Hope your week is off a to a great start – mine certainly is. Last week was quite hectic for me. I had to travel to both Memphis and Salt Lake City for work. When the weekend came I was completely exhausted. Needless to say, I did not feel like the hitting the gym on Saturday nor doing anything that required even the slightest bit of energy. Fortunately, the thought of hanging out with my “fit friends” was enough motivation to keep me from skipping my Saturday morning workout. Afterwards not only did my body feel better, but I was less stressed and had a more positive attitude overall. It was like magic – lots of good vibes and positive energy. That’s the beauty of exercise, it’s great for the mind, body and soul. Activity generates the energy that brings about good vibes. Good things come to those who sweat!
On that note, here’s some fitspiration to get your sweat on – 20 Minute Calorie Blaster treadmill workout from the GRIT by Brit archives. You can check out the original blog post for detailed instructions. I highly encourage you to give this bad boy a whirl some time this week. I am.
And finally, check out these 13 Mental Health Benefits of exercise. On the list, Stress Relief ranks #1. I can attest to the accuracy of this claim. Just for fun, here’s a pic of me and my girlfriends on Saturday night enjoying the residual good vibes from my morning workout.
Wishing you a wonderful week with lots of sweat and good things! xoxo, Brit
Enjoying a lovely Dallas evening with my lovely girlfriends! Feeling rejuvenated after a solid Saturday morning Sweat session 🙂
I saw this quote and LOVED it, so I wanted to share it with you guys. It’s so true – right? When I think about the key moments in my life that really made me feel strong, each moment forced me to do something I didn’t think I could do. From running a mile under 8 minutes to teaching a group fitness class, each moment pushed me out of my comfort zone.
As many of you know, I’m a not a full-time fitness professional. I work long hours in corporate America and feel most comfortable in a conference room presenting PowerPoint slides. On top of that, I’m not a “writer” and I’ve struggled with my weight over the years. All of these facts make it easy to convince myself that I’m “unfit” to be a fitness blogger. However maintaining this blog has pushed me out of my comfort zone and made my stronger in several ways – my fitness, nutrition, relationships and even my writing skills!
If you’re like me, you typically like to focus on things you’re naturally good at because it makes you feel good about yourself – nothing wrong with that. The only issue is that refraining from pushing ourselves doesn’t make us stronger. It doesn’t require grit. And grit is what elevates our lives from ordinary to extraordinary. So go ahead and do 5 burpees instead of 4, run for 16 minutes instead of 15, start that blog you’ve been contemplating or take on a new project at work even if it feels a little intimidating.
As a group fitness instructor I see several hard workingmen and women regularly attend the gym and still have difficulty losing weight. They log hours of cardio, eat “low-fat” foods and have loyalty cards to Smoothie King but nothing seems to work. Personally, I also struggled with weight loss until my personal trainer at the time (Thank you Sam!) gave me some “real talk.” See, many of the tips and tricks I learned from my mom and friends were flat out wrong. The reality is that our bodies are really smart and really efficient. Therefore we have to shock them in order to get the results we want. We also have to respect the principles of Biology – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories that you consume.” So with these nuggets of wisdom in mind, I also wanted to share the 5 biggest weight loss lies that led me astray for several years…
Must Do More Cardio – Okay, it’s true that minute for minute, cardio burns more calories than weight training.However, if your usual 30-45 minutes on the elliptical or recumbent bike isn’t doing the trick, it’s because you’re heart rate is getting elevated enough. In order to burn a lot of calories, you have work really hard. Yea, like sucking air at times. You heart rate need to reach the anaerobic zone (60-85% of your max heart rate). This is why interval training is so effective. In interval training, you sprint for 20-30 seconds then take a quick rest and repeat. In fact, you can burn twice as man calories in 10 minutes of interval training as compared to 10 minutes of regular, steady pace cardio activity. The truth is that harder, smarter cardio is the key to weight loss, not more cardio.
Skip Meals to Drop Pounds – Skipping meals keeps you from losing weight in 2 key ways: First, doing so makes you binge eat later in the day because you’re starving. Binge eating stretches out your stomach and allows you to consume far too many calories. Also, eating large meals late in the day leaves minimal opportunity for you to burn off the calories (because you are going to sleep soon and the food just sits in your tummy). Second, starving yourself slows down your metabolism which makes it harder for you to burn calories and harder for you to lose weight. Long story short, don’t skip meals. Eat 5 small meals throughout the day that are high in lean protein and fiber. It actually takes true grit to plan 5 healthy meals than to skip breakfast and lunch and indulge in one giant dinner.
Focus on Fat Reduction – This may come as a shock, but the truth is“Fat (in moderation) is GOOD, Sugar is BAD.” We need fat for bodily functions. “Fats help you absorb vitamins A, D, and E, and they are vital for your nervous system.” – Barbara Roberts, MD, director of the Women’s Cardiac Center at the Miriam Hospital in Providence. The key is to eat unsaturated fats like olive oil and olives, canola oil, almonds, cashews, peanuts, peanut butter, sesame seeds and avocados. “Several studies have shown that eating small amounts of nuts helps dieters lose weight because the fiber and protein help dieters feel full longer. Dieters are less like to overeat and more successful at losing weight.” – WebMD 2013Sugar on the other hand is the devil when it comes to weight loss. Sugar absorbs quickly, provides minimal nutritional value, makes you hungry and then turns into bad fat if you don’t immediately burn it off. When making a food decisions, always take unsaturated fats over sugar if weight loss is your goal.
Smoothies Make You Skinny – The truth is that most smoothies are loaded with sugar and too much sugar makes you fat. Now, smoothies are good for meal replacements every once in a while as long as they are made with raw fruits and veggies (not fruit juice) and if they include protein. Be sure to ask for a scoop of whey protein in your smoothie so that you will feel fuller and help offset the sugar spike. Be careful about having smoothies for snacks as you can easily pack on an extra 300-400 calories without even realizing it.
My Genetics Make me Overweight – “While genes strongly decide the shape of your body, peoples’ lifestyle (primarily eating too much and moving too little) is by far the main reason they’re [overweight]. Research has shown that our eating and exercise habits are heavily influenced by the people we spend time with the most, which is likely the main reason we see obesity running in families. Genes have an influence, but it’s relatively minor for the vast majority of humans.” – Melinda Johnson, registered dietitian nutritionist and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The moral of the story is, “Get rid of the genetics excuse and get you some fit friends.” – Brit For realz.
May the weight-loss TRUTH set you free. xoxo, Brit
Happy (almost) Thanksgiving, Grit by Brit readers!
The other night, I hosted my first family-style “dinner party” of sorts: a pre-Thanksgiving potluck/apartment-warming, Brooklyn-style. The combination of the good energy from my pals, and the scrumptious Thanksgiving-esque fare they all contributed made for one of the most fun Big Apple nights I’ve ever had! While admittedly, I ate more in quantity, and more “indulgently” than I would have on a typical night, I walked away from that meal with an incredible sense of well-being, contentment and nourishment.
Reflecting on the evening inspired me to post on this topic – The Healthy Side of Thanksgiving – because so often, this holiday gets a bad rap in the nutrition world. I mean, let’s face it, “nutritious” isn’t exactly the first adjective that comes to mind when we think of Thanksgiving… “diet buster” or “gluttony” is more like it. Furthermore, during this time of year, the media is relentlessly flooded with stories featuring tips on “how to avoid holiday season weight gain” or “how to re-work traditional holiday dishes into healthier versions.” While I certainly recognize the value that this type of information offers for health-conscious individuals looking to sustain their healthy habits throughout the holiday season, I also feel strongly that there is not nearly enough attention paid to the (perhaps less obvious) healthful aspects of Thanksgiving that we may forget to embrace and appreciate.
Thus, I’d like to draw your attention to my personal top 4 underrated (yet wonderfully nourishing, and yes, even nutritious) parts of Turkey Day!
Expanded food repertoires. We are creatures of habit, and so often, we get stuck in foods ruts, eating the same things for breakfast, lunch and dinner without even realizing how routinized we’ve become. But food variety is an important part of good nutrition, too. With an extensive “food-scape” to choose from on Thanksgiving, we can use this meal to expose our palates to less familiar flavors and textures, learn about new cooking techniques, and even garner inspiration for some new meals ideas outside of holiday time.
Kitchen collaboration.There is a TON of research touting the benefits of family meals. For example, children of families that cook and dine together regularly tend to have more nutritious diets and a decreased risk for developing disordered eating habits. And while meals together may not always be a realistic gig for families on a regular basis, what better holiday than Thanksgiving to make it a family affair! Cooking as a group also provides a natural foundation for bonding, which occurs through the collaboration and communication necessary for preparing and enjoying a home-cooked meal. Speaking of which…
Emotional nourishment and group entertainment value. We receive nourishment not only in the form of the physical nutrients that enter into our body through food, but also through the emotional satisfaction that comes from experiencing fulfilling connections with others. The convening of family (or friends) in a group setting such as Thanksgiving provides us a unique opportunity to bond with loved ones, many of whom we may not see on a regular basis. There is also a special dynamic that comes along with a group meal. Groups have a way of forming a life of their own, and if you take a step back and actually listen to the group’s conversation, it can be quite humorous and highly entertaining. Or, maybe this is just my family… 🙂
A perfect opportunity to practice self-compassion. Remember my post on “Finding Balance?” The definition of healthy eating is: consistently blending basic nutrition principles (cerebral knowledge) with your body’s intuitive hunger-fullness cues and taste preferences (internal knowledge). Key word: “consistently.” Overindulging is TOTALLY normal and natural at a meal like Thanksgiving, when we’re presented with an overwhelming amount of food (and perhaps overwhelming people, too). If nothing else, we can use Thanksgiving to practice being compassionate with ourselves, especially after we realize we were waaaay off the mark when we reached for that 3rd helping of sweet potatoes…. (yum).
Wishing you a Thanksgiving feast that is truly nourishing!
For more nutrition tips or to get in contact with Lindsay Krasna, Registered Dietitian, visit: http://www.lknutrition.com/
Hey gang – it’s almost Turkey Day! I know many of you are probably getting Instagram and Facebook overload from your friends sharing their “30 Days of Thanks” or whatever it’s called. While I’m sure it can be annoying, don’t “hate” too much. Turns out, drinking the gratitude Kool-Aid can do us good.
Let me digress for a bit. We’ll come back full circle. I promise.
While growing up in Texas I attended a small, Southern Baptist church and we had this ritual of giving “praise reports” during every service. At this time, members of the congregation would stand up and share something good that had happened during the week (i.e. a promotion at work, healing from a sickness, winning a big game, an exciting family vacation, etc.). We always did “praise reports” before sharing “prayer requests.” Prayer requests are unfortunate situations in which people needed prayer, support or encouragement. I always wondered why we had this practice of first giving praise before we prayed about a problem. Over the weekend, a friend shared this video with me (below). While watching it, “praise reports” started to make more sense…
“The Science of Happiness,” suggests that the simple of act sharing gratitude (aka sharing praise reports) is therapeutic in itself. Being grateful and expressing gratitude can actually give us the strength and perspective that we need to make it through tough times. In short, gratitude gives us GRIT. Gratitude makes us happier.
In true GRIT by Brit fashion, I also thought to myself, “Maybe expressing gratitude for 2 good arms, 2 good legs and a heart and lungs that work can be the extra push I need on days I don’t feel like working out?” haha – we shall see.
Watch this video from SoulPancake if you want to feel good, get in the Thanksgiving spirit and maybe even tear up a bit 🙂
You guys know I’m a sucker for inspirational quotes, but I saw this one and it really made me think. Not trying to get all “preachy,” but sometimes it’s good to take a step back and be mindful of our daily thoughts. Lately, the term “mindfulness” is a popular buzz word among inspirational speakers and spiritual thought leaders. Mindfulness simply refers to “awareness” – being conscious of what your mind is processing. This also means being conscious of negative thinking. We may think that negative thoughts here and there aren’t a big deal, but actually negative thinking can become nasty habit that’s difficult to overcome. In all honesty, it’s really hard (almost impossible) to always think positively. It take a lots of discipline and GRIT to train our minds to consistently look on the bright side. Fortunately, like with all things in life, we can train ourselves do anything we want – that’s beauty of being human – WE CAN CHANGE (we are not trees). I found this list of Negative Impacts of Negativity from Always Greater, LLC and wanted to share it – hopefully it encourages us to proactively choose positive thoughts and be mindful of the negative ones.
Negative thinking leads to…
A less worthwhile life instead of a more worthwhile life
Less confidence instead of greater confidence
Lower self-esteem instead of higher self-esteem
Less happiness and enjoyment instead of more happiness and enjoyment
Less feelings of strength instead of greater feelings of strength
Less energy instead of more energy
Less peace of mind instead of more peace of mind
Less success instead of more success
Less enjoyable social interactions instead of more enjoyable social interactions
Less health benefits instead of more health benefits
Less clarity of mind instead of greater clarity of mind
Less sensible mind instead of a more sensible mind
“Since you have a choice, it doesn’t make much sense to think in negative ways that hurt you rather than positive ways that help you.” – David Fonvielle
New research suggests that having a general sense of well-being, feeling energetic and cheerful, relaxed and happy with life may actually reduce the chances of having a heart attack. (Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/263175.php)
“If you are by nature a cheerful person and look on the bright side of things, you are more likely to be protected from cardiac events,” – Lisa R. Yanek, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Hey hey Grit gang! I hope you had a good weekend. Mine weekend was okay… I had some fun times, but I’m feeling a little stressed due to work and lot’s personal things on my plate. In all honesty, today was one of those days that I really wanted to just sit at home and feel sorry for myself. In fact. I did. For a while… But then I started planning my blog posts for the next few days and perusing some blogs that I follow, and I came upon this post that gave me the “kick in the butt” that I needed.
I love that the title is simple – “Discipline.” In the end, discipline is what really matters. I have to have the discipline to get up off of my couch and not be a cry baby. I have to have the discipline to workout when I don’t feel like it. And most importantly, I have to have the discipline to CHOOSE to be happy when it would be so much easier to mope around. So, with that said, I just wanted to share this post with you as a little “Sunday inspiration.” I hope it motivates you as much as it motivated me.
Happy Friday everyone! As I was sitting at my desk, unwinding from a busy week and getting ready to enjoy my weekend, I came across this blog post that truly inspired me. I totally agree with these 5 tips (especially Tip #5). The time is now! Whatever dream has been sitting heavy on your heart, now is the time to pursue it! Tomorrow isn’t promised – so get up and go for it. Lots of luv, Brit 🙂
Every single person you meet will have some sort of advice for you. Unfortunately, I struggle to believe most of it or find it actionable in my daily life. It is difficult to learn a new trade, to think in the clouds, and generally to run out and change my life. How can I do that in the confines of my busy life while also gaining great value out of each activity? From an economics perspective, the opportunity cost of everything we do is quite high, especially nowadays as people become busier and busier. This is why I give 5 pieces of advice that I feel can drastically change the way you think and live while barely changing anything at all.
1. Give more than you receive. To me, this one is the most important. People that give are happier, more successful, and more fun to be around. If a person asks you for advice with your trade, give it to them over dinner or a drink. No favor will go unpunished and it is more than likely this will lead to them providing you with future opportunities or just a new friend or perspective. Many people argue with me that people should do charity for the sake of helping others and not have a selfish motive. To me, it doesn’t particularly concern me either way. Most people that do charity enjoy helping others but that does not indicate that you should feel guilty getting a benefit from your charity as well.
2. Network. The saying that I have found most true in my life is that it is not what you know but who you know. Networking can be as easy as meeting new people at work or as difficult as asking your job to pay for you to attend a conference or seminar. Networking will not take too much time out of your life and can even be attached to events like going out, work functions, and dinners. Whenever you can, get a business card and a contact. Again, you never know when it will come in handy.
3. Learn the Economy – it is very sad to me how few people understanding anything about the economy. Without this understanding, it will be very easy for people to get ahead of you. I do not care if your only connection to money is the paycheck you receive because that is a direct implication on the economy and the economy will still affect you. See my post about the economic machine in 30 minutes to get a pretty comprehensive understanding. If you have other questions, let me know.
4. Read + Write – this stands by itself but the greatest business minds, scholars, political figures of our time are well read and well written. You should join these ranks. Start a blog or a journal but reading and writing will improve your analytical thinking, your knowledge, and may even get a few more people to notice your skills.
5. Act Now. Do It. There is no better time than now to get started on what you want to do. Tomorrow is far too late.
That’s me, front and center, delivering the GRIT by Brit workout for BOOYA Fitness
Last weekend I filmed my 2nd official GRIT by Brit workout video! The video will drop on Thanksgiving Day as part of the launch of BOOYA Fitness. BOOYA is an revolutionary new fitness company that provides high-end workout videos to consumers on demand. Think NetFlix for workout videos. It features amazing fitness instructors mostly from the best boutique fitness studios in NYC. You can check out more details on their alpha site www.booyafitness.com but be on the lookout for the Thanksgiving Day launch of their new site and new workout videos – featuring yours truly!
Personally, I decided to support BOOYA and be a featured instructor on the platform because I love the idea of being able to connect with my students outside of the group fitness classroom. Also, the co-founder, Prita Kumar, is a fellow Harvard Business School MBA and Fitness Fanatic (like me). Prita and I met each other over Twitter and instantly connected. I’m so excited for her to transform the fitness industry through high-end video content. You can learn more about her journey to starting BOOYA Fitness on this cool start up documentary, CLICK HERE to watch.
So, let me move on and tell you a little about the cool experience I had at the BOOYA shoot and what you can expect from the new and improved GRIT by Brit workout…
Headed to the studio with my cue cards in hand!
So if you have a copy of my DVD (if you don’t buy one on Amazon – PLEASE) you’ll notice that the workout I designed for BOOYA is very similar. However, I really tried to take my game to the next level. In addition to the jammin’ music, I incorporated new techniques I’ve learned to over the past year to enhance my workout. Specifically:
More FUN – I incorporated some “dance-like” moves into the cardio sections and into the choreography overall
More FIERECE – After each cardio round I have a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) section
More FITNESS – Through the workout I really focused on focus on toning the legs and core. Also I only use of body weight resistance training – no hand weights this time
I feel a HUGE sense of accomplishment after this shoot because I can look back on my progress over the past year and see how I’ve really grown as a fitness instructor and personal coach. It feels good knowing that I’m better able to help people reach their fitness goals. I’m VERY confident that my new workout video will inspire and motivate tons of people to have fun, get fit and show their GRIT 😉
I’m clearly very excited to explain the GRIT by Brit workout during my BOOYA fitness interview 🙂
For the BOOYA shoot, I was fortunate to have a rock star group of participants, Minal and Lateefah. Minal, is another HBS MBA / Fitness Guru – she is the founder of BollyX and did me the honor of being in my video. “BOLLYX is a Bollywood-inspired dance-fitness program that combines dynamic choreography and intensive workouts with upbeat music from around the world. The workouts are fun and invigorating but, more importantly, designed to drive fitness results through cardio and muscle-building exercises. ” Lateefah, is the founder of EmpowerFit. “Empowerfit is empowerment through fitness.” Lateefah and I met the day of the shoot, but we instantly connected – it was like we had known each other for years. She brings a solid dance cardio background to the video which complimented the GRIT by Brit signature moves very well.
Both of these lovely ladies ROCKED IT OUT and brought some serious energy and enthusiasm on shoot day – I’m super grateful for them both!
Lateefah, me and Minal after a successful shoot!
Overall, I cannot wait for the official video to drop on Thanksgiving Day! I’ll keep you guys posted on the details. In the meanwhile, keep grinding, keeping shinning and keep showing you GRIT. I’ve got a new ab workout coming this week, so stayed tuned for that as well. All the best to you!
