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Faster Fitness, Food, & Health

5 Surprising Ways to Boost Productivity and “Have More Time”

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5 Ways that I Boost Productivity and "Have More Time" in my Weeks...they're not what you think!

In today’s day and age where “busy” is boastable and time crunches are praised, many people are left feeling like they simply do not have any time, or any time for themselves, or that all they do is work, or some combination of all of these things.  Have you been there?

Many people who come to me for help with personal training or nutrient dense eating cite this as one of their top excuses: “I just don’t have time.”  Or, my favorite, “I don’t look like you because I don’t workout for three hours a day and cook for an hour each evening.”  My response, “Sheesh!  Neither do I!”

And while this whole blog is built around the fact that you really don’t need all day to do high quality workouts and enjoy delicious, nutrient dense food, I do think it is a high quality exercise to investigate how much time we are actually spending on various activities throughout our days so that we can make time for what’s most important to us. [Read more…]

Super Fast Lower Body Circuit

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Great for a quick at-home workout! Work every muscle of the lower body with this one, quick workout!

There are lots of weeks when I want to work every single muscle in my body in each workout, but there are also times when I split up my workouts for the week into upper body and lower body days.  One common driving reason for this upper body/lower body split would be that I’m just plain sore from a previous workout and not ready to work those muscles again.  Enter: the lower body workout.

I like lower body workouts because they are a bit easier to do at home or while traveling where equipment may be limited.  (It’s a bit more challenging to do an upper body workout with minimal equipment, although it can be done!)

So, this workout?  It targets the entire lower body: glutes/low back, hamstrings, inner and outer thighs, and calves.  Extra bonus if you do the workout barefoot to strengthen the muscles of your feet and lower leg stabilizers.  (I’m a huge fan of working out barefoot and haven’t had a single injury since I started incorporating barefoot training and yoga into my workout regimen.  This is saying a lot for someone who was basically just always in pain from the knee down all throughout my college career of cross country/track!) [Read more…]

Any Fruit Crisp

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I love berries.  Like, really love them.  They are just about my favorite thing (maybe more than avocados???).  When you are searching for things to love about your new home (Michigan) when you just really, really loved your old home (Colorado), berries make home a happier place.  Because Colorado?  I’m sorry, but your berry selection is lousy…and tasteless.  Michigan, you are a far superior berry state.  You have produced the most delicious strawberries and blueberries I have ever tasted.  Hands down.  So, thank you, Michigan.  While I would prefer a humidity-free and mosquito-free beautiful, Colorado summer, your summer ain’t too bad either.

So, naturally, in the spirit of embracing all Michigan has to offer, Landon and I had to do a Michigan summer activity and go strawberry picking.  Last year he was still crawling so strawberry picking was not so interesting, but this year he was ready for his own bucket to pick away.  (Note, you can fill your box or bucket much faster if you don’t eat every other strawberry you pick, but come on.  Who has that level of self-control?)

Now, this is funny.   [Read more…]

My Top 5 Pregnancy & Birth Books

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I don’t know what it is about my current social circles, but, gee willikers, everybody is pregnant or just had a baby.  Talk about something in the water!  But really, it’s awesome, and I’m enjoying all the baby snuggles!  Perhaps I’m also feeling a bit sentimental since we just celebrated our son’s second birthday!  They told me this would happen, but still I can hardly believe it was just two years ago that he was a little tiny six pound baby burrito, and now he’s running around talking in sentences!  Sheesh.

I knew when I got pregnant that I wanted to do things differently because I just thought a lot of pregnancy symptoms and labor/delivery complications seemed to be avoidable.  At some point, I’ll share my son’s birth story for all of you, but suffice it to say, it was what some would consider atypical (think five hour labor/home birth with a couple awesome midwives).  It’s one of the proudest moments of my life!  And while I certainly was not prepared for life with a newborn, I do think I was quite prepared for an uneventful pregnancy and a fast and, relatively, uncomplicated birth.

If you’re the kind of person who enjoys bucking the system when the system just seems flawed (more on that later, too!), and you know that pregnancy does not have to be just the luck of the draw when it comes to how you’ll feel and manage it, plus you’re looking for a birth that isn’t as panicked and scary as it’s portrayed on TV, I recommend a few of my favorite books! [Read more…]

Total Body TRX Circuit

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There are a few tools that I love, love, love having on hand for my at-home workouts.  (You can read about my favorite home gym essentials here.)  Well, #3 on that list of essentials is my suspension trainer.    (The most common suspension trainer out there is definitely the TRX, but I believe there a few other brands out there now, too.)

I love my suspension trainer for a few reasons…

1.  It’s a simple piece of equipment.  It has just two adjustable straps that hang from a single loop.  That’s it.

2.  You can use it virtually anywhere.  You can mount it to the ceiling with ceiling mounts, attach it to a swing set with the clips at the top (been there done that while my son plays in the sandbox!), or you can use the door anchor to hang it from the top of any door (this is how I’m using it in the GIFs you’ll see below). [Read more…]

Copycat Chipotle Guacamole

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Do you love the guac at Chipotle?  Looking to recreate it at home?  Look no further!  My copycat Chipotle guacamole is quick, easy, and only five, real food ingredients.  

Copycat Chipotle Guacamole

I am told that there are people that don’t like avocados.  Like, they are really, truly out there in the world.  Fact.  I do not understand these people one bit.  (I’m also realizing that this is a bit of a soapbox for me.  I’ve rambled on this topic before…)  I’m also realizing that I’ve got a lot of recipes on my blog involving avocados (like this one and this one).  

Seriously, I think we might have a problem at our house (a really yummy, nutrient dense problem).  How could something sooooo delicious, creamy, satisfying,  and satiating be so good for you.  It’s true folks.  And we only have God to thank for it.  You can just pick them off the tree in their absolute deliciousness.  So, without further ado, here’s another avocado recipe for you–my copycat Chipotle guacamole. [Read more…]

A Day in My Life: Elisabeth

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I’m so pleased to have Elisabeth join us on the blog today!  She is a college friend and former cross country teammate of mine, and even one of the bridesmaids in my wedding!  She and her husband, a college basketball coach, live in Georgia with their two, adorable tiny humans, ages 3 and 2.  She blogs over at TeamMillennialMoms.com.  Check it out!

Hello, everyone! Every day is different around the McNeely household, but here is a glimpse into our normal life!

Currently, I am loving the fact that we have no schedule – no pre-school, no sports, no this and that. We have three regular “outings” during the week that give the kids a chance to socialize with their friends and me the chance to take a deep breath and enjoy adult conversation with other women in my same phase of life, and those are:

  1. Church
  2. Tuesday Bible study
  3. MOPS (every other Friday)

Other than these three “regulars”, the kids and I mix it up with grocery shopping, trips to the park, the gym, the library, or Chick Fil A. You know you can’t beat that indoor play place on a cold or rainy day!

I often get asked if my kids go to any sort of pre-school, and as a former early-childhood teacher, you would think I would say “yes”! Preschool is certainly great for a lot of kids, but we keep ours home for a few reasons:

  1. We can’t afford it (just being honest here!). It is a very real sacrifice for me to be at home with our boys, so we pinch pennies wherever we can!
  2. Although they drive me crazy more than I’d like to admit, I am super sentimental about my time with my kids. (Don’t remind me that my oldest will be in kindergarten in just 2 short years!) My thoughts are that I have a very, very short amount of time to be influencing them for the majority of their day before they will be influenced by teachers, coaches, and friends the majority of their day – every day – for the rest of their lives. I’m trying to be intentional about soaking in every second!
  3. Studies have shown that children, especially boys, actually do better in a formal school setting the later they are introduced to formal education. I think it’s very important to let kids be kids for as long as possible before they have to deal with the demands of school as long as they are getting educational stimulation at home through play, reading books, conversation, etc.

So since you now know what our “regular” weekly outings are and that my boys are with me all the time other than those few outings, here is a typical day in our life! [Read more…]

Sweet Potato Hash

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In case you haven’t heard (you can “hear” right here), I am kinda’ all about breakfast.  I just love it.  And that also means I love a good brinner, at least once per week.  (See recent brinner recipe here.)  So, I’m happy to share another one of my favorite brinner recipes with you–Sweet Potato Hash.  Yummy tex-mex flavors combine with all the deliciousness of breakfast (plus avocados, because I’m also slightly obsessed with those, too), and you have a seriously great brinner recipe that is filling and packed full of nutrients.  Also, there is bacon.  You’re welcome.

This is probably one of my husband’s favorite weeknight meals.  He requests it.  Often.  He reminds me when I have not made it in a while.  My son takes after his father.  He lives for bacon.  And eggs.  And sweet potatoes.  So, basically, everyone’s happy on hash night. [Read more…]

20 Minute Workout: Plyometric Giant Sets

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I created this workout when I was back home in Colorado just after Christmas.  Is it “back home” or “on vacation?”  Kinda’ both.  I didn’t grow up in Colorado, but I call it “my home that took me 23 years to find.”  Colorado just fits me…the sunshine, lack of bugs and humidity, ease of access to crunchy-person food, mountains, being outside all year round…I loved it.  But now, we’re “home” in Michigan.  It’s not me at all, but I am so sure this is where we need to be right now, that this too feels like home.  More importantly, “home” is where my people are, namely, my husband and my son, and they are in Michigan, so Michigan is home.

So…all that to say…I was “back” in Colorado when I wrote this workout.  I needed something that would get me sweating and raise my heart rate, plus fatigue my muscles.  Oh, and I didn’t have much time.  We had lots of visiting to do!  This workout?  It did all those things.  Fast.

So, here are a few things to know about this workout… [Read more…]

A Day in My Life: Jennifer

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Today I’m so excited to be featuring a guest writer in our “A Day in My Life” series.  (You can read about a day in my life here.)  Jennifer is a friend from my church who also battles an autoimmune condition, lupus.  She has learned to combat her disease with lifestyle changes–diet, exercise, managing stress, and rest!  Recently she went 20 months between flare ups!  Hooray!  To meet her, you’d honestly never know that she’s in a constant battle against a disease.  She is characterized by grace and selflessness, as you can see by a day in her life–she is present and available for her family first and foremost.  

Take it away, Jennifer! [Read more…]