Not so photogenic
Since you’re all sharing your sweaty #wintershapeup pics with me, here’s one from last night:
I was supposed to cover a Zumba class, but word on the street broke out that there was a sub and NO ONE came! It’s funny because when I used to solely take classes, I had my teacher loyalty. When there was a sub, there was no way I was going. Now that I’m a sub, I want to salsa around the gym saying, “Give me a chaaaance!” <– great strategy to get people into class haha.
Since Zumba was empty, I ventured into the main gym to get in some strength and cardio. I had a couple of tweaks to make to the Week 3 workout, and I think they did the trick. It’s fun to test out all of the workouts before posting them! It helps to ensure there’s a nice flow and that the booty-kicking level is on par.
A huge reason why I stopped blogging most of my normal eats: they’re horribly unattractive.
Ex. A: a turkey burger burrito. I cut the turkey burger in half, placed it on a tortilla, added lettuce, ketchup and mustard, then rolled it up. It was DELICIOUS, but not pretty.
Bella always thinks turkey burgers are pretty:
This morning’s b-fast: a little more photogenic.
I’ve recently fallen back in love with chia pudding. It makes a wonderful and hydrating snack; Livi likes it, too.
Last night, I added the following to a mason jar:
-1/3 cup coconut milk (from a can. Used the rest for homemade coffee creamer)
-2 tablespoons chia seeds
-1/4 cup almond milk
This morning, I added banana slices, strawberries an blueberries, along with a little cinnamon and drizzle of honey. So good!
This is weird but I don’t like mixing savory and sweet breakfasts, so when Livi wakes up I’ll have an egg scramble with her.
A sweet hummingbird, who enjoys his breakfast from the feeder in our yard:
Not sure what we’re up to today, but be sure to check out the Fashion page for a new post this afternoon!
Have a lovely day <3
xoxo
Gina
Do you prefer sweet or savory breakfasts?
Let’s talk about teacher loyalty! If there’s a sub, do you still go, or no way?
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I prefer sweet breakfasts all the way! I eat savory two other meals of the day!
I think it is so unfortunate about the sub thing because you are such a GREAT Zumba instructor so I wish people had given you a chance. That being said, I have shown up for class before not knowing there was a sub and it ended up being horrible and a waste of my time. I guess it is the fear of the unknown!
thank you, lovely! there definitely is fear of the unknown. that’s why i used to do something else if i found out my favorite class had a sub
As a group fitness instructor, I always get nervous when I have to sub my classes out. I know I want to give new instructors a chance, but if it’s not someone good, I know my class will be pissed. Plus, when I’ve had not so good instructors sub, it hurts my class numbers in the weeks following. As a participant, I always found that I was more attached to time slots and the class type than the instructor themselves, so I always still went to class when there was a sub. It was just part of my routine.
the bummer was that i know the girl that i was going to sub for, but she didn’t know they had called me to sub. she just knew there was “a sub.”
I take Pure Barre classes and try to attend classes by one instructor in particular. I just like her style and cuing. But I’d still go if there was a sub, no sense in skipping a good workout! With spinning classes I prefer one instructor and would definitely reschedule if she wasn’t teaching. A few instructors play BORING music during class and hers is always upbeat and interesting…makes the time fly!
music makes a huge difference! can’t wait to take some pure barre classes in san diego 🙂
That is actually one of the things I enjoy most about Pure Barre: while obviously not identical and I do still have a few favorite teachers, the class format (and a lot of the cuing too, which I think must be part of their training) is very, VERY similar. So I never have to wonder what I’m going to get, no matter who the instructor is!
That’s one thing I like about Pure Barre, too! Different personalities and encouragement, but the workout is always killer. The biggest difference to me is when some instructors replay, replay, replay, replay the same music. Twice through, okay, but five times in a row to get through seat? AHHH.
as an instructor, i get SO sick of my playlists if i reuse them! it’s fun to add in at least a few new or different songs each time
that little jar is adorable! where is it from?
target! they came in a 4-pack
I’m very teacher loyal!
I love subs!
Sure, I’m a little annoyed if my *favourite* teacher isn’t there, and my *least favourite* sub is the sub, but that’s a very specific circumstance that almost never happens.
Otherwise, I really enjoy the change-up. Plus, I wear a HRM and I just make it a game to keep engaged and keep my heart rate elevated. Front row, left side is my favourite spot. So if I have my HRM and my favourite spot, bring it on, whoever you are!
I go to a local gym that has only 3 clubs, and my membership gets me in to all 3 – when someone from another club subs and I love them, I try to learn when they are teaching at the other club. There’s a chance that their class works a bit better for my schedule anyway, so I may get to up my Zumbaness on a weekly basis with a totally new awesome instructor!
I’ll go even if there is a sub. Once I’ve made my way to the gym I might as well take the class!
I have been wanting to try chia pudding, but to be honest, it freaks me out a bit. But your breakfast looked so good I am going to give it a whirl. Just like a class sub, you never know until you try!
huh. would you mind sharing how you make the homemade coffee creamer with the canned coconut milk?
i’d like to hear this too!
i was going to link to it, but spaced it. here ya go: http://fitnessista.com/2013/07/summer-workout-playlist/
thank you!
I don’t go to group classes super often so I usually never know if there’s going to be a sub or not. One time, I went to my hot piyo class and it was a sub; she was nooooot good at all. I felt bad because I talked up the class to my mom and she agreed to come and it wasn’t a good experience. I would love to have you as a sub though! 🙂
I love savory breakfast. Give me eggs any day and I will be one happy gal!
my day hasn’t officially started until i’ve had eggs 🙂
For me it depends on the time I’m eating breakfast and what I’m doing that day. If I have to wake up early for work/school, I have toast or an english muffin with earth balance (and maybe a little apple butter or jam) and coffee. Every.Single.Time. But I love eggs and potatoes and savory breakfasts when I get to sleep in a little more 🙂 It depends on who is subbing for my usual classes. I try to give teachers a chance unless I’ve heard some negative reviews, but if I’ve taken a class or two with them and didn’t like how it went, I’m likely to skip the class. More often than not, I suck it up and go anyway 🙂
Big bummer about Zumba but I am TOTALLY guilty of this :/ If the instructor knows who the sub will be that always helps because there are a few subs I enjoy but overall, if my fav instructor is out, you can usually catch me doing a Fitnessista workout at the gym on my own 🙂
🙂
You know, I just don’t love breakfast foods. I mean, they’re ok, but it’s just not a meal I get excited about. If I had to pick sweet or savory though, I suppose I’d go with sweet — waffles are one breakfast item that are pretty darn delicious 🙂
it’s ok, we can still be friends 🙂
I’m not super picky about sweet vs savory breakfasts but I NEED it to be carb loaded. Carb-y breakfasts are the only way I get through the day.
I love the little pictures of Bella. I have a male maltipoo the same age as her and Scruffy could be her twin. He is sassy like her too! I bet they would have fun if they played together.
One thing they have in common – their love for food! I can never get Scruffy out of the kitchen when I am cooking. If we are having a BBQ – Scruffy is there!
aww! they would be great friends 🙂
I LOVE chia pudding!!! I get on such a kick during the summer. You make me want to bring it back early.
I do sweet and savory breakfasts, depending on my mood, but its one or the other. Never both.
I’m so excited for workout 1 today during naptime!!
Sweet is my go to all of the time. Along with carb packed breakfast. I just feel more full throughout the day and have more energy. If I was forced to eat an apple for breakfast or one egg I would be asleep at my desk by 10:00am. 🙂
I’ll give a sub a try, but I hate it when the sub’s teaching style is SOOO different than the teacher I was expecting. Then again, I usually only go to yoga classes so maybe that’s different. A few times I’ve shown up to yoga classes thinking it would be a relaxing vinyasa flow, only to find out that the sub had some intense butt-kicking classic hot yoga thing planned, and I was so grumpy 😛
I’m guilty of teacher loyalty. The hip hop dance class I used to take at my gym FOR YEARS. The instructor formatted it like an actual choreographed dance class (not like the usual cardio class at gyms where they just want to you shake and move). It was so challenging and FUN to learn his choreography each week. If a sub came in, it was just too hard to find the groove and excitement that Eddie brought.
But after hearing your perspective of subbing, I feel bad now for being like that.
I am guilty of not going to a group class when I know there will be someone else teaching for Zumba. When I belonged to a health club, I never knew if there would be a sub or not until I was in the fitness room. I just sucked it up and hoped it would be a good class. Most of the time it was. One factor that can make or break a sub is the music. It’s also how much effort YOU put into the class. You never know, you may just find a new favorite teacher. There was a step class that was an epic fail by a newer or a sub teacher. She was horrible and had trouble with the steps the whole class. I vowed to NEVER take any class taught by her again.
Ran 5 this morning on the treadmill since it’s super cold here. I was a sweaty mess so that’s good. Plan to try Workout 1 tomorrow.
I don’t have much teacher loyalty–I just want to take the class, so I’ll always go. Unless it’s a sub I know I don’t care for.
Food pictures are pretty unattractive, for the most part. I’m trying to cut back to only posting them when it’s part of a What I Ate Wednesday post and even then sometimes I cringe putting them up. It’s one of those things that’s best left to the experts because really, no one’s food pics on FB look good!
I’ve been wanting to try the chia pudding thing!
I love chia pudding, but chia seeds give me a terrible stomachache and major bloat, so it’s been nixed from the menu. 🙁 And I hate to say it, but I’ve only taken a few group fitness classes in my life, so I don’t really have preferences.
But can we talk about coconut milk as coffee cream. It’s such a game changer! I may have a minor addiction to homemade coconut milk iced mochas…
OMG just last night I didn’t go to a Zumba class because I found out there was a sub! lol. There are a couple of subs I’d be absolutely fine with, but the one from last night…ugh, I don’t want to sound mean because she is a really lovely person. I love her for a song or two, but for a whole class I just don’t feel like I get enough of a sweat. Plus some of her moves get a little repetitive/boring. When the regular teacher (who I adore) teaches, by the end of class it looks like I just stepped out of the shower. 🙂 I ended up doing Insanity instead of Zumba. 🙂
when you zumba, you should look like you just took a sweat shower! i get bored any other way, too
Yay! Shoutout to a fellow Zumba instructor! I have a pretty solid following, but I’m at the point where I don’t always let them know when there will be a sub because I want them to give other people (who I know are good teachers) a chance!
I just recently found you on bloglovin’ and I absolutely love your blog! I really enjoy work out classes and that stinks nobody showed up when you were the sub. I have been to a few cycling classes that had a sub and sometimes its a more intense workout and sometimes it more relaxing then the normal teacher’s classes. So it’s a gamble! haha
Oddly enough…lately I have been craving a salad for breakfast…spinach, apple, strawberries, and a few drived cranberries…so yummy
That pudding looks so good! BTW, how do you make homemade coffee creamer? I just switched to vanilla almond milk and it’s not quite doing it for me…
Aw, I’m sorry no one came. I generally try to give a sub a chance. Everyone starts somewhere. Sometimes I fall in love with them and other times I don’t and file it away for later memory, but at least I got a workout in. I would have gone to your class!
Depends on my mood between savory or sweet. Generally I am more sweet since that’s how I fix my oatmeal,cereal or smoothies. But then other times I’m all about scrambled eggs in the am. I don’t mix them. I can’t have eggs and a banana. I find it strange on my tastebuds.
As a Zumba and group x instructor I hate subbing for this reason! People don’t realize that this is your job and how intimidating is is to go up and dance in front of class. Zumba people are so quick to judge and are the worst at not accepting subs! They don’t realize that sometimes it hurts when you step into a class and they don’t even give you a chance to start before walking out. I always try to pick a sub that also teaches at my gym and I know is well liked for my classes. But I’m guilty of leaving a class with a sub before I was an instructor, I would never do it now!
it’s funny how it totally changes your perspective!
As a Zumba and group x instructor I hate subbing for this reason! People don’t realize that this is your job and how intimidating is is to go up and dance in front of class. Zumba people are so quick to judge and are the worst at not accepting subs! They don’t realize that sometimes it hurts when you step into a class and they don’t even give you a chance to start before walking out. I always try to pick a sub that also teaches at my gym and I know is well liked for my classes. But I’m guilty of leaving a class with a sub before I was an instructor, I would never do it now!
Chia pudding is so good! <3 Sorry you had no one in your class, you never know who your new favourite is going to be until you give someone new a try I alway say.
Oh, that stinks that no one showed! I would love to take a class with you!
The overnight chia seeds sound really good! How long do they keep you full for? My breakfast needs to be really filling and protein packed. If I don’t do that, my whole eating schedule is thrown off and I feel like I’m constantly hungry and grazing.
it depends. they’re more filling with some protein powder, yogurt or nut butter mixed in. this morning, i had an egg scramble a couple of hours after, so i was full until lunch.
As a group Pilates instructor, I get nervous when I cover someone else’s classes. I try to go to new instructors’/ subs’ classes, you never know when you’ll find a new favorite fit. All about the savory breakfasts. Today I tried Anne’s banana and spinach smoothie as a morning snack – she is right, it sounds weird but it was so good!
oh, i’ll have to try it!
Chia pudding sounds great. It is unfortunate that no one showed up, their loss! I always try to give a sub a chance. That is how I found one of my favorite cycle instructors. I also took a class with one I would like to avoid- she barely stopped talking to take a breath the entire hour.
I feel like most of my pictures turn out poorly, but I love yours!
aw, thank you! i still don’t know how to work my camera haha
I’m a sweet breakfast person all the way which is kinda weird considering I don’t really care for “sweets” at all. Never have dessert. I’d much rather have a spoonful of salty almond butter for an after dinner treat.
I do love mixing sweet with savory though! I love to have toast with a smear of jam with a savory omelet for lunch or dinner.
I don’t belong to a gym and don’t regularly take any classes, so I’m all about trying new teachers! I’m also a high school sub this year, so I feel the pain of students/clients not knowing what to expect with a sub! 🙂
I love mixing savory and sweet breakfasts! Scrambled eggs with cinnamon toast or French toast with bacon. But I think I tend to lean toward sweet because the rest of the day’s meals are savory. 🙂
being a sub is tough!
I have to have sweet AND savory! Otherwise I end craving the whatever I didn’t have for the rest of the day! Same with pretty much every meal.
I like eating warm hugs for breakfast, except in the summer, warm hugs being a big warm bowl of steel-cut oats loaded with fruit/protein powder/ chia seeds or a bowl of grainless porridge with the same add-ins, or some nice protein pancakes covered in some tasty nut butter. All served with a nice warm glass of green tea :).
haha before reading the rest of your comment, i was like, “what is a warm hug?!”
that sounds lovely!
Haha, whooops. My bad habit = renaming/ abbreviating everything and not telling other people what it means. Anyways, in the winter, who doesn’t want to wake up to a nice warm hug :).
I love chia pudding! Lately I’ve also been warming it up in the microwave for a few seconds to take the chill off. Since it’s been SO cold in Chicago, a cold breakfast otherwise doesn’t sound appetizing!
ohh that’s a great idea!
Is fruit considered sweet? I don’t like pancakes, french toast or danishes. I prefer eggs with a side of veggies, oatmeal & a cup of fruit. Other than fruit, I’ve never liked sweets for breakfast. It’s strange because I’m the only one in my family who is that way.
love fruit for bfast too 🙂
When we’re out to brunch, I prefer sweet breakfasts because it’s not normally what I make at home. I don’t have teacher loyalty, but I do have my favorite teachers when it comes to taking barre classes, spin class, etc. I’ll give a sub a try if I already have it set in my mind that I’m doing that workout for the day.
Would the chia pudding work if you stirred in some frozen berries? Or is it better to wait until right before you eat it?
it would totally work! i just knew i wanted to use fresh fruit today and if it sat and soaked up the milk overnight it wouldn’t add such a nice texture variation
Haha I can be guilty of teacher loyalty but if I had my heart set on a certain workout sometimes I try to give it a chance anyway.
Also my breakfast preference definitely changes based on my mood but never a mix of sweet AND savory.
they’re just weird to mix together 😉
I’m an egg with salsa kind of girl all the way!
Hmm, if I know there’s a sub, I usually won’t go. However, if I don’t know, I’ll stick around for class and give them a chance. I guess in my past experience, I’ve struggled with subs, so this is why I’m one to skip. I’d come to your class, though!! 😉
haha that makes me feel better 😉
I have never skipped a class because it is a sub. Yes, having a good instructor you like and trust is important but why would I not get my sweat on because they couldn’t make a class?
great point! 🙂
I don’t really have instructor loyalty, although there’s some I like more than others. If one instructor has music I don’t like, I won’t go to there classes though. I always give a sub a chance, but a couple of weeks ago there was I sub I’d had before for Spin. Ten minutes into class his iPad battery died. Then for ten minutes he tried to use someone’s phone. Finally he settled for a hard rock radio station. Half of the class left, but I stuck it out. I felt bad for him, but he honestly didn’t seem prepared (said he didn’t have his usual music because his playlists were on his old phone which was stolen). He also spent the first ten minutes he was in the room before class with his back to the class talking on his phone (our Y is a no phone zone). People had to wait for help with their bikes until he decided to get off the phone. Wasn’t impressed and if he subs again, I’ll do something else.
that whole paragraph made my heart rate elevate. i totally get tech problems, but charge your music!
it’s funny how some of the most delicious things can photograph so poorly. I’m more of a sweet breakfast person but every now and then I’ll crave something savory.