Weekly Re-Cap & Meal Plan

Let me just start off by saying this week definitely did not go the way it was planned to.

Things come up, right?

That's my rationalization. I know this week I fell victim to my own excuses. I worked out, but my food was NOT spot on, in any sense of the matter. But let me tell you, I do not feel great at all, but that also leaves me even more excited to crush my meal plan for next week! I actually can't wait for Monday, there's something about the start of a new week that gets me fired UP.

I am going to Maui in just under two weeks! I am so excited, but at the same time, I am more motivated than ever to actually wear a bikini, and NOT be embarrassed!

Below is my 7 day meal plan for THIS week. I am doing this week with an accountability group so we can all help each other work towards our goals, and stay on track. (If you want to take part of this free accountability group, email me at mskfitness@yahoo.ca, Subject Free Challenge so I can plug you in)

My goals for THIS week, are to workout 2X a day (keep in mind my workouts are 30 minutes or less, so I am by no means killing myself with hour, or several hour long workouts), doing a combination of cardio and strength training. My AM workouts will be my cardio, typically T25 as it's the BOMB of all workouts. As for strength, I am picking up with P90X which btw, I am loving. I want to throw Insanity in the mix 2X a week for a more intense cardio workout too! Anything Shaun T, and I am GAME.

Here are MY goals:

I vow to drink enough water each day.

I will drink 2 cups of green tea per day.

I commit to following this meal plan, and working out either back to back, or one in the am, and one in the PM.

I WILL feel amazing when I am on my way to MAUI!

Will keep you posted on my progress this week, as well as some new moves I am excited to learn in P90X. Let's get RIPPED!

Have a beautiful week <3

xXx

T25 ON SALE!

Hey guys!

Yep, c'est moi. 8 months ago. And these aren't even my actual before pictures, I was so embarrassed to take before pictures, I didn't even want to see them. Finally found the courage about a month in to take them.

TIP: Take before pictures. 

This is me NOW. I took this picture about a week ago. 

Ok, so let me be honest. I was feeling so discouraged because the scale was not moving for me the last three months. Granted, my eating was starting to slip a little bit, but I still felt I was working out daily, and eating really healthy.

Then I took my progress pictures. Seriously, the tip of taking pictures, I was not kidding. I felt like I had made no progress, so you can believe I was stunned to see the difference!! More than stunned, I feel freaking amazing. 

 

Before I started T25, I feel like I was a completely different person. I put myself last on the list, as most parents do. I struggled, I felt like I had lost myself when being a parent should be the BEST time of your life. My beautiful girls are perfect, and deserved to have a mom who was active, a great role model for them, and someone they could look up to. I won't lie, it was tough. The first week I thought of nothing else other than quitting. But something inside me told me to keep going. I was worth it. Looking into the faces of my kids, that was worth it. My husband, my relationships with my friends, my LIFE, it was ALL worth it. I wanted to be the best version of me, and it started with realizing I needed to make myself a priority in order to be the best person I knew how to be.

My results were not just physical. That just happened to be a bonus. I have realized now that those walls I had confined myself to, were built by ME. I thought I was incapable of being fit. I thought I wasn't good enough for people to really like me. I didn't think I was capable of running a business. I created so many limitations! When one wall came crashing down, and I realized I COULD in fact get into shape, and overcome HUGE challenges, what else could I do? The world became my oyster and I realized if I wanted something, it was mine for the taking. Talk about life changing!

What can YOU do in 10 weeks?

Do you want to get into better shape for the Summer? I am starting a 10 week Challenge Group, we will lose weight, tighten and tone your entire body following the T25 Program! 

It's created by Shaun T (The BEST trainer in my opinion), and is my all time favourite workout! It's one I always revert back to, because, did I forget to mention, it's only 25 minutes long! I have gone through the program, I have been successful with this program. Now it's YOUR turn, and you can have the SAME results I did.

Yes, it's going to take hard work and eating healthy foods. The hard work is over in 25 minutes, so as hard as it might be, it's over before you know it. Everybody has 25 minutes. You might fumble in the beginning, need to do the modified version, but guess what? You will still get there, and everyday be closer and closer to reaching YOUR goals! 

If you would like to participate...Here's the deal:

Bikini season is coming fast ladies... It's time to get serious!

Here is what I cover in the challenge:

- How to create and maintain lasting results through living a healthy lifestyle; this is NOT a quick fix

- How to become the best YOU

- Group support and friendships

-Daily Check ins/challenges and Accountability

- Recipe, nutrition tips, and sample meal plans

- HEALTHY COMPETITION!

 Last but not least… RESULTS. If you just COMMIT, those results you want, will be yours.

You READY?

Here's what you've got to do:

1) Purchase the T25 Challenge Pack from this link : http://bit.ly/t25mskfitness

It is on sale for April, I love a good deal!!

2) Mentally prepare to do this. Get ready to give this your all. Get rid of all of your excuses now and be ready to do this full throttle!! 

3) Email me your goals, and WHY you want to do this challenge at mskfitness@yahoo.ca so we can get you enrolled into the challenge! 

How to Meal Prep

I have always been SUPER interested in meal prep, and how food and nutrition can affect your body composition and weight loss. I wanted to put together a post about how I do my meal prep, what I use, and then how I portion it out so that you can get the BEST results. This will ALL depend on where you're at in your weight loss. I am definitely not a person who advocates cutting out an entire food group such as carbs. I love me some good ol' fashioned carbs! :P

OKAY.

Now the fun starts.

First thing you need to do, is figure out your daily caloric intake. Yes, you're going to have to measure, and make sure you're eating ENOUGH. Most people start eating "healthy" but then don't even come close to their daily NEEDED calories just to function. Come on people! This is about getting HEALTHY. There is nothing healthy about going under your calories!

You can go to www.myfitnesspal.com for an easy quick start on how many calories you will want to eat, and you can easily track in this app too. I use it and it definitely keeps me in check.

Next up: Grocery Shop.

Stick to the outside perimeter of the grocery store for the most part. Pick up your fruit, veggies, meat, and then go into the centre to get your starches such as quinoa, oats, cereals, tomato sauce, etc.

Not sure how much to buy? Make sure you've made a plan of what you're going to EAT for the week. This is CRUCIAL so that you don't end up over buying. Meat is okay to buy too much of, because it freezes well. Make sure you have enough for 6 meals a day! A typical day for me looks like this:

AM - Chocolate Shakeology made with 1/2 water, 1/2 Almond Milk & 1 tbs of Almond Butter
Snack - Plain Greek Yogurt with Stevia and Frozen Raspberries (mashed to make ice cream consistency)
Lunch - Pita bread w/veggies & lean protein
Snack - Asparagus and chicken strips (boneless, skinless)
Dinner - Salmon, salad, and veggies, sometimes I do a 1/2 sweet potato on days I do an extra workout, about every other day
Snack - Cucumber & Apple Cider Vinegar

Look at your plan and you'll be able to clearly see how much you will need. If you want EASY for the first week, and you're a beginner, do the same time of meal plan each day, just change up the big meal or swap the meals (make lunch dinner, or dinner lunch). I always try to do my carbs BEFORE 2pm, and majority of my calories so I can use them for fuel for the rest of the day.

Think about it, food is fuel. We don't need fuel when we're only going to be awake for a few more hours, or at least not much anyway. You don't want to go to bed starving, but not FULL either!

Now it's MEAL PREP DAY! I know, you might be slightly overwhelmed, some of you might actually be dreading it, but DONT. It's SO insanely easy, and the rest of the week is a breeze. It's so worth it. Turn on some music, enjoy it!

First things first.

Prepare your meat first and put it in the oven!

I get a cookie sheet, cover it in tin foil, and place 6 chicken breasts on it. I put a small dollop of coconut oil on each piece, then cover in seasonings. I personally use chili powder (goes really well with coconut oi!), garlic powder, and pepper.

Do the same for a filet of Salmon but use Dill, lemon and a small amount of EVOO. Then I also prepare a cookie sheet with Asparagus so I can throw it in once the meat is done. Again, EVOO and seasonings! I make them super crispy. I put the oven on 350 for the chicken for 30-ish minutes. I leave the salmon in for about 25 minutes on 350, too! 

Once your meat is in the oven...

Get your veggies, eggs and quinoa on the go.

Start boiling water for your eggs (I use 8). As water starts to boil, in a frying pan, add minced garlic, coconut oil, and onions. Cook for 3 minutes. Add in 4 cups of water and 2 cups of quinoa. Bring to a boil, add seasonings. Then cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. As your quinoa cooks, chop up veggies and steam them of just use them raw and put them into a ziploc bag big enough to hold veggies for the ENTIRE day. I throw salad in there too! EASY CLEAN UP.

Meat is DONE!

Let your meat COOL. At this point start chopping up your fruit. Again, you can put them into a ziploc so you don't have to have copious amounts of tupperwares (and then missing lids if you're anything like me! Or too many lids and no tupperware! lol). I do not exceed more than 2 servings of fruit per day (1 handful of berries or half grapefruit).

Cut your meat into proper portion sizes and bag individually. I cut up all the chicken into strips and again, bag serving sizes individually or put into a big tupperware!

Now put your eggs and quinoa into a tupperware or baggie. This is where people tend to eat TOO much. A serving of grains should be about a 1/2 cup. Once you add in a lot of veggies, it will be a LARGE stir fry or a nice sized side to a meal! (Or the base to a great salad, thats why I make quinoa, its very versatile!)

The dry oats you *may* have, also put those in individual baggies so they're ready for the AM, along with baggies with almonds. I don't exceed about 10 almonds! Yes, they're healthy, but you don't want to go overboard! 

Label or put post-it's on each bag/tupperware so you have each day ready to go!!

DONE.

Now make sure you have that water bottle full and you're drinking about 1/2-1 oz for every pound you weigh.

This lasts me about 5 days. I freeze the meat on day 3 if I have too much, so I can take it out the day I eat them. 

HOW FREAKING AWESOME DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU'RE DONE!?

*NOTE* Most Sundays I also throw something in the crockpot. Be it chili, sauce, sweet and sour chicken, so that I have a healthy comfort food for the fam jam!