Can’t Face Your Healthy New Year’s Resolutions? Meditate!

This post was written by Holly Ashby, who works for Will Williams Meditation, a meditation centre who provide classes on meditation in London.

So, it’s that time of year again where the shops stop encouraging you to eat and drink like there is no tomorrow, and are suddenly rolling out all their “January detox” ranges. We are often encouraged on cycles of feast and famine, rather than simply taking joy in both food and exercise and living life happily.

There’s no reason not to get a little healthier as the New Year kicks in. Just remember to do it at your own pace, for your own personal goals rather than other people’s expectations, and in a way that makes you as happy as you are healthy. There’s also no need to set impossible goals – just to exercise a little more, and eat a little healthier after enjoying the holiday excesses.

Aug102015

Oatmeal Protein “Cookies”

Don’t you just feel like baking sometimes? The spur of creativity churning in the belly alongside the yearning to eat something delicious? I hear you and I hear that calling. Baking oftentimes contains buttery sugary goodness–but it doesn’t have to! If I don’t adhere to my normal 5:30am wake-up call, sometimes I feel rushed in the morning. That’s why when I saw The Buttercream‘s recipe, I was inspired to create my own oatmeal protein cookies to shove down my gullet in the morning (or any time of day). This recipe is ridiculously easy and the only sugar involved is from the honey! Healthy, quick, and delicious–three words that are wonderful together.

Jun262015

“Leftovers” Quiche Recipe

You ever have that time where you have vegetables that are about to go bad, but aren’t quite there? But you always seem to have an overflow of eggs? This happens fairly often in our apartment since we are always on the go. Luckily, I know just the recipe to solve this situation! When in doubt, make a quiche! This is a very easy recipe that doesn’t take much working time–and it’s great to make for the week!

Jun242015

How to Like Greek Yogurt

I’ve been there. I’ve been handed my first Greek yogurt (it was the new magical thing), I’ve dug my spoon into the yogurt with anticipation, and I’ve stuck my tongue out with disappointed disgust. For me, at least, Greek yogurt was not a love at first sight. It was a hill to climb to enjoy it. The thickness, the sourness–it was hard to get down. I’m pretty sure I made a retching sound and handed it back to whoever gave it to me in the first place. Not dramatic at all. Why am I telling you this? Because now I love Greek yogurt! I got there because it’s full of protein and it’s a great part of my nutrition. And you can too. Follow these 5 steps.

Apr242015

Homemade Lemonade Recipe

Spring is in the air! Can you smell it? The flowers are blooming, the fruit is growing, and the sun is shining. Hooray at last! Although in Southern California, you can’t always tell what season it is, we know Spring is here because everything is blooming. With the start of Spring, comes the start of fresh fruit recipes. My mum has a lemon tree that grows fruit all year round. There are no pesticides or anything like that and there is a constant flow of huge lemons wanting to be used. She can’t consume lemons because of the acidity–but I sure can! I usually put her lemons in my water every morning for a refreshing start to the day.

While I was busy house sitting at my parents’ place last weekend, the sun was shining along with a gentle breeze and I decided that I should make lemonade. I don’t know why I’ve always been intimidated to make lemonade from scratch. I know now that making lemonade is easy and incredibly rewarding. Now, I like my lemonade tart. Sweet lemonade isn’t my cup of tea. So if you go searching for other lemonade recipes, you will find more sugar in them. Let’s get started!

Beautiful!

Apr222015

How to Be a Vegetarian

Often times, when people find out I’m a vegetarian, they look at me sadly like they just found out I have a terminal illness. Funny thing is that I choose to be a vegetarian. And many other people do too! Now, the transition into being a vegetarian isn’t always so heartfelt and easy. There are tons of books out there with the purpose of instructing one on how to be a vegetarian. This is going to be a much simpler guide. I’m not telling everyone to be a vegetarian, I’m just showing you how to in case you were ever curious–how to get enough nutrients in a plant-based diet. Sometimes people turn into starch-atarians when they go veggie, but fear not–there is plenty of protein when you come this way!

Feb282015

One-Protein-Fits-All: Sunwarrior

I have a friend at work who struggles to get enough protein as a kind-of-vegan (she just doesn’t eat cheese and milk by itself) and who also can’t eat soy. I can suggest all the protein powders in the world, but they usually end up having either milk proteins or soy in them! It’s been a tough case to try to find one that would work for her. As fitness professionals, we run across a lot of people who are soy or dairy limited, so it can be a struggle to provide enough options for good protein. Here at Hungry and Fit we finally found a one-fits-all product! Enter Sunwarrior (epic name, right?).

Jan262015

Simply Pho You Restaurant Review (Los Angeles)

Restaurant? In a sense. It’s not the best word I’d use to describe the atmosphere at Simply Pho You on Vermont (just off Wilshire Center–Fit things it’s a hilarious name) in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Tucked in a strip mall on a crowded corner that gets loads of foot traffic, there isn’t any space for outdoor seating. While the inside also lacks square footage, management has loaded family-style tables with plenty of seating. No over the-top-decorations, no attractive hostess at an over-sized station, no wasted space. They just want to serve you food, and I love it. Efficiency bursts out of the kitchen with one of the hardest working wait staffs I have ever seen. The food is well worth the small price you have to pay. Restaurant? Again, not quite. I’d imagine this is what a Vietnamese block party feels like and I have few complaints.

Jan142015

How to Get Your Fitness Motivation Back

People who can identify in some way to the title know that going through this is tough. Being a normally active person or simply having a goal to becoming a health nut and not having that drive inside of you hurts. It almost wounds you, if you’re someone who is usually top-notch. Whether it’s due to lack of time, lack of energy, or just plain lack of motivation, it’s depressing to not have that hunger to work the body hard. Since I’m no longer training people full-time, I have found that my fitness motivation isn’t as high as it used to be. When I was training full-time, I was an example, and my clients were my motivation. I appreciated all the hard work they were doing and that, in turn, inspired me to keep fighting hard for my health. Now that I’m not training as much, my motivation dips to what I can do to “stay in shape” or “get by.” This is the worst because just getting by is average and I loathe average.

It’s not all bad news. There’s light behind those dark clouds. It is possible to get out of that slump and the key is within your own mind. I’ve thought about this a lot recently–how I want to beat average and become my truly fit self again. I’ve thought about what has motivated me in the past or what has really fired me up. Being fit is a very personal thing. Everything is in your head–your goals, your inspiration, your drive, and so forth. Motivation is not universal. I can tell you right now that Dani California Cooks does not get motivation to workout hard while listening to a video game soundtrack like I do (she’s nerdy in other ways). We are all different–and that’s what makes humans so interesting. However, there are some tips on how to tap into your inner drive and motivators and how to get your fitness motivation back.

Nov212014

Don’t Lift Those Heavy Weights!

Last night while getting back into squatting regularly, someone else was making some serious mistakes in their form and training program. I was concerned for their health and said something to their friend, hoping he could convince him to clean up his act for his own good. Then, the friend asked me about his own issue relating to some pain in his shoulders when he is doing what his demonstration seemed like dual bent over posterior deltoid flyes with 35 lb dumbbells.

This all leads to my point, to stop lifting heavy weights… if you’re not ready for it. I know you want to get big and strong fast, but this process is a progression that needs to be taken slowly. The muscles in your chest are large and can handle a significant amount of weight, but with poor form (or even with proper form) your shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints might not be conditioned to do the same. It will take correct technique and a significant amount of training to make sure your stabilizing muscles that protect your joints are prepared for a larger load.

Here are five tips to protect yourself and maximize your effort!

1. Warmup! It’s important to perform warm up exercises to loosen muscles fibers that are shorter, tighter, and colder from inactivity. Some internal and externals rotations can really help maximize your bench results without fatiguing your shoulders for the lift.

2. Set a rep range and stick to it. If you’re going for five reps of 135 lbs on the bench press, you’re doing that for a reason. Make sure you can perform all of those repetitions almost perfectly before considering doing five reps of any more weight in the same exercise.

3. Use assistance when necessary. I’m not telling you to let your spotter row the weight from your chest, but protect your joints when performing heavier weights or higher repetition ranges. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of using belts, straps, and wraps often (because I want to strengthen my core and stabilizer muscles), but it’s important to protect your body!

4. Rest! Someone at my facility benches and curls weights every single day of the week. When you isolate a body part and damage muscle fibers to the point that they need to be repaired, you actually have to let them repair before you hit that muscle group hard again! Don’t waste your progress by being reckless.

5. Do it properly! When you walk in the gym, leave your ego at the door. No one is going to be impressed by your 1/3 squats with two plates on each side. Well, no one who knows what they’re talking about. Ask for advice, learn proper form, use a coach, and make sure you are getting the most out of the exercises without risking getting injured.

So there you have it. Be smart. Condition your joints and strengthen your stabilizer muscles. Everyone complains about elbow pain after doing chest and triceps with flared elbows and heavy skull crushers. Everyone complains about their lower back hurting when they deadlift and squat. Avoid being sidelined and train smarter! And as always, stay hungry and fit!