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.