Hi! I wanted to share something a bit different today - all my eats from yesterday plus a day in the life of my new job! So as most of you know, I did leave my job in advertising and I started a new job as a full time Thrive trainer at City Fitness here in Philly! I am also still teaching group fitness classes as well, so I'm totally immersed in what I freaking love to do. It's a WHOLE different schedule and new challenge but I'm so ready for it. I am training semi-private groups with the Thrive training modality (learn more about it here, it's an AWESOME functional training program) and I'm already amazed by the support of my new bosses, co-workers and the motivation of the few clients that I'm starting with! 

WIAW (What I Ate Wednesday) 

So here's a little sneak peak into what it looks like to work in fitness (when you're first starting out)...

7 AM: Alarm goes off, I have coffee and a little pre-workout snack (too sleepy to get a pic) of half a mashed sweet potato, half a banana, a tablespoon of Sunbutter and some raisins. I got this sweet potato breakfast bowl idea from Jen at peanutbutterrunner.com and I am OBSESSED!! Michael also used to mash sweet potato and banana together in college for a side at dinner. It's a winning combo, please try it. 

8-9:30 AM: I head to the gym near my apartment and practice a few of the strength moves in the Thrive training library as well as put myself through a workout that I will be putting my clients through eventually. This helps me gage the intensity and helps me to program my workouts for them. 

9:30-11:30 AM: I eat my (second) breakfast (pictured below) of an AMAZINGGGG chocolate smoothie bowl - recipe coming soon, this one was a winner!! It was packed with protein and healthy carbs. I also pack my day's worth of food, work on this blog post, take care of a few emails and get ready for the day. I also had a few handfuls of trail mix on the side.

11:45-12:30 PM: I commute to Center City by train and head to City Fitness. My current hours are afternoons/evenings, so I've been getting to work around noon and leaving around 9:30 at night. The gym is slow until about 5:30, but I try my best to work the floor, meet new people and set up some assessments! 

2 PM: I train a client. She does AWESOME. 

3-3:30 PM: Eat a delicious salad with spinach, grilled chicken, avocado, tomato, cucumber, olive oil & balsamic and an apple on the side. I'm really craving a coffee but resist the urge to spend $5 on an almond milk latte, because I can't ever just buy a plain old coffee...

3:30-6:30 PM: Shadow a few of the trainers, work the floor and get ready for my clients in the evening. I also noshed on a couple of these protein balls, they're so good! I have been making The Healthy Maven's protein bites every week. They're great. Actually kind of addictive...I made a batch of 20 on Monday and they're already gone. Whoops.

6:45-8:45: Train a few clients and I also had a couple people come in for an assessment! 

9:00: I eat this combo of veggies, rice, brussels sprouts, sweet potato and ground beef before I got ready to make the commute home (I walk about 15 mins to the train station and the train ride home is about a half hour). The wind was CRAZZYYY last night and literally almost knocked me over getting to the train station. 

10:30 I am HOME!!! I had a snack of cottage cheese, PB and jelly (yes, it looks disgusting, but trust me it's so, so good) before bed and then hit the hay at around 11. This morning I'm up and at em' - teaching an 8 AM cycle class at Body Cycle Studio before heading to City Fitness for a team workout, several assessments and some client sessions. It will be another long day and I wouldn't trade it for the world. 

Have a GREAT one, you guys. 

XO- Rach

Is there something you just CAN'T go without eating every day? 

How is it that today is new years eve?! I won't get too sentimental here, but I think it's extremely important to look back at how far we've come and set ourselves up for another great year. And you'll want to stick around for this one because I'm partnering with iHerb to giveaway a $50 SHOPPING SPREE to not one, but TWO lucky readers!!  But first can we please appreciate the beauty that is Florida? I was so happy to visit home over the holiday. I enjoyed some much needed refresh, reset and unplug time! 

Okay, SO much happened in 2015!! Let's just take a quick look at my favorite 8:

1. ahealthfulheart.com was born, which has brought me so much joy.
2. I graduated from the University of Florida, AKA the best damn school ever. 
3. I got my first job out of college at an advertising agency. I'll remember that feeling of relief for the rest of my life. 
4. Philadelphia became my new home. Although it's not always sunny, I'm so thankful I landed here - this city ROCKS.
5. Michael and I moved in together! What are we, adults? 
6. So many weekend travels commenced, which was one of my 2015 new years goals and I'm so thankful to have been able to see different parts of the country!
7. I've connected with so many other incredible bloggers through the BGB Community. (If you're a blogger check it out.)
8. Group fitness has remained a huge part of my life and I've been lucky to be able to teach for three different gyms up here in Philly. I love it so much!

These are a few of the highlights, and it's important to remember that along with all of the good times, there's also been a LOT of challenges. Moving to a city I've never lived in, starting a brand new job and trying to succeed in said job while balancing it with a blog, teaching & spending time with family & friends has not been the easiest (OK serious first world problems, amiright?!) But I'm trying my best to always enjoy the progress :)

Now what about YOU?! How was your 2015 and what are you looking forward to in the new year? Maybe it's winning this awesome giveaway? ;)

Okay, now onto the fun part. iHerb.com is a wonderful online shop for all of your health food, environmentally-friendly cleaning products, herbs, supplements and beauty products. When I was in college, I shopped on iHerb all the time for snack bars and nut butters that were so much cheaper to buy in bulk online than in the health food stores around my university. I love shopping on iHerb.com because there's always great deals. iHerb sells more than 35,000 products from over 1,000 popular brands. In the US specifically, all orders over $20 get FREE shipping!

I recently just completed a HAUL of products that will help me stay energized and healthy at the start of a busy new year and I want to help you do the same! It's simple: To enter to win a $50 shopping spree to iHerb.com...

1. Comment below with what product you would purchase if you win the prize!
2. Follow @ahealthfulheart  and @iherbinc on Instagram

You will be able to enter today until FRIDAY JANUARY 8! iHerb.com is sponsoring not one, but TWO winners to have a $50 shopping spree! (Winners, you MUST register on iHerb to claim your prizes; International readers, you must check that iHerb ships to your country, details at the end of this post)

In the mean time, you can follow iHerb on Facebook & Twitter and shop on iHerb with my code, LCV378, to receive $5 off your first purchase! 

Now go ahead and get commenting and/or shopping!! GOOD LUCK! 

***

Thank you for your support of my partnership with iHerb! All opinions are my own. 

Winners MUST REGISTER to iHerb to claim their prize.

Shipping will be taken care of for both US and non-US winners. The following only applies if the winners are out of the US. Specifically for winners out of the US, they are responsible for any additional taxes/duties/brokerage fees levied to them by their Customs Agency and/or Postal Service.

International readers: go to iherb.com, add a product to the shopping cart and click the "Country" drop down menu to see if your country is listed.

XO- Rach

What product would you purchase if you win the giveaway?

Around the holidays, a lot of us tend to get so stressed out at work, stressed about family, stressed about getting gifts, the list goes on! But the absolute most important part about the holiday season - and any time of year, for that matter, is G I V I N G.  Although it's a hobby, blogging has brought so much joy into my life in the past couple months. I was invited to share my thoughts, challenges & support into the Bloggers Gonna Blog Facebook group a little while back, and it has changed the game for me. I never thought I could meet such talented, motivated & supportive people over the internet! The group has played a huge role in teaching me that blogging and building your personal brand is oh, SO much more than that. It's about CONNECTING with others and GIVING the support that you want and need as well. It takes a whole community to build a community. I'm so thankful to be part of such an awesome group of like-minded peeps. Georgie & Christina coordinated a big gift exchange for us all and I was so excited to give and get my gift! 

Secret Santa

My beautiful bloggy secret santa was Cassie from Almost Getting It Together! Cassie is a blogger in San Francisco who works full time in marketing and has time to run her awesome website. I love reading through all of her tips and lifestyle posts! Check out her blog for simple recipes and awesome travel tips.

Cassie put together one awesome gift. I've never tried these Rise Bars before and I'm so glad she introduced me to them because they're delicious!! Such wholesome ingredients. My favorite was the Carob Chip and the Sunflower Cinnamon! I haven't bought these at the grocery store yet, but my bet is that you can for sure find them at a Whole Foods! Cassie hit the nail right on the head here as I'm always on the go or in the office and ALWAYS need to have my snacks on me ;)

Cassie also sent over some Cheesy Pizza Kale Chips! Another great snack to always have on hand.

The next two items are my favorite. This Sweet Almond and Raspberry Seed oil has been saving my skin every night. Even though this winter has been extremely mild [not complaining], as soon as the weather gets below 70, my skin seriously turns into leather [Florida baby]. I get so dry! This oil makes my face and hands feel smooth and refreshed all the time. I've been using it at night and my skin doesn't feel so parched in the morning. 

I also received this amazing DIY skin care kit from Leonamade.com. The ingredients all come from family farms and fair trade coops. It's all natural and includes coconut oil - I'm in! I can't wait to experiment with this. I also love knowing exactly what's going into the product that I schmear on my face every night. 

Thank you SO much, Cassie for the amazing Secret Santa gift! I'm so thankful to be part of such an awesome group. Going into 2016 I can't wait to keep connecting with other bloggers. It's so important to give support in order to receive it. Check out Beverly's post on sweatyandfit.com to see what I got her for our gift exchange! 

I hope everyone has a wonderful, fantastic, all around amazing holiday this year. 

XO- Rach

What are your Christmas plans? New Years plans?

Did you take part in a gift exchange this year?

What's your favorite part about the holidays?