The Destress Quest is to help everyone (yes, anyone can do this!) find a groovier balance in tuning into their bodies and taking the reins when it comes to managing stress. But WHY do we care about stress? Let me break it down: WHAT IS STRESS A definition of stress? "A state of mental, emotional or physical strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances."...
THE CORN SUPREMACY By: Lauren Anderson I don't wanna brag, but I had a pretty good week. You know those weeks, where everything is just pretty good? You do good at your job for the most part, you have fun with your family and friends, you feel helpful and happy. Your outfits are easy to put together, (the right layering for the right weather), and you even get...
Ready to learn all about why fermented vegetables are trendy right now? Have you SEEN how much sauerkraut sells for at the co-ops? ...Yes and yes? Perfect! Come to Solcana Wellness in the community room from 2 to 3 PM on Saturday, June 11th and learn how to make sauerkraut and beet kvass, get your questions answered, taste some samples and bring home fermented goodies that YOU...
Hey buddies! I'm amped to announce a new gym challenge that's going to take place next month! The Destress Quest! The Destress Quest is a 12 day mini-challenge which incorporates four major aspects of health: Food Quality + Water Intake Sleep Quantity and Quality Stress Management Techniques Physical Movement Strategies Combining all of these factors, the Destress Quest pairs you up with a partner (we like to call them accountabilibuddies around...
Listen, folks. I'm gonna be bolding a whole lot of sentences in this post because it is DARN important to me. If you're someone that is consistently working out, putting in time at the gym, going for long runs, watching what you eat, tracking what you're eating, all in the effort to lose weight, and you're NOT losing weight: You're not broken. You're not lazy. And you need to eat...
Seems kinda like a funny post, right? But I swear, proper hydration is a big deal. It's easy to become hydrated, and now that the weather has been beautiful for close to two (WHOLE!) days, I'm feeling like summer is right around the corner. And with summer nearby? Ah, good old' sweat. Whether you're playing outside, getting buff at Solcana, gardening or the like, it's...
A BAD CASE OF THE SUGAR BUTTS By: Lauren Anderson Oh HI. Ready to talk about butts? Haha! Good. Cause I'm always ready to talk butts... When you're making a total lifestyle transformation, things are bound to get messy. I have talked about triumphs, I have talked about failure, but I have yet to talk about the most triumphant failure in my CrossFit journey to date. The Sugar...
By Coach Hannah I started working with Lucia on my individual nutrition last August, and since then have totally changed the way I see food and the way I understand how to fuel my body. I am excited to share my story because I know that my personal outlook has completely altered, and I hope that many of you can experience the same thing. When...
LINE UP FOR CONFIDENCE By: Lauren Anderson So the other day, after a workout at Solcana, I found myself at a coffee shop in the skyway. Before entering the establishment though, I got a text. I stopped just a few feet from the entrance to check my phone. And when I looked up, there were two people standing behind me, patiently waiting. They had formed a line. I...
Nor in your mouth. Nope. Digestion begins... in your brain. Think about that--THE BRAIN! How strange, right? Let me explain... The next time you're feeling stomach woes--food is just sitting there, food is moving on through too quickly, you see a bunch of undigested stuff in your poop, you haven't pooped in two days, ask yourself... was my brain ready to eat that meal? Did I just snack mindlessly?...
I find that time and time again, we want answers. SOLID answers. We want black and white, yes or no. It would make things easy, less stressful... right? Should I eat this? Should I never touch that food again? Should I only eat carbs around workouts? Will gluten kill me? Will CARBS kill me? Should I eat this superfood every day? TWICE A DAY?!? Here's the thing. There...
If you've been reading for a while, you know that in order to really cinch in your health, you've gotta start with a few basics: Sleep (get enough, frequently) Stress (don't get too much, keep it infrequent) Movement (get enough, frequently) Hydration (get at least half your body weight in ounces of water per day. Caffeinated beverages don't count) Once you are getting enough sleep, you have your stress managed...
Ah, one week into the Open already, counting down the hours before tomorrow's mystery 16.2 workout is announced at 7 PM tonight. Regardless of what could be throw our way, I thought I'd pass along my top three tips for recovery during the Open. Each workout is a beast in its own right. While Hannah has all of us either strictly recovering on Thursday or...
This is the third in a series of three posts about being a participant in the Essential You program from member Kate O’Reilly, a writer and strategist who lives in Minneapolis with her two children and partner. Around the middle of last summer, I was having daily pain in my head and neck that I could no longer ignore. I started seeking help of doctors of...
This is the second in a series of three posts about being a participant in the Essential You program from member Kate O'Reilly, a writer and strategist who lives in Minneapolis with her two children and partner. Smack in the middle of starting the Essential You plan, I had a trip to Mexico planned. I mean, it's February in Minnesota, soo of course I did. So far...
I so excite. We have new group nutrition classes starting in March, with TWO class options! I condensed the class to five sessions (instead of six) to make it even more affordable and accessible, in addition to now offering an online class option as well: Sundays, March 6 - April 3rd Online Class: 2:00 - 3:30 PM: $189 (or $179 for Solcana Members) In Person Class (at Solcana...
I CHANGED 30 WAYS IN 30 DAYS By: Lauren Anderson A lot can happen in 30 days. You could move to a new city, get a new job, fall in love, learn workable Spanish, hitchhike through New Zealand, teach yourself some chords on the guitar, or you could do a food challenge with some strangers at your local Solcana Wellness Center, and eliminate sugar from your life...
This is the first in a series of three posts about being a participant in the Essential You program from member Kate O'Reilly, a writer and strategist who lives in Minneapolis with her two children and partner. Chances are high if you're already a part of the Essential You nutrition program or thinking about enrolling in the upcoming March course, you've already done a great deal...
So you have some data from the bodpod or another measurement, now what? What to do with this data? Here are some ideas: 1. You Are A Whole, Complete Human I don't know anyone who is immune to self-doubt. Data from tests like these is just that--data. It doesn't show your smile, it doesn't show your love for your best friend or children, it doesn't show your...
THE THINGS WE CARRY By: Lauren Anderson It's midnight on a Thursday. I'm alone. Chopping vegetables in the kitchen. AGAIN. My sister Marnna comes in. She takes one look at my face and says, “Jeez Laurie, what's wrong?” (My sister still calls me Laurie, a holdover from childhood.) I look up. I didn't realize I had a cartoonish frown on my face. But I did. I looked like...
Oh, sugar. Did you know that sugar does more than just give you a big boost of energy and a gnarly crash? We talk about this and more a lot in the Essential You nutrition classes. Here are three things sugar does in the human body that may leave you feeling rather crummy, whether or not you feel the big bigs and big lows (and three...
IS THAT A GREEN-TIPPED BANANA IN YOUR POCKET... By: Lauren Anderson And can I please have it? Please? I'm so freaking hungry. JK. EVERYTHING IS FINE. IT'S FINE. Really. I'm okay. Really I am. Okay, I'm not. But every day gets better right? Well... let me give you an idea of the week I had: Day 1: I ate a salad and yelled at Coach Jenn. (See Week 7 blog...
Hey all! Last week I posted this photo onto our Solcana member facebook group dedicated to happy, healthy eating. I got a few questions about food prep after posting the photo showing what I made in about 40 minutes, so I thought this week I'd describe my process and some of the rational behind what I try to prep and why. I also linked to some other...
THE DAY I YELLED AT COACH JENN By: Lauren Anderson I have felt a number of different things while working out. If you've been reading along, I've felt thrilled, elated, terrified, unsure, sad, broke down, triumphant, and badass. The one thing I haven't felt yet is MAD. Like, pure white hot rage. Until my last workout that is... So when I yelled at Coach Jenn at our last...
I've totally got a crush on the mineral magnesium. I say that a lot, and I mean it. Magnesium is a mineral used by every organ in our body, and it's increasingly hard to come by in our modern lives, which unfortunately isn't so great, since our modern lives (re: stress, fatigue, sugar consumption) actually deplete our already low levels of magnesium! Yikes! Luckily, there's plenty...
December is winding down and the new year is fast approaching. Most of us are probably feeling a combination of excitement and stress right now as we prepare to celebrate the end of 2015 and move into 2016. One thing that always comes up this time of year is the idea of new years resolutions. Resolutions are great in theory, but a challenge in practice. A...
(hey y'all. This is my last post in our #squatcity programming cycle. Check out, #CARBS, #squatcity and You, Starches versus Sugars, All About That Gluten , and Eating Less Processed Foods which are the previous posts in my series to catch up) I want to incorporate three ideas into today's post: Choosing proteins Choosing to surround your plate with nutrient dense foods Choosing hydration Why these options? Because they're easy...
Hey buddies! Lucia here. I'm so pumped to finally announce that starting in January I will be offering a new nutrition program, called the Essential You program! I AM SO EXCITE!!! What is it? The Essential You program is a six week class series with a built-in four week dietary shift in the middle. The program is open to anyone who is interested in feeling more energy, better...
(this is the third post in my series for getting through the holiday season with grace and some semblance of control. Check out, #CARBS, #squatcity and You, Starches versus Sugars, and All About That Gluten which are the previous posts in my series to catch up) This week's focus is to eat less processed foods. Ah, "processed" foods. That's a really vague term, yeah? Let's break...
(today I'm discussing bulletpoint #2 from my post about diet and our current Solcana crossfit cycle) So, how was Thanksgiving? Did you try prioritizing starches instead of sugars? How did it go? Notice any differences? How has this week been in the gym? Today I wanted to talk about gluten a bit. Yeah, that devilish creature! If anyone would have told me 8 years ago, when I chose...
