Why my routine MIGHT not work for you

I want to get really real here for a minute. I like to share recipes and have no problem sharing my workouts. The truth is, I do this more for me than you.  I do it because it makes me plan, it makes me accountable and it motivates me to make good choices. In addition to motivating me, it gives ideas to others on the same journey.

I know what it's like to be struggling to lose weight. I worked hard for 2.5 years to lose over 100 pounds naturally. That's only the beginning of the struggle though.  When my life got a little messy, I immediately took the focus off my healthy habits and became very sedentary and ate a lot of convenient foods.  I gained weight pretty quickly. I cared, but not enough to really consider what I was putting in my body OR care enough to get active to counter a little of the junk I was eating. Now I'm starting over again, not from the place I started from before. But definitely from a place I thought I'd never be in again.

I know as much as anyone who has struggled with weight how much you want an easy fix. A quick weight loss solution to get you back in shape fast.  So you look to others. I can't tell you how many super skinny model type with thigh gaps I used to follow on social media. I followed them because I wanted to look like them.  I wondered what they were eating, how often they workout and what they were doing.  The truth is, I hoped that I could mirror their routine and look just like them.  But I won't look like them. And their routines MIGHT not even get me into the best shape I can be in.  Most of those girls are ectomorphs. They are naturally thin and have a hard time gaining weight.  That's not to say none of them have ever been over weight, but a lot of them haven't. And if they were slightly over weight, it's not to the degree that I can quickly and easily gain weight.  We are different. Doing what they do, will not yield the same results.

I don't sell "my workout" or "my diet" because I constantly mix up my workouts. And I am still experimenting with the best macros for me. Frankly it makes me sad when I see social media fitness "celebrities" selling a cookie cutter diet or workout plan.  Because I know that people who are desperate to lose weight will pay $5, $10 or more for a cookie cutter plan.  While I haven't seen these plans, I would bet that some of these little waifs eat as little as 1200 calories a day.  If you're an overweight person doing any activity at all, that's simply not enough calories. Your body will not be happy or you'll end up starving and binge. They might be low carb, high fat diets.  I found out the hard way that my body type is programmed to store fat eaten.  So when I tried Keto (atkins) my results were mediocre at best.  It just doesn't work for me. If you're 160, 200, 250+ pounds, you simply cannot just do what a 110 pound person does and look like them.  In theory, you can eat healthier foods and portion sizes, you can increase activity to burn calories and shape your body. But you need to cut calories gradually to avoid slowly the metabolism too quickly.  I feel there is simply too much comparison going on. If you don't have a thigh gap, you're not less valuable than someone that does. (and visa versa). The idea of a fitness journey should be finding your best self, not trying to turn into someone else.

I share my journey (for free) to motivate others to find what works for them and give them ideas along the way. I want everyone to know that you can work hard and get in the best shape of your life. You don't have to buy a cookie cutter diet plan. You don't have to cut out all carbs. (Carbs are a very important macronutrient) You CAN eat more than 1,000 or 1,200 calories a day and achieve your fat loss goals. I want to help others in their fitness journey and I want you to be successful. Not because it's good for my pocketbook, but because it makes me feel good to help someone else and see them happy and comfortable in their skin.  So I'll happily continue sharing my journey in hopes to inspire others to start a journey of their own to reach their own goals.

I failed spectacularly

First, it's been ages since my last post. I've been pretty busy with things in my personal life. Unfortunately a lot of things that don't include the gym or eating healthy food. I've gained a lot of weight over the past year. I feel like a perfect storm of circumstances hit and I just kind of surrendered to it. There were times when I would attempt to get back on track, I failed. 

There's a few things that led to where I find myself today. 

1. My keto diet during show prep last year primed my body for quick regain. And I wasn't careful to avoid it. After my show I took a break from the gym and basically binged on whatever foods I wanted. Zero regard for nutrition. That slippery slope is hard to come back from. 

2. I went through a divorce. Although it was amicable, it wasn't easy and it's still something I am working through emotionally. I am an emotional eater so when I felt stressed or guilty or anything I would fill myself with sweets and processed junk for a temporary good feeling. 

3. I worked two jobs. Ok I'm still working two jobs. But tax season was busy for me this year. I used it as an excuse to skip the gym and grab fast food meals between jobs. As an accountant I sit most the day anyway, adding additional work hours, more food, less activity.. It's really a recipe for disaster. 

So, I failed. I failed to keep off the weight I fought so hard to lose. But I'm ready to get back on it. I'm tired of feeling sluggish and icky. When I do workout I fatigue quickly. I know I've lost a good bit of strength. So I've made a couple decisions and set some goals. I'm going to blog real time weightloss. I'll start on June 1 with a current photo. I'll record what I eat and what workouts I do and every week I'll update my photo. 

I'll be taking weights and measurements as well. I may or may not post those right away. I probably will, it's more motivation for me to stay on track and have changes week to week. 

My goals right now:

1. Resume consistent workouts to build muscle and lose fat 

2. Get down to a comfortable maintenance weight and maintain for 6+ months 

3. Compete in another figure show 

First step is getting back on track and down to a healthy weight again. I'm ready to do this. 

Ketogenic diet

I wanted to share my experience with a Ketogenic diet. About 7 weeks out from my show with my body not responding to the macros I was on at the time, my trainer decided to try a ketogenic diet with me (Keto).  Ketogenic diet is a high fat low carb diet.  Protein is also kept pretty low.  I went from having protein be 40-50% of my diet to about 20% and fats going from 20-30% to 65-80%.  Carbs dropped to 0-5%. 

Obviously this was a MAJOR change to my diet. I’m generally pretty capable of switching things up and keeping my diet interesting while keeping it within certain macros. But honestly, the first couple days I had NO idea how to put together a decent meal on this type of macro split.  I literally ate ground beef with ranch dressing on it.  My coworkers would wait for me to heat up my lunch just to see what kind of random stuff I was eating that day. (Before they left to go enjoy taco bell or burger king or Gates BBQ)

After a few days of trolling the internet for Keto recipes (thank you internet), I was able to actually put together something more resembling a meal. I happen to enjoy braunschweiger (liver sausage) and found that it was a perfect food for this diet.  Also I could eat lots of cheese, pepperoni, salami, make mini no bake cheesecakes. It seemed awesome.. for the first week.  To be honest eating mostly fat gets pretty icky after a while. Though I managed to find some low carb “bread” and muffins, mainly used to deliver butter to my mouth, they weren’t very flavorful and eating butter isn’t as great as it sounds.

We followed ketogenic diet for 2 weeks. Then we reintroduced carbs into my diet. It was kind of like a really big carb cycle, 2 weeks low, 2 weeks high.  We finished my prep with 3 weeks low carb. By the final 3 weeks I had become pretty proficient at making high fat meals but I was getting really tired of eating them.

At the end of the process I don’t even feel that this diet was all that effective.  The first 2 weeks we saw decent change, after that it leveled out and stayed that way for the duration. 

Following my prep, my trainer attended a seminar where ketogenic diet was discussed. It’s shown that the long term health risks of this type of diet far outweigh any short term benefit.  The thing with this type of diet is, it was first developed for short term use in morbidly obese patients in order to get them down to a weight that offered less risk for gastric surgery.

My personal opinion after being on the diet is, it cannot possibly be healthy. Eating mostly fat it’s really hard NOT to eat a bunch of high sodium processed foods.  To keep the protein and carb in take down you can’t eat a lot of whole, close to nature foods.  I love cheese as much as the next person.. but I don’t believe that should be a major part of a healthy diet.

Of course there are people who would disagree with my assessment that a balanced diet is better than a ketogenic diet. There will always be differing opinions. I feel like carbs always get such a bad rap. As I study to get my personal training certificate and eventually a nutrition certification, I look forward to learning more about how the body responds to certain macro splits and different theories on nutrition. Fitness and healthy lifestyles are always changing, there are new developments all the time and you have to constantly change and push yourself to continue to be successful.  As I near the beginning of my next prep, I am anxious to see how this goes the second time around. I plan on documenting more thoroughly how my body responds to the process and how you can get lean on a balanced diet that includes carbs.

Diet.. It's always a struggle

I hear it so often, and I've been through the struggle myself, I can get to the gym but I struggle with my diet.  Everyone is always looking for the secret to avoiding temptation or not craving "bad foods." Well.. the secret is willpower.  I will share some tips for keeping on track but ultimately it comes down to the choices you (and only you) will make for yourself.  Here's a little story from my day today:

I'm 3 weeks out from my debut show and I'm not quite where I want to be yet.  I'm not sure I'll get there in 3 weeks, but I'll get as close as I can.  I plan and track my food diligently but I'm human. I have cravings and sometimes I give in, most times I don't.  At work this morning, having eaten my breakfast before and snack 3 hours later, I still felt hungry.  I walked down to the vending machine and looked at my options.  I have a few calories to play with today, often my food doesn't come out EXACT to my calorie goal. I have 12-15g of protein, 6g of carbs left.  Nothing in the machine suits what I have available. So I walked away.

As I stared blankly into the vending machine I told myself "3 weeks.. you have 3 weeks to burn as much fat as you can before your stage debut. Nothing in this machine is going to help you do that."

I've been dieting for almost 4 years. Part of that has made me better at saying no to things I shouldn't have and part of that has left me wanting to just go eat food without considering the macros or what it's going to do to my body. It's a double edged sword and there's always a struggle between making a healthy choice and choosing convenience or just deciding, you know what? I'm going to eat a candy bar today.  For most people making that choice is fine.  One candy bar isn't going to make or break you.  I could've bought something, justifying that 3 weeks isn't enough time to make a change.. But I know that isn't true.  And to make a change everything has to be on point.

I'm trying to get extraordinarily lean so I don't have the flexibility I'm used to. I still get to get foods I like, luckily I don't mind healthy foods. :)
This process is not for everyone. I knew going in that it was going to test me. I think I've handled it all pretty well. Though I'm not sure how my experience on the stage will be, I've already started thinking past the stage. Carefully reverse dieting to avoid excessive weight gain and looking ahead to the next show I might do.

I'm not immune to cravings. I love sweets. I love to bake.. I stopped doing a lot of baking when I got really serious about getting back in shape.  Now I bake healthier recipes and find ways to satisfy sweet cravings without a lot of added sugars keeping either carbs or fats low.

So let's get to some tips for keeping on track

1. Have a cheat meal every 1-2 weeks.

I said A cheat MEAL.  Not a cheat DAY.  One meal. Don't eat yourself sick, but use it to eat something you've been craving.  This serves 2 purposes. First, the increase in calories will boost your metabolism. (more calories in means the body has to burn more to keep up).  Second, it keeps you sane. If you know you have a cheat meal coming every week or two, it's a lot easier to turn down tempting offers for naughty foods and you're much less likely to go crazy and binge.

2. Make sure you are eating enough day-day.

You have NO idea how sad it makes me to see girls eating 1000-1200 calories a day. Especially if they have a lot of weight to lose or are killing it in the gym.  You NEED to fuel your body.  The idea is to eat as much as you can and still lose weight.  Not cut calories as drastically as you can.  As the boost in calories from your cheat meal boosts metabolism, your metabolism adapts to your calorie cut as well. The more you cut, the more your metabolism adapts.  DON'T cut yourself from eating 3000 calories to 1200 right away.  It's only going to hurt you in the end.   **Trust me.. I did this to myself.. more than once!  It's not the right way and your results will not last cause you can't keep that up forever**

3. Find healthy alternatives

Craving chocolate?  Try mixing chocolate protein powder with greek yogurt for a protein packed chocolate treat.

Pancakes? Get some mancakes and waldon farms calorie free syrup.  Or make your own healthy version with oat flour (blend up oats) and egg whites.
Mancakes can be bought  here
Waldon farms makes TONS of calorie free products check them out here (My grocery store carries several of their syrups, sauces and marshmallow dip!)

Just want something sweet?  Try fruit instead of candy. Check out my protein fluff for a protein packed ice cream like treat right here

Check out http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/ For a TON of healthy recipes.  I LOVE her site. I get a lot of ideas from there.

4. Get accountability/Support system

Tell somebody your goals. It will make you more likely to stick to them.  Also if you find yourself craving something you can talk to those who you shared your goals with.  I know I have some friends that have been instrumental in keeping me on track.  When you're having an off day, these people will remind you how awesome you are doing and why you don't want to revert to old ways. There are going to be days that you just don't feel like working out or you really want to eat something processed and bad for you.  Your support system will help you stay on track OR get back on track after you've given in.

5. Remember you are human.

Perfection doesn't exist. You're not going to look like the photoshopped people in magazines and you're going to have slip ups, days you can't get to the gym or other obstacles.  The key is to accept these and move on. Everyday is a new opportunity to make better choices, workout a little harder and get closer to your goals.  This is a lifestyle, there's no finish line.

4 weeks to go!

It's been several weeks since I did a show update.  I've been working away.  We made diet changes doing a Keto/traditional split cycle.. almost like extreme carb cycling, 2 weeks low following by 2 weeks moderate/high.  I just finished the first week of moderate/high carbs. I missed my carbs.  I'm avoiding breads/pastas, sticking with oats, sweet potato, corn, and green things (green beans, celery, cucumbers etc)

The hardest part by far is getting enough sleep.  I didn't realize how important sleep was and it's SO SO hard for me to get everything done and still get 8 hours. As I type this I have about 30 minutes to get to sleep to get 8 and I don't have my food planned out for tomorrow at all!  I pride myself on being pretty organized and getting everything done. This process will test you mentally, physically and emotionally.  It's stressful.  There are a LOT of things to do. I have a busy life already and this adds a lot to it.  I really enjoy pushing myself in the gym.  I think the most difficult part for me is really planning all the food. Planning it all and prepping all my meals, it's time consuming. It's absolutely worth it, but I think I need to have a little less variety.  Some is nice but too much is just more work.

Continued.. When I typed the above it was almost a week ago. Juggling contest prep and family is no easy task. I'm sure I will get the hang of it with each additional show but for now it's pretty tough. This takes a lot of commitment. I will say though, going through this process has proved to me that you CAN do anything you set your mind to.  A few years ago I "couldn't" find time to get in a workout or prep a meal. I lived off fast food and watched TV for hours a day. This has truly showed me that it's all about choices and priorities. I've come a long way.. I have a long way to go. But I'm getting closer everyday.  4 weeks to show 1.. 6 weeks to show 2.  It's going to get harder from here, but I'm ready to soak it all in.  

5 week out posing practice 

Keto mini no-bake cheesecake

Hey there FitFam! Work is finally easing to a slow steady crawl after tax day, I'm a CPA for those who don't know. This was the first time I've actually been in the office doing taxes on tax day (normally I'm out working on an audit).  It was CRAZY!!  So even though I've been a bit quiet I have still been hard at work in the gym and in the kitchen making all my foods for my ever changing diet.  We are having pretty good success with Keto, but we are going to cycle off for a couple weeks. Before I do though I wanted to share a few recipes with you that will always be my in my Keto back pocket.  Today I want to share with my coffee lovers out there.  (Not a coffee lover..keep reading, I've got you covered too!)  If you're not keto you could sub low fat cream cheese and sub almond milk for the heavy cream to make it lower fat friendly.

Let's start with the odd fact that I am NOT a coffee lover! I drink a little.. I like to add a lot of milk and sugar so, I haven't had coffee in quite a while.  But I do have some mocha cappuccino mix and thought it would be an excellent addition to the mini no-bake cheesecakes I've been making. This is something pretty simple to whip up and since I'm the only one in my house I make a lot of single serve dishes. If you wanted to make a few at once you can just multiply the recipe by the desired number of servings, easy-peasy!

Ingredients:

Basic recipe:
2 oz cream cheese
2 tablespoons heavy cream (I've also used 1 so if you need a bit less fat 1 will work!)
sweetener of choice to taste (this is optional if you're a cream cheese lover you might omit this)

Flavor options:
2 tsp mocha cappuccino (for the coffee lovers.. this had a pretty strong coffee flavor, you could easily cut this in half if you wanted to tone it down)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (if you like a chocolate cheesecake)
1-2 tablespoon(s) waldon farms strawberry syrup (calorie free, carb free and delish!!)  I find mine at the local grocery store but you can get their stuff here https://www.waldenfarms.com/

I like to garnish with a little waldon farms syrup too!

Procedure:

Pick your flavor above and mix all the ingredients. If your cream cheese is straight out of the fridge then pop in the microwave for 10 seconds oro so to soften it a bit.

Once its all blended, pour the mix into a small container or glass or however you wish to serve it, and place it in the fridge to set. (30 minutes should do the trick, but I tend to make mine a bit more in advance and let it sit longer)

It should be about a 1/2 cup serving size.  Perfect to satisfy a sweets craving and excellent macros for a keto diet!

Weight loss and Nutrition

Probably one of the most common questions I get is, "What do you eat?" (or "What should I eat to lose weight?")  Well the answer is actually really simple, I eat everything, in moderation. Truth is I didn't have my nutrition totally figured out during the majority of my weight loss.  I was keeping myself at a deficit (if I was diligent about tracking my food). So I lost weight.  However when I found IIFYM (If it fits your macros aka flexible dieting) I had much better success and the results came a lot quicker.  Because I was eating a deficit but also a balanced diet.  I personally have a HUGE sweet tooth so I do treat myself to the occasional "bad" treat. But it's all good if it's done in moderation.  If you're eating on plan 90-95% of the time 1 candy isn't going to set you back.

Anyway, I thought I would do a few posts on nutrition and how to lose weight while still eating normal food.  That being said, I don't eat out often. Mainly because I follow my macros strictly (It's really necessary when trying to get stage ready lean) and I need to know EXACTLY what I am putting in my body.  I do have the occasional meal out but I keep it to a minimum right now.

So my husband did a big costco run this weekend and I took some pictures of the fridge, freezer, pantry and fruit/veggie bowls so I could kind of summarize the "staple" items I always have.
I do not eat the exact same thing day to day.  If you follow me on  www.myfitnesspal.com (user name JenniBeanxo ) you'll see that.  All my meals are pretty similar day to day, but rarely exactly the same.  But I do have basic foods you'll always see (chicken, egg whites, green beans/broccoli etc)

So.. let's go to the pictures shall we?

Ok so it's all pretty normal stuff. Fruits (I limit to 1 a day or less), veggies (sweet potato, white potato, celery, asparagus, bell peppers etc), egg white, eggs, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, almond milk, lean meats (chicken, turkey, lean ground beef), natural nut butters .. Not pictured, whole wheat bread, wheat pasta. Which are also added in very sparingly right now.

Of course there are 3 other people that live in my house (note the toddler photo bomb in the last pic). So there are things in there that I don't eat. Also I'm trying to get incredibly lean for a show so for an overall healthy and fit physique you could still be a little more flexible than I am right now. 

What I ate today. Ketogenic.

Hi there #fitfam .. Just over 5 weeks out O_O .. About to wrap up 2 weeks in keto and go back to a "traditional" 40/40/20 bodybuilding split. I've kind of gotten the hang of keto. Still sometimes have a hard time getting all the fat without many carbs or the protein level I was used to. I took pics of all my food yesterday so you could see what keto is looking like. 

So here's everything I ate and a total from myfitnesspal on macros for the day. 

2 pieces of bacon, egg white and cheese omelet 

Homemade keto "mounds" bar.. I skimped on the "chocolate" a bit :). And mozz stick 

Chicken and asparagus. (Probably the least keto of all my meals) 

OMG these were delish! I have a bad sweet tooth and these hit the spot. 

Mini mocha cappuccino cheesecake and a mozz stick 

Green bell pepper with some ground beef and cheese. 

My carbs are a bit high.. About half come from fat sources though so it's not like I'm eating startchy things. Still figuring it all out. After 2 weeks on 40-40-20 I get to try my hand at keto again.  Will be looking up some recipes and things getting ready. 

What I ate today. High carb day.

Hello there fitfam. So a little update. I've been hard at work (at my job and the gym) things are progressing slowly. I am carb cycling currently. Today is a refeed/high carb day so here's what I ate. 

Meal 1 

I made baked French toast with 1 egg, 2 egg whites and the wheat bread. 

Meal 2

Meal 3

Ok. I got a little hungry and forgot to take a picture. But this meal is pretty self explanatory. :) 

Meal 4 

 

I think I've posted the truffle recipe on my Instagram.. I intend to post more recipes here for easier access. If you want to

See this one (or any others) comment below and I'll add it to my list. 

Meal 5 

Meal 6 

And meal 7 (the Casein logged in with meal 6.. My fitness pal only has 6 meals) 

Casein pudding. 

To recap, I eat every 2-3 hours. The casein pudding I ate right before bed. I'm also putting my daily totals below so you can see how it all adds up at the end of the day.  I'm wrapping up my super busy time at work so I plan on posting a lot more often. If you have questions or things you'd like to see. Leave me a comment. 

BCAA gummy recipe

Happy Monday everyone. 

So I'll post this update with more details in another post but we've switched shows and I am just under 11 weeks out from the stage! That means 11 more weeks of prep and reduced calories.. actually 13.. but again that's another post.  So last week I messed with my meal times.. It was a horrible idea! I was saving carbs for post workout (I had been carb loading in the morning previously).  So I stretched out the time between my meals earlier in the day and there were a few days were I was STARVING between meals.  

One day I ate a handful of giant mints.. which turned out to be about 30g of carbs total! yikes! So I decided to look around for some alternatives for snacking between meals. (besides gum which also has sugars and piece after piece can add up during the day) 

So I had seen a few posts about BCAA gummies. So I looked into them a little more. I really had no idea they had no added sugar and it was just gelatin which is protein.  I used watermelon flavored BCAA powder and they are yummy! They were pretty easy to make too. I have plastic molds so I dusted them with cornstarch but still had to fight a bit to get the gummies out. I think I will use silicone next time as I think it's a little easier.  I don't have small silicone molds but I think I can just dice up the gummies into pieces once they have set.  So here's the recipe

Ingredients:
1 scoop BCAAs ( I used watermelon Rescue)

1/2 cup water

3 envelopes unflavored gelatin (3 tablespoons)

Procedures:

Mix the above ingredients together and let sit a few minutes

Heat mixture until gelatin is dissolved.

Pour into molds 

Freeze for 20 minutes

This made a lot of gummies. I didn't do a macro breakdown per gummy cause they weren't the same size (because my molds were different) but for the entire recipe the macros are:

Fat: Zero

Carbs: Zero

Protein: 24g 

Casein protein truffles

Hi Everyone,

I am seriously the worst at keeping up with things! Really I am an accountant first (that's what pays the bills) and we are in the midst of busy season. Meaning I Work, Eat, Train, Sleep. I am having trouble finding time for much else. Of course EAT is one of the things I MUST do.. And I really enjoy that too. :)  So of course with eating comes cooking/preparing.  So I have a couple recipes I've tried that I want to share.  The one today is Casein protein truffles.  

If you are like me, you love chocolate.  Does anyone not love chocolate?! But clearly having a box of Russell Stovers or a bag of mini Reece's PB cups is not in the plan right now. Sooooooooooo.. I improvise.  Luckily there are some genious people in the world who create and share recipes for those of us that are a bit challenged in the kitchen. And this one is adapted from Proteinpow.com is already a favorite.  I've made them twice this week.  (and drooled over her website for days and days)  

So first these are a snap to make.. if you can mix, and roll "dough" you've got the necessary skills. Did I mention I am challenged in the kitchen? :) If I can make it, a 5 year old can.. but seriously, you could make the kids make these for you.. if you trust they won't eat them. 

Ingredients: 

1 scoop Casein Protein (I used chocolate of course but any flavor would work)

1/2 tablespoon of coconut flour (I might have used a touch more)

2-4 tablespoons of almond milk (or milk of choice)  

about a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder for coating the truffles

(at Proteinpow.com they dip these in dark chocolate.. so that's an option too)

I started with 2 tablespoons of milk, mixed and then added a bit more until you get a consistency which will form a ball but isn't TOO wet. (if you add too much milk, add a little more Casein or coconut flour) 

Procedure:

1. Add dry ingredients to a bowl

2. Add almond milk

3. Mix

4. Form into 4-5 balls. I did 4 as you can see below

5. Roll the balls in cocoa powder

6. Chill in the fridge 20 minutes or so.

7. Enjoy the deliciousness!

(if you wanted to dip these in chocolate, I would chill after step 4, melt the chocolate, then dip and chill again to set the chocolate)

I made these before work and brought them as my afternoon snack/pre-workout so my plating is phenomenal.   Ninja turtle containers, hell yeah!!  (Yay 80s kids!!) .. But for the record my husband bought these ok. :) 

Macros for the WHOLE recipe using cocoa powder

Calories: 160

Fat: 2.5g

Carbs: 10g (2.5g of fiber, 5g of sugar)

Protein: 25g

Do you want to get fit?

It occurs to me that although I'm not a dietitian or certified trainer, and some people don't want advice from me, I do have experience gaining and losing weight. I've tried countless diets, yo-yoing a bit with my weight and struggling to find something that works.  I know what it's like to be at rock bottom and really want (and really need) to change.  That's why I put myself out there. I share pictures of myself, my food, my workouts. The good the bad and the ugly. (ok we all try to limit the bad and the ugly) I get a lot of questions which I want to start to answer more in depth in this blog.  I try to answer all the questions I get on instagram but I also can't write a TON on there, which is one reason I started this blog.  A question I get often is, How did you start?  I know there are a lot of people out there who want to make a change but they don't really know how.  It's not hard really, but it is confusing. There is a lot of information out on the web. A lot of it is free. Who do you listen to? Who has the right answers?  That's the tricky part.  There is no right way to lose weight.  There is NO magic food(s).  Believe me when I say I tried almost everything to lose weight. Meal replacement shakes, cleanses, calorie counting, severe calorie cutting, working out but failing to control my diet... Sometimes I would have a little bit of success. But the weight almost always came back, often I gained more. I've learned a lot over the years and I am still learning. I failed a lot but I also succeeded.

I'm going to share with you what I would do if I had to do it all over (with the knowledge I have now). If tomorrow morning I found myself at a morbidly obese 249 pounds again.

1. Calculate my maintenance calories and cut 500 calories from that number/figure out macros.

I have no idea where the "magic" 1200 calorie diet came from. But that little number sure did get around everywhere. Matter of fact at 249 lbs I was eating closer to 1000 calories a day. And I lost NOTHING. It's really really important that you don't drop calories too severely. It's a common mistake to think that the less you eat the more you'll lose. Sadly it doesn't work like that.  You'll just suffer, put your body into panic/starvation mode and probably binge your way to a higher weight. So determine a reasonable caloric intake for your current height, weight, activity level and start eating a balanced diet. I use the calculator at iifym.com Good nutrition, in my opinion, the key to being successful.  I personally LOVE counting macros, and though it takes some getting used to. It really makes the difference in a "diet" and a lifestyle change.

2. Start resistance training 3 times a week.

Assuming you're not working out right now, you don't want to over do it.  I actually started doing a Jillian Michaels DVD 30 day shred
http://www.amazon.com/Jillian-Michaels-30-Day-Shred/dp/B00127RAJY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424464248&sr=8-1&keywords=30+day+shred
and I committed to doing it for 30 days. I did it. But I'm not sure I was really ready to do 30 days of exercise with no rest.  I never got off level 1 in that time frame either. Over doing your workouts is a sure fire way to exhaust yourself and get burnt out.  So start slow.  Make a commitment and stick with it. You don't have to join a gym. There are plenty of DVDs and online videos so that you can start at home. (Body weight is resistance, you don't have to add weights right off the bat) I personally wasn't all that comfortable in a gym. However, I do want to say I never ever heard one negative comment toward me or anyone else at the gym. I'm not going to guarantee you won't run into some asshole that says something stupid, they are out there, but for the most part I have found all fitness levels at the gym are pretty accepting of everyone else. Remember that most people at the gym are just there to workout and they could care less what you are doing. So just go and do your thing.

3. Do cardio twice a week.

I hate cardio. I have always hated running. I'm slow. It's just not my thing. But I feel like I could've had better fat loss had I not skimped on the cardio. It doesn't have to be running. You can walk, jog, do intervals of walking/jogging, elliptical, stair master.  Whatever you do.. just get that heart rate up for 30-45 minutes.  Don't start off doing too much or when you need to increase your cardio.. you'll be doing a LOT.

4. Join some fitness groups or find friends who are interested in making a change.

This is hard to do and going it alone, while totally possible, can be tough. I started my instagram as a way to stay accountable to my workouts. I posted every single time I worked out. And even the support of complete strangers was a form of motivation. I've also met some amazing people through instagram. Never underestimate the power of a social media as a way to keep motivated and accountable.  There are a ton of amazing transformations out there. I found it very motivating during my journey, and I still do!  I also joined some facebook challenges. When I did that I saw great results because I was more motivated to make a noticeable change. (And a prize isn't bad motivation either)

5. Be patient!

I maybe should have included this as point number 2. Because I think next to good nutrition, this is very important. You're not going to lose 10 pounds a week.  That would be awesome. But it's not realistic, healthy or safe. Weight loss that rapid often results in a rebound. Aim for 1-2 pounds a week for healthy, maintainable results. Not to mention, losing weight at a rapid pace will likely leave you with skin hanging off your bones. (Another really popular question I get is about loose skin) Although it was frustrating to take so long to lose my weight (2.5 years to lose 100 pounds). I am thankful that my slow, steady weight loss allowed my skin to bounce back pretty well.  I do have stretch marks and some excess skin but it's really minimal and easily covered by pretty much all my clothing. I can even wear a bikini and not be too self conscious. It's a difficult journey physically and mentally and you want to end up feeling good in your skin again, so don't rush it!

So this got long fast, so I'll wrap it up.  I will elaborate on some of these topics in additional individual posts. I you have comments or suggestions, please leave them below. I plan on blogging as close to daily as possible so I will be responding to comments timely and using suggestions/questions for post topics.  Thank you all for your support it really means a lot. And I love hearing from you about weight loss or weight lifting success!

Chest Day

Upper body training for girls is miserable.  At least at first it is.  I was a gymnast.. not a great one.. but still I used to be pretty fit once upon a time (and I'm working on getting back there)  But even in my peak physical condition. I never had a ton of upper body strength. I'd like to think I am decently strong per my weight, but I remember when I first started really lifting weights, I couldn't lift a lot. Especially doing chest, or arm exercises.  I train chest at least once a week. (Only once a week in my current training regimen) and below are some of the key exercises I think all girls should do.  Also keep in mind when doing most of these exercises you should really push the chest out in order to isolate it. My trainer is happy to stop me and make me reset when my form gets sloppy and my shoulders start helping out. It's really a bit awkward, but the form is important to work the target muscle!

A little info (from my trainer) the pectoralis major is only 1 muscle. So hitting it from different angles doesn't hit different "parts" of the Pec. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do different angles. Just be aware, it's just a different way to work the same muscle.

So what are my go to exercises? I've included these below. I usually to some variations of these every chest day (pictures are from Jefit an app I use for exercise ideas if I want to switch things up) 

1. Push up 

These are great for beginners or advanced athletes. You can vary these to your fitness level (from knees on the ground to elevated feet or plyo push ups) just be sure your body remains in a straight line. I do anywhere from 2-4 sets of 10 usually. 

2. Bench press 

Really this is getting to become one of my favorite lifts. I don't think you can do these and not feel like a beast. If you don't have a spotter you can do these with dumb bells or on a smith machine. Or just know your limit (I never really use a spotter and I go last set pretty much to failure.) just use good sense when lifting. I do 4 sets of 10-12.  

3. Chest flies 

These are one of my favorite too cause I love the stretch you get while you do them. I do these flat and inclined. I do 4 sets of 15. 

4. Pec Dec 

Ok. This picture calls this butterfly. It's similar to the chest fly but it's on a machine vs free weight. Remember to press those shoulder blades back and stick that chest out. I usually do 4 sets of 12-15 and I often "super set" 5 half reps at the end of each set for a torturous burn!! 

5. Cable cross over

This is another one I really feel the burn on. And another I have to really focus on keeping the chest out so I isolate my pecs. I usually do 3-4 sets of 15-20 

So there you have some essential chest exercises (in my opinion) I do each of these at least every other week if not weekly. 

A couple tips. Weights should challenge you while still allowing good form. Those last few reps should burn and ideally you should pretty much fail if you tried 1 more rep. I generally add weight to each set. 

Happy lifting.  

Still at it..

Yikes. Where have I been? It's been weeks since I posted! I've been hard at work. (Literally) I am in public accounting and it's busy season. I've still been hitting the gym, counting macros, meal prepping. All that fun stuff! So let's see. Here's we are, closing in on 9 weeks out from my target. We just did progress measurements and well.. There wasn't much progress. *heavy sigh*. This isn't easy. For anyone. I consider myself a pretty hardworking and dedicated person. I'm not going to say I've never cheated or missed my macros but I follow that 90/10 rule. I lift heavy. And yet my body fat seems like it really wants to stick around. I'm frustrated. I'm even a little pissed off. (Can you be pissed off at your own body fat??) 

We are making some adjustments to my diet and training. If we don't see some major change in the next 4 weeks.. Well my first planned show will no longer be an option. It's painful to admit that. In part I feel like I am failing. But you never really fail until you give up. And that's just not happening. This is important to me and I will compete this year. I'll also be a little better at posting in here. I wanted to document this journey.. So I better do that! The good the bad and the ugly. If it happens, it shall be written. I'm going to post up some of my recent pictures. I've still been taking progress shots weekly. I've selected a bikini to use so it will make them more easily comparable now. I've dated the pictures instead of using weeks since my show date is a big uncertain. If you have things you want to know or see during this process leave a comment. I'll be doing some short videos and recipes on my Instagram (and maybe longer videos if I can post here). I may eventually get a youtube.. We will see

Will post again on Saturday after I take my next set of pictures and talk about my new diet and training. If not sooner. I'm going to try to get in here more often and jot down my thoughts as I go through this process. 

 

Resisting temptation

So we are 15 weeks out today. I'll post my progress picture at the end of this post. A huge part of this process is sticking to your nutrition plan and resisting temptation. First let me say I have a HUGE sweet tooth. I love candy, pastries, chocolate. I might be part Elf (candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup) I also enjoy baking. I've honestly quit baking because along with baking comes eating. Eventually I plan on making healthier yet still delicious baked goods. For now, I try not to tempt myself. It's not easy. I don't live alone. I have 2 kids and a husband who aren't preparing for a figure competition. There are cookies and frozen pizzas in my house. Today my husband made grilled cheese for him and the kids for lunch and they smelled AMAZING. It's no exaggeration to say I am tempted to deviate on a daily basis. It's a struggle to say no. Here are a few pointers to dealing with temptations.

1. Find healthy alternatives to your cravings. 

Fruit is a great alternative to other sweets. Just be mindful that fruit has sugar too so stick to a serving. 

2. Gum 

I chew gum often. I eat when I am bored. So chewing the gum keeps mouth busy and my stomach quiet. 

3. Eat frequent small healthy meals during the day. 

If you've eaten something recently you will be less likely to be tempted by evil naughty sweets that want to derail your progress. 

4. Give in, a little. 

If you're craving chocolate have a small piece. And choose dark chocolate over milk chocolate. But 1 Hershey kiss or 1 small peanut butter cup might help take the edge off. Just beware of this option if you're likely to go back for more. I sometimes keep some mini size candy bars or Hershey kisses in the freezer for a treat. But this takes will power. 

The most important though is 

5. Be prepared 

Plan ahead. Prep your meals and have them ready to go. Snacks too. It's so much easier to eat healthy when it's right there. It's easy for me to avoid eating out at work when my snacks and lunch are easy to grab and go in the morning. 

And finally 

6. Indulge. 

Be smart. Plan your cheat. Make sure it's worth it. If you follow your plan all week. One reasonable treat will not distroy your progress. 

I stuck to my plan all week and brought my own dinner to my nieces birthday party so I could have this amazing ice cream cake. It was delicious. 

It's good to cheat occasionally. Your body can't continue at a calorie deficit indefinitely. Just don't let that cheat turn into a daily habit. Try not to go nuts with your cheat either. I didn't have the same food as everyone else at the party AND cake. Just cake. So I can stay on track.  

Also, if you aren't preparing for some kind of competition. Don't be too hard on yourself. 90% healthy eating and 10% indulging is a good rule to follow when living a healthy lifestyle. You don't need to miss out on fun or family gatherings to live healthy. You just need to make smart choices and plan ahead.

So here's my update pic. 15 weeks to go! A little less fluffy than last week. ;)