BlogFest 2015 and “What I Ate Wednesday”

ByAshley Hours
Comments 53 Comments

Happy Wednesday, party people! First, let’s get it out of the way — Go Warriors! I wore my Golden State Warriors jersey to teach BODYPUMP last night before heading to a viewing party, and the excitement was high in class — good thing, because we won!! What a game! I can’t even begin to explain how amazing it is that the Warriors are the NBA Champs. I’m so proud of Dave for all of his work this season, and I’m also proud of all of the other Warriors employees and friends, who deserve this title more than anyone. This is beyond amazing. Celebrations aside, today, it’s all about blogging and food. (But yes, more celebrations to come!)

Speaking at IDEA BlogFest in Southern California

I’m really excited to announce that I’m not only attending BlogFest at the IDEA World Fitness Convention in late July in Southern California, but I’ve also been asked to speak at the event as a presenter. 

While I attended plenty of “work conferences” when I was in the public relations world years ago in Orlando, this is my first official “work conference” as a blogger and a fitness professional. I’ll be part of the Lightning Round, presenting some tips on blogging, with a fitness spin. (As luck would have it, I was asked to join the line-up of presenters late-in-the-game when another speaker fell through. Not a problem, as I’m eager to jump in and was interested in attending anyhow.) I’m currently putting together my presentation and would love to hear from you bloggers out there on some things you’d like to learn about, so please let me know in the comments below.

Join the fun with me at IDEA BlogFest next month

But what is BlogFest? An awesome four days of healthy-living blogger fun, hosted by none other than the ladies of Sweat Pink and IDEA. 

BlogFest is taking place July 16-19 in Los Angeles, and this event brings together more than 150 health and fitness bloggers in one place to enjoy advanced blogging sessions, workouts with popular trainers and access to the IDEA World Fitness Convention. The IDEA World Fitness Convention is one of the largest fitness events in the world and is where the latest and greatest innovations in the fitness world are announced and shared. And BlogFest? A place where as a blogger, you can meet and greet “in real life” with like-minded people who share your passions. To say I’m excited to connect with a ton of bloggers and sweat together … well that’s an understatement. I read the reviews of other bloggers who attended last year and was oh-so-jealous I wasn’t there. But that won’t happen this year!

If you’re interested in attending BlogFest as well, there’s still time to register and you’ll get $140 off the registration price by using the code SPABLOGFEST15. Visit the BlogFest site and sign up today. And I hope to meet you there!

*Please note, because I’m speaking at the event and sharing my story via social media as part of the BlogFest Social Media team, Sweat Pink has provided me with a free conference registration. Thanks, ladies!

Now, it’s time to head into the food pictures …

What I Ate Wednesday 

Each Wednesday, I feature a “What I Ate Wednesday” post on A Lady Goes West to give you a glimpse into what a full day of meals looks like for me. This is my real food, captured in real time.

What I Ate Wednesday via A Lady Goes

Today, I’m sharing a recap of everything I ate on Monday of this week. Monday was a very healthy day, featuring work and a workout. And luckily, I was able to prepare and eat all of my meals at home throughout the day, while stopping back by my place to play with Rudy (my little maltipoo) and work on the blog as I moved from gym-to-gym.

Breakfast at 7:30 a.m.

Breakfast on Monday, June 15Keeping it simple: This is my breakfast most days of the week. A bowl of cold and hearty overnight oats dressed up with a sliced banana. As usual, I prepared a few batches of oats on Sunday to make my morning routine move quickly during the weekdays. I enjoyed this alongside a mug of hot green tea, sweetened with vanilla soy milk and stevia. 

Lunch at 12:45 p.m.

Lunch on Monday, June 15Colorful and tasty: A sweet potato a day, keeps the doctor away? Whatever the phrase may be, I do tend to have one sweet potato each day. Here’s a delicious lunch featuring a baked sweet potato covered in cinnamon, roasted brussels sprouts and two fried eggs. How do I cook my sweet potato? In the microwave. I wash it, poke a few holes in it, wrap the potato in a wet paper-towel and cook it for about four minutes on each side. Voila!

Afternoon snack at 5 p.m.

Afternoon snack on Monday, July 15Pre-workout fuel: This was the last CLIF Organic Trail Mix Bar out of the care package I received from the folks at CLIF (which just so happened to make my most recent “Friday Favorites“). I had the bar alongside some fresh pineapple, which was quite the refreshing treat. I’m really enjoying fresh pineapple this week and am working my way through a batch each day. I had this snack before heading off to teach an evening BODYATTACK class, and it was plenty of fuel in my system.

Dinner at 8:30 p.m.

Dinner on Monday, June 15 Grilled up right: The grill is an amazing thing. While Dave cooked our teriyaki-chicken on the grill on the patio, I prepared the brown rice and roasted vegetables in the kitchen. This simple dinner is healthy, quick and filling, although perhaps not super photogenic, but I still shared it on Instagram, as I tend to do. I usually have a post-workout protein shake, but because my workout was a later one on this night, I rolled right into dinner within an hour of finishing up.

A creature of habit, after dinner, I took a few chugs of vanilla soy milk straight from the carton and joined Dave and little Rudy on the couch to relax.

That’s the day, right there!

Today, I’m teaching BODYATTACK at lunch, working and then teaching two classes at Orangetheory Fitness tonight. I hope you’ll meet me back here tomorrow for something a little bit different. 

Have a great day, my friends!

Read more daily eating recaps

Each week, “What I Ate Wednesday” is hosted by Peas and Crayons for bloggers to showcase their eats to the world. If you want to see more food recaps, check out some of my posts from the past here:

  1. A full day of eating in pictures
  2. Another full day of my eats and drinks
  3. Real food isn’t always pretty
  4. Do you have a balanced dining out strategy?
  5. What I ate and drank all day
  6. Three meals, two snacks and a shake
  7. Food trucks and rest-day eating
  8. Plenty of protein at every meal
  9. Colorful fuel for a day of training
  10. Long days of training require a lot of food
  11. Making do on “What I Ate Wednesday” 
  12. Healthy foods for a rest day
  13. Who doesn’t like pictures of food?
  14. A look at a full day of eating in pictures
  15. Snapshots from a day of delicious meals
  16. Pictures of food, because you like them
  17. Food pictures and the juice cleanse that wasn’t
  18. A look at what I really eat in a day
  19. What I ate in the Sunshine State
  20. My weekend eats and a little narrative
  21. Stories about food and yesterday’s meals
  22. A day of eating and some commentary
  23. Do you want to know what I ate yesterday?
  24. Healthy challenges and foods from my day
  25. Eating, napping and eating again
  26. Filling up on healthy food before the holiday
  27. A perfect birthday at home and my eats
  28. Top blog posts, reader stats and my food
  29. A different kind of training and my food
  30. Joining a healthy green movement and my eats
  31. Must-try veggie pasta tip and my eats
  32. Are you eating this sweet and satisfying fruit?
  33. What a difference a week makes and my eats
  34. On Wednesdays we look at pictures of food
  35. Food, drinks and a very hydrating giveaway
  36. Front-loading all the healthy this week
  37. MealEnders giveaway and back to healthy food
  38. Eating, drinking and sharing the pictures
  39. I don’t like bad people, I do like good food
  40. Smart training nutrition tips and my meals
  41. “What I Ate Wednesday” and a Phenoh 7.4 review
  42. What my daily meals look like in pictures
  43. Food pictures from a light and healthy day
  44. Life lately and a look at all of my meals
  45. What’s normal to you? (And my daily eats)
  46. A bit of chatter and “What I Ate Wednesday”
  47. How you eat beets and a look at a day of food
  48. What I ate yesterday in the Sunshine State
  49. A full day of lazy eating from the weekend
  50. Every thing I ate yesterday in pictures

Questions of the day

What have you been eating a lot lately?

Bloggers, have you ever been to a blogging conference?

If you were going to attend BlogFest, what would you most want to learn from the speakers?

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53 Comments

  4. YAY Warriors!!!! Congrats!!! Did you take a picture of you in your jersey at BODYPUMP?? I have been enjoying avocados every day lately. Usually a half at breakfast or lunch and a half again at dinner. I love them! And that’s great you were asked to present at the Blogfest – what a great opportunity!

    Reply

    1. Hi Melissa! I did take a little selfie with Rudy before I left for class in my jersey, and my class participants sure appreciated the jersey heheh! And an avocado a day? That’s a good thing! YAYYYY Warriors! Sooo excited about the win!:)

      Reply

    1. Thanks, Lauren! It was so fun to watch the Warriors win with my husband, his coworkers and their wives. They worked so hard all season long!! 🙂

      Reply

    1. Hi Marielle! So cool you went to BlogFest last year. Did you write any recap posts? I’d love to read them! And yes, I guess now’s not the best time for you to be away! Too bad!

      Reply

  8. Congratulations on being asked to speak! I bet you have some amazing tips to share, and can’t wait to hear how it goes. I’m so happy for the Warriors! My company is split between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, and all the Cleve people are SO annoying when it comes to sports. They never would have let it go if they won the championship 😛

    Reply

  9. Congrats on speaking at the event! I so wish I could go. I have the weekend free but can’t afford it. Maybe next year!

    Reply

  12. So exciting for you guys that the Warriors won! We’ve enjoyed watching all the games the last couple weeks. 🙂

    I’ve been looooving pineapple lately!! They’ve been extra sweet and juicy lately, AND they keep going on sale … so of course I keep buying them. I actually have one on my counter that I need to slice up today. Can’t wait to dig into it!

    Reply

    1. Hi Ash! Yay for the Warriors! We are thrilled! I’m so glad you’ve been watching the games. I always buy the pre-sliced pineapples actually and have never cut up a whole one. I bet it looks pretty on the counter though. 🙂

      Reply

  13. I had to stop by and say CONGRATS ON THE WIN!!! Your husband must be so pumped!

    It’s so awesome that you were asked to speak at BlogFest! I think you’ll be a fabulous addition to the line up and I’m bummed I can’t attend. Maybe next year!

    Reply

  16. Wow blogfest sounds like so much fun, I would love to be able to go one day!
    Also, your lunch is practically my favorite meal… ever. I think I could eat eggs all day everyday. With sweet potato of course ;).

    Reply

    1. Hi Niki! I eat that sweet potato, egg and veggie combo SO often, because I don’t get sick of it at all. Happy WIAW to you! And I hope you get to go to BlogFest next year! 🙂

      Reply

  21. Congrats to you on the speaking gig at Blogfest!! Your pineapple pic reminds me that I have one sitting on my counter I need to cut up! I love the fresh delicious fruits in the summer.. a nice, refreshing snack.

    Reply

  23. AW MAN! I totally was going to go to BlogFest, but something else came up (super freaking cool though, so it’s a great excuse – LOL)… But I am so excited to read your recap! CONGRATS 🙂

    Reply

  24. Oh, I’ve never been to Blogfest! I’ve been to LuckyFABB twice and I’ve spoken at BlogHer and Bloggy Bootcamp though. I love blog conferences! You are going to have SOOO much fun. The best part is meeting new people — and then the swag! xoxo, Bethann

    Reply
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