Hypocrite or human?

I was at the grocery store recently, grabbing a few things one evening. After I loaded my chicken breasts, Greek yogurt and avocados on the counter my eyes wandered around as I waited for the cashier to finish waiting on the man in front of me. At the next register there was a woman, about my age, buying a thirty-pack of Bud Light. For a second I gave myself a mental pat on the back. I thought, “look at me with my yogurt and avocados, so health conscious.” I quickly reminded myself that sometimes I’m the girl buying the Bud Light. Hell, I’d probably even throw in a frozen pizza too! Then I felt a little bit guilty.

I’m supposed to set an example. I am trying to make a career out of motivating people to get healthy and fit. Does it make me a hypocrite if I drink beer? Am I not to be trusted if I grab a frozen pizza every now and then when I just don’t feel like cooking dinner? I don’t really think so. I make healthy choices the majority of the time. I also let my guard down sometimes. I’m human, and that’s what I think is my edge. I will always be honest and real with you. I want to help you sustain a healthy lifestyle, knowing full well that you are human too.

I’ll never expect you to give up every single thing that is unhealthy in your diet. And I will never claim that I live that way 100% of the time either. I don’t. I fully support treating yourself, in moderation. Honestly, I think depriving yourself completely of things you enjoy is a bad idea. This is what leads to binging on the very stuff that you’re trying to avoid! In my opinion, it’s a much safer bet to enjoy in moderation than it is to practice deprivation.

 

I guess what I'm trying to say to you, and to myself, is don't feel guilty when you let your guard down. When you throw your diet to the wind for an evening of fun, just remind yourself that you're human. Get back to healthy choices in the morning. Never beat yourself up, that's a complete waste of time.

 

Sometimes you're the girl buying the yogurt and avocados. Sometimes you're the girl buying the beer and frozen pizza. And you know what? Both are okay.

Stay strong this summer!

Wow! I can’t believe we are already more than half way through 2015. Did you have a health and/or fitness related resolution this year? How is it going? I think now is a good time to check in with those resolutions, goals and commitments we made with ourselves at the

beginning of the year. If you’ve been slacking off recently, or even fallen of the health and fitness wagon completely,   I have some good news for you.. We still have six months to go! If you set a goal for yourself in January and are feeling discouraged about your progress, or lack thereof, don’t give up! Go after it for the next six months!

I revisited some of the intentions I set for myself this year today and I feel pretty good about them. Like all of us, I’ve had setbacks. I am still recuperating from a knee/hamstring injury (yes, I hurt myself again). So, I’ve been taking it easy with my workouts for the last several weeks but I’m on the mend now and haven’t let this bump in the road discourage me. I’ll get back to my normal routine soon enough and I am looking forward to it. I have kept a much more positive outlook this time than I did when I hurt my back this past winter. I feel good about that. We’ll always encounter setbacks in life, it’s all in how we handle them and move past them.

One area that I need to get back in check is my diet. Isn’t it so hard to stay on track during the summer? It is for me. Between having all our favorite seasonal restaurants and ice cream places back open for the summer and outdoor get-togethers to attend with burgers, beers and yummy desserts, temptation is literally everywhere! I wanted to offer a few tips on surviving this wonderful season without packing on unwanted pounds in the process…

• Bring a healthy dish to cook outs and parties. If you bring a healthy dish to that barbecue you were invited to this weekend then you know there will be something healthy available. Bring a delicious salad with seasonal, local veggies. I guarantee it will be a hit and you won’t have to worry about whether there will be any healthy choices available.

• Fill up on fruits and veggies. There are almost always fruit or veggie platters at get-togethers. It’s a staple. Fill your plate up with those and eat them before you dive into the potato salad or the desserts. They’ll fill you up without weighing you down and you won’t feel guilty later.

• Get active! There are so many fun ways to get active outside in the summer. You can pretty much do something different every day! Switching things up often prevents boredom which means you’ll be less likely to fall of the fitness wagon. If you’re tired of the routine that you’ve been doing all winter in the gym then get outside! Go for a hike, a bike ride or a swim. Try kayaking, paddle-boarding, golfing or tennis. I could go on, you get the point. Get outside and get moving!

• Hydrate and don’t forget those liquid calories. It’s summer. It’s hot out. Remember to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. It’s tempting to reach for other drinks to feel refreshed like a cold beer, frozen cocktail, sweet iced tea or sugary lemonade. I’m not condemning that. Just remember to moderate and keep in mind the calories you’re consuming when you’re sipping on these drinks.

Summer is my favorite season. I plan on enjoying it to the fullest and I hope that you do the same. Live your life but remember: all things in moderation. Stay active and hydrated, make good nutritional choices most of the time and you’ll be golden!

Chocolate Coconut Cups

Okay, full disclosure... This was a failed attempt at creating a healthy version of a Bounty bar. They say if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. So, I will attempt this again and I'll keep you posted on my progress. That being said, it wasn't a complete failure. I still ended up with a delicious, healthy treat. That sounds like a win to me, am I right? You be the judge- make a batch of your own!



Chocolate Coconut Cups

• 2 cups shredded coconut
• 2 tbs coconut oil (melted)
• 1 scoop protein powder (I used a vegan vanilla powder)
• 1 tbs honey
• 1 serving chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% cacao chips)

1. Combine the first four ingredients in a mixing bowl, making sure that shredded coconut is well coated.
2. Distribute six equal portions of coconut mixture in a muffin tin.
3. Melt chocolate chips and drizzle over each coconut cup.
4. Place muffin tin in freezer for at least 30 minutes.
5. Remove from freezer and enjoy!

Nutrition facts (per cup)

183 calories

F 10 grams

C 19 grams

P  4 grams

All about goals...

Setting goals is important. Having something to strive for gives us determination. When setting health and fitness goals for yourself you should always make sure that they are SMART goals. Goals should be specific and unambiguous.Write down your goal and state specifically what needs to be accomplished. In order to track progress toward your goal it must be measurable. For example: instead of having a goal of "going on more walks", make it your goal to "walk 2 miles, three times a week". Instead of saying "I want to lose some weight" say "I want to lose 5 pounds." Goals need to be attainable, or realistic, for you personally. Don't set so lofty a goal that you become discouraged when you are unable to reach it. Goals should be relevant to your personal interests, needs and abilities. Last, but definitely not least, goals need to be time-bound. When you write down your goal make sure it contains an estimated timeline for completion. This will give you a sense of urgency in working toward your goal and make it harder for you to put it on the back burner. Check in with yourself often to monitor progress toward your goal and make sure you are sticking to the timeline you set. Revisit and revise your goals when you need to. Push yourself but be honest with yourself.

Be sure to include both process and product goals when setting goals. Process goals are something that you do, while product goals are something you achieve. The example I used above, "walk 2 miles, three times week," is a process goal. The second example, "I want to lose five pounds," is a product goal. Reaching goals feels good and motivates you to continue toward the next one. You can reach process goals often, so it's important to set them.

Record your goals. Write them down. Then make sure to monitor, and record, progress toward your goals. If you have a large, long-term goal break it into smaller, short-term goals that you can accomplish as you work toward your main goal. As you check your short-term goals off, reward yourself! What motivates you? New workout gear, a night out, a pedicure? Build a system of rewards into your goals. You deserve to treat yourself for a job well done! 

               

Busy lives call for burritos!

I know that many of you, like me, lead very busy lives. It can be so hard to stay on track with healthy eating when you are juggling a million commitments. Sometimes I feel like I barely have time to eat, let alone plan and prepare a healthy and balanced meal. My husband and I both work full-time and often have meetings or other commitments in the evenings. On busy nights it’s easy for us to justify picking up some take out or grabbing a quick, frozen meal from the grocery store. Not only is that an unhealthy habit but the cost of doing that a couple of nights a week can add up! It’s cheaper and healthier to prepare your own meals. We all know that, but we pay (in more ways than one) for convenience.

This past weekend I finally took my own advice and did something I have been wanting to do for a while. I made my own frozen dinners! It only took me about an hour and I know it will be well worth it on my next busy night. My freezer is now stocked with individually wrapped, homemade frozen burritos. They’re tasty and healthy, with just a fraction of the fat and sodium of store bought frozen burritos!

I used chicken, black beans and salsa in my burritos. You could really make them with any ingredients you like, though. I can't wait  to try some different variations!

I roasted a whole chicken, then shredded it and combined it with a jar of salsa and a can of black beans (drained). I cooked this mixture over low heat for 15-20 minutes. Then, I laid whole wheat tortillas on squares of tin foil, put a cup of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla, wrapped up the tortillas, wrapped each one in tin foil, and voila!

See how easy that was?! And now I have a supply of healthy, homemade burritos in my freezer for those hectic nights when cooking dinner is the last thing I want to do. Now, try this out with your favorite burrito ingredients and stock up your freezer!

Step away from the scale!

Are you a slave to the scale? So many of us are! Let me clue you in on a little something though.. In many cases the scale is not an accurate measure of your progress. Muscle is smaller and tighter than fat, therefore a pound of muscle is going to take up less space than a pound of fat. When you see no change (or an increase) on that scale after hours and hours of hard work, sweat and determination it can be extremely frustrating. Believe me, I know

Try to keep in mind that as your body is working and changing it is very likely that you are losing fat and building muscle. Pay more attention to how you feel, how your clothes fit, take your measurements, take photos! It is not

easy to step away from the scale, but for some of us (like myself) who can’t help but shake that disappointed feeling when you don’t see that number dwindling, it’s the best thing to do. I gave up on weighing myself regularly a while ago and now I rely on other methods to track my progress. I have learned to throw my “weight goal” to the wind and focus more on how I feel. For the longest time I was determined to get to 135 lbs. That was my set-in-stone goal weight because it was the weight on my license, what I weighed when I was sixteen. That was nearly ten years ago! I finally had to come to terms with the fact that that is not a realistic goal for me. I am not a teenager, I'm a woman, a woman whose healthy weight is now closer to 150 lbs than 135. And that's okay!

I'm not saying you should never, ever weigh yourself again. It can definitely be good to keep an eye on your weight. My suggestion would be to schedule it. Maybe you weigh yourself every Friday, or every other, or maybe just once a month. Just be careful not to let it become an unhealthy obsession. Our weight can fluctuate by pounds just over the course of 24 hours! Ladies, we all know how much our weight can change over the course of our cycle. Don't over analyze! If you're working hard and eating well, just keep doing what you're doing. Don't let a scale hold the key to your happiness. After all, who cares what the scale says if you look and feel better than you did when you started? Weight, like age, is just a number!

Injury, indulgence & New Year's resolutions

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope your holiday season was everything you hoped for. Personally, I’m a little relieved to be through the holidays and into the new year. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas. I love the atmosphere, celebrating with family and friends and, of course, all the delicious treats. This year I was determined to keep my nutrition on track throughout the holiday season and (full disclosure here, folks) I failed…

I did have a really good routine going for the last few months. I was hitting the gym in the morning before work most days. I was eating well and feeling really good! Then, I hurt myself.. In mid-December I fell down the stairs (no, they weren’t icy, I was just clumsy) and injured my tail bone pretty badly. For over a week I was moving very slowly. Sitting was almost unbearable and when I did sit I had to do so on a “donut” pillow. Side note- if you ever hurt your tail bone these things are a must have. It has totally been my savior these past few weeks.

Anyway, I am almost back to normal now. I can manage everyday tasks again but I’m still not exercising like I normally do. I’ll get there. Like we’ve all heard many times before, it is so important to let your body heal. Pushing yourself before you’re ready is only going to set you back more. Of course I know this, and have said this to many people myself. However, now that I am the one who is injured, it's been a hard pill to swallow.

So, you're probably thinking “what does this have to do with you letting your diet go to crap over the holidays?” If you are injured and unable to workout nutrition should be even MORE of a priority, right? Yeah,

that’s the thought.. Unfortunately, I let this get the best of me for a while. I am always an optimist but being laid up really had me feeling down. Pair the pity party with the fact that holiday treats have been lurking around every corner and you have yourself a dangerous combination. Eating sweets and drinking wine to drown my sorrows over not being able to exercise is not really my style, but for a while I just didn’t care.

But guess what? It’s 2015! It’s a new year full of new opportunity and as 2014 came to a close I couldn’t help but remember how great it has been. I will be damned if I’ll let one small injury derail my progress (in the gym AND the kitchen) and my happiness. I am thankful for the reminder to slow down, both literally (on the stairs!) and figuratively. Sometimes, we get so busy with work, school, our families, our friends and a whole variety of other commitments, that we never have a second to breath and focus on ourselves.

Getting hurt was not fun at all, but it forced me to take a break which has allowed me to focus on myself more. As cliché as it may be, I do believe everything happens for a reason and maybe that was my reason. Maybe, it was just what I needed. That being said, in 2015 I resolve to slow down, take more time out for myself and to say “no” more. I don’t need to commit to every little thing that comes my way and I don’t need to constantly strive to make everyone else happy (any of my Taylors reading this?! You know.. :-P). I plan on focusing on myself, my goals and, as always, having as much fun as possible along the way. Cheers to a healthy and happy new year for all of you and to focusing on what YOU need to make that happen!