balance

Finding Balance This December

12.02.2013

Happy December loves! My favorite month of all….who doesn’t love the holiday season?! I wanted to share a quick post from my IG and Facebook page with you guys:

December is the HARDEST month of all to stay on track! It’s so easy to let your health and fitness go by the wayside during the holidays. Tis the season to feel like we need to gorge ourselves for being “good” during the summer months. Trying my hardest not to feel guilty during this time, but I’ve decided that it’s best to enjoy the season full of holiday food and drink. All in MODERATION. The challenge this month is finding that healthy balance. No starving, no binging, but eating right most of the time and exercising. Exercise makes you feel good, AND improves your physique. Score! The holidays are no excuse to give up on workouts and meal plans. So whose with me to work hard and stay committed?!

What’s your goal during the month of December? I will be on a mission to finding that healthy balance while not missing out on any holiday fun. 🙂

#12wbt…Making Progress!

11.07.2013

I am 2 weeks deep into the Michelle Bridges #12wbt program! Pretty dang happy with myself that I made it this far! This program has taken 120% commitment and has lead me to do nothing other than focus on my goals. Work/#12wbt/life balance has definitely been an ongoing issue the past two weeks and to be honest, I’m still learning how to handle it all. One of the most important things I’ve learned is that planning is key when squeezing in a workout, meal prep, boyfriend and family time. Let’s just say, I have been a busy little bee!

This being my first time sticking to an actual “plan” and going by what someone else has provided me, I have learned too much not to share!

1.) You must want it enough! This is a lifestyle change. I am constantly focusing on my meals and after work plans to either work out and/or grocery shop, then meal prep. Then do it all over again. My head is spinning but it gets easier with time. If you don’t want it enough, the work simply won’t be worth it to you. You gotta want to work your butt off to see results!

2.) I have never cooked so much in my life and I’m starting to really enjoy it! I love all of the recipes this plan consists of, and there are so many to choose from! Eating something other than the staple chicken, veggies and complex carbs is nice too. 🙂

3.) After my first grocery shopping trip for the program on Sunday, my reaction: holy sh*t I just spent how much money…!?! However, that was because I chose a different recipe for every single meal that week. Learned my lesson! Sticking to the same breakfast or lunch (which I don’t mind) totally cuts down the grand total by a lot! Now, I am eating more efficiently and spending much less money. Also, without eating out as much, I have saved a lot of money here also. This is one thing that I wish this program would mention- grocery shopping on a budget.

4.) Don’t be afraid of carbs. I was shocked to see how many whole wheats are incorporated in each recipe. I actually had to ask one of the nutritionists to make sure I wasn’t consuming too much. I have cut down a few more than what the plan calls for, but no longer afraid to eat whole wheat tortillas, pita bread or whole grains. You need these grains to give you energy and stamina to make it through the rigorous workouts. Overall, I love the variety that this plan offers and how it has opened up my eyes to new meal assortments and portion sizes.

5.) There is not a lot of cardio in this plan, but you don’t need it!! Can you believe it, very little cardio? I know, I questioned at first myself, but truth is, cardio is not an important factor is losing weight or training to gain muscle. Lifting is key! Especially when incorporating so many supersets, pyramid sets and circuits, your heart rate is up even more than it would on the treadmill or elliptical. LOVE this because cardio inside a gym is b.o.r.i.n.g. for me.

All in all, I am making progress! I feel stronger, leaner, and most of all more confident. With time, I am hoping to focus more on balance, because there’s no way I want to give up this lifestyle! Fingers crossed I can show you guys the before an after picture I have envisioned for myself. 🙂

Do you guys have trouble with work/life/fitness life balance? If so, what’s your trick?

Disclaimer: I am getting financially compensated for this campaign, however all opinions are my own.

October Goal List

10.02.2013

I don’t know about you guys, but I love fall! Over-sized sweaters, boots, hats…well sort of. In San Francisco it’s now our summer? Anyways, I do love all things that come with fall! But since summer is over lets not get lazy and stop working out! With the holidays near, lets focus on balance. With home cooked meals and family get-togethers around the corner lets not feel guilty for enjoying them, but focus more on balance. Balance with nutrition, workouts and family time. Since yesterday was our first day of October I put together a list of goals this month.

Find a boxing gym and learn how to box!
Focus on portion control and measure portion sizes
Nike Women’s Half Marathon and Run10Feed10 Event
Find a new clean pumpkin recipe to master
Spend time studying to get NCCPT certified- Need to buckle down and hit the books
Inspire at least one person on their fitness journey
Spend more time blogging, writing, and creative thinking
Compile a list of scary movies to re-watch
Rent a cabin with friends for a long weekend
Sweat daily!!

I would love to hear- what’s on your October goal list?

What I Ate Wednesday / Grocery Shopping Tip

08.28.2013

I am linking up for another What I ate Wednesday! Hopefully this gives you guys some ideas of what I eat, as I am constantly looking for new meal recipes! Head over to Peas and Crayons for more clean eating ideas! She makes master pieces over there, where as my cooking skills are slowly but surely progressing. These pics are lacking veggies which I ate but are not pictured, so here is the gist of my meals:

Breakfast: post workout protein shake with my fave yogurt. Fage Total 0% greek yogurt is my go-to. I buy at least 5/week, love!

Lunch: I bought this chicken pre-packaged at Trader Joes. These are SO good! This one is a lemon flavor, but they have plenty others also. I usually shop on Sundays or Mondays and prepare my meals for the week. My lunch will look very similar to this all week.

A little peak into my desk drawer at work…full of Quest Bars! The perfect afternoon snack. This is my fave flavor also! YUM!

Dinner: Egg whites, extra lean chicken sausage and tomatoes for me, cheese for my boyfriend. We almost always eat the same dinner, just different variations. (It’s not the prettiest pic but this is reality) 🙂

Dark chocolate after dinner is my guilty pleasure…alright secrets out. I just discovered this new store here in SF called New Tree. Its more of a coffee shop but they make these delicious chocolates!

————————–

Have you guys seen the show Extreme Weightloss? I am obsessed! It is so educational and the stories very inspiring. One take-away from the show: shop the outside of the aisles in the grocery store. Everything you need is on the outer parts of the store. No need to go within the aisles. This is SO true and one of the best grocery shopping tips. Also, the junk is right in front of you, you must search for the healthy items. This reality is unfortunate, but go with a list and search for the items you need instead of spur of the moment shopping which often leads to buying more unhealthy items.

Head to Rocco Dispirito’s website and check out his healthy cookbooks. I am so anxious to try his recipes. Let me know what you think!

Balance

10.25.2012

I hope everyone has been having a fabulous week! I have been busy rooting on our San Francisco Giants as they play game 2 tonight in the world series!! I am beyond excited and it is amazing to watch how this city comes together for our team. Anyways, I wanted to talk a bit about balance, as we try our best to balance things out in our lives. Especially in regards to fitness it has been a bit of a struggle for me to come up with a work, gym, and social life balance. In a perfect world I could fit everything in…work all day, come home, workout then be with friends, my family, my boyfriend and have time to blog, shop etc etc…uh, yeah maybe in my dreams! As of right now, my head has been drowning in all things fitness and that is what I love, but other aspects have been suffering. I don’t have time to go out with friends all the time, I don’t have time to post every night as I would LOVE to. So this is where I am needing to sit back and figure out how I am going to come to terms with the fact that everything will not get done. There is not one thing that will get 100% of my attention, as my passion comes from so many different branches.

How do I have time in my busy life to hit the gym, yoga class, run and eat clean? Sounds simple, I make time. Reality: not that simple! I have learned to make it a lifestyle that it isn’t a second thought anymore. But it has gotten easier with time. I prepare my meals to bring to work with me. I plan out my workout schedule each week around other activities. If I have an after work event, I usually plan to squeeze in a workout within the work day. If I know I can make it to the gym after work, I head there right after without a thought about skipping or sitting on the couch. This may seem a little crazy, but I swear you can do it as well. There are always some rest days, as I cannot let myself get down about those. When there is a will there is a way.

I think one of the most important things while living a ‘fit’ lifestyle is finding the right support system. It will be incredibly hard to eat the correct foods or stay on a strict regime if you are not surrounding yourself with people who will support you 100%. Working together with someone who shares the same views about fitness will enable you more than you could imagine. I am so lucky to have a boyfriend who eats what I eat, and works out as much as I do. We share the same values and views of why health and fitness is so important and that makes a world of difference. Push each other to get your butt to the gym, and don’t let your partner buy crap that will sit in your fridge and taunt you to eat it! Even if they are not on your same page, influence them as much as possible. Spread the word of fitness and help better others lives in that way. Make sense? Find friends that share your same passion and push each other to stay motivated. Make it fun! Stay focused, stay positive and keep moving forward. 🙂

I’m wondering, do you share the same struggles, of work life, fitness life and social life balance? I would love for you to share with us!

With my Nike marathon past me, I am planning to keep up running as much as possible. I decided to do a 5k turkey trot here in the city! Nothing like a good run before a large Thanksgiving meal! Find the details here.

***Also, I have something really special coming up in the near future for Fitness and the City… stay tuned, I am so excited!***

Take care, and GO GIANTS!! 🙂

balance

Latest from Instagram