What is fitness to you??

So this is my kick off to start blogging again. I’m not sure why I stopped in the first place. Trying to do too many things or maybe I actually got a point where I was sick of fitness and trying to make it more than it was. Fitness to me has always been just a love for working out, staying in shape, being the person others can talk with about their workouts or healthy eating ideas, and just being able to encourage and motivate other people that no matter what it’s never too late to start…


OR too early for that matter. Yesterday I was able to go to the gym with my little brother- he’s going into high school and wants to be his best for the upcoming football season. Seeing him workout and being there alongside him reminded me why I love fitness in the first place. It’s about a challenge, pushing your own body (wherever it’s at) to the limit (and yes, if Mollz ever reads this she will make fun of me and my experience with going ‘to the extremes’).

I was a proud sister yesterday. Seeing him workout and pushing himself, all out of breathe with beads of sweat forming on his little face. He’s probably been to an actual gym less than 5 times but I can already see how it will positively affect him in more ways than he knows. It teaches dedication, hard work, consistency, challenges you physically and mentally and shows you what you are capable of when you don’t give up.

And that’s why I love fitness and hope others will find in it what I have. So in honor of my precious dear brother- this blog is going back up. I don’t care if it’s not read by a single person for months on end, but the chance it could get to someone and help them find a passion and strength inside themselves they didn’t know was there will make the effort worth it.

Cheesy Garlic Chicken Quesadilla

Ingrediets:

• 4 oz pre cooked chicken 
• Garlic Powder
• 1 oz Lisanatti Almond Cheese
• 2 Corn Tortillas
• 2 Egg Whites                

 Directions:

1. Dice pre-cooked chicken. Add to Pam sprayed pan and sauté to fully warm/brown chicken. Gather chicken in center of the pan and add 2 egg whites- creating a chicken pancake.  Sprinkle a generous amount of garlic powder over the egg whites/chicken. Cook all together, flipping once so the mixture resembles one big pancake.
2. Remove chicken/egg white pancake from pan.
3. Warm/brown a single side of the corn tortillas. Flip tortillas over so the browned side will be the inside of the quesadilla. Layer tortilla with cheese, chicken pancake, the rest of the cheese and finally the other tortilla on top. Finish browning the uncooked sides of the tortillas, allowing the cheese to melt. Remove from heat and top with favorite salsa.

Sayonara Taco Bell. There’s a new kid in town. The garlic/cheese mixture combined with the blackened chicken. So delicious! And the nutrition facts speak for themselves!

Calories: 304 Protein: 41g Carbs: 26g Fat: 3.5g

Last but not least.. .ENJOY!

Operation GLORIOUS GLUTES!

SO what is it about the obsession with your butt-something that you yourself can't even see!?? I couldn't tell you exactly but all I know is that firm, round glutes are an absolute MUST HAVE for a winning physique. Just think J-Lo and Kim Kardashian-they have it down! Here’s a challenge for you in your quest for the perfect butt!

I have to give Jamo Nezzar kudos for the idea of the hour walking lunges-THANKS JAMO!

THE MAIN IDEA- 60 minutes of walking lunges!! I know-sounds worse than it is.. trust me, you can do it!!


MIX IT UP! Add 10 wide legged jump squats each time the song changes. This will spike your heart rate each set and torch some serious extra calories.

CHALLENGE YOURSELF! Strap on some ankle/wrist weights or a weight vest

**I did this on Sunday with 5 lb ankle weights strapped to my wrists which made the jump-squats even more difficult as I touched the ground then threw my arms up overhead with each jump-squat. I did probably 15-20 sets of the jump-squats through the 60 minutes of walking lunges. Let me tell you- I was SPENT, in a good way! My legs hurt, butt hurt, dripping in sweat and exhausted but I felt accomplished, knowing my mission for improvement was well underway!

Are you getting enough ANTIOXIDANTS???

So I always make sure to get enough antioxidants to support my level of training and recovery, not to mention general health and well being. A few cornerstones in my diet to make sure I’m getting enough is through whole food items such as spinach (I eat LOTS) and a wide variety of fresh veggies as well as supplemental products including Acai, Organic Greens and Reds powder. Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals, decreasing inflammation, fatigue and subsequently maximize performance and body composition.

You might be thinking what’s the big deal, a few extra free radicals never killed anyone. STOP. During exercise your metabolism and oxygen consumption goes up, resulting in an increase in free radical production. Free radicals are molecules that are missing at least one electron causing it to be negatively charged. Free radicals are sort of like domino’s- acting in the same chain of reaction and damaging thousands of other cells in their path in an attempt to steal electrons from healthy positively charged cells.

If your thinking “Well, I barely exercise. I don’t have to worry”. THINK AGAIN. Environmental pollutants like smog, cigarette smoke and car exhaust all contain free radical molecules. Even worse- research has shown that mental stress is one of the highest causes of free radicals. So tell me you’ve never had any work or family related stress, contact with smog filled air or second hand smoke… that’s right… you can’t!

Free radicals increase the deterioration of cells which contributes to aging, cancer, diabetes and coronary artery disease-putting you at risk for heart attacks and heart failure. They don’t just kill cells, they damage the DNA- and when a cell’s DNA changes the mutated cell grows abnormally and REPRODUCES abnormally- filling your body with permanently messed up cells. YIKES. Pass the antioxidants please.



A few of my favorite ways to get plenty of antioxidants!

1) Organic Acai Powder- loaded with antioxidants which are necessary for decreasing inflammation. Free radicals are produced during exercise which can cause further damage to muscles and reduce recovery time.

2) Organic Greens powder- I take a scoop of greens powder everyday as well which gives me the antioxidant equivalent of 5 servings of vegetables-take that free radicals. The organic greens powder also provides a probiotic and fiber blend-good for optimal digestion and immune system function. I get mine from www.sotru.com- the best tasting greens powder I’ve had!!

3) Spinach- I honestly eat a bag a day! And Popeye was really onto something with this stuff… I add fresh leaves to my protein shake post workout which makes it easy to get a lot in. Rich in antioxidants, fiber, protein, vitamin C, K, A, B2, B6, magnesium, folate, manganese, iron, calcium, potassium and low in calories- 2 cups contains approximately 20 calories! Talk about bang for your buck.

4) A wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Blueberries, strawberries, red and green peppers, broccoli, mushrooms and green beans are a few of my favorites. Each food works differently and provides complex mixes of antioxidants which can help protect your body from the damaging effects of free radicals.

Here’s some extra reading if you’re so inclined-

Health Benefits of Spinach
Antioxidants-Maximizing the Training Effect
How Antioxidants Work
SoTru Organic Acai Powder

Make sure YOUR getting enough!! Add a few of these to your routine.

Challenge Yourself!! Keep the Love Alive

Having a set routine is great. Don’t get me wrong. But do you ever get in a rut and even though you love your routine, you just aren’t motivated by it? I’ll have times like this and feel like the fun has been taken out of working out. And for me that’s a total red flag because I LOVE working out, just ask anyone who knows me, it’s just what I DO. I think it’s easy to get a little too comfortable in your routine and lose that motivation to push yourself to that next level so don’t be afraid to switch it up. There are many ways to sculpt your body but one of the most important things is that you feel energized when your done and that you enjoy it. take your favorite classes and choose the type of training you love. You’ll not only be more likely to stick with it, you’ll feel good and LOOK GREAT.

Here’s an example of a routine I put together to switch up my normal workout:
HIIT & ABS




1) 5 min warm-up on treadmill

2) 5 min incline intervals

3) Abs Routine:
20 Reverse Crunches on bench holding 10lb weight in between feet
20 Reverse Crunches on bench w/out weight
20 Stability ball pike roll outs
20 weighted crunches w/ 25 lb weight plate
20 leg raises w/ reverse crunch up @ top
3 sets-facing front, left side, right side of 15 weighted rope crunches

4) Repeat Steps 2 & 3 three times

5) Warm down with 5 minutes treadmill walking and stretching

So next time you feel like you’re getting in a rut and just going through the motions rather than pushing and challenging yourself, try something new: boot-camps, take your workout outside or try making up your own workout. There's no right or wrong workout, each person is at a different point in their fitness journey. Focus on challenging YOURSELF and take back your motivation!!

Green Mint Delight

I wanted to share my latest obsession for my post workout smoothie. I try a lot of different things and love to create new recipes for my post workout shakes. This one is the GREEN MINT DELIGHT

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen spinach
1 scoop favorite protein powder
8-10 ice-cubes
1 cup almond milk/water (your choice)
1 scoop SoTru organic greens (found @www.sotru.com)
1/2 banana
Stevia or all natural sweetener (sweeten to your liking)

Combine all ingredients into blender and blend until creamy. ENJOY. Repeat as desired.

This shake not only takes amazing, it's packed full of antioxidants, 7 servings of vegetables, protein and will curb any sweet tooth you have. BACK AWAY FROM THE ICE CREAM!

Frozen spinach makes a great addition to smoothies, its low in calories and FULL of benefits. Blending frozen spinach with the other ingredients gives you a fresh and minty taste (thanks to the SoTru organic greens powder which has a minty flavor) It's full of antioxidants, vitamin C and E. It's also an excellent source of beta-carotene, potassium, zinc, magnesium, iron and calcium.

One of the reasons I have been adding spinach to my shakes is for its magnesium content. Lately I've been having various symptoms, I wasn't recovering from workouts, feeling weak, my muscles were always sore or aching, I had tension headaches, back pain, anxiety, my nervous system felt fried and I craved chocolate constantly. I did a little research of my own and found I may be deficient in magnesium so I found ways to naturally increase my levels by adding dietary rich foods into my meals. Spinach is one of the richest sources of magnesium and one frozen cup contains 117mg or 29% of your required daily amount. Not only is this an easy way to increase your dietary amounts, frozen spinach is cheap, all natural and readily available.

Healthy Food Finds

ALMOND CHEESE!!!

I'm constantly trying to find alternative high quality LEAN protein sources to keep things interesting with my meals and have heard about almond cheese for a while. I finally picked some up on my trip to Sprouts and am completely sold! It's absolutely delicious. So far I have made-

Fajitas w/ melted cheddar cheese tortillas

Protein Pizza w/ veggies and shredded almond cheese

Cheesy Broccoli

Nutrition Facts: Lisanatti Almond Cheddar Cheese Serving Size 1 oz
Calories: 50 Fat: 1g Protein 7g

It comes in cheddar, jalepeno jack and mozzorella. You should be able to find it at your local health food store eg: Whole Foods, Sprouts, or in your natural or organic food section at your local grocery store. Give it a try, you won't be dissapointed!