Archive for April 2014

Home Archive for April 2014

I know I need to take some time and really write my story of how I committed to getting healthy and what motivates me. But right now, I'm inspired to tell you why I became a coach.

The other night Chris and I were walking to meet friends and I turned to him and said "I don't think I can do this whole coaching thing...I feel like I was foolish and I should give it up."

This was our conversation:

Chris: Baby, you said you'd give it a year.

Me: I know, but I worry that I'm alienating people and making an idiot of myself.

Chris: Well do you enjoy it?

Me: Most of it.

Chris: Like what?

Me: I love working out and coming up with recipes. I love helping people and motivating people, and mentoring. I love seeing people happy and knowing I helped them get there. But it's hard, too.

Chris: Well, I believe in you, baby. And I think if you committed to giving coaching a year, you have to see it through.

We left it there because we'd made it to the bar and I was feeling...meh. About the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, I love the support I get from Chris. It makes it really easy to pursue things that are scary when you've got someone behind you no matter what. But...it's hard.

We were at the bar to celebrate a dear friend's birthday and when she came over to hug me this is what she said, seriously:

"Joanna, you inspire me. I don't think you realize how big a part you played in my decision to quit smoking. And I'm working so hard to get healthy, I went to kickboxing twice this week because I thought of how hard you work."

Well, geez.

Color me foolish. NOT for becoming a coach, like I was thinking earlier in the evening. I was foolish because even though I was saying I love helping people, I was focusing on how coaching was hard for ME...not the work I was doing for others. And if you're in the coaching game for any other reason than to work for others, you will be sorely disappointed! Sure, there are other benefits, but they CAN'T be your WHY.

So WHY am I a coach?

- I want to help people be fit and healthy, and help them understand they deserve that.

- I want to help others understand that being skinny and being fit are not the same thing.

- I want to help people I care about change their habits and take control over their lives.

- I want people to understand the power and strength they have, and their ability to achieve their goals, whatever they are.

- I want people to know they can come to me and say 'I need help', and know that I'll help them.

Cheesy? Sure. But if you know me, how could you expect anything else?

I LOVE my job as a Beachbody coach, but I also have a full time job (that I love just as much!). My day job has me traveling as often as once a month, and that challenges me to stay on track while entertaining clients, working 12 hours days, and living out of a suitcase.

So how do I stay healthy while traveling?

The same way I do when I'm at home: PLANNING and PREPARATION.

Workouts:

Since I'm training for a half marathon right now, I created a hybrid schedule of distance running and ChaLEAN Extreme. I pack my resistance bands in my suitcase, as well as my running shoes so I don't have to miss a day no matter what my planned workout is.

One way I save space is by only packing my running shoes, and wearing those for strength training. If I were doing a program that is more cross training focused I'd need trainers, but since my current program is all about strength training and not much lateral foot movement, I'm OK using running shoes for the DVD workouts.

Healthy Eating:

Shakeology is really the secret to my success on work trips. I pack enough Shakeology to have two each day. Normally I only have one per day (I like it as breakfast) but when I'm traveling I can't always predict where I'll be eating, so having a backup healthy meal replacement is key just in case. I can always grab a bottle of water (or my blender bottle) and mix up a shake, and then I know I've had a healthy meal with the right carb to protein ratio to keep me full.

I always check to see if my hotel has a mini fridge. If so, I make it a point to stop somewhere (even if it's a bodega) to pick up fruits and veggies. If not, I've listed the healthy snacks I pack below.

What I love to bring with me:

- raw nuts. Emerald brand makes pre packaged bags with 100 calories worth of nuts, or I portion them out on my own into snack bags.

- Quest bars: These are clean protein bars with no artificial sweeteners. I always have them with me when I travel.

- Shakeology packets: My favorites to drink with just water are chocolate and strawberry, or I grab an iced coffee (no milk, no sugar) and add in Vanilla Shakeology.

- Kale chips: These don't always make it to the destination in one piece, but they are still delicious.

- Whole apples with peanut butter: Apples don't need to be refrigerated, so I can pack them and keep them in the hotel room without worrying.

Ahhhh the weekend. (Imagine a long sigh of contentment.) Two full days of freedom from 9-5 obligations. If you're like me, weekends are a hard time to stay true to the commitments you've made to your health. An afternoon nap starts to sound a lot better than a workout, and cocktails sound more tempting than a club soda.

I came up with my top ten tips for surviving the weekend without ruining your progress. These tips are the things that have worked for me and helped me stay focused on my goals without the structure of my normal day.

1. Make the most of your free time with a long workout

When the weather is nice, Chris and I will head out on a long hike. We're lucky to live near the mountains where canyon trails are plentiful, but there are so many options to take advantage of your weekend. Rent bikes and see the city, organize a flag football game with friends, or go swimming.

2. Take an active rest day

When you're focused on your goals, there is a temptation to over train. DON'T. Make sure you're taking the time to refuel. Instead of a regular workout, take a walk or take a yoga class to relax.

3. Plan for the week ahead

I take Saturday or Sunday to do my meal planning. When I'm focused on eating healthy during the next week, I find I make better decisions on what to eat during the weekend. Also, include Saturday and Sunday in your meal plan.

4. Follow your plan

Eat the same way you do on the weekdays. Set a timer on your phone to remind yourself to eat snacks so you don't miss a meal and end up over indulging later. If you've made a meal plan, you should already know what you'll be eating over the weekend, so you're prepared and armed against last minute meal decisions. Set an alarm to make sure you eat your small snacks so you aren't ravenous at meal time.

5. Don't plan a cheat meal for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday

If you have one cheat meal a week, try to have it on a weekday. You're more likely to keep it to just one meal that way. If you eat a cheat on Friday night, you're might end up making it a Cheat Weekend, throwing away all the hard work you put in during the week.

6. Workout first thing

I personally take a rest day during the week, it works better for my schedule. So on Saturdays and Sundays, I make sure to get my workout done in the morning, the same way I do during the week. It sets the tone for my day, reinforces the morning habit, and I don't have to worry about fitting it in later.

7. Take time to reevaluate your WHY

I don't know about you, but for some reason when I'm out of my weekday schedule I lose track of WHY I want to be healthy. It seems like a couple cocktails or dessert won't do much damage. Each weekend I take time to motivate myself, and remind myself why I value my healthy lifestyle, and check in on my personal goals. Remind yourself YOU ARE CAPABLE OF REACHING YOUR GOALS.

8. Treat yourself (just not with food)

Find new ways to reward yourself for your hard work. Maybe it's getting a massage or buying a new workout outfit. Maybe you prefer some alone time to watch a chick flick. Whatever feels good, give that to yourself. You deserve it!

9. Don't make snap decisions

This doesn't just apply to the weekends, but it's when I am the most apt to make snap decisions. If you know you'll be going out to dinner, look at the menu beforehand and decide what you'll be ordering ahead of time, instead of at the restaurant. If you're thinking about skipping a workout, put your workout clothes on and take ten minutes before you let yourself make the decision. Deciding on something in the moment often leads me to make unhealthy decisions because I'm letting what I want NOW take priority over what I want long term.

10. Get enough sleep

Depriving yourself of sleep doesn't just ruin your motivation during the weekend, it can mean your sluggish and tired the first couple days of the week as well. So not only do you slow your progress for Saturday and Sunday, but you can risk having bad workouts Monday and Tuesday as well while you recover.

How do you stay on track over the weekend?

I'm not even sure I can call this a recipe, it's almost more like a method to me. I call it a hash because I can't think of anything better :)

Turkey Spinach Sweet Potato Hash

serves 4

1 lb ground meat (I usually use turkey, but chicken, pork, bison, etc would work)
Leafy greens (spinach is my favorite)
2 sweet potatoes, cubed

I cube the sweet potatoes and either roast them (375 for 20 minutes, but WATCH those suckers they burn easily) or sauté them (steam for a few minutes until soft, then sauté in olive or coconut oil with seasoning).

While the potatoes are cooking, brown the ground meat in a pan and cook through. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and whatever else sounds good. When it's almost cooked through, add in the greens and cook until wilted.

Layer sweet potatoes and meat/spinach mixture and top as you like.

That's it! See what I mean? It's a method not a recipe, infinitely adaptable and nutritious.

My favorite combinations:

Mexican

- season meat with cumin and chili powder, add in chopped bell peppers. Top with greek yogurt and salsa

My Standard

- season meat with salt, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes. Top with greek yogurt and a little ketchup or sriracha.

Breakfast Version

- Season meat with salt and pepper only, scramble a couple eggs in with it. Saute the sweet potatoes with a dash of cinnamon. Top with greek yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup (trust me). I haven't tried it but I have a hunch diced apples cooked with the sweet potatoes would be amazing.

Mushroom

- add in mushrooms while meat is cooking (they will take longer to cook than the greens). Top with diced swiss if you're feeling cheesy.

BBQ

- season meat with salt, pepper, paprika, and add in one diced onion before the greens. Top with greek yogurt mixed with BBQ sauce and green onions.

The possibilities are pretty much endless. As you can see, greek yogurt is essentially my personal Franks (I put that sh*t on everything!) because it's a great replacement for sour cream (my second favorite condiment) and it's packed with protein.

One of the biggest complaints against eating real food every night is the time it takes to cook. YES, I eat a home cooked meal every night and NO, it doesn't take me all night. For the most part, I don't eat packaged snacks and I always have real food for lunch, too.

How?

Meal planning and prepping. I'll share my thoughts on how to meal plan another day, today's post is all about prepping.

Every Sunday I do my meal plan for the week and we go grocery shopping. Costco trips are once a month; since it's just Chris and I bulk shopping is less frequent. Sunday afternoons I take 30 minutes to 1 hour to prep the food we bought.

In the photo above, I chopped up three peppers, 2 cucumbers, made 7 green shake bags, and bagged my green beans for the week.

Here's the breakdown:

- peppers are sliced for snacking with hummus, and for the fajitas we're having this week

- cucumbers are ready for snacking as well, or for salads if I'm caught needing to make a quick meal

- green beans are my afternoon snack almost every day, with almonds.

- the green shake bags are baby spinach (bought a huge container at Costco), frozen mango/peach and frozen berry. I can add these into the blender with my Shakeology and unsweetened almond milk in the morning and don't have to worry about measuring anything.

Typically, I'll also cook up a batch of quinoa or brown rice, and do any other chopping I'll need for the week ahead. This week happens to require very little prep time, which I LOVE.

What else can you prep?

- marinades

- breakfasts like protein pancakes or overnight oats

- other types of snacks: portion nut butters or yogurt into reusable containers to grab every morning

- ingredients for dinner: chop cauliflower or sweet potatoes to roast, bake chicken breasts or brown meat for crock pot recipes

Doing prep on Sunday afternoon saves me 10-15 minutes in the morning, extra time I use to play with my dog (or catch up on TV shows, oops!).

Are you using time as an excuse to eat healthy? STOP. Would you rather "lose" an hour a day now, or lose years off your life? Once you get into a routine of clean eating, I promise the time won't feel lost, it'll feel like time you're investing in your health and your future.

Still feel overwhelmed? I'm here to help. Send me a message if you're interested in learning more about clean eating and how you can make fitness and healthy living a habit!

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WHY I'm a coach

Shakeology Cleanse Day 1 - My Experience

Staying on Track While Traveling

Tips for Surviving the Weekend

Mango Morning Shakeology Bowl

Turkey Spinach Sweet Potato Hash

Clean Eating Meal Plan 1

Clean Eating Costco List

"I want to spend a lot of money to get healthy and fit."

SAID NO ONE EVER

Save Time with Meal Prepping

Easy Chicken Fajitas

Welcome!

"I want to spend a lot of money to get healthy and fit." SAID NO ONE EVER

"I want to spend a lot of money to get healthy and fit."

SAID NO ONE EVER