Hey guys! My fellow Health Coach Virginia is back to share with us about workout nutrition! If you remember in Part One, she showed us how to eat before and after a strength training workout. Workout nutrition is important in order to achieve specific goals, so today she is talking all about cardio. Grab a cup of coffee and read up!
healthy living
Beach Day Giveaway
Summer = beach days!
Headed to the beach (or lake)? When we go, snacks are always a must have along with a few other things! I’m excited to host this Beach Day Giveaway featuring some good healthy snacks, drinks and some sun protection!
The Three W’s of Workout Nutrition: Part One
If you are anything like me, knowing what to eat before and after a workout can be confusing! I called on Figure Competitor & fellow Health Coach Virginia Horsey to help answer some of these questions!
Feel Guilty About Practicing Self-Care?
Roasted Buttered Salmon
This recipe is easy, delicious and very good for your body! Wild-caught salmon is one of the most nutritious foods on the planet!
Benefits of Salmon:
- High in Protein: a 4 oz filet is approximately 23 grams of protein
- Omega 3 fatty acids: a VERY IMPORTANT part of a healthy YOU. (Inflammation fighter, heart health, cancer prevention, brain health)
When buying salmon, look for Alaskan WILD CAUGHT. While farm raised salmon is fattier than wild caught, most of the time it can be full of poor quality omega 6 fatty acids instead of powerful anti-inflammatory omega 3’s.
3 Healthier Drink Options To Buy At Your Grocery
Healthier Drink Options To Go!
Today we are talking about drink options when you’re out and about.
One of the important things to look at when buying a bottled drink is the sugar content. Most contain WAY more than we need. Growing up as a Pepsi girl, when I started my health journey I had to say bye-bye to that one. Nowadays when I drink something besides water it could be coffee, healthy lemonade, green juice or kombucha. (Although still working on loving the last one;) It works great if you can make your drinks at home and take with you, however that is not always an option, so today I am sharing three drinks you can pick up at your grocery that I have personally tried and liked.
Suja juices: these are fantastic. Organic, cold pressed. This is a brand I recommend if you can’t make your own. They have different flavors and I personally love the green ones. This company has also come out with many new varieties recently. Side note: The thing about juicing is while it is a great nutrient boost, relief for our digestive system, etc; it can also be unhealthy. If you juice mostly fruit, the sugar content will be high. Much more than we need. Since the fiber from the fruit is not there, it will be a sugar rush to our system. (Which is why I prefer smoothies or blending the fruit) Look at your ingredients and choose wisely. Click to learn more.
Bolthouse Farms-1915 Organic: This brand can often times be on sale at our grocery and I will occasionally pick one up. Although I prefer the Suja, this one is another good choice. Once again, check the sugar content.
Kombucha: This is a drink I have had a hard time coming to really like. It is a great option if you are craving something fizzy & carbonated. It also contains probiotics which are good for our gut. Kombucha can also contain high amounts of sugar. The one pictured above has 2 grams per serving, which is super!
There are many bottled drink options available. Just remember when you are buying them to check your labels. Stay away from the ones filled with sugar, artificial flavors & colors, preservatives and other unnecessary crap.
I want to hear from you: WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BOTTLED DRINKS?!
The Lowdown with Paula Roelands
Recently I did an interview with my dear friend, business coach, and Holistic Health Coach Paula Roelands. Read below to find out more about her, her coaching practice and her tips for a healthy lifestyle.
Introduce yourself.
Hey, I’m Paula Roelands! A transplant from Michigan to the Wild West in the desert of Colorado. I’m on a journey of recreating my world; focusing on health not only for myself but many others.
What led you to be a health coach?
I looked at the areas in my life that I loved the most, bundled the best of them together and viola, created a way to bring that into the world to empower and support people, and brings a wonderful ripple effect toward a healthier world that speaks to me deeply. While I have lived a fairly healthy life, I’ve had setbacks of my own which created the desire to support others in getting to the other side of them.. The terrain that you come across, expected or not, whether it’s your health or something else that changes your world upside down, building confidence and gaining tools that you will be able to handle whatever it is, is a pretty cool story to be able to develop.
Explain what being a health coach means to you and to your clients.
From my understanding of a health coach, it is someone who can walk alongside a person who wants to improve their health in general, in the holistic aspect being more than just the diet part of your life and help guide the individual to a better situation for their individual needs.
For me personally, I see it as individual empowerment for myself creating a very intentional conversation with my body and my life and creating what kind of live experience you want to have. And inviting your body along for the ride, cause you’re going to get one. Why not help our body be the best that it can be to get the best experience we can have?
Describe a typical coaching day in your practice.
When I wake up I have an agenda that I have set the day before; that includes self-care, family time, work time and individual coaching sessions. My self-care routine includes dry brushing, breathing, lemon water, then a walk with a friend. After that I have a veggie & protein filled breakfast and kick off my working day by about 8:30 or 9:00 depending on clients. I work on my programs/marketing for a couple of hours before my first clients session. I schedule my client session for an hour, with time right after to do follow-up notes before my next client. On a given coaching day I may have 2-3 clients. One of which will probably be in person and 2 will be by phone or Skype. By 3:00 I’m winding down and setting up for the next day, returning phone calls and doing up follow-up with my strategy sessions. Then chillax 🙂
Can you explain a little more in detail about your strategy sessions that you mentioned?
Because coaching is very much a trust kind of situation, I don’t actually start coaching someone until we’ve had an initial strategy session together. During that session, I spend an hour with them just figuring out what kind of support I can offer them, how interested they are in having that support and seeing what health things they are motivated to work on and really transform. We come up with a couple of action steps for them to implement in the next 2 weeks. This gives us both a chance to learn just how serious they are about making these changes. If they don’t follow up with me, most likely it’s that they are just not ready. And that’s totally ok, and good to know before either of us invest in the work. Where there’s follow through and small successes, that gives great clarity of the immense potential for a success and transformation in a coaching experience together.
Is there a certain area that you specialize in or tend to gravitate towards in your practice?
I have had great success working with clients who are dealing with time management and stress issues. That seems to be an area where we make a lot of progress quickly with sustainable results results that also ripple into shifts in dietary health as well. I also tend to attract people with autoimmune diseases, where I’ve had success in helping folks increase their body healing, reduce medications by shifting toward a whole foods type of diet. I’ve had success working with them to go off prescriptions and incorporating a whole foods type of diet. Thyroid issues, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia are the most common issues I have worked with.
What 3 tips do you have for someone who is wanting to start making healthy changes to their lifestyle?
*Hydrate. Drink more water. The standard I recommend ½ oz per lb of body weight. People notice a big increase of ability to focus and the amount of energy they have in a day. If you have trouble drinking straight water, you can squirt some fruit juice in it to create some flavor. The cleaner the better though. Tea works too, herbal is better than caffeinated.
*Get enough sleep. It sounds easy but this is very difficult for people. it is so important as that it is when your body does its repair work. I do have an article on sleep hygiene that I am sharing here>>>click here for those details.
*Move your body 30 minutes a day. If you have a desk job or sit down a lot, make sure to get up and move for 5 minutes every hour. Not only does it help your circulation, your brain and though patterns clear and re-energize for more effective, efficient work. Taking 5 will give you at least twice as much back.
Paula Roelands is a Holistic Health Coach who guides individuals nationwide to a vibrant, confident, fulfilled life. She also hosts popular hands-on workshops on fermented foods and digestive health as well as engaging presentations on thyroid health, stress management, and fatigue relief. Known as the family “granola girl,” Paula is humored in her culinary experimentation by her patient husband Peter and her children – budding chefs Anika, Pagiel, and Tyan. They enjoy hiking, camping, and skiing – living la vida healthy in the desert on the Colorado Western Slope. Find her on Facebook and check out more info on her website!
3 Ways to Boost Immunity Over the Holidays
The months of November and December can be quite hectic for people! From parties & shopping to end of the year work stuff, the stress of hosting the perfect holiday dinner, lack of sleep and traveling can make the holidays a stressful time. We can end up with a few extra pounds, exhausted, stressed out and sick. It’s quite important to maintain and boost our body’s immunity during this time.
The best way to boost up our immune system is through our food choices, rest and additional supplements if necessary! “Food is Medicine” Fruits and vegetables are immune powerhouses, each containing a different unique set of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Eating a variety of them is a sure way to get a sufficient amount of these essential health supporting elements.
3 Daily Action Steps To Boost Immunity
- Start your day with warm lemon water. It is a great immune builder and aids digestion. It also helps balance your pH levels and flush out toxins. It is important to stay hydrated! Water and herbal teas are my favorite things to drink throughout the day. Aim to drink at least 1/2 your body weight in oz. (Ideally I recommend drinking 1 liter (33.8) oz of water per 50 lbs of body weight)
- Make half of your plate vegetables. You just can’t even hardly explain how important the role of vegetables play in keeping our body in tip top shape. Eat a variety of kinds and fix them different ways to get different properties of vitamins & minerals. Example: raw, steamed, cooked, sauteed or roasted.
- Stay away from processed foods/sugars/breads. These wreak havoc on our systems. They are filled with chemicals that our bodies must fight off. When we are already putting our body under extra stress, it is a good idea to take extra steps to nourish ourselves. That will help relieve some of the work your body has to do.
Bonus tip
- Supplement if necessary. Take a digestive enzyme before consuming a heavy meal, keep your gut healthy with probiotics, include garlic to help fight off colds and to boost immune function and remember to take your multi-vitamin and fish oil. I also recommend taking a Vitamin D supplement as well. Most of us are deficient and this will help ward of the “wintertime blues”.
If you are needing to purchase high quality, potent supplements, check out my online dispensary here.
All in all, relax and ENJOY the beauty of the season!
Immune Tea
Fall has barely started and it seems people are starting to get the sniffles and sore throats already. 🙁 Mix up this herbal immune tea and keep it in the cupboard ready to pull out when you’re feeling a little sluggish or needing a boost!
Health benefits:
- Besides lots of flavonoids and free radical-scouring antioxidants, elderberries contain 87 percent of the daily value in vitamin C, and high amounts of vitamin A, potassium, iron, vitamin B6, fiber, and beta carotene.
- Nettle is full of calcium, copper, iron, folate, magnesium, potassium , selenium & B Vitamins. Pain reliever and improves inflammatory conditions.
- Alfalfa alkalizes and detoxifies the body.
- Peppermint increases stomach acidity, aiding digestion. Useful for chills, headache, colic, IBS.
- Echinacea fights inflammation and bacterial and viral infection. Stimulates certain white blood cells. Awesome for the immune system and lymphatic system.
Elderberry fun fact:
- As a moniker, the term “elder” is derived from the Anglo-Saxon “aeld,” meaning fire, because the hollow stems of this plant were used to gently blow on flames to intensify the fire. “Sambucus” is a Greek word meaning “wind instrument.” Native Americans once used elderberry branches to make flutes, so the tree was sometimes called “the tree of music.
Tea sourcing:
I source all my teas for this recipe from Mountain Rose Herbs. They are organic and have high quality sourcing. Get some here.
Source:http://foodfacts.mercola.com/elderberries.html
Source: Prescription for Nutritional Healing
Spring Greens: Why Eat Them?
Spring greens are in season now and with all the rain we have had lately, they are thick, luscious and plentiful!!
Greens are such an important part of our diet and most of us are not getting near enough. They are high-alkaline foods, rich in nutrients and fiber, they help create a strong immune system and protect us against life threatening diseases. When it comes to greens you can eat an unlimited amount! That’s how good they are for you!
