Claire Keane
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Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
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izzy's playlists!
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@causefitness
Mama's (Clean) Meat Loaf
Mamaâs (Clean) Meat Loaf
While I was home for Thanksgiving week this past November, I had the opportunity to make dinner for my parents while they were both at work, so I decided to make one of my favorite childhood meals, Mamaâs Meat Loaf! While I was looking over the ingredients, I was pleasantly surprised to find out how clean the recipe was with one or two slight adjustments. Definitely #CauseFitnessApproved. So IâŠ
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How to Keep Your Fitness Resolutions
How to Keep Your Fitness Resolutions
How to Keep Your Fitness Resolutions
Note: I posted this on social media first, but then realized it would probably be more helpful if I posted it to the blog so it could have a permanent address.
Congratulations, you made it through another year!
I love this season! The beginning of the new year always brings with it the promise of hope; a fresh start; a clean slate! Itâs why we makeâŠ
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Start Here: 6 Pillars of The Fit Life
Start Here: 6 Pillars of The Fit Life
6 Pillars of The Fit Life
So, you want to live a fit life, a Cause Fitness lifestyle, but youâre not sure where to startâŠ
[Photo credit: Valorie Darling Photography]
Thatâs awesome! But, thereâs literally a world of information out there on health and fitness and nutrition under the umbrella of wellness. And, I have my own opinions on many of those categories and sub-categories based on myâŠ
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10 Common Diet Mistakes: Part 2
10 Common Diet Mistakes: Part 2
10 Common Diet Mistakes: Part 2
Continued from Part 1
Just to reiterate (from Part 1), everyÂone is on a diet. AccordÂing to Google, a diet is simÂply âthe kinds of food that a perÂson, aniÂmal, or comÂmuÂnity habitÂuÂally eats.â Yes, it can also be what youâre restrictÂing yourÂself to, but for today, letâs stick to the first definition.
That said, there is still a lot of conÂfuÂsion as to whatâŠ
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10 Common Diet Mistakes: Part 1
10 Common Diet Mistakes: Part 1
10 Common Diet Mistakes: Part 1
Letâs get back to the basics.
One of the most common pieces of advice I hear from fellow fitness and wellness professionals about dieting these days is to âstop dieting.â While I know what they mean, and essentially agree, no one is defining the word itself, which just adds to the confusion, and the word âdietâ can mean many different things to people.
So, I wantâŠ
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Real Talk With Rach: Can I Be Real With You?
Real Talk With Rach: Can I Be Real With You?
Can I Be Real With You?
I get scared sometimes.
You know whatâs scary to me?
Realizing that the thing I spent a decade of my life pursuing may not be the thing Iâm meant to spend my life pursing or doing, and subsequently feeling like Iâm starting from scratch (in a way).
Iâve been talking about change for so long now that it seems as though thatâs what Iâm about (actually, I guess it kinda isâŠâŠ
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Why You Should Eat Food with People
Why You Should Eat Food with People
Why Eating Food with People is Healthy
Imagine thisâŠ
You walk into a room buzzing with anticipation as a busy chef moves masterfully around a small loft-style kitchen in full view of you and 20+ other guests whoâve arrived to a wine reception. The clink of glasses and warm greetings saturate the air. Appetizers circle the room in waves as inspiration swirls and sparks contagious. Two long diningâŠ
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A Rest-Based Hotel Workout
A Rest-Based Hotel Workout
A Rest-Based Hotel Workout for Legs and Butt
A couple months ago when my mom and I went to TGC Womenâs conference in Indiana, we stayed in a hotel with a pretty decent fitness center. There were treadmills and elliptical and machines and dumbbells⊠They even had a pull-up bar and a TRX! It wasnât the best Iâve ever seen but it was better than bad.
I got lucky. Many hotel gyms are lacking at best,âŠ
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Bacon-Balsalmic Brussels Sprouts
Bacon-Balsalmic Brussels Sprouts
If Iâm at a restaurant and they offer brussels sprouts on their menu I usually order them, because theyâre usually prepared something like this: golden and crisp on the outside, and warm, savory and sweet on the inside. I was just at a networking dinner last night and had them again, which inspired me to share this recipe with you. For those of you who supposedlyâŠ
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Cause Fitness â Thailand Retreat Reflections: Part 2
Continued from Part 1âŠ
I was en route to witÂnessÂing a dream come true and it wasnât hapÂpenÂing because I made it hapÂpen, but because God allowed it to. He was carÂryÂing me thereâŠ
âŠIt was the feelÂing of knowÂing that I was exactly where I was supÂposed to be at exactly the right time doing exactly what I was meant to be doing withÂout even really tryÂing to.
âI feel equal parts âwhy me?â and âI was born for this!â but humbled by both,â I wrote in my journal on my layover in Bangkok.
(Iâm so grateful that I kept a journal! Always keep a journal â Itâs your personal history book!)
The feelings continued overlapping faster and faster as the retreat Iâd envisioned so many times played out in real time. I so wish you could have been there, but my hope is that by reading this blog youâll be able to imagine yourself there with us (and join us next time)!
Monday
When I arrived at the airport in Koh Samui, I was ready for the adventure ahead, and my driver was waiting for me. I spent the entire 20 minute drive taking the island in through the windowâs of his car, capturing some of it on video, but it doesnât do it justice. (I did a pretty decent job of âSnapchat-documentingâ the trip, so Iâve thrown in a couple short videos with a gallery of photos at the end, so you can get a feel for it.)
The scene changed suddenly and the car stopped. I was no longer winding through no-traffic-laws streets of colorful Thai-island culture, but on on a cliff, overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, being welcomed into my home for the week: Vikasa. I checked in and was greeted with fresh coconut water served in a young coconut. Looking out over the ocean from the top of this open-air, cliff-side resort restaurant, waiting for my guests while my bags were delivered to my personal bungalow was nothing short of overwhelmingâŠin the best way possible.
That arrival evening was full of moments like this as I took my retreaters through a brief orientation, our first buffet dinner of fresh Pescatarian Thai, and got settled in our rooms.
Tuesday
The first full day couldnât have been better, in my opinion.
I got up an hour before the schedule began, took my coffee and a homemade protein bar (leave me a comment below if you want the recipe) out onto my private deck where I had my âJesus Time,â and prepared for the day to the sound of island-birds and waves crashing on the beach below me. *Bliss!*
The days all started early, but I made sure there would be plenty of down-time to schedule spa treatments, hang out at the beach or the infinity pool, explore nearby towns, or take any of the yoga classes the resort offered. I wanted everyone there to get the workouts and education they came for, but I also wanted the retreat to be just that: a retreat! With time to breathe, time to relax and rejuvenate and restoreâŠtime to just BE, away from âit allâ.
Hereâs what our scheduled days looked like:Â
8:00 Devotions (optional)Â @ Small Sala
8:30 UnBootcamp @ Small Sala
9:30-11:30 Brunch Buffet
12:00 âCause Fitness:Â Nutritionâ Workshop
1:00 Free-time
4:00 Open-workout @Â Sky Gym
6:30-8:30 Dinner Buffet
To be honest, as I was walking to the âSmall Salaâ to lead a pre-workout devotions that day, I wasnât sure if anyone would show up since it was optional and the retreat wasnât a âChristianâ retreat, but to my surprise everyone was there; curious, expectant and full of energy! I said a silent âthank youâ prayer.
I said A LOT of silent âthank youâ prayers that week.
Wanna know another fun-fact?
I had prepared everything ahead of time for the retreat except for the devotions. The topic(s) to focus on escaped me all the way up until my trip there but I was confident that God would enlighten me and provide the message(s) He wanted me to deliver in His good time. I just had to trust and be willing to share.
He did. He always does.
I was in the middle of reading âLove Doesâ by Bob Goff, the book I had brought to read on the plane (highly recommend it), when I started thinking about what I would talk about. Distracted by the reminder that time was running out, I stopped reading and prayed for clarity. Later on the trip I was reading again and stopped to dog-ear yet another great example-story about what real love looks like when it hit me. Love. Iâll talk all about real love; unconditional love; Godâs love vs the worldâs love. I had also recently been reading what John and 1 John have to say about love. It was all coming together and I had my inspiration. Godâs love is love that âdoesâ. Thank you Jesus, and thank you, Bob Goff! :)
Day 1: What is love?
Day 2: The Laws of Love
Day 3: Love Does (Love as Action)
Day 4: Love is⊠(My story of how agape love, Godâs love, changed my life).
â
So Tuesday was on schedule, and wonderful, but it was a day to adjust. The scheduled free-time was a blessing, but one I found I struggled with. I felt the need to âdoâ something, as if I couldnât allow myself to just enjoy it all without a to-do list. But I did adjust. I prayed silently. I breathed it all in, and out slowly, and tried to accept that everything I was experiencing was real; that I was where I was. It was all soâŠgood! As I began to relax, I started observing in more detail. This island and culture were unfamiliar, but so was the lifestyle. It was quiet â no music; very âzenâ. I felt a bit out of place for a second, but then took it as an opportunity to stand out in a good way; a conversation starter. It turned out to be just that, and wonderfully so.
Wednesday
I had a feeling things would continue to get even better as the week progressed and I was right. Wednesday was our second scheduled day, and established and adjusted we all took every opportunity to experience more.
Everyone showed up at the devotion time again, UnBootcamp was awesome and went even more smoothly since everyone was familiar with the flow of it now, and heading up to brunch (about 200 stair steps âupâ) we were all looking forward to more of the resortâs amazing food! Our conversations were more relaxed; deeper. My little tribe was thriving!
After brunch, Maggie and Julia left for the massages theyâd booked, and Jonathan and I continued to talk. He shared his story with me and I got to know better how much of a gift this retreat really was. While we talked, Lisa, one of the Vikasa employees came over and sat down with us to check in. When she asked how everything was going so far, I began to take her through the schedule saying something like âItâs been great! Today was our second full day. We started with devotions at 8âŠâ
âDevotions?â She cut me off with the question.
âYes, a Bible study,â I confirmed. At that moment I got the feeling that this was good news to her.
âReallyâŠâ she said, looking at me incredulously.
I confirmed again. Lisa just sat there for a second, speechless, before explaining that she had been working and studying at the resort for seven months as the only Christian there and, missing like-minded community, had texted her sister about it just minutes before sitting down with us.
I immediately invited her to join us. She accepted enthusiastically, and was excited try UnBootcamp too. We also agreed to get together later to talk more. This was too good!
Something even crazierâŠ
Without going into too much detail, I had had a dream about 3-4 weeks before I left for Thailand where I woke up with the unshakable sense that I needed to pray for someone, a woman, in Thailand outside of my group/retreat. I truly believe I was praying for Lisa long before I met her! It was all so unbelievable, and that is just one of the miracle stories I have from the trip! God works in such crazy, awesome ways!
Thai New Year
We were in Thailand at such a great time. The week we were there was the week all of Thailand celebrates âSongkran,â the Thai New Year, with a playful country-wide water fight. With any means necessary (hoses, buckets, water guns, etc) the entire country goes outside and gets soaked. And itâs not just water. They make a white paste (baby powder mixed with water) to cover each other with too. The water symbolizes a washing away of the old year and the paste is a blessing of good luck for the new year.
Sounds of music and laughter and delighted screams were coming from the street outside the resort. The girls had gone to the pool, right after the nutrition workshop, but Jonathan was curious, I was definitely curious, and since this retreat was symbolic of new beginnings for me too, I embraced it all!
Wash the old away and bless the new!
â
I embraced something else that day too.
After experiencing the loud of Songkran I went for a swim, then walked down to the quiet of the beach by my bungalow. I laid down in the shallow sun-warmed turquoise water and let the waves lap over me as I scooped up sandy pebbles and watched every glassy color sift through parted fingers back into the water. I embraced stillness.
Thursday
Thursday was excursion day! That morning, Lisa joined us for devotions, UnBootcamp, and a quick brunch before jumping in the tour guide van for a day exploring the lower part of the island of Koh Samui!
The pictures will tell the story better than I will, but I will tell you where we went! We hiked up to âWaterfall IIâ, toured a safari zoo (saw tigers and monkeys and elephants and crocodiles up close), visited a coconut farm and saw how coconut milk is made, saw a Buddhist temple on the beach, ate fresh papaya salad made from a papaya tree behind the restaurant we stopped by for lunch, perused a pearl farm and store, and explored a couple of street markets where we had coconut ice cream out of the coconut and bartered for souvenirs!
Friday
Last day on the schedule, but one of the best. The tribe had grown! Lisa came to the devotions again, and Roberto (another yoga instructor at the resort) joined us for UnBootcamp. Beyond blessed by this, because two of my retreaters had had to drop out last minute. Lisa and Roberto were a picture of redemption for me. God is so good.
And, my little tribe was awesome! Roberto loved the class, Maggie and Julia crushed it, Lisa was enjoying the change of pace from yoga to high intensity, and Jonathan was doing more pushups and burpees consecutively than he had all week!
The day was relaxed and productive â there was a sense of accomplishment and of sadness as it was our last full day all together. That afternoon, Jonathan, Julia and I got a workout in before dinner at SkyGym while Maggie got some beach time, then we all got back together for dinner and drinks to celebrate the week and ring in the Thai New Year with Vikasa!
Saturday
Deep, deep gratitude.
Jonathan had already left for the airport at 6am (we all said our goodbyes the night before), but this morning everything seemed to slow down in reflection of a week full of adventure, and sadness for the end of it.
I took Robertoâs meditation class at 7am before the last UnBootcamp (which actually wasnât scheduled but he and the girls talked me into it) and spent the time praying and praising. I have never experienced such a deep sense of gratitude! My weekâs experience summarized. Tears fell silently; unexpectedly.
Julia and Maggie and I spent Juliaâs last hour together after brunch. We sent her off together, with happy tears.
One more beach opportunity for Maggie while I got my first massage of the week at the cliff-side, open-air spa: heavenly.
Afterwards, we met again to say goodbye, and I sent Maggie off, again, with happy tears.
I took the afternoon in slow motion too. I had a lot to take in and process. So much had just happened that even being a part of it all I feel like I still have catching up to do!
I took my first acro-yoga class though. It was something Iâve wanted to try forever, and Lisa was in the class so I got a little professional help too! (Iâm obsessedâŠ)
The rest of the trip was blissful. The responsibility of a schedule and leading was over so I got to really, truly relax and enjoy the paradise I was surrounded with, and spend time with the new friends Iâd made until I left Sunday evening.
Mission accomplished, the first international Cause Fitness retreat had been a complete success, and all I can say to that thought as I type it, is that I still struggle with the gift of it all â it blows my mind every time I sit with the realization of it.
Remember what I said in Part 1? How I had âvery good intenÂtions of writÂing and postÂing this immeÂdiÂately,â but âlitÂtle did I know that such a surÂreal tripâŠwould also induce (in equal parts) feelÂings of intense gratÂiÂtude and mournÂing or grief, which would then proÂvoke a foggy, almost escapist mindÂset for the entire rest of the week(s) folÂlowÂing my returnâ? Yeah. This is what Iâm talking about. I mean, how long has it taken me to process it all, sit down and write this to share the experience with you? Too long.
That said, God willing, I will do it again, and next time, I want you to come with me!
Until then, whatever youâre doing, #CauseFitness!
<3
YOUR TURN: Where should we go for the next Cause Fitness retreat? Tell me in the comments below!
Thailand Retreat Reflections: Part 2 Cause Fitness - Thailand Retreat Reflections: Part 2 Continued from Part 1... I was en route to witÂnessÂing a dream come true and it wasnât hapÂpenÂing because I made it hapÂpen, but because God allowed it to.
Leaning In to Grace
Leaning In to Grace
Leaning In to Grace
Iâm sensing a theme lately. (Thatâs usually when God is trying to hammer something into my thick skull. I need to hear it a few times before it really sinks in, apparentlyâŠ). Heâs teaching me to lean into Him and His goodness without succumbing to my knee-jerk response of incessant striving to reciprocate. I tend to (consciously or not) try to pay Him back, as if that wereâŠ
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How Sauna Use Can Help Speed Up Your Metabolism
How Sauna Use Can Help Speed Up Your Metabolism
How Sauna Use Can Help Speed Up Your Metabolism
By guest contributor, Sandra Feldman
Weâve all read about the bountiful benefits you can reap from regular sauna use. Itâs even gone so far that celebrities are now actively professing their love for the new infrared sauna technologies and how they are managing to maintain their youthful exuberance and appearance because of a daily sauna session.
AâŠ
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Thailand Retreat Reflections: Part 1
Thailand Retreat Reflections: Part 1
Thailand Retreat Reflections: Part 1
Now that Iâm back home from leading my first international âCause Fitness : Retreatâ in Koh Samui, Thailand, itâs time to get readjusted to Los Angeles life. Easier said than done, apparently.
I had very good intentions of writing and posting this immediately after landing at LAX. Little did I know that such a surreal trip on the other side of the worldâŠ
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Raspberry-Almond Thumbprint Cookies
Raspberry-Almond Thumbprint Cookies
I love baking, but I usually donâtâŠbecause I tend to eat more of what I bake than I should and with all the refined sugar and flour most baked goods require, itâs just not a great thing for anyone, let alone someone who strives to practice what they preach in and out of the kitchen. But then I found these cookies!
Theyâre made with all real food ingredients,âŠ
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Setting Smart Goals
Setting Smart Goals
Have you ever made resolutions, or set goals for yourself, only to get frustrated or lose motivation at some point or another on the journey toward that âlight at the end of the tunnelâ that never seems to get any closer? Youâre not alone. And itâs exactly why I wrote this article.
 The truth is, even your plans need plans. If you donât know how youâre going to get to yourâŠ
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Overnight Oatmeal: Slow Cooker Steel-Cut Oats
Overnight Oatmeal: Slow Cooker Steel-Cut Oats
One of my favorite pieces of kitchen equipment is my slow-cooker crockpot. I love it for cooking whole chickens and pulled pork, but until last week I completely forgot I could make breakfast with it! When I pulled it out to make a pot of steel cut oats oatmeal, it was so good I just had to share it with you! I mean, who doesnât love a nutritious breakfast that are *magically* waiting for you hotâŠ
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Overwhelmed
O V E R W H E L M E D
âŠbut in a good way. Iâm overwhelmed by gratitude. By grace. By so many things!
I wish it happened more often, but itâs seems like the moments that stop you in your tracks, reveal how lost youâve been and how amazing God is just cant come often enough.
For those who know me, youâll know better than this the depth of it, but I have essentially been working my butt off forâŠ
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