Seriously. My kids are staring at me like I have 3 heads. And no, it's not because I'm not wearing any make up, or the fact that I'm dressed and still wearing my towel on my head.
Wanna know why I'm having heart palpitations???
I HIT MY GOAL 5 WEEKS ahead of time.
I bought these pants a while ago in anticipation of returning to work on April 4th. I have ZERO work clothes that fit my new body. They are Apt. 9 curvy (cause I might have lost weight but my body type is CURVY!) trouser pants from Kohl's. A size 12 in these same pants was snug on me on Dec 10th.
All my old clothes are from Lane Bryant (which I LOVE btw, I just don't have to shop there anymore and there is NO SHAME in going there if you need 14+ sizes!) and hover somewhere around the sizes of 18/20.
This morning I got out of the shower and was feeling froggy.
So, I decided to pull out my new work pants and see how my progress was coming. I try to measure my success by how my clothes fit, not by the number on the scale.
As I was putting them on, I thought, there is NO WAY that these are going to fit me. I slipped my left leg in and then my right. I got them pulled up to my hips w/o any problems. EH - they were NEVER going to go over my hips. I have *child bearing hips*.
UMMM - they slipped right over my hips.
Ok - they went on but the CERTAINLY aren't going to button. I have lots of excess skin and am still flabby in that area (I'm working on it!)
THEY BUTTONED AND ZIPPED PERFECTLY!
I can OFFICIALLY say that I an now wearing pants that are in the SINGLE DIGIT sizes! My size 8 pants FIT! I mean, they REALLY fit! No muffin top, no extra bulge, no squeezing into them.
THEY FIT!!!
So, as I was crying, my husband called from work. I was bawling and once I told him why, he was sharing in my joy.
Don't get me wrong. I'm NO WHERE NEAR my ultimate goal of being fit and toned. BUT I am getting there a little bit each day. Some days are really successful and some days I struggle just to hold on to past success. BUT every day is worth it and it's shaping me into this wonderful new person.
My outside FINALLY matches my inside and I couldn't be happier! I guess it's time to make some new goals!
I needed a change this morning from my normal Shakeology routine. I was inspired by a challenger who posted a recipe similar to this one. It was a huge success. I even thought I was crazy because some of disappeared. I found where it went...
Isn't he the cutest 3.5 year old you've ever seen? I think so!!! And he is EXACTLY 3.5 YEARS OLD TODAY! Happy 1/2 Birthday Wy man!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cold coffee
1 oz dark chocolate
1/8 tsp peppermint extract
1 scoop chocolate shakeology (vegan or regular)
Ice to taste (I used 10 cubes)
Directions:
Add liquid ingredients to blender and blend.
Add shakeology and chocolate to the liquid and blend. (makes for a very smooth drink).
Add the ice and blend one more time!
DRINK UP!
We really enjoyed this version of Shakeology this morning. Quite the treat!
I've been having a REALLY hard time getting in all my calories for Body Beast. I mean, I have been eating 1600 calories for 4.5 months and all of a sudden I'm supposed to up it to 2300 a day???
Are you nuts???
It would be one thing if I could/wanted to eat 2300 calories of junk - think pizza, ice cream, candy - but I'm not going to do that to myself. Why work this hard if I'm just going to derail myself in the kitchen.
The challenge is to get 2300 calories of GOOD, SOLID NUTRITION. This is HARD!
So, I made some breakfast this morning out of the Book of Beast. OH-EM-GEE were these delicious! I'm a hardcore pancake girl, so I was very skeptical, but they did not disappoint in any way!
Ingredients:
1 scoop protein powder (I used vanilla ice cream flavor)
1/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats (I used the 5 minute oats)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 dash of sea salt
2 large eggs
1 small ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp safflower or coconut oil, divided (optional)
Sliced fruit for garnish
Directions:
Mix the dry ingredients into a medium bowl and set aside.
Beat eggs in a medium bowl.
Add mashed banana and almond milk to eggs. Mix well.
Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix very well. Add a smidge more almond milk if the batter is too dry.
Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a large skillet.
Use 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop batter onto the skillet. You should EASILY be able to fit 3 pancakes in one skillet.
Cook until they bubble (aprox. 2 - 3 minutes)
Flip.
Check for done-ness (I like mine very light in color - aka not burnt).
Eat them up!
I can't wait to eat my leftovers tomorrow morning! They were SOOOO good!
So, I know this isn't the most protein filled recipe. But my family really enjoyed it and I made it as healthy as I possibly could! My husband, who is THE hardest person to please in the ENTIRE world, was begging for more!
The possibilities with this recipe are endless. You could add some fruit. Maybe some nuts. Some oats thrown in would be yummy too! How about adding in some flax for extra nutrients? You could even add a scoop or two of vanilla protein powder. If you do that, decrease the flour by 1/4 cup for each scoop of powder you add.
Anyways - here's the recipe - ENJOY!
Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 large whole eggs OR 3 egg whites
2 cups skim milk (you could use soy or almond milk instead - I used skim for the protein and because my hubby likes it better)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Heat a large skillet over low heat.
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
Add in the wet ingredients.
Whisk until the batter is no longer lumpy.
Pour the batter into the hot skillet 1/4 cup at a time.
This will yield anywhere from 12 - 20 pancakes depending on how big you make them.
Enjoy!
Before I told my hubby that the batter was homemade, I asked him what he thought. He said, and I quote, "These are the best pancakes I have ever had. What did you do different?"! To me, that is a major success!
I am SOOOO excited! Tomorrow (today) I'm starting Body Beast! I literally can't wait to get up and work out in the morning!
Who'da ever thunk that I would be excited to wake up and workout? Not this girl! But, it's true! I seriously can't wait to go to bed just so I can wake up and work out!
I first heard about Body Beast back in September. I knew that it was a serious weight lifting program. I knew that not a whole lot of women did it. I knew that I didn't want to do it because I thought you *had* to take the supplements with it, and I'm a nursing mom who doesn't like to do supplements. Little did I know then, but you DON'T HAVE TO DO all the supplements in order to complete the program.
Well, now I know and I'm READY to commit to the BEAST! I learned that I absolutely LOVE lifting weights when I was doing ChaLEAN Extreme. I learned that lifting make me feel strong and powerful, not big and manly. It has given me muscles, definition and strength. Oh, and it's helped me to lose 55 pounds! Woot Woot!
Now, with Body Beast, I'm going to be lifting a little bit different and adding A LOT of calories to my diet. I have been holding pretty steady at 1600 calories since I started my weight loss journey back in October. As of tomorrow, I'm upping that caloric intake to 2300 calories A DAY! Holy Moly!
I'm not gonna lie. I'm scared out of my mind! I mean, I just got into the 150's this past Thursday and now I'm UPPING my calories? AM I NUTS?
Well, no, not really. In order for this program to work correctly, we are going to be tearing down our muscles BIG TIME and then I'm gonna have to eat A LOT of the RIGHT foods to help them build back up.
Trust me, I'm NOT going to be eating 2300 calories of Lucky Charms, mashed potatoes with butter, and birthday cake. It's going to be 2300 calories of pure protein (chicken, fish, low fat cheese, beans, etc.), good carbs (whole wheat, fruit, veggies, etc.) and good fats (avocado, coconut oil, etc.).
Something else that is new to me with BEAST is tracking my macronutrients. I need to make sure that I'm getting the correct ration of carbs/protein/fat. In the Book of Beast, they recommend a ration of 50/25/25 for the first 2 phases. I know my body well enough now to know that I will gain A TON of weight if I eat 50% carbs. So, I'm going to back that up to 30/45/25. Hopefully that will work with my body type and allow me to gain muscle and not FAT.
I sat down yesterday and planned out my weekly meals. It was HARD! I realized that I'm going to have to take some type of supplement to help me reach my daily calorie goal. So, I stopped by GNC today to see what they had to help me out. I should have ordered the Beachbody Hardcore Base Powder, but I just wasn't thinking straight, and now I need it, so I couldn't wait for it to be shipped. Luckily, GNC had an all natural (no artificial anything!) whey isolate protein powder. I got Birthday Cake and Strawberry. They have a 30 day money back guarantee, so if I don't like them, or they don't agree with my daughter (still nursing - 8 months strong!), then back they go!
I spent most of the day today (Sunday) doing meal prep. I made Sagi's Power Meatloaf and his Power Protein Balls. I also got out some chicken breast to thaw so I can make my Almond Crusted Chicken Fingers for lunch and dinner this week. I'll be making those tomorrow! I got some nitrate free/low sodium turkey breast and some low sodium/reduced fat swiss cheese at the grocery store today too. I'm going to be using those as roll-ups for quick protein and good fats. Also on the menu this week is an Ultimate Reset inspired beans and rice recipe. I love having that for lunch. If I get into a pinch and need more protein, I always have my cans of low sodium chunk light tuna in water. Those are great for making Tuna Salad.
So, tomorrow morning (it will be tomorrow already when you read this...) I will be doing Body Beast: Build Chest/Tri. I'm really nervous excited and can't wait to feel the burn!
I will be blogging this week with my "before" pics, weights and measurements. I have everything done except for the pics. It's been a busy weekend! I'll get them done tomorrow (today) - promise!
I think I'm one of the only women on the planet that can't stand Valentine's day. It's not because I don't have a WONDERFUL Valentine. It's more because I don't want to be told on one specific day that I'm special. I want him to tell me every day. And he does. Life is good. Ok - back to the real reason I'm writing this blog post.
Now that V-day is over, everyone and their mother is moving onto the next holiday. Most of you immediately think of Easter. I'm here to tell you that's not it.
Here in da 'Burgh (woot woot), we have a massive love affair with St. Patrick's Day. Just take a trip dahntahn for the St. Patty's Day parade and you will see what I'm talking about. If you've never been, then you need to go!
St. Patty's Day is also the time the biggest fast food retailer in America the World pushes a very special milkshake.
Yup, you guessed it. It's time for McDonald's Shamrock Shake. I can honestly say that I've never had one because I'm not a fan of milk. But, I certainly know a lot of people who just HAVE to stop by Mickey D's to get one. Even if it's just a sip or two. It is tradition after all.
Have you ever though about what exactly is in that Shamrock Shake? Well, I decided to do my research. Let me tell you, it's NOT pretty. Artificial ingredients, dyes, HFCS, preservatives, heck even whipping propellant. You can find the exact ingredients listed in the picture at the very end of this blog post OR you can go directly to McDonald's website to see for yourself.
And have you ever thought about just how many calories is actually in a Shamrock Shake? How about the nutrients? Let me tell you - neither are very pretty. The nutrients are listed in the picture at the end of this blog post.
Anywho - Are you ready for these numbers?
Remember, the calories in a Shamrock Shake are going to get you NOWHERE. They aren't going to tell your brain that you are getting proper nutrients. They aren't going to keep you full. They will, however, send you into a sugar high that will last about 30 minutes and then send you crashing back down, leaving you still hungry and wanting more.
Ok - to the point. The percentages in parenthesis are the daily value percentages.
12 oz Shamrock Shake
530 calories
10g protein
17g fat (28%)
84g carbs (28%)
170mg sodium (7%)
11g saturated fat (53%)
50mg cholesterol (16%)
73g sugar
16 oz Shamrock Shake
670 calories
14g protein
20g fat (31%)
107g carbs (36%)
210mg sodium (9%)
13g saturated fat (64%)
60mg cholesterol (21%)
93g sugar
22 oz Shamrock Shake
820 calories
17g protein
24g fat (37%)
133g carbs (44%)
270mg sodium (11%)
15g saturated fat (77%)
75mg cholesterol (26%)
116g sugar
I think I'm on a sugar high just from reading those stats. Seriously. SERIOUSLY! I am literally sitting here shaking my head as I am typing this. It makes me sad for the general population. Most people don't take the time to look these stats up. They just say, YAY - It's time for our Shamrock Shake!
PEOPLE - WAKE UP! Do you know what you are doing to your body???
So, there HAS to be a plus side to this blog post - RIGHT? There is - I promise - I'm getting there.
Instead of having a Shamrock Shake worth all of those ^^^ calories, what if I could give you something that tasted just as good and was actually GOOD FOR YOU???
Well folks, I can!
It's called the Shakeology Shakerock Shake. I got the recipe from Chalene Johnson on youtube and let me tell you. It's AMAZING! It's HEALTHY! It only has 210 CALORIES no matter WHAT SERVING SIZE YOU MAKE!
How is that possible you ask??? Well, with Shakeology, if you want more volume to your drink, you just add more water and or ice. If you want to add a few extra calories, thrown in some almond milk. That will make it jump up 30 calories or so!
Normally I stay away from sugar free, fat free, processed foods in boxes. But this recipe only uses a TINY bit and I don't drink it often. It's a treat for me. Everything in moderation - right?
Ok - here's the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 C water (more if you so desire)
1 C ice (more if you so desire)
2 Tbsp powdered peanut butter (I use PB2)
1/8 tsp mint extract
2 Tbsp SF/FF cheesecake pudding mix
1 scoop greenberry shakeology
Directions:
Put all ingredients into a blender.
Blend.
Drink!
Seriously - how amazing is that? How easy is that? How GOOD FOR YOU is that? Why on Earth would you want to drink some fake junk from a fast food chain when you could fill your body with the nutrients it NEEDS and CRAVES!
And just because I love her so much - here's Chalene herself making her Shamrock Shake! She adds a packet of Stevia. You can too if you want - sometimes I do and sometimes I don't!
Just incase you wondered, here's the breakdown for the Shakerock Shake:
22 oz Shakerock Shake
210 calories
21g protein
1.5g fat (2%)
24g carbs (5%)
189mg sodium (8%)
0g saturated fat (0%)
10 mg cholesterol (3%)
12g sugar
WANNA COMPARE THAT TO THE 22 oz Shamrock Shake?
22 oz Shamrock Shake
820 calories
17g protein
24g fat (37%)
133g carbs (44%)
270mg sodium (11%)
15g saturated fat (77%)
75mg cholesterol (26%)
116g sugar
The Shakerock shake wins by a million miles. The picture below will give you the actual ingredients for both shakes. I think that shows the true picture.
Thanks for taking the time to read this novel I just wrote. Sorry it was so long - this is just a subject that I'm quite passionate about!
THIS IS SO EXCITING! (yes I'm yelling) Chalene Johnson, the creator and instructor for TurboFire, announced today that TurboFire is hosting a 90 day Challenge Group set to start very soon!
How soon you ask? Well, we don't know! This is all being kept very quiet! What is so special about this particular challenge group? Well, all you have to do is order your TurboFire kit and be ready for when the Challenge begins! Every entrant who submits Day 1, 30, 60, and 90 photos will get a FREE TurboFire water bottle and the GRAND PRIZE winner gets $250 worth of apparel! I am beyond excited for this challenge and am now revamping my Challenge Schedule so as many people as possible can take part in this TurboFire Challenge Group! If you have been waiting for a sign to get your butt in gear and get healthy - THIS IS IT!!!
In order to hold everyone accountable, I will create a PRIVATE Facebook group just for this TurboFire Challenge. We will share our daily triumphs, struggles, meals, and anything and everything else that comes along the way. I will help to keep you motivated and I will help you learn how to eat healthier. I will share recipes and I will be right there with you EVERY SINGLE STEP OF THE WAY! We will even have our own little Challenge within the Challenge :) Take a minute and watch this video to see why so many people are already on the TurboFire fitness train. It's an incredible workout with amazing results AND you get to have a dance party the whole time you are working out - WOOT WOOT!
So my question for you is this... Does working out bore you? Does working out feel like a chore? Does the music sound like elevator music? Do you hate getting in your car and driving to the gym just to share other people's sweat? or get to the gym and find out your class has been cancelled? Do you need motivation even after you have started a particular workout? Want to lose weight? Tone your body? Shed the baby belly pooch? Lower your cholesterol and/or blood pressure (hello your doctor keeps telling you diet and exercise are key components to this one!!)? Whatever your reason may be, you have a reason why you are currently NOT working out or why you WANT to work out or possibly BOTH. Stop battling yourself!!!! I can help you do that - ASK ME HOW!!!!
If you can't handle THE SWEAT, Don't Play with THE FIRE. But if you're ready to get hot, IT'S ON.
TURN UP THE BURN WITH
TURBOFIRE
Chalene Johnson is one of my favorite celebrity trainers. I started her weight lifting program, ChaLEAN Extreme, in October 2012 and it forever changed my life. She has several other fitness programs available too - one being TurboFire. TurboFire is one of the most intense calorie-burning, cardio training classes ever put on DVD. Yep, that is right TurboFire is a workout program that is available on DVD. You don't have to leave your house to get your SWEAT ON!!!!
What is TurboFire all about?
Chalene Johnson incorporates HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts - these are known as the FIRE DRILLs in class. HIIT workouts are 9x more effective than traditional cardio. There are also kickboxing drills, aerobic exercise, and AWESOME MUSIC. Each move in the TurboFire workouts are perfectly choreographed to music that's been hand-selected to give you the best workout.
Motivation is KEY to your workouts, no matter what you plan on doing or are currently doing now. TurboFire uses the AWESOME MUSIC to keep you motivated (well besides the amazing Chalene Johnson!). The music is YOUR Motivator during the workout. It's your energy boost! It's what keeps you pushing even after you felt like you had all you can give...but then you find you can still give MORE!!!! You sweat your butt off in these workouts and before you know it you will see results like you've never seen before...oh and each and every time you are taught in CLASS by none other than CHALENE JOHNSON!! Now you have your very own personal training sessions right in the comfort of you home!! No one has to see you tripping over your feet, no one has to see you sweating like a pig, no one has to see period - besides YOU!!!!
How is the TurboFire program set up? How would I know what to do?
You would need to purchase TurboFire from ME - your BeachBody Coach!! Not a customer of mine yet, no problem -CLICK HERE!
The TurboFire Workout Program includes the following:
12 Smokin' Hot Classes on 5 DVDs Fire Starter Low HIITs: Low HIIT 20 & Low HIIT 25 Fire HIITs: Fire 30, Fire 40, Fire 45, Fire 55 Extreme HIITs: HIIT 15, HIIT 20, HIIT 25 Abs 10 Stretch 10 Quick Start Guide Fuel the Fire Nutrition Guide (great recipes included) Class Schedule (full 90 days of which workout to do on which day - makes it so easy!) Instant Online Access to the first workout 24/7 Online Support
REAL PEOPLE and REAL TRANSFORMATIONS
with
TURBOFIRE
The following women were all apart of a Challenge Group. These Women are REAL! What they did was simple - followed a clean eating lifestyle, drank shakeology once a day, and followed the TurboFire schedule (included in their TurboFire packet).
Click HERE NOW to purchase your TurboFire Challenge Pack - an a la carte pack that includes The TurboFire Workout Program, 1 month supply of Shakeology (your flavor of choice), 30 day free trial to BeachBody Club Membership (oodles of great tools to help you succeed), and free shipping!!!!
Now, let's check out these TRANSFORMATIONS!!!!
Tess lost 7 lbs and 6 inches in 90 days with TurboFire!
Jackie lost 8 lbs and 16 inches with TurboFire!
Melinda lost 18 pounds and 12 total inches
Sarah lost 21 pounds and 15 inches!
Click HEREto become a member of my exclusive TurboFire 12 Week Challenge Group!!
Remember, we do not know when the creators of TurboFire will announce the official start date of the 90 Day TurboFire Challenge so do not delay ORDER NOW!!!
All I wanna do is stand up and shout about these results from the roof top!
My challengers in my 90 day "Brand New Me in 20-13" group just got back to me with their 30 day results! The are ROCKING this challenge! The best part is that they are doing this FOR THEMSELVES! They aren't doing it for my benefit. They are doing it so that they can be around for their kids, have more energy, fit into amusement park rides, and much more! Wait a minute! What are these people doing you ask??? Well, it's not hard - I'll tell you that! These challengers are working out every day, eating as clean as they can (hey - it's not a perfect world!) and most of them are drinking their shakeology daily.
Are you ready for these results???
In just 30 short days the challengers in my group have lost a grand total of 37.25 inches!
37.25 inches in 30 days!!!
HOLY MOLY BATMAN!!!
I seriously CANNOT wait to see what the 60 day results bring! Congrats again guys! You should be grinning from EAR TO EAR!
The most frequent question I get from people is "Why has my weight loss stalled? I'm following the program just like it says and I think I might even be GAINING weight!".
My first response to those people is usually this question: "how many calories are you eating each day?". I can almost guess what they are going to answer before they even tell me. Most people respond with a mind blowing 1,000 - 1,200.
People. LISTEN UP. Your body cannot function on only 1,000 - 1,200 calories a day when you are doing strenuous exercise! Your body will go into starvation mode and start holding on to EVERYTHING that goes in your mouth. Trust me - add in 300 or so extra calories and see where that gets you. I bet you will see a difference.
Now, there are many other reasons that your weight loss might have stalled or you might actually be *gasp* gaining weight. The article below was featured on the TeamBeachbody.com website and I loved it! Instead of recreating the wheel, I just copied and pasted it here for you to read. Much more efficient. Of course, you can always read the original HERE.
Read. Enjoy. LEARN!
<3,
Kell
5 Reasons You Could Be Gaining Weight
By Steve Edwards
Nothing taps your panic button quite like gaining weight, especially when you're on a weight loss program. Unfortunately, it's an inevitable fact of life. Luckily, you've got me here to tell you that, as long as you're following a solid program, results will come. It's a physiological certainty (unless you have an underlying issue, like hypothyroidism).
I realize this might take further convincing, considering our instant-gratification society. But this ain't my first weight loss rodeo. I've seen almost every scenario you can dream up, most of which were solved by patience. That said, there are some strategies you can use to ensure you're getting the most out of both your diet and exercise program. Let's tackle five of the most common weight loss conundrums.
I'm following the program perfectly. Why isn't it working?! Cortisol is a word you should become familiar with, as it's a key factor here. You've probably heard that it makes you fat, but you have no idea why "they" say that. What is cortisol? It's actually a performance-enhancing stress hormone that serves an important function in survival situations. Unfortunately, when we force too much daily stress on our bodies, we shift into a state of chronic cortisol release. This can cause us to store excess fat as a survival instinct. While it sounds pretty dire, it's generally only a serious problem in those with poor lifestyle habits.
The beginning of a diet and/or exercise program, however, is a survival situation. In a very simplistic sense, your body releases cortisol, which, in turn, causes excess water retention to help you rebuild broken down muscle tissue. While this is cortisol functioning properly, it does lead to a period of water weight gain as you adjust to a new program. It's nothing to worry about. By following a solid plan, your body will adapt by repairing this muscle tissue. This results in an increase in your metabolism and leads to weight loss if that's your goal.
The trick is that there is no hard line on how long this adaptation takes. It's based on your individual parameters. Just rest easy in the fact that it will happen, unless you force it not to, leading us to . . .
I'm barely eating. Severe undereating causes cortisol release, as it's the definition of a bodily emergency. Beachbody® offers many kick-start (or express) eating plans where you undereat for a few days, but you're always encouraged to get back to a solid maintenance calorie level quickly. A short period of strategic undereating with proper hydration will help your body dispense of unneeded food (most of us chronically overeat) and regulate bodily functions. Go too long, however, and chronic cortisol release is the result.
This is a tough situation because our natural reaction to weight gain is to eat less. When you're exercising, it's important to keep your eye on workout performance, as opposed to how much weight you're losing. You should be eating enough so that your daily workouts improve over time. As long as that's happening, your body is adapting, your metabolism is increasing, and you will lose weight provided you also don't overeat.
I've been doing hard workouts for weeks. On the performance theme, you need to continually improve, which is why workouts get harder as you move through any of Beachbody's programs. It's also why we add resistance (via added weight or gravity, as is the case with jumping) to workouts. If you're doing the same workouts at the same intensity constantly, you are not forcing adaptations that lead to changes in your metabolism. This is called a plateau.
A plateau, technically, isn't gaining weight—it's remaining the same—but a proper diet and exercise program should continually force improvements (in the form of adaptations). Otherwise, your metabolism won't continue to increase, which is the goal of most weight loss programs.
My friend and I are doing the exact same thing and she's losing. Back to adaptation. We all react differently. The only absolute is that our bodies will change over time with a healthy program. A fitness rule called the Specificity of Adaptation states that it takes the body between 3 and 12 weeks to adapt to new stimuli, which is a very broad range. This is why it's vital that you stick to your program and not change it repeatedly based on your daily results!
In our test groups, two-week results have almost no bearing on who does best in the end. In fact, many people that undereat early and get off to a fast start will stagnate, while those who stick to the plan and eat as advised will start slower but train harder over time, leading to rapid weight loss as the program wears on.
I lost weight for a while but now it's stopped. For ages on the Team Beachbody® Message Boards, this was our most frequently asked question. You eat less to lose weight. Things are going great, but suddenly you plateau—or start gaining. Odds are, your metabolism has slowed down in order to deal with the decreased calories. You're starving your now fit body, so it's doing what it needs to do to survive. The answer to this problem is pretty simple: eat more. Again, this is a tough sell, so here's an example. One of our early Success Stories lost 40 pounds during a round of Power 90®, eating only 1,200 calories a day. He then stagnated for a long time and was very resistant to eating more, fearing it would kick-start a regression. We talked him into adding calories until, finally at around 2,000 calories, weight loss resumed. It then became so rapid he dropped through his goal, and about 20 pounds below, until finally, at around 3,000 calories, he leveled out. Then a daily diet of around 3,500 calories a day got him to a ripped 175.
So the moral of today's lesson is to trust your exercise program—at least if it's a Beachbody program. We've been doing this a long time and we know what works. There are no magic bullets. Body transformation is based on making consistent, healthy lifestyle changes. Do that and you'll never need to ask yourself why you're gaining weight again.
I am a chocolate shakeology kinda girl. Always have been and always will be. I NEED to have some chocolate in my day. It just makes me happy! Having said that, I like to switch up my shakeology every once in a while. I love the tropical strawberry made with THIS recipe. I tried the greenberry recipe a few weeks ago. I'm gonna be brutally honest here. I really hated didn't like it. In fact, I haven't tried it since because I was so afraid that I would want to throw it out. Well, that all changed when I found this new recipe. It's from my friend Alyson's blog and it's AMAZING! If you haven't had a chance, go check out her blog :) She's got some great stuff on there! Anyways - here's the recipe. I have finally found a way to LOVE greenberry! Woo Hoo!
Add ice to blender if you want a thicker, more frosty-like, shake.
Add more liquid (I would add water) if you want a more thinned out version of the shake.
Enjoy!!!
For more information on Shakeology and it's many different health benefits, please visit my shakeology page. Click on any SHAKEOLOGY word in this blog post to get there!
You can also friend request me on Facebook and we can chat there!
I'm barely eating.
