The Two Choices For Attaining A Fit Life

The number of choices we make throughout a single day is pretty amazing, I mean think about. Did you hit the snooze button or wake up for your morning workout? Did you pack your lunch or plan on eating out? Did you watch your TV after work or read a good book? So many choices! Between juggling day-to-day commitments and decisions, it can seem daunting to choose when get in a workout, and how to prepare healthy meals.

1. First things first, we have to have the right mindset. We can all choose to spend our time working out, but is this what we want to do? Take for example a dear friend of mine. She works a 9-6 job and has a daily hour and a half commute. She has been trying to lose a few pounds and get more active. Typically when she gets off work she is tired and does not feel like going to the gym.  If it is not too late, she enjoys walking, but sometimes it is not always feasible. In my mind I am like duh, just wake up 45 minutes earlier. But I realize that’s not fair, not everyone is a crazy morning person like me :).

Her and I sat down and started talking about how to work around this. I started probing a bit and found out she enjoyed taking group fitness classes offered at work. So why not start there? She decided on packing her clothes the night before so that way immediately after work she could go to the class.

Switching up her mindset to not make working out seem like a drag helped her get in workouts without dreading it!  Case in point: choose what is best for you! 

2. Choosing how you spend your time. You have the power to choose how you spend your time. And when it comes to exercise, it all adds up. Whether it is 20-40 or 60 minutes, it all counts. We all have 1440 minutes in a day, surely we can spend at least 20 on exercise. For some people 60 minutes of exercise a day seems overwhelming and impossible. I have been through some of the most brutal workouts and they have been done in 20 minutes! Think about it, the time you spend fumbling around in the morning, you could have crushed a 20-minute workout. 

I constantly remind myself that it all counts.  Being a gym rat over the years, I am used to having a minimum 90 minutes (45 for my lift and 45 for my cardio) in the gym. These days, juggling graduate school full time, working, and traveling with my boyfriend, I can spend more time in classrooms and airports than in a gym. There are days where I cannot get to the gym for a solid hour. However, knowing that I can train efficiently in 20 minutes makes fitness on the road and in school doable.

Health comes down to two choices: mind-set and time. What are you going to choose?

Let’s give everyone the tools to a great exercise mindset; tweet me your mindset mantra today @kelleyvargo #kvmindset

Until tomorrow,

Kel

Healthly Italian: Spaghetti Squash and Turkey Meat Sauce

I am Italian! Thus, I love to cook, I love to entertain, and I love my pasta! However, both time and health are of the essence for myself and I am sure they are for you too! I have always had an eye and a taste for "health-i-fying" recipes. And to my dad's credit, here is one of my favorite healthy Italian style dishes! This meal is a great one for guests and will leave them in awe once they realize it is not really spaghetti they are eating. Spaghetti squash and turkey meat sauce is simple, quick, and healthy. I threw it together last night with a friend and she was amazed at how easy it was to make and how delicious it tasted! I did my best to document my process last night, let me know if you have any questions when you give it a go!

Ingredients:

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti Squash (1-2 depending on size and number you are cooking for)

 - I picked up two small ones: serving 2-3

1 lb 99% fat free ground turkey

1 jar Trader Joe's Spaghetti Sauce

1 12 oz can diced tomatoes

12 oz of water

Pam

The Squash:

Cut and Cleaned out!

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees

2. Cut the spaghetti squash in half vertically

3. Scoop out the guts and discard

4. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil

5. Place the squash hollow side down on the cookie sheet

6. Add and inch deep of water on the cookie sheet to keep squash moist

7. Place sheet in oven and cook for 30-40 minutes or until top of squash is soft

8. Once squash is done, remove and let cool a few minutes (they are hot!)

9. Using a fork, scrape the inside of the squash into a bowl to make "spaghetti"                 

 

    

The Meat and Sauce

**get started on the meat and sauce while the squash is in the oven**

1. Spray cooking pan with Pam

2. Cook turkey in pan until brown

3. Pour sauce into large pot on medium heat

4. Add in can diced tomatoes

5. Add in 12 oz of water

6. Add in cooked meat

7. Once sauce starts to boil, lower heat to a simmer and stir occasionally

 

Time to eat!  Dish out your spaghetti squash with meat sauce and enjoy! Serve it up with a healthy salad topped with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. If you have the chance to make it, let me know what you think!  Also, as a side note, I have made this before with ground venison and ground bison, both were amazing!

The finished dish! So delicious!

Rest-Based Training: Metabolic Effect

Do you have 5, 10 or 30 minutes to get in a great workout? Yes, of course you do!

Rest-based training is where it's at! I have been blessed to work with some of the best leaders in the fitness and health industry, and my dear friends, Drs. Jade & Keoni Teta are two of them. About 8 years ago Jade & Keoni introduced me to Metabolic Effect and the concept of rest-based training. From then on, my perspective and way of training has been effective and efficient in regards to time and progress. This past weekend I attended the IDEA Personal Training Institute in Alexandria, Virgina and had the chance to catch up with Jade. Check out Jade below for a quick introduction to Metabolic Effect and rest-based training.

            The Journal of the American College of Nutrition published a study comparing the same caloric expenditure but done at two different intensities: one group at 75% VO2 max vs. 50% Vo2 max.  The same amount of calories were burned, but they high intensity group was done in less time and had an elevated metabolic rate three hours after the workout. Regardless of your stance on EPOC, my take home point is a quality workout can be done in a short period of time (1).
             To get a feel for rest-based training jump in on a Metabolic Effect class near you.  Not sure if you have one near by? Get on the website and find out. No luck there? No worries! Grab a copy of The New Metabolic Effect Diet, an easy to read book for practical workouts.  Their book is founded on research assessing the body's hormonal response to food and exercise.  Studies have indicated that moderate intensity workouts, like swimming or continuous running,  can stimulate hunger hormones (2,3). My father, Dr. Ronald Vargo, a family physician in a rural town outside of Columbus, Ohio refers his patients to the book for advice on food and fitness. If I can get my dad to believe in something, it holds value ;)! He's a stickler for the valid and practical information!
            I am currently teaching Metabolic Effect classes at The George Washington University and the following has been amazing! From students to faculty, they are all maximizing their time and energy in this 30-minute high intensity workout. One of my most dedicated followers is world-renowned obesity and physical activity researcher and Editor in Chief of the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, Dr. Loretta DiPietro. “It [Metabolic Effect] compliments my style of training.  My type two (glycolytic) fibers are very responsive to it. I have never felt better in my life” Dr. DiPietro. 

             And for the nerd in me, this type of workout makes sense. Metabolic Effect and rest-based training is backed by exercise science, sports psychology, and endocrinology. For more information on the science of Metabolic Effect and the body’s hormonal response to this type of exercise, click here. In closing, check out the video of class. (Let me know if you can find me!)

 

Until next week, push until you can’t, rest until you can!

1. Helain, et. al. Postexercise energy expenditure and substrate oxidation in young women resulting from exercise bouts of different intensity. Jrnl Am Coll Nutr 1997;16(2)140-146
2. Karamouzis, et. al. The effects of marathon swimming on serum leptin and plasma neuropeptide Y levels. Clin Chem Lab Med. 2002;40(2):132-6.
3. Broom et. al, Influence of resistance and aerobic exercise on hunger, circulating levels of acylated ghrelin, and peptide YY in healthy males. 2009;296(1):R29-35.
 

We Have 1,440 Minutes...

If you are reading this you have it. You can waste it or use it. But once it is gone you can't get it back.  What is it?

One of the excuses I hear consistently from clients and loved ones is “I don’t have time.” That couldn’t be further from the truth. Whether it’s not having time to eat breakfast, not having time workout, not having time to pack meals, or not having time to sleep, I have heard them all.  But the reality is we do have time, and what we choose to do with our time is our choice. There maybe the occasional crisis that comes up that challenges they way we use our time, but all in all, we have time.

The average American, as of 2007, spends over four hours a day watching TV!  That is just TV¹, not even counting the time spent surfing the Internet!

That is 240 minutes that can be used for exercise, meditating, preparing healthy meals, and spending time with loved ones.

The reality of it is, we chose what we do with our time deliberately based on our priorities and values. So what are your values? Priorities? Now, take a minute, and think about your time. What have you chosen to do today with it?  Have you used any of it for your health?  Whether it is 30 minutes for a workout, 30 minutes to prepare healthy meals, or 30 minutes restoring balance, time is your best friend when it comes to your health.   

Although my schedule gets a little crazy from day to day between clients, teaching classes, writing my thesis, going to class, and getting in office hours, I still choose to spend time everyday for myself and my health.  It isn't always easy, but for me, it's a value and priority I hold high.  I have learned that ultimately, I choose how to spend my time, and you have the same awesome ability!

There are 24 hours or 1,440 minutes today.  I am willing to say you can spare at least 30 out of 1,440 for your health.  What will you choose?

Let me know what you will do TODAY! ^{(By the way, that's the answer.)}

Nothing is worth more than this day.  ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

¹Herr, Norman, PhD. The Sourcebook For TeachingScience. Television & Health.