8/11: Meals and fitness for the week
After my weekend at the IDEA conference (still have one session left!), I feel so inspired. I also feel even more grateful to be a part of a group of fitness professionals, all working together to create a healthier planet. My full recap posts are still coming up- I needed one for the session recaps and another entirely for the expo and fun stuff- but this past weekend, I got to opportunity to learn from the best of the best. I soaked up as much energy and knowledge as I possibly could, and am excited to make little changes to become a better fitness instructor, blogger and well, human 😉
(SHAUN T.!! I MET HIM!!!)
This conference has impacted me on a professional level, but also personally as I assess my fitness and health routine/goals. As I plan my meals and fitness for this week, I feel inspired with new meal ideas and a commitment to focus on healthy, whole foods. For the past few months, I’ve been depending more on starchy foods/sugar for energy, and have crashed hard afterwards. I snapped this pic in the locker room at work last week: a Costco-sized bag of the sweet stuff.
Treats are the norm in the locker room -we’re spoiled by all of our coworkers’ delicious pastries- and for us, the calories are NBD because we’re burning a lot teaching. The sugar buzz is glorious, but man, the crash afterwards is a little rough. I decided to nix white sugar this week, and hopefully get back in the habit of choosing fruits and veggies first.
Here’s what’s on the tentative menu:
Breakfasts:
Protein chia pudding
Egg burritos with turkey bacon
Protein pancakes with fruit instead of syrup
Snacks:
Smoothies
Baked sweet potato with nut butter and chicken
Veggies and homemade ranch
Fruit bowls
Lunch/dinners:
Chopped kale salad with chicken
Spaghetti with meatballs and zucchini
Hot bar Thursday night
Here’s what’s on the fitness schedule:
Sunday: OFF. My entire body hates me
Monday: 5 mile run
Tuesday: Strength circuit, no cardio (or yoga instead if I’m sore)
Wednesday: Teach Zumba
Thursday: Teach DJ, teach Zumba, teach Zumba (I’m subbing a local class with Sasha- email me if you want the details!)
Friday: OFF
Saturday: Teach Zumba and Barre
Whew!
My workouts always ends up changing a little (or a lot!), but that’s at least what I have in my brain for the plan. If you have a plan, it’s much easier to make a plan B 🙂
See ya in Tucson with some pics from the day!
xoxo
Gina
I’d love to hear your fitness and meal plan for the week! Anything new/exciting? When was the last time you felt really refreshed and inspired?
You might also like:
36 Comments
Leave a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
It looks like you have had an amazing time. I can not wait to read your full review of the conference. I have had a few too many sweets in the last few days and have planned some healthy meals for the next few days. I feel so much happier and positive when I am nourishing my body in a better way. It is way too easy to reach for sugar when I feel I need a snack. As we all know, it doesn’t sustain us for very long either.
Happy Sunday! Sugar is a tough one for me too. It is so easy and instantly gratifying. I am actually having a problem with balancing the foods i eat with the work my work out routine. I love a barre work out. If i could do that every day along with yoga/pilates, I would die a happy woman! I am at my goal weight, but need tweaking…primarily with my abs and arms. I actually made an appointment this week at my gym with the fitness trainer to go over my food and work outs. I really like how you set up your work outs before hand so you know what to expect. I am having a heck of a time doing that. You hear things like…”don’t lift heavy weights, oh yeah do lift heavy weights…lift them SO heavy you can’t finish!” I really love what I am reading on your website. I did two of your ab videos yesterday! I also jointed instagram for the first time and saw all the pics this past weekend from the fitness conference. So jealous of the company you were keeping! It sounds like you do a little of everything in your work outs. For whatever reason, I am having a hard time dedicating one day to one body part. In order to push things to the next level, I borrowed a DVD from my friend. It is the Jillian Michaels 90 day program. She told me to skip the first 2 phases to challenge myself, so I did phase 3 and loved every bit of it. Although I love my barre work out best, I worked harder with Jillian. I am expecting to hear that a variety is the best way to go when it comes to food and work out routines. I read your comment about 80% of our results is based on diet….WOW. Thanks for helping me keep that in mind. As I type this I am doing everything in my power to avoid my kid’s candy that is sitting on my dining room table 🙂 Your recipes look amazing. I am a vegetarian who is slowly going vegan. The transition is becoming easier day by day. Eggs have been the hardest to let go of. (and cheese of course!). Thanks again for doing what you do!!! Kim
I’m on vacation with the entire family this week. This is our first real vacation in years and who knows when we’ll get to do this again. That being said:
I’m living it up!! My exercise is lots of bike riding, beach walking, wave jumping, and playing in the pool! Lifting my 1 1/2 yr old will count as my strength training for the week. 😉
My meals will be whatever I’m feeling at the time. Some may be healthy, some definitely not. For instance, I know for a fact that a red velvet donut is in my very near future!
It’s nice once in a while to just go with the flow and not have a plan. Very relaxing.
Glad to hear you had such an awesome time in LA. I can’t wait to hear about it!
So excited for the recap posts of the conference! I nixed sugar since almost 2 weeks now and the craving is gone, amazing! I instead bake my healthy treats that taste sweet but don’t contain sugar so I still can have dessert.
I am meeting an old friend tomorrow morning at 6 am for a run. We haven’t seen each other and probably willwake up the whole neighborhood 🙂
A lot of quinoa and codfish is on the plan this week!
oh my gosh i am so jealous you got to meet shawn T! 🙂 i would love if you shared anything you learned from him!!
I love your meal planning! I wish I was better at that but you are so organized! this conference looks so amazing! When I used to work in the bank I would have so many customers bring me “treats” and it was always so hard to say no because they were always so full of sugar and so delicious!
I ran a 10k yesterday, which is my longest distance in a long time which has me feeling inspired! This week is also my first week of sprint triathlon training, so I’m getting excited for that.
Here’s my meal plan for this week! http://www.livehalffullblog.com/2013/08/11/meal-plan-811-817/
Shaun T.!!!!!! JEALOUS!!!!
Meal plan ideas for this week—dinners and leftovers for lunch
Cheesy Chicken Bake http://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/08/11/cheesy-chicken-bake/ ,
mushroom risotto http://funfoodiefamily.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=393&action=edit, veggie
Roast Chicken, salad, couscous
Mexican Lasagna- kinda like opened faced enchiladas
Grass fed beef hamburgers, Waffle Fries, roasted veggies
Of course, leftover and clean out the fridge night!
Workouts: running, Zumba, Maybe some Shaun T! =)
Is Shawn T wearing a shirt that says amazeballs? Cause I think thats so awesome if he is.
YES. he designed it, too. i want one!
That’s a lot of Zumba!! Should be a fun week 🙂
Look forward to your re-caps!
Nice that you met Shaun T. but seriously – it’s a love/hate relationship between us. I just cannot forgive him for screaming at me during my workout 😉 . Foods for the week look great, too. It is nice to enjoy some sweets from time to time, but it is even better to get back into a healthy routine and skip the sugar rollercoaster.
I feel inspired by blogging/reading other blogs. It is such a great way to get new ideas to shake things up and avoid falling into a rut. I’ve never been to a big fitness conference before, just smaller workshops that had one focus. After hearing about your experience and that of others it makes me want to go!
I’m loving the Awesome August workout calendar:) and am headed to do my weekly grocery shopping… Here’s to choosing healthy meals and snacks to fuel!! Thanks as always;)
Sounds like you had a great time! I wanted to ask you for advice… I started a new job where I will be teaching 13 fitness classes each week (Zumba, strength, cardio/step, and tai chi. I’m hoping you might have some nutrition advice for me since you do a lot of teaching. I obviously will need to eat more, but I want to make sure that I’m giving my body what it needs.
Totally jealous about ShaunT! Love your meal planning ideas, that it what I am in the middle of working on for tomorrow. We are lucky and our local grocery store does a 10% military discount off EVERYTHING & double coupons on Mondays, so I had to readjust my shopping days.
Looking forward to your conference re caps!
This week I’m detoxing + pumping up the cardio in preparation for next weeks vacation. Feeling inspired because I’ll be spending that week in a bikini-that generally does it for me;) Happy Sunday!!
I always love your weekly plan—totally inspires me to get more creative in the kitchen! I’ve been upping the strength training lately and find myself craving more protein at breakfast. I’ve been making egg-white frittatas ahead of time and reheating them when I get to work. My favorite combo so far involved chopped kale, leftover roasted broccoli, and feta. I’m also kind of in love with the Trader Joe’s guacamole hummus as a dip for baby carrots and cucumber. Or spread on, like, everything.
Well done deciding to cut out white sugar! Doing that myself made me feel amazing. A bit headachy the first few days but it didn’t take long to feel really clear headed and all of a sudden sugary foods just feel sickeningly sweet! I’m just using 100% pure maple syrup to sweeten baking these days.
Hey Gina!
I absolutely love your website. I find so much inspiration here for recipes and food. I am currently a 22-year-old attempting to recovery from restrictive eating. I am being told to gain 10 lbs from my doctor. I love exercising too much to stop. I am very happy to say that I took my FIRST day off in over a day (from exercise).
I was wondering if you could tell me what a nice balanced work out regime would be for someone who wants to tone, not burn fat, lengthen and improve balance. I have tried a lot of difference forms of exercising and honestly, the bottom line is: I do not like to run. I love yoga and barre. I also recently took up kickboxing/shadowboxing.
Any help would be lovely!
Thanks
Stay sweet
Caitlyn
hey girl,
thank you so much for reading! i’m sending lots of love to you on your journey to health– you know i’m cheering for you.
i’d definitely recommend seeking help from an RD or exercise physiologist in your area. wish i could be more help, but these professionals will be able to meet with you face-to-face and set up a great plan for you
xoxo
I actually am! And I am also in line to go to a ED clinic soon 🙂
I understand completely where you issues or concerns lay. I was just curious what you might consider a “work out” plan for – not me – but someone just looking to tone up and be healthy, but not really “burn fat”. You know? While a lot of people who go on your site are looking to close weight, or increase endurance, I am more interested in just knowing how to properly balance a week of exercise. 🙂 Does that make more sense?
Perhaps this is an easier question for you to answer:
I absolutely love Barre. Unfortunately, I am a student and can’t pay for classes or the subscriptions at the moment. Do you know of any good online and free resources for barre exercises? I am keen on one day being certified as both a barre and yoga instructor, so I have designed my own work outs and have a bit of knowledge. And do you have any tips for someone getting into the field!?
I love your blog! You and your dog have made me smile. Please check mine out when you get the chance! I mentioned you in my last post!
totally get it, and so happy to hear your seeking some professional advice!
i have a post on it: http://fitnessista.com/2010/07/how-to-create-a-workout-plan/
for your situation, i would emphasize weights more than cardio.
also, on youtube there are a ton of barre workouts – i’ve posted 3! will definitely check out your blog.
xoxo
In all honesty I much prefer weight training and yoga to traditional cardio. I prefer to get my cardio in via the interval overload in barre exercises, kick boxing, yoga flow and kickboxing. A lot of these do involve muscle toning along with cardio. I want to make sure that I balance it all out but I get bored just running or whatnot. Should I just train different parts of my body each day in different ways?
Say:
Monday – total body + cardio
Tuesday – abs + cardio (kickboxing)
Wednesday: legs and glutes (barre work)
Thursday: light cardio and yoga (stationary bike/free dance and yoga)
Friday: arms and legs (barre work)
Saturday: core and glutes (pilates and dance work)
Then begin each work out with a 5-10 minute warm up focused on cardio, and cool down with cardio work as well.
Shaun T! So awesome that you got to meet him!
I think I need to join you in watching the amount of white sugar I’m consuming. My family has been going to plenty of dinners out with relatives and friends, so there have been many desserts recently. Not a terrible thing, but I think it’s about time to re-focus on choosing fruits and veggies first 🙂
The bootcamp program I did, which interrupted Summer Shape Up just ended so I’m picking up where I left off and starting week 3 tomorrow! I’m super excited to still have a structured workout program to follow- 5 am workouts aren’t too successful when I don’t have a plan. I just finished prepping foods for the week and am excited to start it on a healthy foot!
I’m working on managing my stress better. Longer after work yoga sessions (I practice at home). BFF date. NOT checking the news for military plane crashes (it’s a morbid habit but I worry so much!). Cooking lots… It’s my favorite way of dealing with stress. Probably because it’s the most delicious!
Your meals all sound so good! I just started Turbo Fire and was excited to do it but I injured myself recently so I actually need to pull back a bit and let my body heal. I’m going to have to eat really well to compensate!
OMG Shaun T! That’s so awesome!!
This week I am hiking one day, yoga one day, two BodyPump classes, one BodyStep class and maybe some blogilates in there! If my knees aren’t too bad from the hike I want to try running again (it’s been two years).
I have been attempting to mix up my breakfast choices + may even try GREEK YOGURT even though I am a bit lactose intolerant. We will see what happens 🙂 I just see so many neat recipes with greek yogurt it makes it hard for me to NOT want to try it! Thanks for sharing and I am glad you met SHAUN T, what an INSPIRATION! Love + Shine CourtStar
Wow. This conference sounds amazing!! I am jealous. Looking forward to the recap 🙂
Hope you had a great vacation!
I’m making your curried chicken salad for lunches all week; it’s so good! Also made some trail mix so I won’t buy the pre-packaged kind.
So glad you had such and amazing time and are now newly inspired.
A friend asked me to partner in a marathon, that newly inspired me to possibly sign up for a few races so we’ll see. 🙂
The fitness and eats deets are here: http://fitnessinthekitchen.wordpress.com/2013/08/11/weekly-eats-fitness-811/
I also thing I need to do a sugar detox this week, I’ve been overdoing it a bit and I need to get off the stuff for a minute or so in order to trim down those cravings.
I’m so glad I stumbled on this post because I am trying to do a mini-cleanse this week to balance out all of the glorious unhealthy food i ate while on vacation last week. do you have a recipe for protein chia pudding? i tried to make one using 3 TBSP chia, one scoop of french vanilla Designer Whey, 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk and some cinnamon, but it came out a little too runny for my tastes….