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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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So grateful for @pegactive and how she’s impacted me in the short time I’ve known her! She’s passionate, inspirational, motivated, welcoming and grateful for life and the Lord. ✨ Not to mention she absolutely the kicked our butts in the workout at @athleta_sf this morning! Find people like these, who challenge you to be a better person and that you can look up to. Keep doing your thaaang girl!!

That look when someone takes the last avocado from the break room.... . HAPPY SATURDAY! Last weekend I was in the city for my spin certification (and sore AF after these flag football games 😂🏈), this weekend I’m back in the city to attend @vive.church conference and volunteer at the kid’s RIOT! conference. Excited to be part of such an incredible event! What are YOU up to to on this first weekend of summer??

Ok YES it might only be one night. But gotta have all the essentials. Purse ✔️ Suitcase ✔️ . Childhood lunchbox cooler (with veggies, nuts, and my bulletproof coffee for the morning). ✔️

o f f i c i a l l y ☀️ s u m m e r That means this bod I’m rocking right now is my “summer body.” The bod YOU’RE rocking right now is YOUR summer bod. There are so many (unrealistic) expectations for that perfect beach body, but in reality, there is no “perfect”! . Yes, we can always make improvements, but that’s not a reason to be unhappy with our bodies for how they are right now. Embrace it. Love it. Be grateful for it. ✨

. It’s not always easy. It doesn’t always go as planned. It’s not always pretty. It’s not always sunshine and rainbows - literally and figuratively. But it’s ALWAYS worth it. 8 miles before work this morning to kick off the day! It’s not always about HAVING the time, but MAKING the time. And with a week like this one, it’s allllll about making time. And making (cauli) BBQ pizza for dinner tonight. 😋🤗

“buttttt it’s Monday and you have NO idea what I did over this weekend, or how much ____ I ate, or how much ____ I drank.......” . You’re right. I don’t. 🤷🏼‍♀️ But whatever happened last week/weekend is in the past. There is absolutely no benefit to beating yourself up about it - either mentally or physically. We’re so quick to identify what we DON’T like about ourselves, am I right? Let’s condition our mind to start seeing our bodies for all they’ve done and accomplished! Give ourself permission to love where you are. Starting NOW! Can you list 5 things about yourself that you love? Tag a friend and have them do the same. It might just change your whole perspective for the week. ✨

Ok, ok açaí you!! 👀 Can’t stop won’t stop. Second weekend in a row getting a @bare_bowls bondi bowl. That açaí, cacao, avo, banana, MCT oil combo with the cashew butter drizzle... it just GETS me!! 🤤 A lot of smoothies and açaí bowls are verrrryyyy high in sugar/fruit, which biologically spikes blood sugar. Personally, carbs leave me wanting more more MORE sugar. Pairing a healthy fat with carbs (think banana + PB or oats + chia seeds) stabilizes that spike so you stay even keel and avoid that crash. And that’s why this combo is 🔥🙌🏼 . PS. @traderjoes now has unsweetened açaí packets in their freezer section. #yaaas #yourewelcome

Happy Sunday! ☀️ I hope you are all enjoying your weekend! Even though I still had a run and a strength session left for the week... it would have been straight up stupid for me to attempt even just one of those. My hips are so, so tight after a speed workout + 7 flag football games Friday and the spin certification yesterday. It literally was a struggle to lift my foot off the accelerator to the brake pedal while driving! My hip flexors were THAT tight! It is more important to listen to our bodies than to check all our workout boxes for the week. On the days it needs rest and stretching, that’s what we should do! Lots and lots of runner’s lunge pose, pigeon and foam rolling for me today. How about for you?!

DATE NIGHT. 💗 Mo goes into @pressedjuicery and orders while I wait outside with Sid. We switch places, I order while he’s outside, then I pay for both. Turns out we ordered the exact same thing. I knew I had good taste (literally)! Sydney also approves.

Sitting? Or squatting? Actually... both! WHY BOX SQUATS? 🍑 Sitting at the bottom of the movement forces you to pause, which recruits more muscle fibers to get you back up. More muscle fibers = more strength. ➖ Sitting also causes you to bring your hips back further and lower than if the box wasn’t under you. This places more stress on the hammies and glutes, and less on the quads. ➖ Box squats develop great technique and form, both of which are very important as you move on to back squats or heavier lifts. I’m implementing more box squats into my strength routine to build glutes and hammies, and less on my quads. Tried them?? I’d love to hear your thoughts on why you do/don’t do them!

. happiness is B E I N G 🍍 P R E S E N T. I want to share something with you that has made such a significant difference in my life lately. And you might think, “wow Paula cmon OBVIOUSLY” and if you do, then I’m happy you’ve already figured it out for yourself! I have been feeling overwhelmed and stressed lately, more than the usual busy-ness of life. When this happens, I turn to food for comfort #justbeinghonest and it’s a sign that something needs to shift. I started to think about my daily routine... start work at 6am, get home at 2:30 ish, then dive right back to work on my personal emails, online clients, fitness class planning, cleaning, making dinner, etc. I’ve come to realize that I need to set boundaries for myself. To BE PRESENT. If I’m checking personal emails at work then checking my work emails at home, where are the boundaries? My solution: 💡 While at work, ONLY do work- no personal emails, online shopping, errands, etc. While walking my dog, ONLY walk my dog - no checking emails, no calling people... no phone. While at home - no work emails, no planning my classes. If I’m feeling up to blogging, personal emails, or cleaning I will, otherwise it’s ok to just relax and read a magazine on the patio, lay out at the pool, soak in a hot bath, nap... whatever I feel like doing! ➖ It’s actually really simple. Set boundaries for yourself if you’re starting to feel overwhelmed. When you lose those boundaries, everything just gets mushed together and you’ll never feel like you’re getting a break. Be intentional about unplugging, logging off, and staying present... in the end, you’ll be so much more productive in the moment. 💛

THIS IS HEALTHY. THIS IS BALANCE. So often we think of “being healthy” as a miserable workout routine, a restrictive diet and a source of added stress and responsibility to our already busy day. What it truly means to be healthy: find exercise that gives us JOY find balance when it comes to food practice meditation prioritize sleep You can exercise and eat kale all you want, but if you’re miserable while doing it, than you’re missing the mark. Health is both physical AND mental. In order for us to have both, we have to find what makes us feel empowered. Strive for balance, not perfection. You’ll be a much happier AND healthier person. 💜

We all get the same amount of time in a day - 24 hours. These hours are a gift. Hours that we’ll never get back. It’s up to YOU to decide how you’re going to use them. We can either focus on our faults, be unhappy with our imperfections, scroll until our thumbs get sore and we’re left with no confidence or love for ourselves... or we can acknowledge the strengths that we have, embrace our weaknesses, and love ourselves for who we are right now. Live YOUR life. Not someone else’s. It’s yours for a reason. 💗

You know you’re going to ‘avo good day’ when you see a perfect little avo just chilling under an avo tree on your run! OBVS couldn’t pass up the opportunity. #blessed 4 miles this beautiful morning and currently getting ready to try out my new coffee bean grinder and French press so I can brew up some Maui coffee. Happy Sunday friends! 🥑☀️

The best way to spend a Saturday morning- 11 miles on the bay, baring our souls and baring these bowls! . It’s amazing what can happen when you open up and voice some of the things you struggle with. You’d be surprised to find that there’s a good chance you’re not alone. That they’re going through the same thing. Or that they have gone through similar struggles in the past and can offer some wisdom. So thankful for the community I’ve found through running and for mornings like these! . Post run açaí “bondi” bowl: açaí, MCT oil, avocado, cacao blended and topped with cashew butter, cacao nibs, banana and granola. 👅

Walking into the weekend likeeee . Anyone else have a crazy busy week at work?! Busy weeks just FLY by. I can’t believe it’s FRIDAY ALREADY!! Tell me one thing you’re doing this weekend for fun!👇🏼

#globalrunningday is a holiday just like anyyy other holiday... right?? #🍷that’s what I told myself at least! How did YOU celebrate??!

Yesterday morning I had 40 minutes to run before I had to get ready for work. Option 1. Take a nice easy pace and get a little over 4 miles. Option 2. Push my pace, aim for negative splits, and get as close to 5 miles as I could. The thing I am LOVING about my “off season” (aka no pressure to qualify for Boston because #beentheredonethat) is that I can listen to my body and what I want to do/what my body needs. I felt really frickin’ good yesterday. So I chose option 2. Don’t forget that YOU have options too! Whether it’s a rest day, a sweaty HIIT day, a long and easy run, or a stretching and mobility day, you can • give yourself permission • to do what’s best for you based on your goals and how you’re feeling. The choice is yours. So what’s it going to be? ✨

Dinner salad leftovers now breakfast... for dinner. #identitycrisis Spinach, tomatoes, grilled steak and grilled onions made for a great dinner last night... and a great breakfast (for dinner) tonight! Easy as 1, 2, 3. 1. Sauté spinach and onions in @fourthandheart ghee. 2. Once spinach and onions are almost done, add tomatoes and steak to the pan until warmed. 3. Fry an egg. DONE!

SET GOALS • CRUSH THEM Say hello to this month’s goals! Sure, I could just mentally set these goals, but writing them down is an added later of commitment to myself + sharing them you all is another layer of accountability. So here’s to June and accomplishing these goals! ☀️ I’ve got goals as quick and easy as zeroing out my library fine and scheduling a hair cut, big goals like doing a 30 day alcohol and dessert detox and researching/choosing a natural birth control option (I’ve decided this is my last month on the pill, but more on that later)... and everything in between! Your goals don’t have to look anything like mine. Maybe you’re setting one big goal. Maybe you’re setting four weekly goals. Whatever it is, write them down and SEND THEM TO ME. Because you better believe that I’ll keep you accountable! 👊🏼

Tag: Positive Perspective

Making Gains (not resolutions) in 2017

Half of people make them, but only 10% of people keep them. You know what I’m taking about… New Year’s resolutions. Every year, people vow to quit smoking, lose weight, spend less time working, and more resolutions similar to these. Some achieve them, but most don’t. I don’t know about you, but all of this […]

Read More Making Gains (not resolutions) in 2017

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