Our Turn

That's right - arriving this summer, Fit with Farrar will go from being a dynamic duo to a powerhouse of 3!!

I (Lindsay) figure since I'm carrying this baby, I'll tell the story :)

It has been a long road to get here, and while we will keep the very personal details between the two of us, we will bring you up to speed on our general experience.

Our TTC (trying to conceive) journey was way more overwhelming than we ever anticipated. We just figured that we were two healthy individuals and it wouldn't take us any time to get pregnant.....WRONG. The whole process involved a lot of tears, a lot of "why us?", a lot of emotionally draining discussions, and a lot of sheer frustration. Everyone around us was getting pregnant and there we were, still not pregnant. We were and had been doing everything we could, but it STILL wasn't happening; it still wasn't "our turn". Every month, without fail, I would convince myself that this would be the one - and every test was negative. We began to talk about what other options we needed to consider to get our family.....

Right after Thanksgiving, I took a pregnancy test....And much to our surprise....

IS THIS REAL LIFE?!?!

Shock. Some amusement (Seriously, just a few hours prior was yet another teary discussion of what other options to have our family were, and now BAM, positive pregnancy test. Universe is cruelly funny like that). But mostly shock.

Shock eventually gave way to sheer excitement. We determined I was 4 weeks and we decided to keep it a secret from everyone until around 9 weeks or so. While we were so excited, we were also fearful of losing the baby, so it was our little secret.

At 9 weeks, 1 day, we had our first appointment and ultrasound. We laughed throughout the entire ultrasound.....laughing from relief of seeing the little heart flickering, laughing from the joy of seeing little nugget dance around like a wiggle worm. What an awesome moment that we will treasure forever.

Around New Years, we planned 3 separate get-togethers will all our parents.....we made a gift certificate for each of them that said "Good for one grandbaby, expires 7/31/2013" and put it in a card. Everyone was so excited and happy for us and that made our joy multiply!

A couple days after that, we informed a handful of other family members (grandparents, aunts/uncles), but still wanted to keep it on the down low for a couple more weeks - well, that doesn't work so well when people have been waiting for this baby for so long :) It lasted about a week then we started fielding whispering-congratulations from random folks, so we just took matters into our own hands and here we are, announcing it to the world!

Pregnancy is going well! In the 2nd trimester, and for those interested in this kind of thing (we see lots of other bloggies do it and we enjoy it), here are some of the details:

Weight gained: 3-4 pounds, although the "bloat" makes it look (and feel!) so much more than that some days. 

Symptoms: I feel just fine! Never got sick; really just some itchy, dry skin and FATIGUE. Slept like a champ prior to pregnancy, but now - things are insane. I shoot for 9-10 hours on weeknights, and 12 hours on weekends, and some naps! :)

Food Aversions: No real aversion so far - but I have lost my taste for coffee. And pepperoni gives me awful indigestion :( 

Food Cravings: initially it was BBQ, now it's mostly salty/crunchy things, clementines and sour cream (not all together, obvi)

Of course - there is still some fear. I don't think that'll completely go away until we are in the 3rd trimester (if ever). We try to keep the fear in check because we really are just radiating excitement and energy about the entire thing - we know that this moment is a blessing and no matter the outcome, we do not take a single aspect of it for granted.

Talk soon,

Lindsay and Timothy

How to Make Your Resolutions STICK This Time

We are three days into 2013. Most folks are riding the high of a healthier lifestyle right now....

My eating was awesome today!

I totally killed that workout!

But the hard, cold truth is this: by the end of January, most folks' inner dialogue looks like this.....

Meal prep is a pain; I'll just grab some fast food every day!

It's too cold/too early/too late/I'm too tired to workout!

Sound familiar? If so, don't fret. We've all been there - you are definitely not alone. 

So how can you make 2013 different from all the rest? How can you make your resolutions, goals, and objectives for this new year STICK?? Here are some tips:

• Watch out with the "All or Nothing" approach.
• You either eat perfectly clean or you completely binge - this is a resolution sabotage! If you've been eating well and then went out to dinner on a Friday night and had dessert, it is not the end of the world and you don't have to blow the rest of the weekend because of it. Start fresh with your next meal :)

• Ease into it!
• You don't have to do a complete 180 overnight. Pick a few habits that you can really focus on and put your energy into these smaller, more manageable changes. 

• Really, truly understand that it is a process.
• If you can establish the mindset that this is a journey and you are trying to make being healthy a lifestyle, you will be ahead of the game! 

• Make your goals measurable.
• Instead of saying "I want to lose weight and get healthy", make your resolutions quantifiable: I want to lose 1 pound per week for the first month, then blah blah, or I want to quit smoking, by decreasing my consumption by 1 cigarette per day until I'm at 0 cigs!

• Make your goals public knowledge!
• Don't keep your resolutions a secret. Put them on Facebook, tell your friends, family, and coworkers. Knowing that people are "watching you" is one of the best ways to set yourself up for success! 

• Surround yourself with people you want to be like.
• Both in-person and within social media - make sure those that you are seeing/talking to on a daily basis are encouraging individuals who either have the success you want, or are on the same journey. We sponsor year-round challenge groups with this exact purpose and they have been wildly successful!

Here's to an amazing year!

In Health, 

Timothy and Lindsay

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The Evolution of Our Healthy Lifestyle

People throw the phrase around a lot...

"It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change."

But for us, it is now 3-4 years later, so it clearly was a lifestyle change.

Typically, it is a healthy thing to look back once in a while, to see how far you've come and/or to see how things have changed and evolved. Our commitment to fitness and nutrition has certainly changed a lot over the last several years:

• We are much more in tune with our bodies
•  We know when to take a break before it gets to the point of an injury or exhaustion
•  Along that same line, we can see the true value of rest days
•  We are gaining a better understanding of what works bests for us nutritionally
  
• Less focus on calorie counting, more on actual nutrition
•  Initially, it was all calories in versus calories out. NO LONGER! Now, the focus is on nutritional value. Your body processes 100 calories of vegetables completely differently than a 100 calorie Chips Ahoy pack. (Sorry for the mini-rant, that's a whole other post topic!)
  
• We aren't stuck in a box and afraid to experiment
•  At first, anything that didn't involve a workout DVD (Lindsay) or a gym (Timothy), we wouldn't touch. Since then, we are constantly experimenting with all different kinds of training and can definitely say that cross-training (working out in a variety of ways) is the most effective.

Things have evolved in others ways too:

• Our inner circle of friends has changed dramatically
• This was a hard pill to swallow at first and we certainly felt lonely. But time has allowed us to let those people go and focus on connecting with those that we better relate to now that we've made this lifestyle change. BUT we are always hoping to have a positive impact on people, including those from our past, and help them become healthy with us. 
  
• Our outlook on our future has a different focus 
• At first, a lot of our healthy eating and working out was wrapped up in numbers, sizes, and looks. As our knowledge of nutrition and fitness improves, and with moving into different phases of our lives, the focus is less on sizes and looks and more on doing this to live longer and avoid chronic illnesses. Mid/Late 20's is not "old" but it is a time to be concerned about your future.  
  
• We cut ourselves way more slack
• Everything was so strict in the beginning: missing a workout was unfathomable and eating had to be on point at all times. Now, if life interferes and we miss a workout, it's okay. If our eating isn't clean or we have a food that is fried or has HFCS in it, it's okay. We know it doesn't happen often and we know we can fall right back in line immediately. *This isn't for people who are just starting. This came with time!* 

Overall, we are pretty darn pleased with the evolution of our healthy lifestyle thus far. We look forward to seeing how future life events will impact everything, particularly having a child. We'll keep you posted ;-)


In Health,

Lindsay and Timothy
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Eating junk makes you crave more junk!!

Yes, the information is out there...

Here

Here

And here

As obesity is a full-blown epidemic in America...

Source

 
more research is devoted to the effect of what we eat has on our bodies and minds. The effect on the body is the obvious stuff: when we eat poorly, we gain weight, have little/no energy, have high cholesterol/BP/diabetes, etc.

The effect on our mind isn't always as obvious, but science is proving that it is just as impactful. The sugar and additives in crap food literally alter your brain and make you crave more of the crap food.

We know....this is some scary, mad scientist stuff here....

Of course, nothing serves better as proof than personal experience. When we get a little lax with our nutrition (when we are traveling or visiting family) and eat things we normally don't have, we begin to crave them for a day or two after. Diet soda is a PERFECT example of this. Lindsay doesn't have one often, but when she does, the cravings for more sugary foods increase dramatically. Same thing for Timothy with ice cream.

We aren't saying never have dessert or a diet soda, but what we are saying is be mindful of what you are eating. The cleaner your food, the cleaner your insides. While it may be tough initially, your body will begin to crave healthier foods....ESPECIALLY if you are working out (your body needs the right fuel to perform adequately, and trust that Mountain Dew and donuts aren't the right fuel).

We want to know: Do you notice a change in your mind/body when you eat poorly after eating healthfully for a while? Increase in cravings? Comment below!

In Health,

Lindsay and Timothy
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Battle of the Blenders

We have 3 blenders in our home.

No, we are not hoarders.

Rather, we make a lot of shakes/smoothies/green drinks and one needs a blender to do so!


Here's a quick synopsis of each of the 3 blenders we have. You'll see we have a clear favorite, but we'll try to give you enough info so you can make your own decision, you grown-up you :)

Ninja Master Prep

 

Cost: ~$75.00
Pros: blades come out for easy cleaning; comes with two sizes and a chopper; affordable

Cons: motor on top is very big/bulky; if you use large chunks of ice/fruit, it won't blend it all

Magic Bullet

Cost: ~$75 - $100.00

Pros: the container serves double-duty as your cup; blades are very small, thus easy to clean
Cons: can't do "big jobs" and can't mix anything fibrous (veggies) or sticky (peanut butter)

Vitamix Professional Series 750

Cost: ~$690

Pros: can blend anything, completely versatile; preset options take out guesswork, no worry about washing, has a cleaning function, huge container, comes with a 7 year warranty
Con: expensive


Can you spot our favorite? :)

We used the Ninja and Magic Bullet for YEARS before finally making the investment in a Vitamix....it was worth the wait and worth every penny! This not only makes shakes, but icecream, soups, dips, homemade nut butter, dough, ANYTHING! 

As we said before, we require the services of a blender daily, but if you don't and therefore can't rationalize a Vitamix purchase, go with the Ninja.

Have you owned any of these blenders? What's your opinion??

In Health,

Lindsay and Timothy

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Playing with Nutrition is Fun

Our bodies are incredible machines, and food is the fuel, so tweaking and experimenting with our nutrition to see what helps the body operate best is so neat for us...

....is that weird?

 Anywho.....the two of us have adopted a version of "primal" or "paleo" eating for the past 3 weeks or so. We're following more of the Mark Sisson or Robb Wolf view of the lifestyle, in that we still have tiny bits of dairy once in a while (and when we do have it, we shoot for grassfed, no hormones added, full-fat dairy). Essentially, the biggest part of our change is no wheat/grain. 

Let's be real - sure, initially, toast, muffins, bread....all those were missed, but the feeling didn't last long. We are certainly not starving (see below for an example day's food). Plus, there are so many ways to make your favorite things primal/paleo - Lindsay makes insane pancakes that are dairy and grain free and paleo cookies made of almond flour, coconut oil, and honey that are way better than any wheat/grain cookie.

 

**Meals are tailored around workout schedules (for instance, on a rest day, we would likely eat less meat/starch/veggies.

**We both average at least a gallon of water per day.

This is not extremist paleo/primal. Some would argue this isn't even either, rather just grain/wheat free. And to be frank, we don't give a sh*t.....whatever title you want to give it, it is working for us. Lindsay's lost 4 pounds in 3 weeks, even with working out less. Timothy is sleeping better. It just fits for us.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to shoot us an email: fitwithfarrar@gmail.com

Also, if you want to learn more about why we are avoiding wheat/grain, here are some resources:

Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis
What grains do to your system
Food, Inc. - helps solidify why grassfed, pasture raised, etc.IS important

We'd love to hear your thoughts - please comment below!

In Health,

Timothy and Lindsay
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Training with Kettlebells

The popularity of training with kettlebells has really picked up in the last 5 years...

In reality, it has been around since practically the beginning of strength training (16th century Russia to be specific), but the recent resurgence of popularity is GREAT NEWS because it is one of the most effective ways to train.We live in a world where we are pressed for time and need something that is both quick AND effective. Enter kettlebells...

Standard strength training, ESPECIALLY in the traditional gym setting, locks the body in a linear plane and can place stress on joints. Kettlebell exercises are natural to the body's range of motion AND have the capability to serve double-duty as strength training and cardio, simultaneously! This is what we mean by quick and effective!


Kettlebells come in a variety of weight, but unless you are very much a beginner, anything less than 10 pounds is likely too light!

The exercise combinations are virtually endless: you can do more static moves like windmills:

Source

Or you can up the cardio factor with moves like the kettlebell swing:

Source

Kettlebells can be purchased at any sporting goods store, and we've even seen them in places like Target! Craigslist is also a good place to get used equipment that is often a little cheaper.

If you want to play around with kettlebell exercises before you invest in an actual kettlebell, you can try these moves out with a traditional dumbbell!

Question for you: Do you use kettlebells? What's been your experience?

In Health,

Timothy and Lindsay
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