What a Personal Trainer eats on Thanksgiving





It's the time of the year to give thanks and oh do we have a lot to be grateful for!  Can I get a hell ya?  For now let's focus on the miracle of your human body.  Every day your body is processing food, healing wounds, fighting bacteria, shaking and moving your bootie in Zumba class (ha, that's what I did today), and so it deserves to be treated well!  So when you prepare to stuff yourself silly next week, ask yourself truly, "how can I serve this blessed miracle of a body today?"  Well for me, it will be to keep that even distribution of protein, carbs and fat, so I don't go into a holiday coma afterwards.  So what does that look like?  I mean the food, not the coma;) Pretty simple.  Here you go:


Drink: 1 glass of wine or sparking water with a splash of cranberry juice and a lime wedge.  Drink a full glass of water an hour before the main meal to help curb your cravings.


Appies: Go straight to the veggie tray and don't overdue it on the ranch. Let's say a tablespoon max on the dip.  YOU ARE AHEAD OF THE GAME!  You avoided the cream cheese filled mushrooms.  Good job!


Main meal: For protein, grab some turkey and you don't have to be the weirdo at the table that tells everyone to hold on while you get out your food scale.  Just take about the size of your fist, so around 4 oz. (women) to 8 oz. (men).


Side dishes: If you are to bring a side dish to the dinner, offer to bring the sweet potatoes and/or holiday salad. Do not, I repeat, do not make the sugary, buttery, version of the sweet potatoes.  If you do, just decide to opt out of the dessert.  Sad face:(  Bake the sweet potatoes in the oven, and when they're done peel them, slice them, and drizzle a teaspoon of maple syrup on top.  They are sweet enough silly!  That's why they are called SWEET potatoes. 
For the salad, I love a kale salad with pomegranates, slivered almonds, and a little bit of feta cheese.  Drizzle a dressing such as: olive oil with lemon essential oil.  I'm drooling already! Eat as much salad as you want!  You'll need the energy to get all kinds of crazy at the shops tomorrow for black Friday.  Cooked green beans are great too!


Dessert: Yep, I'm having some.  I am going to stick with pumpkin, because that is my favorite.  Take a 1/4 slice of the pie, unless it's a Costco size and in that case go for around 1/8th. 


Your waistline will thank you by following this simple meal plan! 
Happy Thanksgiving! 


     

One week butt kick to a better body!

Need a basic template to kick your butt into shape?  Well here you go:


Monday *bam* You're motivated since you ate like crap last weekend, so yep it's a HIIT class.  Get on YouTube and depending on your activity level find a 20-40 minute HIIT class.  You'll feel fantastic afterward!


Tuesday -- Hit the weight room for a lower body workout.  Do every exercise or machine you can to work your legs. Calf raises with weights, squat machine, inner and outer thigh machine, donkey kicks etc.  Do about 3 sets of 15 per exercise and spend 30 minutes-1 hour of time on this.


Wednesday *hump day* To get you through hump day, I'm going to recommend you slow it down and get in touch with your inner peace.  Take a yoga class and learn how to reduce your stress levels by breathing in a conscious way.  If you decide to do this at home, just spend a minimum of 20 minutes working up to 1 hour doing basic stretches and holding them for 5-8 breaths.  Don't let your mind sabotage you and tell you that there is something else you should be doing.  Keep reminding yourself why it is important to have this time to yourself.


Thursday -- It's time for some upper body work!  Don't worry ladies, you won't get bulky lifting unless you decide to take steroids, so lift heavy!  Again spend 30 minutes - 1 hour doing all the exercises you can think of for upper body.  Bicep curls, tricep extensions, lat. pulls, chest press, and don't forget about those sexy shoulders of yours.  Three sets of 15 is a good start and make sure you're tired at the end of the 3rd set or you're stronger than you think you are! 


Friday -- TGIF, because you have another HIIT class!  Follow Monday's guidelines and mix it up.  Get uncomfortable!


Saturday -- Start your weekend right with another yoga class.  If you have to go to the library to get a DVD, fine!  Just stay committed to the practice.  It will pay off I promise.


Sunday -- Get outside!  Whatever the weather, go outside and walk or hike for 30 minutes or more.  Let that time be spent in gratitude and appreciation for your body.  If you love your body, it will love you back! 


Lastly, repeat, repeat, repeat and when you hit a plateau, send me a quick hello so I can give you more tips to keep you feeling happy and healthy!


Cheers,


Chrissy

Are you loving your body today?



Body image is something that many women deal with on a daily basis.  If I could just lose a few pounds here, and if my arms looked like Madonna's, and if my belly was flat, then I'll feel better. 


It's funny how even when we are already fit and healthy we can still think those thoughts of "if only."  Science is proving more and more that our thoughts can literally change the health of our cells and improve the healing process.


I invite you and myself today to stop for a moment, take a breath, and recognize the miracle of your human body.  Feel gratitude for the systems within you that are working effectively and with ease. 


I recently watched a video by astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson who talked about how our atoms are directly linked to the stars in the sky.  I'll post it here for you to watch: https://youtu.be/9D05ej8u-gU.


When we think about our physical goals, whether we want to lose 10lbs, 50lbs, or just want to feel better in our jeans, just remember that your body is a miracle made from the most beautiful stars in the sky!


Love your body, even for this one brief moment.  

State of Mind Yoga

I loved the free yoga on the Utah State Capitol lawn this Summer! Sooo many yogis (around 300 a class!) coming together as one to feel the love! I saw many young college age kids probably loving all the cuties in their Lululemon gear. What I'm excited about is the growth of yoga in our beautiful Salt Lake valley. With yoga on the rise in our city, is it possible that just by people coming together and breathing conciously as one, we can shift the minds of our politicians and those who make important decisions for our people and state? I like to think that it does.
My hope is that people don't really care about what they're wearing or what their neighbor is wearing on the mat, but that they care more about how their State of Mind affects those who live here.
Yea, for FREE Yoga!!!