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Get Rid of the GUILT in "Guilty Pleasures"

Wouldn't it be nice to eat whatever, whenever without gaining weight? Ahhh, if only. The universal struggle, because whatever we eat good or bad has calories - obviously some more than others (except for veggies but lets be honest I will never eat plain celery for fun). Eating healthy is easier said than done and as much as we all would like it to be true, eating healthy doesn't always neutralizes our cravings.

Snacking is not a bad thing. Too much of it can be bad especially if you're eating things that are terrible for you. But as far as eating too many almonds, I'm sure you'll be fine.

We all have different types of cravings. Personally, I start off with craving sweets and then salty things... and then back to sweets. It can be a never ending cycle if I don't watch out. There are a few steps to take before snacking to make sure that you're hungry and not just bored/sad/lonely etc.

I like to stay away from the kitchen. For example, if you find yourself craving things while you're studying, try moving to another part of your house or go somewhere there isn't food like a library instead of a cafe. If you're still hungry, DRINK WATER. Typically if you're getting hungry it is because you're dehydrated. After that, try drinking some tea or even coffee. I find that these are the best beverages to cutting cravings because as long as you don't add sugar in the tea (unless its stevia/agave/a little honey) and only have your coffee plain (or with stevia/almond milk) they are scientifically proven to minimize cravings and even boost your metabolism.

If all of that fails then you probably are pretty hungry so the whole point of this is to recommend a few snacks that aren't completely boring and actually taste good. Remember that by only keeping healthy options in your house, you won't binge on unhealthy foods. Refer to my other post, "Challenge #1: Clean Out the Pantry!" for more information on what you need to be throwing out of the pantry!

1. Apple and Peanut Butter

I know I said this wouldn't be boring and I probably did start off with the lamest one, but I could eat this combination everyday for the rest of my life. Apple's are high in fiber which means they'll keep you fuller longer and cut your cravings by a good amount. Fiber intake should typically be around 20 grams a day (if you eat 20 grams a day of fiber give yourself a pat on the back because very few people do) and the peanut butter just adds calories so that you won't be hungry once you've finished. A decent serving would be a medium sized apple and 1 1/2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Make sure you're buying organic peanut butter without all of the added sugar.

2. Fruit Salads

Regardless of the amount of sugar in fruit, it's natural sugar which is a whole lot better than what's in that box of Fruit Loops. So I don't care what people say, eat a fruit salad if that's what's going to make you happy. And drizzle that honey on it because I know you want to.

3. So Delicious Dairy Free Coconut Ice Cream

This stuff tastes amazing and has such a rich flavor. You could get the no sugar sugar added or the regular one. I love how it tastes natural! Ah it's the best stuff ever! I believe the serving size is 1/4 c so you shouldn't have more than that. If you have issues with portion control then don't you even think about taking that whole tub up to your room to watch Netflix because you'll eat it all.

4. Dark Chocolate

A piece here and there won't kill you. It is high in antioxidants and it's proven to cut cravings, if you don't eat the whole bar.

5. Popcorn

I absolutely love popcorn. I am still trying to buy a small popcorn maker to make my own instead of using the microwave (i know, shame on me). But it's very delicious and it's okay to eat in moderation. I wouldn't recommend any with butter. Plain or lightly salted is OK.

6. Hummus

I love hummus but for some reason I cannot eat it on a slice of bread - random fact. So I eat hummus with baby carrots, flax seed crackers, cucumbers, even pita chips occasionally, and there are lots of other options depending on what you like. Making your own hummus is crazy easy so you can always have some in the house.

Sorry it took so long to post, I have been extremely busy with school and finals are right around the corner so bear with me. Look forward to instructional pictures in the gym come January. I am finishing up my contract at Gold's Gym in January and moving to LA Fitness to train with my boyfriend. I will be posting a lot more workouts in the near future. Make sure you're following my instagram page - @lifemeetgym for the quickest updates. Also that's where you can get in touch with me! I love answering your messages on Facebook as well so keep them coming!!!

None of the pictures in the post were taken by me, they were found courtesy of Google Images and Tumblr.

What I Ate Today

Since I've been getting lots of questions from my wonderful readers about what I eat on a daily basis, I decided this would be both a fun and informative blog post.

I try my best to eat nutritious meals everyday but I am not perfect. I am not trying to lose any weight so I do not count calories I just make sure I get the daily recommendation for most vitamins/minerals. This is an approximation most of the time because I don't feel the need to obsess over these things. I started following a blog this summer, The Balanced Blonde, who once called herself "The Blonde Vegan". She has a post where she mentions her diagnosis of Orthorexia Nervosa, which is the obsession of healthy eating. As a very strict Vegan with lots of fans and supporters all over the world, when she announced that she was transitioning away from veganism, she definitely received more attention (mostly negative and hateful) than she wanted. Her post, "Why I'm Transitioning Away from Veganism" made me realize that the amount of stress I was putting on myself was not healthy at all. It's funny how that worked, I was obsessed with eating healthy but it was destroying my confidence, self esteem, and so many other things. It is hard to not spend an unnecessary amount of time in the peanut butter aisle trying to see which is the most natural option, but in order to have a healthy body you must have a healthy mind. To not blow this whole thing out of proportion let me just say that my goal now is to just find a balance. I try my best to put healthy foods into my body but I won't be the only person that doesn't eat when I go out with a group of friends.

Well that rant was a lot longer than I wanted it to be but here's what I ate today!

Breakfast 7:30 am

Grabbed a quick snack before I left the house and grabbed my water bottle of course!

Pre-workout Snack 10am

Enjoyed a pear after class. I wasn't very hungry so I didn't want to make myself eat so that I didn't feel weighed down during my workout. Listen to your body... Who else eats pears from the top?

Post-workout Lunch 1:30pm

SMOOTHIE BOWL
OMG I was so excited about this. I had a bunch of frozen fruit from last week so I made this beautiful  concoction. I blended almond milk, bananas, and strawberries. On top I sprinkled flax seeds, chia seeds, oatmeal, and added some kiwi slices. It was wonderful and definitely filled me up!

Dinner 5:30pm

Made a simple dinner with some sautéed veggies (onions, red pepper, asparagus), added some soy chicken strips, with brown rice couscous. It was delicious with just the right amount of crunch from the veggies.

Snack around 7:30pm

Sat down to watch a movie with my boyfriend to watch a movie and snacked on some pumpkin seeds.

Hope that gives you a good idea of how you should be eating. Remember, even though I am not trying to lose weight if you're transitioning from an unhealthy diet this is a great example for what you should be eating. If you haven't noticed I love eating fruit, some might say it's too much sugar but I do try to stay away from fruits after lunch... for the most part.

Why You're Not Losing Weight

Losing weight is different for everyone. Some can drop the weight in a month or two. Others struggle for a year or more. When losing weight the most important thing to keep in mind is that you're not planning on gaining the weight back. So in order to succeed in you're weight loss journey you need to keep a positive mindset that includes balance and consistency. If you have found yourself having trouble with losing weight and/or keeping it off, then this blog post will be a blessing for you! So let's jump right into the details!

Remember, consistency is key. I don't care how you're trying to lose weight you can not do it with only dieting, or only exercise. No matter what you do in order to lose weight and keep it off you need both. And you need to remind yourself everyday that you NEED both in order to stay consistent.

 It is very important to set up a routine that works for you. I understand that you're busy! Everyone is busy. Whether it's school, work, kids... you have to find a time that works for you. Take at least 30 minutes a day and AT LEAST 4 days a week. Set up a time that would work for you, on those days, no matter what. For example, I used to go the gym every week night after 7 o'clock when I got out of work. Now that my schedule has changed, I'm all over the place (morning two days a week, middle of the day on monday, sometimes in the afternoon) but regardless of what day it is I have a period of time set aside for the gym. If something comes up, I don't beat myself up I just make sure I go the next day. Take a rest if you need it (not telling you to kill yourself if you can barely get out of bed) but don't make excuses either!!!

Fad diets do not work! You can not rely on them to lose weight and keep it off. If you want to do a cleanse after a terrible week of eating, GO FOR IT! Cleanses are great! But after 7 days of only drinking liquids you are bound to fall in to a pit of binge eating! When I got my wisdom teeth out (worst experience of my entire life, I've never been in more pain) I drank nothing but Gatorade - I don't approve of drinking this ever but I was desperate for calories - and a few smoothies. I probably consumed around 300 calories for 3 days straight and then I slowly added about 200 calories. I lost 7 pounds and gained it back in two days because as soon as I could chew I had a burrito from Taco Bell (I know don't judge me). So if you starve all you get in return is a slow metabolism because you're body goes into 'starvation mode'. Remember balance, don't eat too little...

Or too much... Another terrible habit is cheat meals. I remember how much I would eat in one sitting because I felt like I deserved it. The mistake I made was thinking that food was a reward. Sure food is a great thing, but to lose weight you need to change your mindset completely. Before I would binge on the weekend and that would set me back to where I was the week before. It was a never ending cycle of me gaining and then losing weight only within a week! Eventually I realized how crappy all that food made me feel and that if I knew how bad this stuff was, why was I still eating it? I am still working on this but I have definitely improved! If I feel like eating a slice of pizza I'll eat one slice, not 4. As long as you don't keep a ridiculously strict regime during the week you won't feel the need to binge the second you see junk food.

Sorry but I died laughing at this...

If you jumped on the fitness/wellness train a while ago, I can guarantee that at some point you've hit a PLATEU. If this is the case, I have two things to recommend. First, calculate your BMI, or Body Mass Index, this is basically just a simple calculation that can lets you know if you're underweight, average, or overweight. This test does not take into account muscle mass but it does give a general idea of where you stand. To be more specific you could take your body fat percentage or consult your doctor. What you need to do is make sure you actually need to lose weight, remember the key is to be HEALTHY!!! The second thing to do in order to break through your plateau would be to take a break. Yes, a break. Not too long that you get off track and never come back to the healthy side - although if you're really serious, a week will seem like forever - but nothing less than a week. In this week I ask that you skip the gym. The occasional stretch or walk around the park is acceptable but nothing more than that. As far as diet, eat whatever you'd like. This will restore balance back into your routine and make you look at this lifestyle with a whole new perspective. You will appreciate your health more and your time at the gym will no longer feel like a drag! The best part is that you'll be able to break through that plateau. Sure you probably gain a few pounds, but you'll be able to lose that weight and more! This is different than binging, I am not telling you to consume a crazy amount of calories. However if having that piece of chocolate after lunch makes you smile, go for it and most importantly DON'T regret it.

Be open to trying new things. I started out working out at home, along to the Insanity videos (which are wonderful and I totally recommend) but I got tired of it after a while. I joined the gym 2 years ago and I have been going ever since. In the meantime I did Insanity every few months, went to Boot Camp with my awesome aunt, and sometimes just went for a run with my boyfriend in the park. If a friend invites you to go to yoga, GO. Switching it up is never a bad thing and the worst that can happen is you wake up sore the next day (which is awesome so seriously where is the bad in this?)

You're probably just lacking some motivation. Every once in a while I lay down in bed and think of how horrible it's going to be waking up at 8 in the morning to workout. Then I get on Instagram, scroll through my news feed and suddenly I feel like going even earlier! Motivation is all over social media these days. Personally, I post pictures on my Intstagram, @lifemeetgym, to try to motivate people as much as I can throughout the day. Find someone who inspires you. Whether it's a celebrity, fitness guru, friend, family member, or hopefully me (god, please let it be me), find someone that you can look up to so that you get that extra push everyday.

Hopefully this wasn't too overwhelming or hard to understand. I tried to add as much personal information because this is the stuff that worked for me! I know it can be harder for some people to lose weight but as long as you give it your all you are UNSTOPPABLE!!

Leg Day at the Gym - 9/10/14

As I've mentioned before, I do not have a gym partner at the moment. Which I don't have a problem with because I like to workout alone; however, this means I don't have anyone to take pictures of my workouts and that is why I am limited to only posting certain workouts. I will do my best to describe the workouts clearly and find well-known names so that they can be googled and so on :)

Today I focused on a lot Quads, because I tend to neglect them. Make sure that you stay sweaty throughout this entire workout. I know that sounds gross but remember if you're sweating that means you're burning calories.

As with any workout I post, don't always stick to the same routine. If you're always repeating the same workouts, your body gets used to the movements and you don't see as much progress as you should be seeing. Something as little as changing the order or your workouts, adding weight, adding drop sets or supersets can optimize your results.

Leg Day Workout
*breaks should be no longer than 40-60 seconds in between sets*

20 Minutes Stairmaster Warm-Up: posted here

- 3x12 Barbell Back Squats - Normal Stance
     + 3x20 Step-Ups on Bench (bring your knee up), once completed go back to squats and finish these two workouts before you move to the next.

- 3x10 Smith Machine Incline Narrow Stance Back Squats (Stand up tall with the bar behind your neck, bring your feet out in front as much as you can and lower into a squat. Use the bar to keep your balance. You want to lower down to the point where it looks like you're sitting in a chair. Use a bench here if you need to.)
     + 3x10 Jumping Leg Lunges (each leg)
 3x10 Smith Machine Incline Wide Stance Back Squats (Same idea as before only now your legs will be much wider and your toes will be pointing outward).
     + 3x10 Jumping Leg Lunges (each leg)

- 3x10 Alternating Leg Press (each leg, one foot at a time)

- 3x10 Hamstring Curls Machine

- 3x10 Thigh Abductor Machine

Well there you have it! You will be sore the next day, I promise. Always make sure you're practicing safe form and never add too much - or TOO LITTLE - weight! Remember if you can do more than 15, you're not lifting heavy enough. And if you can barely do 5, you're lifting too heavy.

Check out my instagram page @lifemeetgym for daily updates!

HIIT Cardio at the Gym

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is all we hear about these days. "Wanna burn fat without burning muscle?" "Wanna burn double the amount of calories during and even after your workout?" Well Ladies and Gents, it ain't for nothin'. Seriously! Everything you hear about it is true. HIIT has many benefits:

1. HIIT allows you to burn through your fat instead of your muscle. When your heart rate is too high for a steady amount of time, you start burning through all the hard work you put in on leg day. You'll lose muscle if you continuously run at 6.0 for 30-60 minutes. Don't believe me? Try it yourself! I tested this theory and I saw results that I was not  looking for. After 3 weeks my muscle definition was less visible and my legs were almost pudgy. I worked so hard to get nice firm legs and just after 3 weeks my legs were twice as jiggly.

2. Studies show that when you incorporate HIIT into your workout, you burn way more calories while you're working out because your heart rate is making those sudden jumps. You also keep burring those calories long after you've completed your workout. *score*

3. With HIIT workouts you can actually cut the time you spend at the gym to 30-40 minutes. I used to have 40-90 minutes cardio sessions on top of weightlifting and never knew why I wasn't getting the results I wanted. In this post I am going to tell you what you can do on the cardio equipment at the gym and still burn lots of calories.

4. HIIT is a lot more fun! You can switch it up so you're never doing the same thing. People always tell me that they get bored of the gym. I would get bored too if I were doing the same thing day in and day out for hours and hours.

If this hasn't convinced you enough try it yourself! Here are a few examples for beginners...
(These exercises are specifically for cardio equipment, however it can also be done on a track/park/trail just not as precise).

Believe it or not, this is the only picture I have of myself on a piece of cardio equipment. I NEED A NEW GYM BUDDY THAT LIKES TO TAKE PICTURES! lol ...

HIIT on the Treadmill:

20 minutes total @ interval 5.0

2 minute warm up - 30 seconds sprint - 40 seconds walk - 2 minute cool down

Time	Speed
0-2 Minutes	3.5
30 seconds	6.0
40 seconds	3.5
30 seconds	6.5
40 seconds	3.5
30 seconds	7.0
40 seconds	3.5
30 seconds	7.5
40 seconds	3.5
30 seconds	8.0
40 seconds	3.5
30 seconds	6.0
40 seconds	3.5
30 seconds	6.5
40 seconds	3.5
30 seconds	7.0
40 seconds	3.5
30 seconds	7.5
40 seconds	3.5
30 seconds	8.0
40 seconds	3.5
30 seconds	6.0
40 seconds	3.5
30 seconds	6.5
40 seconds	3.5
30 seconds	7.0
40 seconds	3.5
30 seconds	7.5
40 seconds	3.5
30 seconds	8.0
40 seconds	3.5
30 seconds	6.0
0-2 minutes	3.5

HIIT on StairMaster - 20 minutes total

Minute	Level
1	5
2	5
3	8
4	10
5	12
6	14
7	2
8	8
9	10
10	12
11	14
12	2
13	8
14	10
15	12
16	14
17	2
18	8
19	14
20	2

Let me know what you think! I've enjoyed working out a lot more since I switched up my cardio routine so I hope you feel the same once you try it out!

I also decided to include some Before & After Pictures... the first few are from 2+ years ago when I first started this incredible journey. Not only did a passion for fitness grow inside of me, I grew an urge to nurture my body the way we are supposed to. I am not saying I am in the best possible shape, I still believe that I have a long way to go... However, I am proud of the progress I've made and all I want is to inspire others to do the same!

Slowly, but surely (with a few bumps in the road)...

If you'd like to see more of my HIIT workouts click the "WORKOUTS" tab on my homepage :)

Guilt-Free Peanut Butter Cups

I've never been so in love with a healthy dessert, I promise you'll love this! When I made this stuff I immediately had my friends and family try it because I was so pleased! It's the perfect amount of chocolate to suppress my cravings and its so rich that I can never eat more than one, which keeps me on track.

If you read my "Challenge #2: Go Nuts" post, and you've been trying to incorporate nuts into you meals this dessert will work great! It gives you the right amount of nutrition and sweetness. Also whats great about my Peanut Butter Cups is you can make a huge batch and not have to worry about it going bad.

As far as the cocoa powder goes, it's up to you whether or not you'd like to get it unsweetend/sweetened. Make sure you're buying organic or just a brand you can trust. With all the marketing out there these days you can be pressured into buying something that "speeds up your metabolism" or has a "great amount of antioxidants" but if you want my advice, do your research because this ingredient is great to keep in the kitchen for any healthy recipes. 

Guilt-Free Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients 

2 Cups of Peanut Butter (unsweet)

2 tbsp Coconut Oil (melted)

1 tbsp Honey

1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder

1 tbsp Honey (add more if needed)

1/3 Cup Coconut Oil (melted)

1/4 Cup Organic Vegan Chocolate Chips (optional)

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients for the peanut butter half: peanut butter, coconut oil, and honey. Place in a muffin try and let it sit in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes. 

2. Mix all of the ingredients for the chocolate half: cocoa powder, coconut oil, honey, and vegan chocolate chips. Once everything is completely mixed, grab the pan out of the freezer and add the new layer. Place back into the freezer for another 20 minutes until they're completely frozen. Enjoy!!

My PB Cups have chopped dates in some which I actually liked a lot. This is easy to mess around with you can add a lot of things and even get rid of some, it's all up to you. I hope you guys try these out and love them as much as I do!

Mango-Berry Smoothie

I don't know what I loved more about this smoothie... The way it looked or how delicious it was? Close call. I try to eat my fruits in the morning before I eat anything cooked (it's much better for your digestion).

A little trick I like to use when making smoothies is throwing everything into the glass or mason jar I plan on drinking out of and using that as my guide to make however much I plan on drinking. This way I don't make too much. For this recipe I filled up a large mason jar that holds about 3 cups.
 
Mango-Berry Smoothie Recipe 

Mango Half:

1 1/2 Handfuls of Frozen Mango Chunks 
1/2 of Large Banana
Honey or Sweetener of Choice, to taste

Berry Half:

6 Large Strawberry
1 Handful of Frozen Blueberries
3 Slices of Frozen Peaches
Honey or Sweetener of Choice, to taste

Directions:
1. Start by making the mango half in your blender. You want the mixture to be pretty thick because it will mix otherwise. Once you've blended the three ingredients, pour it in your jar/glass, rinse the blender and mix the berry half. If you do not see a distinct line, push down the berry half with a spoon.

Tricep + Ab Workout - 8/13

I've decided to post my daily workout's up on the blog - no promises that I'll be able to post one for every workout. I will try my best to find accurate names for all of the workouts but if you have any questions feel free to comment here, on Instagram, or Facebook. Unfortunately at the moment I don't have a workout partner so I won't have someone to take pictures of me every day. As soon as I can I will add some pictures to go along with my gym workouts.

Working out at the gym can be an obstacle for a lot of people. But I am here to tell you that you need to go in there, kill your workout and walk out! No one cares what you look like or what weird exercises you're doing. Everyone started out like you and some are probably at the exact same level. Walk in with confidence and crawl out because you kicked your workout in the butt.

20-30 Minutes of Cardio

Tricep Workout

5 sets of 10 reps

Bent Arm Cable Pushdowns with Bar
Straight Arm Cable Pushdowns with Bar
Lying Barbell Tricep Extensions
Tricep Dips on Bench
Tricep Pressdown with Rope

Ab Workout
I did these workouts on a flat bench because it challenged me to squeeze tight so I didn't fall off.

2 sets of 15-20 Reps

V-Ups
Alternating  Leg Lifts
Crunches
Bicycle Crunches
Toe Touches
Hip Raises

5 Minutes of Cardio

Stretch

Challenge #2: Go Nuts

Nutrition can get pretty confusing when you're trying to lose weight or just stay in shape. You don't know what to eat, how much, how little... You know what's terrible for you and you know what's gonna do wonders for your body... But what about that stuff in between? Like the stuff that you think is natural but fitness gods swear you should stay away from... And yes I'm talking about nuts.

Your 2^nd challenge will be to add ½ cup of nuts to your diet every single day. Whether it’s in a smoothie or you’re eating them plain it will work the same way. So how are nuts ok to eat while you're trying to lose weight? Aren't they full of calories? Well, yes. But they're also full of nutrition! Here's what's great about nuts; eating nuts in moderation can actually help you lose weight.

When you spend more time snacking on nuts, you spend less time snacking on chips or pretzels because nuts will keep you fuller longer, and you're slowly breaking the bad habit of eating highly addictive and fattening snacks. The less you eat junk, the less you crave it. Another cool trick is that the whole process of chewing those crunchy nuts makes you eat less because your jaw gets so tired of chewing. 

So what happens to all of the nuts we eat? Where do the calories go?! 70% actually disappears through dietary compensation mechanisms (just slips right through us), 20% may be lost due to increased fat burn (nuts speed up our metabolism), and 10% is just flushed away. So what's left? Lots of nutrition, a sped up metabolism, and a suppressed appetite.

For those those of you that want facts...

The "fecal excretion theory" shows that "a good portion of the cell walls of almonds remain intact in the GI tract throughout digestion, so even though nuts are high in calories, you may not absorb those calories because they stay behind".

So you might be asking, "How can I still lose weight by eating ground nuts?" The cell walls are already ground up, ready for absorption and ready to pack on calories…Right?

Well a study was done with two groups, one that ate whole peanuts and the other ate the same amount of peanuts ground into butter. “Both groups were told to continue following their regular diet... Neither group gained any weight because nut consumption is so satisfying, so appetite suppressing that throughout the rest of the day they unconsciously ate less”.

Not only do we lose weight when eating nuts, but nuts can actually help us live longer, healthier lives. A study done by Dr. Frank Hu,  professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, showed that daily nut-eaters were less likely to die of cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disease. That's a win win if you ask me. 

Eating nuts also burns fat. Arginine (found in nuts, soy, seeds, and beans) stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis (creation of more furnaces per cell) in your body. Creating a thermogenic effect that boosts your metabolism.

There's really no way to go wrong with eating nuts everyday. They're good for you and they taste great. I hope you all enjoyed this blog post because I worked really hard on getting all of this information together. I've applied this to my diet and I love it! I can't wait to hear about how this helped you reach your fitness goals! 

Disclaimer: Any of the information stated is an opinion that I've formed through my own research. I am not a doctor and I am not promising that this will work for anyone. Before you attempt any type of lifestyle change, whether its something you read here or on the internet, do your own research and consult your doctor.

Some informations was provided by author Kathy Freston in her book The Lean.