Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail!

NUTRITION & FITNESS PLANNING:

How do you meal prep??
Let me start by saying there are many many ways to go about this. A couple years ago I would have said you need to measure your meals, track everything and count your calories. I may have said to time your meals throughout the day and if you got hungry in between, drink a glass of water. I've learned a lot since then and have found that focusing on micro nutrients and intuitive eating works best.

I would recommend dissecting the nutritional value of what you are eating;

* How many different fruits do you eat in a week? What about veggies? Starches? Proteins?
* Are you properly hydrated every day? How many ounces do you drink?
* How many hours of sleep do you get?
* How much sugar are you having? (Do not count sugars in whole foods!)
* Do you lack energy during the day? What time?

Keep track of these instead of calories. No one wants to do this part. It's time consuming and a chore. If you really want to change your health status you'll get over it pretty quick. If you can't, you'll stay exactly where you are and continue complaining instead of changing! There are plenty of note tracking apps that will allow this to be an easy task.

After a couple weeks you can then analyze. Here are a few possibilities;
Is your skin dull? Add 1/2 cup of berries daily.
Do you get tired around the same time every day? Then look at what you are eating up until then. You're not getting enough energy from the foods you eat. Or you are coming off of a caffeine or sugar high.
Do you have dry skin or get chapped lips often? Increase your water intake consistently and in another week reevaluate.
Do you have acne? Completely cut the dairy, reduce your sugar and take note if this helps or not.
How do you plan your fitness schedule??
This depends greatly on your goals and current physique.  For space saving purposes I will go over the average recommendations.  If you have a health condition this may be different and you should consult with a professional for guidelines.

CARDIO: 3+ days varying between moderate and vigorous efforts.
RESISTANCE: 3+ days; exercises including all major muscle groups.
FLEXIBILITY:  Daily.  Especially if you are coming from a sedentary lifestyle.

Buy a calendar, print a schedule, use an app.  Plan out your cardio, resistance and flexibility sessions.  Check them off as you go.  If you happen to miss or skip (don't do it!) just move it forward and follow through.



PAY ATTENTION to how your body reacts and feels to any changes you make.  Use your intuition to determine what is or is not working for you.  You'll get better at doing this the longer you do it.  If you find this extremely difficult it may benefit you to consult a professional.  Feel free to email me with your questions; info@nicoleqfitness.com

FIT TIP: Desk Job Downsides

The human body is not meant to be sedentary.  

When we are, bad things happen.  In this post i'm going to go over the negative impact on our muscles when we sit too much.  
I'll give you great stretches to reverse common muscle tightness from frequent sitting.  These will only help if you do them every day and even multiple times a day depending on how much time you spend in a seated position.

So if you have a desk job or find your self sitting for the majority of your day then you should pay attention and begin to incorporate the following stretches.

Let's start from the bottom and work our way up...

Even if you don't have a desk job, your feet are most likely going to be in a flexed position for most of the day.  Counteract the flex with two variations of this ankle/foot stretch;

Hold each variation 10+ seconds.

Gently come out of the stretch by leaning forward onto your hands.

Slowly roll your ankles in both directions & point/flex your feet.

Repeat a few times daily.

When sitting, your hips are in a hinged position.  The hip flexor muscles that cause this movement become so tight that they pull the pelvis forward causing back pain.  The glutes and core can also become weak points from this position.

Keep each leg in a 90 degree position.

Without pushing the front knee forward, sink your hips down & slightly forward.

Raise your arm straight up & over towards the side of the forward leg.

Feel the stretch in the rear leg.  Do not lean on to the front leg.

Keep your front leg at 90 degrees and your knee close to your body.

Let your hips sink low.

To intensify, twist towards the front leg, raising your arm straight up.

Keep you hips square.

Do not put too much weight into your upper body. It should be in your hips.

The foot of your front leg will be in line with the back leg.

Deepen the stretch by pulling your back leg up.

Crossing your legs makes things even worse.  When the muscles of the inner thighs become tight from holding the legs inward, they will pull at the femur and can cause knee pain.  With the opposite position of a widened stance, the muscles of the outer thighs can become tight.

In both, use your elbows to gently press the knees.


Keep your posture tall.
<<
If your heels lift off the ground, place an object under your heels for support.  Your body weight should be in your heels.

>>
Fold from your hips, not your back.























Keep your upper body relaxed.  

Do not let your shoulders be pulled toward your legs.

Pull from either your
<< 
thigh 
>>
shin
Repeat with the other leg.




Sitting in front of a computer often leads to a hunched position.  The shoulders and head are forward cause tightness in the chest area and weakness in the back.

Place one hand behind your back.

Gently let your hand be heavy on your head as you pull to the opposite side.

Repeat on the other side.

Clasp your hands together behind your back and gently pull downward, close to your body.

Gently drop your head to either side or perform slow neck rolls.

Every stretch above is counteracting the position most people are in when sitting at a desk.  Doing these stretches multiple times a day is arguably better than one hour at the gym in regards to reversing the tightness.  

Take care of your body & stretch!!!

Fit Friday: Tabata + Southwestern Quinoa Salad Recipe

 TABATA WORKOUT

*4 groups of 2 exercises

*4 sets per group

* 30 seconds each exercise

*10-15 second break between sets

*1 minute rest between groups

Variation of band walks...

SOUTHWESTERN QUINOA SALAD

Ingredients:

6 mini cucumbers, diced

1 container cherry tomatoes, diced

1 bag frozen corn, cooked and drained

1-2 cups purple cabbage, chopped

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Mexican seasonings, salt & pepper to taste

Dressing:

1/2 avocado

Juice from 1/2 small lime

Juice from 1/2 small lemon

Splash of rice wine vinegar

Hot sauce, salt & pepper to taste

Coconut water or regular water to thin to desired consistency

Optional:

Beans, tofu, meat, etc...

Over 1-2 cups of lettuce and 1/2-1 cup of cooked quinoa.

ENJOY!

FIT FRIDAY: Nutrition is simple...If you let it be

With all of the information out there regarding what is good and bad, healthy and unhealthy, when you should eat this or not eat that, etcetera, etcetera; How is anyone supposed to know what is healthy and what they really should be eating in order to keep their body healthy?

The answer is really very simple.  

In fact, most people probably already know what the best options are when it comes to healthy eating.  The problem is that we have been exposed to false knowledge and fake food.  We have grown up, or at least I have, in the era of convenience.  Convenience means more profit.  More profit means everything else is forgotten.  Especially the health factor.  Which means these convenient foods are not of the best quality.  Fatty, sugary, processed, and manufactured foods cause a reaction in our bodies making us crave them more.  The result is we don't end up getting what our bodies really need to function properly.
But anyways let's get to the 'secret answer'...

WHOLE FOODS.  

Was this answer a surprise to you?  It shouldn't be.  Natural foods are always going to be better than factory manufactured "foods".  By definition whole foods are foods that have been processed or refined as little as possible and are free from additives or other artificial substances.

Fruit, Vegetables, Whole Grains & Legumes.

Do you read the ingredients list on the products you buy?  If not, you should be!  What you eat is way more important than how many grams of carbs you are eating.  People being afraid of carbs is a whole other topic...  What you do not want to do is create an unhealthy relationship with food.  Putting restrictions on your diet can cause this to happen.  Changing your nutrition to include more plant foods in no way means that you can't have snacks or treats.  It just means you will be buying different brands.  And believe me, there are many treats and snacks that taste amazing but are much healthier than what I grew up with.  You just have to make the effort to include plant foods in your diet and choose healthier versions of snack foods.

Keep these in mind when changing your food habits...
The less you eat sugar filled, heavily processed or packaged "foods", the less you will crave them.

--
Do not completely cut out or restrict foods.  Changes to your diet should be gradual to allow you to adapt.  (habits are unlikely to be changed overnight)
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The more satisfied your body is with nutritious foods, the less craving for calorie dense foods you will have and the less likely you will binge on unhealthy food.
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The longer you practice the habit of eating whole foods, the easier it will become to say no to everything else that has little to no nutritional value.

It's really common sense.  

The question is; How badly do you want to be healthy?  

How badly do you want to feel full of energy...sleep better at night...improve your brain function...reduce your body fat...reduce or get rid of acne...reduce or get rid of digestion problems...have better skin...reduce risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes & some types of cancer...

Make good choices today so you

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As always, if there is something specific you'd like to see here comment below, on my Facebook page or email me: info@nicoleqfitness.com

Do you really know what you're eating? -Documentaries

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to introduce some documentaries.  Watching these has lead me to completely change what I thought to be a healthy lifestyle.  Now I have a completely different outlook on everything.

For most people there is a disconnect where their food comes from.  The grocery store, right?
Wrong.
Your meat and dairy products start in factory farms.  This business idea for the meat and dairy industry came from the fast food industry to make production quicker and cheaper.  There is no surprise that health is a concern when talking about fast food but you may see every day foods in a different light after watching a few of the below. 
Watch a few and let me know your thoughts below!

https://youtu.be/jRp71BwRW8c  $2.99

http://www.cowspiracy.com/

You can also watch this on Netflix for $FREE

https://youtu.be/jtyp2dKRmeM  $6.99

https://youtu.be/zD8e4Mg3NFU    $3.99

https://youtu.be/n1LUj3kxB9M   $3.99

https://youtu.be/hHCCFjB8M48   $FREE

Vegan Banana Muffins RECIPE

I have been transitioning my diet since earlier this year.  

Now it was not a New Years goal I set but just sort of happened after expanding my knowledge of the food industry.  

However, I am not a Vegan.  

I will no longer purchase animal products at the grocery store or use them in my day to day cooking but I have had a food item here and there during various occasions that would not put me in the Vegan category.  I am not striving to put the label on myself but just to focus mainly on eating a plant-based diet.

ANYWAYS...

Here is the Banana Muffin recipe I've recently tried and 

will continue to use because they taste AMAZING!


INGREDIENTS

4 medium Bananas (~400g)
1 medium Apple (~1/2 cup applesauce)
1/4 cup Oil of choice
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/3 cup Sugar of Choice

2 cups flours of choice
1/2 tbsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda



DIRECTIONS


Mix 2 tablespoons of ground flax with 6 tablespoons of water.  Set this aside for now.  I put mine in the fridge because it seems to help it set quicker.

Mash 4 ripe bananas. 
Add in 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 cup applesauce (a medium apple ground in a food processor works just fine), 1/3 cup sugar of choice and 1/4 cup oil of choice.

In a separate bowl mix 2 cups of flour of choice, 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp Baking Soda and 1/4 tsp salt.

Your ground flax mixture should be thick and gel-like before adding to the wet ingredient mixture.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in.
Mix until combined.

The mixture will be very thick.
You can add any extras you'd like: dried fruit, chocolate chips, nuts/seeds, etc.

Use Liners or grease up the pan.  I used half liners and half coconut oil which came out of the pan just fine without sticking.

Bake on 300 for 20 minutes.  
Turn up to 350 and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes.

Let the muffins completely cool in the pan before removing.  They can then be stored in a bag/container in the fridge or frozen for later use.

The macros without any additional ingredients are shown below.  
They may vary depending on which sugar/flour/oil product you choose as well as any extra ingredients or toppings.  If you are looking for a higher protein banana muffin you can always add a plant based protein powder.