just get up and do it

I have been extremely lazy lately, as you can probably tell from the lack of posts. The whole two kids, two dogs, a house and a husband thing has been keeping me busy and in the down time when both kids are napping, I was feeding my semi-embarrassing addiction to The Carrie Diaries on Netflix. Now that I have finished the only season, it is time to jump back on the wagon and get going again.

For a few weeks now I have been setting my alarm for 5:15a with the intent of getting up, working out and starting my day without kids present and before the excuses can really get in my way. My poor baby has become the scapegoat for my laziness. Oh, Frank woke up once last night, I can't wake up at 5:15 to workout. He's teething, he's cranky all day, when he naps, I deserve to watch TV and not to anything to better my physical health. When Frank is awake while Norah is napping, game over. I can only do so many push ups with him underneath me.

So, all that rambling led to me finally biting the bullet, and waking up at 5:09a today and, drum roll please, working out! I had coffee in silence (all you caffeine addicted moms out there know how amazing this is) finished an entire cup while still warm without using the microwave to keep it that way, watched a bit of the news, and ran a few miles on the treadmill. I was very quickly reminded how much I hate, no, loathe, running on a treadmill, and dreamed of the days my kids will be in Kindergarten and I can go on the open road for as long as I'd like, you know, until pick up.

I will say this about the treadmill; I don't have to fight with the kids to stop screaming while in the double Bob. I can just run and get it done without the external dialogue. The internal fighting with myself to not look at the display screen and to just keep going is a whole other story.

I have decided that I will get up early three mornings a week and work out before the children rise. I feel great, already did two loads of laundry, fed the minions, fed myself, thought about cleaning the house, and ironed a table runner. <---That last one shocked me, too. Who irons a table runner? Apparently, this gal does!

I urge you all to wake up early, and do a workout. Even if it's a mini one. I am aware that not everyone has the luxury of a home gym, but I'm pretty sure everyone reading this has a chair, a clock, and some random household items that can be used as weights. Check out the traveler's workout I posted a while back. This can be done right when you wake up and jump start your day. You can also set a clock for three minutes and knock out as many Burpees as you can in those three minutes. It's fantastic.

I've laid out the steps nice and easy for you:

there really is a pill for everything

I was watching The Doctors while folding clothes (oh, the glamour while children nap) and saw a segment on a pill that can replace gastric bypass surgery for those who cannot afford or do not want such an invasive method for assisted weight loss.

What I've gathered from the segment and from the minimal amount of information a basic Internet search could dig up on this, it's available in the UK quite readily and seems ridiculous. It's a little oval pill looking thing attached to a piece of string (catheter). The patient swallows the entire thing, string and all, once the pill reaches the stomach, air is blown into the catheter to inflate the pill which now acts as a balloon. The catheter is then removed and you are left with non organic matter in your stomach making you feel full. A foreign object in your stomach. Voluntarily.

The weight loss is not rapid, according to this article participants in a clinical study were losing an average of three pounds in twelve weeks. I hope this is a typo. If someone is willing to swallow a balloon, I'd hope it would be for a more drastic result. You can lose way more weight than that by exercising, drinking more water, and eating healthier. The article also recommends the pill for people who have a BMI greater than 27. A person with a BMI greater than 27 can lose a significant amount of weight by walking around the block twice a day and not changing eating habits at all, only without a piece of plastic-like crap in your stomach.

This article reports that the pill can make patients lose up to twenty pounds in three months. Again, more rapid weight loss is possible with a little hard work and some small life changes. The article also states that you can swallow up to three of these balloons in a twelve week period if you really want to up the weight loss.

Just something to think about. Everyone is going to have different desires when it comes to weight loss. Some people want to work out, some people want the surgery (or need it medically), and some people may be able to choose to swallow a balloon. I think that mental and physical health go hand in hand, so people who are significantly overweight may want to consult a psychologist to aid in the weight loss process (more on this topic in a post to come).

I am a huge supporter of lifestyle change, I can even get behind gastric bypass, but I don't think I can be on board with swallowing a balloon to make your stomach fuller.  Seriously...drink a bunch of water before you sit down to eat. You will eat less and be more hydrated!

back to processed food

It's been a while. I apologize. I was going to write about how wonderful it was to bite into a Goldfish cracker on April 1st and how much easier life is with convenience foods, but, after a week of being back on processed foods (minimal, but back), I have to say that I will be reverting to an unprocessed lifestyle permanently. I'm not going to go completely overboard and never eat a cracker, but I will be much more mindful of the things I put in my body and the bodies of my children. Matt is a big boy, he's on his own!

A recap on what worked and what didn't in case you would like to make some small changes:

Snack Food--sucks to make on your own. The time it takes to make crackers from start to finish baking can be more than an hour. The recipe I like the best turns out several dozen, but they are eaten just as quickly. Delicious? Yes. Practical? Not always. This is one of those things where I would go the organic route at the grocery store. And try to get whole wheat crackers. We were successful in making our own hummus and it was very cost effective, but when we ran out of the crackers to dip into it, the hummus sat uneaten and was thrown away. We will continue making our own hummus and other dips, just using little store bought vessels. And vegetables! Snacking on bell peppers of all colors became a new habit that I will keep going. Especially with the toddler, she was a big fan!

Meals--I actually had to prepare meals. Not just dinner. Lunch, breakfast, third meal, the other nine thousand meals my toddler demands a day. It was exhausting. We ate out three times all month. That's it. Three. That is a lot of home cooked meals. I hate cooking. It was torture. But it was pretty tasty! We made our own pasta (easy and delicious), lots of fish, veggies, etc. I planned out the dinners for the entire month beforehand and stuck to what I wrote out about fifty percent of the time. Once we went back to incorporating convenience foods like store bought tortillas and pasta, it was very clear that the fresh stuff was much better. Due to a time constraint and two very needy little people in my life, the fancy stuff will have to wait for the weekends.

Bread--Homemade bread is something I grew up with, so I have some experience making it. It was nice to have fresh bread every week. Especially the week Matt made sourdough. I knew I married the right guy! It was amazing. He feeds his starter every other day and the end result is a delicious round of carbohydrates. Bread is something we will continue to make and not buy whenever possible.

So. It wasn't easy, but it also wasn't as terrible as I anticipated.  The only major pain the ass was the snacking. We ate a lot of Cuties and Halos last month. I realized about a week into it that I picked the wrong month to go unprocessed. March has 31 days. I should have done February.

I urge you all to try and make one small change for next month to get something processed out of your current diet. Maybe soda? Potato chips? By the way, those things suck to make. I tried doing them as baked chips several times and they were a disaster.

Happy Healthy Eating! Next post won't be so boring :)

overfed and undernourished: Hungry for Change

Yesterday a miracle occurred in my house; both kids napped, at the same time, for over two hours! I decided to not be productive at all out of fear for one of them waking as soon as I started cleaning and watched a documentary instead.

Hungry for Change (watch the trailer here) is a great documentary that is extremely informative and made me think even longer and harder about the food I am putting in my own body and the bodies of those I love most in the world. My family and I are still in the midst of our month of unprocessed foods, and up until yesterday afternoon, I was so excited to eat some Goldfish crackers on April 1, but that will no longer be happening.

The thing that stood out the most to me was how terrible aspartame is for you. We all have heard that this stuff is bad for you and can trick your body and actually make you gain weight. I used to be a total fiend for Diet Coke, but in recent years have learned the error of my ways. What I didn't know is that pilots aren't allowed to drink diet soda because it is a well-known fact in the aerospace world that it can really dick with your eyesight and put one's career and the passengers on board in danger. Pretty scary.

The underlying theme of the film is that Americans in particular are obese because they are overfed and undernourished. We are consuming a ridiculous amount of food, but it is mostly food made in a lab composed of mostly chemicals to make it taste like a better, sweeter version of the original food product. The body is an amazing thing that knows what it needs to eat and when it is not getting the necessary nutrients, it goes into starvation mode and starts saving food as fat to prepare for what it sees as a famine. This makes a lot more sense the way they explain it. Put food in your body that it was made to break down: animal products, fruit, and vegetables. Eliminate white sugar, white flour, and overly processed foods.

There is so much great information in this documentary, I highly suggest everyone watch it and then tell those they love to watch it. It isn't some fad thing. It is just very informative. Once you are armed with information (whether or not you agree with it) you can make educated decisions.

AmazonPrime is streaming it for free. I believe it is on Netflix. Again, the film is called Hungry for Change.

Happy Day! Go do ten push ups and eat something green today!

skinny people have feelings, too.

Here's your warning: this is a bit of a rant, but it will be an informative one.

I have been relatively thin my whole life. I wasn't blessed with boobs or an ass. I still have acne well into my adult life. I have chicken legs. I have been teased for everything mentioned here for as long as I can remember. In high school and college, I had man shoulders due to a ridiculous amount of time spent swimming and lifting weights. I was teased for that. Nobody seems to care though, because I was being teased for a "good problem."

This "positive teasing" has flowed into my adult life. I am one of those "bitches" who bounce back after pregnancy very quickly. I am one of those "bitches" who doesn't gain a ridiculous amount of weight while pregnant. I am one of those "bitches" who paid attention to my diet, didn't use pregnancy as an excuse to shovel a ton of shit food into my mouth all day long and who continued to exercise moderately throughout pregnancy. I worked hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle while safely cultivating a new life inside of me. Yet, I am a bitch because of it. I am "lucky." It must be my good genes. It must have absolutely nothing to do with hard work and healthy choices. Therefore, I am fair game to make fun of, ridicule, and have some pretty nasty things said.

While pregnant, I had several people say things to me along the lines of, "wow. maybe you should eat so that baby can grow." These types of comments were always masked with a smile or a bullshit chuckle at the end, but I knew that these people were not joking. Once my babies came and my body went back into decent shape, it was open season for strangers to make comments about how starving myself isn't going to help my milk supply. How me choosing to put an emphasis on body image and working out is going to severely damage my young daughter. I am here to tell these people to kick rocks. You suck, people. I am not damaging my young daughter by demonstrating a healthy lifestyle. We don't discuss body shapes, sizes, and feelings of fatness. She is two. She is amazing. And she is not on the growth curve for her age. She is tiny. She is already set up to have a life of being on the skinny side and inevitable ridicule for it. But there is nothing she can do about it. Teachers won't care. They'll say that it's a good thing. If she were ever to fire back to an insult of "do you ever eat?" with "do you ever stop eating?" to a chubby classmate, I'm sure I would get a call home.

This culture of "big is beautiful" and "real women have curves" has gotten out of control. It is now making it so being clinically overweight is normal and acceptable. People should be heavier, skinny is gross. Well, folks, that just doesn't seem right. I am not talking about clinically underweight, airbrushed model skinny. I'm talking a healthy BMI (weight to height ratio) versus an unhealthy one. In either direction.

This country is so damn concerned with not hurting people's feelings, and making sure everyone is comfortable in their own skin. Well, there is a huge effing problem with obesity. Our children will not outlive us because they are set up to be overweight and be OK with it. Love your body. Love your rolls. What is wrong with this? Being overweight is clinically liked to major health problems. Heart disease, diabetes, joint issues, loss of bone mass, etc. Why do we want to cultivate this?

I just saw a news story that a woman at a Planet Fitness in the east bay was told to change her her clothes while working out because her "toned arms were intimidating other patrons." WTF. She was walking on a treadmill and had a tank top on. I highly doubt if a "toned" person approached a staff member to complain about an overweight person's revealing outfit, it would not be handled the same way.

Both are wrong. We shouldn't care about what other people are wearing while working out. Focus on yourself. Focus on what you need to do. Who cares. Does my wearing a tank top make you feel badly about yourself because I have toned arms? DO SOMETHING. I bust my ass running. I lift weights. I like doing yoga. I like testing my physical limits. You don't? That's fine. It doesn't concern me. I love the adrenaline rush after running ten miles. I love the feeling of lifting more than I have. I love that my chest can now touch my thighs while doing a forward bend. I love seeing physical improvement. It moves me. It motivates me. It is a huge part of my life. Stop calling me a bitch for being thin and in shape. Stop offering to make me a sandwich. Stop with the anorexic jokes. It's not funny. It's hurtful. It's mean.

I can handle myself. I can handle the jokes and the comments. I'm used to it. What I can't handle, is the comments already starting with my daughter. She is small. She is thin. My son is shaping up to be the same way. I want them both to love their bodies. I don't want them feeling bad about themselves because they're small and their classmates are average or overweight. Body image issues go both ways.

Think about what you're about to say before you make fun of a skinny person next. Or a fit person. I welcome all people to come do a workout with me, then you can make fun of me. I work hard, I like it. I don't wear revealing clothing. I don't focus on my small size. You do. You make it an issue for yourself. Get over it.

walking lunges

Walking lunges are one of my favorite things. Yes, they suck while you're doing them. Yes, they suck the day after if you are just starting, but boy, do they sure make your ass and thighs look good! They are so beneficial to your body and stamina and so simple! You can literally do these anywhere. Sure, you may feel self conscious walking around the mall doing lunges, but hey, anyone who judges you is just super jealous that they either A. don't have the amazing capacity to do such an incredible exercise or B. lack the self confidence to bust out some sweet lunges in public. Either way, they can suck it. You'll look fabulous in no time!

Now, if walking lunges in public isn't your thing, no worries, here is a short list of where you can do them: in your house, in your yard, while walking the dog, in your office, in the bathroom at work, at the gym, at the park, at the dog park, in the sandbox,... You get the point. There are no excuses to NOT do these bad boys other than injury and laziness.

When you click out of this blog and put down your phone or laptop, do walking lunges to your next destination. Going from the couch to the kitchen? Lunge to it! Bedroom to bathroom? Lunge to it! Is this blog your toilet reading? Lunge out of the John. As always, start small and build up. Do ten walking lunges (5 with each leg) the first day, then add 10 each day after. Soon you'll be noticing your tooshie getting higher and firmer. And so will your partner.

Not sure how to do a walking lunge? Check out this video. Your back knee will want to come close to the ground and your front knee will bend making a 90 degree angle. It is imperative to not let that front knee go past your toes. That is when injuries will happen.

Happy Lunging, friends!

listerine

I know that we are going unprocessed this month, but I am going to share with you all my love for Listerine. Yes, Listerine. That disgusting pure alcohol tasting mouth wash that is probably doing much more harm than good.

Do you ever find yourself making cookies and eating the better part of the raw dough? Me, too. Only it's quite sad how much cookie dough I can put away. It's probably the main reason I started distance running all those years ago. I LOVE me some raw dough! Baked cookies are okay, but dough is my Achilles's heel. I was starting to read up on the dangers of raw eggs, but it didn't do any good. The sweet, sweet taste of raw cookie dough is worth the tiny risk of salmonella and a day or two of puking. That's a totally rational thought, right? Then I discovered a new purpose for Listerine.

When I am in the throws of baking and wanting to eat a week's worth of calories in one glorious afternoon, I go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, and swish with Listerine. The full thirty seconds. It burns, and it sucks, but I don't want to put another spoonful (big, wooden spoonful) of dough in my mouth.

Cookie dough not your thing? It works when you're halfway through that bag of chips, ice cream, anything! Are you trying to stop drinking soda? When you're craving one, go brush your teeth and swish some rinse. It will make your teeth happy and your stomach happy.  The best part of Listerine is that they come in those cute travel bottles so you can keep one in your desk at work, your purse, gym bag, diaper bag (out of reach of grabby kid hands), pretty much anywhere you fancy.

Now you know one of my weird little things.

Why I Hate Supplements

In a nutshell; they're gross.

The longer version: Supplements aren't regulated by the FDA, so pretty much anything can be crushed up and encapsulated and passed off as something to make you feel better. I am always quite dumbfounded when I see so many GNC stores still open with people still going in and stocking up on things that are going to make them healthier. I just chuckle to myself and keep on walking. Doesn't it seem counterproductive to put chemicals in your body in an effort to make it healthier and perform better? Get your nutrients from your food. Not food-based pills. You'll get more nutrients and more satisfaction out of chewing and swallowing a delicious meal than you will get out of swallowing a wax coated pill. 

Don't believe me? Look at the bottle in your cupboard. Somewhere on it, it will say, in very small print accompanied by a cute asterisk, that the "statements are not verified by the FDA." Now, I'm not saying FDA approval carries a whole lot of gusto these days with all the other crap they allow us to consume, but I do find some sense of peace knowing that nutrition experts are keeping an eye out. 

Protein supplements? Again, get it from food. If you put too much protein in your body, it isn't going to make you beef up any quicker. Your body will process it, register it as excess, and store it as fat. Plus, those powders are chemically extracted from a whole food source, so, JUST EAT THE FOOD. And sandwich that protein between two delicious pieces of carbs! Your body needs carbohydrates, it just doesn't need an overabundance. More on the bad rap my dear friend the carbohydrate has in another post.

For now, try to pay more attention to what goes in your mouth. Ask yourself if it will benefit your body and your mind. Would you give it to your kid? Your dog? Your great Aunt Edna? Nutrition in pill or shake for seems too easy. Remember, if it's not work, it won't work. Eating a healthy, balanced diet takes work. Work works. Trust me. 

Now, go do 25 jump squats and have a lovely day!

Day 4

Each day this whole unprocessed thing gets easier and easier. I mean, it's still kind of a pain in the ass to make everything from scratch, but it's also kind of fun and gives the toddler something to help with. She is getting to be a master at dumping flour onto the floor and getting a small amount into the mixing bowl.

My number one miss so far were baked potato chips. I suck at those. My poor husband actually ate them and I still feel like I can't get the nasty taste out of my mouth three days later. I bought a 5lb bag of potatoes, so I will be attempting these bad boys again. I don't like to lose. Especially to an inanimate object. I will prevail.

Yesterday I did perhaps the most disturbing thing I've ever done in my life, and I went to Chico State, so this is saying a lot, I made chicken stock. For those of you who don't know, I don't eat meat. Fish is the exception and if I ever stop running and lifting weights, I will go without fish, but meeting my protein requirements by eating nuts and beans just doesn't do it for me. Anyhow, I don't want to push my agenda on anyone, let alone my children. (Side note: I want my kids to grow up experiencing life and making their own decisions on big things like religion and whether or not to eat animals). Back to this "young" chicken (which, I could have done without the label because I don't really need or want to know that I am feeding an adolescent to my family), I bought a two pack of organic, vegetarian, free range little guys from Costco. After consulting my wonderful friends (Lindsay, Rhiannon and Jasmine..holler!!) I went the slow cooker route. Super easy, folks! And Norah actually ate it! She usually prefers her chicken breaded and deep fried. The dogs loved the skin and Matt said it was good, too! Here is the recipe:

Get a slow cooker. Cut a few slices of a white onion, leaving it in rings, and place those babies on the bottom of the cooker. Smash a few garlic cloves and take the peels off, then put those on top of the onions. Put the little bird directly on top of that with a decent sized pat of butter on top. Salt and pepper (or any other spices you like) and cover. Turn that bad boy on low and cook for 6-8 hours.

When you come back from whatever it is you do all day, dinner will be ready and the meat will just fall off the bones. Then, in an effort to use every part of the animal, return the bones (I kept the vertebrae out because it was just too sad) to the chicken juice and add some water. I put 5 cups in, but have yet to have someone taste the juice, but the color looks good. Add some carrots, celery, and any other vegetables you fancy. Let it cook for another several hours, we did 10 and let it warm until I woke up this morning, then strain out the gross part so you just have liquid. Pour it into a jar, or three, and spoon out as much of the fat on top as you can. There you go, broth!

I never in my life thought I would be posting a recipe for meat. Ever. But, it's super easy and the family is eating it, so I want to help some fellow parents and busy people out!

Now for some fitness tips:
Want to get rid of your FUPA? Get a yoga mat or blanket folded a few times long enough to lay on, and sit on it with the bottoms of your feet touching (butterfly legs). Keeping your legs where they are, lay on your back with your hands up over your head. Now, leading with your arms, bring your torso up and reach your hands past your butterfly legs, using your core to bring your upper half up. Return your back and shoulders to the mat and hands over head in a slow and controlled motion. That was one rep. Do 25. Eventually, you'll want to work up to 75. Your butt should remain on the ground the whole time.

Happy Day!

p.s. sorry for the abundance of parentheses. Apparently I like them today.

one down, thirty to go!

Alright, folks, we've made it to child bed time with zero processed foods! Well, we use soy "cheese" because Norah (girl child) can't eat dairy, but every thing else is completely unprocessed. And she is the only one who eats that nasty cheese. Normally we do goat cheese in place of cow cheese, but tonight it was soy cheese. On a pizza. With homemade crust.

Anyhow, the day started with baking, lots of baking. I made two loaves of bread, crackers, hummus, fake Larabars, and pizza dough. By some miracle of some power higher than myself, Frank (boy child) decided to take a two and a half hour nap this morning! This allowed Matt (husband) to entertain Norah so I could get my freak on in the kitchen.

Everything turned out quite well. The crackers were so nice and easy to roll that I just made another batch to be the pizza dough this evening. It was pretty good, minus the disgusting fake cheese. That stuff is soy disgusting..ha..pun.

As the day passed, Matt wanted some clearer guidelines on my one month mission. Things that are boxed and packaged are allowed to be consumed as long as the ingredients listed are exactly what the product claims to be. For example, I bought a bag of organic apple chips from Costco, the ingredients: Organic Apples. It's all the added weird stuff I don't want in the house this month. Words I can't pronounce or don't belong in my body are out.

We are going to be eating out with some friends tomorrow, and that brought about a bunch of new questions from Matt. As long as it isn't a fast food place or chain restaurant, I feel like that's okay. I don't trust McDonald's or Chevy's, but I do trust the small places that actually make the food in house.

Last night was our final processed dinner, so I went all out and junked the hell out of our bodies with this beauty:

Here's to tomorrow going just as well as today! Keep checking in and I'll have recipes and workouts and all sorts of wonderful unprocessed things for you. 

a quickie for your arms

Have ten minutes before the kids wake up? Before you have to start getting ready before work or school? How about a few minutes in your office before your next meeting? You can do this any time!

challenge accepted, nay sayers.

After my last post about not eating all the disgusting crap the food industry has been trying to pass off as nutritious, I received a lot of positive feedback and also some seriously deluded folks telling me it isn't possible to eat that way while busy with work and kids. Well ye of little faith, challenge accepted. For the month of March, my family and I will be going as close to completely unprocessed as possible. There will be no boxes of pasta, store bought bread, crackers, cookies, etc. I will be making all snacks, sweets, and meals. No more convenience food for the toddler. No more passing off half a box of crackers as lunch for myself. It's go time.

Over the course of the next month, I will post recipes, complete with pictures (woot, woot!) as well as tips and tricks I have learned along the way to make this process a bit easier. I will be shattering the theory that it can't be done while busy with a family. I have a two year old and a five month old. Game on. Granted, I am a stay at home mom with a side personal training venture, however, I don't find myself with excess time while sitting on the couch channel surfing and eating chocolate. I'm busy, too. So...I will be making it work. I don't think it will be super easy, but it will be possible.

My goal is to cleanse the family in March and then continue with a less strict, feasible way of living for the years to come. I will write down if I notice behavior improvements in myself, the husband, and toddler. I will write down things that work, things that don't, and things that are just plain ridiculous and should be left to buy at the store or Farmer's Market.

Just for fun...here is the family that will start down the road to unprocessed in mere days.

eat food, not crap.

Some people, I used to be one of them, will look at packaged foods with a "fat free," "low fat," and "sugar free" label as good for them and make the purchase. I would hope that with the vast research and findings on the horrors of artificial sweeteners, anything labeled as "sugar free" or "diet" should be avoided like a diseased wiener (unless you have some medical condition that requires consumption of these types of foods as diagnosed by a licensed physician, not your well to do friend). Fat free and low fat options should, in my opinion, also be avoided whenever possible. The process used to make foods fat free and low fat involves chemically leaching the fat out of a whole food. Any time you need modern science to "fix" a food, there is a problem. Our bodies are pretty amazing and were made (by whomever or whatever you chose to believe created them) to process food. Not diet soda and GMOs, but food. Why not give your body what it was made to have? You aren't going to fill the gas tank in your car with water, right?

I have noticed many articles making appearances on Facebook in the recent months trying to scare people into eating healthy. I like scare tactics, they're fun, but they don't seem to be effective. If they were, nobody would smoke cigarettes. So, I urge you to do your research about what you are putting into your body, before you do. If you wouldn't feed it to your small child, chances are, you shouldn't be eating it.

Below are some articles I find interesting and potentially helpful to read before your next trip to the grocery store. While I'm thinking of grocery stores, a good rule of thumb is to buy most of, if not all, your groceries from the outside aisles of the store. This will include the "fresh" stuff: produce, dairy, eggs, bakery bread, etc. The inner aisles carry the highly processed, overly sugared, boxed 'food' that more often than not contains ingredients only scientists can pronounce. I don't know about you, but I don't want a scientist making my food.

For your reading pleasure:

things Americans can eat, but other countries ban

some scary stuff in common foods

**I was going to post a link for how horrible artificial dyes are, but there are too many! It will require it's own post. Stay tuned.

engage your core

Today I was in a fitness class and we were talking about the midsection and abs and how to keep things nice and tight, especially after babies. Everyone has tried countless sit ups, crunches, etc. to get a flat stomach, but there are only so many back bending, floor laying exercises one can do before deciding it's boring and giving up.

A common phrase shouted out during fitness classes, is "engage your core!" this means to essentially flex your stomach. Suck it in like you're in a bikini (speedo?) and the most attractive person you've ever seen is looking your way. Now, stay like this throughout your workout, but remember to breathe. This is going to help move the toning process along. Another way to think of it is to draw your belly button back towards your spine. Give it a try.

The beautiful thing about engaging your core is that you can do it all the time. Stuck in traffic? Engage your core. Walking the dog? Engage your core. Sitting at your computer at work? Engage your core. You get the point, you can always be doing something to enhance your level of fitness. In fact, if you are stuck sitting at a desk job, or just a desk, or in a chair, give this exercise a try: engage your core and lift your right foot (keep knee bend ninety degrees) off the ground for a count of three, and lower it back down for a count of three. Repeat with your left foot. Do this ten times with each foot. Do this several times a day if you fancy...happy core engaging!

crossfit--not for everyone

Like most people interested in fitness, I have been hearing, seeing, and reading about Crossfit in vast abundance over the last few years. I've stumbled upon the Crossfit Games on TV, seen the crossfitters running short distances down the street just to go back into the gym to perform some seemingly crazy maneuvers, and I've clicked on links posted on Facebook warning people of the dangers of Crossfit and how it will most definitely ultimately end in serious injury or death. So, what's a girl to do? Try it out, of course!

This past Saturday I joined my new pal Lindsay at her gym for "Share the Pain."  Crossfit North Marin welcomed newbies with open arms to sweat and grunt and Burpee their way to a healthier place. I thought about coming home straight after the experience and writing about it, but decided I needed to let the workout settle in and give myself time to digest it all before judging it. 

I had a blast during the workout and the coach (I want to say Travis) was wonderful! All of the people at CFNM were welcoming and super helpful, eager to show the new weakling how to decipher the code on the white board. I gathered that people are encouraged to test and push themselves to reach new personal records, but do so safely. It was a far cry from all of the preconceived notions I went in to the class with. I wanted to lift heavier like the other ladies (who, by the way, are phenomenal she-women who manage to look incredibly beautiful while lifting weights that would make the average man look like a total pussy), but because my heavy weight-lifting days have long passed, I was the small girl in the back using a bar with no weight plates. I felt like an idiot. Nobody else noticed, so I eventually got over it \and got a killer workout in. 

I guess the point to all my rambling is to go ahead and give it a try! Don't go in expecting to keep up with the rest of them, go in with an open mind, and bring water, a lot of it!  

yoga--give it a try

I was introduced to yoga in college and fell in love. It was a brief affair that ended rather abruptly when I decided it was boring and all the spandex was uncomfortable. This was before the days of LuLu Lemon and cute yoga pants that you can see in mass quantities everywhere from the school drop off line to the grocery store. It was sweats and gaucho pants. It was camel toe and stinky feet. You get the point. It wasn't hip yet. Pilates was, so I dropped yoga and switched my mat in for a thicker one.

Anyhow, in the last few years I've began picking up my practice again. Sidebar: it has always irritated me how yoga is referred to as practice--I have no idea why, but it does. I revisited yoga in 2011 when I was pregnant with Norah, the little darling was breech and laying right on my sciatic nerve. It sucked. I started with YouTube videos and a DVD I bought back in college when yoga studios weren't conveniently located next door to every Starbucks on every street corner. I filled the third trimester days with yoga, then quite once the baby came. I picked it up once again this past pregnancy and have stuck with it. It has been almost a year of several times a week sessions and I really do feel great!

This article lays out five health benefits of yoga that you may not know about. You don't need to go to a fancy yoga studio or pay for classes in the park, you can check out DVDs from the library, watch for free on YouTube, even check out on demand. I haven't seen any on Netflix, but Amazon Prime has some decent ones. You will be able to see what movements and poses work for you and which ones cause pain. You will begin to see a change in your strength and flexibility along with many other things.

Give it a try, it may be boring at first, but it will bring some positivity and balance to your life and fitness regime. Just because you aren't dripping buckets of sweat doesn't mean it isn't benefiting your body.

it's not as expensive as you think

People so often complain about the high cost of healthy foods and blame the obesity problem on that, well, there was a nice comprehensive study done that blows that right out of the water! Here is a nice morning read for you all.

Yes, eating "healthy" will cost you a small bit more, but it isn't going to break the bank in most cases. This isn't to say that there may be the person who legitimately cannot afford to spend an extra two dollars a day, but when you consider the health benefits that those two dollars will give you and all the money on medical bills and expenses it will save you, it seems totally worth it to me! 

healthy habits cheat sheet

Working out three to five days a week for at least an hour is not a realistic thing for many people for varying reasons. Maybe they don't have time, perhaps they lack the desire, whatever the reason may be, that is still no excuse to not get healthy. Below are some simple changes one can make to stay on the road to healthy.

eat within an hour of waking up--even if it is something small, like a handful of nuts, put something healthy in your body to get your metabolism awake and working. You have been fasting overnight (hence break-fast) and your body needs that kick start to get going again. 

drink more water--think you drink enough water? Probably not. Drink more. Do you drink coffee, soda, juice and other non water beverages? You want to counter each sugary or caffeinated beverage with the same volume of water (ex: 16oz coffee means you need an additional 16oz of water) in addition to your normal recommended intake. The more water you drink, the more water your body will get rid of as waste and will aid in weight loss. "Water Weight" stays on when you are dehydrated and your body is literally hanging on to all the water you put in because it doesn't know when you will be getting more. The more you put in, the more you will put out. The color of your urine is an excellent indicator of hydration--the darker it is, the more water you should drink.

get moving--invest in a pedometer, be it an app on your phone, a cheap one that clips to your belt or a fancy pants FitBit or BodyMedia monitor (more on this in another post to come). Set goals for yourself with number of steps you would like to take each day, wear the pedometer for a normal day and check the steps at the end. Try to do better the next day. Then even better the following. You'll be surprised at how quickly those steps add up!

portion awareness--I've decided that portion control is an art form and I am not the world's best artist. To help myself, I started putting snacks in a small bowl from Ikea and eating slowly. In an ideal world, you'd just stop eating potato chips and fried, fatty snacks, but I understand that isn't a reality for everyone, so let's compromise. Look at the nutrition label and pick out the number of items allowed for one serving. Put it in a bowl. After asking yourself if those seven chips are worth the 150 calories, eat just the serving size. Want more? Go back to the bag and repeat. The key thing here is to stop snacking directly out of the bag, especially in front of the TV or computer.

Start with the four tips above and you'll be on the road to healthy! Are all four too zealous? Pick one and stick with it for a week, then add one more, etc. you'll be a much healthier person in about a month! 

Stay tuned for more simple ways to improve your health and happiness! Contact me at brittanydevitatraining@gmail.com with any questions or topics you'd like to see covered.

get a little more junk in your trunk

The following workout is designed for my fellow ass-less sisters. It will take some time, and it will hurt at first, but you will see results, and you your butt will look wonderful in your jeans and bikini this summer! 

This workout is meant to do anywhere, without any equipment. If you do have dumbbells handy, hold them while performing the squats and lunges. For the squats, you're going to hold the weight in your hands with your hands between your legs and arms straight. For the lunges, you're going to hold one weight in each hand with your arms straight down on either side of your body. 

Enjoy!

running, continued.

In case you missed my awesome running schedule, here it is again, in a much more pinner-friendly form.

Now that you are confident in your ability to begin running and make it a welcomed part of your weekly workout routine, we need to talk about stretching.

Stretching, be it super annoying and kind of time consuming, is extremely important to your body when you do all forms of exercise, but it is exceptionally detrimental to the runner's body. Static (still, not moving) stretches should be held for 30 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the stretch and how you feel in it, and static (moving) stretches should be counted in repetitions (reps) and can be anywhere from 2-10 reps depending on your level of activity and soreness. 

I have found that the verdict is still out on whether one should stretch before or after a workout. Google it. Some people feel you should not work out on cold muscles while others say you definitely should not stretch a cold muscle. I stretch after I run, but I use my first half mile to one mile to build up to the pace I will carry the remainder of the run. I'm not sure the level of truth here, or if my reasoning makes sense to any one other than yours truly, but I feel like gradually warming up the muscles will let me run further and longer than I would be able to had I gone balls to the wall straight out of the gate. 

Some people chose to stretch the entire body beforehand, run how they chose, and stretch again. I call these people over achievers. Who has that kind of time? The following is a chart of some simple stretches that will have you ready to go after your run and help relieve soreness in the beginning. You'll still be sore, it's part of the running thing, but this will help. 

Enjoy, friends! 

so you want to be a runner, eh?

Running is my favorite thing. I'm addicted. Seven years ago, that was not the case. I, like most relatively sane individuals, LOATHED running. I would force myself to power through one mile on the dreadmill and take frequent pauses. I felt like a hamster and really didn't enjoy smelling Captain Sweaty on the machine next to me, so I took it outside and have never looked back!

This post is going to give you tips and tools to start running and stay with it! 

A lot of people I know use the Couch To 5K method of training. The rundown of that can be found here. It is an excellent program if you have the personality that can look at a clock and not give up when you realize you have only run thirty seconds of your five minute stretch. I am not that person. Not by any stretch. I can't be trusted to finish a run on a treadmill when I know how much time I have left to run. I'd rather lie to myself and stand on the sides of the treadmill and trick the machine into thinking I'm actually running for that amount of time. Music, however, I can hang with!

If you look over the C25K and decide it is great in theory, but you can't be trusted to follow it, don't have access to a treadmill, or just want to have a little more fun, read on. When beginning to run, I started to use my iPod (technically it was the tiny little iPod that had a belt hook, one smaller than the mini, and I thought it made me look like a total badass) and would alternate running for one song with walking for one song. After a few weeks of that, I decided to come up with my own method to get up to five miles, then ten miles, then ran my first half marathon (13.1 miles) one year after beginning running with a crappy half mile on a crappy treadmill, in a crappy over-crowded gym. This is what I did:

Week 1: Walk three songs, run one song, walk three songs, etc. for 30 min
Week 2: Walk three songs, run one song, walk three songs, etc. for 40 min
Week 3: Walk three songs, run one song, walk three songs, etc. for 50 min
Week 4: Walk three songs, run one song, walk three songs, etc. for 60 min
Week 5: Walk three songs, run two songs, walk three songs, etc. for 40 min
Week 6: Walk three songs, run two songs, walk three songs, etc. for 50 min
Week 7: Walk three songs, run two songs, walk three songs, etc. for 60 min
Week 8: Walk three songs, run three songs, walk three songs, etc. for 40 min
Week 9: Walk three songs, run three songs, walk three songs, etc. for 50 min
Week 10: Walk three songs, run three songs, walk three songs, etc. for 60 min
Week 11: Walk two songs, run three songs, walk two songs, etc. for 40min
Week 12: Walk two songs, run three songs, walk two songs, etc. for 50 min
Week 13: Walk two songs, run three songs, walk to songs, etc. for 60 min
Week 14: Walk one song, run three songs, walk one song, etc. 40 min
Week 15: Walk one song, run three songs, walk one song, etc. for 50 min
Week 16: Walk one song, run three songs, walk one song, etc. for 60 min
Week 17: Run for 30 minutes without walking

Once you can jog/run for thirty minutes without walking, CONGRATULATIONS! Now you will start to shift the focus to mileage. Don't increase your mileage by more than 10% a week, you will increase your odds of injury and then you'll experience how horrible it is to be a runner who cannot run. It sucks. I promise you. Don't try it.

I would hope this goes without saying, but when making your playlists, keep all of the songs similar in length. Your run songs should not be one minute songs while your walk ones are things like Bohemian Rhapsody and Celine Dion's seven minute tirades. The tempos can absolutely be different, but the time should be similar. It will help. Being over zealous and having the run songs significantly longer than the walk ones isn't a good idea, either. Again, injuries suck.

About three years in to my love affair with running, I misplaced my beloved badass tiny iPod and had to *gasp* run without music. It was not fun at all. By my third week without music, I began to listen to the sound of gravel under my feet (now one of my all time favorite sounds, second only to my husband asking what flavor frozen yogurt he should get me) and pay attention to my surroundings. I would look for squirrels, count how many red, green, blue, and hybrid cars would pass. If I was running on a trail, I'd let my mind wander to the episode of Law and Order: SVU I watched the night before and freak myself out, causing me to run faster. I ended up randomly ordering this super old book* from Amazon and have not run with music in four years. This includes two full marathons, a couple of 10K's, and a handful of half marathons. That's a lot of race day and training mileage with something you used to depend on.

Like any other form of exercise, stay hyrdrated--with water.

Happy Running! Feel free to contact me for more specific running plans.

* I was going to post a link to the book, but I can't find it on the Internet...probably an operator malfunction, but I'll look into it. I let someone borrow it, so I can't even take a picture, but it was called "Total Running" and had a purple cover. It's from the 70's and talks about running with your senses and a bunch of other zen-like stuff. I'm going to keep searching for it! Plus, it was like $0.99 and who doesn't love cheap?!

reward yourself, you've earned it!

Remember those goals we talked about setting? If you haven't already written some down, please do! Start small if you want (no soda this week, loose two pounds by the end of the month, go for a walk every day, etc.) but write them down so you can start rewarding yourself when goals are met. It's an excellent way to motivate you to get to your next benchmark goal.

Rewards are an amazing tool to keep yourself focused on the end result and bump your motivation along the way. I'm not talking about rewarding yourself with an ice cream cone because you ate healthy yesterday. Get rid of food as a reward all together. It is an unhealthy way to reward yourself and can very easily develop into an unhealthy relationship with food--and we're trying to reverse these unhealthy relationships.

My personal favorite way to reward myself for reaching a goal is to buy a new piece of workout clothing. I'm a marathoner, and this is totally weird, but it is what it is, and new socks make me really excited. Like embarrassingly excited. I love them! There is something about clean, crisp, elastic-in-tact socks that makes me want to run an extra mile or seven. I can find a pair for under $6 and it will keep me happy for a while. Sure, you can buy some fancy coffee drink loaded with sugar and empty calories for around $6, but will that really do anything for your psyche or physique? You're right, it won't. Go with the socks. Or any other type of workout garment that brings you joy. Or earrings, necklace, bracelets, shoes, jeans (to show off that hot new ass)...you get my point. Manicures and pedicures are also an excellent way to reward yourself and your hands will look super cute wrapped around those dumbbells.

If you decide to go the new garment route, it doesn't need to be expensive. You don't need to feed the LuLu addiction you may have. Marshalls, Ross, TJ Maxx, and stores like this tend to have a pretty hefty selection of workout clothing and gear. For twenty bucks you can get a new pair of yoga pants and a top. Resistance bands and yoga mats can be found for less than $10.

Don't have extra money laying around? No problem! I once saw a cute idea on Pinterest to put one dollar in a jar every time you work out. When you reach your goal, take the money you have been putting in the jar and use it to buy your reward.

Not in to rewarding yourself with material things? Try allowing yourself to do something you have always wanted to do but haven't felt confident enough to try in the past. Is there a nice hiking trail nearby, but it's always freaked you out? Go for it!! Always wanted to try running outside, but afraid people will judge you? Go for it! Again, nobody is going to judge someone for being active and trying to get healthy. You can do this.

Set some goals, set some reward ideas for when you hit the benchmarks and allow yourself to have fun!

it's simple, really: diet and exercise

The number one question I get as a trainer is "what's the secret to getting thin?" and I'm here to answer that for you all--diet and exercise. There is no magical pill, appetite suppressant, fad, weight loss sprinkles, celebrity endorsed product, or any other man made chemical supplement that is going to make weight loss successful and long lasting. Sure you may shed some pounds quickly, but they'll come back and may even bring some extra pounds with them.

Yes, there are thousands upon thousands of temptations every day that may have you doubting your ability to get healthy. Diet and exercise will make passing those evil temptations easier each day. I'm not talking about going on a "diet" and restricting carbs or sugars or any other cut it all out type of fad. I'm talking moderation, self restraint, and physical activity. It isn't rocket science--a doughnut every day will make you fat. A well-balanced meal, including carbohydrates and sugars, will not make you fat. Copious amounts of refined sugar and eating your vegetables breaded and deep fried or smothered in some bright orange "cheese" sauce is not a well-balanced diet. Think about it logically...if it costs you less than $1.00 and can be prepared in under thirty seconds, it's probably not a good choice.

"Why am I overweight? Every time I eat out I get the soup or salad..." Does that soup taste nice and creamy? Is the salad drenched in dressing? Cream-based soups are delicious, but terrible for you. The first and last ingredients of most restaurant soups are butter and cream. BUTTER AND CREAM. Not healthy. Salad dressing? In small amounts, go for it! Ranch, Thousand Island, French, Honey Dijon, you know, all those really yummy ones, terrible. Swap it out for balsamic vinaigrette, or just oil and vinegar. Cheese is great and full of protein, but the average serving size of cheese is a one inch by one inch square. That's not a lot. When your salad comes, take off half of the cheese. If it looks scarily processed and not quite fresh, take it all off. And maybe don't eat at that restaurant again. If the food doesn't look fresh, it's not something you should be putting in your body.

"Drive thrus are so convenient and I am a busy mom/dad/student/employee/etc..." You know what else is convenient? Crock pots. Chop your vegetables the night before and toss everything in to the pot in the morning before you leave for your day. Before the kids are awake, before the days distractions and excuses can really start. There are so many recipes that are simple and healthy. I guarantee you will spend less time chopping and tossing a meal together in a crock pot than you would driving to a fast food joint, waiting in line at the drive thru, and then driving home. Try it!

"I chase my toddler around all day, that's exercise.." No it isn't. That's being active. You need to EXERCISE. Walking briskly with said toddler to the grocery store, doing push ups while toddler naps or has a lesson in counting, tossing a ball to the kid while doing a wall sit--these are exercises. Have a gym membership? USE IT! I promise you people are not judging the over weight, unfit person for going to the gym and using the equipment. If anyone even pays attention to anything other than their own reflection in the mirrors on the cardio equipment, it isn't you. It's the hot trainer in the corner. It's the guy giving the newscast. It's the sports channel. It's the magazine or book they brought. It will be extremely rare that someone is actually staring at you and judging you.

I can go on and on about the excuses and countering them. Diet and Exercise will get you healthy. All it takes is 30-45 minutes of physical activity a day. Activity that raises your heart rate for the full 30-45 minutes. I challenge you to try this week. Start small. Cut out sodas, cut out the full fat with whip mocha you have been getting. Walk around the block a few times. Park further away from the store or office. Go Online and look at the nutrition facts of the chain restaurant you are going to tonight, make informed, healthy choices.

And remember...if it isn't work, it won't work!

the traveler's workout

Busy schedules can make fitting in a workout seem impossible. Traveling for work (or pleasure) can be a huge hindrance for people. Usually, you aren't' familiar with the fitness center, your hotel doesn't have one, a time zone change has left you groggy and wanting to catch up on "lost" sleep. Now that the excuses are out, let's make the choice to get up and get healthy on the road. You can do it. In your pajamas if you'd like :)

The following quick workout is designed for the "too busy" traveler in a hotel room using NO EQUIPMENT.

Have a glass of water ready before you start. The odds of pausing to go get water and actually resume are low. I want you to succeed, so go get water first.

WARM UP:
30 jumping jacks
:30 seconds jog in place
30 high knees
30 jumping jacks

(the people in the room below you won't hear you, most hotels are built quite soundly with cement between floors. Nice try though.)

Now for the WORKOUT:
10 squats
10 lunges
10 calf raises
**repeat this 4x with 30 seconds to 1 minute rest in between**

5 push ups
5 triceps dips (using the coffee table, and end table, anything in the room that will be sturdy enough for you to dip.)
plank for as long as you can---shoot for 60 seconds
**repeat this 4x with 30 seconds to 1 minute rest in between**

Lay on your back with hands under your hips and legs as straight as you can in the air. Imagine your feet are pens and begin to write the alphabet with your legs. Your feet should be coming down about two inches off the ground. Keep the legs as straight as you can. Remember to breath and draw your belly button to your spine.
You may not be able to write all 26 letters on your first attempt, but keep trying! Soon you'll be able to complete the upper, lower, and cursive alphabet!

STRETCH!

Have a great day!

three tips to help you set {achievable} goals

So you've decided to start working out, to actually start and continue to work out. Good! Now we'll work on setting goals that will keep you motivated, make you proud and leave you wanting to set new goals and push yourself further than you ever have before.

1. WRITE IT DOWN.

When we think about the things we want to achieve through working out, we are often times left doing just that--thinking. "Tomorrow I will run three miles" or "After work I'll go to the gym and lift weights," and then life and excuses get in the way and we don't go. Write it down. Write it on your calendar, write it in your phone's agenda, write it on a piece of paper and tape it to your mirror. Once you have it written down, you are more likely to do it. 

This doesn't just apply to writing down what you are going to do that day, I encourage you to also write down your weekly, monthly, and long term goals. Write them down, update them, and keep yourself accountable. 

2. MAKE IT MEASURABLE.

To avoid giving in early or slacking off, a goal should not be "I want to feel better" or "I want to have more energy." A goal should be an exact, measurable item that will not leave any room for doubt or ambivalence. You will know if you met your goal or if you need to adjust your methods. 

While you shouldn't be a slave to the number on the scale, the scale can be a huge help. Tell yourself that it is just a number, but a number that is helping you achieve your goals. Take the negative energy you feel after seeing a number you don't like and push yourself a little harder next time. Health and well-being are certainly not all about your body weight, but it is quite possibly the most accessible and fool proof way to measure success and keep your goals in check. If you find yourself falling prey to the old "that number can't be right, this scale must be wrong" song and dance, go get an unopened bag of flour or sugar or a dumbbell from your house and put it on the scale. If the number on the scale matches the number on your bag (or weight), you'll know that it's time to change your lifestyle. If the numbers are off, go invest in a new scale. 

Another excellent way to measure your goals is having someone you trust measure your biceps, hips, waist, bust and thighs with a tape measure. Craft and fabric stores tend to carry inexpensive tape measures near the sewing notions area. JoAnns has them for under $1.00. There will be another post in the days to follow on the proper way to take body measurements. 

With both the scale and the tape measure, you will be able to see the change and keep yourself on track. Examples of measurable goals:

I will lose 10lbs. 

I will lose 3 inches from my waist.

3.MAKE THEM REALISTIC AND SPECIFIC.

The Biggest Loser has put out this idea that with enough hard work, one can lose 100+ pounds in six weeks. This is true, if you're working out ten plus hours a day while having your meals prepared by formally trained nutritionists, your workouts written and tailored to your exact dietary and metabolic needs, and the big $100,000.00 incentive waiting for you at the end. Oh, and a house full of people doing the exact same thing all under the guidance of three rather phenomenal trainers. 

Because this isn't typical or normal or even fathomable for the majority of people, we need to make the goals realistic. Start small. "Tomorrow I will walk 1 mile on my lunch break" this is very simple, very attainable. Write it down and do it. You can build on it each day, but you must start somewhere and with something that you can achieve relatively quickly to keep you on track and motivated. 

My next post will be about writing plans to help you achieve your goals. After all, "A goal without a plan is just a wish." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

I encourage you all to write down at least three fitness goals for the next two months. Keep them realistic, keep them specific, and keep them measurable. 

new year, new you. or not. your choice.

Every January 1st, hundreds of thousands of people swear this year will be different. This will be the year they get in shape. This will be the year they drop a pants size (or seven). This will be the year the alarm will not be shut off at 5am. This will be the year they will get out of bed and get to the gym. Before work. Before the kids are awake. Before the day and the excuses start. THIS. WILL. BE. THE. YEAR.

Treadmills around the world are fired up, ellipticals are taken out of storage, bicycles dusted off, sweets thrown in the trash, and resolutions to look better nude are made. Then February hits. If you've made it to February, congratulations, you are much more driven than the vast majority of resolutioners who didn't make it past the kitchen in their workout attire. Then there are those who didn't even make it to the kitchen IN workout attire because they don't have the right clothes. Enter excuses. Lots of them.

The number one excuse I hear as a trainer is not enough time. It is time to disprove this. There is plenty of time in a day, you just have to want it. I mean WANT it. There is a reason the majority of Americans are overweight; it is much easier to sit on the couch watching some godawful, yet highly entertaining, reality housewife show than get up and break a sweat. I get it. If given an hour of downtime, you want to be laying down, not running, jumping, squatting, lunging or any of the other things we crazed workout weirdos get pleasure out of doing. The thing is once you make the decision to change your life and live healthy, you will find pleasure in working out. You'll find pleasure in leafy greens and kale (yuck) smoothies. You will. I promise. To start you off on this road to a healthy life of pleasure I am going to find time in your too busy day:

24 hours in a day

8-10 hours spent working (maybe 11 with a commute)

8 hours spent sleeping

this leaves you between 5 and 8 hours

That is 5 to 8 hours to fit in a 45 minute to 1 hour session. That is a lot of time.

This leaves you 4 to 7 hours to hang out with your family, cook dinner, pack lunches, and have some quality time with your partner, the bathtub, a good book, whatever you fancy!

I know it is hard. Prioritizing can be hard, but you must do it. You can absolutely squeeze a workout in. You don't have to do it every day. In fact, you shouldn't. Your body needs to rest and recover, you need to balance other activities that bring you pleasure and joy. I fully get being a busy parent. I stay at home with a soon to be two year old and a three month old. I breastfeed, so I always have to be relatively close to the infant child who is refusing to take a bottle. I understand a partner being gone at work all day and wanting to spend time together when they get home. I understand needing to have meals prepared. I understand that sometimes you have to work late or go in early. I understand that people get sick, that kids need more attention than usual, that the dog needs to be walked, that....the list goes on forever. I understand that the average person can make an excuse for EVERYTHING. My job is to help you stop with the excuses and start with the exercise. Those 4 to 7 hours of time I just found you that aren't spent at work or sleeping? Take one to workout. If you're worried about the kids' routine, do it an hour before they wake up or for an hour once they're in bed. You won't be losing out on an hour of sleep, you'll be gaining an hour of health that will make you a much happier person. 

It will be hard to get started, it will be even harder to maintain and keep going. It will be difficult to push yourself past your limits, it will be work, and it will work. You will struggle and you will succeed. You will be sore, but you will notice a difference in the way you feel, the way you look, the way you carry yourself. You will be proud.

Welcome to the new year. Welcome to the new you. Or not. It's your choice. Because it is a choice. Make the time, see the difference. I will post routines, motivation, and answer questions that you may have. Please email me with any questions or topics you want discussed.

I wish you all a happy, healthy new year!