Hey Team! We don’t need to tell you that this winter has been a doozey, but hopefully by the end of this month we’ll have May flowers to look forward to. 

This month’s issue we walk to go over ways that you can “spring clean” your diet in time for summer. When the weather is cold and gray, we have a tendency to settle for meals that make us feel good, and not necessarily good for us. 

Here are 5 tips to spring clean your fridge and pantry to get ready for summer:

Donate unhealthy/non-perishable food to a food shelf.

Go through your pantry and get rid of all those chips, salt snacks, and boxed processed food out of your pantry. Donate it to a food shelf so you don’t have to totally throw it away. You don’t want to eat anything that has an expiration date of 2 years – it’s not really food if it can stay edible for that long.

Get rid of any anything that may has expired.

Sometimes we have things like ketchup and mustard that sit in the fridge for heavens knows how long. Sometimes there’s that leftover spaghetti and meatballs that ends up turning into a science project at the back of the fridge.

Clean out your freezer.

Many people are big fans of freezing a lot of things for easy meals. Now is the time to go through your freezer and get rid of any meats or boxed items that may have expired. You may think, how can frozen food go bad? Freezing food for extended periods of time (over a year) can cause freezer burn and degrade the quality of the food. If it’s expired or been in there for over a year, toss it.

Start shopping on the outside of the grocery store.

That means add more veggies and leafy greens to your diet. Make sure you have more veggies than fruit in your shopping cart. Fruit is good for you, but it still has sugar in it. Make a commitment to eating at least 1 salad a day, whether it’s for lunch or for dinner. 1 salad a day will keep the boating away!

No more boxed or frozen meals!

Stop being lazy and buying pre-packaged microwavable meals. These are highly processed, high in sodium, and just plain bad for you. Make a commitment to yourself and your family to make fresh meals with REAL ingredients. You don’t have to always buy organic, but buy food that will actually go bad. If that means going to the store twice a week so be it. Don’t have time? Make time. You should always have time when it comes to your health and well being. 

Eating well is the first step to getting in shape and staying in shape. You’ve heard us tell you before, working out a lot isn’t enough to stay fit. You have to feed your body the right nutrients to maintain your energy and muscle growth. 

Have more questions about eating well? Don’t hesitate to talk to your coach. We are here to be a resource to you whether it’s on or off the mat.

Hey Team! It’s getting to be that time of year again! The holidays are notorious for knocking people off their routine. The combination of your schedule filling up with family gathering and being surrounded by copious amounts of turkey, pumpkin pie, and stuffing, it may seem hard to find the time or motivation to come to the gym and train. Here are a few tips that will hopefully help you find a balance between family, food, and training.

1. Set holiday training goals and make an action plan!

   Here at The Academy we are all about setting goals and making those goals come to fruition. These goals can be as small as, “I’m going to do 20 pushups every morning before I go to work.” You might recall our issue on goal setting a few months back, but in case you forgot – it’s important to not only set goals but to have a clearly laid out action plan. (What you’re going to do each day and for how long.)

2. Relax.
   

   The holidays are usually a stressful time for most people, but try to give yourself some time each day to relax. This doesn’t mean lay on the couch and eat 10 doughnuts. This means sit outside if the weather is nice and enjoy the fresh air. Or go for a short 15 minute walk around the neighborhood alone or with the dog, or with your significant other.

3. It’s okay to be flexible.

   We understand that sometimes you might schedule a run for noon on a Saturday before the family shows up for dinner at 5, but you realize you have to run some unexpected errands. Don’t panic, just reassess your schedule and find a way to fit in that workout either later in the day or the next day. Just make sure you’re not making excuses just to push your workout further into the future.

4. Moderation!

   Moderation is key to having a guilt free holiday meal. Instead of having 3 slices of pumpkin pie, tell yourself that one slice is plenty to satisfy your tastebuds. Stay aware of portion sizes too. Usually using the size of your palm and fist are good bench marks for determining proper portion size. A slice of ham the size of your palm and a dollop of mashed potatoes the size of your fist is a pretty good starting point. You can have as much veggies as you like as long as they are raw and not drenched in oil and salt.

5. Spend time with your family – exercising!

   If your family knows you’re trying to get in better shape try to include them in that goal.  After  everyone has digested their food you can suggest going for a walk around the neighborhood or playing in the yard. Or set up outdoor games that you can play with the kids if the weather is decent (dodgeball, tag, Red Rover).

6. Home cook each dish if possible.

   You may be thinking, “I don’t have time to home make each dish!” Don’t panic. This is a great way to get the rest of the family involved in your efforts to have a healthier but just as tasty feast. Instead of buying turkey stuffing from a box, make your own stuffing. Pre-made “EZ mixes” are loaded with tons of artificial ingredients and extremely high levels of sodium. You can use sites like Foodgawker.com to find healthy recipes for all kinds of meals. You could even propose a challenge to all the family members that are invited to your gathering to make a dish to share that’s home made, healthy, and not from a box. There are so many ways that you could get creative with this, but just remember that making your meals from scratch are so much better for you than buying pre-packaged ones – no matter what the box says!

7. Start a group.

   This may seem silly, but starting a group with your closest friends or a sibling is a great way to share ideas, have accountability, and make eating healthy and exercising a little bit easier during the holidays. Sticking to your goals is all about staying motivated and pushing forward. We all do better when we have someone to train with and someone to keep pushing us to keep going and to not settle for quitting.