Today's meals

Here are my meals I had today, all very healthy and yummy. Eat clean to stay lean!

The pictures are turkey, broccoli, and whole wheat penne pasta (with olive oil) in one, and asparagus, quinoa, and tuna (with dijon mustard) in the other.

Spicy Peanut Sauce

So I just invented an amazing peanut sauce that taste just like the one you would see at a Thai restaurant. I was going to make spaghetti for my sister and realized there was no pasta sauce so I decided to make my own from what we had.

This makes one serving :)
2 tablespoons of Korean BBQ sauce
1 tsp of peanut butter
Cayenne pepper to taste. Just play with it and see how spicy you like it. You can add more peanut butter or BBQ sauce if you'd like.
1/2 tablespoon of olive oil

Stir really well then mix into a bowl of whole wheat spaghetti pasta and voila!!
:)
P.S. my sister LOVED it!

Pineapple protein smoothie

2/3 cup of unsweetened almond milk
1/3 cup of cold water
1 full scoop of vanilla whey protein
2/3 cup of all natural nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup of frozen pineapple tidbits
Cinnamon

My meal #3

Great for a post workout smoothie. The enzymes in pineapple (bromelain) help to easier digest proteins.

Getting Stronger!

I'm lifting twice as much as I used to when I started, about 3 months ago. Supper excited about that. Leg pressing 4 plates total (180 lbs)

Tuesdays Meals

These are meals 4 and 5:
Tuna with black beans & bown rice
and Egg Whites, Avocado, & Spinach.
I also had 1/2 a small pizza from Trader Joes (portobello mushroom and garlic) for my last meal. Meal # 6 which was 250 calories and 10g of protein with 3g of saturated fat.

Thinking ahead

I'll be away from home for the next 4 hours so I packed my lunch.

Meal #3
Egg whites
Broccoli
Brown rice

Packing your food and preparing for your day is crucial in maintaining a healthy fast metabolism. You don't want to get to the point where you are hungry or starving because you are more prone to eat what's around and most likely it won't be healthy. If your body is starving and you feed it Panda Express or beef tacos from Taco Bell then it will absorb more of the saturate fat from the meal and put it in unwanted places. Furthermore, eating out you are more likely to overeat, even a subway sandwich with all the ingredients is about 600 calories. When you feed your body with more calories or carbohydrates/sugar than what it needs it will convert it to triglycerides/fat in the body. So prepare ahead and make all your meals at home. In the long run you will be saving a lot of money and your body will be thanking you ;)

Pumpkin Smoothie

Post workout pumpkin smoothie
1/2 cup of liquid egg whites
1/2 cup of 100% pure pumpkin
1 scoop of vanilla whey protein
Cinnamon

Blend and enjoy!

Power yoga tonight followed by 20 minutes on the stair master (level 10)

Supplements

These are the supplements that I take for a healthy fit lifestyle:

Vitamin C (USP verified) – Vitamin C is essential, the only way we can obtain vitamin C is either through our diet or through a daily dietary supplement. It is hard to obtain enough Vitamin C through the diet because of the high oxidation levels of Vitamin C.  Vitamin C is crucial for burning fat, increasing overall energy, and increasing your immune function. Vitamin C is a great vitamin to take daily. Increasing the amount of vitamin C will increase the absorption of many other nutrients.

B-12 supplement/B-complex- a great supplement to take if you want increased energy. It is a natural form of a thermogenic and it is far less expensive than the thermogenics sold at health stores.

Multivitamin- taking a daily multivitamin is beneficial in making sure your are getting all the essential nutrients your body needs to be happy J Some foods may not contain all of the required or recommended value of micronutrients.

Supplements to sustain an active healthy lifestyle and to help build muscle and lose body fat:

100% Whey Gold Standard Protein to maintain muscle

Opti-Women dietary supplement (acts like a multivitamin with other ingredients to help increase lean body mass)

Amino Energy- for increased energy

BCAA’s- branched chain amino acids to help build strength and muscle

Iron – Supplementing on iron is good to increases oxygen transported in the blood while exercising. If you are going to supplement on iron make sure to not exceed the upper limit, which is 45 mg/day. Some supplements are sold as a 65 mg/dose. If that’s the case take it every other day. 

Glutamine- this acts as an anti-inflammatory which is essentially needed when having increased physical activity. Glutamine is also known for improving muscle tissue and helps reduce inflammation in joints. This would be excellent to take after a workout (helps increase muscle mass after a workout).

Bromelain enzyme- If you are always in the gym I would recommend Bromelain, which is a natural enzyme found in pineapples. Bromelain helps digest proteins and especially essential after a tough workout to decrease muscle bruising and soreness.  

Papain enzyme- Papain is a natural enzyme found in papaya and it does the same thing as bromelain. It helps digest proteins if you are eating a high protein diet (when incorporating weights in your exercises, your lean muscle mass will increase as well as your dietary protein intake).

Body changing

I'm starting to notice my body changing. I'm eating smaller portions (about 250-300) calories every 2 hours. The calories are nutrient dense (healthy foods) with good fats and absolutely no Trans fat and very little saturated fat. I'm focusing on the good fats like flax oil which contains omega 3-6-9. My current body fat % is 20. My goal is 15%.

I did a 10 min warmup on the elliptical then worked my biceps and triceps. Ended todays workout with 15 minutes on the stair master.

Productive Saturday

Today was a fun and productive day, who knew keeping busy can actually be enjoyable and rewarding.

Did a lot of house work today after taking the dogs on a 30 min walk. I considered all the housework my cardio for the day :) I also bought a Christmas tree and some ornaments and started decorating away. Excited for Christmas, like always! My kitten thought it was for her and considered all the ornaments her toys. The cutest thing ever.

After a busy day I still had so much energy and figured it would be tough falling asleep so decided to burn off all this excess energy at the gym.
Successful late night workout:
5 min warm-up
DB Military Press 8, 12, 12, 15, 15
BB Bent over rows 12, 15, 15, 20, 20
Seated Rows 12, 15, 15, 20
5 pull ups
Closed leg (feet touching) leg press 135 degree angle- 20, 20, 15
15 minutes on the stair master level 10

Meal #5

Brown rice, broccoli, and chicken!!

Post workout smoothie

1 cup of water
1 scoop of whey protein
1 cup of spinach
few leaves of fresh parsley

I had this immediately after my intense leg workout

Banana & Beet Smoothie

1 avocado ,1/2 banana,
3 stalks of Kale, 1/2 beet, 1 scoop protein powder, little of almond milk, little water
😋😋👍

This smoothie was created by Lisa Fresa Palacios!!! Looks amazing!! Can't wait to try it myself. This would be a great early pre-workout smoothie.

Hazelnut & Pear Stuffing

Multigrain baguette
Olive oil
Onions
Shallot
Pears
Parsley
Prosciutto
Rosemary
Sage
Thyme
Celery
Hazelnuts
Low sodium chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Killer Leg Workout

QUADS
Leg extension 15, 15, 20, 20
Squats 12, 15, 15, 20, 20
Leg press 15, 15, 15, 25, 25

HAMSTRINGS
Lying curls 12, 12, 15, 15, 15
Stiff dead lifts 12, 15, 15, 15
Single leg curls 15, 15, 15, 15
Seated leg curls 15, 15, 20, 20

Doing this for my Friday Workout (day after thanksgiving) I'm excited and scared at the same time! The challenges for these workouts are getting through them. They are very long workouts but very rewarding (especially after a big Thanksgiving meal)!

Turkey trot tomorrow morning!! Woohoo!!

Delts and Biceps

10 min warm up


Delts
DB Press: 8, 12, 12, 15, 15
BB Bent Over Rows: 8, 10, 10, 15, 15
Seated Row: 12, 12, 12, 20

Biceps
Straight Bar Curls: 10, 12, 12, 15, 15
DB Alternating Curls: 12, 12, 15, 15, 15


That was my workout today and the 2nd time I've done this workout.. pretty intense!! The challenge is getting through it.

I'm still very sore from my quad workout I had yesterday. It hurts when I walk and sit down!!

Quads
Leg Extensions: 15, 15, 20, 20
Squats: 12, 15, 15, 20, 20
Leg Press: 15, 15, 15, 25, 25

Ended with horizontal/hanging leg raises: 20, 20, 20, 20 (4 sets of 20 reps each)

Again, the challenge is getting through the workout. No cheating!!

Coconut Chicken

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (13.66 ounces) of Coconut Milk
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or to taste
Cooked brown rice

Directions:
SEASON chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove chicken from skillet.

ADD onion, bell peppers and garlic to skillet; stir fry 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender-crisp. Stir in coconut milk and red pepper flakes; simmer 5 minutes on medium heat. Return chicken to skillet, spooning sauce over chicken. Cook, uncovered, 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve with cooked brown rice

Protein bars!!

Easy and delicious protein bars!

8 scoops of protein powder
1 cup of oats
1/2 cup of natural peanut butter
3-4 tablespoons of honey
1/2 cup of nonfat milk

Mix the dry ingredients first in large bowl then mix in the peanut butter (mix very well) then the 3 tablespoons of honey then lastly the milk. Mix well then drop mixture into a flat glass dish then press mixture down and smooth out then sprinkle cinnamon or peanut crumbs on top (optional). Refrigerate for 45 minutes then cut into squares an enjoy! Makes about 6-8 bars.

Grilled chicken

Olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 boneless chicken breast
4 single pearl garlic cloves
Korean BBQ sauce

Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Slice chicken breasts in halves and place on skillet, top with salt and pepper then cover an let cook for 8 minutes. Cut cloves in halves. Turn chicken over after 8 minutes and place 2 cut cloves on each sliced chicken. Cover and cook for 8 minutes. Then spread 1 tablespoon of Korean BBQ over each chicken then cover, reduce heat, and let simmer for 4 minutes. Place chicken on large plate and enjoy!! Makes 4 servings

9 AM breakfast!

1/2 cup of oatmeal w/cinnamon
1 egg + 1 extra egg white
w/Spinach (sprinkled lightly shredded cheddar cheese on top)

Here's a good workout that will tone you up!!!

Start with 45 mins on the stair master!! Fat burning mode at levels 8-10.

Then go into Bar Bell Bicep curls, do 10 reps then 12, 12, 15, and 15 reps (so 5 sets total) of these bicep curls. If you need to go down in weight a your increasing the reps that okay! (Give yourself at least 45 secs of rest between sets)

Then go into alternating dumbbell curls with 12, 12, 15, 15, 15 reps (5 sets total- in the first set you are going to do 12 reps then rest 45-60 secs then the second set will be 12 reps again then rest then 15 reps on the 3rd set and so on)

After the alternating bicep curls grab a bar bell of comfortable weight and do Barbell bent over rows with 5 sets of 8, 10, 10, 15, and then 15 reps again.

Once that is over go into the sauna for about 10 mins (no more than 10) make sure you are drinking lots of water and branched chain amino acids (BCAA's) or you can skip the sauna and do a couple crunches or any abdomen workout. I enjoy doing my ab workouts in the sauna


I know these workouts are tough but if you work through it, you will see results. This is only 1 hour- 1hr 20mins of your entire day. Leave everything back at home and give the gym (more like your body) all you got!

Cravings

The healthier you eat the more you will crave high fat and high carb/sugary foods. It's because your body is going through some changes which it doesn't like. Slowly your body will get used to it however we have evolved to eat high fatty and sugary foods that it makes it very difficult. That is why it is recommended to have 1 cheat meal per week. Eat whatever you want just in that one meal. Don't give in on these cravings because what you put in your body makes a huge difference on how you perform and your physical appearance... unless you have a really good genetic background ;)

Dinner

Grilled chicken
Broccoli
Whole wheat pasta with olive oil
Tomato sauce with garlic powder

Best oatmeal

Here's the best oatmeal you will ever have. Heat in the microwave a serving of oatmeal with water. Then while it is hot add a 1/4 cup of frozen blueberries/strawberries and stir. Then add a little bit of almond milk (your desired amount) then mix in a spoonful of powdered peanut butter then mix around and enjoy. If you want to add cinnamon, go for it! Very tasty with a little cinnamon.

Sunday wasn't off day

I woke up and had egg whites and oatmeal for breakfast. Had my pre workout drinks such as amino-energy and BCAA's then went to the gym and started off with a 10 minute cardio workout then went ahead to the smith machine and did 3 sets of squats, as heavy as I could go. Then I did 2 sets of 12 reps of lunges on each leg using the smith machine. Then I decided to workout my biceps, triceps, and shoulders. At that point I was starving so I cut my workout short and went to workout my abs for like 8 mins. ive been craving sushi so I had sushi after my workout. I got the usual... Salmon avocado roll with no rice, wrapped in cucumber and a spicy tuna hand roll with no rice.. Along with a hot green tea :) 1 hour later I was hungry again!! I wasn't able to eat due to the circumstances at the time. It got to the point where I was so hungry that by the time I had the chance to eat I ended up over eating on a bunch of snacks such as cheese and fig spread with crackers, albacore tuna and Dijon mustard with more crackers, a protein bar, and a few other snacks.. Healthy snacks... but definitely over ate!!

Great and early breakfast meal

3 egg whites and 1/2 cup of oats with unsweetened almond milk and cinnamon :)

Love my green smoothies

I absolutely love my green smoothies!
This is a perfect post workout smoothie

6 oz of water
1 scoop of 100% whey protein (chocolate flavored protein)
1 cup of spinach
1/2 cup of Greek nonfat yogurt
1 cup of frozen pineapples


P.s I only did 20 minutes on the stair master today.. Fail.. Although something is better than nothing!!

The constant battle: eating clean to stay lean

I've realized that if you stay active and exercise daily you will maintain good health as long as you're eating the right foods, however if you want to see a dramatic change and want to decrease your body fat percentage you are going to have to avoid saturated and trans fat and avoid high empty calories or foods that are high in sugar and are nutrient deficient. I have been active and healthy for as long as I can remember. But if I want to see a change I'm going to have to do something different; you can't expect different results with the same procedures. I always wondered why my abs weren't coming in. I've had the answers all along but never really seemed to accept it until now. I've always known and heard abs are made in the kitchen, it's all about the diet.. and so on and that is absolutely true, but it takes more than that. It takes mind power :) "mind over matter" mentality. Compared to most people and having a bachelors in nutrition, I would say I eat pretty clean. However, that's not going to do it. My current goal is to increase in muscle mass and decrease in body fat and I've been set on these goals, however I shouldn't expect different results if I'm doing the same thing over and over because my body will just get accustomed to my routine. So here's the challenge, but first of all your body and everything else around fights to be in equilibrium at all times, although if we were in complete equilibrium we would all be dead. Our bodies do not like change and that's the biggest thing with any goal you have in life, whether it's a fitness goal, a career goal, or a relationship goal, change is the answer to success. Stepping out of your comfort zone, experiencing a little but of everything that the world, the gym, and the foods around us have to offer. So here we go, I'm going to outweigh what I really want out of life (fitness goals) and what makes me happy. Now if you are feeling guilty after doing or eating something and you continue to do it then something is wrong and you need to change it. I'm going to try to change my diet into a positive way, allow myself to take control over what I eat. Naturally your body starts choosing the healthier foods over time because your body functions much better eating clean and healthy. It takes 21 day to form a habit and I'm not saying it is going to by easy but I know for a fact it will definitely be worth it. I have to be aware that my body is going to fight against the changes. I'm going to try to blog every meal and exercises and let you know how I feel throughout the day. The greater challenge will be to maintain, I might need to change a few things a long the way because our metabolisms are constantly changing (and like I said earlier, our bodies do not like change and will do everything to go back to its comfort state) due to the stress from the environment and the foods America is constantly shoving into our faces.

P.s these are my new shoes :) I absolutely love them!! I have another pair in teal! I figured I should start off with a new pair of shoes to "change" things up ;)

Late night workout

Usually Sundays are my days off but I skipped yesterday's workout so motivated myself to make it to the gym tonight. Somehow my body knew it was Sunday.

I started off with a 10 minute warmup on the elliptical then did leg extension followed by seated hamstring curls then leg press and ended it with dead lifts (3 sets of 20 reps each).

I was going to end my workout with 10 minutes on the stair master but decided to hit the sauna for 10 minutes instead.

Pre workout smoothie

1 cup of silk pure almond milk
1 cup of raw spinach
1 scoop of chocolate protein powder
1/2 cup of Greek yogurt

1/2 egg sandwich

Egg, onions, and mushrooms on toast!

Yum! :D

Workout

Fridays workout

Sauna for 10 minutes
10 minute elliptical
Leg extensions 3 sets of 20 reps
Leg press 3 sets of 20 reps
30 lunges
15 minute stair master with 5 lb weight on each hand
20 squat jumps
1 mile run