Walsh Pilates of Baton Rouge

Another fitness studio I frequent often is Walsh Pilates on Jefferson Highway in Baton Rouge. The studio is a classical Pilates studio featuring the reformer, the tower, the chair, and other classic Pilates equipment. My Instructor of choice is Melody Benton-Thompson, and I started by taking her Reformer/Tower Therapeutic Pilates classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, later progressing to her Pilates Reformer Level 2 classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:00. As someone who took mat Pilates for years in college I thought I was totally ready for these classes, they would be a breeze, and I’d be in the most advanced classes within two weeks. Yep, that wasn’t the case! Turns out the difference between simple mat Pilates and Pilates on the equipment are so day and night they might as well be completely different disciplines. I was constantly challenged and tested in classes, and welcomed the challenges whole-heartedly. At times the machines and exercises tapped into my inner circus performer, which left me giggling. My OCD loves how clean the studio is, the instructors and students are all pleasant, and I love the individual attention I receive in my classes (classes are limited to four people, so no one is overlooked- very important for form and all sorts of good stuff). This is one of my favorite places to take classes in Baton Rouge and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a studio offering classical Pilates in a way Joseph Pilates would approve of.

Yoglates II South Review (Highlandia Location)

So I’ve been going to Yoglates 2 South for on and off once a week for about half a year. I typically attend the 9:15 class on Mondays, and the instructor is usually the unsinkable April and she was definitely a drill instructor in a previous life- and I mean that in a good way. I came into Yogalates expecting some powderpuff pseudo-exercises, some stretching, some feel good mantras, and some rest and relaxation. What did I get? Sore muscles for a week. This surprised the heck out of me. I am a hardcore gym attendee and haven’t been sore from working out in probably a year yet this exercise class had me feeling the pain. It was a major, yet pleasant, surprise. The temperature is amped up to a grueling 250 degrees. Ok, so it’s not 250 degrees, but dang is it hot! You stretch, of course, but you also lunge, plank, squat, and perform other amazing feats of epic pain until your body is slenderized, sculpted, and exhausted, guided by the encouragement of your instructor who is simply not going to let you slack on it. You are left feeling sweaty, somewhat Superwoman-ish, and ready to take on the day. Yoglates is great for those who need something to reboot their fitness regime, want something a little different than your typical Bikram Yoga, or has become tired with the traditional fitness classes.

My Vegetarian Staples

Let me tell you, it is NOT EASY being a vegetarian in the booming metropolis of Baton Rouge, LA. I am generally either at work or on the go, so my diet sadly consists of a lot of processed food- but even vegetarian processed food isn't always easy to come across in Baton Rouge. We recently got a new Trader Joe's here in Baton Rouge, so my work diet consists of their prepackaged salads and frozen Mexican TV dinners. When I'm out eating if I'm lucky I'm stuck with a black bean burger or garden sandwich, but often I'm stuck with ordering items off the side menu- French fries, steamed veggies, and lettuce and a cherry tomato in a condiment bowl, anyone? When I do have time to prepare my food in advance I'm a creature of habit and find myself making the same things almost every time. I make tons of salads topped with olives, corn, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, and anything else you could imagine putting on a salad that didn't previously have eyes. I also make simple black bean salads consisting of a can of rinsed black beans, a can of rinsed corn, a can of drained rotel tomatoes, lime, and whatever seasoning I feel like putting in there. Sometimes I get all fancy and add quinoa or tvp cooked taco filling style, use fresh ingredients in lieu of canned, top with cheese or Greek yogurt (an excellent sour cream substitute, by the way), and add other veggies like chopped bell peppers and purple onions.
The TVP  I speak of is super easy to make- I heat two cups of water to boiling and remove from heat, and mix in half a cup of TVP and a packet of taco seasoning. Some people add a tablespoon of soy sauce or Bragg's liquid aminos but I find that to be unnecessary. Wait about 10 minutes and kazam! Taco filling that's much better than the "ground beef substitute" they try to hock in the freezer section. Seriously, who do they think they're trying to fool with that nasty crap? Use it as a burrito filling or put in a taco shell with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese or faux cheese, you're golden.
I also snack on these "real food bars", whatever they mean by that. The brand is called Barre and I love the spirulina and the cinnamon pecan flavors. They're excellent to keep in your purse for when you're stuck on the road with nothing but snickers bars and potato chips in sight.
So that's pretty much my diet in a nutshell. The lack of variety may be unhealthy but it's delicious, so things even out. So what do you other vegetarians/vegans out there exist on? Let's swap recipes, I obviously need to mix it up some.

The Juice Fast- A.K.A.: The Failure Post

Hey Everyone!

So my three day juice fast has come and left, and I am sad to report I failed miserably. I meant to post each day of the fast. I meant to do a lot of things. What did I do? I can't really remember, because I was so fuzzy, lightheaded and dumb my memory of the fast is more like a long hallucination. Day one started out simply enough. I had my six juices I had picked up the day before from The Big Squeezy in Baton Rouge (at the tune of $49 a day plus tax). I read the directions and followed as specified on The Big Squeezy's website, and drank the juices in the order listed on the bag. I say website because when I picked up my juice the girl who checked me out was new and couldn't answer any of my questions. I did fine, except ran into a problem. If you drink a juice every two hours and only have six juice that means unless you stay up for only twelve hours you're going to be without nourishment for a few hours. I've got a life, damnit. I've got stuff to do. So I did what any red-blooded starving American did. I ate a baked potato from Whole Foods. So day 1: utter failure. Rinse and repeat on day two. Except on day two extreme lightheadedness and irritation set in. And then there was day three. OH DAY THREE.
So the thing with The Big Squeezy is you get two days of juice at a time. You make an appointment to pick up the juices, they're ready (in theory) when you get there, and you grab them and go. Easy, right? EXCEPT IT DIDN'T WORK LIKE THAT THE THIRD DAY. And I was hungry. And I was cranky. So when I placed the order and made my appointments to pick up the juices the girl who took my order asked what time I would like to pick up my juice on Sunday. I asked her their hours on Sunday and they said from 7 a.m. to whenever. I told them I would be there at 9:00 am for the rest of my juices.
Guess who doesn't open until 10:00 on Sundays? Guess who was stuck sitting around until 10:00, and even then still had to wait for them to get the damn juices together? Guess who was starving and quite over The Big Squeezy after their half-assed excuse blaming "the new girl" again after pulling up my paperwork and seeing their error. Yep.
It probably didn't help that I nixed caffeine and any unnecessary medication during the fast. I feel it was poorly instructed on their part and poorly executed on my part. I probably don't have the willpower required to nix food, caffeine, and modern medicine for three days. I also might have tried to cut out too much at once. Either way my experiment  was a blatant failure. I think the next time I attempt a juice fast instead of buying expensive premade juices I'm going to make my own. I have a Breville juicer and juicing manuals, but thought buying the juices premade and set out would be the way to go for a first fast. I was so wrong. Luckily for me no one was seriously hurt, I didn't incurred jail time, I have not been disowned by any of my friends, and I'm only out $160 and three and a half days of my life.
Oh, and I forgot to mention a few more things of note. After the third day I crashed. Like laying in bed, crying, just all around feeling horrid. My transition back to my normal plant-based vegetarian diet was rocky and at times *ahem* uncomfortable. I also had a severe spike in asthma attacks during the fast which was EXTREMELY unsettling, and likely explains a lot of the lightheadedness and passing disorientation.
My original intent for the juice fast was for detox purposes. I'm not sure if I succeeded in detoxing, I think I may have screwed that part up with the potato. Hopefully my next *homemade* fast will yield clearer and healthier results.


Edit: Does anyone have any suggestions for my next juice fast?  I'd love to hear other's experiences and comments, opinions, any feedback below!

No Caffeine.

I know it's a little off the subject, but it just hit me. After today I cannot have any more caffeine until Monday. Six days – no caffeine. This is really going to hurt. 

The Veggie Transition

Hello Everyone!

My cousin-in-law Stacey is a new vegetarian considering making the transition to veganism, and wanted to know about how I went from omnivore to vegetarian. It all started innocently enough. Years ago I was laying in bed with my dear, sweet furchild Gigi, geared up for a pleasant night of popcorn and Netflix. I'm a documentary buff and of course lean towards food related documentaries, so after browsing through the menu a short while I stumbled upon Food Inc.
Never did I expect it would lead up to where I am today.
I will spare us all the gross and gory details, but by the end of the film I was clutching Gigi with tears running down my cheeks, staring at the refrigerator in disdain. I promptly gave away all the meat products stored in my pantry, refrigerator, and freezer, and began my new "food journey" with a trip to my local produce stand. I haven't looked back. At first it was tough. Meat is much more filling than veggies as most of us know, so I stayed hungry and cranky for the first two weeks, regardless of how much lettuce and broccoli I forced down my throat. New to the game, my knowledge of vegetarian recipes pretty much ended at salads, and it got to the point where I would dry heave over the thought of eating any more lettuce. I hated tofu, couldn't stand Boca burgers, and soy curls made my skin crawl. Fake meat was just GROSS. I threw hundreds of dollars worth of meat "substitutes" away in the beginning simply because they tasted absolutely disgusting. So then I started getting creative. It turns out being a vegetarian isn't all tofu and salad, which is good- that's no way to live. Besides, you don't really want beaucoup soy in your diet, it'll give a man boobs. It won't give me boobs, unfortunately, but it will give a man boobs.* I discovered TVP, which got me through the hump in the beginning, and today my diet consists of mostly beans and veggies. Depending on the way I cook them I can make virtually any style of dish. It's amazing what you can do with a fully stocked spice cabinet.
Now let's not get this twisted. I'm not an omnivore-shamer. You eat meat? Your business. I don't care. My husband eats meat. I don't hold issue with family farms or hunters either. You know what I take issue with? The abuse and the disgusting conditions in huge, industrial animal farms. Cruelty to animals is simply not ok. That being said, I don't suggest anyone watching Food Inc. If the aren't ready to take a good, hard look at what they put into their body.

My next posts are going to be a little comical and will possibly feature cruelty to myself as I embark on a three day juice cleanse. Stay tuned!

Welcome to Skinny Cult!

Hey good-lookin'! Welcome to my blog and my first post. I'm a thirtysomething-year-old Louisiana native who resides in the booming metropolis that is Baton Rouge. I hold a full time job, I'm a business owner, wife, and doting mother to a spoiled Yorkie by the name of Gigi. My husband owns Full Blown Paint, a custom paint and graphics shop operating out of Gonzales, and we both own Stitch Cult, an online retail store selling kustom kulture tshirts, custom handmade bags, purses, and other accessories. We are both avid fitness enthusiasts. Joel prefers weightlifting and bike riding, and I'm game for anything from yoglates to Pilates to yoga to barre to pole fitness and the list goes on! You can expect some workout tips, reviews of local fitness crazes, summaries and reviews of new diet fads, pretty much anything that is upcoming in the fitness world- but I'm drawing the line at colonics. Ain't no way. If you have any tips, suggestions, or anything you like to hear about feel free to drop me a line at stitchcult@yahoo.com. I look forward to embarrassing myself on the World Wide Web for you guys!

Love,
Lacey