What's all the hype about refeed days??

Hey there friends!! Long time no blogging right??? Sorry it's been a while!! Life has been absolutely insane for me and truly haven't had time to blog or think! Ha ha okay that's a little drastic but it's how I feel sometimes!!! Today I'm going to be talking about refeed days. The information, the results and my opinion! If you haven't heard of it yet, now you will! Let's get started! 

So, I had heard people talking about refeed days and wasn't sure what it was. I noticed a figure competitor on IG talk about it and I still remember the picture to this day. It was of egg whites and a snickers bar and that was her breakfast before her lifting session! Haha. I thought to myself, well that's super awesome and just kept scrolling thinking it was a bunch of pish posh. My boyfriend Aaron ended up asking the next day to research on it because he was curious so I did! Now here's where people need to be careful. There are soooo many opinions on refeed days. What you should do. What you should eat. How much you should. Etc. Etc. So, after my research of what it does, I decided to try it out myself. I have been prepping for an awesome photo shoot coming up this weekend and thought this would be a good trial to see if it works. Sort of risking it but I had confidence. And this was my results. 

This was two days after my 4th refeed day of the month!! This is what I did!

So, I ate super duper clean all week. Sunday through Friday. Watching carbs, making sure the carb source was strictly sweet potatoes, rice, oats, rice cakes. (Complex carbs) cycling the gram intake and keeping fat low and protein high. (Of course ha ha) then when Saturday would come I would still keep the protein high, fat was low but the carb intake was doubled! I usually shot for 220g of carbs. But the carb source was starchy carbs. Bread. Potatoes. Fries. Dough. Tortillas. These carbs sources release a hormone in the brain called "Leptin." Leptin speeds up the metabolism and gets in to that belly areas and burns fat cells and uses them for energy! So, since you don't eat those starchy carbs all week, then one day of the week you healthily give your body a good dose of those carbs, your body goes into Leptin mode and releases that into your system and boom, you got belly fat going away! I would still eat every 3 hours, decent sized meals, I would NOT go over board. But I made sure by the end of the day I was at 200g carbs using MYFITNESS PAL to put my footd intake in and made sure my fat content was low. (Around 60-70g)  I didn't want to ruin my hard work of course. Now, I also do 30 min of morning fasted cardio on the bike as well as my lift sessions, which I know helps as well. I'm not going to jus rely on a chemical to get fit. It just doesn't work that way, but I did try it and I will say I like what I see so far! It also helps mentally. By the end of the week, I'm tired, I'm hungry for substance and being able to get good meals in and have that satisfaction with some good food helped keep me going!! 

I'm not sure I would ever do this for a show prep diet. Some competitors do, which is fine but I will have to keep trying it to see what I think!! But if you're wanting to get lean and maybe you're having trouble and have tried everything, give this a shot!! Let me know what you think!! 

Keep on those goals!! Don't ever give up! Eat clean, stay active and be positive!! 

BELIEVE in yourself. INSPIRE others. ACHIEVE your goals. 

Quote of the day:"sweat more. Bitch less." 

Till next time my fitness friends!! <3

New recipe and leg day!!

Good morning my fitness freaks!!! Hope everyone is staying focused and staying on top of their goals! Today I'm gana show you an awesome new recipe and an awesome leg workout that will rock your world! For my ladies, leg day is key if you want sexy toned legs and a nice booty! Woo!! Let's get started!

Look at how amazing that is!! Here we have a super stuffed baked potato, and awesome chicken salad with poppyseed dressing!!  Here's how you make it...

Bake the potatoes for an hour in the oven at 425.  While that's baking you're gana make the cheese sauce that you will put on top of the potato, that is very low fat I may add ha ha. In a small saucepan, combine 1 tbsp flour, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and the pinch of salt. Gradually whisk in 1 cup of the milk until the flour dissolves. ( I use almond milk for way less sugar and calories) Cook, stirring, over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir in 1 cup fat free cheddar cheese until smooth. Set aside.

Now the original recipe called for broccoli but Aaron is allergic so I got frozen spinach in cream sauce and it was amazing so I'll let you decide! But either way set that out so it will thaw out or jus toss it in the microwave for a few so it will be ready when the potatoes are done!

Once the potatoes are done take them out and holding the potatoes with an oven mitt, cut in half lengthwise. Scoop the flesh out into a bowl, leaving a ¼" shell. Place the shells on a baking sheet. Mash the flesh with a potato masher.

Stir in  2/3 cup milk and 1/4 teaspoon salt until smooth. Spoon the potato mixture into the shells. Top with spinach and the delicious cheese sauce you just made. Then toss those puppies into the oven one last time, bake for 10 minutes, or until heated through. While those are baking through jus get some spinach or ice burg lettuce, and I used frozen chicken so it would fast to microwave and be ready quick! Make your own amazing salad and then once the potatoes are done, voila! You're all ready to eat!! 

Just make sure you take it easy on the dressing you're going to use. 1 tbsp should be plenty so we don't rack up the fat grams!! 

Bon appetite!!! :) 

Now for the legs! 

Leg day is my ultimate favorite if anyone knows me! So this day is definitely for more immediate and advanced folk who know the exercises! 

I started with stretching. Always always always stretch. Once I was warmed up I did squats. 3 sets of 10. Then super set with hamstring curls on the machine. 20 reps. You super set after each set of squats. 

Next, you will do lunges, either with dumbbells or a barbell. 10 each leg with weights. Then super set after that exercise with quad extensions. 20 reps. Do this three times. 

After this go straight into walking lunges for two minutes. Super set this with leg press. Make sure to keep your legs wide with your toes turned out so you form a v. This works the glutes like crazy!! 20 reps, add light weight but push through. By now your legs should be shaking and tired. Do this three times. 

The key point to this whole exercise that makes it killer, is you rest ONLY A MINUTE between each set. So, now, take the challenge and get to it!!

I wanted to post pictures so bad but had no one to take pictures so I'm sorry! I will get better about that!! 

Get to it my friends!! Push those limits!! Make yourself work!! That's when we seen results!! 

Have a great day and let me know what ya think!! 

Quote of the day: Arnold was told by many people "I don't wana look like you." His repose, "good, because you never will." 

Healthy pizza and quesadillas, what?!

Good morning my loves!!! Hope everyone's summer is going great!! I can't even believe it's going to be august soon! Since it's still summer though, we have to keep that bikini, sexy summer body right?! And we can only do that with exercise and proper eating right?! Well lucky for you, I have created a couple of awesome recipes that are packed full of fiber, protein, and clean low calories so you can eat GUILT FREE! Woo! Ha ha! Plus I'll show you a bonus dessert at the bottom that will knock your socks off!

Here you have a delicious quesadilla with chicken, cheese, and black beans! The tortilla that is used is the Flatout light, that I get at king soopers by the deli! Seriously amazing! What I do: I get the tortilla ready by first putting cheese on the bottom, then chicken, then black beans (that have protein and clean carbs!) on top, then I fold it in half and put it in the skillet, then put a pan on top so you get that crunchy texture to it! Flip it over and do the same thing for about 2 minutes and voila! You have a delicious quesadilla!! Use some salsa or siracha! So yummy!! 

Now, who doesn't love pizza??? Well, me... Ha ha ha. I used to work at a pizza shop and I'm not a big fan, but I do still get cravings and rather than feeling heavy and bloated I created this! You get protein, light carbs, and you satisfy the craving! Uuum, yes please! 

So, the same as the tortilla brand, it's flat out pita bread! They have wheat or white! Either or is delicious! Get a package of those bad boys, and rather than folding them just tear them apart! Set the oven to 375 degrees. Get your pan out, lay out the "pizza dough" and create it how you like! I do light pizza sauce and cheese to save on the calories, then load up on the chicken and olives! My boyfriend added jalepenos to his and loved it! You can play around with it, just remember to keep it clean! 

BOOOOONNNUUUSS;

DESSERT! Woo! Ha ha!! 

 

Look at this delicious beast!!! Now, I wish I could say that I made this bad boy, but I didn't. Sad face. But! I will definitely tell you where I got this! So, at king soopers down the protein bar isle (where I spend most of my time ha ha) is where you find this! Made by Met-Rx, is the protein brownie! Yes, PROTEIN brownie. My dreams have come true ha ha! This is the perfect dessert if you're craving sweets! Has 30g of protein, and sugar alcohol which is a substitute for sugar. Yay! And the best part, you microwave it for 10 seconds and it makes it soft and squishy like a brownie! So, there you go! 

Youre welcome. Hahah.... Kidding. But seriously. 

Alright my fit fam!!! I need feed back! If you like these please let me know!! I'm just getting started so let me know what you think!! Hope everyone has a great rest of their week!! Stay focused and know I'm here if you ever need help!! 

Quote of the day: 

If you want something you've never had, then you must do something you've never done! 

Supplementation

Good morning my awesome fit friends!!! Hope everyone's summer is going great!! Mine has been absolutely busy! Between getting ready to move, working, and training, I'm a WEE bit tired! Ha ha! But it's so worth it! Just got to keep pushing! 

Today I'm going to be talking about supplements! Are they worth getting? What should you take? What do they consist of? I'll explain it all and remember, if you have ANY questions, comment below and I will be more than happy to answer any and all questions! Let's get started....

So, many people ask me if they should be taking supplements. And the answer is YES!!! Supplements are so important especially if you are training hard! When we workout our body uses a lot of it's nutrients and energy to help build those muscles, and supplements help nourish our body after or during out workouts. That way you arent depleted and will see gains a lot faster with supplements!

What should I take then?

Well, since there are sooooo many supplements, I will go over basic supplements that I suggest! You don't have to take ALL. I understand the price adds up, but do what you can! 

1.  PROTEIN! This one I demand any of my clients to go get immediately! Protein is what helps repair muscles after a workout. So if you want to see tone muscles, big muscles, lean muscles, get your fit booty to a supplement this instant and go get a protein! A protein I've been taking recently that I absolutely love is Image Pro grade whey protein! It has CLA and L Carnitine in it which are two extra supplements that aid in weight loss! CLA and L carnitine take fat and convert it to energy! Awesome right?! Then the extra protein which has 30g per scoop help repair those muscles after we workout! Two in one! Best part, it's $30!! So go to your local GNC and go get some! Or you can order it online! 

2.  Vitamins!!!! Vitamins and minerals Re huge when it comes to our bodies! A lot of people think they are getting their daily intake of vitamins, but I would say 70% aren't. Just because you have one banana or apple a day doesn't mean you are getting the proper intake! Ha ha! There are so many ways to get your intake. My suggestion is a liquid form. One of my favorites is VitaCell from Max Muscle. Liquid absorbs better than pull form so that way you reap more benefits this way! 

3. Amino acids. Amino acids are HUGE for helping our bodies recover from our workouts as well! You'll most like see amino acids called BCAA which stand for branch chain amino acids! There's three aminos that repair those muscles and they've created a supplement with these, and they go in and start repairing all those fibers in your muscles you just ripped from lifting. Most of the BCAA supplements come in powder form and taste delicious!! I've tried all different brand, and they all taste delicious, do I have a preference? Not really. However, my man beast of a boyfriend LOVES Amino 1 from Muscle Pharm! Cherry limeaid is an amazing flavor! So if I were to suggest any brand I would suggest that. 

4. Last but not least, Pre-Workout! This is a supplement that you will have to test out and see which you like best. I've tried probably 10 preworkout a in the last year and have 3 favorites out of all of them. Pre workouts help give you that boost for your workout! DEFINITELY take if you're lifting! Most pre workouts have ingredients that will benefit those muscles. My suggestion for women, FBX from Max Muscle. Has caffeine in it, but does not give you the tingly sensation. For you gentleman out there that love that, there's one I highly suggest. Gun Powder from Max Muscle. Has amazing pump and tingly sensation to it. Also has a little bit of creatine too! 

Pre workout should be taken about 15-20 before your workout so that way it absorbs good into your body and then you are set to go!! 

For any of these supplements from GNC go to bodybuilding.com and just put the supplement in the search box and you can get GREAT prices! 

For any supplements from Max Muscle, either visit a local store or you can also order online, Maxmuscle.com! 

Yes these two stores are competitors, I've actually worked at Max Muscle, but the point here is to fuel your body! So let's do just that!! 

Have an awesome rest of your week! Go get some fuel for that body and again, ask any question you may have! 

Quote of the day: 

Clean eatin'

Good morning my fit friends!!! Sorry it's been a while for a post! Life happens and well sometimes your time and energy is needed in other areas of life! But! Here I am now and boy do I have an awesome food post for you!!

So! The boyfriend and I are not doing the show coming up in august. But, we are however, doing a show in October! And since it is a little ways away we are able to be a bit more flexible with our eating right now, and since it was Fourth of July weekend we were able to make some awesome healthy clean eating! So let me show you what we made!

Side note: we were actually wanting to go out to eat but decided we could get more bang for our buck if we went shopping and boy was I right! We BOTH got THREE meals for $17 worth of food!

This my dear friends is a delicious wrap he and I came up with! The wrap itself is a healthy wheat tortilla, 90 calories, 2.5 g of fat, 16 g of carbs, and my favorite part, 9g of protein!!! Then of course I have my grilled chicken in there with spinach, dried cranberries, reduced fat feta cheese, and then poppyseed dressing. On the dressing I do half the serving that way it keeps the fat content low, but you still get the flavor! And then of course sweet potato fries!! You can make your own but after a long day we decided to just buy some! Make sure to eat the serving size so we don't over do it on the carbs!

The next day for breakfast we still had 3 tortillas left and still had chicken left, so this is what I came up with! 

Delicious right?!?! So I scrambled up eggs! I did 8 egg whites, and 3 whole eggs. Since the boyfriend and I were splitting this, that's why I made a lot of eggs! Haha! Then I put in the extra sweet potatoes, sprinkled on cheddar cheese, and then wrapped it up and enjoyed this delicious, healthy homemade breakfast burrito!! 

These are both healthy choice of meals for your family or just yourself!! Let me know what you think or if you add anything else in it that creates amazing flavor!!

Have a fabulous week and remember to stay focused on those goals!!

Trail running

Hey there fitfam!!! Hope you all are having an awesome week and are staying on top of those fitness goals! Today's post is going to be short and sweet but a fun one! 

This last weekend, Aaron, my brother Joel and I went trail running up on blue sky pond trail! It was absolutely beautiful and such a fun run/hike!

This is starting the trail and my badass brother running his heart out! 

I absolutely love being outside! Must be the country girl in me but there is nothing more rejuvenating then running or hiking outside! 

My handsome man Aaron ;)

And I don't know about you but when it's lush and green out it just takes my breath away!! Love this picture oh so much!! 

Try doing something different for fitness! Go out and hike, bike, run, get some fresh air! Just remember to take plenty of water and stuff for food or emergency heaven forbid you would need anything for an emergency ha ha but you just never know!!! So get out and do something different!! 

Quote of the day: "the world is just one big giant playground! So go play!" 

Let's kick it up a notch!

Good morning all and happy Father's Day!! :) today's blog is going to be a fun one and an intense one at that! This will be my first official post of showing you a circuit training session that will not only get that heart rate going but will be so beneficial! I'm also including a protein shake with ingredients and flavor that will knock those tennis shoes right off your feet! 

Here we have, oats, silk almond milk, liquid egg whites, and myofusion protein! Now, you don't always have to use oats, but they are great for first thing in the morning, but let's say you want it for later on in the afternoon and don't want oats in them, then no worries, you don't you don't have to put them in there! This is how I made it:

8-9oz almond milk

2oz of water 

3 egg whites (measurements are on the back. Also, these liquid egg whites won't make you sick drinking them raw)

1 scoop myofusion protein 

1 tsp cinnamon 

Then if you want oats, 1/2 cup 

You can either blend it up in a blender, or you can do as I do and jus shake it up for about a minute! And voila!

I absolutely LOVE this!! There's protein, good carbs and cinnamon is my favorite spice and for those of you who don't know, cinnamon helps increase blood circulation and helps get that metabolism going!! 

So after drinking my fabulous shake it was off to the gym to do a circuit with my brother Joel! 

So here I have our circuit set up. Now, it doesn't look like much, but believe me, there is more to be had. Just wait and see. 

Here we have a medicine ball, kettle bells, dumbbells, a regular mat and a barbell. Choose weights that are about medium weight for your strength. Here is what we did: 

Curls 12 reps

Sprint

Abs 20 reps

Sprint 

Tricep 15 reps

High knees 45 seconds

Bent over rows 20 reps

Sprint 

Shoulder press 15 reps

Sprint

Squats 20 reps 

Mountain climbers 30 seconds 

Oblique twists 20 reps 

Sprint 

Now, for those of you who may not know what each of these workouts is I will show you! 

Bent over rows

Triceps 

Squats! Make sure you go low! 

 Shoulder press 

My brother Joel doing abs! Make sure to keep those feet hovering above the ground at all times! This works the lower abs like crazy!

And when you finish you should have the look of exhaustion on your face! Like this one haha :) love you brother. 

Now, you can go through this once and see how you feel but if you can keep going!  Try to go through at least 2-3 times. This helps get that heart rate up and spikes that metabolism! What I also like about this workout is you can do it outside! Just use your body weight and then sprint on grass for a certain distance! 

Let me know what you think about this workout! Try it and don't give up! It's killer but that's what gives you results! 

Quote for the day: "Do something today that your body will thank you for tomorrow." 

Have a fabulous Father's Day!! 

Who the heck are you anyways?

Early good morning to all my fitness family!! I'm literally doing my morning cardio as I write this! Ha ha! And as I'm doing my cardio I was thinking about what I could blog next, and I thought, many people don't really know who I am, what i do, and where I'm going. So I figured I would tell you a little about myself!! 

So, I am an NPC bikini competitor! And I'm sure many of you wonder how I got started doing that right? Well, a little over 4 years ago one of my best friends approached me about competing in bikini division. As he was doing bodybuilding at the time and during a posing class saw these girls posing and thought I would do good at it. So, after he told me about it, my response was, "ummm are you crazy?? I am NOT strutting around on stage in a bikini!" Ha ha! Well at the time I had started back at the gym, just doing cardio, because I "didn't want to get bulky." As all iof ya girls say! Well, I eventually got bored. You can only do so much cardio before you die of boredom ha ha! So, I was sitting at work one day and was thinking of what goal I could set for myself. I wanted to do something more and accomplish something huge. So, I shot him a text and said I would do a show, and from then on it was my major life changer, and one of the best decisions I've ever made! 

My very first show was The Warrior Classic. I placed 3rd in Novice and 1st in the open! Biggest accomplishment of my life!! And one of the best experiences I've had as well!! From there I did the GNC natural and placed 2nd. The mile high in June 2012 and placed 2nd. Went on to compete in Vegas at The USAs in July and placed 5th and was in Oygen magazine!! My second biggest accomplishment!!! I did USAs the following year and placed 16th. I wasn't in the right place. Didn't have a very good prep, but that's when you step back, get your mind focused and you keep driving through!! 

This is the change I've made in less than 4 years! It's been blood, swear, and years believe me!! But it takes dedication and perseverance!! Don't ever give up on your goals! We are all going to struggle but if you want it bad enough you will make it happen!! 

My next show is August, and that will be The Warrior Classic, that I'm doing again!! My handsome man Aaron will be doing it as well as this is his first show!! :) I'm excited to start fresh and this time coming in strong and VERY focused!! My goal is my bikini pro card! And I'm so excited to have this blog to share my journey with you!  

If anyone ever has any questions on shows, or wants to consult with me about a show, just let me know!! 

Have a great day!

Today's quote:"make your body and mind work for you, not against you!"

Meal Planning

Good afternoon my fitness friends!! Today's post is going to be about meal planning. I say meal planning because this isn't dieting. I'm not cutting you short of what you need to intake. There is no special secret. This is not in any way harmful to your body. This is good for you and will help you reach your weight loss goals! So let's dig deep and I will show you what each meal should look like, I'll give an example meal plan, and all the ins and outs of it ALL! 

So, I get so many questions about meal planning, exercising, etc. But the main one I always get is "what should I eat?" Well I'm so glad you asked! 

Now, depending on your exact goal, this will definitely vary. But I'll jus do basic information on just losing weight and getting in shape. First thing is eating small portion meals every 3 hours. And by small portion I don't mean celery and a cracker. I mean a small portion enough to feel satisfied but not super full. Eating small meals every 3 hours helps keep that metabolism working which is exactly what you want it to do, to help lose weight! Now, if you're on the go and always running around, that's fine. Prepare. There's no excuse for not eating every 3 hours. I've worked 36 hour shifts at work and ate every three hours. You can do it! 

So, the next question is "what do I eat in those meals?"  You must always have a protein, veggie and a good carb! I will make a list that shows what proteins, veggies, and carbs I mean. 

Protein: 

Chicken

Steak

Lean ground turkey

Tuna

Tilapia

Eggs

Low fat cottage cheese

Protein powders 

Low sugar yogurts 

These all are great proteins that you should eat a serving of in your meal plans!  For women, 4-5 oz is perfect for the top 5 proteins. The last 4 you will see in my meal plan what serving to do. As each one is different! For men, you should eat 6-8 oz of the top 5. Men need a lot more protein because of their metabolism and testosterone! So for any men reading this, whatever meal plan I post for the women, double the serving size. 

Now on to the delicious carbs! :) ah, how we love carbs! So, little side story, my wonderful boyfriend Aaron Cox recently got into a discussion with some folks about carbs. The people he was talking to said that our bodies don't need carbs or sugar to function. Baha! Uuum, yes we do! Our bodies use carbohydrates for energy. The key to carbs is how much you take in! If you take in too much carbs, whatever your body doesn't use will store as fat as a survival mode. Same for sugar! So keep it to where whatever your body weight is or whatever you goal body weight is, do 1g of carb per pound body weight. So for example, if you're 120lb then do 120g of carbs a day. If you cut out carbs completely to lose weight, and you do that for a period if time, it will do so much harm to your organs, brain and body function. It won't last long. Trust me. Why do you think the Atkins diet didn't last? People were getting sick from it and harming their bodies. Plus, people put crap carbs Into their bodies half the time(I.E. Breads, pasta, crackers..). You need good clean carbs to fuel your body and muscles! Here are good clean carbs to eat:

Sweet potatoes 

Yams

Oats (instant or old fashion is fine but not the packages oatmeal that has flavor. Way too high in sugar)

Rice (brown or white) 

Rice cakes 

Notice how there isn't bread or anything that has refined sugars or gluten in there! These are carbs that your body will use as good energy to fuel your muscles and your daily activity! For serving sizes, again it depends but usually 1/4-1/2 cup for these will be about 18-25 g of carbs. So remember to just calculate out your carbs for your body weight! If you want to lean out a little bit, drop the carb Intake by 20-30 g but not much more than that. Otherwise you will feel ill and we don't want that! We want you to be happy healthy and feeling good! So, just keep that in mind!! 

Now on to vegetables!!! Haha! You either love them or hate them. There really is no in between! :P but regardless, veggies are absolutely amazing for you! Packed with nutrients and healthy benefits. As your fitness motivator, I demand you eat them! (How's that for bossy, haha) but really, there's so many veggies out there that reap so many healthy weight loss benefits. That after I tell you, you're gana be ready to eat them! 

Broccoli- high in fiber which helps the intestines, natural thermogenic (which helps lose weight), negative calorie food, which means takes more calories to digest than to actually intake, high in Vitamin A, K, and C and helps keep you fuller longer. 

Asparagus- is also a natural thermogenic, negative calorie food, high in Vitamin A, K, C. High in potassium which helps from your muscles cramping. 

Spinach- extremely high in Vitamin A, as well as Iron and calcium! Darker green leafy veggies have more nutrient benefits for you, jus as an FYI. 

Zucchini- high in vitamin A, C, and K. High in potassium, calcium and magnesium. This veggie is my favorite!! 

Each of these veggies and then some have so many benefits so my suggestion is a cup of veggies per meal with your meal plan will be ideal for getting the nutrients you need! 

So now, my wonderful friends, here is your example meal plan you can follow! Try it out, let me know if you like it, if so we can personalize it more and go from there! 

120 gram carb day 

30 min morning cardio

Drink protein shake during 

7:00am

1/2 cup oats (27g)

4 egg whites

10:00 am

4 oz chicken

Cup broccoli

1/2 cup rice (25g)  

1:00 pm

4 oz chicken

Cup of spinach with Olive oil 

3 rice cakes (25g) 

4:00 pm

5 oz extra lean ground turkey

3 oz sweet potato (22g)

Cup of broccoli 

7:00 pm

5 oz turkey breast

1/2 cup rice (25g)

Cup of zucchini

10:00 pm

Cup of low fat cottage cheese before bed 

Obviously you will want to workout somewhere through out the day but make sure you eat! Fuel that body with food that has come from the ground or took a breath of oxygen! No packaged foods or chemical processed foods. If you can't pronounce the ingredient, your body won't know what to do with it!  Now, this meal plan may look super plain jane but you can find so many ways to spice up the meat, veggies and salads so it tastes good! Believe me, I've found tips and tricks so do some research! A couple of my favorites is sprinkle cinnamon on the sweet potatoes, or sugar free jelly with my oats or cottage cheese. Honey mustard is my go-to dressing for salads and chicken. There's ways to make it tastes good! So make it happen!! 

Please try this meal plan and let me know! If you wana move forward do more in depth work with me, let me know! Email me, find me on fb, anything and we will move forward! Remember, everyone starts somewhere! And you build up! Keep up the hard work! 

Subscribe and I will keep posting health food recipes, workouts and much more!! Until next time my friends! 

Quote of the day: "if it were easy, everyone would do it." 

Self Image

Good afternoon all my lovely friends!! I'm sure its going to be a busy weekend for so many of you! From graduations, to weddings, to remembering loved ones. Whatever it may be, I hope you all have a great weekend!! :)

This weeks topic is going to be about self image! Now, I bet reading that, a lot of you probably got distant, or even a little hesitant. But, I want to reassure you and let you know, this is going to help a lot of you! I'm hoping every single person that reads this! This is a very touchy subject, especially to women of all ages. We are very self conscious creatures. I don't care who you are, you compare, you critique, you sigh, you get frustrated, or maybe even are proud of your body and who you are. There is so much to talk about when it comes to self image. So, I'm going to dig deep. I'm going to unravel my story about where I came from. I'm going to deep dig into your hearts and let you know you're not alone and that there is billions of other women and men out there that question themselves and their appearance. So, sit back, snuggle up, because its story time.

When I was 14 years old I went to California for my very first photo shoot.  I didn't really know what to expect other than I was in California and I was super excited to be with my best friend Charlie, and we were going to be taking pictures!  So we get to the photographers house where he had his studio set up with the white back drop. When I saw that backdrop I knew he meant business and that's when I got super duper excited! So, he had hired makeup artists to do our makeup and hair, and so we sat down and they went ahead and did just that! Seriously was the most amazing experience and I hadn't even shot yet! Once we began shooting I instantly fell in love and was bound and determined to model. The shots turned out amazing, I was 14 and looked like I was 18. The photographer had nothing but great things to say, and said I should consider modeling! Well, when we got the prints back I loved the lighting, the outfits, the attitude, but I saw a little belly fat that I did NOT like at all.  Right there, in that exact moment friends, my life changed. I immediately thought that I was fat and I needed to be skinnier and I was going to do whatever it took to get to my goal. As soon as I got back from my trip I started up looking up nutrition and ways to lose weight. I am not kidding when I say I was obsessed with nutrition and weight loss. I researched for hours on end. I researched ingredients, nutritional facts of every food I ate, how much models needed to weigh, how much I could intake to survive but yet lose weight. It was awful. So, in less than a month I lost 10 lbs just from starving myself. I had it in my head that 110 lbs was the ideal weight and I was going to be able to model and be skinny enough. But of course, once you get there, that's not good enough so you keep going, right? Its always a vicious cycle. Well, I kept going. I would eat no more than 800 calories a day. Plus, I exercised like there was no tomorrow. I would wake up, do 100 sit-ups, run, go to school. Eat a sandwich and apple for lunch. Have Cheer practice for 2 hours. Go home, eat maybe a half cup of dinner my mom made, go to sleep, wake up and do it all over again. I continued this horrific routine all of my sophomore year of high school. I felt so terrible and was so malnourished I don't even remember that year.  That is no lie, I barely remember what I learned, and to be completely honest I don't even know how I passed my classes.  All I did was think about how many calories I was burning, what I was going to eat that day, how much calories I've had for that day and what I would workout. Day in and day out that was my life. I finally got down to 104 lbs and was super ecstatic about it and was not going to change a thing about it! My dear friend Whitney at the time was the only person I would ever hang out with. Everyone else would lecture me about my weight and it shut me off in an instant.  I fought with my parents constantly.  I even was forced to go to a therapist and I ended up walking about because I was so frustrated and for obvious reasons, ridiculously stubborn.  It wasn't until the next year on my 15th birthday Whitney made me the most adorable photo album of us together. She put pictures of us as kids, and all the years in between, up to the year of my birthday. This was the second moment in my life that made me change forever. I was looking at pictures of myself and saw how horribly skinny I was. How the color of my skin was almost gray-green from being so malnourished. My arms were like little twigs, and I was so skinny my hip bones just stuck out as well as my ribs. I saw what I was doing to myself and I just snapped and decided modeling was not worth my health. I began to eat, and eventually got my weight up. Here is the side note to all of this. For anyone who tries to starve themselves as a way of losing weight, let me tell you something, when you begin to eat again, you WILL gain weight. Its a fact Jack. No if, and, or buts about it! I went from 104-140 lbs in a year. My body was in such starvation mode that whatever I ate it just stored it for energy. So! Starving yourself is never a good solution for losing weight. Trust me, I'm a living testimony of it.

Now, this whole time, from when I was 14, I knew what I wanted to look like! I always wanted to be toned and fit, and have the muscles and yet I didn't know how to achieve that goal, so I went all the wrong ways about it! It wasn't until I began to do my NPC Bikini competing that I saw the results that I wanted! Now, I'm not saying you have to do that to get your body, but from my last blog, doing the three steps is so crucial to achieving that body! So what does this mean to you then? I'm so glad you asked....

I want you to look at yourself in the mirror and say "I. Am. Beautiful!" And I want you to say that as many times as it takes until you realize how special and beautiful you are! Us women are sooooo hard on ourselves. Wanting to be perfect, wanting a better butt, or wanting boobs, or wanting better legs. Well guess what? Don't we all! We all have that thing about us that we want different. We all have that little voice in our heads that is critiquing us and is bringing us down, but guess what, its ourselves that does it. Yes, sometimes we have someone that makes rude comments and is hard on us, but its up to us whether we let them effect us or not. Right? Here's an example for you...

I heard about these CHARMING ( not ) gentlemen at the local gym I train at, that were saying awful things about me. Why? Who knows, and quite frankly, who cares? Did I let it effect me? Yes, but then I realized, my happiness and confidence in myself is not worth their insecurities.

Its up to us to believe in ourselves and put in the hard work for change. And some things we can not change, and those are the things you have to realize that make you, YOU! Everyone is created special. Everyone is unique in their own way! Which is what makes us beautiful! And for the things we can change, I guarantee, if you put in the effort and the hard work, you WILL see change. Believe me, I've been doing this fitness journey for 3 years now and the progress I've seen over the years is just insane! But it starts with believing in yourself! So...let me ask you? Do you believe in yourself?

My quote for the day, "The most inspiring thing a person can do is believe in themselves." by me.

Another quote that makes me smile is this, "Tell the negative committee in your head to sit down and shtutup!"

Have a great weekend everyone! Please subscribe to my blog! Just click "Join this site" over on the right hand side --------------------------->

And remember, I believe in you, no matter if no one else does, I do. And I am here for you no matter what!

xoxoxoxo <3

First blog post and fitness 101

Hello there my beautiful friends!!! Welcome to my fitness blog!!! I jus want to express to you all how excited I am to get this blog going! Fitness is a huge part of my life and I want to be able to share my knowledge with you and help you along your journey! So with that being said, let's get started!

So my first post is just the basic fitness 101! The ins and outs of training and living a healthy life style and just the simplicity of it. We will get more in depth later on, believe me! Ha ha! 

What inspired this post was, I was on groupon a couple days ago and I came across a deal that was for "skinny cream." 

With this cream you should be able to slather it all over your body and become fit and "skinny," right?  Um, wrong! No cream is going to make you skinny! Ha ha! No special pill you take is going to help you lose weight, and if it does, it's not healthy for your body! Trust me, I've heard horror stories!

Our bodies were designed to move, work, lift weights, eat clean, be warriors, so let's just do that! The three basic components to losing weight and getting that body you've always wanted are these...

1. EAT CLEAN. 

Eating healthy is the most crucial component to your healthy life style. What you fuel your body with is what it has to use for energy. Just like putting gas in your car. You're not going to be some weird chemical based gasoline in your car right? It wouldn't run right, so why do that to your body that isn't replaceable? Fuel your body with things that have used oxygen to live and grow. If it came from the ground, good! If it's in a box and has chemicals that have 16 letters in it's name, probably not something you would want to eat! Ha ha! Our bodies are very complex, and need the right fuel for the proper results and we should cooperate with that. We want results, so let's make it happen! 

2. LIFT. 

Now, for any women reading this and think as they're reading this, "I don't want to get bulky..." Welllll, you won't! Believe me, I said that plenty of times before I started lifting. And I knew what body I wanted but wasn't getting results. But! As soon as I started lifting weights, I got my dream body! Plus, our muscles need to be worked! Yes. It's hard. Yes, you won't be that strong when you start, or heck, maybe you will, regardless, hard work pays off! 

3. CARDIO. 

Cardio is the last main key point to this equation! Whether it's running, walking, hiking, cardio equipment, biking, sprinting, jump roping, etc! Getting that heart rate up and sweating is so good for your body! No, not a lot of people like doing it but that's usually because the endurance needs to be built up! Once that's built up you're good to go! So, all it takes it's just getting started! Start with as long as you can go! Then work your way up to an hour or so of cardio a day! Any more then that can be over kill and hard on your joints! But just remember. The benefits of cardio are as follows, it's good for your heart, because it helps keep the muscles around it working. It's good for your main muscles, keeps them working and keeps the blood flowing. And most importantly, it speeds up your metabolism! 

We will definitely get more In depth with each of these as we go along but for starters this just gives you an idea on what to do, AND what this blog will be about!!! I hope this helps, and always feel free to email me with any questions you have regarding your fitness journey!! Have an awesome day and keep pushing on through your goals!!!

"Don't make excuses. You either want it, or you don't."-

Amy Jo