Peace and Fitness

"Do not follow the idea of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself. Your body and mind will become clear and you will realize the unity of all things". Dogen

Welcome to peaceandfitness.com. The idea for this website came from a burning desire to share my passion for health and fitness with the public as well as with my many dedicated and wonderful local students and clients. From fitness tips, and opinionated blogs, to favorite links and more, this site will offer information about all aspects of body/mind wellness. I encourage feedback and hope to be able to answer any questions you may have.

Wishing you peace and fitness always... and all ways

It’s All About the Chi-a

October 13, 2011 by bonni Leave a Comment

Months ago I learned about chia seeds…probably on the Oprah show. No, not the same chia seeds that you make the chia pets with, but from the same source. A few weeks ago my niece, Julie, told me she was making a great pudding with them and I should try it. I kept meaning to buy them but it wasn’t until yesterday that I finally did and I suspect I was not alone. It was after a segment on yesterday morning’s Dr. Oz show about these very seeds, that I found myself seeking them out on my twice a week pit stop at Whole Foods. According to the good doc and several other nutritional gurus, chia seeds are one of the newest super-foods. Chia is the new and improved flax.

Touted as higher in omega 3s than salmon, rich in calcium, obscenely high in fiber, a good source of protein, and a good source of hydration, these seeds are easily digest-able and don’t even have to be ground up. As if that wasn’t good enough, there is great evidence that they can lower blood pressure and because they slow down the way our bodies convert carbs in to simple sugars, studies support their ability to control blood sugar. This leads scientists to believe they may have great benefits for diabetics. Still not sold? Chia seeds can absorb 10 times their weight in water, making us feel full so they are a great way to reduce food consumption and food cravings. Additionally, a big bonus for anyone on a plant-based diet, because of their “gelling” properties they can be used as an egg substitute when baking. In fact, though I haven’t looked it up (yet) on the show they baked wonderful looking muffins with them, which were only about 150 calories each! If you want to include the seeds in your diet and keep it simple, you can sprinkle them on your salad, mix them into a shake or just use your imagination and come up with some creative ideas and share with us.

I googled “chia pudding,” and came up with a bunch of recipes, all of them simple! I mixed 1/4 cup of the seeds with a little over a cup of almond milk and mashed half a banana in. I stirred it well, let it sit for about 15 minutes, stirred again, sprinkled some cinnamon on top, covered it and put it in the fridge overnight. I haven’t tasted it yet, but it sure looks like pudding, though I am sure it will have a bit of a seedy consistency. I’ll let you know as I will definitely be having some with (or as) breakfast this morning.

Since it is VFT, I might as well keep talking food. Last night was dinner at Falafel Bistro and that place NEVER disappoints. First the waitress brought us 3 soups to sample; chicken vegetable, (which Mitch said was great) yellow split pea and garlic cauliflower. I tried both of those and though they were both great, the garlic cauliflower was in a league of it’s own, so we ordered more to share. Mitch had falafel and I had their vegan mushroom veggie patties over a bed of quinoa with a side of hummus and a salad with avocado. This meal was heaven on earth for a vegan dining out at a “mainstream” restaurant. I must always add that their food is “clean,” which means no next day bloat or weight gain from too much salt or additives. Everything is so fresh and this is one place Mitch and I BOTH totally love.

Thanks to Carol for the follow up on BL’s Courtney. She is doing really well and had skin removal surgery earlier in the year, losing another 31 pounds (just from the removal of the skin). She is also nurturing a relationship with one of the contestants from this summer’s Extreme Makeover Biggest Loser show. Marci and Courtney, 2 of my all-time favorite BL contestants.

I just typed and then deleted an entire paragraph about Derek, Kyle and Nicole. In as much as I am an open book, I respect their privacy and so I will simply say, I am incredibly proud to be your mom, every day and in every way. All 3 of you have so much wonderful stuff going on in your lives and that makes my heart so happy.

Off for some outside peaceandfitness with the bigredguy. Make it a great day! I’ll “chi-a” back here, tomorrow.

Ch-ch-ch Chia Seeds: You Just Can’t Go Wrong (fitsugar.com)
Praise for Chia Seeds [13 Things to Know] (fooducate.com)

Filed Under: Food, health and happiness, Plant-based diet, Recipes, vegan thursday, weight loss ·

Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Hail…

October 12, 2011 by bonni 3 Comments

It is becoming more and more apparent that the blue team is truly the underdog. While I believe age is a case of mind over matter, and if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter, age related injuries and a natural “slowing down,”is just a fact of life. Back to that in a minute.

Last night we got to see 3 past contestants come back, each to work with a different team. Hannah came back ( looking incredibly hot!) to work with the black team, Adam from season 10 came back to work with the red team and Marci (I love Marci) came back to work with the blue team. Marci looks so buff, but then again, she does own a gym. I had to wonder how Courtney is doing, but if she was mentioned, I didn’t catch it. Red team went hiking, which is something I would love to do sometime soon. My boy Ramon took on the leadership roll for his team and carried the equivalent of his lost pounds, in sand bags, for 5 miles so that no one else on his team had to. Blue team hit the beach for their workout and black team hit the kitchen for a Jennie O commercial aka a cooking lesson, and then the gym.

The challenge was interesting, but here’s where the age came in, at least for Bonnie. The challenge was a relay race that would have the team members passing off a box filled with letter from home. Once the person passed off the box, he would run to the front. Once you had the box in your hand, you couldn’t step forward, just pass that box off to the person in front of you. The big catch was that the contestants would be faced with the elements of heat, rain with lots of mud, wind and even snow. Red team took a quick lead but black team soon found out if they stepped up the pace, they could pass them. Poor blue team. How could Bonnie manipulate through that snow and mud with her knees in the condition they are in? My heart broke for her, Becky and Mike. In the end, the black team would emerge winners and the opportunity to read those letters from home. Alison tells them that there is a surprise and they will ALL get to read their letters, but black team would also have video chat with those family members. Lots of tears came with those chats….of course.

Last chance workout found Anna and her team out on the new BL tennis courts. Anna let them through lots of tennis drills and the object of this game was to have their feet never stop moving. I enjoyed this and think the team did, too. Bob took his team in the pool and though I love working out in the pool, I didn’t think this was a great place for the last chance workout but Bob knows his stuff. Red team hit the gym and while Dolvett is growing on me some, I still am unimpressed with his militant training. He tells his team he is sick of losing. I hate to say it’s not about him, but it’s not!

The weigh in was rather typical for this point of the competition. Blue team weighed first and Bonnie had a great loss of 7 pounds, definitely giving her another week on the ranch. Black team weighed next and they hit their goal assuring them all another week. No double digits for either team this week. Red team is up last and while the girls had very small numbers, Vinny and Ramon blew up that weigh in with 8 and 11 pounds lost, respectively. Ramon had the only double digit loss this week and has, by the way, been my top pick since week one and I continue to like him more and more.

With blue team facing another elimination it is up to Bonnie to choose between sending home Becky or Coach Mike. Hard that it was, she sent Mike home and he was pissed. Hey, he is still going to the Super Bowl. With only 2 people left on the blue team, I suspect they will be juggling teams around soon. Maybe even next week when we see Bob leave the ranch to go home with with Sunny. Not sure what that’s about, but that leaves me counting the days till next Tuesday.

Filed Under: Biggest Loser ·

The Wisdom of Chris Powell

October 11, 2011 by bonni 1 Comment

Yesterday, celebrity trainer/transformation specialist, Chris Powell was the guest on the Dr. Oz show. If you are not familiar with who he is, he hosted Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition this summer and is known for moving in with extremely obese individuals and helping them lose hundreds of pounds over the course of a year. (He does NOT live with them for the entire year!!!) On the show he shared one of his biggest success secrets, when working with his clients….cycling between high-carb and low-carb days. I love him for reminding us all that carbs are not an enemy, in fact they are the very fuel we need to live healthfully. The issue with carbs is that because they ARE the very fuel our bodies need for energy, we burn them before we ever burn our fat. Powell has found (as have others before him!) that by cycling between the high-carb and low-carb days we can eliminate carb cravings and give our bodies days of low-carbs, forcing us to burn fat as an energy source.

First thing we all have to do is define good carbs, and bad ones and then eliminate the bad ones from the equation–at least 6 days a week. That means no potato chips, no void of nutrition breads and cereals, no cake, crackers, cookies, etc. He allows for wraps, grainy breads, rice, pasta and potatoes on the high-carb days and to my recollection he did NOT insist they be brown or whole grain, but from a health stand point, I would stick to the grainier, darker ones. On the high-carb days, fats were minimal, but on the low-carb days, fats were mandatory. Healthy fats like avocado, salmon, and cottage cheese were included in each meal, but no bread, wraps, etc. While on a high-carb day, breakfast might be granola with fruit, on a low-carb day, breakfast could be and egg white omelette with a lot of veggies and a slice of avocado.

I’ll give you that there are many roads which all lead to a slimmer body and this one takes a bit of learning, thinking and planning, but it has obviously worked for many once severely obese individuals, so I thought it was worth sharing this morning. If you google Chris Powell on the Dr. Oz show, you can learn much more about this. As a vegan, and a many times a day exerciser, I tend to be an over-carber and this gave me something to think about. A vegan would have to be very creative to follow this type of plan, but I think it can be done.

Speaking of extreme weight loss, here it is Tuesday–Biggest Loser Day. It always gets more exciting as we get to know the contestants and watch the survival of the fittest! First, I’ll be excited to welcome some of my good friends to class tonight at TFC. I’m so happy that they will be joining our group and the energy of our Tuesday/Saturday morning “family.”

Finally, a big congratulations to Jeff for hitting your mark and becoming a member of the 100 club. Can’t wait to see you this weekend.Congratulations to BJ as your weight loss journey continues and you are over a quarter of the way there! Congrats to Carol for staying on track and getting in your exercise even while vacationing and cruising. Big round of applause for my co-worker Carolina (Carol’s kickboxing instructor) on completing the Chicago marathon…just another notch on her marathon belt. Congrats to Sheila who, through healthier eating and moderate exercise, continues to see the pounds coming off slowly but very surely, again proving their are many paths. Thanks for stopping in. Make it a terrific Tuesday!

Filed Under: Biggest Loser, Food, weight loss ·

Chick “peace” and Fitness

October 10, 2011 by bonni 2 Comments

What a perfectly wet weekend. Something about Yom Kippor and rain, that seem to just go hand in hand. Though we didn’t attend services, Mitch and I had an incredibly quiet day, with much time to ponder the year behind us and look forward to the one ahead. We ended up purging and cleaning, which felt right to us. Having fasted most of the day, I was looking forward to something appropriate to eat for break-the-fast, dinner. Since all the typical foods were out for me, I whipped up a batch of tun-o, my very favorite alternative to tun-a! It’s the perfect thing to put on a bagel and though it’s not low in calories, it’s not a diet-wrecker, either. Here’s how I make it: (and I highly recommend it!)

I rinse a can of chick peas and then put them in a bowl with a few spoons of veganaise (which I buy at Whole Foods). Then I mash them (leaving a few whole peas as they can be stubborn) and add some chopped red onion, chopped celery and the most important ingredient–some chopped half-sour, dill pickles. I even added just a drop of the pickle juice this time, which actually helped the texture become more tuna, like. Chock full of fiber, protein and flavor, this is great food for a sandwich spread, or an appetizer with pita chips. One can will make a nice size bowl, or enough for about 4 sandwiches. YUM!

It rained so hard and so much Saturday night, that I thought our newly planted herb/veggie garden would be washed away in the morning, but there was only one casualty, a pineapple plant, which had no fruit growing, so no loss. The tomato plants seem to be having a hard time getting started, but I am optimistic that most of them will make it. The cherry tomato plant is doing really well, and I never even took it out of its large container. I think I might just leave it as it is. The tomatoes at Publix were not even worthy of buying, making me extra excited to get out to some farmer’s markets now that fall is here.

And with fall here, the weather across most of the country is just right for running. I am wondering how it felt in Chicago, for the mararthon, yesterday morning with the temperature being unusually warm for October. If anyone ran it, or knows someone that did, let me know how it turned out for them. This time of year always makes me want to get out on the streets and get my motor running, and I did get in some of that this weekend, too.

This time of year is also open-enrollment time in the world of medical insurance. If you know someone 65 or over, shopping for a new insurance plan, please suggest they consider one that offers FREE gym memberships WITH classes! It has become quite obvious that those that participate in a group class, like SilverSneakers, take much more advantage of this benefit and hence reap the benefits of regular, consistent exercise as well as socialization and plain old FUN! In fact, at SilverSneakers our motto is all about making friends, having fun and getting fit. Here in South Florida, Humana, Care Plus, Coventry and some other smaller providers offer the SilverSneakers benefit. The providers are different from county to county and state to state, but chances are great that you can jump on the benefit, right where you are.

If you are a local and were a member of Sunrise Fitness (the old Gold’s gym) in Sunrise, come on over and check us out at Tamarac Fitness Center. We have a wonderful SilverSneakers program offering 8 classes a week, Monday-Friday. If you are not SilverSneakers eligible, and were paying for your membership, talk to Ron or Wendie and they will definitely give you a great deal. Tell them I sent you! Call 954-726-1070 or come on over and try a class. We are located at 7935 West McNab Road, just west of University Drive. I will be there today teaching an 8:30 am, cardio/mat class and an 11:30 SilverSneakers class. There is always room for a few more…

Wherever you are, make sure to get some peace and some fitness into YOUR day. Your mind and your body will thank you. I thank you for stopping in. Make it a great Monday and a great Columbus Day!

Filed Under: Food, Holidays and celebrations, Plant-based diet, Recipes, Silversneakers, This and That ·

It’s All About the Chi-a

Off for some outside peaceandfitness with the bigredguy. Make it a great day! I’ll “chi-a” back here, tomorrow.

Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Hail…

It is becoming more and more apparent that the blue team is truly the underdog. While I believe age is a case of mind over matter, and if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter, age related injuries and a natural “slowing down,”is just a fact of life. Back to that in a minute.

The Wisdom of Chris Powell

Chick “peace” and Fitness

Wherever you are, make sure to get some peace and some fitness into YOUR day. Your mind and your body will thank you. I thank you for stopping in. Make it a great Monday and a great Columbus Day!

Recent Posts

Monthly Articles

Categories

It’s All About the Chi-a

Off for some outside peaceandfitness with the bigredguy. Make it a great day! I’ll “chi-a” back here, tomorrow.

Related articles

Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Hail…

It is becoming more and more apparent that the blue team is truly the underdog. While I believe age is a case of mind over matter, and if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter, age related injuries and a natural “slowing down,”is just a fact of life. Back to that in a minute.

The Wisdom of Chris Powell

Chick “peace” and Fitness

Wherever you are, make sure to get some peace and some fitness into YOUR day. Your mind and your body will thank you. I thank you for stopping in. Make it a great Monday and a great Columbus Day!

Recent Posts

Monthly Articles

Categories