Tag Archives: Jazzercise

Choosing Positivity

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, Jazzercise, , ,

Happy Monday! I hope it’s been a good one for you so far.

Today started earlier than normal for me…ahem…2 AM. Why, might you ask? I woke up with a screaming Charlie horse cramp in my left calf muscle! Before I was even awake, I was out of bed, screaming, and trying to work out the most horrendous cramp EVER. It lasted a whole 10 seconds and I thought I died. But it passed (like it always does!), and I went back to sleep within minutes. Luckily it didn’t come back, and I slept soundly until my 5 AM wake up call for my 5:40 AM Jazzercise class.

Workout (x3!)

I had a small crowd this morning at my early Jazzercise class. All my students were half asleep and it was hard to stay motivated, but we powered through! I always feel amazing when I start my day with a fun workout. Energized and ready to go!

So it’s going to be a serious Jazzercise Marathon day today. I was super smart and overbooked myself today for teaching. I typically teach twice on Mondays, once in the morning and once in the evening. But today one of our instructors is out of town, and I volunteered to teach her 5:40 PM class as well. Oooops! I’ll survive though. Plus, I’ll have 3 solid hours of Jazzercise under my belt by the time I hit the sack tonight, so I’ll sleep like a dream!

I truly love teaching, and it’s days like today that bring that back to my attention. If I didn’t LOVE it, there is no way I would be willing to put so much time into it. I’ve already told myself that I’m going to most likely be tired by the time my 3rd class time comes around this evening, but I’m going to choose to be positive and power through it. I know my body is able, and I’m so thankful for my job, so why be cranky and negative?? Today let’s choose positivity and make this Monday as wonderful as possible!

Breakfast

Breakfast was quick and simple to grab as I was leaving for work this morning. I prepared a nice big bowl of Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats last night. I added a splash more of almond milk, some Craisins, and a few chopped walnuts for lots of texture.

photo(91)I love, love, love adding craisins or raisins to this mix because the sweetness is a special little treat! I also had lots of coffee and some caramel spice cake yogurt on the side for extra protein.

photo(90)This big bowl of oats + the yogurt kept me extra full all morning, which can be a challenge after a morning workout! I love the staying power of some hefty oatmeal. 🙂

Lunch

Lunch came together quickly thanks to some leftovers!

photo(91)I had the very last tiny bit of my quinoa salad, a few brussel sprouts, and some veggie pasta. I cleaned out 3 small tupperware containers from the fridge. Win!

photo(90)My favorite part was the leftover pasta. This girl loves her carbs! I also had a few tortilla chips on the side for some crunch, plus an apple since my meal wasn’t very fruit/veggie dense.

photo(89)After lunch, I threw another apple and some more yogurt into my purse as I’ll need a snack before my 2 Jazzercise classes right after work. I’ve decided I need to be more creative with my healthy snacks – I’m such a creature of habit at the grocery store! Oh well, today my go-to yogurt and fruit will get me by.

Hope you’re enjoying this lovely Fall day! I’ll see you all later! Stay positive!

Jazzercise, Work, Jazzercise

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, Jazzercise, ,

My Mondays tend to be a little overwhelming, schedule-wise. I begin by teaching Jazzercise at 5:40 AM, then I rush home, shower, and make it to my office by 8 AM. I then have the typical work day til 5. This is then followed by me rushing home to spend time with Mac and have a quick snack before heading off to teach my 6:45 PM Jazzercise class. By the time I make it home around 8 PM, I don’t have much energy and I tend to hit the sack by 9.

Sounds insane, right? Well it’s only 1 day a week that I agreed to have this schedule, making the rest of my days seem slow and unproductive (even though that’s usually far from the truth!). Plus, I love what I do, so one day of craziness is well worth it! Today’s schedule stayed right on track, and I am now in my post Jazzercise stupor. I am still in slight recovery mode after running the 5K with a belly full of Mexican food this weekend, but after today I should be back at full speed! I ate fairly lightly today to help ease my sore tummy. So let’s back up a bit…

Breakfast

Breakfast was my typical grab-n-go, so I’ll spare you the boring pictures. I enjoyed some cinnamon roll flavored oatmeal with a banana and some Greek yogurt on the side. Light and filling!

Lunch

Lunch started with a quick salad that was basically half romaine and half sugar snap peas. I was craving my green veggies I think!

photo(71)I was then SUPER lazy and grabbed a Lean Cuisine that had been hibernating in the freezer a little too long.

photo(70)This little baby ended up being the best Lean Cuisine I’ve had in a long time! It was part of their ‘Spa Collection’…whatever that means. And it was amazing. I will definitely be on the hunt for sales on these from now on!

photo(69)The plus? It actually looked like the picture on the box! The chicken was yummy and it had tons of veggies to fill me up.

Dinner

I kept dinner tonight light because I snacked quite a bit when I got from work at 5. I decided some Italian style veggie soup would suffice.

photo(68)Isn’t it funny how it resembles the minestrone soup from Olive Garden, especially in the festive bowl I chose? I got a kick out of it, and it made my meal feel fancier. I also had some steamed veggies on the side, which I severely overcooked. Oops!

So most of my food today was packaged and not the freshest. But I guess we can’t be perfect everyday. I’m just ready for bed after having that big bowl of hot soup!

I hope your Monday went well! I’ll catch you all in the AM after we get some rest!

Jazzercise Marathon

Food for Thought, Jazzercise, ,

I have an inside joke with several of my (daytime) coworkers about my ‘Jazzercise Marathon’ days. Usually a couple times a month, I volunteer to sub other instructor’s classes when they have to miss for whatever reason. Typically, this means I end up teaching a 5:40 PM class before my normal 6:45 time slot. Two straight hours of teaching Jazzercise after an already 8-hour long work day = Jazzercise marathon.

Today was one of my Jazzercise marathon days; I’m completely pooped! I love teaching, and I enjoy the awesome workout and energy that comes from the two hour session. But after today, I need a good night’s rest for sure! I try to stay super hydrated during these back-to-back classes and eat a healthy snack beforehand. But I always seem to feel super torn down and a little sick afterwards. Tonight is no exception! I guess it will never get easier, but that’s okay.  If it was easy, it wouldn’t be an effective workout. 🙂

I always have the thought in the back of my mind that I would enjoy being able to do something in the fitness industry full time at some point in my life. But if so, it would have to be something different than all day Jazzercise sessions! I think I would shrivel up like a prune and die if I had to teach more than 3 everyday. Isn’t it sometimes fun though to push your body and see how much you can really endure when needed? The most classes I’ve ever taught in a day is 3 + a regular 8 hour workday in my office. I remember being so stressed and tired, but I survived!

Lunch

Lunch today needed to be light to follow suit with breakfast and make up for my indulging night last night. I made a quick salad with romaine, half a cucumber and some light Italian dressing!

photo(67)Filling but obviously not fattening. Win win! Plus the cucumbers were garden fresh – given to me by one of my wonderful students who has an amazing green thumb. They are so yummy and fresh compared to the store bought veggies!

As I finished up my salad, I heated up a low-carb Lean Cuisine with turkey and green beans.

photo(66)Healthiest thing ever? Probably not. But it was tasty and good portion control for a starving tummy.

Dinner

I had a quick snack of peanut butter and celery before rushing off to the Jazzercise marathon. So I wasn’t too starved by the time I arrived home. So I had some honey Greek yogurt before fixing some steamed veggies!

photo(63)I inhaled these beautiful veggies in a flash and finished off dinner with a hard-boiled egg thanks to Nick. I guess he was cravin’ eggs tonight when he got home from work! Yay for a quick and easy protein!

Have a great night everyone. Tomorrow is Friday!