Workplace Wellness

Good morning, good morning!

I am feeling extra peppy today… want to know why?  Perhaps it’s all these awesome endorphins I have running through my body! Remember the wellness committee I’m a part of at my work, kFit?  Well, we rolled out an awesome new program called the kFit 60 Day Challenge.  This challenge/event, was a year in the making and my coworkers and I are so happy/proud that it has rolled out successfully.

We partnered with a personal trainer to bring our employees a comprehensive wellness challenge that would help exercise both their bodies and their minds.

Each week, we are given a set of workouts to complete either at home, or together after work.  Some people might be a little timid to workout in front of their coworkers, but I think it’s awesome.  As our trainer would say, those who sweat together, stay together!  The trainer also includes weekly blasts with nutritional tips and how to manage stress.

Yesterday after work, I attended one of the fitness classes and we completed this High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT):

The numbers at the top are the sequence of reps we had to do, and the names of the interval workouts are below.  For example, we would complete move #1 (downdogs) 15x, move #2 (Geckos) 15x, move #3 (UPA/Bridget) 15x, etc.  Then we would do it all again but with 20 reps, then 25 reps, then 20 again and finish of with 15 reps – NON STOP.  The goal was to finish the entire workout in 30 minutes.

This workout kicked my booty, literally.

After the class, I rushed home because i was STARVING.

On the menu: Turkey Tacos

Feed me.

I know I may be a lush about corporate wellness stuff, but I cannot stress how important it is in the workplace.  Every company should advocate wellness whether it is physical or mental.  Changing your lifestyle is your own decision and ultimately no one can change your behavior but yourself.  Employers, however, have a tremendous opportunity to see the value in adopting this change and help to reinforce the healthy behavior.

When I started at kCura over 3 years ago, I was significantly over weight and unhappy.

(Hilton Head Island, 2010)

Since adopting a healthier lifestyle I find myself more energized to go to work and more productive while I am there.

(Hilton Head Island, 2014 – 45 lbs. healthier and happier)

Workplace wellness also helps set the tone of a companies culture.  When a workplace create a supportive environment that keeps employees engaged, that in turn helps to motivate employees.

I think a lot of employers are slow to adopt this view because they don’t think it is worth the investment.

What I can tell from the past two weeks is that our employees are excited… and engaged… and motivated.  And our employees are the ultimate investment.

A Dash of This, A Splash of That and a Great Morning Run

Hola! Did you know that there is less than two weeks until summer?  Crazy.  Hope everyone has been motivated to stay on track to reach your summer fit goals! There is still time to get into a routine 🙂 Here are some helpful tips to get on track:

• Map out your workouts for the week -Things pop up unexpectedly everyday, but if you have a plan in mind before you start the day you are more likely to want to achieve your goal.
• Track your food – This really helped me in the beginning of my weight loss/fitness journey.  When you hold yourself accountable for what you put in your body throughout the day, you are guaranteed to see results 🙂
• Buy less snacks/desserts at the grocery store – Out of sight, out of mind.  When I’m really craving a dessert I try to opt for a healthy alternative like yogurt, honey and cinnamon or fresh fruit with a drizzle of almond butter!
• Tell your friends and family about your goals – If they are true friends, they will encourage your positive and healthy lifestyle and help you resist fatty or sugary indulgences.  Plus, if they are looking to get fit too, it is always great to have a workout buddy!

This morning I completed 4.5 miles as a part of my half-marathon training plan.  It was a beautiful run and I was so happy to see so many other runners out hitting the pavement with me.

I decided to run my route through the neighborhood instead of the lakeshore path because I had just run it on Sunday and wanted some scenic variety.  Plus, all of the turns and different streets keep things interesting so I’m less inclined to look down at my watch and see how far I’ve gone.

Once I got home, I whipped up some Greek yogurt with a scoop of protein powder, 1 tbsp. of organic honey and 1/2 tbsp. of almond butter.  I stirred it all together and added some fresh sliced up strawberries.

So delicious.  A perfect recovery treat.

Yesterday started with a big bowl of strawberries at work as well.  The day flew by in part because we had so many new hires start recently that it is definitely keeping the HR department busy. Fine by me considering its a four day week!

After work, I headed home to meet Brian so we could go to BvB practice together.  Since our game is NEXT WEEKEND, we have been bringing some male players to practice so we can get some good scrimmaging in.

Our walk over was very interesting.  One minute it was a clear day and then the next thing we knew, thick fog clouds were rolling in.

Yah, no joke.  You could barely see the field.

Despite the crazy fog, we had a really great practice and stayed out on the field until 8:30 p.m.!

By that time my stomach was growling loudly and I didn’t want to make something that would take a long time to cook.  After a few minutes of brainstorming Brian decided that he would grill up some chicken and I would throw together a big ol’ salad.

Into the bowl went chopped romaine lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, sweet bell peppers, avocado and some shredded mozzarella cheese.  Plus the chopped chicken, of course!  We topped the salad with a balsamic Dijon dressing that complimented the grilled chicken so well!

I could have eaten 3 of these!

For dessert: 1 brown rice, rice cake – a spread of plain Greek yogurt, a drizzle of honey and almond butter, a dash of cinnamon and a sprinkle of dark chocolate chips.

Ohhhh yahhhhhh.

Well, there is lots to do these next 3 days to prep for work and our wedding road trip.  Until tomorrow, friends!

Trails and Toning

Good Morning!

I’m awake very early today, not because I am heading to the gym… but because Bailey seems to be a little sick 😦  We are going to monitor her closely and see if we need to take her to the vet.  Sad puppy.

Yesterday was a great start to my week!  First of all, it was an absolutely gorgeous day in Chicago – clear – blue skies – mid sixties – wonderful.  For breakfast I opted for a Starbucks soy latte, fresh strawberries and a handful of almonds that left me feeling very satisfied and focused.

The first day of work back from vacation is always stressful and overwhelming.  There are so many emails to get through and so many people to follow-up with… I was happy that my breakfast started me off on the right foot.  It is really true that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I find that if I eat something really sugary in the morning – I crave sugar all day.  90% of my breakfast choices revolve around coffee, fresh fruit, nuts and or yogurt.  It is always important that I try to consume at least a 300 -400 calorie breakfast so that I am not snacking before lunch.

In the beginning of my weight loss journey, I thought that just by eating less food that pounds would just start falling off.  That was not true.  What occurred to me was that I needed to make sure that each meal was balanced and filling so that I was not searching for more food later in the day.

For lunch, some of my coworkers and I treated ourselves to one of our favorite loop spots – Toni Patisserie.

Toni’s is a little french cafe in the Chicago loop area that features decadent french pastries and cafe items.  I opted for the Salad Nicoise which came with a very generous portion of tuna, butter lettuce, cherry tomatoes, haricot verts, olives, a boiled egg, sliced baguette and some roasted potatoes.  Talk about a protein packed lunch!  The portion was huge, but that did not stop me from pretty much clearing my plate (I’m not a big fan of regular potatoes).  The meal was absolutely delicious and we all left very happy and satisfied.

Last week, I discovered a blog where some Chicagoians were raising money for the Boston Marathon tragedy.  In addition, they were hosting an “unofficial” Run for Boston that started close to where I work by the lake.  My coworker and I mapped out the Lakeshore trail and decided that we would participate and just run home from work!

The route ended up being just about 5 miles, with a little walking at the end.  It was a great day to be out on the trail running!

The views were gorgeous and the company was even better – we talked just about the whole run up and didn’t focus on speed – just the beautiful day that surrounded us.

When I got home, I stretched for a while and decided to complete one of the Tone It Up! workout videos – Lift and Tone Booty Routine.  My glutes were burnin’!!

Today starts the annual Tone It Up! Bikini Series and I am so excited to start incorporating more of their strength videos into my workout!  Summer is just around the corner 🙂

After my workout was complete and I cooled down, Brian and I started dinner.  On the menu?  Grilled chicken with salsa, baked sweet potato with Greek yogurt and cinnamon and a side salad.  Delicious!

Hope you all had a great start to your week!  Until next time 🙂

Madness in March

Hi there!

Someone was not happy to see me leave this morning…

It is a sad and happy day here in Chicago.  Last night we learned that one of our beloved Bears players will not be returning with us this coming season.  I have heard/read many opinions on the topic, but I think it is safe to say that Brian Urlacher is a great player and will be missed on the team.

Onto the HAPPY!  March Madness is in full swing today and I saw some really amazing outfits on the CTA.  I wish I could have snapped some pictures for you all, but I would have felt like a creep busting out my camera.

My coworkers and I have a NCAA Bracket Pool for our HR Department and the winner gets a good chunk of $$.  My favorite NCAA team is not in the tournament this year, so I will be rooting for some of my good friends alma maters.

Lunch

Yesterday’s lunch was pretty much grab and go.  I didn’t have time to pack my lunch like I usually do, so while I was getting my morning coffee I grabbed one of those Starbucks Protein Bistro Boxes.  I was a little apprehensive at first because I didn’t think it would keep me full from lunch to dinner, but it was quite delicious and filling!  The box came with a hard-boiled egg, sliced apples, grapes, two pieces of cheese, one museli bread and a single serving of Justin’s Honey Almond Butter.  I also had sliced cucumbers that I had in the fridge from a previous lunch.  Yum.

I needed a little sugar boost around 4:00 p.m. before my run so I ate 2 pieces of Dove Dark Chocolate.

After work, I headed straight to the gym to complete my training schedule for the day: 5 miles on the treadmill and a lot of stretching and foam rolling.  I was so exhausted once I got off the treadmill… the foam rolling felt so amazing.  Sometimes I feel like when I have a certain mileage I have to run for training, it almost makes it harder for me to complete than if I were just to wake up and run for fun.

Nevertheless, I felt great when I got home and wanted to cook up something healthy and flavorful.

Dinner

After I was greeted by one happy little pitbull, I immediately headed to kitchen and knew what I wanted to make.

Spicy Balsamic Chicken

This is one of my go-to, quick and simple recipes

Ingredients

2-3 organic boneless chicken breasts (1 made for lunch today)

3 tbs. of balsamic vinegar

1 tbs. honey

1 generous pinch of red pepper flakes (we like it spicy!)

1 dash of hot sauce

1 clove of minced garlic

Salt and Pepper

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat.  Butterfly the chicken breasts and season both sides with salt and pepper.  Add the chicken to the pan and cook 5-6 minutes per side.

2. While the chicken is cooking, combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, red pepper flakes, hot sauce and garlic and whisk together.  Add the mixture to the pan when there is about 5 minutes left and cook until sauce is thickened and chicken is cooked through.  I served this chicken along side organic white quinoa sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and haricot verts.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with haricot vert, it is a french green bean.  Haricot meaning beans and Vert meaning green!

Brian and I were both full and happy from this meal and the best part was that there was leftovers for me to take to lunch today!

At 9:00 p.m. I was craving something sweet, so I grabbed a chocolate zico coconut water to tie over my craving.  If you have never had one before, they are absolutely delicious and taste like a chocolate shake!

Last night, I updated my ‘Weight Loss’ page at the top of my blog… take a look if you want to learn more about my journey!

Have an amazing Thursday and good luck to your favorite team!