Now that I go to the gym in the mornings I have the opportunity to visit my favorite group fitness classes again. On Monday, I went to cycle. Then, yesterday I tried out Group Kick. When I arrived I was a little bummed that my favorite kick instructor no longer taught in that time slot. Someone new has apparently joined the teaching roster. By new, I mean very new. I felt so bad for her! She stopped so many times, not knowing what set of moves to do next. I have sympathy because I want good karma. I’m a fellow spaz-head who may want to teach group fitness in the future, after all.

Plus, I couldn’t complain because even the sporadic kicking and punching gave me more of a challenge than if I had tried to do one of my kickbox workout DVDs at home. The DVDs are great; I’m just in a rut with them. I love my Cathe and Turbo DVDS, but find that I can only really get excited for one DVD workout a week. I like the variety they give me, but much prefer the atmosphere of the gym. Although, in a few months I may very well hate gym classes and only want to do DVDs. My workout preferences are always all over the place. Spaz-head here, remember?

I find it very interesting that I always want to switch up my workouts, but I can happily eat the same foods over and over. Would you believe me if I told you I still enjoy my favorite egg sandwich combo for lunch at least 3 days out of the week?

And that I still have an apple + Chobani as a snack almost every day?

I know you know I eat oats for breakfast all. the. time.

We also do a lot of the same basic meals for dinners over the course of a month. We switch it up slightly most times, but its still basically the same dish. Take dinner last night for example. Pasta night. I cooked up some of my favorite veggie mix of zucchini, mushrooms, and onion. Plus wilted some spinach in some basic marinara sauce.

Then we Trader Joe’d it for the rest of dinner. Trader Joe’s sun-dried tomato chicken sausage and Trader Joe’s chunky portabella mushroom ravioli.

All served together with the marinara and veggie mix.

It’s no wonder I can happily eat the same things over and over. They’re good! If my tummy is happy that is all that matters to me. 😀

Question of the Day – How much variety do you need with your workouts? And food? One more than the other?

Evening, friends! I received the following reader’s request and wanted to reach out to all of you fabulous ladies (and men – hi Evan & Matt!) to help with some ideas.

Tina,
I love my husband and lately I have become increasingly worried about his health. He enjoys food that isn’t always the healthiest and isn’t active. I want him to be healthy for our family. We have been finding balance with food, but he doesn’t have any desire to workout. I worry that if my husband continues with the same eating habits and activity level he will reach an unhealthy weight down the line. His doctor already recommends he lose some weight.  I have tried to help him see the benefits, but now I feel like I nag him all the time. How can I help motivate him to take better care of himself and get active?

I am not an expert by any means, but here are some things I thought might help.

• Speak openly about your concerns with him. Be sure he knows that its not just disappointment in his appearance or work ethic. Hopefully that will set the tone for him to not feel nagged, but encouraged instead.
• Do things together – activities like hikes & cooking healthy dinners. That will hopefully take the pressure off and make the experience more enjoyable as a couple or family effort.

• Find an activity that inspires him. What are his interests? Does he like watching UFC? Perhaps let him try out an MMA fitness gym. Does he like numbers? Invest in a gym membership for him to start doing weights. Then, let him get motivated with seeing the numbers increase as he gets stronger. Heck…even a Wii Fit could work well to get a guy moving. They do like their video games!

• Make it a “game” and set up a realistic reward system. Set a goal of say 3 workouts a week. If he completes those workouts for a month, then he can do something like buy those concert tickets he wanted.
• Use a plan. Things like Couch to 5K or a laid out plan like P90X may help. Sometimes trying to decide what to do any given day makes picking up exercise overwhelming. If it’s a straightforward plan to follow, it may be easier to keep with it. You can always include the reward system well with a plan too.
• Find a buddy. Do you know one of his friends that could partner up with him to either workout together or go through the same workout plan as a challenge?

• Keep it short term. Get him to commit to a month or two of regular activity (3-4x/week) and he very likely will end the time frame feeling better and enjoying working out at least a little bit more.
• Praise along the way. When he does make an effort to do something active, even a short walk, talk him up! Focus on what he has accomplished over what may be lacking. Encouragement goes a long way to motivate.

Do you have any extra tips or ideas for her? Share them in the comments section!