fitessential

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! 🙂

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

Fit Gal: Amber!

11.14.2012

Hey all! I think its time for another Fit Gal! I would love to introduce you to Amber. A certain facebook posting got my attention and I knew I had to get her on Fitness and the City. Here is how it went: “Happy 1 year of healthy living to me! November 1, 2011 I decided to start living a healthy lifestyle (eating clean & exercising.) I’m not posting this for complements, but because someone’s posts like this inspired me to get off my ass. So if this helps just one person get motivated then I’m happy! If I can do it so can you.” So what do you think about that for inspiring?! Here she is…

Fit Gal: Amber

1. Tell us about yourself and your “fitness lifestyle” and journey.

I am 23 years old born and raised in Northern California. I recently graduated from Sonoma State University and live in Santa Rosa. Since I was little I have always been an active person. I played soccer for 14 years, ran cross country and worked out pretty routinely. I have always fluctuated in weight. I would lose weight and then put it right back on. College was some of my heaviest years because I wasn’t taking care of myself. Poor eating, too much drinking and not enough sleep. In November 2011, after looking at pictures of myself, I realized I needed to make a lifestyle change, and not just a quick fix but a forever one. I decided to start eating right and exercising. And I did just that. I did not use any diet program or pay for any personal training. I just used the simple formula of food in moderation and small portions, and at the gym cardio and weights. I also trained and ran my first ½ marathon and in June. Training for a run was great because I had a long term goal of running the 13.1 miles but also had the short term goals of making sure I ran each week. Which is a lot like my journey to where I am today because I believe a huge part of my success is setting small goals that work towards a bigger goal. I started my journey weighting 182 lbs. and I am currently 152. I am nowhere near done working towards my goal weight and my journey will never be over because fitness is a lifestyle and I plan to keep it in my life forever!

2. What are your goals and how are you working for them?

My next goal is to run a full marathon before I turn 24! Also, get down to my goal weight.

3. Do you “eat clean”?

I try my best to eat clean, but there are days that I totally blow it. What has helped me be successful is planning ahead. Making weekly schedules of what I’m going to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. When I don’t prepare I give in to the “bad foods.” I also don’t cut anything out cold turkey. I believe eating the things I enjoy most (ice cream) in moderation is what has helped me be successful for this long and not go back to putting on weight. I also accept the days I don’t eat clean and reminding myself that tomorrow is a fresh start. I pay close attention to labels and how much hidden sugars are in items, those can get you!

4. In what ways do you stay active?

To stay active I take a boot camp class on Wednesday and Saturdays. I try to get to the gym Monday- Friday and do cardio every day and free weights every other day. I also love running so signing up for races always keeps me busy with training.

5. What inspires you to live this lifestyle?

Living this lifestyle has brought so many great things to my life. I have met new people through working out, I have a lot of energy and I just feel SO good about myself. What inspires me to live this lifestyle is to show people that it’s possible. It just takes the drive and determination in yourself to get moving. No one else is going to get you off the couch but yourself. Healthy is happy 🙂

Thank you so much for sharing with us Amber! Your positivity and desire to help others is awesome! I know I feel motivated by your determination and success! 🙂

{If you would like to be a part of this Fit Gal project, please comment or send me a note. I would love to have you!}

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!

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