March Madness

This month my clients and I are working on fitness goals. We have decided to focus, not on body composition, but on a skill. this is a great way to gain strength  speed, flexibility  balance, and probably lose a little weight as a side effect!

Here are the rules for March Madness:

The goal needs to be
*Measurable
*Obtainable (hopefully within the month time span)
*Realistic
*Not having to do with weight loss/body composition (in other words losing 2 lbs or 5% body fat will not work)
*Try to make this a fitness type goal. (memorizing your favorite poem, or leaning all of the choreography to Gangnam Style are not the kinds of things I'm looking for...even though those things are awesome)
*Fun! (I want you to look forward to working on your goal!)
*Something that I can measure for you (running a Triathalon is great, but I can't set one up/measure it for you)

Here are a few examples of what we are working on this month:

*Doing a Handstand

*Doing two unassisted pull ups

*Rowing 500 meters in 1:40

*Running an 8 min Mile

You can also work on sports specific goals like:

*Juggling a soccer ball 150 times

 *Slam dunking a basketball

By taking the focus off of weight loss and putting it on a skill we manage to gain new skills and lose some body fat/weight without really trying! 

Join us by posting a comment of what your March madness goal(s) will be! 

I will post some of the additions exercises that we will be doing (in addition to practicing the actual skill) in a future blog, and I will be happy to post some exercises that will help you reach your goals as well! 

What If Animals Ate Fast Food?

This is cracking me up today, but it got me thinking how us humans would do if we had to hunt, farm, or forage for our food in our current state. I'm afraid it might look a bit like this video.

Chocolate Cheesecake

Chocolate Cheesecake

(AT Meal * 90 minute prep, cool overnight)

What You'll Need:
* 250G fat-free cottage cheese
* 1/2C low-fat chocolate milk
* 4 scoops chocolate protein powder
* 5 heaping teaspoons organic peanut butter

What You'll Do
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a blender, combine cottage cheese and low-fat chocolate milk and blend until creamy and smooth. Remove from the blender and place into a mixing blow. Next, add protein powder and mix thoroughly. Finally, add in the organic peanut butter, one scoop at a time, blending until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a small 4-inch ramekin. Fill a deep oven pan half-full with hot water and place the ramekin inside of the oven pan so that the water comes approximately half way up the outside of the ramekin. Place the oven pan containing the ramekin into the oven and bake for 40-60 minutes, until slightly firm to the touch.

When finished, pull from the oven and allow to cool for several hours. When cool to the touch, place in the fridge and cool over night. Serve cold or at room temperature. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Information (per serving)
* Calories: 337kcal
* Protein: 41g
* Carbohydrate: 14g
* Fat: 13g
* Saturated Fat: 3.1g
* Monounsaturated Fat: 6.3g
* Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.5g

Source 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I truly love this time of year.

I posted a blog last week asking for nominees to benefit from this fundraiser, I was overwhelmed reading stories of heartbreak and suffering. How does on chose just one family from so many who are clearly in need? I have made small donations to all the families nominated, but in the end we could only do the fundraiser for one.

Meet the Marcellus family.

 Two years ago Donna gave birth to her first, a baby girl, 9 weeks early. Miraculously this little angel survived after several days in ICU, she is now a happy, healthy two year old.
In mid-November Donna gave birth to her second, a baby boy, born 13 weeks early and living only a few hours.
Reading the story of this sweet little family broke my heart, and thinking about the astronomical costs of life flight, surgery, and having their sweet little boy in ICU, not to mention costs of funerals, I knew that I needed to do everything that I could to help this family.
Here is the complete post about Zaine




If you can, please make a donation to this family during this time & share in the true meaning of the Christmas spirit by clicking on the donate button to the right. Any dollar amount will be accepted. 100% of the donations received will be given to to this family.  ALL of the proceeds will be given to the Marcellus family to help them during this tragic time in their lives. The fundraiser will go through Christmas day & I won’t be posting anything else on my blog besides this fundraiser until after the New Year.

 I know that we are put here on this earth to help each other, to lift each other up when times are hard. May each of you find joy in helping others this Christmas season.

 Each donation will receive a healthy dessert e cook book. These recipes are amazing, and if you have ever been to one of my parties you have likely tasted some of this healthy goodness.

Thank you in advance for your support and love.
Please leave me your email address in the PayPal information box. 

Holiday Charity Fundraiser

This year I've decided to start, what I hope to be a long running tradition. An Alaina Wood Fitness holiday fundraiser!
What I would like to ask from you is nominations of families in need. I have a couple in mind that I know would benefit from any donations,but I want to make sure that I reach out to those who are the most in need.
So, here is your part; I need stories of families, or local charities who could use a little extra this holiday season.
You can leave comments on the blog, message me on Facebook, or leave me a message at awoodfitness@gmail.com

Please include some information about the family, including a contact person, so I know where to send the money!

Thank you, in advance, for your help and support!

The Holiday Fitness Survival Guide

It's here—whether you're ready or not. Just look at the seasonal shelves in your favorite store. Retailers like to call it ‘holiday season' but let's be more accurate. 

Weight Gain season has begun and runs straight through New Year's. 

The next two months will bring ample opportunity for you to expand your waistline. Of course the choice is yours. 

Lets talk about some easy ways to ward off the extra holiday inches.

*Exercise: There is no substitute for exercise. Not only will this amazing tool help you to lose fat and tone muscle, but will also keep your heart and other vital organs functioning at their peak!

Try to work out before your holiday feasts. This will ensure that you actually do it, and your body will process some of those less healthy foods much better if you eat them post-workout. 

Make it a goal to workout at least 5 times a week, encourage your family to join you. Since we are all  short on time try doing some intervals, or this great workout that only take 8-15 minutes! 

*Junk food: Simply don't keep it in your house! Instead of making cookies and chocolates for your neighbors give them a fresh veggie platter, or apples dipped in cinnamon, yum! 

When you are given treat plates it's okay to re-gift  just make sure you give it to someone who did not already get it.  

Here are some more easy tips on avoiding the holiday junk food binge! 

*Make healthy replacements for some of the traditional holiday dishes:

Replace your mashed potatoes with this healthy cauliflower mash. instead of a pumpkin pie, enjoy some pumpkin muffins. Instead of making your sweet potatoes with marshmallows and sugar add some cinnamon. 

When filling your plate put the salad on first, and make sure to give yourself a big hearty serving, after that add on the rest of your veggies then get to the more fatty foods. It's okay to "splurge" a little, but keep the portions down. 

You don't have to gain weight over the holidays, you can stay (or even get) trim, fit, and most importantly healthy!

Coconut Cauliflower Mash

This amazing dish came from my friends over at Precision Nutrition. 

It's a great replacement for your Thanksgiving day mashed potatoes. 

Enjoy!

Ingredients 
Cauliflower (rough chopped) 3 cups
Cashews (crushed) ¼ cup
Coconut milk ¼ cup
Salt 1 pinch
Pepper 1 pinch
Cinnamon 1 pinch

Serving Size
Serves 1 large or 2 small.

Preparation Time
2 min. Preparation Time
15 min.  Cooking Time

Introduction
If you like mashed potatoes but worry about the high-carb content, worry no longer. Mashed cauliflower tastes just like mashed potato but has far fewer calories and packs a bigger nutrient punch. In this recipe, we’ve included a crunchy twist to mashed potatoes by adding cashews.

Instructions
Add all the ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Simmer for 15 minutes and then remove from heat. Purée in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time if necessary to get the mixture moving. Serves 1 large or 2 small.

Variations and Options
For a great anytime meal, serve with homemade Sirloin Burgers (pg.90). For a great soup, add a cup of broth to this recipe when blending. Refer to page 266 for instructions on blending hot mixtures. For additional flavoring, try adding your favorite herbs to the mash. Paprika, safflower, or coriander are awesome spices to try in this recipe. If you don’t have a food processor, you can mash with a fork.

Nutritional Information
(per serving)     large     small
Calories (k/cal)     409.4     204.7
Fat (g)     27.3     13.6
Saturated (g)     13.3     6.7
Monounsaturated (g)     8.6     4.3
Polyunsaturated (g)     2.8     1.4
omega-3 (g)     0.0     0.0
omega-6 (g)     2.8     1.4
Carbohydrates (g)     27.8     13.9
fiber (g)     8.6     4.3
sugars (g)     9.2     4.6
Protein (g)     13.3     6.6

Your handy A-K Guide to the 13 vitamins

I get lots of questions about vitamins, specifically symptoms related to vitamin deficiency. I found this info graphic floating around on Pinterest the other day and I absolutely love it!

This is a great little guide to vitamins, the only thing missing is what foods you can find the vitamins in. That post is coming soon. 

Just in case you needed another reason to workout

Repeat After Me: "I CAN do this"

Losing weight, can be hard, maintaining weight loss can be hard. Let's face it, changing anything (even small things) about ourselves, and our habits can be tough, but it is doable!
When you get frustrated, just take a deep breath, and repeat after me: " I can do this"

The Complete Guide to Interval training

I am a huge fan of interval training. It offers a great workout and most interval workouts last between 8 and 20 min! Even the busiest can find 8 min in their schedule to workout! I found this great info-graphic about interval training, and thought I would share.

Don't feel like you have to do the exercises they have suggested here. If you do not want to run, but you want to do Tabata intervals you can do them on a bike, or in the pool, as long as you are getting your heat rate up, and working your entire body.