Motivation Monday

Here is to another week! Keep going... even though the holiday is near!

Happy Monday ~Alisha

Motivation Monday

So true! You honestly cannot please everyone, believe me I have tried and I have had a mental break down. Make yourself happy first and you will see how much happier everyone else is around you!

I love this quote! I am on my transformation journey and I know every day, every workout, every meal I get a step closer. Keep that in mind!

Looking good makes your feel good inside let's admit it! So continue with your goals of being a healthier you no matter what that maybe. Eating healthier, exercising more, or finding the routine that works for your lifestyle.

Happy Monday! Hope you have a fabulous week!

~Alisha

Finding Balance with Work, Kids, the Hubby, and Fitness

I read this article in Fitness Rx by Diana Graham and I wanted to share it with you. I think we all can relate to it and the balancing of our lives. One of the reasons I named my blog Find The Time Mama because that is what my life is about. Finding the time for my husband, kids, myself, my hobbies and my passion for fitness. I hope you find your balance to make you the best you!

Alisha :)

Here is the link Click Here

Balancing a job, marriage, children and your fitness

Balance is tough. We all know how difficult it can be to find balance as a single person, but then add in a husband, oh then and a child…or three. For those of you who have similar demands in your life you may look back at those single days with wistfulness, thinking it was so easy when I didn’t have all of these commitments. Here’s the secret, it wasn’t. I know from talking with many other women that no matter where they are in their life, finding it is next to impossible. So, how can we achieve that magical word “balance”?

When I talk to my friends about this I like to remind them of gymnastics. Yes, gymnastics. Think back to when you were little, remember what it felt like to walk on the beam. How did you do it? Very meticulously? With lots of focus? You had to think about every shift of equilibrium, every step, practically every move had to be thought about thoroughly before you made it. As soon as you thought you had the hang of it, your attention drifted -- BAM! You were on the mat. It’s the same with balancing your life, but even more when you add in a family. Everything must be attended to at some point.

Here are some of the ways in which I balance my own life:

Exercise before the sun rises, or before your children do. I have a treadmill in my bedroom - it’s there precisely for this reason. Each morning I wake early with my husband and hop on it (the treadmill I mean). By the time I am done with my cardio, I usually still have time to take a shower and eat before I need to wake the kids up for school. This can work even if you don’t have the treadmill. Try a workout program - whether it be P90x, Insanity, or yoga doesn’t matter. The point is, get moving. Getting that blood flowing will release the feel good hormone (oxytocin) setting you up to have a happier, more productive day.

Plan it out. Think about your day ahead of time. In my house our children are perpetually coming and going. This leaves me with loads of time on some days and very little time on others. Because of this, I am very careful to get my stuff done while they are not around. I work out while they are at school and before they wake up. This works on non-school age children too, just plan to work out while they are napping. I know from experience that it can be really difficult to not layn yourself, but take 30 minutes to exercise and the rest of the nap time to rest. You will feel better for it.

Work out date with your husband. Schedule one day a week to have a workout date together. You don’t necessarily have to have the same workout. You can warm up and chat together for 15 minutes, and then do completely opposite routines. Be sure to make it fun and sneak glances and flirt with each other between sets. You can just be there at the same time knowing you are both doing what is best for your own health and feel the bond of that common goal. It also helps to find a gym that you can take the kids to and feel comfortable knowing they will have a great time so that you can enjoy the time with yourself and your husband. When my husband and I do this, we then take the kids swimming to include them in enjoying the gym.

In the coming weeks I will offer more ideas for finding that balance. Until then, remember the gymnastics class balance beam analogy. Remember that although you sometimes found yourself on the mat, there is always grace enough to get back up, to do it better the next time. Just stay focused, and plan it out.

Cut out those Sugar and Carbs to see results!

I have been doing this clean body building diet with my husband for the past 5 weeks and it has been going good. However, I haven't been 100% perfect and I have had a few cookies, cake, bits of ice cream, and Halloween goodies here and there, but I haven't wanted to go back to anything else. I know I need more protein in my body especially if I want the appearance of beautiful muscles. This diet helped cut off the extra excess fat that is left from too much sugar and carbs in my diet. I have leaned out and now I am working on building up my muscles.

Below is what the diet consists of if you are serious about trying it. I gradually have been changing what I eat the past few months and suggest that you take baby steps of eliminating sugar, white flour, and stratchy carbs before trying this. It is not easy! The first two days were hard, but my body got used to it and now I honestly don't want to eat anything else unless it is my cheat meal or I am extremely tempted for a sweet. But even after having sweets they make me feel blah... and I don't like that feeling.

I do have to say my husband and I do enjoying going out and having a cheat meal at our yummy restaurants. Food never tasted soooo good. (Still making healthy choices and no greasy food). You finally appreciate what you have. I have changed my eating habits to eat what my body needs, not to eat to feel my emotional holes. I hope you can figure this out for yourself too. Especially for women eating and food can be more of an emotional attachment then a survival element. Remember, you are what you eat!!! Eat more protein and try to reduce all those carbs and you will definitely see your results.

A few modifications I have made are eating plain tuna from the can with some veges, I have turkey bacon once and a while with my eggs. I add spices like cinnamon, pumpkin pie, protein powder, and stevia to my oatmeal to give it some flavor. I have a spinach salad with chicken almost every day so I don't get sick of eating broccoli. We also eat green beans, tilapia, turkey burgers, celery with natural peanut butter, cucumbers, carrots, and zucchini. I love munching on almonds now, it is my go to snack if I have the carving for something crunchy. If you have any questions let me know.... I have one scoop of protein instead of two, but if you are guy you might want stick to the two scoops.

Body Builder Diet

Meal 1- morning, 1/4 cup oatmeal, plain. 2 scoops protein powder with water (low fat no carb powder)

2.5hrs

Meal 2- chicken breast with broccoli or asparagus and 20 almonds (plain, raw)

2.5hrs

Meal 3- 2- 3 scoops of protein powder with water

2.5hrs

Meal 4- 1 chicken breast with veggies, 20 almonds

2.5hrs

Meal 5- 2-3 scoops protein

2.5hrs

Meal 6- Dinner - 7oz Salmon filet dill, salt, pepper, lemon ok + broccoli or asparagus. You may also substitute a Steak filet for the salmon + 20 almonds.

**you may substitute any meal for 6 egg whites with 2 yolks in.

· No Bread

· Drink Water and Crystal Light

· Eat Sugar free Jello cups to curve hunger

· Take Omega3 Fish Oil pills with food meals and Multivitamin

· Can’t believe it is not butter

· Mustard

· Keep portions small

· Lift and Cardio 5 days a week

· 1 Cheat Meal a week

Motivation Monday

Here is a overload of motivation and quotes since I haven't posted for a while. I hope this keeps you focused on your goals and helping you get to the next level of your fitness and healthy lifestyle change.

My Motto!

I started a clean cut protein diet this week and it is going great so far. I will rival the results after a month to see what you ladies think. I haven't pushed myself this far yet, but I still have a ways to go to be where I want to be. No more sitting around letting life happen, but actually working for the dreams I have had since I was young. Pushing myself and my body to the point I can be proud of and know I have done all I can. Let the transformation begin because I am ready and I am not looking back!

Quote of the day!

I saw this online and I loved it, so I had to share!

My Fitness Pal

Found this great site myfitnesspal.com to help keep track of your calories and see how many your burning with each activity you do. Hope you find this helpful!

Click Here to go to the site.

Healthy Snack Ideas for you and your kids

Here are some healthy snack ideas for you and your kiddos. Have a pantry snack station and a refrigerator snack station, so you don't have to get you kids a good snack very time they ask. They will know where to look first. Refill nightly or when needed.

Click Here for the link to realsimple.com

Another workout idea for you!

I found this on Pinterest, try it!

Choose Your Hard...

Found these on this website HERE

Butt Exercises

Click HERE for Fitness Magazine article on:

"Our Top 10 Exercises to Tone Your Butt"

What is your body type? Pear, Straight, Curvy, or Athletic?

Click HERE to go to this article. It give you great ideas for your body type. See the workout and eating plan for your body type.

Hope this helps! Good luck in your journey of being fit and healthy!

Alisha

My first photo shoot...

I tagged along with my SIL Carlee as she did a photo shoot for her cousin Derek and his fiance McCall who are soon to be married in November. I was happy to have the opportunity to go and practice with my camera which is a Canon EOS Rebel T2i with the regular lens kit that come with it (thank you Costco). Here are a few shots I took and touched up. It was a lot of fun. I have a long way to go, but at least I have a foundation of a good camera (or at least better than a point and shoot one...right...)

Sugar... bad, bad, very bad!

I got this newsletter from Shin Ohtake with the MAX workouts and this is what he said about sugar. (My thoughts are in RED)

Alisha, are you completely frustrated with the one problem area you just can't seem to get rid of....your belly? YES!!!

It seems like you're doing all of the right things...putting time in at the gym, sweatin' up a storm, and you may have already made headway with other areas of your body. Yet those elusive flat, sexy abs still hide somewhere underneath that stubborn layer of belly fat. YES!! They have my whole life!

The reason you have excess stomach fat may be due to one thing...

SUGAR.

I know what your thinking..."I only eat sugar here and there". But if you really counted how much sugar you consume in a day, I bet it's a lot more than you think. TRUE

The thing with sugar is that it's in too many things. Ready made foods, fast foods, processed foods, etc.. all have TONS of sugar in them. Tell me about it!

It's hidden almost everywhere and unfortunately, even if you don't taste it, your body knows it's there.

You see, every time you consume sugar, it triggers a biochemical process in your body that releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin is responsible for maintaining healthy sugar levels in your bloodstream.

But the problem is that there's just too much sugar in most of our diets and it ends up overwhelming your system.

The end result? The de-sensitization of insulin. This is not a good thing...

A lack of insulin sensitivity slows the uptake of sugar from your bloodstream. The extra sugar left behind ends up being stored as fat. And guess where it loves to settle...

Your belly. YEP!

So even if you think you're being good about not eating too much sugar, if your insulin is already insensitive from your prior bad eating habits, even a little amount of sugar that you eat will get stored as belly fat.

And remember, sugar doesn't have to be sweet. Booze (beer and liquor) and starchy foods like bread, rice, and pasta break down into to sugar quickly, perpetuating the problem at hand.

Bread and baked goods are my weakness. These are some things that I am changing in my eating habits and either changing to whole wheat/grain or eating very seldom. And of course I don't drink alcohol so I don't have to worry about those calories...

The good news is you can re-sensitize your insulin and lose the love handles, but you MUST ditch your sugar habit.

Here's what you can start doing today:

Eliminate refined sugars (sweets like candy, soda, cookies, etc...) at least 5 days out of the week, moderate your starch intake, and go easy on the alcohol. Instead, replace your sugar cravings with fruits and starch cravings with vegetables. The fiber content in fruits and vegetables slows down the entry of sugar into your bloodstream, helping your insulin from being overwhelmed and becoming insensitive. Good to know!

If you can change just this ONE bad habit, your insulin will thank you and body will start shedding away that stubborn belly fat so you can finally get rid of the muffin-top and finally get reveal your tight, sexy midsection.

CANNOT WAIT!

So this is why I have decided to stop eating sugar and white flour and reduce my starchy foods. I challenge you to try it and let me know about your results...

I know you might be concerned about never having sugar again, but I think having a cheat day once a week is just fine and is actually healthy for you. :) Make that yummy dessert you have wanted to try and eat it on your cheat day.

Good luck!

Insane or Insanity?

It's been a busy couple weeks I guess. Anya turned 5 on August 28th and her being in Kindergarten finally sunk in and I was having a little child detachment blues if you will. They didn't hit me until 2 weeks of her being in school... But, all is good now :)

So what is new?

Well, I may be crazy... but I started the Insanity workout this week. I have been enjoying it and yes it is great for cardio. I did my before photos and measurements. However, I was surprised that I dropped 4 lbs in the last few weeks just by walking Anya to school and back. So I am now to the weight I was before I got pregnant with Parker. Now to get rid of that jelly belly and thighs that won't go away. So here I am finally making the sacrifice to not eat white flour and sugar and starting to really eat healthy. If you find yourself at a plateau with your weight/physique take in consideration your diet (the food you eat on a regular basis). What changes can be made? How much sugar or processed foods do you eat? How often are you challenging your body? What exercises are you doing? These all become a factor.

Quote of the Day!

This quote is from HERE

No Excuses!

Do you have 4 minutes?

No more excuses when it comes to working out. Even if you have a busy day do this workout, you will feel a lot better and it will get your heart pumping.

Found this HERE

Bookshelf Covers

My bookshelf is from Ikea and for the longest time it looked like this, especially with little ones in my home.

Before....

After....

So I got the inspiration from here to make my bookshelf more organized. I didn't want to make boxes, but to simply cover up the empty spots or books I didn't want to display. So I came up with this alternative.

I got some patio furniture this summer so I kept the box it came in and cut it up to make the covers, which were 13x13 inches and the sides were 13x5 inches. The center slot is 1x3 inches.

Items needed:

• Cardboard
• Box cutter or blade
• Measuring tape
• Glue gun/glue sticks
• Fabric of your choice (2 yards to make 12 boxes) or you could even us Scrapbooking paper
• Mod Podge
• Paint (if you want to paint the sides)
• Sponge Brush or Paint brush

What do you think? Much better right!?

Menu Board

Here is my latest project.... a Menu Board

I got the idea from here which I saw on Pinterest :)

The frame was from the dollar store and I added my own scrapbook paper, ribbon, and cut out letters. If you want it use a fancier frame you can do that too.

This is going to save me a lot of paper by just simply using my hand or a paper towel to clean the dry erase marker off and updating my menu regularly.

Workout of the Day!

Don't worry about fitting into a size 2 pair of jeans, focus on being fit and healthy.

Found this off of Pinterest

Here is a workout to get you moving! I did three sets of this and by set 3 I was really feeling it, so challenge yourself, but don't forget to take a few breaks to catch your breath and drink some water.

With a 5 minute warm-up, 3 sets with a few breaks throughout, and a 5 minute cool down/stretching it took about 30-35 minutes.

What are Burpees?? Click here for a demo. You may know them as UP-Downs

Change up the pushups throughout the workout by doing the first 5 regular(with your arms out to your side) then the next 5 military style (with your elbows next to your body). If you cannot do 5 regular pushups start on your knees until you have the strength to do them the regular way. Keep those abs in tight and your back straight. Good Luck!

Be happy with what God gave you and make the best of your physique!

Sincerely,

Alisha

Two more skirts

I made these over the weekend and finally got Anya to model them to take a picture. What do you think? I was trying to figure out what else I needed to put on the skirt so I came up with the flower on the floral skirt and a bow for the gray skirt.

Been waiting for motivation?

Another great quote!

Effort

Push yourself and make the EFFORT!

Only you can change yourself!

Fitness Info

I came a cross two sites that may be beneficial to you as they have for me.

Bodyrock.TV Workout at home with Zuzana, wow, she looks amazing! She has great tips and awesome exercises to follow.

MaxWorkouts Great information!

Definitely mix up your workout routine. Doing 45 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical is not going to get the body you want. Keep challenging your body, then you can avoid hitting a fitness or weight plateau.

Keep going!

Saw this on Pinterest and had to post it. You don't realize how significant the mind really is. Keep thinking positive thoughts and be determined to do a couple more reps when working out. You will be surprised how much you can truly do and goals you will accomplish if you set your mind to it.

Health and Fitness

I will be posting information on Health and Fitness topics with some workouts and ideas that may be right up your ally. If there are any topics you would like me to discuss or need some pointers on please let me know.

My background is in Physical Education and Health Promotion, I have been a Stroller Strides Instructor and got my body back after my two kids by doing their program. I recently have done P90X and there are some great things I like about this program and some I could do without. I am always looking for new exercises and ideas so feel free to share any of yours with me!

The most important factors to consider when starting an exercise program are:

• How is your health? Consult your physician before starting any exercise program.
• How is your fitness? Start out slow and build your intensity and length of your workout as you go. Don't kill yourself the first week or you will have a harder time sticking to it.
• What time works best for you? Morning, afternoon, or night? Find the time you can commit to working out this will make it easy for you stay on track.
• Try a variety of exercises and find the ones that you like best. Try yoga, pilates, zumba, kickboxing, cycling, running, resistance training, swimming, and any other activity you enjoy. (Remember sitting on the couch is not one of them). If you cannot afford to go to the gym workout at home. Borrow workout videos from family and friends, because they are probably on their shelves collecting dust :)

The best way to keep track of your fitness goals is to write them down and don't forget to weigh yourself and take measurements so you can see the results of your hard work on paper and in the mirror.

Click Here for free charts to keep track of your measurements and weight-loss.

These are the areas I usually take measurements:

• Neck
• Chest
• Waist
• Hips
• Thigh (middle and upper thigh)
• Calf
• Forearm
• Bicep (flexed and relaxed)

Remember, Remember, Remember!!! If it has been a while since you have worked out and you are starting a new program it takes about 6 to 8 weeks to start seeing results. Many people get frustrated because they are not seeing their weight come off fast enough. At the beginning of any exercise program your body is building muscle which in return will help you burn that extra fat. To help the body speed up the process you need to eat healthy and make better choices of what you are feeding your body. You probably have heard the saying, "You are what you eat." Well, think about it. Do you think obese men and women eat healthy on a daily basis? Find healthy recipes to make, and choose healthier entrees when eating out.

Whatever your goals are I know you can do it!

Consistency = Results

Need new recipes?

I get bored of making the same old thing and some days the dinners I make don't even seem appealing to me. Now that I have found this website I have enjoyed every dish I have made and I know you will too.

Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Here are the ones I have tried, they are delicious!!

• Sweet and Sour Chicken
• BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches
• French Bread Rolls
• Cinnamon Rolls
• Baked Southwest Egg Rolls
• Baked Chicken Taquitos
• BBQ Chicken Sald with Creamy BBQ Cilantro Lime Dressing

I promise you, you will not be disappointed!

Enjoy!

Onesies into Cutesies

Here is a picture of my new little niece Rebecca with it on. Isn't she so cute?!

I bought a pack of white onesies at Walmart and added some tulle, fabric, ribbon, and bottons to complete these three creations.

Cupcake Skirt

Anya modeling her new skirt at grandma's house.

Here is the cupcake skirt I made for Anya. I got the idea at Simple Simon Co a blog I love to visit. This was my first skirt I made for Anya and she is actually wearing it to school today.

Quick note- if it bothers you to have the very top piece white (because that is the the under skirt fabric) make sure the fabric of the top layer and the under skirt fabric are the same. I think the skirt would look better that way.

3 Layered Tiered Skirt

Tiered Skirt

Top 7 inches wide, 28 inches long

Middle 7 inches wide, 45 inches long

Bottom 7 inches wide, 60 inches long.

I made the flower with extra fabric and large button for the center.

The length of the elastic is 1 to 2 inches smaller than my little girls waist.