Mouth, Body, and Mind

When we think of health and wellness, we tend to think of nutrition and exercise. Yes, this is a big part of getting healthy. But there is one more thing that needs to be added, and that is the mind. Let's explore more about this trifecta.

Nutrition
Food. How we love to eat. According to the Journal of American Medicine, about 78.6 million Americans are obese. That, my friend is a lot of people. We have so many food choices from fast food to comfort food and home cooking to any cultural food we want. With all of the options out there, why wouldn't we partake in all of the food. We don't want to miss out on the good stuff. When people think about getting healthy, they seem to think health food has to be bland, boring or just plan gross. Sorry friends, that is false. Nutrition is an important part of health and wellness. We need to eat good, clean, nutrient rich food most of the time. Everything should be in moderation if you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Generally, I will say aim for 80% clean healthy foods and 20% other.

Exercise
You can't undo a crap diet. You just can't. You cant workout all day to burn off that burger (see moderation above). Exercise should be incorporated in your health and wellness plan 30 minutes every day. I'm not talking hard core exercise every day, but a mixture of different levels. One day go for a walk, another do a class, try yoga or a cardio class, you can workout from home to (that is what I do most times). The idea is to balance exercise with your nutrition.

Mind- and here is the good stuff
This one is a little more abstract. For nutrition and exercise to fall in place, you also need a healthy mind. This covers everything from why is it important to mental health in general (I'm talking things like depression, low self esteem, sadness, anger, and even happiness). You see, in order to keep you moving in the direction you want to, you need to believe that you CAN do it and have a positive mindset. Let's face it, it is not easy to change. Sometimes you need help (professional and non-professional) and support from friends and family. Sometimes you need personal development that you can find in a book or by journaling. I'm an avid reader and have found a few books that have really helped. Developing yourself and taking the time to work on you can help with changing negative mindsets. (I will include book reviews on personal development books as we go along as well.) At the end of the day, your positive mindset and belief that you can do it will help you meet nutrition and exercise goals (see, they do tie in).

Why did I share this with you? Because for you to meet your health and wellness goals, you need to feed all three. I will post a lot about exercise and meals but you will also see me post about things that make me happy. I invite you to share with me some of your favorite meals, exercises, or just things that feed your mind and make you happy.

References:
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

Super Saturday - A Team Beachbody Adventure

The whole group!

On July 25, I went to Super Saturday. What is that? It is a meeting that happens across the U.S. and Canada where coaches and those interested in coaching or just curious about the whole thing meet together and talk about the business, products, and Beachbody in general. Plus we do a large group live workout at the end.

Yup, is sounds dull, when in reality it is something very powerful to attend. The one I attended was in Raleigh, NC and the theme was Star Spangled Super Saturday. Here is a run down of why it is powerful.

1. We celebrated our troops. This is big to me. A lot of coaches and Beachbody members are military. Any company that celebrates the troops is good in my book.
2. We celebrated our successes as individuals on Beachbody.
3. We talked about the central theme of Beachbody, Every One Matters. Yes, every one. We talked about coming together to help everyone.

Our team and Mark Briggs

4. The business is people. It is not numbers (like with any business itself, numbers will come if you make it about the people). It is about helping people who want help. It is about learning about the products that are out there to help those who want help.
5. Meet cool new people. I love to meet new people. LOVE IT! I got to meet local North Carolina coaches.
6. Powerful guest speakers. Mark Briggs spoke at ours. He is super real, passionate, and believes in what he does....helping people.
7. At the end, Mark lead us in a workout that was amazing and challenging. At the end of it, we had to do pyramid team workout. It was 3 moves starting at 1 and finishing at 10 (1 X jump, 1 squat, 1 pushup, 2 X jumps, 2 squats, etc). After we finish ours we cheer each other on to finish. One young lady behind me was working through hers and most of us finished. What did we do? A good bunch of us jumped in with her and finished with her. If this does not show support of each other and caring and helping others with their goals, I don't know what does (I still get emotional thinking about it). If you want to see the video, its on my Facebook page, A fit Toribean.

As an added bonus, I got to meet some of my coach team here, Crit and Brenda. I love them dearly and it was not even like "meeting them for the first time," it was like seeing old friends again. Coaches become a family. And of course, with family, we like to be silly. (Trust me, we had a blast!) I can't wait for the next one in October. Who wants to come with me?

Be badass!

Do Something That Makes You Happy - A Happy Adventure

Life is too short to not find happiness. I do mean find. Only you can determine your happiness, you can't rely on someone to provide it. That is not to say, others can't make you happy. But you also need to find happiness in what you do. Why? Well, it makes life better, things seem to go smoother, and who wants to be miserable?

Recently, hubs and I got in the Jeep and he surprised me with a trip to the boardwalk (its maybe 15 mins away from the house). We had a wonderful time walking through the carnival area and listening to the kids scream on the rides. The sound of pure joy and terror!

  We then strolled down to Britt's Donuts. I normally am not a donut person, but this is the 2nd best donut place in the whole United States! It seems to get better each year.

From there, we went to the boardwalk itself and sat on a swing and just watched and listened to the ocean. The peace that came with just sitting there with my head on hub's shoulder just calmed me. I just felt truly happy for everything that I have in my life. And why not? If we look for the good, the beautiful, the perfectly imperfect, we will find what we are looking for!

We walked the boardwalk a little to see how it came out since they just redid it. Even got to see the sea turtle patrol vehicle drive by doing rounds on our turtle nests (I will have some of those adventures this year too).

No trip to the boardwalk is complete unless we are silly (another thing that makes me happy). We found cut outs and a surfboard with a wave backdrop. YES! We got to play
with them.

A Kitchen Adventure - Meal Prep Monday, Fixate, and 6 Recipes

Its Meal Prep Monday. I know what you are thinking, This girl is in the kitchen WAY more than anyone who hates to cook is in the kitchen. I'm surprised too. But there are 2 very good reasons for this! First, I need to prep my week to make sure that I stay on track. Second, I just got the cookbook I have been waiting for!!! Fixate is the new cookbook by Autumn Calabrese and it is full of healthy meals, 101 of them to be exact. Of course I'm going to test some out this week.

While there are a lot of recipes in this book that I want to try for breakfast, I'm leaving them for my weekends when I have more time. Things like chicken and waffles (yup, that will happen), chocolate crepes, and omelets. As normal, I prepped some oats for Monday - Friday (cuz I love them and they make me happy and fill me up).

Snacks will include my usual Shakeology (and yes, I have some new recipes to try with that too), and fruit.

The main events? Open faced meatball sub and mac n cheese with broccoli and chicken. Oh yes, this book has HEALTHY MAC N CHEESE! (I did green beans since broccoli and I are not friends.)

What stunned me was there are recipes for cake, cookies (raspberry-filled cookie bites that will happen too), and skinny cocktails. Everything in moderation and you have a healthy balanced diet. For me, who kept making the same foods, it is a game changer. Especially since they are easy and require little work. Want a few samples? Click HERE. Pineapple chicken skewers are on my to do list along with zucchini chips and ice cream (Yes ice cream).

As you can imagine it works well with 21 Day Fix. It also works great all by itself. If you want to get your hands on this cookbook, let me know and I will help you. Just send me a message.

Chicks Who Lift

What do you think of when you think of weightlifting? Big beefy men lifting weights the size of small cars? Arnold Schwarzenegger? Ok, I can see that? That is what Hollywood make it seem like. Its what some gyms seem to look like. But underneath all those muscles, they are everyday people doing something they love.

I started to do a lot more weight training in the last few weeks. I do it at home in my mini gym/spare bedroom with limited equipment. I have what I need to build up. I am a chick who lifts and I never thought I would say this, but I love it. Don't get me wrong, I love my cardio and my workouts with Shaun T and Autumn Calabrese, but there is something about lifting weights that makes me feel powerful, strong, and confident. There are a lot of reasons a woman should lift weights. Here are a few:

1. You burn more fat. WHAT? According to bodybuilding.com, you can keep burning fat AFTER you finish working out. Yup, you lift weights and keep getting benefits after you finish. Pretty cool, right?

2. Stronger and more confident. I already told you that. You lift something heavy, you feel more powerful and confident...you are a badass. Plus you see changes in your body. It allows you to take part in flex Friday too :)

3. Build strong bones. As women get older, we know bones can get brittle. According to the Mayo Clinic, lifting weights increases bone density and reduces risk of osteoporosis.

4. Reduce chronic conditions like arthritis, heart disease, and diabetes. Mayo Clinic also explained that this can happen. I can tell you from personal experience, my arthritis in my ankles and toes feel so much better!

5. Its fun! Ok, maybe this one is up for debate. But if you find a good workout buddy, trainer, or a good DVD to use to follow, it can be fun. I use Body Beast and Sagi is freakin awesome (and funny as hell).

Lifting weights does not mean pumping big iron. Start out with light weights and build up. You will see more of my weightlifting reports happening over time since it is part of my adventures. Hope this shows you the other side of weightlifting.

-Happy adventures!

A Kitchen Adventure - Turkey-Veggie Meatballs

Time for a new kitchen adventure!

I've been looking for things OTHER than chicken. Don't get me wrong, I love chicken, but I love to mix it up some. Today we will talk about meatballs. This is one of my favorite prep and pull meals. Here is how you add it to your menu.

Turkey-Veggie Meatballs
Serving size - 2 balls
21 Day Fix: 1 green 1 red 1 blue

Ingredients
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 red pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
1 cup spinach
1 zucchini
seasoning

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 350
2. spray tin
3. split veggies 4 ways and zip in the blender
4. mix in 1 red of meat (3/4 cup) and a blue of cheese (1/3 cup) and season (this holds it together)
5. split and roll into 2 balls and put in the muffin tin
6. bake for 40 mins or until done

Now what? You can toss it with pasta, put it on a sandwich, or a wrap. You can also serve with more veggies.

Binge Eating and Personal Development - The Hunger Fix - A Journey Through A Book

Something you may or may not know about me: I am a binge eater and a food addict. There it is in all it's ugly glory. I have always been embarrassed about this. I never talked about it. I never shared it. I would eat a small amount in comparison others because I was so worried about my size and them seeing me eat. When you are the biggest one of all of your friends, you notice, and they did too (I'm sure of it). Again, it was never really talked about. I would eat at home. I would hide food in my room, junk food of all kinds. I hid my food and my guilt. It was not until the last few months that I finally started to address it. For me, it is embarrassing, but if I am going to get better, I have to address it. How? I started to really look into it and read up on it. I needed to get under the problem. Address it head on. By working on my personal development, I grow as a person and learn more. That, my friends, is where I started. This brings me to The Hunger Fix by Dr. Pam Peeke. I first heard about this book when I was listening to a podcast by Chalene Johnson.

Food addicts exist, and worse, it is a scary drug. DRUG? It's food. Yes, that is what makes it scary. Food addicts get a hit of their drug every day. You HAVE to have food to live. While other drug addicts can go to rehab and get away from it, food addicts cannot. They use false fixes to help them feel better. It affects the dopamine in the brain (something I had no idea about). This book talked about taking that false fix and making it a healthy fix and using other ways to get that "fix" and get the happy centers of the brain to work.

This book had me do activities. Video journals, written journals, foods I like verses food I would eat on a binge on my worst days and the calories that go with them. This book really opened my eyes to what I was doing to my body. It also had personal stories from people who suffered and are in continued recovery. The book also explained it is easy to fall back to old habits and the importance of being vigilant. It walked me through different stages and steps to take. It also gave different recipes that were healthy and balanced.

There are some important tips in the book that I have been doing and have learned in the last few months of doing Beachbody. I want to share them with you because I've been there and am working on bettering myself.

• Surround yourself with positive supportive people
• Get rid of the junk in your house
• Get rid of your trigger foods
• Get moving
• Balanced food + intentional exercise = weight loss 
• Be present in what you do. This takes away mindless eating
• Quality, Quantity (portion control), and Frequency (eat every 3 hours) are important

It's not easy. I will NEVER say it is. There are programs out there to help you. I found the one that helps me and I work with others to help them as well. The journey of recovery comes with lots of rewards. I coach because I can relate. This book helped me to work on myself as well as ignite a passion to help others. If you are struggling, reach out to me. I'm happy to help and support you in your recovery. Read the book.

Book Rating: Read it! Contains information on how the brain works and how to apply that to recovery. 

An Independence Day Adventure

I hope everyone had a great Independence Day!

We made it a great day and decided to have a weekend adventure! My day started out with a leg day workout. BEAST MODE!Then, we decided to take the dogs to the park.

On our way to the park

It was beautiful out with a nice breeze. Kate (black dog) and Crystal (tan dog) had a wonderful time running around and chasing a ball.

Bringing the ball back

Me and the pups

At one point, Crystal thought she needed to visit some people that we didn't know. Thankfully she decided that she wanted to keep us as her family (crazy friendly dog).

After the dog park, we decided to hit the pool. At one point, we had the pool to ourselves and Hubs did a cannonball. I never did one (don't judge). So, what the hell? First cannonball ever! Super fun but hitting that water? My butt and legs hurt. HOW DO KIDS DO THIS??

Floating over the water

SPLASH!

It was a perfect day. We ended it with a nice dinner of steak kabobs and watching fireworks (on TV). Sad, but we will head up to Carolina Beach before the end of the year to watch them over the ocean. Hope everyone had a great Independence Day!

-In Health!

Menu Planning

Let's talk about clen eating. I would say I eat clean 80-85% of the time. Some days, I rock out at 100% but not every day. That being said, eating clean is not about reinventing the wheel. I used to think clean eating was way too hard. I couldn't even pronounce qunioa. And do I really need to eat veggies?!

I am a firm believer in keeping it simple. So, I thought I would share what a day this week looked like.

Breakfast: 1/2 cupSteel cut oats, 1 apple (chopped cinnamoned and warmed), 2-3 pieces of turkey bacon
Snack: Shakeology (pudding with peanut butter)
Lunch: Caprice turkey burger, no bun, tomato, cucumber and basil salad,  1/2 banana with peanut butter
Snack: watermelon
Dinner: whole wheat pasta, chicken, veggies

Nothing really hard right? I don't cook every night. Mainly because the hubs cooks. When he works, I cook for me. Here are some tips for a good menu that is healthy without the crazy amount of work.

• Frozen veggies are my friend! Quickly measure and heat.
• Pick a day and prep. I do all my cooking for the week (breakfast and lunch) on one day. Makes the rest of the week grab and go. Bonus, frozen veggies need no prep!
• What do you like to eat? I'm sure we can find a healthy version to it (most times)
• KEEP IT SIMPLE

Here are some examples of things you can cook that are in frequent rotation on my menu.

• Pasta: Whole wheat or quinoa. Cook, portion, and toss in the fridge
• Baked chicken: seasoned, lemon rosemary, chicken parm...so many ways to bake chicken. Portion and stick it in the fridge
• Roasted veggies. portion and put in the fridge
• Burger (turkey, beef, chicken.....make an extra and put it in the fridge)
• Pork chops
• Pork tenderloin
• Oatmeal
• Fajitas
• Meatballs
• Zucchini chips
• Stuffed peppers

I usually pick 1 or 2 main dishes for lunch or dinner during the week. It works. If you need help menu planning for something you like, let me know. I'm always happy to help!