course) and then you gain it back.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The only way to lose weight is to balance calories in vs. calories out. If it seems easy and too good to be true, then it is.

3) Do you really know what’s in the product they ask you to drink? Some cleanses ask you to drink some specially blended concoction or shake to flush out your body and kick-start weight loss. I would be incredibly careful when reading a label for those things. Research the ingredients, study what you are putting in your body. Putting chemicals and man-made products in your body is sort of counter-intuitive when you are trying to flush toxins out. Ya know?

Now I haven’t tried a cleanse and haven’t reviewed the details of all the options out there. But my general feeling (and the recommendation of a nutrition expert) is to avoid anything that dramatically cuts calories and deprives your body of essentials foods. Instead, consider a healthy, natural food-based cleanse.

How does that work? Instead of depriving yourself of nutrition, try eating “clean” for a week. Completely clean. No processed foods, no unhealthy fats or oils, no unnecessary sugars or artificial flavors. And drink heaps of water. This will flush out toxins and junk out of your body.

To truly eat “clean” you also shouldn’t cook anything. So you eat raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, etc. Obviously you don’t want to eat raw meat!

The first few days are the hardest as you cut all the things that our bodies have become addicted to – i.e., sugar and sodium. Then I can guarantee you will feel better and probably have some weight loss to show for it. This is the safest way to “cleanse” your system.

I would love to know if any of my Naked Stretchers have tried a cleanse product? What was your opinion? Did you lose weight? How did you feel? Would you do it again?

Thanks for the great question Robin!

Nakedly yours,

Meg

Blue Cheese Burgers {Light and OMG delish}

Ok, so we need to catch up. Here's what you missed:

Major presentation in which I worked 40 hours over the course of 3 1/2 days - whew! and wahoo! at the same time

Went out of town

Got a sunburn

Ate 6 cookies on Memorial Day

Baby E got a tummy bug

I got a tummy bug

Fever

Lost 3 pounds - hooray!

Got better

Taught classes

Endured 2 major temper trantrums (Baby E, not me), 1 cranky Ad Man as a result

2 Birthday parties for 2 year olds

And that brings us to the Blue Cheese Burger

So, Ad Man and I usually cook a fun dinner on Saturday or Sunday each weekend. It is sort of our thing. We used to cook like crazy before Baby E was born. We'd go to Central Market and spend way too much money buying ingredients for an elaborate dinner for two. Then we'd drink too much and leave a messy kitchen to clean up the next morning.

Well, we still mostly do the same thing, but only once per week.

This Sunday, we cooked up Blue Cheese Burgers and wowza were they amazing. I took a very scary, unhealthy recipe and gave it a quick makeover. It still tasted divine, but without all the guilt!

Better Blue Burger


Ingredients
4 ounces of low-fat or fat free blue cheese (crumbled)
4 ounces of light or fat free cream cheese
sliced tomatoes
Sweet vidalia onion sliced
ground lean (or extra lean) turkey
Wheat sandwich thins

Combine blue cheese and cream cheese. Beat with hand mixer until combined. Set aside to let the flavors marry. Form your turkey burger and season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill until juices no longer run pink. While the burger is grilling, saute the onion with a splash of olive oil and some salt and pepper.

To assemble your burger, put the cooked burger on one half of the sandwich thin, then scoop a dollop of the blue cheese mixture and then top with onions and a tomato. And serve with fruit. Who needs fries or a creamy salad.

This recipe was inspired by Food.com's 10 Killer Burgers Article: http://www.food.com/slideshow/10-killer-burgers-37?nl=RZ-053111-eaters-digest__main-link-url-2

The makeover burger is roughly 300 calories, while the original packs over 800 calories. Whew!

And I wish I had taken a pic of the finished burger. It was to die for. It might not have been super pretty, but man was it out of this world. So rich I couldn't even finish it!

Oh and Ad Man opted for angus beef vs. the turkey burger. And he used a regular bun. Hey you can't win 'em all!