life meets fitness

This blog is about living a healthy lifestyle! To me, this means discovering enjoyable ways to exercise your body and mind. Why should we take care of ourselves? Because ultimately, life is a gift. And we deserve to explore, create, and trek as much as...

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416 Followers, 452 Following, 506 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Geraldine Tran (@geraldine_tran)

Posting more about fashion and art on IG now =) 

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AIDS/LifeCycle is a fully supported, 7-day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money and awareness in the fight against HIV/AIDS. AIDS/LifeCycle 2017 will take place June 4th - June 10, 2017. Every year, this landmark ride through beautiful California delivers a life-changing experience for thousands of participants from all backgrounds and fitness levels united by a common desire to do something heroic. Whether you're considering your first ride or are a seasoned veteran, we want you with us on AIDS/LifeCycle. You belong here.

Hi everyone! I’m just starting my fundraising campaign and wanted to start here amongst bloggers! Please support me in what will be ride of my life--the AIDSLifeCycle, San Francisco to Los Angeles! All proceeds will go directly to the SF AIDS foundation and LGBT groups. They not only advocate for civil rights, but also provide direct medical and social needs (housing, drugs, testing) to the HIV/AIDS community. I see first hand how difficult life is for people with HIV/AIDS without stable housing and want to help them secure a stable life. Please help me by donating a bit or sharing on your blog! 

-geraldine, the healthy spaz 

P.S. I’m embarrassingly at $0! >.< 

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2017 Goals: Bike from SF to LA and fundraise for SF AIDS Foundation!

Dear readers and friends for the last 5 years, 

I’m about to do something new this year, and that is to ask my community to support a non-profit, and to embark upon a 7-day biking journey down the coast of California! This ride is called the AIDS Lifecycle  and all the riders raise funds to support the SF and LA AIDS Foundations. These organizations provide housing assistance, medical care, and free testing for people living with HIV/AIDS. 

To be honest, I’m really unsure about my ability to do either--to fundraise $5000 or to bike 545 miles in a week. I feel nervous about facing rejection, annoying my friends, and stress it may cause. That’s why I am reaching out to our blogging community first--the space where I felt I could be my true self and voice my opinions. 

I would be so thankful if you would support my campaign for the SF AIDS Foundation and help me earn my spot in the 7-day ride. Of course any amount, even that of a small cup of coffee, would be AMAZING! 

Donate here! http://www.tofighthiv.org/site/TR/Events/AIDSLifeCycleCenter?px=3277777&pg=personal&fr_id=1990

Thank you so much everyone.

Happy Holidays <3 

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www.spazhealth.com nowadays! 

Can always email me at [email protected].

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A new love in my life in the last year has been road-biking! More than any other form of exercise, cycling has changed my lifestyle and offers me chances to feel like a badass. So, I wear tight cycling jerseys, padded shorts, and funny caps now. 

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why my fitness blog did well

I’ve been the author of thehealthyspaz for 5 years now, 2 of which were very active, and 3 of which were slow and sporadic. In just a few months of starting my blog the summer of 2010, I gained thousands and thousands of followers and became a sponsored tumblr blog. I really believe that my blog grew popular and was featured because of two things: 

Fitness was trending: Around 2010, fitness blogs were still new, but gaining ground. For example, Cassey Ho was just starting to gain major attention (blogilates), and tags like #fitblr were arising. Unknowingly, I jumped on the bandwagon as the trend was blowing up. So tip 1, blog about something that’s popular!! 

There was a problem, pro-anorexia & pro-bulimia blogs: Especially on tumblr!! There was this pervasive culture of pro-ana and such blogs featuring alarmingly thin women. These blogs shared starvation and self-harm tips. They idealized a dangerous mentality and body image. Tumblr had not cracked down on these blogs that were growing rampant on their domain. Then my blog came along, and as a healthy, optimistic, med-school bound, creative college student, I was a breath of fresh air! I was not blogging pictures of thin women; I was writing personal stories; I was speaking out against those triggering and disastrous blogs; and I was showing people how I balanced a healthy lifestyle with well...the rest of life! I saw that there was a problem, so I addressed it. Tip 2: Look for the problem and fill the need. 

Independence: Make your own content. My successful posts were always my own recipes, photos, and graphics. 

Why have I stopped blogging in the last couple years? Well, medical school, exercising (let along blogging about it), and figuring out dating took most of my time and mental energy. Did you guys know, I make zero money from my blog right? It’s literally hours of just being creativity for its own sake. 

Also, the blogosphere got too crowded with fitness blogs, and I no longer felt like I was doing anything different. I didn’t expand my blog into a business or anything like so many other more invested women. There were just so many other bloggers who had more time to devote to this than me. Blogging about fitness and health stopped inspiring me. 

I know there are a lot of bloggers out there who are starting out or would like some advice. I’d be happy to give what insight I have! Just drop me a message or email (provided to the right I think). 

Cheers!

Geraldine 

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Hey! as a medical student you must be super busy with school work, so how do you find the time to workout? I'm in my first year as a business student and I'm struggling to juggle everything on my plate.

First off, that’s amazing you are a future MBA! Business school seems so useful and energizing. 

Anyhow, I’ll be honest with you–making time to exercise DOES take time away from school, and sometimes I’ve wrongly prioritize working-out over studying or even making time for friends. What’s worked well for me, is working out: no more than 5 days a week, having a couple easy days & hard days, a work-out buddy (holler to my girl NC!), and doing low maintenance activities like running/NTC/Insanity–things you can get to quickly. Also, I plan out my week in advance (meetings, due dates) so I see when are the best days for rest days/more free time. 

Med school has been very busy–studying and preparing for clinical rotations literally takes ALL THE HOURS. Next to school, exercise and eating healthy (sometimes expensively) has been my second priority (over friends, art, reading, even spending time with my boyfriend). That’s not to say this is the correct thing to do. I’m far from the best med student, and probably should have spent more time studying than running, going to gym classes, researching the latest trends in fitness…My boyfriend is literally one of the top students in my class, yet he worked out maybe twice a MONTH for over a year. I want you to be able to do it all!!! Just keep in mind, that it can be a sacrifice as well. 

Good luck, network, and generate some awesome ideas!! 

-Geraldine 

P.S. I’m gearing up for a goodbye post my dear friends and readers. 

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noob status--forgot to renew website domain name. website link will be functional by 6/25 hopefully. In the meantime...stay healthy y’all. Or, visit my instagram that I’ve breathed life into once again. 

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Hi Friends! 

For meals, I prefer eating home-meals for breakfast & lunch. For weeknight dinners, Ben and I usually get take-out. Maybe I should cook more for the two-of-us, but i think it’s unfair for only one person to spend their money, time, and effort. At least in families/married couples, the spending is split usually. (He did cook dinner for me last night...but that was his idea...and that was after I already cooked this meal!! 

Soba Noodles with Bok Choy and Mushrooms...my lunch for the week 

Ingredients: 

6 heads of baby bok choy

4 garlic cloves 

3-4 servings of soba noodles (2/3 packet usually) 

1/2 lb mushrooms (brown or shiitake...better, but more expensive) 

Soy sauce or Tamari sauce

Mirin cooking wine 

Sesame oil

Cooking oil (canola, vegetable, etc.) 

Dried Seaweed 

Directions 

Cook soba noodles as instructed and leave aside 

Chopping: mushrooms and bok choy horizontally (discard ends of boy choy), and dice garlic 

Cooking: Heat wok or large sautee pan on MED-HIGH with 1 tablespoon of canola oil. Toss in  garlic for 30 seconds. Now toss in vegetables.

Pour in 1/4 cup of mirin, 4 tablespoons soy/tamari sauce

Cook for ~6 minutes until you can pierce bok choy stems with a fork 

Turn heat on low, and add in noodles. 

Mix in another 1/4 cup mirin cooking wine, 2 tablespoons of soy/tamari sauce., and 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. 

Toss until noodles and veggies are mixed and coated with a glaze 

Optional: dry seaweed, and hardboiled egg.

This should be enough for ~3 lunch meals so stash in the fridge! 

Take care!!

Geraldine 

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How to make life a little better #1: Keep something pretty that catches your eye in every room.

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Nut Butter Protein Smoothie 

Breakfast, the glorious, yet tricky meal when the need for satisfaction is nudged by the desire to feel light and energetic. For this routine meal, I stick to tried and true stables such as nut butter + banana on toast, wheat squares + almond milk, and I’m even back to eating yogurt these days. However, blended breakfasts have a way of making you feel ready, efficient, and healthy. 

For this quick concoction, I added 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder, 3/4 cup of almond milk, 2 tablespoons almond butter, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, 1 banana, and 1/4 cup ice.  

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Even after a long day, you can still whip up a batch of cookies for your roomies. Mixed all ingredients in a large bowl and baked for 10 minutes a batch.  Boyfriend made vegan Mexican chocolate snickerdoodles (I think he got the recipe from Huffington Post...) for me and the roomies. Dinner consisted of roasted asparagus and portobello mushrooms, and brown rice topped with avocado. 

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Dinner for One 

The hardest part about eating healthy for me isn’t the cooking,..it’s the grocery shopping. Hence, I have made a dinner with 2 ingredients with lengthy shelf-lives. My pantry is stocked with canned, unsalted garbanzo beans, and my fridge is frequently filled with brussels sprouts. Once I learn how to conquer time-saving grocery shopping, I’ll post about it ;-). 

Gosh, I can’t remember the last meal in San Francisco I’ve had without my boyfriend, Ben. Honestly, we’ll go months eating dinner together everyday. It’s pretty wonderful now that I think about it--except in the moment it feels like...”ugh who’s going to decide what’s for dinner because I don’t care.” 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts (Does anyone still need a recipe for this?? I’m sure everyone and their mother knows how to eat these baby cabbages already.) Well briefly, these’s de-stemmed brussels sprouts tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper, that were roasted for 30 mins at 350 F. 

Panfried Chickpeas  

Ingredients  

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and dried  

Canola oil enough to coat bottom of skillet 

1 teaspoon each of paprika, red pepper, sugar, black pepper, and salt 

Directions: Heat skillet on medium, then add oil. Gently, to avoid hurting yourself, place the chickpeas into the sizzling skillet. Panfry for 5 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to paper towels to soak up extra oil. Toss in a bowl with the remaining spices. 

Sometimes, you just need a no-fuss, no-frills dinner to place in your belly. Now for those vegan chocolate chip cookies the boyfriend made...

LOVE,

Geraldine 

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Hello fellow bloggers, perpetual students, and fitness lovers. Today, I give you a vegan banana choco-chip pancake recipe. This recipe is almost menacingly low in sugar, but sweetened by homemade goodness. 

Ingredients 

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tablespoon sugar 

2 teaspoons baking powder 

pinch of salt 

2 ripe bananas mashed (i used my clean hands!) 

1 cup unsweetened soy milk 

1/2 dark chocolate chips 

banana slices, peanut butter, and maple syrup to serve 

Directions: Mix all the dry ingredients. Then the mashed bananas and soy milk. Fold in the dark chocolate chips. Each pancake uses 1/4 cup of batter. Scoop onto hot, greased pan. Flip pancakes when they start to bubble. 

And a few personal life updates: Just finished my 3rd year of medical school, taking a year for research before going on to the 4th, and final year. Looking forward to Spain, Italy, and Monaco this summer. Reading Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire. And all of a sudden, not sure what type of doctor I want to be. Already feeling way healthier 1 month out of clinical rotations. Decorating my new bedroom and apartment--new found love for home decor my goodness. Still loving San Francisco. 

Best,

Geraldine 

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3 moves in 30 Seconds #1

I always top off cardio with 3-5 strengthening exercises. After 30 minutes of cardio, do 10 reps of each exercise.

Squat thrusts

Split jumps,

Push-ups!

Repeat 3x! 

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I've been trying really hard to eat healthy and lose weight, but I always end up giving in and putting it off until tomorrow. I feel like I've tried anything. Any tips on staying motivated?

I totally get you—it’s hard because with health and fitness we don’t see the results right away! My fail-proof way to keep up motivation is to focus on one meal at a time. Start with healthy breakfasts until you think you can handle breakfasts and lunch! Or if exercising is your goal—make that your priority for the next week. Never miss a Monday! I keep a simple journal too and write out my plans and goals for the day =) Good luck—you can do it!! 

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Living in San Francisco, I'm blessed with many many hills to exercise upon. Saturday mornings, I workout with one of my classmates and we do this hill workout. One person runs the hills, while the other does various exercises. Our recovery times are walking down the hill.