Ah, summer: Prime time for chips and guac and margaritas at rooftop bars; rosé poolside almost literally all day; barbecued burgers and brats and buttered-up corn on the cob. We're outside! We're socializing! We're making almost any excuse to spend time outside with friends or go out of town and a lot of the time this can revolve around food, drink and more food.

So what if you don't want to GAIN weight this summer but still want to have fun? This is NOT a post about what to eliminate during this glorious season. It's not about deprivation or missing out or letting the YOLO monster come out and play. Enjoying the summer treat bounty every once in a while will not derail your health status! You can easily end up feeling wrecked by the time fall comes around, though, when "every once in a while" becomes a daily to multiple-times-a-day practice and self-awareness is nowhere to be found.

In the spirit of a fun-filled summer that won't leave you angry, here are my top four summer nutrition skills to practice, whether you want to maintain or you still want to lose weight this season.
​

• Track snacks and drinks. Why? Because tracking snacks and drinks gives you the opportunity to pause and make sure you really want the them. Like I said, this isn't about deprivation. And it's not about shame, either; there shouldn’t be ANY judgement associated with this tracking practice. It’s just a way to stay aware. Because, come on. It’s easy to forget you’re on glass number four of that rosé by the pool.
  • HOW TO: You can do this any number of ways but the one that fits YOUR needs will be the best one. Do you use your phone's Notes app a lot? Or are you more of a pen and paper person? Do you only want to track snacks in the evening? Or all of the snacks and drinks all day and night? It's really up to you and how you'll best set yourself up for success.
• Pre-determine meal portions. Why? Because we tend to eat what’s in front of us. Think about the BBQs you might attend in the summer. If they're anything like the ones I've gone to, tables are lined with all of those BBQ items I mentioned above, along with tasty dips and chips, and cheese and crackers, cookies and brownies and... You get the idea. If they're right in front of you, you'll likely go to town, right? It's often an invitation to graze and overfill the plate. But what if you had a game plan ahead of time? Choosing how much of what ends up in front of us will be consumed helps us eat to contentment rather than eating to the point of feeling really full and gross.
  • HOW TO: You can do a few things here. You can decide ahead of time that you will share a full portion of something with a friend. You can decide that you'll go up to the spread a certain number of times the whole time you're there (for example, make an appetizer plate, a main course plate and a dessert plate and stay away from the grazing). If you're headed to a restaurant, you can choose to eat half of your plate and then pack up the rest. There's no wrong way to do this as long as you're making active choices.
• Drink more water. Why? Because it’s hot out! The more you sweat the more you should drink water. Drinking more water can also keep us from feeling hungry (when we're actually just thirsty) and can stave off the craving for calorie-containing beverages or snacks!
  • HOW TO: Increasing water intake can take trial and error but above all, increase your intake by a reasonable amount day by day. In other words, don't go from drinking one 8-oz cup of water to all eight immediately or you'll be spending a LOT more time in the loo. Beyond that, make sure you carry a water bottle with you wherever you go (these are great for travel since they get smaller and smaller as you drink) or keep a tall glass at your desk. I personally know I drink way more with a straw so I fill up a mason jar and sip sip sip until it's gone! (Then I refill.) Again (and I hope you're seeing a trend by now), there's no wrong way to do this as long as it works for YOU.
• Choose the best option in front of you. Why? Because summer brings with it vacations and BBQs, places we often think we have no “best” option at all. The practice of making active choices, though, means we take responsibility for our actions. In fact, clients have reported enjoying their choice of the "best" food more than if they'd consumed it thinking they had no good options to begin with. So whether you're left with the decision to eat either a brat or a burger, choose which one you feel is best for you at that particular time and savor it!
  • HOW TO: I pretty much summed it up above. Remember: We're not running out of food here. You WILL have a chance to eat another brat one day if you chose the burger this time. The choice doesn't always have to be what we think is the "healthiest". Sometimes "best" doesn't mean "healthiest" and that is OK! YOU'RE in charge, you're the one making the decision. That's got to feel pretty powerful, right?

At the end of the day, you want to be able to look back at a summer when memories were made, the company of friends and family was enjoyed and let the food and drinks take a back seat. I hope these nutrition skills and habits can make it easier to enjoy this season as wholeheartedly as you can.

Cheers to y'all!

If you have any questions or comments or are looking for nutrition coaching, please leave them in the comments section below or reach me directly at izzy@izzyfit.com!

I was having a conversation with a client last week about her weight loss goal. This client -- let's call her Amy --  has lost 20 pounds over this last year and wants to lose those "last five pounds" in a month, just in time for a beach vacation. 

First, I'd like to point out: Amy has CLEARLY demonstrated that she can put in the work, both with exercise and nutrition, to lose weight safely and I have no doubt she can reach her goal. Girl's got skills! So why not say, "More power to you, let's do this!"?

Here's Thing One: Like me, Amy enjoys yummy food and an occasional cocktail and summer in Chicago is full of those.

Here's Thing Two: Like I said, it's summer. We're out of hibernation, being more social and therefore presented with more opportunities to accept (or decline) the offer of the aforementioned food and cocktails. And after this LONG winter we had, I personally don't want to limit my frolicking time being out and about.

Here is Thing Three (and the most important): I want Amy to set herself up for success. Success being getting to her goal feeling happy and whole, NOT feeling deprived and frustrated. You know what happens when people's diet/lifestyle regimen leave them feeling deprived and frustrated? Weight gain boomerang/depression/feeling isolated and miserable. WHO WANTS THAT?

So my first question to her was: What are you willing to do to lose just over one pound a week for the next month? 

As Gary John Bishop explains in his book, Unf*k Yourself (I highly recommend the audiobook), we often lament about what we don't have, who we aren't. One example he uses is "Why aren't I rich?" His answer, posed as a series of questions, went something like this:
"Are you willing to put in the work it takes to make it to become the next [insert name of a millionaire here]?"
"Are you willing to miss major holidays with loved ones to make the extra money?"
"Are you willing to put the most important relationships in your life aside to put work first?"
"Are you willing to never have a vacation without emails and phone calls for an extended period of your life?"

Obviously for some people the answer to those questions is "yes" and that's awesome! Just as awesome as it is for people to say "no" because then it is an active and informed choice. 

When it comes to fitness and aesthetic goals, we are very good at stating what we want and lamenting what we aren't. We want to lose the last five pounds; we want six-pack abs; we want to run a marathon. 

What we're not so great at is asking ourselves what we're willing to do to reach those goals.

Here are some questions I asked Amy regarding her goal of losing five pounds in a month:
"Are you willing to cut back on portion sizes during all of your meals?"
"Are you willing to feel hungry for 30-60 minutes before each meal?"
"Are you willing to cut out all snacks out for the next 4 weeks?"
"Are you willing to keep alcohol consumption to maybe 1 drink per week or 1 dessert per week?"
"Are you willing to put in 4-5 workouts per week, 2 with me and 2-3 on your own?"
Like I said before, this girl's got skills. I know she CAN do all of the above. But is she WILLING.

I don't know what her decision is yet and that's frankly neither here nor there as far as this story is concerned. The point is, we often set goals for ourselves that make us feel like losers when we don't reach them. And that's sad because it doesn't have to be that way.

I want to leave you with four ways to set a goal and reach it:
1. Write down your goal and by when you'd like to reach it.
2. Break the goal down into multiple actionable steps (ex. to lose 1 lb per week I need to cut out/burn 3500 calories; to do that I will need to do x, y, z and a, b, c).
3. Put the steps into a timeline.
4. Assess your timeline and actionable steps. Can you execute your plan while still feeling happy and whole? Yes? Great! No? Can you make the goal more realistic? (ex. lose the last 5 pounds in 2 months or lose 3 pounds in one month) Can you make the actionable steps more appealing and doable? (ex. I can happily limit my summer rosé intake to 3 glasses per week rather than 1 glass per week) 

Friends: Rethinking your goals and what you're willing to do to reach them (also known as taking a good, hard look at your values) does NOT make you a failure. It makes you a rockstar who might be finally freed of the shoulds and coulds and the why-am-I-nots. 

(Usually) we don't reach our goals because we don't do all that we should have done to get there in the timeline we gave ourselves.

(Usually) that happens because we don't know how to break down the goal and make a plan and timeline.

And we don't know what we don't know until we know it! So take the steps above and run with them! Set yourself up for the win! Be the rockstar you are ON YOUR TERMS.

​Or, as Gary John Bishop bluntly says, unf*k yourself. ​

Have something to say? Please leave a comment below!
Want to chat about how IzzyFit can help? Shoot me an email at izzy@izzyfit.com or call 312-497-8999!

I love cooking but, like most of you, I also feel crunched for time. I joined the Instant Pot bandwagon at the end of last year and let me tell you: It's the best appliance I've bought and the one I use the most thanks to it's magical time-saving abilities. 

Since I've played around with it for a while, I thought I'd share one of my favorite lunches to pack for the week: Salsa Chicken (which I got from NomNom Paleo) with Sweet Potatoes and Cabbage Slaw!  Keep in mind that you can absolutely still make this if you don't have an Instant Pot :)

Ready? Let's make it!

INGREDIENTS (makes lunch for 1 for 5 days):
5 small sweet potatoes (I LOVE the bagged sweet potatoes from Trader Joe's because they're so tiny)
1 cup water
1-2 lbs chicken breast, depending on how many oz you want (aim for 3-5oz)
Salt and any other seasoning you'd like to use, to taste
1 jar of your favorite salsa
1 bag already-made chopped cabbage slaw to save time
Cilantro, chopped
Avocado if desired

For the Sweet Potatoes:
- Pour 1 cup of water into your Instant Pot
- Place a steamer into the Pot
- Place your small sweet potatoes in the steamer
- Close the lid and make sure the vent is closed
- Press the Pressure Cook button and set the time to 4 minutes (or up to 10 if you like your sweet potatoes really soft)
- When the 4 minutes are up, let the Instant Pot release the pressure naturally (this can take 10 minutes or so)
- Open the lid and carefully place the cooked sweet potatoes into a bowl and let cool; once cool, you can take the skin off (it should easily slide off the potatoes)
- IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN INSTANT POT, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and place sweet potatoes on the sheet (you can poke the potatoes with a fork to make a few holes, too). Cover the sweet potatoes with foil and bake for 45-60 minutes.

For the Salsa Chicken:
- Season both sides of your chicken breasts with salt and whatever seasoning if you'd like (I love the Spice House's Chipotle Chili Powder)
- Place the chicken in the Instant Pot
- Pour your jar of salsa on top of the chicken
- Close the lid, making sure the vent is closed, press the Pressure Cook button, setting the timer for 7 minutes
- As soon as the timer goes off, open up the vent for a quick release
- Open the lid and place the chicken in a separate bowl so it can cool and not dry out
- Once cool, shred the chicken (either with two forks or with clean hands)
- IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN INSTANT POT: You can still make this in a slow cooker by following all of the same steps and then either cooking on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours

TO PUT IT TOGETHER:
- Line up all of your Salsa Chicken fixings in a line along with your lunch containers (I love these)
- I started by putting in the sweet potatoes, and then the cabbage slaw...

- I then topped the slaw with the Salsa Chicken
- Chopped some cilantro on top
- I'll dice 1/4 of an avocado into my container daily so it doesn't get all brown and icky during the week...

And voilà! A yummy, well-balanced meal that should carry you through your day without a mid-afternoon slump that didn't take all day to make!

​Enjoy!

​​1. Breathe!
​Imagine your torso is a balloon. Balloons fill up on all sides and you’re going to do the same thing! As you lay on your back with your feet on the floor (or elevated like the video above), don’t just focus on your stomach lightly rising but also your sides and back. Breathe for 2 minutes or so.

Other tips and tricks:

• Keep the plant you’re working on as close to your body as you can if possible. The further away a weight is from the center of your body, the more your low back has to get into the action. 
• Take breaks! Try not to stay in a crouched position for too long at a time. In fact, you can do any of the above resets as your break!
• If you tend to garden crouched on one knee, try alternating legs as you move through your garden.
• If you’re in the thick of planting/weeding/etc and your knees are bent for longer periods of time, pay attention to how you sit for the rest of the day. Stay away from crossing your legs or sitting in the criss-cross-applesauce position. ​

I hope these help you all feel as good as possible, friends! Please let me know how you do (or if you have questions) in the comments below!

Know what you need to recharge from your day and don’t apologize for it.
Whether you’re an extrovert, and introvert or both (an ambivert!), you may need different ways to relax and recharge!

Introverts’ batteries recharge with alone time (that means alone. Like, away from partners, kids, parents, etc, no matter how much they love them). Extroverts are the opposite! Their batteries deplete with TOO much alone time. And then there’s the Ambivert, who possesses traits from both the Introvert and the Extrovert which means it can be a little tricker to hone in on the best ways to reduce stress.

Since most people fall into the Ambivert category, I thought we’d take inventory of the flow of our days:

• What time of the day are you the most alert and ready to face the day?
• What time of the day are you typically looking to find some peace and quiet?
• What situations are currently causing you to feel stress/dread/anger/etc?
• What situations are currently causing you to feel calm/optimistic/energized/etc?
• How can you use your answers to maximize the good feelings and minimize the bad?
  
  

Are you putting yourself into situations that deplete more than recharge? Exercise can be a fantastic way to blow off steam and reduce stress but as this Fast Company article points out, if you’re an introvert who’s going to large group classes, it may be causing more stress than stress relief. I can absolutely relate to this, even though I’m largely an ambivert. I go to a different gym than the one I own for my training (SHOCKING!). It has a larger group training model and while I absolutely love going on Saturday mornings, I was giving myself a very hard time for consistently skipping weekday evening classes. It wasn’t until I sat down and really examined WHY I was skipping that I understood: I am MUCH more extroverted and alert in the mornings (which is good because that’s when I see clients!). By the end of the day, though, I need time alone to recharge that battery and working out in a large group setting was too anxiety-inducing. So I found a different gym near my house where I can plug in my earphones, and get my own 1-on-1 time with exercise! And it feels luxurious every time.

When you sit for a few hours and then stand up, do you sometimes think, “Oh, wow, I feel so achy and stiff”? Do you ever feel that way after getting out of bed in the morning? I do. It makes sense; you’ve been staying in the same position (or awkwardly tossing and turning) for 6-8 hours! Even if you have the most heavenly bed, your joints and muscles need to move around after that!

I’m a big believer in listening to your body. If your body is telling you it wants to move around, you do it! So below I'm sharing my six favorite morning movements (also called "resets") to help you rise and shine better than ever, inspired by Original Strength: Breathing, egg rolls, neck nods, low rockbacks, low lunges and cross crawls.  A note here: These are just some examples of how to move your body around. There are countless other variations on the below movements but these can get you started.

Just as early morning meditation can help set your intentions for the rest of the day and start you off in a nice de-stressed state, so can five minutes of moving your body. You’ll be waking up your vestibular, visual and parasympathetic nervous systems, which is a fancy way of saying your sense of balance, coordination and well-being will LIGHT UP first thing in the morning! ​

Ready? Let's get to it!

1. BREATHING
We do it every day. But are we getting the most out of it? A lot of us breathe with the accessory muscles in our necks and chest, rather than taking full diaphragmatic breaths. This can cause musculoskeletal "tightness" up and down our bodies, putting us in a chronic state of fight or flight.  

HOW TO DO IT: Get into a comfortable position on your back or stomach. Feet can be on the floor with knees bent or extended or you can hold your knees to your chest. Your arms can be at your sides, on your stomach, or overhead. Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth and breathe in and out through your nose (helping your breath get deeper into your body than when you breathe through your mouth). Breathe in nicely and slowly and exhale nicely and slowly.  You can even try counting to five on your inhale and five on your exhale. Do this for a good minute or two.

2. EGG ROLLS
We live in a very linear world where we only move forward and backward. But the body needs rotation in its life! So let's give it what it needs and roll like an egg on a counter!

HOW TO DO THEM: Hold on to your knees. To roll onto one side, look with your eyes first. When your eyes go first your head will follow and then your body will follow! Make sure you breathe the whole time you roll, even during parts where you might feel "stuck". 

The cool thing about looking with your eyes first is that it helps your brain take in a lot of information as you work through the movement. This can ultimately help with spatial relation and balance. It also allows your neck to chill out and not do so much work. AND, the cool thing about rolling around on the floor (or bed or yoga mat) is that your body's nerve endings get a LOT of stimulation which ALSO feeds your brain and wakes you up. Start with 10 egg rolls or so to get going (you can always do more if you want!). 

3. NECK NODS
Where the head goes, the body follows. And since our heads are typically buried in a computer or phone or tablet, think about what that's doing to our spines! Have you noticed that some people whose heads jut out in a forward posture tend to have scooped-under pelvises (almost as if their pelvis is trying to catch their head)? Think about how that must feel up and down the body!

Posture is a reflex and if you can't control your head, no amount of "core work" will get you standing tall. So by doing neck nods, we can regain some head control and help improve our posture! (This is a great write-up of why neck nods are so darn good; I highly recommend it, it goes into a lot of detail!)

HOW TO DO THEM: Roll onto your stomach and prop yourself up on your forearms; if you feel any pinchiness in your lower back, move your arms forward slightly. Keeping your tongue on the roof of your mouth, look up toward the ceiling. Let your head follow. Now, look down your shirt and let your head follow. It doesn’t matter right now where you breathe in and out as long as you actually DO breathe in and out. Don’t go into a range of motion that triggers pain or dizziness, either. Find YOUR range of motion.

If you think that movement feels pretty good, wait until you do the next step: Look behind you (I like to say, "Look between your feet with your eyes," and then let your head and spine follow). Do take it slowly so you don’t get dizzy, and don’t forget to breathe.     

A note on dizziness: If you get dizzy often or ever suffer from vertigo, work on moving just your eyes. You'll still be giving your vestibular system a workout. And if your dizziness/vertigo persists, see a doctor. Do 10-20 neck nods up-and-down and side-to-side.

4. LOW ROCKBACKS
As babies, we rocked as a precursor to crawling, which helped us develop our gait pattern (the way we walk)! Rocking also helped our spines develop their S curve! Rocking is, essentially, the coolest.

HOW WE DO THIS: Get on all fours, with your knees under your hips and elbows under your shoulders. Keep your tongue on the roof of your mouth and your eyes on the horizon. Then, rock forwards and backwards as you breathe in and out through your nose! If this position feels uncomfortable, do some rockbacks on your hands (check out this handy tutorial). Do 10-20 low rockbacks.

5. LOW LUNGES WITH CHEST & HIP OPENER
I really just like this one because it feels super-duper great. :) It also helps separate your legs from each other and encourages some of that awesome mid-spine rotation we rarely get.

HOW TO DO IT: Place one leg in front of you, knee bent with your heel under your knee. Lengthen the other leg behind you, letting your hips relax down toward the floor. Now, place your hands on the floor to the inside of your front leg. (Whew, that was a mouthfull!) Reach your inside arm down and away from your body and feel the stretch between your shoulder blades. Let your eyes follow your hand. Then, reach that same hand up toward the ceiling, letting your eyes follow once more. Remember to breathe through this! Do 5-10 on each side.

6. CROSS CRAWLS
Now you're probably ready to stand :) So go ahead and get tall and let's tie the two sides of your body and brain together before you get on with the rest of your morning!

Here's the deal with cross crawls: By touching one side of your body to the other, you are letting the right and left sides of your brain communicate. This does WONDERS for balance, hand-eye coordination, and spatial awareness. 

And since this maneuver lights up your neurological system, it can be a great pick-me-up during those mid-afternoon slumps at work!

HOW TO DO THEM: Stand tall and place your tongue on the roof of your mouth, breathing in and out through your nose. Bring your hand, forearm, or elbow and your opposite knee together; make physical contact. Then do it on the other side! The idea here is that one side of your body is crossing your midline to touch the other side of your body so you can even touch your hand to your opposite shin or foot! Play with tempo here, too! Can you do this slowly AND quickly? Do 15-20 on each side.

Y'all! I'm so excited for you to try these moves to start your day off right! This routine shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes tops every morning, but the benefits will last throughout the day (and much, much longer if you make it a habit!).

I'd LOVE to hear your feedback so if you're trying these out, leave me a comment below!

​1. Laundry and dry cleaning: The first time I learned you could get your laundry done for you was from friends in NYC. What CAN’T you have done for you in New York? You can get your dirty laundry picked up and dropped off all neatly folded and ready for you to put back in your drawers and closet the very next day? Well, luckily that sort of thing isn't just for mega cities like New York! Services like Rinse and Laundry Day in the Chicago area have apps so all you have to do is hit a few buttons and voilà! It’s like magic (and can cost less than $15/week, says Laundry Day).

5. Grocery shopping: Some of us can grocery shop like ninjas (I like to think I’m one of them, creating my shopping list in the order that I’ll find the items at the store…Oh, boy…). But there were times I was using services like Peapod and Instacart because my then-job was so demanding I felt like my time was best used working than wasting time at the store. I have zero regrets. Another plus to getting groceries delivered, beyond time being saved: Sticking to your list! As my friend Jen reminded me the other day, using a delivery service might actually SAVE you money (and calories) if you tend to wander away from your list. ​

6. Yard work: Some people LOVE pulling weeds, mowing the lawn and raking leaves but if you are not one of these people and you don’t want to commit to a regular landscaping service, you can use a company like Lawn Love. Just like so many new companies (some of which I’ve just mentioned above), you can download an app on your phone, get a quick quote and order a service to be rendered at a scheduled time. (Lawn Love also does snow removal and gutter cleaning, among other things.) ​

3. Ok. So what if by saying, “I don’t have time,” you’re actually saying, “I don’t like to”?

It’s pretty safe to say if one doesn't like doing the task at hand (laundry, going to the dentist, working on your budget), one will want to say, “I didn’t have time to do it.” Right? So could it be that you “don’t have time” to exercise because you’d rather be doing anything else at all BUT exercise? (And there is ZERO shame in this! And it's worth talking about in the open!)

I come across this a lot with potential clients looking for a trainer at TruFit. And, holy cow, sometimes I can’t blame them for hating exercise after listening to some horror stories of past experiences. But, and this is the super cool thing: What exercise is to one person does not have to be exercise to another. There are a TON of different ways to get sweaty and burn calories out there. Sometimes it’s a matter of finding a fun class to do (from martial arts to Zumba to kettlebells to pole dancing). Sometimes it’s a matter of training with a friend or in a community of like-minded people who can help keep you accountable! And sometimes it’s a matter of finding a trainer who is kind and funny and caring who will listen to your fears and concerns and goals.

If you’re someone who doesn’t have time because you don’t like what you’ve experienced in the past, check this out for some more ideas for exercise. And if you’re looking for a good, kind, caring trainer who may help you discover your future love of exercise (y’all, this happened to ME), please contact me! I know some people ;)

So, listen: It’s a fact that the body needs to move, that we need some form of exercise to stay healthy. Once we connect that fact to what we truly value (things like playing with our kids or keeping medical bills down or feeling good in a dress) and recognize that by doing X we'll get to Y, it will be easier to find the time — any amount of time — to make exercise happen. And it might feel foreign and weird at first and making exercise a habit might not happen overnight and that is OK! I just think we need to look at WHY we don’t make time for it by asking deeper questions than making it a black and white issue.

I really, really, really hope this was helpful.

By the way, dear reader, have YOU found a way to get exercise into your schedule that's worked for you? Leave a comment below!