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Fit Gal: Brittany!

01.15.2013

I have been DYING to introduce you to this amazing woman and fitness guru! She has come a long way and I am so impressed with her dedication and committment to fitness. So here she is…

Fit Gal: Brittany!

1. Tell us about yourself and your fitness lifestyle.

Hi! my name is Brittany and I am a 23-year-old student studying Business Administration. I made my lifestyle change almost 3 years ago now. I had a free membership to the gym on campus and decided to take advantage of it. Starting out, I had no idea what I was doing. I would follow my boyfriend around in the gym and watch what he did. I was very self-conscious because I had no clue what to do with any of the equipment – I felt like everyone was staring at me. I started to follow fitness pages on Facebook and read up on some articles online to get the basics. One day I picked up a copy of Oxygen Magazine at the grocery store while I was waiting in line and thought wow, this girl looks amazing! I bought it, read it cover to cover and felt more motivated than ever. Not long after I was giving my boyfriend tips in the gym! It’s been a great journey so far and I’m so proud of myself for making this lifestyle change. I am continuously learning and loving every minute of it!

2) What are your goals and how are you working towards them?

My original goal was to lose some weight and tone up. In the beginning I did lose weight – but I pretty much gained it all back in MUSCLE. This was kind of discouraging at first but looking back at where I was and to now, I definitely look and feel smaller, more toned, fit and have a lot more shape. I think it’s important for women to realize that they shouldn’t be scared of lifting weights because all the muscle you build burns more calories and keeps your metabolism revved!! My goal recently was to compete in a fitness competition. I am excited to say that I will be doing that in April 2013!! I joined a local team that does coaching for athletes and fitness competitors and am so excited and proud at the progress I’ve been making so far.

3) Do you “eat clean”?

Yes! I believe it’s impossible to make progress in the gym if you do not eat clean. I did pretty well at eating clean before I joined my team but obviously still enjoyed treats..I have a terrible sweet tooth 🙂 Now that I have a deadline I’m kicking my butt into gear! Lots of protein – chicken, lean beef, salmon, haddock tuna etc, good nutritious veggies like kale, swiss chard, broccoli and good sources of carbs – sweet potato, oats, quinoa, & brown rice. I still have an occasional treat but keep it small in moderation.

4) In what ways do you stay active?

I am in the gym 3 days on, one day off then repeat. I work all muscle groups twice a week. Right now I am doing little cardio as I’m in the muscle building phase of my prep. I’m also doing some group yoga classes when I can.

5) What inspires you to live this lifestyle?

Those moments when your mind is telling you to stop because it hurts but you keep going and push past that weakness..those are the most important moments because it means growth. Seeing changes in myself no matter how small they may be makes the difference and keeps me inspired to work hard and stay motivated!

Lots of love!
Brittany
“Fit Brit”

Thank you so much Brittany for joining the Fitness and the City fam as a Fit Gal! You are so inspirational and I personally cannot wait to follow your journey to your first fitness competition!! Good luck girl!

Oh and by the way, she has an awesome fitness Facebook page as well, so be sure to go check it out!

—> www.facebook.com/fit.brit08

Not Seeing Results?

01.09.2013

Happy Hump day! Is this week over yet? I am SO looking forward to the weekend! I have gotten a ton of questions lately about what to do if you are not seeing results. If you are working out, eating “healthy” and not seeing results, you are doing something incorrectly. This takes a lot of committment, doesn’t happen over night and is a LIFESTYLE. No dieting or just popping in and out of the gym once or twice a week. Are you committed to take the plunge?

Here are some of my thoughts if you are not seeing the results you are looking for:

1. Push harder! Don’t just go through the motions but really push yourself to go hard. Try interval training on the treadmill, you will burn a ton of extra calories while increasing your endurance. Try supersets with weights, or do as many reps as you possibly can with your last set. Go till you can’t go anymore! Don’t leave the gym until you are spent and sweaty! If you are not sore, then try a different exercise, add more weights or do more reps to be sore the next day. Accomplishment to me is being sore the next day.

2. Change your routine! Try different workouts and find whats best for you. If you are doing the same routine your body will get used to that and not change. You need to constantly switch it up. Try only cardio one day, only weights the next, try a spin class, Pilates, yoga, TRX, there is so much out there! I personally LOVE trying new classes and feeling muscles that I havent felt before with my regular workouts. This also keeps it fresh and exciting! Also, create a schedule to look forward to. I plan my workouts, think about it first thing in the morning and look forward to it all day. (call me crazy I know ;))

3. Really watch what you eat. Document and see what a difference eating clean can really make. MyFitnessPal is an app on the iPhone which can track your calories and what you are putting into your body versus what you are sweating out. Documenting will help, I promise! Plan out each meal. Food prep and bring your pre-made meal to work. I ALWAYS bring my lunch that I make on Sundays, breakfast consists of oatmeal or greek yogurt and I also bring a snack to work. You will not see results if you do not eat clean! Trust me, I have gone through this: working out and eating whatever I wanted. But I stayed the same and saw NO changes. It was when I changed my eating habits that I started seeing change. Oh, and the alcohol is no bueno…sad I know, but I am personally loving and taking full advantage of not drinking!

Most of all, think positive and positive things will happen. You will not see results right away so be patient. There is a lot of dedication that needs to be given here, so commit the time and you will be happily surprised. You will get out what you put in.

I am hosting a giveaway today at messydirtyhair.com!! Visit Kelly’s amazing fashion and lifestyle blog to win a $20 Amex gift card compliments of yours truly. =)

—->www.messydirtyhair.com

xo,Jenna

2013 Goals

01.08.2013

It’s resolution time! Time to start the quest of taking action, rather than simply making resolutions and not sticking to them. I feel as if it helps to write them down and share them, while pushing to make this a great year! Here’s what I have on my mind for 2013:

Become a certified group class instructor
Sweat everyday
Meal prep every Sunday for the upcoming week
Start a morning workout regime (before work…tough!)
Blog more! =)
Travel more and explore different cultures
Stay away from negative people and things that hold me back
Learn from successful people
Set higher goals! (work on seeing those abs of mine, determined!!)

Most of all—->I think it’s so important to strive for excellence rather than perfection.

I have big expectations for myself, but it’s time to set the bar high and keep track of these goals!

What are your new years resolutions?

Today, I am a featured fitness guru on Jessica Read’s website! Go check her out and see what fitness apps we recommended!

—> Six Pack Apps for 2013

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

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