Nutrition That Sticks

About two months ago, I started traveling for work. While it was amazing to visit different places, and absorb an enormous amount of information on the speaking business and marketing, it did a number on my health and fitness. I noticed that because my eating habits were completely off, I wasn't feeling well. Not only that, I felt like none of my food was "sticking". I actually felt like I was not absorbing any of the nutrients from any of the foods I consumed. It was so bad that I started eating about every two hours ridiculous amounts of food, and an hour later, I was hungry again. I wasn't even able to fully enjoy my meals because I was eating just to stop myself from feeling nauseated... scarfing them down as if I hadn't eaten in a month! Fortunately, when I got back home, Darren gave me a package of Mila, chia seeds.

Now, I don't buy into most, if any, of the "superfood" this and magical that. However, I found that after having a glass of Mila per day, I almost instantly started feeling better.

I don't propose this to be a miracle food, or that it's going to magically make you invincible, or give you super powers. I do know that it is filled with nutrients, omega 3's and protein, but most importantly... it just made me feel better. I eat pretty healthy and I notice how my body reacts to different foods. After throwing some in my water, before eating, I felt like my body was absorbing nutrients again. I've heard that other people have had other life changing stories...

Red Rock Glory!

Oh happy day! After being on the road for 10 days and then recouping for another 3 days... It's been about 2 long and treacherous weeks since I have worked out. I'm finding that this is a common problem for road warriors. While my frequent flyer miles are nothing to brag about... yet, I know I better get two things figured out as my career continues to catapult. First is this fitness thing. Second is that nutrition thing. Today, I will solely focus on fitness. 

As if it weren't hard enough to find time to get in a workout at home, I'm quickly learning that fitness on the road is no joke! The past two months I've traveled to California, Mexico, Indiana, and Florida on business. Indiana and Florida were the longest because I was there for the National Speakers Association (NSA) convention and the Toastmasters International (TI) convention, respectively. While in Indiana, I did manage to get some time to get the blood flowing, mostly because I was there as an attendee rather than working a table. However, Florida really kicked my butt! 

For those of you that don't know, asides from being a personal trainer, I also have a full time marketing gig. One of the people I work with is Darren LaCroix, who is a World Champion of Public Speaking. At the TI convention, we worked an average of 10 hours per day for 10 days straight! Whoa Nelly! Of course this is not customary. We were taking full advantage of every moment we could. However, this rigorous work load really put a damper on my fitness routine. Prior to this trip, I was hiking about an hour per day with my dogs, Vegas and Alejo. Not only was I burning 600-900 calories per day, I was also conditioning my body, especially my lungs in an incredible way. The lack of exercise was wearing me down. 

While on this trip, I noticed that my body was aching, I felt stiff, and more than anything, I was exhausted! I could not wait to get home to take my dogs for a hike/ run in the Red Rock Canyon. I needed a few days of rest before I finally conjured up the energy to take them out. So this morning, that is exactly what we did. We alternated between hiking and running up and down the canyon, then on the road back to our car... all in all, we covered about 3-4 miles and burned 1023 calories!! The best part of it all was the uphill runs. Gotta love that burn! 

I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow, but it was so worth it! 

For the next trip, I will have a road warrior fitness plan prior to the event. I know many business travelers face this same dilemma. If you have any suggestions or if you want to keep updated, feel free to leave a comment or follow my blog! 

Bluenana Surprise

This is what happens when I get bored in the kitchen...

Bluenana Surprise
6 oz cottage cheese
1/2 banana, sliced
2 oz blueberries
1 tsp honey
A sprinkle of cinnamon

Put the cottage cheese in a bowl. Add sliced banana. Drizzle honey. Sprinkle cinnamon over everything. Add blueberries.

Quick. Simple. Healthy. Delicious.

Ground Turkey & Onion Dressing

Yum! I know I'm Peruvian because I Looove onions and lime juice... We use it as a dressing for some of our meals.

I was fortunate to have my dad visit this past week. He made his famous ceviche and we had some leftover dressing. I took this opportunity to make a new dish.... Ground turkey with the onion dressing.

Keep in mind, I've been a uninspired in the kitchen lately and I need a tasty, simple dish to throw together. This is what I came up with. It was simple, quick and healthy!

*I will post the recipe later

Fit Ideas - Let's go hiking!

I love spending time with my kids, my pets, and working out. However, how do you make time for everything when you have so many other things to do??? I take a look and see what can I do to bring it all together. I took my daughter on a short evening hike with our dogs, since they have to stay fit too, and tied in the fact that it would be really cool to see the Las Vegas strip in the evening from the mountain. The video doesn't do it justice, so you'll have to head out and see for yourself how cool it looks! 

Tips to remember... even on an evening hike, bring plenty of water. I bought a camel pack because it's convenient to store not only water, but also keys, phone, flashlight... you get the picture. That said... bring a cell phone and a flashlight. If you lose track of time, you want to make sure that you can SEE where you are going and there are usually spots where you can get cell phone reception in case of emergency. I usually also bring a light jacket because the temperature changes can be quite drastic at times. 

Best thing for me is I get to spend quality time with my daughter and my fur kids while working out. Bonus: I'm setting the example for my kids to live a healthy life.

Fitness on the Road

Oh my word! It has been 3 weeks since my last post. I have been traveling with my Darren LaCroix who is a world champion public speaker, and for which I do marketing for, meeting some pretty amazing people and learning so much!

In the past month and a half, or so, I have been to California, Mexico - for the first time ever, and Indianapolis. In each place we worked public speaking events and our last stop, Indy, we worked an event and had the opportunity to attend the NSA convention. (For those that don't know, it's the National Speakers Association).

Can I say WOW?!?! I had the privilege of meeting and speaking with so many brilliant people! Each session I attended, each speaker I heard added a little more substance to my life. I can't begin to explain have blessed I am to have had that opportunity.

Ok... that said... Two of the biggest challenges I faced while traveling was keeping up with my nutrition and  incorporating fitness into my schedule. By the time we hit up Indy, I think I finally had a handle on it. They had gym in the hotel, which was pretty awesome, especially if I only had 20-30minutes to workout. However, being the outdoor enthusiast that I am, I chose to primarily run outdoors.

• I knew I was going to enjoy some of the local foods so I put to use the 80/20 rule
• 80% healthy foods... 20% not so much
• I carried healthy snacks that I could slip in my purse so I wouldn't have to leave a session to eat 
• I created a "food contract" because I noticed that sometimes the people I was traveling with would go, for what seemed like endless hours, without eating
• I found people to workout with including Eden Little (who is a triathlete, mother of 3 amazing kids with cerebral palsy), Eric Culverson, Jolene Jang, Scott Friedman and Craig Valentine. Each of these people set aside 30 minutes - 2 hours of their very busy schedules to focus on fitness. Not an easy task while attending a week long convention and working!
• To make it fun, I incorporated a light boot camp style run (for example, going on a 4-5 mile run and incorporating, staggered push ups, crunches, and running stairs). I wanted to make sure I got in upper and lower body, core, and some cardio to align with my personal goals. 

I know that Jaime Eason also has a playing cards workout that helps keep her in shape while on the road. 

I have been guilty of making excuses why I have no time to workout, even at home. However, if i want to see an improvement in my health and fitness, if I want to be an example for my children, if I want to accomplish my goals, there's simply no room for excuses. 

Cool as ice!

I saw this on Facebook and thought it was a fabulous idea to break the summer heat!

Summer Ice Cubes

In this picture are blueberry, mint, and lemon ice cubes. You can place ice cubes in different glasses for use with sparkling water or lemonade. Or.. you can make your own variety with strawberries, mixed berries, orange slices, etc... Get creative! Personally, I prefer sparkling water with mint cubes and lime cubes. It's my "Lo-cal virgin mojito". 

mint ice cubes: Add several mint leaves in hot water until water gets enough minty flavor (take out the leaves because they turn dark) Add fresh mint leaves to the mint-flavored water once it cools down and freeze

lemon ice cubes: Add lemon juice and lemon slices to water and freeze

blueberry ice cubes: Add fresh blueberries to water and freeze.

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