Feature Friday: Robin Einhorn

 Hello and Happy Friday!  I hope that you have been having a great week so far.  I have been staying on track with all my workouts and have been feeling quite sore, and loving it!  Do you love feeling sore from your workouts?  I have been keeping consistent with my weight training schedule and I'm seeing results, whoop!  I will post a recap on Sunday about my week.  On with today's Feature Friday...I am really excited to share Robin's story with you.  She has totally transformed her life with exercise and clean eating and has a truly inspiring message to share!  She blogs about her journey at Hammi: Bacon-Fueled Fitness, so be sure to head over and check it out.  

Robin's Story

I have loved food for as long as I can remember.  Family meals, eating at restaurants with friends, holiday specials are all treasured memories in my mind.  Unfortunately, my love of food put me in a position that I never imagined.  At 26 years old and 270 pounds (5"3") I stood in a hospital by my dad's bed and said goodbye.  He had just turned 51 and he was just as unhealthy as me.  Leading up to that day I wasn't totally unaware that what I was giving my body for fuel wasn't working.  I knew that something was up and had to change, I just didn't have the follow through and knowledge needed to really do anything about it.  I became a yo-yo'er and I used diet as a verb.  Pills, hours of cardio, fads- I would try just about anything and have some small wins, but I would always so back to the way things were, and I would always get sicker than the time before.

In 2012 I discovered Paleo and the idea of clean eating.  To say this rocked my world would be an understatement.  I started to use the word "diet" the way it was intended- as a noun.  My diet started to consist of whole real foods that nourished me.  They were foods with ingredients that I could actually pronounce!  Each month I made great strides in health- I was starting to look awesome and feel awesome.  I had gone from being someone who couldn't walk around the block to a runner.  In 2013 I ran a marathon.  My great food choices propelled me to places I never would've imagined I could go.

My food choices now keep me healthy, alert, and focused.  I can sleep at night and in the morning I wake up refreshed (provided my dogs let me sleep, haha!)  It is not always easy and I'm not going to pretend that it is.  Through all of this I discovered I have an intolerance (not an allergy) to gluten and that dairy and sugar really mess me up.  I use my body as its own experiment- I try things constantly to see what it needs and what keeps it performing its best.  

I'm training now for a Spartan Military Sprint, a slew of 14ers, and a GORUCK- I am a machine.  A properly fueled machine!  The biggest thing I have learned in my journey so far is not to be so hard on myself and to remember that I need to own my choices.  No one else is living in your body.  YOU get to decide.  

I love sharing my story now with others- not because I like to talk about myself (it's actually kind of embarrassing that I got as unhealthy as I was), but because I want to give back to a community that gave me so much.  I want to give hope to other women who are struggling and don't think its possible to find joy and happiness.  It's been almost 2 years since I've started my clean eating and the proof of my progress stares back at me every morning.  I haven't fully arrived to where I am headed- I have some goals that I still want to accomplish, but I have never been as hopeful as I am now.  My dad would be proud.

About Robin:  Robin is a 31 year old newlywed from Denver, CO.  She enjoys hiking, spending time outdoors, and walking with her husband and dogs.

Connect with Robin:

Blog

Twitter

Thanks so much to Robin for sharing her story and for being so inspirational!  You truly live the message of how taking care of your body with exercise and clean eating can change your life.  I really enjoyed reading and sharing your story as I know you will inspire someone to get up and get moving!

Chocolate-y No Bake Energy Balls Recipe

If you love chocolate as much as I do, you are going to love these Chocolate-y No Bake Energy Balls!  This recipe was shared with me by my client Amy, and she even gave me the low-down on the "secret ingredient".  She added Spectrum Chocolate Decadent Chia & Flax Seed Coconut Chocolate mix which adds healthy fats and makes these balls the ultimate chocolate lovers dream!  My 2 year old loves chocolate too, wonder where she gets that from, and she loves these and since they are filled with only whole real ingredients I feel good giving them to her!  I have fallen in love with this mix and have added it to my post workout protein shakes and even my oatmeal!

The Secret Ingredient 

 A huge thanks to Amy for sharing this with me, it's amazing!  The original recipe was adapted from the one she found here.

Chocolate-y No Bake Energy Balls
1 cup old fashioned oats (dry)
2/3 cup decadent blend mix
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet 60%)
1/3 cup raw honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients together and place in fridge for 1/2 hour to set.  Then roll into 1 inch balls (I got 12 total).
Store in air-tight container in the fridge.  Enjoy!
 *Nutritional information (used my fitness pal to calculate): Calories: 192, Fat 11.4, Carbs: 21.3, Fiber 3.5, Sugar 12, Protein 4.6

 

Another great find this week was this Vega Sport Chocolate Vegan Protein powder.  I have my friend Joe to thank for this find!  I have been trying to find a great tasting, non-chalky, vegan protein powder...and I finally have!  This protein is so great tasting that I had no problem chugging it right after my killer leg workout yesterday.  It was developed by a vegan athlete and has all the essential amino acids needed for muscle recovery.  I had been adding some whey protein in, but it started to hurt my stomach again, so back to vegan it is!  I highly recommended this one if you love chocolate protein, which I do, and add in 2 tbsp of the Chocolate Decadent Blend to this with half a banana and it is the perfect post-workout shake.  It has 25g of protein which is great to start repairing your muscles after your weight training session.  Did you know that you need to get protein and carbs within 45 minutes of your workout to start the repair process of the muscles you worked?  You do!  Protein powder is a great way to optimize this because it is quick and will digest quickly and start getting to your muscles.  It is also easy to take with you in your gym bag.  Do you have a favorite post workout shake? 

If you love yoga and want a cute bag to tote your mat around in...make sure to enter to win this cute Yoga Mat Bag that Goodmarvin has generously offered for this giveaway!  I own one and I love it!  I take it to class with me and its cute and functional!

Also, today I am being featured on Sorey Fitness, remember Kalee Sorey from Feature Fridays?  She is on a cruise, lucky girl, and had me guest post.  Head over and check out my post about The Benefits of Strength Training.  Thanks Kalee for having me!

And last, but not least I am linking up with the Any Thing Goes Linky Party, head over and check out some great blogs!

 

Circuit Training: Beat Your Workout Boredom

Happy Monday!  How was your weekend?  Were you able to stay on track with your workouts and eating clean?  I was able to get my workout in on Saturday and took a rest day on Sunday.  One of my best friends got married on Saturday night, and we had a blast at the wedding and we ended up being out really late.  So, Sunday was my rest day.  I love Mondays, because it is the perfect day to refocus on your goals.  I am ready to hit this week hard and I have all my workouts planned and have my fridge stocked with healthy foods.  I will do a weekly round-up of my week on Sunday, and would love you to share too!  If you have good food on hand, it makes it that much easier to stay on track and eat clean whole foods.  As, you know from my previous posts, that nutrition is the most important part of fat loss and muscle building, but you also have to challenge your self with your workouts.  

I love lifting weights and the way I look and feel after being consistent in my workouts.  I have been doing circuit training for as long as I can remember!  So what is circuit training you ask?  Circuit training is taking 3-5 exercises and doing them consecutively with no rest between them, they can be weighted exercises like bicep curls, body weight exercises like push-ups and also plyometric moves like jumping rope.  This keeps you moving for more of your workout which burns more calories.  I feel like it makes my workouts fly by and I am sweaty and out of breath for much of my workout!  Now, I will say that it is important to change up your workouts and still do some straight set heavy weight days, and even add in drop-sets and pyramid sets as well.  This will keep you challenged and help get the results you are looking for.  Just make sure to stay consistent for about 4 weeks with your workouts and then change up some variables (days of muscle group worked, amount of weight used for exercises, order of exercises and the actual exercises).  This will help keep you from getting bored in your workouts, and also keep your body guessing.  Ready for a circuit workout you can add to your routine?  Okay here it is:

If you try this workout, let me know what you think.  Have you done circuit workouts before?  Feel free to share your favorite ones with me!

Well I am off to get my chest/arms and treadmill sprints workout in?  What is your workout today?

Feature Fridays: Rebecca Pytell

Happy Friday!  I hope that you are having a wonderful week, and making the time for health and fitness in your day.  Today's Feature Friday is from Rebecca Pytell, who is the blogger behind Strength and Sunshine, and like myself she found her love of strength training at a young age.  She shares with us how fitness and yoga helped to get her out of a dark time in her life.  Read on to hear more about Rebecca, then make sure to head over and check out her awesome blog.

Rebecca's story
I had been a competitive dancer for 13 years of my life.  The only thing I knew was dance, eat, sleep.  But once I got to high school I finally made the most difficult decision that was facing me and decided to finally stop and end my career.  After years of emotional abuse and treatment plus the extreme financial strain on my family, I knew I could not go on any longer with dance.  I needed to focus on my studies and ease the strain I had put on my parents for all those years.  But ending what was my life as I knew it did not make me feel happy or free.  I fell into a deep depression the summer before high school and rarely left the house, cried all the time and needed control.  I was also plagued by with the question of what I would do to get my fitness in.  I had never done any other sport or exercise besides dance, twirling and Pilates.

I needed something to escape in and allow me to enjoy moving my body like I always had.  I decided to join a gym and start strength training.  I had always wanted to and now this was my chance.  To my surprise, I quickly fell in love.  Lifting weights made me feel so powerful and I started to gain my confidence back and see the light out of the tunnel.  Losing myself with the barbells and dumbbells was perfect for me and I couldn't get enough.  As my love for fitness grew I also became an avid healthy living blog reader.  I loved connecting and reading with all the wonderful, strong, and inspiring bloggers out there.  So eventually, last summer, I decided to finally take the leap and start my own healthy living blog.  I now get to share my passion for fitness, food and healthy living with the community I fell in love with.

But during that time I also discovered the beauty of yoga.  Yoga is the number one thing that has changed my life the most.  After two years of self-practice, I have discovered such a love and confidence in myself.  I use yoga as a way to combat my anxiety and depression that still creeps into my life.  But I also use it as my new favorite form of fitness.  A strong powerful Vinyasa flow gets the heart pumping and the muscles working.  I have never felt bad after a yoga practice.  I only ever felt energized, alive, and at peace once I step off the mat.  Fitness is so important for everyone.  It really is a magical activity.  No matter what you do, make sure you love it and move your body everyday.  You will increase your confidence and self-love ten fold!

 

About Rebecca

Rebecca is a healthy living/fitness/food blogger at Strength and Sunshine.  She is currently a high school senior who will be going off to college in the fall.  She is looking into getting her 200 hour yoga teacher certification this summer as well so she can share her love of yoga with everyone.  Rebecca is also the social media manager as well as being an ambassador for Plant Fusion.  Through her blog she is also a new FitFluential Ambassdor, IDEA inspired blogger, Sweat Pink, Girls Gone Sporty, and MyYogaPro Ambassador.  She also writes for Pop Sugar Fitness and is a member of Recipe Redux.  Rebecca has Celiac disease and shares her recipes with her readers to show them that having a special diet does not mean restriction or lack of taste! 

Connect with Rebecca

Blog

Facebook

Twitter 

Instagram

Pinterest

Google+

Bloglovin

Thanks to Rebecca for sharing her story of how fitness and yoga truly changed her life.  I look forward to reading more from her in the future!  She is a bright young girl with a great future ahead of her!  Wishing you all the best in college Rebecca!