Wednesday, December 16, 2015

High Protein Holiday Shakes





Happy Wild Workout Wednesday!  Every week I link up with Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Michelle from Fruition Fitness and Nicole from Fitful Focus to bring you fitness and healthy living posts.  If you have a post to share we would love to have you join us in the link up fun, if not grab your coffee, protein shake or water and get ready for some great fitness and healthy living motivation!

So far being a Premier Protein Trainer Ambassador is so much fun!  I have received some awesome swag and product to share with clients, friends and family.  Everyone who tries them really loves them.  The protein and fiber bars are so yummy!  I am a chocolate lover, so the chocolate bars really satisfy my sweet tooth.  The cookies and cream fiber bar is my favorite so far, plus I love that they have 7g of fiber and 15 g of protein, I always have one in my purse.  I also really love how convenient the pre-made shakes are, when I am pressed for time I grab one instead of making one of my own, they only have 160 calories and have 30g of protein!  I will be doing a giveaway on Instagram this week, be sure to follow me on Instagram for your chance to win.  Here is a little peek into what I am giving away:



Now that the holidays are upon us and we are craving all the sweets that come along with the celebrations I want to share two recipes for High Protein Holiday Shakes that satisfy your sweet tooth!  The first is one that I came up with.  The Chocolate Candy Cane Protein Shake, because I need a healthy alternative to my favorite coffee shop peppermint mocha!  This shake gives you the same flavors, but without all the sugar, and it packs a protein punch.  I make this before I head out for my holiday shopping and it keeps me satisfied so I don't splurge when I am out and about!  If you love chocolate and peppermint, this shake is for you.  It is simple and you only need a few ingredients.


Chocolate Candy Cane Protein Shake
1 Premier Protein 11oz chocolate shake
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp crushed candy cane (for topping, optional)
Ice

Blend protein, ice, cocoa powder and peppermint extract in Nutri-bullet or blender and mix until smooth, pour into glass and top with crushed candy cane.  Enjoy!

The next recipe is from Premier Protein.  It is the Protein Packed Sugar Cookie Shake.  My husband loves sugar cookies so I know that this will be a winner for him this holiday season.


Sugar Cookie Protein Shake
1 Premier Protein 11oz Vanilla Shake
1 tbsp almond flour
1 tsp honey
½ banana
Blend until smoothie and enjoy!

This post is sponsored by Premier Protein.  I was supplied product to use and share.  All opinions are my ow.

Don't forget that there is still time to enter my 35th Birthday Bash Giveaway, entries are open until December 22nd.  You can enter HERE.  Don't miss out, the prize pack is awesome and contains lots of fit gear! 


Ready to link up?  Grab your favorite fitness or healthy living post and link up.  Be sure to share on your social media pages and we will be sure to share as well!  If you can follow your hostesses in any way.  Thanks for joining us, we love having you! 





Wednesday, December 9, 2015

My 35th Birthday Bash Giveaway!


Happy Wild Workout Wednesday!  Every week I link up with Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Michelle from Fruition Fitness and Nicole from Fitful Focus to bring you fitness and healthy living posts.  If you have a post to share we would love to have you join us in the link up fun, if not grab your coffee, protein shake or water and get ready for some great fitness and healthy living motivation!

So yesterday was my 35th Birthday!  It was a wonderful day spent with my daughter and hubby, I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful life.  I don't feel 35...so that's a good thing!  I really wanted to get this post up yesterday, but I swear these days have been non-stop!  So here it is today!  The giveaway will run for 2 weeks, you don't want to miss out on all these great prizes:

Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor
Pretty Fit Athletics Tank of winners choice
Badass Bracelet of winners choice
Ledbetter Store Headband & Socks
Fit & Flirty Closet Abs-lutely ChicTank
Skoop Sample box & new super skoop singles

Thank you to all of my amazing sponsors for donating these prizes for my 35th Birthday Bash Giveaway!  Now be sure to enter below for your chance to win all of these prizes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Time to link up! Be sure to add your fave fitness or healthy living post and share! :-)
Have a wonderful day!

 

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Wild Workout Wednesday + December Updates + Upper body blast workout


Happy Wild Workout Wednesday!  Every week I link up with Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Michelle from Fruition Fitness and Nicole from Fitful Focus to bring you fitness and healthy living posts.  If you have a post to share we would love to have you join us in the link up fun, if not grab your coffee, protein shake or water and get ready for some great fitness and healthy living motivation!


It is so hard to believe that it is already December!  I love December...it is my birthday month, and of course it is Christmas too.  My brother is also getting married next week and I am in the wedding and little A is the flower girl.  It should be a blast!  Speaking of my birthday... I will be 35 on Tuesday and I will be doing a fun birthday bash giveaway with some awesome prizes!  I have partnered with some awesome sponsors to offer some sweet fitness prizes: Pretty Fit Athletics, Badass Bracelets, LedBetter, Skoop and Fit & Flirty Fashion!  You won't want to miss it! I will be launching that next week...stay tuned!


Now for an exciting announcement...I have been selected as a Premier Protein Trainer Ambassador!  I am so excited to be working with this great company.  I have tried their protein bars, fiber bars and ready to go shakes and they are all delicious!  When I am on the go and need something to keep me on track I grab one of the bars or shakes I keep with me.  I will have a giveaway coming soon for Premier Protein products.  You are going to love them.  I will be sharing a lot more about the shakes and bars as I work with them.  Be sure to check out their website and Facebook page.

I have been working on my arms and shoulders so they look toned and fit in my bridesmaid dress next week!  Here is my upper body blast workout!  Give it a try or pin it for later.



Time to link up!  Check out all the linkup info HERE.  Then be sure to add a post below and share...sharing is caring. :-)


Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Why Gut Health Is Important + Vitamin Pit Stop USANA Probiotic Review & Giveaway


Happy Wild Workout Wednesday!  Every week I link up with Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Michelle from Fruition Fitness and Nicole from Fitful Focus to bring you fitness and healthy living posts.  If you have a post to share we would love to have you join us in the link up fun, if not grab your coffee, protein shake or water and get ready for some great fitness and healthy living motivation!

Today I want to share with you more of an educational post.  I was given the opportunity from Fit Approach as a Sweat Pink Ambassador to try and review Vitamin Pit Stop's USANA Probiotics.  Because of all that I know about how important probiotics are to our overall health I was excited to try them and share the info with you guys.  Also, it is timely as I am studying for my nutrition certification through Precision Nutrition, and just read a chapter about our digestion.  To me it is fascinating what our bodies do on a daily basis!  I hope that you learn a little something about your gut!

When it comes to your health, we often overlook the importance of our gut health.  Our GI (gastrointestinal) tract is responsible for allowing nutrients into our body while keeping the harmful things out.  When you have a healthy GI tract you are able to digest and absorb up to 97% of the food you eat.  When you have compromises to your GI tract from things such as irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, food intolerance and others that this rate of absorption can be compromised.  The whole complex process of digestion is important to our health as it determines how our bodies break down and absorb nutrients from our food.  The healthier our GI tracts are the healthy we are going to be overall.  I have studied about gut health in the past, due to my own personal issues and now that I am getting my nutrition certification I am reading more about it and I have come to understand even more the importance of keeping your GI tract healthy!

It has been said that the stomach is your second brain, which is why maintaining healthy gut flora is so important.  It can hard to believe that what we eat can influence how we feel and even our mood and behavior.  However, the more I read about our bodies and the amazing processes they go through it is so astounding that more people don't understand the correlation between the two.  After all we are what we digest, absorb and transfer to our cells.  What we eat literally becomes our cells.  So if we are feeding our bodies whole real food that it can easily recognize, breakdown, and absorb we are going to feel and perform so much better than if we are feeding it highly processed hard to recognize food like substances.

Our large intestine/colon contains the most numerous amounts of bacteria in the GI tract.
*A healthy balance of bacteria in our large intestine may:
  • prevent harmful bacteria and yeast from colonizing in the gut
  • remove carcinogens (cancer causing substance) and boost the immune system
  • prevent allergy 
  • prevent inflammatory bowel disease
Some things that can damage these helpful bacteria are, eating too much highly processed food, environmental toxins, and taking anti-biotics (which kill good and bad bacteria).  *This disruption in the healthy bacteria can lead to runny stools, reduced carbohydrate digestion, overgrowth of yeast and harmful bacteria, and immune system compromise.
*Reference: Precision Nutrition The Essentials of Sport and Exercise Nutrition Certification Manual



The good news is that you can restore the healthy flora and bacteria in your gut!  It has been shown that the use of prebotics: compound that is not digested but rather fermented by microflora amd stimulates growth of healthy bacteria in the GI tract and probiotics: live microorganisms that help to restore beneficial bacteria in the GI tract from food and supplements.  These can help stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria while helping to control the unhealthy type.

Over the summer if you remember I kept getting sick, a lot.  I went to see a functional medicine doctor, and he helped get my immune system back on track.  One of the things I stared doing right away was taking probiotics and I also cleaned up my nutrition.  You can read more about that in this post.  So recently when I got the opportunity to try Vitamin Pit Stop's USANA Probiotics I was excited because I know how important probiotics are to your overall health.  I also love that they are in powder form and not pill form so I knew I could add them to my daily protein shakes.  They are a very high quality probiotic and Vitamin Pit Stop offers them at the lowest prices online without requiring a monthly commitment or sign up fee to purchase.  They contain a blend of probiotic bacteria that is clinically shown to support healthy digestion and immune function.  The bacterial strains were carefully selected to survive the harsh environment of the stomach ensuring effective colonization of the GI tract.  Per the instructions I added one packet of the probiotics to my protein shake every day for 2 weeks.  You can also take them every other day which would last you a full month.  If you are having digestive or immune problems I would start by taking them daily for 2 weeks, then switching to every other day.


After the 2 weeks I noticed improved digestion.  I really loved that they are easy to mix into any drink and there is no taste from the probiotics, so I got all the added benefit without having to take a pill.  I have also been able to stave off getting sick so far this fall, which is a huge feat because she started preschool and the germs I have been exposed to are greater than they were in the summer.  My daughter had a stomach bug during the time I was using the Vitamin Pit Stop's USANA Probiotics, and I was able to avoid getting it, which was not always the case.  I usually get whatever she has.  With cold and flu season coming up I highly recommend Vitamin Pit Stop's USANA probiotcs.  You want to make sure that you have your GI tract healthy and your immune system ready to fight off the germs that are coming!  It is easy to order from Vitamin Pit Stop, just head over to their website and check out the probiotics and all the other awesome and healthy supplements they offer.  Vitamin Pit Stop was generous enough to offer a giveaway of their USANA probiotics, be sure to enter below and check back next week to see if you won.

Vitamin Pit Stop USANA Probiotic Giveaway

I really hope that you enjoyed my post today, and that you learned a little more about your gut health and why it is so important to your overall health!  I know it is not a typical post for me, but I love sharing the knowledge I have obtained.  Your health is your wealth and it is so important to pay attention to it and to keep your body healthy...as they say:


Now it is time to link up!  Be sure to link back to all 3 of the hostesses, and share on social media!  We will help to promote you and the link up...sharing is caring!


Monday, November 9, 2015

Sweat Pink #Holiday Sweat Challenge



Happy Monday!  I am excited to be a part of an awesome 8 week #Holiday Sweat Challenge with Fit Approach and my Sweat Pink Ambassador Sisters.  Get ready to be motivated and inspired to stay on track during the holidays!  I will be posting on my Instagram all week with what we are doing to be doing so you can join in! I will check in with some blog posts throughout the week too.  Are you wanting to stay on track and stay active and accountable this holiday season?  Great news you can join in too!  There will be prizes each week that you will be eligible to win if you are actively participating!  You can register HERE.  Head over and sign up!  You don't want to miss out!  What's better than staying on track during the holidays, meeting some new fit friends and maybe winning some sweet swag?  What is your goal for the holiday season? 

Today we are setting our weekly goal for how many minutes we are going to be active.  "What is your weekly minutes goal and how are you going to get there?"

My goal this week is 420 minutes!  Here is my schedule for the week:
Monday- 40 minutes weight training (chest & arms) + 20 minute treadmill intervals- Total 60 mins
Tuesday- 60 minutes treadmill walking at 3.8 mph, first thing in the morning
Wed- 60 mins weight training (back & shoulders) + 20 minutes Jillian Kickboxing DVD- Total 80 mins
Thursday- 40 minutes treadmill walking at 3.8 mph, first thing in the morning + 20 mins arms Total 60 mins
Friday-60 minutes weight training (legs) + 20 minutes treadmill intervals- Total 80 mins
Saturday- 60 minutes weight lifting (shoulders) + 20 minutes Jillian Kickboxing- Total 80 minutes

My day 1 workout selfie :-)


Now it is your turn to set your minutes and figure out how you are going to get there!  Be sure to comment below to keep yourself accountable.  Then share on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter with the #holidaysweat #sweatpink, #pranastyle and tag @fitapproach, @runtothefinish @prana & @angelenamarie1.  I will share some of my favorites!

Here are the rest of the weekly prompts if you want to join in:

Monday, November 9: What's your minutes goal this week? How will you get there?! #pranastyle @prana #holidaysweat @runtothefinish @fitapproach #sweatpink

Tuesday, November 10: Show us your sweaty style! What's your favorite workout outfit or gear? #pranastyle @prana #holidaysweat @runtothefinish @fitapproach #sweatpink

Wednesday, November 11: Show us how you take your workout outside when it's cold (or even snowing!) #pranastyle @prana #holidaysweat @runtothefinish @fitapproach #sweatpink

Thursday, November 12: Squats? Pushups? Planks? What's your favorite strengthening move? #pranastyle @prana #holidaysweat @runtothefinish @fitapproach #sweatpink

Friday, November 13: FREE FRIDAY! Show us what you're up to today... sweating, eating, cooking, you name it! #pranastyle @prana #holidaysweat @runtothefinish @fitapproach #sweatpink

Be sure to stop back on Wednesday for our Wild Workout Wednesday Link up

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Mighty Nut Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Pudding + Giveaway



Welcome back for another week of Wild Workout Wednesday!  Each week I link up with Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Michelle from Fruition Fitness and Nicole from Fitful Focus to bring you a fun link up filled with posts that include workouts, recipes, motivation and so much more!  If you have a fitness or healthy living post we would love to have you link up with us.  If not, grab your coffee and be ready to share, pin and tweet some great workouts, recipes, fit tips and more!

I am sorry I missed you all last week, I was in Florida having fun with my family at Disney World.  I will do a post later this week and tell you all about it!  There are so many things that I love about being a Sweat Pink Ambassador!  I have met so many wonderful blogger and fitness friends, all of my Wild Workout Wednesday co-hostesses are Sweat Pink ambassadors.  I also get to participate in fun fitness challenges and share them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.  Another awesome benefit is getting to try new products and offer giveaways of those products.  This week I want to share with you a new product from Peanut Butter & Co called Mighty Nut Powered Peanut Butter.  This post is sponsored by Mighty Nut, I was also sent product to try in exchange for a review.  All opinions are my own.


Since I LOVE chocolate I naturally chose the chocolate flavor in addition to the regular peanut butter.  I am working on a recipe for some yummy peanut butter protein bars and will share that as soon as it is perfected.  We were asked to come up with a healthy snack idea!  I love snacks.  One thing that I have been on the hunt for is a good protein pudding.  I have tried a few out there, but they always fell a little short of my expectations.  When I got my Mighty Nut in the mail I was inspired to make my own chocolate protein pudding.  I am always looking to add more protein to my day and if it happens to include chocolate then it is a bonus!  One thing that I love about the Mighty Nut Powdered peanut butter is the lower fat content.  Since I track my macros, it is nice to add the peanut butter flavor without the added fat.  It also is lower in calories than regular peanut butter as well, only 45 calories per serving.  So you get that great peanut butter flavor without all the fat and calories!  I also love that it has 5g of protein so it helps to up the protein in the recipes or shakes you are making.  It is also really versatile, it can be used in place of regular peanut butter, in shakes or smoothies, and for baking.  I loved how it tasted in my smoothies, it added the right amount of peanut butter taste and blended nicely.  I am excited to bake with it for my next recipe I will share.  Until then you have to try this Mighty Nut Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Pudding, you are going to love it!

Mighty Nut Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Pudding Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup organic plain non-fat Greek yogurt
2 tbsp Peanut Butter & Co Mighty Nut Chocolate Powdered Peanut Butter
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp slivered almonds
1 tbsp mini chocolate chips (I used this brand)
1 tsp local organic honey *optional for added sweetness

Instructions:
Measure out Greek yogurt into bowl, add in Mighty Nut powdered peanut butter and cocoa powder and mix well.  Top with almonds, chocolate chips and honey (optional).  Stir and enjoy!

Nutrition Information: 
Without honey: Calories- 312, F-10.25g, C-25.5g, P-32g, Sugar 17g
With honey: Calories-333, F-10.25g, C-30.5g, P-32g, Sugar 22.5g

The folks at Mighty Nut were generous enough to offer one of my readers the chance to win your own bottle of Mighty Nut Powdered Peanut butter in the flavor of your choice!  Follow the giveaway options below to be entered.

Mighty Nut Powdered Peanut Butter Giveaway

Since my September Free 5 Day Clean Eating Challenge was such a success I am running another one this month.  You will receive a challenge e-book that includes info about clean eating, a grocery shopping list, and a 5 day meal plan.  You will also be added to the private Facebook group for the challenge as well!  You can sign up HERE.  We start on 5 days on October 19th!  I will send your e-book on Saturday October 17th.  Feel free to invite any friends or family that may be interested! 

Now it is time to link up! Be sure to follow your hostesses, link back to them all and visit a few of your fellow link up bloggers sites!  Sharing is caring :-)

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

5 Tips to Become A Morning Workout Person



Happy Wild Workout Wednesday!  Every week for Wild Workout Wednesday I link up with Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Michelle from Fruition Fitness and Nicole from Fitful Focus bring you our fitness, healthy living, workouts and recipe posts!  If you have a post to link up we would love to have you join in the fun, if not, grab your coffee and get ready to be motivated by some great fitness and healthy living bloggers!

Today I want to share 5 tips to become a morning workout person!  I used to be the last person to get up and workout early in the morning...that was before I was a mom and sleeping in was an option!  Now that my daughter is in school a few days a week I like to get up early on those days and get my workout in before she is up.  This means I have to set my alarm for 6:30 or 7:00, to me this is so early.  My hubby doesn't have to be to work until 9:00, so I can easily sleep till 8:00 before I have to get up and make breakfast.  My normal schedule has me working out about an hour after breakfast, so usually around 10:30.  It is quite a change on those days I have to hop out of bed toss on my workout clothes while still yawning and trying to wake up!  But once I am done I am so happy that I took the time to get up and get it done.  It helps to get my day going, I have more energy and it makes my morning run so much smoother getting my little one to school.  Today we had time to make her favorite banana nut chocolate chip muffins!



I found I was successful when I set myself up for my early morning sessions.  I also talked to my inspiring Instagram friend Lindsay (sheafgirl) about how she gets up so early...like 4:30 in the morning (and I thought 7:00 was crazy)! She is always the first one to comment on my early morning workout Instagram posts, and inspires me to get up and get it done!  She has been doing it consistently for 5 years, because she likes to get it done before her boys wake up.  She found that if she put it off until later it never happened.  I asked her for some of her tips as well.  After you check out our tips be sure to head over and give her a follow on Facebook and Instagram!



 Here are our top 5 tips on becoming a morning workout person:

  1. Go to bed early enough so you get at least 7 hours of sleep and be sure to set an alarm or 2!  I always make sure to get to bed on time so I can wake up ready to workout.  I also set 2 alarms on my phone with a message that says "Wake up and Workout...get it girl"  It reminds me why I have an alarm set. 
  2. Have all your workout clothes and a full water bottle ready!  This is ensure that you aren't fumbling around in the dark, if there are others in the house still sleeping.  I set mine in the bathroom so I can close the door and turn the light on.  I have my water bottle filled and in the fridge ready to go! 
  3. Have your workout planned or DVD in the player!  Don't waste time trying to decide your workout, have it planned or if you do DVD workouts, like Lindsay, have it in the player ready to go!  No excuses he
  4. Find a morning workout buddy!  I know that Lindsay will encourage me on Instagram when I post my early morning workouts...since she is in the early morning mom workout club!  Find someone on your Instagram (and/or myself and Lindsay) to cheer you on, or find a friend you can text in the morning before and after your workout.  When you have someone keeping you accountable it makes it easier to get your workout in!
  5. Don't give up!  The first few weeks will be hard.  You will feel tired earlier at night so be sure to get to bed and get your rest.  After a few weeks you will adjust.  If you miss one early morning workout it is not the end of the world.  Try to get it in later that day and try again tomorrow.  I can't tell you how many alarms I turned off when I first started trying to get up early to get my workout done.  But I didn't give up and I am making it a habit, you can do it too! 
 I hope that these tips help you get up and workout!  If you need some cheering on feel free to tag @angelenamarie1 and @sheafgirl in your early morning Instagram posts ;-)
Do you have any tips that you would add?

Still thinking about joining AM Fit Girls for October Fitness & Nutrition Challenge group?  There is still time, you can sign up HERE


Now it is time for the Wild Workout Wednesday link up!  Be sure to grab our button to link back to the link up, and follow your hostesses in any way that you can!  We are excited to have you join us!




Annmarie at The Fit Foodie Mama // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // Google +

Nicole at Fitful Focus // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest 



Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Wild Workout Wednesday + Make Your Booty Pop Workout

 

 

Happy Wild Workout Wednesday!  Every week for Wild Workout Wednesday I link up with Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Michelle from Fruition Fitness and Nicole from Fitful Focus bring you our fitness, healthy living, workouts and recipe posts!  If you have a post to link up we would love to have you join in the fun, if not, grab your coffee and get ready to be motivated by some great fitness and healthy living bloggers!

If you're like me, you love leg and glute day!  I love working on making my booty grow so it is nice and shapely in my jeans and leggings.  Today I am sharing with you my favorite make your booty pop workout!  Give it a try and let me know what you think.  Do you love leg & glute day? 

Here is the make your booty pop workout:


Circuit #1- repeat circuit 3x through before moving on to next circuit
Machine squats- 50 lbs 15 reps
machine calf raises (or seated calf raises at gym)- 50 lbs 15 reps
single legged dead lift- 15 lbs 10 reps each leg
air jump ropes- 45 seconds

Circuit #2- repeat circuit 3x through before moving on to next circuit
Alternating rear lunges- 15 lbs 10 each leg
donkey kicks to hydrants- 15 each leg
alternating side lunge to hop- 10 each leg
skiers- 30 seconds

Circuit #3- repeat circuit 3x through before moving on to next circuit
Seated leg extensions- 40 lbs 15 reps
hamstring curls on SB (or machine at gym)- 20 reps (use 40-50 lbs on machine)
frog kicks on SB- 20 reps
curtsy lunges- 10 each leg

Come on back tomorrow and let me know how you feel, if you're like me you love the sore!

 

Last week I offered my first ever Free 5 Day Clean Eating Challenge.  It included a free Clean Eating Challenge e-book and access to a private Facebook Group.  I had 40 people signed up and ready for 5 days of clean eating!  It was a great week, people posted their meals, asked questions, and supported each other.  The results were great as well, from the people who shared their results a total of 20 pounds was lost!  I got a few before and after pictures and notes from people telling me how much better they felt!  I plan on running one a month.  So if you missed out, don't worry you can join in October.  Thanks to all who participated, it was a lot of fun!


Lastly I just want to share that I am currently enrolling for October AM Fit Girls Fitness & Nutrition Challenge group.  If you have been wanting to lose weight, start feeling better, learn to live a healthy & balanced lifestyle this group is for you.  The ladies in the group are so supportive of each other and it is a fun group to be a part of.  For only $20 you get meal & snack guidelines, weekly workouts, nutrition & exercise information, progress trackers, your personalized calorie and macro goals, and access to the AM Fit Girls private Facebook group.  Feel free to shoot me an e-mail with any questions or sign up HERE.


Now it is time for the Wild Workout Wednesday link up!  Be sure to grab our button to link back to the link up, and follow your hostesses in any way that you can!  We are excited to have you join us!




Annmarie at The Fit Foodie Mama // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // Google +

Nicole at Fitful Focus // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest 





Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Why I Don't Worry About The Scale + Upper Body Blast Workout


Happy Wild Workout Wednesday!  Every week for Wild Workout Wednesday I link up with Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Michelle from Fruition Fitness and Nicole from Fitful Focus bring you our fitness, healthy living, workouts and recipe posts!  If you have a post to link up we would love to have you join in the fun, if not, grab your coffee and get ready to be motivated by some great fitness and healthy living bloggers!


Just to give you a little update, yesterday was my daughters first day of 3 year preschool!  The day went better than I expected.  She got a good nights rest, had a good breakfast of steel cut oats with berries and walnuts, and a few slices of organic bacon.  She played puzzles and legos while I got ready, picked out her outfit and helped me pack her bag.  She was so excited!  We walked since it was a beautiful day.  She went right into her class room and found an activity right away.  She gave me and her dad hugs and kisses then she was off to play.  No tears!  I almost, almost cried, but I didn't want to make her upset.  It was weird coming home to a quiet house, and I really missed her!  When I went to pick her up she was excited to tell me about her day, she told me about all that they did and said she couldn't wait to go back.  I am so happy she loved it!



On Monday I started my first ever Free 5 Day Clean Eating Challenge with over 40 people signed up to participate!  So far everyone is doing great, and posting and sharing meals.  I can't wait to see how everyone does at the end of the week. I am thinking of running one monthly, and I'll keep you posted.  My September AM Fit Girls Fitness & Nutrition Challenge group is in week 3 and so far everyone is seeing progress and keeping each other accountable.  I run weekly challenges, which have been great and everyone participates in.  If you are interested in joining for October, registration is now open, you can sign up HERE.  We will start on October 1st, but it is great to get signed up so you can do your intake form and I can get your personalized calories and macro goals to you.



Today I want to share why I don't worry what the scale says anymore.  I used to care...a lot!  Then I realized that it doesn't matter what that number is, it's just a number.  I have read a few articles about how the body craves homeostasis and tries to keep your body at an optimal weight for you.  It will try to stay around the same weight even if the mass is different.  After you lose weight, it even tries to get back to that predetermined weight.  I really do believe that.  I weight the same now as before I had my daughter, but I have more muscle now, and my clothes fit differently.  People tell me all the time, "wow you look so lean" or "I haven't ever seen you this skinny", I say thanks and smile, but it's so weird because I weight the same as I did 4 years ago, but my body composition is different now.  I tell my clients all the time not to worry about what the scale says and to go by measurements and how their clothes are fitting.  I have had so many clients, only lose a small amount of scale weight, but a lot of inches.  They look thinner, their clothes fit different and they have more energy!  It really does not matter what the number on the scale says.  It is different all the time, especially for women who can hold water during a certain time of the month and have hormones that can make that number go up and down daily (although I don't recommend you weigh yourself daily).

 I weight myself once a week, and tell my clients the same.  I do recommend doing measurements weekly if fat loss is your goal.  This will give you a better picture of what is going on.  Speaking of pictures, progress pictures are also a great way to determine your progress.  When I realized that the scale didn't matter any more I felt free...that little number didn't determine how I felt or how my day was going to go, like it once did.  I now realize that it does not matter how much you weight, but how happy and healthy you are.  I enjoy living a balanced life!  I workout, I nourish my body with healthy food, I enjoy treat foods on occasion and I don't talk negative about my body.  This feels so much better than any number ever could.  I still have goals I am working on, I know I will get there, but those really don't depend on what my scale weight is.  I am lifting heavier weights and changing my body composition.  I am working to be happy, healthy & balanced.  I hope the same for you!  If you need some help with your fitness or weight loss goals, I do also offer 1:1 Online Personal Training.  It truly is my passion to help others in their journey to living a healthy life!


Since it's Wild Workout Wednesday I thought I would share one of my favorite upper body workouts!  Make sure you grab weights that are challenging but doable.  I am a personal trainer, but I am not your personal trainer so be sure to consult your physician before starting this or any new workout program. 



Now it is time for the Wild Workout Wednesday link up!  Be sure to grab our button to link back to the link up, and follow your hostesses in any way that you can!  We are excited to have you join us!


Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Free Clean Eating Challenge + Clean Eating Mexican Pulled Chicken Recipe



Happy Wild Workout Wednesday!  Today we have Nicole from Fitful Focus joining us as a link up hostess!  We are thrilled to have her join.  Every week for Wild Workout Wednesday I link up with Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Michelle from Fruition Fitness and Nicole from Fitful Focus bring you our fitness, healthy living, workouts and recipe posts!  If you have a post to link up we would love to have you join in the fun, if not, grab your coffee and get ready to be motivated by some great fitness and healthy living bloggers!

I am excited to announce that I will be hosting a Free 5 Day Clean Eating Challenge!  We will start on September 14th, and I will be sending out all the info on September 12th.  This is a great way to see what clean eating is all about and get a jump start on your weight loss.  I will provide a grocery shopping list, daily menus, and daily motivation and accountability through a private Facebook group.  For more info and to sign up click HERE.  Once you sign up I will send you the link to the Facebook group and then a few days before we start the challenge I will send out all the info!  I am really excited to run this free 5 day clean eating challenge.  The girls in my AM Fit Girls September fitness & nutrition group are doing amazing so far and it is awesome to have a group of ladies who are on the same fitness & healthy living journey you are! 


I love clean eating, it is what started me on my fitness & healthy living journey.  If you are new here and don't know my whole story, I gained a lot of weight about 9 years ago after I got married and 2 weeks later lost by best friend to suicide.  Long story short...I ate my grief.  I gained 40 pounds and was miserable, the picture on the left is me at my heaviest! One day I was reading Oxygen magazine and saw an ad for a book called The Clean Eating Diet.  Little did I know that that book would change my life!  I read the whole thing quickly and got started on my new journey.  Clean eating is removing processed food and eating only whole real foods.  I was able to lose all the weight I gained through clean eating and lifting weights, it was then that I knew I wanted to become a personal trainer and help others fall in love with healthy living.  It truly is my passion!  Whenever I feel my diet getting out of control, I always come back to the principles of clean eating and I start feeling better.  The most important thing that I learned is that clean eating does not have to be boring.  I love to cook healthy meals for myself and my family.  There is such a sense of accomplishment when I get done cooking a healthy meal.  There is beauty in cooking, and it brings me such peace to be in the kitchen whipping up something tasty and healthy!

On that note I want to share with you a new recipe that I have been making to change things up with my go-to meals.  I am half Mexican and I LOVE Mexican food, one of my biggest regrets is not learning how to cook from my grandmother while she was still alive.  My mother is a great cook, so I have learned a lot from her!  One day I was sick of grilled chicken breast and had 2 packs defrosting so I decided to make Mexican Pulled Chicken.  It turned out great and has quickly become a staple in my meal rotation.


Clean Eating Mexican Pulled Chicken:
Ingredients:
4 Organic Chicken Breasts
1 lime (juiced)
1 lemon (juiced)
1 container of Organic Chicken Broth
2 tbsp olive oil 

Taco seasoning* ( I make my own with this recipe *I double the recipe for 4 chicken breasts)
4 tsp. chili powder
3 tsp paprika
3 tsp cumin
2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt
dash of cayenne

Instructions:
1) Heat a large pan and add olive oil on medium heat.
2) Add chicken breasts and 1 cup of chicken broth.
3) While chicken is cooking prepare your taco seasoning.
4) Cook chicken breast for about 8 minutes each side, or until cooked through.
5) Take out cooked chicken and shred with 2 forks.
6) Place chicken back in pan, turn the heat to low/simmer.
7) Add taco seasoning, lemon and lime juice, and 1 cup of chicken broth.
8) Stir to cover the chicken with the seasoning.  Continue to stir until well mixed.  While the chicken is on simmer continue to add chicken broth so the chicken stays moist.
9) Once all the broth as been absorbed by the chicken let simmer for 8-10 minutes.
10) Serve with your favorite taco shells, lettuce wraps or on a salad!
Enjoy!  Save the rest for leftover throughout the week!
If you make this recipe I would love if you come back and let me know how you like it!

Now it is time for the Wild Workout Wednesday link up!  Be sure to grab our button to link back to the link up, and follow your hostesses in any way that you can!  We are excited to have you join us!