Can you believe it is already November?! If you're not quite sure where the last ten months disappeared to, be certain that the next two will be gone in a wink. The parties will stack up, the shopping will become cumbersome, the kids shows will mount, and before you know it we'll be ringing in the New Year! You know it's true! That being said, you're going to need to be super intentional about where and how you want to spend your time.
Take some time, even just moments as you're reading this, to consider how you want to close out your year. What's important to you? What would you regret not staying committed to and what would you willingly cut loose to create space in your schedule? Sometimes, the biggest problem we experience is that, while we know we'll be busy, we don't actually plan for being busy. We somehow convince ourselves we'll do all the things we currently do, add in all the holiday chaos, and still come out on top like a champ. It's super likely that is not how that story is really going to end though. So think about this:
Taking the time in advance to anticipate these challenges helps you being prepared to overcome them when they arise. They will no longer surprise you - pulling you in to their whirlwind existence and spewing you back out like Dorothy in the Wizard Of Oz. Instead, they will become like hurdles in your race - challenging but easy to overcome because you anticipated and prepared to respond accordingly to them. You don't have to be a victim to the holiday hubbub! Think ahead, plan ahead, and be ready to change course as necessary!
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I have things I would love to talk with people about that I am quite certain they are less than interested in hearing about. If you follow the blog much or, even better, get into the garage you've heard me soapbox on these various topics. However, I try not give unsolicited advice to friends and family (and even the occasional stranger). Quite frankly, unsolicited advice is not well received and thus is rather ineffective. Since I don't enjoy tooting my own horn for the sake of hearing it, I just keep my mouth shut. However, this weekend I learned about a dear family friend who is suffering from terrible illness, much of which is due to lifestyle choices. It's heart wrenching. It's even more saddening because much of it could have been prevented with nutrition and exercise. Hear me clearly, I am not dismissing the emotional and behavioral hurdles you face when seeking wellness. However, I will stand on my soapbox and say this, every day we choose the direction of wellness that our bodies will take. We can make choices to aid in increased wellness and we can make choices to aid in decreased wellness. This is a simple fact. It is not up for debate that diet and exercise effect our body. So the hard truth is that each of us have a choice to make regarding nutrition and exercise - a choice that has a significantly larger impact on our long-term wellness than most of us want to realize.
We live in a time and culture where we want things now, we want them with the least amount of resistance, and we want the lowest price. The problem with this is that we will pay down the road and most likely in the cost of medical bills and prescription refills. We no longer question things like childhood diabetes, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure - these are normal occurrences. It is not normal though, it is a sign of illness. We don't think twice about heartburn or IBS, these are normal consequences. Yet, it is not normal, it is a sign of illness. We need to stop ignoring and/or placating our symptoms of illness and find real solutions. Preferably long-term solutions. I would suggest to you that many of these "common" ailments are treatable with proper diet and exercise. The question is, are you willing to take the time and make the investment now so that you are not paying in medical bills, sickness, and prescription drugs later? If you're already dealing with these problems, how about taking a hard look at how you are taking care of your body? Is your diet healing and helping you? Or are you fighting against yourself - eating foods that hurt, not getting your body moving, and leaning on drugs to keep your body functioning properly? If you think I'm crazy, you should do some research. We just finished up the Whole 30 in the garage and almost every single participant noted that they found something in their diet that was causing their body strife. These folks are not anomalies. They are normal, everyday people. Eating normal, everyday foods. What they have found is that not all food in the store is helpful. In fact they have found that foods they thought they should be eating were actually hurting them. They have found that diet has a huge impact on how they feel and function. It is common to not give a lot of thought to the discomfort you live with on a regular basis until you experience what living free of that discomfort feels like. On top of all that, I just think life is too amazing and too short to be sidelined by things that are preventable. Tragedy is not preventable, but I can prevent and decrease the chance of various health failures with proper nutrition and exercise. To me this is a no brainer. It does not make it easy, but it is feasible. With a good support network, a little education, and tons of commitment anyone can achieve a stronger, healthier life - for now and later! A friend recently recommended this recipe to me. I'm always looking to add good, hearty soups to the mix as fall sets in. I will confess I was pleasantly surprised by this one, in spite of her glowing reviews I had some serious reservations.
Country Cabbage Soup 2 pounds ground beef, cooked and drained 2 cans (28 ounces each) stewed tomatoes 1 medium head of cabbage, shredded 2 large onions, chopped 6 celery ribs, chopped salt and pepper to taste Once you've browned the beef (and drained it) in a large pot, add in the remaining ingredients (except salt and pepper). Bring these to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer it for about 25 minutes, or until the veggies are tender. Season to taste. A couple of side notes. First off, I couldn't find stewed tomatoes so I used fire roasted tomatoes. The liquid yield is a bit lower so it was less soupy, but super delicious. Second, I had a yellow onion and a red onion . . . use what you have. Third, the most brilliant thing you could do for this already super easy recipe is throw it in a slow cooker once you've browned and drained the beef. Seriously, you'll be the smartest person in town that day! Milk & Cookies
Fries & Ketchup Mac & Cheese Pork & Beans Bacon & Eggs These are things that go together. Do you want to know what else goes together (spoiler: if you don't you should stop reading now . . . this isn't really a rhetorical question after all)? Exercise & Nutrition If you want to really get your jam on, you should pursue this relationship further. Figure out how exercise and nutrition are working out in your life. Are you making active choices in regard to either of them - or are you haphazardly rolling through life? The secret is when you combine this dynamic duo you will get staggering results. Name your goal and I will explain to you how these two work together to help you achieve that end. If you are growing in this area I'd be glad to help you develop a plan to progress. Perhaps it's changing something simple - like adding 20 minutes of cardio, or dedicating time to lifting, or choosing to decrease processed foods. Starting somewhere is the key. Hit me up to learn more! As we head into fall and the schedule fills up with evening activities I head back to my go-to crock pot dishes. This is one I found a few years back and I love to add it to the mix for it's variety. It's not every day your recipe calls for a roast and raisins!
This is a dish I make work for me, not against me! If I don't have lots of time, I skip the searing. If I have time to mix up the French Herb mix, as to have it on hand at a later date, then I do (recipe below). If I want the meat like a roast then I cook it for the shorter duration. If I want the beef truly falling apart I will cook for the longer duration and, usually, even longer! I love to serve this on top of mashed potatoes or rice and served with a side of greens of my liking for the day. Beef in Pomegranate Sauce 2 pound beef roast of choice sea salt olive oil 1 onion, halved and sliced 4-6 garlic cloves, chopped (I always use 6 . . . or more!) 1 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice 14 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 1/8 cup pure maple syrup 1/2 cup golden raisins 2 thick pinches marjoram 2 thick pinches thyme 2 thick pinches savory 1 thick pinch basil 1 thick pinch rosemary 1 small pinch sage 1 small pinch fennel seeds (combined these make French Herb mix, which I never have, so instead I just add these amounts of what I do have on this list. If you do make the mix, use a teaspoon of it for this recipe.) Salt the beef and allow to rest while heating the olive oil in a pan. Sear the beef on all sides. Pour a dash of oil in the base of your crock pot. Add onion and garlic, stirring together with oil. Place the beef on top of the onion and garlic. In a bowl, mix the remaining ingredients together. Pour over the beef. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours. French Herbs 3 tablespoons marjoram 3 tablespoons thyme 3 tablespoons savory 1 teaspoon basil 1 teaspoon rosemary 1/2 teaspoon sage 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds Recipe from Gluten Free Goddess Remember how we talked about choosing in advance how you were going to finish out the Whole30? Now is the time that you need to stand firm on those choices. I encourage you to take some time today to reflect and write down what your experience has been like. It is easy to backslide when we don't keep our experience at the forefront of our minds - and we all know our minds are full enough without having to constantly remind ourselves of what we gained. Writing these things down gives you something tangible to come back to when you are second guessing whether making hard commitments to your nutrition are worth it.
I get it. It is so much easier to eat whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it. It is so much easier to just eat without thought. Yet, when we commit to feeding our bodies well - as you have over the past month - we get a glimpse of what living with a healthy diet feels like. Quite literally. You experience more clarity in your day, longer lasting fullness due to consuming nutrient dense foods (which means less grazing and smaller portions), perhaps a decrease in irritable bowel symptoms (which can include bloating, gas, cramping). These are things that once we've experienced life without them we'd rather not go back to having them. So prepare yourself for the onslaught of temptation that is just around the corner. Arm yourself with the facts about your experience and stand strong in your choices. You can choose to continue to feed your body like this on a regular basis. It can be your new normal. However you do have the freedom to add non-compliant foods into your diet as well. Just remember, be aware of the foods that your body does not do well with and create healthy boundaries around them. You have the rest of your life to hammer out and perfect these details. Just take a few baby steps today to insure you remain on good nutritional path! As a coach I field all sorts of questions. I thought I'd take some time to answer the most common questions I hear for you . . . the masses.
How many times a week do you workout? This is by far the top question I get. My answer will probably shock you - in the terms you are asking, I workout three times a week. Getting to this number has been a journey for me! When I began going to Quinn's Gym I went twice a week. As I advanced in movement and metabolic capacity I increased my attendance to three times a week, then jumped to five times a week. In the past years, I have spent seasons of working out six days a week or even eight times a week when hitting two-a-days. You probably wonder what has changed that I now only workout three times. Well, I have learned - both through further education and personal experience - that three times a week in the garage is enough. By enough I don't just mean sufficient, I mean it is abundantly enough. Anything over three times a week in the garage and I actually begin to see deterioration in movement and strength gains. I am left zapped and often fighting off perpetual soreness and minor ailments. Three times a week in the garage gives me the chance to train my body in strength movements and cardiovascular capacity so that I can live a full life outside of the gym. I take the time freed up by not being in the gym to do other "workouts" - trail riding, hiking (especially with difficult terrain), and trail running are a few of my favorite activities outside of the garage. Getting to this number has all been a part of coming back to my goals time and time again and asking the question, am I making choices to have the life I want? Are my routines building up or destroying my quality of long-term wellness? When I realized my workouts were not aiding, but actually tearing me down I had to take an honest look at my approach. What do you do for workouts? A typical day in the garage looks like any day in a Frank Fitness class or personal session. Two of my three days I do strength work - which varies based on the strength cycle I'm in. Right now I'm doing a Front Squat and Shoulder Press cycle. Then, the third day, I'll pick a strength move of choice for "fun" - it could involve the barbell, kettlebells (like Turkish Getups), or even bodyweight work (like pull-ups or push-ups). Once the strength piece is finished I hit a good conditioning set. My aim is to keep things fresh and varied - both in duration and movement. One day I aim for a sprint workout (6-12 minutes), another falls in the mid-range (12-18 minutes), and then one endurance workout (18-30 minutes). All these choices help me stay strong, heart healthy, and fully functioning. How much sleep do you get? I preface this with, everybody's body is different and as such sleep needs vary. The important thing is giving your body the opportunity to show you how much it sleeps. This means getting to sleep early enough to allow yourself to wake up on your own accord (i.e. without an alarm) for a couple weeks. A challenge for sure, but worth it! I have found that I need nine hours of sleep - which obviously falls on the longer side. However it is what I need to function well, so I make a concerted effort to get my 9 hours every night. When I don't get them all in, I try to make time in my day somewhere to compensate. What does your nutrition look like? My goal is to keep it as simple as possible. The reality is, in addition to being a coach, I am a busy mom. My diet consists of whole foods and my aim is to keep processed food out of my belly as much as possible. I try to fill myself with so much goodness that I'm not hungry for junk. That said, I do eat foods many people dub as "bad" foods. I like a bit of dairy (mainly Greek yogurt, cream, butter, and a tiny bit of cheese), I eat some grains (I have a French toast weakness and I enjoy good granola in my yogurt), and I definitely partake in Peanut Butter M&M's and Twizzlers (especially when they're fresh)! These are exceptions though, not the rule. My diet is dictated by eating foods that sustain my body's nutritional needs (not just building muscle but, even more importantly, healthy functioning organs). This necessitates lots of healthy carbs - fruits and vegetables - to get the natural (not fortified) vitamins and minerals I need. A normal day might look like this:
And while this isn't a common question, it is a common response after these questions, so let's address it . . . Wow, that's great for you, that would never work for me! Actually, you're wrong (insert bomb drop). I know it's scary to deviate from what you've been told and believe. However, have you ever asked yourself why you believe what you do about how fitness is achieved? If you really boil it down, it is the fitness industry. Their job is to sell you fitness, therefore it is an industry. By nature, industry's motive is making bank. What happens is, instead of assessing the reality of what we are experiencing (feeling overworked, broken down, stressed out, and insufficient), we keep believing what we're being told. If we will consume more we will be happier and better off. In this case, if we add protein shakes, recovery supplements, and more workouts then we will finally reach our destination . . . majestic unicorn. However, if we dare to quit buying into the industry we might see we've been caught in a sneaky little rat race. We might realize we don't need protein shakes and supplements to aid recovery! We really just need a day or two of rest! We might understand that chasing the #fitspo is perpetuating the nagging feeling that we are insufficient. The belief that if we sweat more, work harder, and don't give up we will attain our dream body. Does what I say bother you? Does it make you feel like you wouldn't be doing enough? Does it make you roll your eyes at me? Good. Think about that. The truth I have found - through education and experience - is that this rat race lifestyle leaves me worn and, literally at times, broken. My body cannot keep up at those rates. So I have made the conscious choice to choose life. Which has brought me to the answers to above. Got more questions that I didn't address? Or new questions that these thoughts and perspectives made you think of? I'd love to get down to the nitty-gritty with ya! Shoot me a message or find time after class to chat it out! You just passed the halfway mark of the Whole 30 and are surely into the easiest days . . . don't be fooled. You're about to finish out the second half and this is when you think, didn't I do enough?! No. Remember that 30 days is 30 days - not 27, not 28, not even 29. 30 equals 30. So before we get to those last gritty days, when you're feeling so tempted, I want you to spend some time thinking about your habits. The Whole 30 is not a diet for weight loss. It is not a detox or cleanse. It is a way for you to understand food and your relationship to it better.
What does this mean? The goal is to understand better, from a nutritional standpoint, what you are putting in your mouth. It also means understanding better, from a behavioral standpoint, when and why you are putting things in your mouth. These are the biggest takeaways I hope you receive. Why? Because these are lifelong tools you can put to work for yourself. Remember before we even started the Whole 30 how we talked about being able to determine a long-term "diet" for you? The purpose of the Whole 30 is to help you make informed and conscious decisions about your eating. Take this last half of Whole 30 to really think about how you want this experience to impact you in the long run. If you don't think about it and ask hard questions now, you certainly will jump right back into your old ways and, I promise you, the last 30 days will be a colossal waste of your time, energy, and money. You have to know what you want to change. I find it helpful to make a pros and cons list of your experience. Consider how foods you previously ate impacted you just by not eating them (remember those very first days). Think about the new foods you tried and how they made your body feel (remember the last days). Take note of habits you realized you had because you were forced to break your routine - the vending machine trip each afternoon, the late night treat, or the cups and cups of coffee and cream that you didn't realize you were having. Whatever these things may be for you, they are worth thinking about and asking yourself if they help you achieve the health you want. I will never tire of telling you that you can have a full life ahead of you. The choices you make about how you feed and treat your body will greatly impact the quality of life which you experience - both now and later! So take the time. Think about what you want to take away from this experience. Decide in advance because I promise you, the closer that 30 day mark gets the more you will resort to thinking about all the things you haven't been eating and how you are so close to getting them back. Those foods are like drunk dialing an ex - they seem good at the time, but when your mind clears you experience instant remorse. Don't fall into the trap. Be armed and ready to stand for what you want and to not give in just because you are now "free." That freedom is a lie and is the beginning of ensnaring you back into poor nutrition and diminishing health. You guys, I would be keeping a wonderful secret from you if I didn't share this recipe with you! This is such a delicious and nutritious fix - you should add it to your regular rotation. Plus, you know me, I love things that are versatile and this recipe is just that. It is perfect for using as a base for your protein or reheating for breakfast and topping with an over easy egg. It is just so yummy. Added bonus, red cabbage packs a powerful nutrition punch! Check this out: On to the recipe . . .
Sauteed Red Cabbage 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced 4 slices of bacon, chopped 1/2 head red cabbage, thinly sliced 2-4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon rosemary 1 teaspoon salt 1 green apple, cut in matchsticks or diced In a large saute pan on medium heat, brown bacon pieces. Remove bacon to a plate and set aside. Saute onion in remaining bacon grease. Stir in sliced red cabbage and cook until beginning to soften. Stir in apple cider vinegar, rosemary, and salt, cooking until cabbage is really soft. Stir in apple and cook until apple is desired tenderness. Serve topped with pulled pork or shredded chicken. Also delicious topped with homemade ground sausage or eggs. |
AuthorMy name is Tiffany and I am the owner and trainer at Frank Fitness, a garage gym. I provide workouts to increase/maintain cardiovascular wellness and build strength. My goal is to help athletes maintain life-long wellness. Archives
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