The Fitness Junkie

Nutrition A Go-Go: Fast, easy & healthy meals on the go!

Most of us spend a lot of time at work or away from our homes and packing a lunch may not be enough to keep us from straying from our commitment to eating better.  I bring a bag of food with me to work and eat several small meals throughout the day to keep my blood sugar in check and myself away from the vending machine or the cookies someone else has brought in (although I have to confess, sometimes I also eat the cookies).

I also carry apples, pears, bananas, peanuts, almonds, low fat cheese and other portable healthy food with me wherever I go so I’m not tempted by all junk food out on the road.  Eating well requires some planning but once you make it part of your routine it becomes very easy.  I still need to learn how to cook but in the meantime, here are a few quick, easy & nutritious snack ideas that'll fill you up like a meal and require no cooking skills.

    Breakfast, the healthiest meal of the day!

I don’t have time in the mornings to sit down and have a healthy breakfast so I take some Shakeology, mix it with 8oz of water (you can also use milk, almond milk, soy milk etc.) frozen fruit, coconut oil and some flax seed, and continue getting ready for work. I end up drinking most of it on my way to work.  Already, I have started my day with tons of vitamins & antioxidants, protein, prebiotics and 10 or more grams of fiber.  (The average person should consume 25g of fiber a day.)

 I mix it up in a few minutes in my Magic Bullet but if you don’t have one, you can make enough for two days in a blender and keep it in the fridge.  I can’t think of a faster and more effective way to power up in the mornings.

•  You can also mix the chocolate flavor Shakeology with 6-8oz of cold coffee for a healthy version of café mocha! 
• One of my favorite variations is mixing the chocolate flavor with 1 tbsp of peanut butter, ½ a banana and 1 cup of blue berries.  I especially like this one on days when I train heavy with weights.  I know I’ve fed my muscles with everything they need for a speedy recovery.
•  TIP: To freeze bananas without the peel hassle, I take off the peel and wrap them in plastic wrap.  Once they’re frozen it’s a breeze to unwrap them!

    Oatmeal & peanut butter

My new favorite snack is steel cut oatmeal & peanut butter. You can also add about ½ tbsp of Nutela.  I use a chocolate almond spread that has less sugar than Nutela but still tastes oooohhhhh sooooo gooooood!!  In a pinch, you could use instant oatmeal but it just doesn’t have all the fiber, protein & nutrients of steel cut.  It might take a few more minutes to cook over a stove top (you can also nuke it but I’ve had better results boiling it) but it’s still super easy to make.  Right after its done simmering, I add a scoop of any flavor of Shakeology, second best could be chocolate or vanilla protein powder, to amp up the nutritional value and protein count even more.  Make enough for a few days and keep it in the fridge.  Then, when you’re ready to eat it, add a tbsp of peanut butter, chocolate spread, and microwave it for about 20 secs. to indulge guilt free!

• When buying the choc. spread, make sure it doesn’t have a lot of saturated fat or sugar.  I buy MaraNath Dark Chocolate Almond which has 9g of sugar per preserving, (2 tbsp) and since I use less than 1 tbsp, I don’t add a lot of empty calories to my snack and still get plenty of yumminess. 

    Greek yogurt, granola & almonds

Take 1cup of plain low fat Greek yogurt, about ½ cup of granola or a cereal high in fiber (I like Nature’s Path Organic Pumpkin FlaxPlus), ¼ cup of almonds (I chop mine in my Magic Bullet super quick) and mix it up. You can also add vanilla or a chocolate spread for additional flavor.  If you take it to work like I do, you might want to keep the almonds & cereal in a separate container so they don’t get soggy.  I usually eat this late in the afternoon and it fills me up the rest of the day.  Stops me from going through the gazillion drive-thrus I see on my way home from work.

    Apples & Peanut butter

Cut up an apple in 4 halves, trying to make the wedges as flat as possible so you can spread some peanut butter on them.  It tastes great and is very filling.  You can also try it with a banana.

    Cucumber & tomato salad

Chop 1 cucumber, 2-3 tomatoes (depends on the size of the tomatoes and how you want your cucumber to tomato ratio) green onions, garlic, cilantro, sesame or olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and mix together in a large bowl then refrigerate. I try to always keep some of this salad in my fridge, so I can quickly add other ingredients to it throughout the week.  For example, you could add:

• Low fat feta cheese, kalamatta olives and salmon. I’ve even used canned salmon and it tastes great.
• Canned tuna packed in water.  I looove Costco’s white albacore canned tuna.
• Garbanzo beans (chick peas) and/or quinoa.  Extra fiber & protein
• Avocado
• Obviously, you can also use this salad as a side dish.

I don’t have a lot of time in the mornings or at night so I make a lot of this stuff during the weekend.  These “meals” or snacks are super fast and easy to make and require no talent in the kitchen whatsoever.  I hope this helps you get through your busy week without sabotaging your commitment to clean healthy eating.  What other quick meals keep you going?  Can you think of any variations on the above?  I’d love to continue adding to this list so it becomes a good resource to all of us.  As we say in Puerto Rico, “buen provecho!”

Spinning to Prodigy

A few weeks ago I had a particularly crappy day.  I didn’t get much sleep that night and I woke up early the next morning unable to get back to sleep.  I got on my bike and I started spinning to Prodigy’s album “The Fat of the Land.”  What a great album!  And what a great workout!  That music had enough energy and angst to push my workout  and I got rid of the stress I was going through at the time.  After I was done, I felt great!  I felt euphoric and empowered, and the problems that seemed so big the night before became less significant.

In my opinion, the best music to work out with is electronica.  Some people call it techno but I think techno is just one form of electronica.  When it comes to spinning or indoor cycling, electronica has the perfect musical intervals and timing for high intensity drills followed by rest periods.   Some tracks also build up perfectly to go with mountain climbing drills.  It works the same way for interval training while running or doing cardio drills on the floor.   A lot of electronica does not have “ those pesky” lyrics (as a friend of mine so eloquently described it) so it’s great for weight lifting.  The absence of lyrics in the music allows your brain to focus entirely on the workout. 

Of course, the best music to work out with is whatever you’re into.  However, it’s hard for me to imagine doing dead lifts with a barbell loaded with 30lbs, while listening to Brittney Spears.

Although the list is too long for me to enumerate, here are some of my favorite artists to workout to:

1. Prodigy
2. Groove Armada
3. Propeller Heads –do they have any other albums besides DecksDrumsandRockand Roll?
4. Dave Seaman
5. Leftfield
6. Fatboy Slim
7. Daft Punk
8. Chemical Brothers
9. Danny Tanaglia
10. DJ Chus – lots of percussion, very tribal
11. Markus Shultz
12. Sasha & Digweed
13. Sander Kleinenberg
14. Satoshie Tomiie
15. Timo Maas
16. Utah Saints
17. Joris Voorn
18. Max Graham

When I’m working out to these guys, it’s hard to make myself stop sometimes.  Music is key to getting a good workout.  I’ve had to sit through indoor cycling classes where they’re playing the greatest hits of the 70’s and it’s all I can do to not walk right out.  When the music sucks, the workout drags; when it’s good, it flies by.  That’s one of the things that have motivated me to become a certified spinning instructor.

If you don’t listen to electronica but you’d like to check it out, I suggest you try Paul Oakenfold’s “Bunkka” or “Greatest Hits & Remixes” albums - very high energy, nothing hard.  Tiesto might also be a good guy to check out.

What music do you like to work out to and why?  How does it drive you?

It is entirely possible to get a “kick ass” workout at home

Yes, it is entirely possible to get a “kick ass” workout at home.  Don't think you can?  Just check out any one of Cathe Friedrich's videos, especially the ones where she combines cardio & strength training.  The trick is to get and stay motivated.  I started by working out to several shows on Discovery’s FitTv, like: “In Shape with Sharon Mann”, Cathe Friedrich, Gilad and "Caribbean Workout" (no longer on). 

The advantages to working out at home are:

1. Minimal financial investment.  If you’re starting out, all you really need are a good pair of sneakers (do people still use that word?) and a set of dumbbells.  Don’t want to invest on dumbbells?  You can use cans and water bottles for weight resistance exercises.  For many exercises, like squats and push ups, your own body weight will be sufficient .  You may also want to buy exercise tubing and bands.  They add nice variety to your workout, are easy to carry and may even work certain muscles more effectively than a weight.
2. Zero embarrassment factor.  At home, there’s not much of a chance that someone will be watching so who cares if you miss a step or look like an over-ripe tomato while you struggle with a bicep curl.  No need to invest in fancy workout clothes either.  It’s just you and your body – mind over matter.
3. Va-ri-e-ty.  With so many shows to choose from, you shouldn’t get bored.  Thanks to FitTv, I discovered my all time idol and exercise guru, Cathe Friedrich.  I also really like Gilad.  It might take a while to find the shows you like but you’ll never know unless you try them. 

 There you have it.  There’s absolutely no excuse not to exercise. 

I like to exercise early in the morning before everyone else gets up.  That way I’m not interrupted and nothing throughout the rest of the day will get in the way of my workout.  I know it’s a bit tough to get up early in the morning but your body will get used to it and it’s well worth the sacrifice.

If you have time to watch a cheesy reality TV show, you have time to work out.  Don’t have FitTv?  Check out exercisetv.com or workouts on YouTube.  Check out your cable provider’s On Demand programming, I’m sure they also have exercise shows.

 

Addicted to the pleasure & pain of exercise

Like many people out there, I lost my job at the end of 2008 and I haven’t found permanent employment since.  Fortunately, I have been able to work temporarily doing contract assignments but the work is not steady enough to offer me any kind of financial security.  I am also a single mom living in a new city so you can just imagine how stressful and depressing this situation could be.  However, I have a coping mechanism that gives me the strength and energy I need to keep going.  My drug of choice - exercise.  Exercise keeps me sane.   

Like meditation and yoga, both of which are also incredibly therapeutic, exercise allows you to focus on your body and clear your mind so you can take a break from your problems.  An intense workout also allows you to get rid of a lot stress and anxiety.  Plus, you get the added benefit of doing something you know is good for you, as opposed to drowning your sorrows in a pint of ice cream or a bottle of wine (don’t get me wrong, those have their time & place too). 

            Exercise is a natural and very effective mood stabilizer

While alcohol depresses your nervous system, exercise is a natural and very effective mood stabilizer.  A good workout stimulates your brain’s production of serotonin, a natural feel good hormone.  Moreover, an intense workout, where you exercise at 76% of your maximum heart rate or more, can give you an "endorphin high" which will result in a feeling of joy and success that will last long after your workout is over.  Exercise will also help you sleep better, have more energy and deal with stress in a more positive way so you don’t completely loose it in front of your screaming child, your partner, your boss, or whatever is driving your nuts at the time. 

According to neuroscientist Dr. Richard Restak, M.D., antidepressants work better in combination with exercise because exercise affects the production of the brain’s three main neurotransmitters, norepinephrine, epinephrine and serotonin.  Think Smart by Dr. Richard Restak.  So if you’re feeling stressed out, sad, or anxious, get off your butt and workout!  You’ll start to feel better physically and emotionally and you may start liking what you see in the mirror.

            Exercise can be gloriously addictive! 

I realize that some see exercise as a chore and may find it difficult to get started but once you do, it becomes gloriously addictive.  I am proud to admit that I am completely addicted to those feel good hormones that are released every time I workout.  It’s very empowering to hold a barbell across your shoulders and feel every fiber in your quadriceps and your “glutes” contract when you do a squat or a leg press. I love that feeling of strength and I even love the burn or the “pain” I feel when I do those last few reps that bring my muscles to failure.  Don’t get spooked.  When you know what you’re doing exercise is not painful.  If you’re a beginner, take it slow.  Those of you out there who are “die hards” know what I’m talking about.   It might take a while to get there but stick with it because once you do; the reward is well worth it!

How do you feel after a good workout?