Winterize Yourself

It has been really dry and cold here in the Pacific Northwest for the last couple weeks and it is wreaking havoc on my body. Climate changes can have an impact on our health if we don't take measures to offset them.

The winter months being dark and cold can often times make us lackadaisical about taking care of ourselves because we are often tired and less motivated. However, this is an important time to stay on top of your self care to combat that fatigue and inclination to hibernate. So, I've got a list of some easy things you can do every day to make yourself feel better and help your body function at it's peak.

HYDRATE - This one always seems to top the lists of self care. But one thing I notice, personally, is that I tend to be less thirsty in the cooler winter months, however, that does not mean my body needs water any less than it does in the middle of the summer heat. In fact, during these dry times our bodies need to be hydrated even more. If drinking cold water is a challenge for you during the cold months (as it is for me) try drinking more teas or warm, lemon water. Even homemade ginger tea is a great idea! I have been loving this baked cinnamon apple tea from TAZO - add a splash of almond milk - YUM!

DRY/ITCHY EYES - This is probably my least favorite "winter condition". If your eyes are feeling dry, itching, red and painful, make sure you are using a non-medicated eye drops to keep them from drying out.

SWITCH TO BODY CREAM - If you're a lotion user, switch over to body cream during the cool, dry months. Body cream is better for locking in moisture than lotion is and will help help your dry skin and keep it from getting itchy and red. My favorite is Bath & Body Works body butters. They are super moisturizing and last all day! Another alternative to body cream is coconut oil. I use coconut oil all year long instead of body creams and lotions. It's a natural alternative and is very good at locking in moisture.

LIPS - Dry lips curses most everyone. Keep a lip balm or hydrating lip gloss in your pocket or purse with you all the time. Don't let your lips get dry - you may need to reapply often. Exfoliate dry skin off lips gently with a toothbrush.

LIMIT YOUR SHOWER TIME - My least favorite tip for sure because I would love nothing more than to take a long, hot shower on cold mornings. The long, hot shower is one of the worst things we can do for our winter skin. It is extremely drying. Try to limit your shower time and use "warm" water instead. Make sure that you slather your body with body cream or coconut oil immediately after your shower to lock in moisture.

Just because we're covered up in the winter months it's so easy to let these things go, but it's really important to take a few easy measures to protect and keep our bodies healthy inside and out.

The BEST Holiday Diet Advice

Very simply....DON'T.

One of the questions I have often been asked at this time of year is: "how should I eat on Thanksgiving (or other holiday of your choice)?"

First of all, I am not a proponent of "diets" in the first place. Diets don't last and if you want results that last you're going to have to find a program that you can do indefinitely. That said, I don't have a diet to offer you in preparation for the Thanksgiving holiday, nor do I have a diet for you to follow afterwards.

Secondly, you do not need to "earn it." If you go into this week thinking you need to exercise more than usual to burn off a bunch of calories in anticipation of the feast on Thursday, it's another way to set yourself up for negative association between food and exercise. Stick to your normal routine, you don't need to double up on your workouts or anything extreme to offset the increase in calories this week.

If you make it a habit and adopt it as your lifestyle to eat healthy, mostly non-processed foods on a daily basis, then you don't need to worry about indulging a little extra on the holiday. Where people tend to get into trouble is where they "diet" their way to the holiday and are so hungry and deprived by the time the big day arrives that they can't help themselves from overeating and often binging which begins a cycle of guilt-diet-binge-guilt.

On Thanksgiving, focus on enjoying the moment and the people you're spending the day with. The food is nice, but if it's not your focal point, it will be less likely to be an obsession. A few things I urge clients to do just to keep things in check:

• Stay hydrated - drink lots of water this week and especially on Thanksgiving and the days following. This will help to flush out the increase in sodium that you are likely to consume which is partially responsible for the bloating you may feel after the meal. 
• Get moving! Take a walk after dinner or hit the gym the morning after. Movement will alleviate the discomfort of the increase in calories.
• Limit the alcohol. Inhibitions are down when you're drinking, so it can be easier to consume foods you normally would not choose. Alcohol can also lead to dehydration which can make you feel pretty uncomfortable. 

Enjoy your holiday. Don't overthink it and don't stress about it. If you focus on being balanced and not overdoing it, you'll be just fine.

Nighttime Nutrition

Thanks to Oprah, there's a myth that our society has bought into heavily that you cannot eat past 7pm or it will cause weight gain, prevent weight loss, etc. Nothing could be further from the truth. Eating at nigh, eating right before bed, is not what makes you gain weight. And, eating before you go to sleep at night can actually help your weight loss efforts.

Eating a small high protein, moderate fat meal right before you go to bed helps to keep the metabolism fueled during your "fasting" hours while you are sleeping. When you pair a lean protein (I usually opt for a protein powder as opposed to a whole food protein) with a fat source, it slows down the digestion process and gives your body something to metabolize throughout your sleeping hours.

It is also a well-known fact that going to bed hungry can have a negative impact on the quality of your sleep. Hungry people often do not sleep well and/or have interrupted sleep. Eating a small meal before bed will help ward off hunger pangs and late night cravings that are common for many people.

So what should you eat?

Well, like I said, I like to use a protein powder instead of a whole food source, but either one is fine. Casein protein is a slower digesting protein which makes it a good choice for your bedtime meal. A blend will also work as will a whey protein isolate. Really, any protein will do. If you prefer something besides protein powder, low fat cottage cheese, eggs or nonfat, low sugar Greek yogurt are great options as well. Add 10 almonds or a tablespoon of nut butter to your protein source (eggs are all you'll need if you're eating the yolks) to help so down the digestion of your protein.

This is what I've been doing on my busy nights - 12oz unsweetened almond milk, 1 scoop of Siren
Labs Isolate and 1 Tablespoon PB2. I only opted for the PB2 because I can just shake it with the almond milk and protein powder and it's just quicker and easier than real peanut butter. Sometimes, life is busy, we get tired and it's ok to compromise and not be exactly perfect on your nutrition. Don't get obsessed with having to be perfect. Real peanut butter would be better but many nights lately, I'm tired after a long day of running kids around, taking care of kids, working, etc and quick and easy is what I need. If that's you too - cut yourself some slack. Dump some good stuff in a shaker, shake it up, drink it up and GO TO BED!!

My Fitness Motivation

I have been in the fitness industry for over 20 years. I was athletic all throughout my school years and being active as an adult just seemed to be a natural thing for me. I can't really recall a time when I didn't workout in some capacity or another. Over the years my training has evolved from aerobics (hellos 90's!) to long distance running to weight training/cardio and eventually I was introduced to the bodybuilding world around 2007 and started competing in 2008.

Throughout the 6 years I was competing my motivation for working out was always the next competition. I would get feedback from judges and coaches and that would fuel my next several months of training and dieting. There was always a purpose to my training, which kept my motivation high.

Now that I'm no longer competing and just doing fitness "because", I had to stop and think about what motivates me to keep doing it. Habit, sure, but there has to be something greater than habit. I think my motivations will hit home with many people who are busy parents like me, trying to juggle kids, work and some time for themselves. 

Looking Good.

Let's not even pretend that this is not a key motivator in fitness. Most of us do it to look good, look better. For me, it's not about weight loss but keeping up with my fitness keeps my body in the shape I feel best in. Especially as I age, I want to keep looking good and keep looking as young as I possibly can. Exercise is one of the best anti aging medicines there is!

Overall Health Benefits.

With each passing year, I notice that my body gets a little more "cranky." My joints are a little stiffer in the mornings and sometimes I just don't move like I used to. When I exercise, all of that feels much better. Not to mention, regular exercise fights all kinds of diseases and has a number of other health benefits, including stronger heart and lower blood pressure.

Keeping up with the kiddos.

As a mom of 4, I like being able to have the endurance and stamina to keep up with my kids. As they get older they get faster and stronger and it is fun to be fit enough to give them a good run for their money. And it's nice that they are proud to have a mom who is fit. I love being able to hike with them and race my son on the trails.

Better mood.

Because endorphins and serotonin. Both of these mood-enhancing chemicals are released in the brain with regular exercise. It makes exercise the most effective anti-depressant available. As someone who has battled depression, I have found that exercise has been a key factor in keeping my mood elevated which makes it one of the biggest motivators for me!

These are my primary reasons that I exercise religiously. It's a habit and it's one that I'm committed to keeping. Even though my motivators have changed significantly over the last couple of years, they are still more than enough to keep me hitting the gym. If you can't identify your fitness motivators, you will have a more challenging time sticking with it and making it into a habit. Really think about the reasons you do it or you want to start doing it...and it should be for more than aesthetic purposes (weight loss and looking hot). You want to identify motivators that will last for the long haul. 

How Often Should You Change Your Training Plan?

How often should I change my training plan?

This is a question I hear from clients all the time. There's a lot of information available, thanks to the internet, that leads us all to believe that we need to be changing our workouts frequently. I have seen it advised to change workouts as frequently as every 2 weeks. 

People are often surprised when they hear my answer to this question. 

You don't need to change your training plan unless it's not working for you. If it's working, don't change it.

Often times, coaches and trainers will change a routine for no reason other than the client is bored.

Well, that's not a legitimate reason to change a training plan. If your training plan is working fine and you are getting results - well, suck it up buttercup. Boredom is not a reason to change your training plan. 

Often clients will email me and tell me that "I've been doing this plan for 4 weeks now, shouldn't we change it up?"

You need to consistently work your training plan for several weeks before you even know if it's effective or not. Four weeks of inconsistent (even consistent) work is not enough time if you have a solid and progressive training plan. Your muscles do not need to be "confused" (in fact, it's not even possible) to get results. So changing your plan to create something that's not even real is a bad idea. 

If you are consistently working your plan and you are increasing the load (weight) with each passing week, you are on the right track. As your body adapts you can vary the exercises to conquer your boredom and to keep your body progressing. For example: you could alternate dumbbell bench press for barbell bench press. You're working the same muscles but the dumbbells give a much different workout than the barbell due to the fact that each arm has to bear its own load. You can do things like this with almost every exercise. Substitute cables for free weights or machines. The options are limitless really.

It's easy to create variety while not changing the training plan. So if it's boredom you're feeling look at substituting exercises but not changing the way the plan is set up. Once you find yourself hitting a legitimate plateau (meaning you are consistently working your plan and increasing strength and endurance has come to a halt) then it may be time to look at changing things up. 

You can work the same training plan for years and still get results. I haven't changed mine in a long time. If I get bored, sometimes I'll throw in a kettle bell workout or some kind of circuit training just for fun and then I go back to my scheduled plan for my next workout. 

5 Benefits of the "Rise & Grind"

Getting up on a cold, dark winter morning is not always very easy and it does take a few weeks to get your body into the habit of waking earlier and getting moving early but it is worth it for many reasons.

I have been a morning exerciser for many years now and on the days I don't do it, I feel a bit "off" all day. Some mornings the driving force in getting my butt out of bed and to the gym (or my garage) is that I know I will feel better all day - mentally and physically - if I get my workout on early.

The list of reasons to get up and work out is long but these are my personal "Top 5" benefits of the "Rise & Grind."

1. Metabolism Boost - morning is the best time to get moving. Exercise always boosts your metabolism, but when you exercise in the morning it gives you a metabolism boost for the entire day. 
2. Focus - my morning workouts are my time to set my priorities for the day and get myself in the right mindset to have a great day. It helps me focus throughout the entire day when I've had a chance to clear my mind first thing in the morning and really give intention to how I want to shape my day. 
3. More Energy - if I do not workout first thing in the morning, I have noticeably less energy than I do on days when I workout early. Energy begets energy. Getting moving early gets your body and your mind geared up and will give you the energy you need to power through your busy day.
4. Empty Gym - if you've ever been to the gym between 5-7pm you know it is nuts! It's rush hour and it's difficult to get the equipment you want and sometimes it's so crowded it makes it challenging to get your workout done the way you want. Early in the morning the gym is empty. It's a great time to do circuit training, supersets, giant sets, etc. 
5. No Scheduling Conflicts - when you workout later in the day it can be easy for other things to come up - happy hour, unplanned appointments or meetings or maybe at the end of the day you're just too tired and don't feel like working out. When you do it first thing in the morning, it's done and you don't have to worry about it the rest of the day. And it's a great sense of accomplishment. 

If you are thinking about making morning workouts part of your day, I'll warn you, it's tough to get in the habit of getting up in the cold and dark but it is worth it. And I promise that you will find once you are in the habit, you really like starting your day with a good sweat!

Most Importantly, You are ENOUGH

It's become our natural response to get so focused on the results that are yet to come that we forget that right here, right now, we are already enough. No matter what shape or size you are, you are already enough. No matter how much you weight. No matter what you ate yesterday or the day before. You are enough. 

We are so quick to beat ourselves up, to guilt and shame ourselves. We compare ourselves to other people's "social media lives" and quickly find that we don't measure up to their public display of perfection. 

You are already enough. Nothing you can do will add to or subtract from that. You are enough. Seeking self-improvement is wonderful and necessary for a meaningful life but on the way to where you want to be, don't forget that you're already enough.