Thursday, November 4th, 2010
Yes…we are.
There is much going on here behind the scenes. It’s kind of cool.
I had much on my mind when I wrote the Power of Ten article a few weeks ago and much of it is coming to fruition:
Joanna, as you know is going behind the scenes. She is helping us with the much needed re-design of MP4 and the development of our affiliate companies. Who is coming to forefront will be announced tomorrow. Just know, great things come in small packages.
MP4–and the rest of our affiliate companies–are going live in 2011. (Wait for that info…you will like it when you hear it.) And when it does, there will be more MP4 staffers coming out of the wood work! Very excited.
Our blog is getting a face lift and with the addition of our new blogger and MP4 staff member, we will take on a more refined approach to the information we provide for you.
All of the programs mentioned on the blog thus far will be released in 2011. They will enable you to reach your goals, both weight loss and performance, in an organized, affordable manner. Your food will be done for you, your weight training, functional and supplementation schedule laid out for you. Short of it working out for you, it is complete!
Heather is moving to the Northeast. Oh wait, did I say that? Ok…she’s not, but I tried. Haha! Wishful thinking.
The sister company to MP4, for those of you who want what MP4 has to offer but are not prepping for an athletic event, is on the way. This has been the number 1 request of 2010. “I love what you have done for me and my ‘fill in the blank’ is not getting ready for anything, can she still work with you?” Up until now we have said no. But not anymore. Many are hounded when they are in the gym by folks wanting to know ‘who they are training with’ because our programs are so fun and unique. If you are tired of the same old weight routine that looks like it was plucked out the back of a magazine, just know that there is more to working out than a four day split. Or if the power/Olympic lifting thing is not quite for you, just know again that there are options out there that get you to the same place without you having to learn a clean and jerk.
Have patience with us as we unfold everything over the next 3 months. Email us at info@modelper4mance.com because many things will be in place before you see it on the site so keep in touch. Although I will say, there are lots of you who are doing that already and we thank you for your support! Hang tight!
Thursday, October 21st, 2010
It’s excitement!
It’s in the air. Why? Cuz Heather’s in the air!
What?
Heather. Monday blogger. Is coming to see me! I mean us. I guess I’ll share. She will be here this morning and is staying all weekend long. I’m super excited. Actually, that doesn’t even begin to tell you how I am feeling right now but it’ll have to do!
In celebration of her arrival, I say we have a cheat meal. Let’s make it breakfast for that matter. If you know me at all, you know I am obsessed with french toast as a breakfast food. I don’t think enough people take advantage of this breakfast food that can be made very clean and healthy. However, we’re living on the edge because Heather’s on the way. (Actually, we’re eating bad before she comes because she’s going to poo-poo everything in our cabinets and purify our homes while she’s here so we need to get it all in before that happens.;) So not only are we going to have French Toast, but we’re going to stuff it! Yes, there is a bit of stuff in this meal I would not ever serve everyday, but as Seanna has now learned about me–I like breakfast cheat meals, not dinner cheat meals, so I would more likely eat something like this before I would ever have “pizza” or you-name-it.
Check this out and enjoy!
p.s. Here’s my disclaimer on this one: I would probably never eat this as just my breakfast. I have to have protein (and a good amount) at every meal. How I would rock this is by getting scrambled eggwhites with the meal and having half the suggested serving size. So cut the nutritional info in half and you got a great cheat meal.
Stuffed French Toast
Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 piece)
Ingredients
• 24 (1-ounce) slices cinnamon-raisin bread
• Cooking spray
• 3 cups 1% low-fat milk
• 2 cups egg substitute, divided
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• Bottled cinnamon-sugar (optional)
Preparation
Trim crusts from bread. Arrange half of the bread in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Combine milk, 1 1/2 cups egg substitute, half-and-half, and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Pour half of milk mixture over bread in dish.
Combine 1/2 cup egg substitute, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and cheeses in a food processor or blender; process until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over moist bread in dish. Top with remaining bread; pour remaining milk mixture over bread. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Uncover and bake at 350° for 55 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, if desired.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 340 (30% from fat)
Fat: 11.3g (sat 5.1g,mono 3.3g,poly 0.9g)
Protein: 16.7g
Carbohydrate: 43.2g
Fiber: 1.5g
Cholesterol: 26mg
Iron: 3.7mg
Sodium: 447mg
Calcium: 197mg
Thursday, October 7th, 2010
No. Not that season. And to be honest, I dread the beginning of that season which I swear now starts as early as July in some stores.
No…it’s THAT season. The season of change.
Living in New England makes us privvy to weather changes. We go from Winter to Spring/Summer (I swear spring is 2 days long now), Summer to Fall/Summer (Indian summer anyone?) and finally Fall to Winter again. Each time this occurs, there seems to be an overall “feeling” that comes with each season.
Winter brings commitment. We tend to hunker down and disappear during this time. We’re hoping to find the energy and resolve we need to do the offseason justice.
Spring brings renewal. We become engergized and want to either clean out our house or go for a hike. Depends on the day.
Summer brings carefree fun. Who cares about work or that house we just cleaned. All we’re thinking is ‘bring on the deck with the drinks’.
Fall brings a distinct feeling of change. You’re not quite sure of what you want, you just know it’s about change. I have spoken about this before when I touched upon being put back into a “diet box” and so on. Suddenly, we feel the need for structure, sweaters (even if it is warm out) and different food/exercise combinations. It’s wild. Everyone I talk to right now needs a change and it is because of fall.
Here are 2 things you need to be aware of to weather the change of fall:
Nutrition:
Lose the green veggies as a staple. I know I love them and push them on folks like a winter coat in a storm, but you need to break out the winter squashes again. Now is the time for a good soup like a butternut squash soup or a protein source like bison, liver or sardines to come out again. (I do want you to know I slid the sardines in there and have laughed my head off because of it.) Fish varieties should be changing if you buy your fish from a fish market and not a supermarket. Warm foods like oat bran and quinoa come back to life now. You may have been rocking quinoa cold in a salad before but now it’s time to heat it back up.
Suddenly, there is this sense of needing to be cozy. Quiet. Contemplative. With that our food should soon follow with healthy casseroles becoming more appealing, crock pots coming back to the counter and salads disappearing overnight. We need to keep up with the change of the season by rotating the same old staples that we have in the diet. Look for chili recipes and stratas–make it lively because it is easy to fall into the winter blues before it’s even winter.
Workouts:
“Non-Metered to metered”. What in Heaven’s name do I mean by metered? Summer time sends folks outside. Unless you just sit on your porch and fan yourself and then try to call it cardio, you are most likely working pretty hard. Outside workouts are bodyweight centered workouts. You must move your whole body and it’s not dependent on a piece of equipement to do it. You hike, bike, walk, run, skip, shuffle and so on. There’s direction change, scaling things such as rocks and park fixtures, level changes (ground to standing), sprinting, etc. There seems to be an endless amount of activity that we can do outside without having to kill ourselves creatively to do it. Then we come inside. Oh boy. Now we’re bored out of our minds. I would rather remove a limb with a butter knife than get on the elliptical which is where the problems begin: we’re going to forget to step up the indoor activity to match the intensity of the outdoor activity. We now have to meter our workouts by tracking time/intensity/mode etc. Do not think that just “punching” the clock of that workout is going to do the trick. Stay on it! This is how the holidays come up on us and we’re up 10 pounds without even realizing it.
Let’s avoid this catastrophe by 1) ensure variety within our workouts. Do not get on the same piece of equipment everyday even if it is your bike trainer! Vary it up. 2) Be conscious while working out. I really mean that. If you finish your workout and you don’t even remember beginning it–there’s a problem! KNOW what you’re doing right now. And 3) Try to get outdoors every once in a while even if it is monsoon wind season like it is now. Take one for the team and get either wet or cold. Who cares which–just get outside.
I have grown to love fall. I am a true summer girl, myself. I come alive in the summer and shrink back into my cave in the fall. I do enjoy a beautiful Indian summer but hate the fact that the sun goes down so early. I have thought about moving, every year about this time to be exact, but then I am reminded about bugs, hurricanes, tornadoes, mud slides and earthquakes whenever I bring up a great “warm all the time” location. I think I’ll stay right here and just learn to deal with the change.
It’s time to get ready for the offseason. I know a few of you still have events on the horizon, but for the most of us it is time to plan for the spring. Keep reading because we have lots of stuff coming along to help you get there.
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
With the plethora of Mrs. Dash and McCormick mixes out there, it seems as though people have forgotten the beauty of mixing together their own blends. I challenge you to put down the mix and season your food differently.
There you have it, my top 5 “not so often used by us less than stellar chefs” herbs. I hope you get out there and try them, they add such nice variety to our often boring meals!
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
There are so many beautiful places to visit and vacation, especially for an athlete. Now I know, most athletes get nervous about vacationing. You are out of your element and can’t always plan out every part of the day. But I am here to tell you there are plenty of ways to vacation and not forego training/nutrition.
I just got back from a six day vacation in Salt Lake City and had an incredible time. I am lucky because I have friends who live out there, so I go visit at least once/year and have a place to stay. This is the same friend with whom I used to rock climb, J. What is instrumental to the trip is that J is just as into athletics and outdoor activities as I am, if not more!
We got up early every day to lift and then had the rest of the day to play. The beauty of SLC at this time of year is that down in the foot hills, where J lives, it was between 60-70 degrees; but drive up the mountain 3,000 feet and there was still snow. It was about 45-50 degrees up on the mountain and perfect cross country skiing conditions for a beginner, like me.
J took me on a 2-hour cross country skiing trail, but failed to mention it was one of the hardest trails in SLC. To say the trail kicked my butt would be an understatement! 45 minutes of non-stop uphill was brutal and amazing at the same time. Needless to say, I am now hooked on cross country skiing and can’t wait to do it again.
In addition to cross country skiing, we went on 3 long hikes. Anyone who thinks hiking is easy has never hiked a hard trail out west. I find hiking therapeutic. Being out in nature, amazing views, fresh air; what more can you ask for. Especially for me, being from the east coast, we don’t have mountains out here like they do out west.
Hiking and cross country skiing are far from the only things to do while vacationing out west. Road biking, mountain biking, rock climbing, downhill skiing, snowboarding and trail running were some of the other fun things available. By the time my vacation was over, not only had I caught up with a dear friend, but I got in some amazing workouts.
So for anyone thinking about planning a vacation, but not sure where to go; or someone nervous about maintaining your training while on vacation; there are some key things to think about.
I have a wish list of places I want to vacation. I’ve already been to Moab but desperately want to go back.
I also want to go to Zion, Bryce and Red Rocks. What about you? Are there any places you are dying to vacation?
