light whole wheat pineapple upside down cake & home HIIT moves

i had a little cabin fever Tuesday after my Total Conditioning class was canceled cause of the freezing temps and icy Houston roads. i have to be honest with you guys... home workouts are still hard for me to get through :shock: . being up in front of my class at the gym is my motivation to keep going and never quit. i know my members are looking up to me for motivation but they provide the exact same thing for me.  i'm 58 times more likely to stop when it burns when i'm at home. when i'm up on stage i don't feel a thing. i just look at my HR watch an hour later and it says 800+ calories burned :lol: . anyway, i make up my class routines the night before so i pretty much did the whole thing without a step bench in my dining room and got a really good sweat going.

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got the job done. try some of these exercises for getting your heart rate UP.

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HIIT is great for burning fat while keeping all your hard-earned muscle, e.g. like sprinting on a track or treadmill.  you can only hold this high rate of intensity for so long, so you give it all you got for 30 seconds - 1 minute then recover. i do it gradually by starting with a basic exercise move then building on it from there (see example vid above).  my heart rate has to stay in the safe range of 140-150 since i'm preggo, so i don't go full throttle anymore. but YOU can! if you're not preggo.  if you have never taken Total Conditioning at Lifetime Fitness, YOU MUST.

on to one of my favorite cakes to eat growing up.  i don't have it often at all and i didn't want to have to resort to a boxed cake mix (even though they taste awesome too) so i created this one. finally got it right on the 3rd try.

light whole wheat pineapple upside down cake

the stuff:

• 1/3 cup coconut crystals (or organic brown sugar or sucanat)
• 2 tbsp organic whipped buttery spread (i used Earth Balance)
• 7 fresh or canned pineapple slices
• 3.5 **maraschino cherries
• 1 whole egg
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/3 cup fresh pineapple juice (you can use more milk if you'd like)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour OR cake flour (i used King Arthur)
• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 2/3 cup coconut crystals (or organic brown sugar or sucanat)
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

do this:

1. preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. coat a 9 inch round or square pan with no-stick cooking spray.
3. melt and coat the bottom of your pan with whipped butter spread until even.
4. next, sprinkle 1/3 cup of coconut crystals in the bottom of your pan on top of the butter.
5. lay pineapple rings flat in bottom of pan; place cherry halves in center of the rings.
6. mix egg, 2/3 cup coconut crystals, coconut oil, milk, pineapple juice, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl.
7. in a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder well.
8. slowly add your wet mixture to your dry and stir until all combined, no lumps.
9. pour batter on top of pineapple rings evenly.
10. bake for 30-33 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

let it cool, then flip the pan over and convert it onto a plate. see below.

 ta-da.

**let's chat. maraschino cherries are not healthy. no way around it.  i used them cause they just go with the standard pineapple upside down cake recipe. they just do. it's not the same without them. you don't have to use them though! chances are you don't even have any in your fridge anyway. you can actually make them yourself using fresh cherries, or find another fruit to use. be creative.

i equate the area under the individual pineapple slice as one serving, so there are seven up there.

per 1 serving: 264 calories, 10g fat, 38g carbs, 4g protein.

not too shabby when compared to Betty's stats ;)

so i'm taking my very first cooking class at Sur La Table tomorrow, aaaagggghhh!!!! and guess what we're making?! the best food ever on earth. homemade PIZZA.  this class had my name all over it.  i plan to start teaching my own cooking & exercise classes as early as next month so i'm getting all the tips, info, and advice i can stuff into my brain. more details to come VERY soon- it's pretty much February already :shock:

le

Trader Joe's H-O-U-S-T-O-N!!!

the cardio horse is back in her saddle! after a week off from teaching my Lifetime classes, it's great to be BACK.  burnout is a lose-lose for the instructor and the members... breaks always re-energize and re-fuel me to teach the best class i possibly can. especially at 530am.

after 1 hr of Total Conditioning, i jumped on my fav elliptical machine and did 45 minutes of fat-burning cardio and called it a day. no more gym for me until tomorrow...maybe even thursday!! no more two a days. for now!  until i decide to compete again (i'm sure i will) i'm focusing on maintaining my current weight, give or take a few pounds.

all i could think about was breakfast on my way home as usual.

so i'm back on the clean eating train. as of yesterday.  for the most part.  i've been adding extra things (for example, the tomatoes and asparagus ) to my meals that i normally couldn't when i was preparing for my show.  usually what i add doesn't really affect the total calorie count of the meal anyway.  extra veggies is nothing compared to an extra egg or some meat or something, you know?!

second shot of meal 1,

and here's meal 2 so far.  i'm sticking with 5-6 small meals a day.  my body responds so well to this routine so i'm keeping it going.  try it out and see how your body responds!

so, Houston has just become that much cooler.

Sonny and i made it back in time from Jamaica to attend the grand opening extravaganza of Trader Joe's this past Friday, Sept. 21st.

If you are familiar with H-town, then you know that this historic building was once a theater, then a book store for 25 years, and finally the home of our very 1st TJ's! we didn't even go home first- it was that important.  to me.

taking pics to pass the time while Sonny finished his phone call.

8 days later and my 'show' hair is already in a pony tail.

walking up- i love that they kept and used the old school marquee.

getting started. the store is not as big as i anticipated, but it was still jam-packed with a ton of cool items. it was lunch time AND the grand opening so space got a little tight.  i didn't mind.

Joe's O's for Chiso.

saying a prayer and thanking God for these low sodium rice cakes!!! i used to get the popular Lundberg brown rice cakes, but why have one of those when i can have TWO of Joe's for a 10 cal difference?!

sampling some kinda fresh squeezed juice. and  yep, that's my tummy.  i left my abs in Jamaica.

i definitely grabbed something off of every isle.

ok people are going absolutely nuts over this stuff and i completely understand.  i passed a tower of it on the way to checkout and thought to myself  'man i wonder what that tastes like!!'. i literally looked up and walked right into a store associate shoving a sampling spoon of it right in my face!!  of course i'll take some! our cashier told us it's their top-selling item right now and that they will be coming out with a crunchy version for the Christmas holidays.  Lord have mercy.

turkey jerky!!!!!!! haven't had this stuff since my Cali trip back in 2010.  great high protein, low-fat snack.

what i ended up with- roasted seaweed snacks, popping corn, unsalted pb filled pretzels, unsalted rice cakes, turkey jerky, lite coconut milk, unsweetened apple sauce, Joe's O's (whole grain cereal), lobster rolls, black mission figs, organic pizza sauce, lactose-free milk, fresh sugar snap peas, coconut oil, goat cheese, fat-free feta, egg-plant humus, egg whites, spicy mustard, fig butter,  and some fresh fruit.  no cookie butter yet!!!

i was expecting to go well over 100, maybe even 150. but i did NOT break the bank.  gotta love those reasonable prices for organic, natural, fresh foods.  i'm THRILLED that TJ's is finally here and will gladly make the drive to visit.

after buying all that delicious food, what does Sonny want for lunch? Mission Tortilla.  because he was a great sport and even came grocery shopping with me i shut my trap right up :shock:

i waited til we got home to fix my lunch.  here are some of the items up close for you to look for on your TJ's trip.

the fig butter is AWESOME- and no, there isn't a drop of butter in it.  it even says that on the package. "To be a butter, a spread must contain more fruit than sugar.."

whole wheat pita pockets and eggplant humus - only 35 cals per 2 tbsp. serving!

there was no cooked meat (ok fresh cooked meat) in our house since we had been gone for a week, so i made some fig and feta tuna and grilled a whole wheat pita to go with it.

my seasonings for the tuna. i almost ALWAYS add boiled eggs to my tuna, but i was too hungry to wait!

i also spread some of the fig butter and eggplant humus on the pita bread-

DELICIOUS.

what else can you put fig butter on? it's great in wraps too- i made a grilled chicken, kale, tomato, avocado wrap on a whole wheat tortilla for my next meal.  the spicy salty mustard and the sweet fig go great together. try it.

what are your favorite must have Trader Joe's items?? and have you tried the cookie butter :lol:

le

wackday

wednesday was one of those days.  when i don't get enough rest my world comes crashing down.  i wanted to say screw this whole competition, quit, and eat an entire papa johns pizza. :evil:  i want to eat an entire pizza every day, but that day i threatened myself out loud.  it just got worse and worse as the day went on.  i worked out with my trainer that morning, and i somehow hit the gym in the evening for round two.

i took a pic just so i could remember this very day and my mood at the time.  i can laugh at it now, but i'm pretty positive i'll feel like this again or worse in the next few weeks as my journey to the stage draws near.  and come on, a journey wouldn't be a journey if it didn't have a mixture of good, bad, high, and low days.

keep. pressing. forward.

that was prolly my worst workout of this entire journey though.  i could barely get my heart rate up to my fat burning zone, and i literally struggled to keep it there, which is always relatively easy.  after my last meal that night, THANKFULLY Chiso calmed down enough to go to sleep early with me even though he took a late nap.

Thursday was a new day. a better day.  a high carb day.  i DID get some good rest the night before and felt tons better, mentally and physically.

Chiso wasn't the only one enjoying fresh fruit that day :)

this is just some of his meal... sweet potatoes, avocado, and his fav, strawberries.

i got in some posing practice that night after my cardio.

POW, stick that hip out there!

i can be silly/goofy/flirty, but being serious/sexy/flirty WITHOUT laughing and feeling like an idiot is the tough part.  how i will ever manage to sell it and make it believable on stage is beyond me, but i have 3 weeks to figure it out.

i feel wack taking these pics of myself but who do you think i am, june ambrose!? i need a picture snapping assistant.  sometimes.

this will be my final pose before exiting the stage. :shock: kidding.

i didn't even think to bring my show suit with me-  my coach said i should be practicing in it or at least less clothing from here on out though. she's absolutely right cause i could not see my body the way i needed to.

some days i feel way too skinny, some days i feel like i could maintain this weight.  either way, Sonny reminded me that if i do fall off the wagon after this competition, i now have the tools and the knowledge to get my body back where i want it to be. well, what could i say after that lol?

i made more banana pancakes this morning cause they make me happy.  and i need all the happiness i can get!!!!

  i think i have made/eaten them for the past week and i can't stop.  until i can add more crazy ingredients to my batter, i'll have them just like this up until the show.  so YES, more pics of pancakes are coming, you've been warned.

have you made these pancakes yet!? what did you put in yours?

*****HAPPY FRIDAY*****

le

le's leg day circuit

man my heart rate was already up as i walked into the gym today!  i got into my fat burning zone right away as i warmed up on the elliptical for about 10 minutes before hitting the weights.

to get the blood flowing in my legs, i did:

leg extensions / leg curls superset -  4 sets of 12-15 reps using med-heavy weight.

next, 4 sets of 12-15 reps of seated leg press with heavy weight.

1st heavy set w/ feet shoulder width apart,

2nd heavier set with feet shoulder width apart

3rd heaviest set with feet shoulder width apart

4th burnout set with light weight (kept going until it buuuuuuuuuuurned) with my feet shaped in a v (heels together).

now for the fun stuff!!!

 i went into my gym's empty group fitness room (take advantage if your gym allows it and there's no class going on) and did the following 3 times each: (burned over 500 cals after all this!)

*****le's leg circuit*****

using 25 lb. dumbbells,

and a step bench w/ 5 risers on each side,

*i mentioned on IG that you can add more risers if you'd like, but i'm super clumsy and went with 5 today.  it was still a nice height, trust me.*

do the following straight through w/ no breaks.

• 1. 20 squats holding the dumbbells in each hand and squeezing your glutes the entire time.
• 2. walking lunges going forward (i used the length of the room, bout 30 ft i guess!?! i'm horrible with estimations), then backwards ( no, don't turn around, stay facing forward but just lunge backwards. do your best to push yourself up back up to standing and maintain that balance.)
• 3. 20 deadlifts (feet shoulder width apart (1st set) narrow stance (2nd set) wide stance (3rd set))
• 4. 20 box jumps onto your bench. drop the dumbbells first please!  be careful and land softly by putting all your weight into your heels.  drop your glutes as low as possible and get into that squat before you jump back down.

 after a round of that, my heart rate was easily over 170 according to my watch!  i walked in two big circles around the room and let my hr drop to around 130 before i started again.

lastly, i finished up legs with 3 sets of 20 reps of jumping lunges.  make sure you drop that back knee down- no slacking.

i said i'd do abs at home (i always say that lol) cause i had to hit the grocery store before i could even get home.  making progress, but i need some separation in my upper abs since i have NONE.  that's my goal for this week.

 1hr of fat burning cardio on the elliptical later, leg day was over.

startin' the week off right!!! have a GREAT evening and try this workout and lemme know what you think!

burn FAT effectively

earlier this week, i got some help in the weight room from my professional basketball playing bro-in-law,

Brian!

 he is also a trainer in his off-season.  can you tell?  he provided me with a fantastic upper body workout cause i need all the help i can get when i'm on my own.

we did a bunch of stuff! variety is so important in order to tone and grow the entire muscle group- i appreciated (but hated) them all.  s/n,  i'm looking forward to a nice, even tan.

hammer curls. i've ALWAYS wanted bulging biceps, especially when my arm is relaxed!!

lat pull downs with straight arms- great tricep/back/shoulder exercise.

afterwards, i did my cardio with a concentration on burning...

******FAT******

HR monitors have completely changed the way i workout.  up until i became a Lifetime Fitness instructor, i figured a super-duper sweaty workout = the BEST workout ever.  if i didn't achieve sweaty-mess status every single time i hit the gym, i didn't feel like i burned enough or did enough, and i'd leave feeling inadequate.  i soon learned that different zones burn different things.

i found Sonny's Polar FT7 on amazon.com as well as my own.  how it works:

1. put the wrist watch on (serves as a plain ol' watch as well)

2. strap on the chest transmitter, and make sure it's secure and close to your heart, literally.

3.  start the watch, do your workout, then stop it.  afterwards, you can look forward to seeing:

your average and max heart rates,

your total workout time plus the total amount of calories burned,

AND,

just how long you stayed in your fat burning zone! isn't that awesome?! love this thing. this is super important to me because my training focuses on staying in my fat burning zone, not so much my total amount of cals burned.  also, that was a very brief synopsis- you still need to read the directions :)

more convincing:

•  not all gym equipment is up to date- some machines don't have those neat sensors on them you can hold to find your heart rate.  one of the machines i like to use in particular is the stairmaster, and the ones in my gym don't have sensors.  plus, i don't like to have to hold those side rails anyway!  having a HR monitor handy solves that issue.

• even if you are on a machine with the HR sensors present, your chest transmitter syncs with the machine's signal and displays your HR without you having to grip them! i appreciate that.  sometimes those sensors just don't work correctly at all, or it will give me a crazy triple digit number that is clearly false.  and again, having to hold those sensors slows down my groove.

• most watch models have a feature that beeps when you are out of your fat burning range to let you know whether you need to speed up or slow down. neat!

now, HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR FAT BURNING ZONE????

 this info is no secret and is available all over the net! follow these steps and you can't go wrong.

220 - age - resting heart rate x .60 + resting heart rate = bottom range

220 - age - resting heart rate x .70 + resting heart rate = top range

what's your resting HR?

 when you first wake up, check your pulse for 15 seconds, then multiply that # by 4.

sure, other zones burn other things, but i focused on fat for this post.  so ultimately, your fat burning zone is where your heart rate needs to STAY for the duration of your workout to burn MAXIMUM fat.

le