Over, Under or Around

Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, for wise men say it is the wisest course-

It’s always a pleasure to start the week with a beautiful message.

Especially when Melissa stops over from Sweet Wholesome Health!

Over, Under or Around

What happens in the face of adversity?  Do you give up when something (ex. an injury) holds you back from your routine?  Sometimes it’s so off-putting that all we want to do is feel bad for ourselves, throw our hands in the air and give up on everything we have worked for. We get used to our scheduled activities that keep us healthy and then a wrench is throw into the works.  It can be so hard to continue to move forward when you feel like there is something blocking your entire path.  In the past I would even convince myself that maybe it’s a sign and that I should never have been doing it in the first place.

Whether you believe in signs or not, this is not the time to give up. It is a chance to reflect, grow and adapt!

Here are some thinking points to aid you Over, Under or Around your hurdle:)

  1. Change direction.  Pivot and go down a road you always wanted to try.  Maybe it’s more yoga and less running for a while or spend time learning a new skill, building your spiritual practice or growing your relationships:)
  2. Re-evaluate your goals-  what do you want?  Has it changed?
  3. Set goals and a timeline for your recovery-  use this time to explore something, use your time in a new way and know that you have opportunity while you recover.

When something in your life throws you off … You have a choice.  You can adapt or give up.  It may seem easier at first to give up, but take some time to think about all the accomplishments you are giving up, the loss of momentum and your emotional state.  Are you feeling uncomfortable, sad and maybe depressed?  To adapt, you have to get outside the box, put thought into your next move and step up.  You might fall along the way, but you will also feel strong in your ability to be flexible, determined, and open!

Every day we should be looking for opportunities to challenge ourselves, get outside of the normal, comfortable and prepare ourselves to embrace the unknown.  Find a way to live and love your life every day no matter who or what stands in your way:)

The Plan-

The Workout-

To awaken the senses and prepare for another long week that ominously awaits us.

A brisk Walk/Trail Run/Hike … Anything outdoors.  Followed by:

A free-flowing, graceful Sun Salutation series until you find balance and your breath effortlessly carries you from movement to movement.

Notes:

We honestly cannot say thank you enough to Melissa for writing such an inspiring post, especially on a Monday.  Her message is always pure and honest … In essence the polar opposite of our abrasive and cantankerous style you have grown to love?!?  Be sure to head on over to Sweet Wholesome Health to say hello today … ENJOY!!!


You are what you eat!

Once again we are very grateful to have Melissa over today from Sweet Wholesome Health with such an inspiring article.  Get the hummus ready and be sure to clean up the mess you left behind toasting your bagel…This is a really good read!

How much time do you spend looking into exactly what you are eating? How closely are you looking?

Ideally everyone that is aware of being healthy would cook completely from scratch and use only ingredients that they grew themselves. Then there would be no guessing as to what and how it was grown but this is impossible for most of us and totally unrealistic. Of course you can grow some things and cook a lot of your meals but not everyone has as much time as they need for what they would like to be eating.

Here are my top 2 tips for finding the best foods in a sea of options at the SUPERMARKET!

  1.  Stop looking at the nutrition facts first. Remember you are what you eat! Start with the ingredients list. If you can’t read or understand what most of the ingredients, it is NOT FOOD and your body doesn’t know how to digest it. There are some really great products out there but you have to look closely to find them. For example my favorite on the go bar is LaraBars. They are delicious, give you energy and only have 5 or 6 real ingredients which means it is all real food yum!
  2. Although the “healthy foods” section is usually way more expensive at supermarkets, there is usually some really good markdowns. The general public stay away from this isle because of the cost so there are always products that the supermarket has to push to sell which means major markdowns! Stock up on these delicious real ingredient foods for when you need something quick.
The key is to always make the best decision possible. You never want to put so much pressure on your food choices that you create extra stress in your body. The stress will do just as much if not more damage. So make an educated decision and enjoy what you have. If you know you won’t have time to make breakfast this week go to the supermarket and buy some LaraBars because at least you know it is real food going into your body even if it isn’t the ideal breakfast.

Always love your body and do the best you can with what you have 🙂


Monday 30 April 2012

You are having many falls, you are losing the fight. Your fame is all noise and commotion. My friend, you are saying you will uplift the world, But what about yourself?-

The Nutrition Equation…

Ever feel overwhelmed by the equation of nutrition (% of fat vs % protein vs % carbs etc)?  Calculating what’s right for you does not mean you have to break out the calculator.  Of course some of you ( accountant types) might enjoy that but for the rest of us that is just adding more painful work into our busy lives.

Here are some ways you can add both fun and more healthy food into your daily routine!

Get out of your comfort zone one baby step at a time.  While you are getting ready in the morning (washing your hair, getting dressed) set a goal for yourself to try something new today.  Don’t change your whole meal…Just add one new ingredient!  Let yourself get excited about it and be proud when you accomplish your goal!

Find out what is seasonal and available right now in your area.  It will be lower cost, very fresh and will support your local farmers.  There are lots of websites out there that can give you this info and a list of farmers markets you can find them at.

Local Harvest <–Like this one here!!!

Get creative!  Whatever local food you chose, take a sec to find a recipe that is going to get your taste buds excited and will be fun to make.  For those of you experiencing spring it can be as simple as trying a new kind of lettuce or leafy green (kale, Swiss chard, arugala).  You do not have to be a master chef to make tasty meals just willing to try.  Leafy greens like kale are packed full of vitamins and minerals and only take a few minutes to cook!

Eating healthier and being healthy is a unique journey for each and every one of us. Take time to discover how YOU are going to get there!
I am so excited to be a part of the CultFit community and to be here to help you “Find the Happy in Being Healthy”! For more information about me and what I do check out www.sweetwholesomehealth.com or my blog at www.adventuresoffoodlove.wordpress.com.

Healthy needs to be more fun!

Melissa Talamini Levine
Holistic Health and Wellness Coach
Sweet Wholesome Health

The Plan-

The Workout-

Listen up, yeah you!!!  Pulled from our “Focus on something” series here at the CultFit archives…

Warm Up thoroughly doing the following:

25 Four Count Jumping Jacks

50 Goblet Squats

25 Perfect Push Ups

10 Perfect Pull Ups

45 Second High Push Up Plank

Who would have thought that Calisthenics were invented yesterday?  Now take a moment to put your honest face on  peeps…If we told you the above was a new P90x extreme workout or some ELITE WOD would you be interested?  Oh look Booby is now the mayor of Whole Foods on Four Square…

Four, Five, Six or Seven times through would be pretty nice followed by an activity you thoroughly enjoy (we went for a nice swim)!!!

Notes:

If you could put down your iThingy in the seat next to you on your morning commute this morning?  We have favor to ask of you…Look in your rear view mirror for a second.  Do you see that?  Say hello to your own worst enemy…Take a long hard look at this picture this morning peeps:

We are going to tackle a serious issue that is all to prevalent amongst our readers tomorrow.  If you have an idea where this going to go feel free to comment to get the proverbial ball rolling…Once again our thanks to Melissa from Sweet Wholesome Health for stopping over and sharing an important message with us today!  Have fun and ENJOY!!!


Friday 27 April 2012

Anything that can feel pain should not be put to pain-

What are the chances of you keeping a secret?  Cool…We are so excited to announce that on Monday a dear friend will be stopping by to pay a visit.  Which reminds us to clean up a bit over the weekend and maybe shave?  Anyways, Melissa with Sweet Wholesome Health is kind and gracious enough to share her expertise in all things that can bring us closer to a healthy and happier life.  If ever there was a time where we were lost for words this would be that time.  Melissa passionately provides pure and thoughtful information that we can all use in our daily lives.  Not since when the Boston Bruins were eliminated from the NHL playoffs have we been this excited about something.

Well it’s happened once again.  You have wasted precious seconds from your life reading the musings here at CultFit all week.  We tossed a fair amount of  stuff out into the abysses and we sincerely hope it “clicked” with some of you.  Today’s post was going to go over Factual Fitness and Contextual Fitness.  But who really cares?  We’ll save it for sometime next week…Sound like a plan?

Speaking of which.  One way to look at CultFit would be as a conversation amongst all of us (followers, friends and lurkers).  If there is something you are passionate about and would like to share please pipe up and send it in.  No kidding, Uncle Frank here has a whole weeks worth or writing dedicated to the best hot dogs on earth:  Hofmann Hot Dogs!!!   You NYC types can take your Sabretts, Nathan’s and well?  You know what to do with them!?!

The Plan-

And your excuse today is?!?

The Workout-

Thank you Sister Margret for sending in this little gem of a program before the weekend begins!!!

Warm Up as you see fit…We choose to do a Pulse Trail Run (basically a nice flowing run with pulses/bursts up the steep bits…Followed by:

**You did remember to bring a kettle bell or dumbbell with you to the trail this morning, right?  Hmm Farmers Walk to the trail head…?!?**

At this point in our relationship its fair to say that you don’t leave home without some sort of technology strapped to your delicate body every morning.  Good because we need something to keep time today or you could be like Uncle Pliny and watch the sun rise above the horizon…15 degrees = 15 minutes or so?

Find a tree and…

Hand Stand Hold (Actively press away from the ground beneath you.  Toes point to the sky.)  Please do not flop down…Flow and Grace…Followed by:

15 One Legged Dead Lifts (Weight is held opposite of standing leg.  Your chin and tail bone are mortal enemy’s…Focus and pull them away from one another!)

Hand Stand Hold

15 One Legged Dead Lifts (Following along so far?  Good…)

Hand Stand Hold

15 One Legged Dead Lifts and 15 Perfect One Arm Press (Hinge, DL, Hammer Curl to Rack Hold and Press)

Hand Stand Hold

15 One Legged Dead Lifts and 15 Perfect One Arm Press

At this point you hate life.  This program is not a battle or a struggle against humanity!  The tree really dislikes you because you slam into it every time for a hold and the ground really does not like having weight dropped on its head.  Form, Flow and Grace for at least 30 minutes or so.  If you can only do one DL or Press?  That’s awesome!!!  One perfect rep is better than 15 disastrous ones (think about that for a moment…)!!!

Notes:

If we were to ask one thing of you it would be this:  Our sense of community at CultFit revolves around you and our ability share our thoughts openly.  What say you?!?  Have a great weekend and most importantly, ENJOY!!!