Tillie Tackles

Tackling Getting off the Couch

2010-06-14T06:21:00.000-07:00

Summertime has definitely arrived here in DC! The weather is hot and humid. So what do you do when you don't want to leave your house because it is too hot but you are also tired of sitting on your butt?! A home workout!! Thank goodness these were invented (lol).

I know I have mentioned kettlebells before but they are my favorite and really work your entire body. If you have not used a kettlebell before - make sure you watch a how-to video for instruction to get the basics. The power comes from your hips and butt, not your arms. Make sure you don't skip this step. Also, lots of kettlebells come with a how-to DVD (you can get them at Target, Sports Authority, etc).

(Jolie Gentry of CrossFit HQ)
Home workout:
-Warm-up (this is a warm-up award-winning DC personal trainer Josef Brandenburg did for a magazine article-it gets your body moving and AWAKE)
-Set a timer for 20 one-minute intervals. You can also use a stopwatch and just keep an eye on the time.
-Do 12-15 reps of a kettlebell exercise of your choice (about 30 secs). Rest for remainder of the minute.
-repeat for 19 more minutes

Kettlebell exercises: (if you have never done these exercises make sure you look up the correct form!)
-one arm swing
-two arm swing
-goblet squat
-clean
-clean and press
-dead lift

Others Exercises I do in this circuit:
-incline push up
-plank
-one-legged bridge

Make sure to pick a weight that is challenging. I use a 20-25lb kettlebell. If you don't challenge your body it WONT change. And I don't think anyone would say they wouldn't want a body like Jolie. Don't be scared to lift weights!

Tackling the lbs Visitors bring!

2010-06-03T05:26:00.000-07:00

Recently I had some friends come to town lets say I weighed 130lbs (I dont) but when they left I weighed 137! You say, "how could that happen, they were only here for 4 days?" So I had to kick my butt into gear and get rid of it. Three weeks later it is gone! Now you might be asking, "how did you do that?"

A ton of work and focus!! That is how you get anything done- duh.

One of the reasons this could have happened was a new yogurt place called Fro Yo and unfortunately, it has also moved to my neighborhood in a very convenient place to my home. Instead of giving in like the hundreds of people I see walking around with their cute little cups full of goodness I decided to kick my habit and create my own fruity version that will keep my ass looking oh so cute in my new jeans. While I havent yet created over a dozen flavors and toppings that Fro Yo carries I promise this is just as good and even a bit rewarding.

Greek Yogurt Smoothie #1

1 cup Greek yogurt (lots of protein and good fat)

2 tablespoons heavy cream (makes it rich)

1/4 cup orange seltzer water (liquid so your blender doesn't get mad)

1 cup frozen berries of your choice (use less if you are really watching your carbs, they can add up)

2 packets of Splenda, Just like Sugar, or Fiberfit

-Throw it all together. Blend. Eat.

This is my favorite at the moment when you want something a bit more sinful...yum!

Greek Yogurt Smoothie #2

1 cup Greek yogurt (lots of protein and good fat)

2 tablespoons heavy cream (makes it rich)

3 tablespoons of cup cherry seltzer water (liquid so your blender doesn't get mad)

1 cup frozen cherries

2 heavy sprinkles of cinnamon (more or less to your taste)

2 packets of Splenda, Just like Sugar, or Fiberfit

-Throw it all together. Blend. Eat

Save Fro Yo for when you want a really great cheat!

Now I am off to NC, the hardest place in the world to stay on track......

Tackling Weekend Foods in Moderation

2010-03-08T09:42:00.000-08:00

Hi all! Hope you had a great weekend. So I haven't made it to my goal as you might have guessed since I didn't announce it but I am well on my way thanks to keeping up with my workouts and moderation. Yep, that old saying "all things in moderation" does seem to work. This weekend my husband and I relaxed our eating habits more than once - let me tell you there were cheese fries, burgers - with the bun!, wings, more fries, and even chocolate chip cookies and thats just his! If you dont know him he is a guy with a lot of muscles and hardly any body fat because he works at it.

Well, all that being said he gained 4 lbs! I lost 1 lb! I still helped him with both fries, a bit of the cookie, a turkey sandwich with chips (yum), and a few drinks earlier in the week. Not what any person on the 90% rule would say was good. But I did eat way less than he did, which I should since I am smaller than him! Remember ladies that you are smaller than that guy (dad, brother, husband, co-worker) you are eating with and therefore should eat less and drink less alcohol than they do.

#1 rule for me: the 90% rule. This means simply eating right - low sugar, low carb, high protein - 90% of the time, which is what I try to go by and what Josef preaches. This way, the scale will make you smile instead of cry.

Basically, stick to your plan and if you do fall off the wagon, it might not be as bad as you think.

And for anyone fearing Passover remember when baking you can substitute matzah meal with almond meal!

Vote for Josef!

2010-03-01T11:49:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! This is a bit of a different blog for me today. The Washington City Paper is having their annual poll as to see which is the "best of" in a variety of categories. Josef Brandenburg is up for the Best Personal Trainer!! Please go to Washington City Paper to vote for the top DC trainer!!

If you want to share the link it is:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/bestofpoll/nominees/1136/vote

Please help me make Josef #1 in the poll!

Tackling Blizzard Conditions

2010-02-15T07:40:00.000-08:00

Hi Folks! Looks like I forgot about you for awhile which is just not the truth- I got a bit lazy with my writing and my eating habits while I finished up my thesis. Now I am back on track with my eating and my workouts. It can be hard to do in the midst of a blizzard (yes thats what happened in DC!) and not being able to go anywhere. However, after marching to the grocery store in the storm to make sure we had enough clean food to carry us through the storm we realized after a day of laying around, it gets boring.

To save us from getting a bit soft around the middle and from being bored we figured a HOME WORKOUT to be the answer! Here is a great TBYW: Living Room Workout! which will get your heart rate up and break a sweat even if it is below freezing all around you!

Tackling Acedemic Stress and Bad Eating Habits

2010-01-16T13:13:00.000-08:00

It is no secret that I am a cupcake lover. Currently, I should be wrapping up my thesis but all I can think about are cupcakes!! I get daily emails from Fitness and Spice and she recently blogged a protein cupcake recipe. I just took a computer break and made one. You mix it in a cup and then bake it in the microwave making eating and cleaning a breeze. It is not exactly like your favorite sugary cupcake but it has a chewy bread like constancy which I miss when cutting out gluten and sugar. It was a real (tummy) saver for me today. Go try it for yourself!

It took all of 3 minutes to make. I enjoyed mine with cream cheese and sliced fresh strawberries. You could also top with a dark chocolate ganach!

Lets all thank Joanna S. for her recipe! http://www.fitnessandspice.com/2010/01/cup-cake/

I hope it keeps you from turning into a cake monster!

Tackling 2009

2009-12-31T07:39:00.000-08:00

This year has gone by in a flash. Have you recapped your top 10 for the year?! Mine are below in no particular order :)

1. got married!
2. went to Prague
3. went to London
4. went to the Dominican Republic
5. thesis proposal got approved and I am almost done (woo hoo!)
6.** healthy and happy family **
7. my dad is cancer free!!!
8. learned a ton about food
9. became an even better cook
10. committed to being a fit and healthy!!

If you are not in the DC area and want an amazing guide to get you to The Body You Want check out:

TBYW: Client Success Manual

Have a healthy and happy and safe 2010!

Tackling the Holidays

2009-12-21T14:22:00.000-08:00

The holidays are quite the event(s)! Going to your parents', to your friends', going to your in-laws! That is a lot of going and a lot of food more than likely. We all have our favorite dish that we love made by our mom's/grandma's/aunt's or even little brothers and while its probably only on the table once or twice a year you might be feeling strong enough to forgo it, but come on, let's not kid ourselves. So instead of forgoing dessert over the holidays why not bring one more delicious and yet somewhat nutritious item to the table. I have just made (and tasted) a new recipe. It is posted below! All the recipes follow the traditional ones.

Low Carb Brownies:
Preheat oven to 350 F

-1 c. almond meal
-1/2 teaspoon baking power
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 and 3/4 c. Splenda (or other sweetener)
-1 c. unsalted butter
-4oz. unsweetened dark chocolate
-2 teaspoons of vanilla
-4 eggs
- 4 tablespoons of cream cheese
-1/5 c. smooth ricotta

Grease a 9''x13'' pan. Mix all dry ingredients. Melt butter, cream cheese, chocolate and stir in ricotta in a separate bow. Beat eggs and add to butter mixture. Gradually mix dry and wet ingredients together. Bake about 20 minutes. This makes about 48 small, rich brownies about 2 carbs per serving!

Mint Cream:
-1 bar of cream cheese (8 oz)
-6 tablespoons of Spenda
-peppermint extract to taste (I recommend about 3/4 teaspoon or less)

Soften cream cheese and mix all together. Refridgerate.

Chocolate Icing:
-3 tablespoons butter
-1/2 c. (OR LESS) pourable low carb sweetener
-1/3 c. heavy cream
-5 tablespoons unsweetened chocolate powder

Soften butter and mix all together. Let stand at least 30min. before pouring.

Enjoy the holidays!! Let me know how the recipe turns out for you.

Tackling a Food Hangover

2009-12-14T07:05:00.000-08:00

Today I woke up late with a list of things to do including going to the Library of Congress and working on my thesis most of the day and a holiday party tonight, but eating right was still at the top of my list. Over the weekend my husband and I went to visit his sister, who is newly engaged (yeah!). So no need to say there was some celebrating. I knew we were going away so I made sure to accommodate my eating for the week before. I saved my cheats for Saturday and Sunday. I still might have overdone it, and definitely felt like I had a carb hangover on the drive home. To recover from this less than stellar feeling my husband and I promised each other that we would go to the gym together when we got back in town. It was tough but we did it and were very happy about it too. By doing this, we were both right back on track and did not miss any workouts that week.

Splurges are part of life and you should enjoy them! I have never been one to feel guilty when I eat something that is not healthy. I enjoy it and move on. Since I am still working towards my goal, I marked several stars on my meal grid (see I Tackled Week #1) to account for the wine and cinnamon treats I enjoyed and moved on. I also made a huge batch of Tillie's Turkey Chili to eat this week because I have another weekend of celebrating ahead! We are going to visit my family in North Carolina, and well the most nutritious foods are not always around.....Happy Chanukah everyone!

"....Anyone got a match?"

I Tackled Week #1

2009-12-08T15:23:00.000-08:00

This week I started to really pay attention to what I was eating. I made a food journal and a workout journal (really these are both one page sheets I created on Word -you can check it out for yourself below) both of which are super easy to carry around with me or hang on the fridge. Looking back on the paste week I realize I could have done much better. My next goal will to eat better next week. If you keep track there is no tricking yourself that you are eating on point when you are not.

By the way, the red stars are my planned out "cheat meals" or so not on the plan meals. If you know you have a party coming up, plan for it. Your skinny jeans cannot afford to not plan for the splurges.

Now for the still painful part! My measurements:

Waist (at belly button) = 31.75in down 0 .25in
Waist -2 (2 inches below belly button) = 35.0in down 0.5 in
Right Thigh = 23.0in. down 0.5in

I challenge you to get started this week! Go ahead and share what your plan is? I'd love to hear from you. Don't delay tackle your belly today!

Be A Champion! Get Your Workout Done.

2009-12-03T18:50:00.000-08:00

Tonight I had a great workout. I lifted. And not those baby pink dumbells you might see at some gyms or at your grandma's but real, heavy, metal weights and when I finished my workout, I felt like a champion! It's a great feeling and one that is worth feeling over and over again. The good thing about that is, that it is totally in my power everyday to feel like that. It is in your power too!

If you are having a down day the quickest and healthiest way to turn it around is to be active. And yes, that is easier said than done. One of the best tricks I know is to make an appointment with yourself. You would never cancel on your doctor, your manicurist, or friend. Right? I try to lift 3 days a week and do intervals at least 2 times a week. What's your activity schedule? Please share it with us in a comment!

Dont Delay, Start Today!

2009-11-30T06:30:00.000-08:00

I dont know about many of you but I am pretty sure I had more than one Thanksgiving meal! Which makes my numbers a bit higher than I was expecting. I have also been staying with my parents and do not have my trusty scale, but I do have my pink tape measure. A tape measure is a much better indicator of your progress than the numbers on the scale!

I cant believe I am going to do this but my numbers are below! It is December 1st and a great day to start taking control of what I am eating and making sure I am active every day! I just read about "Random Acts of Fitness" at http://www.fitnessandspice.com/

Waist (at belly button) = 32.0in
Waist -2 (2 inches below belly button) = 35.5in
Right Thigh = 23.5in.

As I mentioned I am at my parents, without a car, which means I cant get to the gym this morning. Luckily, I have a 20lb kettlebell here! I bought it at Target. So no excuses. Home interval workout here I come!

As my extra act of fitness. I am going to go take the cutest puppy out.

First Blog!

2009-11-26T06:44:00.000-08:00

This is my first blog, my first blog ever! And while I never thought I would create one of these I am very excited.

A short intro on me: I am 28 yrs old, writing my thesis on Christmas ornaments (and plan on graduating in May 2010!), and I am a newly wed. Two of these three things make life wonderful but a bit stressful. Being single was way less complicated but being married is way more fulfilling.

Like most women I can never quite make it into those skinny jeans when I want to but that is about to be over. Well, that is the plan at least.

I am going to share with you my progress, some recipes, and strategies (my own and some from some experts!).

Goal: be a real (not barley squeezing into it) size 8 by Valentine Day.

I will post my info on Monday, because today is Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!