Meal Plan Week 1 Available for Purchase

Hey all! I have made available for purchase a 7 day meal plan that you can purchase below or on the side bar of the blog for $10. I will post these 7 day plans (different each week) for the next month and they will be up on Thursdays or Fridays.

What does it include? Each day includes 6 meals and includes the macros, so if you need to add or reduce the macros you can adjust accordingly. To find out a good estimate for the macros you need for your body I suggest using the www.iifym.com calculator.

What is the calorie range each day? The calorie range this week is 1450 to 1650 calories a day and can be adjusted to fit your needs and your goals

What about a shopping list? Yes, at the end of the file there is a shopping list attached with all the ingredients/foods you will need for the week. Recipes are also added where it is needed.

Also, each meal is broken down with a time and labeled either Breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack, you do NOT have to eat at these times. It is just a general timeline so please do not feel obligated to follow it to a tee or at all if you don't want to.

This plan doesn't include support in that I make changes to it for you, that will be completely up to YOU.

Also, please keep in mind that this was made for healthy individuals, those of you that have any medical issues need to seek the advice of your doctor. I am not a dietician or a nutritionist and any questions that you have regarding your health need to be directed at a professional because they will be better able to answer them.

Click the "Add to Cart" button below to purchase for immediate download!

Workout Wednesday: Biceps/Back/Shoulders and Upcoming Meal Plans!!

Who doesn't love a nice defined upper body? Especially during the warmer months where you are wearing tanks, baithing suits, dresses. It's nice to actually be able to show off what you have worked hard for and for most of us women, it's fairly easy to tone our arms - I mean easier as in easier than maybe toning our tummy's and lower half.

Here is a great routine and most can be done at home if you don't belong to a gym! That's always a plus, right?!

 

 

 

 

Concerning Meal Plans - I will be realeasing 7 days plans for purchase and immediate download through this blog. The plans will not be customized to any one individual but you are able to adjust/modify as you see fit for yourself. The plans WILL include macro breakdowns for each meal and recipes where needed. I will be releasing the plans on Thursdays or Fridays and it will be $10 for one week. Is this something you guys would be interested in? Depending on the turn out, I plan on doing customized plans for individuals in the next month or two.

 



Fit Tip Tuesday - A Challenge

Pick at least one thing you are not good at and start doing it daily! This could be push ups, planks, running a mile, squats with good form, etc...For me this would be doing full (all the way up and all the way down) unassisted pull ups.

It's so easy to discontine something because we think we aren't good at it. If you want to be good at something you have to practice it, this goes with anything in your life. Practice makes progress :)

I will be challenging myself to perform at least 5 unassisted full pull ups each day for the next week! Having this as my goal will hold me accountable and help me to be better at something I'm not so great at. It will allow me to build upper body strength, stabilize my core, and push through when it becomes tough and I want to give up.

I challenge YOU to pick a goal for the next week, something you want to be better at and practice it daily. Set an attainable, realistic goal. Comment below and let me know what you choose!

There is always room for improvement!

Miscellaneous Monday

Monday's are going to end up being posts where I catch you up on what's been going on in our lives

First up, we have had some pretty unexpected changes take place over the last few weeks. I told you all how I quit my job, of course to pursue my passion in health and fitness full time, but also to be able to manage the kids, Hayden's school, their activities, etc. while my husband would be travelling often for work. Well....the day after I was offically done with work, my husband got 2 calls, had 2 interviews, and was made 2 offers by GREAT companies! We chose the one where he would NOT be travelling or if/when he does travel it will be in Texas and not too far! This was not something we were anticipating whatsoever, and had this of happened prior to me putting in my two weeks I don't know if I would have quit right then. I am beyond happy with the way things happened, God really does work in mysterious ways! I was so anxious/nervous/scared/excited to quit my job and to be self employed, so much comes with that and it will be a lot of work! It's scary to just take a leap of faith and hope that it all works out for the best and that we don't end up homeless because of me and my dreams :) So with that being said, I know now more than anything that I did what was right for my family and I don't regret it one bit. Like at all.

Moving on...

Hayden had his first day back to school and is entering the 1st grade! I still have to pinch myself at times, How do I have a first grader?!?! It's all so surreal.

He was very excited to wake up and get to school this morning, but not before I snapped some pics! He gets so embarrassed by me taking pictures and I found myself telling him, "Just give this one thing to me son!" And he responded, "Uggghhhh, OK mom!"

 

 

 

He is so dang cute...and handsome!

 

I headed to the gym, after taking Hayden into school and snapping some pictures, to workout chest and triceps. Easily one of my favorite muscle groups to work currently.

 



That's really all I've got for now, check back tomorrow for Fit Tip Tuesday!

8 Week Fat Loss Plan Available for Purchase!

I am so very excited to announce that my 8 week fat loss plan is finished and available for purchase! I will be holding a sale on it now until Sunday night (August 25th) for $30! On Monday it will go up to its regular price of $50.

This is a strategically designed fat loss program based on NASM's Optimum Performance Training (OPT) model that is scientifally structured to improve all functional abilities. This plan incorporates  2 phases for a methodical approach for fat loss.

Phase 2 will build off of phase 1 and you can expect to gain stabilization endurance, strength endurance, flexibility, balance, and cardiorespiratory endurance throughout this 2 month plan.

This is a 5 day a week plan that can be done at a gym and also has options for those who workout at home. Things you will need for completing this program at home is two sets of dumbbells, a stability ball, resistance band(s), and a jump rope.

Each exercise lasts around an hour to an hour and 15 minutes depending on YOU.

While there are no pictures, each exercise is more or less easily identified or can be looked up via www.bodybuilding.com, google image search, or www.youtube.com.

If you are looking for a program to reduce your body fat, while at the same time gaining strength, then look no further! This program will challenge and change your body! I would say this is more of an intermediate/advanced plan than a beginners plan, although you can always make modifications if you are a beginner and wanting to jump start your weight loss goals.

TO PURCHASE: Click on the add to cart button below the logo and once payment is made, you will find a link or be redirected to a link and able to download the program immediately. This is an excel file and you can view everything by clicking on each sheet at the bottom of the excel page.

Workout Wednesday: 30 Minute Home Circuit

Today I did a little workout in my garage and didn't make it to the gym because my husband took my car to work today. He wrecked his Friday and it's currently in the shop - this is a whole post in itself!! BUT not today :)

So since I am pretty much stuck at the house sans vehicle today, I came up with a little WOD you can do at home OR the gym. I might have some equipment that you don't have, so I will put in modifications for those things.

 

 Modifications

Roll Outs - This is the little ab wheel in the above picture, you can purchase one for under $15 OR you can substitute using a stability ball or barbell. Perform these on your knees

Kettle Bell - pictured above, these can be pricey so if you don't have one and don't plan on purchasing one you can use a dumbbell as shown in the video below

Box/Aerobic Step - pictured above, these too can be pretty pricey. I found this set through Craigslist for $10 but you can use any sturdy bench type of equipment that is fairly low to the ground OR you can subsitite Sumo Squat Jumps instead

Box Side Shuffles - these are shown in the video below, again if you don't have a box/aerobic step you can just perform side shuffles on the ground

Sumo Box Jumps and Dumbbell Swings

 

 

Box Side Shuffles

 

 

 

And there you have it! A great, quick home or gym workout you can perform with little equipment and mostly bodyweight! Torch some calories today!



Fit Tip Tuesday: Why you should be drinking more water

We've all heard it..."Drink more water!" And guess what? It's true! Water has so many amazing benefits for your health and fitness journey and while you may think you are getting enough water a day, you will probably be a little shocked to learn that you could be consuming quite a bit more.

The process of getting in a good, healthy amount of water daily can be a little trying at first. You may feel a little bloated or full and you will be peeing around the clock until your body is more accustomed to the extra fluid.

But I am here to share with you why you should be drinking more of this clear, tasteless liquid!

• When muscle cells don't have enough water they don't perform as well and you will experience fatique, but with adequate water it helps your muscles be stronger because water carries oxygen to these cells making your muscles able to work longer and harder before fatiguing.
• Water helps maintain your bowels - it keeps things flowing nicely and prevents constipation
• Water is great for keeping your skin hydrated and not dry, it can also prevent the early onset of fine lines and wrinkles
• Not drinking enough water will actually cause your body to retain the water that you do have, therefore causing puffiness and bloating
• Drinking water will help your body burn stored fat
• Drinking water is good for your joints, it keeps them lubricated and flexible which helps to prevent injury and pain. This is especially good for those of living a fit lifestyle

These are just a few of the MANY benefits that water provides.

If you are in the beginning stages of losing weight/getting healthy simply try switching out a few of your diet sodas/sodas/juices/teas etc...for water. This alone is sure to give you a bit more energy and help push toxins out of your body. I would put money on it that it would also likely cause some fat loss/weight loss inititally as well!

How much water should I be drinking? For women the adequate intake is about 9 cups a day or 2.2 liters, but this will go up if you workout/are active due to you sweating and losing water throughout the day. I personally drink a gallon to a gallon and a half today. I will make myself chug 20-24 oz at a time if I haven't been getting enough water in for the day.

Drinking this much water may be new to many of you and will seem hard at first. The best advice I can give you is to just do it! Just chug it. I like to play little games...I will have a snack or meal and make myself drink my 24 oz refillable water bottle before I can chew gum or do anything else! I love gum, so this is a big deal for me haha! You WILL get used to it and you will likely still pee every hour once you are, but oh well! You will get used to that as well!

Recent Meals

Hey guys! I'm back! I have a very busy week ahead trying to get the 8 week fat loss plan finished up and available for purchase THIS week! So excited to offer this to you all! I also have to sneak some studying in, continue doing individualized workout plans, and work on other services I'm wanting to offer soon. But for today's post I am going to share with you all random meals I've had lately, most of them are my nightly sweet treats or pre/post workout meals!

(Artic zero ice cream, peanut butter, almond joy ice cream bites, quest bar)

(asparagus, shrimp, zucchini, bell pepper, pineapple, sweet potato, sriracha)

 

(rice cakes, peanut butter, banana)

(low carb tortillas, peanut butter, strawberries, cinnamon)

 

(spaghetti squash, frozen mixed veggies, asparagus, chicken, sriracha)

 

(lean ground turkey, spinach, avocado, rotel)

 

(1 cup blue bell no sugar added ice cream, strawberries, questbar, walden farms 0 calorie chocolate syrup) 

 

(kashi blueberry whole grain waffles, sugar free strawberry jelly, peanut butter, cup of joe)

 

 

And there you have it! I have a major sweet tooth so I always try to save up some macros to end my day with a nice little treat!

 

Make sure to check out some more client progress pics I added to the above page! My girls are KILLIN' it!

 

Happy Monday! 

 

 

 

 

I'm sorry!

Real quick...there will not be any posting from me this week with it being my last week in the corporate world, studying AND working on an 8 week fat loss plan that I will be making available to purchase :) Not being able to log onto blogger at work sucks and I just do not have the patience or thumb energy to type things up on my phone. Next week will be the beginning of my consistent blogging though! So sorry for the lack of posting for this week but I have so much in store that I can't wait to share! 

Random Facts About Me

Since I can’t do too much posting until I’m working from home, since blogger is blocked at the office I’m at, I thought I would do a post on just some random facts about me! Enjoy

 

·My favorite junk foods are pancakes, pizza, and ice cream – not necessarily in that order!

 

·I absolutely LOVE the way it feels to have a clean house – I feel so accomplished and my stress and anxiety lowers….for a day or two

 

 

·I love gambling….well mainly roulette….I can see how people can become addicted!

 

·I haven’t had any form of soda in over a year and a half

 

 

·I am a very easy-going person, therefore easy to get along with. I don’t like confrontation nor do I have energy for it

 

·My husband and I are obsessed with Big Brother! Amanda needs to GO – Am I right or am I right??!

 

 

·My Dad and I have birthmarks on our backs in the exact same spots

 

·I like rap music….a lot! It’s the only thing I’ll workout to and it’s the most played music in my car. My husband hates it so of course I’m dragging him to the Lil Wayne concert next Friday :)

 

 

·I make up songs about everything – in regards to my kids. For instance, we sing a made-up song while brushing teeth, when I ask them how much they love me I sing a tune….I get this from my Mother and I admit It’s very weird! When she does this I look at her like she’s gone crazy – kind of the way my husband looks at me when I do it!!

I am an extremely accepting person and also very open-minded. I like to hear people’s side of things and try not to judge too soon

 

·I want a third child but my husband does NOT. I’m hoping I can get him on the baby-makin bandwagon in the next couple years! ßHe is going to kill me!

 

 

·I can be very shy when I first meet somebody where as my husband is the exact opposite. He is not shy AT ALL. It’s good to balance each other out in this way I think

 

·When growing up, the neighbor who lived across the street set his house on fire (we didn’t know that it was him at the time) – he ran to our house with his baby in his arms screaming for us to call 911. We also later found out that he drowned his wife right before this and dropped her body in the lake. I’m guessing he is in prison still…

 

 

·My two favorite drinks from Starbucks are iced skinny cinnamon dolce lattes or skinny cinnamon dolce fraps. YUM!

 

·We will probably end up moving towards East Texas (country) before long – my husband wants land  - I have fought him tooth and nail on this over the years but have recently given in

 

There you have it! Some random, useless non-sense that I’m sure you were just dying to know J

 

 

 

 

My BIG News

So much is going on and I’ve been so crazy busy lately that I don’t even know where to begin…

My husband is a Superintendent for a commercial construction company and in general superintendents are known to travel. The company he has been with for the past two years has not had him travelling, until recently. There are a few projects that the company has coming up that are out of state, therefore my husband will be leaving us for about 6 weeks here soon. We don’t know if this will be an ongoing, non-stop thing or if he will just do a few jobs out of town and then be in town for a while. It all depends on the projects the company bids and gets. He will, however, be able to fly home every other weekend. I love my husband dearly and this sucks big time, but I have done it a time or two and although it never gets easier, I get stronger. Having him home with us these past two years has been such a blessing and I’m very thankful for it.

With that being said, we have made the decision for me to put my resignation in at work so I can better manage the kids, their activities, school, the house, appointments, etc…My family is my number one priority and this is what IS right for our family at this time. My last day is August 15th.

I will still be working though. This is where the exciting BIG news comes in!!

I will be doing private training, either mobile where I come to my clients that are located in the area, or at my house where we are getting a gym area put together in our garage. I will also be doing full time online coaching and training as well as offering a few different types of services/packages. All of this info will be updated here on my blog once I am finished at work and have the time to get it put together and set up. I will add a page at the top named “Services” or something similar.

Health and Fitness is a HUGE part of my life obviously and I can’t wait to work more closely with others to help achieve their goals. While I am closing a small chapter of my life, working in the corporate world, I am opening a new book, full of exciting opportunity that I can’t wait to explore further!

Fit Tip Tuesday: The Negatives Make for a Positive

I wanted to quickly go over a method used during weight training you may not be familiar with; Eccentric Reps or, as many call them, Negatives.

 

Negatives are an extremely effective and proven approach for muscle growth after you have hit your 5RM (5 rep max – the maximum number of times you can lift a weight before hitting muscular failure). This is going to be a heavier weight, for me it would probably be between 30-35 pound dumbbells for an exercise like bicep curls.

 

Using bicep curls as our example, you would perform 5 reps at your 5RM. You would do one count concentric (going up towards your shoulders) and one count eccentric (going down towards your sides).

 

For the negatives (eccentric) you can choose to up your weight by 5-10 pounds (your 3RM or 2RM more than likely) and negatively contract (go down towards your sides) slowly – a 4 to 5 count should do the trick. This is going to completely fatigue your muscles and allow for greater tension!

 

Some things to keep in mind:

 

·Do not overuse negatives or you will quickly over train

·Make sure you are eating enough calories and protein to aid in recovering your muscles

·This is a great way to switch up an “oldie but goodie” exercise and can be done with any exercise you choose!

How Much to Eat Pre and Post Workout

Properly nourishing your body prior to a workout and post workout is extremely important and helpful if you want to see results whether that be fat loss or muscle gains.

 

Like I mentioned in The Truth about Carbs post, our chief energy source comes from carbohydrates and they are easily depleted which is why our bodies continual crave them. It is recommended that you eat a high-carb meal 2 to 4 hours before exercising.

 

So how much is a high-carb meal? Well, that can get a little tricky. Research shows that you should generally eat about 30 to 60g of carbs prior to working out. This number depends on your goals, your workout intensity, and your energy level. You can play around with it and see what number works best for you. I will try to eat around 30 of carbs about 2 hours before my workout when I exercise in the evenings and I will eat around 35-40g of carbs when I exercise first thing in the morning.

Another thing to note is if you are going to be working out for longer than 90 minutes (such as marathon runners) your muscle-glycogen stores become depleted therefore causing a decrease in your endurance. For athletes it is recommended to consume between 30-60g of carbs ever hour to be able to maintain glucose levels and energy for performance.

 

For post-workout it is very important to replenish your glycogen stores with a high-carb intake, another 30-60g is a good range to stay in. I usually will eat close to 50g post workout. I also workout at a high intensity level, no steady state cardio hereJ

Carbohydrate Food Sources: Fruit, brown rice, oats, whole wheat pastas and breads, vegetables such as potatoes, peas, corn, etc…

As for protein, it is recommended to follow a 2:1 ratio of carbs to protein. If you eat 30g of carbs pre workout, you would want to eat 15g of protein with it as well. This goes for post workout too.

 

Complete Protein Sources: Whole egg, yogurt and granola, milk, oatmeal with milk, meat and poultry, fish, rice and beans, peanut butter on whole wheat bread, etc…

 

20-35% of your total caloric intake should be fats and for athletes this should be more like 20-25%. You can divide that number between all your meals. For instance If you were eating a 2000 calorie diet you would eat 40 to 70g of fat and if you ate 5 meals a day, you would be eating between 8 and 14g of fat at each meal.

 

Fat Food Sources: olive oil, avocado, peanuts, almonds, salmon, flaxseeds, whole milk, cheese, eggs, coconut oil, etc…

The moral of this post is that you need to be properly nourishing your body to meet your goals of weight loss, maintenance, weight gain, and/or adding muscle. Nutrition is the main key to the puzzle of altering your body composition.

 

Meal Prepping Part II: Cooking the Food

First off I will start by saying I work full time and I honestly don’t want to put in the effort to spend more than an hour for meal preps. Know what that means? I make a lot of the same foods and I keep it simple! “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” is my motto for a lot of things, meal prep being one of them!

Meat – I do either Chicken Breasts orTilapia, but usually chicken breasts. I preheat the oven to 400, spray a baking dish with pam and seasoning (roasted garlic and herb is all I use on mine, but you can use whatever you want) I place all the chicken breasts from the big frozen bag I bought into the dish, sprinkle seasoning on top and place in the oven, uncovered, for roughly 40-45 minutes.

While my meat is cooking, I tear open a big bag of frozen veggies (2 bags usually) and dump it into a big pot, put it on the stovetop over medium heat, and stir every few minutes. Once it’s pretty much cooked I turn the heat to low and cover the pot for about 10-15 minutes

             (This was only one bag)

At the same time I will also make spaghetti squash. There are many ways to make this, but the way I make mine is in the microwave- Put it on a glass plate, poke holes all over it with a sharp knife, and place it in the microwave for 4 minutes if it’s a small one, or 6-8 minutes if it’s a larger one. Once the microwave stops, I slice bigger holes in the squash and put it back in for another 4-8 minutes depending on the size. I then am able to get my knife through the squash and make 1-2 inch slits in it. I put it in one more time for 4-8 minutes. I pull the plate out with a dish towel or gloves because it is HOT and I cut the squash completely in half. Let it cool down for about 20 minutes. Once it’s cool enough to touch, I take a fork and scoop out the seeds and slimy squash and then scrape out the squash and dump it into a plastic container and place it in the fridge.

Complex Carbs – I only make one at a time, either sweet potato, brown rice or quinoausually. For sweet potatoes I boil them for about 25-30 minutes and they are ready to be cut into slices. For quinoa and brown rice I follow the directions on the packaging.

Once all the food is done I put them each into their own containers and stick them in the fridge. Each night I pack my 2 lunches for the next day (meals 3 and 4). I have a cheap little scale I use to calculate my macros (bought for $20 at Walmart. It’s digital) as I’m measuring my food with the scale and with my measuring cups, I simultaneously enter it into myfitnesspal app on my phone for the next day. Most recent foods are saved, so it’s really easy for me to just click on a saved item and enter the amount.

 

The next Meal Prep installment will be snacks!