Happy Birthday, Nana!

Oh my goodness everyone, it's been SO long!

TGIF!! This week has been absolutely insane. I had a Human Anatomy & Physiology exam on Tuesday (got an 88%--not bad!), an anatomy lab practical on the axillary bones on Wednesday, a big History paper due on Thursday, and a Kinesiology Obesity/Diabetes exam today. Plus multi-hour workouts all week (except Tuesday--that was only 1 hour, haha). I'm currently in the lead group of people for the fitness class challenge, though ;)

I have been eating a LOT of food to fuel all the activity I'm doing, so here are some highlights:

Yummy oats:



Plus the regular pumpkin oats w/ dried apples, I've got a topping of galaxy granola, pretzels for that sweet/salty combo, and coconut. It looks kinda messy cause I forgot to add in a few spoons of the applesauce I wanted when it was in the pan. So I just mixed it in while the oats were already in the bowl.

I've also had some delicious cereal concoctions. Gotta get those carbs to replenish glycogen stores!



Kashi golean
Kashi crunch
Pretzels (on the bottom)
Newman's dried berries
Vanilla protein powder
Unsweetened almond breeze milk

It was pretty much trail-mix cereal, and I loved it! So, so good.

I had the following concoction (x2) today after a TKO (Total Body Knockout) class that kicked my butt! It was a full hour of intense circuit training, along with shadow boxing and punches/kicks onto hit pads and heavy bags. My heart rate was sky high! Along with 40 minutes of elliptical while waiting for the class (after my harp lesson), I definitely needed some fuel. I added some vanilla protein powder to sweeten the almond milk, and also because research shows that a 3:1 carb to protein ratio is the most effective in post-workout recovery--specifically, replenishing glycogen stores faster. I didn't measure out the grams or anything, but I figured it was close enough ;)



And so you can see the cereal:



My sample of Bare Naked trail mix style cereal. It was cranberry raisin flavor, and delicious!
Kashi Go Lean
Kashi Crunch
Newman's Pretzels
Peach slices
Candy corn (come on, you knew that was coming!)
Jay Robb vanilla whey protein powder
Unsweetened almond milk

It was so good! And I loved the candy corn ;)


I've recently become a fan of protein powder in greek yogurt. It makes the greek yogurt even thicker and like ice cream!



This was Spirutein Cookies N' Cream powder with Oikos:

It was like some sort of candy bar--I loved it! Or a cookies n' cream blizzard from Dairy Queen. Haha! I actually popped this in the freezer for a bit to get it even closer to froyo style.

Oh, and I got this really yummy Coffeehouse Classics cappuccino foam from Whole Foods. It's kinda like whipped cream, but more liquidy. It made my morning coffee taste just like a starbucks latte!



With cinnamon :)

Protein salad:



With a salmon patty and already-prepared jicama from Whole Foods.

Pumpkin-protein dessert with yummy whipped cream:



I'd also like to wish my Nana a happy birthday today! She's an awesome grandmother and an avid reader of the blog--I think that's pretty cool.

Even though I've been incredibly busy (most days I've been on campus from 8 or 10 am to 8-9 at night), I'm really loving my major. And I'm finally meeting some cool people in my classes and at the gym who are actually intelligent-- it can be a challenge at Arizona State ;) So that's been really good.

Okay, tonight I am totally gonna chill and watch a movie or some tv. I've gotta wind down from this hectic week! I'm sorry I've been absent on your blogs, but I've been studying and writing papers during practically all my time home this week. The weekend will be perfect to relax and catch up! I've only got one major test next week--a big lab practical on all the human bones. Fun, fun.

Oh, and I learned a really interesting thing in Kinesiology that I wanted to share. Remember how last week I took that Bosu class that tore up my calves? According to my textbook which references 2 research studies, when you get DOMS (delayed-onset muscle soreness) after extensive eccentric exercise (contracting the muscle), the body will repair and protect itself against the same type of exercise. Research suggests that this protective effect lasts for about 6 months. So theoretically, if I took the bosu class again and we did the exact same exercises, I'd have MUCH less muscle soreness because the body has taken measures to protect against that muscle cell damage. Of course, fitness classes always change things up, so I'm sure I'd still get sore. That's also why you need to mix things up when you exercise--the body adapts so the previous effort level becomes less challenging.

I'd like to leave you with this AWESOME Autumn display I made:



I went to Micheal's last weekend and they were having a halloween sale. So I bought 2 leaf stem thingies for $1.49 each. Then I got the crow for $2. I put 2 leaf strands together and hung them up in the living room, while situating the crow on it. Super cheap and I think it looks so cool!

Q: What's your favorite way to unwind?

I love just surfing the internet, reading blogs, and watching tv. And also getting massages! I need to schedule one this weekend :D

Hope you're all doing well! I'll leave you with a giveaway to enter:
Zevia giveaway alert at Healthy Living! Love that soda!