nutrition

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. 🙂

Guest Post: How to Maintain Your Weight During the Holidays

11.19.2013

Happy Tuesday! In case you missed my last post from a totally amazing woman and founder of Burn pilates, I wanted to bring her back for another guest post! This time Lisa Corsello talks about how to get through this holiday season to prevent weight gain and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Here she is:

Maintain Your Weight During the Holidays

Fitness Expert Gives Tips to Prevent Holiday Weight Gain

The Holiday season has jump-started, which means fun with family and friends are in the near future! Gathering around a table for a feast with our loved ones can be fun, but can also put quite a dent in our efforts to keep a healthy lifestyle.

This season, keep your diet on track! Personal trainer and fitness expert, Lisa Corsello, wants to share these five tips to keep your weight in check during the holidays, while still being able to enjoy the assortment of foods on the dinner table.

1. Weigh Yourself Regularly– Studies show that those who weigh themselves regularly are able to maintain their weight more easily. By being aware of when we start to gain weight, we can make small, manageable adjustments to diet and exercise to maintain weight.

2. Exercise Portion Control– Don’t skip meals or deprive yourself of the foods you love this holiday season. Instead, practice eating only half of what you would normally eat when it comes to dessert and rich side dishes. Load up on the healthier side dishes (high fiber veggies) and leaner cuts of meat (breast) so you’ll stay fuller longer.

3. Stay Active– Try to carve out a bit of time for exercise each day. Not only will regular exercise help maintain your weight, but it’s also a great way to relieve stress and sleep better.

4. Plan Ahead– Go online and research just how many calories are in the foods you normally eat during the holiday season. Being aware of what you’re putting in your body can help you find healthier alternatives. Also, try to stock up on healthy snacks that help ease cravings and satisfy your appetite, such as nuts or plain popcorn.

5. Change it Up– Try a new exercise class, walking/running route, or sport. Trying something different will challenge your body in a new and healthy way, and it will help keep your routine fresh and your mind more engaged.

Tip: Rate your current exercise routine on a scale of 1-10, 1 being something extremely easy and 10 the most challenging. During your next workout, try to increase that number by 1. After a week, if you’re feeling good, increase it again. Being mindful of the quality of your workout will help lead to better, healthier routines with great results.

About Lisa Corsello
Lisa is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, nutrition consultant and group fitness instructor who works with clients to create customized, goal-oriented exercise and nutrition plans. Using her extensive training and fitness background, Lisa has developed a popular new fitness technique called Burn. The 55-minute workout brings the benefits of dynamic individualized workouts to groups using a method that draws upon the best of Pilates, strength and core training for optimal results. Her programs emphasize constant movement using circuits to challenge and improve endurance, agility, balance and strength, with appropriate focus on stressing proper form and method. Each workout incorporates dynamic strength and cardiovascular training with active recovery techniques targeting all major muscle groups. Sessions are intended to be learning experiences that constantly evolve, keeping each one challenging and fresh.

She has successfully adapted and applied her methods to clients with a wide range of abilities and capabilities; absolute beginners needing basic knowledge, enthusiasts who want to increase lean body mass and reduce body fat, people recovering from sports injuries or _serious illness, and professional athletes in training. Lisa, a Lululemon Athletica Ambassador, has been a featured fitness expert onWebMDas well as inMy Family Doctor Magazine, LowCarb Magazine, Current Health Magazine, and Cornell University’s Food & Fitness Advisor newsletter. In fact, Lisa is a regularly featured fitness expert on the KPIX Weekend Morning Show. Lisa is currently a contributing fitness expert on SingleMindedWomen.com.

Thanks for reading! And thanks for the great tips Lisa! 🙂

Holiday Season Thoughts

11.13.2013

The holidays are right around the corner! Scary thought to think that the new year is almost here. This year seemed to fly by for me. Anyways, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New years, what are your thoughts about temptation this time of year? And by temptation I mean, all the sweets, and food galore that the season brings. Well guess what, it doesn’t mean the hard work you’ve put in all year has to go to waste…but beware, it can!

After thinking long and hard about this, I think that now is the time to work harder than ever before! Personally, when the food is in front of me, its hard to resist. Out of sight out of mind, is what I do day to day at home and work. BUT, not so much the case during the holidays. By working hard in the gym and keeping my nutrition on point, I’ll allow myself a little splurge at a family gathering or holiday party. My friend posted on Instagram which I loved: “I prefer my winter coat to be part of my wardrobe, not my body.” (Thanks Chels!)

When you are working hard and putting in all the effort in the world to look and feel your best, the chances to ruin your progress are slim. Also, remember when you eat like crap you feel like crap? Yep, perfect example this weekend after indulging in more ice cream then I deserved- I felt like crap the rest of the day! My point? By putting in 110% into this lifestyle, having a few cocktails, a traditional Thanksgiving meal and piece of pie isn’t going to be a big deal.

So it’s up to you to decide…you can say screw it the next few months, but those splurges will only dig you a little deeper and all that work and results you started to see will be a big waste of time. Let’s not let the traditional New Years resolution “to work out starting January 1^st” be your time to commit. Why not work out all year round?! You will be far ahead of the game!

Don’t feel bad about a treat here or there, don’t over-think it, just keep up the great work and you will be able to enjoy the holidays even more!

How will you be going about your fitness lifestyle this holiday season? Please do share! xo

#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?

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