I Love Outlifting The Boys.

I love bringing it harder in the gym then the other boys. Sweet weighted squats with bicep curls, weighted lunges with calf raises, weighted squats with calf raises (so weird but kind of cool?), and my favorite: PUSH UPS. Yeah I can do 7 modified push ups now?! I couldn't even do one when I started this journey! FYI: modified is perfectly fine as long as you hold your form and go all the way down! I will never be able to out lift my sweet succulent husband, but I shall keep on trying! Also, this is the lame pictures I take of myself so my husband doesn't forget what I look like while I am gone!

What are your favorite workouts right now? 

PS don't judge me for my fluffiness, I am still a work in progress <3 p="">

Stay Healthy My Friends!

Easy Calorie Counting: Quantity/Quality.

Quantity: Losing or gaining weight at the core is really not that hard. Basically, the calories you consume you either burn off or they just sit there and turn into fat. So you first want to know, "hmm how many calories does my body burn on its own without exercise?" Lets say thats 1500. Then in order to lose weight, you need to shave off some of those calories everyday OR exercise to burn those suckers off.

Quality: So those are the basics, but then it gets confusing when we discuss the QUALITY of the calories. Using all of your calories for a huge dinner, eating 100 calorie packs of cookies and crackers everyday, carbs and cheese all day, etc. Sadly, these are not what you can spend your calories on and still expect to see those Abs poking through. They won't keep you full, they'll send your metabolism/hormones/sugars all out of whack so your workouts won't be strong and you'll feel like junk. Oh and then my favorite habit, you fall off the bandwagon because FORGET this healthy eating crap. Sound familiar?

The Remedy: First, calculate your BMR. Second, eat less then those calories per day by a few hundred.Not too much otherwise you risk feeling like junk and ruining your metabolism permanently (i.e. not losing weight anymore), for specifics you'd need to work with us directly for a customized plan. Third, eat a few times a day healthy, clean foods that are filling and well rounded. Whole grains, no processed foods, lean fresh meats, and fruits and veggies. Meal replacements are a great way to feel full, get health benefits, but still be low in calories.

Skip the diet pills and fads, just eat healthy whole foods within your calorie range frequently throughout the day. Track when you need help. Don't obsess! 

Resources: We love the MyFitnessPal App when we need help staying on track, knowing how my calories are in something we don't eat often, while I am traveling, and making sure we are eating enough. Shakeology is an excellent natural meal replacement if you are looking to help stay on track and stay healthy too. We do offer customized meal and exercise programs to meet a variety of needs as well, please email or comment below and we will get in touch with you.

Stay Healthy My Friends!

Healthy Eats: Blackened Tilapia Tacos

I love LOVE this fish taco recipe I found on pinterest, featured on Sarcastic Cooking. I was making it a few times a month because its so simple, healthy, CHEAP, yummy and fast. Seriously, unless you hate fish you can't go wrong here. *Tips: I like to make extra of the spice mixture to keep on hand for an even faster meal next time. Fresh Tilapia is going to taste a lot better then frozen. Whole Wheat tortillas will boost your health benefits and help you stay full longer*

Ingredients (Serves 2-4)

½ Teaspoon Paprika

¼ Teaspoon Salt

¼ Teaspoon Pepper

¼ Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

¼ Teaspoon Onion Powder

¼ Teaspoon Cumin

3 Tilapia Filets

1 ½ Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Avocado

4 Whole Wheat Tacos

Directions: Combine the dry seasonings in a small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Lightly dust each side of the tilapia filets with the seasoning blend. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the tilapia to the pan and cook the tilapia for five minutes on each side. Warm the tortillas. Smash a little bit of avocado on each tortilla. Place a half of a tilapia filet on to each taco. Break the filet apart a little bit. Serve with a little bit of fresh pico de gallo or salsa and some jalapeno slices.

Meal Planning Tips: Use Your Nutrition GUIDE

I love the "Secret Sauce" meal planning support companies I've bookmarked on the side, I will do reviews of my experience with each of those in the coming weeks. But we should start with how to best use that nutrition guide you found in your challenge pack. Don't have a challenge pack? Why not? Are you using another program that came with a meal guide? This will still apply!

If you don't have any food issues and have unlimited funds then by all means- follow the guide by the book! My almost-husband is super strict with meal plans because he can be. However, I am a normal person, and have a dairy allergy and am semi poor all the time (haha). I also have friends who are vegetarian or have a gluten allergy, etc. Not to mention I am super busy and don't have time to spend cutting veggies every night. 

Tips:

• Use the meals outlined as a GUIDE. If you don't like the meat or grain, swap it for something else within the same calorie limit. Just watch the portions of the meat and grain so it matches what's set forth in terms of calories.

• Buy pre-assembled salads within the same calorie limit for your lunches. Trader Joes has my favorite, but plenty of grocery stories have these now. Like me, you will also find that a light lunch like this helps you stay awake during that afternoon slump you usually have. 

• Choose one or two meats for the week and buy them in bulk. Even if my meal plan calls for chicken, beef, halibut, and tilapia in a week I will just choose 2 of those and use them in my meals. Then I can buy bulk frozen meat and save serious cash! You can also always replace with tofu or tempeh as needed too :)\

• Easy snacks include: Shakeology, hard boiled eggs, scrambled eggs in the microwave, tuna, lara bars, yogurt, or lunch meat. Only a fruit and veggie snack will do nothing for me, so I always add some kind of protein or healthy fat. Plus, all of those options I gave are gluten free and many vegetarian too.

• Crock pot is your friend. Foil wrap dinners are your friend. You can make a big meal of chicken in the crock pot to last you awhile. There is a foil wrap dinner included in my meal plan, I may make that pretty often! Check out Gracious Pantry for easy and clean crock pot and dinner recipes. And Hungry Girl has awesome foil pack meal suggestions. 

My Dinner Plan This Week?

-pork tenderloin and asparagus

-chicken in foil with veggies

-lemon dill tilapia and cous cous

-stir fry with chicken and rice

-tilapia tacos with avocado 

We are short on grocery cash this week so it's tilapia and chicken for us! I will be having my TJ salads for lunch since I am doing the T25 quick start this week, and AJ will be having chicken marinara and pasta from the crock pot since he's trying to bulk up with his program. Some weeks we get salmon and steak, some weeks it's chicken and tilapia! 

Once again, I work full time and have a toddler and can do this. You can too my friends, join me!