Pinterest Fitness Inspiration

I hope you are all having a lovely Tuesday!

I have been spending quite a bit of time on Pinterest lately (perhaps too much?), and definitely too much time catching up on the third season of Downton Abbey (how DARE they kill my favorite character!!). Since I can't stream my favorite D.A. episodes on my blog, I figured a little Pinspiration might suffice to explain my happenings as of late (or, I suppose, what I would LIKE my happenings to be of late, since I have been sick in bed for the last few days).

Side Note for my Mom:  I don't endorse dressing like a hoochie mama while working out...I like these pictures because they display strong women who have worked really hard to achieve their fitness goals!

And here, my friend, is a glimpse at last night's Costco grocery run:

($3 giant bags of romaine!!! Costco is my happy place.)

Where do YOU shop for groceries???

 

National Eating Disorder Awareness Week

 

 As last week was the National Eating Disorder Awareness week, I thought it appropriate to re-blog this article to promote awareness. Katie Levans is a blogger (you might have also seen her on the latest season of The Bachelor) I follow on the reg, and I love her approach to health, fitness, and body-image. The following article was originally found on Elephant Journal's website. 

 

To read the original article, click here.

To view Katie's blog, click here.

 

Beyond the Body: Yoga & Disordered Eating. ~ Katie Levans

Photo: Courtney Linnehan

February 24 – March 2 is National Eating Disorder Awareness week.

I remember when I stopped eating. It was Christmas break of my junior year of high school. The holiday was over and we had a little over a week before returning to classes. I don’t know why or how but I made a very clear, very conscious decision not to eat until New Year’s Eve.

I’d always had a preoccupation with weight and appearance. I wasn’t obese by any stretch of the imagination (or medical definition), but I certainly held on to my “baby fat” well into adolescence and therefore, never got behind that ’90s girl trick of tying one’s shirt into a crop top with a knot on one side. (In the end, I suppose that’s a fashion bullet I artfully—albeit accidentally—dodged.)

I preferred baggy sweatsuits and leggings and wouldn’t wear a pair of jeans until middle school. Swimsuits were absolutely out of the question unless paired with an oversized t-shirt, an accessory that—let’s be honest—only drew more attention to my feeble attempt to disappear.

Today I’m a full-time yoga teacher and I live and breathe in nothing-left-to-the-imagination spandex, grateful every single day for a strong, healthy body that carries me through life and for the practice that taught me to finally love and appreciate that body.

But growing up my body was at no point something to celebrate. I never saw it as a living, breathing miracle of science rapidly replicating cell upon cell, building a framework of flesh and bone and blood that would house my soul for the rest of my adult life. Instead I always saw it as something shameful, something imperfect, something to change.

Where did I learn this? Certainly not from my mom who didn’t allow scales in the house and always disapproved of plastic surgery horror stories on the news, shaking her head and reminding us we were perfect the way we were. In fact, I can’t recollect a time I have ever heard her speak negatively of her own appearance let alone mine.

I guess I could blame TV and movies, airbrushed magazines that misrepresent what the human form is, and the resulting “beauty ideal” that is neither attainable nor existent.

And, really, it’s a combination of all of the above. The fact is we’re born into an image-obsessed world that is constantly telling us to be something and someone else: thinner, taller, tanner, sexier.

Skinny jeans not working with your actual genes? We can lipo that! Pale? Spray on a tan! Pudgy? Pop a diet pill! Perfect? Impossible!
It’s sick, really.

My decision to stop eating in high school didn’t seem so abnormal to me at the time.

Everyone was dieting. Lots of girls wanted to lose weight. What started as a week of seemingly innocent weight control quickly spiraled into a lifetime of disordered eating behaviors, including extreme calorie restriction, crash dieting, binging and exercise-induced anorexia, all habits that people around me seem to consider “normal” girl behavior.

I always choose my words carefully here: “disordered eating” instead of “eating disorder.” Part of it’s because it sounds, ironically enough, a little prettier. A little less crazy, if you will. And part of it’s that I’ve never had an actual diagnosis and I feel that claiming an eating disorder without really having one trivialize the estimated eight million, sometimes fatal clinical cases in the US.

What I’ve experienced is what’s called an Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS), a catchall classification in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) that covers any pattern of disordered eating behavior that doesn’t fit the definition of Anorexia Nervosa or bulimia.

Unfortunately, the sad reality is that 70 percent of all eating disorders fall under this category and, therefore, are largely undiagnosed and untreated. In fact, our view is so warped on the subject that clearly disordered behaviors have somehow become the norm: skipping a meal to save calories, over-exercising to compensate for an indulgence, eliminating entire food groups, bingeing (even without purging) and an unrelenting preoccupation with food are all disordered eating behaviors.

I’m not saying that healthy eating and weight loss are to be abandoned, but an unhealthy preoccupation with either can be more damaging—mentally and physically—than most people realize.

Photo: Wanda Koch

Recovery from eating disorders is rare, and while treatment programs can help to normalize and stabilize, most associated behaviors will last a lifetime.

Personally, I’ve never sought professional help, but I have found—quite by accident—some semblance of normalcy only through an unexpected practice of yoga.
When I first started practicing yoga six years ago, I did so (not surprisingly) to lose weight (and ideally look like Jennifer Anniston, who I heard through the tabloid grapevine was on her mat on the regular). But what started as an exercise rooted in a preoccupation with my appearance quickly taught me to transcend beyond my physical body to something bigger.
I don’t recall one specific moment of clarity or the ever-elusive sense of enlightenment yogis chase, but I do know that over time I slowly stopped viewing my body as something to torture and starve and punish with exercise and instead looked at it as an incredible machine capable of carrying me through seemingly impossible poses and into a life of unlimited possibility. For the first time ever my body became something to celebrate.

Photo: Courtney Linnehan

While my experience is anecdotal, I know my story is not the only one of its kind. In fact, there is even some emerging research that supports yoga as a successful adjunctive therapy to standard eating disorder treatments.
One study in the Journal of Adolescent Health found a decrease in eating disorder symptoms and decreased food preoccupation in a group of boys and girls ages 11-21. And another in the Psychology of Women Quarterly found that women who practice yoga report lower self-objectification, greater body satisfaction and fewer disordered eating attitudes.

What’s so beautiful about yoga, I think, is that the practice uses the body to ultimately disconnect us from the body.

It seems counterintuitive at first, but dedication to a physical yoga practice is what led me to the realization that I am not my body, that I am not limited by its physical limitations nor defined by its dimensions. And for that, I am forever grateful.


Katie Levans is a full-time yoga teacher, writer, fighter of hunger and dietetics school dropout with a Master of Science in Nutrition. She lives, works and plays in Charlotte, North Carolina.
www.katielevans.com | twitter: @sweettaterblog | katierlevans@gmail.com

I can't fit into my dress!!! AHHHHH!

Well hello there! 

I have been M.I.A. and super, super busy. 

Joel and I are moving, a couple girls and I just planned/executed a Bridal Shower, still doing youth ministry stuff, blogging elsewhere...

I have simply been on the go for six weeks straight!

My sister-in-law (pictured above) is getting married in four weeks. 

While this is all very exciting, I have one slight (okay, huge) problem: 

My bridesmaid dress doesn't fit!!!!

I ordered it in a size six, my normal size, but when it came in the zipper literally won't go all the way up by about 3 inches.

At first, I was worried.

But then I remembered that since the 30-day-Paleo challenge ended the last week of January, I have gained about four pounds (dang you gluten!!!!), so I know I have some weight I can lose to make the dress fit. 

And lucky for me, my fellow bridesmaid and sister in law is facing the same problem with her dress, so I concocted a nutrition/work out plan that will help our dresses zip all the way to the top :)

Below is a great view of the culprit that has created my most recent problem.

OPERATION: FIT INTO BRIDESMAID DRESSES BY MARCH 22 @ 3 PM

By Bethany Thompson

Basics of the Eating Plan:

1.      Clean Eating – NO processed sugar, alcohol, empty carbs, or saturated fats

2.      Water – DRINK 100 OUNCES PER DAY

3.      Green Tea (no honey) at 3PM every day (if possible!)

4.      Eat every two hours

5.      Main meals should be eaten until full (do not starve yourself!)

6.      No carbs after 6 pm (unless berries)

7.      Drink “Metabolism Boost” every morning upon waking up

8.      Exercise 5 days per week

9.      Sleep at least seven hours every night

10.  Go-to warm drinks are green tea and hot water with lemon (try to cut coffee out if possible)

11.  Don’t think about what you can’t have. If you have a craving, go for a walk, drink some tea, or just walk away.

12.  Try to dispose of all sugar/tempting foods – the less you have to see it the better (Emily – maybe ask your mom to put the dessert pile inside the cabinets so that you don’t see it every time you walk into the kitchen?)

Basics of the Workout Plan:

1.      Try to work out for at least 30 minutes six days per week. Three days of hard cardio, two days of strength training, one day of easy cardio/abs.

2.      Try to incorporate high intensity interval training (HIIT) into every workout. The higher your heart rate goes, the more calories you burn.

3.      Try to work out until exhausted (aka until you absolutely CANT do another rep or another jump, etc), give yourself a 30 second rest, and then go for it again.

4.      EVERY MORNING when first out of bed, hold the plank position for as long as you can. This will awaken abs, arms, butt, heart, and will get your metabolism going immediately, which is ideal for calorie burning throughout the day.

5..      Stretch your back, spine, and abs every day to slim the waist and make it smaller!

MEALS FOR WEEK 1

Breakfast

Snack 1

Lunch

Snack 2

Dinner

Snack 3

Sunday

2 Eggs w/ Fruit of choice

Fruit of choice

Chicken, Romain Lettuce, lemon juice, balsamic vinigar, 1 tomato, cucumber

Vegetable of Choice & Cup of Green Tea

Out w/friends - some kind of protein and vegetable

Herbal Tea

Monday

Oatmeal w/almond milk, Greek yogurt, Banana, and Cinnamon

Fruit of choice

Open faced Sandwich: Ezekiel Bread, Chicken, hummus, spinach, tomato, cucumber, mustard, seasonings w/ side of raw veggie of choice

Vegetable of Choice & Cup of Green Tea

Veggie-tomato-sausage stew

Herbal Tea

Tuesday

2 Eggs w/ Fruit of choice

Fruit of choice

Leftovers

Vegetable of Choice & Cup of Green Tea

Baked lemon chicken w/steamed broccoli and brown rice

Herbal Tea

Wednesday

Smoothie: Almond milk, banana, cocoa powder, spinach, berries, Greek yogurt

Almonds & Fruit of choice

Leftovers

Vegetable of Choice & Cup of Green Tea

Protein-style burger w/ romain lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado, hummus & half of a sweet potato

Herbal Tea

Thursday

Oatmeal w/almond milk, Greek yogurt, Banana, and Cinnamon

Fruit of choice

Leftovers

Vegetable of Choice & Cup of Green Tea

"Taco" salad - Romain lettuce, lemon, salsa, peppers, black beans, ground beef taco style, corn, red onions, olives

Herbal Tea

Friday

2 Eggs w/ Fruit of choice

Fruit of choice

Open faced Sandwich: Ezekiel bread, Chicken, hummus, spinach, tomato, cucumber, mustard, seasonings w/ side of raw veggie of choice

Vegetable of Choice & Cup of Green Tea

Pizza! Whole wheat crust, tomato paste, skim mozzerella cheese, peppers, olives, broccoli

Herbal Tea

***EQUIP is this weekend. DO NOT eat all the snacks!!! Pack

Saturday

Equip Conference: Fruit & Protein. NO yogurt as the yogurt they serve has tons of sugar

Bring some almonds to snack on

Whatever is healthiest at Equip. Preferably a salad and a protein (meat)

Vegetable of Choice & Cup of Green Tea - there will definitely be green tea at Equip

Out w/friends - some kind of protein and vegetable

Herbal Tea

***NOTE: You can eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want!!! No limit.

  

I also put Emily on an AT-HOME workout schedule. It is a compilation of the best You Tube workout videos and running :) No weights, no cost, and it is super convenient.

YOU CAN TOTALLY GET IN SHAPE AND NOT HAVE A GYM MEMBERSHIP!!

Below is her workout schedule for the week :) Enjoy!

Week 1: February 25-March 3

Monday:  Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred

                  Run 15 minutes

Tuesday:  5 of any videos from this link: http://www.dailyhiit.com/videos

                  Run 20 minutes

Wednesday:

Running Intervals – try doing these at a park or treadmill so you can sprint on grass (5 min warm up jog, run 2 minutes, sprint 1 minute, walk 30 seconds, and repeat that cycle for 30 minutes. Cool down: walk five minutes. STRETCH.)

Thursday:

Do these three videos:

1.      Tone It Up Butt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwEQ_HWwJKg&list=PLoF7Or9dN9vJfCgmP-abiDi8pCk4n4gAw&index=11

2.      Tone It Up Abs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4sEYZzFn2I&list=PLoF7Or9dN9vJfCgmP-abiDi8pCk4n4gAw&index=4

3.      Pilates HIIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwjUMPoiAyk&list=FLIJwWYOfsCfz6PjxbONYXSg&index=10

Friday:

1.      Pop Pilates: HIIT / Abs

a.      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4xMGet6CpI&list=FLIJwWYOfsCfz6PjxbONYXSg&index=9

b.      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX-rgPB0kS8

c.      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SILytLQf0JA

2.      If you have more time, try to do a 30 minute interval run (same as Wednesday), or even a 10 minute interval run if limited on time!

Below is a random picture I found on Pinterest and absolutely LOVE. 

(To follow me, click here)

If you want to participate with us and slim down in the next four weeks, comment below or email me and I will get the meal plan/workout plan to you!

DISCLAIMER: I am not a dietitian!! Please consult your doctor before starting any exercise or nutrition program. It is very important that you take precautions when changing your dietary and exercise habits! Everything I post is purely based on experience and my own personal research and therefore is NOT professional advise. 

SIDE NOTE:

 Joel and I recently celebrated our one year anniversary! Below are some pictures from our wedding day and our anniversary getaway to La Jolla ;)

Have a happy Monday!

<3 Beth