exercise

Progress with MyFitnessPal

11.30.2012

Hello my fit friends! I apologize for my lack of posts, as I have been quite busy this week. I also don’t want to post just because…I would rather have something important and beneficial to say. 🙂 This week I decided to be extra strict in regards to my eating habits and exercise, with it being post Thanksgiving and all. I want to test my body and see what it is truly capable of. I have been successful thus far, eating super clean, no cheat meals, and hitting the gym 4/4 times this week. I have to say, I am quite proud! With a little ambition, you can achieve anything you set your mind to! I wanted to share a bit below about what is going on for me in my fitness world.

{progress pic above}

I started using MyFitnessPal, which is an app you can download on your phone. It is super cool, and I have been very diligent about using. If you havent heard of it, with this app you enter your food and workout logs each day, as it counts calories and calculates how much more you should be consuming to stay at a certain weight, or whatever your goals may be. You can either search for the food, or scan it, which is awesome! It is SO important to track your progress when you have a certain goal in mind. If you are trying to lose weight, this is KEY! If you are like me and trying to gain muscle and track protein intake this is also a great tool. Needless to say, I am loving it so far and has helped me immensely to stay on track. You can also find me and follow my records, username: FitnessandtheCity.

While eating extremely clean, I found myself to be eating the same thing over and over again. I usually start with Nonfat greek yogurt in the morning, and at least one of my meals consist of chicken and brown rice or veggies. I need to spice it up a bit, and will be searching for new recipes. Stay tuned! What are your go-to meals?

{Here was a delicious meal that I came up with. Organic brown rice from Trader Joes, asparagus and shrimp. I’m no cook in the kitchen but this was tasty! }

Stay tuned, I have a new Fitness and the City Fit Gal coming up! Her name is Cassie and she is truly inspiring! She is a cosmetology student who has made the commitment to a healthy lifestyle. I can’t wait to introduce her!

{If you would like to be featured on my blog as a Fit Gal, please email me at Jenna.pardini@gmail.com }

Happy weekend everyone! With the gloomy weather (at least here in San Francisco), I know how much comfort food and being lazy can take over you mind and body! Try to stay on track with your goals. Positive energy = positive results! 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving!

11.22.2012

Happy turkey day to you and your family! Although we should give thanks all year round, today I wanted to thank all of you for reading and supporting the blog. It means the world to me and I am very grateful for all of you. Have fun today, as you can run, exercise and kick some butt tomorrow!

Cheers to health and happiness, xo Jenna

Tips for a Healthier Thanksgiving

11.20.2012

Ok, so this seems to be the topic of the season, right? Thanksgiving only comes around once a year, and it seems to be on trend to splurge during the Holidays. But why do we feel the need to gain weight and eat more than needed? Why can’t we make it a healthier holiday while still giving thanks and enjoying the company of friends and family? Lets try to be guilt free as much as possible! Exercise more than usual, put your mind to it and enjoy the season free of guilt.

Here are some tips that have come to mind as we approach Thanksgiving:

1. Get active! There are tons of organized runs going on during this time of year. Get registered to run or walk a 5k even if you are not a runner. Burn off those extra calories, both before and after meals. Take a walk, increase your steps, lengthen your fitness routine the weeks ahead and also the day of the feast. Make fitness a family adventure which you can all enjoy together.

2. Eat breakfast the day of. While it may make sense to save calories for the big meal, eating a small meal in the morning gives you more control over your appetite later in the day.

3. Lighten up the feast, with less fat, sugar and calories. This is easier if you are the one in the kitchen, but fat-free chicken broth, sugar substitutes, and less butter are just a few ways to make the meal a little less indulging.

4. Portions, portions, portions! Use portion control people! “If you’re hoping to keep this Thanksgiving from turning into another gut-busting affair, that’s what your plate should look like: a serving of turkey no larger than a deck of playing cards and half a cup each of two starches. (A half-cup is about the size of a computer mouse.) And that’s being generous…But Americans generally are clueless when it comes to proper portions, and on Thursday most will belly up instead to platters piled high with more calories and fat than an average person should eat all day.” Did you know that Americans are eating about 200 more calories per day than they did during the 1970s? Visualize your stomach; it’s about the size of two fists. If the food on your plate wont fit, cut back. To read more about portion control, click here.

5. Slow your roll and eat early. Enjoy your meal by eating it slower, which also gives you more time to digest and realize how full you actually are. Also, eat your meal on the early side, so you have time to digest before bed, or maybe even take a walk afterwards to get that metabolism moving.

Thanksgiving is a time to focus on family and friends, socializing and spending quality time together. It’s not all about the food! Although, it sure is delicious don’t focus on the meal, rather focus on those wonderful people you are surrounded by. Oh and one last very important thing, be realistic. Shift from a focus of weight loss to weight maintenance. You will be ahead of the game with a heavy mindset and can ultimately avoid gaining weight over the holidays if you put your mind to it!

How are you planning to practice these tips this coming season?

Enjoy the season and stay fit,

Jenna

{Sources: MSNBC.com, WebMD.com}

pvBody and NatureBox

11.19.2012

Happy Thanksgiving week! As we know, with the holiday comes about many challenges regarding health and fitness. Plan to do your best this week so you can reward with a nice large meal with family and friends on Thursday!

I am VERY excited to share with you a couple of new fitness related websites that I found. I think you will LOVE them! These business plans are phenomenal and such great ideas for those fitness fanatics like myself.

The first is pv.body.com. (Thank you Christie for sending this to me!!) If you love buying workout clothes as much as I do, this is the site for you! For just $39.95 a month, they will send you a workout top and bottom which is chosen according to your style. You take the quiz to determine your needs, an outfit a month is chosen and sent to you free of delivery charge. I am SO curious to see how this works, as I love workout clothes more than anything!

http://www.pvbody.com

I have also recently signed up for Nature Box. (Sorry mom to spoil my Christmas present!) I just couldn’t resist. This is a monthly membership deal as well, where for a small cost, they will send you a box full of healthy snacks. Other than hearing many great things about this company, here is a quick read that convinced me to sign up:

Discover a Healthier You: NatureBox helps you eat healthier without needing to change your eating habits. We focus on snacks because that’s the easiest habit to change. Do you know that the average American eats almost 25% of their calories from snacking? In fact, snacking is the leading cause of childhood obesity. NatureBox helps you get more out of your day without wasting calories on the bad stuff.

Food You Can Trust: Every NatureBox item is carefully sourced and nutritionist approved. Everything inside your NatureBox will be guilt free so that you can feel great about what you’re eating. You can trust that our products will be made from the most wholesome ingredients and will be minimally processed, if at all.

Together We Give: For every NatureBox sent out, together we’re helping to feed the hungry. NatureBox donates one meal for every box to feed the over 14 million children in America who go hungry. We believe in doing good and eating well.

www.naturebox.com

Who says you can’t spoil yourself once in a while? Have a wonderful week everyone! Be sure to check out these businesses for yourself and thank you for reading!

xo, Jenna

5 Favorite Things

11.09.2012

Here are a few of my favorite things at the moment. First off, how cute are these cheetah print Nikes? If anyone knows where I can purchase these, please let me know. Green tea has been an essential lately to get me through the latter half of a long workday. I have also been experimenting in the kitchen with different ways to prepare kale. Simply delicious. Fall foliage and the wonderful smell of rain are also at the top of my list as the holiday season is quickly approaching. Happy weekend everyone!

exercise

Latest from Instagram