Hey guys,
With summer parties and 4th of July celebrations, I thought this was the perfect time to share my tips on how to start feeling better in just a few days! If you like this video and want more like it, please subscribe to my channel, as there will be more to come!
Hope you all have a wonderful and safe 4th of July weekend!
Hey guys!
Hope your day is treating you well. I had my wisdom teeth out yesterday, and am actually not in too much pain. I wasn’t sure if I’d be up and about today, but it turns out I’m feeling pretty good. I was feeling a little cabin fever yesterday, even though I was only at home for a few hours. I guess when it feels like I can’t go anywhere, it makes me want to leave!
I thought it’d be fun to share 10 random things this week, so here goes!
1. I had never been put under before until yesterday when I got my wisdom teeth out. I was definitely nervous, but it was super easy. The best part: the videos that were taken of me right after I woke up. Apparently I also Face Timed everyone in my family and they are now wishing they could have recorded those!
2. I made this delicious smoothie this morning since I can’t really eat much solid food. It was SO GOOD. I posted the recipe on my instagram.
3. I’m going to Big Bear in 2 weeks and I’m SO excited. Here are a few photos from last year. This year we’re going for 5 days instead of 2. I can’t wait to wakeboard, hike, and enjoy the fresh mountain air!
4. My brother and dad are coming out to visit me for Father’s Day weekend. I love visiting them, but it’s also really nice when they come to visit me! I can’t wait to hang out with them at the beach!
5. I decided to take Oscar to the dog park for 15 minutes yesterday before my surgery. It had rained a bit the day before, and Oscar found a puddle of mud to play in.
Needless to say, I had to take him straight to the pet store to get him a bath after this because there was no WAY I was bringing him into the house. Puppies!
6. I already mapped out my next workout challenge (it’s 30 days this time). I’m going to start it right after I get back from Big Bear. I’ll share it with you guys in the next few weeks!
7. I’ve been using Gnarly Nutrition’s Chiseled Chocolate Grass-Fed Whey and am LOVING it. It tastes delicious and is really good quality. I first got to try it at BLEND Retreat, and the folks at Gnarly were kind enough to send me a full tub of it. I’m definitely going to continue buying this! I can’t wait to start cooking with it as well.
8. I ate a glazed donut the other day and it was SOOOOO good. Haha. I haven’t had donuts in a while, but it looked good the other day. Since then, I decided that I think I need to eat them more often. #iifym #donutstopme
9. I saw these two memes in my Facebook feed the other day and had to save them. I love these!
10. Random picture of Oscar’s cute face…..because puppies.
Wow, just like that, the holidays are over! I’m a mixture of both happy and sad. It was nice to take a little break, but at the same time, it’s good to be back in my routine!
Anyone else take a little break from healthy habits during the break? Haha, please tell me it wasn’t just me! I kept up with workouts, but definitely indulged a bit on the food front! I don’t regret it at all and it was fun, but I’m ready to be back to my regularly scheduled eating!
1. Keeping up with my workouts. While this wasn’t something that went by the wayside during the break, I am definitely planning on stepping it up a bit this week!
2. Eating well. I ate way too much candy and processed foods over the break. It was delicious, but I much prefer my usual fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and healthy fats! Back on the healthy train this week!
3. Sleeping. I know I do much better when I’ve had adequate rest. I’m going to do my best to get at least 8 hours every night this week.
4. Keep my stress levels down. I am the queen of getting stressed out easily. It’s a really bad habit that needs to be broken. This week I’m going to really focus on what gets me stressed out and work on getting rid of it before it consumes me. It’s not going to be easy, but being aware of it will help immensely.
5. Do something new. I noticed last year that I would talk about a lot of things I wanted to do, but never seemed to find the time to do them. I want to try to do something new every week. I live in LA and there’s a lot to do here. I want to start soaking up all it has to offer.
What are you doing this week to help you get back on the healthy train?
Staying healthy in an unhealthy world can be really, really tough.
Are you surprised that I called the world unhealthy?
Obviously, not the whole world is unhealthy, but there sure is an abundance of it.
In the U.S. alone:
Personally, I think one of the toughest ways to get around this is the temptation that is literally EVERYWHERE.
I’m healthy, but I’m also human. Do you think that just because I’m a fitness professional that I don’t get tempted by all of the marketing ploys that surround me at the grocery store? Of course they do!
It’s tough, man. You head to the store with a healthy mindset of the fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean meats that you’re going to buy when BAM, there’s a bag of chips in your face and oh, how bout those cookies to your left? Don’t look to the right…it’s ICE CREAM!
I’d be lying if I said I never gave in. I do give in sometimes (which is totally fine)….but I wish it wasn’t even there! I want to make that decision WITHOUT it being shoved in my face.
In any sense, the crap food IS there and in our faces, and it’s there to stay. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing either, as long as you can practice moderation. I personally love ice cream, chips, and cookies and eat all of them. Just not very often.
So in a world that seems to be closing in on us with all kinds of unhealthy foods, how do we stay healthy day in and day out?
1. Drink Water. I know you’re probably sick of hearing this, but seriously. If you’re going to do nothing else that day to be healthy, drink some water. Or even a lot of water.
2. Sneak in some fruit and vegetables. Even if you’re going to have a bunch of crappy foods, sneak in some fruits and vegetables beforehand. It can help you stay a bit fuller so you don’t eat as much crap and it gives you boost of antioxidants and vitamins. (Plus, they’re delicious!!)
3. Walk. I workout most days, and still try to walk places when it’s possible and I have the time. Sometimes I drive places that are definitely walkable, but if I’m having a lazier day, I always opt for some type of walk. I’ll go walk to the coffee shop, or to the Co-Op. If there’s nothing close-by, I’ll just walk around outside to get my legs moving a bit. Even if you plan on sitting around all day, find 15 minutes to just take a walk.
4. Eat a healthy breakfast. I’ve learned over the years that whatever I have for breakfast sets the tone for the day. For example, if I eat something sugary for breakfast, I feel lethargic and gross. That spirals me into just feeling meh, and most likely, my food and exercise choices for the day will follow that. If I eat a healthy breakfast, I know that my chances of a healthy day are that much greater. I can honestly say, I haven’t had an unhealthy breakfast in over a year. (Just a personal choice.) Do I think it’s bad to have an unhealthy breakfast here and there? Of course not, but I do know that I can always have an unhealthy breakfast for dinner if I still want it. (Breakfast for dinner is the BOMB anyways!) I’d rather start my day out with good foods that will likely set me up for a better day. I highly encourage you to try testing this theory out to see how it affects your choices for the rest of the day.
5. Don’t take the day too seriously. If I’m having a lazy day where I don’t exercise much and I’m eating less than stellar foods, I don’t sweat it too much. There was a time where I would internally beat myself up so badly for not eating well or not exercising. These days, I remind myself that one meal or one day of unhealthy eating isn’t going to ruin anything. As long as I consistently eat well and exercise, I’ll be on a good path.
Question of the Day
What are some things you do every day to stay healthy?
This is what I woke up to today:
Haha, good morning to you too Oscar!
We’re still going strong. Today is officially Day 30!!! We decided to extend the challenge to the day we leave for Arizona, but technically, this is the final day of the 30 day challenge and will conclude my updates for the challenge!!! (You can find the others here, here, here, here, and here)
Feelings: I feel really good. I’ve said this before, but I feel better than I have in a long time. My head is clear and I don’t feel intense hunger pangs like I used to. I’m usually pretty even keeled when it comes to hunger and I don’t need to eat being satiety.
Cravings: It’s strange, actually. I’m not necessarily craving any one thing. I look at cookies and go “meh”. Same thing with cakes, candy, etc. At the same time, I do feel like I’m missing something. Like there is something out there that I am craving, but I can’t figure out what it is. Never thought I’d say that!
Body: As you can see, I lost a lot of fluff off of my stomach through this challenge. I cut out diet soda and the minocycline I used to put in my coffee. Those were the hardest to cut out, but have made a huge impact on my body, in my opinion.
This challenge was definitely one of the most eye-opening challenges I’ve ever done. It’s amazing how much sugar is added to so many foods and sauces that you wouldn’t even imagine could have sugar. Avoiding it was tough at times, but since I eat pretty basic foods anyways, it didn’t throw me for too much of a loop. Someone that has a diet including lots of processed foods would likely have a much bigger change in what they could/couldn’t eat. The biggest change for us was that we couldn’t really go out to eat anywhere. Since we didn’t know what ingredients were in the foods, it was tough to go out. We were able to have Chipotle (certain items) and eggs/potatoes at our local breakfast joint, but other than that, we basically ate at home or brought food with us.
It was interesting to see the different stages that Charlie and I went through.
The 2nd day of the challenge, I had a huge headache. The kind of headache you get when you don’t drink caffeine for a few days. It was definitely a withdrawal from either regular sugar or fake sugars. My guess is fake sugars because of how much I was consuming.
The next weird thing happened about 2 weeks into the challenge and was something that both Charlie and I experienced: insatiable stomachs. No matter how much we ate, it always seemed that we were still hungry. There was a day that both of us ate almost constantly throughout the day and by the evening, were still not full. It was very odd. We aren’t sure exactly what that was, but likely a result of sugar cravings that weren’t being satiated.
The last week of the challenge has been the easiest. I actually don’t feel like I miss sugar all that much. The thought of sweet treats and desserts kind of hurts my teeth. I have no interest in diet soda (and am glad to rid that habit), and Splenda is a thing of the past. I’ll be sticking with stevia.
Thanksgiving will be an interesting day. I have a feeling that when we do ingest food with sugar, we’re going to feel it pretty quickly. I wouldn’t be surprised if we got sick from it. I’ll definitely make sure to report back about that.
We both plan to stick to this as much as we can going forward. We aren’t going to completely cut sugar out of our lives, but we are going to avoid it much of the time. We definitely aren’t going to go back to our old habits. The impact this has had on both of us is much greater than we expected and they are habits that we’d like to try to keep a majority of the time.
Lizzy:
-Splenda in my coffee
-Diet Soda
-Coconut Ice Cream
-Candy
Charlie:
-Reese’s PB Cups
-Haagen Daaz Ice Cream
-Starbucks Egg Sandwiches
Both:
-La Victoria Hot Sauce
-Weekly frozen yogurt date
-Ketchup
-Most breads
I need to take a final photo, but I didn’t have time this morning. I’ll post that this week as well.
1. If I hosted a 30 Day No Sugar Challenge, would you want to be a part of it?
2. What is your favorite dessert? Maybe this will spark my cravings a bit! LOL
This week flew by. Having my new sidekick, Oscar, definitely keeps things a bit busier. I’m lucky to be able to take Oscar to work with me, but I don’t want him to feel cooped up all day either. We walk and/or run in the mornings and then take 2-3 walks throughout the day and 1 in the evening. He definitely gets his exercise!
By the end of the day, this is what he looks like:
Okay, okay….who am I kidding…he wears me out just as much haha…
If We Treated Ourselves Like We Treat Our DogsYesterday morning, Oscar and I set out on a 2 mile run. He does so great on the leash and just runs alongside me the whole time! My new running buddy is the best!
Having Oscar around this week definitely got me thinking. What if humans treated themselves more like we treat our dogs?
Most of us make sure our dogs get walked and do some sort of exercise daily. We don’t feed them crap food, and instead make sure they’re eating what’s good for them. We give them treats, but don’t overdo it.
Why, then, do people give themselves so many passes? Days without exercise. Junk food more than health food. It’s a bit backwards if you think about it. I wonder what would happen if we all started treating our bodies and health/fitness like we treat our animals. Think about this the next time you’re feeling unmotivated to go workout or the next time you find yourself indulging in junk food a bit too much. If we all just paid a little bit more attention, I think we could all make some positive changes for the better!
Tuesday evening, I did a shoulder workout with a friend of mine. We both wanted to do something quick, but effective. Here’s what we did:
4 sets/15 reps of each of the following exercises:
-DB Shoulder Press
-EZ Bar Upright Rows
-DB Alternating Front Raises
-Rear Delt Fly’s
Burnout: 7 sets of Lateral Raises w/ 5 lb plates
Here’s the kicker: rest only 30 seconds in between sets.
It doesn’t look tough on paper, but we had a good shoulder pump going by the end!
After work today, I’m heading down to the boxing gym to get my punching on! Hope you have a great rest of the day!
1. Do you prioritize your dog’s health?
2. Do you prioritize your own health in the same way as your dog’s?
Woah! 2 posts in one day!
Don’t get used to it. 😀 ….At least not now. Maybe someday!
I’m working away and getting ready for boxing tonight. I can’t wait! There’s nothing quite like the crack of hitting the mitts. Until then….
So Charlie read an article over the weekend about a family that stopped eating anything with added sugar for a year. They had amazing results in how they felt and Charlie said it was something he was interested in trying. When my man wants to do something healthy, I always jump on board. (I’m usually the one dragging him into this kind of thing!)
We decided that we want to test this out, so for the next 30 days, we’re going to completely give up any added sugar or fake sugar. This means natural sugar (like fruit) is okay, but any type of added sugar (sugar, corn syrup, Splenda, Sugar alcohols, etc.) is a no-go. Stevia IS allowed, but in moderation. I.e. I had a stevia in my coffee this morning, but not in my oatmeal (like I usually do). This also means I have to give up my beloved diet soda. I know, I know, that shit is terrible for you anyways, but I’m going to miss it!
So far, the first day went well. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this affects me mentally, physically, etc. I’m going to take some pictures along the way to see if/how my body changes as well. I’ll be checking in here from time to time as well so you can see what I’ve noticed. We’ll finish up the challenge just in time for Thanksgiving so that we can fully enjoy desserts (cuz….I’m not givin’ that up!).
Anyone else feel like joining us in no sugar for 30 days? (leave a comment…we can support eachother!)
Monday: 20 min. Stairmill + Shoulders/Chest
(my shoulder pump was out of control last night!)
Tuesday: Boxing
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: Boxing + Back/Biceps
Friday: 20 min. Stairmill + Shoulders/Abs
Saturday: Full Body
Sunday: REST
Have you ever given up sugar? How did it make you feel?
Happy Friday peeps!
This week flew by! I’ll be honest, I was pretty exhausted and grumpy this week. I think it’s a mixture of overtraining, lack of sleep, and some work stress. It’s all good though, overall things aren’t too shabby. Sometimes, I just need to step back a little bit and that’s exactly what I did this week!
Thursday morning I was especially tired. I didn’t sleep well the night before and even my morning coffee didn’t do it for me! I got some work done and then headed home around 12:30pm to eat lunch and just collect myself a bit. This is my “I’m tired and I don’t want to work out face”.
I headed to the gym at around 1:45 to do a leg workout. I did something a little different than usual, and it was fun to change it up.
4 Sets of the following:
-Sumo Deadlift + DB Curtsy Lunge
-Leg Extensions + Supinated Hamstring Curls
-Banded Hip Thrusts
-45* Hypers w/ 25lb Plate
When I finished my workout, I finally tried the new protein powder I told you guys about. The verdict? IT’S AMAZING. If a protein powder is good just mixed with water, IT’S GOOD. Most protein powders that I like and are even good for baking, etc. don’t taste so great on their own. I am completely sold on this stuff. MINIMAL ingredients, sweetened with stevia, and tastes good. Two thumbs up in my book! You can find their products here. (This is not a sponsored post, I just really love the product!)
Afterwards, I had a few meetings and also needed to rehearse for a competition I’m demoing on Saturday. The competition is to find Santa Monica’s Best Trainer and two of our personal trainers (Courage & Torri) have been nominated. I just get to be one of the workout dummies for them to train.
Here are some of the exercises I’m doing with Torri:
LOL Don’t worry…I’m not doing this topless. We just have a funny little intro planned and that’s my way of reminding me what to do. 🙂
After rehearsing, and getting a bunch of work done, I headed to a boxing class! Quite the fitness day for me! I better sleep well tonight! I went with my friend Tedi, who’s one of my favorite people to laugh with. We have fun.
That’s all I’ve got folks! This weekend is looking to be quite an adventure! I’m sure I’ll be exhausted, but HEY, I’ll sleep when I die. 😀
1. What’s your favorite brand of protein powder?
2. What are some things you do to combat stressful & tiresome days/weeks?
Good morning!
This post is going to be all over the place, so brace yourself!
I’m currently drinking a coffee and recovering from a great HIIT session! As you may know, Mondays are always HIIT days. They tend to be really busy days for me, so I like to get it done in the morning to kick off my day.
This weekend was a mix of fun, stress, and relaxation. My mom is in the hospital, so that definitely put a damper on things. She’s doing okay and will hopefully be going home in the next few days.
I spent Saturday hanging with a good friend and just catching up. I don’t have many close friends in LA (as anyone that’s moved away from home knows, new friends are much different than lifelong friends), so it’s nice to spend time with the few that I do. We also got to hang with the cutest french bulldog in the world, Pudge:
Seriously…can I keep him?
Saturday evening, Charlie and I got together with some of my co-workers. We had a great time chatting and eating (what’s better than that!). We had grand plans to go see a movie afterwards, but literally spent 20 minutes driving through the parking garage to find a spot. NOT. ONE. SPOT. So we headed home and watched World War Z instead. It basically reminded me of The Walking Dead and Outbreak rolled into one and not nearly as good. Brad Pitt was okay to look at though. 😀
Sunday was pretty uneventful. I dyed my hair, did laundry, and got a bunch of work done. Charlie and I also got a great fully body workout done. (I’ll have some videos up this week!) I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m trying to kill him every time he steps in the gym. I swear I’m not….(but he better be nice!!! ;-))
Breakfast this morning is 1 egg + 1/2 cup egg whites scrambed and 1/3 cup cooked oats with cinnamon and stevia. I’m a creature of habit and basically eat this for breakfast every day. I’m super exciting, you don’t even have to tell me.
I’m working all day and then plan on doing a Chest/Triceps workout after work. You may have noticed that I’ve been doing more split body part days lately. I go through stages. Sometimes I do more full body workouts, or split between upper/lower body workouts, and sometimes I revert to plain old bodybuilding style and do split body parts (like I am now). I still do full body workouts (like this one I did last week, and one I did yesterday), but I do them closer to 1-2 times per week as opposed to 3-4 times.
I know that everybody talks about “confusing the body” and all that jazz (hint…your body doesn’t need to be “confused” to make progress), but for me, I do what feels good. I go through stages and since I’m in this for the long haul (life), I do workouts that make me happy. I truly think that is the key to sticking to fitness. If you don’t like what you’re doing (and I’m convinced there is something for everyone), you’re less likely to stick to it. Personally, I don’t like yoga. So I don’t force myself to do it. Instead, I do other things that I DO like. Of course, I do think that sometimes the things we don’t like are the things that we NEED (like yes, I know I SHOULD do some yoga), so it’s good to incorporate those things from time to time. Long story short:
Find the things you like and do them often. Find the things you don’t like, and do them sometimes.
Anyways, I’ll step off my soap box now. It’s Monday and way too early for that. 😀
Monday: 20 min. HIIT + Chest/Triceps
Tuesday: Boxing
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: Shoulders + Boxing
Friday: Back/Biceps
Saturday: Full Body (I’m doing workout demos for a trainer’s competition in Santa Monica)
Sunday: Rest
Hope your Monday is off on the right foot!
How’s everyone doing today?
I’m just sitting at home waiting for the pest control guy. Fun stuff! We’ve had a ridiculous ant problem for the last two weeks and we FINALLY got someone to come out and fix the problem. It’s been quite a nightmare. Let’s just say, I’m a pro ant-annihilator at this point. -_-
In other news, I found a new protein powder that I’m excited to try called SLAP. I actually ended up buying the entire stack of supplements, which is just L-Glutamine, Whey Isolate Protein Powder, and a Coffee Pre-Workout supplement. I was intrigued by the company because of the minimal and clean ingredients in all of their products. The protein powder is sweetened with Stevia (score!) and doesn’t have any artificial ingredients. I haven’t tasted it yet, but I’ll be sure to let you all know how it is!
I’m still super sore from Sunday’s Leg Insanity, but overall I’m feeling really good and still “on” my game!
Here are my workout plans for this week:
Monday: 20 min. HIIT + Chest/Triceps (DONE)
Tuesday: Boxing
Wednesday: Legs + Bouldering (yup! Haven’t done that in a while!)
Thursday: Shoulders/Abs + Boxing
Friday: Full Body
Saturday: Back/Bi’s
Sunday: REST
Finally…I’m thinking about getting a Brazilian blow out. I NEVER feel like/have time to do my hair and it just ends up being kind of a mess. Anyone ever had one? I’ve heard the chemicals can be kind of harsh, so I’m curious. Let me know your experiences!
1. What is your favorite protein powder?
2. Brazilian Blowout advice please!!!