|
Continuation from my previous post on health(ier) options when in transit for eating. You are home, hooray! But you are not about to spend the next hour plus making dinner when you have finally gotten the chance to have a moment at home after a busy day. Or perhaps it is morning, and you just are not that ‘morning person’ some people are and have ten minutes before you have to leave to catch your train. Have small children and therefore no time, period? So many situations today where we are pressed for time and want to just grab the quickest option to eat-- not necessarily the healthiest... Here are some quick tips & tricks to both getting healthier food into the home and choosing healthier options when eating: -Planning on the go -Have a notepad on your phone? Yes, I know you do. Keep a tab for the grocery store so you can add to it as things pop into your mind, rather than trying to figure it out when in the large and crowded store when you are already tired and hungry.
-If you are in a city and walking past many grocery stores, note what has better prices for what. I tend to look at Food Emporium for their weekly sales, Whole Foods for frozen fruits and vegetables, and Amish Market and Stiles for fresh fruits like apples and bananas. If I didn’t pay attention to these things and just went to the closest store to my apartment, I would be spending a fortune!
-Healthy options on hand -I have heard the comment, ‘but I can’t eat fruits and vegetables fast enough and have to throw them out’. FIX: frozen foods.
16oz organic spinach frozen: $2.29 at Whole Foods (" ") -’Making a balanced meal takes too long.’ No way. There are tons of recipes offered on the subject, but here is my go-to trick to maximize health and time:
-Other quick ways to prep meals:
-Snacks for ‘in-between times’:
RX Bar (½ or whole) KIND bar minis Rice cracker with smashed avocado or almond butter or jelly Quinoa puffs Will continue to add on here, but time to go teach! If you have any favorite tips you'd like to share, comment below!
0 Comments
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." -Aesop- This week's challenge is to make a stranger's day better each day. So simple yet so meaningful. The simplest gesture can turn someone's day around. This is the first of the weekly challenges that is outside of 'me'....it is about someone else. Do we benefit from making someone's day brighter? Oh yes! See how much better YOU feel after you: help someone with a door, compliment her necklace, truly listen with a smile after saying 'how are you today?', hand a homeless man a meal, bring your wife flowers, make cookies for an unsuspecting recipient... Hope you are joining me this week. Let me know how it is going and what new insights you may be finding. I'll check back in this weekend :) ... It's the weekend... Having the extra 'push' in the back of my head to be extra kind to a stranger turned into trying to see how many people I could give an extra hello or compliment to each day. I loved it, and it was especially great to have the push to focus on something outside of myself. Yes, I feel good when I help someone, but it is not about me, it's about them. By helping others, we end up helping ourselves, too. Win-win.   At the end of the HIIT class I was teaching today at one of the Midtown banks, a participant says, 'We come in, feeling tired & sore, then we see for ourselves that we are stronger than we realize.' Yes!!!! Just get in that door! Love this inspired group. They were all tired, it’s Friday afternoon and they have been hitting both the gym AND work hard all week. Yet they attacked with fervor everything I threw at them, and it was AWESOME. What did you do this week that surprised even you? Run further than expected? Spoke up in a meeting? Said no to that second drink? Reacted with love rather than frustration? If you can’t think of anything, keep your mind on the quote below as you move forward... Here’s to a wonderful weekend ahead, Kate   Aren’t those quotable magnets, and the whole rest of the brand, great? Go ahead, find your local gift shop and read through them. Be inspired! Yes, this caterpillar had to work to become the butterfly, but did he ever give up?! I think you know the answer ;-) The caterpillar had to endure the day-to-day of a slow-moving, stuck-on-the-ground, caterpillar life, strengthening himself to gain enough stamina to go through the process to become the butterfly-- the patience while in the cocoon, tight living quarters, adjusting to a completely different world as a butterfly. But he made it! And what an outcome! Flying above the world, soaring from place to place, exploring and observing... Hope you are working toward your passions every day.  These two teaming up for an inspiring interview!
Great 'listen while you workout' piece. What are your thoughts? Favorite quotes? I love many, but here is one: 'How can I make room for both striving and self-acceptance?' :) Quick tips & tricks: When running around all day:
-crackers and hummus -healthy drink options (sometimes!) -GFB (these kept my energy up on my wedding day!) -Grocery: lots of on the go greats. -Fruit to grab and go, along with a bag of raw almonds or walnuts -Pre-cooked chicken strips (read the label first, though! How much sodium? Other added ingredients you can’t pronounce?) -Crispy chickpea or fava bean snacks -Protein shake like Koia or Owyn -RX Bar, other similar ‘high protein, real ingredient’ bars -hard-boiled eggs and mustard -if there’s a Wegmans, check out their food bar offerings
Next time: Tips & tricks for when you feel you have no time: When Home. What did I miss here? Favorite on-the-run snacks or places to stop?   30m each day to WRITE. Go for it. Breathe, Get your day's thoughts on paper, Type up your hopes and dreams, Write a novel. Whatever it is, check into your creative side and help your brain find some clarity... I'll check back in this weekend :) Some more quotes to get you going here. A week later... After a week of dedicated daily writing, I want to check back in. Did you write this week? Are you just reading this now and want to start? I recommend it! It was a great weekly challenge. Committing to focus on writing for 30 minutes a day felt soothing, focused, and inspiring. I also kept thinking about this memory: My teacher for honors English 2, sophomore year of high school, was Emily Cantilina. She was wonderful. I do admit, however, that I cannot recall many of the plots of the books we read that semester, sorry Mrs. C. I remember a lot of other things, though. Including that I am supposed to find a better word than ‘things’ to utilize in writing…. What stands out the most in my mind to this day was the freewriting she had us do. Freewriting: (paraphrased definition) When you open your notebook and write anything that comes to mind. Anything at all. Of course, what is one of the first complaints heard in the room? “I don’t know what to write!” Our teacher’s response: “Write ‘I don’t know what to write.’ over and over again until something comes to mind.” So simple, yet so spot on. Next time you feel the desire to, or just some form of guilt to, write, but don’t know exactly what to write about, try it. You’ll end up getting somewhere beyond that sentence if you keep at it, I guarantee it. Thanks Mrs. C ;) Week Four Challenge will begin Monday: Each day, seek out a positive interaction with a stranger. I'll write more on this tomorrow....Hope you join me in leaving a stranger happier than when you came across him/her! Sleep well, Kate We are all 'in creative fields' in one way or another. Life itself is a creative project no matter how your career is categorized. Creative Mornings publishes a podcast on a variety of topics. Great to listen while you workout: https://creativemornings.com/podcast    Meditation My challenge for week two is to devote 10 minutes each day to MEDITATION. Start date: 2/10. 10 minutes may not sound like much, but it is certainly a challenge for me to focus that attention to something like this! I am using a recommended free resource, INSIGHT TIMER. This morning, I listened to Jonathan Lehmann's 'Morning Mediation with Music'. Will report back by the end of the week! Who is joining me? What resources are you using? Any recommendations? Here's to a more peace-filled and focused week, Kate END OF WEEK UPDATE: Shorter Version: Yes, I really enjoyed this challenge. I know meditation has lots of benefits, but it is something I had previously failed to do in this direct capacity. What I mean is, I focus on my breathing while walking around, I pray, I do yoga stretches, etc., but I don’t just sit in a place devoid of distraction and listen to someone talking about breathing and positive affirmations for a devoted 10-minute chunk of time. Until this week! Anyone else find the moment they try to go to sleep they realize how busy their brains are? I certainly do. The biggest takeaway for me so far has been that these 10-minute chunks of time allow my brain to calm down a bit. I have not been doing the meditation at night, but I am sure that it would help the brain ‘switch off’ so to speak for sleep. Taking a moment during the day, I am finding that it is a nice opportunity for my mind to let things go a bit, calm itself down, therefore calming me down, and feel a bit more focused leading out of it. Also, the focus on breathing deeply for an extended amount of time is so good for us. It energizes us, cleanses the body, and, well, here-- if you are interested in more, let the experts speak. Longer Version: M: Insight Timer used each day. Searched Jonathan Lehmann, who was recommended to me almost a year ago. ‘Morning Meditation with Music’. I’m a fan. Sat on the bench at the end of my bed with my phone on silent (other than the app of course). I enjoyed that he gave me bits to focus on and think about, otherwise I believe my mind would have been quite scattered. T: Decided to see what other meditations I could find. Tried ‘Self Love Meditation’ by Clara Wisner. W: Checked what other meditations Jonathan had. Found ‘Dumbledore Morning Practice’. You don’t have to tell me twice, I’m in. I loved the quote he based this one on: 
Th: Tried another again. ‘Learning To Surrender’ by Sarah Blondin. The beauty of these led practices is how one person may speak to you more than another, but vice versa for your friend doing meditation. This one was lovely, but just not for me quite as much as the prior ones I found. Fri: Today actually came in two parts, as I realized I had such a small window of time before I had to leave. But I decided to do five minutes right then anyway. And then five later. While I was not as calm and re-energized after a full ten, I liked having to challenge myself to stop for two different times in the day ;) Went back to ‘Dumbledore’ ;) After: I plan to continue this. Will look into other types of guided meditation as well (better for me than on my own ‘just closing my eyes’ for a set time). How did this go for you? Did you find any guided meditations you can share? NEXT WEEK: Write for 30 minutes each day. I find writing soothing and enjoyable, and since it feels like a luxury rather than a necessity, my productivity urge sets in and says, well I have to do XYZ first….which usually turns into, XYZ and QRS and ABC. And there goes the time to write. But I enjoy it and it is a healthy way to bring calm and focus (seeing a trend with these challenges?)-- so the Week Three Challenge is to WRITE. 30 min minimum. Who’s in this week? Or do you have a variation on this theme you’d like the impetus to make happen-- perhaps you find enjoyment in yoga but feel it isn’t ‘productive enough’ to add it in to your regular gym workout and work day? Or painting? Or pottery? What is your version of writing? -- From the article linked above: Does Deep Breathing Really Do Anything? Deep Breathing FundamentalsWhen you take a deep breath in, your heart rate quickens slightly. As you exhale, your heart rate slows. Repeated deep breaths will naturally bring your heart rate more in sync with your breath. This leads your brain to release endorphins, which are chemicals that have a natural calming effect. But if you’re stuck shallow breathing, that endorphin release doesn’t happen. It’s no coincidence that deep breathing is the groundwork in so many types of meditation. This calming effect can be so significant that there’s research linking meditation to a reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms; as well as improved sleep and focus. And it all comes back to the breath. But that’s not all that happens. Meditation and the BrainSome studies show that meditation can change the structure of our brains and improve neuroplasticity. This could be due to the fact that the brain is so oxygen dependent, using 20% of the body’s oxygen supply. And just like any other body part, if it doesn’t get what it needs, symptoms can manifest. So, a deficit in oxygen could cause you to feel foggy, unfocused, or on edge. None of this is to say that taking a few deep breaths now and then will cure your depression, but more so this type of breathing practice might stand to be a useful coping tool for lessening symptoms for a range of issues. If you’re ready to give deep breathing practice a try but you don’t know where to start, here are a couple of options you can try right at home. Quick ideas for staying healthy on vacation Will be more on this in future posts, but to begin: I hear it often: “Ugh, I loved my trip but now I feel off the wagon!” You can still love your trip but keep the ball rolling with health and fitness. It takes only a bit of extra planning and time. Worth it. Read on: Categories today: -Food -Fitness FOOD. Tricks to keeping your body happy:
FITNESS. You don’t need to spend an hour of each vacation day in the gym to keep your goals in motion:
Just 20 minutes of your day makes a huge difference! Do you have any #travelfit tips you would like to share? Let me know, Kate ^fabulous hike in Hawaii
 How much of society accepts less than their best? And I don’t just mean in day-to-day things, as I know I am not always performing my best, be it time management, a class, etc., but more in terms of accepting life. People yearn for the other side’s ‘grass’ so to say. We can all take steps to make our own grass greener right here. Yes, limitations are all around us, but opportunities also exist all around to take steps in a positive direction. Book of inspiration for today’s post: David J. Schwartz’s THE MAGIC OF THINKING BIG Here are Schwartz’s Six Steps for developing and strengthening our creative thinking ability:
Awesome already, and this is just one excerpt. Here are some of his other quips (worth printing some and taping to your bathroom mirror, no?): Cure Yourself of Exusitus, the Failure Disease Build Confidence and Destroy Fear
“Being confident in yourself is another way of banishing your fear. Confidence is not something that people are born with, it is developed; And developing it requires a little effort on your part. The best way to build confidence is the “fake it ’till you make it” approach. In other words, to think confidently, act confidently. Schwartz quotes the great psychologist Dr. George W. Crane who said, “Remember, motions are the precursors of emotions. You can’t control the latter directly but only through your choice of motions or actions…Go through the proper motions each day and you’ll soon begin to feel the corresponding emotions!” This example can best be seen with smiling. It’s hard to feel sad if you try to smile as hard as you can. [Go ahead try it ] The same holds true with confidence. It’s hard to be shy and uneasy if your body is telling you you’re confident.” [excerpted from LifeTrainingOnline] You Are What You Think You Are THINK BIG If you are liking the sound of this book, I recommend listening to the audio version while working out! It’s great cover to cover. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Here's to YOU! Kate  And some of the bits I’ve highlighted in my book over the years:
“…success is determined not so much by the size of a person’s brain as by the size of his thinking.” “Some of the most practical success-building wisdom is found in that Biblical quotation stating that faith can move mountains.” “Believe you can succeed and you will.” “And believing you can succeed makes others place confidence in you.” “1. We underestimate our own brain power, and 2. We overestimate the other fellow’s brain power.” “Smile big.” “Be a ‘front seater’.” “Most of them seem to define the word success as synonymous with security.” A requested post! I love it!
“How do I get motivated to run in the mornings?” That was the question posed to me. Let’s broaden it a bit, too: “How do I get motivated to workout, period?” You are snuggled into your nice, warm bed, and then that alarm goes off…an hour earlier than yesterday. Today, however, you are getting up that hour early to get in a workout before heading to the office…to start the day ‘right’…though it is so easy to just hit that snooze button for another hour… It is lunchtime, and you have a gym across the street from your office with a 30-minute Spin class beginning in ten minutes…That still leaves you twenty minutes to shower, change, and get out that protein shake…But it would be so easy just to go down to the cafeteria and hear the latest gossip… It’s the end of the work day. Gym or home? Hard decision when you are tired after a stressful schedule of meetings and memos… Yet what is one of the best stress-busters…? Challenges! Every day! So how do we prepare for these and conquer? Here are some simple ways to help the MOTIVATION FACTOR: - Schedule friend dates - Think of the consequences, both positive and negative (but really, focus on the positive, you’ll be better off because of it) -Go to the gym = Energy, Endorphins, Feeling proud, Bragging rights ( ;) ), Steps taken toward my goals, Calories burned, New weights lifted, Overall feeling = fantastic -Don’t go to the gym = Dragging the rest of the day, Regret, General feeling of meh -Pay for it -Sign up for a class where you will lose the money if you do not attend. I sure think that’s motivation! -Just get your feet on the floor -If you can convince yourself (in regards to morning workouts) to just do that, the rest will happen more easily. But don’t psyche yourself out thinking too far ahead- JUST do the first step. Just get your feet on the floor. -No hitting the snooze button -Studies caution that it would be better to sleep the extra 10, 15 minutes, rather than “doing that dance with the alarm clock” (WSJ). -Join a group -There are run clubs, bootcamps, and sports leagues all over this country. Join in! Suddenly, not only did you take the step in signing up, but you have a community of others who also have goals and motivations of their own. Accountability? Check. Something enjoyable and notthesameoldtreadmillworkout? Check. New to a city? You have found new friends. Heck, you might find a great networking opportunity to help your career….or even a husband/wife….Come on, you never know! -NYRR -Meetup -Zog Sports -So many, new groups every day across the country -Get a dog. Okay, maybe this one is because I just would really love to have a dog…BUT, if you have a dog, you automatically have a really good excuse to get outside….Not just excuse: obligation. That guy needs his walk! (And you get to breathe in some fresh air while you’re at it) Here’s to a motivated new day, Kate CHALLENGE: For five days straight, do an additional something that may be beneficial to my well-being. I’m doing an experiment. Each week setting a new, small challenge, a dose of something potentially beneficial for my well-being, and each weekday doing this new challenge. Five days straight of whatever it is. Five days isn’t that long, it is just a dose to try out this challenge and see what happens...then if it is a step in a positive direction, those five days may become more….and perhaps inspire you, too! Watch for the update each Sunday, as well as what the next week’s challenge is going to be. Let me know if you have suggestions! Week One For this week, I made a commitment to go to workout right away upon waking each morning. Why? I workout daily, but sometimes I start working and let my day get away from me too much, then find I do just a quick workout later on, antsy all the while before it. When I get the workout in early, my mind and energies are more focused. When I let so much of the day pass before hitting the gym, I end up feeling scattered during work and frustrated that I did not begin the day with exercise to get that blood flowing and the endorphins going! The challenge for me lies in actually getting there right away. When I wake up, what my body wants to do is sit with coffee and open articles to read, not to jump around. I used to teach first thing in the morning, really early, and, as hard as it was to get up that early, it really did give me an amazing boost to start the day. I always left the workout feeling great. Now that I often have mornings working from home, it is tempting to wait to work out...but then I am not as focused, not as energized, AND have a tendency to snack much more… Five Days Later: So how does it feel after consistently working out first thing each morning? Confirmed, energy and focus better. Also, there is no stress about trying to fit in a workout at other times. The not-as-positive parts include an anxiety of ‘I have to’ make it there asap, and not getting as strong a workout because of my body still in a sleepy, tired mode. Recommendation? Totally get to the gym asap-- BUT, asap can mean slightly different things. I’d like to say, within the first hour or so of waking. I know this isn’t possible with every person’s schedule, of course. If your body needs the first cup of coffee to ease into the morning and you can spare that time or wake up a bit earlier to make it happen, do it. If you don’t have much morning time, I would definitely recommend JUST GETTING SOMETHING GOING. My body and brain feel so much better after a workout, and, for me, it is always better to get something in, be it a ‘big’ workout or ‘small’ one, first thing in the morning. Disclaimer: Some people have been working out at lunch or in the evenings for years and are happy with that schedule. If that works for you, keep that going! Each person is different, and there tend to be ‘morning workout-ers’ and ‘later on workout-ers’, to give the technical terms, obviously. I am in the former category, and need that boost early on to begin the day on the right foot. What it all comes down to? MOVING YOUR BODY DAILY. Whatever schedule works out for you :) NEXT WEEK: Challenge I am planning is to do a 10-min meditation every day. While this sounds easy to some, I’m sure, I have been avoiding trying this for years-- Why can I get lost in articles for 20 minutes, but the idea of closing everything for 10 sounds so hard? Exactly why I need this to be my next challenge. If anyone wants to try this with me, let me know! I am planning on using an app that has been recommended to me: Insight Timer. Have a fabulous week, Kate  Sharing this today, and I have no idea where I happened upon it, so if someone sees this and says, ‘I know who created this list!”, please let me know so I give appropriate credit! We are just over a month into the new year. The last week of December, I went through this list and answered these questions for myself. This morning, I went back and reminded myself, a great help for focus, to re-read these goals and thoughts. If you have not done something similar for 2020, give it a try-- I found it helpful! Let me know if you do, too. ********** 1. What is one hope for 2020? 2. What do I want to stand for? 3. What are my core values and beliefs? 4. What am I most excited about in 2020? 5. What is the number one goal for my relationship with myself? 6. Number one goal for my romantic relationship? 7. Number one goal for my career? 8. Number one goal for health and well being? 9. What changes do I want to make in the rhythms of my life externally moving forward? 10. By the end of 2020, I will…  Those who have less, Giving more. Short but powerful watch today: GIVE.
A playlist that keeps me going when running or at the gym!
I'll share more over the upcoming weeks! What are some of your favorite songs to attack the day with? I love recommendations! |
Be.
|
RSS Feed
