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What I Eat in a Day as a Fitness Instructor – Healthy Meal Ideas

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Good morning and welcome back to another week! I hope everyone is enjoying the summer weather and starting to find some normalcy as life begins to reopen a bit.

This past week, I decided to film a video going through an entire day of my meals and snacks. As I’ve mentioned, I am currently teaching fitness classes online while still at home, so I filmed this video on a day where I was teaching two classes and definitely wanted to eat healthier and boost my energy. I thought it would be a good idea to go more in depth with each meal I eat and list out specific recipes for you all, so while I’ve linked my vlog from last week below, I’m going to walk you through another day in my life where I ate slightly different meals – still focusing on staying healthy!

Breakfast

To start every day, I drink either a hot lemon water (which I did today), or a hot lemon ginger tea. This helps wake me up and slowly start my metabolism for the day.

A few hours later, I’ll make an iced coffee – usually hazelnut – with just a splash of almond milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon. I’m trying to break my habit of drinking two coffees per day, so I find that if I can hold off on my first coffee until 11 or 12, I don’t end up needing one later in the afternoon.

Once I’ve finished my coffee and start to get hungry, I make my breakfast. On this day, I made my favorite green smoothie: two hand fulls of spinach (about half of the blender), 2/3 frozen banana, a hand full of frozen pineapple, a large scoop of almond butter, 2-3 tbsp hemp seeds, 1-2 tsp cinnamon, 1-2 scoops collagen powder, and either almond or coconut milk (I keep adding milk as I blend it until it’s the thickness that I want). I top my smoothie with coconut flakes and chia seeds, first to get more protein, and second to slow down how quickly I drink it!

Lunch

For lunch today I had my usual avocado toast – a slice (or sometimes two) of any multigrain seed toast, half of an avocado mashed, lemon juice, sea salt, cracked black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Normally I use the Food For Life brand rice bread, but I can only get that at Whole Foods near me and right now it doesn’t make sense to shop at more than one grocery store, just to be safe! This is my absolute favorite lunch that I have most days, and it definitely fills me up enough to hold me over throughout the day.

With my lunch today I also had a bowl of SkinnyPop popcorn – another favorite snack, and not too filling. It’s nice to be able to mindlessly snack on something knowing it’s still (relatively) healthy!

Dinner

For dinner I made a rice bowl with coconut white rice, and then topped it with roasted broccoli and cauliflower. I roasted the veggies with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then topped the rice with coconut aminos (tastes like soy sauce). This is one of my favorite dinners – I love roasted vegetables – and it’s super easy to make. This also fills me up after exercising or teaching a class!

A little while after dinner, I end my night with a bowl of red grapes, and a cup of lemon-ginger-tumeric tea. I’m a big dessert person, so eating grapes instead of sweets after dinner was a good habit for me to pick up. Drinking this tea also helps me to digest everything from the day, reset my stomach for tomorrow, and calm myself down before going to bed.

I know this is just one day in my life, but I love coming up with new recipe ideas and playing around with my meals, so I will definitely do another post like this in the future if you are interested. Of course what I eat varies day to day, but for the most part, this is a pretty good representation of my diet.

I’ve linked below the vlog I filmed last week bringing you along another day in my life, and if you have any questions or comments, please let me know! Health and fitness is one of my main interests, so I love sharing this information and writing posts like these.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief day in my life, and I hope to see you all next week! Let me know if there’s anything you want to see in the future, and enjoy this start to the summer 🙂

xx,

Megan

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Staying Organized & Productive at Home

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Good morning!

I’m a day late on today’s post – I’ve actually been starting to get busy recently! I had a long day yesterday and was unable to get everything done in time, so I wanted to make sure this post was completely ready before I sent it out. Coincidentally, today I’m writing about staying organized and keeping a productive mindset while at home, which I’ll definitely be taking more seriously now that I am done with school and my schedule has freed up.

In general, I’m a very organized person – I like structure, and I like having to-do lists and appointments in my calendar. I tend to be more productive when I have more to do, so while I don’t like to be overwhelmed with tasks, it helps me to have a few goals in mind each day so I can build my schedule around them. These don’t have to be major, sometimes it’s just getting a workout in and doing my laundry, but when I have loads of schoolwork and many emails to follow up on, this becomes a lot more helpful.

Keeping an organized schedule while in quarantine has definitely been a challenge, since there is nowhere for me to go, and not much for me to actually do that’s not on my own time. Luckily I’ve been able to teach a few virtual group fitness classes each week, so that has taken up some of my time, but I’ve had to fill in the rest of my days with different plans and activities. Now that I’m almost two weeks out of school, I think I’ve gotten used to my new ways of organization, and it has helped me keep a productive mindset throughout the week. Since this is something I’m sure lots of people are struggling to figure out, whether you are working full time from home, or no longer working at all, I wanted to share a few tips that I’ve found useful in staying motivated to hopefully help you stay – or get back on – track going forward!

1. Keep a regular sleep schedule.

Everything else in your day will build off of your sleep patterns. Just because you don’t have to wake up at 7am for work or class anymore doesn’t mean you should sleep until noon. I’m not saying you shouldn’t take extra rest if you need it, or even adjust your sleep hours an hour or two later, but keeping some sort of normalcy in your bedtime and wakeup time will not only ensure you get a full night’s sleep, but also create a natural and comfortable sleep cycle in your body. I am definitely a morning person, so while I’ve been letting myself wake up naturally without an alarm, I still find myself getting up around 8am every morning, since that’s what I’m used to at school. Because I’m up early, I make sure to go to bed around 11pm so that I’m fully rested (and I’m usually tired by then anyways)! Setting this sleep cycle from the start has helped me get used to a normal, daily wake schedule, and also get a lot done in the mornings before anyone else even wakes up.

2. Use a calendar for (almost) everything.

I’ve always been a fan of iCalendar for scheduling classes, work shifts, and other meetings and appointments I have during the week. This way, I can easily see when I have time scheduled, and when I have time free. Now that I hardly have anything scheduled, my calendar has been looking pretty empty. Something I’ve found extremely helpful (and also kind of fun) is planning everything I want to do each day and actually putting it all in my calendar as an event – this means blocking off an hour or two for my workout, an hour or two of reading in the morning, a walk around my neighborhood, a couple hours of work or cleaning – literally any goals you have! Of course this is all flexible, and if I wake up wanting to change my workout or schedule a socially distant coffee date with a friend, I will do that. However, I find that seeing lots of to-do’s in my calendar makes me excited to have a lot going on and not feel so bored, and also sets some structure to my day.

3. Keep a planner or journal for to-do’s.

During the school year, my planner is the most important thing in my bag. If you can’t already tell, I love to be organized, and thrive off of having structure. So, I’m always updating my planner with daily assignments, long-term due dates, and various meetings and appointments. Typically I reserve my planner for just school-related tasks and notes, so I don’t have too much going on in one place, so while this is helpful during the school year, I’m now past that point. I’ve tried keeping a separate planner for my personal life, but I find this to be too much with two notebooks at once. Once I am done with school completely, I will definitely keep a planner in my daily life, but for now just a school agenda is good. That being said, I do keep a blank journal on my desk for any other notes, ideas, or to-do’s I want to write down. This ranges from long-term wishlists, goals, and books I want to read, to daily grocery and chore lists. If I feel like I have a lot going on one morning, I’ll write down everything I want to get done on a page, and then go through and cross off things as I go. Not only does this help me plan and structure my calendar for the day, but something about physically crossing off items on a to-do list feels a lot more satisfying.

4. Create a quarantine goals list.

Right when I moved home from my apartment at school, I made a list of projects and goals I’d been putting off until I had more time. Well, now I have all the time in the world, and seeing a list of goals I’ve built up is not only motivating, but keeping me from getting too bored. This list has everything on it, from taking a few online classes and tutorials on specific subjects, to taking new headshots, organizing my Spotify playlists, and even digitalizing my mom’s photo albums. Now that I’m completely done with classes, if I find I have little to nothing planned for one day, I’ll schedule a few hours in my calendar to work on some of these. We all have things we’ve been putting off for so long because they’re only wishes, and not urgent, but now is the best time to at least get started!

5. Move around!

I can’t stress enough how important it is to move around during the day. Not only is physical activity essential to keep the blood flowing to your brain and maintain a healthy, motivated mindset throughout the work day, but actually moving your space can help too. I’ve talked lots about exercise and activity in other posts, so I won’t go too much into that here, but rather focus on your quarantine space. Obviously we are all spending a lot more time at home than we were a few months ago, and while you might start to get comfortable in one room or area of your house, I urge you all to change it up this week! While it’s important to have a set workspace where you can get everything done that you need, this can start to feel repetitive and even a bit confining if you’re only spending time in this one area. For example, when I moved home, I set up my desk for schoolwork in my bedroom, as well as my yoga mat and weights. Soon I found myself waking up in my room, moving to my desk for a full day of classes, and then doing my at home workouts just steps away from my desk, only leaving to get food or use the bathroom. I did add some more decorations and pieces to my room to make it a clean and comfortable space, since I knew I’d be spending so much time in there, but doing everything in my room began to feel trapping. So, I slowly started changing things up – doing more workouts outside, doing some of my easier schoolwork from my couch downstairs, and spending less time in my bedroom during the day, so it felt cozy and relaxing to come back to at night!

6. Other ways of list-making and organizing.

If none of this seems to fit your organization style, I have a couple more suggestions that are super easy to implement and add lots more structure to this crazy time we’re living in. Sometimes not having things to do throughout the day makes us forget or lose track of the little goals or tasks we wanted to get done, so just keeping a pad of sticky notes on your desk or by your bed can help to jot down any chores you think of, or random ideas you might want to look into the next day. When I only have a couple of things to do, I’ll make a short list on a sticky note and either go through crossing off items as I get them done, or go back and add them into my calendar or planner later.

Along with physical sticky notes, I use the Stickies app on my computer to track longer term goals and information, like credit card payments I need to make, or meetings I want to schedule in the future. I keep one Sticky on my desktop with all of this information, so it’s easy to update and I can see each time I go on my computer to do work.

Finally, the Notes and Reminders apps on iPhones and Macs can be useful for jotting down quick notes or lists. I use the Notes app more for short-term grocery lists, ideas I come up with, or workout ideas when I’m on the go and can’t write everything down elsewhere. I usually then go back into the Notes and organize them later, either onto paper or in my iCalendar. I use the Reminders app for longer lists, like books I want to read, movies and TV shows I want to watch, places I want to travel, or new restaurants I want to try. This makes it easy to keep track of all of my goals and wishlists in one place, and check them off as I go.

As you can see, I love organization and definitely stay motivated with structure! While this has been harder to maintain during quarantine, I’ve found some fun in getting my days and weeks more organized and making myself plan different activities to stay busy. If you’re feeling a similar lack of productivity, I hope this helps you to at least start following more of a regular schedule, if not start working on some goals you’ve been pushing off for weeks, months, or even years. If you have any other organization tips, I would love to hear them below, and as always I hope you are all staying safe at home! See you next week 🙂

xx,

Megan

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Warm Weather Workout Ideas

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Happy Monday!

I’ve had a pretty busy morning considering the current situation, so I’m finally getting around to finishing up and posting today’s post. I’ve been spending a lot of my time these past few months staying active, and not only has it kept my physical health on track, but it’s really benefitted my mental health as well, and helped me pass the time. Now that it’s finally getting warmer out (for the most part), it’s been a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable to stay active. So, this week I wanted to share some of my favorite ways (and new habits) of getting exercise throughout my day, and hopefully I can inspire some of you to work some of these into your routine!

1. Walking and Running

I mentioned this in my last fitness-related post, but I can’t stress enough how amazing it’s been to get out of the house for at least an hour every day and run or walk. I definitely plan out my runs during the week to spread them out and make them more a part of my exercise routine, but I also make a point to walk a little bit at least once a day. I track my steps on my phone (especially after studying abroad, I was walking way more!), so I’ve been trying to keep my average steps level around the same number as it was before quarantine. At first this seemed impossible, since I’m not walking to class, work, etc., anymore, but it’s actually been a nice challenge to hold myself accountable for. When I run I need to listen to music, but when I go for walks, it’s been nice to meet up with or call/FaceTime friends, listen to a podcast, or just walk alone in silence with nature (I’ll usually only do this if I’m hiking or walking through a woods/nature path). It’s such an easy way to get movement into your day, and it completely changes my mood!

2. Yoga

I’ve always liked the idea of yoga and occasionally would go to hot yoga classes before quarantine, but to be honest, I could never fully implement yoga into my exercise routine. I’m very productive in all aspects of my life, including fitness, so my thought process was that if I were to take an hour out of my day to work out, it would be much more effective to run for an hour, or take a spin, barre, or bootcamp class. Yoga seemed like a nice way to relax, but not a high-intensity workout. Now that I have much more time on my hands, I’ve been doing A LOT more yoga (almost once a day) in addition to my regular daily workouts. The one yoga studio I would go to before quarantine (very rarely) was CorePower Yoga, and thankfully they’ve been live streaming SO MANY classes on YouTube. It’s been really nice to take a C2 yoga flow class after a long run, or take a yoga sculpt class as my daily workout (these are very hard).

Another fitness company whose workouts I’ve been loving recently is P.volve. This isn’t yoga, but it’s a low impact, high intensity workout that builds lean muscle strength with very little equipment, if any. They’ve been posting Instagram Live stories pretty frequently, so it’s been nice to add these onto my daily workouts as well. The workouts are much different from anything I’ve done in the past, so it’s a nice way to change up my routine and work my muscles in a new/different way.

Now that it’s warmer, I’ve been really liking doing both yoga and P.volve workouts in my backyard in the mornings – they’re not too high intensity, so it’s a nice way to wake up and get some fresh air before starting my day!

3. Cardio and HIIT Workouts

As I mentioned, I’ve always found the most productive way to work out (for my body) to be condensed, high intensity workout classes. This was the hardest part about social distancing for me (in terms of exercise) – not being able to take group fitness classes. However, I’ve actually gotten really into at-home workouts and I’ve been able to try so many different workout classes and studios than I could beforehand.

One of my new favorites is cardio kickboxing. I had heard lots about these classes in the past, but I never actually tried one for myself. This has now become one of my regular go-to’s, and it’s actually a much more effective workout than it seems in the moment. Punching the air doesn’t feel that difficult while taking the class, but when you’re doing it for an hour, you sweat a lot! This is also a much more fun way to work different muscles than just doing sit-ups and pushups.

In addition to cardio kickboxing classes, I’ve also been trying a bunch of different dance workouts and HIIT classes, while still using my Nike Training Center app that I mentioned in my previous fitness post to target different muscle groups. Again, now that the weather is warmer, I’ve been loving doing these classes outside! I’ll usually do one midday, after lunch or before dinner – this is when I have the most energy.

4. Outdoor Circuit Training

My favorite outdoor workout right now is something I’ve created on my own, and I’m excited to explore more/try with friends (hopefully soon)! I was fortunately able to bring home some equipment from the gym that I was working at before social distancing measures were strictly implemented, so I’ve been using this to set up some circuits throughout my backyard and driveway. It’s been nice to do this on the weekends when I have a bit more time in the mornings.

Specifically, I’ll set up various sets of dumbbells, resistance bands, an agility ladder, a jump rope, and a mat, and then I’ll write down a different exercise or set of exercises to do at each station. Depending on how long/difficult each round is, I will usually repeat everything 3-5 times. This has been a lot of fun to design workouts that I enjoy doing, spend time outside, and move around between arms, legs, core, and cardio. These are definitely very physically exhausting workouts, but they’re fun to do and far from boring!

5. ANY Outdoor Games/Activities!

Finally, it’s been nice to spend more time just being outside recently, with family or social distancing with friends. Even when I’m not doing a high intensity workout, spending time outside in the fresh air has been so beneficial for my physical and mental health. I forget how much I take time outdoors for granted, but now that I’m in my house most of the day, I make a point to get outside and just sit in my yard for a little bit each day. This tends to make me more active, whether I start going for a walk, play catch with friends, etc. So in any way you can, being outside is usually better than being inside!

I hope these activities can inspire you to be a bit more active in whatever ways are enjoyable for you, and if you have any of your own suggestions, please comment them below! As much as this situation has been difficult, I am looking forward to having a lot more time to be active and to be outside this summer. I’m excited to keep trying new exercises and make fitness more of a priority, and I hope you guys are too!

As always, stay healthy and safe, and I’ll see you all next week 🙂

xx,

Megan

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Staying Active at Home

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Good morning and happy Monday!

Writing these posts each week makes me aware of how much time is going by, and it’s crazy to me that this is already my third post from quarantine. I’ve had to get creative with some ideas, but the timing worked out – right when I wanted to take a turn with my content away from travel for a bit, the world gave me a sign to do that 🙂

As most (or all) of us are pretty much at home, inside for most of our days, I wanted to share some things I’ve been doing to stay busy and keep some normalcy in my routine. Until the past few days, I really haven’t felt like I’ve had an excessive amount of free time, which I expected to feel immediately after coming home. Although a lot of my time is still being taken up by schoolwork, I’ve found some other ways to stay active in the free time that I do have, which has really helped me to stay levelheaded throughout this whole situation.

First, since I mentioned that most of my time is spent at my desk on the computer doing schoolwork, as soon as I’m done for the day I find myself with lots of energy and a drive to be physically active. One simple thing I’ve made a point to work into my daily routine are long walks and runs. Now that it’s getting warmer out, these are getting easier and more enjoyable as well. For at least an hour every day, I’ll either walk or run around my town/neighborhood, or through local parks and woods. I usually switch off with walking and running every other day so I don’t get too tired of one or the other, but especially during this time, I’ve found it so much easier to clear my head and actually enjoy the exercise, since it’s the one time of day I can set aside to safely be outside of the house. I’ll use the Nike Run Club app to track these runs, which is nice to see how much I’m moving in my free time, since otherwise I’m not getting around too much!

Continuing on the exercise path, I’ve really increased the at-home workouts I’ve been doing (as most of us probably have!) I’ve always been into at-home workouts, so this is not a new concept for me, but I’ve also always had access to a gym or a space where I can do these workouts, and where I can add whatever equipment I like. Now that I only have what’s in my house, I’ve had to really set aside a time and space to get these workouts in – but it’s working! All I use at home are a yoga mat, dumbbells, and ankle weights – pretty much all of which can be substituted by household objects if you don’t have the equipment!

I’ve been doing some at-home classes straight from YouTube just by searching a 45 minute or 1 hour HIIT workout class, or a full body exercise (whatever you’re feeling, I’m sure they’ll have it!) I did a one-hour kickboxing class last week that was so different from my normal workouts, so I was definitely sore after! I’ve also been using the Nike Training Club app, as right now all regular and premium workout videos are free! There are so many workouts put together on this app, varying from length to intensity to muscle groups, so you can definitely put together as short or as along of a workout as you like. I’ve been FaceTiming some friends at home so we can do these workouts together, and it’s been such a nice way to catch up while also making sure we’re both getting in some activity for the day!

Now that life has slowed down in all aspects, I’ve finally found the time to really get into yoga – something I always felt was too slow for me before. I’ve tried a number of different yoga classes, and while I love it when I’m in the middle of it, it’s not something I can usually justify taking the time out of my day to do. Not only would I prefer to take a spin class or a bootcamp class to get the most out of a 45 minute workout, but yoga puts me in a much more relaxed mindset – something I previously couldn’t afford to do in the middle of a school day. Now that I have extra time in the mornings, at night, and between classes (without anywhere to be), it’s been much easier to incorporate shorter yoga classes or segments into my day. I also get some of these from the Nike Training Club app, and others from YouTube.

Again, now that the weather is finally starting to look a bit brighter, being outside has been so much more enjoyable (and even when it’s cooler out, I can appreciate the fresh air so much more.) So, just spending time in my yard, playing pick up sports, going for short hikes/walks in the woods behind my house, and really just taking the time to think and appreciate nature right now, has significantly boosted my mood and kept me calm during this time. I’m normally an extremely busy, active, and organized person, so not having a schedule or places to be has been hard. However, scheduling my day like I normally would – with my classes, workouts, and phone calls all in my calendar – has given me more structure and allowed me to take advantage of the free time I find myself having more and more each day.

These are just a few suggestions of ways you can stay moving and keep it fun while we’re limited right now – this is obviously not an extensive list, but this is what I’ve been doing, and what’s been working for me. If you have any other ideas or suggestions, please let us know in the comments!

Once again, I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe, and please continue these distancing practices to keep others safe as well! Have a great week, and I’ll see you all next Monday 🙂

xx,

Megan

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How I Became a Spin Instructor

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Happy Monday! I hope everyone is staying healthy, safe, and somewhat busy during these difficult times. I’m finally catching up on schoolwork and housework, and getting back into a relatively normal routine, so hopefully I can keep this up!

This week I wanted to go in yet another direction, avoiding talk of travel for now and touching on another fitness aspect of my life – my job. Over the past year and a half, I’ve trained to become a spin instructor, gotten my certification, and begun teaching classes. Unfortunately I am unable to teach at the moment due to lots of gyms and studios closing, and this is not a format which can easily be transferred to online classes, so for now I’m just hanging tight and prepping for future classes, whenever those might be.

This is definitely not the most traditional career path, but it’s something I’ve developed a strong passion for and hope to continue for as long as I’m able. I get a lot of questions about what the job entails, what it’s like being an instructor rather than a participant, and how others can get involved – so I want to address these here for those interested, and also share some things I’ve learned which I didn’t know before teaching myself.

Why I Started Instructing

I had only been to a handful of indoor cycling classes before starting college, most of which were mandatory team workouts for my swim team. So, this was never something I sought out on my own, or something I thought much of other than a workout moms did in their free time. When I got to college, I found that my school’s fitness center offered a number of group fitness classes for students for free, ranging from yoga to barre to kickboxing to, you guessed it, spin. I still wasn’t comfortable taking a class on my own, so I signed up myself a long with a few friends to try out a spin class one night. This was the best decision I ever made.

After that first class, I completely fell in love with spinning to the point where I would take 4-5 classes each week just for fun. Not only was it a great workout, but the atmosphere of a dark room with loud music filled with 29 other students doing the same workout as me, made the 45 minutes go by without even feeling like a workout – it was honestly just fun to be there. What really kept me going back, though, were the instructors. I found a couple whose classes I couldn’t stay away from, to the point where I would only go to their classes, but I would go to all of their classes, each week (and instructors typically teach 3-4 times/week).

By the time I was a sophomore, I found myself still regularly attending spin classes, but also doing 45 minute cycling workouts on my own. I would line up 10-15 songs, hop on a bike, and go through the motions of a regular spin class in my head, thinking through the cues I would be given if I were being instructed. It soon occurred to me that I liked a certain style of cycling and instructing – to the point where I was instructing myself – and I was already going to classes nearly every day, so why shouldn’t I teach them? This is where my journey to becoming an instructor began.

The Process

Becoming a group fitness instructor of any format is not easy. Becoming a spin instructor was even more difficult, I would argue, because there’s really no way to practice or train with proper equipment without access to a bike or a studio. Fortunately, Boston College has a group fitness prep course, along with a mentor program, which I was able to take during my sophomore spring semester. This course taught me how to actually teach a room of 30+ diverse participants, how to write not only a workout but a playlist to go with it, and how to assess any potential medical concerns and instruct accordingly.

This prep course had both a classroom and an in-class portion, as I mentioned with the mentor program. I chose my mentor because she was really the only instructor whose classes I was taking at that point, simply because I loved the structure of her workouts and the energy she brought every day. For about 10 weeks, I shadowed and eventually helped teach her class once a week. By the end of the semester, I was ready for my final audition, which consisted of me writing and teaching an entire class on my own, and being evaluated by BC’s group fitness coordinators (and I passed!).

Alongside BC’s prep course, I also had to be certified from an outside company. I took an online certification course from Spinning™ throughout the spring semester, so by the time I auditioned and was hired by Boston College, I was also a certified instructor. As you can see, this was not a quick or easy process, but I learned so much valuable information that I never thought would be necessary to lead a group fitness class, yet I’ve found crucial not only in my classes but in my personal life today.

How I Teach My Classes

Before BC suspended it’s group fitness classes due to the current situation, I was teaching three scheduled classes each week, and subbing here and there for other instructors when I could (so usually ~4 classes/week). There’s a lot that goes into each class, including the workout sequence, the choreography of each set, the playlist, and the cues. I make a new sequence and playlist for each class I teach (unless I’m teaching multiple in one day), since I usually see the same set of participants, and as a rider I appreciate a variety in instruction and music.

I can spend anywhere from 10 minutes to two or three days working on a playlist, depending on how quickly I need it done and how motivated I get for the class. I love looking for new music and building playlists to hype up my mood, so my Spotify spin collection has gotten very lengthy over the months.

As far as my actual classes go, there’s nothing I hate more than riding to a different beat than the music. I find it so much easier to keep pace when your speed matches the music, even at faster speeds – so, 95% of my class is on-beat. This makes building a playlist slightly more difficult, but it’s always worth it. I tend to stick to the same general outline of climbs, sprints, jumps, etc., but I’ll play around with the order and occasionally try out new sets. I teach my classes in the format I like to take classes, so I enjoy doing this multiple times each week and I attract participants with similar riding styles.

All in all, I love my job as a spin instructor and I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to start back up again in the (somewhat) near future. I’m definitely going a bit crazy not being able to ride at home, but I know this break will only energize me more once I come back!

This week’s post was definitely on the longer side, but I figured with all of our new free time that more content is always better, and there’s a lot about group fitness instruction that people don’t know! I could talk about this job for hours, so if people have any questions or want another post like this, please let me know and I would be happy to share more. For now, I’m going to keep working on my playlists and find some exciting new music so we come back strong 🙂

As always, I hope everyone is staying inside and staying safe, and I look forward to sharing more health, fitness, and hopefully travel content soon. Have a great week, and I’ll see you all next Monday!

xx,

Megan

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What I Eat at Home: Meal and Snack Ideas While Stuck at Home

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  • Pan seared salmon with mixed greens
  • Coconut rice with roasted zucchini and brussels sprouts
  • Roasted brussels sprout salad with pan seared salmon
  • Coconut rice, black beans, peppers/onions, and veggie burger
  • Veggie tacos with beans, peppers/onions, and guacamole
  • Green lentil pasta with sautéed spinach and tomatoes, olive oil/garlic sauce

Good morning!

I’m finally starting to get settled at home after moving back from college, and I hope you’re all staying safe and healthy as well. Now that I’m getting into a more normal routine, I want to start putting out content that will actually be useful during this time. Obviously I won’t be traveling in the coming months so it will be harder (and not as relevant) to post travel content right now. So, this is the perfect time for me to start introducing some other ideas I want to talk about!

Now more than ever I’m looking for new meal and snack ideas, since I’m pretty much preparing everything for myself at this point. I normally cook for myself anyways, but not being able to eat out or order food to-go as easily is putting more pressure on me to get creative so I don’t get sick of eating the same things every day (which I tend to do). I love a routine with my meals, but changing things up a bit is definitely necessary right now since I’ll be eating at home for a long time.

I’m sure lots of you are facing the same struggle, so I just wanted to share some of my go-to’s and some things I’ve been trying out lately to give you a couple new ideas! Most of these are things I’ve been making in my apartment at school, so they’re definitely not gourmet home cooked meals, but for the most part they’re relatively quick to make, and easy to take on-the-go!

Breakfast

I typically eat the same thing every day for breakfast, because I love starting my morning off with a routine, and then the rest of the day I can see how I feel. The first thing I make in the morning is hot lemon water, which helps warm up my body and wake me up a bit before I eat anything. I have pretty bad allergies, so this always tends to clear out my head and soothe my throat when I wake up. Either with my lemon water or shortly after, I’ll have some kind of fruit. I either make a big bowl with berries, banana, coconut flakes, cinnamon, and occasionally yogurt, or I’ll make a green smoothie (spinach, frozen banana, frozen pineapple, almond butter, hemp seeds, chia seeds, collagen powder, and coconut milk). I never know what I’ll be eating the rest of the day, so I like to get my fruit in right away.

After my fruit, I’ll start getting ready for the day, and this is usually when I work out as well (except when I have class). Once I’m set for the day, and usually by now I am hungry again, I’ll make my second breakfast, which is always avocado toast. I crave this every morning and never get sick of it, so it’s definitely a staple in my routine. I make my toast on Food For Life rice bread (double toasted), then top it with mashed avocado, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes – so good! I’ll also typically have an iced coffee with my toast, otherwise I’ll get one later in the day.

Lunch

I normally don’t make a huge lunch, but rather bring a few larger snacks with me to get me through the day. I like to eat more smaller meals instead of three big meals – I find this keeps me energized longer and I don’t feel as full/uncomfortable after a big meal. Here are a few of my go-to lunch snacks (I usually have about two of these throughout the day between breakfast and dinner):

  • Banana-chocolate chip overnight oats: Fill half of a mason jar with rolled oats, then add chocolate chips, chia seeds, hemp seeds, coconut flakes, cinnamon, cardamon, and almond milk (just covering the oats). Refrigerate 3-4 hours, then add sliced banana (and sometimes peanut butter if I’m really hungry) on top!
  • Yogurt and granola: Very simple, but always good and easy on the go. I like coconut milk yogurts, either Chobani or So Delicious, and sometimes LAVA plant-based yogurt. My favorite granola is the Purely Elizabeth Original flavor. If I have the time, I’ll also add some berries, cinnamon, and coconut flakes.
  • Roasted brussels sprout salad: This year I discovered how much I love roasted brussels sprouts, so I always make a huge batch in the beginning of the week and save them to snack on throughout. My favorite salad to pack for lunch includes: spring mix, roasted brussels sprouts, olives, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, a lemon dressing, and topped with either falafel, a veggie burger, or salmon if I have more time.
  • Apple and peanut butter: This is definitely a more simple and smaller snack, but always a go-to. I will slice up a gala apple, sprinkle some cinnamon on top, and dip it in organic peanut butter!

Dinner

My dinners in college tend to be quick, easy meals that I get in the frozen section of Trader Joe’s. That being said, I’ve found some favorites, and these are becoming even more handy now that I’m living at home and want to limit my trips to the grocery store (so less fresh produce, more frozen meals!). My favorites include:

  • Cauliflower and kale gnocchi
  • Cauliflower rice stir fry
  • Broccoli-cauliflower patties
  • Southwestern and masala veggie burgers
  • Cauliflower pancakes (dip in coconut aminos!)
  • Any frozen veggie mix – so easy to add to rice!

If I’m making a larger meal, these are some of my go-to options:

  • Green lentil pasta with pesto and roasted broccoli and brussels sprouts
  • Green lentil pasta with an olive oil and garlic sauce, mixed with sautéed spinach and heirloom tomatoes
  • Coconut rice with beans, topped with stir-fry peppers and onions, and either avocado or guacamole
  • Veggie tacos with (sometimes rice), beans, stir-fry veggies, and guacamole
  • Sometimes all I want is a huge plate of roasted veggies! I normally add broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and zucchini.

There are obviously a lot more recipe ideas which I can discuss further if you enjoyed this post, I just wanted to start by sharing the snacks and meals I’ve been eating most lately (especially now while in isolation!). I hope this helps give you some inspiration, and I’d love to hear some ideas from you as well. Let me know if you have any feedback or want to hear more, and I hope that this new type of content is interesting for you!

Again, please stay safe and healthy during this time, and I’ll do my best to deliver relevant (but not overwhelming) content for you all. Thank you and I’ll see you next week!

xx,

Megan

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