 Do you see those two runners on the right side of this photo?
We saw them as we walked last night, picking up trash as they ran. Whatever garbage they saw along the road, they grabbed & held onto until they reached a trash can. What a beautiful reminder of how we can all make a difference in some way.
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Big hair, Big care. Caring about you getting that feel-good workout in that is!
^ They talk about Dad jokes, but can I get a Mom joke? But seriously, I need motivation to keep up those workouts! Consequences: a big thing for me. 🔎What happens if I don't workout? 🔑I know I'll feel blah. I know I won't be as focused nor energized for the rest of the day. Over time, I'll lose strength, I'll feel worse in my daily tasks, I'll be more at risk for injury and/or take longer to heal from issues. 💡See, there's an interesting thing about exercising: we feel 'too tired' to do it, yet in doing it, we get more energy (*caveat being over training etc, so if that's you, then we need a different conversation to give that body some proper TLC). 🔎 What happens if I do workout? 🔑 Increased energy, happiness, focus, productivity for the day. Strength, safety, ability to do more, and for longer. And while I love working out in the mornings, whenever you can get in the habit of making it happen that works for you is great. **What's your main motivation for working out??** [If you feel like you could use some guidance & foundational work, check out The 101 Series orBBK On-Demand}
Protein-filled snacks for a healthy, quick boost~
What are your favorites? Have any to add? Let me know! If you'd like to order any of these, you can click below for links to the snacks!
(I do receive a small percentage for using these links, but not from the companies-- the opinions on the greatness of these snacks are my own! )
Have you ever noted the connection between your home organization and your health? It's a huge correlation, and I loved getting the chance to talk with home organization expert Laurie Palau about it all on her podcast, This Organized Life!  From the show notes by Laurie:
During our conversation, Kate and I discuss:
Looking back now, I wish I had a different perspective on what fitness looked like and how I could fit it into my life. Hope you enjoy this discussion. There are so many parallels between a calm home, our mental health, and taking steps forward for our physical health. Would love to hear your comments. Reach out to me on Insta @be.bykate or by the contact form above!
Yes, it exists. Seriously.
Wait, it gets better. It's only FOUR ingredients. What?! I know, I dove in not knowing what the results would be, but they were SO good I had to share with you. You know I love finding healthy but delicious snack and meal options, and my go-to fruit and protein mixes are made by me daily, but a dessert I can bring to a gathering that doesn't have SUGAR added? This is gold. I was charged with bringing a 'chocolate-y dessert' to yesterday's Thanksgiving gathering, so I went on the hunt to find a healthy alternative. The result was beyond what I could have hoped for. Even the gourmet chef at the table complimented it! (Not tooting my own horn, all the kudos goes to the person who came up with the recipe-- link below.) 1. Dates 2cups, blended into a paste (the only challenge-- you could also buy date paste-- link below) 2. Cocoa powder 6Tbsp 3. Baking powder 2tsp 4. Eggs 3 large Blend it all together, pour in springform pan, back 30min at 350. THAT'S IT. Optional frosting made with maple syrup (the only added sugar, and it is optional and only 3Tbsp for the whole topping-- you could use less, too), cacao powder (filled with nutrients), and coconut oil. Full tasted like a fudge-y flourless chocolate cake. Amazing. This is the recipe here. If you make it, let me know here or tag me in a post @be.bykate! Photo? No. I was so excited to bring it to the gathering, I completely forgot! But here's the gorgeous table setting at our dear friend's home. See more about her stunning styling here.
date paste link
Okay, so maybe that title doesn't quite have the ring to it we hear in Wizard of Oz, but those three exercises are what we are honing in on in today's post.
Additionally, hopefully these variations will remind us all that there are so many ways to work a muscle group. If something doesn't feel right to you, after ensuring you are doing everything 'correctly', then it is time to seek out other variations or other exercises completely. Reach out to me or another trusted fitness professional if you have questions. Below, let's look at some ways to progress these common and beneficial exercises. If you are just starting out, you may want to check out The 101 Series, where you can take things back to the basics and ensure form, safety, and understanding. PLANKS These guys could be an entire novel in on themselves with the amount of variations available it seems, but I wanted to share just two today-- two really powerful progressions. Adding a stability ball. (Safety first! A ball is an unstable surface.) Whether staying in place on the ball or adding a slow movement in the arms, you're abs will be on fire Important details: -Again, safety first. This is an advanced exercise. Everything at your own risk. -Long torso-- drawing belly away from floor, neck in line with spine, breathing. -Gentle and slow when going into this and out of this (I suggest starting and ending on your knees)
LATERAL LEG WORK
While I wanted a more straightforward exercise name here, since two of these progressions involve more than the standard side leg lift, I went with the more generalized title. Here, find that classic and good for us side leg lift, but also see variations that involve more muscles in the legs, hips, and glutes, as well as an addition of a resistance band to make the classic exercise much more challenging. Important details: -Keeping hip stacked-- aka don't let the top hip roll back, especially challenging when doing a circle or forward/back movement. Contract the glutes and think 'forward' with that top hip. -Leg lift is parallel not turned out-- aka your knee faces front not up, and it's the side of the leg pressing toward the ceiling -Control--Tempting to rush and 'plop' in between. Don't! -Breathe. Always breathe.
Link to: Fitness Loop Bands
BRIDGES
Great work for the glutes (butt) and hamstrings (back of upper legs) as well as bonus feel good work for back and release in shoulders and neck. Important details: -Only add the variations below if you can maintain the contraction of the glutes when pressing the hips up -Think about lengthening the hip flexors as you press up -Back is neutral on ground in between, no flaring up of rib cage/popping up of low back
As always, everything here and on the videos at your own risk. Safety first.
Organic does not mean it’s healthy Gluten free does not mean it’s healthy Made with whole grains does not mean it’s healthy Fat free does not mean it’s healthy The list goes on! So what the heck do they mean? “Organic” Oxford tells us organic is defined as “produced or involving production without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other artificial agents.” So yes, if all other pieces of a product are the same, but one is made purely from organic ingredients and one is not, then the organic version is the healthier choice. But, if the food we are talking about is loaded with sugars, processed, laden with ingredients that are not exactly nourishing, but the item is technically ‘organic’, would you call that healthy? “Gluten Free” Gluten free simply means there is no gluten in the item. It has nothing to do with whether or not the item is ‘good for you’. No gluten, but loaded with sugar. No gluten, but a terribly poor quality piece of meat. No gluten, but smothered in butter. See how simply stating there is no gluten does not mean the food is a great choice in a day’s diet? Gluten free is a label for people who need to or choose to take gluten out of their diets, and not a label that tells us whether or not the item fits into my or your overall healthy diet. “Made with Whole Grains” Oh how this marketing stunt drives me crazy! “But the box says it’s made with whole grain, so that means it’s healthy,” is a statement I’ve heard more than once from people trying to make healthier choices but without the education beyond what a marketer promotes. Do you remember when the whole grain shift started and marketers dove into making sure that any processed good that had above the minimum requirement of whole grains to have this notation had it prominently placed on the front of the boxes? I do. Fantastic to have way more products than in the past using whole grains in their ingredients– I am so happy about that– but it is skewed in that often people assume that ‘made with’ means it is good all around. Sadly, there is a small amount of whole grain that needs to be in a product in order to use that phrase, leaving the rest of the ingredients list to still be filled with ‘unbleached wheat flour’, “enriched wheat flour”, and other varieties now stripped of their nutritive properties. Of note: ‘made with whole grain’, ‘whole grain rich’, ‘whole grain’ each have different legal requirements of the minimum amount of whole grain involved to make the claim. We want to strive to be educated and aware of what we are putting into our bodies, and these slight variations in wording have big effects in the ingredients. What do we want to look for?? The first ingredient should be a whole grain. The list of ingredients to be short. To see if there are a lot of ‘extras’-- additives, sugars, syrups, words you can’t pronounce… The less processed and the more ‘from the earth’ the better. A grain before it is processed and stripped of its nutritional benefits. “Fat Free” Take out all the fat from a processed food, what else has to be done for it to still taste like you hope it will taste? Often, when a manufacturer takes out the fat, they add in sugar, artificial fill-in-the-blanks, chemicals… For the most part, only foods that are naturally fat free (i.e. apples, spinach, etc.) haven’t been altered in order to procure a ‘fat free’ label. Does this mean everything that has a ‘fat free version’ is inherently a poor choice? No, but it does mean we need to look further: what are the ingredients as a whole (sense a trend with this statement?) and is there a reason we need to cut back on fat, or is the full or low fat version fine for us? Which leads me to: ‘Fat’ does not equal ‘bad’. We all need fat in our diets, and the healthier the fat options the better (that’s for another post!). The problem is how America as a whole tends to consume it: too much, and often the poorest qualities of fat. On the other hand, limiting our fat intake too much can result in eating more calories from lack of satiety as well as health problems that can come from not having healthy fats in our bodies (weakened immune systems, vitamin deficiencies, and more). Check out the recommended daily values for you, and then find healthy fat sources to use in your diet (olive oils, avocados, etc.). “Atkins”, “Keto”, “Paleo”, any of the others ‘diets’ branding Have manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon with these guys or what? Everywhere, I see new products coming on the market with these words tacked on to or as the title. I’ve seen protein bars labeled as the above with so many ingredients in them that the font has to be barely readable in order to fit it all on the package. I’ve seen tiny bars with over 300 calories, which most of us just do not need in a single bar (there are plenty of exceptions here, of course). Again, if you haven’t figured it out by now in this post, it comes down to an overall picture of the food/product. What are the ingredients? How does this product fit into your day’s calories and nutrition? Is it made with real food, or are the ingredients things you’ve never heard of? Can foods in any of these categories be healthy? Yes, of course. But the label itself does not equal a certain level of ‘healthiness’. Never purchase a product based on the marketing alone. Look at the label, look at the other ingredients and how it is made, try to eat less or not processed foods, and make your decisions based upon a WHOLE entity, not just one aspect of it. This is a very brief overview of a very big topic, so I encourage you to read further from trustworthy sources and reach out if you want to dive deeper into your health journey. Armed with some base knowledge when we go into stores or restaurants, we set ourselves up for many more healthy choices for life.  Thought for the day: Is that pending workout ‘torture’, ‘time you “don’t” have’, ‘annoying’? Or is it a chance to get healthier, an opportunity to boost your energy, and a way to help your mental state…? ;) 
​When traveling, normal 'routines' are often flipped upside down. So we have choices:
Throw it all out the window, take the hangry moments, embrace the digestive issues, and accept that we'll feel 'ugh' when we get home despite the fun places we saw....OR utilize an extra few minutes of planning, and take the energetic vibes, embrace the happier tummy, and accept that we feel good across the board when we get home... Which sounds better to you? Oh I don't mean don't enjoy the fancy cocktail lounge or the seaside crab shack or the gourmet French dinner. But in between, instead of relying on whatever you may or may not come across where you are traveling, have some tools on hand to help keep the body and mind happy. Water: hydrate! And electrolytes help keep the minerals going, especially on hot days or when food intervals are further apart. I love NUUN hydration. Fruit, trail mix, any portable healthy snack. To keep blood sugar stable, to cut down on overeating during meals, and to help avoid grabbing really unhealthy (& probably not even that desirable) foods within reach when hangry is a thing Protein powder! A favorite trick to add to my coffee (or even water if you'd like) to give me a healthy dose of protein as well as cut down on the acidity a bit. I'm loving Earth Chimp at the moment! And of course, MOVE YOUR BODY. Walk (safely) to explore the place you are visiting-- we see things so differently than when flying by in a car. See if there are bike tours. Stroll after dinner to watch a sunset-- don't sit in your rental car! Swim in a lake, kayak and take in the views, the list goes on and on! But safety first always. (& bring that water!) What are your favorite healthy hacks when traveling? Shoot me a message or email! With the added heat and stronger desire to be outdoors, a few quick tips to keep in mind:
  How expensive is airport food, amirite?? But with so much time spent at the airport waiting for your flight, I don't know about you, but I get hungry! Or today, for instance, I didn't have time for lunch between teaching & getting to the airport. So, this morning, I threw together my go-to "salad-in-a-bag" & had it waiting in the fridge to grab & pack. Hear me out! In a bag at home:
Literally threw it all in, shook it up, grabbed a 🍴 we had in the pantry, & I was set. At the airport, yes, after security (you can bring food-- make sure you do!), I sat away from people (covid-safe), & had a delicious, nourishing salad! Checking prices at the airport, those tiny little pieces of chicken thrown in some iceberg lettuce cost $13 😯 I always pack extra snacks when traveling. Save money, keeps me healthy, and you know all of that talk about digestive issues when traveling? The more water, healthy foods, and movement you can add in, the less you need to worry about that, too. Some of my go-to snacks I pack:
Have you tried any of the above? How do you add healthy eating into your travels?  How to make Valentine's Day less about the chocolate and more about the love??
For those of us trying to have less sugar and not more ;) What is the purpose of Valentine's Day? To eat desserts and buy roses? Sometimes it seems like it is, based on the ads and chatter around us. But what is the day really for? LOVE. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. Now I know that doesn't take the chocolates out of the office, or perhaps your kitchen, but maybe this can help our perception (and further, our sugar intake) this day/week... Let's talk about some ways we can focus on the true meaning of this day: -When you feel the pull of the candy dish, put your hand onto your phone instead and send a note to someone to say you care. -When tempted by the 50% off chocolates tomorrow at Target, call someone and talk about how they have impacted your life for the better while you walk in the other direction. -If you are given something sweet, go ahead and treat yourself a bit if you want, but try to keep in mind that the sugar rush won't make us happy-- it is the thought behind the gift from the person who made it/sent it. -It's okay to not eat the whole heart. 20 pieces of chocolate? Keep a few, give away or toss the rest. I'm not a wasteful person, but this is about our health! -Instead of going for drinks or dessert, how about going for a walk or other activity? Ice skating, indoor rock climbing, a concert, an outdoor sculpture garden...there are more ideas around us than we often realize! Sugar is sneaky-- The more we have it, the more we want it. It is hard to take it out of our diets, but when we do, our whole being is stronger for it. Moods lift, energy comes back, the list goes on. Despite what the media promotes, we can focus on those we LOVE today. Writing a card. Sending a note. Picking up the phone. Going for a walk with someone. There are so many ways to bring the love back to the forefront. (And sure, the pretty roses help a bit, too ;) ) How do you celebrate this day? Hello! Wanted to share an article I was just featured in on Bustle, as it contains some really neat at-home fitness equipment. That said, I also wanted to take the opportunity to stress that no matter if you just have yourself or you have an entire home gym, you can get an incredible workout. You do not need fancy tools or any equipment at all to achieve a lot of fitness goals. Equipment can offer variety, though, as well as some ways to advance certain exercises. It can also help reach muscles in different ways, or some of the muscles it is more challenges to sculpt with bodyweight work alone. Equipment can be both beneficial and detrimental to form, so it is always important to ensure you take the time to learn how to use a tool. Enjoy this article (my shout-out is at #21 & 22), and tell me @be.bykate what your at-home set-up looks like: a mat? weights? a whole gym? six feet of carpet that doubles as a child's play space? Let me know!  Less than five minutes to get the back feeling better, stretch out the lower body as well, and never have to leave the floor. Heck, never have to leave the lying on your back position! "Supine on the spine" is how I always remember what that word means-- a nice little rhyme. This video leads you through simple and effective movements to give your back and neck some needed TLC, as well as helping to open up through the lower body as well. There are so many amazing exercises and stretches out there, so if these don't feel good, don't give up. Reach out and let's find what works for your body. The gentleness of these movements make for an excellent choice if you are new to exercise, if you are worried about hurting your back with other stretches, or if you simply don't want to have to move much right away ;) Disclaimer: 𝑨𝑳𝑾𝑨𝒀𝑺 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌. 𝑼𝑺𝑬 𝑨𝑻 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑶𝑾𝑵 𝑹𝑰𝑺𝑲. Thought I'd highlight one specific cardio exercise today: JUMP ROPING. What brought this to mind, is an article I was featured in came out, and as I read it, both my comments and those of other trainers, I was reminded yet again just how much we can do without a gym, without a lot of space, on a rainy day, and in 10 minutes! Sharing parts of the article below. To read the entire feature on Vital Proteins' website, click here.  "Looking for a killer workout that builds endurance and improves cardiovascular fitness? The answer to this is only a hop, skip, and a jump away — literally.
Enter jump rope. Most of us left it behind on the school playground, which is why it's one of the most underutilized fitness tools. It's an incredible cardio workout that gets your heart pumping. "Doing this exercise consistently will strengthen your cardiovascular system and build muscle throughout your full body," says Christine VanDoren, Personal Trainer and Nutritionist. Before you jump in, come learn the ins and outs of this workout that you don't want to skip. " "Jumping rope is a quick and efficient cardio boost." "If you try to do too much too soon, you risk soreness in the lower legs, ankles, shoulders and lower back, adds Kate Cherichello, NYC Certified Fitness Professional and Founder of Be. By Kate. Personal Training & Coaching (not to mention, you don't want to get slapped in the face with the rope). So, depending on your fitness and goals, 10 minutes of jumping rope may be enough, or it may be too much. And, don't feel like you need to jump for 10 minutes in a row." "Cherichello recommends that beginners jump rope every other day, or a few times per week, but not every day. This allows enough recovery time for your body, which is essential to reduce injury risk." "While you're at it, you could make it as part of a cardio workout. "For instance, a 10-minute run, right into five minute of jump rope, into two minutes of jumping jacks, into 30 seconds of squats jumps, then repeating from the top two more times," Cherichello tells Lively. "That will be an intense and fast-moving workout!"" "Try this jump rope circuit by Chakoian. How to do it: Combine this jump rope workout with one of your typical weekly workouts, or complete it on its own. Complete the circuit twice twice. On the second round, start with Round 4 and work backward. You can do the entire workout all at once, or complete one round between sets of your workout. Rest for the recommended amount of time or as needed. Round 1: 45 seconds on with 20 seconds rest Round 2: 60 seconds on with 30 seconds rest Round 3: 90 seconds on with 60 seconds rest Round 4: 120 seconds on with 60 seconds rest" The above excerpted from article put together by Sarah Kester for Vital Proteins. If you are trying a jump rope workout this week, share on Insta and tag me @be.bykate so I can cheer you on! As a trainer, people generally assume I have lengthy gym workouts and strength sessions, when in actuality, the majority of my movement comes from walking. Walking provides such benefits for not only the physical body, but the mind and spirit as well. Walking gives us an opportunity to let our thoughts simply be, and I know I find some of my most creative ideas when walking. I will often pull out my phone and create a voice message so as to not forget these ideas once I get back inside! It allows us to step away from the computer, the task, the challenge, the argument...and allows us to process. When walking outside, we are in nature (yes, even here in NYC). Nature's benefits to us are many. University of Minnesota's research states: "Being in nature, or even viewing scenes of nature, reduces anger, fear, and stress and increases pleasant feelings. Exposure to nature not only makes you feel better emotionally, it contributes to your physical wellbeing, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones." (link here.) Physically, walking is an excellent low impact workout. Oh how I feel the need to correct anyone who states, 'I ONLY walked today.' You walked today! That is wonderful! Keep that up! We do not need our workouts to be the most intense exercise we can come up with. But we do need to find ways to move our bodies every single day. Walking is a wonderful way to achieve this. When looking to increase the intensity and the calorie burn when walking, some ways to do this include: -Varying your speed -Changing your incline -Adding in some stairs Speeding up your walk for one minute at a challenging pace, then slowing down for 30 seconds is an excellent way to increase the calorie burn of a walk. Additionally, by changing your incline, your body has to work harder to maintain the same speed, so the effort and therefore calorie burn increases as well. Try adding walking up hills or finding stairs along your route (safely!). Walking also makes for a fantastic friend date! Chat it up and get moving. The physical and mental benefits again combing. Your friend will thank you, too ;) So go ahead, get outside for a few minutes. If it's pouring, walk around the house. Move! 
"I don't have enough time to exercise." Do you have a few minutes at any point in your day?
​Let me rephrase: do you want to prioritize healthy lifestyle over some other things (scrolling, waking up 10 min earlier, not waiting in a long coffee line, fill in the blank...)? If you can find a few minutes here and there, then you do have time for a healthier you! What can we fit in less than 10 minutes? -Getting out the door, taking a walk, and coming back. -If you're in an apt or office, going down and up the stairs a few times. -Going out in your backyard and kicking a soccer ball around. -Putting on your three favoritepump-you-up songs, and dancing about. -Picking a few exercises, doing 30 sec of each of them a few times through. -Doing my 7 minute wake up video here. -Calm the body for sleep here. There are so many ways we can take steps in 10 min or less! What are your go-tos?
​I shared something on Instagram today I wanted to be sure to share here as well--
You know when you are at the top of the day? I mean ‘top’ as in pinnacle, you got there, you are flying high, things are going your way. Then out of nowhere, the clouds open up, rain is falling, and you are sliding down the other side of the mountain. Whether it is something as simple as being on time for an appointment then suddenly being behind a tractor on a one-lane road en route, or if it is major...I'm not even going to go into the potential examples, I'm sure just thinking about them brings up enough anxiety! But what is so needed to remember in those times, the ‘raining’ times, is that the sun will indeed be back out. Sometimes we can push through the rain-- it’s just a little bit, it’s not too strong, and we can keep pushing until the sun arrives. Other times we need to find somewhere to wait a bit, observe but get out of the downfall...take a dose of self care rather than pushing and just getting soaked so to speak... then as it gets lighter or clears completely, we continue on. What’s that song Alexa seems to get onto every playlist recently? “Sunshine after the rain…†Or as my fav gal Annie says, “The sun’ll come out tomorrow.†These songs never say, “well here’s the rain, it is here to stay, it is never leaving, the end.†And they are onto something, aren’t they? Even when the rail is full-out hurricane, eventually, somehow some way, the sun will shine again. It may not be bright blue skies all day everyday, but it will be there peeking through somewhere…
Here’s to finding the sun behind the clouds,
Kate We spend a lot of time thinking about the work we need to do, are doing, or did... be it regarding working out, our jobs, or everything else in our lives. But do we think enough about rest? Today I felt so 'off'. Do you know those days? You're not sure if you're 'just' not motivated, or maybe you didn't sleep well, or maybe you're fighting something, or cue shrug emoji you're just not quite right...? I went through the checklist of possible reasons, but it just seemed that with the really busy schedule and general feeling of overwhelm that's been present recently had gotten to me, and my body was making it really clear that a day off was needed. But on paper it didn't look like that was needed...Sometimes it is beyond the physical exertion. Mental and emotional stressors, lack of good sleep, how we fuel our bodies-- there are so many more ways we get run down. Sometimes it is the physical, sometimes it is not, but the body knows when it needs a break and has various ways of making that known to us, if we are ready to listen. You are not a failure for not going 100% every single day. We need to refuel and recharge. We were not made to go at 100% all day every day. Even God took off Sunday! So I challenge you to work hard, but to also listen to your body. Is it telling you something? Today mine was "speaking to me" regarding working out, not in my normal cues of being super sore or about to fall asleep standing up, but rather a general "off" feeling. I tried to press forward but my body kept saying NOPE. So I finally I agreed, turned around from my destination, and walked along the water on this glorious day. Yes, I take days off! Body AND mind-- they each need their rest. How have you recognized the need for rest? If in regards to work and personal life, how do you create those pockets of time for rest? Would love to hear your thoughts. And if you don't feel like sharing, just promise me you'll check in with yourself and ask if your are ready to push or in need of a moment's rest :)  |
Be.
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