Balanced for Fat loss. Is the life possible? 5 ways to start.

Living a balanced lifestyle is a great place to be, but what does that even mean?
(keep scrolling for my list)

We have all heard that stress is one of the worst things for our bodies in terms of fat gain, heart problems, gut health and overall wellness.  Health-conscious people talk about living life in balance to help get your body in order and I completely agree with that sentiment. So does it work? How do you do it?

My New Years goal this year, 2016, was to be more "balanced"...I'm checking in on that now that we're well over half way through the year. I think I've definitely done a BETTER job at it but I'm certainly not going to claim I'm fully well-balanced!  My kids, husband and business are not well balanced, is anyone's??  If yours is, please, pass on the secret....I beg of you. I do have to say, I'm so much closer now than I was last year at this very time.
        I've been able to balance fitness and life for better success in my goals. *score!*

I believe living a "balanced lifestyle" is VERY important but I actually believe it is more about mentally feeling balanced than physical balance (aka food and fitness).


Balanced means something different for everyone. A balanced lifestyle is different for every person so you truly need to find your own balance. But here's my list of how I'm trying to live a more balanced life for fat-loss and lifestyle.
* I'm not a psychologist so if you're looking for mental stability/balance, I think you'll have to check in with one
... but I can tell you how you can start the process physically....  :)

1) Wake up and drink water...it will refresh you, start your day off with something good in your body and keep you on track to staying hydrated.

2)  Don't spend hours working out. You don't need to.

• Workout should be on your calendar, just like an appointment, even a 15 minute one.

 3)  Get out of the gym!

• Walk, if you have time to facebook, snapchat or watch a 30 minute tv show, you have time to walk. You can even Facebook or snapchat while walking...just walk in the morning and/or at night for 20 minutes or more. It will help you think about your day, think about your next day and lower your cortisol...which will help you lower your midsection fat stores.

 Spend time with the family, spend time with yourself, that is part of living balanced. 

4) Eat well 90% of your meals for the day. Protein and Veggies should be at every meal...then stop thinking about your food.

5) Ultimately:   Don't think about the other things you need to do while doing the current thing you are doing.

•  It will cause stress for you to think about work when you can't be working. Don't think about kids' laundry while getting in a 20 minute workout.  Don't think about cooking dinner while eating lunch...  *This is a hard one but just try!

Balance comes from what YOU feel works for YOU. But you can't be balanced if you're stressing about being balanced. So de-stress yourself.

PS. keep an eye out in the next 2 months for the exact workout and nutrition plan I used from the start to get more balanced in my life...it works..it's working for others too! Their success is happening as we speak. #stresslessFatLoss

We need the whole weight- loss story, not the abridged version....

Sometimes we see memes that call the scale a liar...I've called it a liar too :)
In reality, the scale just doesn't tell the whole story, but it tells you SOMETHING. It might be saying you ate a lot of salt, it might say you gained muscle, or fat, or had a busy day and didn't drink a lot, or you drank a ton, or your cycle is coming, or you're bloated...it tells us a TON, we just need to figure out what it's saying.

Take me for example. On Sunday we spent all day outside in the humidity (retaining water in the humidity) I felt bloated and my eyes were even a tad swollen when I woke up. On Monday the scale was up 3 lbs from what it was Saturday morning. 3 whole pounds.
Monday during the day, I only drank a few extra glasses of water but I began peeing All. DAY. LONG. for no real reason other than I was holding water from being outside the day before and finally letting it go.

Upon waking up Tuesday morning the scale is down the 3 lbs of water that I peed out all day Monday. And that was just from normal life hanging out outside and probably not hydrating enough.

Water can make a huge difference on the scale, so don't take what the scale says and make it ruin your day. If I had, I would have been saying that all the fun we had outside the day before ruined my next day...it didn't, it was fun and the scale can't say how much fun we had, only that I was out in the humidity!  Don't let the scale be your FUN-METER.

I use the scale for my clients because it's part of the math...and it is a TOOL to tell us where you're at but we have to look at the whole picture (yesterday's activity, 2 days ago food, cycle, hormones, weather...) to figure out what the scale is telling us on that one day. From there I make decisions on what we change or if we change nutrition.

Things that make your scale go up...and then go down:

Being dehydrated

Being Overhydrated

Just eaten a meal

Not enough SLEEP

Heavy lifting workout the day before (muscles retain water)

Extra carbs than normal (holding water...not a bad thing)

Extra salt

Humidity in the air

hormones fluctuating

time of the month bloating 

weighing before voiding bladder

wearing different clothes than normal (or wearing clothes at all!)

Dr office scales....check to see if it's on carpet, that makes it inaccurate

Different scale than normal

If you weight, weigh 2 or three times a week and then look at the TREND OVER TIME. Day today will be different, week to week is a better way of seeing how you progress. If you weigh every day, that's ok too...but take a weekly average and then compare it to the weekly average of the next week, that is a more fair comparison of progress. 

And if you don't weigh at all...and it's working for you, you're in a good place in life and happy where you're at....be happy and don't change your ways!

Pain in the butt...literally!

So I haven't posted in a while. Mostly because I need to get. it. together. and stop taking naps..lol. I need to workout, then I do a great one, and then I get tired and my back is unbelievably sore! So much so that I could barely walk a few weeks ago. I had some crazy butt pain (sciatica that was located smack dab in the center of my butt cheek, no joke) and lower back aching.  I have been seeing my chiropractor (shout-out to Dr. Showers!) and that has been nothing but amazing. With all the heavy squats and deadlifts I do I guess I (as many do) neglected the minor muscles in my hips and lower back. So I'm strengthening those all over again with some simple band exercises and icing regularly.

This is the eggplant...I love this color

But to relieve the pain on a daily basis.... I found something that has worked wonders. I'm on my feet all day, almost everyday. I'm up at 6am in the studio with clients, Monday, Wednesday and Friday I'm in the studio for almost 6 or 7 hours, depending on the day. If I'm not in the studio I'm trying to entertain my 3 year old by playing on the floor and walking around the park or our yard. And then I want/need to get my own workouts in...so yeah, long days on my feet.

This belly is growing (I'm into my 3rd trimester now) and wow, my body has changed. Every pregnancy is different and this one has given me more pain than the last. I have such lumbar lordosis it is painful (a curvature in my lower back). My abs and glutes were pretty strong to begin with so this is just a change from my pregnancy. (The stretching of my abs is a whole different story...wow has that been uncomfortable. But bearable since my doc says it means I was pretty tight to start :) )

As my Chiropractor put it "it doesn't matter if you were working out before or not, pregnancy will get you". There are Many things that working out before/during and after pregnancy can help, but not this! So what did I find? BaoBei Maternity support bands. After the first day of wearing it in the studio, I also did a normal leg/glute workout in the gym with weights...I was walking the next day! I was not even in as much pain as I was the week before when I wasn't even working out.

This one is turquoise, my fav!

I have worn it every day since I bought it and won't take it off. I have to say, that for me they may not be for running since I'm super low and it seems pretty heavy (I can even lift my belly! couldn't do that last time) but it works for my lifting, cycling and walking around the studio.
...check them out here

note *I bought one, they did not pay me to do this nor did they ask for a blog post..I just feel so much better with it I thought I'd share it with everyone :)

MY version of Fit

These are my thoughts lately. As I'm not seeing fast enough changes, or changes that I'd like to see in my self I have to remind myself of these things:

I lift heavy weights. 
I eat well.
I overeat sometimes. 
I stay active. 
I'm lazy at times. 
I workout 5-6 days a week. 
I take extra days off to be with my kid.
I stay My version of fit.
My fitness inspirations have a lot of muscle. I have more than I have ever had. I would love more and am working towards those goals. Genetics play a large role and hard work plays a large role. Life circumstances are factors.
But no matter where I'm at in my journey...I will ways be#MYversionofFit. I want you to strive to by YOUR version of fit. One of my fitness idols (Brooke Erickson) puts it best...you are #goodenough

It is important to remind yourself why you do things and what you are doing them for....double check yourself too.  And when you figure it out put it out there into the world, post it on my facebook page or comment here. I'd love to see what YOUR version of fit is...post your pictures on my facebook page with the hashtag #MyVersionofFit

Happy and healthy day, friends!

Cookies?! mmmmm

A "cookie" recipe!

Happy "Spring"...but I feel wierd saying that. Here's a tip to brighten up your day maybe!
Now, I've never claimed to be a master chef or an amazing baker but I like to eat, I like simple and I like to make things healthier than they started. Every chance I get I will try something I find on Pinterest or some other blog. This one I tried 5 minutes after seeing, I wanted a cookie that bad.  For this one, I had to put "cookie" in quotes because I just can't call it a cookie...but it was so good they disappeared from the plate faster than I could grab another.  

You'll need a food scale for this...You should probably go ahead and get one anyways....but this was posted by Lean Bodies Consulting on their Facebook page .They always post things that would be "on plan" for nutrition clients and weighing is always the best form of measurement. But I've added what they would roughly translate too. These are 'carbalicious' so would be a great post workout snack! 

Sweet potato Cookie:

200g sweet potatoes (cooked and cooled) (about 3 small)
2 whole eggs
30g almond butter (about 1 tbsp)
1 tbsp of cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350, combine all ingredients until the batter is thick and smooth. Drop small balls of the batter onto a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes and then FLIP the cookies and bake for an additional 5 minutes (very important). Cool on a cooling rack.

**The cooling rack is an important step because of the moisture in the sweet potatoes so let them cool before you eat them.
Mine:

Theirs:

Nutrition facts (as determined by myfitness pal):

4 cookies= 115 calories

                     11g carbs
                      6g fat
                       5 g protein
                      2 g fiber

New Year, New food mmmm...

So January is over and I am now asking about the resolutions you've made for 2014....why now? Because it's about now that you are probably moving on from them :)  Resolutions, goals, personal fixes, do-overs,...whatever you call them I want you to think about them as Superbowl Sunday approaches us this weekend!

One of my many goals I set for myself was to add more recipes. I used to do it a lot so I'm going to post more recipes and workouts per blog. The recipes will be gluten free and mostly dairy free so I hope I can help those of you who are just finding out you need to be either one, or both, of those. It's rough when trying to change how you eat/cook so if I can help I will certainly try. Eating healthy is pretty much the only way we eat in our house, not because we try so hard but mostly because that's the stuff I like, and I cook so it ends up that way. We do like to splurge but our splurges tend to be Thai or sushi which are not the worst we could choose.

Here's the deal though. I'm not a chef, not even a wonderful cook. But I love to eat and I hate to shop soooo that means that I've become really good at figuring out how to put together meals with whatever is in the cabinet and they usually end up tasty, if I do say so myself.  I also have a few rules when it comes to recipes that I use. Due to my laziness most recipes will have 6 ingredients or less and about 5 steps or less (most will include one step that says "put all ingredients in a bowl and stir" :) ) So if you want easy and fast...I'm your girl...wait, I mean...you'll like my food suggestions.

Here's a great one for the Superbowl:

Peanut butter balls...

we did this regularly as a kid, it may even be the first recipe i memorized. It is great for the sweet tooth but will fill you up.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup peanut butter (an all natural PB is recommended — the only ingredient necessary is crushed peanuts)
1 cup honey
3 cups rolled oats (oatmeal)
1 cup dried fruit (we like crasins in our house but mini dark chocolate or rasins would do)
unsweetened coconut

DIRECTIONS

Mix the first four ingredients together thoroughly. Form them into balls (makes about 10-12 depending on size) then roll them in the crushed nuts, granola cereal, or unsweetened coconut. Serve or refrigerate.

Nutrition Info:

Recipe yields four dozen quarter-sized balls.

Nutritional information per serving: 100 calories; 5 g fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 12.2 g carbohydrates; 2.8 g protein; 4.4 mg sodium; 1.5 g fiber; 7.1 g sugar

Super Workout:
10 "field goal" Crunch- Lay on back with arms and legs stretched out and raise shoulders up while lifting legs and hold for 2 counts.
10 supermans- (reverse of elongated crunch) Lay on belly and raise legs and arms, hold for 2 count and lower
10 out and in ab crunches
20 touchdowns- stand with feet apart take left hand and as you side step to the right you touch left hand to the right foot. Then side jump/step to the left and bend to touch right hand to left foot. Alternating sides.
10 Squat sidekicks each leg - squat and then kick leg to the side kind of like a roundhouse kick.
10 Switch lunge jumps
15 Single leg squat each side
10 run-downs...20 high knee run in place and drop down for a pushup then repeat
15 tricep dips.

Repeat this 1 to 5 times before the game starts then at least once at the end....so you don't snack too much!

Do you even....?

How did you all do on the Transformation challenge? I didn't do too bad. I had a great transformation! It came about in how I thought about food, working out, and life. Everything came together, on point, and ended with the lifestyle that I can maintain and a body that I am not always trying to change.  I'm out of the competition mindset (but that doesn't mean I can't do it again ;) ) just that I can do it without so much damaging prep. I hope you all have found a way to live a healthy lifestyle....

But that's where I start with the question "Do you even...?" We've all seen the memes 'do you even...' fill- in- the-blank-with-whatever-the-creator-was-trying-to-make-a-point-about.  Do you even lift? Do you even run? do you even crochet? Meaning, "...Well you should!"  Here's what I take from that, just try it! whatever "it" is. For me, it has always been running. I just don't like it. I like lifting, I like sprinting, I like rowing, I like sports, I like sitting around (yep, I'm actually a lazy person deep down inside). But running has always been my nemesis.  Most of you all know that I have done my fair share of 1/2 marathons...well 2, or was it 3? I'm pretty sure it would be that easy for me to block one out. Because I "don't even run". But I do challenge myself...a lot.  I like goals and when I get something in my head, I pretty much make sure it happens. This could be a fault, but whatever, it works out in the end.

I have, in the past, gotten up in the morning, walked down to the Mission Bay and whatever 10k was starting, I'd jump on in (yes, we were non committal and cheap in our younger years :) ). That was a challenge for me, because I always had to beat THAT person. The one that TOTALLY shouldn't be in front of me (but they refused to realize it). So to get my competitiveness out I'd compete against said runner-that-isn't-really-faster-than-me and kill my legs until I crossed that finish line ahead of them. Then I would sit on the grass and pretend to take in the ocean view while deep down I was hoping my legs wouldn't fall off and my lungs wouldn't vacate my chest cavity. And I'd do this on multiple weekends...yeah, I don't know why either.

Since moving to the Midwest 10ks are few and far between in my town. We have a ton of 5ks but for some reason 10 is just a bit too far...could be because you can't go more than 5k without running into a hill, and no one really wants to be running hills for any length of  'Ks'.  So I don't do that many and I really miss it. Until APRIL 19th...yep, I'm doing The Color Vibe and it's right here in my own town! We don't get much here, especially big organized ones, I mean there are about 2 organizations that put on runs regularly and it's always the same people, so this will be so cool!  A national company is bringing the color run to Jeff City. People are so stoked about it that it's mid January and there are more teams than I can count registered and the buzz is awesome. I can't wait to get doused in color. And the best part is that for the first time my running buddy (by then she'll be 3) will get to do it out of the stroller. So I can safely tell you it won't be a PR run for me but it will be a Personal Best in that I think G will LOVE getting colored while running around with friends.

So for my local folks, I have a team, HeartStrong 'n' Fit team (oh and I got ya $5 off too), we'll all wear a STRONG white shirt and I'll have to let you all know how it goes...unless you do it with me, then you'll already know how it was.

End of the first week of 2013...*workout, snack

Did you set a resolution this year? It's that time of year again, the time when we renew our goals to ourselves, to our lives and to our family. The first week of the new year is ending and I want to make sure we all are able stay on track for the year.  Those that forget by the next Friday that their New Year resolution was to "give up sugar" may need to reevaluate their goals. Seriously, no sugar.  Ever. For a whole year. Seriously? Did you make it a week? Try again.
       Well, I have to admit, I didn't really set a lot of resolutions, no list this year....but it was intentional. I always preach that it is important to set realistic goals, and resolutions are included in that too. I always do a self-check about May and October to see if I've hit my goals or kept with my resolution I made the previous January. In 2012 it was pretty close! (hey, no one is perfect). So this year I set two goals, one that focuses on myself and one that focuses on my family.
    #1... live as healthy as possible but don't live with regrets either. This means if I want a burrito, I eat one (well, if I can find a gluten free one *sad face*) or if I want anything to splurge on, do it but don't think about it days later. Eat it, enjoy it, and live the next 6 days happy and healthy.
     #2... be happy in life, with life and with my family. We are here together and we need to be grateful for what we have, who we have and live our best life..all of the time, not just when we remember. Sometimes life gets in the way of life. I'm going to make sure that I (and in turn, my family) appreciate everything and I don't sweat the small stuff. It's a cliche but it's true, don't sweat the small stuff!

So here's a great snack that I've been eating a ton of, it's simple and fast:
Hummus and sweet peppers!
Any flavor hummus will do, Sabra is my favorite brand because it is GF and I like the spicy because it stops you from eating a ton since your mouth is on fire.

Those little bell pepper like peppers in a bag you see in the grocery store are the ones I'm talking about.
       Dip and crunch. It's a perfect snack when you need to crunch something like a potato chip or crunchy candy.Try it

At-home workout for the week:
10 Donkey jumps with a chair on each side
10 push-ups
20 high knees
10 v-ups
10 jump-squats
***repeat 3 times or more, no less!  And time yourself, do it every day for a faster time- descriptions below

Donkey jumps with a chair- stand facing a chair, the part you sit on is facing you. Bend over and put one hand on either side of the seat, so you're leaning on it. (You'll be facing down with your butt sticking out basically) Then you'll jump with both feet together from side to side lifting from your hips. Keep grabbing the seat, don't let go, but jump right and left 10 times on each side.
Push-ups-  I hope you know what a push up is.... Keep your butt down, body in line and look about a foot in front of you on the floor.
High knees- Stand up and you will run in place bringing your knees as high as possible, slow down a bit so you can get your knees even higher, 20 on each side!!
 v-ups Lay on your back stretched out with arms over head and legs out straight. You will bring your finger tips to your toes, they'll meet above you so your body makes a V. Fingers to toes, then lower legs and arms back down, wash. rinse and repeat. :)
Jump-squats stand up, lower yourself into a squat and jump with your arms reaching high, land in a squat position (this is important! it will protect your knees from damage). Squat down, jump up high and do it all over again.

Locals: take a look at m 10-day Fit program, save your spot now it'll start soon :)

Happy, healthy week :)

The mathematical look at health

The 80/20 rule of fitness:

Shoot for working out 80% of the time (the week, the month and the year) and allow yourself to have 20% of down time. Down time is important!
         That is: workout 5-6 times a week and it will come out to about 85% of the week
                80% of the month and
                80% of the year.
The rest of the time is fun, active, play time!
This means rest and recover your body and your mind. Do not get caught up in the over-training, over-doing-it cycle and burn yourself out or worse, injure yourself. Build rest days into your workout plan!

The 80/20 rule of eating:

Eat well 80% of the time and allow some treat-meals 20% of the time .....don't sweat the small stuff!

Results are in...and life continues

Life has finally settled down and it dawned on me that I never posted my before and after pics (ok, I was avoiding it). I'll do that, I'll also post my placing :)

I wanted to start this blog to motivate others in a real-life way and I realize that the fitness competition atmosphere is not real life, for almost ANYONE...myself included. Especially anyone who has children, a husband and a house to take cate of...successfully. I am a fitness and nutrition enthusiast/professional but I cannot sustain that contest-prep lifestyle for a long period of time without letting something else important slack. Heck, I was only 95% in for the actual prep for this contest, if I'm being honest with myself, which is not good. I enter things to win, not to just try. But it is what it is, I have school and a family that needed me more than my contest did. My husband and daugter are most important, but I did find fun and happiness...and as Steve says, Happy wife, Happy life.

What I do want to do with this post is show people that setting goals is important not only for fitness but for life, accomplishment is a wonderful feeling and something that, I feel, is important for everyone. So the results are.....

Stop the DIETING maddness

I hope everyone had a good Mother's Day and I hope you are still being celebrated and are still pampering yourself even though it's all over :) I heard something said this weekend that irks me and I had to put it out there to make sure everyone hears this. Someone said this weekend "well, THIS is a bad day for my diet! Guess I'll diet again on Monday..."  That is so frustrating to me, I with the word 'diet' would just disappear. Or at least only be used when talking about someones dietary intake...as in "their diet consists of...", not A Diet.  When someone is on A Diet it gives them a something to fail at, or take time off of (and usually not go back to!). But when we lead a Healthy Lifestyle, those random days where you eat something 'bad' is just a fun day, not a day where you think "I failed, I ate wrong or I will have to start over." Does that make sense? Diets fail. But healthy lifestyles are there forever, it's your lifestyle, how you live every day and there's no way around it. Those little dietary indiscretions aren't going to hurt as bad or be as detrimental when you feel good about yourself every other day of the week.

It's like talking to a child and telling them they can't do something, what do they do? They want to do it more. What do teen girls do when you say they can't date that bad-boy? She wants to date him more. What happens when you tell yourself you can't have that cookie? you can't stop thinking about cookies until  you go to the store and get a box! So give yourself that cookie. Then have a salad for dinner :) If you tell yourself you're "on a diet" then it's something that you will really not want to do. But if you decide to live a healthy life and just be healthy because you need to then it won't be so tempting to be "bad". This is your one live, live it, love it and be healthy. the Golden Rule of life: Treat your body like you want to be treated, with respect.

I challenge every one of you to STOP DIETING! Free yourself from that ball and chain and just live healthy, you will be happier. Food is fuel for your body, it helps you get though the day. And that bowl of fettuccini alfredo will not be your 'last one you can ever have' so don't eat a heaping amount like it's your last meal. Have a small portion, savor it, add some veggies and be OK with your choices. Make healthy choices for life.

Ok, talking with a friend today about protein and how it is important to weight loss.... so here's a protein packed snack:

Protein Packed Peanut Butter balls-

1/2 cup Peanut Butter (natural- try a Mennonite store here in MO, it's way cheaper for fresh PB)

1/2 cup Agave nectar (organic. Agave has a lower glycemic index so it won't give as much of a "sugar rush" as honey...or sub honey)

1 cup oats (quick or regular)

3/4 cup brown rice flour (it's gluten free. but you can use any flour)

1/4 cup vanilla protein powder (or just 1 cup of flour if you don't have protein powder)

*optional: craisins or raisins to tase...about 1/4 cup

Combine flour and protein. Mix peanut butter and Agave nectar. Mix remaining ingredients together then add it all together in to a large bowl and evenly combine. Roll into little balls, about 1". Place them on a wax paper covered cookie tray and put in the freezer for 30 mins. Eat, enjoy!

Have a Happy, Healthy day! If you have questions about a workout or gluten free eating please leave it in the comments...

Sprung! (and a workout)

It has sprung, Spring, that is.... I'm so excited because now we can do even more things outside. Here is a preview of what the rest of our Spring will consist of! So stoked and I know Gia is too.  I tell all of my spin classes that I am not an outside rider because what I do outside on a bike I don't necessarily call bike riding. It's more...cruising or meandering, but we do it for a long distance and the ride is always great! My FitTip for you all...You pull the kid trailer! It adds weight and creates drag, it's an extra fun workout that includes the whole family. (your workout of the day/week is below)

 This is Gia getting us ready to go ^

This is Gia saying, "I'm waiting!" ^

OK, on the off-chance you'll be busy with kids and household stuff (to be read with sarcasm!)...here's a workout you can do fast and at home but it will get your heart rate up and metabolism flying:

(since this is the "Sprung" post it's a lot of jumping):

Jumping Jacks 40

push up jacks 10

burpees 10

squats 10

alternating lunge jumps 10 (5 each side)

Do it, Love it, Feel it burn!

*OK, I say "workout of the day" but you should do these types of workouts 3 times a week and on the other days (maybe 2 or 3 days) add in another workout that I've previously posted or a walk/jog outside or other active activity, that will make 5-6 days working out and 2 or 3 different workouts. Varying them too much can be less effective because you are not familiar with the moves and if you're focusing too much on working hard and not enough on the motion then it puts you in danger of injury. On the flip side, if the moves are always new and you focus too much on the actions then you don't get a good enough workout. Therefore, the better you know the moves the harder you can work without being distracted by new, complicated moves. So Work, rest and repeat :)*