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Showing posts from 2013

2013 Trimarni recap

Another year means another chance to reflect. Here are a few of my most memorable moments from 2013. But first, I want to say THANK YOU to all the Trimarni fans and followers for letting me share my passion for health, nutrition and fitness with you. And for all my athletes and fitness enthusiasts, thank you for letting me enjoy the journey with you as you reached personal nutrition/body composition goals and crossed finish lines. 2014....I can't wait to live each and every day to the fullest! JANUARY   I exchanged my goggles, compression and running shoes for Oakley women snow gear in Utah.   I have really enjoyed being on set for News4Jax. This has been a dream come true for me to be on TV and share my passion for food and public speaking. Melanie is so great to work with and I really enjoy our energy together. For my TV segments you can find them on my PRESS page on my website. FEBRUARY     There's never a shortage of Trimarni creations in ou

Goal setting for 2014

I think a New Year is a great time to think about new goals but to also reflect on the past year.  In your head, goals always sound great.  Qualify for Kona or a National competition. PR at my upcoming marathon.  Travel more. Be a better planner.  Have a better attitude. Get more active in my community. Get a new position at work.  But the challenging part is not only seeing them through but also, having an action plan that allows for progress, setbacks and everything in between.  I thrive off goals. I can not function well in life without goals for goals give me meaning. They keep me motivated and they keep me enjoying the journey of life. I am never too hard on myself with my goals for I keep them as realistic as possible. And most of all, I know in life that things happen that stop me from being consistent. So the plan often changes, but never the goal.  As we enter a New Year, this is a perfect time to set short and long term goals for yourself in the fol

Training, food and work - catching up

I love this quote. I'm sure you agree if you love your job.  This past week has been very busy for me (thus the lack of blogging) so I thought I'd catch you up.... MONDAY: I love my PRN (as needed) position at Baptist Medical Center Beaches because it allows me to help out the other clinical RDs when they need time off work. This gives me only a handful of days each month to put on my clinical dietitian hat but because the human body is so amazing, I always learn something new, every time I see patients in the hospital. This week I worked Mon, Tues, Wed (on call only), Thurs and Fri so it was really nice to follow patients all week and to spread some good health and cheer to those who were not well during this time of the year. But of course, being a clinical RD requires a lot of brain power so that leaves little energy in the evening for blogging. Delicious tempeh and broccoli stir fry with quinoa: Tempeh Broccoli Mushrooms Quinoa Marinara sauce 1. Cooked temp

Real food, home cooking. Who doesn't love the holidays?

I've had a few life changing events that involved traveling over seas.  When I was 13 years old I traveled to Japan as part of an exchange program with my school. It was really exciting to stay with a family for 2 weeks and to go to school with my Japanese "siblings." When I was 20 years old, I traveled to Cebu, Philippians for a work service trip with my college. It was a life changing experience that really changed me. Perhaps it is the trip that gives the "whys" as to why I am so passionate about so many different things today particularly involving quality of life and the diet. I had no running water for 2 weeks (only bucket showers where I would pump my own water for 1 bucket per shower), I slept on concrete (with a sleeping bag), I had no air conditioning (in May) and food portions were very small.  I am so grateful that my parents gave me two international trips when I was growing up because when I met Karel, I felt like it was meant to be th

Physiological adaptations to altitude: train smart

I remember my very first destination bike ride - beautiful Lake Tahoe in September of 2006. This was a very exciting opportunity for me to ride my bike somewhere new and to experience how much I love having gears. I had my tri bike less than a year but I instantly fell in love with climbing. Oh, this trip was also extra special because my "boyfriend" Karel (who I had been dating for less than 5 months) joined me for our first trip together.  I guess if any guy would voluntarily ride his bike around Lake Tahoe with me for "fun", he would be a keeper. Lucky me! As much as I love traveling to race and racing to travel, it's important that when I pick my races, I understand the variables that can have a positive and negative impact in my racing experience. I put a lot of time, effort and money into my race day planning and training so it is important to me that I am able to do my best on race day by controlling my variables. Because my best distance

The need for swimming speed - three key swim workouts

I couldn't believe my eyes on Friday morning when Karel joined me for part of my main set at the Brooks YMCA. For the past two months he has been swimming at UNF with a Master team that emphasizes form before distance. Karel kept telling me how much more he was enjoying swimming and that he was getting faster without significantly working any harder. Also, no shoulder pain and a true enjoyment for being in the water. Yes, all coming from my bike-loving hubby who just learned how to swim in June 2012. There are so many health benefits to swimming. Plus, it' so much fun to pretend you are a fish.  I think swimming is a fantastic exercise of choice for almost anyone because it is non weight bearing but I often see triathletes swimming and swimming and swimming - focusing on the yards or time and not on what is happening within those laps. There's a constant need for speed but triathletes have trouble training smart sometimes. I see/hear it all the time.... "I h

Minty Chocolate Trail Mix Bark with coconut

As a dietitian, there are many food and lifestyle related topics to discuss when it comes to heart health. Last year, when I was asked by News4Jax to talk about the health benefits of chocolate and wine, I thought to myself, " this will be one yummy segment!"   You can watch the segment  HERE: EAT DRINK AND BE MERRY As we all know from the media and research, dark chocolate packs a great heart-healthy punch. Although bitter to many, up to 1.5 ounces of dark chocolate a day (I recommend >60% cacao) alongside a balanced heart healthy diet is the way to go. Whether it is due to the nutrient compound found in chocolate or just the way it makes most people feel inside after taking one bite, chocolate alone has been shown to improve cardiovascular health (lowering LDL cholesterol and blood pressure), reduce inflammation, control appetite (ex. overeating/excessive snacking), increase insulin sensitivity, reduce blood clot risk by improving blood flow and improve