Posted on September 1, 2021 | Strong Moves

Micro Workouts + caffeine!

(Scroll down for Full workout video ) + CLICK HERE for why matcha or coffee is advised before you move!

Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could move for 90 seconds and get the same results that come from a half hour workout?

You can. It’s called a “microworkout”. Do it now:

Scroll down! I have a video and steps to show you exactly what to do. You won’t even have to change your clothes!

Wait, Wait! FIRST, KNOW WHY.. Make sure and Read below the quick science on why micro workouts work so well:)

It’s all about lowering your stress hormone, Cortisol.

Cortisol makes your body create fat. If you already have a stress packed day AND you cram in a hard workout over 20 minutes, you are creating even more cortisol. Hello bad sleep, belly fat, exhaustion and brain fog.

Our human bodies were designed to handle very short bursts of stress (run from a tiger, hide in battle) We were not designed to handle prolonged stress (stressful work emails, world news, bad traffic, drama at home.. NOW put a hard workout on top of any one of these things and you are in an uphill battle with cortisol surging inside of you.

Here’s how we fix this: Drop the long workout. Do short movement breaks often throughout your day. Take 90 seconds every 2 hours = 5-6 move breaks OR 4-6 minutes 3-4x in your day. ** I put a CAVEAT below if you have plenty o’time and have little stress in your days

Okay! The video is below. To burn the most body fat and get better brain health- drink a double americano or green tea before you move. CLICK HERE for they why and what to have

If your day is stress packed make the moves easeful. Your body does not need more stress put on it (hello major setbacks). I have examples in the video for you:)

If you are having an easier day- make the moves more vigorous (Sprint up a hill, Do 5-10 pushups) Just make sure you stick to the formula: 1 strength move, 1 cardio move, 1 easy rotational move. It’s all in the video for you!

CLICK HERE for 3 more micro workout videos!

Now Take action. Do these 4 steps shown in Video:

Stop working for 2 mins. Drink coffee or green tea then..
Give your body an easy rotation through the spine.
Choose a high strength movement (ex: push up, plank shoulder tap, knee plank renegade row, 5 Kettlebell Deadlifts…) +
One NON-Impact cardio move. (Impact on your joints btwn hunching over your screens is no bueno)

Repeat #2-4 until you’ve reached up to the time amount you can take – up to 4 minutes. Repeat this 3-6 times more today. The more often you do it, the less time each break.

Our bodies will create good changes when we do movements we can FREQUENTLY and CONSISTENTLY Sustain. It’s time to change, my friend. I’m here with you:)

** caveat!

IF your body is used to longer workouts AND you can sustain those without adding more stress to your day, keep them! ADD in these micro workouts if you’re wanting to see even more results.

THE BIG takeaway here

IF you are frantically trying to keep up with your day AND cramming in a workout, chances are you are working against yourself by creating more cortisol. If that’s the case with your longer workouts – take them out and add in Micro Workouts.

** If you have time to do the longer workouts AND you want more results AND you have the time without adding more stress- then you can ADD the Micro workouts with the longer workouts.

Don’t America this, my friend. More is not better. High quality and less stuff is better:)

BELOW = Journal backed SCIENCE on why “MICRO- WORKOUTS get more results

*Stay tuned to my Instagram and Group FB page for more nuggets of goodness:)

Posted on July 28, 2021 | Awesome Foods

Easy Tikka Masala

From Danielle Walker’s Against All Grains Cookboook
2.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (raw), cut into 2- inch cubes
3 cups tomato puree
1/2 medium yellow onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
2.5 tbsp garam masala
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Place the chicken, tomato puree, onion, garlic , garam masala, salt, ginger, paprika and cayenne in the slow cooker. Toss to coat the chicken
Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

** make ahead tip: place the contents in a resealable bag or airtight container. refrigerate for 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months, defrost overnight in a fridge and simply do step 2 🙂

You need to add a widget, row, or prebuilt layout before you’ll see anything here. 🙂

Posted on July 28, 2021 | Awesome Foods

Crockpot it up!

Summer may seem like a weird time for crock pot recipes, but really it’s the perfect set up. You spend very little time in the kitchen and you don’t use your stove/oven. Win, win!

The best part is you cook once, with very little time of your own then you have a great meal for 2 people for 2-3 meals. I often cook one recipe and have it for 3 dinners (Sat, Mon & Wed.. my longest days) I can reheat it and have a kick ass dinner ready in just 4 mins.

Simply reheat on the stove top then serve it over raw spinach, chard or kale with goat cheese, walnut and avocado.

Here are 2 crock pot recipes that I use super often in the summer. CLICK on each below and enjoy!

Chicken Tikka Masala

Ropa Vieja

Serve these up instead of using your outside grill. Two carcinogenic compounds (HCA’s + PAH’s) are formed with open flames and dry air.

** Pro Tip! Double the recipe – If you don’t have 2 crockpots- put the raw ingredients in a large freezer ziplock bag- simply freeze it until you are ready to cook again. Take it out of the freezer on a busy work morning, let it cook for up to 9 hours on low (no need to be home) and whallah, you’re set!

Posted on July 17, 2021 | Uncategorized

Patterning. My best (and most time efficient) tool to reach ANY goal

If you want to be great at ANYthing, you must do it A lot, right?!

This is patterning. The video above is what I do 8x a day right now. I simply drop down to the floor or ground once every hour and do 1 rep of this push up. Please enjoy “boobs out” from my coach Andrea U-Shi Chang:)

I love patterning, it takes up less of my time (rather than a full hour workout, you take 20 seconds – 6x a day)

Our bodies and minds get better results with patterning. The repetition in little bursts stays with us better.

Think of teaching a kid new words and using flashcards, you have the photo on one side and the word on another. You do just a few, so the kid doesn’t get bored or throw a fit. But you do them 2-4 times throughout the day. Then once they’ve got it – you pick harder words to keep them moving forward.

Here’s how YOU can use patterning to reach ANY GOAL.

Pick One thing (Keep it super practical)
Do that one thing the same way (Keep it consistent)
Do it VERY often ( Keep it frequent)

Do your one thing, the best you can, over and over. Increase the challenge every 2-3 weeks. The video above is my pattern work right now to reach my goal of a one arm push up by Jan 15th 2022. Please enjoy my coach, Andrea U-Shi Chang yelling “boobs out” 🙂

If you want to join me on better push ups CLICK HERE for my step by step instructional video

Below are the exact steps for you to reach ANY goal with patterning.

Patterning works for ANY goal.

Let’s say you want to lose weight.

Start with ONE thing within that goal. Fasting is a great start= Try to stop eating 3 hours before bed and waiting longer till your first foods the next day (a good window is 12-14 hours).

Now pick how often (how many nights) that is TOTALLY realistic for you to do. For me that I can only nail a 14 hour fast window 4 nights a week.

Now do that for 2-3 weeks, then up the challenge. Up your fasting window OR keep that pattern and ADD your next nutrition habit, more greens at dinner:)

Here’s a NON fitness pattern example for you:

You want to save $1000 a month. But that’s totally unrealistic right now.

One thing = You can save $100

How often = you can set aside $100 once a week. Set up an automatic weekly transfer for that $100. That gets you moving forward the best you can right now.

Change it in 2-3 weeks 3 weeks change that weekly transfer to $103 or $108

You’re a smart human, you get the jest of this. Just remember, to keep moving forward you must up the challenge every 2 -3 weeks.

My next step is one arm out to the side long with 3 fingers touching – and doing 1/1 ten times a day. I will keep sharing my progressions on Instagram (Burn Brighter Coaching) for you:)

Please leave a comment below! Let me know what your one thing is, and let me know how many times a day or week you are wanting to do this.

Posted on July 17, 2021 | Awesome Foods

Ropa Vieja!

Slow cooker recipes are perfect for summertime dinners. Your kitchen doesn’t get hot AND it’s a much better for your body than grilling

Next time you have guests over for a summer dinner, try this Ropa Vieja It’s great with a cucumber and goat cheese salad! enjoy!

Recipe from Danielle Walker’s Against All Grains

2lbs flank steak, cut into 6 pieces
2 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 jalapenos, seeded and sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 (18-ounce ) can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
2 tsp ground cumin
1 bay leaf
2.5 tsp pink himalayan sea salt
1/4 cup green olives

Place all of the ingredients except the olives in a slow cooker, with the beef on the bottom.

Cover and cook, undisturbed for 7 hours. Add the olives and cook an additional hour

Once done, shred the meat with 2 forks and return to the sauce before serving.

**pro tip – double this and have extra for 2 extra evenings for you and yours. (put ingredients in an aritight container, keep in fridge and put it in the slow cooker) – cook it for your friends and the next day or a couple later- simply toss in the crockpot to make more.

I often do this and simply reheat in a pan quickly for a busy night dinner. I add about 1.5 cup spinach to the Ropa Vieja 1 min before it’s done to get in more veg then Add some gluten free toast, with avocado (my fav is Food for Life, seed muffins) .

Whallah! Enjoy:)

Posted on June 30, 2021 | Strong Moves

See the body you love. My 2 daily steps

CLICK HERE for my summer salad dressing recipe

This is my body at 42 years old. This is not easy for me to show myself without a shirt or more make up on. I hide my body often.

When I look in the mirror I see a thick midsection, a soft belly, circles under my eyes & lines at my neck. I am my own worst critic

I’m saying “enough!” to this bull shit self talk. I’m seeing all this because I choose to believe all this. “You will always find the evidence for what you choose to believe” IN-Q

I should value and appreciate my body! I have 4 strong & full functioning limbs, a healthy brain, great friends, true love in my life and a job that gives me purpose. It’s time to change this daily pattern. I’m making a daily practice to turn criticism into adoration.

To undo years of shitty self talk, I must be consistent with my body positivity practice. That’s why I made this 2 step daily practice.

I’d love for you to join me. I’m kicking this off July 1st and I’m challenging myself to do this every day till Aug 1st ( 62 days forms a new habit into an automatic behavior)

“Bre’s LOVE MY BODY RESET Plan” July 1,2021 – Aug 1 2021 (at least)

Step 1: State this quote each morning “You will always find the evidence for what you choose to believe” IN-Q

Step 2: Look at my body in the bathroom mirror and say new beliefs (appreciations) about the parts I judge:

Soft belly – Thank you for taking time to enjoy hot chocolates (my recipe here) over deep talks and slow walks with good friends
Thick midsection– Thank you for strong muscles to keep my back safe and strong so I can move well and calm my mind.
Arms – Thank you for snuggling in bed with a person you love. I love your for picking up healthy fats to keep my mood happy & brain healthy .
Eyes and Neck – Thank you for the years of deep concern you’ve held for others.You’ve seen a lot and felt a lot.

If you want to stop judging your body .. do this daily for a couple months with me. Let’s feel stronger & enjoy summer more! I will put some check ins on my Instagram page @Bre Brighter / burnbrightercoaching

I’ll check back on my FACEBOOK GROUP SUPPORT PAGE to see how this is going for you. Check in there for weekly food and exercise tips!

Posted on June 29, 2021 | Awesome Foods

Cool Chocolate Treats & S’mores!

CLICK HERE for my ChocoAvo pudding. RECIPE It’s my go to comfort treat & my friends love it in the summer.. rich & cold!

BELOW are the fixin’s for Healthy Smores!

Don’t worry they are still totally delicious + less sugar hangover.

HONEY MAMA’s are hands down my favorite chocolate bar.

This is super delicious, VERY satiating (you don’t need much to be satisfied) and feels indulgent.

I buy a couple of these for friends when life gets rough OR when they are coming over to enjoy with coffee.

These are also great as the chocolate part of your smores, they are softer than a hard chocolate bar AND have way better ingredients.

They are refined sugar free and dairy free CLICK HERE for their product site CLICK HERE for amazon order link

I will be putting these with the most healthy graham crackers & marshmallows I can find

KINNICKKINNICK – gluten free, dairy free no refined sugar

For the mallows- I go with DANDIES …I gotta be honest – NO marshmallows are healthy.. they are sugar! But I indulge a couple times a year with these. They have less additives and are made in a dedicated vegan facility. Both should be at your local CO-OP or check Amazon:)

Enjoy your 4th of July!

Posted on June 28, 2021 | Uncategorized

July 2021 Newsletter

It’s July! I’ve noticed that these extremely hot days bring 2 specific struggles for people.

#1 is knowing what to eat. With social gatherings and high temps, we don’t want to cook and end up indulging in not so healthy foods (chips, desserts, drinks)

That’s why I’m sharing 2 recipes + my favorite healthy store bought treat. There is no cooking (blender only) AND this one treat goes great with S’mores! CLICK HERE for those goods.

Click Here for my best salad dressing that the most picky and non healthy eaters love.

#2 (struggle) not happy with our bodies. We pull out the swim suits, stand in front of the bathroom mirror and see what we don’t like about ourselves. It’s time to turn criticism into adoration.

CLICK HERE for 2 step practice I am challenging myself to use daily. This will help me see the body I love in the mirror.

NITRIC OXIDE! It’s a molecule you want more of always. It’s in you and it’s easy to produce more. Learn why you really want more and exactly what to do!

** caveat!

*Stay tuned to my Instagram and Group FB page for more nuggets of goodness:)

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