Mangoes are as pretty as they are delicious! Credit By: joyosity

I’d just like to take a minute or two of your time to share with you my love of a fruit. Fruits get a bad rap in some circles. The high amount of sugar…blah, blah, blah. I say we skip the sugar-scare for a moment and consider the awesome, nutritional benefits of a food group that is oh-so-good for our bods.

I’ve always loved mangoes, so when I moved to Cali, I went a little ape shat over the darn fruit. Then, after reading this awesome article, I fell in love with the bulbous fruits even more! I love the darn fruits so much I’m willing to pay $1.69 a piece for ‘em. (That’s HUGE, considering I’m a cheapskate and then some.)

And according to one of my favorite apps, Locovore, I can enjoy cheaper mangoes for another month because they’re in season. In celebration of everything mango, here’s a little video where you can watch a little mango love in action…hehe.

Mangoes for Tishy! Mangoes for all! Do you love mangoes as much as I do? Let’s share our mango love in the comments! —Tish

Yet I still squat!

For this edition of Question of the Week, each FBG is recounting her most embarrassing moment when it comes to working out. Buckle up…these should be fun!

Clumsy is my middle name. I trip on nothing at LEAST twice a week. In fact, I just tripped yesterday and went flying through the air like Superman on moonshine, so it’s pretty hard for me to get embarrassed now. I’m the queen of laughing at myself, but lucky for you all, I had a new oops that I’ve never done before that counts as probably the one thing that’s made me blush and want to rush to the locker room and never ever come out again.

It all started on a brave, sunny day in Los Angeles…

I had just lifted the heaviest I had ever done (squatted 145 pounds), so my trainer/boyfriend decided I should go up 10 more. He strapped five pounds to each side of my bar and off I went. I squatted 10 times. He told me to try for 15 reps. I was feeling gangster at that point and decided to squat even lower just to prove how very awesome I was—and that’s what it happened. I went lower and lower. Mr. Trainer started congratulating me for going lower…lower…and then I just kept going and BAM! The bar hit the safety and down on the floor I went.

It was THE most awkward and embarrassing move I’ve ever done. Didn’t help that all these dudes around me were watching the scrawny chick trying to lift the itty-bitty weights. I just about died. I can still remember how I went down—and how my head went, forehead first, ever-so-gracefully into the mirror in front of me.

The trainer tried his hardest to mask his snickers by asking if I was okay, but it was too late. My ego was bruised and broken. I have tooted in yoga AND while doing sit-ups…while someone was holding my feet. That stuff had nothing on the squat fiasco!

Some people have no shame in their clumsy game, but if you share a public gym moment I’d love to hear about it! —Tish

Social interaction makes working out way more fun! Credit By: CrossFit Fever

This week FBG is celebrating its four-year birthday! Dang, we’re old. To help with the festivities, this week each FBG is focusing on the number “four,” too, by answering the question is: What four things could you not live (and be healthy) without?

And I’m back to the island again. I have no problems listing the top four things that keep me healthy as a horse. What I do find problematic is the amount of folks who assume I’m just a natural health freak without any kryptonite to speak of. They think it always comes easy; that I’m always perky and “on” but, truth be told, I can be a lazy-ass bumpkin if you give me the right television show and caramel snack. (Makes me hella thankful for the things below!)

4 Things I Couldn’t Be Healthy Without

1. My boyfriend/trainer. So I’m way too sensitive about relationship dynamics to say this dude completes me or any of that hoo-haw, but I can say without hesitation that he’s the best darn health pusher I’ve got. The dude just can’t sit still! If we go to the beach, there’s no laying out and relaxing…oh no! We have to be moving and active; we have to play football and be wild. On the weekends, he wants to hike/run like a banshee up crazy-hard hills like Runyon Canyon. A girl like me can’t miss gym days. I wouldn’t survive his energy without them!

2. FBG: I’m all about practicing what I preach. The minute I put that darn FBG sticker on my car and started telling folks I wrote for a health and fitness blog, I had to step up. I swear, wearing FBG clothes does the same thing to me, too! I put on a shirt that says I’m “keeping a lid on the junk in my trunk” and BOOM! I’m ready to play. It’s a great way to remain accountable, that’s for sure. Even on the laziest of days, I still have to woman-up because there’s always some crazy-cool class coming down the pipeline that I have to be physically ready for.

3. Insoles for my running shoes. Back in my marathon training days, I caught a nasty case of tendinitis. In order for me to keep training, I had to meet with a foot doc and get some lovely orthotics that now keep the shooting pains on the top of my foot at bay. Gotta love that someone has my feet’s back…metaphorically speaking, that is.

4. My work’s free gym. This is one that surprised me when it popped into my head. Looking back, I sucked at working out before there was a gym readily available to me. I could come up with excuse after excuse when I had little bitty weights in my room or a gym in my apartment complex. It was never enough. I needed people around to motivate me. When my work’s gym first opened, I signed up for classes. (I was still intimidated by gym equipment at that point.) Then I started talking with the folks who worked in the gym and listened to their advice and recommendations…Now I go in and lift weights with the dudes and take classes whenever they pop up. I love working out around people. It gives me energy, compels me to push harder if I’m feeling competitive and keeps me sane. I need to talk lots…or I go batty! Hard to do when you’re trying to do bicep curls in your lonesome living room.

If I had a cookbook full of healthy recipes that would be on my list for sure, too! Crossing my fingers I get my hands on a good one before FBG turns five! What about you? What four people, places or things have put the heal in your healthy?  —Tish

Coachella gals prepared for jams!

Recently Jenn shared the healthy choices she made while battling the heat at the Coachella music festival. It’s great having Fit Bottomed Girls in your midst to keep you from devouring every funnel cake in sight. Jenn was the responsible one who prevented our stomachs from catching a mean case of the bubble guts. That left me free to take notes on the music that would make for some excellent workout songs if you’re in the mood for some new tunes. (Now you know I’d be jamming, stop and take mental notes of what songs could go on my running playlist. FBG is permanently stamped in the brain, folks!)

Coachella 2012 Workout Music Favorites

(3:33) Creator, Santigold: Funny, but I used to be scared of Santigold. Something about her gold leotard and dance-spastic movements reminded me of Clockwork Orange— and that movie terrifies me. Lucky for me, I was fortunate enough to get dragged to her set on Saturday, and the chick was amazing. She was sans scary leotard and rocking some major fun beats. Irony: This song makes me want to run in spastic ways, which would surely scare others around me.

(2:13) Here We Go Again, The Hives: The Hives were so energetic and fun at Coachella 2012! They got up on that stage and rocked out. They had us gals jumping up and down like happy banshees. I love music that inspires cardio like this song does!

(3:13) Killa, Tune-Yards: I love Merrill Garbus with all my heart. She’s just so eclectic and new. I can guarantee you’ve never heard this sound before. If you’re looking for super-duper new, I recommend this band.

(4:45) Play Your Part, Girl Talk: Girl Talk consisted of one dude mixing awesome tunage on stage. Out of all the bands, I danced my hardest and longest to his sets. It’s impossible not to feel the happiness surging through your veins when his records start to spin. He combines 80s pop, lots of hip hop, rock and a bazillion tablespoons of awesome! Get ready for this music to move you. Even on your laziest day.

(3:12) No Pause, Girl Talk: Yeah, I did it. I put two of his mixes on this because he was just that fun. Mixes are always good for playlists anyway…especially if your body and mind are A.D.D. like me when it comes to working out. It’s really hard for me not to skip to the next song if my workout is getting harder. Keep the beat changing, and my body is happy.

(4:04) Midnight City, M83: One of the gals from our Coachella group deemed this song our 2012 Coachella anthem. Now it pretty much symbolizes all things energetic, fun and new. Only right I share it with y’all.

(3:11) Eyes Wide Open, Gotye: Everyone’s a fan of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know.” It was so popular in fact, people kept screaming during his set, “Play the song we know!” The dude has mad skills though, so I thought I’d help the world by sharing even more of his coolness. I give thee to you with…eyes wide open.

Were you able to attend Coachella this year (or last?), or did you get your hands on some tasty tunes of folks you knew would be performing? I saw many bands, but my ears will always welcome more jams. Please share! —Tish

Diets and cleanses make my brain hurt! Credit by: welivefast

It seems like it was a lifetime ago that I first decided to give Dr. Oz’s detox without denial a spinaroo. I’ve since tried to block that dark period out of my life. While my team of gal pals had relatively pleasant experiences with the two-day cleanse, I felt like I had survived a short-lived hell and was glad I survived to tell the tale.

Crazy, but that was the first “diet” I’ve ever tried. I know that’s hard to believe, but growing up, I had that annoyingly fast metabolism that people assume is an urban legend. I always loved veggies growing up and never enjoyed candy, so I was pretty darn good. It saved me from a lot of hellacious pain.

My intentions for the cleanse were to get all the nasty toxic stuff out of my body…just poop it on out and start fresh and anew, but what I got instead was a jacked-up obsession with food for two days. Day two of the cleanse was terrible for me. I don’t like “food” and “control” in the same sentence. For me, I lost control for the first time and let food take over. All I could think about was what I couldn’t eat—I hated the food I had to eat so badly that I would literally tear up when it was time to shovel some of that porridge of pain down. I felt the grief and frustration I assume many women have had to go through when they start “diets.” They’re not going to get to eat foods they enjoy…They’ll feel starved all the time. It was a hot, hot mess and now, at 31 years young, I finally get why the D-word is a bad word in FBG circles.

That structure of a diet, the restrictions of a diet…well, they made me moody, emotional, crazy, mean and unbelievably sad, and I will NEVER be able to put myself through that crap again. I’m thankful the other gals didn’t experience what I did because I would have felt terrible for putting them through it, but that was one battle that left some scars on this FBG.

There’s oodles of information out there in the world about nutrition: what’s right, what’s wrong, what’s too much or too little. Well, it’s overwhelming as a mother-trucker, so I’ll just keep trying to make it as easy as possible by sticking to what has always worked for me: the mentality that you find what’s really good for your body and get as much of that good stuff in as possible. I’ll continue to listen to what my body needs (and I know works!) and shut out the quick fixes and over-promised results.

“Cleanse” is a new bad word for me. I guess we all just have to learn in our own, sometimes hard, way. I’m so very thankful I didn’t have to suffer for long to figure out that aha-moment!

Did you try a cleanse or diet and wonder what the heck you were thinking? Care to share your good, bad and how you escaped the ugly? —Tish

When I did Dr. Oz’s Detox I hustled some friends into trying the good ol’ doctor’s prescription for inner cleanliness, too. I figured it couldn’t hurt to get more than one perspective, and, boy, am I glad I did! These ladies had completely different experiences than I did! Read on for for their thoughts, in their own words. Just goes to show that one woman’s hell is another woman’s healthy food push!

Marcella G. Needs Meat

Marcella G.

When I look back on it, it wasn’t so bad. I was ravenously hungry, but sometimes I think hunger is underrated. I had energy and just felt clean. I lost some weight and have been able to keep it off, which is good. I eat prunes regularly now. I just need to eat more since I’m working out so hard now. (Doing CrossFit!) I will probably incorporate some of it into my life now, but I know for sure I need meat in my life!

Tuanh D: The Good, the Bad, the Horrifying

Tuanh D.

Cooking everything was the best part for me. The first day wasn’t too bad, but the quinoa and prunes was horrifying. I had to gulp water after every bite! My favorite meals were probably the shake and the juice. I had terrible headaches and body aches the second day, but I didn’t do the Epsom salt baths either so maybe I should have. I didn’t feel as satisfied as I thought I would, probably because I was in lot of pain. I couldn’t concentrate at work and had a hard time spelling, which really pissed me off. One positive: I will now incorporate chia seeds and kale into my diet! Fell in love with them!

Laurel W’s Spiritual Perspective

Laurel W.

My normal diet and workout plan was kind of all over the place before the detox because of a new project at work. I had been traveling and in a lot of catered meetings. Typically I do hot yoga a few times a week and run once or twice. It had been so crazy at work though that I hadn’t had time to do either, so I thought the cleanse would help get me back on track.

Glenda S. Tries the Detox While Sleep Deprived…YIKES!

Glenda S.

Day one was pretty hard. I only slept for six hours due to a new work schedule. Fortunately, I made the quinoa the night before and the shake in the morning to bring for lunch. The quinoa and prunes weren’t bad. I happen to be a big fan of quinoa. It’s a great source of protein, and I like the nutty texture. I’m not a big breakfast person, but I forced myself to finish the whole thing. That portion size was absurdly large! I loved the lunch-time blueberry smoothie. (I am now addicted to flaxseeds.) After lunch, my stomach began to feel unsettled. Fortunately, the gas was controllable, but I still felt compelled to forewarn my neighboring cubicle. Thankfully, I ended the work day without any embarrassing flatulence in public.

Dinner felt like it took a day and half to prep for. The chopping and dicing should count as an arm workout. The vegetable soup was tasty, though. You should probably cut the recipe ingredients by a fourth to get a better portion. I added a little more cayenne pepper for taste and thought that overall the fennel, mushrooms and broth were flavorful. I gulped down two bowls.

While I liked the quinoa and prunes the first day, I was over it on day two. I wanted meat! I’m a carnivore at heart and began fantasizing about having a delicious turkey sausage and meat patty. Plus, my stomach didn’t feel right. Period. I felt constant activity and pressure, but I felt energetic and productive when lunch time came around (despite the bubble guts). Overall, I felt the cleanse did what it was intended to do. My colon is probably cleaner than it’s ever been. The meals were filling and decent-tasting. I may even take part in another cleanse in the future.

 Laura C. Felt the Scrub

 

Laura C.

I love how different everyone’s experience was with the cleanse! Well, besides the fact that most of all had gas at some point in time! Have you ever tried a fiber-rific detox? Did your insides bubble like most of ours did? Any advice? —Tish

I love the chia! Credit By: lisatozzi

We’re hungry! And talking about food for this round of Question of the Week, which asks each FBG, “What are your three favorite healthy foods?” Tough one…

J Thizzle is right…choosing just three was difficult at first, but then I got all dramatic (like I’m prone to do) and decided that in order to choose, I’d have to ask myself the innermost, hardest, deepest, most serious question: What three things would you take with you if you were stuck on a fast-food deserted island? After going to that dark place, these three health foods sprung to mind. I could live on these foods forever and never ever get tired of eating them day in and day out.

My 3 Favorite Healthy Foods

1. Chia Seeds. Ever since that darn cleanse, I’ve been obsessed. A couple of years ago I had this awesome instructor who taught five classes a day. I asked her what the secret to her energy levels was and she said chia seeds. It took a Dr. Oz recommendation before I’d finally get on board, but on board I got, and, boy, am I glad I did. Energy to boot AND helps me poo? Whaaa… Chia seeds are chock-a-block full of omega-3 fatty acids, protein and dietary fiber. They’re also high in antioxidants, but the coolest factoid? The seeds are the magic behind Cha-Cha-Cha-Chia pets.

2. Cherries. I’ve loved cherries ever since I was a young girl. I’d go visit my grandma in the summers, and she would always have dark cherries waiting. Later, my favorite uncle would introduce me to Rainier cherries. Since then, there’s been no turning back from my obsession. They’re good for you, as we all know, and yummy to boot. Lately, I’ve been known for slipping some in my smoothies. I just decided to be cool and daring like that.

3. Wheat grass. I realize today is special for certain “grass-lovers.” This is not that type of grass, folks! I’m talking about a green goodness that comes in liquid magic form. When I’m on this imaginary island I’ll need something with enough awesomeness to help me through. Whenever I’m feeling icky, starting to feel sick or have eaten something questionable that’s left me wondering, “Why, God, why?” I head to Jamba where I promptly order a double shot and gulp that green-goonie down. Delish. (With an orange slice as a chaser.)

What about you? Do you have some new trendy super food that tickles your fancy, or are you a loyalist? What foods would you take to the fast-food deserted island? —Tish

I recycle, hard. Credit by: Ms. Phoenix

Why are all of the FBGs discussing green fitness stuff this week? Because it’s Fit Bottomed Earth Week, silly!

I’m pretty new to the world of green living. I don’t know why it took me so long to get the memo, but I’m grateful I finally joined the cool club. I’ve started doing little things here and there to be kinder to Mama Earth. Here are just a few of those…

Rolling in the Green-ness

Boy-oh-boy do I LUV me the color GREEN! I’ve loved it since I was a wee little one, and now that living green is in, I can expand my love of the hue to the do. I embrace my green by recycling viciously. Ever since I read Think by Lisa Bloom, I’ve been on a mission. We have a two-bin situation going on in my household, and I’ll be damned if I see paper in the normal trash can.

My gal pal Nicole,  from Peace Love Nicole, helped my greenness by suggesting what’s now my favorite paper towel alternative. I take my old nasty T-shirts, cut them up and use them as cleaning rags. I get to save at the grocery store and there’s no paper residue…BOOYA!

I love that LA is so down for cutting out the brown…bags. I get points at my grocery store for bringing my own reusable bags instead of using those plastic ones. I’ve never been good at twisting up plastic bags and storing them properly for re-use, so this helps cut down on the clutter and the waste.

I use a Shark Steam Mop, too. (Have you gathered that I love to clean?) I love me some steam mop! No chemicals included. You just pour some good old fashioned water into the mop and let the heat sanitize your floors.

And I’m still open for ideas! I’ve learned that small changes like these are pretty darn easy to implement. I’m proud to be responsible, but am looking to step it up even more. So if you have any eco-friendly ideas, holler at your green girl! —Tish

Dr. Oz Two-Day Detox without the Deprivation. Credit by: bobjudge

Dr. Oz’s Two-Day Cleanse was appealing as heck. It could be because the word “detox” is the new hotness in buzz words, but lately, all I’ve been able to think about it is whether or not the toxins in my bawd need to be purged—much like my closet around spring-cleaning time.

Living in Los Angeles, I’m constantly hearing people talking about the latest juice cleanse they’ve done to drop pounds and all that hoo-haw. I have never wanted to do that. I personally would go crazy if I could only drink my foods (like poor Kristen has had to do lately!). That’s why I was so intrigued by Dr. Oz’s take on a cleanse. According to the wise one, a cleanse shouldn’t be about losing 20 pounds in a week by robbing yourself of crucial nutrients and calories. Instead, a cleanse should be something you practice when you want to cleanse your body of toxins. His cleanse involves eating whole foods that are packed with nutrients believed to boost the activity of the enzymes and nourish the body’s most important detoxifying organs—the liver, the lungs, the kidneys and the colon—so that they can do their jobs better and more efficiently.

I was immediately intrigued, so I set a date. I’d start my two-day cleanse on a Monday, and life would be better and toxin-free. If only it were that easy…

First of all, I chose to start the Dr. Oz detox on my Alma Mater’s basketball championship game night. I went to the KU watch-party bar where all my lovelies were camping out to watch and sat twitching silently as  french fries, beers and brownies floated passed my line of sight. Cruel—and then some. I made it through the game without faltering, but, man, was it hard! I came home from the game and ate my Dr. Oz’s Two-Day Cleanse cabbage soup and just about cried myself to sleep. I swear I’ll never look at the stuff (or fennel) the same way again.

The next morning, I was crabbier than crabby, weak and obsessed with food—and I mean OBSESSED. It’s all I could think about. I’ve never felt more neurotic. That was the point I started cussing out the good doctor. “Without deprivation,” my ass! There was hardly any protein in the mix (chia seeds for lunch were not enough!), so I was left feeling gassy, grumpy and  hungry.

For the two days I was on the Dr. Oz detox, I had a specific eating plan I had to follow. Each day, I had the same breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner and diva time. The below is my mini journal of each meal…

Gist of the Dr. Oz Detox Meals

Breakfast, Quinoa with Prunes: I couldn’t even finish it! So much quinoa! It didn’t taste as bad as I thought it would, although it could have used a bit more nutmeg. I still don’t understand what “pinches” of anything truly mean (#notachef). However, this dish did “get things moving,” as I went to the bathroom an hour after eating! This may not impress you, but I’m not a regular bathroom dweller, if you catch my drift, so I was happy. I sat there potty-dancing singing, “It’s working! It’s working!” Drinking water instead of juice for breakfast…I thought it would kill me, but I’m fine. Still alive!

Snack, Kale Pineapple Smoothie: Eh…Only had it once. This was really pulpy because I don’t have a juicer, and it was super-duper green. I love me some kale, but it was so tart—and the texture creeped me out. It looked exactly like the picture above. Just looking at all that pulp makes me cringe.

Lunch, Blueberry Chia Smoothie: Really?! More juice? But surprisingly this one wasn’t pulp-tastic. The blueberry/chia seed remnants left in my teeth were totally worth it! It was delicious and lovely. Both days, the lunch smoothie actually filled me up and left me dancing due to taste-bud happiness.

Dinner, Cabbage Soup: After the first bite, I asked the universe why I was being punished. The soup was NOT my friend. By the time I ate dinner, my body wanted to bite into something. Watery soup wasn’t cutting it.

Extras, Epsom salt and Dandelion Tea: I haven’t taken a bath in such a long time. It felt good to light some candles, get out my book and chill in bath water designed to help purge the nasties from my skin and relax my muscles. The tea wasn’t too bad either, so I decided to sip that while I was in the tub. Made for a lovely, relaxing night.

The Positives

I LOVED the lunch smoothie so much that I’ve started making it as a part of my breakfast in the morning. I’m all for packing more fiber into the mix as long as I can physically eat food. Also, chia seeds are my new magical ingredient. I love dumping them into things. They give me bursts of energy and protein. Oh, how I love my protein! Also, I went to the bathroom four times on the second day. FOUR TIMES. I’m usually a once-a-day gal, so four times was pretty darn awesome for me!

The Negatives

As for my energy levels, I didn’t have any. Dr. Oz says you’re getting enough calories and oomph to move and work out, but I never had that burst of energy he promised. Because of that, I didn’t work out Monday or Tuesday. Sad, eh? It also messed with head in ways that even now I’m still recovering from. There’s something about telling myself, “You can not have that” that drives my stomach, mind and patience levels to the brink of insanity. I’ll touch more on just how wonky a gal can get in a future follow-up post to this detox. Be on the lookout for that.

Although I wasn’t a huge fan of the Dr. Oz Two-Day Cleanse and know in my heart that’s the last detox I’ll do, I still wanted to give you a fair review of it, so I recruited some friends to try the detox out with me. Look for my girls’ stories on April 25!

What about you? Ever tried a cleanse? How about the Dr. Oz detox? Got any horror/success stories you’d like to share? —Tish

Jerry Seinfeld's "Man Hand" is in full effect!

Callused hands…I throw a fit when I get to the part of my strength workout when it’s dead-lift time because I know some skin is gonna tear. I get an attitude, actually. Call me girly, but I like having soft hands, dammit. I see nothing wrong with that. I’m a tall, gargantuan woman—people have referred to me in the past as a boybian, tomboy, straight-up dude, so I hold on to the little girly things I do have. And now my lovely girl hands are being taken away from me.

I have callused hands, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I wear the gloves my boyfriend gave to me for my birthday (yes, we’re weird like that), but it doesn’t matter. My hands are still getting rough and tough. I already gave up pedicures and toe-primping for my running. But giving up my pretty jazz-hand pride? That has been a bit more difficult.

I love working out. I realize most people are proud of what a good workout does to their body—and I do enjoy the positive perks of a good sweat or some heavy weight-lifting. But calluses and blisters as a badge of hard-core honor? I just don’t really jump over the moon for it. Call me crazy, but I don’t like that kind of pain…or the eyesores!

What about you? Do you have any vain reasons that cause you to grumble just a tiny bit over your workouts? —Tish