Countdown to Competition

More and more lately I've had the interest in finding out what someone like Autumn REALLY eats while getting prepped for a competition. 

NO, I'm am NOT going to do a bikini competition! 

BUT, I've always been in awe of how someone that can change their body to look so ripped and shredded.  Yes, exercise has a role in it, but it's the FOOD I am told that makes all the difference.

HOW do they stay on track? 
What do they eat?
Do they have cheat days?
Do they drink wine?
HOW do they do this???

SO, my plan on Sunday was to try .... drum roll......................

 

Autumns Countdown to Competition Meal Plan

This meal plan is included in the 21 Day Fix Extreme challenge pack.

When you're following the Countdown to Competition Plan, she has it organized so you are eating and following the SUPER dialed in nutrition plan for two days and then one day of Extreme eating plan.  Two days Countdown, one day extreme and so on for 21 days. 
This is NOT suggested over a long period of time, this is just to prep for a vacation or special event.  This is not sustainable for a long period of time.

BUT this time around, I'm really wanting to see what happens when you eat like a Fitness Competitor

I know it takes planning, prepping, and lots of will power to stick to this.

SO, I prepped some food on Sunday to prepare, because we all know you have a better chance of success when you have a plan and make it easier for yourself!  That's the biggest thing I try to teach challengers in our challenge groups is that planning is KEY to this thing!
Your week will run a lot smoother with less temptations and cheats when everything is all planned out and easy for you when you get into the grind of the work week.

So grab that bottle of wine on cheat day and get prepping!  Makes it a lot more enjoyable!

I planned different meals for my family to eat this week.  Usually they would just have what we're having but I don't think they want to each chicken and broccoli EVERY night.
So an example -  tonight they had stuffed chicken with potatoes and peas --  I had.... Cod and Broccoli.

This is tough guys, I'm going to be honest. 
I didn't even last 6 hours this morning and I reached out to my cousin, who has done body competitions before, for advice.

I just have to think of my WHY and my goal, day in , day out.

Here is an example of Day #1 of the Countdown to competition meal plan. 
SUPER clean, SUPER simple

Day #1

 

Meal 1 - (not pictured) Egg whites and steel cut oats with natural PB (red/yellow/tsp)

Meal 2 - baked cod with yellow container of sweet potatoes and coconut oil (red/green/tsp)

Meal 3 - Cod with Green beans (red/green)

Meal 4 - Shakeology with banana and natural PB (red/purple/tsp)

Meal 5 - Cod with broccoli and tsp coconut oil (red/green/tsp)

Meal 6 - (not pictured) protein shake with almond milk (red/blue)

SO, one day down and 20 more to go...... I hope I can do this!

Feeling Inspired !

What an incredible week it has been.  This week I am SO thankful! 

Week after week, more and more I have been getting messages or emails or comments that have just got me excited, got me doing my little happy dance each and just feeling so lifted up that I've really landed in a great opportunity.  Something I was once unsure about in the beginning.

Messages like:
"I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for the Fix, thank you"

"If I didn't join this group I wouldn't have gotten this far"

"Another 2 pounds this week Jenn"

"Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for introducing me to this"

"My booty hurts"  (we can all giggle at that one because we've all been there)  "Not sure how I'm going to get through my workout tomorrow but I'm going to push through the best I can"

"I lost 10 pounds this round and so excited to start the next one"

"I want to be a coach and help others in this too, sign me up"

If I was able to just introduce ONE person with the opportunity to change their lifestyle or change the way they feel about themselves, it gives me CHILLS!  Gets me excited!  THEY did all the work, they pushed through tiredness, temptations, daily struggles and everything else that gets in the way in our day to day lives.  THEY did it!!!  All I did was introduce them to the tools to get them there.  I can be a part of their journey.  I can share their feelings of accomplishment and be so proud of them when they make small changes for the better.  The excitement I have is for THEM! 

 

When I started on the 21 Day Fix and Shakeology last summer, I was a bit of a sceptic.  Right?  Another weight loss thing. 

Have you ever started to workout and not see any change for your efforts?

For me it was that struggle.  I had been working out and working out but nothing changed with all the effort and time I was putting into it. 

But as we all know, weight loss has two components to it.  Exercise AND nutrition. 

It was my eating

I had finally found something that had worked for me, and I wanted to tell the world.... and I pretty much did! LOL.  (sorry to all my Facebook friends)

 I wanted people to see that they don't have to give up on themselves to settle for feeling uncomfortable that I too had felt like for so LONG.  They can achieve their goals too.  I had struggled for so long to lose all the baby weight I had gained from having our beautiful three children.  I too went through that struggle of nothing working, and FINALLY finding something that did!  I wanted to share that with everyone because I wanted them to feel as great as I was feeling.  That something DOES work and it's called eating and exercise!  and SUPPORT, not just from me, but support from a challenge group that is made up of others doing a program as well, and seeing that everyone goes through ups and downs and we can cheer each other on in that.  Similar to a Weight Watchers meeting I believe but it's there for you EVERYDAY!  We are there for you every minute of the day.

 If you are reading this and wanting a change, wanting to feel more comfortable, wanting to finally get those bigger clothes OUT of your closet for GOOD!  I would LOVE to be a part of that process!  I want to hear about your struggles and your victories and we are going to celebrate EVERY step of the way.

 

Ticket to Inspiration and Opportunity!

 

I want to share with you what Beach Body Super Saturday was all about.  It is open for coaches  and fellow challengers to come, listen to inspiring stories, hear what exciting news and products they have coming our way in the next quarter and then we all workout together.  A big room full of coaches and people all in the same mind set of bettering themselves. 

One of my guests noted that there were all sorts of coaches in the room.  Some that have completed their journey, some that had just started and some in the middle.

Beach Body "Coaches" are not fitness models or nutrition experts, I mean there are some that fall into this category. But, mostly they are:

•  stay at home moms
•  doctors and nurses
•  teachers
• office admins
• managers

I have even met a coach that eventually left his job as a LAWYER.

They are just people like you that are proof that there IS something that works and we want to help you from what we learned along our journey and show you that you can do this too!

So as I sat in there in a room full of inspiring people yesterday and people going through their weight loss and lifestyle change, I felt so happy and excited to be a part of this amazing opportunity.  An opportunity to help and be there for people, and receive messages like those above, how can that NOT make your day right?

So anyways I just want to thank those that have trusted me so far in this and took that leap into another "weight loss" tool.  Thank you because you keep me going in this as well, and I'm so PROUD of them at how far they have come so far!  Thank you for letting me be just a little part in that. 

~ Jenn

 

 

 

Next Challenge Group opening for MAY!!!

 

Contact me at

jennweeebs@hotmail.com

if you are ready for a change

so we can chat and pick a program for you and your needs.

 

 

You'll Get:

 

Customized Nutrition Plan

 

A tasty and convenient meal replacement you'll have once a day

 

Exercise DVD's so you can workout in the convenience of your own home

One on one support

 

Access to a private Accountability group to help you stay motivated and on track

 

A free T-shirt for completing your program

 

and of course  Proven results !

 

 

Contact me today to get started! 

 

 

 

Week #1 - Instanity Recap

Phew we made it through the first week with Shawn T.

I will be honest, we did not commit 100% this week as we were extremely busy, but we took that leap and jumped into these new workouts not knowing what to expect!

It wasn't perfect but we did our best.

The first step last week was getting our food organized!
Beginning of last week we made sure we stocked up on all the regulars at Costco.
When our kitchen is stock with all these good foods, there's no excuse for us to be eating poorly.  Unless hubby sneaks off to the nearest convenience store for a bag of Doritos

Here are some of the items we tend to buy in bulk each week:

• Eggs
• Ground chicken
• Chicken beasts
• Salmon
• Cottage cheese
• Greek Yogurt
• Cheese
• Almonds
• Apples
• Bananas
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Melon
• Sweet potatoes
• Hummus
• Cucumber
• Zucchini
• Broccoli
• Mushrooms

 

We made a menu plan together for our dinners last Saturday.
During the week I typically stick to the same thing for breakfast snacks and lunches.  Since I work out of the home, it's just easiest to prepare all the lunches and prepack them so I can grab them and go in the morning.

 We switched up our dinners, but it would consist of a protein, carb, and healthy fat.

If you've ever read the nutrition book "THE ZONE" - the insanity elite nutrition plan typically follows that structure.  Balancing meals with a protein, healthy carb and healthy fat at each meal.

So having those meals prepped and read to go was key for us!
And having a plan each nigh for dinner saves me from that 4pm, "what am I going to do for dinner tonight" dilemma.  (Which usually leads me to making poor, quick choices)

After the kids were in bed, that's when we had time together for our workouts together.

These workouts were intense. I hated it, but loved it at the same time!  Feeling SO great that we got through one each night.

Some days the warm up felt like the hardest part of the workout!! 
But then there's a nice 7 minutes of stretching before he kicks it into high gear.  
We had to take breaks here and there but I know that we will only improve as the weeks go on.

This weeks plan-- I'm going to sit down and make a meal plan shortly, the regular grocery items are all ready stocked in the fridge.  Since we had a crazy busy weekend I will meal prep tomorrow night.

OH

Thought I would share this as well. 

This past weekend was my Birthday.  And for my birthday the hubby let me go out for a little shopping spree.  I hit up my favourite store RICKIS. 

Not only was it my birthday, but it was also a celebration of all the hard work I've done in the past 8 months.  I still cannot get over having to go down in sizes from what I think I'm at.  This is from years and years of being LG and XL, size 14, 12.  What a great feeling to see all your hard work has paid off.  But I'm not done yet ;)

Me at my heaviest after having our first little guy

 

 

On to another week of crazy INSANITY workouts!

Chocolate Shakeology Bars

 

QUICK!

It's 3pm and you're craving SOMETHING!!!

 

Something snacky

Something Chocolaty

and something

QUICK!

 

Whip up some of these:

 

 

Chocolate Shakeology Bars.

 

Great for a quick snack on the run!

 

 

Here's what you'll need:

4 Scoops of Chocolate Shakeology

1 cup oats

1 cup coconut

1 cup almond milk

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

1 TBSP of natural maple syrup

 

Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix well. 

Press into a pan. 

You can help yourself to a serving right away or chill and cut into bars to enjoy later.

Let me know what you think!

 

 

Jenn

 

Prepping for Insanity

I have been struggling to push myself past this plateau I seem to be stuck in for awhile now.  I think it's because I've gotten too comfortable with the workouts AND been a little too lax with the eating.  It's HARD though when you've got your kids birthdays and Easter treats all in one month!!!

So we're going to kick it up a notch: 

 ... Enter..... INSANITY!

Looks scary doesn't it??  I think one of my friends said  "It looks like it's designed to kill you"  
I've had this program downstairs in the cabinet for some time, but I haven't had the courage to tackle this quite yet.  I think now is the time. 

I was able to lose 30 pounds by following the 21 Day Fix, PiYo program and drinking Shakeology daily, but I think I've gotten to comfortable and need to get outside my comfort zone a little and give my booty a kick in the pants!  It doesn't need to be perfection right, just needs to be progress.  So I'm ready to push just a little bit more. 

I'm going to try to get the hubby on board with me this time around too to get me through this.
I've been a 21 Day fix lover for quite some time now and those consisted of quick 30 minute workouts so to do these ones that are an average of 45 minutes will be an adjustment.  But, something I will have to plan for each day and make it happen.  When you put in the work, you'll get the results and the only person that can do that for yourself is YOU. 

The food plan is quite different from the 21 Day Fix program as well.  You still eat 5 mini meals a day but I've noticed it's very protein heavy.  In the book, the nutrition plan gives you ideas for each of your five meals.  So all I had to do was go through each meal section and pick and chose what was going to work for me this week and our schedule. 

After doing some meal planning, here is a sample of a one of my days in week #1 :

Meal #1 -  PB toast with cottage cheese
Meal #2 - Vanilla Berry Protein Shake
Meal #3 -  Chocolate Shakeology with PB and 1/2 banana
Meal #4 -  Rotisserie chicken and a salad
Meal #5 -  Steak and salad

It all starts with food right?  They say it's 80% food and 20% exercise that will determine your success in this.  So I'm making sure my kitchen is stocked this week with ALL the good stuff!

So here's the before photos and stats.  I guess I'm committed now! 

Beginning Stats:
Weight - 145
Bust - 37
Waist - 30
Hips - 39

I'm not alone in this and that's the main reason I think I've stuck to these programs for the past 7 months.  My fellow challengers and friends keep me accountable each and every day.  I'm there to cheer them on, and they cheer me on when I need it. I could NOT have gotten to where I am today without the help of them inspiring me each and every day! 
 

 

So on to the next 60 DAYs!!! GULP!

  Just got to keep telling myself that it doesn't need to be perfection, it just needs to be progress. 

*********************

So excited to see where this will take me! 

 

 

 

Jenn

 

Guilt Free Chocolate Treat

In honor of this Easter long weekend and all the treats that will be tempting us, I decided to try making my own Chocolate using .... shakeology!

This would be really handy when those 3pm cravings hit!

Shakeology is so much more than a nutrtious meal replacement.  It can be used in recipes and make healthier versions of things.

So I found this chocolate recipe and decided to try it during this oh so fitting, chocolate filled weekend!

I was SO excited because it was actually pretty good!  It can be your go to this weekend (or whenever you need a "treat") and not feel guilty for it

So, here's what you do:
Melt a spoon full of coconut oil in the microwave in a small bowl. Approx 1 min until melted.
Add in 1 scoop of Shakeology and stir until combined.
Flatten out in the shape of a bar on a plate to throw into the freezer.

Variations:
You can add some M&M's and almonds. You could also mix in a bit of peppermint extract to make it taste like After Eight. Or try mixing in some coconut for a Coconut bar. I bet you could add peanut butter, raisins, , experiment a little.

So fun!  Did I menion this would be guilt free?

21 Day Fix containers would be 1 red and 2tsp. If you add the other items just add the matching container. (Blue for almonds, tsp for Peanut butter)

Let me know if you've tried it and what you think.

~Jenn

Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon Weekend

I have been wanting to write about this and share this experience for a long time now!  HOW do I get in words how amazing this event was.  When people ask me about it I don't know where to start.  All I can say is that it was AMAZING and that doesn't do it any justice.

This video just brings me down memory lane:

 

 

 

Last summer in JUNE, registration for the Princess 1/2 Marathon weekend became available.  There was so much hype and the increased exposure about this run on Facebook that the day registration open they had several website crashes and delays and the 1/2 marathon race and Glass Slipper Challenge was sold out within the hour.

I sat at my desk at work trying to register for this event and it was stressful to say the least!  But with some IT help they got me through and I was able to get in for the Glass Slipper Challenge.
 
What is this Glass Slipper Challenge?
It's a challenge where you run a 10 K on the Saturday through Epcot and then a 1/2 Marathon the next day, Sunday, from Epcot to Magic Kingdom and back.  You get a separate sparkly metal for completing the two runs back to back.  

I had signed up my husband for the 10K with me so we could do that together, my prince and I.  We were suppose to be Flynn and Rapunzel. 

There was also a 5K race and kid races.  We signed the kids up for the kid dashes.  They LOVED it, especially their Olaf Shirt and metal for they got for participating.

Training went was.... okay.  It wasn't perfect because I was really dedicating a lot of time on the other exercise programs that I was doing.  I was also running into IT band issues but was going to the physio regularly to work on this.  Just learned how to roll it out and stretch that IT band so everything tracks properly.  BUT no sprained ankles this time... whew!  

The packet pick up was at the Wide World of Sports.  Huge expo was taking place of course where you could get all the fun memorabilia.  They had lots of booths with sparkle skirts, Disney themed tanks, shoes, headbands, running socks, metal and photo holders I was in HEAVEN!!!  Spent a lot of time and money in there.  But hey, if you're going to do a once in a lifetime Run Disney event you got to have fun right!

The packet pick up was really organized.  When I had gone there were NO lines for packet pickup, very organized and easy to do.  You get a tshirt for each run and if you did and because I was up for the Glass Slipper Challenge, we got an extra one for that too!  LOVE free stuff!
The Tshirts are great I still wear mine with pride :)

So after all the goodies and shopping we were all set.  Outfits all picked out and just ready for the experience.

Early early 4am wake up call for the Enchanted 10K in Epcot.  It was a very chilly morning but there were still lots of princesses dressed in the skirts and tutu's braving the cold. 
Since I was running a 1/2 the next day I really wanted to take it easy for the 10 K.  Plan was to walk/run.  But as soon as we got going just the energy around you with all the fun music and people we ran more than we walked.   Despite the cold, it was still a beautiful sunny day and the run through Epcot area was beautiful!  I've been to several run events but here everyone was just having a BLAST!  There were several photo opportunity places around, lots of fun things to see and lots of live music and entertainment along the way.  Seriously the best run event ever, I love reminiscing about this.

After we had crossed the finish line together you were given your metal, refreshments and a whole box of snacks!  They really spoil you at the end!

After the 10K I was feeling pretty good.  Spent the whole day resting and rolling my IT band in preparation for the 1/2 marathon the next day. 

Next day was a 3am wake up call because there were 25,000 participants in the 1/2 marathon and huge delays in getting into Disney was expected so we got there really early.  Hubby dropped me off and was planning to meet me in Magic Kingdom main street, he was able to take the monorail there. 
Walking to the corral was a 20 min walk.  Nice warm up :)  They had corals A - O lined up down the highway.  DOWN THE HIGHWAY!!!  Standing in the middle of this highway of 25,000 was humbling.  All of us would have spent the last 5+ months training for this day.  It was incredible!  Runners of all shapes and sizes and ages all just waiting for this incredible experience!

 

Each coral was sent off with fireworks.  They spaced them 10 min apart and there would have been thousands in each coral.  I have never experienced anything that huge before! 

I was in Coral "I" and by belly was just full of butterflies when it was our turn to start.  Off we went down the highway towards Magic Kingdom.  There was lots to see, lots of encouraging princess amongst us and this experience was just incredible. 

After running the 10 K the day before my plan was the run/walk the whole thing.  You could even walk at a 17 min mile pace and finish in time. 
But I had surprised myself and I gotten all the way down through Magic Kingdom before I took a break.

 

Here is a video of what it was like to do this, I love to watch this and reminisce.

What a trip down memory lane

I would do this again in a heart beat!  If you ever want to do something amazing and memorable THIS is it.  I would save up all my race money for the year to do this each and every year.

 

The running training program I used can be found here:
http://www.rundisney.com/training/running/

If this is something you want to check off your bucket list, I highly recommend going for it!   
If you put the work in and follow the plan you can do this too!
There will be hiccups and struggles along the way but when you overcome those you'll be so proud of yourself you did. 

To find other Run Disney events check out their website:
http://www.rundisney.com/