Pull-ups

It was "benchmark" day today AKA fit test day.. which is reworded so people aren't getting as anxious about getting tested. It is what it is. Pullups today.. 50 pullups in 3:16. 30 on the purple band and 20 on the TRX as rows. I gave myself a break from pullups as as goal from last BRIK. I've definitely regressed as last BRIK I was on the black band or no band. But w anything, if you don't practice you get rusty. We shall conquer them another day. I'll try to keep up w my 10 daily from Ry's pullup contraption. If I ever clean out the Christmas decorations, I'll hang my yoga swing that I got for Christmas in our living room. My mom will have a heart attack if she ever saw it. It would technically be between dining area and living room. I need to get on that! Urgency!

Begin again

Yesterday morning was BRIK orientation. It's my 16th one to date. The quote Scarlett read really hit home.. I don't quite remember the wording but essentially it was if you keep doing the same thing, you won't get anywhere new. I feel like each BRIK is blending w the last. So after orientation, I went to kickboxing which is another one of my loves. They were just signing people up for the 6 week challenge. Which I don't even know why I did it, but I said 'fuck it' and signed up for the challenge. I was hungry and sweaty but who knows what the hell I've gotten myself into. Jess made us write down our pre-written affirmations repeating the words "I'm badass" at least 3 times and I mostly believe it. Fake it til you make it right? Then it took awhile but got before pictures taken. Dru took them and tried to make me feel less awkward about it. I felt exposed. I shouldn't be weird about it. I tell women they need to have positive dialogue with regards to their bodies - why is it so hard to believe it myself to my own body (or at least my belly). Then another hour of waiting for Jess to have a one on one. I feel like she shouldn't be the only one doing those but its her baby to champion.

To new beginnings. And to finishing them with full speed. Just as swiftly and with urgency as I've started. "Urgency" is going to be my mantra for this year. Live it like it's going to be my last.

Injuries suck!

So right now, my left heel has been hurting due to a heel spur, plantar fasciitis, or a little from both. I'm not supposed to be running on it. Oh man, it is SO HARD to not run in Kaia! My heart hurts (not literally) from having to power walk and not able to run with my tribe. Honestly, I can definitely run with them. The next day, my heel reminds me that I should not have.

My primary care doctor has prescribed my some physical therapy. It's helping quite a bit! I'm sure the resting part is also doing its job. But that's the hardest part of all of this - the resting part. I think if you've been in Kaia for any lengths of time, you're bound to have tried our high impact Kaia level. The hard part is controlling what I do, or don't do in this level. Sure, it seems to push you harder than all the other levels, but if you truly need to rest your body, why are you pushing it?!

This past week's Fit Tip was great! It talks about "being brave enough to slow down your movements and commit to focusing on the balance level of each exercise. Work on good form and full range of motion." This is exactly what I need to work on. For some reason, as a Kaia vet, we think our Kaia sisters will think less of us if we slow it down, like we're going to be less of an athlete if we do balance level. Sometimes, we need to break it down in order to build it back up. 

With speed, sometimes, we compromise form. It's not good - when FORM goes out the window, you know who shows up: INJURIES. So even if we have to bite down our pride, we should all practice getting back to balance form, executing perfect form, using those mirrors placed FOR US - in order to visualize if we are doing something correctly or just going through the motion, and lastly, listen to your Kaia coaches! Sometimes, as vets, we don't want to hear that we're not doing something in perfect form - that little voice in my head says, "Well damn! I've been here so long, I KNOW what I'm doing." I'm here to tell you that your coach might see something that you might not and we're not just walking around correcting form for 'shits and giggles'. With LOVE, we are here to help reduce injury, & reduce exercise downtime, so YOU don't get stuck having to walk/powerwalk like I have to.

Take it from me, slow it down, take it to Balance Level, and perfect that exercise before adding speed, weight or injuries!

Detox Week Tip

I was at work this past week and a patient's family member had brought in doughnuts and coffee to thank the staff, just as BRIK had started. I mean, literally, BRIK started hours before. We had orientation on Saturday and I worked Sunday night. I was really good though, and stayed away from eating any doughnuts and drinking any coffee as one of my absolute NO's is caffeine for this BRIK.

It was a mistake to take a photo of said doughnuts and coffee. It was on my brain ALL night long. And I work 12 hour shifts! Do me a favor: DO NOT do what I just did.

Reverse psychology works on a lot of people but if you're trying NOT to eat something and you tell yourself "NO - NEVER!" I feel like it makes me want that item more! Dangle this dangerous "dare" in front of me, and I don't know if I'm going to succeed, or setting myself up for failure. 

Nothing is ever 100%. I mean, by telling myself that I cannot have caffeine for the whole BRIK, I pretty much have coffee on my brain all the time. I'm not fond of doughnuts at all, but by putting it on the "NO list", I wanted that doughnut more! Don't put hard limits to your nutrition. It can only set you up for failure UNLESS you are VERY VERY DISCIPLINED (::cough:: Caren!)

So do me a favor and for Detox week, try LESSENING those dirty habits instead of banning them altogether. It might just be me, but I feel like diving into cutting everything out can be overwhelming and can set you up to fail pretty quickly. Ease yourself into this warm bath by choosing healthier food to crowd out the junk food. Slow and steady wins the race! Or in my case, not diving into a box of doughnuts when no one else is looking!

PAPAYA smoothy!!

PAPAYA smoothy!! 

1. When buying papayas choose fruit that

• is at least partly yellow
• gives slightly when pressed
• has smooth skin
• bruises free

2. When making smoothies

• remove skin
• remove seeds from middle
• I like to cut mine up in little pieces then put in the freezer for later use

Papaya Smoothie Recipe

• 1 to 2 cups of your liquid ( organic soy milk, organic almond milk, organic rice milk or organic low fat milk )
• 1/2 cup of your cream ( Organic natural yogurt )
• 2 to 3 cups of frozen fruit. (can be papaya)
• Cruhed ice – if not using frozen fruit

Other add-on fruits which go well with papaya for mixed smoothies are:

• kiwi
• pineapple
• mango

Hariyali Chicken Tikka

 Hariyali Chicken Tikka

 Ingredients

• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 green chili pepper
• 2 cups cilantro leaves
• 4 cups mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1 scallion (use the white and light green park only)
• 1 tablespoon vegetables or 1 tablespoon canola oil and more for grilling
• 4 chicken breasts (chicken tenders)
• kosher salt
• fresh lemon juice

 

Directions

1. In a food processor/blender, mix cilantro leaves, mint leaves, scallion, bell pepper, cumin powder, green chili and garlic cloves.
2. Add oil to the above mixture and blend to form a smooth paste.
3. Remove the prepared green mixture in to a zip lock bag along with the chicken tenders.
4. Seal the bag and massage the marinade in to the chicken tenders. Place this bag in the refrigerator overnight or for at least ten hours.
5. Use skewers to place the marinated chicken tenders. Sprinkle salt on each side of them.
6. Heat the grill and rub it with some oil. Place the skewers on it to get grill marks on each side and cook until the chicken is done.
7. Drizzle some fresh lemon juice and enjoy with your favorite dipping sauce and loved ones!

Tips: If salt is added in the marinade, it will extract moisture from the vegetables and leaves. This will result in a watery marinade, which is not desired.

Carbonated Water: Healthier than Soda or Myth?

There are different types of carbonated water. It seems that people are substituting carbonated water as a healthier alternative to soda. 


Here are the different types:

• Club Soda: carbonated water with sodium

• Seltzer: carbonated water without sodium

• Tonic Water: contains calories from sugar/sweeteners

• Flavored Sparkling Water: often contains additives including sweeteners, caffeine, citric acid, calories, vitamins, and minerals

• Soda Stream: unless you add to it, this is strictly carbonated water choice

Here is what evidence based follow ups suggest:

1. Calcium loss in bones. Sodas are linked with lower bone mineral density, which might come from the phosphoric acid (phosphorus is important in building strong bones) and caffeine. Caffeine is known to interfere with absorption of calcium. Plain carbonated water lacks both caffeine and phosphorus! Yay to not losing more calcium in bones!






2. Tooth Decay. Reading the label is important: Anything with SUGAR, or CITRIC ACID, or PHOSPHORIC ACID may lead to erosion of tooth enamel which will eventually lead to tooth decay. By taking slices of enamel and immersing them in different soft drinks for six, 24, and 48 hours, Poonam Jain at Souther Illinois University School of Dental Medicine demonstrated that enamel does begin to erode. However, if it's just plain carbonated water (no sugar, no citric acid, or phosphoric acid), through adding pressurized carbon dioxide to plain water, will NOT cause tooth decay. So read your labels!





3. Weight gain. My advice: read your labels! They are your friends! Sweeteners and fake sugars are a big no-no. Your body does not recognize these sugars and cannot break it down as easily so it stores it for later which leads to weight gain. So if you're drinking carbonated sparkling water, look for ones without extra sweeteners. Plain carbonated water should be fine! If you have soda stream, you can always add natural flavors like lemon or herbal tea to the mix instead of adding pre-packaged soda flavors!




4. Bloating & IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Club soda includes sodium into the mix. Too much of a good thing can be bad, as too much sodium can cause an increase in GI (gastro-intestinal) motility. Carbonation may cause bloating and gas which can lead to IBS.




5. Feeling of fullness. This can be good or bad. Registered dietitian Ruth Frenchman recommends that you should avoid carbonated water after a workout as you might not hydrate properly if you are feeling full already. On the other hand, if you are trying to eat less, maybe drinking carbonated water before meals might be okay so you feel full sooner, and may eat proper food portions.