Finding the Motivation to Work Out

How to make the most out of your work out especially when you’re unmotivated:

• Clothing – I always recommend that people find workout clothes that you feel comfortable in and that you actually want to wear. If you want to work out in the morning, go to sleep in your workout clothes and there’s no excuse for you not to work out since you’re already dressed and would just need to get out of bed. If you are going to go after work, pack your gym bag the night before so that you can just grab and go or be even more proactive and once your gym bag is packed put it in your car the night before so there isn’t a risk of you forgetting it.

• Music/podcast/etc. – Every person is different about what they like to listen to when working out but a lot of times what you’re listening to can be a big distraction from what you’re doing at the gym and instead of staring at the clock you won’t realize how much time you’ve spent doing your workout. Personally, if I’m doing a cardio workout, I’ll watch Netflix to pass the time and be entertained and when I’m doing a strength workout using weights, I’ll turn music or a podcast on to distract me from how long I’ve been doing something. I’ve even caught myself at times working out longer to finish the podcast episode that I was listening to. You can even make your music selection personable to you by creating your own work out playlist featuring songs that really pump you up and make you want to move. There are also some great streaming music services such as Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music. I personally really enjoy Spotify because I can create my own playlist with an unlimited music selection, or I can even search playlists that other people have created. Spotify has a feature to search for music based on your mood which includes work out. If you’re a runner or want to keep up a certain pace, they offer playlists that correlate with a certain amounts of beats per minute (BPM) so it allows you to run/jog/walk to the same beat and maintain your pace in time with the music.

• Positive self-talk – If you’re going to be working out at a gym or even from the comfort of your own home, there will be days that you just don’t feel like doing your workout. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat in the parking lot of the gym just staring at the entrance and telling myself how I’d rather be doing this or that right now. I take this time to pull out a list that I made for myself which lists out all my reasons for why I’m working out and bettering myself. The list helps to motivate me to remember why and that my reasons for working out are greater than my desire to not go in the moment.

Cheers to your health,

Chelsea

Quarantine Recipes

Happy Wednesday!

I’m not sure about ya’ll but I’ve been spending a lot more time in the kitchen lately trying out new recipes with this extra time in my schedule. I wanted to share some of my favorite recipes that I’ve tried and highly recommend for you to try these out.

Flourless Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

This recipe is perfect especially if you have children. You won't be able to tell at all that these are gluten free and have zucchini in them!

From: Amanda @ Running with Spoons

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 25 mins

Yield: 9 muffins

Ingredients

·      1/2 cup (128 g) almond butter

·      1 ripe medium-sized banana (100 g or 1/2 cup mashed)

·      1 large egg

·      1/4 cup (80 g) honey

·      1/4 cup (20 g) unsweetened cocoa powder

·      2 Tbsp (14 g) ground flaxseed

·      1 tsp vanilla extract

·      1/2 tsp baking soda

·      1 cup (100 g) zucchini, shredded and squeezed of excess liquid

·      1/4 cup (60 g) chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on top

Instructions

1.  Preheat oven to 375F and prepare a muffin pan by spraying 9 cavities with cooking spray. Set aside.

2.  Add all ingredients except for zucchini and chocolate chips to a blender and blend on high until batter is smooth and creamy. Stir in shredded zucchini and chocolate chips by hand.

3.  Pour batter into prepared muffin pan, filling each cavity until it is about ¾ full. Sprinkle with additional chocolate chips, if desired.

4.  Bake for 20 minutes, until the tops of your muffins are set and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in pan for ~10 minutes before removing. Store in an air-tight container for up to a week.

Korean Beef Bowl

This recipe is delicious!! It’s a gluten free and dairy free recipe which is also paleo and Whole30. This can be served over a bed of greens, rice, or cauliflower rice.

From: Justin + Erica Winn

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

·         1 shallot, diced

·         2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and grated on a microplane

·         1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

·         2 pounds grass-fed ground beef (see notes)

·         1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

·         1 teaspoon garlic powder

·         1 teaspoon onion powder

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 cup coconut aminos

·         2 tbsp fish sauce (see notes)

·         4 cups cauliflower rice (can sub white rice if you're not doing Whole30)

·         6 cups greens of choice (chopped romaine, arugula, spinach)

Optional Sauce

·         1/4 cup mayo 

·         1 tbsp hot sauce or to taste

Instructions

1. Start by preparing rice to have it ready. If serving with cauliflower rice, wait until the beef is almost done as it only takes a few minutes to cook.
2. Dice shallot and grate ginger to have it ready.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add sesame oil. Once hot, add in ground beef. Break the beef up into small bits.
4. Add the shallot, ginger, red pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and salt and mix with the beef. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the meat is browned and developing some crispy bits, about 8 minutes.
5. Add the coconut aminos and fish sauce and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
6. If you are making the optional sauce, mix the mayo and hot sauce in a small bowl.
7. Serve beef in a bowl over a bed of greens with rice or cauliflower rice. Top with optional sauce and enjoy.

Notes

• The recipe can also be made with ground pork, chicken or turkey.
• If you wish to omit the fish sauce, you can replace it with more coconut aminos. Since fish sauce is salty, you may need to add more salt to suit your taste.

Garlic Margherita Chicken & Zucchini

This recipe is awesome especially in the summer. I've made this recipe recommendation to friends and they always comment on how delicious and filling this recipe really is. 

From: Clean Food Crush

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Servings:  4-6

Ingredients

Chicken:

·         1 lb chicken breast, or tenders cut into 1" pieces

·         1 tsp olive, coconut or avocado oil

·         1 large garlic clove, crushed

·         1/4 tsp sea salt

·         Ground black pepper, to taste

Zucchini & Tomatoes:

·         1.5 lbs zucchini, cut into half moon shapes

·         1.5 cups fresh, halved grape tomatoes

·         1 tsp olive, coconut or avocado oil

·         1 large garlic clove, crushed

·         1/2 tsp sea salt

·         Ground black pepper, to taste

Garnish:

·         1/4 cup fresh chopped Basil

·         A sprinkle of Italian (high-quality) cheese such as natural parmesan (optional)

Instructions

Chicken:

1.     Preheat (cast iron) skillet on medium heat add oil to coat.

2.     Add garlic and cook for just 10 seconds.

3.     Then add chicken, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste.

4.     Cook for 8-10 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally.

5.     Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Zucchini and Tomatoes:

1.     Cook the zucchini the same way as Chicken but for 6 minutes, adding tomatoes during the last 3 minutes of cooking time.

2.     Add chicken back to skillet and stir just to warm.

3.     Remove from heat, sprinkle with fresh Basil.

4.     Refrigerate in a glass airtight container for up to 5 days.

Cheers to your health,

Chelsea

At Home Workout Ideas

I hope this post finds everyone healthy and well especially during this trying time. I know that I for one am ready for some normalcy back in my life…I miss my routine of being able to drive to work, go to the gym, and go out to eat with my loved ones. I personally know that I’ve been struggling to make sure that I stay active so I’d like to take some time to chat about what our options are at this point to continue to stay active during this season of our lives.

If you’re interested in streaming a workout, you’ll want to check out any (or all) of the following:

1.       305 Fitness – This option offers classes such as meditation, cardio dance blast, and a booty-burning session

2.       Forward__Space – This option hosts digital dance parties on Instagram daily at 2:05pm EST.

3.       Peloton – This option has live and on-demand classes for your bike, treadmill, and yoga, meditation, stretching, and boot camp classes. Right now they are offering a 90-day free trial for new users.

4.       Daily Burn – This option offers introduction classes, barre, yoga, kickboxing, and HIIT workouts. They are currently offering a 30-day free trial for new members.

5.       Yoga With Adriene – This is a series of workouts available on YouTube for yoga workouts.

6.       Pop Sugar Active – This option various at home classes including barre and strength training exercises.

If you’re interested in other options outside of streaming:

1.       Go for a walk in your neighborhood or a local park, just remember to keep your social distance.

2.       Utilize this time to get some work done in your yard thus allowing you to get some good ole’ vitamin D and get a workout in that may not feel like a real workout to you and being to then be able to cross some items off your to-do list.

Tips to keep in mind:

1.       Give yourself some grace, if you are feeling like you’re too overwhelmed emotionally then take a rest day, or try a yoga class with meditation. All we can do right now is just take things one day at a time.

2.       Remember to continuously stretch. A lot of us are doing more sitting than we normally do thus why we need to stretch out our muscles to refrain from being in any type of pain.

I think that one of the best things that we can do for ourselves right now is to care for our bodies by remaining active and I hope that this can help you achieve just that.

Cheers to your health,

Chelsea

My Favorite Reads

After my last post, I had a few people reach out asking me for some of my favorite books to read so I thought I'd share them with ya'll today.

For motivation/positive thinking:

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

This book essentially gives you a different way to recognize how to change behaviors that you desire to change. For me, this helped give me a clear cut method to begin using in my life to improve my eating habits and workout regimen.

You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero

This book was a fun and easy read for me. Jen Sincero has a lot of hilarious stories to share and helps to inspire people to live their own best life whatever that may mean to you, personally.

For fun:

I tend to read a lot of books by the same author like Mitch Albom, Nicholas Sparks, and Taylor Jenkins Reid so I recommend any books by them.

I recently read Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and it was very good and pretty similar to the TV series that Reese Witherspoon did on HBO.

For kids:

Some of you have children home right now so I wanted to include options for kids which there are tons that I’ve never even heard of since I don’t have any children of my own but here is Time’s 100 Best Children’s Books of All Time to help you parents out J https://time.com/100-best-childrens-books/  I did take a glance at it myself and was happy to be reminded of some of my childhood favorite such as Blueberries for Sal, The Giving Tree, Where the Sidewalk Ends, The Frog and Toad, Corduroy, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Amelia Bedelia, and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Ah, nostalgia. J

You may want to check and see if your local library participates in any eBook rental options. Sometimes these can be through your library’s website directly or through apps such as Overdrive or Libby which are all free options and save you from needing to go out or waiting for a physical copy of a book to arrive to you. If you want to pay for an audio-book service, I hear Audible is pretty good and sometimes offers trial memberships.

Personally, I’ve always loved to read and find that it calms me so you know what I’ll be doing until this coronavirus blows over. J

Cheers to your health,

Chelsea

The Dreaded Coronavirus

I thought I’d take this chance to talk a little about what’s going on in the world right now; the coronavirus. In case you’ve been living under a rock, the CDC reports that general symptoms to watch out for include fever, cough, and shortness of breath and may appear 2-14 days after being exposed.  If you experience more severe symptoms such as difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, or bluish lips or face, you should see medical attention immediately. A lot of the nation has been affected by schools being closed, some work sites have allowed their employees to work from home, and stores and restaurants have begun shutting down for a specified period of time or offering limited hours/availability. To help with prevention, it’s recommended that you stay home if you’re not feeling well, limit your exposure to others including visitors to your own home, clean frequently, and keep your hands clean and away from your face.

For those who are working from home, I would recommend making sure that you provide your own self-care to help keep you relaxed during these times. Self-care comes in a lot of different forms and can include any of the following:

-Create your own cozy space to work in or to sit in to take a break from your work. This cozy space can include somewhere near lighted candles with soothing scents, having light music playing, or having a cozy throw blanket for your lap.

-Read a book especially one that you may have been meaning to read but haven’t had the time or choose one from a recent best sellers list.

-Listen to a motivating speech, TedTalk or podcast which will help to keep you in a positive mindset and hopefully not be bogged down by being “stuck” at home.

-Make yourself move and/or stretch – there are tons of options available for free on YouTube and most are 15-30 minutes long. And in the wise words of Elle Woods, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.”

-Unplug from the media for a certain period of time especially if reading about recent developments relating to the coronavirus stresses you out more.

-Create something or even color which will help you focus on something else rather than your surroundings and/or stressors.

I pray that each of you is safe and well during this season of life and remember that although things are hard right now, we will get thru this. Keep calm, and remember to wash your hands. J

Cheers to your health,

Chelsea

Work it out!

With a plan for the gym I think it’s only appropriate to discuss clothing options. For me, I wanted to have clothes that would make me want to get up and go to the gym and that would include something that was comfortable and still stylish without spending a crap ton of money especially when my goal was to lose weight. I found that Old Navy had good supportive clothing options at a decent price especially when they would have 50% off sales. Other good store options include shopping at Goodwill, Amazon, Marshalls, and TJMaxx.

Some of my favorite clothing items from Old Navy include their Elevate compression leggings and crops. These pants are super comfortable and compress to hold everything in place which is great for ladies with a little extra “love chub” as I like to call it. J I typically choose the options with a high waist for this purpose. The material is comfortable and passes the squat test (aka you can’t see the color underwear you’re wearing when you squat or bend down). The Elevate compression leggings and crops typically sell at regular price between $30 and $45 depending on the style and color that you choose.

Old Navy also sells active wear tops which are decently priced and are typically lightweight and moisture wicking. I don’t recommend Old Navy’s sports bras for busty ladies. In my opinion, they don’t hold anything up or provide support no matter what their descriptions say. My favorite place for sports bras is Athleta. Athleta tends to be more high end but well worth the price tag especially if I’m going to be moving and jumping around while working out. To me there is no bigger annoyance when I'm trying to workout than my lovely lady lumps flopping all around, ha. Athleta has a variety of styles and colors to choose from that are all very stylish while also supportive.

For sneakers, I always recommend you see a specialty shoe store like The Walking Company. At The Walking Company, they will provide different tests to see the type of support that your feet need and show you which shoe options would be best for you based on those needs. It’s actually pretty interesting how they can tell based off of a foot scan what all you need. For me, I needed a certain type of shoe with inserts to help support my arches. It’s especially important to make sure that you have good shoes when working out, and without having supportive shoes you put yourself at risk for injury which will only set you back further in your goals.

Cheers to your health,

Chelsea

Gym Time!

Outside of the difference in my eating habits, I had made a commitment to go to the gym 4 times per week and I would plan to go after work because I am not a morning person at all. I would perform some type of cardio each time for 45 to 60 minutes and that would be either walking/jogging, using the elliptical, or the stair stepping machine. Once I completed my cardio, I would move into strength training. When I first started out, I relied on the Body Space app to help me select a program to do. This app helps you search for programs based on your fitness level, what your goals are, and even provides videos of the proper form for each strength exercise. If you’re especially new to strength exercises, it may be best to complete the exercises without free weights and using your body weight only. By using your own weight, you will be able to get the feel and range of the motions before adding additional weight onto yourself.

Another thing that motivated me to continue working out was getting a FitBit. I love this tool because you can really see how all of your movement adds up. I’ve had 4 different FitBits now and it’s amazing how much it has evolved. My latest watch tracks my steps, miles walked, floors climbed, heart rate, sleep (including the quality of sleep), calories burned, and active minutes. It also has the option to track your food and water intake. One of my favorite features is the step reminder, I set my watch to remind me every hour over the course of 9 hours to get 250+ steps. You never realize how little you may be moving each hour and this feature really helps me to get up and moving. If you have friends that have FitBits, you can also take advantage of the challenges available where you’re essentially racing your friend(s) that you’re in a competition with. These challenges can be throughout the work week, the weekend, or you can compete on a virtual trail for distance. Working out can be so much easier if you have a friend doing it with you. When one lacks motivation then the other can motivate you to do something together therefore making it more fun and less boring.

As with any physical activity, you will want to make sure that you consult your physician before starting any exercise program or change in diet.

Cheers to your health,

Chelsea