Working On Yourself: Why this time will always be the most valuable in your life

Do you find that the more caught up in life you, the less you have the chance to work on yourself? Maybe you haven’t thought about it much. Perhaps you are someone who plans out the logistics of your day and as the day goes on check things off the list. You go to meetings or work, you respond to emails, go to the gym, and catch up with an old friend. If you think of it these things are work (or to you a task). You are expending energy planning, coordinating, and doing. Now it’s time to ask yourself; What are you doing to recharge yourself or fill up that energy tank?

Working on yourself is the most important thing you can do to better your life. What would you do if you had zero responsibility for a day. I like to think of this as “free time”. The free time we had in preschool where we got to do whatever we wanted for 30 minutes. You could play house, read, color, listen to music, take a nap, etc. It’s super important for you to plan out “free time” in your busy schedule. This time can be 20 minutes to 6 hours. It’s totally your call, but just be in tune with yourself to know how much you need to allot for yourself. You can go on a walk and listen to music, sit in a bath drinking wine, watch a movie, go get a mani/pedi, or whatever else you feel like doing. Be sure during this free time you aren’t working on anything. No instagram posts, no emailing, no taking calls, no texting friends; this is YOUR time. Once you take this time for yourself recharge, you will be full of energy to do the things you love doing all week/weekend long. 

I encourage you to plan out some interruption-free free time in to your weekly plans. Tell me what you plan on doing, and how you felt afterwards. It’s truly a great way to reset and recharge.

Cheers to the weekend.

Finding The Right Personal Trainer For You

I've been meaning to write about this topic for a while, and it's taken me longer than expected to finish. A lot goes in to finding a personal trainer. There are a few super important factors that go in to choosing the right fit, so before you get one make sure you read through these.

1. Availability

You would think it's weird that I put this as #1. The most important thing when it comes to finding a trainer is finding someone who can train you at the times you're available (choose a realistic time where you aren't cutting it too close). You might fall in love with a trainer, but if your schedules don't match up it won't be a good fit,

2. Personality

This person isn't only your trainer/coach, this is someone who you are comfortable talking candidly about insecurities, goals, sometimes work stress or relationship issues. They may become your friend, so pick a trainer who seems "cool" and someone you truly vibe with off the bat.

3. Training style

Before finding a trainer, try to make a list of what you're looking for. Do they have a degree in exercise science? What about specific certifications (TRX, CrossFit, Olympic Lifting, HIIT). What's the trainers background (bodybuilder, college basketball player, or lost a lot of weight in their past). Do you have an old injury and need someone with a physical therapy background? Be ready to ask these questions.

You need to also chat with them about what type of coach they are. Are you someone who wants a drill Sargent, someone completely focused on form and movement, someone bubbly and fun, or someone who is more calm and understanding after you've had a long day. These are all things to think about.

4. Price

Trainers aren't cheap. 9 times out of 10 what you are paying the trainer is no where near what the gym pays them. That being said, make sure you budget for a trainer and if you want a specific number of sessions to let the trainer know/prep so they know how to program workouts accordingly. In SF Bay Area anywhere between $80-$120/hour is normal. 

5. Goals

After chatting with your trainer about your goals, make sure they understand them. A great trainer will know what you need to do to get there. A lot of time homework is given out. It's on the client to make sure they are doing what's asked of them to achieve this goal. For example, if you're a basketball player, but you never practice your shot on your own time then a lot of your time that would be used to progress you to new things will be wasted since your shot is so off. 

Healthy Is The New Skinny

Healthy is the new skinny. Rocking my favorite sweatshirt today and feeling like I need to write a little more about what it means to me. 
The reason I am posting this to social media, is because I think women need to hear this. We have become so caught up with what the media thinks is beautiful (myself included). Most girls I know either don't eat gluten, or don't eat carbs, are on a meal plan, count their calories, or are trying some new diet. I am not here to bash any diet or tell you what is right or wrong for your personal lifestyle. I am, however, here to tell you that being healthy doesn't always mean being skinny or having defined muscles. Even a lot of the fitness models you follow on Instagram have disordered eating habits (I know because I used to be one of them). It's time to spend some time on learning to find what works for you. Find a workout, diet, and lifestyle that is balanced and manageable for YOU. Not for your girlfriend or your sisters mom, find a routine that works for you and fond one you like! There is no one size fits all to anything in life. Find your own happy, healthy, & balanced life.
Support Healthy is the new Skinny& Katie H. Willcox Healthy is the New Skinny Founder by empowering yourself and the women around you to find their health and happiness. 

Cheers to 2014- How to set goals and resolutions you'll stick to

My email has already started to blow up. Clients are starting to feel sluggish, stuffed, and not like themselves. Statistics show that the average person gains 2lbs during the holidays.

These last few months may have gotten you off your healthy routine, but it's never too early or late to start back up. January is the most popular time to set new goals.

New Years resolutions are extremely popular. Holidays tend to put stress on people at work (to finish the same amount of work in less time), traveling and not being in your routine, finances sometimes become tight. People tend to eat more and drink more when stressed. 

On January 1st most people set new health and fitness goals, financial goals, relationship goals, and travel goals after spending months under unbearable stress. So what should you do about it?

Take advantage of the popularity, and make your own detailed resolutions. Check in with yourself every day for the first 21 days. It takes about 21 days to create a habit. After that check in every 5 or 10. Don't lose sight of what's important to you.

When you set your resolutions:

-Be Specific: write down detailed instead of broad goals.

-Make sure the goal is Measurable: how will you know when you reached it?

-Make sure the goal is attainable:  can you personally acheive this within the given time?

-be relevant: is it worthwhile? 

-make sure it's time driven: how long are you giving yourself? 

My personal goals:

Fitness goals:

January: and will re-evaluate and alter on feb 1

M: leg day and cardio

T: cardio and yoga

W: body rock 

T: upper body 

F: rest or body rock

S:rest or body rock 

Su: long run yoga 

Run a half marathon in February.

Nutrition goals:

Drink 1 day a week

Sweets 1 day a week

Limit eating out 2 meals a week

Optional: count calories

Blog goals:

By February have a new set up 

Blog 4-6 times a week 

Start advertising more starting in January 

Look in to fashion ads and email for sponsors in February 

Career goals: 

New fun cerification by march 

Get a promotion or recognition for changing policies at work 

January: boot camps with Lindsay on Sunday 

Financial goals:

Start an account in 2 months that I can't touch for 10 years.

Start to look in to investment options and meet with someone in February.

Travel:

Save to visit 2 places this year I've never been

Visit Brittany in Austin 

Other goals:

Volunteer at least 1x a month

Seek Public speaking opportunities 

Find a community or create one of women (with Lindsay)

I'm still milling mine over, but I'm curious- what are your goals and resolutions?!

Thought of the Day: What does healthy mean to you?

Over the last few years I have continued to learn, grow, and mature. My definition of health changes constantly, and depending on my goals will continue to change. What does healthy mean to you? To me healthy is looking and feeling good, and I think a few things make me feel healthy.

1.Having enough energy to do whatever I want, whenever I want. If I were asked to go on a hike, I don't want to second guess my ability of getting up the hill.

2. Feeling confident in my skin/clothes. I want to look in the mirror and see something I am proud of. I know I am not perfect, but no one is. Zipping up my jeans and fitting in them is important to me.

3. Having strong muscles. I love feeling toned and strong, because I feel like I can do more when I am stronger. I can try workouts I wouldn't be able to do if I didn't have muscle, and I don't think I ever see myself as too weak to do or try something.

4. Cooking the foods I like. Health to me is spending quality time preparing nutritious meal, and being able to use my creativity to create clean yummy recipes.

5. Being sharp. I like having the energy I do when I am taking care of my body, but being able to think on my toes is very important. I get more done throughout the day, which means I have time to take on more things, and accomplish them faster.

6. Laughing and smiling. People who are healthy and take care of themselves are ultimately happier. I love when people compliment me on how much fun I seem to be having, that tells me it's truly radiant when I am smiley.

7. Being personable. I flock to people who are healthy, not because I think they are healthy and I want to be friends with them for that reason. People who take care of their health are easy to be around. Oftentimes I find they are easier to open up to and in turn be happy for you.


What does healthy mean to you?

How To Start Your Transformation

I have never been so flattered with compliments like I was this past weekend. Every time I ran in to people I haven't seen in a while I was lucky to have been spoiled with kind words. I couldn't help but feel spoiled with love.
I was SO happy that people rooted me on and told me I inspired or motivated them (those are the best two compliments I could ask for). I noticed, people actually got the fact that I did this competition to challenge my mind and body, not try to look good in a bikini on a stage. That wasn't my reasoning for competing at all. Knowing that I can help others reach their goals by motivating them is why I continue to push hard every day.

SO NOW IT'S YOUR TURN. START WORKING HARD, MOTIVATE PEOPLE, AND TRANSFORM.

It isn't easy to change old habits. Think about it, you have created these habits over years and years. The change won't happen overnight, but the consistency of working towards a change makes it a lifestyle. It took me about a year to lose the freshman 15 I gained. People gave me a hard time for about...... A YEAR. The only thing that kept me going was....ME. Knowing that I needed to make the change kept me working hard.

How to make your change: Start adopting more healthy habits! I.e. If you workout 3x a week shoot for 4. If you eat healthy 3 of 4 meals then shoot for 4 of 4. If you workout 30minutes then shoot for 1hour. If you eat out 3x a week eat out 2.

Start small, and these little changes will change your life. I promise. I started by ordering salads out. Then salads with no candied nuts, then changed  to getting no nuts or cheese on my salads. A few weeks later no nuts, no cheese, and no dressing. Small changes make BIG differences, up to 350-400 calorie differences!!!!!!!!!

You can transform your habits, which will then transform your mood, and your BODY. Now is the time. Start your transformation, you are the only person who can transform YOU. It is your responsibility to control your happiness, confidence, and you have the power to change!

Grocery List: My Staple Must Have Items

Sometimes going to the market is simply too overwhelming for some. There are thousands of options, and who is to say which is better for your personal genetic make up and taste buds? Well, for me not every trip is the same. I like switching it up and adding new things to the cart to create variety, but at the same time there are definitely some staple items I must not leave without. My house must always be stocked with the following:

Fruit: * All the variety in the world (think seasonal, and ORGANIC)
Veggies: * Think GREEN: fresh and/or frozen * Fresh Salads: Mixes, kale, spinach, arugula
Clean Carbs:
* Oatmeal- I like Bob's Gluten-free
* Quinoa
* Yams or Sweet Potato
* Brown Rice Cakes- lightly salted
* Ezekiel bread
* Oat Flour
* Coconut Flour
 Fats:
 * Organic Hemp Hearts
 * Avocado
 * Cold-pressed oils- VARIETY
* Nut Butters- Unsalted Raw I like Artisana
Proteins:
* Eggs (organic free range, vegetarian fed)
* Raw Vegan Protein Powder: Dales Raw Protein
 * Wild Salmon (wild, no color added)
 * Organic Chicken Breast (free range, grass fed, organic)
* White Fish: Mahi, Tilapia, Hawke, Cod, Swai (wild, no color added)
Extras:
* Almond Milk- Unsweetened
* Balsamic vinegar
* Mustard
* Mrs. Dash or salt-free seasonings
Clean sweeteners: TO BE USED IN MODERATION IF AT ALL
* Agave Nectar
 * Honey
* Stevia

I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE GLUTEN INTOLERANT, RAW, VEGAN, OR VEGETARIAN.  THIS IS JUST A SAMPLE LIST, YOU CAN MODIFY ACCORDINGLY!!!!

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

This is a great saying.

It relates to my journey with fitness. Workouts I've endured in my past seriously come to mind when I think of this saying! My whole life I have been an athlete, but today I think that lightbulb just went off making me put the pieces together.
My mom reminded me of how I for sure will get through this fitness competition and the intensity of my workouts. She reminded me of my freshman year of college, first week as a Division 1 athlete at track practice being literally what I felt like run in to the ground ( or stadium stairs for that matter). We laughed about it, and the funny thing is after enduring a crazy tough workout and sticking to it through sweat and mental toughness, I knew I could do it. I know today I could do that again, although it seems like hell!
Doing things that push us to our limits teach us a whole lot about ourselves, in many aspects of our lives. So go ahead and push your limits, I'm pretty sure you'll be surprised with how it helps build mental and this case physical strength!

Don't Wait Till Your Sick & Fat To Get Healthy

The last few days have, to put it short and sweet, sucked! I have been under the weather for quite a few days and feeling this crappy really made me realize how good it feels to be healthy! I haven't been sick in a good 3-4 years and man does it stink!
The reason for this post is to point out how many of us wait until we hit the bottom that makes us realize what we want ( usually wanting to be at the top). Often times people wait until they are fat to change their eating habits and exercise routines. In our culture many even wait to stop drinking until they have already puked. We wait to tone our abs when spring comes and summer is around the corner. My point is, being healthy isn't a waiting game then a spurt of diet and exercise! Being healthy is a lifestyle you try to adopt. Mostly eating right and exercising regularly, and little spurts of chocolate cake and wine. NOT the other way around.
I work at a clinic where people come in hurt daily. There are some who see this as a life changer and become super motivated, there are some who sit and feel sorry for themselves! Don't feel sorry for yourself! Get out there and take control of your healthy life!!!