Are You Getting Enough Water? Time to Make a Water Bomb

The one thing that I struggle with is drinking all of the water that I should each day.  Oh my goodness.  It seems like if I'm not drinking than I am in the bathroom.  This gets really hard with working a full time job.  My boss wouldn't really like it if I was asking for a restroom break every 30 minutes. lol

So, how do I make sure to drink all of my water each day? Well, let's start with how much water I should be drinking.  It is recommended to drink 1/2 of your body weight in ounces each day.  For me that would be 178 divided by 2 = 89,  That is at least 89 ounces of water!  Yup a lot!

The water in your tea or coffee doesn't count either!  I needed a way to keep track of my water every day so I decided to create a water bomb.  Ok now before you ask what in the world is that?, let me explain.

If you carry a water bomb around with you wherever you go, then you never have to worry about not having water with you.  It gives you a rough estimate about how much and how often you should be drinking.  One gallon is 128 ounces!  So if your drinking a water bomb each day, then you have your water intake pretty much covered.

The benefits to your skin, your mood, not getting dehydrated and getting headaches and the help with weight loss makes this idea  one that I decided I definitely needed to do!

So let's get your water bomb on.  Hydrate yourself each day.  To make the jug just take a tape measure and remember that every inch equals 2 hours!
 
Got it?  Great, now let's get your Hydrate on!  :)
                               

Transform Yourself with Hammer and Chisel...Week 2 Progress

Beginning of week 3...the scale went up 2.4 lbs which could have been very depressing with all of the hard work I have been doing.  I did let a few thing creep back into my eating, so I need to take those out again.  I ate about 90% clean all week. 

This is why I stress the importance of not going by what the scale says and taking your measurements.  If I went just by the scale, I would end up getting upset about the weight gain and probably go eat my emotions.  But because I took measurements I can see why the scale went up,  but look at the rest it ALL went down.  

This week...

I lost 3% of my body fat!

I lost 4.60 lbs of fat!

I gained 7 lbs of muscle!

I lost 5.5 inches!

Total results since I started on January 4th...

I lost 6% of my body fat! 

The scale says ...

I lost 5.6 lbs.

Measurements say...

I lost 12.79 lbs of fat!

I gained 7.19 lbs of muscle!

I lost 16 inches!

So ladies (and gents) don't let that scale define your success! 

Message me or follow me on facebook to start your own health and fitness journey.  I run private online health and wellness accountability groups and we would love to have you. :)

I Survived the Holidays By Transforming Myself with PiYo

In October, I struggled with my health and fitness journey.  I almost lost one of the people who mean the most to me in the world.  He was life flighted to Boston, where thank God, they were able to save him. <3

My goodbye photos!

My emotional eating took over and I gained over 16 lbs in one month, and Lots and Lots of inches! :(  Things got completely out of control and I felt so lost.  I spoke to Amanda, my coach and we decided that the best thing I could do for me was to start fresh, to focus on my own journey and to take a step back from coaching.

I wasn't sure about this at first.  I was afraid that everyone would think that I was giving up.  I saw this as a failure on my part, and ALL I wanted to do was hide.  But I didn't.  I was very up front with my challengers and let them know what was going on.  This was definitely the BEST thing for me!

I started PiYo on November 1st.  It still amazes me that a program that is a lot of fast stretching, pilates and yoga can transform me so much.  I was so afraid that I would not have ANY results and that I was just wasting my time. I NEEDED something to work for me, I NEEDED to be able to SEE a transformation.  I REALLY NEEDED to get my life back on track.

Mostly I NEEDED to PROVE to myself that my time as a coach was NOT a WASTE!  So, even though I struggled with eating healthy, the holidays are so hard with ALL of the temptations!  AM I right?  I did not get upset with myself when I ate something not so good for me.  I did not get upset with myself when I did not push play as often as I should.  I just kept going.

Whenever I came home tired and didn't want to push play, I would talk to a few of my AMAZING challengers, and then get my ass off the couch!  Thank you so much Rebecca for the wonderful talk we had at your house.  You have NO idea but that was a turning point for me! <3

Even with having bronchitis for the last two weeks, even with the horrible eating from the last week and not pushing play as much as I should, I am TRULY proud of my results! ;)

I lost 6% of my body fat!

I lost 11.75 lbs of fat!

I gained 8.75 lbs of muscle!

I lost 14 inches!

YES - they could have been MUCH better!  YES - I sabotaged myself quite often this round...BUT I still got some pretty AMAZING results from this program.

Just imagine what my results, or even yours, would be if  I (or you) followed this program to a T.

CRUSTLESS PUMPKIN PIE....21 DAY FIX APPROVED

After making custard, pumpkin and apple pie for my family for Christmas, it was certainly nice to have one that was a healthy choice for me as well.  I can't tell you how delicious this pie is.  I am so thankful that my friend Amee at inspiredhousewife.com decided to share this recipe.

Besides, let's face it, everything tastes better when it is pumpkin :)

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

3 large eggs
2 cups pumpkin
½ cup honey
1 cup almond milk
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cloves

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Grease pie plate with coconut oil.
In a large mixing bowl,add in three eggs, pumpkin, honey, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ground ginger and cloves and whisk until mixed well together.

Add pie filling to the pie plate. Bake until the center is set and inserting a toothpick comes out clean.

21 Day Fix 1 slice of pumpkin pie = 1 purple container

This recipe is gluten free and refined sugar free.

Save Time and Money With These 10 Tips for Meal Prep

We have heard this over and over…. Meal prep is KEY to having a successful week. It’s so true! If you don’t have it prepped, you are more likely to grab the most convenient thing… which is most likely not so good for you. 

Here are a ten tips to help you with your meal prep/plans :

1-Make a Plan

Make a list of your favorite healthy foods, choose some simple recipes that you can make quickly or in bulk.  Make sure you choose what you are going to eat for every snack and meal.  This may take a little bit at first but this step does get easier and faster with some practice.

TIP:  You can save your plan for a week in the future.  Once you create a few meal prep menus then you can rotate them every week or every other week to keep things interesting.  I am going to work on creating a few for myself today.

2-Stick to Your Grocery List

When you are shopping, don’t let the sales on junk food tempt you into throwing it into your cart.  If you don’t have it in your house then you won’t have to worry about having the willpower to avoid it. Now, I realize that sometimes we have to buy it for our family members, but I suggest weaning them away from it too.  If it’s not good for you, why is it good for your loved ones?

Impulse purchases…if you can find a way to fit it in with your eating plan for the week, then go for it, but keep them to a minimum.  It helps with your waist line and your budget.

3- Don’t Forget About Shakeology

For those of you who drink Shakeo…If you feel like you are short on fruits and veggies, this is one healthy snack that takes care of it all.    I make sure to drink mine every morning.  Don’t let yourself get stuck drinking the same shakeo every day though.  Try out some new recipes.  I have found a few lately that I absolutely love.  I share them on my like page. J

4-Keep Snacks Simple

When you are cooking everything for your week, or even 3-4 days at a time, (I usually do from Sunday to Wednesday, then Thursday to Saturday), it is so important to keep things simple.  Save some time by choosing snacks that are simple to prepare.  Cups of fresh fruit, nuts, cut up veggies with hummus and hard boiled eggs are great snack ideas.

5-Cook Foods All At Once

Roast your veggies, sweet potatoes and meat all at once.  That way your dishes are all prepared for the week, ready in about 30 minutes or so.  This saves you so much time.

6-Look for Shortcuts

Buy your veggies and fruit precut (I don’t normally do this), or a cooked rotisserie chicken (be careful with this, because your not sure how much salt they use).  Tuna is an easy no cook protein that you can add to your salads or snacks.  If you are roasting veggies in the oven then try this tip to cook a dozen eggs…

Preheat your oven to 325.  Put your eggs in a  muffin tin and bake them for 30 minutes.  Then carefully remove them and plunge the eggs into a bowl of ice water until cool. 

7-Get on the Mason Jar Salad Bandwagon

Mason jar salads are very practical.  They cost about a dollar a piece, are microwave safe (remove the lid first) and have a lot of uses.  The dressing is at the bottom of the jar and the greens are at the top, no soggy lettuce for you!  I will share a few salad recipes later on. J

8-Mix Things Up

Eating the same meal every day can make your meal planning very easy. AND it is very tempting to do that, but you can get bored with what you eat.  Have two lunch options and two dinner options.  You can do this by choosing different proteins for your salads each day or eating chicken with your veggies three nights a week and fish with veggies the other nights.  Get creative but still remember to keep things simple.

9-Invest in Food Storage Containers

It’s a great idea to choose one container type and buy several that stack and store neatly.  Insulated bags make carrying your meals everywhere you go a breeze.  Mason jars and sturdy pyrex are great containers as well.  Make sure whatever you choose is microwave safe and BPA-free.

10-Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

All of these tips and your meal prep have a purpose and that is to help you reach your health and fitness goals.  When everything is prepared and it is in the fridge ready for you to take out and go, then you will be less tempted to grab something from McD’s or a gas station.  It doesn’t matter if you are doing your meal prep for a few days at a time, or for a week, getting it done will help you stick to your meal plan, focus on your goals and give you more time to Push Play!

~Darlene <3