Eat, Sleep, Workout, REPEAT!

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Avocados

Adding this creamy fruit with other veggies helps your body better absorb all the nutrients and vitamins from those foods! Packed with Omega 3 Fatty Acids it fights inflammation and boosts the brain!

We’ve all heard and read the stats, weight loss or keeping a healthy weight is based on 80% diet and 20% exercise. Now, we at SoulBody are in the biz of fitness and movement BUT we are 100% into nutrition! Without going into more math it’s hard to burn calories through exercise and easier to control your calorie intake through your diet. If you keep the 80/20 rule, the combination of mindful eating and moderate exercise will equal masterful results.

According to the Institute of Medicine, the Estimated Energy Requirements (EER) for ACTIVE females age 19-30 is 2400 calories per day and 2200 per day for ACTIVE females age 31-50+. For ACTIVE males in those two categories the EER is about 3,000 calories per day. So how do we create the perfect formula?

For a smart workout week, we at SoulBody recommend grabbing a strength training session at least 2-3 times per week, a “HIIT” of cardio 2-3 times per week (lace up your sneakers and run or hike in nature to clear your mind and soak in a little vitamin D) and yes REST days in between. Don’t forget to SLEEP! According to the Neuroscience Institute at JFK Medical Center the average adult needs between 7.5 and 8 hours of sleep per night. They also say many can function on as little as 6 hours (my co-founder Stacey) and need as much as 9 hours (me)!

Now on to the EATing part of the equation! Think how the there are different grades of gas to fuel a car, we need to find the proper fuel to run our bodies at the highest, optimal level of performance. We want our bodies to be a sports car, not a beaten down clunker, but we need the right fuel to create that.

Whole foods from the earth are “performance food”. It’s actually a very simple concept: eat whole fruits, vegetables and grains because they are loaded with vitamins, nutrients and minerals to keep your immune system in full throttle and protect you from diseases. Processed foods have “trace-amounts” of whole foods and are usually loaded with salt, sugar and fat. With processed foods we have little control of really knowing what’s in the ingredients and the food we are putting in our body, but in the end we are in control. Know what you’re eating, where it’s sourced and demand only the highest quality because as they say “your body is your temple”, and we need to start treating it like that. We often do with exercise, but seem to make a wrong turn when it comes to proper nutrition.

A few good cook books we at SoulBody have in our kitchens that will help you on your journey to complete wellness: Now go grab a green juice and get cooking!

  • Clean Eats: Alejandro Junger

  • The Clean Plate - Eat Rest Heal: Gwyneth Paltrow

  • Body Love: Kelly Leveque

  • Clean Food: Terry Walters

  • The Blender Girl: Tess Masters

Best in Health and Fitness,

Ann Marie

Stacey Seward Vandiver