Author: Chris Brown (Page 21 of 41)

Holiday Celebration Eating

December 21, 2020 / Chris Brown / 1 Comment

Holiday celebration eating is a always a challenge for me… in more ways than one.

I’m always looking for a festive looking dish, meal or appetizer to serve. I usually struggle to resist some of the more traditional treats.

Yesterday I tried something different using red green and white colors – beets, celery and onions. As it cooked the white onions became translucent and as I stirred, the beet juice covered everything. I added a few left over pasta noodles and a can of tuna for protein.

I actually liked the taste, but this photo is the best looking. If there is one thing I know about food blogging, getting the right photo that looks appealing is a big part of the project.

From an actual must have recipe, this was okay, yummy enough to want to finish it, but not something I would ever crave.

And eating it was way more healthy than the holiday cookies, peanut butter fudge and kulachi that was sent to us from a friend and sat out on the counter all afternoon during Sunday football.

I also scored a win by doing all my dumbbell reps in between episodes during my Netflix binge of a ballerina murder mystery. So all around win.

How was your weekend?

The colors are right, but the food was – well – non traditional. I added some pasta and tuna to the mixture, but this looks way more pretty than the final meal.

Visualize Your Goal

December 13, 2020 / Chris Brown / 2 Comments

This popular holiday video shows exactly why it is so motivational to visual your goal. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth the watch.

I love a lot of things about the video, except the exercise he uses with the kettlebell.

My back hurt just looking at it. I know why the ad agency decided to have him do that exercise, that way, but WOW! OUCH!

The only way I would do the kettlebell push out is after a lot of training, while under the watchful eye of a certified personal trainer and in the squat position, not standing up the way he did. And certainly not that super heavy weight. You’d need a really strong core to not hurt yourself!

Also when he first stood up with the kettlebell (40 seconds), it looked like he was using his back to lift it rather than his quads. He had the kettlebell out from his chest about a foot away. That looks like a disaster to me. When I think of doing kettlebell exercises, I think of the swing, or even the difficult Turkish get up, but definitely not the standing, lifting, front push out like he did.

Not sure how old this man is, but my guess is 70 or so. Seeing him pick up the kettlebell, or try to pick up the kettlebell in the beginning of the video made me think, he needs to work up to that heavy size! While it’s important to visualize your goal, it is also important to work up to it. I know I can’t do a 25 pound until I’ve got a good hand on the 20 pound… and I don’t use a 20 pound, until I’ve mastered the 15 pound. I guess when I visualize my goal, I see it in baby steps.

I did notice in the end when he lifted his granddaughter, he lifted her to a standing position and then tightened his core to do a push press.

*I’m not a personal trainer, or a physical therapist, but I wouldn’t suggest trying the standing push out unless you checked with someone who knows.

Meanwhile, the point is to visual your goal to improve motivation. I’ve heard of vision boards doing just that.

As we’re approaching the new year, I am getting ready to pick a new word (or 3 words) for 2021. This past year my word was resilient. Next year my word may be visualize. Or maybe it will be kettlebell?

Mountain Biking and Being Fit with Jane Crawford

December 8, 2020 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Mountain biking – Episode 72

In episode 72, Jill and Chris talk with Jane Crawford, a mountain biker and a Recreation Therapist who lives in Calgary, Canada. She walks the talk about wellness and healthy living. As a Recreation Therapist she has learned the clinical tools to support those with chronic health conditions and been able to use those tools in her own life.

In 2008 she set the goal of 10,000 steps a day and continues to do this today. In 2010, she used a simple check mark on the kitchen calendar of completing 30 minutes most days for physical activity. This simple way of holding herself accountable has lead her to become a triathlete and a passionate mountain biker.

We talked about the challenges of staying fit. She shared with us tips and tricks that she uses to stay fit, including:

Strength Training
Cardio
Exercising before getting home from work
Ways she gamifies exercise

Links mentioned in this podcast:
Zwift app for indoor cycling (Please let Jill know if you want to ride in a Becoming Elli Group)
Becoming Elli Private Facebook Group – You’ll need to answer a few questions before joining the private group.

Like so many of us, Jane has fun and works hard at staying fit after 50.

Getting Back to Basics

December 5, 2020 / Chris Brown / 2 Comments

After a really busy November, a conversation I had with Jill made me think it’s time for me to get back to basics. I find it’s easy to get caught up in the extreme or the minutia of exercising, healthy eating and motivation. Sometimes when I start overthinking, I stop doing.

What is back to basics? For me, back to basics means seven things:

1. Drink water. I like to feel my bike water bottles, and put a rubber band around them so I know how many bottles I finished per day. Using my bike water bottles also reminds me of all the fun I have biking.

2. Stand up and walk at least 250 steps each hour. My FitBit around my wrist reminds me at 50 minutes past the hour if I’ve been sitting from more time than I should have. When I was really fit, it meant go biking or running or some other form of cardio 50 to 60 minutes a day, however, that is not my current situation.

3. Get 7 1/2 hours sleep. Again I check my FitBit that tracks the dreaming and deep sleep and I always am hopinf for at least an hour of deep sleep and an hour of REM sleep. When I get good overall hours, as well as at least 60 minutes of each deep and dreaming sleep, I have a great day the next day. If not, I find I’m moody and more hungry than I normally am.

4. Eat my vegetables. My easy way to do that is to make a veggie salad, or if I’m feeling too lazy to chop lots of fresh veggies, I buy a bunch of frozen vegetables already sliced.

5. Skip desserts and excessive amounts of bread. I try to eat carbs early in the day and after exercise. They just seem to burn up better.

6. Count my blessings (at least 10) every day.

7. Listen to some music. I will get on a kick and listen to the same songs but there are some that always it the sweet spot, particularly my running playlists. I used to name my playlists for the race I was training for or a goal that I wanted to achieve.

These 7 points helps me stay on track… or get back on track. As you can see they are a blended combination of eating, exercise and motivation. I’m sure I could list 7 more, but these are my usual “go to” basics.

What are your basics? Leave a message below or shot me an email at Chris@BecomingELLi.com.

UPDATE: Less than an hour after posting I was thinking… why didn’t I include tracking and accountability? Good question…

Pursue Your SPARK with Heike Yates

November 24, 2020 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Episode 71

In episode 71, Jill and Chris talk with Heike Yates, a fitness and nutrition expert who has helped women worldwide to stay fit for over 30 years.

Her passion is empowering women over 50 to say YES. I CAN. She helps them to take back their health and strength by showing them how fitness, nutrition, and mindset strategies combined create a winning team.

Heike has developed a reputation for creating real-life solutions and lasting results. She is the creator of Pursue Your Spark, the 4 Week Lean Out Program, and host of the Pursue Your Spark podcast. Heike is also a body builder, an Ultra Marathon runner and completed an Ironman Triathlon.

We talk about the five parts of her Pursue Your SPARK program. Each letter in SPARK stands for S=scan, P=plan, A=action, R=roadblocks, K=Kickass. We discuss the mental aspects of fitness along with nutrition and exercise. Heike talks about how to incorporate little changes into your week. She suggests that you start today. Seize the day by repeating a repeatable process and you’ll consistently get results.

She has many fitness and nutrition certificates including:
* American Council on Exercise (ACE) Personal Trainer certification
* Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) Pilates
* Precision Nutrition (PN) Nutrition Certification Level 1
* Road Runners Club Of America (RRCA) Certification
* Pink Ribbon Program
* Pilates Breast Cancer Coach

Website: https://heikeyates.com
Podcast: https://heikeyates.com/podcast

Heike offers a Free 5 For 50 Kickstarter Guide For Women 50+ on her website (look on the media kit page near the bottom!)

Vaccines and Shots to Avoid Illness

November 22, 2020 / Chris Brown / 1 Comment

Vaccines have been in the news this past week. Different companies announced early results from tests on their vaccines to fight COVID-19 (Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, and the other by biotechnology firm Modern.)

It was about this time last year when I got a flu shot. And this past week I got my flu shot, so now two years in a row I got the flu shot. With almost every news story about COVID-19, illness is top of mind.

Just a few minutes ago, my daughter texted me and my husband about getting a pneumonia vaccine. Neither of us have had that vaccine, but perhaps we should. The way I understand it, there are three causes of pneumonia (viral, bacterial and heart-related) and the shot protects from viral.

In August I got the Tdap vaccine. It’s an every 10 year shot to protect from Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough.)

Flu shots and vaccines are definitely on my mind.

A few years ago I had two friends, both in their 40’s who had terrible bouts with shingles. At the time, I wanted the shingle shot. I asked at two different places (a clinic and my doctor) but both said that I was too young (under 60) and refused to give me the vaccine.

Now that I’m over 60, I still don’t have the vaccine, but have it on “my list” of things to do for my ongoing health. The CDC now recommends the shingle vaccine when you turn 50 years old.

With the pandemic on my mind so much this year, it seems like I have said “When COVID is over, I’m going to…” so many times. As of today, there are 182 vaccines in development to stop COVID.

Have you had the flu shot? Shingles? Pneumonia? Are they part of your healthy plan? What are your thoughts about vaccines to stay healthy with vaccines?

Gut Health with Christine Bailey

November 10, 2020 / Chris Brown / 1 Comment

Gut Health – Podcast episode #70

In episode #70, Jill and Chris talk about taking care of the gut and brain during menopause with Christine Bailey.

Christine is an award winning degree qualified Functional Nutritional Therapist, Chef and Author with over 20 years of experience in the health, corporate and food industry. With a first class degree in Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BSc) and additional training by the Institute of Functional Medicine Christine is an experienced nutrition practitioner and speaker working in the public and corporate sector. Christine works as a consultant for a wide range of health, fitness, supplement and food companies.

Discussed in today’s podcast with Christine Bailey:

What you eat and when you eat makes a difference in your health
The problem with restrictive eating.
How gut health affects during stress
How the gut influences coping skills and depression
Why changes in estrogen affect both the brain and the gut
How to get diversity in your food and improve your health
Why it’s important to get rid of the endocrine disruptors (and what they are)

Christine is a writer for many national magazines and newspapers and has published over 16 recipe and health books including her latest books My Kids Can’t Eat That, The Brain Boost Diet and The Gut Health Diet, endorsed by Dr Mark Hyman from the Institute Of Functional Medicine USA.

Christine also lectures nationally and internationally and is widely sought after for her expertise.

More information at her website www.christinebailey.co.uk
Instagram: @christinembailey
Facebook: christinebaileykitchen

Some of her books:

Nourish: Cancer Care Cookbook
Eat to Get Younger
Supercharged Juices and Smoothies
Supercharged Green Juice & Smoothie Diet Dec 2015
Paleo Diet
Raw Food Diet
The Gut Health Diet
The Brain Boost Diet
My Kids Can’t Eat That: How to Deal with Allergies & Intolerances in Children

Seasonal and Life Changes

October 27, 2020 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

In episode 69, Jill and Chris discuss seasonal and life changes and their effect on health, fitness and motivation.

Without many of the routines and goals from years past, it has been more challenging to maintain a strong mindset. Along with the challenges of pandemic, dealing with the change of season and life changes can add to the challenge. Jill and Chris discuss their struggles and strategies for coping.

We discuss:

• Races in real life
• Grief
• Emotional eating and feeling your feelings
• Strength training
• Intermittent fasting
• Camping
• Honey healing effects
• Food allergens
• Walking in nature
• Injury
• Yoga

People react differently to seasonal and life changes and knowing yourself can help keep a steady hold on fitness habits and a healthy lifestyle.

If you’re new to our website and community, welcome! We encourage healthy eating, exercise and try to inspire each other to stay motivated to get the most out of life. Our Becoming Elli community is named for Elli, the Norse Goddess of Old age, who was challenged to a wrestling match with Thor… and won

We love to hear from our listeners! Please leave a voice mail at 330-970-6662 or send an email to chris@ or jill@ becomingelli.com.

Keep It Moving with Juel Fitzgerald

October 13, 2020 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Episode 68

In episode 68, Jill and Chris talk with Juel Fitzgerald about staying healthy, walking and her new book, “Lives of a Gem: God’s Treasured Possession.”

This is the 3rd time we’ve talked with Juel on this podcast and we continue to be inspired by her grit, determination, and outlook on life. In episode 8, she was walking marathons and we followed up with her in episode #24 when she walked several half marathons.

We discuss:

Overcoming asthma and allergies
Dealing with hospitalizations and medications
Motivation and how she keeps it moving
How she wrote her book – phases and characteristics of life issues
Publishing a book during the pandemic

Her book can be purchased on Barnes and Noble, Amazon or directly from Juel at her website JuelsCreations.com

“I want to KEEP IT MOVING because when I’m in my 80’s, I’m still moving.”

She says that “Doing races is not what I do anymore, but if a race came up that was really different… I’m just walking for health now, just like I did when I first lost the weight.”

The Fun of Fall Biking

October 3, 2020 / Chris Brown / 3 Comments

With the change of seasons here in Northeast Ohio I am missing the sun of summer, but I have to admit that I am really enjoying the fun of fall biking.

The weather is a bit more brisk in the morning, the haze of summer is gone and I don’t get overheated. The fall leaves are just starting to change.

After consistently riding almost every weekend of the summer, I feel strong. This was a record breaking summer since I started riding my bike again and tracking it in Strava. Due to the corona virus pandemic, I severely limited gatherings with my friends. This meant that I didn’t get together with alot of friends and I’ve really missed doing the very fun, long long bike rides with them.

The good news is that I’ve been more consistent on my riding than any other year. I’ve loved doing the Kent Loop, a 22 mile ride and have been riding it almost every weekend.

Fun of Fall Biking Compared to Other Years
The 2020 year started off great, but this is definitely a different vibe for staying fit and strong for me. My normal is off. So far in my 2020 season, I’ve only ridden 353 miles over 20 rides (averaging 17 miles a ride.) My totals for the 9 years that I’ve been riding are 5657 miles over 269 rides. If I take out 2020 numbers, I usually average 663 miles a year. So while the riding mileage is about half as many miles and the number of rides this year is about a third less, considering 2020, I’m still proud of myself for getting out there.

At the end of summer I usually start to feel like it is time to make new goals (I think because of school starting and new weather patterns), so this week I’m planning to figure out a new work out plan. It won’t be long before my bike will need to get put away for the cold weather!

Do you find that the fall brings out a change in your exercise patterns? How has 2020 changed your “usual” routines for staying fit and strong?