How Sugar, Hormones and Stress Mess with Weight Loss

Sometimes, there's more to the weight loss game than just diet and exercise.

I went to a very interesting Lunch N Learn at work last week about how sugar, hormones and cortisol affect weight loss. So, let's start with your typical weight loss equation. If you burn more calories than you take in, you lose weight. That's typical for almost everyone. Most people respond well if they eat less and exercise more.

But, if you're like me, you have a few more factors that affect that equation. My body doesn't respond that easily. And I've been thinking that every one of those factors mentioned in the title might be affecting my own personal weight loss. I've been working out 6 days a week, eating pretty darn clean, and seeing no progress. So, I had to start thinking outside the box of diet and exercise.

Reduced Diet Calories + Increased Exercise ≠ Weight Loss

I do have issues with anxiety, so cortisol is something I'm exploring. Diabetes runs in my family, so I've been trying to eat more protein and fewer carbs, including sugar, at my doctor's advising. So, when my workplace offered this presentation on sugar, hormones and stress, it was 100% in line with what I wanted to dig into more. So, I signed up right away!

Our speaker had her own amazing weight loss story, having lost and kept off 70 lbs just in the past couple recent years, so she had some immediate proof in her own body. And I just really clicked with everything she said and have a lot of similar views as her.

Let me sum up the presentation for you:

1. Sugar is the root of all evil. Seriously.
2. Cortisol makes your body hold onto fat.
3. Hormones from sugar and stress create a vicious weight loss struggle.


So, we have these stressor in life, just general worry and real stressor too like deadlines, bills, and close calls. These stressor activates the sympathetic nervous system--fight or flight.

During this, the body is told to stop digesting, stop muscle building, and flood the body with glucose (suger). Then, glucose comes along thst needs insulin to clear it out, but cortisol blocks insulin. All the extra sugar floating around, that you didn't use to flee from a tiger, is stored as fat.

But then, to add insult to injury, leptin, the hormone that tells you when you're full, is blocked by insulin.


So, let me summarize: 
Cortisol blocks insulin and insulin blocks leptin.

So basically, sugar and stress cause fat to hang on like crazy!

 And the body is still over there telling you it's hungry, feed it quick, with sugar!

Sugar feeds disease in all different ways. It is evil.

So what do you do to combat this? Meditation, sugar elimination and a plant-based diet can have a profound impact on your life and weight! Guess what I'm adding to my diet and fitness regimen? A daily meditation practice, a kitchen sugar clean-out and a shopping trip to the produce and Steamer aisles. It seems so simple, but are you actually doing it? Can you do it better? Start there! That's where I'm starting.


As a side, our presenter is a certified eating psychology coach, which really intrigues me. Of course healthy eating and fitness have always been my passions, but I've also had lots of interest in the psychology behind it. I had an emphasis in psychology in college and just couldn't get enough of it. Check her out:

Weekly Food and Fitness: Food Prep Video!!!

**Hey there, I thought I'd bring back my rundown of my weekly workouts and menus to perhaps inspire others to prepare in advance for a week of healthy eating and give you menu and training ideas. Now that I have more of an established schedule and all, it's easier for me to organize.

I have been doing at least 30 minutes of exercise every morning, 6 days a week, alternating strength training and cardio days. And for cardio, I've been alternating steady state and interval training.

Workouts:

• Monday: 30 min Brittne Babe arms, abs and HIIT
• Tuesday: 30 min run
• Wednesday: 30 min BB legs and HIIT
• Thursday: rest
• Friday: 
• 30 BB chest, abs and HIIT
• 30 min walk at lunch
• Saturday: 35 interval run
• Sunday: rest

This week I started a new 21-day program from BrittneBabe.com just to switch things up a bit. She sells her programs for just $10, so it was an easy sell. I will do a full review when I'm finished, but so far I'm enjoying it. Brittne is a youngster with a solid business sense and ambition (not to mention a killer bod), which I find really admirable. You can follow along more of my workout journey on Instagram.

On the menu:

• Breakfast:
• My standby Superfood Smoothie
• Egg whites with spinach and mushrooms
• Lunch: Quinoa burrito bowl (see video description for recipe)
• Snack: Apple and almonds
• Dinners: Grilled chicken, burgers, subs, tuna salad, Easter feast!

I filmed a video of my food prep this week, and it only took about 1/2 hour to make. I hope this inspires you to prepare for the week! Food prepping really can be easy, cheap, super healthy and mostly clean!

What are your goals this week?

Weekly Food and Fitness: What To Do When You Didn't Meal Prep

**Hey there, I thought I'd bring back my rundown of my weekly workouts and menus to perhaps inspire others to prepare in advance for a week of healthy eating and give you menu and training ideas. Now that I have more of an established schedule and all, it's easier for me to organize.

I have been doing at least 30 minutes of exercise every morning, 6 days a week, alternating strength training and cardio days. And for cardio, I've been alternating steady state and interval training.


Workouts:

• Monday: 30 min upper fix extreme
• Tuesday: 30 min interval run
• Wednesday: 30 min Supreme 90 Day legs
• Thursday: 30 min TurboFire HIIT
• Friday: 30 min Tracy Anderson arms and abs
• Saturday: 35 min interval run
• Sunday: 30 min Shiva Rae Yoga Trance Dance

Meal Prep:
None!


Oh my goodness, this week was a bit "off" for me with no meal prep, but I'm hanging in there. We had unexpected company over on Sunday and didn't get the chance to grocery shop or meal prep like we always do. I definitely don't eat quite as healthy when this happens. But, I have a few tricks to share on what to do when you haven't meal prepped, so you can still maintain a healthy diet.

1. Always have some backup food in the freezer or cupboard. I always have a supply of Boca Burgers in the freezer and usually a can of Amy's soup in the cupboard. I also try to keep a few of those new Protein Steamers on hand. These are not entirely the "cleanest" meals ever, but they're still very nutritious and a much better alternative.

2. Grab just a handful of ready-to-eat things at the grocery store--or even Kwik Trip! We grabbed eggs, cottage cheese and bananas to fill in my snack gaps for the week. There's no reason to have to whip up something complicated every week.

3. Use dinner leftovers whenever possible. My hungry boys usually eat up everything we make for dinner, so this one can be a little difficult at times. But if I'm able, I will sneak away a few things before we start eating so I have food for the next day. This helps prevent me from having to go out to eat.


What do you normally do when you haven't meal prepped for the week?

Weekly Food and Fitness

**Hey there, I thought I'd bring back my rundown of my weekly workouts and menus to perhaps inspire others to prepare in advance for a week of healthy eating and give you menu and training ideas. Now that I have more of an established schedule and all, it's easier for me to organize.

I have been doing at least 30 minutes of exercise every morning, 6 days a week, alternating strength training and cardio days. And for cardio, I've been alternating steady state and interval training.


Workouts

• Monday: 30 min arms
• Tuesday: 30 min interval run
• Wednesday: 30 min legs (workout below)
• Thursday: 30 min run
• Friday: 
• 30 min Tracy Anderson Precision Toning arms, abs and butt
• 30 min brisk walk with a friend
• Saturday: 35 min interval run
• Sunday: 15 yoga from Slim Calm Sexy Yoga

Wednesday's leg day looked like this. I broke the workout down into

circuits of three moves each. I did two sets of each move.

Friday's workouts came from this DVD I just ordered on Amazon. I always like to do something different on Fridays, like barre or Pilates. Whereas, Mondays and Wednesdays are usually traditional strength training. The Tracy Anderson Method is one of those things I like to do on Fridays. Kills my muscles in a whole different way.

Sunday is always rest/active rest day and I did an active rest day this past week with a few stretches from this book. I like how Tara Stiles creates routines for different desired effects, like anxiety relief or muscle toning.

On the menu

• Breakfast: smoothie, eggs and veggies
• Snack: grapefruit
• Lunch: rice salad (see below)
• Snack: two hardboiled eggs + apple
• Dinners: Asian drumsticks, broccoli chicken bake, hot dogs, chicken salad, etc.

My breakfasts always kinda look the same not only because I'm hooked but also because it's such a good way to get lots of protein and extra veggies into my day. Plus, grapefruit are in season and I'm happy to partake. I had to make an extra-large batch of hardboiled eggs because Kayne is a huge fan and wanted his very own carton, haha! I'm happy to oblige. Eggs were on super sale, they're easy to make, and I'm always happy when he requests a healthy snack.

I found this super simple rice bowl recipe in a recent issue of Shape Magazine I was reading on the treadmill. All it requires is white beans, tomatoes and rice along with a few ingredients for the dressing. The prep was so easy. It's such a simple, cool, summery salad that goes perfect with the unseasonably warm temperatures we've been having this week in Wisconsin--like 64 degrees today!!

What's it like where you live? How are you getting healthy this week?

Weekly Food and Fitness

**Hey there, I thought I'd bring back my rundown of my weekly workouts and menus to perhaps inspire others to prepare in advance for a week of healthy eating and give you menu and training ideas. Now that I have more of an established schedule and all, it's easier for me to organize.

I have been doing at least 30 minutes of exercise every morning, 6 days a week, alternating strength training and cardio days. And for cardio, I've been alternating steady state and interval training.

Workout Schedule:

Monday: 30 minutes strength training with weights
Tuesday: 30 min Barefoot Cardio
Wednesday: 20 min TIU Hula Booty from Beach Babe 2
Thursday: 30 min steady state run
Friday: 35 Piyo Sweat
Saturday: 35 min HIIT run, 3 min/1 min intervals
Sunday: active rest, 30 min light yoga with Shiva Rae

On the Menu this week:

Breakfast: Shakeology Berry Smoothie, egg whites + tomatoes and mushrooms, TIU bombshell spell
Snack: grapefruit
Lunch: Romaine Thai Turkey Cups
Snack: Cottage cheese and chickpeas
Dinners: turkey dogs, tuna salad, broccoli ravioli, grilled pork chops


Hubster and I will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary this year and we are booking a trip for somewhere like the Bahamas or Cancun. Not sure yet. What I am sure of is that I need to get my butt in shape in the next few months. I have a check-in with my doctor this week again, because things aren't adding up when I look at calorie intake and workouts. I am not losing like I should be according to the math. Hopefully I can get some insight and tighten up my diet and see the weight budge.

How are you workout out/eating this week?

How to do the LiveFit Series at Home

For those of you that don't know, bodybuilding.com offers a bunch of free 30 to 90 day fitness programs for both men and women on their website. You can choose a program to lose weight, muscle up and everything in between. I have tried the LifeFit Trainer before in the past and enjoyed it. It's one of the most impressive workout and clean eating programs that I've seen anywhere for free. But, it requires access to a gym. Until now.

Hubster helped me film a video this weekend showing how to do Jamie Eason's LiveFit Trainer at home. I filmed substitutes for most of the moves that require specific gym equipment. To do the LiveFit Trainer at home, you need little more than a chair, weights, resistance bands and maybe an exercise ball. I did a few moves in the video with ankle weights, but you could even skip those and put a weight plate between your feet instead.

• Seated calf raise: use ankle weights and/or place a weight plate on top of your knees.
• Leg curls: wear ankle weights, lie on your stomach and bend legs behind you. Keep upper thighs off floor to make it tougher.
• Leg extensions: put on ankle weights, use a sturdy chair and do extensions. You may also put a weight plate between your ankles.
• Adductor: Squeeze an inflatable ball between the thighs.
• Abductor: wrap tubing around upper thighs and perform an abductor press.
• Back extensions: perform on ball
• Reverse Fly: belly on ball, do a reverse fly.
• Cable Rope Overhead Extension: Stand on one end of a resistance tube and perform a tricep extension with the other end.
• Leg press: it's difficult to do this move at home, but you can do heavy squats to get a similar effect. Use heavy weights or resistance tubing to intensify the squats.
• T-bar row: perform rows with similar arm position using a heavy dumbbell.
• Incline Press and Decline Crunch: any incline/decline moves can be done on a stepper. Put the risers under one side of the step to create the slant.
• Standing calf raise: hang heels off any step in your home and lift up onto the balls of your feet.
• Seated cable rows: I wind my rubber tubing around my treadmill and do them that way. Use thicker brands and choke up on the bands as you get stronger.
• Triceps Pushdown: anchor the stretch tubing a little higher and perform the move.
• Lat Pulldown: same position as triceps pushdown, perform a pulldown.
• Underhand Cable Pulldown: same as lat pulldown, but switch hand position to underhand.
• Cable Crunch: same anchor point, grab both ends of the tubing in your hands and perform a kneeling crunch.
• Straight Arm Pulldown: same anchor point, pull arms straight down to your sides.
• Cable Crossovers: I wound my tubing around both handles of the treadmill and did the crossovers kneeling.
• Donkey calf raises: my little boy happily obliged climbing onto my back to do these.
• Roman chair leg lifts: use the corner of your kitchen cupboards to rest your arms on. You can still pull your knees up to target abs.

Not shown:

• Hanging leg raises and pullups: use your pull-up bar or monkey bars at the park. I don't have these in the video because I didn't have the equipment readily available while I was filming.
• Lying T-bar row: belly on ball, perform a row

I hope this helps some of you tackle this excellent program at home. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments.

Weekly Food and Fitness--And the Easiest Pumpkin Turkey Chili Recipe Ever

Hey there, I thought I'd bring back my rundown of my weekly workouts and menus to perhaps inspire others to prepare in advance for a week of healthy eating and give you menu and training ideas. Now that I have more of an established schedule and all, it's easier for me to organize.

I have been doing at least 30 minutes of exercise every morning, 6 days a week, alternating strength training and cardio. And for cardio, I've been alternating steady state and interval training.


Workout Schedule
Monday: 30 min FlashFit (workout series designed by me!)
Tuesday: 30 min interval run
Wednesday: 30 min Supreme 90 Day total body
Thursday: 30 min steady run
Friday: 30 min Tracy Anderson workout
Saturday: 35 min interval run
Sunday: Rest



On the menu this week:

• Breakfast: My favorite Shakeology smoothie, Greek yogurt and egg whites with spinach.
• Lunch: Pumpkin turkey chili {below} and my own version of peanut butter balls
• Snack: cottage cheese with chickpeas (you've got to try this combo!!!)
• Dinners: Mini pizzas, turkey/green bean casserole, crockpot chicken, etc.

Here's a quick recipe for the chili I made for my lunches. It is adapted from several of my favorite chili recipes in one. I took ingredients that I loved and were super easy to assemble (mostly canned--still healthy) and came up with this:

Easiest Pumpkin Turkey Chili
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can pumpkin
2 lbs lean ground turkey
your favorite chili seasonings (I used garlic powder, chili powder and cumin)

1. Brown the turkey, drain the oil.
2. Dump in the rest of the ingredients and warm through.

Yes, that simple!!! I also would've added one diced onion if I had remembered to pick one up. The pumpkin may sound weird, but it really makes the chili so rich and creamy without any added cheese or sour cream. I actually went with a 15-oz can of pumpkin rather than the larger can shown in the picture. You don't really taste the pumpkin taste either, but do you know how brilliant pumpkin is for your health? You should definitely look it up!

I had my entire house clean on Saturday and my entire work week of food prepped by Sunday afternoon. I proudly read and relaxed the rest of Sunday after this was all prepared, for the first time since we moved. I haven't done that in a loooooooong time. Ever since we've moved, the projects and piles have prevented me from even wanting to relax. So, this type of simple food prep really helped get me to the point where I actually felt like I could relax and read.

How about you, what does your week of food and workouts look like?

1 Minute Work Meditations

Hey Guys, I am jumping into the world of YouTube videos right now, and I'd love to have you check it out and tell me what you think!


So, I came up with two one-minute exercises that you can practice at work. They seem really simple and shruggable.

But.

Let me give you the lowdown on the profound, far-reaching benefits of mindfulness meditation:

1. Addresses muscle imbalances (that you might not even realize you have): I specifically designed these exercises to stretch the chest and work the back and combat that hunched upper crossed syndrome that desk workers usually have. Here's a really good article if you'd like to read more about this chest/back imbalance.
2. Oxygenate: deep breathing exercises increase blood oxygen levels. If people with asthma can benefit from deep breathing, then that's really saying something.
3. Energize: at the same time as your blood oxygen is rising, your energy is increasing, but it's a calm energy, not a frenzied one.
4. Anti-anxiety: I have struggled with anxiety-related issues and one thing that kept coming up for potential treatment options was mindfulness meditation. I thought, huh, what's that gonna do? Then, I saw it over and over and over, and with my arms crossed, I thought "fine, I'll try it." Turns out, it's a pretty darn effective treatment, especially for OCD. It lowers your threshold for anxiety, provides an alternative to rumination, dampens fight-or-flight mode, and keeps your body in a much more relaxed state on a regular basis. The root of anxiety often is bad thoughts (something's wrong with me, I'm not good enough, etc) that have too much power, and mindfulness meditation reduces that power. But you don't have to have an anxiety disorder to benefit as it reduces stress and frenzied thoughts.
5. Increased work productivity. Seriously, a regular meditation practice can restructure your brain! Don't believe me? Read this. Benefits listed in the article also include improved attention, reduced stress, more compassion, and on and on. These mind-clearing exercises should be boss-approved.

Do you get the idea? I could go on... Meditation might sound new-agey, but it's becoming more mainstream, and for good reason. If you're still not sold, here are 100 Benefits of Meditation. If that doesn't convince you, I don't know what will.

There's no reason you can't reap some of these benefits in one minute! However, you'll get a more profound effect if you practice longer, regular meditation.

Here are my brand-new videos. I would appreciate it if you'd ever so kindly check them out, subscribe to my channel and/or leave a comment and let me know what you think. 

Free Fall Fit Club

Because I love fitness so much and I want to help people as much as I can, I am offering a free 21-day fitness club.

It’s so easy to start slacking on your fitness goals when fall rolls around, so it’s the perfect time to re-commit to your health goals. With this 21-day fit club, you’ll have access to workouts, meal plans and ME as your fitness coach.

You read that right! You get the benefit of being coached by an NASM certified personal trainer for FREE, so don’t pass up this opportunity.

The fit club consists of an accountability group on Facebook, led by me. We’ll share slimmed-down comfort food recipes, cheer each other on, participate in challenges and reach toward our goals together. But you have to be committed to participating.

Yes, it’s completely free. You don’t have to buy anything! Just comment or email me if you'd like to join. Share the post if you know anyone who might be interested.

Weekly Food Prep

I've been feeling very inspired by food lately. It's goes in fits and starts. Right now I'm on a roll. It's nothing fancy, it's really just more about the motivation and groove to get everything prepared for the week on the weekend.

This week's work menu looks like this:

Breakfast: 1 carton Greek yogurt and egg whites with mushroom/onion saute

Lunch: Texas caviar

Snack: Cucumber salad and 2 hardboiled eggs.

When it comes to work food, I need FAST. I have a 7yo and a little baby at home. Sundays are spent at church and grocery shopping, then food prep. In between all that are naps and crabby times. If the food isn't fast, it won't get made and I may just lose interest. I also tend to want clean food. I find that if I prep for the week, I eat so much cleaner than if I just wing it. This week, I was also able to incorporate some farmer's market finds as well as a few ingredients from my own backyard garden, which is always a plus.

Here are two quick informal recipes for my Texas caviar and cucumber salad:

Texas Caviar: Mix 1 can diced tomatoes (or dice your own) with 2 cans rinsed black beans, 1 can rinsed sweet corn and 1/2 small chopped onion. Serve with avocado over the top.  Add whatever spices you think sound good. I didn't add any, but cilantro, chili powder and Italian dressing are some good options. You might also like to eat this inside a whole wheat tortilla.

Cool Cumber Salad: You've seen this recipe before, I'm sure. Here's what I did: Mix 3 medium sliced cucumber with 1 large chopped tomato and 1/2 small chopped onion. Make a dressing with 1/4 cup vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1 Tbsp olive oil and mix well with the salad.

I was able to prep all my food in an hour, including cleanup. My little girl was underfoot most of the time and I did a lot of stirring with her on my hip. I had multiple things going at one time. While I was prepping the salads, my onions and mushrooms were sauteing in a pan and my eggs were boiling. So doable, right?

Dinners are one trip to Noodles and Co (which just opened in my town!!!), a cookout, easy Parmesan chicken, a pork roast with veggies, a simple ground turkey/veggie skillet and leftovers.

What kinds of things do you like to prep for the week? Are you interested in seeing more of my weekly menus?

A Trip to the Trampoline Park

My little boy turned 7 at the end of July (what now?!?! Ha!). Instead of a party, we treated him to a special day at a new trampoline park with one of his good friends from school. I didn't even realize we had one of these parks in the area, but I'm sure glad we found it! I've been seeing trampoline parks on Pinterest and Instagram and thought how we'd love to try one, but we're always the last place to get these kinds of things.

The boys played for an hour while Hubster and I each enjoyed a half-hour while the other was taking care of Rayna. I'm so glad we did! We had tons of fun ourselves. And holy workout! I didn't realize how sweaty I would get! We jumped, we raced, we played games and we all played like kids.

Not only did the park have tons of trampolines, they also had trampoline basketball, trampoline dodgeball, a slackline and foam pits. They had a huge pillow thing you could jump into off a diving board. And they had a climbing wall for only $1 extra.

When I asked if he had a good birthday, Kayne replied: "A good birthday? I had an awesome birthday!"

Before

 And After

After jumping, we treated the kiddos to pizza and treated Kayne to some of the best cupcakes in town. All in all, I'd say it was a successful celebration of our boys' birth. Love that kid!

**If you have a trampoline park near you, do give it a try!!! It's the most fun we've all had in awhile, and it's a really great workout!

Farmer's Market Kale Salad

I know that one of the most persistent comments I hear about going to the farmer's market is "I love getting fresh veggies, but I don't know what to make with half of these ingredients!" I myself have fallen into that rut myself. But I've made it a point to be intentional about my farmer's market shopping, picking out recipes that I'll actually make and eat. I'm dedicated to living healthier and just love knowing that all the little pieces of fresh veggies go to work inside my body. So, maybe I'll make "farmer's market recipes" part of my new blogging repertoire. We'll see;) I usually only like to make simple things. I also like things that can be tweaked based on what I have on-hand. If that's your jam, stay tuned.

So, kale! It looks like something you probably never want to touch. It's such a weird thick lettuce-y vegetable that no one knows what to do with, let alone WANTS to do anything with. I happen to love it when prepared right. The secret is in the marinade. You have to marinate kale to soften it up and give it good flavor. You have to massage the marinade in so it really absorbs, like sunscreen on the human body. See how that sounds like more like an "interaction" than a recipe? You actually have to interact with the kale to get it how you want it.

Farmer's Market Kale Salad

Ingredients
1 bunch kale
4 green onions, chopped (also from the farmer's market)

Toppings
2 Tbsp craisins
2 Tbsp almonds
2 oz cheese, cubed (found THE best mushroom cheese at the market)
Other toppings of choice (other nuts, raisins, cherry tomatoes, feta, etc)

Dressing
4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions
Shred the kale and put it in a bowl. Toss in diced green onions, cheese and toppings of choice. Mix all the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad. Massage the dressing into the kale. You might even want to put the salad into a plastic container with a lid and shake it up, especially before serving. That's it!

This is the one type of salad where you actually want the leaves to "marinate" in the dressing. They won't get soggy! It will only taste better. If you want to add other greens to your salad, add before serving so they don't get soggy.


What would you buy at the farmer's market if you knew what to do with it?

Ultimate Tone it Up Bikini Series Printable

Anyone else super excited for the annual TIU Bikini Series? Last year, I was unable to participate because I was very pregnant and very mobility-challenged. This year, I intend to rock it! Basically, the Bikini Series is an 8-week workout plan that leads right up to summer. You follow the workouts that are posted by Tone It Up each day. If you have the Nutrition Plan, you'll be choosing recipes and following along with that (or just eating clean). Their are daily prizes and huge incredible grand prizes for the winners. Check out last years' winners!

What I love most about Tone It Up is their community of women. They're all about making girlfriends for life and it's like a close-knit group of friends, bringing each other up. Everyone is encouraged to make connections on Twitter, Instagram, the TIU community pages, in real life, etc.

By the way, I will be doing daily/almost-daily check-ins on Twitter/Instagram. Let's follow each other! Twitter: @BounSee_Jess, Instagram: @Boun_SeeJess. The hashtags for the series are usually #toneitup, #BikiniSeries #100bysummer, #150bysummer, #tiumeals, etc.

Now, because I'm a super Type-A organizer type, I just had to design a printable for the upcoming Tone It Up Bikini Series. I've designed a few others in years past, but wanted to make a fresher, more comprehensive printable. I like things concrete, on paper, in front of me, especially when I'm doing my daily planning and goal-setting. 

So, I designed the ultimate Tone It Up Bikini Series printable. You can print the entire set of printables HERE. It includes eight trackers:

1. Workout Planner
2. Daily Checklist (Bombshell Spell, Booty Call, Workout, Check-in)
3. 100 by Summer Tracker
4. 150 by Summer Tracker
5. Meal Planner
6. Goal Tracker and Reward Sheet
7. Summer Bucket List
8. Measurement Tracker

Hope this printable helps you achieve your goals. Please Pin and Share away! If you use them, I'd love to see pictures. Tag me or leave a message so I can see! 

These are just for personal use though, not intended to be sold or distributed. The logos belong to Tone it Up.

The Vegan Roadie at Work

So, my workplace had the honor of hosting the Vegan Roadie for cooking demonstrations today. He was a contestant in the "Brand with 10 Grand" promotional contest that we ran, and so we invited him to make a stop here on his tour. It's kinda cool how it turned out that way!

The presentation was short and sweet, but Dustin Harder has a great personality that kept us engaged and laughing. With him and his assistants being show people, their personalities were animated and entertaining.

His recipes du jour were Vegan Caesar Salad and Bowties in Garlic Cream Sauce. They were both very delicious! And they looked pretty easy to prepare. I'm no vegan, but I do enjoy many a meat- and dairy-less meal during the week, so I can definitely appreciate having some new recipes in my standard rotation. Dustin had a strong bent for chemical-less ingredients, i.e. clean ingredients. Real food. I'm always down with that!

Bowties in Garlic Cream Sauce

Vegan Caesar Salad

Have you ever tried nutritional yeast before? I actually do have some on-hand at home because it's actually has a great nutrition profile (excellent source of complete protein) and a really great cheese substitute. That was the main base of the "Parmesan" dressing and it had the same consistency and cheesy taste as parm. It's a great salad, popcorn and casserole topping. You should try it! It's not that hard to find in the store. I got mine at a nutrition supplement store, but they sell it right by the Parmesan cheese at the regular grocery store.

Thanks for stopping in on your way through Dustin!

By the way, check out his fun video entry into our contest here!

My Favorite Easy Shakeology Recipe

In the morning, at work, you'll typically find me triple-fisting it with my three essential beverages: water, coffee and ShakeO smoothie. Obviously, the two first ones are essential for human life, hee hee! The third one is like my protein and vitamin insurance. It covers me in case I don't get enough essential vitamins in my food and could cover some protein and fiber deficiencies in my diet. Just reading the superfoods in the ingredient list makes me feel healthier. Haha!

Now, I have tried quite a few protein shakes, meal replacement shakes and other smoothie mix-ins. I'm not about to get all gimmicky, but right now I really love the taste of Shakeology and what's in it most. I was skeptical of it for a loooong time (like, years!!!), but once I tried it, I loved the taste and the ingredient list! There's nothing but superfoods and all-natural ingredients in there. There are even probiotics in there! You won't find any weird chemicals like you do with some of the other meal replacements that are big on the market right now (check your labels, I dare you! Ha!)

The fact that it has so much protein is really good for me too. Remember my doctor's orders about protein? Whenever I track my food intake for a day or two, I always notice that I lean heavily on carbs and not enough on protein. Have you tried this? My guess is you're leaning the same way too. It's something I notice with a lot of people I coach. So, getting the extra dose of protein is really important to me.

The only other powder I've found so far (because I have looked HARD for an alternative, believe me!) is Raw Meal, which I requested for Christmas, but the taste doesn't even begin to compare! Raw Meal tastes like it sounds. Kind of like ground up "stuff." I can just "tolerate" it in my smoothie, but it leaves much to be desired. So, right now, ShakeO it is!

So, my favorite way to prepare Shakeology is this:

Berry Shakeology Smoothie

1 c Frozen berries
1 splash milk
1 scoop vanilla shakeO
Water to fill the rest of the cup
I just blend all the ingredients in my Bullet, and that's it!

It's what I always drink on my way to work, after my workout. And let me tell you, it's an amazing meal replacement when you're sick because it's yummy and filling when nothing else sounds good or goes down, it's giving you tons of vitamins, and the frozen stuff feels really good on the throat.

Another favorite is a Banana ShakeO Milkshake. I like to freeze bananas in our house that are just past the edible stage, but aren't quite to the rotten stage yet. Thin, I mix a frozen banana with vanilla ShakeO, milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon (and on occasion, some peanut butter). It tastes like a milkshake, no lie!

Interested in Shakeology? Check out the incredible ingredient list and benefits here. Leave a comment or contact me to give it a try.

Summer Bodies Weight Loss Challenge

I'm hosting a fitness challenge group over on Facebook and wanted to extend the invitation here on the ol' bloggy.

It’s true! The time to start working on your summer body is right now! Picture yourself lighter and leaner in your favorite summer vacation spot this summer. Now let’s make that dream a reality!!!

I’m starting a fitness challenge group on March 23^rd for three weeks. What you’ll get is an entire package for transforming your body:

• Fitness: doable yet challenging at-home workouts with such variety that you’ll never be bored. I'll help you find the perfect match for you!
• Food: you’ll get a meal planning book, additional help with meal planning, and 30 days’ worth of easy nutrient-dense breakfasts.
• Support: not only do you get me, a certified personal trainer and fitness coach, for support, but you’ll also be cheered on and guided by the other participants. It’s amazing how something as simple as an accountability group can have such a profound impact on goal achievement!

The support group takes place in a secret, confidential Facebook group. My last few groups have been a huge success—people reported everything from losing weight to managing pain to simply feeling better—and I can’t wait to help more people. I’m still on a weight loss journey myself after having a baby and I myself get so much out of these groups, it’s really my passion!

Because small intimate groups really have the most impact, I am opening up the group to only FIVE people, so secure your spot right away if you want in!

Message me if you’re interested in more info.

Clean Eating: Faster than Fast Food

I recently led a 7-day clean eating group, and I was trying to come up with some ideas for clean meals that are "faster than fast food" for my participants. That eliminates a few of the top excuses for not eating healthy, no? I am always tempted to reach for convenience food when I come home starving and it's way to easy to say that clean eating is way too involved. So, coming up with a few super easy, super fast recipes is my fall back plan so I don't blow it. I'd like to share these with you too!

Here are a few meal-building lunch/dinner options:

#1. I saw this meal on a website where they asked top nutritionists what they eat on the run. If a nutritionist is eating it, I don't mind if I do too!

Brown rice (or quinoa/other grain) + sugar snap peas (or any veggie) + black beans

#2. I happened to find this super healthy, organic meal mix at Walmart, right by the frozen Steamer veggies. It's a kale, quinoa, feta mix that has an incredible amount of flavor and it's very nutrient dense. I just added a can of black beans and a can of chickpeas for extra bulk with two bags of this, and I had lunch for the week!

3. I like toast-building options too. You can make a complete meal simply by building on top of toast. How about:

• Bruschetta: tomato, mozzarella, avocado, basil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar
• Peanut butter roll-ups: pb, honey and banana on a whole wheat tortilla
• Mini pizzas: mozzarella, tomato or tomato sauce, mushrooms, and onion on an English muffin, heated in the oven.
• Avocado/egg on toast
• Ricotta cheese and berries on toast
• Grown up grilled cheese: lean cheese and a pile of sauteed veggies (onion, pepper, zucchini, etc) on toast.

Do you have any fall-back recipes for clean eating on-the-run?

FREE 7-Day Clean Eating Challenge

I've posted this on my Facebook page and at my workplace and have gotten such a huge response. If you want in on this too, leave me a message and I'll add you to the group. Did I mention it's FREE!!!

I'm trying something new and leading a FREE 7-day Clean Eating Challenge, starting Feb 8, leading right up to Valentine's day. Clean eating is a great way to "refresh" the body and get you into the habit of eating whole, natural foods. This is not a "diet," this is about creating an overall healthy lifestyle that aligns with your health goals. Clean eating goes hand-in-hand with exercise to deliver powerful results.

My hope and goal is that after these 7 days, you'll feel so much better and want to continue eating this way. I want to help you kick the packaged, fast-food habits in favor of energizing, nutrient-filled eating with daily tips and motivation. I'm going to share my secrets for meal planning and prep and offer shopping lists and recipes to guide you.

If I give you 7 days of my undivided attention, will you put yourself ALL IN for ONE week? Leave a comment or message me if you're interested in signing up. If you have a friend that might be interested, feel free to share the invite. You don't want to miss this freebie because I probably won't do another one for awhile!

Tone it Up and Workout Tips During Pregnancy

I'm a huge fan of Tone it Up, it's no surprise. I talk about them frequently on here. But once I became pregnant, I sort of started to ignore the workouts and motivation that K&K provide religiously. I just kind of shied away from anything that wasn't pregnancy-specific. And let's face it, their workouts are geared toward young, single or newly married women looking for a beach body. Preggos/moms aren't really their target market:)

However, during pregnancy I started to miss Tone it Up and I realized I could still incorporate a lot of their workouts into my prenatal routine, with some modifications.

Here are a few general pregnancy exercise guidelines (but always, always ALWAYS talk to your doctor first):

1. Avoid lying flat on your back or tummy, especially after the second trimester. You may still be able to do booty bridges and things like that while propped up on a pile of pillows, but if anything feels uncomfortable, stop.
2. Don't go too intense. I enjoyed taking my workouts down a notch during pregnancy. If your doctor recommends it, you can continue with the types of workouts you were doing before becoming pregnant. However, huffing and puffing isn't always safe. It's usually recommended that you keep your intensity at a level where you can still speak conversationally. And you also don't want to be working on gains during this tender period.
3. Twisty positions are kind of hard to manage in later stages of pregnancy. You may want to avoid them or modify them as necessary.
4. Don't get up/down really fast: blood pressure drops and blood flow changes can really mess with a pregnant woman. Moves like surfboard jumps and burpees may not be best.
5. Jumping around: not only would this be super uncomfortable, but it can be unsafe. Moves that are jumpy or have the potential to cause you to fall are not advisable.
6. Don't stretch too far: the hormone relaxin can really mess with a pregnant woman's body and stretching too far is definitely a danger. Be careful to stretch only to the point where you just feel it and be careful not to go too deep.
7. Balance is tricky. During pregnancy, a woman's balance is compromised. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean she shouldn't do any balance moves at all, but she should be extra cautious.
8. Different goals. Most pregnant women are not working on their beach bodies or running endurance races. We're preparing for labor, trying not to gain over the recommended pregnancy weight, trying to feel better/have more energy, and wanting to bounce back after baby. That being said, the workout needs to be tailored to those goals.
9. Getting too hot can be dangerous for a pregnant woman. Now, our bodies are super efficient at regulating temperatures and keeping baby safe, but getting too hot is still a concern. Bikram yoga and running on a 104 degree day are probably not in the cards. Drink lots and lots and lots of water and stay cool.
10. Preventing diastasis recti: Anything that pushes the stomach out rather than pulls it in is probably not recommended at this point. Pushing out (as during crunches) can actually increase that gap in the abs, so you need to be careful with ab moves.

With these recommendations in mind, and after a talk with my doctor, I was able to sift through the Tone it Up workouts to find some that were both tolerable and safe for me.

A few of my pregnancy favorites:

Arms: there's not much need to modify with arm exercises, and your tummy doesn't interfere too much with them. Here are my top arm picks:

• Bikini Arms
• String Bikini Arm and Thigh Workout
• 3 Moves for Sexy, Sculpted Shoulders
• 3 Moves for a Sexy Upper Back

Legs:

• Love Your Legs (I'd skip or modify the bridges in the 2nd/3rd trimesters)
• Tone up Your Thighs
• Love Your Legs (different than the above one)

Total Body

• Sweet & Sexy Valentine's Workout (most of these are doable, but you may have to modify/skip some, such as Fly Like Cupid)
• Frisky Fall Full Body Routine (the plank row and pike I'd swap out for standing rows)
• Tone up Every Part in 30 Minutes
• Quick 10 Minute Routine
• Gettin' Slim Without the Gym

Now, I wasn't able to follow the TIU nutrition plan at all. Pregnancy threw off all my food habits from the beginning, when morning sickness left only Culver's mashed potatoes and Pop Tarts to be tolerable. I wasn't able to meal prep because thinking about preparing food made me nauseous and grossed me out big time. Later in pregnancy though, I was able to maintain a relatively healthy diet, but it definitely wasn't all clean and Hubster had to prepare most of our dinners (which turned into leftover lunches the next day). I was totally ok with that and enjoyed the break, but I sure did miss some of the recipes from the plan!

Aside from TIU workouts, I also have a few workouts other workouts that I recommend for expecting mommas:

• Full-Body Prenatal Workout on video and tear sheet
• Full-Body Prenatal Circuit
• And my 3 Favorite Prenatal Workout Videos

How You Can Diet and Actually Eat More!!!

Did you read that right? Yes, you can eat MORE!!! The idea that "dieting" means restriction is quite a misconception. First of all, I'm not a fan of the word "diet." Or rather, I think of "diet" as simply meaning what you eat. I don't like thinking about diets as something you do temporarily, a way you restrict calories for a set amount of time. That being said, dieting doesn't have to mean restriction. I like to think of it more as a playground: it's fun, it's healthy, it's energizing, and there is an abundance! Reframe your mind to think of diet as a means of exploration and quality rather than a restriction.

The thing is, when you eat "clean," you can pile your plate FULL and still lose weight. Remember my three breakfasts under 500 calories? On the other hand, you can't out-exercise a bad diet. You likely won't have good results if you're eating Easy-Mac, pizza, or Hamburger Helper every day. And your portions would be tinier calorie for calorie than fresh food. Further, you don't want to displace the calories for something nutrient-dense with something refined and non-beneficial. Two slices of white bread have little nutritional value and displace about 120 calories that you could've gotten from something much more satiating and vitamin-filled. And you won't have to ride out the insulin spikes and dips!

Take for example my meal plan for this week. I ate a LOT of food during the day, was very satisfied, and was genuinely surprised by how many calories I had left over for dinnertime.

1. Shakeology smoothie (1c frozen berries, 1 scoop ShakeO, 1/4c milk): 238 calories
2. Egg whites with 4Tbsp salsa, turkey sausage and grapefruit: 327 calories
3. Chickpea salad: 145 calories
4. Quinoa bowl and sweet potatoes with a sprinkle of brown sugar and pecans: 345 calories
5. Greek yogurt with honey: 161 calories
1. Total calories: 1216

Shakeology smoothie

Grapefruit, eggs and salsa, sausage

Quinoa bowl and sweet potatoes

Chickpea salad

Greek yogurt and honey

ALL. THE. FOOD!!

Wow, look at all that food! And that's not even including supper. I literally felt like I was eating all day! AND losing weight? Just, wow!

Want to learn how to eat MORE too? Here are some tips:

• Keep ingredients simple: stick to whole, the-way-God-made-them foods and simple, recognizable ingredient lists.
• Pile on the veggies: the main part of every meal should be veggies; meat should be a side dish. Fruit is great too!
• Eat lean meats instead of fatty ones: you can eat a ton more grilled chicken (with more satiating protein) than ground beef, and save yourself sooo much fat. For example, one pound of boneless skinless chicken breast has 880 calories/20g fat/184g protein while typical 85/15 ground beef has 1,152 calories/65g fat/128g protein. 
• Get your flavor from simple spices, vinegars, mustards, and the like. These add sooo much taste for negligible calories.
• Remove liquid calories: drink mostly water. Liquid calories are a huge waste!

With clean eating, it's pretty safe to say that green vegetables are unlimited. That doesn't mean gnawing on raw salad greens all day--unless that's your jam! It could mean balsamic Brussels sprouts, it could mean grilled asparagus, it could mean a yummy cucumber tomato salad, it could mean a huge bowl of veggie soup. Just be careful with your toppings. Vinegar- and mustard-based dressings are great, but limit olive oils, heavy cheeses and the like. Grilling is a great way to add tons of flavor without adding "weight" to greens. See, you can really eat a LOT, if you do it right!