Work Flow, Fitness, and Steak Salad

It was casual day at work. My favorite. And I love fitting my jeans so well.  But now that I'm done with that good sugar detox, I am trying to figure out a fitness routine.  No, I wasn't working out while I was doing sugar detox for several reasons- I wanted to get into the swing of school and teaching again, I'd gotten my hair straightened, and I didn't want to workout and detox simultaneously. But now I'm ready to jump back on that horse. 

Instead of listening to others, magazines, and blogs, I'm going to listen to my body.  For example, I know for a fact that my body does well with lots and lots of cardio and videos that use body weight as resistance.  Eventually I will go back to weights, but right now I'm going to focus on cardio and fitness videos. I also know that I need to run to get these legs in check.  I abhor running. Big time.  But not only do I need to tone my legs, but I also need to get my cardio breathing back up.  I was dancing with some students in the hallway and I was so out of breath. Huh? That's what happens when you take time off.  

And speaking of time off, my hair and I are going to be taking a break. While I have enjoyed our relationship, I think its time to make other arrangements. I have found a new boo and his name is weave. We are going to try this weave thing one more time and hope that it works for the best.  As you can see from my date night pics, my hair was disrespected by the humidity and the abusive relationship needs to be stopped. 

In other news, no more detox means I can have huge salads with all the dressing I want (well not ALL but more than I could before).  Everything has sugar in it. OMG. Almost anything you could think of, dressing, seasonings, sauces- hell maybe even water! So I didn't mess with dressing and boy did I miss it.  Here is the salad I had for lunch the day I finished my detox.  

Steak Salad

• 4 oz cooked ribeye (or whatever cut you like)
• 1 roma tomato
• red onions
• spring mix salad (I also added romaine)
• 1/2 avocado
• red bell pepper
• Feta cheese
• 1 Large and 2 small kitchen bags
• oil based Caesar dressing

I like to add everything at the last minute so I warp everything separately until its time to put it all together.

1. Cut your cooked steak up into the appropriate salad eating size.  I prefer smaller pieces so I can get the most bang in the salad. Once cut, stick in a little sandwich bag with some of the oil based Caesar. 
2. Portion out your feta into the other small baggy.  I marinate my feta in olive oil and fresh basil.  My Greek friend taught me this method and I've never looked back.  
3. Cut have your avocado, sprinkle with salt and add a little lemon juice.  It will brown a bit but that's ok.  Wrap in aluminum foil.
4. In the large bag, add your salad, tomato, bell pepper, and onions.  Then throw in your wrapped avocado, steak baggy, feta baggy, and a little container of dressing.  
5. When its lunch time, take everything out of the bag except the spring mix and pour in dressing.  Mix all around.  Pour in the steak.  Shake.
6. Then pour into your bowl and add the feta and avocado on top. Lunch is served!

Do you think a detox can be beneficial? Which ones have you tried? 

Just Call Me Yogi

My whole body hurts.  No really.  Ok, it hurts less today, but between my circuit training and hours at a time spent on the cardio equipment, I needed a break.  As you know, I am no stranger to pretending to do yoga in my living room yoga, and I've been looking into this studio for a few months now.  Sutherland Yoga studio has received nothing but rave reviews all over facebook, and I've been dying to work with someone who isn't at the military gym.  

I initially planned to go to the 12pm class, but as the laziness started to creep over my body, I decided I'd better get my booty into high gear and head off to the 9:30am class.  I threw my wig on because there was no way that these braids were coming out.  Uh Uh.  So off I went to my first yoga experience in Valdosta.  

I walked in and I was immediately in love with the ambiance.  I went upstairs and was greeted by Kathi (Who also taught the class) and I proceeded to pay my well spent $8.00 for the class.  I talked to her for a while about how shoddy it is when you don't have a kitchen and you make all the wrong eating out decisions (for all the tasty reasons!).  Then I went in and found a seat. I really wanted to hide in the corner but there were 2 high school girls already occupying that space.  But after two minutes, I felt some comfortable with everyone that I could immediately tell that I had no need to worry about anyone judging me and my sucky down dog.  

I'm cute, huh?

Before class started I had to say "Don't be alarmed" because you know that wig had to come OH EFF EFF!  (That was my quirky way to say off hehehe).  I'm glad I did, because I shocked a few folks.  They all laughed and asked about my hair and I explained how much easier it is to manage than my own hair in the summer time.  I get on my mat and prepare myself to Namaste all over that mother.

Oh boy.  

Sooooooo that at home yoga that I did so much of did NOT prepare me for a real life Yogi lead yoga class.  Ouch.  It felt so good though.  I needed to be stretched out and even though I didn't do as well as I would have liked (I may have skipped a few of those plank vinyasas) I sweat more in that hour than I have in a long time.  Kathi was very supportive and encouraging throughout the entire class, and everyone was able to move at their own pace, which was snail like for me.

Overall, I give the Sutherland studio a 10/10.  The room was well ventilated and whatever scent they had permeating  through the room was amazingly relaxing.  Everyone was so friendly and welcoming.  And even though my balancing tree looked more like a bush, my crow had a broken wing, and my wheel pose had a flat tire, I'm looking forward to going back and improving!

Are you a Yogi?  Which pose do you want to conquer?