All posts by R.C. Liley

I'm an ex-mutual fund accountant who left the cubicle world to be a stay-at-home dad to my beautiful little girl, Avery, who entered our life on 11/15/13 and handsome little boy, Wes, who joined our family on 11/19/17. Also happily married to my wife, Kelley, as of 8/17/07. Sorry ladies... :) Fitness and nutrition is of the utmost importance in our family and we strive to reflect this in our daily life. I always prepare our meals at home and only go out if it's a special occasion, and even then I tend to not get much. Food should be fun and a joy to eat, not something quickly consumed from a fast food chain or scarf down before the next meeting. I have come from strictly logging high miles to train for the next marathon to keeping exercise varied and focusing more on strength. I still enjoy going for a run when I can, but nothing crazy, and I prefer hill sprints while pushing my daughter, Avery in the stroller. She loves it and I get a great workout! I want to show the world how to appreciate their body and feed it real, wholesome food while moving more throughout the day. In doing so, everyone would be healthier, happier, and we'd all live in a better place as a result. I blog mainly about my life as a stay-at-home dad and frequently include reviews, participate in campaigns, and share my thoughts on fitness and nutrition. If you ever have any questions or thoughts to share, please reach out as I'm always open to listening or helping others however possible. That is, when I have free time since Avery is and my wife are the number one priorities!

Going Strong, Life, NuttZo, Parenting

How My Crazy Toddler Might Help My Strength Gaining Goal

07/01/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my strength gaining goal and the issues I face with sticking to it. In sum, training is not the problem, it’s my lack of a caloric surplus.

After that post, I had a couple people reach out to me offering their help and support. One of those people is Tony Huynh, a personal trainer and owner of the site Good Guy Health. Tony has been extremely helpful by creating a solid nutrition plan and training routine. I urge you check out his site and reach out to him about your own fitness goals.

I did make changes to his original strength routine, but mainly because I have Avery in the garage with me and felt it might take too long for her patience to hold. That, and it gets hot fast in there, like our own personal sauna. Too bad we can’t control the heat, I literally have my shirt and shorts (even my socks) drenched in sweat after just 30 minutes!

Here’s my current routine:

Saturday and Sunday are rest days, but I always include some conditioning by running, swimming, or rowing. Nothing too extreme, but enough to get my fitness “fix”. I’m currently on the 85% week and will take it down a notch next week before increasing my RM (rep max) and going through the cycle again.

This, along with following the macro breakdown Tony setup for me, is yielding results. Nothing big (yet), but mainly b/c I’m still struggling with eating more than I’m used to and being less active than before.

For eating more, I’ve reduced the over-abundant amount of raw veggies I usually eat with more calorie dense foods like nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. Extra spoonfuls of NuttZo with Greek yogurt and cherries do the trick too, and I’ve been enjoying them daily!

I just have to be sneaky or Avery will go crazy and demand it all to herself!

I know what you have....GIVE IT! — I know what you have….GIVE IT!

Which leads me to why her crazy toddler temperament as of late just might help me with my strength/weight gaining goals. You see, I’m one to constantly keep pushing myself when working out despite what my mind and body is trying to tell me. This results in overdoing it most of the time, and therefore, burning those precious calories my body needs to use to grow.

Since Avery’s early onset of the terrible twos only seems to grow in intensity each day, her mood can change in an instant. And patience? Fogettaboutit!

Long gone are the days of quite little Avery hardly aware of her surroundings….

I love that picture. But her patience level has dropped dramatically in the past 2 weeks which means I need to get my lifts in and be done with it. No more messing around trying to think of some elaborate “finisher” to get that burning pump and sweat pool going on. As much as her fussiness has been driving me up the wall, I find the silver lining is possibly helping me on my journey to strength.

Time will tell, and then I’ll tell you, but hopefully I can look back and thank our crazy little girl for being, um….crazy.

Can you find the silver lining in your kid’s craziness?

Do you get a “free” sauna in your garage during the summer too?

Life, Parenting, Vlog

Our Toddler’s Poop Frustrations: Avery & Daddy Vlog Episode 3

06/30/2015 R.C. Liley 3 Comments

Looks like we’re starting another week with an even fussier toddler who really likes to poop. I mean she poops, sometimes tells me by saying what sounds like pronouncing the letter “p”, I change her, set her down to run around, and 5 minutes later I hear “p” again.

I joke around a lot, but this is not one of those times. We usually have enough cloth diapers to last a good 3 days, but after 2 days, the diaper pail is almost overflowing. It smells good too. Okay, that is me joking around. 🙂

As a stay-at-home parent, I know I need to stop the whining, so that’s what I’ll do….kinda….maybe after this post. Maybe not. Ahhh, who am I kidding? Like I have any clue what’s in store for the near and distant future; I’m sure I have plenty more whining to do.

For our third installment into the world of Vlogging, it’s just Avery sitting with me as I rant about her multiple poops so close together and her moodiness. The unimpressed look on her face throughout the video pretty much sums things up.

These Vlogs make it easier for me sometimes since Avery likes to be included (forget her glum look in what you just watched), so we’ll keep doing these. Please, for those reading, let me know what you’d like to see from us. And no, Gary, there will be no more maiming…..I hope. We did record a couple videos with Going Mom reading to Avery, so be on the lookout for those soon.

Avery still has bouts of cuteness and continues to work on her dance skills, but I miss having a full day of happy Avery. Until then, I’ll cherish any time no crying is involved, like here…..

Wouldn’t having a poop schedule to refer to reduce a parent’s stress ten-fold? I think so!

Giveaway, Promo

Zevia Tonic Water Review & Giveaway (Now Non-GMO + Color-Free!)

06/29/2015 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

Disclosure: Zevia provided free product for me to review. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions are my own.

Zevia is no stranger in our house. I’ve published several posts on this healthy soda explaining why it means so much to me and even held a giveaway before. Oh yeah, and I’ll never forget the first time Avery took her first sips of the Smarter Soda. It take long until she was reaching for more!

Being free of artificial preservatives and sweeteners, naturally sweetened with stevia, and tasting delicious is what made us instant fans years ago. But now Zevia has stepped up their entire line of healthy beverages to be Non-GMO Project Verified and free of any added color. This means no more caramel color in any flavor, so they’ll be clean and clear, just like their list of ingredients.

It takes a lot of work to go through the process of becoming Non-GMO Project Verified, and Zevia did it for us, the health-conscious consumer. Thank you, Zevia!

When I heard of their newest addition, Tonic Water, I had to try it for myself. Lucky for me, they agreed to send some to try and review. Okay, and I’m sure a little cheesy-grinned persuasion from Avery helped too.

Upon its arrival, I was ready for my first taste. After checking out the cool white cans, that is.

Well, then we had to take a picture of her caterpillar next to the can…

Annnnnddd, THEN I opened it up to try. By itself, it tastes slightly bitter with a dry hint of citrus and a clean mouth feeling. Nothing to write home about, but who writes home about soda anyway? Just call to tell them how awesome Zevia is, no time to write!

Since tonic water is not meant to drink alone (it’s a mixer), I used the rest of the open can to make a little mocktail for Avery and myself.

Obviously, Zevia + Zevia = delicious awesomeness, so I made a 50/50 mix of Zevia Strawberry and Tonic Water after a hot walk under the Texas sun. The result did not disappoint, we both loved it and the drink was gone in no time.

After another day in the heat (I think it’ll be like this for a while), I got creative and pureed watermelon and added a little Zevia Tonic Water for a little refreshing fizz.

And we have another winner!

Yes, there were seconds……then thirds. Then I had to change her diaper from all of the liquid intake. Gotta keep’em hydrated in the heat!! But after the diaper change, someone apparently was not done….

Oh yeah, and of course their tonic water is perfect to enjoy our adult beverages without weighing us down from sugary, high calorie mixers. Vodka Tonic, anyone?

These two over ice after getting the kiddo to sleep is a nice way to wind down a crazy day with a toddler, a long day at work, or just to relax.

With plenty of summer left, I plan on finding other fun, refreshing, and most importantly, healthy ways to use Zevia’s Tonic Water as well as all of their now color-free and Non-GMO flavors. Check out the list of recipes for their Tonic Water on Zevia’s site for some creative ideas perfect for both kids and adults.

Oh, and maybe it would help if you were to win a 6 pack of Zevia to get things started, huh? Well, lucky you, I have just the thing; a chance for 3 readers, that’s you, to enter for a chance to win a voucher to pick up a six-pack of any Zevia flavor you want!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Contest ends Saturday, July 4th at midnight. Good luck and be sure to spread the Zevia Love on Twitter by sharing your photos and including the hashtag #TheNewSweet!