HAPPY, HEALTHY 2011!

It's been awhile since my last post!  I guess the holiday season took up all my time but with a day off from work today, I'm starting to think about all the exciting things happening for 2011! If you are in the Chicago area and the South Loop is not too much of a jump for you, Chicago is getting an amazing gym; Monkey Bar Gym Chicago! MBG CHICAGO

I spend a lot of times in different gyms whether at work/training.  But this, I have to admit, is MY IDEAL gym and the training philosophy is spot on!  I first visited the MBG Madison a few years back when a good friend of mine was a trainer there.  She put me through one workout and I was hooked!  This is not your 'normal' gym.  There is no Squat Rack or Bench, no Treadmill or Spin Class.  To me, the MBG has the type of equipment that makes my mouth water, finally a place to make working out fun!  I believe so much in Jon Hinds training ideals that I had to get the 'Certified Natural Trainers' certification through him. It changed my way of training my clients immediately!  And NOW it is right here in my own backyard! (literally 2 blocks away!)

The MBG CHICAGO opens January 3rd.  The entire first week of classes are FREE so try to make it down there and try it out.  Class times are as follow:
M-F 6am, noon, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm
Saturdays (will be free indefinitely) 9am and 10am

Starting January 10th, MBG CHICAGO 60-DAY CHALLENGE! 60-Day Challenge Video
This program is an amazing experience and allows you to have unlimited access to the gym throughout the 60 days.  You will get one-on-one training, group training, nutritional guidance, pre/post assessments.  A great start to the New Year and a great challenge for you at any Fitness Level.

MBG CHICAGO:  2255 S. Michigan Ave. Map

Does Your Breakfast Make You Amazing?

I saw this commercial and Quaker Oats does such a great job at pushing the most important meal of the day, BREAKFAST!  Check it out: Does Your Breakfast Make You Amazing?

Time and time again, I work with clients that do not eat a healthy breakfast or one at all!  This is the one meal you cannot skip!!  Regardless of whether you are hungry or not, you need to eat a healthy, powerful breakfast within the first hour of waking. 

You need to get your Metabolism going ASAP!  Think of it this way, your body has been working all night rebuilding the work you've done from the day before on top of maintaining daily functions.  If you got a good nights sleep, you could have gone 8 hours without eating/drinking a thing!  Our body is a smart little thing and conserves it's energy as if in starvation mode.  So when you wake up, one of the first things you should do is get something in your belly!

So what should we eat? There are so many options here but there needs to be some healthy Carbohydrates in here!  This is the energy for our day!  Do not cut carbs here!!!  Try to get some type of Protein as well, eggs or natural nut butters are some of my favorites here.  It's also nice to incorporate some Fiber here; whether from grains/fruits/vegetables. 

Here are a few of my favorites!

Greek Yogurt with Fresh Fruit and Granola: I don't cut that fat in the Greek Yogurt, I go for the 2% so I can get some good fats right in the morning as well.  I usually grab an organic granola to go with this as well as seasonal organic berries. Also an easy mid-morning snack to bring to work!






Breakfast Burrito:  You can make this pretty healthy and with whatever ingredients you have in the kitchen.  I usually incorporate some sauteed seasoned potatoes here, some scrambled eggs, cheese, salsa/pico.  If you have an avocado, slice it up and add it at the end!  All wrapped in a whole-wheat burrito!

Oatmeal: The old-fashioned oats, not the sugared ones in a package, preferably.  You can add so many things here: nut butters, fruit, nuts, almond milk, etc.  A great winter breakfast!

Ezekiel Bread Toast with Natural Peanut Butter and Sliced Apples/Bananas: This is a great breakfast if you're not too hungry or going to workout and want something light.  Ezekiel bread is one of my favorites, it's a flourless bread made from sprouted grains.  You can find them in the freezer section!

Protein Pancakes: This is a great weekend breakfast that I found the recipe in the cookbook, "Body For Life."
 -1 c. oatmeal
 -1 c. cottage cheese
 -6 egg whites
 -1 tsp. cinnamon
 -1 tsp. vanilla
 -1 pkg. natural sweetener
Mix all ingredients in a blender and you've got an amazing pancake batter!  Add some fruit or peanut butter on top and you've got a yummy treat!

What are some of your favorites?  Post your favorite recipes below, I'd love to try them!!! 

Make Your Breakfast Amazing!

Last Week of the Sugarfree Nightmare I'm living In!

So, I must come clean...I have allowed sugar to enter my life once again!  But this 30-day Candy ban has definitely been eye-opening as to what presence sugar has in my everyday life. 
I didn't decide to do this because I wanted to lose weight or go on a diet.  I just knew that Candy is one thing that has a grip on me in regards to my diet.  I can eat pretty clean most of the time but no matter what would not give up chocolate.  So I took Hersheys, Mars, and Cadbury on all at once!

What's interesting is how aware I became of my habits.  I found that it had become habitual for me to eat a little or a lot of something sweet after dinner.  If I was tired halfway through the workday, I would grab some sugar or caffeine.  I also found that after a long day or week, I had earned it!  This is pretty ridiculous if you think about it, but I felt like I had worked hard and I deserved to eat some candy/brownies/cookies/etc. as a reward.  It is good to reward yourself after meeting your goals or after a great week of workouts or eating healthy.  But these rewards need to not be detrimental to your goals!

The point of this exercise is to take one thing in your diet that is not considered positive, eliminate it and then become aware of the situations that you eat this item.  I don't intend to eliminate sugars completely from my diet, because...let's face it, I love sweets!  But the idea is to eat them sparingly.  If a portion of your diet is not in sync with the rest, eliminate it for a few weeks and then (within reason) you can slowly add it back in. 

Enjoy eating healthy!

The Smelly Brussels Sprout

As a kid, I avoided this vegetable! I remember being the only one left at the dinner table with just a serving of this awful veggie standing in the way of me and my dessert.  For whatever reason, I avoided the Brussels Sprout for the next twenty years.  I remember it being smelly and bitter tasting.  There was nothing pleasant about it and personally I did not know why the Belgiums would introduce this mini-cabbage sidekick to the rest of the world.  They should stick to producing Beer! 

A few years back, a client of mine who loved to cook passed along a pasta recipe to me with Brussels Sprouts as one of the main ingredients.  Was he serious?  Brussels Sprouts in your pasta!?!?  I was a skeptic at first, but he encouraged me to try it.  I'm always looking for new healthy recipes to try so I decided to give this little cabbage another chance.  Pleasantly surprised it's now one of my favorite recipes.  I have grown to love this cute little veggie!
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Off the top of my head, here's the recipe:

• 1 pkg. of spaghetti (I prefer vermicelli)
• 6-8 large Brussels Sprouts (preferably organic)
• 2 tbs. butter
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1/4 c. Pine Nuts
• fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Boil the pasta until cooked, al dente.  Reserve 1/2 c. of the pasta water and drain the pasta.  Slice the Brussels Sprouts into thin strips.  In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil until frothy.  Add the Pine Nuts and toast until lightly browned.  Add the Brussels Sprouts and cook until leaves are slightly wilted.  Stir in the pasta and reserved water and continue to cook for 3-5 minutes.  Serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. YUMMY!!
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The key to Brussels Sprouts is DO NOT overcook them!  They not only lose their nutritional value but this is when they begin to emit that awful sulfur smell!  It is much easier to cook these guys when cut in half or in thin strips.  This allows them to cook quicker and more evenly.

So why am I pushing these little guys??
They're healthy of course!  According to "The World's Healthiest Foods" (http://www.whfoods.org/), these mini cruciferous vegetables should be eaten on a regular basis and are one of the most powerful in fighting cancer in the cruciferous family.  The total glucosinolate content is what we're looking at here and is higher in Brussels Sprouts than found in mustard greens, turnip greens, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, and broccoli.  Brussels Sprouts also help in the body's detox system by providing sulfur-containing nutrients, vitamin C, beta-carotene, manganese, and vitamin E.  The glucosinolate content (specifically glucobrassin) in Brussels Sprouts also helps regulate the body's inflammatory/anti-inflammatory system. Both glucobrassin and vitamin K are present and are important anti-inflammatory nutrients.  Brussels Sprouts are also an important source of omega-3 fatty acids.  100 calories' worth contains 430 milligrams of omega-3s.  There are 4 g. of Fiber in every cup of Brussels Sprouts.  Not only does the fiber help support our digestive health but glucoraphanin is also present which helps in protecting the health of our stomach lining by preventing bacterial overgrowth. 

All in all, I can't find one thing wrong with these guys!  And now that I've figured out how to prepare them properly, I am a huge promoter of this Superhero Veggie!  Remember do not overcook, you will lose a lot of there benefits by overcooking (specifically boiling) and they will have that awful sulfur smell!

My 30-Day Candy Ban!

When it comes to my diet, I'm constantly reading up on new research, talking to nutritionists, checking out Documentaries such as Food Inc. and Fresh; I'm constantly wanting to learn and better my eating habits.  I've worked hard this past year at trying to eat more environmentally-conscious, leaning toward a more organic diet and slowly but surely moving into the Vegetarian realm (I still crave a burger here and there!)

So the other night as I laid on the couch watching a movie, I realized that I had just finished a half bag of peanut butter m&m's (note: this wasn't the single serving bag either) and thought, 'clearly I have a problem!'

If you know me well, my candy addiction should not surprise you.  I even have clients well aware of my 'problem' who sabotage me with candy/baked goods before training! So I have decided to eliminate all candy and simple sugars in my diet for the next 30-days.  This may not seem like a long time but as for any goal, make the goal short-term and acheivable so that you are not setting yourself up for failure.

It's amazing how when it comes to our diet, we are quick to not be honest about our diet.  When I ask clients to keep a diary of what they eat on a daily basis, most look at me with a face of complete terror!  And here I am doing the same thing, willing to eliminate meat and dairy from my diet but NOT candy! Ha!

So here's my challenge to you, for the next 30-days eliminate the one thing in your diet that you absolutely enjoy but is extremely unhealthy!  And then take the next 30-days time to analyze your diet honestly.  How do you feel when you eat certain foods? Do you eat when hungry? Do you eat when you're bored? What are your eating patterns? I encourage you to look into all the research out there pertaining to our diets and our health.  Like Fitness, this field is everchanging and we need to continuously educate ourselves.

Post below what you're eliminating and how it's going...Good Luck!

Keep Your Workouts Interesting!

Change up your workouts, try something new!

Many people do NOT enjoy working out!  There was a time where I was right there with you, it was a chore, unenjoyable. Not enjoying the activity is a major barrier to why people do not exercise on a consistent basis.  The key is to keep your workouts interesting.  Try something new!  For me, my workouts vary daily: Bodyweight Training and Yoga, Running with my dog, Training Muay Thai Kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Teaching Cardio classes.  My job makes this very easy but even I get bored in the weight room.  My workouts keep evolving and I rarely do the same workouts.  

*The less reasons you have as to why you don't want to workout today (time, tiredness, boredom, etc.) the better your workout routine will be.  So let's eliminate this one!  

• Try a new activity! (a new sport, type of training, etc.): Learning a new activity takes a lot of thought to learn the skill and can make the workout much more enjoyable.
• Join a club/group: Running groups, Rec Sports, Dance groups, etc. are a great way to enjoy an activity socially.
• Vary your daily workout: Doing the same workout routine or same activity day in and day out can become tedious and unenjoyable. Each day do something different.
• Change the environment: Workout in the gym, take a class at a private studio, enjoy the nice weather at a park/beach while being active...there are so many options here and this is so easy to do!

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**This Saturday, come out and enjoy the Fall weather.  I'll be hosting an Intensive 1 1/2 hr. Bootcamp style workout at Lake Shore Park (Chicago and Lake Shore, across from Northwestern) at 9am. The workout is $10/person and feel free to drag along whomever!  Bring water and a mat/towel.

Let me know if you are coming! Click Here to see the Evite.

Let Me Clarify Something... Exercise is Tough on Our Bodies!

This is such a simple concept that a lot of us don't understand and if we can grasp this one thing in our life, we will be much 'healthier'!  Living an Active Lifestyle is hard on your body!  It's not easy by any means and can cause some major complications.  Cardiovascular training is repetitive pounding on our joints (knees, ankles, hips, shoulder, etc.).  Resistance training, Plyometrics, Bodyweight training puts major stresses on our muscles, ligaments, and tendons and in return can cause minor tears in the muscles (which is necessary for muscle growth).  Impact training and many sports can cause minor/major injuries upon impact. The key here is LISTENING to our bodies and finding a BALANCE!

Our goal needs to be to create a healthy lifestyle that can be maintained the rest of our lives.  Not an intensive Diet/Exercise plan for 4 weeks to drop 10 pounds before vacation.  (This is actually very detrimental to your body and metabolism.)  We need to create a Balance in our lifestyle that allows your body to RECOVER from all the hard work/stress you put on it!

This past year, I got my Natural Trainers Certification through Jon Hinds and the MonkeyBar Gym (www.monkeybargym.com).  This 6-day Intensive Course touches on this very thing and engraved the word BALANCE in bold in my head.  They call it the MBG 3 philosophy.  The workouts are designed to allow the body to focus on different types of training and to allow the body to be able to continue training without Overtraining.  Eischens Yoga is used for Restoration of the body.  And a Plant-Based diet allows for Recovery and puts proper Fuel into your body.

This is not something you just GET.  It takes work.  I am constantly working on this!

**My challenge to you is to journal for a week or two (yes this takes work but is SO beneficial).  Journal not just everything you eat but how you feel from these foods.  Journal your workout and how you feel from the workouts.  Start paying attention to your body.  If you are tired one day, try to take a nap if possible or go to bed early (our bodies need this for recovery!) Don't just ingest Caffeine and keep going all night!

Next go back and review the week, feel free to post questions as well here.  Our goal is to create a routine/plan that is achievable to you and that will allow you to keep going past your crash pre-vacation overhaul.

Engrave the word BALANCE in your head.  Now try applying it to whatever your health goals are. We all are different, there is not one book/workout out there that is the end all be all.  We all respond differently.  So start paying attention to your body!

Time for some recovery ;) Good night!

WELCOME!

While sitting at my computer planning my next Boot Camp in the Park workout for this weekend, I had an idea to start a blog.  Just a place for my friends/clients/whomever to come to for any type of info on Fitness/Wellness.  A place to rejoice about the accomplishments of my clients, to share their stories, a place to talk about training ideas, new research, a place to work on nutrition and to help whomever I can with whatever Fitness & Nutrition challenges they may be tackling.

Being healthy is a challenge that we all struggle with including me (I'm a closet candy addict!).  I hope this can be a site that is resourceful to you in any way.