Health and Fitness

Day 1: Hammer & Chisel

Today is day 1 of Hammer and Chisel. I decided that I am going to blog my way through the program to help hold myself accountable. My goal is to follow this program to a tee. I think it is easy to follow a program and *think* you are following it completely, but in reality, you aren’t. This means I will be tracking everything I eat, planning my day of meals in advance, keeping a food journal and measuring everything. I have been loosely following the 21 Day Fix meal plan for almost two years. I have got out of the habit of measuring things and have been eyeballing things. That ends today.

I woke up this morning at 3 am and I did Chisel Balance. I do not eat before my morning workouts, but I do drink my Energize preworkout from Beachbody’s performance line. This workout was really tough, but in a good way! This workout was all about lifting weights while balancing. There was a lot of workouts where you balanced on one leg while lifting. For example, doing deadlifts using only one leg. I had no idea how terrible my balance is! In the past, I used to quit when a workout got tough. This is the downside of home workouts – you have to be self disaplined to finish the workout and give it your all. I pushed through the workout and burned a total of 356 calories in the 40 minutes, 32% of those calories were from fat.

I finished up with 10 Minute Chisel Abs. I must say, this probably is by far my favorite 10 minute ab workout I have ever done from Beachbody. It was all using the bench, nothing on the ground. It felt like I was getting a full ab workout on the bench verse doing traditional situps on the ground.

I finished the workout by drinking my Recover chocolate shake. There is nothing better than getting to drink a chocolate shake at the end of a workout! I waited to eat my breakfast until after I showered for work. I had two over easy eggs and a gluten free waffle. I am going to try to give up my morning waffles soon and replace them with a healthier carb. I love the crunch from a waffle and since I am allergic to gluten, my carb choices for the morning are pretty limited. I also had a cup of black coffee.

Snack time was around 9 am and I had a banana. For my lunches, I like to have salads because I think they are an easy way to get my veggies in! I bought bagged salad (Dole) and ditched the dressing and toppings. Love this salad mix because it is cabbage, kale, carrots, etc. Saves me time so I don’t have to chop everything up myself! Today my dressing is my Sweet Onion Citrus Vinaigrette. Since I am trying to go as cheese free as I can this month (just because I feel like cheese is a trigger food for me!) I decided to get sliced almonds for my salad. I spiced them up by toasting them on the stove with some stevia! So good and super easy way to add some sweetness to your salad! To give my salad some substance, I grilled up some chicken with sea salt and pepper to put over my salad. I grilled three chicken breasts at once, diced them up, measured them and put them into individual ziplock bags for the week. This makes it really easy to just grab and go throughout the week.

Dinner tonight is going to be my pork tenderloin with a side of broccoli and my sweet potato chips. Before bed, I will be drinking my Recharge vanilla shake from Beachbody’s performance line.

1,200 – 1,400 Calorie Bracke

Before workout: Energize Preworkout (free)
After workout: Recover Chocolate Shake (free)
Breakfast: 2 eggs, 1 gluten free waffle (1 red, 1 yellow)
Snack: 1 banana (2 purples)
Lunch: Salad. chicken, toasted almonds, Sweet Onion Citrus Vinaigrette (2 greens, 1 red, 1 blue, 1 orange)
Snack: Vegan strawberry shakeology and water (1 red)
Dinner: Pork tenderloin, broccoli, sweet potato chips (1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow, 2 tsp)
Before bed: Recharge vanilla shake (free)

*All recipes are in the recipes section of this website!

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Health and Fitness

Follow My Journey

So here we are. December 3rd, 2015. The New Year is right around the corner.

Three years ago, I used December as an excuse to eat like crap and relax…and wait for the New Year to get back on track. I would spend the month over eating and over drinking which always led to even more weight gain. Now that I am three years into my journey, I hate the idea of waiting for the New Year to make a change. Did you know Americans gain on average of 10-12 pounds during the holidays? Then come January, people find this spurt of motivation and set out to lose weight. The gyms get packed, people go crazy over dieting and losing weight – yet it never lasts long. Weight loss can’t just be a New Year’s resolution, it has to be a way of life – a choice you make every day of the year, regardless of which month or holiday it is.

I am three years into my journey and down 70 pounds. I didn’t lose this weight and keep it off just because of a New Year’s resolution. I did it because I value my health and my confidence. Every single day for the past three years, I have made the choice to continue on and make this a lifestyle. I refuse to spend an entire month gorging myself with food and then working to lose it next month. It makes no sense.

This month, I will be following the Hammer and Chisel program. It is a 60 Day Beachbody program with Autumn and Sagi that is going to help me build more muscle and get shredded. So, while everyone else is packing on the pounds, I will be shedding them and getting in the best shape of my life. I refuse to sabotage myself this month. This program means workouts and a meal plan. Is it going to be easy during the holidays? Absolutely not. But, it is a choice I am making and I know I can do it.

I plan to blog my way through this program so I can share my experience and also keep myself accountable. Hopefully you will follow my journey!

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Health and Fitness

Would You Rather…?

Would you rather…

See a specific number on the scale OR fit in a certain size?

For the longest time I thought scale = size. Thought If I could just be a certain weight, then I would finally be a size 4. I know I am not alone here when I say that I used to define myself by what the scale told me. If I was up a pound – then I was pissed, fat, discouraged, depressed and wanted to quit. Yet – if I was down a pound – then I was happy, on top of the world, excited and lean. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? The fluctuation of a POUND or two could either make me feel like I was a cow or it could make me feel incredible.

WHY do we do this?? Why do we put so much value in a stupid number?!

If I have learned anything on my journey, it is that your weight does not mean a thing. Yes, I still get caught up in the number every now and then. But when I really think about it, the scale says nothing about me.

It doesn’t tell me how pretty I am.
It doesn’t tell me how fit I am.
It doesn’t tell me how much muscle I have.
It doesn’t tell me if I am healthy.
It doesn’t tell me my self-worth.
It doesn’t tell me how successful I am.

I used to think I had to be 130 in order to be in shape and healthy. That if I wasn’t that specific number, then I was not good enough. I would let the scale determine if I was going to quit or not. And when the scale didn’t change by 10+ pounds in a week, I thought this whole healthy lifestyle thing was a joke.

And, here I am today. Weighing in at 148 lbs and in the BEST shape of my entire life. I wear a size 4 comfortably and my shirts are an XS. I highly doubt too many people hear 148 pounds and think fit and healthy. Most people don’t associate a number higher than 140 with healthy and fit. My journey has taught me that the scale means nothing. People can be 120 pounds and be more UNHEALTHY than someone who weighs 170 pounds.

Define your success on how you feel. If you feel incredible, don’t let the fluctuation on the scale make you feel otherwise. Don’t give it that power over you. If the scale has too much power over you, then stop weighing yourself. Put your scale in your trunk. Give it to a friend. Tell your husband to hide it…and only bring it out when you know that you will continue to feel amazing no matter what the number reads.

Let your clothes, pictures, mood and measurements define your success…not a dumb number.

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Side Dish

Crispy Sweet Potato Chips

Who doesn’t love chips? They are my weakness. I can pass on the cookies and candy, but I have a rough time passing up all things potato! I wanted to find a way that I could enjoy chips without the guilt of cheating my meal plan! So, here you go! 21 Day Fix Approved CLEAN sweet potato chips! They aren’t as crunchy as fried potato chips or fries, but they satisfy the craving! These are so simple. Perfect for a snack during the day or a side to go with your dinner.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup of sliced sweet potatoes
1 tsp olive oil
Garlic sea salt (or garlic powder and sea salt)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Wash the sweet potato and chop it in thin slices.
Toss the slices in a bowl with olive oil
Sprinkle with garlic salt to your desire.
Lay each slice on a baking sheet with lined with foil (I lightly sprayed mine with non-stick cooking spray).
Cook for 15 minutes and then flip.
If any slices are starting to burn, remove those specific ones from the oven.
Continue cooking in increments of 4 minutes, removing browned ones each time until all of them are fully cooked. Mine usually take a total of 30 minutes to get all of them cooked perfectly.
If you had to remove a lot of them from the oven, put them all back on the baking sheet and turn off the oven. Leave them in the oven for 2 minutes to warm them all up!
Enjoy!

If you are following Shift Shop or Portion Fix, these count as 1 yellow and 1 tsp.

Jess

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Main Dish

Clean Burrito Bowls

I am starting to fall even more in love with my crock pot every day. There is something really awesome about being able to come home from work to a hot prepared (healthy) dinner. These burrito bowls were amazing. They are great alone and I can only imagine how delicious they would be inside a tortilla!

INGREDIENTS

3 boneless, skinless, organic chicken breasts
3 cups of organic, low sodium chicken broth
1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1.5 tsp fine sea salt
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups instant brown rice

Optional:

Shredded colby jack cheese
Avocado
Greek yogurt
Pico de gallo

DIRECTIONS

In your crock pot, combine chicken breasts with olive oil, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder and sea salt.
Cook on low for 4 hours or until chicken is fully cooked.
Remove chicken from the crock pot and set aside.
Add in rice and black beans. Cook for 45 minutes or until rice is tender. The broth should be almost fully soaked up.
Meanwhile, shred your fully cooked chicken with a fork.
Once the rice is fully cooked, return chicken to the crock pot and cook for a few more minutes, until the chicken is warm.
Serve with colby jack cheese, sliced avocados and a spoonful of pico de gallo!
Enjoy!

This made 6 servings for us and the serving is 1.5 cups. I found that this serving to be a lot to eat, so I may cut in half for myself next time!

One serving is 1 red, 1 yellow and less than .5 green. Based on the serving in the picture, I count it as 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green and 1 blue!

These were a hit at our house and this could easily be cooked and placed in the freezer to eat at a later date. This is technically six servings but for me, this was FILLING. So, I think you could cut the portion size down and use less containers and get more servings out of it! Also, think it would be good to add in a pepper or onion to knock out some of your green containers!

Jess

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Main Dish

Crockpot Tortilla Soup

There is something about fall that screams COMFORT FOOD! Back when I was 215 pounds, comfort food was creamy soups and macaroni and cheese. I have changed my ways over the last three years and have found some really healthy ways to satisfy that comfort food craving!

Ingredients

1 rotisserie chicken OR 2 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded) *I used an organic rotisserie chicken and made sure there were no added ingredients and discarded the skin
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of corn, no added salt
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes, do not drain the liquid
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 white onion, diced
1 32 ounce container of chicken broth, low sodium
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic salt (I may have added a tiny bit more – oops!)
Organic tortilla chips *I use blue corn chips

Optional toppings

Non-Fat greek yogurt
Cheese
Avocado

Directions

Take all of the meat off of the rotisserie chicken and discard the skin
Place all ingredients in a crockpot on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8 hours. I personally added my chicken in halfway through since it was already cooked, but you would be fie adding it in at the beginning!
Serve with tortilla chips, greek yogurt in place of sour cream and diced avocados.

This soup counts approximately as 1 red and 1 green. I counted my serving as about 1.5 cups and this easily makes 6 servings. These measurements are not 100% exact. If you top with tortilla chips, that adds 1 yellow to the count.

This soup is so delicious and is great for leftovers. This would make an amazing quick weeknight meal for a family or also a week of lunches!

Enjoy!

Jess

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Main Dish

Turkey Club Wrap

This recipe has been a life saver for me. It honestly tastes so good that I could eat it at every meal. Since I am allergic to gluten, I gave up eating anything that would typically require a flour tortilla – like wraps. Recently, I found some really awesome gluten free tortillas that taste great and so I decided to try out a wrap for lunch. I was instantly hooked.

Ingredients

Tortilla (I personally use Rudi’s Gluten Free Tortillas)
5 slices of turkey lunch meat
1 slice of turkey bacon (I cook mine in the microwave until very crispy)
1/4 avocado, diced
Handful of spinach
1/2 roma tomato, diced
2 tbsp Opa Greek Yogurt Ranch
2 tbsp red onion

These measurements are roughly what I do. I count mine as 1 yellow, 1 red, 1/2 blue, 1 orange and 1.5 green. This wrap is around 286 calories. Wraps are so simple and you can really mix them up with the ingredients. Be careful though – if you start adding a lot of dressings, cheese, etc, a wrap can go to from low calorie to very high calorie very quick!

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Recipes

Chicken Enchilada Zucchini Boats

I have always been a slightly picky eater when it comes to vegetables and fruit. Sometimes it is due to taste, but mostly due to texture. I am always on the lookout of how I can add more vegetables into my diet without making me feel like I am a rabbit chewing on lettuce and carrots all day long. I have seen so many people trying out these zucchini boats. I have never dared to try them because I am nervous of what they would taste like. Is the zucchini crunchy or soft and can you taste it?

I am happy to report that these zucchini boats are amazing. My husband was in love with them and even ate what I couldn’t finish! I wasn’t sure if one zucchini boat would be filling enough either since it is just a vegetable. These were so filling I could barely finish mine. They are low carb and high in protein – just how I like it!

I was able to prep everything the night before and then bake them the next day. I put the boats together and left off the sauce and cheese, then added them right before I baked them. These were also easier than I thought. Prepping them took me less than a half hour. These tasted amazing right out of the oven and would make great leftovers too! You could also prep the boats and then cook them as needed throughout the week too!

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4 (1 boat = 1 serving)

Ingredients

· 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I boiled mine)

· Taco seasoning of choice

· 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes

· ½ cup of salsa (use medium or hot if you want a kick!)

· ½ cup of plain non-fat greek yogurt

· 2 packets of stevia

· 2 zucchinis

· 1 tsp sea salt

· 1 cup monterey jack cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a saucepan over medium heat, add diced tomatoes. Leave tomatoes at medium heat for about 5 minutes and then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes, or until tomatoes are soft and falling apart.

3. Add salsa, greek yogurt, stevia and sea salt to the diced tomatoes and continue to simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside.

4. Meanwhile, take the shredded chicken and add it to a saucepan over low heat with ¼ cup of water and your taco seasoning. Make sure the seasoning is all over the chicken and let the chicken simmer for 5 minutes and then remove from heat and set aside.

5. Take your zucchini and slice them down the middle to make two halves. Place them in a pot of boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes.

6. Once your zucchini is done, take a spoon (I used a teaspoon) and scoop out the insides. You want to leave a little bit of the zucchini for the boat.

7. Take your chicken mixture and add your chicken a half cup of the chicken to each boat.

8. Add three tablespoons of the enchilada sauce to each boat and top them with ¼ cup of cheese.

9. Place each boat into a 9×13 baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.

10. I broiled mine for 1 minute to make the cheese golden brown!

These were a hit at our house. The zucchini was tender, but not soggy and you could barely taste it! Great way to sneak in some extra veggies!

Each boat counts as: 1 red, 1.5 green and 1 blue and they are about 310 calories each.

Hope you enjoy!

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Recipes

Bruschetta Chicken

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts
4 tbsp of balsamic vinaigrette (Use the one from the 21 day fix book if following the fix)
2 tbps of fresh basil, chopped
1 roma tomato, chopped
1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese (or 1 blue)

Directions

Marinate chicken in balsalmic vinaigrette for two hours, or overnight. Longer the better!
Turn grill on and heat to 500 degrees.
Place chicken on the grill and cook one side for 4 minutes.
Flip chicken and top with basil, tomato and mozzarella. Grill for another 3-4 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink inside.
Enjoy!

This recipe was a KEEPER for us! So tender and full of flavor!

21 Day Fix: This is two servings. Count as 1 orange, .5 green, .5 blue and 1 red!

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Recipes

21 Day Fix Chicken Enchiladas

I have never made my own enchiladas before, so I will be honest, I did not have high hopes for these. I prepared these on Sunday and stored them in the refrigerator until Tuesday. My husband and I were shocked at how good these were! So much flavor and honestly made me feel like we were cheating our diet. Mexican food used to be our Friday night cheat, so to be able to cook these at home and have them on plan, it was awesome! These were pretty easy to prep, didn’t require any crazy ingredients and best of all, they are 21 Day Fix approved! Did I mention they are also gluten free?! Yay! They make 10 and we ate two each, so this ends up being two dinners for both of us and one lunch!

Instructions

3 chicken breasts, shredded (I boiled and then shredded mine with a fork)
1 can of diced tomatos, no salt added (15.5 ounces, do not drain)
1/2 cup of salsa
1/2 large onion, diced
1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt
10 yellow corn tortillas
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups of Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
1 packet of stevia
1 tsp of fine sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil and diced onion. Stir occassionally. Cook until onions are translucent.
Add diced tomatoes (don’t drain them) to the onions. Cover and simmer on low until the tomatoes start falling apart. Mine took about 10-15 minutes.
During this time, spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Take your tortillas and place a couple of them between two damp paper towels and microwave until soft. I did 3-4 at a time and microwaved for 30-45 seconds. This will help make the tortillas soft enough to roll without ripping.
In each tortilla, fill with a little bit of cheese and chicken. I did enough chicken to fill the tortilla and about a tbsp of cheese. Roll your tortillas up and place in your 9×13 pan.
Return to your sauce and add the salsa, greek yogurt, stevia and sea salt. Allow it to simmer for a minute or two.
Place sauce in a blender until smooth and then immediately pour over enchiladas.
Cover with the remaining cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown.
Enjoy!

If you are following the 21 Day Fix:

1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow and 1 blue for TWO enchiladas.

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Recipes

Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

1 lb 99% fat free ground turkey
1 large red onion, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tbsp garlic salt

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
Form into six patties. I measured my burgers using a half cup measuring cup (or one yellow container if you are following the fix).
Grill patties for 4-5 minutes per side on the barbecue.

These were SO simple to make! If you are following the 21 day fix, I would measure one with a red container (so the recipe would only make 4 patties) and count as 1 red and .25 green.

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Recipes

Garlic Parmesan Fries

Ingredients

3/4 tsp Garlic Salt
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 tbsp Parsley, fresh
1 packet of Stevia
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 pound of baby Yukon Potatoes, sliced like fries

Directions

Cut the potatoes into thin fry like wedges and place in a bowl. Use paper towels to soak up any excess moisture in the potatoes. Sprinkle with stevia and set aside for 25-30 minutes.
Add olive oil, garlic salt, italian seasoning to the potatoes. Mix until the potatoes are evenly coated.
Lay the potatoes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in a single layer.
Bake at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until crispy. I broiled mine for a minute to make them a little more crisp!
Sprinkle with parmesan, parsley and extra garlic salt if needed.
Enjoy!

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