The age-old question: Is cardio or weights better in the battle of the bulge?
The answer is BOTH - however us Americans tend to focus a little too much on cardio and not enough on weights - this is usually because it's very easy to push "ON" than to go figure out what all those weight machines are for. Right? :)
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the basic physical guidelines for adults under 65 are as follows:
30 Minutes of moderate intensity cardio 5 days per week
and
8-10 strength training exercises, with 8-12 reps of each exercise, 2 times per week.
This is the basic guideline. And this is a very good place to be if you are just starting out.
Now, as a fitness competitor/personal trainer - I like to put a little more emphasis on weight lifting. :)
If I had a dollar for every female I've heard say "I don't want to lift weights because I don't want to get bulky.", then I wouldn't be a personal trainer, I'd be retired. :) Let me just explain to you how I workout on a daily basis - 5 days a week:
I go to the gym 5 days a week, I warm up for a few minutes then I hit the weights for 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on what body part I'm working on. I hit different body parts everyday with an end result of hitting everything 2x each week. I like to call my style of lifting - "Like the boys". I walk right past the 5lb dumbells and push myself in with the guys and pick up the "big girl" weights and throw those suckers around like I mean business - I breathe hard, turn red in the face, grunt occasionally (probably, my headphones are too loud to actually hear, lol), and lift until I can't anymore. Then after the weights, I either do moderate intensity cardio for 30min or HIIT cardio for 15-30min. I don't run - ever!, only occasional sprints on some HIIT days. Now, do I look bulky?? Hardly! And you won't either!
If you want a tight firm body, you have to lift weights - and I mean LIFT weights. Picking up a 3lb dumbell and doing 15 bicep curls isn't going to do much for you. You have to go until you lose proper form - I tell my clients to go heavy enough to finish their last rep, but not be able to do anymore after that last rep. Train to muscle failure if you can. It seems intimidating, but it works. Every girl you see on the cover of a fitness magazine lifts heavy - I guarantee it.
Also - muscle burns more calories when you are at rest - so, if you build a little muscle, you will burn more calories at work, watching TV, taking a walk, and sleeping. Your body has to work to maintain that muscle.
I also recommend 3-5 days of weight training. If you have been working out for awhile and not getting much results - try 3, then go to 4, then 5. Make it a point to hit those weights.
Cardio is also VERY important - it is where you will immediately burn those calories - however, there is no need to be spending countless hours running on a treadmill or zooming away on an ellipticle. 30-45 minutes of moderate intensity (65%-75% of your max heart rate) 4-5 days a week is plenty! If you want to up the anty - try adding in some HIIT. This is high intensity interval training and it's no joke if you do it right. You are doing moderate intensity cardio with bursts of all-out sprints. HIIT can be done on any cardio machine, outdoors, etc. My favorite is a 5min warm up, 10-15 1min intervals of 45 seconds at 50% and 15 seconds at 100%, then a 10min cool down. You can also do 8-10 intervals of 1min at 50% and 30 seconds at 90%, then a 10min cooldown. HIIT is awesome, and you burn fat for the entire day! They are pretty brutal, I won't lie, but I love them because it's short-lived and the results are amazing!
So the bottom line is this: Don't waste a ton of time on the cardio machines. Get on the weights and build some lean muscle! If you don't know how, hire a trainer, ask someone to show you, google some workouts, or just use the circuit machines that have the pictures with how to use them. Just get out there and go, and go hard! Follow your weights up with 30 minutes of cardio, stretch, and call it a day!
The most important thing to remember is this: You can workout for 2 hours a day, but if your nutrition doesn't back up your training, you won't get the results you want. Remember:
Nutrition is 80% of the whole equation, what you do in the gym is 15%, and 5% is genetics - and don't forget, abs are made in the kitchen!! :)
Source: http://www.acsm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home_Page&TEMPLATE=CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=7764
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Check out this high protein cereal bar!
Ingredients:
2c puffed wheat
1/3c sliced almonds
2 tbsp ground flax seed
3 scoops vanilla protein
1/3c dried fruit of choice: Be careful here, most dried fruits have added sugar. Try to find one that has no added sugar - I finally caved and used the sugar-added kind from Kira's snack stash because I was anxious to try these. :) Some good choices are cranberried, blueberries, and raisens - try all 3!
1/3c sugar free maple syrup (or pure maple syrup - I like the lower sugar option personally)
1 tbsp coconut oil (oh yeah!)
1tsp pure vanilla extract
2tbsp natural peanut butter - the kind you have to stir! (no added sugar in there)
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and set aside.
In a pot, combine syrup and coconut oil. Heat to simmer and add vanilla and peanut butter and remove from heat. Stir with fork to blend. Add liquid mixture to cereal and mix with spoon.
Press evenly into oiled (pam spray) 8x8" pan. Let cool in fridge until solid and cut into 8 bars. Wrap individually and freeze for best results.
Makes 8 bars - Approx. 6g fat, 8g carbs, 4g sugar (with the "bad" fruit!), 2g fiber, 12g protein
Super food right here!! :)
Have 2 and chalk it up as a balanced meal!
I made a batch of these along with another bar for our upcoming roadtrip. They are perfect for an on-the-go snack and very low carb! Enjoy!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Falling Off The Wagon
This was another requested topic:
What do you do when you fall off the wagon - lose it - throw in the towel?
I'm very much a black and white thinker - it's all good, or it's all bad. I'm working on seeing the gray! So, with this type of personality, I've fallen off the wagon many times! I used to be THE yo-yo dieter. I had many days in the past where I would be 100% on track for the whole week and then Friday rolls around and I ran out of turkey burgers and I'm out running errands and I'm starved and Kira's screaming because she's hungry - and I've crashed. It happens to everyone. I ate about 20 Hershey Kisses one day due to stress...yep, I did it. I had days that just started off crappy and I'd throw my hands up and say "forget it", I'll start over tomorrow.
While this is all fine, and rather normal, it's important to recognize it and nab it in the butt as soon as it starts. As a trainer, I tell all my clients to have 2 cheat meals per week. I recommend a planned cheat meal. For me, this is usually a Friday or Saturday. And I recommend an "oops" cheat meal. This is when you have failed to plan, forgot your cooler, accidently ate that chocolate cupcake. It happens! Prepare for it!!! Rather than throwing in the towel for the whole day, jot it down in your journal as "Cheat Meal #1 (or 2)" and then you get right back on track before anything else bad happens.
There were so many times I'd have an "oops" moment half way through the day and then completely blow my diet for the rest of the day because I was thinking so black and white. Chalk it up as your cheat and get right back on track.
So what do you do if you completely blow it?? Learn to FORGIVE yourself! Everyone has done it, it happens, nobody is perfect. Learn to forgive and move on. If you sit around and feel guilty about it, you will more than likely make more bad choices. This one took me awhile to learn. I would mess up and feel SO guilty and just really give myself a hard time for not being "perfect". The fist time I forgave myself, shrugged it off and got right back on track, I felt so ALIVE. I didn't "punish" myself at the gym the next day or deprive myself of any meals, I just got back on track and everything was ok. It was definitely a milestone in my journey.
So, if you fall off the wagon - get your butt up and get right back on! A quote I tell myself often is: "If it were easy, everyone would be doing it." I like to add my own little twist to it and say "If it were easy, everyone would be a size 4." :)
A bit of encouragement if you are struggling with a healthy lifestyle: Stick with it and I PROMISE it will become a LIFESTYLE and not a diet. I fought the process for months, hated every second of it, but I pushed through, and one day it just clicked - it became habit and I no longer wanted McDonalds, I wanted clean, healthy food. Sweets started to make me sick and I craved fruit for dessert. I really started to look forward to my workouts. Everything changed. You just have to push through - resist the temptations, have small "rewards" on occasion, turn on the "auto-pilot", but stick to your plan and your body will adapt. You can do it!
What do you do when you fall off the wagon - lose it - throw in the towel?
I'm very much a black and white thinker - it's all good, or it's all bad. I'm working on seeing the gray! So, with this type of personality, I've fallen off the wagon many times! I used to be THE yo-yo dieter. I had many days in the past where I would be 100% on track for the whole week and then Friday rolls around and I ran out of turkey burgers and I'm out running errands and I'm starved and Kira's screaming because she's hungry - and I've crashed. It happens to everyone. I ate about 20 Hershey Kisses one day due to stress...yep, I did it. I had days that just started off crappy and I'd throw my hands up and say "forget it", I'll start over tomorrow.
While this is all fine, and rather normal, it's important to recognize it and nab it in the butt as soon as it starts. As a trainer, I tell all my clients to have 2 cheat meals per week. I recommend a planned cheat meal. For me, this is usually a Friday or Saturday. And I recommend an "oops" cheat meal. This is when you have failed to plan, forgot your cooler, accidently ate that chocolate cupcake. It happens! Prepare for it!!! Rather than throwing in the towel for the whole day, jot it down in your journal as "Cheat Meal #1 (or 2)" and then you get right back on track before anything else bad happens.
There were so many times I'd have an "oops" moment half way through the day and then completely blow my diet for the rest of the day because I was thinking so black and white. Chalk it up as your cheat and get right back on track.
So what do you do if you completely blow it?? Learn to FORGIVE yourself! Everyone has done it, it happens, nobody is perfect. Learn to forgive and move on. If you sit around and feel guilty about it, you will more than likely make more bad choices. This one took me awhile to learn. I would mess up and feel SO guilty and just really give myself a hard time for not being "perfect". The fist time I forgave myself, shrugged it off and got right back on track, I felt so ALIVE. I didn't "punish" myself at the gym the next day or deprive myself of any meals, I just got back on track and everything was ok. It was definitely a milestone in my journey.
So, if you fall off the wagon - get your butt up and get right back on! A quote I tell myself often is: "If it were easy, everyone would be doing it." I like to add my own little twist to it and say "If it were easy, everyone would be a size 4." :)
A bit of encouragement if you are struggling with a healthy lifestyle: Stick with it and I PROMISE it will become a LIFESTYLE and not a diet. I fought the process for months, hated every second of it, but I pushed through, and one day it just clicked - it became habit and I no longer wanted McDonalds, I wanted clean, healthy food. Sweets started to make me sick and I craved fruit for dessert. I really started to look forward to my workouts. Everything changed. You just have to push through - resist the temptations, have small "rewards" on occasion, turn on the "auto-pilot", but stick to your plan and your body will adapt. You can do it!
For The Moms - Finding the Balance
I got this topic as a blog request from a friend of mine: She wanted to know how I prepped for a competition with an 18 month old and a deployed husband. I've been thinking about this all day, and now, looking back, I'm rather proud of myself for not losing my mind at some point - although I'm sure I got pretty close at times. :)
Well, for starters, when I decided to compete, I took some time to really think it through - I knew it was going to be hard and I wanted to make sure I could fully commit. I decided to do one while my husband was deployed to make the time go by a little faster - give me something to look forward to. By the time I started my competition prep I was 100% revved up and ready to go - at that point nothing could have stopped me! This was right after Kira's 1st birthday.
The first couple of months were very tolerable, I'd just started working as a personal trainer and had very few clients at the time, so my work load was very light. I made it a point to go to the gym first thing in the morning, before I did anything else. For me, this had to be at 9am since that's when the daycare at my gym opens - So there we were, Monday through Friday at the gym, Kira and I.
Once my work load picked up a little and Kira started getting into more things, I found myself up prepping for the next day pretty late, which made an early morning pretty hard to come by. So at that point I made some changes. I started putting Kira to bed an hour earlier than usual. This gave me an extra hour of "me time" at the end of the day, and I started waking up at 5:30am. I've never been much of a morning person, but I liked this routine because I had a couple of hours every morning to do my devotions, read my Bible, or just sit on the couch and enjoy my coffee in silence.
The hardest time came post-competition. Kira hit 18 mos and was in to everything, I was ready for my husband to return, and my work schedule had nearly tripled. Between a new job, single parenting, and my own training I was beat! I got so run down that I saw a doctor at one point because I had no energy (I found out later that part of this was due to low iron) - but I made it! I just put my workouts and nutrition on auto-pilot, tried my best to be a good mom, and prayed for my husband to hurry!
I think the best advice I can give in this area is to have a pretty strict schedule, but at the same time, be willing to be flexible. Kira goes to bed at 7pm almost every night - so as soon as she's in bed I clean up the house, plan my meals, prep my food, get my gym and work bags ready, relax for a bit and off to bed I go. I'm working a lot more these days so I'm waking up at 5:30 to hit the gym most days rather than relax, but I make it a point to put my workouts as my first "appointment" for the day.
If you don't use a planner - give it a try! I don't know if I would survive without mine! Obviously, I need it for work, but I schedule EVERYTHING in it - workouts, posing practice, grocery shopping, cooking for the week - it's all in there. This helps me a TON - it's part of my "strict schedule".
I am always making to-do lists. I love how good it feels to check off the boxes! This helps me to focus on one thing at a time rather than my mind running fifty different places at once.
I also learned to let go of a lot of things. I'm a bit of a perfectionist - if things aren't "perfect", I tend to freak out. Over this last deployment I had to make decisions: go to bed and get 7hrs of sleep, or stay up and clean. Run some errands or go get my workout in. Clean the kitchen or play with Kira. I learned to let go of the "small things" and focus on the more important.
I would also recommend a babysitter/"Mommy's Time Out program/daycare for at least a few hours a few days per week. I love my daughter to peices, but it was so nice to be able to take her to the babysitter, get my workout done, head to work for a couple hours, stop and pick up groceries, and THEN pick her up and spend the afternoon with her. Had I not had this - I may have gone insane.
The hardest part of this whole journey (it was probably the hardest during the last month of competition prep - very strict diet, extra workouts, no energy) was finding the balance between mother and competitor. I want nothing more than the best for my daughter, but at the same time, I've dreamed of competing for years. There were so many times I questioned my decision to compete. At times I felt like maybe I should have been focusing on Kira more, competition less, competition more, back and forth. I see a therapist/life coach (highly recommended too!) occasionally, and we discussed this and she gave me great advice: It doesn't matter what we're doing, Kira just wants my love. Her attention span is 3 minutes right now, so there is no need for me to be sitting, playing with her all day - I can take her places with me, and as long as she's with Mommy and is loved, she is more than likely content. This helped me to get rid of a lot of guilt! So I was able to focus on my competition and I made it a point to show Kira some extra lovin' every free second I had.
This time around, my husband is home - this makes things MUCH easier. But I still have a schedule that I run by consistantly - flexible, but mostly consistant. Kira goes to the gym with me when I don't work, and I get in my workouts before work when I do. :)
As far as nutrition - my family eats what I eat. I usually cook, but if my husband wants pizza, he can have it, and I'll have my chicken. :) I feed Kira what I eat and she has adapted to it well also. I am very thankful that I started all of this with her at such a young age. I live vicariously through her from time to time, but she is usually a good eater.
Ok, I could go on with this topic forever! Please feel free to ask any questions - I don't have all the answers, but I've more than likely been there and can maybe relate. :)
Well, for starters, when I decided to compete, I took some time to really think it through - I knew it was going to be hard and I wanted to make sure I could fully commit. I decided to do one while my husband was deployed to make the time go by a little faster - give me something to look forward to. By the time I started my competition prep I was 100% revved up and ready to go - at that point nothing could have stopped me! This was right after Kira's 1st birthday.
The first couple of months were very tolerable, I'd just started working as a personal trainer and had very few clients at the time, so my work load was very light. I made it a point to go to the gym first thing in the morning, before I did anything else. For me, this had to be at 9am since that's when the daycare at my gym opens - So there we were, Monday through Friday at the gym, Kira and I.
Once my work load picked up a little and Kira started getting into more things, I found myself up prepping for the next day pretty late, which made an early morning pretty hard to come by. So at that point I made some changes. I started putting Kira to bed an hour earlier than usual. This gave me an extra hour of "me time" at the end of the day, and I started waking up at 5:30am. I've never been much of a morning person, but I liked this routine because I had a couple of hours every morning to do my devotions, read my Bible, or just sit on the couch and enjoy my coffee in silence.
The hardest time came post-competition. Kira hit 18 mos and was in to everything, I was ready for my husband to return, and my work schedule had nearly tripled. Between a new job, single parenting, and my own training I was beat! I got so run down that I saw a doctor at one point because I had no energy (I found out later that part of this was due to low iron) - but I made it! I just put my workouts and nutrition on auto-pilot, tried my best to be a good mom, and prayed for my husband to hurry!
I think the best advice I can give in this area is to have a pretty strict schedule, but at the same time, be willing to be flexible. Kira goes to bed at 7pm almost every night - so as soon as she's in bed I clean up the house, plan my meals, prep my food, get my gym and work bags ready, relax for a bit and off to bed I go. I'm working a lot more these days so I'm waking up at 5:30 to hit the gym most days rather than relax, but I make it a point to put my workouts as my first "appointment" for the day.
If you don't use a planner - give it a try! I don't know if I would survive without mine! Obviously, I need it for work, but I schedule EVERYTHING in it - workouts, posing practice, grocery shopping, cooking for the week - it's all in there. This helps me a TON - it's part of my "strict schedule".
I am always making to-do lists. I love how good it feels to check off the boxes! This helps me to focus on one thing at a time rather than my mind running fifty different places at once.
I also learned to let go of a lot of things. I'm a bit of a perfectionist - if things aren't "perfect", I tend to freak out. Over this last deployment I had to make decisions: go to bed and get 7hrs of sleep, or stay up and clean. Run some errands or go get my workout in. Clean the kitchen or play with Kira. I learned to let go of the "small things" and focus on the more important.
I would also recommend a babysitter/"Mommy's Time Out program/daycare for at least a few hours a few days per week. I love my daughter to peices, but it was so nice to be able to take her to the babysitter, get my workout done, head to work for a couple hours, stop and pick up groceries, and THEN pick her up and spend the afternoon with her. Had I not had this - I may have gone insane.
The hardest part of this whole journey (it was probably the hardest during the last month of competition prep - very strict diet, extra workouts, no energy) was finding the balance between mother and competitor. I want nothing more than the best for my daughter, but at the same time, I've dreamed of competing for years. There were so many times I questioned my decision to compete. At times I felt like maybe I should have been focusing on Kira more, competition less, competition more, back and forth. I see a therapist/life coach (highly recommended too!) occasionally, and we discussed this and she gave me great advice: It doesn't matter what we're doing, Kira just wants my love. Her attention span is 3 minutes right now, so there is no need for me to be sitting, playing with her all day - I can take her places with me, and as long as she's with Mommy and is loved, she is more than likely content. This helped me to get rid of a lot of guilt! So I was able to focus on my competition and I made it a point to show Kira some extra lovin' every free second I had.
This time around, my husband is home - this makes things MUCH easier. But I still have a schedule that I run by consistantly - flexible, but mostly consistant. Kira goes to the gym with me when I don't work, and I get in my workouts before work when I do. :)
As far as nutrition - my family eats what I eat. I usually cook, but if my husband wants pizza, he can have it, and I'll have my chicken. :) I feed Kira what I eat and she has adapted to it well also. I am very thankful that I started all of this with her at such a young age. I live vicariously through her from time to time, but she is usually a good eater.
Ok, I could go on with this topic forever! Please feel free to ask any questions - I don't have all the answers, but I've more than likely been there and can maybe relate. :)
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Deep Dish Pizza
The deep dish pizza was a success! Here is the link to my Livestrong page where you can find the recipe - please excuse the typos, I was half asleep typing it last night. ;) Enjoy!
The Power of Journaling
Here is what has helped me:
Like I stated in the last post, I plan my meals the night before. This takes the guess work out, and all I have to do is run on autopilot the next day, checking to see what my next meal is.
There are times when something comes up and I can't eat what I planned, so I just mark that entry out, and write what I am eating instead, however, the fact that I am journaling is keeping me 100% aware of what's going in my mouth.
Now when I first started journaling, years ago, I did the "journal as you go" method, and often I would forget to write something down, or "pretend" I didn't just eat that cookie. The problem with that was towards the end of the day when I craved something, I would check with my journal to see if I could "afford" it, and it looked like I could! I was cheating myself on a daily basis, and I failed at my attempt to lose weight many times.
When I did finally change things up, I started making healthier choices. If I craved something at lunch, I was able to look and see that my next meal was something just as yummy and satisfying so I would just wait another hour or so and enjoy!
I journal what I'm going to eat every night. Sure, I've gotten frustrated and thought to myself "why on Earth am I doing this?", but I know that it will give results. It keeps me on track, prevents bad choices, and actually keeps things quite simple for me! :)
It is impossible to fix a problem if you have no idea what the problem is. I've heard time and time again people saying, "I eat healthy." Well so do I, but if I'm eating too much of a healthy thing, I'll still gain weight or not reach my goals. Which leads me to another point: MEASURING
Take journaling to the next level - measure your food. Have you ever measured a chicken breast?? For the longest time I thought I was getting 4-6oz of chicken per breast, and the day I finally got a food scale I was blown away - 12oz!!! That's 3 servings I was eating at one meal! Measure, measure, measure! If you are like me, your eyes are bigger than your stomach. If you hate measuring, then do the "simple measure" system - eat as much carbs as you can fit in the palm of your hand - that will typically end up being 1/2c for a female, more for a male. Proteins should be the size of your clenched fist, and fats the size of the top of your thumb. This is the easy way. Either way, I encourage you to measure your food, you might be surprised what you've been eating all along.
So - journaling = IMPORTANT. It makes you AWARE, and you are more likely to make smart choices when you have to be accountable.
Measuring = Also IMPORTANT. If you are just writing vague ideas of what you ate in your journal, you might mislead yourself and end up over-eating. Measure, measure, measure - you will begin to see what 4-6 small meals really look like!
I'll be cooking a Clean Eating deep dish pizza tonight - if all goes well, I'll have the recipe up tonight! :)
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Getting Real
I often have people ask my why I decided to compete - why would I give up a "normal" life to deprive myself of food, workout for hours on end, just to prance across a stage in a tiny bikini - I've even questioned myself. To be honest, at first I couldn't really answer that question. The first thing that always came to my mind was - it's something I've always wanted to do. That answer, though truthful, didn't really satisfy me. There was more to it than that, but I didn't know what it was. I fealt like there had to be some sort of "philosophical reasoning" to my committment.
After much prayer and soul searching, I've finally come to my reasons. And my reason is a selfish one, but I'm okay with that. I'm doing this because, yes, it is something I've always wanted to do, but more than that I want so badly to prove MYSELF wrong. I've grown up with very low self-esteem - I had a great upbringing, good family and friends, but just ended up feeling bad about myself like most other women and girls do. It seems as though in today's society we're not supposed to be beautiful - we are constantly putting ourselves down, talking down, finding something that needs to be "fixed", and that is just the "way it is" these days. So for years I've said "I'd LOVE to look like that!" But deep down inside, I never really believed in myself. I never really thought I'd be able to look like that - no matter how bad I wanted it, I didn't believe.
So here I am now - on a mission to beat the old me and grow into a mature, self-loving, beautiful woman - inside AND out. I'm going to walk across that stage and KNOW that I have a bangin' body - because I worked my tail off to make it that way, and I'm going to radiate beauty from the inside out!
Have a great day! I'm off to the gym - I have a Pro Card to win!! ;)
After much prayer and soul searching, I've finally come to my reasons. And my reason is a selfish one, but I'm okay with that. I'm doing this because, yes, it is something I've always wanted to do, but more than that I want so badly to prove MYSELF wrong. I've grown up with very low self-esteem - I had a great upbringing, good family and friends, but just ended up feeling bad about myself like most other women and girls do. It seems as though in today's society we're not supposed to be beautiful - we are constantly putting ourselves down, talking down, finding something that needs to be "fixed", and that is just the "way it is" these days. So for years I've said "I'd LOVE to look like that!" But deep down inside, I never really believed in myself. I never really thought I'd be able to look like that - no matter how bad I wanted it, I didn't believe.
So here I am now - on a mission to beat the old me and grow into a mature, self-loving, beautiful woman - inside AND out. I'm going to walk across that stage and KNOW that I have a bangin' body - because I worked my tail off to make it that way, and I'm going to radiate beauty from the inside out!
I realize that most people would want me to say something about doing this to be a great role model, or for fame or some other reason, but that isn't the truth. I DO want to be a good role model, and to be fitness icon would be a DREAM, but I need to prove to ME first before I can set my sights on the others. I think in doing this, the other two may come as added bonuses.
So my challenge for everyone is this: Why are you doing it? If there is no reason, no target, then you will never be on point...it's like driving blindfolded. Get real with yourself - don't try to think of a reason that would make everyone else happy, think about YOU. What do YOU really want? Why do you wake up early to workout everyday, or pass up the cupcakes that are brought into the office? Get real with yourself and don't be ashamed to want to be a hottie! Everyone deserves to be their absolute best. I believe that once you figure out WHY you want it, the HOW will come a lot more easily. :)
Have a great day! I'm off to the gym - I have a Pro Card to win!! ;)
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Have a Vision
Put your dreams on a board and put it somewhere you will see it often. My vision board is right above my desk where I do all my work at home. It helps to keep me focused on my goals, keeps that fire inside lit. My goal for the first part of this year is to compete and earn my pro card, so my board is primarily competition related. You can set your board up however you like, it doesn't even have to be all about fitness and health.
I've also taken this a step further and made "goal cards". It is a small index card-sized statement with my goals written out in present tense - as if they've already been accomplished. I keep one in my car, my wallet, my planner, everywhere! And I read it often. There is an ebook by Tom Venuto called Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. Amazing book if you are looking for some motivation. He has a chapter on goal setting and why it is so important for success and how you can train your sub-conscious mind to help you reach your goals. Great book.
So,what do you really want? Write it down! Put it where you will see it and get to work! And most importantly - believe in yourself!
Secret Weapons
I'm always being asked for workout tips, nutrition advice, etc. So, here is my secret weapon for success. I call it the 3 P's:
PLANNING
PREPPING
PACKING
I eat 5-6 times per day...that in itself is a part-time job. But I made a committment to myself that I would do my best to be my best, so I took on the job. It was tough to get used to, I won't lie. I was used to eating a very light breakfast if I had breakfast at all, lunch on the go - either a homeade sandwich or fast food, and a big giant dinner. Switching gears to 5-6 mini meals took some time. Once I figured out the art of the 3 P's, life got a whole lot simpler (well, at least in that area!). So here they are:
PLANNING: Every night before I go to bed, I write down my workout for the next day and everything that is going to go in my mouth. I'm sure everyone has heard the advice to write down what you eat...take it a step further and PLAN what you will eat. It takes the guess work out, and I won't make bad food choices because I'm trying to think of a meal on the go. This also ensures that I WILL workout. I know exactly what I'm going to do, so I can get in, get it done, and be about my day. You make plans for so many things, so take a few extra minutes everyday and plan some time for YOU. You deserve it, and your body will thank you. :)
PREPPING: After I've planned all my meals and my workout, I then prep my gym bag for the next day, and then head to the kitchen to prep my meals. Since I've already planned what I will eat, I just check out my food journal, see what meals I'll be away for, and prep them to go! Now, prepping also has another level: One day per week (I use Sundays) I cook a few chicken breasts, some turkey burgers, sweet potato fries or brown rice, chop up some veggies, and prepare some fruit - this makes prepping throughout the week a cinch! All I do is grab what I need!
PACKING: After all the planning and prepping is done, I pack everythin up! I put my gym bag by my purse, and I put my prepped meals in my cooler (I found a CUTE xlarge lunch tote at Target!) and put it in the fridge, and I'm all set! I don't even have to THINK about it in the morning. I grab my bags and I'm out the door.
You can obviously adjust this to your needs, but these 3 P's are VITAL to success! Set yourself up for success and you will reach your goals.
PLANNING
PREPPING
PACKING
I eat 5-6 times per day...that in itself is a part-time job. But I made a committment to myself that I would do my best to be my best, so I took on the job. It was tough to get used to, I won't lie. I was used to eating a very light breakfast if I had breakfast at all, lunch on the go - either a homeade sandwich or fast food, and a big giant dinner. Switching gears to 5-6 mini meals took some time. Once I figured out the art of the 3 P's, life got a whole lot simpler (well, at least in that area!). So here they are:
PLANNING: Every night before I go to bed, I write down my workout for the next day and everything that is going to go in my mouth. I'm sure everyone has heard the advice to write down what you eat...take it a step further and PLAN what you will eat. It takes the guess work out, and I won't make bad food choices because I'm trying to think of a meal on the go. This also ensures that I WILL workout. I know exactly what I'm going to do, so I can get in, get it done, and be about my day. You make plans for so many things, so take a few extra minutes everyday and plan some time for YOU. You deserve it, and your body will thank you. :)
PREPPING: After I've planned all my meals and my workout, I then prep my gym bag for the next day, and then head to the kitchen to prep my meals. Since I've already planned what I will eat, I just check out my food journal, see what meals I'll be away for, and prep them to go! Now, prepping also has another level: One day per week (I use Sundays) I cook a few chicken breasts, some turkey burgers, sweet potato fries or brown rice, chop up some veggies, and prepare some fruit - this makes prepping throughout the week a cinch! All I do is grab what I need!
PACKING: After all the planning and prepping is done, I pack everythin up! I put my gym bag by my purse, and I put my prepped meals in my cooler (I found a CUTE xlarge lunch tote at Target!) and put it in the fridge, and I'm all set! I don't even have to THINK about it in the morning. I grab my bags and I'm out the door.
You can obviously adjust this to your needs, but these 3 P's are VITAL to success! Set yourself up for success and you will reach your goals.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Healthy Fish and Chips
Ingredients:
4 3-4oz white fish filets (I used tilapia)
3/4c whole wheat panko bread crumbs (or regular whole wheat bread crumbs)
2 egg whites
Paprika, salt and pepper
1-2 sweet potatoes
Preheat oven to 350F.
Peel potatoes and slice very very thin into "chips". Place on baking sheet lined with foil and bake for 10min. Reduce heat to 250F and bake until potatoes start to brown
Preheat oven to 425F
Place egg whites and bread crumbs in seperate bowls.
Season fish with paprika, salt and pepper and dip in egg whites then roll in bread crumbs. Place on baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes.
Serves 4
Serve with a yummy side salad and you have a delicious meal! Quick, simple, and healthy!
I had this for dinner tonight. It is delicious! I recommend the panko bread crumbs because they are extra crunchy and really make the fish wonderful.
Enjoy!
4 3-4oz white fish filets (I used tilapia)
3/4c whole wheat panko bread crumbs (or regular whole wheat bread crumbs)
2 egg whites
Paprika, salt and pepper
1-2 sweet potatoes
Preheat oven to 350F.
Peel potatoes and slice very very thin into "chips". Place on baking sheet lined with foil and bake for 10min. Reduce heat to 250F and bake until potatoes start to brown
Preheat oven to 425F
Place egg whites and bread crumbs in seperate bowls.
Season fish with paprika, salt and pepper and dip in egg whites then roll in bread crumbs. Place on baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes.
Serves 4
Serve with a yummy side salad and you have a delicious meal! Quick, simple, and healthy!
I had this for dinner tonight. It is delicious! I recommend the panko bread crumbs because they are extra crunchy and really make the fish wonderful.
Fitness MYTH!
Let me just say, when I first found out the truth about this fitness "myth", I was SO happy! Here it is:
Eating carbs at night is NOT going to ruin your diet. YAY!!! I've passed up carbs at dinner for months now and I'm SO happy to hear this news. Here is the catch though:
CARB TIMING
To make it simple, you want to place the majority of your carbs around your workouts. I workout first thing in the morning, right after breakfast - so for me, I have 60% of my total days carbs around my workout. So my first and second meal of the day get mucho carbs. Then that other 40% get spread throughout the day fairly evenly. So I don't get to have bowls of speghetti for dinner...but I do get some carbs and that makes me a happy camper. So, what if you don't workout first thing in the morning? Take 50% of your total carbs for the day and put them at your pre and post workout meals - so 25% and 25% then the other 50% can be spread throughout the day however you see fit.
Seem confusing? Ok, say you have 4 1/2c servings of carbs throughout your day - that equeals 2 cups total for the day. So one cup would be put around your workout: 1/2c pre and 1/2c post. Then you have one other cup to spread throughout the day however you like.
I don't know about you, but this makes me HAPPY! :) With that being said....I have a yummy recipe to follow!
Eating carbs at night is NOT going to ruin your diet. YAY!!! I've passed up carbs at dinner for months now and I'm SO happy to hear this news. Here is the catch though:
CARB TIMING
To make it simple, you want to place the majority of your carbs around your workouts. I workout first thing in the morning, right after breakfast - so for me, I have 60% of my total days carbs around my workout. So my first and second meal of the day get mucho carbs. Then that other 40% get spread throughout the day fairly evenly. So I don't get to have bowls of speghetti for dinner...but I do get some carbs and that makes me a happy camper. So, what if you don't workout first thing in the morning? Take 50% of your total carbs for the day and put them at your pre and post workout meals - so 25% and 25% then the other 50% can be spread throughout the day however you see fit.
Seem confusing? Ok, say you have 4 1/2c servings of carbs throughout your day - that equeals 2 cups total for the day. So one cup would be put around your workout: 1/2c pre and 1/2c post. Then you have one other cup to spread throughout the day however you like.
I don't know about you, but this makes me HAPPY! :) With that being said....I have a yummy recipe to follow!
Changing Things Up
I've changed up my blog a little! I've decided to focus primarily on fitness and nutrition since that's what most people want to see on here. That is also what I do, so hey, why not? :) I will do my best to make frequent posts. Here are some of the things you can expect to see:
Sample meal plans as my 2nd competition draws near
Recipes
Healthy "tid-bits"
Workouts and exercises
Fitness advice
Motivation
So, with that being said - here we go!
Sample meal plans as my 2nd competition draws near
Recipes
Healthy "tid-bits"
Workouts and exercises
Fitness advice
Motivation
So, with that being said - here we go!
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