Workout Wednesday & WIAW: EMS + Restaurant Holiday Meals

It seemed like such a long wait for vacation to begin and now I'm enjoying every moment. It feels so good to sleep in and ease into the days! This year for Christmas Eve all the kids were home and we tried something new for our dinner celebration.

My morning started with a quick breakfast before I headed out for a PT session. Most of what I do at PT is the same as what I do at home except that I warm up on the bike, get a couple of sets in on the leg press, and finish with some EMS.

The use of EMS during my PT is to help me use as much of my muscle as possible while doing muscle contractions. Without it, I might be using as little as 30% of the muscle. The EMS allows more of the resting fibers to contract and therefore increases overall strength. There's an interesting article here that talks about using EMS for training, recovery, and rehab.

When I got home I chased my workout with a fruit and veggie smoothie with some added protein and amino from GNC PUREDGE. My rebuilding muscles need all the help they can get! For lunch I heated up some leftovers while baking (and test-tasting) some more gluten free cookies!

{breakfast} peanut butter & jelly rice cakes with coffee {snack} protein fruit smoothie {lunch} leftover gluten free chili {snack} gluten free chocolate chip cookie

We took our Christmas Eve family dinner to Fratello's for a very festive meal together. This was a new adventure for all of us and since the girls and I like getting all fancied-up, it was a great excuse to get the boys in on the fun too.

{appetizer} Caprese salad {dinner} Mussels, Bolognese, Prime Rib, Chicken Alfredo, and New York Strip

{dessert} Triple Chocolate cake and Limoncello torte

After dinner we drove around looking at Christmas lights. I love the effort that some people put into the displays. Our favorites included a house showing movies on the garage door, a huge display with music, and finally a synchronized light show to music on the radio!

Would you ever use EMS as part of your training or recovery?
Do you go out to eat on holidays? This was our first time, but we're thinking of making it a tradition.

This post is part of the #WIAW link up hosted by Jen

This post is part of the Workout Wednesday link up hosted by 

Diatta, Sheila, Amanda and Heather

#HolidaySweat Week 5 Update

It's hard to believe that I am already three weeks and a couple of days post-menisectomy. With two more PT sessions under my belt, I have been able to increase my exercises and do more at home with increased confidence.

The bonus point challenge for the week was to walk/run a 5K. My PT did not give me permission to run (haha) or even walk the 5K, but he did give the ok to walking one mile per day (yay). {Friday} my oldest stepdaughter walked with me and the dog {Saturday} I recruited mrC, two kids, and my brother-in-law to take a walk after lunch at my in-laws and {Sunday} after driving 2+ hours back to NH, mrC and I took Booney for a walk to stretch our legs.

Having a smoothie everyday helped me meet the fruit and veggie goal, but the added protein and amino from GNC helped my muscles recover from PT and all the walking I was able to do this week.

My water in-take for the week was another success and I added another plant to my "garden." The only downside to drinking so much water is the number of trips I take to the bathroom. Jeez!

It's time to get started on the final week of the challenge!

What will you be doing this week?

WIAW: Simple

Today's post is part of the #WIAW link up hosted by Jen! 

Merry Christmas Eve and welcome to the holiday madness, right? All the kids are home and I can't wait for the movie watching, cookie-eating, present un-wrapping chaos to begin!

Nothing at all like last Saturday. It was one of the simplest days we've had in a long time. We eased into the day, went to a hockey game, and watched a movie. Simply wonderful!

Most of my days start with a workout. Lately that workout has been my PT leg exercises. Right now my exercise focus is on strengthening my quad, hamstring, and glute muscles. Oh, I can't wait until I can run again!

{Pre-breakfast} Coffee while icing the knee after doing my morning PT exercises.

{Breakfast} Kept it simple with some cheesy scrambled eggs with ham and a PB&J rice cake on the side.

{Snack} The hockey game started at 11 AM and was an hour away, so I made a to-go fruit and veggie smoothie adding in some GNC PUREDGE amino to encourage muscle recovery after my morning workout.

{Lunch} We stopped at a local restaurant after my nephew's hockey game to have lunch with the in-laws up from Massachusetts. I love when restaurants have gluten-free menus. I kept it simple with some GF cheese pizza.

{Treat} Who knew finding GF cookie dough would be so hard these days? None of our local groceries sell it. So, my brother-in-law bought some GF cookie dough for us in MA. I started baking as soon as we got home!

{Dinner} Another simple meal (leftovers) of Cheesy Tuna Quinoa and a salad.

What have you been eating lately?

#HolidaySweat Challenge Week 4 Update

Week 4 was a week of progress.

On Monday I had my first post-op appointment and the stitches came out of my knee. I also got the go-ahead to start PT and had my first session on Wednesday. I was surprised by how much I got to do and didn't even mind the 15 minutes of NMES (neuromuscular reeducation electrical stimulation). Apparently my quad muscle has atrophied quite a bit in the two weeks post-surgery. Most of the exercises I can do at home every other day.

I was surprised that I was doing wall squats, even with support, on my first day of PT. The foam roller makes moving up and down much easier as I'm not pushing against the wall. The hardest part for me is making sure my right leg isn't doing all of the work.

Heel press seems like no big deal, but my knee had a little pain after each 8 second hold. Dr. Bri said it was a normal pain, so I will keep doing them. This one is all about the hamstrings and mine felt the work.

Throughout the week I also had fun mixing in some of the PUREDGE product I was sent to review (post here) from GNC to boost my fruit and veggie smoothies. It also inspired me to try some new recipes. My favorite so far has been a Chocolate Raspberry Smoothie.

With the help of the Plant Nanny app that I mentioned in my last update, I met my daily water goal EVERY DAY!! My first plant, befittingly named Water Baby, grew so much that I was able to move it to the "garden" and start a new plant named Dandy Baby.

Week 4 of the challenge also offered bonus points for doing yoga. Now, I'm all about using yoga to stretch, so I did what I could with my knee and it felt so good!

Overall, it was a good week for me.

How was your week?

Sharing a Love for Winter Running

Today I'm happy to share a post written by my running friend and colleague Melissa. Melissa has been a runner since her school days and is very competitive. Now she is sharing her passion with her daughter. 

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It's a winter wonderland out here in New Hampshire this morning. We have big white fluffy snowflakes and no wind. Perfect winter running!

My daughter recently started running with me to prepare for a mile test in her gym class last week. I hoped she would continue to run once the school challenge ended. 

Catching flakes on our tongues seemed like a perfect draw to get an 11-year-old hitting the pavement with me. We had a blast! 

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I can't wait to get back in my running shoes and go for a winter run too!

Do your children run?

How do you entice them?