Brit’s 5 Favorite Fit Snacks

March 3, 2013 16 Comments

The past couple of weeks I’ve gotten pretty sloppy with my diet :/ I’ve done a good job keeping up with my workouts, but my food choices could be much healthier. This weekend I took mental note of my favorite “fit snacks” and am going to try to have them handy so that it’s easier for me to make healthy choices . Keep in mind that I’m a new vegetarian (officially 2 months strong) so everything I picked is “veggie friendly.” Here’s my list – enjoy!

1. All Natural Peanut Butter & Banana. Either “straight up” or in frozen sandwiches like below.

2. Carrots & Hummus – not very exciting, but always tasty and gets me my daily dose of Vitamin A!

3. Kale Chips – be careful about getting flavored ones though. While they are tasty, they sneak in extra calories that can pile up…

4. Apples dipped in Greek Yogurt – I like to sprinkle a little cinnamon on top or maybe drizzle some honey if I really have a sweet tooth.

5. Almonds and prunes – This combo is high in fiber and will clean you out real good 😉

What’s in your top 5 favorite fit snacks?

Inspiration & Motivation

Show some SWAGGER

February 25, 2013 5 Comments

At a very young age, my parents taught me the importance of self-respect and self-confidence. My mom always had me play the lead in church programs and made sure I was on the front row at my dance recitals. Later when I started playing sports, my dad would preach that “competitions are just about confidence…if I worked hard and believed that I was better than my opponent, I was!”

However as I matured, I started to believe that humility and self-confidence were mutually exclusive (i.e. if I wanted to be humble, that meant I needed to put the needs of others before my own or criticize myself). However, the TRUTH is exactly the opposite!

As a new vegetarian, I started reading the book “Skinny B*itch” which takes a very no-nonsense approach to healthy living and healthy eating. There’s a paragraph in the book, that really hammers home my beliefs about self-confidence and SWAGGER:

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“Certainly your health and your body and you are more important than anything else in your life. You are worthless to your colleagues, friends and family if you do not value yourself enough to take excellent care of you. Yes, you have to put yourself before your friends, parents, boyfriend, husband and even your children. It won’t make you bad daughter or wife or mother; it will make you less resentful, more confident, interesting, beautiful, patient, tolerant, and fun person to be around. Your bright shining light will give everyone around you permission and inspiration to shine more brightly. Love yourself enough to do whatever it takes to be the best you you can be.”

For your Monday Motivation, I wanted to share this excerpt along with a graphic that my Aunt sent me (shout out to Aunt Cathy). Think about these truths as you start your week. I hope they encourage you as much as they encourage me! #GRIT

Lots of luv,

Brit 😉

Just for Fun

Turbo Kickboxing Classes in NYC

February 21, 2013 2 Comments

Hey Gang! I hope your week is going well. In case you haven’t heard, I’m now teaching independent Turbo Kick classes in New York City! I’ve partnered with Stepping Out Studios in Flatiron to bring you an awesome fitness experience in a beautiful NYC dance studio. Now you can enjoy this amazing fitness format without being a member of a gym – woop woop 🙂

Last Sunday marked the completion of our 1st month since the launch of Turbo NYC. Our Launch Party was a huge success and we’ve had several new faces join our #CARDIOPARTY since then. You can CLICK HERE to view pictures and read the review of our January launch party.

Turbo Kick is my all time favorite fitness format – it’s challenging, yet fun and effective. I’ve lost over 25 pounds since falling in love with Turbo Kick, so I feel that it’s my DUTY to share this amazing fitness gift with others! While the workout is super effective (expect to burn 1,000 calories per class), I’ve made a conscious effort to keep the price down. Remember, one of the GRIT by Brit core values is that we “don’t have to be wealthy to be healthy!”

If you’re a NYC resident, or just in town for the weekend, come SWEAT with us. Classes are held EVERY Sunday at 11:00am and are always high energy with studio pumpin’ music. We work HARD but also have lots of FUN! You can reserve your spot and get all of the details on the Turbo NYC website: www.turbonyc.com See you in class!

While human nature often causes us to trip and fall, the most compelling aspect of our nature is that we are so much stronger than we know #GRIT

-David Kirchhoff, CEO Weight Watchers

Back, Home Workouts

Wednesday Workout: BACK it Up!

February 20, 2013 6 Comments

(above – me showin’ off my back in my new Lululemon racer back tank)

If you’re looking for a new “Wednesday Workout,” I highly encourage you to build your BACK! A strong back improves posture and gives you more definition through your neck and shoulders. Also, the nice ‘V’ shape makes your waistline look smaller 😉

As a woman, I often neglected back workouts and focused on my abs and legs during weight training. However, I’ve found that working my back muscles is very effective for weight management because the muscles are BIG and require lots of energy (thus burn a lot of calories). Also, a toned back in a racer back dress is just as, if not more, sexy than nice legs in daisy dukes. So give it a whirl today, people. This workout should take you about 30 minutes to complete and you can expect to burn ~200 calories – enjoy!

Inspiration & Motivation

Monday Motivation #Weightloss

February 18, 2013 7 Comments

"Before" in 2010, 179 lbs — “Before” in 2010, 179 lbs

Hard work

+

Healthy eating

+

Heart of faith

=

SUCCESS

You can do it too!

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”

– Philippians 4:13

Inspiration & Motivation

Love Your Body Day #5: Eat Good to Feel Good

February 8, 2013 10 Comments

We ARE what we EAT…. You’ve heard the saying over and over again but most of us (including me) still struggle to maintain a healthy, nutritious diet. Since today is the last day of my “love your body” series I figured I’d talk about the #1 way to love your body = nourish it with healthy food!

Here’s 10 fantastic foods that make you FEEL & LOOK good courtesy of bbcgoodfood.com:

BLUEBERRIES The ultimate immune-boosting food. Rich in anti-oxidants.
BROCCOLI Guards against cancer and is rich in a wide range of anti-oxidants, vitamins C and E, folate and iron.
CARROTS High in carotenes, known to boost the immune system.
LETTUCE AND SALAD GREENS Tangy varieties, such as chicory and endive, stimulate the liver, making them great detoxifiers. Most lettuces contain valuable amounts of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants.
BEETROOT Bursting with minerals and has anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, immune-boosting and detoxifying properties.
BRAZIL NUTS You only need to eat two or three a day to benefit from their great combination of immune-boosting nutrients: vitamin E, selenium and B vitamins.
GRAPEFRUIT Has immune-boosting, antiseptic, wound-healing and anti-bacterial properties.
GARLIC Strengthens the heart and blood, and has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties. Also thought to help lower blood pressure. A key ingredient is allicin, which has cancer-fighting potential.
CRANBERRIES Best known for helping to prevent and treat urinary tract infections, especially cystitis, in women. They have both anti-fungal and antiviral properties.
GINGER Stimulates the immune system and circulation.

Love your body today by eating well. We can’t out exercise a bad diet #GRIT

Inspiration & Motivation

Love Your Body Day #4: Shake what your mama gave ya!

February 7, 2013 No Comments

Life is hard…and serious…often more serious than it should be. Personally, I struggle with taking myself too seriously and causing unnecessary stress on my body. Exercise is a good stress reliever for me, but sometimes I even get stressed over workouts (what gives?). However, one activity that NEVER stresses me out is dancing. I think it’s impossible to be irritated while bustin’ a move 😉

That said, today I’m encouraging you to take some time to free yourself, pump up the music and shake your groove thing. Not only is a good ole’ dance session liberating, it’s also good for your BODY.

“Studies show that dance can help you lose weight, stay flexible, reduce stress, make friends, and more.”

Here’s my Top 5 Health Reasons to Hit the Dance Floor!

Stress Relief – Grabbing a partner, pumpin’ up the music and hittin’ the dance floor has shown to reduce stress according to a study by Journal of Applied Gerontology.
Lift Your Spirits – People who participate in group dance activities suffer less from depression and have a more optimistic view on life! Even if you’re “dancin’ by yourself” you can still benefit from a mood boost.
Have Beauty & BRAINS – A study by The New England Journal of Medicine, shows that dancing may boost your memory and prevent you from developing dementia as you get older.
Blast Calories – Because dancing is a form of aerobic exercise, it raises your heart rate and ultimately burns lots of calories! Here’s to shakin’ away some excess pounds!
Bring Sexy Back – If you’re like me, you don’t actually like to dance in front of people – I usually feel really self-conscious. However, the more I do it, the more comfortable I feel. By getting out of my comfort zone I’ve released a who new level of self-confidence and sexiness 😉

(below – me & my childhood friend Brett, 2 steppin’ & twirlin’ back in Texas)

Love your body today by blastin’ the music and lettin’ loose – free yourself! #GRIT

Inspiration & Motivation

Love Your Body Day #1: Get HATE out of your HEART

February 4, 2013 1 Comment

love your bod image 3

Happy February! Today marks the beginning of my “Love Your Body” series. For each of the next 5 days I’ll share a healthy, body-lovin’ tip. Our health is essential to our being, so cherish your precious temple of your soul – your BODY!

Lots of luv,

Brit 🙂

Get HATE of out of your HEART

Let the grudge go. Holding a grudge does NOT cause any pain to the person who hurt you (they couldn’t care less). Your grudge only causes pain to your body. Several university studies have proven that holding a grudge is bad for your health. Joseph Neumann, PhD, a clinical psychologist explains, “When I treated patients with cardiovascular disease, I was struck by how many were bitter, angry, and depressed,” says Neumann. “It clearly affected their health and their ability to heal.” On the flip side, a study by Harvard Women’s Health Watch found a link between forgiving and improvements in heart rate and blood pressure.

The reality is that life isn’t fair. People will treat you unfairly, hurt you, cheat you and, on top of that, get away with it. But we must CHOOSE to not let our pain or anger ruin all of the good things we have in life. Eventually, we reap what we sow. So don’t worry about getting back at that awful person, just let the grudge go!

Love your body today by forgiving and letting old hurts be history #GRIT

Inspiration & Motivation

New Year Kick-Start Challenge Complete!

January 31, 2013 1 Comment

Today marks the official conclusion of our 3-week New Year Kick-Start Challenge. Candace has been our #GRIT GIRL to lead the way on the plan. You can see her progress by reading the weekly updates that she shared along the way: Week 1 Update, Week 2 Update.

Huge thanks to Candace for being such a good role model – her hard work, good choices and smart decisions have been an inspiration to us all. Way to “kick-start” 2013 with good health and happiness!

Candace’s Week 3 (and final) Update

“Week 3 went well, I’ve lost a total of 5 lbs during the challenge. I’m well on my way to my 12 pound weight loss goal! I definitely liked the plan and I’m going to keep it up until I reach my goal. I really enjoyed the various cardio options and the tips you provided along the way were great motivation. Thanks Brit!”

– Candace

Inspiration & Motivation

The World is YOURS…

January 27, 2013 7 Comments

TURBO NYC has officially launched!

www.turbonyc.com

What a weekend. I just launched my latest venture, Turbo NYC – God is good! As some of you already know, I’ve been staffed on a long assignment in Washington, DC for several months now. It’s been hard to make it home to Dallas, TX every single weekend so I started spending lots of time in NYC. While NYC is great, I really really miss teaching my weekly Turbo Kick classes. Teaching brings me so much joy and positive energy that doing without is simply unacceptable.

When I’m in NYC I take super fierce Turbo Kick classes at my home club (shout out to @24hourfitness & super instructor @natalieuhling). However, I noticed that Turbo Kick overall isn’t as popular in NYC as it is on the West Coast and in the South. I think it may because there are SO many fantastic fitness options in NYC that many people simply aren’t aware of Turbo Kick’s awesomeness.

In any case, the entrepreneur/Turbo fanatic in me jumped on this situation and had an idea to start teaching independent “GRIT by Brit” Turbo Kick classes outside of formal fitness clubs – Turbo NYC! I LOVE Turbo Kick so much and have gotten amazing results from the class (lost 25 pounds in 1 year – woop woop). As an instructor, I feel it’s my duty to make Turbo Kick accessible and affordable to as many people as possible – thus my motivation to launch Turbo NYC! Now people can enjoy Turbo Kick without being a member of a club.

Like setting out on any new venture, I had lots of self-doubt and fear of failure. But with mental #GRIT and faith, the launch went off without a hitch! We had an amazing turn out! Our class was not messin’ around. My #GRIT guys had to open the windows because the class was bringin’ the HEAT! Along with my #GRIT guys, I must thank my dearest friends who spent tons of time and energy encouraging me and supporting me – you guys bless my life exceedingly and abundantly. I am so very grateful for you all (*tear).

“With faith in yourself and faith in God, ALL things are possible – the world is YOURS!” #GRIT

NYC readers, be sure to come check us out next Sunday and EVERY Sunday at 11:00 AM in Flatiron. All of the details are on our site, www.turbonyc.com

Have a wonderful week everyone – to health and happiness

Luv,

Brit 🙂

Turbo NYC videos coming soon…