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Snow and Charming know what’s up…
Love this.
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The final Stefon sketch from Saturday Night Live.
The Stefon bit was one of my favorites. I’m gonna miss him
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Me for the past three days!
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Paleo Banana Bread
After starting the paleo diet, I started craving the exact foods I wasn’t allowed to eat. This is my first...
DIY Spinach Ice Cubes For Smoothies
Crazy easy, saves time, money AND replaces the need for ice cubes in your smoothies. Love this idea!
This is for all the women out there who feel victorious for being hungry all day. I get it. I was there too. Things have changed. And today, I’m sharing my story. Maybe you’ll recognize some similarities with your own. My hope is that it gets your wheels turning.
Let’s start with a comparison. BEFORE & NOW: My views on feeling hungry…
BEFORE:
“I’m starving, but if I make it until 7pm I “win”. Gotta get this weight off. I’m in charge of this body, not the other way around. Don’t eat, don’t eat: as long as you’re under 1000 calories for the day, you’re cool. Have some more coffee. (reality: after 7pm, eat everything in sight and feel like an awful person)
NOW:
“If you need me, I’ll be eating the food. I might be able to lose a few pounds, but it’s not a priority. Feeding the bod is. Feeling awesome, but excuse me…nom nom nom.”
It’s been YEARS since I was hungry on purpose, and the thought of spending the day feeling victorious for not eating seems foreign to me. I was an under-the-radar yo-yo dieter and my behaviors were linked entirely to my weight. Up, don’t eat. Down, eat everything. If I’d gained weight, the punishment was not eating or eating very little. The triumph was overcoming my body’s physiological needs and ‘winning’ at not eating for a day. It was pretty addictive.
AND… I didn’t know it was messed up. Really, no idea. Every woman I met was on some kind of diet, saying very similar things and feeling very hungry too. Seemed normal. It had no basis in health: I hadn’t learned that veggies were awesome, to eat to fuel my body or to reduce my sugar. I was drinking 3-5 diet cokes a day and thought they were bad ass because they were zero calories. The perfect “victory” food.
Thank fuck that’s over, lol. High five lady. I love the food.
How To Do A Crow Pose (via Tara Stiles)
Great tips here if you’re struggling! I went from just a few seconds last year to holding it for 45 seconds this week (I really don’t practice often, but this video helped loads).
Give it a try!
We’re all different, and you gotta do YOU.
YOU includes a history that you need to work with to make the best decisions for your body: the way you approach your diet and training needs to work for all of “you”.
Some people are totally amazing at moderation. They can have treats in the house, and eat them when desired, without finishing the whole box or bag. Others might struggle more with it, and having treats in the house is too much pressure for them. They might feel like willpower failures, but the truth is they aren’t. All it means is that in order to make the best decisions for themselves, they might need to be more diligent about controlling their environment. That’s empowerment, not weakness: a former alcoholic who refuses to keep booze in the house isn’t weak, but rather doing what they need to do. The same goes for people who might need to calorie count and those that don’t. Or those that need trainers/buddies to workout and those that don’t (sometimes you’re better off with friends and sometimes, it’s not the best for you). When you employ techniques, sometimes you need to base them on WHO YOU ARE. Not necessarily who you’d like to be. In short, it means keeping them realistic to your current situation.
If you can’t seem to commit to an hour a day, there’s nothing wrong with 20 minutes. If you can’t ever seem to make a morning workout, maybe a different time works best. If you have tried and absolutely HATE broccoli, there’s no need to eat it. There are far too many veggies in the world for broccoli to be the end all be all. Try something else.
I’d love to be the person who can keep treats in the house and never touch them. But I’m not that person. If I buy them, I’ll eat them. If I eat them, I often feel shitty on the inside and my workouts/life suffer for it. I’d also love to be the kind of person who loves going to the gym, but I’m not. At-home workouts are what works best for me, and I focused my energy on making them awesome with tools, research and by making my space conducive to home sweating. I used to feel guilty about this (as a trainer, I suppose it’s weird to hate gyms), but I realized there are loads of people like me who can benefit from at-home training experiences. I simply stick to what I do best and kick as much ass with it as I can.
In addition to your routines, your goals should also reflect your own self-awareness. My example would be the fact that I’m not pursuing goals related to incredible leanness, six packs or getting the lowest body fat percentage possible. For some (especially those competing), these are goals they attribute to success and they work really hard to get there. For me - due to my history- these are goals I attribute to disorder: it can be dangerous for me to focus too heavily on aesthetics or numbers. I don’t feel empowered when I micromanage my diet: I feel out of control. I don’t feel good about measuring my body fat percentage against other people: I feel obsessed. It would be very easy for me to pursue those goals, especially with the support I’d have from MANY awesome people. I even feel as though I “could” do it and keep my body in fairly good health too (or at least try). But because of my history - because of my self-awareness OF that history - I’d be poking a sleeping dragon. It wouldn’t be healthy for me to pursue those goals given my history with body image and food.
Spices are healthy eating kitchen ESSENTIALS! You need ‘em. Trust me.
Healthy eating takes practice, and eventually gets hella easy. But it’ll be harder to adjust your taste buds to the “clean” side if everything tastes bland. Load up on some of the spicey basics slowly: pick up a new one everytime you’re at the grocery store or get a starter kit (even walmart sells them).
Basic Spices (feel free to add more in the comments)
- Basil
- Oregano
- Rosemary
- Paprika
- Cayenne
- Cinnamon
- Bay Leaves
- Chili powder
- Ground cloves
- Ground cumin
- Ground ginger
- Curry powder
- Garlic & onion powder
- Tumeric
- Dill weed
- Nutmeg
- Thyme
- Vanilla extract
- Black pepper
- Sea salt
My personal top 6 would be oregano, rosemary, ginger, dill, cinnamon and curry powder, but start where you’re comfortable (or at least with the ones that don’t sound scary to you, lol).
If you’ve got a birthday coming up, it’s not a bad time to ask for a fancy spice rack! Cause that’s what grown up’s do, you know. :)
Elevated Pushups: Basic, Single Leg, Spiderman
Time to level up? :)
When I first started doing full pushups, it was awesome, but after awhile I wasn’t progressing/getting better at them. I still had a hard time doing more than 20-25 in a row, and I stayed there for a long time.
Once you mastered a move for the first time, you have a few options to get better at it: do more (high volume, like our pushup challenges), do harder modifications, add resistance/weight or plyometrics and be consistent about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. Elevating my pushups was much harder ( I could do dozens and dozens from the floor, but less than 10 elevated), but within a few workouts, I was already feeling stronger. My burpees got better, my plank time improved, and yes, pushups from the floor felt like recovery.
START SLOW: If you’re used to doing a certain number of reps from the floor, know that your reps will be slightly less. That’s okay! Add in short intervals until you get stronger. If you’re still struggling with pushups from the feet, this may be too advanced.
TIPS
1. Make sure your hands are lined up with your shoulders and take your hands wide. Your eye line should fall in front of your hands (when you look down). You should be able to see a few feet in front of you without straining your neck.
2. Keep your hips lifted (don’t sag) and engage your core and legs (quads). Keep hips facing the floor at all times (especially for single leg or spiderman modifications).
3. Place chair on a secure surface like a mat or against a wall. The first few times, take a peeksie to make sure your feet are in the middle of the chair seat.
4. Push the floor away from you instead of lifting from it.
Beginners: Flip these around to make them easier! Place your hands on the seat of the chair and feet on the ground. The higher the surface, the easier it is. (Easiest: against a wall on an incline).
Give these a try this week in a few of your workouts!
More options here: Working Your Way to Perfect Pushups…
Smoothies… Mmmmm…
If you like icy consistency but are blowing through blenders, aside from investing in a better one, there are a few tips that can help.
1. Freeze your fruit. Helps save moola & time, but also gives your smoothies that icy consistency without the cubes. (fruit is mostly water afterall).
2. If it’s a watery smoothie, just stick the cubes in there as is. Keeps it cold, and clinks in the glass (if u like things clinky. Fancypants).
3. (as pictured) Use frozen berries in the smoothie (no blending). Same effect as the cubes, but you can eat them with a spoon after. Fun stuff. :)
Above: This “dessert” smoothie was banana, mango, orange, blended with a smidge protein powder, chia seeds, a smidge greek yogurt and topped with frozen blueberries. Delish. :)
Fav smoothie combos?
With all the snowstorms that have hit the east coast, many of you are probably dreading having to head out to shovel, but I swear, it can be so much fun (and a sick workout)! Shoveling is insane cardio & total body work: just 20 minutes can leave you breathless, burning and sore for days. Like running or obstacle racing, it’s also a “mission” which can help keep you motivated throughout (starting is a another issue, but once you’ve started, you’ve got to finish!).
Ideas to make shoveling more awesome than ever…
1. WICKED TUNES. Duh. Loud and proud, unless it’s too early. Eye of the Tiger works really well. 80’s anthems, hip hop, rock etc… A fun playlist keeps things moving and cuts your time down. Play them from your car or speakers, but try to avoid earphones if you’re shoveling in high traffic areas (too many accidents).
2. RACE A NEIGHBOUR. A LOT of fun AND gets the job done faster! If your neighbour’s snowed in, suggest a friendly wager. If you have kids/multiple helpers, make teams! Losers makes hot chocolate for the winning team. Bam.
Try this, avoid this, use a smaller plate, attach a vibrator to your fork, only eat _____ color foods, lock your fridge, spank yourself with rubber bands, count to ten while you chew, do lunges while vaccuming, put up pictures of larger women on your freezer, hop on one leg while having dinner, don’t eat after this time, only do cardio, don’t do cardio, “trick” your body into _______.
My best tip? Avoid the tips. Instead, focus on the basics, not the ‘quick fixes’. There are less of them, they will actually BOOST your health, and you can incorporate them as slowly as you like. Much easier to stick too and far less stressful to figure out.
What are the basics? Eat more veggies. Drink more water. Go to bed on time. MOVE more than you did yesterday or have been moving. Do it.
Get better at it with practice, and forgive your missteps. Take it one day at a time. Keep doing it until it feels completely normal (happens faster than you think, AND you boost your chances of sticking to it by doing little bits at a time). THEN, after it feels normal, feel free to tweak it where you need to. Once you’re used to moving every day, it’s easier to add to your foundation. And if you screw up or fall off the wagon? Just hop back on. The first step to living a healthier life is BUILDING that foundation. It doesn’t need to be perfect.
All that energy you’re spending trying to find the ‘best way’, is energy you need to do it ‘your way’. And finding YOUR way is what will WORK. There is no ‘best’ way.
Stop DRIVING YOURSELF CRAZY. Can you eat more veggies today? Yup. Can you move for 10-20 minutes, even if it’s just stairs and a walk? Yup. Can you shut off your computer and get more sleep? Yup.
This gorgeous pan of sauteed veggies was a one time prep that resulted in 4 different meals…
- Fajitas
- A veggie omelet (next day leftovers - heat & add eggs)
- An asian stir fry (reheat, add seasoning)
- A veggie turkey wrap (turkey, fajita, cheese and veggies)
Just. This. Pan.
A little prep goes a long way!
Xo
I can get behind most of these! Fab place to start!
Everyone can love their body better. It just takes a little practice. :)
Everyone should feel safe heading out for a walk or run. EVERYONE.
But the truth is, many women don’t.
I do advise women to take precautions, but I hate having to do so. Victim blaming is very subtle at times, and when something awful h appens to you, the last thing you NEED or want is for someone to say “you should have known better”. Even when every precaution is taken, often media outlets still find someway to place a little blame on the victim.
No one has the right to hurt you. If they choose to do so, they should be held to the highest of legal AND MORAL accountability. To assume that men simply can’t control themselves, and that women are responsible for their own victimization is both insulting to decent men and brutal to women. By FAR the vast majority of men out there are decent, awesome human beings. To assume they are uncontrollable rapists is awful, misinformed and disgusting.
Anyone who asks “Well, shouldn’t she have known better?” or feels that it’s a woman’s responsibility to control the actions of the very FEW who would take advantage of her, needs a reality check.
It’s NOT your fault.
Information: Rainn.org
Resources: WomensLaw.org
Support: After Silence
Once you give healthy living a fair shot (and pay ATTENTION to the not so apparent changes in your body), it’s hard to go back to old behaviors: they don’t feel nearly as “good” as they used to. But the KEY is to pay attention. To be aware of the changes happening to your energy level. Mood. Skin. Body, etc. Ignoring this valuable feedback (perhaps ONLY focusing on weight loss), means missing out on HUGE life changing information.
I can’t eat large pizzas to myself anymore (can you believe I could? Yup. Big ones). Or cookie dough for breakfast (yeah, I did that too). Or go out “drinking” more than a night a week (or month - plus “drinking” isn’t what it used to be. 2 glasses of wine & I’m snickered & pooped). It’s not because I’m worried about weight gain. Or because I’m trying to make healthier choices. It’s because those things leave me feeling so monumentally shitty, lethargic, and nauseous afterwards that it’s no longer worth it. And I probably felt that way before, but when it was “normal” (routine), it didn’t freak me or my body out. Now that it’s NOT normal, it freaks me & my body out big time and I hate the feeling. (Also hate missing sleep. Just can’t function. Could go weeks on little to no sleep before. Not the case anymore).
To those who are just starting out, pay attention to the bigger picture and stick with it. Focus on all the little changes that might come along with healthier living. Easier to get up in the morning? More energy during the day? Better poops? (yeah, I said poop. We all do it, don’t even get me started, lol).
For those already on course, try to remember that for people who are living with habits you deem “unhealthy”, they may not see or feel the same way about it you might. I find that calling those behaviors “disgusting” (as some fit-thusiasts would) tends to push people away. It’s not disgusting to them… yet. It doesn’t feel shitty… yet. There’s nothing to compare it to… yet. Rather, you may want to OWN your feelings about it and explain WHY you avoid certain things (why you CHOOSE not to eat at McDonald’s, instead of ‘McDonald’s is gross’). And focus more on the positives of healthy living (more energy, better skin, the differences you see in _____). It provides your fans/clients with a framework for spotting positive changes in their own journeys too. The more positives they see, the more likely they are to stick with it.
xo
