new year, new rules [a challenge for 2013] + giveaway

Ah, it’s good to be home. Even if my hometown is currently a cold, slushy mess. This morning I woke up at 8AM without an alarm (thanks jetlag!) and was greeted by a flock of turkeys in my backyard.

Yup, definitely not living in the city right now.

Despite the snowy conditions here I still managed to get my butt to the gym this morning for a group fitness class. In London my workouts were in “vacation mode”. Yes, I worked out most mornings but I lacked the motivation and discipline to do a real, ass kicking workout. The week ended up being a really nice recovery week for my beat up body.

[see! I went to the gym! and discovered this strange, strange machine]

Eating healthy wasn’t a priority especially since every meals was eaten at a restaurant. This week I consumed more sweets than I care to admit.

[prixe fixe menu? well I guess I’ll eat a brownie… if I have to….]

 

Being home means vacation eating and lazy workouts are over—it’s time to get back to healthy choices, home cooked meals and sweaty workouts.

I am super excited to announce that I will be participating in Prescribe Nutrition’s “New Year New Rules”  program.

But wait Kayla, you don’t want to lose weight, why are you participating in a food program?

For starters, I’ve always had some belly problems and digestion issues. Many of those problems have been resolved after cutting back on dairy last summer, but I still think there is more to be done for me to really feel my best. This program is not about dieting but focusing on eating clean and eliminating common allergens (dairy, gluten and sugar)

Also, for someone like me who is still getting comfortable in the kitchen I love a challenge that pushes me outside of my comfort zone (ya know, making peanut butter sandwiches every single day) and forces me to try new creative foods.

Not gonna lie though, I’m a bit a worried about how to eliminate gluten from my diet. Bread is arguably my favorite food after peanut butter, but I know it will force me to make healthier decisions and really plan out my meals in advanced. At first I thought eliminating dairy would be an impossible nightmare but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how manageable it is.

Participating in this program will not only guide you through the process but also provide healthy and yummy recipes. I’m definitely excited to branch out from my usual lame cooking and try out some new recipes!

Find out more about the creators Prescribe Nutrition

Interesting in joining me? I am giving away a 20% discount to one lucky reader.

How to Enter:

1. Mandatory. Leave a comment with why you are interested in participating in the New Year New Rules program.

2. For an additional entry follow me on twitter @kaylaruth. leave a comment saying that you followed

Contest ends December 31st 6pm EST and I will chose a winner within 24 hours

London Calling [day 1 & 2 + a WORKOUT]

hello from London! I am here on family vacation and happy to report it is currently not raining and I have some what adjusted to the 5 hour time difference. Win win.

Much of our first day here was spent traveling and napping. One of my guilty pleasures while traveling is reading fitness and fashion magazines that I would never otherwise purchase.

in actuality I spent most of the 6 1/2 hour plane ride sleeping since it was an overnight flight. Usually plane rides are my favorite time to watch movies and TV shows, but sleeping was definitely more important.

We arrived in rainy London groggy, very confused about what time it was and ready for a nap at our hotel. After a nap it was time to grab dinner and walk over to the theater district to see the stage adaptation of “Singin’ in the Rain”

the show was excellent, classic songs from the movie, excellent dancing, and simply an all around fun musical. Hopefully it will make it’s way over to Broadway next.

One of my favorite parts about London is walking around since it looks so different from what I’m used to in New York. It’s also especially magical over here since it’s the holiday season.

 

This morning I woke up early and headed to the hotel gym before family breakfast. When my parents first booked the hotel I immediately google searched that there was a gym and a nearby starbucks…. priorities 🙂

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the hotel gym and came in ready to just wing it depending on what they had. The gym is relatively sparse– a few cardio machines, stability balls and some dumbbells. Once I got there I scribbled down a circuit that focused on dumbbells and enjoyed a nice sweaty workout while listening to a Jillian Michaels podcast

Since all the cardio machines were being used while I was there I ended up doing quick cardio bursts in the form of jumping jacks, high knees and running in place in between each circuit.

The trickiest part about the workout? The weight on the dumbbells aren’t listed in pounds like in America so I had to pick up each dumbbell up and “test it out” to figure out what weight I wanted to use. I’m pretty sure the other gym-goers thought I was crazy picking up all the dumbbells to test them out.

It did feel real good to workout after lots of sitting while traveling.

After a nice breakfast of porridge and a shower it was time to explore the area.

We ended up at this ridiculous winter carnival. I’ve never since anything like this!

The concept of a winter carnival is unheard of to me. It was HUGE and filled with winter themed rides (like the Swiss Alps themed hotel above….) and lots of food.

After exploring for a while it was time to head over to Brixton for dinner and a show.

Warning: major musical theater geeking out ahead. When I was 13 my family went to see the musical “Taboo” during it’s second to last performance on Broadway. It immediately became my favorite show, even though it was an incredibly unlikely favorite for a 13 year old considering it centered around Boy George and the 80s club scene in London. I was infatuated with the songs and characters and was truly devastated that the broadway show closed. When my family heard it was coming back to London, 8 years after falling in love with the show in New York, we knew we had to come see it (yup, the main reason I’m here in London thanks to Taboo!)

While the London version is slightly different than the version I fell in love with on Broadway, it still was unreal to see my favorite show again 8 years later and hear those songs live again.

It’s unreal that I got to see this show again.

 

 

hope you all are enjoying vacations and the holiday season. Anyone else traveling somewhere far away and fun?

“my legs feel like jello” [WORKOUT] + home

aaaaand we’re back.

recap: the journey home

I woke up bright the day of my flight to squeeze in a sweaty sweaty workout before being stuck on a plane for 6 hours.

perks of waking up at 6AM, bitchin’ sunrise

How did I motivate myself to wake up at 6AM and exercise? I already paid for the Soul Cycle class the night before. Wasting money and skipping the class was not an option. This plan worked out much better than if I would have tried to get my butt outta bed and to the gym for a workout on my own…..

bye bye WeHo Soul Cycle. Thanks for making me a sweaty puddle.

Working out before traveling was a brilliant brilliant plan since it helped calm my pre-flight jitters and made sitting for 6 hours much more manageable.

the flight was spent reading about my favorite band

watching “Celeste and Jesse Forever”, which I loveddd. Watching Modern Family…. and studying a tiny bit for NASM.

While skipping walking over to baggage claim, I couldn’t help but blast Green Day’s “Homecoming” on my iPod and smile like a goon. I was finally home. “we’re back in the barrio”

Within minutes of coming home the boy was ready top pick me up and take me to the nearby diner for matzoh ball soup. Oh, it feels good to be home.

recap: less than 24 hours in the city

I’m currently staying at my parents house in Westchester but got to visit my beloved city for a few hours. From the second I exited the subway in Union Square I fell in love with Manhattan all over again.

I had a few hours to kill before the boy arrived in the city for our night of dinner and a show, so after stopping by my apartment it was time to visit my favorite neighborhood spots.

Like Stogo

guys, I don’t care that it’s November and way too cold for ice cream, I’ve been dreaming about this delicious vegan salted caramel pecan ice cream since September. So worth it. It’s things like this that make me loveee New York— in California I just couldn’t justify driving 20 minutes to go get vegan ice cream…. but in New York it’s a few blocks away and I can convince myself that I walked off the calories 🙂

my brain is still convinced it’s summer so seeing wintery fall trees in Manhattan was rather confusing

once the boy made it into the city we visited our favorite Indian restaurant, Jackson Diner, and saw a new musical downtown.

Of course no saturday morning in Manhattan is complete without a delicious new york bagel…..

Workout:

So after eating all my favorite Manhattan foods, I needed to work off that chicken korma and ice cream back in Westchester…..

Luckily the gym was practically empty on a Saturday afternoon so I could take over a section of the weight room

and I didn’t feel too guilty hogging all the weights…..

 

I dunno ’bout you, but my lower body always feels neglected. I can do a gajillion upper body exercises for every arm muscle that will look good in a tank top, but rarely get my legs involved in the workout fun. This is probably because I avoid burpees at all costs……..

Well, all that changed today. Because my legs felt like jello as I walked to my car.

After foam rolling and a 10 minute warm up on the treadmill I ended up doing the workout twice. Initially I thought “yeah I’ll do it three times!” uh no, that wasn’t happening. But I applaud you if you try to do it three times cuz those lunge kicks are killer! I enjoyed pairing this workout with a Jillian Michaels podcast (yup, I’m obsessed).

Hope you all are having a great weekend! After my whirlwind visit to the city, my only other plans this weekend are to relax and spend some time with the boy and friends who are home for thanksgiving.

do you neglect exercising a certain part of your body?

what are your favorite lower body exercises?