Happy Monday! I hope you enjoyed your weekend. I had a wonderful weekend full of sunny weather, picnics, wine, watching the Warriors game and eating some delicious meals. Today, I’m back for another recipes, round-ups and Q+A post. I’ll showcase some interesting links from around the web, throwback to some old posts of mine, answer your anonymous questions and highlight some delicious recipes I find on the web!
Around the web:
- I’m loving this post from Kayla on 26 lessons she learned from being 26.
- If you’re in need of some getaway inspiration, Gina has rounded up some great weekend getaways for couples!
- This workout from Patricia looks like a blast, so grab a partner and get moving!
- Feeling overwhelmed and ahead of yourself? Read this post by Lindsay on pausing and embracing the life you have.
Throwback:
- Planning a vacation this summer? I rounded up 15 healthy snacks to pack for traveling.
- In this post, I share how I balance my lifestyle with healthy and not-so-healthy foods.
Ask me anything:
Ask your questions here!
Q: How much cardio do you do?
A: I shared my cardio routine and suggestions for you in this post. I currently do about three cardio sessions a week in the form of sprints on the treadmill. My sprint routine involves doing 8-10 twenty second sprints on 11.5-12mph with one to two minute walking intervals in between. That’s all I do. Three times a week.
Q: When your macros changed, how did it affect your body composition and energy levels?
A: I used to count macros religiously every single day because I was focusing on growing my physique and preparing for fitness shoots and events. Now, I don’t count everyday and I just maintain a relaxed, balanced lifestyle, but when I stopped counting, I did notice a few subtle changes. Firstly, I did gain a small layer of fat and I lost a little bit of muscle. This was to be expected as I probably wasn’t eating as much protein as normal, I wasn’t lifting as much as I was before and I was indulging in more cocktails and treats than normal. I also noticed that as I lowered my carb intake (this occurred naturally as I stopped counting since I was eating a TON of carbs when I was tracking), I wasn’t as lean and ‘ripped’ looking as I was before. Clearly, this means that my body responds super well to carbs when I balance them out perfectly with protein and fat. I actually dropped a little weight at first when I stopped counting because I was naturally eating more protein and fat than I was before, which is more filling to me. I also wasn’t lifting as much and working out as hard, so I lost muscle, which weighs a lot.
On This Fit Chick:
On my blog: My post on maintaining balance while on vacation was a hit! It’s nice to hear some of you have found that vacation balance too!
On my Instagram: I started the first round of Adidas giveaways! I have a LOT more to come on Instagram, so follow along to enter!
On my Twitter: A delicious meal I ate that included foods I eat everyday!
What I want to eat right now:
- Lindsay’s Lemon Macadamia Nut Cookies! So refreshing for summer!
- This super easy and delicious looking salmon and roasted vegetable dinner!
- A chocolate protein smoothie made with dates for added sweetness! Genius idea.
- Amanda’s chocolate ice cream smoothie because, warm weather calls for cool drinks!
- Fire up the grill and dig into Lindsay’s Asian Flank Steak!
Now you tell me…
How much cardio do you do?
Fruit smoothies or chocolate/vanilla smoothies?
Favorite BBQ dish?