Saturday, April 28, 2012

When you want a little something sweet...

Hey guys - it's Lindsay. Wow - I think I went on a serious baking binge on this stormy Saturday! It's no secret I have a sweet-tooth and am always on a mission to find "healthier" versions of my favorite sweet things! By healthier - most of the time, I just mean putting together NATURAL ingredients: no high fructose corn syrup, no weird, pre-packaged stuff. Sometimes, this means they are higher in calories or {good} fat or sugar (like honey), but I know that my body can actually process and use natural ingredients even if they are higher cal/fat/etc., as opposed to being unable to digest the fake crap.

That being said - here are the yummy goodies I made today:

No-Bake Natural Energy Balls


  • 1 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1/3 cup of chia fiber (you could you chia seed, ground flax, anything really)
  • Handful of dark chocolate chips
  • 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup of natural, no-salt peanut butter (just ground peanuts, period.)
  • 1/3 cup of honey 

Mix all the ingredients together, roll into balls, and place on parchment in the fridge! YUM!


Protein Reese Peanut Butter Cups


  • Approximately 4 tablespoons of natural, no-salt peanut butter (more or less, depending on preference)
  • 2 Scoops Chocolate protein powder (I used egg-white chocolate whey protein powder)
  • 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 5-7 grams of Stevia or some other zero/low calorie sugar substitute 
  • Baking muffin cups (foil or rubber)

Put your unsweetened cocoa powder, chocolate protein powder, and your Stevia/sugar substitute together in a bowl and mix.
Slowly add in small amounts of water until you get a batter-type substance. 
Add a layer of this batter into the bottom of the muffin cups and place into freezer for 25-30 minutes. Afterward, remove from freezer and add a layer of natural peanut butter onto each cup, then place back into freezer for another 15-20 minutes. 
Lastly - take out of the freezer and add your final layer of batter over the now hardened peanut butter. Place back in the freezer for another 25-30 minutes at least or leave in the freezer until you're ready to eat! 


Cinnamon Swirl Protein Bread


  • 1/3 cup Xylitol (if you can't find, use Stevia in the Raw)
  • 2 tsp. of cinnamon (I use more like 2 tablespoons because I REALLY like cinnamon!)
  • 1.5 cups of oat flour
  • 2 scoops of vanilla whey protein powder
  • 1 tablespoon of baking power
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup of Xylitol or 1/4 cup of Stevia in the Raw
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/3 cup or 1 4 ounce jar of babyfood applesauce
  • 1/4 cup of plain, non-fat greek yogurt (optional - but I always use it for extra moisture and extra protein!)
Preheat oven to 350 and spray an 8x8 Pyrex dish with non-stick spray. 

In a small bowl, combine the 1/3 cup of Xylitol and 2 tsp. of cinnamon and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the 1/5 cups of oat flour, 2 scoops of vanilla whey protein, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, pinch of salt, and 1/2 cup of Xylitol (or 1/4 cup of Stevia in the Raw).

In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 egg whites, 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, 1/3 cup of applesauce, and 1/4 cup of plain, non-fat greek yogurt, then combine to ingredients in large bowl. 

Pour a shallow layer of batter into the loaf pan (about 1/4 of the batter). Sprinkle heavily with half of the cinnamon/xylitol mixture. Then add the remaining batter on top and sprinkle the last of the cinnamon/xylitol mixture on top. Draw a knife through the batter to marble.

Bake 24-28 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Bread will be dense.

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Hope everyone enjoys these recipes!! If you have a fun recipe, please leave it in a comment below! Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

In Health, 

Lindsay 

Monday, April 23, 2012

The Naughty List and No Food Police Allowed!!


Make no bones about it – we try to eat clean the majority of the time. HOWEVER, we are not perfect and we do enjoy occasional indulgences. Yes, dear readers, it is possible to maintain a healthy, fit lifestyle and still eat a cheeseburger and have ice cream *once in a while*….*once in a while* is between little asterisks because it is the most important part of that statement....take note.

We each have a “naughty list” (see below), but don’t think of naughty as in bad….think of naughty as in when you let a little loose, and it’s fun but short-lived and you bounce right back on the straight and narrow!!

Just don't let that turn into this.....



Timothy’s Naughties:
  • Butter Pecan Ice Cream, specifically from Homestead Creamery
    • Matter of fact – the two of us had that ice cream for dinner the other day at Sweet 95 in downtown Richmond. Yep, you read that right – ice cream for dinner. It was glorious.
  •   Peanut Butter
  • Chips and Salsa from Mexican restaurant
  • Homemade Whoopie Pies from Wise Ridge Country Store
Lindsay’s Naughties:
  • Pizza
  • Ice Cream – SEVERAL flavors, although chocolate chip and cookie dough are favorites
    • P.S. – locals, don’t be surprised if you see her at the Dillwyn Dairy Freeze getting a dipped cone! 
    • GET IN MY BELLY!
  •  Burritos – you know, the ones as big as your calf muscle from Chipotle….nom nom nom
  •  Diet Pepsi – even though stomach bloats as if she’s 5 months pregnant when she drinks it…

Here’s the cool thing about our Naughty Lists – we don’t have these items very often! They are more special to us because of that AND we don’t gain back all the weight we’ve lost because of that J We also try to tweak our naughties and make healthier versions of them. Lindsay makes great dairy-free/paleo-friendly cookies and pizza. Timothy 9.999 times out of 10 has almond butter versus peanut butter. Lindsay hasn’t had a Diet Pepsi in about a month! Timothy may have chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant, but then has one of the fajita meals minus the tortillas (so it’s just veggies and chicken sautéed together).

As we touched on before, we hope this post helps people understand: 1. We are not perfect eaters, nowhere near close, 2. You can have these items and still maintain a healthy, fit lifestyle, and  3. We are NOT the food police – if we’re out and run into you and you’re eating a burger and fries, please don’t run from us! We are NOT here to judge you! (But if you’re having that meal for the 5th time this week, then we are here to help you!) Along those same lines – if you see US out enjoying one of our naughties, please don’t make a scene, lol! 

YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS! You're a health nut!?!?!

We want to hear from you! What's on your naughty list?

In Health,

Lindsay and Timothy

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Step-by-Step Guide to Starting a Healthy Lifestyle


I think the two of us can sometimes get caught up in how normal and routine our healthy and fit lifestyle is. We’ve been doing this consistently for years now, so it truly is just a part of who we are! However, as we try to reach out and help others, we’re realizing just how daunting the task of revamping your lifestyle is for some people!

So – in hopes of making things seem less daunting (and to appeal to those of you who prefer lists, LINDSAY) here are the very basic steps you need to do to get started on a healthy lifestyle…..not a “diet”, not a “health kick”…..a LIFESTYLE, so that eventually, you don’t even think about it….clean eating and working out just becomes a part of you and your life. 

1. A good starting place would be to get a full physical from your doctor….weight, blood pressure, body mass index, body fat percentage, complete bloodwork…..get the works!  If you haven’t had this done in a while….you might look at your numbers with this face….

Fear not! You can make a change!

2.  Once you know where you stand with your current physical condition (and have informed your doc that change is a’comin), time to tackle your diet. We DO NOT mean diet like you probably think….we mean diet as in the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group. Starting out, aim to change at least one unhealthy habit every 1-2 weeks. First week, you replace 1 soda a day with water until you aren’t drinking soda anymore. Or you could replace a fried chicken sandwich with a grilled one. Or change the focus away from “taking” and put it toward “adding” (for example, add 1 serving of vegetable to your lunch and dinner, and even breakfast for you over-achievers!!) Remember, SLOW AND STEADY wins this race. PERIOD. 

******Special note – if you’re fighting a drug use/dependency (smoking, alcohol, etc.), the same concept can apply.  Cut back to ½ pack a day or 1 alcoholic beverage every other day….keep using less and less until you eventually aren’t using at all! YOU CAN DO IT!
3. Once your body starts ridding itself of the bad and taking in more good, you’ll have this spunk and energy like never before – so put it to good use! Get your workout on! If you didn’t work out at all prior to this lifestyle change, feel free to ease into it, working out 3-4 times per week. If/When you’re feeling good, shoot for 6 days a week. We have a holistic view of exercise/fitness – don’t get stuck doing one thing or one type of work. You need to do a mixture of cardio, strength training, stretching, etc.
******Special notes – your cardio should be heart-pounding, sweat pouring, and lasting at least 30-45 minutes. Nerp, sorry – that leisurely stroll after dinner is not gonna count. And unless you have a particular need (disability, injury, etc.), you should not be doing bicep curls with a 5-pound weight LADIES. Your purse weighs more than that, jeezus. 

Nutrition and exercise are clearly two big chunks of this puzzle called a healthy lifestyle – but they aren’t the only crayons in the box! Here are some other important areas:
·         Sleep – as an adult, 7-8 hours is a MUST. If you chronically/regularly get less than this, your healthy eating and exercising may not be completely in vain, but you are doing a great disservice to your body. So turn off Jay Leno and GO TO BED!
·         Support – doing this alone can really be difficult. Having a strong and grounded support system can mean the difference between success and failure. If you can’t enlist the right people, or people are too slack-ass to hold you accountable and keep you going, we’d be happy to provide those services. Muahhahahaha :-)

It will get difficult. You will be pressed for time. Life will get complicated. Those are the unavoidable facts. Now – what is completely avoidable is you using them as excuses. So what’s it gonna be, huh? Are you gonna commit and succeed or are you gonna bitch and moan about how it’s toooo harrrddd and you’re tooooo busssyyy. We know where we stand and we want you on our side! Our side has tight, toned, strong bodies, yummy food, energy, motivation, great sex lives, happiness, all the good stuff! JOIN US!


As always, we are here to answer any questions or help you in whatever way possible! Facebook us or send us an email: fitwithfarrar@gmail.com
In Health,
Lindsay and Timothy

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Motivation

Hey guys, it's Tim.....

It is very interesting that I am writing about motivation, considering I have been talking about writing this for two weeks. So, enough with the stalling already.


Motivation. What is it exactly? In my opinion,  it is that driving force that gets us moving and pushes us to be our best day in and day out. Your source of motivation may be internal or it may be external, or a combination of both. No matter where it comes from, everyone has something that can serve as their motivation. 

I'd like to share a story about where I get my motivation from. About four and a half years ago, I went to the doctor, in Lynchburg, for a check-up. I hadn't been feeling the best and seemed to always be tired. I was working swing shifts as a dispatcher and I had credited my not feeling well with my job, but wanted to get a physical just in case. By this time, I had applied for the fire department and wanted to make sure my health ducks were in a row. So, at age 20, I strolled into the doctor's office for my physical. The nurse checks my vitals, and my blood pressure was through the roof. The doctor came in a little while later and had the nurse check it again....guess what, still high!! The doctor hands me a small notepad and tells me to check my blood pressure for two weeks at home. If my blood pressure stayed high, he wanted me to come back and put me on blood pressure medicine. Yeah...thanks, but no thanks doc. 

This trip to the doctor scared the living crap out of me. Here I was, at 20 years old, wanting to be a professional firefighter for the rest of my life, and I couldn't even keep my blood pressure in check. It was a serious reality check. I started working out at the local gym after work and started seeing some improvement. Then, I got the call for the interview for Henrico Fire. So, I started pushing myself a little harder in the gym to get ready for the recruit school. I wanted to be as ready as I could when I showed up. My blood pressure was a little better at the job physical for the county but still high. So, I lost some weight during the recruit school and was feeling a little bit better. Well, unfortunately I showed up at the fire station and put on my freshman fifteen. For those of you that don't know, fire stations's get a TON of goodies from our citizens. I was starting to feel and look like I use to.... so, I started to work out with a fellow firefighter and got really competitive trying to keep up with him. I got into working out with more intensity and started enjoying it and feeling better. One morning I got off work after a night of no sleep and went for a run. Six miles later, I was back home and feeling great. I had found something that really clicked for me. I coupled this with an incredibly clean diet and the blood pressure and weight went down.

So....I tell you that background story to explain that my health is my biggest motivator. I don't
ever want to go back to where I was. Another motivator is my vanity. I enjoy when I see people that haven't seen me in awhile, telling me how good I look. Not being boastful, just being honest. It would make anyone feel good to hear that, especially if you never heard it before your transformation. Yet another motivator is my career. I feel like when I signed up to be a professional firefighter that my fitness standards needed to change. On any given day, I could be tasked with entering a burning building to save someone's life. I want to be in the best possible condition to make that happen, so that I don't become the one who needs to be saved. My wife is also a source of motivation for me. I want to be able to spend as much time with her as I can. Without a healthy lifestyle, that time spent with her could be greatly shortened.

So, now that you know my motivators, find something that motivates you. Your motivators don't have to be the same as mine, but make sure you have that motivation. Print out representations of what motivates you and put them in places where you will see them everyday. If you still find yourself struggling, please reach out to myself and/or Lindsay, we are here for you! Since my transformation, I have this burning passion to help others achieve their healthy lifestyle goals. I am never going to tell you it is easy and anybody that does is flat out lying to you....but if you work at it, you will see a huge difference. Just look at our pictures on our Facebook page!

This summer I will be attending an American Council of Exercise Peer Fitness Trainer class that will give me the basis for my personal training certification. Fitness and clean eating are two of my biggest passions and I hope to help as many people as possible achieve their fitness goals.

In Health,
Tim

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Lindsay's Personality in 10 Simple Questions

Hello guys and gals - it's Lindsay! I saw that Colleen did this on her blog this morning (she got the idea from Chelsey, who got it from Aubrey). I loved it all three of them! Thought it would be good to give y'all a little further insight into my personality (let's be honest, my personality cannot be fully understood by answering 10 simple questions, but hey...it's a start, hehe). My goal is to have Timothy sit down and do one as well, that way our lovely readers have a deeper understanding of both authors of this blog!


10 Questions About Lindsay’s Personality
1. When a cashier in the checkout line at the grocery store is being a grump for no reason, how do you typically react?

Usually I look at Timothy and make a face like “sheasssshhhh, datttt bittccchh.”  Some days, I will absolutely kill them with kindness, simply to piss them off even more; other days, I just hurry out of their way!

2. Are you the type that likes going out with your girlfriends or staying in?

I don’t have a lot of girlfriends – most friends are of the male species! Regardless, I’m usually a home-body. I don’t drink, so going out to bars/clubs doesn’t really fit…but I’m ALWAYS game for going out to eat, or a mini road trip!

3. Do you sob and get emotional watching romance movies?

I wouldn’t say I sob…jesus, who does that? But I definitely get emotional, usually when it’s something life-changingly (what???) happy happens to someone. It’s pitiful really. Example: watching pregnancy announcements on YouTube the other day (don’t ask) and was most definitely laughing, smiling, crying at the same time. 

4. What stresses you out the most?

When I don’t “get” something right away – I’m my own worst critic. Oh, and things that mess with my routine…..Timothy can attest to that. I’m pretty much Cindy Crazy Pants when it comes to my schedule/order. Or where and how things are located/lined up on kitchen counters. Too much?

5. What do you think people think of you?

Complete Outsiders: usually that I’m cold and probably a bitch. I can revert to my painfully shy nature in an instant, especially with strangers…and as an adult, people usually interpret that as being a bitch!

Acquaintances: “Cool” – fairly confident, a go-getter

Closest Friends/Family/Timothy: weird….funny, helpful, loving….but mostly just plain weird.

6. When you overindulge do you hit the gym to burn it all off, or just accept the indulgence and follow your same routine?

I go hard with my workouts every time, whether I overindulged the day before or not! When I eat out of my norm, I do NOT beat myself up about it. It was good and I don’t do it every day or every meal, so it’s fine! SERIOUSLY! IT IS FINE! (Talking to you, Timothy!)

7. Are you easily annoyed?

Unless I’m having a really bad day….or hangry (as opposed to hungry), I have the patienceof Job….swearsies, I’m a trained therapist for goodness sake!

8. What do you think is your biggest personality flaw?

Taking things to heart!

9. What is one thing you don’t think people see enough of when it comes to your personality?

I do a good job putting on a normal face [most of the time]….behind closed doors, I’m pretty much a total freakazoid.

10. Can you feel relaxed in a busy crowd or messy room?

If the messy room is mine, it stresses me out BAD….ask Timothy how my behavior was during any of our bagillion moves.

Busy crowds – I’m usually fine in them, especially if I have my social butterfly, I-could-talk-to-a-fence-post husband with me. :-)


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I'd love to hear/see y'alls answers to this! Also - leave a comment demanding Timothy fill one out too!

In Health,

Lindsay

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Bringing Fun into Fitness

We always advocate finding workouts that you enjoy, maybe even LOVE! It makes it so much easier to stay motivated and committed when you have fun with it!

So...in the spirit of bringing fun into fitness, Timothy ran in the 2012 Feet for Fire Firefighter Relay this Saturday. He was on a team of five that ran a 5k relay-style....oh, and [minor detail]: they were all in full turnout gear WITH airpacks/breathing air!! Example picture here. Total beast mode!!

*Bragging wife moment* Timothy did GREAT - somewhere between 1/2-3/4 of a mile in about 4 minutes! White lightening!!



Actually, the WHOLE TEAM did great and they ended up taking first place!



For more pictures, check out our Facebook page (and like us if you haven't already!!).

Now get out there and find some fun in fitness. If you need help, just give us a shout! fitwithfarrar@gmail.com

In Health,

Timothy & Lindsay

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

How-To: Home Gym!

Maybe you don't want to spend the expensive monthly fee or be tied into a 2-year contract. Maybe there isn't a gym nearby your home or work. Maybe you don't like working out in front of people. Whatever you're reasoning behind not going to a big-box gym - fear not! You can develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle and get GREAT workouts without ever leaving the comfort of your living room (or basement, or guest room, whatever!).

In the past decade, at-home workout programs have grown leaps and bounds in their quality! Forget Jane Fonda workout tapes on VHS....now you can get complete programs: DVDs, equipment, nutrition plans, workout schedule, the works, all in one purchase! The cost of most of these is usually equal to 2-months membership costs at a gym. WOW! One-time investment for a comprehensive program you can use until the wheels fall off, or a monthly investment that you may or may not (more likely may not) get your money's worth! Seems like a no-brainier to me, but what do you think?

Aside from comprehensive workout programs - you could also invest in some equipment and create your own workouts. Dumbbells are always a good place to start - have a fairly wide range, light to heavy. Kettlebells would also be a fairly inexpensive weights investment. Pull-up bars that fit right over your door frame are cheap and work great! If you have more cash to burn, getting a barbell/squat rack/etc. would be amazing! For cardio - a jump rope is a cheap, portable, amazing little creature! Do you have a bike - if so, strap on a helmet and hit the road! Have functioning legs? - get outside and walk/run/jog! Again, if you have the money (and you'll actually use it for its intended use, not as a clothes rack), a treadmill or elliptical is also great!

We don't use a gym partly due to location, but mostly because we can get good GREAT workouts through doing the aforementioned! It is what's most convenient and EFFECTIVE for us! Over time, we've accumulated various workout programs and pieces of equipment, and we constantly are adding to the collection, so we always have a workout/program to do and we always have toys to play with :-)

Here's some websites you might find helpful:

Click here for comprehensive at-home programs (DVDs, equipment, nutrition and workout plans all together)

Click here for a website that has free workouts & minimal equipment (disclaimer: workouts are advanced)

Craigslist - wonderful resource for getting {used} equipment - certainly cheaper than Dick's Sporting Goods!

We want to hear from you! What do you think about at-home workouts? What holds you back from having your fitness journey not involve a gym?



In Health,


Lindsay & Timothy