Smell the popcorn

Oh friends, what a day.

me

Nothing bad happened or anything like that, but I am done-skie after work. It feels very nice to curl onto the couch with a hefty bowl of popcorn. [<—seasoned with nutritional yeast, garlic, chili powder and sea salt. Try it- so good]

My schedule changes every day, and today I had 4 1/2 painful hours in the weight room. Since there isn’t much to do (clean machines, offer guests water), I get really antsy and my mind started racing all over the place. My mother-in-law gets here Friday night –so excited to see her!- and our housewarming party is Sunday, so as you can imagine, things are going to be a little cray cray around here. I kept thinking “I need to do this after work today, this before work tomorrow, this on Friday, blah blah” so after driving myself crazy, I gave myself a pep talk.

“Focus on right now. The only place you can be is here, right now, so take a deep breath, let it all sink in and appreciate the moment.”

I made a to-do list, stuck it in my pocket and felt 1000x better.

Some eats:

patty

A perfect protein… patty!

This is what happens when you don’t have enough almond milk to make full-up protein pancakes. The final result was a dense, protein-y disk, which actually tasted pretty good smothered in almond butter and jelly 🙂

patty (2)

Lunch was an apple, seaweed snacks and leftovers from last night:

lunch

Leftovers = brown rice and bean jambalaya from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan

jambalya

*steamed the shrimp on top of the jambalaya in the last 5 minutes of cooking- they came out perfectly 😀

Snack attack:

yogurt

I’m about to demolish this bowl of popcorn.. and maybe brush the garlic out of my teeth before the Pilot gets home 😉

See ya in the morning <3

xoxo

Gina

When was the last time you gave yourself a pep talk?

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51 Comments

  1. Caitlin (the quest for fitness) on August 24, 2011 at 9:08 pm

    when i was a kid, i lived on pb&j on rice cakes!

  2. Laury @ thefitnessdish on August 24, 2011 at 9:09 pm

    that popcorn sounds good! Kick back and chillax..you deserve it, chica!

    Oh..I am having nightmares of the days I worked in a gym on a 4 hours floor shift. I feel your pain. Love the pep talk. So true!

    So mad I didn’t grab those sea snax at TJ’s a few weeks ago..they looked so good now I see them all over the blog world!

    • Fitnessista on August 24, 2011 at 9:11 pm

      it’s seriously sooooooooo boring

  3. Shaya on August 24, 2011 at 9:11 pm

    I love the nutritional yeast + popcorn combo too! one of my favorite snacks 🙂

    I’ve had to give myself a pep talk nearly every day this week– just to make it through my classes haha.

  4. Sabrina on August 24, 2011 at 9:12 pm

    I just vacuumed out the floor of my closet and sprayed it with some nice stuff and aired it out and WOW it smells SO nice in there. Also reorganized the whole thing. Thanks for the inspiration.

    Last pep talk? TODAY. I needed to give myself a talk to make myself get off the couch.. no joke.

    • Fitnessista on August 24, 2011 at 9:13 pm

      wow, way to go! i’m about to start the upstairs clean-stravaganza riiiiiight now
      haha you and me both, girl. buckling my sandals has become a major project

  5. Hillary on August 24, 2011 at 9:13 pm

    I’ve given myself a pep talk every day this week so far. I’m a teacher and it’s our first week back to school, and I’m just trying to start the year on a positive note. Every time I start to get off track and thinking negative or bitchy thoughts, I’ve been pulling myself back to what really matters and what really needs to get done. So far so good!

  6. Morgan @ Some Kind of Sunshine on August 24, 2011 at 9:19 pm

    I work at a gym at a country club. NO ONE works out there except in the mornings, so when I pick up an evening shift it is slower than Christmas and it drives me batty. You can only clean so much, ya know?

    • Fitnessista on August 24, 2011 at 9:21 pm

      exactly- especially when you worked the previous shift before yours, so you know everything was just cleaned.

  7. Maria@healthydiaries on August 24, 2011 at 9:23 pm

    I have the same problem of worrying about my to do list. It’s a struggle everyday to try and live in the moment and worry about the present only. It’s a work in progress! I recently started adding nutritional yeast to my popcorn, and I love it! I will have to try adding garlic and chili powder, sounds delish 🙂

  8. Jessica @ Sushi and Sit-Ups on August 24, 2011 at 9:28 pm

    I’m the worse at calming myself down. I just work myself up even more. I need to go to my boyfriend for the rational pep talk. To-do lists help to! I love physically crossing things off.

  9. Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga on August 24, 2011 at 9:28 pm

    Girl I have to give myself a pep talk every single day!!

    Some days if i think about how much job/work, parenting work, housework, blog work, cooking, photography, etc etc all the WORK there is involved and all i have to get done that day, I kinda wanna go right back to bed 🙂

    Good for you for giving yourself a pep talk, and a few deep breathes, and for fixing a bowl of popcorn and hanging out on the couch for a few mins. Good girl. 🙂

  10. Laura @ Backstage Balance on August 24, 2011 at 9:31 pm

    4.5 hours in a weight room? Does it at least have natural light / windows? That sounds dreadful!
    How exciting that you are prepping for your housewarming party. We never had one and have been in our house for over a year now 🙁 We just were too busy with other people’s weddings and such last year!

  11. Evelyn on August 24, 2011 at 9:49 pm

    Well, I’m graduating from college next week, so every day is a pep talk. I’m also a hardcore list maker when I’m stressed, it just seems to make everything more manageable.

  12. Allison @ Food for Healing on August 24, 2011 at 9:57 pm

    i was actually thinking about the same thing earlier, we can only do right now so don’t worry about what has to get done later, take it as it comes!

  13. Paige @ Running Around Normal on August 24, 2011 at 10:01 pm

    I had that sort of day today too! It can be stressful when you think about it all at once. Sounds like you dealt with it in a good healthy way 🙂

  14. Ashley@MyFoodNFitnessDiaries on August 24, 2011 at 10:01 pm

    Your protein-ey disk looks pretty yummy actually! Nut butter always helps anything taste better. 🙂

    I just gave myself a pep talk today on the way to work…it’s been a pretty overwhelming week so far, so it was definitely needed. I suppose we all need them every so often! 😉

  15. Claire @ Live and Love to Eat on August 24, 2011 at 10:03 pm

    I like the idea of the nutritional yeast on the popcorn but mine always falls right off! Any tips?

  16. Brittany @ Itty Bits of Balance on August 24, 2011 at 10:14 pm

    I’m 100% guilty of that too– I’m always making lists of what I need to get done today, tomorrow, next week, next month etc. It’s bad 🙁 I have to remind myself to live in the moment and not worry about the future so much

  17. jodie on August 24, 2011 at 10:19 pm

    We don’t have TJ’s here yet, so hopefully I can order the seaweed snacks online. I need to try nutritional yeast soon. Last time I gave myself a pep talk was today during and after my workout. The plan was 5 miles plus 1 barre work, but all I could do was a little over 3 miles, could not understand why I was feeling so tired etc. Pep talk worked a little but the solution to my problem was that I was hungry, did not realize until i got home. That has never happened to me before weird, I guess it is one of those days.

  18. Candice on August 24, 2011 at 10:27 pm

    when I was pregnant I LOVED popcorn.. it only lasted a good 2 weeks then I was over it. but it had to be freshly popped from kernels (not microwaved popcorn) with yeast and garlic and just a little drizzle of butter.

  19. Carolyn on August 24, 2011 at 10:32 pm

    Today! I’m training for a half marathon and today was my first 5 mile run… I needed a pep talk in the 100* heat of San Antonio!

  20. char @ char on a mission on August 24, 2011 at 10:41 pm

    I have to give myself a pep talk when I get overwhelmed…and that usually has to do with having too much to do (and non-list taking haha) or when I’m tired and getting frustrated. Just have to learn to breathe it out and accept those times!

  21. Lindsey on August 24, 2011 at 10:57 pm

    I love that quote, I am bad for doing that – and stressing myself out even more. But making lists always help to ease my mind too 🙂

  22. Jen @familyfoodfitnessandfun on August 24, 2011 at 11:14 pm

    Ummmm…everyday! With 3 little boys, it’s easy to lose my cool sometimes and I need to take a little mommy “time-out” and catch my breath. It works! And a list is a great thing too 🙂

  23. Ashley Terry on August 24, 2011 at 11:16 pm

    Hey which nutritional yeast do your recommend? What health benefits does it offer? What does it taste like? Thanks for your posts! I am excited for a way to make popcorn a bit more interesting! 🙂

  24. Kris | iheartwellness.com on August 24, 2011 at 11:34 pm

    You are too stinking gorg!!! I love this pic 🙂

    xxoo

  25. Elena on August 25, 2011 at 12:30 am

    You are so right – I always keep my little note pad on hand. In other wise – I will be just a mess.

  26. Ali @ urbanfruitbat on August 25, 2011 at 1:12 am

    I totally understand going stir crazy at work when you are bored, boredom is the worst! Awesome pep talk thought! I gave myself one of those today as well.

  27. Sara on August 25, 2011 at 2:17 am

    I too have done the late shift, made worse by a nazi boss that would just turn up randomly and have a small breakdown if we didn’t ‘look busy’. Her mantra was ‘there is always something to do’. One day I unplugged part of the cardiotheatre so that when she came in I could say ‘oh look, a couple of the TV’s aren’t working, let me go and check that out’. There really IS only so much cleaning you can do. REALLY.

    Today I also had one of those days where too many tasks are pressing. I did what you do too – write down the things that are trying to infringe on my mind so that I know they are there to get back to later. Staying in the moment is key to being productive and not floopy and all over the place.

  28. Natalcho @ Tomatoes Rock on August 25, 2011 at 5:33 am

    Oh I love the popcorn idea – my mom was visiting last week and she taught me how to do popcorn at home – I know, it is so difficult that I needed someone to guide me through the steps:) But we only made the popcorn with oil and salt – I will try your idea:)

  29. Janiek on August 25, 2011 at 6:18 am

    It’s amazing to me how you are able to keep up your job as a trainer while being pregnant. Hats off to you lady!

  30. Cait @ Beyond Bananas on August 25, 2011 at 7:23 am

    Focusing on the now is so incredibly important. I honestly thing I give myself a pep talk almost evvery day. As a teacher I am constantly talking to myself figuring out What is going on in my kids heads…hoping to make things easier for them to understand

  31. Brittnie (A Joy Renewed) on August 25, 2011 at 7:29 am

    I have to give myself a pep talk every day as I have to give myself these awful progesterone shots (in the booty) due to infertility issues. They hurt!! And if I do get pregnant this round the shots continue for the first 10 weeks! BUT I tell myself it is only for a short time and it will be SO worth it once we learn (hopefully soon) that we are expecting a little bundle of joy to call our own! So…. I tell myself….bring on the pain! 🙂

  32. Ash @ Good Taste Healthy Me on August 25, 2011 at 8:19 am

    I love kettle popcorn. I can’t get enough!

  33. Christina on August 25, 2011 at 9:09 am

    When do I give myself a pep talk.
    Every.single.day.

  34. Lauren @ Fun, Fit and Fabulous! on August 25, 2011 at 9:10 am

    That’s exactly how I feel when I am stuck in traffic! I get so antsy and can’t stop thinking about how much time I am wasting. I keep a constant to-do list on me so I don’t worry about forgetting things!

  35. The Teenage Taste on August 25, 2011 at 9:19 am

    Mmmm…I love popcorn. It’s such a good snack food. I’ll definitely have to try seasoning it with nooch and garlic, normally my seasonings of choice are cinnamon and sugar. Yum! 😀

  36. Chelsa on August 25, 2011 at 9:52 am

    List making can be therapeutic. I make at least 2 lists everyday. The popcorn combo sounds so yummy. I have to try it.

  37. Jen on August 25, 2011 at 10:52 am

    Redwood Hill Farm’s yogurt is my favorite! I have that honey flavor sitting in my fridge right now. It’s a flavor I haven’t tried yet! By the way, I’m a list person too. Lists make me feel like I’m on top of things!

  38. Samantha on August 25, 2011 at 11:27 am

    Mmm popcorn is my favorite snack food ever. In all forms — cheesy, sweet, salty, plain…

    In college my grandma used to send me those big popcorn tins from the Popcorn Factory a few times per year… yes, all of my roommates loved her too…

  39. Nicole on August 25, 2011 at 11:28 am

    Hi there. What type of blender do you use to make your smoothies? They always look delicious!

    • Fitnessista on August 25, 2011 at 3:43 pm

      vitamix 5200- it’s amazing!

  40. Allison on August 25, 2011 at 11:42 am

    PB&J protein cake looks so good! I eat popcorn almost every day- such a good snack/ treat that leaves me full for so long!

    • Fitnessista on August 25, 2011 at 3:43 pm

      it’s such a delicious and filling snack 🙂

  41. Brigid of Vegging out in T-Town on August 25, 2011 at 12:08 pm

    I’m stressed about moving right now, too. My current mantra (from a Yoga Download session) is: “How can you make this moment ok? How can you make it wonderful?” I am clearly a cheeseball, but it’s really helping with the anxiety.

  42. Lucky13Fitness on August 25, 2011 at 3:22 pm

    THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for that pep talk…. as a trainer and a therapist, i am ALWAYS the one giving the encouragement, motivation, advice, pep talks to all of my clients… and today is DEFINITELY a day where i needed a bit of it for myself.
    One line is all it took. I think i’ll copy/paste this for the future!!!

    • Fitnessista on August 25, 2011 at 3:31 pm

      <3

  43. Clare @ Fitting It All In on August 25, 2011 at 8:25 pm

    I give myself those pep talks daily! I’m pretty stressed out with a new job and recent move, so my mind is constantly racing. But I definitely try to make myself live in the moment. Yoga helps:)

  44. M in DC on August 28, 2011 at 7:20 pm

    Approximately how much of each topping do you put on your popcorn? I bought some nutritional yeast after reading so many bloggers who use it, but I’m intimidated! This sounds like a great savory but healthy popcorn snack.

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