Cheers to March!

Happy (almost) National Nutrition Month!  For me, March is a great month.  It is the month that dietitians and health professionals celebrate and spread awareness of the great importance of nutrition.  March also means spring is getting close (even though it’s been feeling very spring-ish off and on lately!).  It is the month in which both my mom and sister were born :).  And it is the home month to one of my VERY favorite holidays, St. Patrick’s Day.  

The month of March gives us a chance for rebirth.  For those of you who are Catholic, Lent is now here which leads to Easter and “new birth.”  Whether you are religious or not, you can take the spring as a time to give yourself “new birth” by choosing to live a healthier life. :)  

New Year’s Resolutions are often fading out of site by this time of year, unless you’re someone who took the bull by the horns, so to speak, and can honestly say you’ve stuck to your resolution (high five to YOU!).  Maybe you did.  Or maybe you didn’t.  Or maybe you have some other goals floating around your head that you’ve been thinking about taking steps towards… 

Check out this fortune I opened at PF Changs the other night:

Whether it’s at the beginning of a new year or not, when we get excited about making a positive change, we typically want to dive right in (and sometimes even expect the results to be virtually instantaneous).  Think about your longest long jump.  Now, how about two or three moderate jumps that didn’t require as much energy all at once?  The smaller jumps most likely took you further overall.  

While our intentions are great in wanting to achieve our goals all at once, it’s often more likely that taking the smaller steps will get us to our goals quicker.  And on top of that, will probably lead to the outcome actually becoming a lifestyle change versus a “quick fix” that can fall apart as quickly as it was attempted.  That should be the ultimate goal in ANY health endeavor.  Don’t focus on the quick fix, but on the long run and attaining a healthier BODY that will drive you to have the best life possible. 

With March being National Nutrition Month, I want to challenge you to choose a small nutrition goal, and stick with it through the month. Maybe it’s to eat one more fruit per day.  Or to add in a vegetable at lunch.  To make sure you’re drinking the amount of water your body needs by keeping a water bottle with you and sipping all day long.  To eat less pre-made meals by choosing quick fresh foods to eat instead.  There are all kinds of changes we can make.  But let this month be an excuse to change something you’ve been thinking about for a while.  Then, analyze at the end of the month how you feel, how you progressed.  

If you need some help on ideas, always feel free to comment on here or email me (Maggie.binkley@gmail.com).  

Here are some of the meals I’ve been fixing lately… I must admit, I think they’re pretty yummy!!  

 This oatmeal concoction is a nice blend of old fashioned oats, frozen berries, banana, Trader Joe's Plain Nonfat European-style yogurt (similar to Greek), nonfat milk, egg whites, and Stevia.  Honest - just throw them all in a bowl, mix it up, and microwave for about 2 minutes.  

EASY!  NUTRITIOUS!  YUMMY-LICOUS!  

What's your excuse not to try?  Here are the ingredients (sans the eggs and banana - I forgot to include them in the picture) plus PB (which I typically eat a spoonful of while I'm waiting on the microwave to sing to me).  

For a dinner that's super delicious, as much as it is nutritious, here's a quick idea.  Bag of stir fry veggies (frozen), chicken breast tenderloins, Trader Joe's Healthy Grains Blend (or other whole grains), spices.  Cook the chicken.  Remove.  Cook the veggies.  Combine. 

BAM!  Dinner in a snap.  

(After chicken added)

I'll leave you with a thought about fitness...

Always a pleasure, thanks for reading :)

Maggie

Cardio blues? Ideas to break through!

Everyone has been there at SOME point or another.  If you’re not currently bored with your cardio workouts, and have been seeing the results you want, keep it up!!!  That’s not an easy task for most people.  If, on the other hand, you’ve been dreading the gym at the mere thought of stepping on the ______ (you fill in the blank) one more time, you need a serious cardio-makeover for the sake of your body AND your brain!  Whether you’re bored or not, read on… you might end up trying something new!  

 

• Machine Swap  Try a new piece of equipment.  If you’re sick of the elliptical, jump on the treadmill, stepmill or bike.  People are often scared of the treadmill because of the high impact activity that can be performed there; if you prefer low impact activity, UP that incline and force yourself to walk a tough climb! 
  
  Try a new brand of equipment.  Believe it or not, the Life Fitness ellipticals or bikes actually feel different and have different settings than the Precor ones, for example.
  

•  Vary Your Intensity Increase your intensity and shorten your workout time… try a HIIT workout, for example!  HIIT stand for High Intensity Interval Training.  It is, in one word, EFFICIENT.  It’s also extremely physically demanding and isn’t for everyone.  The key element of HIIT training is that you must push to your actual MAXIMUM effort, not just a higher heart rate, to achieve full fat loss potential (not muscle loss) and calorie burn.  Check out this quick article for more info on HIIT workouts: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=621
  
  Decrease your intensity and workout a little longer.  If you’re feeling burnt out by the hardcore training you’ve been putting in, it may benefit you to take a different approach and workout at a lower intensity for a longer period of time.  Variety is the spice of life, my friend. 
  

•   Make it Social
  Whatever your feelings are about group fitness classes, get over them and give one a shot!  If you’re bored, it could be the perfect solution.  Most commercial gyms offer classes at no extra cost and include formats such as cycle/spin, pilates, yoga, kickboxing, boot camp, muscle conditioning, etc.  If you’re not a member of a gym that offers them for free, check out some places close to where you live.  Or jump on Groupon.com or LivingSocial.com to receive special deals – there are always tons of classes on special!  Not only can they be a boatload of fun, they allow you to not “think” yourself through your workout.  Someone else is at the front telling you what to do, and when you’re not feeling like planning it out yourself, and/or bored with your current routine, what could be better?! 
  
  If you’re already a group fitness junkie, venture out into the gym and test out your workout skills and abilities on your own!  Take a tip or two from the other pointers here… and you should be set with a great workout (and NOT be bored… wow!!). 
  

• Get Fresh Music
  This can freshen up a cardio routine almost instantly when you’re jammin’ to some tunes that haven’t been played to death on your iPod already!  Buy some new music online, a new CD, or try something different by hitting up a discount store like Half Priced Books and choosing from their music selection! 
  
  Or… try doing your workout without tunes.  You may think it sounds crazy, but you might be surprised.  Music can be distracting (which I realize is often the benefit when you’re on the treadmill for an hour), but putting away the music and focusing on your body, its strength, and how you feel can be truly strengthening… leading to a really kickass workout. 
  

• Change Your Mindset
  As we move closer to spring, this is a great time to look ahead and set some new fitness goals.  Maybe you want to race a 5K or complete your first half or full marathon, participate in a trail run/obstacle event, start rollerblading or biking outside, be able to keep up with your kids on the playground… Whatever goal you set for yourself, achieve it!  Mentally having a goal to strive for will help you beat boredom… because you’re not doing your “usual routine” anymore; now, you have a goal you’ve gotta reach.  Oh, and don’t forget to tell people so they hold you accountable for what you set out to do!!! 
  
  
  
  
  

Try one, or all, of these ideas… and I guarantee your workout will be, at the very least, less boring!

Make it a happy Wednesday! 

"Take it to the Limit"

Whenever I hear that phrase, I want to immediately break out my lovely song-bird-like voice and try my best to mimic the Eagles.  This song vividly brings to mind road trips my mom, sister, and I used to take together.  Mom would play it to keep awake on a long drive… and push the [speed] limit to get there just a little quicker.  Mom, thank you so much for this memory :) 

The last several days have presented a multitude of opportunities for me to say YES or NO… or, “take it to the limit,” or not.  One example: Saturday morning.  Cold and snowy, streets pooled with puddles from all the rain we’d had, and the wind honestly stronger than I’ve felt in a while… I set out for my regular long training run.  Alone.  Alone?!  That doesn’t happen too often on Saturdays, but my running group was all running (no pun intended, haha) in different directions this week.  I ran from my house, and turned around to come back home about 0.48 miles in.  THE WIND WAS SO COLD!!!  

I literally said out loud to myself,
“Maggie, you can either be mentally STRONG or mentally WEAK.”  

I made a decision to push my morning-time-wimpy-sleepy-head limits, and keep running.  Once I got to the Monon, the wind calmed down a little and I felt good.  Mentally, I was impressed with myself, and physically I was relieved :)  It wasn’t until I was at my turnaround point that the wind came at me again, pulling snot out of my dripping nose and sending it flying from my face (I never said I looked good!!).  It was a tough run overall, and I may not have conquered the full 16 miles I was scheduled, but I did do 10.25 by myself, in the cold, windy, dark morning at a pretty regular training pace for myself.  The sun was actually breaking through the clouds when I got home, which I considered a gift from above since I had pushed myself to get stronger that morning.  

Bailey with me after my run!

The day just got better from there!  I went to lunch with my mom, sister, best friend Betsy, and her mom, Lynn.  Cheesecake Factory was much desired and appreciated!  Then, we got to see my friend Whitney and her BEAUTIFUL twin babies, Preston & California.  

California (look at that adorable lip!)

Preston (what a cute little man!)

Betsy & I

My beloved sister, Colleen

We’re all blessed in so many ways.  Life doesn’t [ever] come easy, but when we push, and word hard for something… it helps us to see the good more clearly, and appreciate it on a deeper level. 

The last thought I’ll leave you with today is…

DON’T GIVE UP WHAT YOU WANT MOST, FOR WHAT YOU WANT NOW.