She masks our tears and sweat with a solid playlist!

This captures our class exactly...JenniferEra is THE intensity Queen!

I’m noticing a pattern, either I am attracted to instructors that are ridiculously intense and passionate about their work and mission, or all fitness professionals are freaks of nature!  I’m going with the latter…it makes me feel more sane (and trust me, I need all the sanity feelings I can get…I’m a chick, we often feel crazy;)!

Before I started on this much more organized fitness venture than my own happenstance approach, Sundays were one of my favorite fitness days.  I go to a killer, Rock and Roll studio in the heart of Hollywood, called Made in La.  It is a little boutique that isn’t mobbed with a lot of people trying to network through the gym, or meet their next 30 second relationship…its sprinkled with people that are inside actually working out, and to killer playlists, thanks to the amazing Ms Wyatt, Jennifer Era if your nasty…(that was a lil Janet Jackson reference, and no, I haven’t heard Janet in the playlist;)

Cycling was killer, but she started our mix with an inspirational, but Rock and Roll song by Local Natives, called Airplanes…sign up for Jennifer’s blog and follow her fitness music choices!!!  As far as the workout…I was pedaling slow, and fast, and we were standing and sitting, it was a blur of tears and sweat…more sweat than tears…who am I trying to kid…it was more tears…just kidding.  She is awesome, and she makes you get out of your own mind for the hour of her class……which I need for sure.  My mind runs like one of those bad Bing commercials.

FOOOOOOOD!

I predicted it…I no longer have a food pyramid filled with different types of cereal.  The food police put a halt to that…I am now learning balance in my meals with whole food options…I had an egg, apple and a handful ONLY of Kashi pre workout! PROGRESS…I think;) (you can take the cereal out of the girl, but you can’t take the girl out of the cereal, that’s how that goes right? when in Rome!)

Don’t tell her, but I felt better in my workout, I felt full and didn’t have a stomach ache or get the typical distended belly look…(ps, that’s not hot and it takes a while to go away!)  Check out her nutrition tips at Nutrition with Tanya!

For more information on all of the participants in the total image make-over, go to http://www.lacitydentalgroup.com/, we even are documenting by video…so subscribe to our youtube channel and get all the fitness, nutrition and image tips from the experts in the LA area…(and really, what city in America is more focused on image, than LA?)

242 stairs people! And Its Only Day 2!

I’m not gonna lie, I am scared for what is to come! It is only day two and my legs are pre-sore from the previous day workout. The preview to this workout came in a simple warning from the teeny swede…”make sure you eat something, its hard…I’m serious.” Uhhh, when your TRAINER thinks its strenuous, that is a daunting and HAUNTING (double scary:)! I met the woman at her house sooooooo early, ate a pear on the way and parked outside to do some pre-hike tweeting (messaging on Twitter.com for those not on social media sites). I looked up and the 100lb ball of muscle and strength was standing at my window staring at me pushing a piece of toast in my direction. AGAIN…”Did you eat, have some toast, you need energy for this one.” Uhhh, STOP…I don’t need to be peeing myself before my workout, I need maintain a solid level of hydration, obviously!
We got to the stairs, it was BEAUTIFUL! I felt like I had taken a trip to Ireland, the stairs at Jefferson Park in Culver City were made of stone and they are surrounded by vegetation. Not what I mentally had pictured. I asked right out of the gate how many stairs there were, and without hesitation, she responded “242.” We headed up the stairs with yoga mats and water bottles in hand. These were not normal stairs, the step was more like stepping up on a large box…my knee was right around my belly button level, so it was like doing 242 step ups…Feel the Burn!
I said we had Yoga mats in our hands right? Yep, we got to the top, so pretty, by the way, and started our Yoga/Pilates Circuit that Miss Sandra had programmed. I was hit by a car while on my road-bike so she has to deal with a lot of prior injuries and limitations (and I’m stubborn, so good luck to her:). There were three seperate circuits and in between we went back down the stairs, and trekked back up…OBNOXIOUS….I kept telling her, “we are already at the top…why not just stay here and finish the exercises THEN go back down to the car..duhh?” Its weird how we didn’t do that..(sarcasm). Video can be seen at “Sandra and I aren’t friends anymore!”
As far as food goes…after the workout while I was showering, the torturer turned on the charm and made me some oatmeal, with maple syrup….yummmmm! And then she sent me on my way with a small pack of raw trail mix, a banana and a Lara Bar, which was delicious by the way! I think she is definitely in cahoots with my nutritionist Tanya I did consume all of those goodies, but not all at once…I saved the banana for before yoga, and I had the Lara Bar at around lunchtime. I also had a piece of chicken, an apple (which was lunchish) and then a bowl of cereal for dinner…Kashi, with a handful of raisins for sweet yummy flavor! I love me some raisins!!! She still hasn’t told me that cereal is a go or a no, so I’m goin with it!

There is water in coffee, right?

As I enjoy what I am assuming is one of my final bowls of cereal…(I would eat cereal for every meal if it wasn’t so hard to pack for work, or eat in the car). I’m going to share what I hope is the beginning of a fairy tail story.
I decided to take on an image make over from my work. I work in a Dental office, and we are launching a new cosmetic dentistry line. I was sold on being the victim of this image make over because the featured patients will be receiving personal training, and gym time, dermatology, diet etc…at first glance, I thought SCORE, and then I realized I just have a bunch of experts bossin me around;)…This is SO MUCH HARDER THAN I EXPECTED! I am learning with a quickness that I am wicked stubborn and have serial control issues. I really don’t like people telling me what to do…huh? who knew? LOL…I guess everyone knew, but me!
I REALLY thought I was going to breeze through this…I work out every day, I eat healthy things (or so I thought)!
DAY ONE: Assessment Day AKA Judgement Day!
Workout…Working with a lil peppy Swede, named Sandra Jersby…She starts out all cute, with her little accent and comprehensive warm up…but don’t let that fool you. She gets you comfy with her, compliments you, you drop your guard and she attacks!!!! There was jumping and pushing, some crying and just when I thought I wasn’t going to make it a step further…she ended our session with a stretch…oooh, she’s good, I’m on to her;)
Nutrition…My least favorite topic. I have had to write out a food journal because I really don’t like to eat and the nutritionist Tanya seems to think it will make a difference in how I feel about it…DOUBTFUL, but, I’ll try, its only 6 weeks. Food to me takes too much time, it can be messy, it can make you overweight…ok, I have a leeeetle eating-disorder, but I’m working on it!
Day One, Today was awesome, for me…in my opinion, I had:
Pear (pre-workout)
Clif Bar (post-workout)
LUNCH MEETING! Having lunch mtgs forces me to eat, so this was good for me! 3oz of broiled salmon, lettuce from salad, two bites of white rice and a taste bite of an asparagus pancake? (not sure what was in the asparagus pancake, and the salmon was super salty, so I didn’t eat much of it)
-took a lil consumption break to attend an expenditure class (yoga-sculpt!)
DINNER MEETING! Tabouleh, hummus, cucumber salad and a pita…..yummmmmmmmm….ok, I love tabouleh. Its just the perfect balance of textures, and its so pretty, oh, and IT TASTES GOOD!!!
Finished the meeting, went home, and am writing to you…while consuming what I consider a treat…Kashi cereal. Its not even the good kind, its just the boring kind, but I love it, and I have a feeling Tanya is gonna take it away from me…..so I’m having it, so there!

The only necessary isle at the grocery store