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Eat, Lift & Be Married

healthy recipes, fitness tips, wedding inspiration, and adventures in married life

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Hi, my name is Paula Dubovoy and I am so glad that you are visiting my site. I have a passion for fitness and event planning and would love to help you feel AND look great for your big day! Crash diets and extreme workouts are not an option- I'm all about helping you live a healthy and balanced life. I'd love to hear from you!

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Friday vibes ✨

It’s a Good Friday. // He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. BY HIS WOUNDS YOU HAVE BEEN HEALED.// #crossequalslove

Because Easter is just a few days away (which also means the return of the peanut butter!), here’s a little HOT CROSS BUNS + abs workout for you! 60 seconds each, NO REST. Circuit 1️⃣ - BUNS: Banded side step squat with double pulse - alternate Squat hold + abduction Toe taps - switch halfway Not pictured: in/out squat jumps Circuit 2️⃣ (leave booty band on) - ABS: Reverse crunches V-sit + double toe touch V-sits Plank + lateral toe taps Repeat 3X. Circuit 3️⃣ - BOOTY BURNOUT 🔥 30 seconds each, NO REST. Glute kickback with DB behind knee - R Kickback hold - R Kickback pulses - R Repeat on the left side, no breaks. Place your opposite hand on your back to challenge your core. BURN THOSE BUNSSSSS!

These turned out so well I JUST CARROT EVEN. 💁🏼‍♀️ I made a couple small modifications to the Carrot Apple Superhero Muffin recipe from my faaaav cookbook, Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow. I added 1/2 cup pecans, subbed 1/2 cup shredded coconut instead of apple and subbed 1/4 cup maple syrup instead of 1/2 cup honey. They make a great breakfast on the go, mid-morning snack with coffee or pre-workout fuel... you can’t go wrong! And with Easter around the corner, these are a healthy alternative to carrot cake! Or addition. 😋 Nutrition facts: 260 cals, 18g carbs, 18g fat, 7g protein, 7g sugar.

Pistol squatting, or dancing?? Or BOTH! We may already be halfway through the month, but I reassessed my goals last night, made some changes, and recruited someone to keep me accountable. One goal in particular = SUMMER SHREDDING! ☀️ Over the last few months, I’ve put on muscle mass, some body fat and in general have been in a caloric surplus. I’ve basically been in an unintentional “bulking phase.” 💪🏼 Hear me out! I am proud of what I’m capable of strength-wise. I don’t view this as a bad thing in any way and have ZERO regrets about it. We can’t always be in a caloric deficiency or dieting mentality. It’s not healthy - mentally or physically. But it’s all sunshine, rainbows and pull-ups until the bridesmaid dress you got measured for back in December arrives and that zipper doesn’t want to go up past your lats! I’m not stressed and I’m not mad about it, because that strength I built and the muscle mass I gained is what has kept me sane the past few months. But it’s time to shred. 😈 I’ll be changing up my routine and implementing a few “cutting” strategies in my routine - just in time for summer! So here’s to day 1 of my summer shredding goals... and fitting back into that dress! Thoughts on bulking vs cutting?! Do you have any experience with either?? Or anything in particular you want to know more about it? If you do, let me know in the comments!

Who needs Gucci and LV when you have matching @pressedjuicery cooler bags?! #whatslouismykilla

Throwing up WEEK 3 of the April Core Challenge - who’s ready?! Wearing my “Boston blue” leggings to celebrate #marathonmonday.💙💛 FUN FACT: these leggings were my first @lululemon purchase - when I was trying to qualify for Boston, I told myself if I did, I would buy my first item from lulu . Needless to say, there’s been a few more since then! Week 3: Plank hip dips Side plank with twist (DB optional) - R Side plank with twist (DB optional) - L Bent leg V-sits - DB optional Single leg drop + hip raise Reverse crunch - hands behind or up Windshield wipers Do as many reps as you can of each exercise for 60 seconds. Complete two rounds. Hope you all had a great start to your week and HAPPY MARATHON MONDAY!

All we can do with this crazy, beautiful life we’ve been given is take it one step at a time. We have to keep picking up one foot and stepping forward... or up in this case last year in Yosemite! That same concept applies to other areas of our lives too. Our health is always going to be an ongoing journey. If we think of “being healthy” as a destination - a weight goal, a size goal, a race time goal, etc. then we’re absolutely missing the longevity of it. When we start to view it as a journey, we take the setbacks as learning experiences. We celebrate victories over bad habits and celebrate victories over every accomplishment. Day by day, we aim to be a little bit better than the day before. It’s the same way with faith. We don’t ever arrive at a place where we can say, “I got this! I’m good. I’m pretty much as perfect as I’ll ever be.” HA. We will never achieve perfection. I’m far, far from it and not afraid to admit it. Faith is a continuous walk - one that has ups and downs, bumps in the road, and where we feel God’s presence more than others at times. But still knowing that God is walking right there with us the whole time. The important thing that this ongoing “journey, not a destination” mentality for both fitness and faith has in common... is we keep moving forward. ➖ EASTER SUNDAY is a week away and I would LOVE for you to take this as a personal invitation to come experience something that has forever changed my life. It’s honestly the reason I am able to stay so positive and hopeful despite challenging situations. Oh, did I mention there will be live bunnies? And free food?? And maybe even a coffee on me. 😉 Sunday, April 21 at @vive.church - 9:30am, 11:30am or 1:30pm. You won’t regret it!!

What you do / eat post workout plays a major role in your recovery! Your muscles are broken down during a workout - so the workout isn’t what actually makes you stronger. It’s how your muscles rebuild and recover AFTER your workout that actually makes you stronger, fitter, faster! Seems counterintuitive, but it’s true! Do: stretch + foam roll Eat: after a workout, your glycogen is depleted, making it the optimal window to have (good) carbs. Your body is primed and ready to put those carbs to use! And don’t forget about your protein - essential for muscle recovery. A few post workout meal suggestions: Eggs and toast #fab4smoothie Greek yogurt and berries Açaí bowl Sweet potato and chicken Taking my recovery v seriously today by sitting out at the pool with a book. Hope your day is also spent doing something YOU enjoy! ☀️

The only thing deeper than my love for these people is my squats. 😉 HAD TO. #sorrynotsorry Find me a better team of people - you can’t and you won’t! Celebrating birthdays and work anniversaries with THE BEST Wellness squad (+/- a few) around. 🙌🏼

MARCH HIGHLIGHTS on the blog ✨ Spoiler alert: there were so many fun, memorable events and moments in March, but this one was up at the top - getting range of motion back in my ankle and strength in my calf, and hitting a milestone as simple as getting my ankle to neutral. 🎉 I’ve had a few people reach out on IG about my injury and progressions so here’s a quick recap of it for those interested/my new ruptured Achilles IG friends: January 9 - pop! Rupture. January 10 - surgery 1 week of absolute no physical activity. I slept A TON. 1 week post op - cleared to bike for 10 minutes and do upper body/core. This is when I started my 6 week pull-up challenge. 3 weeks in a cast and non-weight bearing. Loved my scooter! 🛴 4 weeks post op - took my first step in my boot. 5 weeks post op - started walking confidently in my boot 10 weeks post op - started physical therapy once/week (and passed out during my first appointment!) . ➖ I have gradually built up my confidence and strength in my lower body over the past 13 weeks - I was doing upper body and core from the beginning, but avoided any lower body exercises except donkey kick backs and fire hydrants initially. Overtime, I started to work on my pistol squats on my good leg. Single leg deadlifts. Glute bridges. I recently started adding barbell hip thrusts, box squats and sumo squats in my boot - with my PT’s permission. And in the past week, I started transitioning to walking in a shoe (with heel lifts and crutches) . Bottom line: everyone’s recovery is going to look and feel different. Listen to your doctor and your PT. Don’t rush it. Trust your instincts. Find things you CAN do and use those things to get you through to the next day, to the next step of your progress. Be thankful and empowered in how far you’ve come since your injury, and stay hopeful that you’ll come back even stronger. If you read my blog, you’ll see that March was pretty great. There are FOUR WEEKS between now and my bday. Let the pre-birthday festivities begin!

(hand)STAND UP! STAND UP! When I move you move - just like that. 🎶🤸🏼‍♀️🤸🏽‍♀️

Chicken and veggie soup aka chicken soup for for the soul AKA HEAL MEEEE PLZ. This soup is as straight-forward as it gets, but its simplicity makes it a perfect go-to recipe when you’re feeling sick. You don’t need much more than fresh vegetables and herbs to give soup amazing flavor and to soothe a sore throat! INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 425°. 2. Toss the vegetables (I used broccoli, cauli and zuccs)in the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. 3. Meanwhile, bring the bone broth to a simmer in a large pot. Add celery, carrots, rotisserie chicken, fresh thyme, and salt and pepper. Cover and cook until the vegetables are roasting. 4. Add the roasted veggies and shredded rotisserie chicken into the pot. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the chicken is hot. Optional: add noodles and/or top with crackers. @marysgonecrackers are my fav!

I decided to classify the Alter G (“anti-gravity treadmill”) as something completely different than a treadmill so in that case..... I HIT A PR TODAY! 🎉 Last week: 40% of my bodyweight | 12 minutes | 0.6mph Today: 50% of my bodyweight | 12 minutes | 0.9mph AND about 20 calf raises! Working on pushing off and through my toes to bring some life back into my calf. Little victories! • 13 weeks post injury. Day 90. •

“What I always try to do through injuries is not think about them, because when the game itself is more significant than the injury, you don’t feel the injury. The injury won’t get in the way because it is not important to you.” - @kobebryant ➖ Running is what I would do to clear my head. It was my favorite way to enjoy beautiful weather. I would go on a run escape from my thoughts, and feel nothing more than my heart pumping and legs moving. And on the days I need that... I miss it so much more. I watched Muse (the documentary on Kobe Bryant’s Achilles tear, career, and comeback) this weekend. Next Saturday, The Resurgence, a documentary on @boogiecousins’ Achilles tear and comeback comes out. I CANNOT WAIT. I may not be able to dunk a basketball in a year like those guys, but I will be back running. Getting back to running is what I want more than anything. Racing. Qualifying for Boston again. Running Boston. Social running with friends. Taking Sydney on a run to the park. Sprinting towards a race finish line. All of those things are more significant to me than my injury. It’s painful to think about those things that I miss doing, but at the same time, that’s all I want to think about so I don’t feel my injury. Like Kobe said, so it doesn’t, and won’t, get in my way.

April Core Challenge Week 1 ✔️ How’d we do?! Ready for WEEK ✌🏼?? We’re taking each exercise from week 1 up to the next level! Week 2: Body saw plank Side plank hip dips - R Side plank hip dips - L Alternating V-sits... with feet up Double leg drop + hip raise Toe touch with DB Russian twist with DB Do as many reps as you can of each exercise for 60 seconds. Complete two rounds. Gooood luck from me and my blue spotted sand leopard leggings. 🐆 It’s a real species, haven’t you heard of it?! OH AND NOTICE ANYTHING MISSING??! Tag your core challenge partner to check in - let’s start the week off strong!

I love Monday’s. And before you write me off as crazy, let me tell you why. So much can happen in a week. Good things like goals we accomplish, milestones we hit, projects we complete, PRs we hit, presentations we nail. But things can also happen in a week that maybe don’t go as we hoped. Maybe it’s a missed deadline, a stressful week or mistakes we made. Whatever happened last week, good or bad, we have the opportunity to learn from those experiences. Our successes can propel us forward. Our “failures” don’t have to break us - if we let them shape us. I encourage you to go into this week with a peace of mind, knowing that beautiful things take time, and that you are constantly learning and blooming along the way. 🌻

A Sunday spent getting a good workout in, picking out fresh flowers, fruits and veggies at the farmers market, church, brunch and enjoying the gorgeous weather... can’t beat that! Making the Thai Quinoa Salad and Pizza Cali from Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow for dinners this week. Chopping up those cucs and radishes for some crunchy snacks, and using the kale for my smoothies. 🤤 Bring on the week!!

Wait.... you mean you don’t need a boot for BOOT camp??

F45 8-WEEK CHALLENGE RESULTS ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ From the end of the last challenge (December) to the scan I did today: Gained 3.5lbs. of body fat Added 2.3% body fat Maintained the overall amount of muscle mass - but lost muscle in my lower body/gained muscle in my upper body Guess what?! I DON’T CARE. I went from being able to do 2 pull-ups to 7. From maxing out at a 2 minute plank to holding a 7 minute plank. I can do 15 pistol squats on my right leg. When I took the pictures on the first day of the challenge, I couldn’t put weight on my foot or do any classes. Now I’m starting to walk in a shoe again and I’m taking F45 classes 5x/week! I may not be as lean as I was before surgery, but I am hella proud of where I’m at, considering my situation and limitations, specifically with cardio. AND all my numbers today were actually still better than where I started for the first challenge, back in October. I’ll take it! What I’ve realized, and what I hope you take from this, is that “transformation” is not always going to be a dramatic change in how you look, or a number on a scale or of a pair of jeans. Transformation can happen mentally - in how you feel about yourself, about a situation or about a relationship. Transformation can be about how much strength you gain. Transformation is about progress of any kind. And any/ALL progress is worth celebrating! 💪🏼🎉

Tag: Disneyland

LA, Hollywood, and How I Really Feel about Disney

After living in the Bay Area for a year and a half now, Mo and I decided to embrace our inner child, and book a trip to Disneyland. I have distant memories of Disney World in Florida as a 1st grader (when I was absolutely terrified of every ride), and 20 years later, here we […]

Read More LA, Hollywood, and How I Really Feel about Disney

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