Wednesday 6 February 2013
Monday 4 February 2013
Acceptance and Resiliency
Hi everyone, Chris here with my first blog post (about time!). I would like to take this opportunity to talk about two character traits that I believe are vital keys to success when it comes to fitness, nutrition, competition, and can even extend to life in general. These two traits are Acceptance and Resiliency. For myself, fitness is my spiritual journey, or my path to "enlightenment" so to speak. I played soccer and football when I was young, have always worked out, and now I compete in CrossFit which I absolutely love. I found my place in CrossFit because no matter how fit you are, no matter how tough you are, you will always be challenged both physically and mentally. For this discussion, let's focus on the mental implications of acceptance and resiliency.
Acceptance
The pursuit of fitness is never ending and as such, is a journey all about moving forward. That is the goal anyhow, but the reality of the situation is that sometimes we take a step backwards. When this happens, it is critical that we do not dwell on the mishap, because staying in one place within your mind prevents forward momentum. You may eat a cheat meal when you are not supposed to, miss a workout because you were lazy, or score poorly on a test because you did not prepare properly. When this happens, many of us will feel guilt, which is normal and useful, but we will also let these feelings of guilt lead to negative thoughts about ourselves, which is detrimental. Positive thoughts lead to positive feelings and positive actions, so when we make a mistake we need to be sure to acknowledge it, accept that it happened, and somehow find a way to use it to make us better. The road forward is filled with steps backwards, but if we can learn from our mistakes we will limit the amount of steps back we take, and we will avoid making the same mistakes moving forward. Accept the things that happen and continue moving towards your goals.
Resiliency
Resiliency goes hand-in-hand with acceptance. I have found through my own experiences that it is the people who are truly resilient that will achieve success. I witness it at every level of competition, and at one point or another in our lives we have all seen it in professional sports. If acceptance allows us to move forward, then resiliency is the actual method by which we do this. It is the thing about us that does not let us give up, it is what pushes us to make our dreams into our goals, and our goals into our will. When we are in pursuit of self-improvement, the journey will not always go according to plan, that's no fun. Some challenges will seem too impossible to overcome, but if you are sufficiently resilient you will find a way. I cannot tell you how to do this, you need to find it within yourself. Often times I go into a CrossFit competition with a strategy, but sometimes I am wrong and my strategy is not working, it is actually a really bad strategy. At this moment I have two choices: hold the course and perform sub-optimally; or think fast, develop a new strategy, invest all of my belief in it, and pour my heart and soul into the effort. After it is all said and done, I will either feel disappointed in myself and moving forward will be more difficult, or I will be proud of myself for doing everything I could, and I will be fully prepared to move on with the lesson I've learned. This is resiliency. Turn your dreams into your goals, and make them your will.
I hope this helps. I know everyone of you has the capacity for self-improvement, but if you are not on your way to realizing it, ask yourself: Is there something holding me back? or, Am I really doing my absolute best? Feel free to post your thoughts/comments in the "comments" section below, as always on FAB, we appreciate your input.
Acceptance
The pursuit of fitness is never ending and as such, is a journey all about moving forward. That is the goal anyhow, but the reality of the situation is that sometimes we take a step backwards. When this happens, it is critical that we do not dwell on the mishap, because staying in one place within your mind prevents forward momentum. You may eat a cheat meal when you are not supposed to, miss a workout because you were lazy, or score poorly on a test because you did not prepare properly. When this happens, many of us will feel guilt, which is normal and useful, but we will also let these feelings of guilt lead to negative thoughts about ourselves, which is detrimental. Positive thoughts lead to positive feelings and positive actions, so when we make a mistake we need to be sure to acknowledge it, accept that it happened, and somehow find a way to use it to make us better. The road forward is filled with steps backwards, but if we can learn from our mistakes we will limit the amount of steps back we take, and we will avoid making the same mistakes moving forward. Accept the things that happen and continue moving towards your goals.
Resiliency
Resiliency goes hand-in-hand with acceptance. I have found through my own experiences that it is the people who are truly resilient that will achieve success. I witness it at every level of competition, and at one point or another in our lives we have all seen it in professional sports. If acceptance allows us to move forward, then resiliency is the actual method by which we do this. It is the thing about us that does not let us give up, it is what pushes us to make our dreams into our goals, and our goals into our will. When we are in pursuit of self-improvement, the journey will not always go according to plan, that's no fun. Some challenges will seem too impossible to overcome, but if you are sufficiently resilient you will find a way. I cannot tell you how to do this, you need to find it within yourself. Often times I go into a CrossFit competition with a strategy, but sometimes I am wrong and my strategy is not working, it is actually a really bad strategy. At this moment I have two choices: hold the course and perform sub-optimally; or think fast, develop a new strategy, invest all of my belief in it, and pour my heart and soul into the effort. After it is all said and done, I will either feel disappointed in myself and moving forward will be more difficult, or I will be proud of myself for doing everything I could, and I will be fully prepared to move on with the lesson I've learned. This is resiliency. Turn your dreams into your goals, and make them your will.
I hope this helps. I know everyone of you has the capacity for self-improvement, but if you are not on your way to realizing it, ask yourself: Is there something holding me back? or, Am I really doing my absolute best? Feel free to post your thoughts/comments in the "comments" section below, as always on FAB, we appreciate your input.
Sunday 27 January 2013
Coconut Oil
Coconut Oil
Coconut Oil is growing in popularity, but did you know that
it has many, many uses other than just for cooking? Here is a list of what we
have used coconut oil for;
- · Cooking – I use it in the frying pan and also to grease pans.
- · Moisturizer – I currently use coconut oil as my facial moisturizer. At first your skin may seem oily but that does go away.
- · Makeup remover. Just put a little on a cloth and wipe! Works great on eye makeup. I was really surprised by how well it actually works. You can also mix with baking soda. This is my new face wash and my face is left feeling clean, and radiant. It doesn’t dry your face out and works amazing for blackheads and gunk on your nose. We recently finished off a spice bottle so I clean it and put the baking soda in it. Now I just sprinkle a little bit in my hand and then wash away.
- · Ladies! ( and possibly gents) you know those annoying bumps on the back of our thighs? Well I have tried lots of scrubbing and different lotions and nothing has made them better – Except! Coconut Oil! It has made such a difference, only a few days of use and they were almost all gone.
- · Breastfeeding Mommas – Coconut Oil is great for sore, cracked or dry nipples and is safe for baby too
- · Babies - Great for a dry bum or diaper rash.
- · Babies- Works wonders on Cradle cap.
- · Burns – just dap a little on, yes I burnt myself the other day and it helped a lot.
- · Deodorant – Yes you read that right, and yes that means I use Coconut oil as my deo. I am pretty lucky in that I don’t sweat very much at all. So this works great for me. There are also a few combos you can do using coconut oil, baking soda and arrowroot powder?
- · Dry/itchy skin – soothes the itch and moisturizes the skin.
- · Bruises- So miss klutz here fell down the stairs the other day, I’m ok and very thankful Kaleesi wasn’t in my arms. My right arm and butt took most of the impact. My arm got carpet burned pretty good and was stinging so I put coconut oil on it. I was expecting a nasty bruise to form because my arms bruise easily as does the rest of my body. However the only place a nasty bruise developed is on my ass which didn’t get the coconut oil. So whether this is just a fluke or not I shall never know, but hey it can’t hurt J
- · Chapped Lips – It will moisturize those luscious lips and apparently coconut oil has a SPF of about 4!
Saturday 19 January 2013
Paleo Pumpkin Muffins!
These puppies are currently in the oven! I cannot wait to try them and let you all know how they turned out!
Why Paleo? Well a lot of reasons, in which I could go on forever but I'll do that at another time....Chris and I mainly eat Paleo because we feel good eating this way. I don't get bloated or feel blah. Chris is also a competitive cross fit athlete, which he will be posting about very soon and they typically follow this type of diet. I will be posting the results of the muffins tomorrow as today we are off to my nephews 3rd birthday party with his momma's birthday celebrations to follow!! January is a Big Birthday Month for us, as yesterday was my fathers Birthday, my nephew and my mother share the same birthday(21st) and it is Chris's Birthday at the end of the month! A few cousins and Uncles also celebrate their Birthday this Month :)
The muffins turned out great! I found the recipe on Pinterest Paleo Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
(make sure it is 100%pure pumpkin as some of the canned pumpkin has added ingredients!)
6 eggs
4 tbsp cold-pressed coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup walnut halves (optional)
1/4 cup dark chocolate pieces (optional)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl. In another bowl, add pumpkin the mix in one egg at a time. Proceed to add the rest of the wet ingredients then add your dry mixture to your wet mixture. Fill muffin pan 2/3 full. Bake for 18-22mins or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Makes 12 muffins.
We did not have maple syrup so I used honey and I also used 85% dark chocolate. These are paleo muffins, so they are not going to rise because they do not have the yeast in them like traditional muffins. I will differently be making these again and the only thing I would do differently is add a tad more of the spices. I hope you all enjoy this recipe and please let us know how you like them :)
The muffins turned out great! I found the recipe on Pinterest Paleo Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
(make sure it is 100%pure pumpkin as some of the canned pumpkin has added ingredients!)
6 eggs
4 tbsp cold-pressed coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup walnut halves (optional)
1/4 cup dark chocolate pieces (optional)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl. In another bowl, add pumpkin the mix in one egg at a time. Proceed to add the rest of the wet ingredients then add your dry mixture to your wet mixture. Fill muffin pan 2/3 full. Bake for 18-22mins or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Makes 12 muffins.
We did not have maple syrup so I used honey and I also used 85% dark chocolate. These are paleo muffins, so they are not going to rise because they do not have the yeast in them like traditional muffins. I will differently be making these again and the only thing I would do differently is add a tad more of the spices. I hope you all enjoy this recipe and please let us know how you like them :)
Friday 18 January 2013
Red and Green Salad
Here is another delicious salad combo that I just came up with. The inspiration behind this red and green salad was the beets we had bought from the farmers market.
The base of the salad consists of Spinach and Parsley. On top we have Celery, Cucumber, Red pepper, and thinly sliced Beets! The dressing (which makes for two people) is half an Avocado, half of the juice from a Lime, 1tsp of Palm sugar(optional) and sea salt and pepper to taste! I am currently enjoying this salad as we speak :)
Baked Chicken and Beet Salad
Even if you are not a big Beet fan you are going to love this salad! This has become my new favorite salad to eat. I wish I came up with this myself but I have not, I found it on allrecipes.com. So whats in this pretty little dish that feeds 3-4people...
3 Beets peeled and cut up into little cubes. Then place in a pot, cover with water and boil for 30minutes or until tender when forked.
While that is boiling you can wash and cut up Swiss Chard. I also added Kale.
When the beets are almost done you can start cooking your bacon. The recipe called for 6 strips but I only had 3 leftover and it was a perfect amount. When the bacon is done, remove and take your drained beets and toss them in the pan. Now add your greens and 1 cup of frozen peas. Pat your bacon and and chop up into bite-sized pieces then add to pan. Stir around until greens are slightly cooked. Serve hot and enjoy!
We paired baked chicken thighs with our salad. I had already eaten a chicken thigh before taking the picture :p
Detox Salad
Colorful and Yummy!
So whats in it you say?
Spinach, Parsley, Cilantro, Kale and Swiss Chard make up the base of the salad.
Cucumber, Celery, Orange pepper, Carrots, Peas and Almonds are added on top.
Avocado, Blackberries and an Orange and a Lime were all pureed to make the dressing!
Monday 7 January 2013
Avocados (Nutrition)
Nutrition...what is it? Is it merely just the food we shove in our
mouths? Well for the most part yes, however proper nutrition, the key to
living a healthy lifestyle goes beyond that. You need to understand
what nutrition is and everything that it encompasses. Chris and I have
always been health conscious, especially over the past few years.
However now it is not just "us", we have our amazing daughter and we
want her to grow and be as healthy as she possibly can. This has made
us even more conscious of our decisions, monkey see,
monkey do as the saying goes.
We will discuss what nutrition is and how it effects your mind and body. We shall also provide some recipes that we use and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
We will discuss what nutrition is and how it effects your mind and body. We shall also provide some recipes that we use and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
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