Fitness Magazine Blogger Meet & Tweet #FitBlogNYC – Seminars

As you may have noticed from my posts on Twitter and Facebook, I was just a tiny bit excited about being invited to attend the Fitness Magazine Blogger Meet & Tweet (aka #FitBlogNYC). It was an amazing feeling to have been included in such a great group of (mainly) NYC based health, beauty and fitness bloggers.

It was such an inspiring, fun day! The event was held at the beautiful Mercedes Club in midtown, which had a lovely rooftop outdoor space for us to hang out and enjoy a healthy, alfresco breakfast.

The morning started with 5 seminars, all of which I found interesting (and inspired a few future blog posts in the works!). First up was Sarah Lucero, a celebrity makeup artist for Stila Cosmetics. I figured it would be a fun seminar, more aimed at the beauty bloggers, but surprisingly, this was one of my favorites. Sarah has such a calm, confident presence. She is a breast cancer survivor, which changed the way she looks at life completely. My favorite quote from her was,

“Do what you want to do. Mean it. Be proud of it.” 

Sarah’s most famous client is Victoria Beckham and when she told us all the products and shades she uses for Victoria, I loved watching all the beauty bloggers furiously taking notes! You have to admit, Mrs. Beckham is pretty flawless.

I thought Sarah’s best beauty tip was to match the weight of your makeup to the weight of your clothes, i.e. don’t wear heavy, opaque shades in summer and don’t go too sheer and minimalist in the colder seasons, when you need a little more color. She also made the important point that if you aren’t exercising, drinking plenty of water and getting enough rest, no amount of makeup is going to make you look healthy and beautiful.

Next was a talk by Dr. Jennifer Ashton, an ob-gyn who has just had a new book published on staying healthy and strong in every decade of your life. Another inspiring speaker, Dr. Ashton spoke about a holistic approach to health, an idea to which I wish all doctors would subscribe. Her approach to wellness is what she called the “Trifecta Perfecta” – when you move, rest and nourish your body appropriately, your body will not let you down. She talked about making sure you like your doctor. She suggested using your ob-gyn as your primary care physician to ensure the doctor-patient relationship is strong and personal, more than just being treated for ailments.

Then came the seminar I think we were all really waiting for: ‘My Blog is My Business’, with featured speakers Deb Perelman from Smitten Kitchen; Dana Weiss from Possessionista; Jill Hanner, awesome YouTube blogger representing Ford Fiesta; and Erin Whitehead, one of the two co-founders of Fit Bottomed Girls.

These women had lots of great advice for bloggers on how to grow your blog as a business. Their insightful tips included:

• Don’t compare yourself to other bloggers. Find your niche and your voice by writing and blogging about what inspires you. – Deb
• Ignore the negativity and trolls you may attract. They’re always out there, but you don’t need to pay attention to them. – Erin
• Don’t start a blog to make money. Start blogging for fun, then make money. – Dana (agreed upon by all the panelists!)
• For videos, lighting and sound is key. – Jill

Then came Brett Hoebel, who was a trainer on The Biggest Loser season 11. I don’t watch The Biggest Loser, so I had no idea who Brett was. Given that I’m not the biggest fan in the world of that show, I’ll admit to having a few somewhat negative preconceptions before his seminar began. Another lesson for me on not rushing to judgement – he spoke on the rise of extreme fitness as a trend and his comments were perceptive and thoughtful. The ‘extreme’ behind the concept and training style of The Biggest Loser is why I don’t watch that show, but Brett was not a proponent of extreme fitness unless you are trained for it and committed to working hard on your form and staying safe.

The takeaways of Brett’s seminar for me were:

• The rise of extreme fitness can almost be charted directly against the rise of social media. People want to celebrate and brag about their extreme achievements and do so publicly on social media. What does this lead to? People being influenced to try extreme fitness as a trendy thing to do – whether it be CrossFit, obstacle races like Tough Mudder, or marathons.
• Brett is all about short workouts. When he asked us for the Number 1 excuse people give for not working out, the immediate reply of all of us, in unison was, “Not Enough Time!” However, he made the disclaimer that if you’re going to do a 20 or 30 minute workout, you’ve got to make sure you’re working your ass off. YUP.

The final speaker of the morning was Rocco DiSpirito, celebrity chef and cookbook author.   His seminar was titled Eat What You Love – and Lose Weight. He was a very entertaining speaker, because you could tell how passionate he was about his topic. He was almost manic in his eagerness to share tips with us on cooking and eating out while staying healthy.

If I listed all Rocco’s key points, this post would be a novel (and it’s already a long post!). Here are some of his general tips on healthy eating:

• Stay away from processed food. Processed food manufacturers are NOT advocates for your health. (YES!)
• Seek out joy in eating. Eat with your friends and family, in social settings. Make mealtime a joyful, social experience and that will fill the void many people eat to fill.
• When you eat out, make smart portion choices, like splitting meals. Don’t be afraid to speak up and ask for lower calorie options, or to have half your meal ‘to go’ before it even gets to your table.

Rocco also gave lots of cooking tips, which I LOVED hearing, since I love to cook and don’t often get to have a front row seat to a celebrity chef sharing his expertise! Some of his gems included:

• Forget about adding fresh herbs at the end of cooking. When he was in Italy recently filming a TV show where he helps Italian mamas ‘lighten up’ their favorite recipes, he was surprised that most of them sauté garlic, pepperoncino and basil together first, to make the base of the dish. He said this made the basil flavor stronger than when you add it towards the end.
• Seasonality is important. When you cook with what’s in season, you’re guaranteeing the flavors will be fresh and strong and you’re more likely to be using local foods as well.
• Aged balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and water blended together make a salad dressing you will not believe doesn’t include oil.
• In fact, according to Rocco, aged balsamic vinegar is a gift from God. He also suggested deglazing a pan with it to make a delicious, practically calorie-free sauce for meats and vegetables.

It was such a great experience to listen to all of the speakers share their knowledge and advice. I took away a lot of information and felt inspired by each of the seminars.

There were also some moments where I didn’t agree with their views, like when two of the speakers, Dr. Ashton and Rocco, were asked about carbohydrates and both of them basically said everyone should reduce carbohydrate intake. They even went so far as to throw out specific gram requirements we should aim for (100 grams and 30 grams per day, respectively). This black and white, avoid-carbs-at-all-costs mentality drives me crazy. I think, though, that when a certain way of eating works for someone to maintain their weight and health, they just want to share it with everyone, maybe forgetting that every single body and metabolism is different. What works for one person won’t necessarily work for everyone.

Tomorrow, I’ll be recapping the afternoon from the Fitness Magazine Blogger Meet & Tweet, including meeting fellow bloggers, chatting with the various sponsors of the event, taking a yoga class with Tara Stiles, the founder of Strala Yoga and the un.be.lievable swag bag we were given.