21 Day Fix Extreme: My Journey, Day 2

So today was day 2, Extreme Uppers, 10 Minute Hard Core ab workout, and I also doubled up with a 6 mile run. The runner in me needs to get outdoors in the sun when it's a weekend, and the weather was just gorgeous today! So I took full advantage of having hubby home so I could get one in. 

What I love about this particular workout is that it's only 3 sets, 2 reps each, focusing on biceps, triceps, shoulders, back, and abs. The 30 minutes go by so fast! For equipment, you will need both a light set of weights (I used 10's) and a heavy set (I used both 15's and 20's, depending on the muscle groups being worked), and a resistance band. I hope my arms feel it tomorrow! 

I have to admit my water intake could have been better, and I feel like my metabolism is in overdrive. It was more difficult to stay on top of my nutrition today than yesterday, and my legs are so sore from yesterday's Plyo Extreme. But I'm weird like that - I LOVE to feel sore after a good workout! It tells me that I did something to make it work, and used enough weights and intensity to change my body. Sundays we are normally out and about, so I took my Shakeology with me on the go so I wouldn't be hungry and tempted to eat out, along with a can of Sparkling Water, but I could have taken a larger bottle of plain ice water with me as well. 

My meals were pretty similar today as yesterday: Eggs with wilted spinach and oats with coconut oil (times 2, for breakfast and lunch), Shakeology was my mid-morning snack, and had a baked chicken breast with some corn for dinner. 

Tomorrow I will need to really stay on top of my water, because I know it helps me with my nutrition. Getting through the first week will be the hardest, then it's on to the home stretch!! Day 2 is done, kitchen is closed, only 19 more days to go!!!

So I'm checking out for the night to talk with some ladies about how to get started as an Online Health and Fitness Coach, as I did just nearly 3 years ago. To learn more about what I do, how I earn income working from my home helping others with their health goals, apply HERE! I can't wait to meet you soon! 

Clean Eating Rhubarb Muffins

Who doesn't love to enjoy some rhubarb in the spring? Growing up, that was the first sign that summer vacation was on it's way!! My mom would line up the pie crusts, and go into a baking frenzy. Rhubarb pies, breads, cakes, crisp, bars and desserts...it's no wonder I didn't gain 20 pounds just in the month of May! 

So it was my mission to find some healthy alternatives, with none of the guilt or sacrifice in flavor! I think these turned out pretty good!

Serves: 9 (1 muffin each)

Fixate Equivalents- 
1 purple

1 blue

INGREDIENTS:

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 medium bananas)

1 Tbs. grass-fed butter, melted

1 1/2 almond flour *(rolled oats will also work)

3/4 tsp. baking soda, gluten free

1 dash sea salt (or Himalayan salt)

1/2 cup chopped rhubarb or other firm fruit (Apple, pear, blueberries)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2- Prepare nine muffin cups by lining with muffin tin liners or coating with spray.

3- Combine eggs, banana, and butter in a medium bowl; mix well. Set aside.

4- Combine almond flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; mix well.

5- Add almond meal mixture to egg mixture; mix until blended.

6- Add rhubarb; mix until just blended.
Divide batter evenly between prepared muffin cups.

7- Bake 16-18 minutes, or until golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

8- Transfer muffins to rack; cool.

These don't keep very long at room temp., so you will either want to eat them up the day of, or store them in the fridge, or freeze into portioned servings. Enjoy with your morning cup of joe!

21 Day Fix Extreme: My Journey

Ironically, it has been just about a year to the day, when I was planning to complete the 21 Day Fix Extreme. This is take 2, and NOT quitting early this time!!

These are my top tips I'm implementing to keep myself on track and motivated!

1 - Make your goals public. The more you share what you are working towards, the more it will hold you accountable! Those people will be rooting you on, and be a reminder to you when your motivation fails. 

2 - Surround yourself with other like-minded people, who are working towards the same goals. An accountability partner, or 10, will help you stick to your plan even when you don't feel like it. 

3 - Track, track, and TRACK! Your workouts, your intake, your water...every single day! You won't want to calculate in that ice cream, chips, or big piece of chocolate cake you had for dessert...so it is way easier to pass it up knowing you will need to figure it in! And you will have a great sense of pride and satisfaction, saying NO to those temptations. We ALL have them! It's those people who are disciplined enough to know that your short term sacrifices will lead you to your long term goal, that will see results they can be proud of!  I love My Fitness Pal, Sparkpeople.com, and the BeachBody 21 Day Fix trackers. 

4 - Seek support from someone who has been there before you, who can relate to you and keep you accountable! As an Online Health coach, I work to support my customers to their goals, what ever those might be. And the really awesome thing is, my services are 100% FREE and included in your program(s)! You do NOT need to do it alone!!! Having the support of a free coach and group makes it so much more fun, and also increases your likelihood for long term lifestyle changes towards a healthier YOU! 

5 - Celebrate small successes along the way! We all want immediate results, and it can be hard to keep going when you don't see the changes you think you should, as soon as you would like. Give it 2 weeks, 14 days, and see where you are at! Talk with your coach to see what needs tweaking if you still aren't making progress. Sometimes it can be a matter of overtraining, being in the wrong calorie bracket, or not having enough intensity with your workouts. Whatever it is, it's NEVER too late to get on the right path to health!! Better is always an option! XO

So this leads to my confession... and need to come clean. And it's something I'm so embarrassed to admit, if I'm being honest!

One of the main reasons I decided to be a health and fitness coach almost 3 years ago, was for the business aspect of what we do to help others get on a great path with their health and fitness, to establish life-long behaviors, routines and habits that will be a lifestyle change for the long term. And with every person who's life I impact and the work I do to help them to their goals, I grow my business to create a lifestyle of financial freedom for myself and family. In the process I have met some of the most remarkable people of my life, who I consider now some of my very best friends!  

I am proud to say that I was able to dig my family out of some pretty serious debt in my first 18 months of working my business, part time, and in-between the mom-cracks.   I have worked through diet pill-popping, binging and purging as a way to cope with sexual assault as a minor, and since I worked at a fast food restaurant during high school, eating their food became my norm and escape. I remember having ice cream shakes, soda, burgers and fries at every shift... which led to me feeling fat, ugly, and lacking in self-confidence. Good thing for me, it didn't take long for me to recognize that was not the way I wanted to continue long term. Fitness and running truly became my therapy! 

Since I was already active, and a runner when I started as a coach, I didn't really see the full value of in-home workout programs. However, not everyone is a runner, or has the ability to strap on a pair of sneakers and run 8 miles/day. PLUS I learned how amazing cross-training can be for our bodies by working out in my home and adding strength training into my routine. I have completed Chalene Extreme, P90X3, Hammer and Chisel, 22 Minute Hard Corps, and Insanity, Insanity Max 30...to name a few.

So by now you're probably wondering what my confession is. Well just 2 years ago, BeachBody released the most popular in-home fitness program since I've been coaching, the 21 Day Fix. 30 minute workouts, that can be done in the convenience and luxury of your own living room, combined with a completely fool proof nutrition and portion control program. I have yet to complete the full 21 days of this program. I've stopped and started so many times, and started "over again" more times than I'd like to admit. With traveling, falling off the wagon, losing interest, or just plain excuses, I just have had the hardest time sticking it out! So I'm doing what I tell my customers to do, and that is track my progress, chart my workouts and intake daily, and share my goals publicly to help me hold myself accountable. With the number of customers I've helped see some completely amazing results using the simple 30 minute workouts, and fool proof nutrition plan, portion control system, I decided it's my turn to finally commit myself to completing the full 21 days.

I invite you to follow along in my journey!

My meals for today were pretty simple, I do that intentionally so that they are easy to calculate into the containers (no need to overcomplicate things!). 

I had two Chocolate Shakeology health shakes, and the same meal for Breakfast as lunch, eggs, spinach, and oats. Almonds for a snack, and I was golden! 

Eggs and Oats: one red, one green, one yellow, and 1 tsp. for coconut oil. 

Shakeology Health Shake: one red, one purple (1/2 banana), and 1 tsp when I added PB, blended with water and ice. 

12 almonds: a blue or orange container. I used 24 almonds, that counted towards both containers. 

I am using a couple different trackers, both Sparkpeople.com as well as the Beachbody 21 Day Fix mobile app, for my nutrition and workouts. It totally will help hold me accountable along with my virtual online groups that I run for my customers! 

If you are also using the 21 Day Fix Extreme and following along with the Countdown to Comp meal plan, this is the schedule for carb cycling to follow:

And because we all start somewhere, here are my "before" pics!! I cannot wait to see how my body responds to this program when I give it my 110%!!! I will be sharing my in-progress pics each week, so stay tuned!!!

ON SALE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!!!  To join me on your own journey with the 21 Day Fix, Fix Extreme, or the perfect fit for what you're looking for, and to have daily accountability and support virtually on-line, complete this application to learn more and reserve your spot in my next group!  I look forward to sharing this journey with you!!

Frosty Cocoa Pies

With summer on it's way, it has me thinking about different snack and mini-meal ideas, both for myself as well as my family. I know for myself, there is nothing I dislike more than preparing seperate meals and snacks for myself and the kiddos. I always tell myself, if I don't want to eat something, I shouldn't be feeding it to my kids either!  If it's not good enough for me, it's not good enough for their young growing bodies, especially. So I came up with this recipe because #1, I LOVE PB and CHOCOLATE! (who doesn't?!?!) and #2, I knew my kids would love it as well! This is my version of "smudgies". 

I figured I'd have to entice them into trying these for the first time by adding in some white chocolate chips...but I regretted doing so after I saw how much they enjoyed them! Totally didn't need it. And everything's better with chocolate, so the addition of some cocoa is the BOMB! A totally healthy treat, perfect for warmer summer days.

 Ingredients:

2 mashed bananas

1 T. Baking Cocoa

2 T. Nut Butter (I suggest Smucker's Chunky All Natural)

Optional - cocoa nibs or other mini chocolate chips

4 Plain, low salt Rice Cakes

Method:
Blend ingredients in a bowl, top 4 rice cakes and freeze for 1-2 hours or until desired consistency. Enjoy!! 

30-Day Ab Challenge

Summer is on it's way! There is no better time than the present to get your core toned and tightened so that you feel your best in your tanks, shorts, and bikinis! 

If you've been following me on Facebook or my blog for any period of time, you'll know I believe that abs are made in the kitchen. It's all about the 80/20 rule, moderation and balance. There's no amount of sweat, sit-ups or crunches you can do that will give you a six pack if you don't follow up with proper nutrition.  So this challenge is for those who want to strengthen your core. Strengthening your core is about more than appearance, it's about helping to prevent injury as well. I often times find that people with back pain and discomfort can sometimes self-correct when they work on their abs!  Add this short challenge onto the end of your workouts each day. Take notes about how you feel and how hard (or easy) the challenge was. This will give you something to look back on and compare how much stronger you are at the end of your 30 days!

NOTE: If you are advanced and this is too easy for you, you can double or triple each day. If this is too difficult, cut the time and/or reps down and work your way up. This challenge is totally customizable based on your fitness level.

There are several workout moves in this schedule to work your core. You want to practice proper form to prevent injury. If you experience discomfort, it may be you are using poor form. Take a look at these moves before you get started so you know how to do them!

1 - Plank

2 - Reverse Crunches

3 - Knee to Elbow Planks

4 - Straight Leg Lifts

5 - Shoulder Taps

6 - Scissor Kicks

This challenge was designed to be something that you do in addition to your normal workout (which is hopefully one of our workout plans!). I have 3 week, 8, and 12 week workout plans for all fitness levels!

To learn more about my 21-Day Challenge, click HERE! 

Easy Mac-N-Cheese

So this recipe is mostly for the kids when they want an ooey-goey cheesey comfort food that only can be satisfied by the cheesiest, creamiest goodness that comes with home-made.

It takes no longer than making a box mix, but I feel so good about knowing what is in it! You can make some simple substitutions to make it (fairly) clean eating, which I love!

Ingredients:
2 c. uncooked macaroni noodles (use whole wheat for healthiest option), cooked and drained

Melt in a saucepan:
1/4 c. butter

Stir in:
1/4 flour (whole wheat also works here, but will give it a more "grainy" texture)
and cook for 1 minute until bubbly.

Add:
2 c. milk and cook over medium high heat until thickened. Stir in salt and pepper to taste along with 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (you can experiment with other cheeses, such as muenster).

Add in the pasta, sprinkle with paprika (optional), stir and serve!

This also makes a great pot luck meal for the littles, as you can keep it on the warm setting.

Serve with broccoli for a complete, meatless meal!

Get Your Summer Body in 22 Minutes Per Day: 22 Minute Hard Corps

I hear you, busy moms!! As a business owner and fellow mom to 4 kids, I am short on time too! But we all know daily exercise is important and crucial to a full, healthy life. I hear all kinds of excuses why people DON'T make their health priority...you’re too busy. The workouts are too hard. You don’t have the space nor the budget for the recommended equipment. But I have to let you in on something...BeachBody's newest fitness program, 22 Minute Hard Corps, puts an end to three of the biggest obstacles holding most people back: time, fitness level, and convenience.

“If you can carve out 22 minutes a day to exercise — and believe me, everyone can — you have all the time you need to lean out and muscle up,” says Horton. “This program is fast. It’s furious. And it only requires a few key pieces of equipment. I don’t care how many times you’ve tried and failed to get in shape in the past — if you want to be leaner and stronger than you are right now, this program will get you there.”

22 Minute Hard Corps is inspired by men and women of the United States military. How awesome is that, and what an amazing tribute to those who serve our country! During the last 15 years, Tony Horton has had the honor of touring dozens of bases all over the world, helping troops in every branch of the armed forces maximize their physical potential. “I have tremendous respect for our troops,” says Horton. “And I wanted to honor them by creating a simple, challenging, boot camp-style program that delivers functional, real-world strength to everyday people.”

What is 22 Minute Hard Corps? The program consists of eight routines that alternate between total-body cardio and resistance workouts — one a day, six days a week. “This is a pretty big departure from P90X,” says Horton. “The workouts are shorter, the pace is often quicker, there’s more user participation, and most of the moves are easier to pick up. It’s back to basics for mind-blowing results.”  

22 Minute Hard Corps is a no-nonsense, 8-week boot camp style workout program designed to deliver epic results, offering 8 total-body cardio, resistance, and core routines for getting in shape in minimal time.

Who should buy the program? This program is a great fit for anyone looking for a comprehensive , total-body fitness program without overly complex moves.

It's ideal for those who prefer shorter workouts such as P90X3 and T25; those

looking for a more challenging, intermediate level workout after completing P90or 21 Day Fix; and those who are not ready for an extreme fitness program.Anyone who craves a simple, flexible nutrition plan to help them reach their goals should try 22 Minute Hard Corps.

“Every exercise has modifier to follow, so even if you can’t do the main move, you can do a less difficult version of it that hits the same muscles. Either way, you’re going to sweat buckets. This program is tough. But if you finish all eight weeks, you’ll see a leaner, stronger person staring back at you in the mirror — and that’s a powerful experience.” While this might sound intimidating, anyone can do it — regardless of fitness level. 

What is the difference between 22 Minute Hard Corps and P90X/P90X3?P90X and P90X3 are 90-day extreme fitness programs. Both programs provide anextensive variety of fat-burning, muscle-perfecting moves that continually challengethe body and are considered advanced workouts.

22 Minute Hard Corps is a shorter, intermediate level program that has total bodyroutines to improve overall fitness. It is inspired by the tried and true methods of boot camp fitness programs and uses a military-style cadence to provide an intense workout in only 22 minutes per day. 


What Equipment is Needed?  Dumbbells and a pull-up bar (or resistance bands with a door attachment) are all you need to get started. But if you want to supersize your results, you can pick up the optional (and all-new) Variable Resistance Beachbody PT Sandbag. “Unlike a dumbbell, a sandbag’s center of gravity shifts as you lift it,” says Horton, explaining that a sandbag’s effectiveness comes from its instability. “As the sand moves inside the bag, your stabilizing muscles have to work overtime to keep you balanced.” The harder they work, the faster they grow.

#getsome with Tony Horton! Ready to get started? Here are three tips to get the most out of your 22 Minute Hard Corps: It might seem like a missed workout won't be a big deal, but it's the repeated action done daily, and consistently each day that will get you the end result after 8 weeks that you can be proud of! Dial in Your DietFailing to dial in your nutrition is a recipe for disappointment. Your diet has to be on point. You have to eat to fuel your body and focus. With the accompanying guide, "Rations for Results" meal plan, it's easy it is to make healthy long-term eating choices that will soon become habit! Don’t Overdo It Don't overtrain, or expect perfection. Be patient, pace yourself, and follow the modifiers if you need to. You have to push yourself to see results, and finish every workout. No excuses, you gotta work for it and stop wishing!!