Sneak in the Veggies

I like to sneak veggies into my diet whenever possible. Today I had a smoothie for breakfast and I started with a spinach and water base. It was delicious. Surprisingly you cannot taste the spinach and it just tastes like blended fruit. Check out the video! ;-)

Hair

I've cut it, shaved it, dyed it, straightened it, curled it, pressed it, weaved it, braided it, loved it, hated it, ignored it, and embraced it. I've been angry, sad, happy, regretful, confused and down right dramatic over it. I've cried, whined, and rejoiced about it. I've spent so much money on it, I could have a funded my college tuition. In return, it has been begging for acceptance, love, and care.



Hair simply is what it is. No matter how much a curly head wants to be straight, curly always wins and vice versa. No matter how much black hair wants to be red, or brown or blonde, nature prevails. So in comes the question should we continue this fight, knowing the temporary fix is just that, or should we give in to nature and just accept what God has given us naturally? Well, I vote for acceptance with a some modifications. I think its okay to make styling modifications. But in the end trust and know that nature always prevails.



For the last 14 months or so, I have been ignoring my hair. I just kept shaving it off every 2 weeks or so and lived a maintenance free life. It was very liberating! I saved so much time and money because I shaved it myself and I spent less about 1 hour per month shampooing, conditioning, and shaving my hair (or lack there of.)

Now, I am jumping back into the crazy pool. I've decided to let it grow. What a journey. I've got less than an inch all over. I intend to grow a fat fro. I will be as maintenance free as I can. I am not going to put chemicals in my hair and I have created a simple hair routine of natural oils and cleansers, conditioners. My product junkie days are well behind me. Acceptance is such a key factor in loving myself, inside and out. I love my kinky roots!

My Mom Rocks!

My mom came to visit me this summer. She actually took a boot camp class and a spin class! She rocked it! My mom is so strong and I get her to do lots of things she otherwise wouldn't. I bring adventure to her life. If she had it her way, she would be happy lounging with a glass of wine and watching all her favorite shows in the DVR.
She told me I inspired her to try yoga, because she wouldn't take my yoga class over the summer b/c she didn't want to spend her entire vacation exercising. To make a long story short, she found a yoga class in her hood. Great! So she started taking a "sweat yoga" class and she loves it!

I spoke to my mom today and she told me she bought a spin bike. I can proudly say I am her inspiration for this purchase as well. To tell you the truth, I didn't know individuals bought spin bikes. She is slowly adding more to her home gym. I am making it my mission not to let this become another high priced clothes hanger for her. She told me it came with a 40 minute DVD. What? They make Spin Videos? I am going to visit Kansas City for Christmas, and I am going to have to make her a Kristie Style Workout Video.. oh yeah - It's on!

My Dirty Little Secret.....

As I look back over this summer, I realize that I have a dirty little secret... my diet sucks! Okay, so maybe "SUCKS" is a strong word. But I have not been getting enough fruit or veggies and I have been surrendering to my sweet tooth. Oh my sweet, sweet tooth kicks in like Bruce Lee! I have been eating Ben & Jerry's Mint Chocolate Cookie, doughnuts, cake, cookies and another vice is hot wings and french fries, not necessarily together. My saving grace is that I am extremely active and I run, walk, jog, and spin multiple times daily.

People say, that means you can eat whatever you like and not gain weight. My answer to that is yes but heart disease has no weight requirement. I want to be the healthiest I can. I also notice a vast difference in my energy and overall excitement for life when I am eating more fresh fruits and veggies. So my mission is to get a minimum of 10 total servings of fruits and veggies a day!

Today I decided to take action and get more of the good stuff into my life. I made a Portabella Mushroom Burger and it was so damn good and juicy! I marinated the portabella for 10 minutes with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a dash of sea salt, pepper, and itallian seasoning. I cooked it 5 minutes on each side in my NuWave Oven. Then, i grilled onions, roasted red peppers and sundried tomatoes. I toasted the thin buns and topped it all with 1/4 avocado and smeared another 1/4 avocado on the bun. MMMmmmm...good!

Take some time for me!

Today I took a yoga class! So, you're probably asking what's so exciting about that. Well, being a teacher makes it that much harder to take time for my own workouts. It's so much more fun being the student. I actually love taking classes because I don't have to think about my workout. I can just show up and follow the teacher's lead. I was feeling sore and stiff, so this was much needed. A good thing about teaching at YAS (a yoga and spin studio)is, I get to take all the classes I want for free!

True or False - Indoor cycling makes your legs bulky?

After teaching an indoor cycling class at YAS Downtown LA, a student comes over and says "I liked the class but i am scared to spin too much, my friend said her legs got really bulky from cycling." My reply? Well, not to brag, but there i stood - toned and lean (not bulky). I said, "Do I look bulky?" She smiled coyly. I continued, "I teach 8 classes a week." Enough said. It is a myth that cycling makes your legs bulky. However, the key is to add resistance to your ride and roll with good form. When you cycle without resistance it can bulk your legs up. So if you ever find yourself in a spin class, remember to tap it up!

The truth of the matter is spinning helps to strengthen your core, sculpt your legs, burn calories and sweat our toxins. It is a great cardio workout and it's fun, fun, fun! As a matter of fact I am going to teach a class now!

Ciao!

How do you stay so fit?

People always ask how I stay so fit. What do I do? Do I follow a special diet? I always say I'd be a millionaire if I wrote a best selling book about how to get fit. Actually that's not a bad idea... but for now, I want to blog about it. I live in downtown Los Angeles and lead a very active life as a fitness instructor. I teach boot camp, spin and yoga classes and I have a handful of personal clients I work with. So that keeps me busy enough, I also model and act as gigs come up.





So back to the question at hand, how do i stay so fit? I'll try to sum it up:

• I exercise at least 5 days a week, multiple times a day.



• I walk a lot!



• I eat pretty good, but I am not obsessive about it (i.e. I don't feel guilty when I have an occasional pint of Ben and Jerry's Mint Chocolate Cookie! MMmmm! (occasional being the key words!))



• I laugh a lot



• I play a lot



• I have fun



• I stay informed on subjects dealing with health & fitness



• I make the effort

The decision to live better was a life choice. This decision has affected me mentally, emotionally, physically, socially, and even spiritually. Just a little about my background, I never played sports, in fact I was quite uncoordinated growing up. I was always thin, but not the least bit healthy. My food staples were McDonald's and Taco Bell. The only vegetables I knew were canned, and four fruits ruled my world-apples, grapes, bananas and oranges. When I was 20, my doctor told me I had high cholesterol and if I didn't make some changes I would need some meds. I took that news seriously! I started working out that week. I didn't know what I was doing but figured an hour on the elliptical was better than sitting around. If I had to grade my health at that time, I would give it a D. My endurance was terrible and I couldn't even touch my toes. My only saving grace was walking across the college campus daily. When I heard the news from my doctor, it motivated me to change my lifestyle. It has been quite a journey from being the "fat", skinny girl with high cholesterol to the fitness chick I am today. I just want to share how i stay fit and inspire others. You don't have to be an athlete or expert to change your life. Just the motivation, drive and follow-through to say enough is enough and mean it!

My main motivation is quality of life. I want to experience all that life has to offer and I want to have fun and be happy! I know my chances are much greater the healthier I am. Join me on this fitness journey!

Celebrate Each Victory

2010 is in full effect. It's a new year and naturally a time of reflection and creating new goals to create the body we want and more importantly the life we want. This can be right on time or overwhelming depending on our assessment of the past year.

I've spent the last 3 weeks basically on bed rest, because I had bunion surgery. Quite frankly, I was sad, hormonal and emotional. I remembered how much exercise helps me release stress and increase my sense of well-being. Really, it does work. Exercise is amazing! I imagined myself in the park taking a yoga class, under a bright blue sky, with the sun's warmth gleaming on my skin. I imagined myself hiking with friends up to the top of my favorite trail and stopping at the top to look at the amazing view Hollywood. I imagined myself, running and running and running until i just couldn't run anymore. And then the pain in my foot brought me back to the reality of my situation. I won't be running or putting real pressure on this foot for at least another month...maybe.

As I am now getting back in the groove of walking, and wearing soft athletic shoes instead of that awful boot, given to me by my podiatrist, I am searching for motivation to exercise with modifications. I just don't find as much joy in focusing on upper body or one-legged exercises. I don't want to exercise at all until I can workout the way I am accustomed.

As I sat in a funk feeling a bit regretful and a bit sorry for myself, I asked a simple question... "How do I get over this?" I began to count my blessings and I heard my podiatrist's advice in my ear, each day do a little more than you did the day before. And that's what I did. In that moment I chose to do a little at a time and celebrate. The next day, I did a little more and celebrated some more. So I pass to you the same advice for your fitness journey, choose to do something that promotes your health today and celebrate. Get up the next day and do a little more, and celebrate each victory.