It's A Harsh Food World...

This past weekend was the third annual Brewer game tailgate with all of my cousins. I am so lucky to have them all in my life not just as family but as great friends.  We always have so much fun together.  I went into the day knowing that it was going to be one of those days where I would just enjoy myself and not worry so much about what I'm eating or drinking.  These are the days I can reward myself for working out hard and eating healthy for the most part on a regular basis. 

So anyways, enough babble about me and my eating habits and let's get down to the main reason I decided to write about this event.  There were about 41,000 people that were in attendance at the game. So let's do a little math...if over 2/3 of Americans are either overweight or obese, that means that about 27,000 of those fans are struggling with some kind of weight problem.  I looked around and I felt sad because of the way people treat their bodies and the struggles they must face everyday.  27,000 sounds like a lot of people which it is but that number unfortunately was not far off.  It's scary how unhealthy our world has become.

 Our country has become a fast food, processed, synthetic nation and I think it's only going to get worse.  There are so many options at the grocery store with partially hydrogenated oils (side note: did you know that regular Heinz Ketchup has high fructose corn syrup in it? probably not), aspartame and many other additives.  At this point, people don't even know what they are actually consuming. Not many people read the ingredient dextrose and immediately know it's another form of sugar. 

This event made me grateful for the job that I have and the active lifestyle I lead and also help so many others lead.  It makes me happy on a daily basis that I can have an impact on my clients whether it be a butt kicking workout or that extra motivation they needed that day. I'm helping people live longer, healthier and happier lives.
 
So what can you do to make some healthy changes in your life? Here are a few tips that may or may not help you whether you're looking to lose weight or just change it up a bit from the somewhat healthy routine you're  already in.

1. Shop on the outside loop of the grocery store.  Fruits, veggies, lean meats and dairy all have a tidy little place around the edges of the store. Pop tarts, Cheetos and cookies have landed a spot in the extended shelf life section along with all the other processed foods.

2. Shop organic when you can.  Brewers Organics has opened my eyes to the wonderful world of  delicious organic produce. 

3. Farmers markets are in full swing right now so take advantage of the fresh produce and farm fresh products.

3. Avoid fast food restaurants.  It's easier said than done when you're in a hurry but there is nothing good that's going to come out of ordering a Big Mac meal.  If you do need to eat on the fly, ask for a nutrition information packet before you order or make a healthy choice like going to Subway.

4. Focus on body fat percentage as opposed to BMI.  Here's why, when looking at myself,  there are a lot of 5'6", 160 pound, 28 year olds that don't have nearly as much muscle mass as me though according to my BMI, my healthy weight is around 140 which I've never weighed in my adult life nor will I ever for that matter.  My BMI doesn't take into account my lean to fat rate ratio which ultimately tells you what's going on inside your body.  For women, 23-25% is a good goal to shoot for as far as BF% and for men around 18% is decent.

5. Get active.  Get outside. Join a gym. Sign up for a 5k run. Park your car in the back of the parking lot and walk the distance in. Lift weights. Drink a lot of water.  Use a juicer to get your fruits and veggies quota met for the day. 

So go out there and make a change. Even if it's just one at a time. Don't become another statistic, take care of your body, it's the only one you get.

Sunday Shout Out to Quinoa.

Happy Father's to all the dads out there especially my dad, step dad and brother who are all wonderful fathers and I am unbelievably grateful to have each of them in my life.

There's only one more shout out that is going to happen in this entry and that goes out to yet another superfood that is packed with a lot of awesome, the lovely quinoa.

Contrary to what most think, quinoa is a seed, not a grain. It is actually in the same food family as swiss chard, spinach and beets.  One cup of quinoa contains 40 grams of carbs, 8 grams of protein and 3.5 grams of fat.  It also has 20 percent of our total daily value of fiber.  It is one of the few plant based food sources that has all eight essential amino acids as well as an adequate amount of protein. Sounds like a vegetarian's dream food to me.

I am a big fan of quinoa because although it is not a grain, it is a good substitute for rice because it has a similar taste, just a different texture.  It can be eaten cold mixed in with a salad or hot as a side dish with your favorite spices.

One of my coworkers shared with me one of her top quinoa recipes that I would like to pass on to you.  Quinoa by itself is very simple to make so just tack on a few more ingredients and you have a full meal that tastes delicious and doesn't take a lot of time or effort to prepare.

Here is the list of ingredient for Quinoa with Artichoke and Parsley:
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 c. onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
1 can artichoke hearts, the recipe calls for frozen but I couldn't find them anywhere so I used the canned ones.  Make sure to rinse the hearts to get rid of excess sodium.
1 c. low sodium chicken broth
1/2 c. quinoa, uncooked
1 c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. kosher salt.
*I also added in frozen edamame to incorporate more veggies.

1. Saute onion and thyme in olive oil for five minutes until onions are tender.  Add the artichokes and edamame and saute for 2  more minutes.  Add broth and quinoa and bring to a simmer.
2. Cook for 18 minutes or until liquid is completely absorbed.
3. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, juice and salt.  Serve warm or room temperature.  Enjoy the deliciousness.

Now if I could just figure out what to make with my yellow squash, arugula and mushrooms this week...well whatever I come up with, I'm sure it will give me something else to blog about. Happy quinoa making everyone.

Ab Work is Fun.

It's nice to have a birthday and not actually feel like the age you are.  From now on, I fully intend to not look or feel a day over 28...that was always my Nana's plan and she did pretty well so I am just going to follow her lead.

A good way to start off my 28th year is to talk about the one part of the body that I think every client wants to work on no matter what age they are...their abs.  The one fact that most people don't want to come to terms with is that though it is important to strengthen your low back and abdominal muscles, a lot of the look and feel of them come from good nutrition and overall aerobic activity.  No one gets a six pack eating processed junk foods and sitting on the couch every day...obviously.

Strengthening your core helps stabilize your torso as well as helps reduce pain in your low back and hips.  I have started to incorporate more core, hamstring and glute exercises into my workouts to prevent these problems from becoming a constant issue.   My low back and hips tend to feel tight and for lack of a better word, tweeked at times,  though since I've started focusing more on prevention, I feel much better and you would too if you have the same aches and pains. 

So I have picked out of a few of my favorite abdominal exercises that not only work your abs but also work your hip flexors. Hip flexor strength is important for runners and athletes.  The stronger the glutes, hamstrings and hip flexors are the faster they will be. They also help prevent hamstring injuries by acting as a brake when large amounts of force are exerted to the hamstring. 

The four exercises I chose are all starting by lying on your back. 

1. Heel Slide:  Place your hands under your glutes to help bring you to a more neutral spine.  Then simply bring both knees in towards your chest.






 Push your feet straight out from your body.  The closer you are able to slide your feet to the ground, the more difficult the exercise will be.  If you need to modify the movement, just push your feet away from your chest higher so you're farther away from the ground.  As you get stronger gradually let your legs get closer to the ground.


2. Leg Raise: Place your hands underneath your glutes just like you did for the heel slide exercise.  Bring both legs straight up in the air to make your body into a 90 degree angle.  If you need a slight bend in your legs, that is just fine.  Chances are your hamstrings are super tight if you can't straighten out those legs so you better incorporate some stretching in while you're already lying on your back.

 











Slowly lower your legs straight down to the ground without touching.  You want make sure there is no stress on your low back so if you feel your back start to arch, that is a good place to bring your legs back up to make your 90 degree angle again.

3. Hip Raise: Place hands underneath glutes again. Lift both legs up perpendicular with your body.  The motion is going to be small when starting out but what you're trying to do is lift your hips up off the mat pushing your feet straight up towards the ceiling.  Control your hips on the way back down to your mat.  This exercise will work those low abdominal muscles.  A way to modify this would be to have bent knees instead of straight legs.  Bring your knees into your chest and then simply lift your hips off the mat and back down.

4. Bicycles: Hands can protect your neck for this exercise.  What you want to keep in mind is you never want to pull on your neck.  You want to think about lifting your shoulders off the mat.  Your hands are just there as a guide so a good rule of thumb is pretend you have a tennis ball between your chin and your chest.  Keep that space there to allow your to keep your shoulders back and in a good posture position.   One knee is going to come in towards your chest while the other leg is going to straighten out completely.  With your upper body you are going to meet your knee coming into your chest with the opposite side elbow and then switch sides without putting your feet on the ground.  This twisting motion will engage those oblique or side abdominals as well as hip flexors as you extend away from your body.

Do two sets of 15 repetitions for each exercise and feel the hurt so good burn.  These are great pairings because you can do one right after the other without really have to change positions.  Abdominal strength along with anything fitness related is all about consistency.  The more you do these exercises, the stronger you'll feel and the faster you'll see results.  Have fun and make sure to eat lots of organic veggies and fruits to help the six pack process.




 

'Tis The Grilling Season.

The smell of barbecue has been filling the air on and off for a couple of weeks now.  I love tailgating and cookouts and parties where I can sit outside with my family and friends and just enjoy the day.  One of my favorite easy grilling recipe incorporates a bunch of the veggies I got in my Brewers Organics deliveries the past couple of weeks. 

Here are the ingredients I used but you can really add any veggies you'd like. 
*Potatoes
*Bell Pepper
*Onion
*Carrots
*Zucchini
*Jalapeño for a good little kick
*Salt & Pepper
*Grapeseed Oil or even Coconut Oil if you want to add a little flavor to the veggies.  Both of these oils can be cooked at a high heat which is why I suggested them.
*Rosemary & Thyme are the spices I used but you can really use whatever you want depending on what kind of inspired dish you are trying to make.

1. Wash all the veggies, peel the potatoes and cut them all into small chunks.
2. Boil a small pot of water and put the cut up potatoes in it to make the cooking process go a little faster.  Usually the potatoes are the slowest to get soft so I like to speed up the process.
3. Using a mixing bowl, put all the veggies, including the semi cooked potatoes, into the bowl.  Add the oil of your choice along with all the spices you enjoy and mix them all up so everything gets covered.
4. Using a good sized piece of foil, put all the ingredients on the foil and fold them up.
5. Place on the grill for 15-20 minutes checking occasionally.  Once all the veggies are soft, take it off the grill and enjoy with your favorite protein and green salad or fruit salad.  Hopefully we get a good grill out day soon so you can try this.

Another recipe I like to add into my hot days or just eat for dessert some nights when I want something sweet is just made with the juicer.  I haven't talked about my juicer in a few entries and I don't want it to feel abandoned. All you really need are your favorite fruits.  Throw them in the juicer, put the juice into good portion sized containers, stick them in the freezer and you have a great cold healthy treat.  When I was younger we used to use ice trays as containers to freeze juice or a larger container with a plastic stick to make it more like a popsicle.  My favorite recipe uses mostly berries so it's a pretty color and tastes delicious.  I used strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and grapes to curb my sweet tooth.  It's like a whole fruit popsicle but better...and made exactly the way you like it.  The only thing really missing is the joke on the stick. 

Okay everyone, go outside, enjoy the weather and try both of these recipes...you won't be disappointed with the taste or the time it takes to prepare them.  Next up: My favorite  core exercises.