Hey guys! Can you believe it’s Friday? It’s been a long one for me – a good one but a long one!
(Having so much fun being my corny self over on SnapChat… You can follow me under username buff bon!)
Well, as you know, it’s the first week of fall, and it’s sure felt like it here in Calgary! Beautiful, crunchy leaves, rainy weather and gray skies, and definitely cooler temps. It’s been a week that’s honestly made me feel like staying under a blanket, and for much of my time in between clients, I have! It’s also weather that makes me want coffee multiple times a day, so I thought for this Friday post I’d do a virtual coffee date! So grab a cup of joe, however you please, and catch up with me!
Mindfulness Dining Experience
On Wednesday night I attended a Mindful Dining event held at Market in Calgary. The setting was beautiful, the food works of art, and with each course (and subsequent kombucha pairing from TruBuch – I talked about them here), we learned tips for a daily eating routine from a psychologist, Sally (follow her website at the link or her IG!) and a nutritionist. It was incredibly fun and I’m so grateful my friend Amanda joined me – the $55 fee for 5 courses (plus a surprise dish!), kombucha and the 7 – 10:30 pm long, lingering chatting and eating was well worth it!
Every dish was delicious, and we learned about mindful eating with each course we were served. This mindful practice brings us insight into the root of a healthy mind and body and can help cultivate a more loving, nourishing relationship with food. I wanted to share a few pictures as well as the 9 take-away tips from the night:
- Name your hunger: is it a physical need or an emotional desire?
2. De-clutter: remove distractions and clutter from the kitchen. A clean kitchen can help you enter a more mindful state!
3. Set the mood: turn the TV off and put on relaxing music!
4. Breath: before you eat, take 3 deep breaths. This relaxes your body and shifts your parasympathetic nervous system into a resting state – rest & digest rather than fight or flight!
5. Slow the fork down.: eat slowly and put your utensils down in between bites. Chew, chew, chew so your body can start the digestion process!
6. Tap into your senses: look at your food and take note of the colors and scents; feel it on your tongue and follow it as you swallow it.
7. The full factor: check in with yourself; on a scale of 0 to 10 (empty to overstuffed), where are you? Aim for a 7/10.
8. Reflect: when you’re satisfied, take 3 deep breaths and reflect on your eating experience.
9. Give gratitude: for all those who’ve had a hand in your meal, give thanks!
It was SO fun, and Amanda was the perfect dining and conversational partner, who got right into it and participated fully – how fun to have a friend like that as well as such a kindred spirit about so many things.
Have you ever practiced mindfulness in the eating arena? It’s so difficult for me to slow down and think through my hunger levels and appreciate my food!
Workouts
These haven’t been quite so mindful this week! I am running a half marathon on Saturday with friends in Canmore (it’s going to be a blast!) that I haven’t trained for one iota. Whoops! I’m comfortable with the distance and it’s going to be so fun running in the mountains, but without the training I’ll be running it, not racing it. Not wanting to go too hard on my legs coupled with the weather and just a general sense of the “blahs” made for very lackluster workouts all week. I did get a deadlift/step up workout in on Monday, a 20 min dumbbell HIIT session in one evening as well as a short kettlebell/burpee workout in Thursday.
Here’s what I did for the KB workout:
20/18/16/14/12 KB Swings
10/12/14/16/18 Burpees
We’ll see how Saturday goes! I’ll be rested, that’s for sure! Plus, it’ll be a fun girls’ weekend in the mountains with some movement either way, which makes me happy!
Family
I got to meet my niece, two days after she entered the world in a short 30 minute labor from start to finish! Here’s what else is crazy: Sarah had a baby, yes. At home. She didn’t make it to the hospital in time (aka she’s an absolute rockstar!) and just like that, Eliana Grace was born! 👶🏻 Her name means “God answers with grace,” and it was very fun to meet this little one and see Sarah and Craig doing so amazing! We love you three (and their now not-so-baby girl, Annelise)! 💕
Sadly, Mikey is out of town and will meet her this weekend, but at least there’s FaceTime to keep us connected while he’s traveling for work!
…err… Maybe not. 😉 Oh brother. I sure love that man though!
Clients
I’ve been inspired by hard working clients all week, even if I haven’t been cranking out my own workouts like they have! My Young Adult Bootcamp started up again at Wellspring Calgary and the group did awesome! I am so proud of their first workout back at it, and some of them very new to exercise in general or post-treatment.
I also was proud of my three meet-in-a-park-clients who met on a chilly evening, after work at the end of the week, while it was raining, and did bear crawls up the hill, skaters, stair jumps, planks with their feet on trees… “Weird and awkward” – that described some of what I made them do, but they did it with smiles and coming off of difficult weeks. So proud of them!
And those are the things I’d catch you up on if we were having coffee together! I’d love to hear how your workouts are, how work is going and what your family is up to, and thoughts on your nutrition these days. I hope you have a great weekend! Live well & be well friends,
Bonnie
Thank you SO much for joining. You added such a bright energy to the room, and I love how you truly, truly engaged in the experience. Can’t wait to have you join for future events!
I so appreciate that, Sally! What a kind thing to say! The event was awesome! I’m excited to follow you online and hopefully connect more face to face! Keep up the inspiring work. 🙂
Grabbing a coffee. Noticing overnight rain drops on the spruce tree just outside the kitchen window. It’s been a week of running around but not much running. A nice yoga class early in the week, a class designed for stretching and holding the pose. Really nice. Building a stretching routine is on my list for the week ahead. 30 day challenges the way thru seasonal changes? Any you recommend?
Love your observation and those still moments to look around and notice (with a cup of coffee, of course). 🙂 Love that concept of 30 day challenges through the seasons! I don’t know any off the top of my head – the internet sure is full of them, though! – but if fall makes you want to stretch, run with it and go from there! I’ll think on it!