So, we meet again. This time with $$ at stake!

Hey you guys; hope you're doing well! WOAH. I know, it's been a hot minute! A LOT has gone on between my last post and now, including my husband & I buying our first house, moving/etc., holidays, and a new fur baby we rescued a few weeks ago!




I didn't fall COMPLETELY off-track, but I did veer a little bit. I will be honest though- although I didn't give up on the H&C program, I don't think I can say I really finished it. Put it this way- I didn't stick to it perfect enough to even dive into or log a true before/after comparison, etc.


The past few months- especially leading up to our home buying/moving from an apartment to a house, I was a busy bee + saving money. I stuck to the gym a few times a week but my lunches became those frozen Michelina meals. They're only $1 each at Walmart so I was only spending $5/week on lunch lol. These meals only have between 200-400 cals each, but we all know that calorie count isn't the only importance. These meals also contained quite a bit of sodium/carbs. 👎 Also, breakfast varied between oatmeal and poptarts depending on the week.


What's my motto about excuses? I always say "RULE # 76" to other people when I hear them spew excuses. So yes, I'm giving myself a taste of my own medicine here. I know NOBODY is perfect, especially in this sense. But with that said, it's time to be back on track- not poppin a wheelie halfway on track- but wheels dug in & down to business. (Rule #76= "No excuses. Play like a champion"- wedding crashers).


Not only has the number gone up on the scale, but you can tell. I've lost my tonnage (esp in my tummy which is my main focus area) and my shirts are fitting a little tighter. I'm not happy with myself, or at least not as happy as I know a could be or as happy as I was in the summer. I'm not proud of myself in this sense right now, and I don't like not being able to be proud of myself. If that makes sense.


I'm also human and not naïve to the fact that it's the holidays. I know myself. I cannot start in the middle of right now, especially with being spoiled at work the past 2 weeks with what we call "foodapalooza." It's awesome and pretty impossible to avoid. SO. I have a plan for after Christmas, starting in January. I'm not only going to be joining a challenge group with one of my fellow BB coaches (who also happens to be my sponsor), but I'll be co-hosting! Details are below and I'd LOVE for you to join me/let me help you while helping myself and having you return the favor in keeping me accountable!

What makes this challenge group EXTRA special in addition to the other many reasons already listed? That $$ sign means this challenge group automatically links you to the BB health bet going on starting Jan. 9th! This bet will contain a pot of AT LEAST $2million...TWO.MILLION.DOLLARS. You don't have to contribute anything to enter the pot! All you have to do is complete the 4.5 week challenge...and a share of that $2 million is yours!! TALK ABOUT MOTIVATION/ACCOUNTABILITY!
Accountability is done via a simple app right on your phone & log your fitness activities/ victories during the challenge. Balanced nutrition and fitness is so important to me so trust me when I say this works (you've read my previous posts about my past journey/results from the past in doing this before)!!!

My challenge group starts on Jan. 9th and I need to sign you up by the end of this month to be able to be thrown into that $2million prize pool! So contact me today so I can explain the group details/requirements & we can get you ready to roll! My email is in my info 😄

H & C: 1st week down

Welp. I talked about my "changing things up" in my last 2 posts by starting The Master's Hammer & Chisel last Monday, June 27. Since I'm through the first week, I thought I'd give some info/feedback about it so far! First off- unlike the 21Day Fix Extreme program I'm used to and also loved- H & C doesn't have the same daily assigned workouts from week to week (the assigned workout for 21dfx on Mondays were the same, Tuesdays all had the same assigned workout, etc.). Therefore, my workout schedule will be a bit different this week versus last week, and for the weeks to come, but here was the 1st week.

Monday: Chisel Balance.

This 40-minute workout is ran by Autumn- the "chisel" in this program and therefore all Chisel workouts are ran by her. She's the famous creator of the 21 day fix & 21 df extreme. ANYWAY, so seeing the word "balance," I was thinking this was going to be a yoga-ish workout or something similar with some kind of zen background music. HA- oh I was totally wrong. This 40 minutes is spent doing strength moves that require your balance- which also means they all incorporate working your core. Examples include weighted pistol squats, single leg squats, etc. Definitely lots of leg work; both my core and hamstrings/booty were sore the next day which is a good thing! Not only since those are my top 2 focus areas, but because soreness means I know the workout & myself are working.

 

Tuesday: Hammer Plyometrics.

This workout- as with all of the "hammer" workouts in this program- is lead by Sagi Kalev who's the creator of the BB program Body Beast. I was used to the plyo workout from 21dfx so was ready but still a bit anxious/nervous for this Hammer Plyo workout- especially with the looks of Sagi. I tried to look at the positive side going into it- that at least it's shorter than the plyo workout I'm used to + one of the shortest workouts period in this whole program. This 25 minutes was definitely challenging and although I wouldn't say it was harder than the 21dfx plyo fix extreme workout, I do like it just as much if not more. I like the incorporation of weights/their functional movement in this workout. OH and I have to say Sagi is quite entertaining- his random 1-liners will get ya. "You need to puke? Get a bucket."

 

Wednesday: Iso Strength Chisel.

"Iso" is short for isolation (isolating the focused muscle). During this 34-minute strength workout, Autumn has you do various weighted strength moves for a certain amount of reps, followed by an isometric hold in that position.

 

Thursday: Off day.

 

Friday: Iso Speed Hammer.

Here's that "Iso" again. But Sagi incorporates it a bit different. For 23 minutes, you'll be doing various moves- first with slow reps for a 3-second count each to isolate the muscles you're working and once the last slow rep is done, you do the same move but for 10 quick reps. It gets that muscle "pump" going from the volume but I liked how quick the workout was.

 

Saturday: Chisel Endurance.

For 36 minutes, Autumn takes you through various strength exercises- repeating each round. This workout is designed to build your muscle endurance.

 

Sunday: Total Body Hammer + 10Min Ab Hammer.

Alriiigghhttt. I'm guilty. With it being a holiday weekend/my husband & I being UBER busy, I wasn't able to get this 53-ish minute (43 for TBH + 10min abs) workout in. I will not completely skip it, though! I plan to actually do this on Thursday this week instead of taking the off-day. That way I'll get it in and will still be caught up/on track with the 60-day schedule.

 

 

After the 1st week, I have to say so far so good. This seems to be a great investment and I really enjoyed the workouts so far. I'm excited to see where this program takes me! I'd like to stick to the schedule BUT I prefer having my off-day on the weekend versus on Thursdays since that's more realistic for me anyway. So after this week and making up Sunday's workout this off day, I think I'll start moving Friday's workout to Thursdays to move one or 2 weekend workouts up a day ahead in order for my off-day to fall on the weekend. .if that makes sense.

 

I'll continue keeping yall updated throughout this program, so stay tuned! Progress check-ins for this are at the 30-day halfway mark then the ending 60-day mark so I'm anxiously waiting to see/compare where I'm at on the 27th of this month!

New meal prep recipe: Tuna Muffin Cups

Welp. Today has started my new BB program: The Master's Hammer & Chisel (I'll be referring to it as H&C quite a bit)! I mentioned my meal plan for this in my last post & as promised, here is the new recipe I said I was trying this week! I prepped tuna muffin cups for lunch this week, which I was super excited about.

These were actually very simple to make- not only ingredient-wise but throwing-together wise. It was quick except for the 30-minute baking part. And they pretty much turned out as yummy as they look, which is always good!

Serving size: 3 muffins
Recipe yield: 3 servings (9 muffins)

Ingredients:
2 cans drained tuna
3/4c diced green pepper
1/4c diced onion
1/4c diced carrots
1/4c chopped spinach (small pieces)
3/4c cheese
2 eggs
salt & pepper to taste (as well as any other spices you wanna throw in. I added garlic powder and used garlic sea salt instead of regular salt as usual)
*for the diced veggies, I bought shredded carrots and bagged spinach and used my pampered chef manual chopper to chop them smaller along with already diced onion/pepper to be sure all pieces were small enough*

Preparation:
1. Preheat Oven to 350.
2.Combine everything but the cheese into a bowl and mix well.
3. Use a muffin/cup cake pan and scoop mixture evenly into 9 cups.
4. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the muffin cups. To be precise, you can put the cheese into the blue container and spread evenly across 3 muffins to be sure you're sticking correctly to the plan- do this 3 times t accommodate for the 9 muffins.
5. Bake for about 30mins/until cheese is melted and crispy to your liking
6. Voila. Enjoy!

Hammer & chisel/21 day fix/fix extreme stats per serving (3 muffins):

1 Red, 1 Blue, 1/2 Green

Nutrition facts per serving:

Cals: 240 Total Fat: 14 g
Saturated Fat: 6 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 182 mg
Sodium: 478 mg
Potassium: 335 mg
Carbs: 6 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Sugars: 0 g
Protein: 25 g
Vitamin A	35 %
Vitamin C	5 %
Calcium	22 %
Iron	9 %

 

 

Planning Ahead

I disclosed my current 21 Day Fix Extreme results. I'm not at all disappointed nor unhappy with these results & I know that the 21dfx works. However, because of these results- the fact that I'd broken 2 of my milestones during my rounds of 21dfx and am in a comfy spot- I don't want to settle.

I have had multiple compliments and I get told "you look great" from different people. Not to toot my own horn, but I don't disagree with these folks who tell me this; I do realize I look pretty good. Not to fish for compliments, but I want more. I know I look good and that there are many who have actually said "I'd kill to have your body." That being said, I still know that I can achieve more and I can go further in order to be the best version of myself. In fact, I have been in a better place before than I am currently so I know it's achievable. Furthermore, I know it's achievable for myself without going "too far" or looking "too skinny."

Sooo yeah. I'm aiming for this even better version of myself that I know is possible. After being successful with the 21dfx and breaking 2 milestones, I have currently hit a small plateau. I'm not getting discouraged because this is normal- not only with this, but with fitness & diet in general. No matter what program you're using, you have to change it up every once in awhile (even if it's small changes) in order to keep making progress and not plateau out.

With that said, I'm super stoked to start a new program on Monday, 6/27. It's still a Beachbody program but a newer one that came out this past winter, called The Master's Hammer and Chisel. Not only will I be working with Autumn Calabrese again (the creator and trainer of both 21df & 21dfx), but she teams up with another BB trainer- Sagi Kalev who was the creator of the BB program called "Body Beast." This program is a full 60 days of SSP (stability, strength & power) training- still with at-home DVDs, and a meal plan very similar to the 21dfx eating I'm already used to.

Before the 21dfx, I was used to being in the gym everyday mostly weight training. The 21dfx does still challenge me and it uses small dumbbells (5-10lbs; I mostly used the 10lbs). However, these DBs- other than upper body stuff like in upper fix extreme & dirty 30 extreme- are mostly used for resistance and to get your heart rate up since many of the workouts are HIIT-like. I therefore obviously miss the gym sometimes in regards to the weight training aspect of fitness. That's also partly why I chose this program in deciding to "change it up." It'll still be comprised of at-home workouts using different DBs but more varying levels of DBs. It also calls for a bench OR stability ball and a pullup bar OR door attachment to use with resistance bands for the same effect. Therefore, it'll focus more on the weightlifting aspect I miss- more functional/complex movements using the DBs.

The only thing different with the eating side of it versus the 21dfx is that instead of only aiming towards a goal of shedding/leaning out, you can personalize this meal plan depending on whether your goal is to shred/lean out, to build muscle, or even just to maintain. The program comes with a meal guide which includes a quiz to help you figure out your personalization and mine is for leaning out. I've created the following plan based on my meal plan for this program which uses the same color-coded containers.

Containers:	3	2	4	2	1	1	2
Meal 1 (Breakfast)		1		1			1
Meal 2 (mid-morning snack)				1
Meal 3 (Lunch)	1.5		1		1
Meal 4 (Afternoon Snack)		1	1				1
Meal 5 (Dinner)	1.5		2
Total	3	2	4	2	1	0	2
Meal 1 (Breakfast):	Steel-cut Oatmeal w/ Almond Butter & 1/2 banana
Meal 2 (mid-morning snack):	Rice cake
Meal 3 (Lunch):	Tuna Muffins (3) & baked zucchini
Meal 4 (Afternoon Snack):	Shakeo with PB2 & 1/2 banana
Meal 5 (Dinner):	Refer to dinner menu

This came from a spreadsheet I created for myself to make weekly meal planning easy (why didn't I think of that before?! Lol). As a reminder: Green is for veggies, Purple is for fruits, Red is meat/protein, Yellow is [complex] carbs, blue is [healthy] fats, orange is oil/dressings/seeds, and I chose gray for the teaspoons. My lunch for this week is actually a new recipe I found so I'm excited to try it out =)

Stay Tuned!

RESULTS ARE IN. Happy summer!

Welllpp. Here we are; the beginning of summer! You all know I've been doing the 21 Day Fix Extreme since April and I've decided to share my results with you! Excuse the bareness, but I feel it's important in my progress pics- at least personally- to see the changes being made.
Anyway, just like I thought- this program worked as well as it did for me the 1st time I did it last Spring 2015. My starting stats are as follows:

Weight: 155.6
Waist (around bellybutton): 32in
Hips (around butt): 39.5in
Right thigh: 23.5in
Left thigh: 23.5in

 

I like to measure these areas in the thickest part of them. For example: my bellybutton is the point where my tummy pokes out the most; lol. I also measure my thighs at the mid-top where they're the thickest. My progress pictures are below. If it helps for proportion/comparison purposes, I'm 5'6 tall.

 

Between my before & after, there's a subtracted difference of 7.6lbs & 5.25 inches (combined in the areas mentioned in my measurements above)! I probably lost more inches in total, but I only measured in my focus areas. I'm super-stoked but am also looking forward to keep pushing. I did break 2 milestones during this process- one of them being an anniversary goal (June 13th) which in fact was lower than my total ending weight shown in the pic above. I met my milestone but then had a full weekend of celebrating my 1yr wedding anniversary so of course added back on a couple pounds by the end of my 21dfx cycle but I have no regrets!

 

If you're interested in taking control of your health and would like amazing results as well (especially to get that bikini bod ready!), you can check out the 21dfx here. It's actually on sale this month along with the regular 21df and both of the programs' challenge packs. The challenge packs come with Shakeology that I have probably also talked about and is a daily regimen of mine which has helped with my results! The challenge packs also means saving on the items. I used this exact challenge pack, with the vegan chocolate shakeo flavor =)



New Weekly Dinner Recipe: 21df General Tso's Chicken!

My new dinner recipe for this week was 21 day fix- friendly General Tso's chicken! I was really excited about this because I LOVE Chinese/Asian Food. Also, I usually get sesame chicken if we ever get takeout, etc. but my husband's Chinese chicken of choice is General Tso's which I like as well.

So- here's the recipe and the 21df portions/nutrition facts will be below! This recipe makes 4 servings.

21 Day Fix General Tso's Chicken

Ingredients:
1 lb. raw chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. cornstarch, divided use
¼ tsp. sea salt (I used garlic sea salt)
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
½ cup low sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. sugar-free tomato paste
2 tsp. hoisin sauce
1 tsp. pure maple syrup or  raw honey (I used raw  clover honey)
2 Tbsp. cold water
1 Tbsp. or preferred amount toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
3. Place chicken, 2 Tbsp. cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl; toss until well coated.
4. Place chicken in a single layer on prepared baking sheet; bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until cooked through.
5. While chicken is baking, heat oil, and garlic in large skillet over medium heat; cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
6. Add soy sauce, broth, vinegar, tomato paste, hoisin sauce, and maple syrup/honey. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook for 4 to 5 minutes.
7. Dissolve remaining 1 tsp. cornstarch in cold water; add to soy sauce mixture. Gently boil, stirring frequently, for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken.
8. Add cooked chicken to sauce, coating thoroughly.
9. Serve chicken sprinkled with ground sesame seeds and serve with steamed broccoli and brown rice or side of your choice.

21 day fix/ fix exteme stats per serving:

1 Red, 1/2 orange, 1 tsp

 

Nutrition facts per serving:

Cals: 168

Carbs: 7g

Fat: 1g

Protein: 25g

Fiber: 1g

Sugar: 3g

Sodium: 546 mg

Potassium: 154mg

Vitamin A: 2%

Vitamin C: 7%

Iron: 3

 

 

 

Weekly meal prep

Not much to my meal prep this week but I said I'd do this weekly so here you go!

My meal prep for work is very similar- almost the same- as last week. My breakfast & lunch ARE the same and my snacks are just a tiny bit variation. Again, for me, simplicity (and budget friendly) are key. I spent less than $25 on my work meal prep groceries + the things I needed to grab for dinner that I didn't already have in my fridge/cabinet. And I stay full all day at work!

CTC days: 3G, 6R, 1Y, 3tsp

Breakfast: Whole wheat English Muffin w/ almond butter= 1Y, 1tsp

Morning Snack: ½ scoop Vegan Choc Shakeo w/ 1/2c cashew milk & greens = ½ R

Lunch: Lean ground turkey with green beans=2R, 2G

Afternoon Snack: Choc shakeo “pudding”- ½ sc Vegan Choc Shakeo w/ Dannon Light & Fit greek vanilla yogurt cup (5.3oz cup)= 1.5R

Dinner: Refer to dinner menu= 2R, 1G

Reg Ext Days: 3G, 4R, 2Y, 2 tsp, 2P, 1B, 1O

Breakfast: English Muffin w/ almond butter & ½ sliced banana= 1Y, 1tsp, 1P

Morning Snack: ½ scoop Vegan Choc Shakeo w/ ½ c cashew milk, frozen berries & greens = ½ R, 1P

Lunch: Ground chicken or turkey stir fry =2R, 2G

Afternoon Snack: rice cake with almond butter= 1Y, 1tsp

Dinner: Refer to dinner menu= 2R, 1G

**Swapped blue for an extra ½ Red**

I'm debating on just doing CTC all week. See...my next milestone goal is close and the date I set for it is my wedding anniversary- June 13th. As of Friday (3 days ago) I was literally 1 pound away from this milestone number I'm aiming to reach- with a week to spare. Regardless of the fact that -as usual- the weekend got the better of me and I gained some back by this morning, I'm confident I can reach this milestone goal # before my goal date but if I'm lucky enough for that to be the case, the trick is to maintain it! So I'm thinking instead of carb cycling and doing the 2 days CTC interlaced with 1 day of the regular extreme plan (as given in the meal plan calendar for the CTC plan option of the 21dfx), I'll maybe do CTC everyday- cut out the regular extreme (higher carb) days in order to have more of a deficit and kick butt in reaching my goal by the 13th. I'll try it through Wednesday (since that's supposed to be my 1st regular ext. day this week) to see how it goes and let yall know if my theory seemed to work!

Anywho, DINNER. Here's my dinner menu for the week! My weekly "new recipe" for this week is healthy 21df approved general tso's chicken. I love Chinese food so I'm stoked to try it! I'll let yall know later in the week how it turned out, along with the recipe!

Dinner

Monday CTC: Fish [R] with steamed veggies [G]

Tuesday CTC: Taco [salad] Tuesday! Lean ground meat (R), Lettuce/Tomato (G), Optional Black beans/tortilla strips [Y]

Wednesday Ext: 21df general Tso chicken- 1 red, 1/2 orange, 1 tsp

Thursday CTC: Chicken [R] with veggies [G] or leftovers

Friday CTC: [turkey] bacon-wrapped asparagus (R & G)