Happy “What I Ate Wednesday” (WIAW)! We’ll get to the food in a minute, but first I want to cover off briefly on fitness. As you may recall, last Friday, I mentioned that I had written a post up that had somehow magically deleted.
The post was all about forcing myself out of my “fitness comfort zone” while in Boston and taking a class that I knew would be very challenging for me. I’m still going to publish that post (eventually), but in the meantime, I’m very proud to report that I ventured out of my fitness comfort zone yet again to take a 90 MINUTE hot yoga class with our German visitors.
Check out those sweat marks. HOTTT
And yep, your eyes are not deceiving you…the BF came to the class too! Clearly, out of town visitors have a big influence over us. I made sure not to sit right next to the BF because I knew I might break out laughing in the middle of the class as we admired each other’s graceful movements.
I’ve taken yoga about 6 times in my life (including 4 times for a story I wrote back in Chicago), and to put it bluntly: It’s just not my thing. Besides an extreme lack of flexibility, I generally have a hard time relaxing and focusing for long periods of time. That’s why running and circuit training are my workout “drugs of choice.” But at the same time, when I drag my restless body to a yoga class, I always feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the class that is very different from finishing a long run or lifting a certain amount of pounds.
This class was no different, and once we made it through those 90 minutes I stated, “It would be easier for me to run 10 miles then take this class again!” Now, that’s a quality workout. I have a few more thoughts on the actual class, which I’ll share later in this post, but let’s jump into the eats for this WIAW.
Breakfast was a Chobani Coconut Yogurt, topped with blueberries, figs and slivered almonds.
What’s Cho Flavor?
This is another one of the newer Chobani flavors, and as a fan of all things coconut, it hit the spot with me. Sometimes coconut flavored foods can taste a bit artificial, but I didn’t feel any of that with this yogurt. (Sidenote: Do you follow Chobani on Instagram? If not, you should. Every morning I wake up wondering what creation they’re going to post next. Plus, they inspire me to continue to work towards that perfect picture of yogurt haha)
Today was one of those on-the-go days where I didn’t have much time to make my own food. Post-breakfast, I headed to kickboxing and then Starbucks to start working for the day. Before I left the gym, I picked up this granola bar to munch on in between meals.
Snack time!
It did the job of tiding my over until lunch, but I’m not sure I’d buy it again.
Lunch was something that I’ve ordered before at Starbucks and had previously been disappointed with: the hearty veggie and brown rice salad bowl. Guess I was in the mood for second chances!
Oh, hello again veggie salad.
I scarfed down the salad along with my usual, a Passion Iced Tea AND a Petite Vanilla Scone, which was delicious. Perhaps it was because I knew what to expect, but I enjoyed the salad much more this time around. The beets, broccoli, squash, kale and brown rice all worked very well together, and I didn’t even need to use the dressing!
Throughout the day, as I worked, I nibbled on the usual: Swedish Fish.
There’s no escaping me now little fishes!
I swear, once you go Swedish, you’ll never go back. I just can’t get the same satisfaction from gummy bears ever again. #candyproblems.
I wasn’t sure whether or not we were going to hot yoga, so as soon as I got the green light, I decided to eat another snack. There will be no fainting in hot yoga!
Didn’t have time to roast up some veggies so instead, I cut up some squash and mushrooms, seasoned, placed on a steamer and threw in the microwave. In 5 minutes, I had some tasty steamed veggies to fuel me through a grueling 90 minute yoga session.
Pre-yoga snack.
Around 4:45, we all piled into the car to head on over to our “date night” yoga class in New Paltz at a studio called Rock Yoga.
I can Rock Yoga. Can you?
Despite the fact that the class was 90 minutes, I wasn’t really very nervous, because in my limited yoga experience, I’ve actually taken two 90 minute hot yoga classes. And, I lived to talk about them afterwards 🙂
As yoga studios go, Rock Yoga was a very welcoming and comfortable space that instantly made you feel a bit calmer once you entered it. Knowing that we were new to hot yoga, the instructor stuck us by the door and the fan, so that we could have access to cooler air if necessary.
Within about 2 minutes of the class starting, my shirt was off, and as my head hung in downward dog, I saw giant sweat beads hitting the floor. That’s the moment where ya just have to embrace that you’re going to sweat like you’ve never sweat before.
The instructor did a great job of explaining every move and making us newbies feel comfortable. She encouraged us to lay down and relax when we felt light-headed, and I did this a couple of times throughout the 90 minutes. I was pretty impressed with the way the boys handled the heat! It’s always fun to watch big, macho guys maneuver their way through a yoga class.
Some of the moves were challenging, but overall, I always felt like there was at least some variation of the move that I could manage. And, before we could say “Ohhhmmmmm,” the class was over, and we dragged our sweaty butts to the deck for some coconut water.
mmmm…electrolytes.
We were told that a coconut water was the best way to cap off our experience, and I couldn’t agree more.
After class, I spoke with Jillian, a yoga instructor (and friend of our German visitors) who had taken the class with us. We talked about how, even though hot yoga is a bit uncomfortable at times, the moves are a bit more accessible to people who aren’t as familiar with yoga.
Jillian is a pretty amazing yoga instructor, and those of you in the Westchester area should definitely check her out (she teaches at Scarsdale Yoga, some Westchester and Connecticut Equinox gyms and a few other places) . I was fascinated by her journey to becoming a yoga teacher and pursing this passion full-time.
Jillian is the one on the right!
While I’ll never be able to be a yoga teacher, speaking of venturing out of that comfort zone, I HAVE finally decided to work towards another one of my goals: obtaining personal training certification. As a healthy living blogger, I’ve read about others completing this certification countless times, and I couldn’t be more excited to obtain my NASM certification.
I was VERY nervous to take the leap to signing up for this long-term commitment, but I finally realized that there would never be a better time in my life to buckle down and do some intense studying. I cannot wait to see where this new adventure takes me!
But, back to the food.
Post-hot yoga, after letting all of the toxins go, we really thought it was extremely important to put some toxins back into our bodies. So, we headed to a local Irish pub for some beer and grub.
The BF and I shared some nachos.
Nachos at an Irish pub? Standard.
And, I ordered the Chicken Bruschetta Salad.
Salad? Not quite.
This turned out to be two giant pieces of fried chicken on top of a sea of arugula lettuce. Despite all of the great workouts in my day, I still didn’t have the appetite to eat more than a quarter of this plate.
So, the BF has lots of leftovers, as I am headed to NYC for the day/night!
Off to finish a few things before jumping on the train!
QUESTION:
Do you do yoga? What’s your favorite kind?
Tips on NASM studying?
What’s the last thing you did that was out of your comfort zone?
whoa congrats on going for NASM!! that’s crazy exciting!! i’m pretty sure i’d die in hot yoga. i cannot stand being hot so being in a 90 ish degree room with lots of other hot, sweaty people sounds like my idea of torture, haha. i love those swedish fish! and those nachos look so good.
Thank you for the kind words. So excited to get started!
I actually like to be hot, but I hate sweating with a passion. For some reason, hot yoga doesn’t bother me. It’s strange!
Swedish Fish are a Sometimes Healthy Staple
Never been to a yoga class. I do yoga by myself at home after a hard run or workout though. Julie from pbfingers.com has a review on how she studied for NASM and passed! Way to go! Im going to do it too as soon as i can pay for it haha
Yes, Julie is who inspired me to give this a try 🙂 She is the best.
If you’re interested, NASM has a payment plan. You should look into it!
I had no idea! Thanks for letting me know!
OMG you are SO SKINNY. GIRL!!!!!
By skinny, I hope you mean BUFF!! 🙂
I have taken a hot yoga class before and loved it, but I couldn’t imagine doing it for 90 minutes- great job! Congrats on making the decision get your certification! It is a big step, but definitely worth taking! Good Luck!
Yes I would definitely stick to 60 min next time 🙂
Thanks for the kind words – I’m excited!
Congrats on going for your NASM certification!! 🙂
Thank you – the encouragement means the world to me!
How fun that the boyfriend joined you for hot yoga! If only I could Kyle to come join me for Zumba sometime 😉
He actually wants to do it again. I can’t believe it!
Hmmm, one thing you can do is make a bet with Kyle – like, who can run the fastest or something like that? Then, whoever wins gets a favor – yours being that Kyle goes to Zumba 🙂
Congrats on the NASM study! From your previous posts, I think you will find it a good fit! Where are your wacky combos today?! I miss my goldfish pictures :p
haha sorry about that – I’ll have more another post! Thanks for the kind words – I hope so!!
I keep telling myself everyday I need to do Yoga! Looks like fun:)
Like Nike says, Just do It! Find a buddy – that will help get you to the first class!
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