Favorite Friday Finds 13.0
This edition of Friday Finds was supposed to come to you two weeks ago, but I blame Mercury in retrograde for the tech issues that led to the deletion of my entire post at 2am. Or at least, I'll try to shoulder some of the blame on Mercury!
Right to it this week-
Here are the seven things that I was inspired by, learned from, and laughed and smiled at this week. Would love to hear any fun things you've read, as well!
Inspired
1. In the case that you have been living under a rock this week, Caitlyn Jenner (formerly Bruce) made her debut on Vanity Fair's cover.
Everyone talks about how admirable it is because she's a symbol for open acceptance, the transgender community, and represents a big step forward in modern society- all of which I wholeheartedly agree with. But the biggest reason I admire Caitlyn for all this is for doing this for herself regardless of the inevitable backlash from some and the fact that she is a very public figure (she broke Obama's Twitter record within 5 hours of joining the platform).
A lot of people say that well, famous people have it easier than others, which I'm sure in some ways that may be true, but underneath it all, she is a human. A human with fears, dreams, and struggles. Can you imagine feeling like you had to live a lie for 60+ years? Self-acceptance is tossed around quite a bit, yet it is truly one of the hardest things to do in a lifetime- regardless of what your personal struggle is. So brava, Caitlyn.
2. Badass fitness boss Jen Comas tells her awesome story of going from a cardio queen to a strength chick, and how it changed her life so much more for the better. I think many of you ladies will empathize with her story, and hopefully give you some inspiration!
Learned from
3. As a trainer, this is an uphill battle for a lot of our clients. Fruit is awesome and amazing, but lately with the spike of smoothie and juice bars, along with Instagram drool-worthy photos of fruity smoothie bowls to the nines, most people are ingesting anywhere from 30-90g (!) of sugar per standard smoothie or juice. I'm in the middle of writing a new article for you guys coming soon on this- but for now, the Q blog has a few tips on watching your fruit.
4. I'm really glad to hear that Panera is joining Chipotle and Tyson on the "no-additives" bandwagon, but it also just makes me think of how gross it is that even good old bread at many chain restaurants or food suppliers are filled with all kinds of crazy stuff. Step in the right direction, but a huge staircase ahead.
5. This was a cool one to learn- the travel industry is now really getting behind the solo-traveler movement. 24% of travelers went alone this year, as opposed to 2013's 15%.
I remember when I was telling several people that I was going to Montréal by myself for the holidays, I got quite a few confused looks and also commendations for being so "adventurous and brave." Montréal is such a treasured trip in my mind because the trip was solely about my exploring a new place and doing it however I desired to do so.
6. Everyone knows they should be getting more shut-eye. I've written about my 2 Favorite Tips for Sleep, and 4 Reasons Why Lack of Sleep Stalls Fitness Progress. This great article passed along to me from another trainer friend was great on focusing on How to Spend the last 10 Minutes of Your Day. It's so crucial that we unwind properly and get enough zzz's so that we can be in the best condition possible the next day.
Laughed and Smiled
7. I have been having such puppy-fever, to the point where boyfriend has to drag me away from stranger's dogs so they don't start to think I might puppy-nap them. Sigh. They always make a day better, which is why I'm sharing this gem of 17 puppies who just want to make your day better.
