21 Day Fix: The First Week

So I started my newest round of the 21 Day Fix with my challenge group I have going. Which, by the way, my challengers are ROCKING!! One of my girls lost 4 lbs in the first week!!! This is my third round with this awesome program! This is a perfect example of why I love these program, they don't just hang out on my shelves after I'm done with the first go around I am constantly switching in between my programs as well as trying out the new ones! So first things first, here was the line up of workouts:

Week 1 Workout Plan

I won't lie, this is my third round with this program and the Total Body Cardio still kills me! Its cardio with weights and to this day I have to use to modifications, it is INTENSE! My favorite workouts are by far the Upper Fix, Lower Fix, and Dirty 30. I have grown to LOVE weight training and seeing the muscles I'm getting from it! **Lifting weights DOES NOT make you bulky**

Lower Fix Workout

On to the meal plan! In all my previous rounds I had stuck to pretty much just eating plain jane and just eating the different containers without trying to get too creative and make meals out of them! This time around I decided I was going to try and spice it up a little and make some actual meals out of the different containers I was allowed. So I set to Pinterest! Here is the meal plan I used for my first week!

Week 1 Menu Plan

I tried out some cool recipes I found and figured out which containers I had to account for them. I am in the 1200-1400 calorie bracket so that means I get allotted: 3 Green(veggies), 2 Purple(fruits), 4 Red(proteins), 2 Yellow(starches), 1 Blue(good fats), 1 Orange(dressings), 2 Teaspoons(oils). I actually found it easiest to pick out what my dinners were going to be and then fill in the rest of my day with the containers I had left to use! Of course my Shakeology(1 Red) is always accounted for too because I have to have it every day or I'm a sad little girl!

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

Egg Fried Rice Dinner

I love this program because no matter how many times I've done it I still get results each new time I do it! I've already lost 2 lbs and my stomach is feeling and looking more defined! And the meals this time around are even more enjoyable!! Even better news, this program is on sale through the end of the month!

21 Day Fix On Sale in September

If you are interested in trying out the 21 Day Fix or any of the other programs available and be a participant in my next challenge group fill out the application below and we can chat!! :)

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How to Drink Water Like a #Boss

I have made it no secret that I am horrible at remembering to drink my water. Its not even that I would rather drink other things instead of my water. My problem is I have a hard time remembering to drink any kinds of fluids all day long! I guess I just don't get thirsty. Weird I know. So I decided to give myself a challenge! 

Introducing the Gallon of Water a Day Challenge!

Gallon a Day Challenge

For Ryken's birthday we bought a TON of gallons of sweet tea from Chicken Express. So we had some extras laying around and I didn't want to consume all that sweet tea (I LOVE SWEET TEA) so I dumped them out. But I saved one of the gallon bottles stuck it in the dishwasher to wash it out and set to work!

I made dashes down the side: 8am, 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, 7pm, and 9pm. I got a little creative with my decorations to make it fun! My goal is to drink my water level down to the dash corresponding with the time of day. For example by 1pm my water level should be down to the 1pm mark. Now let me be clear, I did not stress about making them perfectly exactly spaced out. I just eyeballed it. Guess what, I made it through the whole day yesterday not missing a time! I was so excited haha (little things). I guess for me giving myself a challenge really worked out well!

If you are like me and have an issue getting all the water you need in I really suggest giving this a try!! Let me know how it turns out! 

A Day in the Life of a 21 Day Fixer

So as I said the other day I started a new round of the 21 Day Fix (YAY!) So my thought was I should lay out what a whole day of eating looks like on this program. I seriously feel like I eat MORE when I'm doing this program than I normally would. So that fear you have that you think you'll be starving on this program, go ahead and throw that out the nearest window and let's get this party going!!

8:00am: I wake up and go check on Ryken (who slept until 10am this morning! WHOO!) I have a glass of water immediately and start my Kuerig up because Mama needs her coffee! I then proceed to pop into my challenge groups I have going to check in and check my emails for school and whatnot and figure out which tasks I need to tackle for the day

Breakfast Shakeology

10:00am: The little monster arises! haha get him a bottle and set up my handy dandy Hamilton Blender to get my Shakeology started. My ABSOLUTE favorite recipe is my vegan chocolate with a tsp of PB2. Today I threw in a green container of spinach because I had an extra veggie container unaccounted for when I drew up my menu plan for the week.

I spend the next few hours chasing Ryken around, who despite getting a MILLION AND A HALF toys for his birthday still insists that his favorite is the dog's water bowl. Oh this boy of mine. I then attempted to fold laundry which was a complete joke because Ryken took that as an invitation to unfold every single item. But I'm getting off track.

12:00pm: This is probably my favorite snack of the day. I grab my greek yogurt (red container for those of us keeping count), strawberries (purple) and mix all that yummy goodness up. (I normally would have added some honey into it but I'm trying to be good for these next three weeks!)

21 Day Fix Snack

I then decided to try to sit down and work on some homework since I've been seriously slacking in that department while Ryken took a nap. I also did a little coaching work (probably more than actual homework because funny thing, I enjoy that more than homework!) I also started dinner in the crock pot!

2:30pm: I finally dragged Adam out of bed so he could entertain Ryken for a while so I could make myself some lunch! Which was a sweet potato (yellow container) with cinnamon sprinkled over it, Brussels Sprouts & Onions (divided a green container) and a can of tuna fish (red) with balsamic vinegar (orange) drizzled over it! Honestly, this was too much food so I didn't even finish it all but it was super yummy!

21 Day Fix Lunch

3:10pm: I left the house to go pick up the little boy that I pick up from school and get back right in time for Adam to head off to work for the night (sad face)

5:00pm: Snack time! I voted for some kale chips! I went the lazy route at the grocery store and bought the kale already pulled off the stalk in the little containers. I dumped some of that on a baking sheet drizzled EEVO (tsp) over it and sprinkled some garlic powder and sea salt on top and baked for about 10 minutes at 300 degrees! Seriously guys, they taste like french fries!

21 Day Fix Snack

I spend the next couple of hours again, pulling Ryken out of the dog's water bowl, attempting to pick up the house a tad bit, chase the dog back into the house after he escapes. Hunt down the one year old because he's managed to crawl himself into a random room and I can't find him for at least 5 minutes which to a one year old is like 5 hours. MOVING ON!

7:00pm: Dinner time!! Like I said above I went with a crock pot meal tonight! Pork Carnitas! SO good! I really didn't think I'd get to thoroughly enjoy them as much as I wanted because I thought I wouldn't get to eat as much as I wanted but I couldn't even finish what I was "allowed"! The recipe for this is on my facebook page at facebook.com/shimmermefit This meal allotted for 1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow, and 1 blue container!

21 Day Fix Dinner

Now I bet you're wondering while I was doing all this eating and chasing my child and dog around when did I get my workout in?! That would be about half an hour ago after I finally got my wild child down for the night! Hey, mama's gotta do what mama's gotta do! At least I made no excuses and got it in when I would have MUCH rather laid my tired booty in bed and watch some tv!! 

But there you have it! As you can see this program is pretty much the shizz because not only are the workouts ONLY 30 minutes every day, BUT you get to EAT ALL THIS FOOD!! And still get FANTASTIC results. I know, I didn't believe it at first either, but when I dropped 6 pounds the first time I did it I became a believer!!  Interested in joining into my next challenge group!? Fill out the application below and we will chat!!!

Pilates Fix

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Eating Clean: Egg Fried Rice (21 Day Fix Approved)

So I started my next round of the 21 Day Fix on Monday, yay! I seriously LOVE LOVE LOVE this program I have gotten SO many great results from it! More on that later though! What I want to talk to you about today is mixing up the containers a little bit!

This round I decided to step a little outside the box! All my previous rounds I just selected which containers to eat at each time of the day but I never really got brave enough to make an actual meal out of them! So this time I did a little research and found some really yummy looking things I wanted to try out! Last night I tried a little concoction I like to call Egg Fried Rice! This uses 1 red container, 1 yellow, and 1 green. (I actually had a left over red container for the day so I added turkey bacon to the mix as well, because who doesn't love turkey bacon?!)

21 Day Fix Dinner

So first things first I assembled my ingredients:

2 Eggs

Brown Rice

Veggies of my choice (I chose to use onions and carrots but you can do whatever you like just make sure they fit into your green container!)

Like I said above I also used 2 slices of turkey bacon but that was an extra red container!

Directions:

1. I used the instant brown rice so I just microwaved a serving of it and measured out the correct amount to fit into the yellow container

2. Then I cooked up my turkey bacon in the skillet on medium heat and set that aside

3. Next I sprayed my skillet (you can also use one of your tsp for this and add coconut oil or EEVO) and cooked up my veggies and set those aside.

4. I then scrambled up my eggs.

5. I added everything to my bowl and devoured it!

I was actually really surprised because I thought I for sure was going to miss my beloved soy sauce but I didn't at all!! I did sprinkle some garlic powder and paprika on top of the finished product and it was DELICIOUS!

7 Pre-Workout Tips

So I started my second round of the Fix this week!! Super pumped!! I came across a video of Autumn talking about some pre-workout tips that I thought were really good so I wanted to share them with y'all!!

Pre Workout Tips

1. Get a caffeine kick: No that doesn't mean you need to go out and buy a "pre-workout shake" concoction, it can simply mean drinking a cup of coffee (mmm coffee)! Something to give your body a little jolt of energy.

2. Stay hydrated: SUPER important. You don't want to cramp up during your workouts because that's painful! You need to be drinking water before, during, and after your workouts! Basically any time you are drinking throughout the day, go ahead and just make it water!

3. Boost your sugars 30 mins before you workout: No this does not mean go eat your cookie or candy bar. It means grab a few pieces of fruit or some steel cut oatmeal!

4. Cardio on an empty stomach: This one MIGHT not be for everyone. For some it makes them nauseous. Do keep in mind we aren't asking you to go do sprints on an empty stomach. Maybe just a power walk around the neighborhood, or a slow jog for 20 minutes.

5. Killer playlist: This is the fun one, download all that wonderful good music that is going to get you excited to get your booty moving!! I don't know about you but I love to dance, I by no means am good at it but I still love to do it and it makes Ryken laugh haha

6. Find a friend: (PSSST this means join my challenge groups!) haha But really, having a partner to keep you motivated is SO helpful!!!

7. Find something inspirational to motivate you: This could be looking at pictures, having a goal of getting through a really hard workout. SOMETHING. Something that you are going to set your sights on and power you through until you reach that goal! For me its a defined stomach, no matter how skinny or toned I've ever been in my life my stomach has NEVER been defined. So that is the goal that pushes me to get my workout and nutrition in check!

Try these tips out and let me know how they workout for you!!!  

My PiYo Journey

PiYo Journey

Well folks, I did it! I completed Days 1-60 of my PiYo journey!! What are my thoughts? I'm in love. Like for real. I enjoyed this program SO much! It's probably because there were no crazy "high knees" or "jumping jacks" or anything super cardio demanding. If you know me, you know I have a love/hate relationship with cardio. But I'm getting off topic!

I totally went into this program thinking I wasn't going to lose much weight but I was going to gain flexibility which was fine with me. I knew my GO TO program to lose the weight I needed was my 21 Day Fix. But guys, the muscle definition I gained with PiYo is RIDICULOUS! I have muscles popping out of places I didn't know know were capable of popping out! My legs are ROCK solid and my arms, oh my arms; and my back! I look like I've been lifting weights for the past two months and I haven't picked up a single dumbbell since June! Wanna see?

PiYo Transformation

PiYo Transformation

Proud! That is what I am. I worked hard for these muscles and I plan on KEEPING them!! So the program is laid out for 60 days. The first 30 days are focused on going slower to make sure you are getting the moves down correctly and then the following 30 days is when the pace really picks up. No joke, I think I sweat more in these workouts than I have in any other workout I've ever done. PiYo isn't kidding around!

Somethings I gained along the way: I can now do six FULL OUT on my hands and toes push ups (I started not being able to do ONE) and I can do two triceps push ups (which doesn't seem like much but up until now my upper body was WEAKSAUCE), I can do a set of fifteen burpees without wanting to die or have my back break in two, I can hold a plank for two minutes, and I gained SO much more flexibility! 

More Flexibility with PiYo

There is meal planning and portioning involved with this program, just like the 21 Day Fix. I didn't stick TOO closely with my portion sizes so I didn't get the ultimate results I probably could have but I am NOT complaining! Overall, I lost 16 inches which is something to be darn PROUD of! I did make sure to have ALWAYS get in my Shakeology in the morning so I know that played a VERY important role in fueling my body the way it needed to be! 

PiYo Transformation

Breakfast or Lunch

In the end I loved this program. I seriously have already recommended it to SO many people. It literally works and strengthens every single aspect of your body SO MUCH CORE! I will be doing this again, many times over. I'm actually considering doing a hybrid workout schedule with the 21 Day Fix and PiYo soon!! I of course will be sharing my before and after pictures when the time comes!!

You can do anything you set your mind to! So get to setting!! :)

PiYo Journey

Eating Clean: Pineapple Chicken

Pineapple Chicken

You guys, I might have made one of the easiest, yummiest, concoctions last night! If you own a slow cooker (and if you don't you SERIOUSLY need to invest in one) try this out ASAP!! It's great for on the go mom's and busy full time working wives or even if you just are feeling the kitchen vibes that day!!

Introducing: Pineapple Chicken!

Ingredients:

-Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breasts (I used 4 medium to small pieces to feed three people and Ryken and there was PLENTY left over)

-A Jar of Clean Salsa 

-1 Large Zucchini

-1/4 of Large Pineapple

Directions:

1. Throw your chicken breasts into your slow cooker and pour the jar of salsa all over them and let it cook on low for 4-6 hours 

2. Take two forks and shred the chicken after you've had it sitting for at least 4 hours

3. Slice up your zucchini and pineapple and throw it into the mix and stir

4. Eat up and enjoy

I could have done without the zucchini, it didn't add much flavor but it was a way to get some veggies in so no harm there!

Try it out! Let me know what you think!