Do you want to know what motivates me the most to continue a healthy lifestyle? It’s not the number on the scale. It’s not the way my butt looks in jeans, my arms look in a tank top, or my legs look in a skirt. It’s not the time I can achieve in a race. It’s not the number of push-ups I can handle. It’s the feeling – the feeling of health. Knowing how good I feel when practicing healthy habits will get my butt off the couch and get those veggies on my plate every time. You know what I’m talking about…and just how addicting that feeling is.

By the end of my vacation, I certainly felt happy about all the time I had with family. I relished the opportunity to not cook dinner every night and to indulge in an abundance of frozen yogurt. However, I also didn’t feel as healthy as normal – still good, but not quite as energetic, strong, and fresh. Wanting that feeling back had me hopping right back into my regular habits. I gotta say – the feeling of health feels good. Just two days of my standard meals and workouts has catapulted me back to that rejuvenated essence of health. I feel like screaming how good I feel at the top of my lungs! Just as this salad screams “healthy and scrumptious” at the top of its lungs.

In the mix, I have white beans, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, onion, avocado, goat cheese, mango, and Annie’s Naturals honey mustard dressing atop super fresh lettuce. When I say super fresh lettuce, I mean super fresh. Straight from my sister-in-law’s garden.

Who needs a green thumb when you have loving family only 2 minutes away? 😉

Another thing I don’t need – meat. While I still like grilled chicken or steak with my salads (and eat meat without worry a few times a week), I don’t have to have them anymore. And I have finally convinced Peter of the same! When I originally planned this meal, he asked if there was chicken involved. But then, HE suggested beans and the cheese as our protein sources when I brought up our grocery budget. Score for the budget opening Peter to more vegetarian meal options in this household! The veggie packed meals definitely contribute to my feeling of health.

Just as workouts that make me want to die from their hardcoreness add to my feeling of health. I completed one of the toughest strength workouts I’ve had at the gym in awhile yesterday. The workout focused on my back and biceps, with some legs and abs thrown in for good measure. I felt sore by the time I left the gym. Mission kick-my-own-butt = accomplished. 

Give this one a shot for a fantastic Pull Workout (hamstrings, back, and biceps). Or mix and match some of the moves from my push workout I shared yesterday to score a full body workout that will make you beg for mercy. Let me know if you use any of it!

Well, time for me to hit the ground running. Quite literally, in fact. Catch you later!

• What screams healthy to you?
• Of possible interest: If you entered the Physique 57 Giveaway and still want to try out the workouts, check out this great deal on their Facebook page!

A couple weeks ago, Becca from Love Grown Foods granola contacted me about visiting over coffee while the Love Grown crew visits and does some business in Atlanta. I loved the idea and couldn’t wait to meet some of the faces behind a company I believe in and wholeheartedly support. I suggested we visit one of the three Land of 1000 Hills coffee house locations in the metro area.

Land of 1000 Hills serves fabulous coffee that is also fair-trade and focuses on helping build and invest in communities around the world with their coffee business. I couldn’t pick a better place to have coffee with two other individuals who represent a business that cares so much about providing quality to its consumers as well.

I spent a little over an hour yesterday sipping an iced coffee and chatting with Becca and Jason about a wide variety of things – their travels in the Love Grown Foods bus this year, the background of the company, how I got into blogging, my vacation, things to do in and around Atlanta, Makenzie’s antics, and more. I like to think any outsider could see us as a passionate crew as we shared all about our different ventures and interests. Without a doubt, our conversations had me sparked with a good energy and vibe.

For example, the way Love Grown Foods has developed and grown in just around a year amazes me. They went from being offered in one store, to just under 100 stores, to now over 1000 stores across the nation and they’re still spreading like wildfire! Stories like that inspire me that if you put out a good product, the opportunities and rewards will come.

I think that is all any of us can hope to do with any of our goals, hopes, and dreams. We simply must put in the effort to give our best, open ourselves to opportunities, and then trust the process to work out. For me, I strive to share genuinely and honestly here in order to hopefully provide realness and quality to FFF. For my future ventures in personal training and consulting, I will focus on working hard to provide quality training programs/support/etc and I have to trust that will bring positive results for my goal. Even with my fitness endeavors, I can only take each day one at a time and recognize that my choices add up to how I progress. Yesterday emphasized to me that it all boils down to believing in goals, putting in the effort, remaining true to your values, and keeping a kind heart.

Yes, my simple coffee date left me with such detailed thoughts. It also left me with a lot of granola love!

Becca and Jason fed my addiction. So what else was there to do than immediately bust some out for yesterday’s pre-workout green smoothie?

A green smoothie topped with the Simple Oats granola makes perfect pre-workout fuel. And for the record, it’s quite the challenge capturing a photo like above before all the granola sinks. Nevertheless, it got me going for a great strength training workout followed up with sweating it out in a spinning class.

Ahhhh. It felt so good to be back. Now time to make today as good as yesterday. Have a good one, friends!

• Is there a certain company you love for what they stand for?
• Do simple things ever lead to in-depth tangents in your mind?