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The SEXY Diet Part V

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Boundaries

Do you have boundaries?

So…story time. I’ve been hanging out with this boy (man? guy? dude?) and it’s been really fun! I’m jazzed to have a partner in crime that loves good food, working out and vacations as much as I do. If I have learned anything in the past year, it is that vacation is WAY more fun with other people :)

In this past week, I realized something that I believe most women deal with…I was eating JUST LIKE HIM! Yeah, I’ll have a triple patty burger. Yes, I’ll eat the entire 16 ounce prime rib. Sure, I’ll have a twenty ounce americano with four shots of espresso. Half a bottle of wine? Why not!

And then it hit me…my shorts were fitting tighter. I was going to bed at night feeling absolutely ill. What the hell was going on here?

I was letting HIM be the pace setter at meal time and not paying attention to what I needed.

Have you ever noticed this? Do you eat the same as your significant other (even if they have a totally different body type than you)? What about your friends? Do your eating patterns reflect those that you spend the most time with (I bet they do)? Do you get frustrated that so and so can eat such and such and you can only have X, Y and Z?

Guess what? That’s just reality! I don’t need the same amount of food as a 225 lb dude. You have to take the time to discover what foods and how much and when works best for you. My man friend likes skipping breakfast, drinking coffee till noon, ravaging 8 eggs and 12 slices of bacon and plowing six bacon cheese burgers for dinner. Do I think that is the diet plan that works best for me? Absolutely not!

This week, I encourage you to create boundaries for yourself. I have gone back to what I know nourishes me. Pre-workout breakfast of eggs and coconut oil, short americanos, post-workout yams and salmon, a real lunch with lots of veggies, and a decent dinner with about four ounces of protein. Oh yeah, and I have just about given up on wine. All alcohol makes me sick…

Can you relate? Let me know in the comments if you have experienced this before, and if creating boundaries for yourself is helpful :)

Love,

Heather

The OPENutrition Seminar Series will be at Alpine Crossfit June 22nd and 23rd from 12 to 3:30! If you want to come learn the why’s and how’s of sports nutrition and eating psychology, join us! Register in advance online at www.regonline.com/OPENCFAlpine. Come take advantage of hydrostatic body fat testing as well provided by Rosanne Allen. See you there!

Our second OPENutrition Challenge Webinar is going LIVE Monday, June 24th from 6 to 8 p.m. Mountain Time. For thirty bucks you get a lesson on how to gain lean mass, shed body fat and boost performance. Register in advance online at www.regonline.com.

Loving the SEXY diet blog posts? Have you ordered your tank yet? Hop on to our store to get your SEXY tank tops ;) We have new colors and designs coming down the pipe here shortly!

The SEXY Diet Part IV

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Who regulates your metabolism?

Have you ever had the experience of sitting at home on the couch, feeling like you’d been hit by truck? You’re lethargic, tired, EXHAUSTED even and would love for nothing more than to just sit around and eat? Maybe have a drink or two? Your mood is low and therefore so is your energy…

AND THEN…You get a phone call. It’s somebody REALLY cute. They want to know what you’re doing. No…you weren’t just sitting around in your “fat” clothes thinking about plowing a pint of Ben and Jerry’s…Yes! You would love to go out and catch a show! What time? Right now? YEAH!

What the hell just happened there? A few minutes ago you were feeling low, maybe a little sad and DEFINITELY had no energy. But all of a sudden, just from hearing a voice on the other end of the phone, you suddenly HAVE ENERGY! Sweatpants come off, spoon for eating the ice cream goes back in the drawer, you throw on your skinny jeans and you are out the door! How did this happen?

The reality is that other people affect our metabolism. People with lots of energy and spark for life are contagious! It is FUN to be around other people that crack jokes, make you laugh, make you smile, and drag you out the door for a workout when all you want to do is be lazy. THESE people can give us more energy than any carbohydrates under the sun. Period.

On the flip side, do you know anyone that absolutely sucks the life out of you? Maybe they are a chronic bitcher. Maybe their name is Negative Nancy. When you are around them, and they open their mouth, you immediately feel like your being attacked. Your under stress. You slouch a little. Your breathing gets shallow. Maybe you even hold your breath. Just being in the same room as this person makes you feel AWFUL about yourself.

THESE people will always make us feel like we are in an energy deficit, no matter how much food you eat.

This week, I encourage you to take an inventory of the people in your life. Who BOOSTS your metabolism and makes you feel SEXY, alive and down right stoked? Who makes you feel like you need to curl up under a rock and die? Do you have the courage to spend MORE time with the people that light you up, and get the hell away from the ones that feel downright abusive?

I’ve been having a blast spending more time with people that inspire me to get outside, exercise, eat really good food and PLAY way more often. If you have those people in your life, don’t forget to tell them how much you appreciate their time :) Have a great week!

The SEXY Diet Part III

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WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM FOOD?

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It is a few weeks into the OPENutrition Challenge for a lot of folks, and I’m getting a lot of emails about the following complaints:

I’m tired.

I have low energy.

I’m not feeling very enthusiastic.

I’m bored.

My response to this is: What are you expecting from your food?

Often times, we make it to where we are expecting our diet to “fix” us. If we just eat the right right foods we will have tons of energy, we will be beautiful, we will never have bad workouts, we will be cool calm and collected, etc.

That’s a lot to expect from what you put in your mouth!

If I could make any recommendation for the folks who are feeling like they want to throw in the towel and lick their wounds with a mouthful of ice cream, it would be to STOP expecting food to do so much for you.

Feeling blue? Call a friend!

Had a long day at work? Take a bath!

Not setting a PR every time you step in the gym? WELCOME TO REALITY!

Feeling tired? MAYBE YOU NEED TO SLEEP!

I don’t mean to come off harsh, but I see a lot of us pointing the finger at food at blaming it for not giving us the life we want. Food is powerful, but it does not have the power to create the abundant, loving, rich life that you may be seeking. You may need to get out of your kitchen and starting DOING things. If you want to feel sexy, put on your best most flattering out fit and go strut your stuff! Don’t have any clothes that fit and flatter you now? GO BUY SOME! Buy something that makes you FEEL sexy right now in this moment, rather than waiting till the stars are alined to love yourself.

Keep up the great work everyone! I know it is easy to turn to food to make you feel better, but often times we don’t need more (or less) food, we need to START leading the lives we believe we will have once our body/diet/fitness is “just right”.

If I had my “ideal” body with chiseled abs, a tall perky ass and double C tits, you know what I would do? I’d go to Victoria Secret and buy some lingerie to adorn myself with. Want to guess what is on my agenda for the week? ;)

Love,

Heather

HAPPY SUMMER!

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Hello from OPENutrition! It’s that time of year where everyone is getting outside, working on their tans, hopefully getting in some vacation time and enjoying their training! I’m personally excited for all the great food summer has to offer! Who doesn’t get excited about fresh fish, grill outs, and farmer’s markets?!


With all the fun summer has to offer, business has picked up around here at OPENutrition! We have SIX seminars coming up in the month of June to help you dial in your food for the summer months. Whether you are looking to shed your winter coat, add some new lean mass or set personal records in the gym, we are here to help! The OPENutrition Seminar Series has now gone LIVE on the internet as well. We had our first ever webinar last month, and it was a great success! Be on the look out for more of those being offered this summer.

In addition to putting on the OPENutrition Seminar and Challenges, we are also working with lots of athletes one on one. If you are looking for a nutrition coach that specializes in sports nutrition, eating psychology and developing a sustainable plan, we are just a phone call away! You can book those by emailing me personally at Heather@OPENutrition.com.

For all of our awesome supporters, we now have an online store for you to order your OPENutrition apparel! We have the MY DIET IS SEXY tank tops in stock, as well two new t-shirt designs. Head on over to our store to grab some new clothes ;)

It has been a phenomenal year so far. I cannot say thank you enough to all of the gyms and athletes that have helped propel OPENutrition. I continue to be amazed that I literally have my dream job, traveling around the country helping athletes improve their sports nutrition and their relationship with food. Every single day of work is truly gratifying!

Have a great summer everyone! Enjoy the good food and the sunshine!

 

OPENutrition Summer 2013 Seminar Schedule

 

Register online at OPENutrition.com/seminar-series
If your gym is interested in hosting the OPENutrition Seminar Series, please send an email to Heather@OPENutrition.com. We are currently booking seminars for the fall.

 

June 1st + 2nd

CrossFit MHZ

Frederick, Colorado

OPENutrition Seminar Series
Register here!

June 6th
CrossFit Eminence
Thornton, Colorado
Competition Nutrition Seminar
Register here!

June 8th + 9th
CrossFit Verve
Denver, Colorado
OPENutrition Seminar Series
Register here!

June 15th + 16th
Flatirons CrossFit
Boulder, Colorado
OPENutrition Seminar Series
Register here!

June 22nd + 23rd
Alpine CrossFit
Wheat Ridge, Colorado
OPENutrition Seminar Series
Register here!

June 29th + 30th
Flatirons CrossFit
Boulder, Colorado
Primal Lifestyle Challenge
Register here!

The SEXY Diet Part II

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The Sexy Diet idea has been so popular I’m going to continue with that theme.

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What the hell is sexy about nail polish? Or what does this have to do with nutrition?

Today was a long day. I didn’t get to sleep till midnight, was up at 6:30 to rush to the gym, rushed through my workout, rushed to get coffee, rushed to find parking, sat through class feeling anxious because I didn’t pack a lunch, rushed back to the gym to finish my workout, rushed to the grocery store, rushed through lunch…see where I’m going with this?

It happens. We get busy and at the end of the day we find ourselves EXHAUSTED! What do a lot of us do when at the end of the day we are dog ass tired?

Eat.

Tonight I got home and realized I was in that state. Despite having eaten plenty of food today, I wanted to dive head first into bacon, burgers, gluten free beer, wine, a cocktail, coconut butter…anything really!

You know what I did instead?

Decided to paint my nails.

I’m not hungry, I’m stressed. Feeling like there is just not enough time to do all the things you need to do is stressful!

But by carving out some “Heather Time” and doing one of my favorite things in the world, painting my nails, I relaxed enough to realize I don’t need food. I need some quality R and R.

I spent the whole day with the Institute for the Psychology of Eating dissecting issues surrounding food, body image, weight, confidence, etc. And what I came away with was a sense of, “Wow…I don’t need more food in order to keep charging at a million miles an hour…I need to slow my roll!”

For everyone currently taking the OPENutrition Challenge, does this resonate? Do you find yourself raiding the pantry or fridge, when what you really need is a little down time?

I hope this was helpful. I encourage you to take a break and ask the question, “What do I REALLY need right now?”

It doesn’t hurt that having hot pink finger nails only adds to sex appeal ;)

Love,

Heather

The SEXY Diet

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I’ve been threatening to write this blog post for a while. So here is goes…

As a certified psychology of eating coach, I spend most of my time working with clients on their relationship with food. The athletes I work with feel confused about what to eat, when to eat, why they eat, etc. My goal is to help every one of them relax about diet, and it is not always an easy task. Often times we have turned eating into this big, scary, pain in the ass gig. Our mental dialogue might sound a little like this, “If I eat too many carbs I’m going to get fat. If I don’t eat enough carbs I’m going to end up with adrenal fatigue. I can have all the fat I want, but only in moderation. I should be eating carbohydrates in the morning, but not at night. Oh wait, but this carb backloading thing says I should eat ALL of my carbohydrates at night! What the hell is going on?!”

When my clients come to me in an absolute fit like this (which a lot of them do), the first thing I want to do is get them to CALM DOWN! I have a few tools I use to accomplish this, and it is always tailored to each individual client.

One of the tools involves asking one simple question. If I’m feeling unsure or anxiety stricken about something I’m about to eat, I’ll stop and ask,

“Does this make me feel sexy?”

What the hell does feeling sexy have to do with eating? Well, a lot! There’s nothing sexy about being completely obsessed about food. There’s a whole lot that is sexy about wining and dining someone with a fantastic, home cooked meal.

Here are a few things about my diet that make me feel super duper uber sexy:

-Having a glass of Malbec while making myself a kick ass meat and veggies dinner.

-Going to a shwanky coffee bar and having a short, black, double americano.

-Drinking LOTS of water, iced green tea, sparkling water and staying hydrated.

-Eating three eggs cooked in at least a tablespoon of coconut oil before a workout (what isn’t sexy about coconut?!)

-Going out with my girlfriends for happy hour and indulging in a coin style margarita.

In SHARP contrast, here are a few things that do NOT make me feel sexy:

-Sitting at home drinking an ENTIRE bottle of Malbec.

-Drinking eighteen cups of coffee.

-Starving myself.

-Eating sugar…I get crazy GERD symptoms and feel wired.

-Going out for happy hour with my girlfriends and wrecking chips, cheese, many many many margaritas and turning into a total lush.

See the difference?

This is a very subtle nutritional trick, but for me, it works exceptionally well. The clients that I have introduced this idea to have loved it. By creating some sort of pause and tapping into sexiness, we can have fun making food choices rather than feeling absolutely paralyzed by them.

So…if you’re a chick who eats food that makes you feel downright sassy, I encourage you to order one of the new OPENutrition “MY DIET IS SEXY” tank tops. I’ve been wearing mine a lot, and just pulling this thing on in the morning makes me feel like a sex kitten :) It’s hard to not have a little swagger in your step or a smile on your face when you have SEXY written across the small of your back ;)

Thanks for reading and let me know if you try this little trick and it works for ya.

Heather

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To order an OPENutrition tank top, shoot me a message at heather@openutrition.com. Tanks are $27 and I will personally ship it to you.

Happy Spring!

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Happy Spring from OPENutrition! This year has proven to be a busy one, with seminars in Seattle, Boulder, Denver, Lynnwood and Grand Junction already! Thanks a million to all of the affiliates who had us out and to all of the athletes who took the OPENutrition Challenge!

Coming up, we have the two day seminar at Crossfit Helix. After that we will be headed off to PaleoFX in Austin to rub elbows with everyone in the Paleo community! If you see us there, make sure to say hi! We’ll have a great big bag of KalliBar samples to hand out :)

The Women’s Psychology of Eating Forums have been a huge hit! Athletes have been very engaged and excited about the topic of eating psychology and how it can help them improve their nutrition. Our next women’s only forum will be at Crossfit Eminence in Thorton, Colorado next month. We are projected to have over thirty five ladies attend, so it is going to be a ton of fun!

At the end of April, we will be back at Northwest Crossfit in Washington. Our seminar is being hosted in Bellevue and we’ll be kicking off another OPENutrition Body Composition Challenge. If you are in the Seattle area, join us for the weekend and take on the challenge before summer hits!

Scheduling one on one nutrition consults is easier than ever now with OPENutrition! Thanks to our lovely assistant Carly, you can now check our availability through MindBody Online. Heather, Annah and Melynda are all available to work with clients over the phone on everything from weight loss to mass gains to eating psychology to race day nutrition. If you are looking for individual support with your diet, book a session with one of our nutrition gurus!

To help our athletes make sustainable change with their nutrition, we have partnered with Blue Valley Meats as well as Mile High Organics to bring you high quality meat and vegetables! Blue Valley Meats is now selling beef, pork and lamb at our nutrition seminars in the Seattle area as well as making deliveries to Crossfit gyms. Check out their website to see where they deliver (and make sure you order the OPENutrition package)! Sheri from Mile High Organics is helping us to bring meat and vegetables to Crossfit affiliates in Colorado. Winners of the OPENutrition Body Composition Challenge at Crossfit South Denver received a whole box of beef and veggies to celebrate their success!

If you are looking for one more way to measure your results from the OPENutrition Challenge, consider investing in a before and after body fat test with Rosanne Allen. Rosanne runs the body fat dunk tank of Colorado and is available at multiple Crossfit affiliates in the Front Range. To schedule a test with her, check out her website!

We wish you all a happy spring and hope to see you soon!

OPENutrition Spring 2013 Seminar Schedule

Register online at OPENutrition.Eventbrite.com
If your gym is interested in hosting the OPENutrition Seminar Series this summer, send an email to info@OPENutrition.com. We are currently booking gyms for June and August.

March 23rd + 24th

Crossfit Helix

Greeley, Colorado

OPENutrition Seminar Series and Body Composition Challenge

April 6th
Crossfit Eminence
Thornton, Colorado
Crossfit Women’s Psychology of Eating Forum

April 27th + 28th
Northwest Crossfit
Bellevue, Washington
OPENutrition Seminar Series and Body Composition Challenge

Tips for Eating Good on the Go!

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Hey gang! Since getting off the Colorado River, life has been full speed ahead! I’ve gone from Flagstaff to Las Vegas to Grand Junction to Moab to Boulder to Denver to Anaheim and next week it’s off to San Francisco and Big Sur then back to Colorado…oh…and after that I’m headed to Austin before driving back to Portland and Seattle and then flying up to Alaska. Phew!

That means all of my eating has been done on the road. I’m either eating in grocery stores, eating out of the cooler in my car, or grabbing eggs and bacon at a cute local diner. It’s fun, but it isn’t easy. I have multiple times found myself in the middle of nowhereland hungry enough to eat my arm…and there is literally NOTHING that fits the bill! Even in airports and cities, it can feel like you’re in a food desert. When I landed in Anaheim, I asked where the nearest grocery store was, and the shuttle driver kindly pointed me towards the nearest 7-11…yikes!

Long story short, I wanted to give you guys a couple quick tips on how to pack food for when you’re on the move! With an arsenal of go to items, you can whip up healthy delicious meals in a pinch :)

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Stock up on good quality protein!

 Some of my favorites are organic beef jerky from Natural Grocers or Sprouts (any gluten free variety), Applegate Farms sliced deli meats (I LOVE roast beef), canned wild caught salmon, kipper snacks, sardines canned in olive oil or water (skip the soybean oil) and hard boiled eggs. Any good meal starts with protein, so stock up on these items that travel super well.

Slice up some veggies!

 The vegetables I find that travel the best are cucumbers, carrots, celery, bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower and radishes. I always keep a pairing knife handy so I can slice up a whole bunch of fresh produce and toss it in a Ziploc bag. This way I always have something healthy to munch on.

Don’t forget your fat!

I LOVE avocados, so those are a no brainer. They are great travel companions and if they are on sale I will buy a bunch of them (I could easily eat two a day). Shredded or flaked coconut is also awesome, along with coconut butter in single serving packets. You can find canned olives or olive bars at any grocery store, so go crazy with kalamatas, garlic stuffed olives, etc. For cooking I usually bring coconut oil, which is solid below 70 degrees so it won’t spill.

Stay hydrated!

I think the absolute BEST thing you can do while traveling is to STAY HYDRATED! I get bored with water (who doesn’t) so I usually reach for iced unsweetened green tea, sparkling water like Pellegrino or Perrier and try to curb my coffee intake to two per day. On airplanes, I’ll drink either water or cans of club soda.

Have the right tools!

A couple things that I keep handy in my car and my duffel bag are a spork, a pairing knife (like this one), a cloth napkin (messes do happen), sandwich and gallon size ziplocks, a water bottle, and a coffee mug. This way I can slice vegetables, bag them up, eat fish right out of the can, spill stuff, not have to buy bottled water and make instant coffee if need be. You gotta have the right tools for the job ;)

Hope that was helpful for you guys! I mastered the art of making omelets in the microwave this morning and I’m looking forward to a cheap lunch of sliced veggies and tuna salad. I’ll keep you posted on all the great food I run into at the Natural Foods Expo West!

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Natural Goods Expo West

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This weekend OPENutrition will be exploring the Natural Foods Expo West in Anaheim! We will be on the lookout for the latest and greatest foods that we can recommend to our athletes :) Check us out on Facebook for updates all weekend long!

Thank You Crossfit Junction!

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THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE ATHLETES WHO ATTENDED OUR SEMINAR THIS WEEKEND!

Good luck to everyone who is taking the OPENutrition Five Week Challenge! Don’t forget to join the Facebook group here.

It was really fun working with you guys and we look forward to coming back in the fall :) Thanks again to Amy, Nick and Amber for having us out!