MY LOS ANGELES VACAY IN FOOD AND FITNESS
Travelling is my favourite way to relax and slow down, spend time with family, and explore what is going on outside my bubble here in Vancouver.
My family and I did quite a bit of travelling last year but this trip to LA to visit my sister in law and her family, as well go to Disneyland, was our first trip since Costa Rica we’ve been on. It came at the perfect time, Vancouver has been dark and rainy (for weeks on out) and I know I needed a break from the daily grind and work.
I wanted to share all the cool and new things I did, the delicious food I ate, and what I took away from my trip to LA.
TUESDAY
We flew into LA in the evening (pretty late actually). My digestion always screeches to a stop when I fly so I ate really light cooked veggies and had juices and smoothies all day. Even though it’s only a 2.5 hour flight, I still make sure I prepare by hydrated a ton and eating light.
WEDNESDAY
After a well-deserved sleep in, we woke up to a warm and sunny day. The first thing we did was go to Wholefoods to stock up our kitchen with healthy, sugar-free foods for the week. We are fortunate enough to have our own guest house and to be staying with family who are already extremely healthy and eat like we do.
Whole foods in the states, and Los Angeles, in particular, is a plant-based foodies dream. They have so many cool innovative new products and I went a little crazy and bought all the cool new paleo vegan mct milkshakes, coconut kefir elixirs and like 3 different kinds of bone broth.
The rest of the day was getting out in the sun, spending time with our family and preparing for our big day at Disneyland!!!
THURSDAY
DISNEYLAND! I want to share that it was all of our’s first time ever being at Disneyland! We woke up at 6 am and got the kids feed and out the door at 7 am. I am currently on a sugar-free detox and had to pack all our food for the day. I brought trail mix, sugar-free protein bars, apples, oranges, smoothies and water. We managed to do every ride in BOTH parks! Many my kids were troopers and walked all over sans complaints. I mean Disneyland really is a happy place and we all were so impressed with the experience.
FRIDAY
Ok, it’s been 3 days and I haven’t been to a fitness class:) It’s time to get out and explore the city! I book myself into an advanced Cardio Barre class. I’ve been to Cardio Barre before and loved it so decided to go back and get my barre on. Cardio Barre is a barre studio that differentiates itself by adding a cardio element to every class. The moves are always double time, and the class moves FAST! It’s like a barre class in fast motion. What I notice is the insane amount of reps they make you do! I got a great sweat and workout and enjoyed my class.
SATURDAY
About a week prior to this trip I made sure to book myself into a kundalini class with Guru Jagat, someone who I have been following and really respect her work. I have been diving deep into the world of kundalini and spiritualty so was super pumped to see her name on the schedule at the Ra Ma Institute in Venice.
The class was out of this world. The studio itself is a beautiful studio with massive amounts of healing life force energy. I will be doing a separate post all about my new love affair with kundalini and why I believe it can help with opening our hearts and healing our pasts, but for now, let me just say that my class with Guru Jagat transformed me. I left a more enlightened person that when I had showed up.
After a 1 1/2 hour class of yoga, chanting, praying and meditating, I felt like some high vibing food. Luckily Venice is the mecca of healthy, plant-based organic non-gmo delicious food!
I first went to have a superfood adaptogenic elixir at Moon Juice. I had tried some of their products before and was excited to check out their spot. I bought a matcha pearl elixir and it was TASTY. Then I crossed the street to have lunch at Cafe Gratitude, probably one the first and most popular vegan restaurants in LA. I have never gone and ate at a restaurant all by myself before and now I wonder why? It was nice to put the phone away (well after snapping some photos of course) and just enjoy my food, people watch and chill.
This morning in Venice was incredible and I would highly recommend checking out the Ra Ma Institute for a kundalini class.
Saturday night was a grown-up night where we all went out and did an escape room together. If you haven’t done one before, you need to go! Supposedly we have one in Vancouver:) After “escaping” in an impressive 39 minutes, we went out to a delicious vegan Indian restaurant near Hollywood. Such good eating, it’s the best having my sister in law who knows of all the best places to eat!
SUNDAY
Sunday is always family day around here in Vancouver and it was no different in Los Angeles. We spent the morning celebrating my niece’s 3rd bday with family and friends.
After the party, I laced up the runners and went for a run around the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, which is basically just under my SIL’s house. I’m not used to running on cement and my shins and leg muscles were not loving it. I guess I’m so spoiled with the beautiful trails in my backyard here in Vancouver.
After my run, Travis took me and the kids out to BIg Tujunga Canyon to show us where he bikes and how beautiful it is only 20 minutes out of town. WOW. They actually have pretty cool mountains there too!
MONDAY
Last day of our trip and probably the one I had been looking forward to the most… I had booked myself into a Tracy Anderson Method class in Studio City!!!! If you’ve been following me for awhile or know me, you know that I love Tracy Anderson. She can get a lot of flack from other trainers but I think she is pure gold. Authentic, creative and her workouts are SO HARD and FUN.
The room is hot, not hot like a hot yoga class but very warm, 28 degrees Celsius. Once you get moving around, you really feel the warmth. And not only that, they up the humidity so your sweating before you even get going, I actually love love love working out in the warm room, sweating is a great way to detox your largest organ, skin.
The other clients are all so dedicated and into it. This is a class where you can’t go in with any preconceived notions about the moves, yourself, or anyone else. It’s so different than any other workout so even if you think you’re a rockstar, this workout will kick your ass. That being said, everyone was really nice, brought their A-game to the class and helped raise the energy in the room to high heights.
Did I mention the workout is challenging? lol
I was sore for 4 days after my class in all the right places and will definitely go back.
Reflecting back on my trip, I’m filled with joy and gratitude for the chance to do and experience so many amazing things. I always love coming home and sharing what I’ve learned in my classes and with my clients.
Catch me back at Barre, Eastwood, or train with me online with Fit Club to gain access to all of my workouts, guidance and energy:)
xoxo
Rebecca