Monday, February 11, 2013

30 day challenger results

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!

<3,
Kell



Saturday, February 9, 2013

5 Reasons You Could Be Gaining Weight

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.

Woman on Scale

  1. 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 . . .
  2. Woman with Small PortionI'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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
Woman with Small PortionSo 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.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Orange Vanilla Shakeology

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!




Ingredients:

  • 1 scoop (1/3 cup) Greenberry Shakeology
  • 1 cup all natural orange juice
  • 1/4 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp ground flax seed
  • 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
  1. Place all ingredients into a blender.
  2. Blend until smooth.
  3. Add ice to blender if you want a thicker, more frosty-like, shake.
  4. Add more liquid (I would add water) if you want a more thinned out version of the shake.
  5. 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!



Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Fab Ab February

Fab Ab February is in full swing! It's day 5 and we have 140 members in our closed Facebook group! WOO HOO!

I love seeing people working hard and working together towards their goals! I love seeing people post DONE when their daily workout is done! It seriously won't take you more than 5 minute a day. What do you have to lose? Pounds? Inches? Weight?

I'm going to post the full schedule here for you. Do not be intimidated by it. The push ups can be done from your knees. Try to do at least one each day in the full push up position. If you can't start with doing at least one in the full position, work up to it. Try to do a full one every 5 days or so. Eventually you will be able to do it!



The sit ups and push ups can be broken up and done throughout the day. The plank, however, needs to be done all at one time. I know, I know. You hate me for that. Guess what? I DON'T CARE because your waist is going to love me! Remember, this is all a MENTAL game. Your mind is going to tell you 987362895 times that it's time to quit before you body tells you once. If you believe that you can do it, then you can!

Ok, Ok - if you HAVE to break up the longer planks, go ahead. But do your best to try to do the whole plank at once!

I guess I should mention that I typically do crunches, not sit ups. I feel more stable doing a crunch than a sit up. That's just me. Some of you may feel more comfortable doing full sit ups. Some of you may do sit ups one day and crunches the next. Do what works for you! I am going to start trying to do more sit ups though - they are tougher and will get me where I wanna be faster!

A lot of people have questions about how to properly work out. I am NOT a certified fitness instructor. I do not make my own videos (althought I want to!). So I went out and searched for videos that will properly demonstrate these moves for you. Here's what I found:


Here's a great video from Livestrong about how to properly do a sit up:



Here's another great video from Livestrong about how to properly do a crunch:



Here's a great video about how to properly do a plank. I LOVE that they give you some fun modifications. Those hip dip planks are NO JOKE!




Here's an amazing video I found that talks about how to properly do a push up. She even talks about planking and how it helps build up your strength to get to a push up!




I hope you all find these videos helpful and I hope that you join us in our Fab Ab Feb Challenge!

<3,
Kell



Monday, February 4, 2013

Carrots, Eggs, or Coffee

I was looking at a friend's Facebook page this morning and I saw this picture with a little story to go with it:




Carrots, Eggs, Or Coffee

A young woman went to her Grandmother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.

Her Grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she 
placed ground coffee beans.

She let them sit and boil without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her Granddaughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the granddaughter replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft and mushy. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hardened egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee.

The granddaughter smiled as she tasted its deep flavor and inhaled its rich aroma. She then asked, "What's the point, Grandma?"

Her Grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin, outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her Granddaughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong? But with pain and adversity, do I wilt and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a fluid spirit but, after death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water - the very circumstance that brings the adversity, the pain, the hardship – into something quite wonderful. When the water gets hot, it releases it's fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better, and change the situation around you for the better.

When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity?

ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?

~ Author Unknown


This little story really hit home with me today. It's not about what life throws at you. Life is about how you REACT to the trials and tribulations. 

For me, I want to be the coffee. I don't want to let outside influences change WHO I AM. I want to use who I am to change the outside influences.

What are you going to make the decision to be today? A carrot, an egg, or some coffee?

<3,
Kell



Saturday, February 2, 2013

Superbowl 2013 and weight loss


I'm gonna admit it. I'm one of these people this year:




And I'm gonna admit to something else too. 

I'd rather see the 49ers get their 6th ring than see Ray Lewis get one. I know that it might cause a huff, but I'm allowed my own opinions, and I just don't like that guy!

OK, back on the farm. I know that I can't escape it. Our family is having a Superbowl party. My BIL wants pizza. My hubs wants buffalo chicken dip. My son wants root beer. My daughter wants boob juice - haha! Sorry - I had to put that in!

I know that I can't escape the junk, but I can go in prepared. If I have learned one thing on my weight loss and health journey is that I need to be prepared. If I fail to plan, then I plan to fail.

So, here's what I'm doing. I'm going to step away from the pizza. I'm going to have MIL order me a grilled chicken salad from the pizza joint with no cheese. I'm going to bring my own dressing. I'm going to bring a veggie tray with "ranch dip". I'm going to bring some fruit to snack on. I'm going to bring some 2% cheese sticks. I'm going to enjoy a beer :) I like beer!

I might even also make my chocolate chip cookie dough dip. Click HERE for the recipe. It's unreal!



Heck, I just decided that I'm going to make some homemade guacamole! Again, click HERE for the recipe.



I know that it's hard to go to parties when you are trying to eat healthy. But seriously, planning ahead and bringing some healthy food to your gathering is your best bet. You also want to bring your will power. It's really freaking hard not easy to say no to the junk. I know because I love junk!

Anway - I found a great article on Teambeachbody.com that talked about more things to eat on Superbowl Sunday that won't totally derail your healthy efforts. It also gives some great advice on what to avoid. I copied below and you can find the original article HERE.

One of the TOP TIPS I give people is to PRE-EAT when you are going to a party. If you eat good stuff before hand, then you are much less likely to indulge on bad food at the party. Also, don't be afraid to say "no, thank you" when you are offered that yummy, delicious, bad-for-you food. No one's gonna remember that you said no to their cheese ball. They are just gonna remember which brother won the game!

So, in the end, enjoy your Superbowl party and try not to stress. If you DO indulge, remember, you don't need to quit your journey just because you ate one bad meal. We all have those days! It's ok to have those days! Get back on the horse and try again!

<3,
Kell













Original article from TBB.com:

It happens every year, mere weeks after resolving to lose the love handles, we face a day devoted to filling our bellies with hot wings, nachos, and beer. Americans consume more calories on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day of the year. The food, most of it smothered in cheese and dripping with fat, gets as much attention as the football game and it’s easy to eat an entire day’s worth of calories by halftime.

We realize that this isn't going to be your healthiest day of the year and that, more than likely, you’re going to indulge. We're here to help you minimized the damage. This game plan for the Super Bowl spread will keep you from totally sacking your fitness goals.


Super Bowl Champions
Choose from these snacks for your starting line-up.

1. Chili
A hearty bowl of chili will really satisfy hunger, and prevent you from grazing. If its vegetarian or made with ground turkey, even better. Skip the sour cream and cheese toppings, and reach for salsa and cilantro. If you’re making it yourself, try this Beachbody chili recipe.
Approximate calories per cup: 296

2. Submarine Sandwich
A giant submarine sandwich piled high with deli meat, lettuce, and tomatoes, will be one of your best bets on the buffet table. Ideally, it should be stuffed with turkey or lean roast beef. But even higher fat meat will offer a satisfying serving of protein. Add as many veggies as you wish and for a condiment, pick mustard over mayo.
Calorie range per 6” sandwich: 280-350 calories

3. Guacamole
An estimated 79 million pounds of avocados will be served during the game. This is one Super Bowl staple not to miss. Avocados are highly nutritious and are a source of “healthy” monounsaturated fat. Scoop it up with veggies or baked tortilla chips. That said...some guacs are made with some renegade ingredients like mayo and sour cream. Avoid these and dive into the ones made only from veggies, fruits (like tomato!), and spices.
Approximate calories per tablespoon: 25

4. Hummus
Instead of the standard refried bean dip with cheese, dip into the bean dip of the Middle East. Made from mashed garbanzo beans and sesame seed paste, hummus has protein and fiber. It also has its fair share of healthy fat, so go easy and swap out the pita chips for veggies as your hummus delivery system.
Approximate calories per tablespoon: 27

5. Fresh Veggies
There is no need to feel like a rabbit while everyone else is living it up in CalorieLand, but a serving of crisp vegetables will keep you from overdosing on naughtier fare. If there are any vegetables or fruit in sight, let these act like a side salad. Hold the ranch dressing.
Approximate calories: 20-60 per cup


Bench These Foods
Unless you want to fumble, stay away from these snacks. Can’t? Try my “Make it Healthier” tips.

• Hot Wings - Hot wings have to be healthy, I mean, they’re served with all that celery right? Wrong. These little gut bombs, made from the fattiest part of the chicken, are deep-fried, then smothered in buttery hot sauce. Each piece can pack more than 100 calories, and that’s before it takes a dip in creamy blue cheese dressing.

Make it Healthy: Substitute fried wings with baked chicken tenders and top them with a hot sauce like Frank’s Red Hot. Mix crumbled blue cheese with nonfat plain Greek yogurt and lemon juice for a creamy dip.


• Nachos - Fried tortilla chips piled high with meat, cheese, and sour cream, what’s not to love? Here’s what: Nachos Bell Grande from Taco Bell delivers a whopping 760 calories and 39 grams of fat.

Make it Healthy: Decorate baked tortilla chips with colorful toppings like black beans, tomato, bell pepper or jalapeños, red onion, cilantro, sliced avocado, and a reasonable amount of cheese (about an ounce per person – an ounce is about the size of two dice). Also, spring for quality cheese, it will be more flavorful so a smaller amount will still stand out.


• Bratwurst – Most pork sausage, like Italian sausage or bratwurst, is made from at least 20% pure fat. No joke, fat is often added to the meat mixture to give it texture and flavor. Hot dogs, same story. Plus, with those, you get a lot of other nitrates and unspeakable fillers.

Make it Healthy: Choose a sausage made from lean chicken or turkey. Many grocery stores carry gourmet versions. Top with mustard, sautéed peppers and onions, or sauerkraut, and skip the bun.


• Meat Lover’s Pizza – When you can see the orange grease pooling on a slice of pizza, run in the opposite direction. When people order pizza for game day, they order an extra-large with all the toppings. This means larger slices, and more fat and calories per serving.

Make it Healthy: Well, you could pick off all of the toppings, soak up the fat with a napkin, and discard the end of the crust and get weird stares from your friends. Or…you could convince your friends to agree to a thin crust, veggie pizza (or split one half and half). Some pizza chains, like Dominos, make a diet-conscious crust. Personalized pizzas are also fun way to please the whole crowd. Let friends make their own pizzas on pita bread with healthy toppings and heat them up in the oven.


• “Secret Family Recipe” Dip – That family secret is a well-guarded recipe that revolves around a combination of cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream. There may be some deceptive flecks of spinach, artichoke, or onion, but don’t be fooled. Dips made from powdered mixes are no better, and are overloaded with sodium.

Make it Healthy: Some dip recipes can be made lighter by substituting nonfat plain yogurt or Greek yogurt for sour cream. Try mixing yogurt with chopped fresh chives, parsley, garlic, and lemon juice. Turn up the heat with red pepper flakes or Tabasco.


Extra Points:
1. Beer will be flowing, it is part of the sport of watching football. Have a plan for how many you’re going to drink before you start. Slow your intake, and ward off a Monday morning hangover by drinking tall glass of water between each beer.

2. Don’t arrive for kick-off with an empty stomach. Drink Shakeology or eat a light meal with lean protein before game time. This will help curb junk food cravings.

3. The best seat in the house is not front-and-center if there is a table filled with food within arms reach. Stake out a seat near the game but away from the junk.

4. Watch the game (and the commercials!). Talk to your friends. Cheer for your team. Heckle the other team. The more involved you are in the real action, the less likely you’ll be to absentmindedly fill your face hole with Funyuns.

A Few More Thoughts on Beer:
Even if you've been good about staying away from alcohol while you've been working out, trying to do so on Super Bowl Sunday is a true test of willpower. So, if you're going to drink, here's what we recommend.

When it comes to beer, it's tempting to buy whatever case is on sale. But, consider this: If you're going to a buddy's house, everyone will bring beer. If you're hosting, all of your guests will bring beer. I have never attended a Super Bowl party where there has been a beer shortage. So, why not opt for taste over quantity? After all, chugging one beer after another (light beer or otherwise) is not going to make your clothes fit any better next week. If your intention is to consume as much beer as possible, there's nothing we can do to stop you.

Limit your beer to 3 regular-sized bottles or cans. This may seem like an awfully little amount of beer for Super Bowl Sunday, but that's still 480 calories. Plus, when the beers are more flavorful (i.e. NOT light beer), those 3 will feel a heck of a lot more satisfying.

Here are 5 great regular beers that you should be able to find almost anywhere whether you're shopping at Wal-Mart, Kroger, or Whole Foods.
- Blue Moon Belgian White Ale (calories: 171)
- Sam Adams Noble Pils (calories: 160)
- Widmer Amber Ale (calories: 140)
- Newcastle Brown Ale (calories: 138)
- Boddingtons (calories: 132)

Friday, February 1, 2013

Salsa Chicken

I seriously cannot tell you how much I love this recipe. It's taken me a few times to perfect it, but I think I have it down. 

The original recipe I saw said to add a packet of taco seasoning to the slow cooker. I decided not to because, well, have you ever looked at how much junk is in taco seasoning? I was researching a bit as I was writing this blog post and did you know that most brands of taco seasoning have added salt and corn starch? Who knew that either of those were spices needed to make you food have a taco flavor??? No thanks - I'll just skip the processed food!

The original recipe also called for an entire jar of salsa. Talk about making shredded salsa chicken soup! I had a hard time getting that batch down.

This time, I went back to the basics. It turned out perfect, so I had to share!



Ingredients:
  • 4 chicken breasts (I thrown mine in frozen!)
  • 1 cup fresh, all natural salsa

Directions:
  1. Get out your crock pot.
  2. Add the chicken and salsa to the slow cooker.
  3. Put the lid on the slow cooker.
  4. Turn the slow cooker to low and cook for 8 - 10 hours. You can cook it on high for 4 - 6 hours but I like to cook my chicken slowly. 
  5. Once chicken is fully cooked, use two forks and shred the chicken while it is still warm and in the crock pot.
  6. Transfer to a storage container and use throughout the week!
Seriously - this chicken is amazing and SOOO easy!

I typically use this chicken in two ways:
  1. I add 4 - 6 ozs of it to a bed of fresh lettuce and then top it with some fresh homemade guacamole, 2 Tbsp of 0% plain greek yogurt, and 2 Tbsp of mild salsa.
  2. I top a whole wheat wrap with 2 Tbsp of  fresh homemade guacamole, some lettuce, and then spread out 4 ozs of salsa chicken on the wrap. Roll it up and ENJOY!
I hope you enjoy this easy recipe! 

<3,
Kell