Cut the Crap Out of My Life: Week 3 Recap

Well....surprisingly I am shocked at how different I felt this past week.

Legit, my headaches were to a minimum.
I wasn't nearly as hungry.
I actually was struggling to eat the food.

Tiger Blood Phase

Tiger Blood means that you suddenly get boundless energy, cravings are under control, clothes are fitting better and your workouts are starting to improve. This really did happen. Honestly, I was so skeptical, my workouts have been terrible for the first two weeks, they got done, but not on my level. It would take longer rest breaks, more water breaks and extra motivation just to finish that last repetition. But this week, I wanted to workout, I actually didn't have to talk myself into any of the workouts after work.

Nutrition during week three

Nutrition remained very simple, my proteins were steak, shrimp and chicken. Everything was cooked in coconut oil, spiced very simply and I utilized salt and pepper. Nothing fancy with my protein prep. For my complex carbs, they remained as sweet potatoes. Probably the last time I ever eat sweet potatoes this much lol. Personally, I am just very skeptical with trying new food so I keep new plans basic for success. Snacks remains with fruit (apples and bananas) and Cashew Cookie LaraBars. 

The odd part of this week was cravings, it wasn't that I was craving food. But when I would

see a donut shop, or someone eating chocolate I would immediate think about eating it? When I was at the grocery store this week, I walked by chips and almost bought them. It's not that chips are a big deal but I don't even eat them while not during a nutritional reset lol. There was a moment, on Sunday morning, where it almost all went to hell when I walked by the bakery on my way to the produce section and fresh donuts were out lol. But I had to remind myself, one more week. However, I will say I am bored with the food and I really miss peanut butter and brown rice.

Continuing side effects

For me, during this Whole 30, I have had over side effects which have been related to medication. The nausea from my medicine is FINALLY calming down thankfully. That has been one of the hardest parts during this journey since my body is adjusting to something new and I felt awful for the first half of this already and then you add on Whole 30 and woahhhh. Whole 30 is a great system for people with internal health issues and for me that is why I embarked on this journey. 

Changes I have started to see

There have been some very surprising changes since beginning this journey. Recently, I noticed that I had eczema on my elbows. It's a common thing, my dad had it. My elbows had been rough for

months even with lotion and then I noticed it was similar to my dad's skin and I was developing eczema. That is GONE. Like legit....it's not there anymore I keep staring at my arms lol I couldn't believe it.

Sleep.....I am sleeping through the night, every night. I have zero trouble falling asleep and zero trouble staying asleep. Each night I am exhausted from a busy day being a traveler and a coach. I have the energy to accomplish everything I need but also feel sufficiently tired at the end of the night to successfully sleep without being anxious. 

Gains --> my body is changing. Finally, I am starting to physically see the bloat go away. Personally, I have been able to up my weight game all week which has been nice. My body truly is starting to transform thanks to The Master's Hammer and Chisel. For the first time, my legs are getting definition while also being strong. Personally, my goals do not involve weight-loss. Solely, they are to become healthier, happier, more confident and stronger. To me, women who are fit are beautiful and I love scrolling my IG and seeing so many fit, focused, amazing women going after their goals.

Going into the last phase....what's next

This is it folks, this is the last phase. Home stretch and for me I am trying to improve my nutritional variety so for me my meal plan includes the same breakfast as always SHAKEOLOGY, I would have never survived this program without it. Lunch is beef stir fry with peppers, onions and sweet potatoes. Snacks are apples, bananas and LaraBars. Dinner is chicken, sweet potatoes and broccoli. Trying to change things up without failure since I am commuting again two hours a day for work.

Besides that, my focus this week is on doubles in my workout. Because I earned a free trip to Punta Cana at the end of the month, my second round would end during that time. So I am going to double up this week to end the program right before I go on this amazing trip. Lastly, my goal is to find time to look up the reintroduction phase again and have a plan for next week.

As always if you have any questions, or need help on your own health and fitness journey fill out this quick form! ---> FORM <---

Cut the Crap Out of My Life: Week 2 Recap

Well....friends, week two was something else that's for sure lol.

Going into week two, I knew from reading the Whole 30 book that I was in for a rough road but I wasn't quite sure how rough until I hit days 8-9. Personally, I have been experiencing headaches since day one of the program. After meeting with my doctor, we found that my headaches in week one were from detoxing but the headaches from week two are related to medication I had to start taking.

To say my energy has been low would be an understatement.

Week two was rough, my workouts took more motivation, more internal push and more encouragement from my health and fitness focus groups than ever. Each day I would start my workout and it would take about five minutes before I felt like I was really able to push. Sometimes, I had to hit pause on my Hammer and Chisel workouts honestly. It took some convincing but I would a way to get through.

Nutrition, surprisingly isn't as hard as I thought.

During week two, I kept up with simple recipes that didn't require a lot of time or preparation because I had to travel for work and start to prepare to move to my next assignment. This caused a lack of time which meant, simple recipes, consistency with  meals and utilizing my Shakeology as my saving grace for long car rides. My meal plan was:

Breakfast-Shakeology with cold unsweetened coffee
Lunch- chicken, broccoli and sweet potatoes
Snack- Cashew Cookie Lara bar and an apple
Dinner- Steak, asparagus, rice cauliflower
Occasionally I had on hand a banana and organic fruit strips for when my sugar was an issue on my long days

Noticeable results during week 2 going into week 3.

During week two, I experienced the typical bloating, my abs disappeared and my pants felt tighter but that subsided by the end of the second week. During this time, I noticed that I was sleeping significantly better. I wasn't waking up panicked each night like I normally do wondering how I was going to fit everything in. Physically, I didn't notice any changes, some days I had to back off my weights and others I was able to increase. I am able to get through my rounds of push ups with less breaks but noticeably having a more difficult time with dynamic movements like split squats.

What to expect going into week 3.

So...what am I expecting in week 3? Honestly, not a whole lot other than successfully completing this week while moving and transferring to a different state. This week I will be leaving DC and moving to PA for another work assignment. During this time, I'll be moving so I am focusing on simple meals again, limiting my grocery purchases to avoid waste and focusing on crushing my workouts and getting in my bonus leg workouts this week.

Personally, the internal issues I have been struggling with are all medication related. After speaking with my doctor last week, these are not going to change until my body adapts to the medication. As a result, it will be important to focus on my health during this transition and not so much change. This week I am hopeful for more energy and to have less headaches.

For nutritional purposes, my meal plan is as follows:
Breakfast-Shakeology with cold coffee
Lunch-chicken, broccoli, sweat potatoes and an apple
Snack-cashew cookie Lara Bar and a fruit strip if needed
Dinner- steak or shrimp with asparagus and mixed veggies

Bring on week three!

If you're interested in getting started on your journey fill out this quick form!

Cut the Crap Out of My Life: Week One Recap

Cut the Crap Out of My Life: Week One Recap:

When I started this journey, I won't lie. I had put it off for two months. Several of my friends had successfully completed the Whole 30 and had amazing results. But for me, honestly, I wasn't nervous about the change in plan, the food or even the duration, I was truly afraid of failing.

This whole clean eating, lifestyle thing.

It's only been two years for me.
That's not a long time in the grand scheme of things.

So to take on something like Whole 30 when you read the first part of the book and are willingly going to complete something that makes you feel like crap for the first half, it's nerve wracking. The reality though, these masses of cysts have been raging for far too long the addition of this injection has turned my world upside down. I don't know even when I broke hand into a bunch of pieces, I ever experienced this kind of pain. But these side effects, they're brutal. Some days I feel like I have the flu, I start to vomit while I workout, I've lost so much strength and the lows, are scarily low.

Nutrition has amazing healing benefits.
Especially when you remove all of the processed garbage.
Yes, for the most part, I eat clean.
But when I'm tired, I frequent Starbucks.
My schedule has been insane lately, so there have been more quick fixes for food.
Meal planning has been hit or miss.
I know that my choices aren't helping.

Insert my quest for the Whole 30. The reason why I am not tagging my posts as strictly Whole 30 is because I am modifying and continuing with my Shakeology. It would be silly to stop utilizing the only thing that got me off my medication for my vitamin deficiencies, the only thing that has regulated my system even after seeing a GI specialist. It doesn't interfere or change my results, honestly, I think it's going to be my saving grace due to my food allergies I am even more limited on this plan.



So...what's it really like? What can you expect?

Week one, has been brutal. I was reading the book and it said for those who had poor nutrition prior to starting would struggle more. Even though I eat clean, exercise and drink my superfoods. I still frequent Starbucks 3-4 times a week, I still have snacks when I cannot find time to eat at work. So for me, it took five days for the headaches to go away. They're not regular headaches, they felt like my head was going to explode on days 1-3.

Day one the only thing I noticed was a headache, but by day two, I was moving slower. At work, it took longer to form thoughts and I could tell my body was fatigued. By day three, I was crabby, I won't like I was short-tempered. Then on day 4, I had to force myself to get my workout in because I knee the detox was clouding my judgment. By day 5, I felt "normal" still tired but without a headache.

How does the nutrition plan work?

The meal plan food wise has not been hard at all for me. Personally, I had a dairy and egg allergy, so not having dairy hasn't been any different for me. However, going from eating 6 times a day to 3 times a day has been struggle bus city. My body has yet to adjust and I am hungry. I've incorporated a snack utilizing Cashew Cookie LaraBars because being gone 11-12 hours a day at a job you never stop meaning burns my energy fast.

Shakeology is my breakfast modified with unsweetened cold coffee. No I actually don't like coffee, I just like the fancy drinks at Starbucks full of sugar. To actually sit down and drink a cup of coffee, no thanks. But my body enjoys it in my shake so that's been a beneficial way to avoid just drinking black coffee. Lunches have been chicken or steak with veggies and sweet potatoes. Dinner is the same rotating proteins as I am able.

Personally, I did not want to use the recipes in the first week. They are complex and involve a lot of things I don't own or even know honestly what they are. I stuck to lean proteins, vegetables steamed with no oils and baked sweet potatoes plain. Honestly, it's not hard to not having dressings, or anything fancy added to my food. Hydration has been huge, anytime I am hungry I drink more water, it's really helping.

Changes in my body that I've noticed:

There hasn't been any drastic changes yet. But because I am doing Hammer and Chisel, I do notice I am getting leaner which is my overall goal with the exercise program. My sleep has been completely off which is partially due to a change and the stress involved from my job. By the end of the first week, the weird bloat I had obtained after having to start on medication has completely gone away.

Also, I've noticed a different type of resilience. My mind is strong and focused. During my first week, I had a party and we went out. Instead of caving and eating the food, I ordered off a menu, stuck to my plan and drank water. It honestly wasn't hard, when you're doing something that your body needs and it isn't just a physical desire for a number on the scale, cheating just isn't going to happen.

What happens next?

Week two meal plan is simple. Easy to follow. For me, in the next two weeks, I'll be working, traveling and potentially moving either home or to a new assignment. As a result, complex meals are just not going to happen. This week I am focused on success, they say most people quit in week 2 and I am not about to save. Thus, I've got a meal plan written out, going shopping after work and have my workouts planned from Hammer and Chisel to set myself up for success. What I've noticed is keeping this as basic as possible yields success. It was initially overwhelming with all of the recipes but I am just doing me and doing this in a way I know I can achieve.

No goal is impossible with a little trial and error. 

Interested in learning more about my upcoming health and fitness focus group?

---> Fill out this form today <-----

Cut the crap: 30 days of eliminating processed crap and negativity

If you're anything like me, you're busy, like multiple job, working all of the time, hustling for a better life busy and when life happens and tries to slow us down we only speed up faster. But that doesn't necessarily mean great things for our bodies and our minds.

Three months ago, I got my Nexplanon injection, after the reality that my masses of cysts were getting worse. As an option for internal control, I got the injection, but underestimated the side effects. They've been brutal, weight gain, weakness, irritability, low points, poor sleep cycles, headaches. It's been a whirlwind watching my body try to adjust.

When I started talking to my doctor about the side effects, I heard "very common," "it just takes time." That's easy for the person not watching their body do 180 wondering what's going to happen next. There have been days I have woken up and it has taken everything in my power to find the motivation to keep moving. It's crazy what we have to go through to be healthy when we have a condition and the reality that medications don't always do what we need them to do.

Insert--> my 30 day Cut the Crap challenge where I am going to incorporate Shakeology, Whole 30 and emphasis on personal development and positivity. A lot of people have asked what exactly I am doing and I find this platform to be the easiest.

Whole 30 is 30 days of no cheats, no grains, no alcohol, no sweeteners, nothing processed, artificial or chemical. It's not a weightless program, it's a program to help you optimize your internal and natural health that bases it's results from the inside out. The focus is not on the scale but on how one feels.

What I am looking to achieve?

Personally, I am looking to improve my sleep, consistent sleep. Looking to continue on the positive weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight. Also, looking to clear up my skin, since my injection I have developed issues with breakouts that I never had before. Lastly, when Ia m in a pinch I've lately been resorting to quick fixes, like quick meals and less portioned consistency like I normally follow. As a result, I am hopeful to rid my body of the bloating and no longer be dependent on coffee for energy on my long work days.

What fitness program am I going to do?

During this challenge, I will be doing Hammer and Chisel. It's a program based off of high level activity with emphasis on weight training. Honestly, it's my soulmate workout. It's my favorite of all of the Beachbody workouts I have done and has enabled me to get to a healthy weight again after my injection. Hammer and Chisel is 60 days so I will complete the first half during the elimination phase and continue it  as I reintroduce foods into my diet. 

What kind of meal plan will I follow?

Today, I spent an hour reading through the book again reviewing the food options, recipes and meals provided in the book. Honestly, I am not really great in the kitchen, so I am going super basic this week to yield success. This week my breakfast will be Shakeology with coconut milk and unsweetened black coffee. Lunch will be grilled chicken and sweet potatoes. Dinner will be a steak with the balsamic grilled vegetables from the cookbook. I will be making my own ketchup from the book as well since ketchup on the shelf is not allowed. Lastly, my snack will be an apple with almond butter. 

This week and the first half of the challenge I will be doing a lot of traveling and I will also be moving so I have found some quick snack options just in case I get in a pinch. I am using the Larabars I choose the Cashew Cookie, I got raw cashews and to go almond butter serving packs.

 

What are your options for support and accountability this month?

This month I am still running a health and fitness focus group for busy people like yourself who need motivation, support and accountability but need a realistic approach to changing their lifestyle. This month I am running Food Meets Fitness: A realistic approach to health and fitness for the busy woman on the go. This is for anyone who wants to start their journey, continue their journey, or are tired of falling off the wagon. You can apply for your spot today. The group opens on March 20th!

Apply Here!