My Daily Meals and Workout Routine

Even though I like this saying, I believe it's really 80/20 and abs can absolutely be enhanced in the gym with weights.  But, you have to melt the snow so your peaks and valleys can show!

I've had many comments wanting to know my daily meals and workout plan, so here you go:

After adjusting meal plans from Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet/Cookbook, along with Bill Phillips' Eating for Life recipes, I came up with food that actually works for me.  I eat small meals every 2-3 hours, protein shakes after my workout and during the day, and I drink a lot of water, about a gallon a day.  I eat a lot of protein, (chicken breasts, tuna, turkey, salmon) a vegetable, (spinach, brussel sprouts, broccoli, asparagus) and a complex carb (sweet potato, couscous, quinoa, farro) in each meal.  I also try to squeeze in small amounts of fresh fruit and protein shakes after my workouts and other times during the day.

Example day:

7-8am - Banana, oatmeal with 1 scoop of protein powder, flax, cinnamon, nutmeg, blue agave nectar (1 T) water & coffee

10:30am - Protein shake or bar

12pm - Chicken breast salad with hard boiled egg whites, tomato, mushrooms, spinach, quinoa, (1/2 olive oil ½ red wine vinegar dressing) & water

2:30 - Protein shake or bar

5pm - Tuna, salmon, or turkey, hb egg white, brussel sprouts, sweet potato, water

7:30 – Greek yogurt w/berries or a protein shake

Workouts

Day 1 – Legs & abs

Day 2 – Arms & obliques, cardio

Day 3 – Butt, chest, back, cardio

Day 4  - Rest or just cardio

Repeat

Shoulders - Shoulder press; Front raises; Lateral raises; Reverse flyes

Biceps - Dumbbell curls; Hammer curls

Triceps - Triceps kickbacks; Bench dips

Chest - Dumbbell incline press; Dumbbell incline flyes; Push-ups

Back - Dumbbell rows; Back extensions; Pull-ups

Abs - Hanging knee raises with ankle weights; Floor crunches; Oblique floor crunches; V-ups

Hamstrings & Glutes  - Dumbbell lunges; Straight-leg deadlifts; Lying leg curls & weighted kickbacks.

Quadriceps - Leg presses; Leg extensions       

Calves - Standing calf raises

Cardio - 30 minute intervals  (treadmill, stairmaster, or recumbent bike)

Living to eat?

Since I’m staying with my mother until she can walk again, I’m having to physically take care of her, cook, clean, do laundry, and run errands.  Yesterday, I went the store to pick up a few things and as the young very heavy girl was ringing me out she said, “How do you stay so skinny?”  Normally, the word skinny would sort of offend me because I’ve worked so hard to be fit…but it was obvious that she was nutritionally uneducated so skinny was a positive word for her.  I said, “Well, I work out a lot, I don’t drink soda, only water, and I don’t eat sugar.”  The lady behind me said, “She’s just not living is she…ha ha ha!” 

I guess to most people, eating sweets and dressed up garbage qualifies you to “live”.  In reality, I’m eating so I can actually live…a long time.  I don’t want to be in the hospital with complications from diabetes, I don’t want to have a heart attack from clogged arteries, and I don’t want to be fat, unfit, and unhealthy.  I AM LIVING.  This is how I choose to live and I love it. 

Eating clean IS the answer to fueling your body the proper way and never depriving it of food.  Weight training IS the answer to sculpting your body into any way you want to look.  Live so you can eat?  I think not!  Eat so you can LIVE. J

Fit or Fat...It's YOUR Choice

As we go through our lives, we all have choices that we make every single day.  We choose when to get up, what to wear, where we go, and what we need to do to lead productive lives.  To stay alive and healthy, we also have to make food choices every single day.  For most of us, it seems like easiest thing to do, but it truly can be the hardest decisions we make.  Let’s face it, “bad” food looks and tastes great!  That’s why it’s so darn hard!  Cupcake icing looks and tastes great…dips and sauces look and taste yummy…cakes and pies are pretty and taste fantastic!  We all acknowledge that.

So when it comes time to eat and we have to make food choices for ourselves, whether in the grocery store or on a menu, why do we make quick, easy, and sometimes stupid, choices and collapse under the pressure?  We’ve all been there and live to regret it later; sometimes, just a few minutes after we’ve devoured a bag of chips, cookies, or any junk food. 

I’ve said this so many times and will say it again. Plan, plan, plan!  Plan your meals out; cook ahead of time; know the menu and what you’re going to order; think ahead about where you’re going to be and what the food situation might be.  Choose to NOT buy junk food because you know you’re going to eat it!  Always have some kind of emergency “healthy” food with you if at all possible.  Lord knows my purse is always weighted down with extra protein bars, a premade protein shake, a bag of almonds, a tuna pack, etc.

Look, it’s just not sexy to order and eat clean/healthy to other people, but I can guarantee one thing…if you eat clean, you’ll be looking sexy!  Then, all of your smart everyday choices about what you CHOOSE to put in your mouth and into your body will be so worth all of your planning and the effort that you’ve put in to it. 

I made countless stupid food choices for most of my life until three years ago when I started eating and cooking clean.  I’m in control now from my smart choices.  Choose wisely?  Absolutely!  You WILL reap the benefits.

~ One Step Ahead ~

As many of you know from reading my blog, my mother was in a very serious car accident on March 26, 2012.  She suffered many broken bones, including a broken hip and femur, crushed right ankle and heel, fractured left ankle, and fractured lower lumbars in her back. She had surgeries on her hip, back, and ankles.  She will not be able to walk again for at least three months with intensive therapy and is currently at a rehab center.  My mother is 68 years old, not overweight, and was in reasonably good health.  She rode her bike on weekends, took long brisk walks, and stayed physically active most of the time. 

Because she was proactive with her health, she has been a real trooper through the surgeries that she’s had so far with no complications.  Things would’ve been a lot worse had she been overweight and not watched what she ate in all the years leading up to her crash.  The healing and recovery will be very difficult, but not as hard had she not watched her diet and stayed active.  With that, and her good attitude, I hope that my mom will be back riding her bike and taking long walks within a year. 

It’s just another reason to eat healthy and work out.  God forbid, if something like this happens to you, you’ll be one step ahead in the healing process.

I love you, mom.  I will be there for you every “step” of the way.

I Did It!

Ten weeks ago, I decided to compete in my first ever NPC Bikini competition, the Ronnie Coleman Classic.  At that time, I couldn't even imagine how I was going to pull it off in such a short period of time.  I had at least 10 pounds to lose, muscle to gain, and dimples to make disappear.  So, I set my goal on the calendar, made my nutrition and workout plan, and jumped in with both feet.  During that ten weeks, I felt overwhelmed and exhausted a few times, but kept pushing on.  I saw immediate changes because of my very strict diet and my muscles began to return and respond quickly.  If you read my previous post, I had a major issue to deal with in the very last week with my mother's accident.  I had to adjust my schedule and do the best that I could under the circumstances, but didn't feel good about my last prep week.  

As you can see from the photos, I made it through the competition and took home the 4th place trophy for the Masters division (45+)!  I'm so happy, not only to have accomplished my goal, but to have actually walked away with a trophy!   

The whole experience was unbelievable.  Being a part of that show was so beyond what I thought I would ever do.  It's definitely a different world.  Competing turned out to be quite expensive with everything involved.  Never the less, I feel fantastic and do not regret it for one minute.  It was truly a great experience and it pushed me to a level I never knew I had in me.  

No matter how old you are, make things happen for yourself.  You are in charge of YOU.  If you want it, go for it!  :)