nutrition – Page 3 – GRIT By Brit

Dr. Oz 3 Day Cleanse Confessions

May 16, 2013 77 Comments

So, I’ve officially completed the Dr. Oz 3 Day Detox. I personally wanted to try the detox because I’m a new vegetarian (5 months strong) and I’ve noticed that I’ve become sloppy (i.e. eating lots of simple carbs and fewer fruits and veggies). I’ve actually gained 3 pounds since I’ve become a vegetarian…not a good look. The Dr. Oz cleanse presented me with a great opportunity to get back on track it because it replaces meals with fruit/veggie drinks for 3 days. Click here to see the drink recipes. Overall, I give the Dr. Oz cleanse the “GRIT by Brit 2 thumbs up” and here’s why…

First off, I definitely got my fair share of veggies and fruits. Each drink consists of at least 3-4 servings of fruits/vegetables (sometimes more than I eat in an entire day). I feel like a born again vegetarian 🙂 Unlike most cleanses, each drink includes some sort of healthy fat (i.e. avocado, coconut oil, almond butter). This is really important because my body wasn’t deprived of essential nutrients AND I got an adequate amount of protein. Since I weight train 2-3 times per week, I HAVE to make sure that my protein intake is sufficient so that my muscles can repair themselves. I was also really impressed by how tasty each of the drinks are. I mean, who would guess blending mango, blueberries, cayenne pepper, avocado and coconut water would actually taste good?

Secondly, in only 3 days I lost 2.2 pounds 🙂 I’m 5’8″ and very muscular but I always try to keep my weight below 153 pounds. Still 1 more pound to go!

Also, I developed a new obsession = Epsom Salt and lavender oil baths! This was HEAVEN IN MY HOME! Daily soak sessions are a part of the Dr. Oz cleanse. Not only are they detoxifying, but they are SO relaxing and soothing! As a group fitness instructor I always have sore muscles and these baths were a perfect remedy for my muscle aches. I also discovered Dr. Teal’s Epsom + Lavender oil bath soak, so I can buy both ingredients already combined – yes!

Last, the cleanse has definitely helped me ween off coffee. I sometimes drink 4 cups a day…not good I know, but at least I’m honest. After going 3 days without coffee, I’ve realized that I don’t really need it. The cleanse calls for 1 cup of hot green tea ever morning which gave me a decent caffeine fix. However, I was a little groggy on some days without my Cup-a-Joe. This is something I’ll continue to work on.

Now that the cleanse is over, I’ve decided that this is not going to be a “one time thing” for me. I really loved the lunch drink, so today I’m having it for dinner before I head to yoga! I’m going to continue making these smoothies and drinking them as meal replacements every now and then. It’s an easy and efficient way to ensure I get enough fiber and my fruit/veggie fix.

If you are considering trying the Dr. Oz 3 Day Detox cleanse – I highly recommend it. Let me know how it goes!

Lots of luv, health & joy to you!

xoxo, Brit

Inspiration & Motivation

3-Day Detox Cleanse by Dr.OZ

May 12, 2013 36 Comments

So, some of my best friends have been ranting and raving about the great results they’ve had with the Dr. Oz Juice Cleanse. Have any of you tried the cleanse before? Were you successful? Obviously, I have serious FOMO (fear of missing out) and have to try it for myself. I already went shopping and bought all of my ingredients (see pic below).

I’m especially excited about bathing in Epsom Salt every night! Growing up, my mother (a true country woman) would ALWAYS make me bathe in Epsom Salt to help soothe mosquito bites, achy muscles or open scrapes from playground accidents. No matter the issue, an Epsom Salt bath was her go-to cure.

What’s really interesting about this “cleanse” is that the drinks actually include A LOT of food. I spent $90 at Central Market today buying all of the ingredients. If you look closely at each of the drinks, they each include almost 4 full servings of fruits and veggies – that’s AMAZING! I have a feeling that the drinks are going to be very filling 😉

Also, I’m infatuated with Coconut Oil right now. I like to use it on my skin and in my hair for deep conditioning, but never have I ingested it. This will be a first. Last, the almond butter, almond milk and flax seeds are nice additions to help ensure I get sufficient protein Altogether, this cleanse is HEALTHY, BALANCED and LEGIT according to GRIT by Brit!

Follow me on Twitter @GRITbyBrit for my pictures and progress updates over the next 3 days. Also, please share your cleanse stories if you’ve decided to try it too!

Hope you had a great weekend – CHOOSE to have a great week ahead!

Inspiration & Motivation

5 Day Diet FOCUS Plan

April 21, 2013 8 Comments

Hey Gang! So I have a confession to make…

I have been eating TERRIBLY for the past 2 weeks. Not sure what my problem is, but I’ve developed some nasty habits (i.e. adding croutons to salads, snacking on candy, too many simple carbs for breakfast – sticky buns anyone?) The fact of the matter is, I’ve been making a lot of excuses to eat crappy food, and the excuses have got to stop – today!

While getting ready for my work week, I put together this 5 day diet FOCUS plan. Keep in mind that I’m a vegetarian, so if you are trying the plan for yourself and want to add some lean meat to one of the meals, by all means go for it!

Here’s my game plan for the next 5 days (Monday – Friday). Each day, my diet will look like this:

Breakfast – 1 cup black coffee, 2 cups water, fresh fruit w/Greek yogurt OR w/ all natural peanut butter
Min morning snack – 1 serving of nuts or trail mix, 1 large glass of water
Lunch – Large veggie salad with oil/vinegar dressing (NO croutons, cheese, or meat), 1 large glass of water
Afternoon Snack – fresh fruit, 1-2 cups hot green tea
Dinner – 1 serving vegetarian protein (black beans, humus, lentils, etc.), 2 servings of veggies

I’ll be tweeting my progress all week, so follow me @GRITbyBrit – wish me luck and have wonderful week!

Just for Fun

Packing the (nutrition) PUNCH

March 26, 2013 3 Comments

Guest Post by Linsdsay Krasna, GRIT by Brit Registered Dietician

So I was en route to Brit’s weekly NYC Turbo Kickboxing class Sunday morning… adrenaline pumping (burpeeees here I come!)… when I realized, mid-subway ride, that class was cancelled for Spring Break! Ahh man… what’s gal to do? I decided to take this incident as a sign that perhaps instead of kicking butt today, I should savor the opportunity to “rest butt”…… and put my energy into a long overdue nutrition blog post!

I’ve been taking Brit’s Turbo Kickboxing class for a little over a month now, and if I had to pick one thing that keeps me coming back (besides the exceptionally awesome instructor, of course), it would be the efficiency of this workout. Her class is a high-energy hour-long conglomerate of heart-pumping cardio, leg/arm/core-work, and plyometrics… all choreographed to a kick-a** beat. And the best part is, it’s so fun, you don’t even realize how hard you’re working! (That is, until the next day, when you attempt to get out of bed and your aching shoulders and thighs are cursing you). Seriously though, Brit’s class packs the punch (no pun intended… well, maybe it was intended a little bit).

This got me thinking: how could I encourage readers pack their punch, nutritionally?

And Walla! See below for a few strategies and examples of my favorite food combos that will help you get most bang for your “nutritional buck.” Enjoy!

1. FAT + FRUIT effect

Combining mono- & poly-unsaturated fats with fruit (and veggies!) actually helps to boost the absorption of fat soluble vitamins found within in the produce, such as Vitamins A, D, E, and K. Not only that, but the addition of the dietary fat gives a thrill to your taste buds that plain fruit or veggies just can’t do for you alone.

Ideas:

1) apple and peanut butter

2) salad with avocado

3) steamed or baked veggies drizzled with olive oil

4) carrots and hummus dip

2. Two halves DO equal a whole

Shout out to my vegetarians! Getting adequate quality protein can be a challenge for non-meat eaters… but not to worry! Herbivores can still easily meet their protein needs by consuming a combination of two complementary proteins.

Ideas:

1) rice and beans

2) pita and hummus

3) cereal and milk. Additionally, for those down with dairy, low-fat Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are A+ sources of high quality protein.

3. Upping the ante w/ IRON

When iron-rich foods are eaten with acidic/citrus foods, a synergistic effect occurs in which the body more readily absorbs the iron. Just ask Popeye!

Ideas:

1) spinach salad with strawberries

2) OJ with iron-fortified cereal

3) chicken cooked in tomato sauce

Total Body

Spring in to Shape! 10 min Total Body Toning Workout Video

March 20, 2013 8 Comments

Happy 1st day of Spring! Here’s a new YouTube video that I shot last weekend. I choreographed the exercises to some of my favorite jamz to get you pumped up and excited for Spring.

The workout lasts exactly 10 minutes. Expect to burn ~70-100 calories and really tighten your core, arms and legs. Hope you like it!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-bhTyUDMwk]

Just for Fun

Get LEAN & GREEN on St. Patty’s Day

March 14, 2013 No Comments

st patty's day slime down

Hey gang! I hope your week is going well. Any fun plans for St. Patrick’s day? I plan to kick start my day by teaching Turbo Kick. If you’re in NYC, come join us this Sunday at Stepping Out Studios in Flatiron at 11:00am. You can register at www.turbonyc.com.

Also, here’s a “Green Juice” recipe that I LOVE, from A House in the Hills. Try it out on St. Patty’s day to offset the green beer 😉

Total Body

Bandz Make Me Dance: Total Body Resistance Band Workout

March 13, 2013 2 Comments

I recently started working with a client in Buffalo, NY, which means I’m back on the road and back to my trusty hotel gym workouts. Along with the usual cardio equipment, this hotel gym has some fun “fitness toys” like medicine balls, kettle bells and resistance bands. In the spirit of keeping things interesting, I decided to make up some new workouts that don’t use standard dumbbells.

First up is a resistance band workout that I did this morning. (Below, are some action shots of me – please don’t be cruel as I’m sans make-up and #nofilter.) The circuit needs to be completed 3 times for adequate resistance training. Keep in mind, that 2 resistance/weight training workouts per week are recommended to develop and maintain an adequate fitness level. Try it out and let me know how it goes – enjoy! Luv, Brit 😉

Just for Fun

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?

Cardio

CARDIO Killer!

February 27, 2013 10 Comments

(above – me teaching TurboKick, the ultimate cardio workout!)

Hi my name is Brit and I’m a cardio junkie…

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all about pumpin’ iron (lifting weights) and vinyasa flowin’ (yoga), but if push comes to shove I ALWAYS go for cardio! Just 10-15 minutes of brisk walking, jumping jacks, high knee running and/or jumping rope does so much for my body. Cardio exercise is my workout of choice and here’s why…

Fast Results – If I’m trying drop a few pounds, cardio workouts allow me to reach my goal faster!
Max Calorie Burn – Simply put, 1 hour of cardio burns ~600 calories while 1 hour of yoga/pilates burns ~300 calories
Sweat Out the Toxins – Afer 30 minutes of moving I’m dripping in sweat, feeling detoxed and enjoying my glowing skin!
Larger Lung Capacity – The harder I push myself, the harder it is to breathe and the stronger my lungs become.
Strong Heart – Cardio workouts quickly elevate my heart rate allowing me to strengthen the most important muscle in my body – my HEART!
More Energy – Compared to other forms of exercise, cardio requires the most vigorous amount of movement which energizes my mind, body and soul 😉

Most people think that cardio means you have to be on a boring machine casually walking, cycling or rowing. However, there’s lots of fun cardio options like kickboxing, dance and athletic drills. Here’s a 15 minute home cardio workout that I like to do if I’m running low on time. Don’t forget you can also do the GRIT by Brit Ultimate Body Burn DVD for a 30 minute total body burn 😉

And just for a little extra workout motivation, here’s a picture of 1 of my favorite workout tank tops that always get me pumped for some cardio! Kiss my sweat #GRIT

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:

photo (28)

“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 😉