Safety First

Story time.

I was at kick boxing this morning and we're learning this new routine, which leads to me day dreaming about when I was in college since I just jump around anyway.

I went to BYU (Brigham Young University) in Provo, UT. It's this little city at the edge of a big mountain range where, stereotypically, the people are all semi-Stepford and religious and happy. So basically you think that it's safe. I did.

source

I would go running anywhere I could. I specifically liked this trail in the canyon along the river. It's paved and lots of people run/bike/roller blade on it. So it's usually very busy. One day I was running on the trail around 3pm, which I figured would be a high traffic time. Nope. Nobody else was on the trail.  Nobody.

Source

I ran a few miles up and turned around to run back down. When I was in the middle of the trip down I started fiddling with my yellow Walkman radio (yes, it was that long ago).

I was running pretty slowly and noticed something in my peripheral vision so I turned my head. It was a man running next to me. And not just any man. This man was buck naked. Buck. Butt naked. For real. He had no clothes on. Not even shoes.

This is where my fight or flight adrenaline kicked in. But I was so scared that I couldn't fight or flight. I stood there (maybe still jogging slowly). I said "Oh... My... Gosh." in the lowest, most freaked out voice that I didn't know I had until then. I was alone. All by myself on a trail in the mountain. What could I do to protect myself? Absolutely nothing. I was at the mercy of this psycho naked man.

Luckily for me he didn't touch me. He grabbed his thing and did a little something but he didn't touch me. Thank goodness! But also SURPRISE innocent Kelli.  When he knew he had sufficiently scared me and done what he set out to do he ran back into the bushes.

By then I was able to move and I took off in a sprint to my car that was at least another mile away. I had a cell phone in the car so I called 911 and my boss at work who was like an uncle.

source: Clipart

He laughed and I cried. It literally freaked me out so badly. I no longer run alone on trails or places that are not high traffic. And I no longer think that all people are good in a safe city.  I also have pepper spray and I run with my phone.  You know that if I had pepper spray then I would have sprayed his naked ace.  And his eyes.

There is a point to this story that I want to share. Be careful. Be safe. Run with a partner or in places with a lot of traffic. Be smart! I was lucky but that's all it was. Luck.

Week 5 -- Half Marathon Training

Well that was a weekend of poor food choices.

So I'm in this rut.  I can't lose anything right now because I'm nursing and my body just basically stopped at 150.  It gives me no motivation to not eat junk all weekend.

Then my pelvis still hurts when I run.  It's been almost four months since I had Sophie.  I realize that childbirth does crazy things to a body, but FOUR MONTHS!!!? Shouldn't that be better?  Have you ever had braces?  You know how your jaw feels after the orthodontist tightens them?  That's my pelvis.  And it keeps me up at night sometimes, especially after I go running.  I'd love to pump out 10 miles on a Saturday but it's hard enough to do 6.

I'm just frustrated!

Proof that you don't need to look cute to go to a gym.

Some of you have questions about how much you should eat and lose weight.  My answer is that obviously everyone is different, but I would start most of you right around 1600 calories.  Then I would put you on a heavy lifting schedule and some cardio too.  I would never have you eat under 1200 calories.  In fact, I don't think I have ever put anyone on anything less than 1400.  I don't want your bodies to think they are starving and hold on to what is there.  That's sometimes what happens when you don't eat enough.

If you have been yo-yo dieting for years and think you have messed up your metabolism, the best way to correct that is to eat well and build your muscles.  Remember, muscles are fat burning machines!  As great as cardio is, it is just as important to do resistance exercise too.  Your body is an amazing thing and it CAN rebound from too many yo-yo diets.

So my weight loss goal is on hold.  I have to change my goals.  I'm planning on doing a 1/2 marathon on April 27th so I guess my new goal is to be ready for that by doing an actual "program."

Half marathon training:  I'm on week 5.

Week	Sunday (Rest)	Monday (Easy)	Tuesday (Cross Train)	Wednesday (Easy)	Thursday (Cross Train)	Friday (Rest)	Saturday (Long)
1	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	4 Miles
2	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	5 Miles
3	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	6 Miles
4	Rest	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	7 Miles
5	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	4 Miles
6	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	45 Minutes (5 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	8 Miles
7	Rest	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	9 Miles
8	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	50 Minutes (4 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	6 Miles
9	Rest	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	10 Miles
10	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	7 Miles
11	Rest	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	6 Miles
12	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	Rest	Rest	13.1 Miles Race Day!

Source: Shape.com

Resistance:

Day	Body Part	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Weight	Rest	Speed	Notes	Exercise Info
1	Chest	Push Ups With Feet On Ball	3	15		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 3 sets exercise	Details
1	Back	Straight Arm Cable Lat Pull Down	3	15		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 3 sets exercise	Details
1	Chest	Bench Press	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercise	Details
1	Back	Cable Lat Pull Down	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercise	Details
2	Calves	Smith Machine Calf Raise	5	15			2/4/2	Suerset with other 5 sets exercise	Details
2	Calves	Seated Calf Raise Machine	5	15		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 5 sets exercise	Details
2	Legs	Leg Press Machine	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercsise	Details
2	Legs	Prone Leg Curl	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercise	Details
3	Shoulders	Rear Shoulder Cable Cross Fly	3	15		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 3 sets exercise	Details
3	Core/Abs	Ball Crunches With Rotation	3	15		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 3 sets exercise	Details
3	Shoulders	Smith Machine Shoulder Press	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercise	Details
3	Core/Abs	Ab Crunch Machine	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercise	Details
4	Biceps	Standing Hammer Dumbbell Curl	3	15		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 3 sets exercise	Details
4	Triceps	Dumbbell Skull Crushers On The Ball	3	15		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 3 sets exercise	Details
4	Biceps	Arm Curl Machine	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercise	Details
4	Triceps	Dip Machine	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercise	Details

Being Hated Isn't So Bad

A little bit about me... I have never really had one best friend.  There are people from all parts of my life that are my best friends.  I can't say that I like Kim more than Sarah or Natalie more than Angela, but they don't have the same place in my life.  I think a great friend is someone you can tell poo stories to and they don't judge you.

Last night I had one of them sleep over because her husband was out of town.  The great thing is that Tom gets along with all my friends and doesn't mind joining us for our sleepover movie and chatting.  Don't get me wrong, it's not an episode of Sister Wives (although if I had to be a sister wife I would choose this friend to be one of them with me -- but no sleeping with my husband).

She has a little girl Morgan's age so they got to play.  My house is a complete mess.  And I haven't had time to blog for days (not just from this).  We had a good time.

Then this morning after our friends left Morgan told me she hates me.  This is how I handled it.  I will probably get reamed by the child psychologists out there but all I can say is that this is my first time as a mom and I have no idea what I'm doing.

As I was doing Morgan's hair things weren't going too poorly (there have been harder times).  She got in trouble for spraying me after I asked her three times not to, but nothing unusual.  Then she said, "I hate you."

I said, "what did you say?" (knowing full well what she said).

She repeated it.

I said, "Morgan, we do not hate people.  Especially mommy, daddy, or Sophie.  We. Do. Not. Hate. People." Then I asked her why she says hates me.

She couldn't answer.  I'm sure she just heard it somewhere and decided to try it out on me.  (And I remained calm the whole time, by the way).

Then I told her I would help her pack her suitcase and she could go live with her teacher (she would have jumped on it if I said she could live with grandma).

She said she didn't want to.

This happened a few times.  I was trying to help her understand that she doesn't have it too bad here with me.

The last time I told her I would help her pack she started crying and said that she wants to stay here and live with me.

I asked her why she didn't want to go live with Mrs. Kelly.

She said, "because she's not my mommy."

It melted my heart.  I get to be a mommy.  I'm so lucky.  I'm not perfect.  I don't know what I'm doing.  But I get to try.  I make mistakes every day.  I feel guilty almost every day.  I would not change this opportunity for anything, even when my 3-year-old says she hates me.  I'm her mommy!!!

White Cabinets?

Would you paint wood kitchen cabinets white?  Hell-o YES!  There seems to be a little following of "never paint cabinets."   I'm more of a change-to-what-you-want-in-the-least-expensive-way-possible kind of person.

Source: Benjamin Moore

Before -- Source: Faded Plains

After -- Source: Faded Plains

The kitchen cabinets in this house that we're trying to buy (more on that later) are an ornate wood that is kind of orange-brown.  I'm not a fan of the color.  I would rather have a white kitchen.  My husband is worried about painting the cabinets if we get it.  He talked to some self-proclaimed guru at work who said to never paint them, just replace them.  My thoughts on that:  um, $200 or $30,000.  No brainer.  I'll even hire a professional so that they are painted correctly (although I am confident that I could DIY it).  I guess the hubs doesn't have that much faith in my DIY ability.  It kinda hurts.  He won't know that by reading this blog.  He doesn't read it.  Neither does my mom, by the way.  But I digress.

Back to the house.  We first found it a few weeks ago and thought we should check it out.  We didn't and it went under contract to some other buyer.  Tom was a little bummed.  And come to find out, it is just down the street from my cousin.  I sent him (cousin) the link to the house and said that it wasn't available anymore.  Then he wrote back and said he just saw a new sign in the yard so he got the number for me.  I called and apparently the current buyer couldn't get enough financing for it so it looked like it was going to fall through.  The Realtor gave me the key code and we went to see it.  It needs work, but nothing that isn't possible.  Someone smoked in it so it will all be painted and the carpet cleaned or replaced.  The fact that it needs to be painted is perfect because I would only buy it if I could paint it.  Hello brown.

I don't like brown inside houses.  I would paint all of the trim, wainscoting, and plantation shutters white and the rest of the walls either barely not white to the cream side or gray side.  

Anyway, we made them an offer and they accepted it verbally -- but the current buyers hadn't backed out.  The Realtor told me he thought they would back out to get their earnest money back.  They ended up not doing that so now we have 2 weeks to wait and see if buyers numero uno are going to get it or if we are.  

That's where we're at.  It would be really nice to put some roots down for our kids.  I'm not gonna lie.

Week Four -- It's No Vacation

Months ago we got invited to go on a cruise with my sister-in-law's family.  I have the coolest in-laws ever, by the way.  We were going to go on a Disney cruise and found out that they allow babies to come if they are 3 months old.  Score!  But then we decided to do a different cruise line because Disney is more pricey than most others.  They booked on another cruise line and for what they paid on their last Disney cruise they got the biggest stateroom -- the one with the baby grand piano!  Did you even know there was a stateroom with a baby grand?  I didn't.  And it turned out that on this line babies have to be 6 months old so that took us out of the equation.  These are some of the pics that my sister-in-law texted me of their room yesterday.  So jealous!

Meanwhile, while they are on MY cruise, we'll be making an offer on a house that we found recently.

Which is kind of similar to our old one (that I miss so much).

And also while they are on my cruise, I will be pumping some iron, trying to run a lot, and eating not all-I-can-eat.  

Here's this week's plan:

Last week's nutrition plan (not a lot of changes).

Cardio:

Jog & Stairs/Eliptical/Other

Intervals 3 min Jog 2 min Sprint

30 & 10/10/10 Minutes

6 & 5 days per week

Resistance:

Day	Body Part	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Weight	Rest	Speed	Notes	Exercise Info
1	Chest	Push Ups With Feet On Ball	3	15		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 3 sets exercise	Details
1	Back	Straight Arm Cable Lat Pull Down	3	15		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 3 sets exercise	Details
1	Chest	Bench Press	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercise	Details
1	Back	Cable Lat Pull Down	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercise	Details
2	Calves	Smith Machine Calf Raise	5	15			2/4/2	Suerset with other 5 sets exercise	Details
2	Calves	Seated Calf Raise Machine	5	15		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 5 sets exercise	Details
2	Legs	Leg Press Machine	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercsise	Details
2	Legs	Prone Leg Curl	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercise	Details
3	Shoulders	Rear Shoulder Cable Cross Fly	3	15		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 3 sets exercise	Details
3	Core/Abs	Ball Crunches With Rotation	3	15		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 3 sets exercise	Details
3	Shoulders	Smith Machine Shoulder Press	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercise	Details
3	Core/Abs	Ab Crunch Machine	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercise	Details
4	Biceps	Standing Hammer Dumbbell Curl	3	15		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 3 sets exercise	Details
4	Triceps	Dumbbell Skull Crushers On The Ball	3	15		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 3 sets exercise	Details
4	Biceps	Arm Curl Machine	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercise	Details
4	Triceps	Dip Machine	10	6		Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with other 10 sets exercise	Details

The Skinny Meg Guest Post

In  case you missed it, this the guest post I did over at Skinny Meg.  It's all about why fad diets don't work.  I'm doing another guest post and need the URL for it so I'm posting it now.  Read on:

I'm Kelli and I blog over at The Turquoise Piano (there's a lot of awesome stuff over there so come visit). Right now I'm doing some posts about my baby weight loss.  I had this little cutes a couple of months ago.

I tipped the scales at around 175 before I had her on November 16th and I'm down to 149 right now, with a goal of 10-15 more to lose.  

Me in labor (notice the sander on the floor.  That's how I roll).

one week postpartum -- end of November

now -- in the process of losing it

In my former life (pre babies) I was a nutrition and exercise consultant and I taught the difference between a "diet" and an effective nutrition and exercise plan.  Today I want to talk about why so many weight loss programs and "diets" fail.  I'm going to explain it for you right now.  

It is important to understand that becoming lean or tone is achieved through fat-loss and lean muscle gain, not weight loss. This is important because:

• Muscle tissue burns calories. One pound of lean mass/muscle burns around 15 to 50 calories a day. On the other hand, one pound of fat only burns 6 calories a day. Plus fat is stored energy, storing nearly 3500 calories per pound.
• Rapid weight loss or under eating can cause muscle tissue to be used as energy, thus slowing down metabolism and making “rebound dieting” more likely.
• Muscle weighs more than fat.  Muscle is more dense than fat, meaning it takes up less space which means fewer “inches”.

I know we all want to lose weight super quickly but here is a "chart" as to why that is a bad idea.

INCORRECT WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM

Before	After	Results
Weight: 200 lbs Body fat %: 30% Lean body mass: 140 lbs Fat mass: 60 lbs	170 lbs 30% 119 lbs 51 lbs	weight loss: 30 lbs Fat % same lost 21 lbs lean mass lost 9 lbs fat mass

The problem with this program and how they lost weight is that they lost lean muscle mass (fat burning machinery), meaning this person in the beginning had a metabolism that could support around 3000 calories a day and stay the same weight. Now at the end of the program because 21 lbs of muscle (fat burning machinery) were lost, this individual can now only support 2000 calories a day. What happens next is devastating. If that person goes back to eating 3000 calories a day, but has now lost 21 lbs of muscle, his/her metabolism is slower than in the first place and s/he will get fatter. This happens all the time and is often referred to as “yo yo” dieting.

CORRECT EXERCISE & DIET PROGRAM

Before	After	Results
Weight: 200 lbs Body fat %: 30% Lean body mass: 140 lbs Fat mass: 60 lbs	170 lbs 10% 153 lbs 17 lbs	Lost 30 lbs Lost 20% Gained 13 lbs lean mass Lost 43 lbs fat

This exercise and diet program is more effective than the first because of the amount of lean muscle gained. This person had a metabolism that could support 3000 calories to stay the same. Now this person is eating 4000 calories a day and getting leaner because the food intake is sufficient enough to promote muscle gain. The likelihood of this person to “yo yo” is not very high.

In order to achieve your fitness goals safely and effectively, while performing the least or optimal amount of exercise and consuming the greatest optimal amount and type of food, it is important to understand the Five Components of Fitness -- food intake, cardio training, resistance training, supplements (I currently only take a multi vitamin and an omega 3 sup), and personal assistance (i.e. someone to be accountable to).

Food Intake: healthy foods that make you feel full and give you essential nutrients.

Cardio Training: burns fat, uses calories for energy, benefits health.

Resistance Training: builds lean muscle mass (the calorie burning machine) and strength and is vital to long term health.

Personal Assistance: Most people have more success if they have someone to be accountable to, someone to help them, and usually a professional to help them get through slumps or plateaus.  

Supplements:  Let's be honest.  Even when we're eating super healthy we're not always getting all of the necessary nutrients.  So take at least a multi vitamin and an essential fatty acid.  There are also fat burners and stuff but that's for another post.

Mmmkay, so does everyone take the oath to generally eat healthy foods, do cardio and resistance training, oh, and drink at least 64 oz of water per day?  

If you need help, I'm completely happy to answer questions.  You can ask me anything and I'll do my best to give you a legit answer.  You can contact me through The Turquoise Piano blog or Facebook page.  Join me on my fitness journey!

If You Run...

"If you run, you're a runner..." but you're not a distance runner until you've pooped in the bushes.

Okay, I added that last part.  For those of you who are going to be getting into running, it's really not true.  Or is it?...

Today is March!  Woohoo!  My heart just got a little bit lighter.  This Saturday is supposed to be 51 degrees, a temperature that I haven't seen since November 28th -- which is way too stinkin' long.  

I'm. Going. Running!  

So I thought it would be a great time to talk a little bit about how to start.  These are my personal ideas and I'm not a professional.  I have, however, been running for 15 years, finished 2 marathons,  an Ironman 70.3, and a whole bunch of other races.  

I even have the toenails to prove it.  (Instagram @theturquoisepiano for more cool stuff like this)

And this was after the doctor filed them down... with a mini electric sander (seriously, it was like he was going to DIY a dresser to something amazing).  Awesome, huh?!  Thanks to Groupon I just got them lasered.  

So, first thing on my list of advice:  Sign up for a race!  It can be a 5k or a marathon.  I don't care.  I'd probably start closer to the 5k range though.  

2.  Get yourself some good shoes.  And I mean go to a running store and have them help you.  You don't have to buy the shoes you like there.  You can go home and order them online for a cheaper price.  I get mine from Kelly's Running Warehouse on clearance.  I love the Asics 2100 series but find what is right for you.

3.  If you are just starting to run, start slowly and have a plan.  Don't think you're gonna run 10 miles the first day.  That's just a great way to get hurt and not be able to run again.  Here are a couple of plans that I pinned (you can follow me too): here, here, and I've heard a lot of good things about the Couch to 5k plan.

4.  Get a running partner.  Nothing motivates like a support group.

5.  Try running with music.  When I run alone I take my tunes and they help me keep a pace.  If I run with someone, I don't like to listen to music because I'd rather talk.  My best running friend likes to listen to music in one ear and talk.  Figure out what you like.

6.  If you're going for a long run, take some toilet paper (but don't put it in your sports bra -- it gets sweaty). You never know when that might come in handy (like if you trip and scrape your knee... or whatever -- see opening line).

7.  Dress according to the weather.  It's the worst to be too cold or too hot.

8.  Drink lots of water.  You might even want to take a water bottle if carrying it doesn't bother you.  My uncle used to go on long runs and have his wife meet him at his half way point and give him water, then give him water every mile until he got home.  I don't think that would work for us, but you could try that if you have a very kind spouse. 

9.  Eat healthy food.  If you haven't eaten enough you will have zero energy.  And that makes for a bad run. 

10.  Don't worry about being slow!  The more you do it, the more you will improve!

Now go out and get your run on, get some nice runner feet, and poop in the bushes!  Is there anything better?  And I'm not sayin' that it's happened to me.  But I know a person...

If you live in Utah there is a 5k and 1/2 marathon at Thanksgiving Point in April.  I'm planning on doing the 1/2.  Do it with me!