Saturday, July 13, 2013

Cardio With No Legs

Recently I had a little work done...cosmetic but necessary as far as I was concerned. Being obese for a long while had ruined the small veins in my legs. After losing the weight I wanted to show off my new self but really got tired of answering the same question: "how did you get those bad bruises on your legs?"

Arrrrgh! They weren't bruises, it just was there were so many spider veins grouped together it's what it looked like. So I went to a local vein center and paid a whopping $250 to have a really nice doc use little needles (didn't hurt) to cut off the blood supply to the spider veins. Had to wear compression stockings for 2 weeks afterward. In the summer! Soooo hot. My own fault for waiting until after my June mud run to get the procedure done. But, hey, when the mud calls I gotta answer.

What was hard was I couldn't run or lift weights with my legs while wearing the compression stockings. I kept lifting with my arms but I still needed some cardio about twice a week. Tried to search on the internet for leg free cardio but most sites suggested swimming (not an option in compression stockings) or using a manual wheelchair outside (not really in my wheelhouse).

What I ended up with was air boxing while sitting and watching TV with my hubby. Ended up working up a sweat and raising my heart rate which was the point anyway. Standing and swinging my arms in circles also worked but didn't seem to raise my heart rate quite as much. Both exercises worked out my upper body with it's own body weight while burning calories.

Anyone who has a doc telling them they can't cavort can use these little time wasters to bust out some cardio until they are on the mend. Or if the arthritis acts up. Or if an ankle is sprained while in a late night battle with supervillians. You know, the usual stuff.

Anyways, the compression stockings are off and the legs are looking much better. Time to get my runner's high on!

-DK

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Smoothie Saturday: Oh Be-have Smoothie




I haven't posted a smoothie recipe in a while. Not that my smoothie addiction has abated at all. If anything, it's gotten worse and I've spread the plague to my mom. She already was smoothie-ing but I asked if she was putting veggies in there. The response was not enthusiastic. I suggested she try a handful of baby spinach leaves because she'd never taste the diff and would be getting veggies at breakkie, always a good thing.

What mom didn't know is that spinach is a gateway veg. But boy she knows now! After the spinach got her over the eww veggies in the smoothie hurdle, she started chucking all sorts of planty love in the blender.

I try to take advantage of the local stuff and collards are just everywhere now. Peaches, not local yet, but still yummy are showing up juicy and plump. And there is always a knobby bit of ginger around.

Low...perfection came out of convenience! The pairing of collards and peach is yummeriffic. The peach kisses you with it's summer flavor - the flirt! Then the ginger pinches you on the backend - cheeky thing! Be-have! And the collards are so out of the ballpark healthy you can fly after sucking this bad boy down.

Collards, Fresh - 3 cups
Peach, Fresh - 1 large, pitted, rough chopped
Ginger, Fresh - little piece for a little taste, big piece if you like things spicy
Water - 3/4 cup
Protein Powder - 1/2 scoop
Guarana - 1 tsp (optional)
Date, Medjool, Pitted - 1 each or 2 T date sugar
Liquid Stevia - 5 drops
5 or 6 ice cubes

If you have a heavy duty blender, chuck it all in and hit the button. If it's a regular blender, put everything in but the ice and puree. The add the ice and let er rip again.

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 221
Carbs: 43.7g
Protein: 12.5g
Fat: .3g
Cholesterol: 10mg
Sodium: 38.5g
Fiber: 8.6g
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