The Inner Game of Fitness

“The greatest wealth is health.”
- Virgil

It’s day 4 of my health and fitness makeover with Marty the Health Guy and I’m feeling good!

On Friday, I had my first session at Elite Personal Training Studio. I met with co-owner Mirela Craciun for a nutrition and fitness assessment. Here’s how it went…

KB’s Nutritional Assessment

My nutrition assessment went very well. I eat loads of healthy food already, so Mirela’s advice was more of a refinement of my diet than an overhaul. I learned that I tend to eat too much fruit and fats (avocados… hello!!), and not enough protein. Mirela gave me a ton of new ideas of how to incorporate more protein to my diet.

I also learned that I should be eating smaller meals and snacks every 2 – 3 hours rather than 3 big meals. This is something new for me.

I was ecstatic that Mirela didn’t ask me to drop my obsession with green juice. I drink at least half a liter of green juice a day and when I don’t drink it, I don’t feel as awesome. Must… have… my green juice!!

Here’s a list of some of some of the foods I’ll be eating…

In the morning:

Green juice upon waking (1 cucumber, 2 celery stalks, 1 carrot, 1 apple, handful of kale, 1 slice of ginger, juiced)
Protein smoothies (1 serving fruit, 1 scoop vegan protein powder, tbsp of ground flax)
Oatmeal (raw or cooked), with protein powder or nuts
1 serving of Fruit with raw almond butter

In the afternoon:

Raw vegetables
Legumes (sprouted or cooked)
Brown rice, couscous, or quinoa
Sweet Potatoes
Vegan Chili (There is a great raw vegan chili recipe in this book)
Hummus
Ezekiel Bread & ¼ avocado
Tofu

In the evening:

Big salad (my fav is spinach & seaweed )
Legumes

Before the assessment I was used to eating a salad at lunch and a heavier meal at dinner. Mirela suggested I flip these around and eat lighter at night. I’m going to do my best not to eat after dinner but if I need something after yoga class, I’ll drink a glass of green juice with some protein powder.

I’m also adding a vitamin D supplement to my diet along with the supplements I already take (Calcium/Zinc/Magnesium, & B12).

KB’s Fitness Assessment

I was apprehensive of the fitness assessment with Mirela but it went better than I thought it would. I have yoga to thank for my strength!

During the fitness assessment I was asked to do squats, sit-ups, lat pulldowns, chest presses, and push-ups. I felt good about everything except for the push-ups… I couldn’t even do one. This didn’t surprise me though because I’ve never been able to do a push-up… but I’m hoping by the end of this project that I’ll be able to do at least 10!

My cardio assessment also went well although my knees hurt from running. I haven’t done any cardio in a year so I’m excited to get back into it. I like the energetic feeling in my body after I’ve done some cardio.

My homework is to do three 35 minute cardio sessions per week, with a target heart rate between 135 – 145bpm. I’ll also be strength training with Mirela every Friday. This is on top of my 10 hours of yoga.

The Aftermath…

Even though my session at Elite went well, I came home feeling emotionally upset. I was re-visiting old thoughts and feelings of “not being good enough”.

My yoga teacher Mindy calls these negative thoughts, “the itty-bitty-shitty-committee”. Our practice is to observe these thoughts without buying in to them. I have a feeling that this health and fitness project will give me plenty of opportunities to do that.

I also noticed that part of the reason I was upset was because I am afraid to fail. I don’t want to let Marty down and I don’t want to let myself down. And since I’m documenting the experience in my blog, I don’t want to let YOU down. But in my experience, the best thing to do when you’re afraid is to “feel the fear and do it anyways”.

Yesterday, I signed up for a membership at the newest London YMCA. This $22-million facility just opened last fall and radiates awesomeness.

This morning I’m headed to the Y with my friend and Zumba instructor Sarah Giardino for some cardio. I’ll let you know how it goes in the next post.