Heathy Foods ... the way to go

Believe it or not I'm actually liking this healthier way of living. Last night we had a tex mex burger & I'm tellin ya ... that burger had so much flavor that my mouth was watering just on smell alone. The whole meal was only 5 WW points, now ya can't beat that!

I'm getting back into the cardio to, slowly but surely! I'm getting some type of extra movement in everyday ... I can feel the soreness but it's not to bad this time around. I think it has everything to do with the fact that I'm easing my way back into it instead of jumping in full speed ahead. I don't know that I would be able to deal with sore muscles and the chill that seems to be down in my bones from this cold front that blew in.

The food choices for the day ... I'm feeling good about everything!

	Cal	Fib	Fat	Carbs	Prn
Regular Coffee, 3 cup (8 fl oz)	7	0	0	0	1
Cream substitute, Coffee-mate fat free, 3 tbsp	30	0	0	6	0
Old Orchard Healthy Balance Grape Juice, 8 oz	35	0	0	9	0
Cheddar Cheese, 0.5 oz	57	0	5	0	4
Egg substitute, liquid (Egg Beaters), 0.25 cup	53	0	2	0	8
Bacon, 1 medium slices, cooked (raw product packed 20/lb)	36	0	3	0	2
Whole Wheat English Muffin, 1 muffin	134	4	1	27	6
	352	4	11	42	20
Weight Watchers Smart Ones Fettucini Alfredo, 1 serving	290	3	6	45	15
	290	3	6	45	15
Baked Potato (baked potatoes), 1 potato (2-1/3" x 4-3/4")	145	2	0	34	3
Flounder (fish), 1 fillet	149	0	2	0	31
Vegetables, Mixed Salad Greens, 2 serving(s)	30	2	0	6	2
Kraft Light Done Right Ranch Salad Dressing, 2 tbsp	77	0	7	3	0
	400	4	9	43	36
Kraft Handi-Snacks Fat Free Pudding, Vanilla, 1 serving	90	0	0	20	1
Banana, fresh, 1 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long)	109	3	1	28	1
Popcorn, air-popped, 3 cup	92	4	1	19	3
Weight Watchers Giant Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream Bar, 1 serving	110	5	1	25	4
	400	11	3	91	9
	1,443	23	29	221	80
	1320 - 1670	25 - 35	35 - 61	177 - 255	60 - 137

 

Cardio: Last night I told DH to wake me before he left (5:30 am) cause I wanted to get up & get my cardio out of the way. I was really thinking I wouldn't get up but I did ... no problems at all. I was gonna do another walk video but I was ready for something different. I've been walking everyday for the last 4 days. I'm getting bored with it. So I chose a latin dance video.

I purchased mine at Walmart but I found Amazon.com has cheaper ones. (note to self start checking the web first).

Now ... a little about this video!

Sizzling Salsa is one of the latest offerings from the Dance Off the Inches series, which has produced fun, generally easy-to-follow dance workouts. This one is led by Stella Sandoval, and as in the other DVDs, she teaches a class of four in what almost looks to be someone's living room. This time, two of the background exercisers are other instructors, Michelle Dozios and Marie Forleo. (they have their own Dance off the Inches videos).

This DVD has a particularly nice feature called the Step Guide. This is a 17-minute segment in which Stella breaks down some of the dance steps from the workout, first showing the move, then performing it slowly, and finally, bringing it up to tempo. (IMO, the way the moves are broken down in the workout ... this segment isn't really needed if you catch onto moves really quickly like I do). 

The workout itself consists of a 5 minute warm-up, 3 dance routines (Spicy Salsa, Latin Lime Twist, and Mucho Mambo Combo), and a 2.5 minute cool-down. Each dance routine is approximately 9 minutes long. Stella teaches in an add-on style, showing you a couple of moves at a time, having you practice these, and then gradually adding more moves to the mix until you have worked your way up to the full routine. One you have learned all of the moves in the routine, Stella "takes you to the dance floor" (her way of saying that you complete the entire dance) four times total. Each of the three dance segments is stand-alone (ie, the Mucho Mambo Combo doesn't repeat any of the moves from Spicy Salsa), and the DVD is nicely chaptered so that you could mix-and-match if you chose to do so.

I would rate the choreography of this video as moderate: those who enjoy complex choreo might find this a bit on the easy side, whereas those who prefer very simple cardio might get lost a few times here. I tend to be on the latter side, and while I was generally able to follow along my first time through, I did have to really concentrate. I'd say the intensity level is about low moderate as well: the workout did get my heart rate up into my target zone, although it dipped below during some of the teaching/other inbetween moments. I clocked the workout in at just under 37 minutes.

Overall, I found this to be a nice dance routine that was enjoyable, moderately complex, and seemed to have a real Latin dance feel to it. It would probably be suited to advanced beginners to intermediate exercisers who enjoy fun dance steps and easily able to pick up moderately choreographed combinations.