3 days until the big feast! Things start to get a little crazy as we get closer to Thanksgiving day, we all get in preparation mode with grocery shopping, party planning and of course food preparation. We understand that it gets harder and harder to make it to gym when family is in town and you have a million things on your todo list. Last week we gave you 3 solid ways to avoid holiday weight gain and we really want to keep the momentum up so this week we are giving you another tool to arm yourself with. So here is a at-home workout to help you stay on track with your goals this holiday season. This bodyweight workout can be done in your backyard, garage or wherever you can find space. Start thinking about when your ideal time to workout would be and have a plan, morning before everyone is still sleeping is probably best and you will feel motivated and ready to start the day!
THANKSGIVING DAY BODYWEIGHT WORKOUT ROUTINE
3 Sets of each workout with 90 seconds to 2 minutes rest in between each circuit before repeating
1)Prisoner Squat (4 seconds down, 2 second hold at bottom) – 20 reps *raise your heels up slightly with a book or something equivalent if you are having trouble keeping from folding forward too much in your squat or you can't get low enough in your squat
2)"Happy feet" for 10 seconds then drop and do 10 push ups – 6x (Happy Feet - find a straight line to step over, one foot at a time forward and then one foot at a time backward, as fast as you can.)
3)Reverse crunches on floor - 20-30 reps
4)Forward lunge to a raised step-up to back lunge on the same leg then alternate to the opposite side – 20 reps per side
5)Jumping Jacks – 30 reps
6)Vertical Jumps w. stabilization (2 second hold at the bottome of the squat) – 10 reps
7)Planks – 30-60 seconds
8)Dive bomber pushups – As many as possible
9)Side planks – 30 seconds per side
10) Shuttle Sprint – 30 seconds
We hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving and look forward to seeing all of your foodporn photos on instagram! If you have any questions about the workout, leave them in the comments below!
What are some of your favorite workouts to do when you have a crazy busy week?
TGIF! The week has almost come to an end and before you know it we will all be preparing our Thanksgiving feast! Do you have your menu and Turkey Day activities planned yet?
For the past few years it's a tradition for us to wake up early to watch the Macy's Day Parade in Central Park, then go back home to cook and of course watch football. But that usually means we don't actually eat until late afternoon. Once all of our mess is cleaned up, the day is just about over. So this year we decided that we would skip the live parade and opt to watch it on TV that way we can have our Thanksgiving lunch and still have the entire day to do whatever we want! Movies, workout, walk in the neighborhood...the possibilities are endless!
Chris and I are still trying to decide what delicious food we want to eat on Turkey day. Last year we chose recipes from my Clean Eating Thanksgiving Pinterest board to make us a pretty healthy meal. We will probably do the same again this year because it all tasted really good and without a lot of guilt! I realize that we are lucky, in a sense, because we have total control over our menu and can make a healthy meal without the fuss of our relatives. The downside is that we are not with our relatives and we of course miss them a lot during the holidays! So I wanted to give you some clean eating holiday tips to help get you through day!
Make some of your own healthy side dishes! Vegetables and sweet potatoes are pretty easy to prepare especially if you don't have to make a ton for the whole family. Find a few of your favorite holiday side dishes, swap out some of the less-healthy ingredients for healthier options {like replacing butter with coconut oil} and make a few portions just for you to enjoy!
Choose your splurge! You don't have to feel deprived on Turkey Day in order to stay on track with your goals. Find one or two items that you REALLY love {like pumpkin pie with whip cream, a dinner roll, or stuffing} and enjoy a healthy serving with your meal.
Turn your "I can't" into "I don't want to"! When your family or friends are lovingly pushing deserts in your face, tell them {and yourself} " I don't want a second helping of pumpkin pie" rather than say "I can't have the second helping of pumpkin pie". Telling yourself "I can't" will leave you feeling deprived and powerless, and will probably result in your giving in at some point. When you tell yourself "I don't" you are empowering yourself to make the decision because you know it will hinder your goals and are no longer restricting yourself because it is an active choice. Click here to read more on this topic.
I hope these tips help you get through the holidays without unraveling all your hard earned work! Don't worry about what your loved ones will think or say about your lifestyle choices, just remember that you have to do what's best for YOU and your goals!
What are some of your tips for avoiding holiday weight gain?
Exsoycise is nowAwakened Nutrition & Training, a blog for health seekers, food lovers and dream body builders!
image
Here are my top 6 Sexy Clean Eating tips!
1. Eat as many whole unprocessed foods as you can throughout the day. Try eating foods in their natural state rather than out of a box or bag. This usually takes planning and preparation ahead of time unless you have a fortune to spend on eating out at healthy restaurants, which I don't know about where you live but there aren't many true health restaurant options around. So take some time each week to cook your meals. But remember even though your are eating healthy clean food, you can still overeat which can lead to weight gain or halt your fat loss goals, so be realistic and keep an eye on portion sizes.
2. Beware of "healthy" food that may cause you to pack on pounds. Meal replacement protein shakes and bars are a good example of this and can be beneficial in ones diet depending on what your goals are. These can be great after an intense workout like a heavy weight lifting day or after a race, but otherwise you probably don't need a fast digesting protein, sugar and sodium-filled "meal" especially if you are just hanging around the house or working in an office. The powders that are used in these products are digested very quick in the body in order to help repair the muscle that you have just broken down during your workout, so if you eat them as meal replacement, you may soon find yourself hungry again and searching for more food. I realize that sometimes life gets in the way and these may be the only option but if you do have the time, try your best to eat whole foods with less sodium and sugar that will stick with you for a few hours.
3. Drink your water! Just to name a few benefits, water aids in the metallization of fat, helps to remove toxins, and it also helps to flush the water out from under our skin which makes us look bloated or puffy. So just except the fact that you will be running to the bathroom more than usual and think about the amazing benefits you will receive in the long run!
4. Take inventory of what you are eating. Like I said before it is still possible to eat healthy clean food and still gain weight. So it is important to eat enough protein, complex carbs and healthy fat to fuel your body throughout the day especially if you are exercising regularly. I recommend measuring and logging your food in an app such as MyFitnessPal or Lost It for a couple days to see how much food you are actually consuming. You will be surprised to find out that your may either be eating too much or at times too little food for your body and goals. If needed, seek guidance to find someone to help you get an idea of the macronutrients your body needs to fit your specific goals. Remember to use this as a guide, all of our bodies are different so if you feel like certain foods or amounts aren't working for you, then seek other options.
5. Don't let friend, holidays or other events determine your success! There is never a right time to start with a clean eating healthy lifestyle, there will always be friends, events and holidays that get in the way but you have to put yourself first and take care of YOU! Don’t wait to start because there will never be a right time!
"Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live." - Jim Rohn
6. Clean eating is not about being perfect. It’s about eating healthy unprocessed whole food most of the time, but that doesn't mean you can't have fun and still enjoy your favorite foods that you have always loved in moderation!
“You cannot change your destination overnight. You can change your direction." - Jim Rohn ”
For more clean eating tips sign up here for my FREE 7 day meal plan with tips, guide & shopping list!
Your grandmother was right when she said to drink chicken soup to cure a cold or flu but she was referring to homemade bone broth and meat stock not chemical filled Campbell's or Progresso. Our ancestors were in the know and made gut healing broth out of the bones that came from the meats that they ate, nothing went to waste! But in the land of factory farming and processed food factories that practice faded out and chemically powders took its place for convenience purposes. I don't know about you, but I will take the extra effort along with the wonderful benefits over convenience any day! Bone broth and meat stock are great for supplying magnesium, calcium, glucosamine, amino acids arginine and glycine, collagen, other trace minerals, and much more. It aids in digestion, helps with achy joints, heals the lining of your gut to help boost your immune system and prevent diseases, sickness and leaky gut...just to name a few of the many benefits.
Talk to your local butcher about getting animal bones or use the carcass of a whole roasted chicken. Any bones, head, neck or feet will do! I can usually find organic necks and backs at Whole Foods throughout the week. These can be frozen until you are ready to use them. Also another great time to stock up is right after a big holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas because they will most likely have an overflow of turkey necks and backs, and will be sold even cheaper than the already low price!
Broth or stock can be used to make delicious soups, to cook your vegetables in for added nutrients, to boil your rice or quinoa, make sauces or gravy, or you can drink it alone from a mug throughout the day.
Classic Bone Broth
Ingredient:
2-3lbs of bones, preferably organic, free-range/pasture raised
4 quarts cold filtered water
2 Tbsp organic apple cider vinegar, Braggs brand
1-2 tsp sea salt
Optional:
organic garlic, onions, celery, carrots and parsley
Soak 2-3lbs of bones in 4 Qts cold water with 2 tbsp organic apple cider vinegar for about 30 minutes, this will pull the minerals out of the bone.
After soaking bring water to a boil and skim the gunk and fat off top of the broth with a spoon for the first hour. Add 1-2 tsp of sea salt, I use pink Himalayan salt.
Then, leave alone to simmer for the next 12-24 hours. For the last hour of simmer add in your favorite vegetables, I add organic garlic, onions, celery, and carrots. Add parsley and other fresh herbs for the last 10 minutes if desired.
Strain out the bones and vegetables, I use a sheet of cheesecloth or a nut milk bag (these are great because you don't waste as much and can wash the bags to use over and over!) to catch anything left behind.
Let cool and either store in wide-mouth mason jars to keep in the fridge or freeze to enjoy later or go ahead and use the broth as a base to make a huge pot of your favorite soup to eat throughout the week! Broth will last up to a year in the freezer and 5-7 days in the fridge. If you use the freezer, make sure to use wide mouth jars and leave about an inch or so extra room at the top so the jars do not crack. I also like to put the lids on loosely when I first put them in the freezer and then tighten the lids once the broth is frozen solid.
*If making a meat stock you can cook your whole chicken in the slow cooker first for a few hours and once done, remove and debone meat, then throw the bones back in the pot and add more filtered water to cover if need and continue cooking for 12-24 hours.
Leave a comment below telling us your favorite way to enjoy bone broth?
Resources:
Sally Fallon - Weston A. Price Foundation "Broth is Beautiful" http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/broth-is-beautiful
Disclaimer: We earn a small commission if you use the highlighted links to purchase the products mentioned in this post. We recommend only products that we would use in our own home or that we would recommend for our clients. Your purchases help to support our blogging activities such as creating yummy recipes to share with you and also helps us to bring even more helpful nutrition and training information to you on a weekly basis. Thank you for your continued support and for helping us continue what we LOVE to do!
One thing I love is seeing smart health-minded motivated woman sharing their passion to inspire others to live a balanced healthy lifestyle! I have followed Kasey Arena's blog Powercakes for several years now and she does just that! I have always enjoyed her fun recipes, colorful food filled plates, and her awesome challenges like the #JunePowerMealaDay challenge I participated in June 2012! Kasey is bursting at the seams with positivity and motivation and I am honored to interview her on the blog today!
I think many of you already know this lovely lady but incase you don't, I am pleased to introduce you to Kasey of Powercakes!!
935009_646345808712300_2079013284_n
How did you come to love the world of health and fitness?
I grew up with a mother as a personal trainer so I did have healthy options all around me. I am so happy to be following in my Mom’s footsteps since she laid such a great foundation & example from a young age. It wasn't always something that I appreciated whenever I was younger because I often threw temper tantrums in the cereal aisle whenever I wanted sugary cereal, but I did have a great healthy balance as a child & loved my childhood! We were not deprived at all but we grew up being educated on making healthier choices while still living in balance. Fitness was something that I've always had inside of me. I played soccer since I was 8 years old until my college days & also ran track & was a triple jumper from junior high into college. I love competing & challenging myself! It’s an adrenaline rush like no other. Once I wasn't a part of a sports team anymore, I really did fall in love with weight lifting & working out. In college one of my best friends got me into strength training. I used to run right by all of the weights & go to my usual elliptical for an hour because I was afraid of all of the boys in the weight area – no lie! Once I started training with my friend and seeing how confident she was while asking guys twice her size to use weights they were using, I was instantly inspired! Her passion was contagious & I soon caught the weight lifting bug and haven’t stopped since!
What does a typical day of eating look like for you?
Right now I've really come to find a happier balance with eating. If you’d like to read a little more into my personal story about “checking myself before wrecking myself” you can find that here.
I personally have struggled with food allergies for years with symptoms ranging from stomach issues, digestive problems, & sever eczema on my hands. For years we never really correlated these problems with the foods I was eating. I’m a fan of eating foods closest to “whole” as possible but also enjoy other foods in moderation! I truly do believe in balance and not living under food rules. I was eating a lot of foods such as “whole grain” when I came to find that I had a gluten intolerance. I also dealt with horrible skin eczema which is irritated red bumps & dry skin that covered my right hand. After getting professional help and a food allergy test I found that I was allergic to almonds. I can eat them in moderation, same with gluten, but whenever I “over-do” these foods, my body reacts.
With that being said, my big motto is “be true to you”. I really don’t have a certain way of eating because I listen to how my body reacts. I like all types of foods & have found that the more variety I eat, the better my body reacts. I have a huge passion for cooking & baking so that’s where a lot of my recipes come from.
I also make sure to fuel my body with enough food such a proteins, carbs, fats, minerals, vitamins, & fiber to fuel my fitness & lifestyle! I am a personal trainer so I am always on the go!
With all of that being said, my usual day of eats starts with a big breakfast of powercakes (protein pancakes of all types) or waffles topped with peanut fluff & fruit with some coffee with coconut milk & liquid stevia. Lunch is usually my post workout meal so it’s usually a big scramble with millet & flax bread topped with hummus or avocado with raw kraut & some baked old bay kale chips! I LOVE me some seasonings!
Dinner is usually a bowl or plate of rice or noodles with a protein of choice and a healthy fat or big powerbowl with tons of veggies, roasted squash, creamy tahini nooch sauce, & some type of protein (My digestion seems to be happier whenever I eat plant based proteins as well as eggs & seafood!)
I always have a snack before bed and usually choose something like a single serve cherry chunk cookie or FRONANA. Nut butter is ALWAYS involved in my night time snack as well & my chocolate sauce. I really don’t fear carbs at night & find that I am always energized in the morning for a workout from fuel the night before. Definitely find what works best for you though!
As you can see, I do eat a lot of colors & whole foods, but I also enjoy all types of flavors & will not turn down “unhealthy foods” if it’s something I truly want! Finding balance is hard but it’s something I work towards every day.
Some of my favorite go to snacks are fruit, puffins cereal (obsessed), brown rice crackers, veggies, hummus, or anything I’m craving that day!
I love your hashtag #beTRUEtoYOU! Can you tell us what being true to you is all about?
Be true to you” is my mantra all day every day. I think in the fitness world, and the world in general, we often compare ourselves to other people. We see pictures and want to look like someone else and think we’re less than if we don’t. We also look at other peoples eating choices and think we’re doing something wrong if we don’t’ eat like them. I work really hard to help people accept themselves for who they are and OWN IT. Looking to other people for inspiration & motivation instead of comparing themselves to that person. It’s hard and I understand that, but finding love with fitness & food starts with finding love with yourself. You taking the steps to get healthier is really you loving yourself more to want to take care of yourself. Be true to you & find what it is you like to do! The more you enjoy your fitness, the more you will want to do it. I work to live by this motto everyday. I don’t try and sway my decisions with fitness and food based on trying to be like someone else, but instead I get inspired by others to try new things or eat a new food! Finding enjoyment is what I aim to do in life.
What is your favorite style of workout? What is your best tip for someone who is just getting started with a new exercise routine and healthy eating plan?
My favorite types of working out are lifting & circuit style training. I love challenging myself in the weight room but also doing some plyos or burpees! I really love all types of fitness. You can find some of my workouts here.
My biggest tip is to have a positive mind & not compare yourself to others! I think one of the top reasons that people are hesitant about starting a fitness program is that they think they “can't” do it. I get a lot of people that approach me saying “I really want to take your class but I don't think I can do what ______ (insert name here) can!” or seeing a workout and instantly thinking “There is no way I can do that!”
Negative thinking is what holds us back most often. It’s that voice inside our head that’s saying “I can't” or “it’s too hard”. Unless you've got an injury that is holding you back from a certain move, you never know if you can something until you try!
Same goes for eating – it never hurts to try something new or test out a new recipe! I love getting inspired by others to use an ingredient in a whole new way! I love the positive end of social media where people encourage others to try new things or help each other out with tips on new recipes.
Small steps in a more positive direction will eventually lead to accomplishments!
I absolutely love your blog PowerCakes and love all of your healthy recipes! Can you tell us what exciting things you are up to now and what we can expect to see in the near future?
Thank you so much! It means a lot to have such amazing support from others. I am currently personal training & working on following my dreams with creating my own Powercakes Product. I now offer tank tops on my site but there will eventually be a food product added in! I've been working really hard for the last year & a half with the small business developing center at the University of Pittsburgh. They are helping me make my goals a reality and it’s such an exciting process! It’s scary sometimes to follow your dreams but usually that fear means you’ve got to do it! It definitely takes longer than I originally expected but I'm hopeful that all of the hard work & hours put in will work out in the long run! I know in my gut that I am meant to share my visions to help others & I work towards that every single day with the help & support from everyone!
Exsoycise is nowAwakened Nutrition & Training, a blog for health seekers, food lovers and dream body builders!
For the last 2.5 years since discovering I am allergic to soy and lactose intolerant I have been either drinking my coffee black with cinnamon and stevia or bringing my own jar of almond milk from home to coffee shops in the city. That option is usually totally inconvenient especially when I often don't have access to a fridge OR on the days when I would like to enjoy more coffee throughout the day but have already finished off the almond milk I brought from home. I have been impatiently waiting for Starbucks to introduce either almond or coconut milk to the world and would check the customer forum My Starbucks Ideas to see if there were any updates as to when this would happen. I've even chimed in several times about my frustration on the forums, their facebook page and on twitter. I wasn't the only unhappy customer, there are threads going back to 2008 dedicated to this topic, 1 topic has over 50,000 votes! The only response I could find from Starbuck was from January 18, 2012 from moderator sbx_bean stating "The beverage team is currently vetting alternatives to dairy and soy". Well they clearly aren't working fast enough and losing customers along the way!
Today about 75% of adults worldwide can't tolerate lactose and many others are allergic to soy and dairy placing these two foods on the "Top 8 Allergen List". I find it a little bit ridiculous that Starbucks, a multibillion dollar company with more than 10,000 locations in the U.S. alone, can't come up with some sort of dairy alternative to serve customers with food allergies.
20130916-121216.jpg
So while I've waited around for Starbucks to get their act together, I did a little research and found that there are other coffee shop options around NYC who gladly carry almond milk, The first one being Whole Foods Market cafe. I started going to the Union Square location for almond milk lattes when I was in the area and then later they opened up their 57th street location and started offering Wifi in the upstairs cafe, this location later became the perfect office for me to meet with some of my health coaching clients. Then almond milk started trickling in other coffee shops like Dean and Deluca, Fairway Market, Health Nuts and then some smaller coffee shops in Brooklyn. Soon Starbucks became less appealing when I was out on the go and needed my coffee fix. So to make it a little easier on all of us New Yorkers or those planning a visit to NYC in the future here is a list of 40 coffee shops in New York City and Brooklyn that carry almond milk! Enjoy!
20130916-101719.jpg
Manhattan Coffee Shops
Le Pain Quotidien - Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Chelsea, Midtown, West Village & Greenwich Village
Hey party people!
What a fantastically crazy busy two week I just had! I just flew back in to NY a few hours ago from an amazing long weekend trip back home to Jacksonville, FL with my family. We spent every day either laying out by the pool or the beach and soaking up the beautiful weather we had. It seriously couldn't have been nicer down there, not too hot and beautiful clear skies, it was truly a gift from god! I am still trying to process everything that happened over the last two weeks and have a lot of catching up to do with the blog, school work, my new clients, and some other fun projects that I have in the works. Life can get really crazy sometimes even when the craziness is all mostly fun stuff!
If you are already following me on Instagram and Facebook, then you probably already know all about most of my fitness adventures around NYC. So on Thursday May 16th, I was invited to go back to Fitness Magazine's #FitBlogNYC Meet & Tweet event at the Mercedes Club in NYC. I had the chance to go last year and it was so much fun it, blew my mind! At the time, Exsoycise was fairly new and I had just become an Ambassador for FitFluential the month before the event so I didn't really know anyone before besides recognizing a few familiar faces from social media. As nerve racking as it was, I stepped out of my comfort zone and made some new blogger friends just by going up and awkwardly introducing myself. Scary huh? We ended up having a blast together that day and continued our newfound friendship through the year.
I guess I grew up a bit over this last year, which I actually think has a lot to do with me going to school at Integrative Nutrition and meeting people I do not know ALL the time, so by this year when I went to the Meet and Tweet event I had lots of fellow blogger friends who I had met on my own throughout the year who were there as well. I also met up with a really amazing group of girls before the event for coffee and we all introduced ourselves and blogs and then walked over to the event together. It felt like a big school reunion!
Mercedes Club was absolutely beautiful! We walked up a stairway which led us into a very modern gym lobby, which was surrounded by glass walls overlooking the many outside patios covered in astroturf, one of them had a pool and deck that was to die for! We signed in and got our fancy event badges and lanyards which had a sticker on the bottom representing which workout you would participate in later. Mine was a little yogi, the other two options were running and a dance class and I'm not really big on either. :) They told us to grab some breakfast and make our way out to a patio to enjoy. I grabbed a green smoothie from Elixir and two hard boiled eggs. I had actually cut out eggs since that Monday, but because it is so second nature for me to go for the healthy egg option, I grabbed them and chowed down on them. Oh well! The green juice was very earthy but good in a weird way. Believe it or not, that was only the second green juice I've ever had in my life!
We grabbed our food and a spot on the long benches, then I walked around and met up with some of my buddies from social media. I finally got to meet fellow blogger and #imagreatist Ambassador Katie from HungryRunner. It's always fun to put faces to names especially after you feel like you've known people for so long via social media.
Sarah Lucero(top left) is a celebrtiy makeup artist at Stila based out of Los Angeles. She gave us her top beauty secrets for summer, gym and everyday.
Top 3 beauty secrets: Sleep well so you stay rested, wear a tinted moisturizer and tinted lip balm to cover redness, and wear the same color tone on lip and cheek.
Hot summer looks: Bright colors, buy a couple seasonal trending pieces per season, Pastel on eyes, and Vibrant color on lip.
Hot to get ready at the gym in 5 minutes: Use a good dry shampoo, put your hair up in a fun bun, put on a cute headband and top with a peach blush instead of a bronzer.
Sarah also said that beauty starts from the inside, her advice was to get outside for fresh air, go for a hike, turn off the phone and social media and listen to nature.
Your gyno should be a partner in health and should treat the WHOLE body not just treat one body part.
Move, rest and be nourished! Be the captain of YOUR own body!
Woman should be aware of the amount and the frequency of alcohol they are drinking. Alcohol is not a friend to the breast!
Dr. Ashton recommends a healthy eating plan where you eat a strict healthy diet for 5 days a week and then use the 2 weekend days to relax and have a treat, she says this way you never feel deprived and eventually you won't crave your usual weekend guilty pleasures.
Their top tips for turning passion into profit were:
Dana said don't blog for money, blog what you love and make money later. When it comes to sponsors you don't always have to say yes, do what is right for you and your readers.
Deb said not to waste your time worrying about what everyone else is doing, be unique and don't be afraid to be different!
Jill said not to obsess over your blog follower numbers.
Erin said not to worry about internet negativity.
Top blogging tips and tools:
SkimLinks - Converts words and links into money making affiliate links.
When you change your blog URL, make sure to place an automatic redirect so you don't lose followers.
YouTube tips for beginners: good lighting and sound, be aware of background noise.
Brett Hoebel is a celebrity trainer featured on The Biggest Loser season 11 and is the founder of Hoebel Fitness (Bottom left)
Brett talked about the extreme fitness trend today and how people do crazy workouts for bragging rights which has increased the popularity in events such as the Tough Mudder and CrossFit.
He said 20 minute intense workouts get the job done better than long drawn-out sessions. If you want the results you've got to "Train your ass off!"
I actually ran into Brett in the UES the next day and snagged a picture with him! Such a nice guy!
He says to slash the fat and not flavor when cooking, go for salad dressings that have more vinegar and less oil.
He believes that you can eat what you love and still lose weight as long as the ingredients are fresh and you cook at home. People are more likely to cook something healthy at home rather than when ordering take out.
Stop eating at the computer, when you eat in a social setting, you are more likely to slow down and eat mindfully.
A common myth is people say Italian food is bad for you. Eating smaller frequent meals made with fresh ingredients is key to losing weight.
During the Q&A with Rocco, I asked him what was his favorite recipe with the least amount of ingredients was. He first answered with a recipe for a soy dish so I didn't bother to write it down, but then he came back to me later and gave me his favorite strawberry Italian ice recipe (video) which had only 4 ingredients: Strawberry, sweetener, lemon and xanthan gum (bacterial slime)
I later thanked Rocco for the recipe and asked to snap a picture together.
After all of the speakers were done, we were invited to have lunch (which sadly I couldn't eat any of it because of it either having soy or cheese, but I luckily had a delicious protein shake and some almonds with me), socialize with each other and then walk around to meet all of the event sponsors such as Athleta, Camelbak, Fiesta Movement, Marmot, Reebok, Saucony, Tonalin, Vichy, Smart Balance and Crystal Light.
When I got home that night, I pulled everything out of my bag. It was like Christmas all over again! This year we got two pairs of sneakers, Reebok Sublite and Saucony Kinvara 4, which is much appreciated because I was in need of some new sneaks! I also got some really nice smelling Votivo candles, beauty products, headbands from Sparkley Soul and Athleta , a very cute bracelet, healthy candy (gave them to Chris), S.W. Basic vegan lip balm, Camelbak water bottle, a Reebok yoga top, a hair brush, Kombucha Wonder Drink and plastic iPad Chef Sleeves to use while cooking! It was all so amazing to receive!
Ford Fiesta Movement took these amazing photos of us with The Bosco photo booth during the event. Click here to see Jill, me and the girl's photo come to life!
Click here to see Mari and my Bosco photo booth come to life! I can't get enough of these shots!
Last but not least we had a really cool yoga workout with the very fun Tera Stiles of Strala Yoga out on the astroturf roof deck. It was so hot out there and all of our feet were burning so badly but we all had fun out there on the lawn together! I think this was the first Yoga class I've taken to hiphop music, so cool!
It was such a long fun day and it didn't stop there! After the event Courtney and I went back to her hotel to freshen up and then made our way down to Physique 57 in SOHO for our second workout of the day with Diana and Kayla who were also at FitBlogNYC. This was my very first barre class and I really wasn't sure what to expect! I don't take classes in general so I was actually a little nervous. You would be surprised by how uncoordinated I am! Emily Zuzelski was our instructor and she was cute as could be. So upbeat and motivating! She had an assistant who walked around and helped us all with our form, I need a LOT of help actually. The class was a full body workout. It incorporated cardio, weights, yoga-type stretching, and then of course the barre where we used stretching bands and balls. We held onto the barre while squatting and standing on our toes AND doing pulsing movements. I seriously thought I was going to die! But we had a blast, there were definitely a lot of laughs coming from our side of the room ;)
Organic Avenue treated us with some delicious juices after our class. I was in love with their chia coconut water juice!
To wrap up that fabulous day Courtney, Kayla and I went to my favorite restaurant in the whole world, Bareburger. We all grubbed on some amazing organic grassfed hamburgers and french fries, and enjoyed sitting outside on the patio. It was both of their first time going to Bareburger and I think they enjoyed it as much as I did.
Wowwweeee what a day! I hope you enjoyed this mega long post and it made you feel like you were right along side me through the whole day!
Have you ever taken a barre exercise class? Did it kill you like it did me?
Welcome to Awakened Nutrition! I am so excited to be able to connect you here!
summer 2012 064
My name is Amber, I am originally from sunny Florida and I now live in beautiful Brooklyn, NY. I moved up to NYC in September of 2008 and at the time I was a vegetarian and the heaviest I had weighed in my life.
I met Chris, the love of my life, while working together at a boutique hotel in lower Manhattan. By this time I had started eating meat again, but my diet was far from healthy. Chris was also working as a part-time personal trainer and I eventually went to him for help with my weight. He explained the importance of a healthy diet which consisted of having protein, healthy fats and complex carb with every meal, and advised me to eat 5 to 6 meals per day. This wasn't like the diets I was used to where I expected quick weight loss results, this was a healthy way of eating where I could expect gradual and safe weight loss. He then went into the importance of having a consistent weight training and cardio routine. He had to reassure me that weight training would not “bulk” me up, but that it would create lean muscle that would turn me into a fat burning machine! I took all of the wonderful information he gave me, as well as information I read from magazines and fitness websites and started on a NEW journey. I eventually lost 17lbs and got into the best shape of my life!
In July 2011, I started my blog Exsoycise and started to share my soy-free health and fitness journey. My goal has been to show others that eating healthy foods does not have to be difficult or boring; it can be an easy process and taste delicious at the same time!
Over the last year and a half of blogging, I realized that I wanted to do so much more than just blog about my own health and fitness journey. Comments and emails started pouring in from various social media websites, and text messages from friends started coming through on my phone, everyone was asking me for health, fitness, and weight loss tips. I realized that without even knowing it, that I was a health coach! I knew my passion alone did not qualify me to be a health coach, and because I wanted to have the chance to help even more people achieve their health goals, I decided it was time to go back to school!
I am currently enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and am now coaching clients! During my training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, I have been trained in more than one hundred dietary theories and studied a variety of practical lifestyle coaching methods. Drawing on this knowledge, I will help others create a completely personalized “roadmap to health” that suits their unique body, lifestyle, preferences, and goals.
When I am not blogging and studying, I am creating new healthy recipes, exploring New York City with my love, and working on my own health goals!
Just about every morning this week I've eaten sweet potato and eggs mixed together with cinnamon and stevia. I often get weird looks and comments when I tell people what I'm eating, but they usually change their tune once they actually see a picture of this delightful dish. It's so delicious and such a great way to mix up breakfast in the morning!
This morning I decided to get fancy and whip up a new sweet potato pancake recipe. I used the same template as my Paleo pumpkin pancakes, but I just subbed out the pumpkin for a half cup of skinless mashed sweet potato and added more almond milk.
I then made what I call Sweet Potato Fluff, inspired by my Pumpkin Pie Fluff, with the remainder sweet potato, cinnamon, and 2 Tbsps of almond butter. It was absolutely divine!
Enjoy the recipe and let me know what you think!
Sweet Potato Pie Pancakes Makes 5 small pancakes - 1 serving
1/2 cup of mashed cooked sweet potato without skin
2-4 tbsp almond milk or coconut milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pumpkin spice
dash of baking soda
dash of stevia or a small amount of maple syrup
Mix all ingredients the dry ingredients together. Then in a separate bowl, mix the remainder wet ingredients. Throw all ingredients together and mix well.
Set your stove to medium to medium-low heat, preheat skillet. Heat will vary depending on the type of stove you are working with. Once the pan is hot, coat the pan lightly with oil.
Pour the batter into the pan, makes about 5 little cakes, cook pancakes for a couple minutes on both sides until golden brown brown, flipping once. Top with either coconut butter, coconut oil or almond butter. Bon Appétit!
We are Chris and Amber, a husband and wife team dedicated to helping you improve your nutritional and personal fitness habits for a better lifestyle. If you have issues with bloating,inability to lose fat, brain fog, or are in need of a proven nutrition and fitness plan to get you out of a rut, then sign up for our 28-Day Beat Belly Bloat Program today!
When was the last time you talked with someone about your health and received the personal attention you deserve?
It’s rare for anyone to get an hour to work on their nutrition and goals with a trained professional. As a Health Coach and Personal Trainer team, we create a supportive environment that will enable you to achieve ALL of your health goals. Amber has studied all the major dietary theories and use practical lifestyle coaching methods to guide you in discovering which approach works best for you and Chris is an NASM Certified Personal Trainer and has been training at one of the top health clubs in NYC for the last 4 years.
Most approaches to nutrition dwell on just calories, carbs, fats, proteins. Instead of creating lists of restrictions and good and bad foods, we coach our clients to create a happy, healthy life in a way that is flexible, fun and free of denial and discipline.
No one diet or workout approach works for everyone. We will guide you to find the food and lifestyle choices that best support you! We will also help you to make gradual, lifelong changes that enable you to reach your current and future health goals.
Could one conversation change your life? Email us to schedule a free initial consultation today!
Exsoycise is nowAwakened Nutrition & Training, a blog for health seekers, food lovers and dream body builders!
January 1st, I was sitting on the couch recovering from a champagne hangover from NYE and trying to mentally prepare myself for the 21 Day Sugar Detox which I was starting the next day. It was hard for me to grasp the whole no stevia part of it because I LOVE that sweet stuff, but it was only 21 days and I felt comfort in the fact that I could always add it back in after the detox was over. I decided to do level 3 of the detox since I was already living a life without dairy, grains and legumes with the exception of an occasional "cheat" meal on some weekends.
For me level 3 meant cutting out my stevia (the hardest part for me), vegan protein powder (I use vegan because of my soy allergy and lactose intolerance), sweet potatoes (except for a couple post-workout meals), the occasional glass or three of wine on some weekends, red apples and banana omelets. Other than that, I didn't really have any issues with other fruits as I am doing my best to only eat what is in season.
I was actually quite nervous about cutting out my protein powder because I was using it daily post-workout and sometimes it is hard to get protein in on the go. But on the other hand it had a lot of unnecessary junk ingredients in it including glucose and the protein came from pea protein isolate, artichoke protein, organic sprouted amaranth powder and organic sprouted quinoa powder. I don't consume peas or quinoa in my everyday diet, so it really has no place in my protein shake. I did really enjoy how delicious they were and how I easily could get my protein in while on the go. But on the other hand, I was excited to consume real food post-workout because from what I hear that is best for the body. Plus who really needs all those extra ingredients floating about our body!
A normal day of food pre-detox would go like this:
Wake up - 1-2 cups coffee with almond milk and tons of stevia. Breakfast would potentially be sweet potatoes sprinkled with cinnamon and stevia with a side of eggs or a banana omelet with cinnamon, stevia and topped with almond butter.
Go to the gym and after have a post workout vegan protein shake with a Gala apple.
Later have about three more meals spaced out throughout the day with protein, healthy fats and vegetables with a cup of green tea with stevia.
As you can see, I wasn't going crazy on sweets or real sugar but I was including quite a bit of stevia daily and using the vegetable based protein powder about 5-6 days a week.
A day of food while on the 21 DSD:
Wake up - Have a warm glass of lemon water and 1 cup of coffee black with cinnamon and vanilla extract. Breakfast was eggs with carrots, avocado, tomato, mushrooms, ect. or Paleo pumpkin pancakes topped with coconut butter. I wrote an entire post about breakfast ideas because my dishes were getting so creative!
Post-workout I would have two hard boiled eggs or chicken and a green apple. Towards the end of the detox I had 1/2 cup of sweet potato post workout.
The next three meals would be meals like chicken tortilla-LESS soup, grassfed ground beef with vegetables, curry chicken drumsticks, spicy chicken thighs, spicy shrimp and vegetables in tomato sauce, or curry salmon mixed with vegetables.
As I mentioned, I finally started to get used to life without stevia and started to drink black coffee with cinnamon and vanilla extract. I think the hardest part of the detox was that I couldn't sweeten my coffee because I knew just how delicious a sweetened coffee was. But I survived and didn't give in at all!
I didn't miss wine really except one night when I had an exceptionally stressful day, but I still did not give in. I even went to a bar to watch the Denver Broncos play and enjoyed my time while everyone around me was boozing it up. I think the fact that I was felt so amazing and energized kept me from feeling like I was missing out on the fun.
Benefits I received from the detox:
Within three days of the detox, my jawline acne cleared up completely! I believe this to be either hormonal or from consuming dairy on the occasional weekends in a "cheat" meal. It usually takes weeks for the acne to clear up because it is deep. So I was completely shocked that it was gone.
I was bursting with energy! Normally when 8pm rolled around, I feel sluggish and just want to crawl into bed or lay on the couch after a long day. Sometimes I would even fall asleep riding home on the subway. But during the detox I was zipping around my apartment cleaning, cooking, blogging or doing school work and never felt as though I just wanted to sleep. It was amazing!
I always had a good nights rest no matter how many hours I slept. I really loved waking up so refreshed in the mornings and never really felt like I wanted to hit the snooze button a million time.
I lost 5.8lbs! I weighed once during the middle of the detox and was quite pleased with the results. I only worked out during the last two weeks and would have been curious to see if I lost any more had I been working out the entire time.
I could taste the natural sweetness in foods such as carrots and green apples. I was a bit shocked and thought I was cheating so I posted a question onto the 21DSD Facebook wall and was reassured that I was not, but that I was just tasting the natural sugars.
During the detox I never cheated or slipped up, but I did binge eat a couple times on foods that tasted sweet to me and that was a bummer. I ate roasted carrots quite a bit and one evening they tasted so exceptionally delicious, I ate about three 1lb bags in one sitting. Then another night I made homemade almond butter with just raw almonds and proceeded to eat an entire jar in only 2.5 days. I had a couple other weak moments with raw almonds towards the end of the detox. I think I missed sweet stuff so much that I would go overboard when I found something that tasted sweet to me. But I guess there could have been worse things to over indulge on.
Since finishing, I have had a few treats here and there and am giving organic green leaf stevia a try, but so far it tastes like grass to me and I don't recommend it. Overall I really enjoyed the detox! I ate a ton of great food, had some impressive results and I proved to myself that I could survive without stevia! I would definitely recommend to anyone who feels like they have a dependency to sugar or like me, just wants to see how your body responds without artificial sweeteners. I also recommend this program for people who want to transition into a more whole foods based or Paleo lifestyle.
Plan ahead! Find recipes you want to try during the detox and make a grocery list of all the items you will need. I made a Pinterest board of approved recipes and would use that to plan out my meals. If you can, try to go shopping before day 1 of the detox.
Cook in large batches. Take one evening to cook several different meals and pack them in containers for the week. Don't forget, you can always freeze foods if you don't think you will be able to eat them in time.
Always be prepared on the go! Make sure you bring food with you everywhere you go. Since you've already cooked and prepackaged your meals ahead of time, you can just throw a couple food containers in your bag and head off for the day.
Eat spicy food! I have never really been big on spicy food, but since the detox I learned to love a heavy amount of cayenne pepper, cumin and curry seasonings on my foods. It for one, stopped all sweet cravings and two, it kept me feeling full for a few hours. If you aren't into spicy foods yet, start with a very small amount and add more as you are able to tolerate it. You will most likely learn to love it and become and addict like I did!
Drink a ton of water! Most of the time we mistake hunger for thirst, so to prevent the hunger pangs drink lots of water throughout the day. I started my mornings off with a warm glass of water and half of a lemons juice, then used the other half of the lemon in my water bottle to drink during the day.
Find your beverage of choice. It took me a while to get used to coffee black or with cinnamon and vanilla, but after a while I acquired a taste for it. I also used coconut oil and grassfed butter in my coffee towards the end of the detox and those were also enjoyable. But if black coffee is not your thing, find a tea that you love such as mint or ginger tea and enjoy.
Lastly, just remember that it is only 21 days and the sweet stuff will still be there waiting for you once it's all over. But hopefully after the amazing benefits you receive from it, you wont get too crazy :)
Would you ever do a 21 day sugar detox? What is one thing you would feel like you couldn't live without for 21 day?
Disclaimer: We earn a small commission if you use the highlighted links to purchase the products mentioned in this post. We recommend only products that we would use in our own home or that we would recommend for our clients. Your purchases help to support our blogging activities such as creating yummy recipes to share with you and also helps us to bring even more helpful nutrition and training information to you on a weekly basis. Thank you for your continued support and for helping us continue what we LOVE to do!
Late last night after I got home from the gym, I was eager to try to make a coconut butter recipe that I pinned a couple weeks ago. It seemed simple enough, 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut and 3 tbsp coconut oil. I threw those 2 ingredients into the food processor and turned it on for maybe 12 or so minutes until it was creamy. OH MY LAWD it was good!! It was so sweet, I felt as though I was cheating on my 21DSD (eek!). But luckily it was safe since it only had the two ingredients. It is so interesting that after 16 days of not having any sugar, things start tasting very sweet to me. The last two days I have had green apples after my workouts and they tasted super sweet, just like a red apple! I started to question if I bought the wrong kind of green apple because it should have tasted slightly tart, not sweet. But then I had to remind myself that the natural sugars just really stand out to me more now.
When I woke up this morning, I was excited to use my new delicious coconut butter as a topping on something. So I decided to create a new pumpkin pancake recipe. I whipped together all my favorite ingredients and cooked up 5 perfect little cakes. I was quite pleased with how well the pancakes turned out on the first try, this recipe is definitely a winner! I was also shocked by how delicious they were without any kind of sweetener! I have tried a couple recipes since I've been on the sugar detox but they have all tasted just a little off to me. So please enjoy this recipe, detox or no detox :)
Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes - makes 5 small pancakes - 1 serving
sweetener of choice if NOT on the 21 Day Sugar Detox
1. In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients together, then add in the remainder ingredients and mix well.
2. Pre-heat skillet on stove top to medium to medium-low heat. Heat will vary depending on the type of stove you are working with.Once the pan is hot, add a tbsp coconut oil to coat the pan.
3. Pour the batter into the pan, making about 5 small cakes.
4.Cook pancakes for a couple minutes on both sides until golden brown, flipping once. Top with either coconut butter, coconut oil or almond butter.Bon Appétit!
Coconut buttery goodness!
Do you have a good recipe for coconut butter or another unconventional butter? If so, please share!
xoxo-Amber
P.S. Wanna sneak peek into one of my 10-Day Detox programs that uses the elimination diet? Sign up to get my FREE 3-Day Detox and jump-start your weight loss now!
Let's connect on:
Happy Wednesday everyone! It's been a long time since I've done a What I ate Wednesday post, so today I decided to post a weeks worth of the 21DSD approved breakfast plates I've been munching on! I realize that a lot of people get stuck when it come to breakfast and go for the easiest thing possible. But the fact is that breakfasts like these can be easy too as long as you plan and prepare.
Most of the food below were cooked in the evenings. All of the roasted carrots and eggplant were roasted in the oven while I tidied up my apartment or did homework. The steak and steamed asparagus were left overs from dinner. The only things I had to cook in the morning was the eggs and cut up the avocado and tomato, both took only minutes. The bacon wrapped kale and egg cups were made the week before. I cooked them in the oven at night and ate two for breakfast each morning. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!
Back when I had a job which required me to wake up at 5am, I would cook egg, kale and beef bacon casserole ahead of time and quickly heat them up in the mornings. So there is no excuse for running out of the house with an empty stomach nor chowing down on bagels and muffins every morning! :)
3 whole eggs, crispy bacon and roasted cinnamon ginger carrots
Bacon wrapped kale and egg cups
Keep calm and eat breakfast!
What are your favorite breakfast dishes?
xoxo-Amber
P.S. Wanna sneak peek into one of my 10-Day Detox programs that uses the elimination diet? Sign up to get my FREE 3-Day Detox and jump-start your weight loss now!
Let's connect on:
The last couple months I've been doing my best to buy organic or grassfed meat when the price is right. Now that I'm a broke student again, I am having to be careful and watch what I'm purchasing. I can't go to the store now and buy things just because they look good or might be fun to try, I know have to pinch pennies and buy the essentials.
I normally go for the organic boneless skinless chicken thighs at about $3.99 per pound. Organic chicken breasts are pretty much out as they are about $5.99 or more per pound. But I find that the thighs are easier on my stomach anyway. I do, however, splurge occasionally on the grassfed ground beef at Trader Joe's. I believe it's $6.49 per pound, so I will grab a pack or two here and there. Other than that, I buy lean London broil from my grocer on sale for $2.99 per pound or canned salmon (at least for now since I know it will be a year or so before the canned stuff starts to come from Frankenfish). Neither of those are organic but sometimes it's the best I can do.
I cannot remember the last time I cooked or ate a drumstick. But when I saw the organic drumsticks at Trader Joe's last week for $1.99 a pound, I figured why not! I've pinned some recipes onto my 21DSD Pinterest board so it's been on my virtual to-make list anyway! I looked at several recipes online and from the 21DSD recipe portion of the ebook and while all the recipes looked amazing, most of them required browning the drumsticks first and then baking them in the oven. But I am lazy and I always want to do things the easiest way possible, so I just decided to cook them in the skillet just like my grandma always did back in the good old days. :) They turned out really amazing and I will definitely start rotating these into the menu!
Curry Spice Drumstick
2 packs of drumsticks (about 8-10)
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp curry spice
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp garlic and onion mix
salt and pepper to taste
Heat coconut oil in skillet over medium/high heat. Seasoned the drumsticks with the above spices, add more or less to alter the spice factor, places them skin side down in the pan with for 5 minutes, the flipped over for 3 minutes, and finally flipped back over to the skin side and cover for roughly 15 minutes or until cooked all the way through. Enjoy!
What is your best tip for buying organic or grassfed meat?
xoxo-Amber
P.S. Wanna sneak peek into one of my 10-Day Detox programs that uses the elimination diet? Sign up to get my FREE 3-Day Detox and jump-start your weight loss now!
Let's connect on:
Today is day 11 of my 21 day sugar detox! I feel good despite there being a HUGE box of gourmet sugary donuts in my kitchen (UGH). I don't even like donuts but my senses are really strong because I have been sugar-free for the last 11 days and they smell AMAZING!
Good news is I've lost 5.8lbs since starting the detox! I can definitely tell my arms are starting to lean out a bit. I haven't been working out recently because I have been on the verge of catching a cold, so I started back up this week. I did some cardio on Thursday and trained legs with Chris on Friday. My advice to all you girls out there is to go date a personal trainer, two words: FREE TRAINING :) Just kidding, but it really is a nice luxury to have!
On Friday I finally get to wear my Christmas goodies to the gym. I wore my gorgeous leopard print Femme Fitale workout gloves with matching leopard sports bra from Victoria Secret and my bright yellow Lululemon top from my lovely sister!
One thing that I have incorporated into my daily routine is warm lemon water first thing in the morning. It feels great on my throat and from what I hear it is good for digestion, immune system function and for metabolism. I found a bunch of good bits of info in this article about the top 10 reasons to drink lemon water in the morning.
A couple months ago I received an email from the lovely people at Kelapo cooking oil company, they had stumbled upon my blog and noticed I was blogging about living soy-free. They asked me if I would like to try out their all new soy-free Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Non-stick Cooking Spray. My eyes almost popped out of my head when I read the email because I thought I would never in a million years come across a healthy soy-free cooking spray! Anyone who knows me knows that I'm already a coconut oil fanatic and have turned so many of my friends on to it. So of course I told them YES YES YES I would love to try out the spray!
They sent over the coconut oil spray and within a week or so and the first thing I made was a banana omelet, of course. I sprayed down my little frying pan, I didn't have to use very much at all because it coated the pan so nicely, and poured in my mixture of banana and eggs. It cooked up so perfectly without sticking to the pan! I was seriously amazed by how well it worked because for the last 2 years I have really missed the ease of using a cooking oil spray.
That week I continued to use it to make some allergy friendly cookies, coconut flour pancakes, chicken on my grill pan, and anything else I could think to cook. I was immediately hooked on this stuff and even got my roommate, Jordan, hooked on it as well! It made cooking and baking super easy. Occasionally the spray tip would get clogged since it is coconut oil and coconut oil turns into a solid in cool temperatures, so I would just run it under warm water for a few seconds. That would clear it right up and I would be back in business!
I think besides the fact that I can cook and bake like a normal person again, I also felt really confident that I was using a good quality oil that was heart healthy and not some fake oil spray that claims to be olive oil but is actually soy.
I love this spray so much that I want you to be able to try it out too! GIVEAWAY TIME!!
How to Enter the Giveaway!
All you have to do is leave me a comment below telling me what you would cook if you had your very own can of Kelapo extra virgin coconut non-stick cooking oil spray and tweet the wording below!
Tweet…. “Check out @exsoycise to enter to win a can of @Kelapo organic coconut oil non-stick cooking spray http://exsoycise.com #soyfree #GIVEAWAY“
I will choose the winner at random on Friday, January 11th at midnight. (U.S. residents only)
If you can't wait for the contest to be over, you can use Kelapo's store locator to find a store in your area that carry Kelapo products OR you can buy right from their website for $7.29 or on Amazon for $8.52!
Exsoycise is nowAwakened Nutrition & Training, a blog for health seekers, food lovers and dream body builders!
Today I am on day 4 of the 21 Day Sugar Detox and so far it's going really well! I haven't had any meltdowns and I still have all my fingers and toes (wahoo!)! For those of you who are just tuning in, I started the 21DSD on January 2nd. I stayed over at Chris's apartment the night before and luckily I planned ahead and brought over some steak and sautéed onions. That morning for breakfast I enjoyed a onion, mushroom and spinach omelet with a side of bacon from a diner. The omelet normally comes with toast and potatoes but I just asked the server to leave them off the plate. For lunch I had my steak and onions with a side of raw carrots and for dinner I had a hamburger patty topped with an egg and a side of cooked carrots.
Later that night, I went to Trader Joe's to do a little grocery shopping and to my surprise they were out of a ton of food! Luckily they had most of the veggies and meats that I wanted. So I got in and out quickly and went right home and started cooking up a storm!
I made bacon wrapped egg and kale cups. I took raw bacon and wrapped it around the walls of a large muffin pan and tossed in some frozen kale and cracked an egg over it. Can we talk about #yolkporn...I mean seriously. I think I'm in love.
I roasted some garlic, salt and ginger carrots in the oven until they were a little crispy. Roasted carrots are now one of my favorite sides and snacks! I bet they would be really good dipped in some guacamole!
I sautéed a big batch of onions and split them in half and added them to a pan with grassfed ground beef and organic lean chicken thighs. Lately, I've preferred the thighs over chicken breast, it's not as heavy of a meat and seems to settle better with my stomach and tastes delicious! I seasoned both dishes with cinnamon, cumin, cayenne pepper, curry seasoning, salt and pepper, this is now my go to spice selection. Once they were about done cooking, I tossed frozen brussel sprouts in with my chicken thighs and frozen kale in with the beef.
Having these delicious meals prepared made it easy to stay in line with the 21DSD guidelines. I looked forward to my meals because they were filled with deliciously seasoned foods!
The hardest part of the sugar detox for me so far has been giving up the Stevia in my coffee. The first day I tried coffee black from Starbucks during the middle of the day because I was so tired I felt like I was going to pass out, it wasn't unbearable but it wasn't exactly good. The third day, I had my coffee with almond milk, vanilla extract and cinnamon, and today I had coffee with coconut cream from Trader Joe's, cinnamon, vanilla, and unsweetened cocoa. I think that deep down inside I believed that adding all this extra stuff will somehow make it sweet or at least a little more tolerable but it's not really working :) I may have to try my mint tea and see how that goes!
Last night I tried Paleo Comfort Foods Chicken Tortilla-Less Soup recipe and it turned out better than expected. It was full of chicken, tomato, peppers, onions, cilantro, lime and had a slight kick to it. Before we devoured...I mean enjoyed our soups, I topped them with fresh avocado. Both Chris and I were highly impressed. I will be making this soup again!
So far I feel really good! I'm used to eating low carb during keto, so I have not experienced any headaches or mood swings. I have noticed that the acne that I've had along my jawline cleared up after only a couple days of the detox. I believe that the acne may be caused from the dairy I enjoyed over the Christmas and New Year's holidays but I'm not too sure. Today I woke up feeling really refreshed from only having 7.5 hours sleep last night so it seems like my sleep is improving!
I am excited to see what other health benefits I notice as I get deeper into the detox!
Have you tried the 21DSD? If so, what health benefits did you notice while on the detox?
What was the hardest thing for you to give up on the detox?
Disclaimer: We earn a small commission if you use the highlighted links to purchase the products mentioned in this post. We recommend only products that we would use in our own home or that we would recommend for our clients. Your purchases help to support our blogging activities such as creating yummy recipes to share with you and also helps us to bring even more helpful nutrition and training information to you on a weekly basis. Thank you for your continued support and for helping us continue what we LOVE to do!
WOW what a year it's been! I seriously can't believe that 2012 is hours away from being over and we are zooming right on in to 2013!
I have SO many things to be thankful for during this blogging year, so I am going to just go down the list a little...
At the start of 2012, I looked and felt amazing weighing in at a whopping 138lbs down from 155lbs the year or so before. The blog was only about 5 months old and I really enjoyed blogging all about my struggles with my developed soy allergy aka my Soy Belly, lactose intolerance, weight loss, my fitness journey and most of all I loved inspiring other people. I started a facebook page and twitter account and developed friendships with people from all over the world who shared the love of health and fitness with me. Writing that seriously put a tear in my eye and sent chills down my body because these people are all so amazing, they live their life to motivate and inspire others and are all so thoughtful and caring. I never thought I would hear myself say I found friends off the internet :)
Then as I sought out other ways to get my story out and to help motivate even more people, I found an amazing group called FitFluential. I saw all the positive and inspiring posts on twitter and right away I knew I wanted to be apart of the FitFluential family! On January 31st, I applied to be a FitFluential Ambassador and shared with them my story of weight loss, weights, and food allergies. It felt like a lifetime before I received a response, but on February 26th, I received a return email announcing my ambassadorship! I was beyond thrilled and since then, the fun hasn't stopped! This last year, I was so honored to attend the Fitness Magazine blogging event and met our fearless leader Kelly Olexa, I also met the amazing Bob Harper at his book release party for The Skinny Rules, and recently went to the Reebok hub to test out their first Fitness Running Club. I've met some AMAZING blogger who some of them have turned into lovely friendships, and I've gotten the chance to try out some great health and wellness products along the way! It has truly been a wonderful experience and I look forward to more excitement in 2013!
Although so much positive happened this year, it hasn't been all roses and daisies. After the beginning of the year, I started a new shiny job as an Assistant Front Office Manager at a gorgeous boutique hotel in Lower Manhattan, and what I thought would be a positive work experience quickly went downhill and left me with feelings of depression and hatred for the hotel industry. When I moved to NYC 4 years ago I had dreams of working in a management role in boutique hotels around the city because I loved helping people and wanted to create the ultimate vacation experience for travelers. But as I climbed the management ladder, I realized that my job focused on dealing with more of the negative rather than positive experiences. Because of this stress I would eat poorly at times and weight started to creep back on.
During those months I was also having more stomach issues than normal, I was constipated for the first time in my life and would have really bad abdominal bloating which after several trips to my primary doctor, I was sent to a Gastrointestinalogist. He was a kind man who really listened to my issues and wanted to get to the root of my issue. He believed I had IBS and after failed attempts to relieve my symptoms, he performed a colonoscopy on me at the age of 28. At the time he was hesitant to do the procedure because I was so young, but it was really the only option at that point. After the colonoscopy my Doctor informed me that my colon had lost its form and was flat, he said it looked like the colon of a 50 year old and that could be the result of my constipation, he also informed me that he had to remove two polyps on the right and left side of my colon. After the results came back, we found out that one of the polyps was made up of precancerous cells. This was frightening news especially because doctors are encouraged to wait until patients are in their 40s to start performing these check-ups. Luckily for me, we did find it in its early stage and it was removed and tested for Lynch Syndrome which came back negative. But now I have to go back for a colonoscopy check-up every 3 years for the rest of my life to insure that I don't have any more cancerous cell growths. That was a very scary time for me and I feel so absolutely blessed to have found that when we did.
Despite this cloud of negativity that hovered over me, I tried my best to keep positive in other aspects of my life and kept up with my fitness and my blog the best that I could. In my free time I always listened to health podcasts and read articles on healthy living to keep me sane. As I started to get more and more interested in nutrition and wellness, I realized that my true passion was still to help people, but in a more positive light. I knew I wanted to go to school for nutrition and found an amazing program online at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, but in my current job position I was working 10+ hours a day and couldn't envision how I could work and go to school at the same time. After putting much thought into how I could make school happen, I made a plan and after about 5 months I was able to quit my job and leave the hotel industry behind. I enrolled in school on September 6th not really even knowing how I would afford to pay for it and started school on October 29th. This was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. I am happier, I regained my positive outlook on life, I am no longer constipated from stress, and I am now taking steps closer to my dream job of being able to work from home and help others to live a healthy life! In 5 months I will be able to start my health coaching practice and take clients and I will graduate on October 1, 2013.
These days I am taking steps to lose the weight and keep the weight off that I gained while I was in my depression. I wrote several posts about falling off and getting back on the weight loss wagon, it wasn't the most fun ride but that's life sometimes. But I am pleased to say I have successfully been back to my clean diet and regular workout program for over a month and I feel confident that I will continue down this path especially as I get deeper into my studies on health and wellness.
In October I read an article that the Greatist blog was looking for ambassadors. They were looking for people who made healthy choices every day and who enjoyed inspiring others to do the same. That had my name written all over it, so I applied with my story and I was accepted to be an #imagreatist Ambassador on November 6th! This ambassadorship was very special to me because I have been following the Greatist website for a while now and always enjoyed how their content was so easy to read and full of great information! Cheers Greatist!
So as I wrap up this year and this mega long post, I want to say a BIG personal thank you to my sister Amy, my boyfriend Chris, my best Sarah and my friend and roommate Jordan who have stood behind me and cheered me on this year. Thanks to my god and my family for loving me unconditionally. Thanks to my friends for being amazing people. Thanks to my readers who take the time out to read my posts, try my recipes and encourage me. Thanks to my fit family on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest who inspire, encourage and motivate me on a daily basis. Thanks to FitFluential for an exciting year, new friends and experiences. Thanks to Greatist for our new relationship and for motivating content everyday. Thanks to Integrative Nutrition for giving me the tools and knowledge to start a new career. Thanks 2012 for a wonderful and blessed year!
Now for 2013 plans...I am not a resolutioner, but I do like to set goals. I will work on a post this week about my goals for 2013. I am, however, going to start a 21 day sugar detox program starting on January 2nd! I will have a detailed post on that tomorrow because I think this post is long enough as it is :)
How did 2012 treat you? What are your plans for the New Year?
I hope everyone had a great weekend! I spent the weekend in hanging around in Central Park, doing school work and online Christmas shopping. I'm going back home to Jacksonville, FL on Thursday for my first Christmas with the family since I moved up to NYC four years ago. The excitement I feel right now reminds me of how I felt every year growing up as a child! I seriously cant wait to do all things Christmas with my family! I look forward to listening to Christmas music as we drive around different neighborhoods to look at Christmas lights, Cooking with my mom and I can't wait to wake up on Christmas, have a hot cup of Joe and spend the whole day with Chris and my family! I believe it will be the best Christmas ever :)
I'm almost done shopping for everyone, there are just a few more things I have to get from my list but that will most likely have to wait until I get to FL. I even think my Christmas gifts I've gotten for everyone so far are all pretty awesome!
Since I've been on Keto this last week, I've eaten a ton of delicious foods! (Check out my Instagram for lots of foodporn!) I have been trying to experiment with a new low carb, higher fat pancakes and throughout the week and I whipped up these really delicious coconut flax pancakes. They were just the right consistency and were oh so moist! I tried to make 2 pancakes but since I used the small pan they merged into one cake.
Coconut Flax Pancakes
1 serving (1-2 pancakes)
•2 jumbo eggs
•2 tbsp flax meal
•2 tsp coconut flour
•1 tbsp almond milk
•Dash of baking soda
•Cinnamon and stevia to taste
I topped mine with almond butter and the entire meal came out to about 368 calories.
What are you excited for this holiday season?
xoxo-Amber
P.S. Wanna sneak peek into one of my 10-Day Detox programs that uses the elimination diet? Sign up to get my FREE 3-Day Detox and jump-start your weight loss now!
Let's connect on:
Yesterday I woke up to the flattest non-Buddha belly this body has seen in months! I immediately grabbed my phone to take a photo and lined it up to my other photos from 4 weeks ago. I forgot to weigh myself at the time because I was so excited over my progress, so when I woke up this morning I jumped on the scale and to my surprise I've already hit my 5lb weight loss goal a week early from my December 20th goal date! I was beyond happy to see 140 on the scale, because It's been months since I've seen that number! This happened because I kept a clean diet and got back in the gym I the gym regularly. I even had to take off 8 days from the gym last week to recover from bronchitis and still made progress! Another thing I've done this month is to set mini goals with my accountability partners. I decided to cut out all the alcohol until the 20th, which I usually have once or twice on the weekends, and on Sundays I normally enjoy chicken nachos or pizza for my weekly cheat meal so I've also decided to cut out the cheese for the month!
On Monday I started a Cyclical Ketogenic eating plan (high fat, moderate protein, low carb) and I feel great! I'm going to keep this up while I'm on Christmas vacation and save special dinners for my high carb cycling days that way I don't miss out on all the fun!
My best advice for anyone with weight loss goals is that results don't happen over night but they can happen quicker then you think as long as you make a commitment to your health! You have to decide what is most important to you right now, is it the holiday the treats and booze or is it the way you look and feel? You don't have to wait until after the holidays to get back on track, start NOW!!
What are your best tips for staying on track during the holidays?
xoxo-Amber
P.S. Wanna sneak peek into one of my 10-Day Detox programs that uses the elimination diet? Sign up to get my FREE 3-Day Detox and jump-start your weight loss now!
Let's connect on:
Awakened Nutrition & Training | Personal Training in Denver and Nutrition Coaching
At Awakened Nutrition & Training we are on a mission to help busy women and men like YOU discover the tools needed to lose fat, get stronger, and live a more energized life!
Hi there! We are Chris and Amber Hale, a husband & wife coaching team dedicated to helping you improve your health through food and fitness! We are a certified personal trainer and certified holistic health coach based in Denver, CO.
