Gym Review: Thriv

I joined a gym today.  Joining a gym is a big risk to me just because I normally hate gyms.  It wasn't until recently that I learned to appreciate them and love them.  Plus I know that I have previously talked about not needing a gym.  The gym will never replace my bike or my love of doing things the traditional way (for example, taking a bike ride instead of a spin class)  Plus, this membership is attached to a 1 year contract.  To me there's the added risk of something happening and I'm going to waste money each month by not going.
I was originally planning on taking a tour and doing a test day at this gym and the other gym with a daycare.  I was going to review both gyms for you.  But, I really liked this gym so I decided to sign up instead of checking out the other one.  [Plus I didn't have to pay a signup fee if I joined today]  I'm super excited because this means that I can spend more time exercising.  Maybe I can actually gain that 4 pounds of muscle my trainer says I need to gain.  I have still decided to include my review.  Obviously I liked it enough to join but, I just wanted you to hear why I love it so much. 

Name:

Thriv Fitness Center

Address:

3 Commerce Blvd, Palm Coast, FL

Phone:

(386)446-7462

Website     Facebook

Hours:

Mon-Friday  5:30am-9:00pm

Saturday  8:00am-4:00pm

Sunday  9:00am-3pm 

Membership Prices:  Depending on which plan you choose it can be as low as $25 or as high as $45


Staff:  They are great.  I met the owner.  She's really nice and helpful.  I was amazed when they acknowledge Sunny before they said anything to me when I first walked through the door.  The staff in the daycare was great too.   

Cleanliness:  It was very clean.

Equipment:  Some is a bit outdated but they have a good variety and I didn't have to wait for anything. 

Amenities:  Daycare, lockers, a wide variety of classes and they also offer personal training

Classes:  Too many to count!  But, the ones I want to try are TRX, hot yoga and spinning

Other gym-goers:  These are some bad-ass people.  [In a good way]  At the school gym I am a very confident person.  But here, MAN do I feel out of my league.  But in a way I like that.  I like being pushed to get better [I'm slightly competitive]  

Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day

March is National Nutrition Month.  The theme this year is "Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day."  This statement is broad and specific all at the same time, in my mind.  If you type "healthy eating" into Google you get over 245 million results.  Obviously, this is a hot topic.  But, not every diet is right for every person.  I have tried a handful of diets over the years.  I even did a diet test for a month.  I stuck to a certain diet each week for a month to see how they compared.  And from reading up on 90% of the diets that are out there I know I definately can't do a raw vegan diet due to my dietary needs.  There are too many nuts and too much fat.  But it works for many other people including body builders and fitness models.  I also know that the Paleo diet seems completely crazy to me.  Plus, it's not the easiest to follow if you don't eat meat.  (It is possible and I'm NOT saying that people who follow it are crazy, it's just too crazy for me)

I follow the KT diet.  I eat what works for me.  And this is how I believe everybody should eat.  Stay away from the foods that have been deemed "bad for you" and eat the foods that work for your body, and your lifestyle.  

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has a TON of useful information.  Go check them out!  And just remember...  

Who's got 2 thumbs and great news??? THIS GIRL!

That's right!  I have BIG BIG BIG news!!  Last Friday I got my AFAA book in the mail. Saturday I signed up for my certification course. I am officially on my way to becoming a certified personal trainer! 2013 is seriously going to be my year. They have a schedule that says it's possible to finish the course in 30 days but since I've also got 4 classes and a lab to work on I think it will take me a bit longer. I'm so excited.
My goal is to finish by Kaylee's birthday in May. From the looks of it right now I'll finish way before then. I'll keep you updated on my progress.  
And another exciting thing that's driving me to finish? One of the local gyms are currently hiring trainers so, once I get my license I can get a job. Speaking of gyms, in the next few weeks I will be posting a gym review of the local gyms. The city I live in is so small that we only have 4 gyms. The city I grew up in had atleast 20.

NaBloPoMo Prompt:  Do you think it's better to play it safe or take risks?
My answer:  I think it's best to take safe risks.  Like I'm doing with my certification course.  To me it's a risk because I am spending money on something that I could hate or I could be really bad at.  But, it's a risk I'm willing to take because I could also love it and it could be a very lucrative thing for me (which is what I'm hoping for)

WIAW -- Sick Edition

Happy 1 year anniversary to the death of my gallbladder.  At 7:00 this morning exactly 1 year ago I was being wheeled into surgery to get it removed.  

Post surgery photos

Breakfast

Okay, so I kinda forgot until after.  But, as you can see it was delicious!  Fat free plain yogurt, 1/3 cup of blueberries, 1/8 of a cup of raspberries, and some sugar free maple syrup for sweetness.  140 calories, 19 grams of carbs, and 14 grams of protein.  Great way to start the day!  I also had a cup of coffee with 1/4 cup of light vanilla soymilk and a tablespoon of Stevia (warning: Stevia [and all other artificial sweeteners] cause bloating so, don't be worried if you notice your weight go up after you start using them)  

Lunch

Sorry it's blurry.  I stupidly decided to hold the plate while taking the picture.  My brain is still slightly shut off from being sick yesterday.  But this was my lunch.  Half of my squash that was leftover from last nite, 1/4 cup of peas, the garlic I had in with the squash and 2 portobello caps.  I used my spray butter, a sprinkle (a large sprinkle) of ranch powder, and a few shakes of hot sauce to give it a bit more flavor.  

Dinner

About a week ago we promised Kaylee and Mantha that we'd go out to Chinese tonite.  My stomach handled dinner hast nite okay so I figured I'd be safe to go.  The one Chinese buffet in town has a hibachi grill (which is the only thing I can safely eat.)  Before this one opened I had to go to St. Augustine for Chinese.  I always hated having to drive home while battling a food coma.  I talked about hibachi (or Mongolian BBQ) in a previous post so, if you don't know what it is take a look HERE.  Helpful diet tip:  Hibachi is one of the healthiest options at a Chinese buffet.  You control everything that goes into it.  There are no huge questions about calories, fat, sugar and all the other nutritional values of what you're eating.


{Unfortunately we went to dinner later than normal and I completely forgot to take a picture.  Sorry}


What did you have today? 

National Banana Bread Day

Bananas.  One of my most favorite fruits.  I actually eat a banana 6 mornings a week (occasionally 7.)  So when I found out that today was National Banana Bread Day I couldn't help but jump on it!  I wanted to put my own spin on the day though.  Banana Bread Pops using my new never been used cake pop pan.

Why make pops?  Well, for one, I wanted to use my pan and since we are on the health train in this house, cake doesn't make an appearance often anymore.  I also like to do things differently.  I like to be unique.  Plus, it's conveniently pre-portioned for you!

This recipe was taken out of my handy-dandy very loved Cook This, Not That!  350 Calorie book.  It made 36 cake pops and one large muffin.  For the nutritional I just put in 36 servings so, it's actually a bit lower in calories then the facts say because I'm betting the muffin was equal to 3 or 4 pops.

Ingredients 4 large ripe bananas
3/4 cup grated carrots (you could also use zucchini, but if you do make sure you squeeze out all the water)
2 cups white or whole wheat flour (I used 1 cup of each)
1/2 cup greek yogurt (I actually used fat free vanilla regular yogurt)
Egg substitute equivalent to 2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Direction

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mash your bananas (I like to give them a whirl in my food processor to make sure they are fully smushed)
3. Mix together the bananas, yogurt, egg substitute (or egg whites), and vanilla
4. In a separate bowl mix together carrots, flour, baking soda and baking powder.
5. Stir dry ingredients into the wet
6.  Spray your cake pop pan and fill each hole with batter
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes until done
8. Let cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes and then place on a cooling rack
9. Repeat steps 6-8 until all your batter is gone.

Look at the calories.  It's crazy!   Only 44 calories per serving and 0.1 gram of fat!  These are going to be my new snack for after the gym.  

Motivation Post

A few weeks ago I had a really hard time motivating myself to exercise.  I probably did about 45 minutes in 4 days.  That's really bad for me since I'm used to exercising 45 minutes A DAY 6 days a week.  It really annoyed me.  I did some research and my lack of motivation (and a few other symptoms) leads me to believe that I have just been overtraining and my body needs the break.  

While I was lacking motivation to workout I gained motivation to find ways to gain motivation.  Here's a few tips to help you get your groove back.

1. Buy yourself some new gear.  Clothes, shoes, equipment, whatever you want/need.  Spend as little or as much as you can afford.  I have been avoiding spending money on a new set of gym clothes.  But, I bought myself some new stuff to try to get me to WANT to goto the gym so I could show them off.  (Oh and I did a review on the workout pants in the picture above HERE)
2. Switch up your routine.  If you normally do the elliptical, switch to the bike.  If you normally do cardio, switch to strength training.  You get the idea.  Make your workout fun!
3. Try something new. This is along the same lines as the previous tip.  Sometimes people lose their motivation because they are bored with what they are doing.  Always wanted to try a spin class?  Then do it!  Is it starting to warm up like it is here?  Then get outside and go for a jog.  
4. Phone a friend.  I know that I occasionally think about how it might be fun to have a gym buddy.  Friends help make exercise fun and they also help keep you motivated and working to your full potential.  So call up a friend and go burn some calories.

And if you still can't motivate yourself then go outside.  Just walk around and think, or look at the trees, birds and clouds.  Because while you're trying to find motivation you're also burning a few calories.  


And to close this post a random fact (that surprisingly enough I found in my psychology textbook).  If you have an obese spouse your risk of being/staying obese goes up 37%.  If you have obese friends your risk goes up by 57%.  So maybe that phone a friend tip is helping with more than just your motivation.  

How do you find your motivation?

I'm BACK!

My crazy weeks are done and I can focus again on y'all!  Honestly, nothing exciting has happened over the past few weeks.  This post might be a bit long due to the fact that I have a ton of recipes to share. 

Let's start with the Superbowl.  I never have enough friends to have a party but I love the idea of Superbowl party food.  So, I did a themed dinner that night.  It was delicious.  I did Spinach artichoke dip, homemade tortilla chips, cauliflower buffalo bites, and portabello pizzas.  The recipes for the dip and the buffalo bites are located below the picture. 

SkinnyTaste: Buffalo Cauliflower
SkinnyTaste: Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Oh and I did some angel food cake cupcakes with team colored sugar on top.

Next up, the Korean New Year, Seollal.  I made Bibimbap and chamchi-jeon (Korean tuna cakes)  except I did them with crab because I was in a crabby mood.  I didn't get a picture of any of it.  It was actually gone too quick. 

ZenKimchi Chamchi-Jeon

Oh and I just have to show you this!  My father and mother in law sent this to Sunny last week. 

 
Her own hanbok!  Isn't she simply adorable???  

Fast forward a few days to Valentine's Day.  To Ken and I this day has become just a day for the kids.  And it's honestly all about the candy.  We exchange cards and he will buy my flowers but, it's nothing major.  This year I gave him a bag of Snickers with a reason why I love him for every piece in it.  He gave me a bag of Valentine's Day 3 Musketeers.  I think I've talked about 3 Musketeers before.  Each piece has under 1 gram of fat so, I can still have chocolate without causing myself pain. This year he bought me a bag of Strawberry Dark Chocolate ones.  They are amazing.  I have dubbed them the "poor man's Russel Stover" because they taste so close to the high end strawberry cream chocolates.   I eat one a night.  I would highly recommend them.  7 pieces has 6 grams of fat and 180 calories.  That means 1 has 0.86 grams of fat and 25.8 calories.  Not too bad right?  Healthiest candy I've found so far.

Florida kills me sometimes.  The other morning I woke up and it was 34 degrees outside.  34!!  I decided it was the type of day that called for chili.  Well, by 2 pm it was around 65 degrees.  Definitely not typical chili weather.  But, despite that, I still made it.  I was amazed at how it turned out.  It was really good awesome!  I took a few big risks with some of the ingredients.  Kaylee and Mantha aren't normally fond of sweet potatoes (that's why there's only 1/2 of one in the recipe).  If I had been making it for me I would have added a whole one.  The soy crumbles aren't normally liked by non-vegetarians.  But, even Ken raved about it.  Note about the Crumbles.  If you are seriously on a no-fat diet then you need to buy the BOCA soy crumbles.  They are the only ones that have 0g of fat.  I picked up a different brand and didn't pay attention so that is why there is extra fat in the recipe 

Veggie Overload Chili
Serves 10 calories 136 fat 1.09 grams fiber 6 grams protein 12.2 grams

Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup chili powder
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
2 bay leaves
12 oz Ground Crumbles Meatless (1 bag)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
12 oz dark beer
.25 sweet potato, cubed
1 cup corn (fresh, frozen or canned)
16 oz mushrooms, quartered
42 oz Diced Tomatoes 
16 oz tomato sauce 

Directions

1. Saute onions, sweet potato and garlic until golden.
2. Add in the spices and cook for another 2 minutes
3. Stir in tomato paste and meatless crumbles
4. Next put in chocolate, beer,tomato sauce and tomatoes bring to a boil then reduced and simmer for 30 minutes
5. After 30 minutes add the corn, and mushrooms.
6.  Bring back to a boil and simmer for another 15 minutes

 I have a post in the works about regaining motivation.  I kist my motivation a few weeks ago while I wasn't blogging (hmmmm, I wonder if there's a connection?  I hadn't thought of it before now)  I bought myself a new pair of pants for the gym in order to get myself pumped.  

I bought them at Target for $20.  They are made by Champion and they are AH-MA-ZING.  When I worked out in my other capris I kept having to adjust them every 10 minutes.  The only time I had to adjust these was when I got out of the car and when I accidentally pushed them up.  I have one problem with them though.  They are made of 84% polyester and 16% spandex.  I'm very paranoid about them getting snagged.  

That's my February in a very big nutshell.  How has your month been?