84 Days

84 days since I began this journey.
84 days and these are my results.

84 days filled with sweat, tears, motivation, discouragement, energy and doubt.

84 days of counting calories.

84 days of telling myself “Yes, this is HARD but NO! YOU CANNOT GO BACK TO THE WAY YOU WERE!”

84 days of not seeing the kind of results I wanted.

84 days of encouragement from my AMAZING friends.

84 days without artificial sweetener.

84 days closer to my goal than I was 84 days ago.

84 days closer to peace and happiness with my body … and myself.

Back in January when I would sit down I had 2 huge rolls of fat on my stomach. 84 days later I sit down, and while its not washboard flat, I no longer have rolls.

Back in January I had to force myself to try to even workout ONE day a week. 84 days later, I consistently workout at least 5 days a week (and I love it).

Back in January when I would walk my upper thighs would rub together causing friction/skin irritation. 84 days later, no more irritation.

Back in January I used to drink soda, tea, coffee, juice and NEVER drink water. 84 days later I only drink water (other beverages are a rare treat that I hardly ever crave).

Back in January I bought Extra Large sized workout pants, sports bras, tank tops (and they were still tight). 84 days later I only buy Large.

Back in January I wore shin splint sleeves on my shins because of pain when I walked too much on treadmill. 84 days later, I no longer need the sleeves/no shin pain.

Give it 84 days. Change won’t happen overnight. Nothing will change if you keep doing the same things you were doing. Baby steps.

Make one small change a week or month. Then stick with it. Prove to yourself you can change something… ANYTHING. For example, make a chart to do 40 crunches every night before bed. Put a smiley face/star sticker by each date you do it. Then after 30 days of that, add on 20 jumping jacks. Do both for 30 days. Then add on something else like “no soda for 30 days.” Stop making goals that are too overwhelming. Stop trying the same methods you have already had issues with in the past. Simplify. Something is better than nothing.

If I can do this, so can you. I was the biggest excuse maker/pessimist you can imagine. I still struggle with self-doubt and negativity. Take it one day at a time. Patience is by far the hardest part of this process next to motivation.

You know exactly how your life will be if you never change your lifestyle. It will be how it was last week, last month, last year. But the moment you start making changes, you are entering uncharted territory. A place where anything is possible and YOU have the power to make all your dreams a reality. ❤ I can’t wait to see what happens next.

My Workout Schedule

I have been asked a lot lately what my what my Workout schedule consists of. Its not complicated. I listen to my body and make substitutions if needed. If one day I can’t make it to the gym, I have modifications I can go to.

If you have any questions about my Workout schedule, please comment below. 🙂

Feeling discouraged

Feeling discouraged? I am today. It happens. You have got to keep working out anyway. You’re not going to see dramatic results every week. Or even every month. I’ve made some good progress in 10 weeks (though I have only lost 6 pounds), but it never feels like enough. I workout (weight training/cardio) 5 -6 days a week. I even did an hour of Zumba today. But it only made me realize how out of shape I am. I made it through the entire class and really pushed myself. But people who have been doing it a long time make it look easy. Its like that anytime you start something new. When I started dancing almost 3 years ago, I never thought I’d pick up choreography. But I did with practice and dedication. You have to wake up everyday with a “can do” attitude to get through this journey. Sometimes you wake up and say “I can’t” … It still happens to me. You have to fight the urge to give up and force yourself to do it anyway. Just walk into the gym or put your workout clothes … Make yourself exercise. Have you seen the movie “Fight Club”? I pretend there is a negative fat Me inside myself. Your inner pessimist will fight you. The fat/lazy old version of yourself will try and convince you this is pointless, that you might as well give up now. Fight that voice. Fight the old you. Cry if you need to. I get angry at the old me. You have to hate your old self so that you can love your new self more. Its hard. But you won’t feel any better by not working out, I promise you that. It takes time to become a healthier version of yourself. For me its going to take a lot longer than 3 months. But I am 3 months closer than I’ve ever been before. One foot in front of the other. Never surrender to the old you. If one day you do, fight even harder tomorrow.

My 10 Week Results

Per my friend Katie’s advice, I upped my weight training reps to 4 sets of 10 instead of 3 and split up my workout days (will post my workout schedule tomorrow). I am also doing 44 crunches every night (I had my friends pick how many they thought I should do, then averaged the numbers). Finally starting to see some definition. This is still only the beginning … Excited to see where the next 10 weeks take me!

Sweet Tooth

During your weight loss journey you are bound to get a sweet tooth once in a while. Since I normally don’t do breakfast (fasted workouts) I occasionally find myself missing “breakfast foods.” You can enjoy healthy versions of traditional breakfast foods that satisfy that sweets craving anytime of day (as long as you work it into your daily calorie intake of course!). Here are some of my favorite clean recipe ideas:

        Chocolate Banana Quinoa

        Cornmeal Berry Pancakes

               Broiled Grapefruit

Last but not least, my favorite go-to recipe: take whole grain/multi-grain Bagel Thins/Waffles/Toast, spread almond butter (raw or roasted) on it and add bananas or strawberries. I prefer Ezekiel bread, you can find it in the freezer section anywhere they sell health foods (my favorite bread, hands down!).

My Greatest Inspiration

Lets see if I can write this without crying. 😉

About 2 years ago, I had been dancing at a studio for only a few months doing hip hop and street jazz (for the first time in my life, mind you … Never too late to start!!!) when I decided to take a hip hop class with a new teacher. It was her first day at the studio and I was surprised how packed the room was with students! I soon realized why there were so many people.

Katie started the class and was super peppy and not to sound cheesy but she literally had a glow about her that was like looking at sunshine. Her choreography was AMAZING (I still remember Chris Brown … “Look At Me Now”) and her teaching style was so impressive. She really connected with the class. I felt ALIVE.

After class the studio owner asked my opinion of her, I said: “I really like her … She’s very energetic!”  From that point on I was hooked on Katie’s classes.

One day I took a class of hers and found the choreography (Beyonce – “1+ 1”) very challenging for me. I left class feeling down and frustrated. Instead of crying about it, I went home and practiced and practiced until I finally got it. I recorded myself doing the choreo and sent it to her. She was so impressed that I got it with so little dance experience. Her praise and genuine enthusiasm for me that day is ingrained in my memory. It was the push that propelled me into dance full time. Because of her, I finally realized after years of self-doubt … YOU REALLY CAN DO ANYTHING YOU SET YOUR MIND TO!

I used to tell her I needed her class because I need *Katie Energy* to get me through my week … Because being around her, the way she teaches women to love themselves and their bodies and be confident and LIVE their lives to the fullest… It was contagious and addictive. Other students I have talked to about her have said the same exact thing. I would leave her class feeling like all my stresses and worries were left on the dance floor. She has something rare and special inside her. Everyone who meets her sees it because she radiates beauty from the inside out.

After discussing my weight issues with her back then, we started to become friends. She told me about her journey to fitness and her struggles. We really related to one another and had had similar experiences. She helped me by giving me food suggestions, book recommendations and all kinds of health information. But most of all she encouraged me. She encourages everyone and is always genuinely positive. We could certainly use more Katie’s in the world!

Katie has become one of my closest and dearest friends. She has continued to give me advice on fitness and on life. She offered to make me a personalized workout program today. Even though she is busy … constantly training, working, teaching and doing a million other things everyday … She still finds time to be an awesome friend to me. I love our long text sessions about life, love, difficulties and successes. Because everytime without fail, I leave our conversations feeling like a powerful/foxy/tough woman and seeing things in a different light: She has that affect on people. Everyone should have a “Katie” in their life.

Katie is truly one of the most intelligent, beautiful, giving, optimistic, creative, hard working, funny, talented, wise, thoughtful, energetic people I have ever met. I wanted to write this blog about her because she is a huge part of my success today. This is my thank you to her. Thank you, Katie!

LYLT

Fat-free/Low-cal Shamrock Shake

Happy St.Patrick’s Day! I found this great fat-free version of McDonalds “Shamrock Shake” at skinnykitchen.com. McDonalds’ version has 550 calories and 13 grams of fat. This skinny version has 184 calories and 0 fat. (Note: If you add a dash of almond milk like I did, there will still be less than a gram of fat in it) [Just add your favorite protein powder (and extra water) to make it a protein shake!]

You’ll need:
¾ cup fat-free frozen vanilla yogurt
½ cup fat-free milk (I used water with a dash of almond milk)
⅛ teaspoon peppermint extract or mint extract
5 drops green food coloring
2 packets Stevia
3-4 ice cubes

Combine all shake ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until smooth. 

Makes 1 (16 oz) serving

2 Month Results

Hard to believe its only been 8 weeks. I feel like my health-focused lifestyle change has become a permanent part of who I am today. Though I still have not lost weight on the scale, working out 5 days a week has certainly started to tone my body. I plan on increasing my workouts to 7 days a week and adding more variety. I am also going to continue to try and eat cleaner and keep drinking lots of water. If you have any thoughts or comments, please share them with me.

Egg White & Oat Pancake

My good friend/mentor/dance instructor/inspiration Katie gave me this idea. She made this one day and posted a picture to Facebook and I thought to myself: “That looks interesting I must try it someday!”  Well, folks … today was the day! My first attempt went ok. I did 4 egg whites and half a cup of oats with a dash of vanilla extract and cinnamon sprinkled on top. I should have whisked more to make it fluffier and maybe added less oats … Find what equation works for you. But here’s how my first turned out:

Hey at least I didn’t burn it! I cooked it on medium-low heat in a non-stick skillet. I decided to try another one so I cut up the pancake to save for a snack later. Maybe with some almond butter. Mmm.

So my second attempt didn’t go as well. I broke the pancake and decided to break it up into a “hash” consistency. Then I added slices of half a large banana and chopped the banana with the spatula … This is what I came up with:

And actually, its really good! The banana adds some sweetness to it. So its a good option if you get tired of the pancake.

Katie sometimes adds a dash of almond milk to hers. I think that sounds good! I imagine there are lots of variations you can make for this recipe. Post comments on any variations you think sound like they might be good and I’ll try it next time and post pics.

Gyms Are Easy, Kitchens Are Tough

Some people may have the reverse issue when it comes to changing lifestyle into a healthy one. For me, the working out has been the easy part. You just show up and work. There isn’t a lot of thinking … Its mostly doing. I like that. My diet, on the other hand, has been an uphill challenge. Yes, the My Fitness Pal app helps emensly with counting calories. But you still have to make healthy choices. I’ve reached a point now, 2 months in, where I am realizing what they say is true … Diet and exercise go hand in hand. I think I have reached a plateau by mainly focusing on working out. And while working out 5 days a week over the past 8 weeks has been a HUGE change and step in the right direction … Its not enough. I am going to start eating smarter and cleaner. Starting with these 4 simple changes I came up with tonight. Sometimes small steps in the right direction can lead to big results. Every little bit helps!

1. When eating grains, always choose whole grains.
2. Eat at least one fruit and one veggie a day … Change it up so you don’t get bored.
3. Get a food scale to measure out more accurate serving sizes.
4. Do not eat past 8pm. If “hungry” drink hot tea (my favorite is peppermint).

If you have any tips you’d like to share, please comment!