Rollin'

Rollin...Rollin...Rollin.........on the foam!

You heard CCR or Tina Turner (depending on which decade you were born)

GET ROLLIN'!

(Your muscles will thank you later-then you can thank me)

Okay, so what is this foam rolling all about and why are you telling me my muscles will thank me?  What if I told you it is like a deep tissue massage that you don't have to pay lots of money and could do it often?  Sound amazing?  Possibly heavenly?  Or just too good to be true?  At the very least, I think I have your attention now.

This is what the piece of foam looks like you should be rolling on.  Yes this simple device is massage magic!

Now that you have a visual, let me tell you why your muscles will thank you and me later :-)

Benefits of Foam Rolling

-Keeps your muscles loose and flexible.  This is especially important for your hip flexors and IT bands, which alleviates lower back issues

-Find those knots and release that tension.  Releasing tension, releases toxins and stress.

-Increases blood flow to muscles, which quickens recovery time

-Helps improve spine and posture

-Prevents injuries

-Improves workouts

Foam rolling is as simple as putting the foam cylinder between you and the ground.  Use it's circular shape to roll on it by allowing your body weight to push into the foam roller and massage your muscles.  The idea is to roll on the roller until you find a tender spot.  As soon as you find a spot, hold there for 30 seconds (like you would in a stretch), allow the tension to release.

Keep in mind there is such thing as too much.  Think about if you were to massage meat.  Over massaged aka tender meat isn't considered good meat.  Don't over tenderize your meat ;-)

Now go listen to CCR and happy rollin'!

Overnight Oats

Overnight oats is one of the easiest, fastest, nutritious, keep you fullest, breakfast (maybe) in the entire world.

WHAT YOU NEED:

-bowl or mason jar

-rolled oats (not quick or steel)

-milk or alternate milk of choice

-NOTHING ELSE!!!!

The night before take your bowl or mason jar, scoop 1/2 cup oats into the bowl.  Cover the oats with milk, roughly 2/3 cup, and place in frig.  During the night the oats will soak up the liquid and become soft.  In the morning take out your oats and dress it up as you would dress yourself.  

OAT DRESSING IDEAS:

-berries

-banana

-cinnamon

-scoop of protein powder

-nuts

-chia seeds (add in the night before so they have a chance to soak up liquid too-might want more liquid if you add chia seeds)

-feel free to add more milk if you need to get things moving a little more

MY PERFECT OVERNIGHT DRESSINGS:

-cinnamon

-stevia

-scoop of vanilla sun warrior protein powder

-raw almond butter

-mashed banana

-stir it all in and devour!!!!

Yum!

Happy quick breakfast eating!

Prep ahead for a smaller waist

Don't let all the time you have spent dedicated to yourself go to waist (literally your waist) this holiday season...too many people fall off during the winter holidays.  They are all guilty of one thing.  EXCUSES!

There is no room for excuses and you shouldn't use the holidays as a justified way to bring strength to the excuse.  The phrases no time, too many parties, lots of food, its cold out, etc should be foreign to you by now.  If they aren't then here are some tips to follow to keep your waist in line.

1. Make exercise a priority!  If you find that you typically work out later in the day but your schedule is filling up more during those slots then wake up earlier and get a workout in before your day.  You might find that you enjoy it more and feel better the rest of your day to stay on track.  Plus the only thing getting in the way is not hitting snooze on you alarm.  At the very minimum, all you need is 30min to get in a great workout.  Signing up for pilates classes, keeps you accountable, gets you out of bed and gives you one step ahead of the rest.  Switching to the morning workout can be hard, practice setting the alarm a few times in the morning, even if you aren't going to start the morning workouts yet, it will help the body to adjust.  Also try going to bed 30min earlier...who needs that extra half hour of TV anyway.  Your mind will thank you too!  Healthy mind, healthy body!

2. Set aside part of a day for food prep day.  Sundays seem to work well for this.  Prepping some food for the week, allows you to just grab and go.

-roasted veggies

-boiled eggs

-baked fish or chicken

-cook something in the crock pot

(like chili, its always better the longer it sits anyway)

-cut up your veggies

-cook rice or quinoa

-portion out nuts into single serving sizes

BREAKFAST

-the night before assemble overnights oats so in the morning all you have to do is add a little fruit and walk out the door

-on your prep day put all frozen ingredients for a smoothie into a freezer bag so in the morning you can just dump the bag into the blender...blend and go

LUNCH

-these meals will come from your prep day

-either assemble in the morning or assemble on prep day so you can get out the door in the morning quicker

DINNER 

-these meals will come from your prep day too unless you have time when you get home to make dinner

-or if you have a party to go to then assemble on prep day and grab container in the morning and eat before party.  That way you don't find yourself starving waiting to get home for dinner and end up eating the whole cheese plate.

Later this week, a post will feature how to make overnight oats, prepping for a breakfast smoothie, crock pot meals and reducing calories in nut butters!