The Stages of BodyRock
Hey guys! Happy Monday 🙂 Hope your day is going well.
Catching up on the blog world:
THE PILOT CAME HOME! (<— Video post)
We spent the weekend sunning and enjoying each other’s company at One Ocean
Fun guest posts (Hopefully you found some fun new reads to add to your Google reader)
So, we’ve been having a lovely time in Valdizzy before we leave tomorrow.
Since I slept through yoga yesterday, I decided to get in a BodyRock workout (Set Fire) at the hotel.
The stages of BodyRock:
Ignorant smile (because I don’t know of the pain to come)
The warm-up:
Scraping the “popcorn” off the 70s style hotel ceilings with the jump rope:
(oops)
Working my booty off:
16 minutes has NEVER been this schweaty before:
Pain and profanities:
“Nice work, babe”:
Recovery:
Insane. It always blows my mind that these workouts can make me sweat like a MONKEY- sometimes more than I do after teaching for an hour.
Afterwards, I went to the hotel gym with the Pilot to shake my legs out on the elliptical:
and gawk at his hawtness as he ran on the treadmill in lululemon 😉
I can’t believe he’s really back here <3
Recent eats:
So while the Pilot and I were at the gym, in between yelling at the basketball game on TV and dancing around –Arizona ROCKED it last night!- I listened to a Jillian Michael’s podcast on the iPhone.
It was my first time listening to her podcast, even though it’s one of the #1s. As you guys know, I’m not a Jillian fan at all –yes, she has done some amazing things, but she also sold out majorly by pimping out phony diet pills and “supplements”- but the podcast was pretty interesting. She discussed veganism and the fact that you can’t become vegan overnight, which I totally agree with. It takes a lot of research and planning, and I also agree that you should stay as far away from faux meats as possible (processed soy is not a friend). She also said that she stopped eating meat from land animals –only consumes fish, eggs, and organic yogurt- after watching the movie Earthlings, which I haven’t seen.
The podcast got me thinking about what was the initial change and shift in my eating habits. I really think the most significant thing to shape how I eat today was reading the South Beach Diet in college. Before I read that book, I had no idea what a healthy fat or smart carb was, or how to balance macronutrients in my diet. Through time, I’ve bid adieu to a lot of the food-like-substances that SB advocates with a shift towards more whole foods, but I think that it totally changed my eating style for the better.
Another book that had a huge impact on my eating style was Skinny Bitch. SB and I kind of have a weird relationship- I adore the book and loathe it at the same time. I don’t think it’s necessary to use fear tactics or be demeaning towards other women, but at the same time, the style in which it’s written totally works. It’s a brand thing with the tough love and foul language, which has made it successful. I also don’t like the fact that it guilt-trips nonvegans and encourages a ton of VERY unhealthy foods just because they don’t use animal products. Anyway, reading SB gave me a GIANT wake-up call to evaluate where exactly my food was coming from. SB was a kick in the face to buy organic and determine where exactly my food dollar is going. Of course, I’m not a vegan by any means, but I ate vegan-ish for a very long time until semi-recently, when I decided that I wanted to include chicken in my diet again. I enjoy chicken maybe once a week (if that) and it’s working for me right now.
So I’m wondering, what shaped or changed your current eating habits? Was it a book or movie, or have you eaten this way for your entire life?
Of course, we’re all different and I’m a firm believer that as far as eats go, different strokes for different folks. We all have unique activity levels and needs. What works beautifully for one person could be totally wrong for someone else. Please play nice in the comments and remember to be respectful to other peeps.
I’m off to lunch with a very good friend 🙂
See ya later today!
xoxo
Gina
Today’s tip: Add more BOOTY to your squat! 😀
Next time you add squats into your workout rotation, add a balance ball or medicine ball in between your knees, like so:
Perform the squat per usual (minus the iPhone, heh heh) and notice how this little variation targets your inner thighs (from having to hold the balance ball in place) and directs the focus to your glutes:
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I think the most influential thing that shaped my eating habits was moving to Sweden when I was 19. Before I lived in Europe, I had complete junk. I was never overweight, but I lived off of granola bars, and cereal. When I moved to Sweden, I realized what good food really is, and the pleasure that surrounds a good meal with family and close friends.
I started out trying to lose weight using South Beach — I tried for approximately 2 years and only fluctuated a little. It took it “clicking” in my head for the losses to really add up to something big. I’ve adopted a whole foods south beach style — you’ve been a HUGE influence on my eating habits. I feel healthier than I ever have and am down 89 lbs. to a healthy weight and healthy body fat level. After being overweight my entire life,it is weird to actually shop and have options. People laugh at my choices of food, but to me and my family, these choices are what keep us healthy and energetic. I will not choose to further the bad choices that I made growing up. My biggest motivation (more than just how I look and feel) is being a good influence on my kids. They see me busting my butt in the gym, choosing healthy foods, taking the “long way” amongst other things and they emulate it. It is just how life is supposed to be lived.
When I was growing up my parents went crazy on the raw diet… like, juice only meals and they were also into soy. This is when the raw diet was a new fad, like 10 yrs ago. Even at 15, I felt this was a totally unrealistic way of eating. When they slipped up, they SLIPPED up, and when finally they cancelled that way of life, they went on a binge. I know the health benefits of eating raw are amazing, but I feel like you have to have a balance in life. There is no need to have this all or nothing mentality. Instead of saying, I am a vegan period, or I am a rawist period, I think incorporating these things into your life-style is the way to go 🙂 then there is no slipping up, there is no failing.
Also, I think what a lot of people don’t get is that they have to research diets. Diets are opinionated, diets are fads (eggs are bad for you, eggs are good, eggs are bad, the soy hype, etc…). You have to research the “facts”. You have to educate yourself!!! You have to find your own answers! And you have to find what works for YOU.
I’m not sure why it didn’t post the first part of my reply :p
Definitely the SBD changed my thinking. It makes so much sense. The only things I don’t like are encouragement of zero-calorie sweetners and soy products. I am firmly against both these things. I really like how it encourages you to look at it not as a diet but as a life-style change. Ultimately anyone that has ever struggled with their weight knows changing for the long term and accepting this, is the only way to keep the weight off.
Sorry for my delayed response – but I just started following your blog, and I’m LOVING it!! Anyways, I just completed the Clean Diet by Dr. Junger – total life changer for me. It’s essentially an Elimination Diet of the most common food allergens: gluten, sugar, dairy, soy, nightshades, etc. I highly recommend it to anyone. While the detox isn’t meant to be sustainable, it forces you to be aware of what you’re eating, and afterwards, how your body reacts to the foods you reincorporate (or don’t!) back into your diet. I feel incredible!
Totally was reading the comments- and said Clean! I did it too and I agree with you- It completely changed how I approach food. I found out that I felt so much better when I limited my gluten and diary intake. I lost about 15 pounds, gained a ton of energy and simply felt balanced. Here’s to health!