Multi-Tasking & Motivation

Posted on November 5, 2013 by megolina

As I mentioned previously, life has been pretty crazy as of late. Between training my regular clients, writing, school, (and lots of fun), I have found myself multi-tasking QUITE a bit. Now, I know that my life is no different than the rest of yours. EVERYONE is busy. We all just have different kinds of busy! What I have learned is that you can either make excuses as to why you are so busy to exercise or make any changes, OR you can make positive health decisions a priority. Sometimes this means multi-tasking.treadmill2I’ve learned that I can read while I workout. It actually makes my workouts FLY by which is a double win. Multi-tasking means different things for everyone. My challenge to you is to figure out how to make working out a part of your day instead of figuring out excuses as to why you don’t have time for it! So…as I was reading about exercise motivation today I came across this…treadmill1…and I loved it. This was my take-away. 1) Associated exercisers think about how every exercise movement feels, which includes the discomfort that they are likely feeling. 2) Disassociated exercisers distract themselves with music, daydreaming, basically anything else but their exercise. 3) I am DEFINITELY a disassociated exerciser, which is probably why I LOVE it so much. I jam to my music (which i love.) I watch my Netflix (which I love.) And I work out with friends (which I love.) All things that distract me, and make exercising more enjoyable.

Now I get that exercise isn’t always fun. Finding motivation to get to the gym and workout is NOT always easy. HOWEVER, the truth of the matter is, you can make it much more enjoyable if you figure out what makes it more fun for YOU. Not everyone is the same, and what works for one person might not work for someone else. Find what works for you, and you may even find yourself multi-tasking your exercise away! 🙂

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Delicious Butternut Squash Soup

Posted on October 31, 2013 by megolina

Ever since eating Blue Lemon’s butternut squash soup, I have become a bit of a butternut squash soup snob. I mean have you had the stuff? It tastes like Christmas in a bowl. I don’t know how they do it, but it’s amazing. It has had me searching for a recipe that rivals theirs, and this one is probably the closest that I have found. This soup is really easy to make, and SO delicious! soupButternut Squash Soup 

  • INGREDIENTS: 
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 large granny smith apples peeled, cored, and diced
  • 2 pears peeled, cored, and diced
  • 2 onions diced small (I used a food processor)
  • 3 medium size butternut squashes (peeled, seeds removed, diced in cubes)
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • 1 tsp tumeric
  • 2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 2.5 qts of chicken stalk
  • 1 cup fat free half and half
  • ground black pepper, and salt to taste

 

  • DIRECTIONS:
  • Prepare your squash. Peel it with a regular vegetable peeler. Cut it in half, and remove all of the seeds. Cut the squash into 1 inch cubes.
  • Prepare your apples and pears. Peeling, coring, and chopping.
  • Using a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add diced onions, and cook until they are tender. (5-10 minutes depending on how small pieces are.) Add in allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, turmeric, and ground ginger. Mix to combine. Add in butternut squash, apples, and pears. Add in the chicken stock and the brown sugar. Stir to combine. Bring this to a boil, and allow to cook on medium, uncovered for about 40 minutes. Make sure the squash is tender. Add in the half and half, salt, and pepper. Use a blender or an immersion blender to puree the soup. You may want to add more salt and pepper at this point.
  • Serve with slivered almonds overtop. (I thought candied slivered almonds would be delicious as well!)
  • Serves 8-10 people.

Fall is the perfect time for delicious soup, and this is an incredibly delicious, low-cal option that is really healthy and flavorful!

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So this happened.

Posted on September 26, 2013 by megolina

school I have been absolutely blog M.I.A.  But, with good reason. I started grad school! I’m getting my Masters of Science in Health Science. I love it so far, but man…It’s a lot of work. I hope to get life in a routine and get back to my sweet lil’ blog ASAP. Until then, I’ll be at the library. xoxoxo

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Sending All My Love <3

Posted on August 26, 2013 by megolina

This past Saturday I went to the birthday party of the cutest one year old I know. My darling friend Janae invited me to come and celebrate her sweet little girl, Brooke’s first birthday.bdayJanae is one of the most fantastic people I know. She has been such a good friend to me over the years, and I just adore her. She is kinder than I thought was humanly possible. She is gorgeous. She is so hard working. She is smart, and DANG, is she speedy. Who else do you know that runs a 3:04 marathon, and will soon be breaking the 3 hour mark, I have no doubt? She has an awesome blog. She is an amazing mom…and I could go on. bday1Janae is a total optimist, and she has and will continue to persevere through a lot. She is an amazing example to me of making the best of life. That is for sure.  bday2 Her little Brooke is just as sweet as she is, which comes straight from her mama I have no doubt. I mean seriously…how beautiful is this child? bday3

Janae is just awesome. She deserves a shout out. That is for sure. I love you to pieces girlie! You can do this. 😉 Thanks for being such a great friend. xoxoxo

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Rockstar Legs

Posted on August 23, 2013 by megolina

With most of the female clients I train I hear very similar things. They tend to tell me that they want to drop some weight, decrease body fat, and improve their problem areas. These are fairly common requests, and completely doable requests at that. With regards to problem areas or, “trouble spots,” whatever you want to call them…most women tell me they want to work on their lower half. I LOVE when I hear this. It just so happens that I am a HUGE fan of squats, lunges, step-ups, plyometrics, and leg workouts in general. Afterall..who doesn’t want rockstar legs?? Am I right?  Well, a sweet reader named Rene emailed me asking what some of my favorite glute/leg exercises were, so I thought I’d share with the class. Rockstar legs for all!

1) Stairmill. I know, you don’t want to hear those words, but i’m going to say them anyways. The stairmill is a KILLER leg workout. Remeber this sweaty photo?schweatyThis was taken right after doing my favorite workout on the stairmill that will be sure to WORK your butt and legs over. Click HERE for the workout.

2) Specific lifting workouts targeted for the glutes and legs.

3) Specific exercises that target the glutes and legs

Now, if this info doesn’t get your legs looking like Carrie Underwood’s…Screen shot 2013-08-23 at 3.46.52 PMYou can just come on in and see me at The Lab and I promise I’ll whip ya into rockstar shape! 🙂

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Wednesday Workout: A Circuit for the Sweaty Ones

Posted on August 21, 2013 by megolina

This is a quick, calorie blasting, full body circuit that will be sure to have you sweating in no time!sweatycircuit

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It’s Going to Be Hard to Leave.

Posted on August 16, 2013 by megolina

I really like it here. A lot of that has to do with the fact that there are so many people here that I love. I was able to spend time with a lot of them today.aug15131Miss SBJ is heading off to Columbia real soon. Man, I’ll miss her. aug15132I could also hang out with these pretty ladies all day. Sometimes I do.aug15133Remember this girl? She just happens to be one of my best friends in the whole wide world. There aren’t many things better than when someone you love SO much has an adorable little baby. I miss seeing my Benita all the time. She is a really amazing person. To say the leastaug15134          Clearly we are already buds. Can’t you tell?  aug15135 babylukeFavorites on favorites on favorites.

Today was crazy, but I managed to squeeze in a cardio workout when we got home. When I got home I went for a walk with my mom and sister in the 200 degree heat. Did you know that in Arizona it’s still like 100 degrees at night when the sun goes down? Well it is. I’m still loving our night walks despite the heat. We basically walk and solve the worlds problems. One step at a time.

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I Don’t Know You.

Posted on August 15, 2013 by megolina

So, yesterday I decided to use a traveling pass to venture to the Gold’s nearest my fam’s house. I always have a love/hate with going to new gyms to work out. I have my routines back in UT, and I like them. I usually either work out at The LAB or at the Gold’s by my house. Where I work out, everyone knows me, and I know them too. I know who is always fascinating to watch, and I know who should probably be switching up their routine…(wink, wink.) Kidding. Kind of. So, upon walking into somewhere new today it was all sorts of unknowns. I didn’t know the layout. I didn’t know the people. I didn’t know anything. It made for some great people watching, and I managed to get in a sweaty set of intervals with a solid core workout at the end.aug14131Yep. I was a sweaty Betty! I have decided to eliminate my weight training from my workouts this week. I haven’t taken a week of muscle recovery from lifting like that in quite some time, so I thought this was a good time to do it. When I got home it was time for lunch, so I whipped up an at-home favorite: my Cottage Cheese Avocado & Tomato Salad. aug14132It was super tasty. Let me just tell you that coming home is awesome for so many reasons, but one is definitely because my family is a lot like me. When my mom, sisters, and me are all together we tend to eat pretty healthy, work out, and shop. All the things that keep us happy and healthy! My mom decided on a quick dinner of rotisserie chicken and roasted veggies. It was really good. aug14133 We finished the evening off meeting the fam for some Yogurtland. The perfect way to end any evening. 
aug14135I’ll be honest, that is a picture of terrible quality for how delicious it was. My three favorite flavors…cookies & cream, pistachio, and peanut butter. All topped with slivered almonds. Mmmm…I could eat that again right now. And this last pic is for you Ash, a request to see what my shoes look like. Voila. aug14134 Diane Von Furstenbergs, Vince Camutos, and Steve Maddens. I have this shoe problem…I love them. I hope I marry a tall man, cause I sure do love six inch heels…

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Yep. It was a good day.

Posted on August 14, 2013 by megolina

Yesterday was phenomenal. It started out bright and early with an awesome run with my sister. We left at 6AM to beat the heat, and we went six miles. I love running with Nichole because we are always pretty close to the same pace and we just chat the whole time. I could talk to her all day. She is amazing. We wanted to get going early so we could make it to Last Chance, one of our favorite places to shop. If you haven’t been there, you should get there at some point in your life. Let’s just say I got three pairs of shoes which should have totaled at $550…and I paid $88. Awesome? Yes. arizona7After we left Last Chance we were STARVING. Shopping is hard work. So, we went to Sauce for lunch. It’s another spot I would highly recommend. It is so tasty. I ordered the tomato bisque soup with the half turkey and feta chop salad, hold the feta. I think It tastes like feet.arizona8We refueled and continued on with our shopping, and I’d say we did pretty well.
arizona2I have so much fun hanging with these babes, and they are such babes. I love my family! arizona1I also got to spend the day with Sara Beth! She came with us which was so fun. She is in AZ for the summer until she leaves me for New York, and I just adore her. We make a great shopping team.   arizona6  After shopping we came back and made an awesome dinner which I blogged about yesterday. Our Quinoa & Veggie Stuffed Red Peppers were Ahhhmazing.quinoapepperMy mom and I finished the evening off with a walk. My mom is the best. Like I said, it was a good day.

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Quinoa & Veggie Stuffed Red Peppers

Posted on August 14, 2013 by megolina

I grew up with an amazing mom for a cook. She is just great in the kitchen, and that is all there is to it. There were however two meals that i can remember not liking. One was split pea soup, which I actually like now, and the other was Mexican stuffed red peppers. We were driving home from a fantastic day of shopping, which I’ll recap tomorrow, and my mom and I were trying to determine what we should make for dinner. She suggested Mexican stuffed peppers, to which I instantly shuddered. Apparently, I still do not like them. She went on to say we could make them with quinoa instead of rice, so they would be Paleo. That did perk my ears up a bit, but I asked her if we could do something about the tomato sauce, because that is where the peppers lose me. Bleh. I love tomatoes, but for some reason the cooked tomato sauce and I don’t feel comfortable with each other. Anyways…we decided to get creative and come up with our own method of stuffing peppers. Can I just tell you they turned out AMAZING. Soooooo good. See for yourself.quinoapepper Quinoa & Veggie Stuffed Red Peppers

Recipe serves 2

  • Ingredients: 2 red bell peppers (washed and cleaned out with the tops removed), 1/2 cup of broccoli, 1/2 cup of cauliflower, 1/2 cup of yellow squash, 1/2 cup of zucchini (all cut into small pieces), 1/4-1/2 cup of part skim mozzarella, 1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa, 1 cup of chicken broth, 3/4 tsp cumin, 2 tsp minced garlic, 2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp taco seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. 
  • Directions: Preheat oven to 425. Place 2 red bell peppers in a microwave safe dish 1/2 full of water and covered. Microwave on high for 15-20 minutes, or until the peppers are tender. While the peppers are cooking, combine quinoa, chicken broth, cumin, garlic, and onion powder in a small saucepan. Bring this to a boil and cover for 10-12 minutes, or until quinoa is cooked through. Fluff with a fork and recover, allowing it to continue to puff up. In another pan, combine cut up veggies and cover with water, bring to a boil and cover, cooking the vegetables until tender. When the peppers are done fully drain them and place them in a pan that can go into the oven. When the vegetables are done, drain them well, and combine together with the quinoa. Add the taco seasoning, salt, pepper, and cheese (Reserving some of the cheese to sprinkle on top). Stir to combine. You may want to add a bit more taco seasoning if need be to give it the right amount of flavor. Divide the vegetable and quinoa mixture between the two peppers and top with the remaining cheese. Place in the oven uncovered for 3-5 minutes, or until the cheese has completely melted. Enjoy!

We seriously DEVOURED these. They were so tasty. I couldn’t help but think of how I wished my sweet friend Megan D was here to enjoy them with me…she loves red peppers more than anyone I know! We’ll have to have a dinner party my darling!

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