Start the day with a success.
 
If I get a run in in the morning, then my worries about the rest of the day go down such a great deal.
 
It is like my brain says, “We just did this big accomplishment! Whatever else we get done are cherries on top.”  And you know what? So much MORE gets done!
 
Physical and psychological reasons here, if you want to break it down. Physically, moving is getting the muscles warmed up, blood pumping through my body, giving my brain extra help in ‘waking up’ so to speak. Endorphins are increasing, aka the happy hormone, making me feel good all around. Being outdoors is therapeutic, both physically, vitamin D, and psychologically, nature is known to reduce stress.
 
    “endorphin

1. any of a group of hormones secreted within the brain and nervous system and having a number of physiological functions. They are peptides which activate the body's opiate receptors, causing an analgesic effect.”

--”analgesic” literally refers to the relieving of pain!--

Imagine a different scenario….Wake up, still in pajamas, groggily open the emails and see one hundred problems that need solving and where do I start??  Start the day with a success, and it will set you on the right path for the rest of the day.  Bonus if that success involves getting your brain and body WOKEN UP. 

Additionally, by beginning your day with a task that involves more effort than just sitting on your couch or diving right into work, you are sending a multitude of positive signals to your brain.  You are saying, YES WE CAN.  We accomplished this, now we’re ready for what’s next.  And a physically involved task is getting that body warm and woken up, as well as the brain.

If you ‘google’ this topic, there are thousands of results touting the benefits.

What are some similar accomplishments for you?
Taking a walk? A yoga class? Writing outside (no screen, pen & paper!)? Ten minutes of dancing around to your favorite songs?

Something beneficial for your brain and body, that ‘gets things going’ for the day.

 
Here’s to tomorrow!
Kate

Wake up! Faster (& healthier) than coffee, get that blood flowing in just a few minutes. Open the body, stretch the muscles, warm it all up...and in just seven minutes you are ready to start the day. ​

Part Pilates, part yoga, and fully breathing, this is the series I count on to wake up my muscles and brain first thing.

Let me know how it goes!  And if you have any questions, send them my way.

Jeff fell in love with a smoothie bowl at a local place a few months ago.  While we love giving small businesses help, it was turning into an expensive habit. 
What it is? Essentially a thick smoothie with toppings, eaten with a spoon, that costs $11-13 out...and I made in five minutes with ingredients we already had.
You can throw in pretty much anything you have in and make something yummy happen.  If you want low cal high protein, easy. High cal, carb, and protein for building muscle and/or making a full meal out of it, easy.  
What follows is what I put in the pictured smoothie bowl-- which can of course be made into a drink as well, more on that below-- and then some more ideas of using what you may have in the kitchen already or can pick up via online or at the store.
 
What I put in this one--

• -about two frozen bananas
• -about ⅔ c frozen pineapple
• -maybe half a cup of unsweetened almond milk
• -a serving-ish of protein powder
• -dash of turmeric
• -dash of cinnamon
• -big tablespoon of peanut butter (natural of course!)
• -little bit of frozen spinach (just to get greens into Jeff’s mouth!)
• -chunk of avocado
• -teaspoon or so of maple syrup

 
...I think that is it…?
 
The next one I made was similar, but I added --

• -oats
• -pumpkin seeds.

 
On both, I topped with a, I’ll call it, ‘lazy granola’ mix.  I took almonds (I smashed them to make smaller but you can do what you’d like), oats, and coconut oil, put them in a pan on the stove while I put everything else together. Stirred every so often, and then dropped the mixture on top of the bowl.  Nice crunch!
 
For me, I like to try to make the lowest calorie option with the highest protein kick (that’s just my prerogative), so mine looked like this:
 

• -half a frozen banana
• -½ cup ish blueberries
• -⅓ cup ish frozen mango
• -½ cup ish unsweetened almond milk
• -dash of cinnamon
• -dash of turmeric
• -one serving of powdered peanut butter (6g protein, 60 calories)
• -½ cup ish frozen spinach
• -teaspoon of beet root powder
• -scoop of protein powder-- used Clean Lean Protein, a new one I picked up yesterday

 
And then, as I wanted to drink this one rather than eat it in a bowl, I added a bit of water to liquefy it more than Jeff’s versions.  Bowl- less liquid added, Drink- more liquid added.
 
Blend, and voila.  Just top with granola, coconut flakes, cinnamon, whatever you’d like.

Okay, I know this category is 'Health I A Sec', and this is certainly a bit longer-- BUT 30 minutes out of a 24-hour day is not much, and this workout will leave you with heart pumping and legs fired up!

You don't need to spend an hour+ each day working out to see results. Nope. 

Advanced Body Weight Cardio Express
*Lower Body Focus*

NOTES:

MOVE. SAFELY.
^our key points for this workout. I don't explain that much here, this is a follow-along. I'm excited you are joining me!
At your own pace, body weight only, advanced lower body/cardio bootcamp.
If you are a 'beginner', you can absolutely do this! But, you will need to modify as much as desired....not sure how to change a specific exercise? Fill in with something of your choosing.
This workout isn't so much about what exercise you are doing at a given time-- it's that you are here and moving. Safely of course! FORM and LISTENING to your body.. Change things as needed, breathe, step touch or march in place at any time.
Check your area so you don't hit anything :) If you don't have much room, just keep everything more contained.

​
Everything at your own risk. Not all exercises are suitable for everyone. Exercise can be dangerous and can result in personal injury. Any injury sustained from this video or others is solely the responsibility of the exerciser. Kate Cherichello disclaims any liability from injury sustained from the use of posted videos and exercises.  It is recommended to consult a physician before beginning any training program. 

To help you work your upper body w no weights: Push-Up Variations

-Narrow
-Wide  (hits the chest harder)
-Diamond  (hits the triceps harder)
-Staggered

How many?
Well, you have options-- 

1. Do one of each in a row, until you just can't do anymore. "to fatigue"

2. Do 10 of each, 2 times through

3. Pick one, do all you can for 30 seconds. Rest. Repeat (once or twice more).

4. Do 10 at various times through the day


Shake out those arms before and after!


Do you have other favorite variations? 
​

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.  

• Less of a chance of forgetting if you add to it throughout the days, and a much faster stop at the store with everything already written down.

    
    -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!

• Also to my city dwellers, Whole Foods offers free delivery through Amazon Prime if you want to stock up on the less expensive options and not lug them 20+ blocks ;)

-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.

• Often less expensive, and they do not go bad in a matter of days.  Also, frozen foods are picked at a prime time, so you get maximum flavor.
• Check the frozen aisles at your grocery stores.  I know for me, Whole Foods offers the best mix of cost and quality for frozen foods (‘whole paycheck’ no longer!).  

            16oz strawberries frozen: $1.99 at Whole Foods (similar at Trader Joe's)
            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:

• Take out a big pan, bit of water and/or olive oil, toss on any frozen vegetables you want. 
• Grab a can of tuna, or throw a piece of grilled chicken on another pan and cook it. (Or I choose eggs a lot of the time for a scramble.)
• While waiting, clean a sweet potato, carefully put some slits on top, put it in the microwave on ‘potato’ setting. 
• Add some spices of your choosing to the veggie mix.
• Mix in protein of choosing when vegetables are cooked.
• Pour onto plate
• Top with balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese.  Have avocado? Slice that on top, too.

 

• Boom. Less than ten minutes, and you have a healthy meal.

 

• What vegetables?  Seriously, whatever you like.  My ‘most-used’ are spinach, asparagus, and peppers….sometimes brussel sprouts, peas, mushrooms, whatever you have.

-Other quick ways to prep meals:

• Crock pot-- in less than two minutes, throw in protein, chicken stock, spices, and vegetables.  Hours later, without any effort on your part, you have a meal. Tons of recipes online.
• Make chicken or turkey in bulk and save to grab quickly
• Sweet potato in the microwave topped with anything: turkey mixed with tomato sauce, chickpeas and olive oil, mustard, hummus, avocado and sliced chicken, balsamic glaze, chopped up with scrambled eggs
• Make a soup, freeze in portioned out bags to have on hand
• My favorite morning (or anytime of day really) protein & veggie snack to make quickly: recipe here.  I estimate the veggies, no need to spend extra minutes trying to be exact here.

-Snacks for ‘in-between times’:

• Slice an apple, 1-2 Tbsp almond butter with it
• Celery or carrots with hummus ( note serving size for hummus)
• Mix raisins, almonds, walnuts together for a healthy trail mix (note your portions)
• Smoothie: unsweetened almond milk, frozen blueberries & pineapple, pea protein powder, spinach, and BLEND 
• Make a batch of grilled chicken to have a slice of with mustard when desired (great source of protein!)
• Plain Greek yogurt with blueberries and almonds
• Healthier processed snacking: 

            Ba da bean
            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!

Quick tips & tricks:

When running around all day:

• Notice what you are passing
  • If on foot or in car, are you passing by drug stores, grocery stores, quick bite places?
    • Examples:
               -CVS:

                                           -healthy protein bars (RX, KIND)
                                           -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

• Quick bite stops
  • Salad shops: Just Salad, Saladworks, Sweet Green, Panera
    • Be careful when ordering a salad. Dressings are calorie bombs! Order on the side and use just what you need. 
    • Are they adding a lot of salt? Is your protein choice fried? Cheese poured over top? Note these pieces, what can you change? Grilled protein or plain (ala hard-boiled egg). Avocado instead of cheese. 
  • If you feel desperate and go to a stereotypical ‘fast food’ spot, what are your healthy options? Way more possibilities than a decade ago I assure you. Best options? No. But better than a Big Mac! 
    • Good Housekeeping has a helpful article on this very situation. Again, not as good choices as fresh, whole foods, but better than some alternatives!

General helpers:

• Always read labels
• Go for higher protein for a smart energy booster and greater satiety
• Keep up water intake- not only is it just generally ‘good for us’, it helps with hunger cues and energy levels
• Don’t let yourself get ‘hangry’! Keep snacks on hand

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?