"Mommy the Salad" (a.k.a. "You Are What You Eat")

My two-year-old loves making up nicknames for people in our family.  Daddy is "Daddy the doctor" or "Daddy the Raffi", her sister is "Abby the Sissy" or "Abby the Boo-Boo", and I am "Mommy the Salad".

My name is Allison, but my little one thinks it's Alice, like "Alice in Wonderland".  Somehow, her little brain has transposed the sounds in the name Alice to sometimes sound like "salad".  So, she often introduces me saying, "Mommy's name is Salad."

I don't correct her in front of anyone within earshot because I actually like her calling me "Salad" or "Mommy the Salad".  It means that somewhere deep down she associates me with salad, which I eat multiple times per week.  She always sees some sort of lettuce or vegetable medley on my plate, breakfast, lunch and dinner.  My body at all times is digesting and integrating into each cell the healthy nutrients of my consumed vegetables, so in effect I am "the salad".  I take pride in that, and I regret when I don't eat enough veggies in a day (notice I didn't say "fruits and veggies" because I rarely eat fruit -- but that's for another post on sugars at a later date).

So, if you ever have lunch with us (either out at Daphne's California Greek or some other healthy casual dining place around town), you will notice half the plate covered with salad and/or some vegetable mixture ... And you will probably hear my two-year-old ask if she can have some of my "Alice".

Road to Pro

Squeezed into Size 12 "skinny jeans" two years ago -- happy, but uncomfortable.

Training hard at Crunch - heavy equipment needed!

Hitting it super hard for 14 months straight. (Before then, it was multiple medium-weight workouts per week.)

Read the sign above my head.

First competition in May, 2013

Second competition in Nov., 2013

Winner - 1st Place, 2 Divisions

My latest Webisode on Universal Sports.com - I'm the Marathon Runner's Nutritionist

My latest webisode for Universal Sports and Asics.com came out this week! Take a look -- it's about nutrition during a marathon. It's only 3 min. long, so even if you're not training for a marathon, it's an interesting piece to watch. The editor is a good friend, and I think he does great work! Check out Universal Sports and Asics.com for all kinds of sports training tips and advice. 

http://universalsports.com/video/the-last-26-episode-20-meeting-with-a-nutritionist/

Mr. Bad

I LOVE my man!  Here's a photo of our recent date night.  I just thought y'all might want to see my #1 fan.

Oh Yes I DID!

I went on vacation for a week and worked out and/or carefully watched my nutrition every day.  I have no regrets, and I actually dropped body fat!

I went with my husband and little girls to New York (stayed in Times Square) 3 weeks away from my next competition. I was nervous about booking this trip because I thought I would be too tempted to splurge or not have a good time because I was worried about my food.  It was the only time we could go together as a family, so we booked it, and I prepared myself.

Here's how I got through... I brought protein bars (no sugar, low-fat), drank a lot of water, planned my workouts and didn't compromise (except once -- when we were awoken early in the morning by a fire alarm and didn't get back to sleep, I didn't work out later that morning), ate veggies whenever I could.  I stayed in touch with my trainer and accountability friends.

Early morning lifting

Afternoon City Schlepping

Bootcamp anyone?

I'm lining up my next series of bootcamps in the park. I need at least 5 committed people for a 5-session series, every other Saturday morning at 8:30-9:45 a.m. in Burbank.

We warm up, practice jogging, kicking, jumping, monkey bars, etc. ... and a little bit of monkeying around.  I give diet and workout advice all the way through.

Email me your contact info if you would like to be on the list: allibian@yahoo.com

I feel their pain (well, almost)

Watch this!  These guys are amazing, and I get what they're all about... sort of.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O6wMhDRST0