Make Food-Prep Fun!

When you eat a lot of the same thing every week, why not make preparing it interesting by including your little ones in the process?  The food may not be different, but the prep will be different every time!

Most of my clients know that I prepare my meats, meals and menus in bulk at least 2 days per week.  That's because I consume roughly 2,000 calories per day of lean protein, vegetables and cottage cheese.  That amounts to a lot of food every day because there's not many calories packed into those items, as opposed to the typical high-fat, high complex carbohydrate, high sugar diet that most people consume to meet or exceed their daily calorie needs. Hint: if you like to eat regularly and want to be on a diet that allows you to chew and feel satisfied often, contact me for more more info!).

One way I try to make my food preparation interesting (maybe not "fun" all the time because my kids are little) is to involve the kids in the process.  They get the vegetables out, watch or help me cut them, help me make meatballs or lean turkey chili, etc.  Lately, they've been really excited about helping me in the kitchen.

I didn't even think about having them help, until one of my clients asked for a recipe of mine (albondigas soup) and sent me photos of her little son, who is the same age as my daughter, helping her make it.  Thanks to Cecile, I now have a bit of help, a bit more mess and some lovely company while I'm prepping my food.

       

Here's my client's rendition of my "everything but the kitchen sink" albondigas soup.  I use lean, low-carb turkey meatballs and practically every vegetable I have on hand, boiled in low-sodium chicken stock with a bit of chili powder, pepper and granulated garlic.  Doesn't her son look so cute helping out?!

Challenge Winner's Story

One of my newest clients decided to take on my "vacation challenge", and she was one of the winners!  The challenge was to submit photos every day to show that he/she did NOT take a vacation from his/her workouts and nutritional plan while I was gone.  She sent me something every day, and that made me very happy -- and proud that she took me seriously.  The more important result is that her measurements showed that in 5 weeks she has lost 11 pounds of fat!

This beautiful homemaker and mother of three has the drive and focus to maintain her diet and exercise the rest of her life.  I'm happy to be a part of the process of getting her kick-started.  She jogs most mornings, does an abdominal workout, a total body workout with me, and does a workout plan that I have created for her to do on her own at the local gym.

 

 

The super cool secret she let me in on is that she hasn't been this weight since her senior year in high school ... And she weighs 20 pounds less than she did when she walked down the aisle years before she even started having babies.  She is blessed to have the time to devote to her diet and exercise plan, and her family is blessed to have such a strong, determined and healthier mom.

I'm so happy to be her trainer and friend!!

Vacation Challenge

Hi Friends.  My clients are trying to earn a free session by sending me photos every day of themselves exercising and/or eating right while I'm on vacation.  I tell ya - it is keeping me on the straight and narrow! Here are a few of the pics I've gotten so far from different clients:

In her sixties and committed to her health!

Busy mom, student and educator getting it done!

Celebrating the few days leading up to her 40th by honoring her body with good food choices!

Tire Thursday! Another Lovely Day with the Tire Workout.

I couldn't get enough of seeing my clients work my 18-wheeler tire.  So, I put my fitness competitor to the test.  Here's a quick video:

My Turn on the Wheel

I hadn't done Wheel Wednesday with the barbell (50 lbs), so I decided to jump in while my guy client was taking a break.  It wasn't so bad, actually.  I thought it would be wicked hard because my client is so strong on his lower body by comparison, but I think my endurance and core strength made up for it.

Wheel Wednesdays (aka. Our Tire-Dragging Workout)

I have a crazy 40 year-old guy client (just about as crazy as I am) who helps me come up with harder, more loco tricks to do with weights and body movements to build his muscle and lean out.  Mondays are upper body, Tuesdays are legs, Wednesdays we use our tire and chains and barbell, Thursdays are off and Fridays are chest and back.  Saturday and/or Sunday I expect him to swim or cycle.

Here are some pictures of what we do with our tire -- I call it "our tire" because he helped me pick it up (in the rain) and gave me the ideas for the chains, hooks and barbell:

Trying Something New

A few of the trainers at Crunch were standing around chit-chatting near the equipment that I wanted to use, and one of them accused me of showing off.  I don't need to show off at my gym.  I'm not looking for attention ... unless it's from a prospective client who might be interested in training with a woman who legitimately exercises to stay in shape.

I was just trying something new, having fun with the equipment on my "bonus workout day", when all of a sudden a female trainer friend came up and asked if she could take my picture.  It was kinda hard to pose for these pictures, but I think they came out quite nicely.  Super fun!