Fit Strong Women Over 50.

Author: Chris Brown (Page 24 of 41)

Pam Sherman’s Big Ass Salad

Are you wondering about the Big Ass Salad?

During our recent podcast interview with Pam Sherman, she mentioned that she has a salad every day.

Not just any salad, but one she refers to as the BAS! The Big Ass Salad. She says the cabbage is more filling than a spring mix.

Jill and I just couldn’t let that go! We needed the recipe… and photos!
Thank you Pam for this delicious inspiration!!

Here’s the recipe for my favorite BAS
Pam Sherman's Big Ass Salad

Spinach – I cut this up as I hate big lettuce leaves
Green cabbage – finely chopped
Fruit – in the winter I use apples or pears, summer, any berry is fantastic
Nut – we love almonds and pistachios but any nut works great
Cheese – crumbled goat is our go to!
Balsamic onions – cook onion until soft(either red/yellow work), add balsamic vinegar and cook down until vinegar is absorbed into the onion.

I do take kitchen scissors and chop up everything finely- it makes it so much easier to eat!

For my Big Ass Salad dressing I use..

1 cup cashew/almond milk
1 Tbl honey mustard
1/2-1 Tbl chopped garlic
few shakes of coconut aminos- worchestershire works as well
1/3 cup while balsamic or red balsamic
1-2 Tbl of hummus to make it creamy!

Mix all in magic bullet or blender.

Enjoy!!

Pushing Through the Roadblocks to get Fit and Strong

I want to be pushing through the roadblocks. I want to be fit and strong, For some reason I think that taking on big challenges, or challenges in general right now, is a good idea.

I fully blame the corona isolation quarantine thing for my exercise stall.

My mental game is different than how it has been the past 12 years of working toward the elusive goal, and now I’m hitting roadblocks. pushing through the roadblocksSeeing this little violet bloom in between the cracks of the concrete driveway inspired me today.

I’m going to revisit the cue/habit thing. I’ll say my mantras. Work my “to-do” list plan my day/week/month. Maybe I can get things clicking like they used to.

The book The Power of Habit really links the cue with the routine and reward. I know that to establish or re-establish a good habit, I really need to focus on the cue and reward to link the routine in the middle.

Having found a routine that I will doing consistently will help my mental state, (and of course, my physical one too.) There are many choices. Treadmill. Walks. Body weight exercises. Dumb bells. Yoga. Online videos. Live gym classes. Bike. Hike.

More importantly than what I do will be to use the cue, routine, reward cycle to help me break through those roadblocks.

Instead of focusing on this is the first Cleveland Marathon not to be held in something like 40 years, I’m going to focus on something within my control, like the 10K steps or the 10 floors of stairs a day.

Do you link cue/routine/reward to build strong good habits? Tell me about it on voice mail 330-970-6662 or leave a comment below.

Intermittent Fasting with Gin Stephens

Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle with Gin Stephens – Episode #58

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In episode 58 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast, Jill and Chris interview Gin Stephens about her experiences with a intermittent fasting lifestyle. Gin Stephens is the author of Delay, Don’t Deny: Living an Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle.

Gin has been living the intermittent fasting lifestyle since 2014. This lifestyle shift allowed her to lose over 80 pounds. She has launched her intermittent fasting website, four Facebook support groups, four self-published books, and two top-ranked podcasts—Intermittent Fasting Stories and The Intermittent Fasting Podcast.

Her newest book, Fast, Feast, Repeat will be available in June 2020.

Gin graduated from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition’s Health Coach Training Program in 2019. She earned a Doctor of Education degree in Gifted and Talented Education (2009), a Master’s degree in Natural Sciences (1997), and a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education (1990).

In today’s podcast we discussed:

  • How does intermittent fasting work with weight loss?
  • Intermittent fasting and maintaining a weight loss
  • Recommendations for starting intermittent fasting
  • What to eat while you’re practicing intermittent fasting
  • How certain flavored beverages can interrupt a clean fast
  • Strength training, running and cycling with intermittent fasting

Fast. Feast. Repeat. on Amazon
Gin Stephens Website
Follow Gin on Instagram

Click here for more on our Becoming Elli website about Intermittent Fasting and Dawn Maloney’s experiences with intermittent fasting.

Hiking through the Woods Mindfully

Hiking through the woods is an enjoyable way to spend a spring afternoon. Yesterday was one of those special spring hikes.

I tried to stay in the moment and had a good time checking out all the signs of spring. It felt almost like a scavenger hunt: Moss, check. Mud, check. Ferns, mushrooms, ravine. Check, check, check.

Hiking in the woods definitely reminds me of when I was a kid because when I was young, this was a constant activity in the spring. hiking through the woods on a sunny afternoon

I didn’t get a photo of the deer that I saw. In fact, I didn’t even think of it, just enjoyed the moment. It felt really good to be out in the sun crunching over hills and along the trail. Social distancing is easy when you’re in the woods. It doesn’t as feel weird as trying to stay 6 feet apart while talking in someone’s driveway or in a parking lot at the grocery store.

Doing something you love really doesn’t feel like exercise. Yesterday, without even realizing it, I hit all my FitBit goals of the day. More importantly, after focusing on the woods and hiking along the trail, my mind got back into its normal, happy place. Besides the fresh air and sunshine, I think it was the mindfulness. Staying in the moment really helps to flush out the feelings of isolation that have been haunting me lately.

Gotta love the joys of nature!

How about you? What have you been doing to find enjoyable ways of getting exercise? Leave a message below, send an email to chris@becomingelli.com or a voice mail at 330-970-6662.

Improve Your Healthy Immune System with Dr. Victoria Shaw

Improve Your Healthy Immune System – Episode 57

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In Episode #57, Jill and Chris talk with Dr. Victoria Shaw about self care to help you improve your healthy immune system. This episode is particularly helpful and timely since we are in the middle of the the COVID-19 pandemic.

She has an extensive educational background:

Dr. Shaw received her Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Case Western Reserve University, her Master of Science in Nursing from University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her Bachelor of Arts from Pennsylvania State University. She also has additional credentials and certifications from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Cornell University, Princeton Biofeedback Center, and the Center for Mind Body Medicine… among others. As a nurse practitioner, health and wellness coach and a facilitator of compassionate change, Dr. Shaw combines cutting edge, evidence-based science with time honored wisdom to help her clients feel better, sleep better and relieve bothersome symptoms…

During this episode we discuss:

  • What is the immune system?
  • The effects of stress on a healthy immune system
  • How can we improve the health of our immune system?
  • How can we improve our sleep?
  • Insights into food sensitives and food allergies.
  • The differences between mindfulness and meditation
  • How they improve the immune system
  • How to get some mindfulness into your day if you don’t have a mindfulness practice
  • We talk about how to eat right, avoid stress, and ways of getting good sleep:

Dr. Victoria Shaw has prepared this 4 page PDF handout to download: Self Care to Improve Your Immune System.

You can find her online at her Facebook Coaching and Consulting page.

Some of the links mentioned during this episode for practicing mind body exercises: HeartMath an app that usually costs for $30 for access, is currently available for free due to COVID-19. It helps to better manage stressful emotions and Increase resilience. You can learn more about the science behind HeartMath here.

Her mentor is Richard Miller who has several iRest videos available here:
20 minutes  27 minutes 35 minutes  1 hour 46 minutes

Improving my Schedule During the Stay At Home

I know I’m not the only one. I need to work on improving my schedule. Something about this stay-at-home pandemic life is paralyzing to my motivation and ambition. Has it happened to you too?

It has been about a month and a half since I’ve been staying at home and not “seeing” people. I’d like to say that I’m finally starting to accept the new normal.

Do I like it? No. And some days are easier than others. I’m looking for new ways to adjust and flourish.

  • To do lists include the simple things now. (clean the kitchen, do the laundry, take a walk)
  • Getting a strong hold over my thoughts, which has always been challenging, is my focus.
  • I can’t believe it has been only 6 weeks since I wrote this blog post. Look at how upbeat it is! I especially scoff at learning a new skill.
  • Wait! That’s negative! I promised myself I’d write something uplifting and positive!

Mental Strength

Honestly, this has been harder for me mentally than I expected. (Cue the pity party.) I actually need to count my blessings and quit feeling sorry for myself.

When I’m not doing the best mentally, the physical part of being fit and strong starts to suffer. I don’t eat right. I tend to gain weight. I’m not drinking enough water. I’m not doing my regular workouts. I go to my gym (virtually) but quit the workout during the warm up. Wow! What’s up with that?

The odd thing is, while things feel out of my control, but there are still so things that ARE TOTALLY IN MY CONTROL.

Logically I know that there is no reason I shouldn’t be doing what I need to do to stay healthy, fit and strong. There are so many ways to look at improving my schedule:

  • Why am I not drinking my water?
  • Why am I not having the salad – that I happen to love – for my lunch everyday? It’s the one with lots of cut up veggies, a can of tuna and my favorite dressing of EEOV, cider vinegar and lemon juice?
  • Why do I not take advantage of the video workouts?
  • Why am I not getting my 10,000 steps, before noon each day?

I can easily watch, learn more and grow my yoga practice…just stop asking why and just do it. I KNOW when I get more physical exercise it helps my mental game.

And I have 11 stair steps in my house. Easy enough to do them (and get the laundry done and even clean out some clutter in the basement.)

It’s all mental for me. I am healthy. No cold or flu or anything to stop me from exercising and taking care of myself.
Alright…, it’s time to get off my pity party and take control of my fitness and healthy eating! Improving my schedule is the first step. This week I am going to do things better.

My Get IT Together Plan:

  1. First thing in the morning – get some exercise. Stop pretending I’m going to get to it in the afternoon.
  2. Track my food. Write it down. Even if I don’t eat “perfectly healthy” (ha ha) I’m going to keep track of what I eat.
  3. Before I go to bed, review the day and give myself a pep talk for the next day.

On thing I’m really looking forward to is the Becoming Elli private zoom call. This will be our 3rd one. Each time, after the video call, I definitely had more energy and a brightened outlook. If you’d like to join us, you’ll need to be a member of our private Facebook group. We require that you answer 3 questions and Jill & I check out your profile keep the group legit.

What are you doing to improve resiliency during the COVID-19 stay at home situation? I’d love to hear your strategies and I’ll keep sharing mine.

 

 

Walking More and Increasing Veggies during the Quarantine

I’ve been working on increasing my daily steps and so I’ve been walking a bit more.

Here are a couple of photos from yesterday’s walk.

The weather here is still mid 40’s so walking with a face mask is not a problem. I wear a bandana type face mask and then my neck gaiter from skiing over top of that.

I’ve also been trying to eat more vegetables. Being in quarantine with the days seeming to be the same over and over has caused me to not eat as well as I should. I enjoy eating what my husband cooks, but he definitely cooks for taste and not for calories… if you know what I mean!

Here are a couple of photos of some good veggies that I had over the weekend.

Roasting veggies on parchment paper with some olive oil tastes absolutely delicious.

My favorite salad recipe is this one:

Chop and mix: Fresh veggies from the fridge. A a little bit of each type with variety of colors is most fun.

  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Sweet peppers
  • Celery
  • Onions
  • Cucumbers
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Mushrooms
  • Onion
  • Use what you have!

Protein: Black beans or Cooked lentils or chick peas or even a drained can of tuna.

Salad dressing:

  • Olive oil
  • Cider vinegar
  • Lemon juice
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Mix together and enjoy!!  What do you find keeps you eating healthy during this unprecedented time? Do you make the same thing over and over or are you mixing it up and trying new recipes?

Staying Fit and Strong in Isolation

Jill McCauslin and Chris Brown in Staying Fit and Strong in Isolation – Episode 56

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We’re still in the stay-at-home program due to the Covid-19 virus, so we thought we’d check in with our listeners on how it’s going.

staying fit and strong

Jill McCauslin (left) and Chris Brown (right) discuss staying fit and strong in isolation during the COVID-19 stay at home time.

We talk about:

  • Being at home
  • Separated from family
  • Maintaining social relationships
  • Eating
  • Exercise
  • Going outside
  • Effects of Isolation
  • What we’re doing to stay fit and strong
  • Keeping things in perspective

Please contact us with your tips and tricks for dealing with this in isolation. We’d love to hear from you!

We know that our listeners are doing a variety of things to continue their fitness.

You can email us at Jill@becomingelli.com or Chris@becomingelli.com. Leave a comment below this post or even give us a call! You can leave a voice mail at 330-970-6662.

Although this is a shorter than usual podcast, we wanted to keep in touch during this difficult time. Staying isolated physically doesn’t mean we can’t connect online. Please consider joining our private Facebook group. We’re planning a zoom call later this week. If you’re interested, please take a few minutes to stay connect when we talk about fitness, strength and good health.

Emotional Eating During the COVID-19 Crisis with Cassie Christopher

Emotional Eating During the COVID-19 Crisis with Cassie Christopher – Episode 55

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In Episode 55 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50, Chris and Jill speak with guest expert Cassie Christopher about emotional eating during COVID-19.

She is a Registered Dietitian who has helped hundreds of women overcome emotional eating, so they can focus on the people and things that are really important to them.

With a background in using genetics and lab data for chronic disease prevention, Cassie is also a behavior change expert who knows what it takes to make changes that will last. Cassie is from Seattle, Washington, USA.

We discuss:

  • What are the different emotions that cause people to want to eat?
  • Advice for those living with children or even adult children
  • How to avoid emotional eating while we’re at home with a lot of food nearby.
  • What’s the difference between doing some emotional eating sometimes and having an eating disorder?
  • Practicing self compassion
  • What to do instead of eating
  • Free support using the Headspace app during COVID-19 https://www.headspace.com/covid-19
  • Quick protein options: canned tuna, chicken, beans, hard boiled egg
  • Planning the day in advance

In addition, Cassie offers a free guide: Cut emotional eating in half by balancing your blood sugar! which is available at www.CassieChristopher.net/free. Full disclosure: you will need to provide your email address and will be signing up for her email list when you download the guide. The free guide is in editable PDF format, meaning that you can type in your food plan into the format and print it out, which can be quite helpful.

To follow Cassie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CassieChristopherRD/

Please consider joining our private Facebook Group for added support and community during this worldwide crisis. Let us know how you are doing by email chris@becomingelli.com or leave us a voice mail at 330-970-6662.

emotional eating

First Bike Ride of the Season

This past week the weather has improved quite a bit here in Ohio and I got my first bike ride of the season!

While it was still really cold at 47 degrees, the sun helped. My tire pressure was low, so I pumped the tires up. Actually I was surprised there was still air from last year in the tubes. Checked the brakes. Made sure I remembered which side was the big gear and which one was the small gear.

Found my bike gloves, helmet, and bike shoes. Bundled up really well, with an extra sweatshirt and warm socks.

After spending so many days at home, it was nice to be out of the house, even for a short first bike ride of the season. I didn’t go near any people and only saw a few cars.

I have to tell you I got inspired after Zoom video call from the Becoming Elli Facebook Group.

It was fun to worry about potholes and normal things like shifting the gears on the bike.

I can tell I haven’t been in spinning class for a month… I noticed my seat right away.

Hope you are finding some normal things to do that bring you joy during this unusual time of quarantine from the COVID-19. While I really stayed close to home, this ride offered a nice break and another thing to add to my list of counting my blessings.

Let us know how it is going! Send over an email or call 330-970-6662 and leave a voice message.

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