By The Time You Read This I'll Be Gone

Welcome to the community where together, we’ll dive deep and find the strength to never give up because Great Things Take Time.

If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe and join the Great Things Take Time Community to get content from me every Monday.

Here's what's in today's email

• What I Eat On Vacation

• Moments with Maurice

• The Thing I Was Worried To Tell My Friends

• What's Got Me Smilin'

• Damn! You Put Your Foot In This

What I Eat on Vacation

Among several other topics, there was a big trend with people who subscribed to this newsletter wanting specific information like what I eat (or what they should eat) on vacation, before bed, when training, etc. A lot of requests for health and wellness tips.

Last week, I was headed out to Italy for a wedding/vacation, which meant there was a lot of prep to do. Getting laundry done, making last-minute purchases, quick errands, and shaving my head were all things on my to-do list. Do you notice anything special that wasn’t on my list?

Training extra hard and eating a certain way are two things that did not make my vacation prep list.

Does this surprise you? Is this what you do?

You may have figured it out already, but I have found that I am at my best when I am living a life of balance. You might be thinking “wOw aDriAn. aNoThEr pErSoN pReAcHinG bALaNcE. gRoUnDbreAkiNg,” and sure, maybe it is a common thing being shared, but let me tell you how I see it.

When going on vacation, taking time off, or being away from their scheduled routine, I’ve seen a lot of people approach it with a deficit mindset. Some of the most common things I’ve heard from the community are:

“Oh I’m going on vacation so I have to work out harder.”

“I’m stressed all of vacation because I don’t want to gain everything back.”

“This time away was horrible, I lost all of my conditioning.”

“Now that I’m back, I have to workout 7 days this week to make-up for everything.”

You know what I don’t hear in the above statements?

Conversations about how fun the trip was.
The new food they tried from a different culture.
The people they spent time with, the things they did.

How can you go on a life-changing vacation or even take much-needed time away and only walk away with disappointment that you weren’t living the exact same life that you lived the other 350-something days of the year?

Having a negative outlook during vacation or time away is not healthy for the individual, or those around the person thinking that way. That mindset is not healthy for anyone. Why are you attaching something negative to an otherwise wonderful and relaxing experience?

During the week, I’ve worked to create a baseline of generally good habits so that if I’m out to dinner with friends, gone for vacation, or even just having a lazy weekend at home relaxing, I don’t feel thrown off and like I need a week to recover or to get back pumping iron like Arnold. Granted, I’m not out to become a hotdog-eating champion, but enjoying greasy pizza, fried chicken sandwiches, or a round of beers is not sending me into a downward spiral. I'm going to enjoy how I spend my downtime and continue about my life and the next day like that was just a normal part of the process.

Life is about leaving room to flex.

Even my Nana, a woman who would make us eat our greens and hated fast food encouraged us to enjoy ourselves when we were spending time with family in the South. This was because the time away wasn’t for eating clean and getting as much exercise as possible; it was for enjoying our family’s culture (food and natural movement) that came with being in a different place with different people.

We travel to different places to experience different things, and part of those things are different types of movement (or lack thereof) and food! Just imagine, my clean-eating, tree-hugging Nana dumping some fried food on your plate like it was no big deal. When we were back home in New York, it was just “cool, back to our regular schedule.”

Growing up, there was no shame attached to vacation or time away. It just was a different season of your life prepping you for your hard work ahead. Coming back anxious, stressed, or worried about how you fit in movement or eating would make you walk away feeling burnt out and with your tank running on empty. Think about how easy things are when you’re relaxed and loose, compared to when you’re tight and anxious.

So when I’m gone, I’m attaching meaning to spending time with people, eating delicious local food, and using walking (or moving from couch to couch) as my main source of movement. When I’m back, or simply just feeling a bit off on vacation, I’m checking in to see if I’ve had enough protein, enough carbs, enough water, and if I ate something green. When I return home, I get back to my normal routine.

Those are MY reset buttons. We all have different ones. My biggest recommendation when trying to figure out what works best for you with training or nutrition is to work with a nutritionist or personal trainer. Whether recurring or just a one-time consultation, it will help figure out things that might work best for YOU. Sometimes, insurance companies will even cover this, so check your policy or company benefits. Don’t rely on what someone else is telling you to do (yes, even me 😉) who might not know your specific needs. We are all different people so stop trying to live like someone else.

I’m sharing what works for me and how I view balance in hopes that if you haven’t found yours yet, it’ll give you some ideas on where to start, or maybe start cutting yourself a bit more slack when you’re away.

My thoughts around food and movement aren’t just for vacation, but also for every day. You can’t beat yourself up over the leftover chicken nuggets, the second drink, or the skipped early morning workout due to the late night. You’re human and you’re doing your best. I see you and I see how hard you all work every day, and it’s what inspires me and makes my job so rewarding. You’re not going to get it right away, you’re not supposed to. Great Things Take Time

Moments with Maurice

Each week, my Wednesday content will leave you with a reflection and prompt to share your reactions and thoughts, and the following Monday I’ll highlight some of the responses. Taking things inward is powerful, but sharing them reminds us we aren’t alone in our thinking and that we aren’t all that much different.

Last week, I took you on the trip that changed how I’m looking at my life and that was the catalyst to some pretty big changes that are coming. How do I get started in changing my life to match my priorities? First, I had to figure out what my priorities are and when I feel my most connected to my authentic self. Sometimes, it’s better to focus on how things feel, but writing them down can provide a logical perspective and help you wrap your mind around them.

Ever have something big you are scared to tell your friends? In the end, you always remember they love you no matter what and are here for you, but there are some things that change your relationship. This is one of those things.

Because no matter what, there is always something to smile about.

• Shang-chi: Again, no rawdogging for me on the plane. Since I didn’t have internet flying to Vancouver, I got to soar in a whole different way by watching Shang-chi on the plane.

• Gratitude: Taking a moment to appreciate where I am in live now, and trying to remember to do that more.

• Sushi rolls and fresh halibut: Specifically from Glowbal in Vancouver.

• lululemon RM gathering: With every event I do with lululemon, in-store or out, I always walk away feeling inspired to do more work for the community, and now for The Great Things Collective. It reignites the fire within me and reminds me to praise those around me I see working hard.

Food is a universal way of sharing and experiencing each other.

My grandma, my mom, and I have always been the same, it brings us joy to see people enjoying what we’ve made. Because of that, I want to give space for the community to share recipes that are so full of love, it makes people say "damn, you put your foot in this!" 

Each week, I’ll highlight a recipe from the community, sharing the story behind why this meal, dish or drink is special to them. What better way for us to get to know each other better and maybe even cook together?

Ingredients:    

• 3 cups cold, cooked jasmine rice

• 1 tbsp each of Thai secrets soy sauces (Golden Mountain and mushroom soy sauce Healthy Boy, sweet dark soy sauce)

• 1/2 oyster sauce

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 small onion, finely chopped

• 1 cup mixed vegetables (I love carrots, peas- you can do the ready to microwave version too)

• 2 large eggs, I usually cook separate between white egg and yolk in the separate pan. Trust me it’s so amazing!

• 1 cup protein of your choice (chicken, shrimp, or tofu) if you choose Tofu, dice in cube and cook with tiny bit of butter before you toss in the fried rice

• 1 tsp sugar (optional, for balance)

• Lime wedges and fresh cucumber for the side dish, or for garnish.

Recipe for Bangkok Fried Rice

1. Prep the Rice: Make sure your jasmine rice is cold. Freshly cooked rice will be too sticky, so it’s best to use rice that’s been refrigerated. If you haven’t have any rice cooker, it’s a good time to purchase one! It reduce stress for your dinner cooking time 😀 

2. Heat the Oil: In a large pan or wok, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion, sautéing until fragrant and slightly golden, about 2-3 minutes.

3. Cook the Protein: If using raw protein, add it to the pan and cook until done. For cooked proteins like tofu or leftover chicken, add it in the next step with the vegetables.

4. Stir in Vegetables: Add the mixed vegetables and stir-fry for another 3-4 minutes until they’re slightly softened.

5. Scramble the Eggs: Cook egg white and yolk separately in the separate pan. Then add their cooked eggs almost at the end of the your cooking! If you do that time? Scrambled egg is the separate bowl! then mix everything together before you add the rice!

6. Add the Rice: Break up any clumps of cold rice and add it to the pan. Stir everything together so the rice soaks up the flavors.

7. Season: Add the secret Thai soy sauces, Oyster sauce and sugar (optional). Stir-fry everything for another 2-3 minutes, adjusting seasoning as needed.

8. Finish and Serve: Garnish with lime wedges and cilantro. Serve hot, and enjoy it! If you are meal prep, it usually can keep it up for 7 days :)

Submit your recipes and story here

What To Expect From Me:

Monday’s newsletter will always be accessible to anyone that has subscribed to Great Things Take Time. I’ll highlight moments of my week, announcements, things that have brought me joy, and other things worth sharing. But to bring you even more great content we have the Great Things Collective, a paid subscription level for $9 a month that gets you the following:

• Access to a Subscribers’ Only Discord community to interact with myself and other like-minded friends. 

• Additional editions of the Great Things Take Time newsletter where I share stories from my life, lessons I’ve learned, guest authors, personal growth prompts and so much more!

• Exclusive access to in-person and virtual events. 

• The ability for YOU to share more in-depth with the Great Things Take Time community. 

• First in line to get all announcements, merch drops, and anything else fun I have planned to share with you. 

Thanks for being with me on this journey. I’m excited to see where this takes us, and what we’re going to achieve together. I know this is far from perfect, but together I hope we can grow it into exactly what it’s meant to be.

Remember:

-Adrian