Lindy's visit

Lindy came in town this weekend for some sweet sibling quality time. We kicked the weekend off with coffee and beignets at Stellar Beans (our fav coffee shop downtown). So, I love the environment in this place. Art by local artists hang on the wall. Couches and chess games make it warm and relaxing. And the workers have a chill, hippy type attitude.

I loved taking Lindy to the Trinity Center and showing her around at my new job. It's so fun having a sister-in-law that enjoys exercise like I do. I treated her to the stretch/massage that I give each client after a good workout.

I had a few hours of work that afternoon. This included two complimentary personal training sessions, working to get new clients. It was such a productive week. . . I gained five new clients (3 of which are family, two sisters and the mother)! I am absolutely thrilled to be helping these women achieve their goals, which ranges from running a 5k to competing in a pageant.

Back to sibling weekend. . . Saturday morning Lindy wanted to "be the cow" at Chick-fil-A. The sister suited up and entertained the children inside the restaurant and drivers out by the road.

 

Lindy was having so much fun, I decided to join her as a the little cow. Check out the video on Lindy's Facebook page. :)

 

That afternoon we headed to a good ole Louisiana crawfish boil. Our Sunday School class gathered for good food and fellowship. My inexperienced self trying to peel those crawfish, ended up relying on my friend Rachel to do most of the work. She peeled about 12 while I was still working on the first one, and made a nice little pile of meat for me to eat. It was delicious!

 

Saturday night, Jarred and I hosted cooking dinner. We always love having friends/family over to our home.

 

Sunday morning = church time. Then Kimberly cooked a yummy lunch for everyone, which was followed by nap time. Suprise, suprise. We hardly ever go a Sunday afternoon without a nap. God tells us to rest on the Sabbath, and we obey! :)

 

Lindy and Jarred went shopping in preparation for the Master's. Jarred got a whole new outfit (including new shades) for the occasion. (He hardly EVER buys new clothes, so it was kind of a big deal.) The girls (Kimberly, Lindy, and myself) spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the nail salon getting our toes and nails did. So relaxing and such a treat!

 

We finished up the weekend with some tasty Mexican, at one of our fav places called El Paso. The weekend kicked off Spring Break for me and Jarred. . . . Spring Break means 5 and 1/2 weeks of class until graduation! And graduation means the family (Griffins, Neymans, and Gorveattes) is coming to visit in LC!!!! :)

More Nutrition Habits

Nutrition Habit #2
Drink more water!

 Did you know that 50-70% of our total body weight is water? Think of it this way, every tissue cell, organ and system is comprised of water and functions optimally only in the presence of adequate water levels. So even fat loss will not occur at an optimal rate if you are in a dehydrated state. Plus water helps to suppress our appetite. To maintain your body’s fluid balance, you need to replace at least the 10 cups of water (80 ounces) everyday.

 
Nutrition Habit #3
Plan your meals so that you consume 5 small meals and snacks throughout the day!
Your metabolism, the rate at which you burn calories for internal functions, is like an engine – the more often you give it fuel, the better it works. When you deprive your body of food, even for short periods of time, your metabolism automatically slows down in order to preserve energy. And a slowed metabolism makes it much more difficult to lose weight and much easier to gain weight. The good news is you can get your body to work for you instead of against you. The rule should be that you do not go any more than three to four hours without eating something.

Nutrition Tips

There are so many fad diets out there, which may help with initial weight loss results. However, often times these diets are not upheld for very long, and people can't or won't stick to them.

At LiveFit7, I help clients adhere to a healthy eating lifestyle by giving them "weekly tips" (the tips vary depending on the client's current nutritional status). One of the most important things to learn is that a healthy lifestyle is the key to maintaining or improving one's health and fitness.

There are 9 Nutrition Habits I want to share in the next few posts:


Nutrition Habit 1

Consume a balanced diet that is rich in fiber. You will want to ensure your diet is 60% carbohydrate content - Of this amount 50% should be in the form of fruits and vegetables and complex carbohydrates which are your whole grain products and no more than 10% from simple carbohydrates (cakes, cookies, ice cream etc.) Be sure to avoid white (enriched, refined, bleached) breads, pastas and rice. Avoid foods where sugars like High Fructose Corn Syrup are listed as one of the first few ingredients.

More to come!!

Countdown

 days til Spring Break!

days til my birthday!

days til last day of school

days til Graduation

days - Leave for Hawaii

LiveFit7

I have been LOVING my job at LiveFit7. . . So what does a personal trainer do? We help people look and feel their best!

There are so many great things about working at LiveFit7. The gym is literally right across the street from our apartment. Even better, it is in our church! The Trinity Center includes a gym, track, weight room, and aerobics room (also a huge playground and rock wall climbing).

 

Four days a week I teach group fitness classes. I've loved having "regulars" the last few weeks. There are two married couples that come every Mon & Wed at 5:15am for Flex N' Run and Boot Camp. In the evenings there is a group of three women who are great friends and come every Tuesday and Thursday to Muscle Fusion and Boot Camp. It's been alot of fun building relationships with these people.

 

Personal training sessions are really great too! I love helping an individual one-on-one reach their goals. My clients ages range from 11 to 62. Each one of them are working to reach their personal best and I feel honored to be a part of it.

 

Also, I work with an amazing team! Carl, the owner, was a member of Trinity before he moved to Houston to open a new fitness facility. I have learned so much from him! There are two other male trainers who love challenging their clients and enjoy giving me advice, which I am always appreciative. There is one other female trainer who is so uplifting and encouraging! The rest of our team includes a McNeese student who runs the office, and two other group fitness teachers.

 

I am taking on new clients, so if you know anyone in the Lake area interested in training give me a call so we can set up a FREE complimentary personal training session!

 

Have a blessed & fit day!

money & food

You may have heard of the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace study. In the study, Dave teaches people how to be debt-free, manage money, and save wisely. Jarred and I became interested in doing the study when our friends, Brian and Alisha, told us how great it is for newlyweds. A few other couples in our Sunday School class were interested, so we decided let's do it! The study started this last Sunday evening at our friends, Holly and AJ's house. In this first session, Dave presents the seven baby steps:

Step 1 - $1000 in an emergency fund

Step 2 - Pay off all debt except the house utilizing the debt snowball

Step 3 - Three to six months expenses in savings

Step 4 - Invest 15% of your household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement plans

Step 5 - College funding

Step 6 - Pay off your home early

Step 7 - Build wealth and give!


During this session, we discussed in more depth steps 1 and 3. It will take a little bit of time for us to save up for those steps, but Jarred and I are ready to get started!
This is cool: my parents have been doing this study and are finishing up on it now as Jarred and I are getting started. It is making for some really good conversations with them. ;)



On a totally different topic. . . .

I want to share a little bit about nutrition. Since I've starting personal training at LiveFit7 I've been working to adhere to a healthier diet. I've always eaten realitively healthy, but I am working on drinking more water and maintaining a 5 small meals a day routine. This is what a typical day for me looks like now:

4am - nature valley granola bar with hot tea and honey

8am- cereal (staying away from sugary cereals; with non-fat milk) or oatmeal

12pm - turkey or tuna sandwich (on wheat bread) with an apple

3pm - chocolate peanut butter banana shake (recipe below)

7pm - soup or pasta (wheat) or meat and veggies

I have found that eating 5 small meals a day makes it alot easier to not overeat at meal time. Also, Jarred and I have both eliminated late night snacking. It's good to not eat anything three hours before going to bed.
I certainly haven't turned into a health freak, but I do love taking care of my body. Also, since I am a personal trainer now, I know it's important to practice what I preach. If I want my clients to eat healthy, I am going to be doing the same. And . . . speaking of training. . . . I am taking new clients and would love to train YOU or someone you may know in the Lake area. I have $50 gift cards ready to hand out!! Also, my group classes are alot of fun and a great way to burn lots of calories. Visit www.livefit7.com for the group class schedule.


Chocolate PB Banana Shake:

1 banana
1 cup of nonfat milk
2 tbsp of all natural peanut butter (has no saturated fat!)
2 tbsp natural unsweetened cocoa
1-2 handfuls of ice

Combine in blender, and enjoy!

Looking forward

This spring semester has started out full speed. I've been working to fulfill the required 240 hours for my internship, taking two other classes, working at Chick-fil-A and have begun working at LiveFit7. Unfortunately, starting this week I will be working at Chick-fil-A only on the weekends. It is such a bittersweet change. Bitter- I'll miss working with Jarred, eating Chick-fil-A everyday, and visiting with our regulars. Sweet- I've started a job that I have been working towards by getting my degree in Health Promotion. So, how is Personal Training? I LOVE IT! I begin teaching four different group fitness classes this week. Next week I'll begin marketing myself and working on getting new clients. It is really such a fun job!

 

A couple of big dates are coming up in May. . . Graduation and Hawaii!! I'm so excited to finally finish school. I'm also thrilled for mine and Jarred's family to come visit that weekend. The week after graduation, we fly out of Houston to visit the 41st state that Jarred has been to. We are staying in Oahu on a secluded side of the island, about an hour from the city of Honolulu. I've already decided that this is going to be my favorite trip of all time!