Slightly Inappropriate

Holy cow it's hard to blog EVERYDAY!!! Really.... I hope the people that do get paid big bucks for it..... (and if you do and you are reading this..... teach me how please!!!) 

So this is for Monday (yesterday) and Today =) that way I am all caught up... deal?? 

WARNING: You MAY find one of my Tuesday food choices post entertaining or a little disturbing. If it offends you I am apologizing right now... and if it does honestly offend you then you and I are probably not very good friends and wouldn't get along well in real life... but I still love you anyways no worries. 

If you are new to me..... Check out this blog that explains my 21 day (almost) no processed sugar free diet I am doing for myself.... if you just want to jump into my blog...welcome to my crazy life and enjoy the ride.....(good luck) 

Monday 

I DID get up and run 15 hills this day.... be proud! And yes I thought I was going to die.... I'm super out of "shape" meaning I haven't worked out for a while and physically cannot do what i used to... yet. 

Breakfast:

What you are looking at is my breakfast.... Pretty isn't it?

This would be left over ground beef and a sweet potato.... yum! You should try it sometime!

*In case you couldn't tell.... I am not a good picture taker of food.... or of anything else for that matter... I'm just learning how to take selfies as well so bear with me please....

Lunch... honestly I don't remember.... My guess is this coffee since I took a picture of it

 Coffee with almond milk & sugar free chocolate syrup.

I'm pretty sure I ate some Natural Peanut butter on top of a Matzo as well again today like the other day.

Munched on some carrots and celery...

Oh and then my dog got sick.... sad isn't it???? He was coughing all day and throwing up.... It was like a sick child!! Took him into the vet and they think he has Kennel Cough... weird since he isn't around other dogs much... but hopefully that's it and it will go away with antibiotics.

look at my poor baby at the vet

Then when i got home I was starving!!!!

I may have ate half a bag of corn chips, cheese and salsa... my very own Nachos! (half the bag was a bad idea right??)

I should get an award for the ugliest food pictures. 

We REALLY do have pretty bowls and plates i promise... i just don't like to use them unless we have company.... I can't be the only one like that can I?

While i was eating my "Hangry" away (that's a slang word for REALLY hungry FYI) my son wanted me to play the game memory. He set it all up and was so excited for me to play with him...of course I was all for it.... then we started playing... he knew where EVERY match was so i didn't even get a turn.... such a turd! I asked him how come you know where they all are... Did you cheat?

He looks at me and says.... "Mama, I NEVER cheat! I just always win because I set them up...."
I like his style. And his moves... Check it:

see how big his pile is? so not fair

Now onto Tuesday (today):

Breakfast was (GASP) White bread and scrambled eggs... why white bread?... it has not even one gram of sugar in the brand I found so it's game for this challenge (go ahead cuss me out in your head right here)... I don't over eat it so it's not something that affects me much...it was delicious and I don't regret it. Of course I also had my Coffee.... I may be slightly addicted.

Zuek was feeling a little better but still not himself all day... so sad!

Wyatt's favorite buddy

Lunch:
I was so cold and just wanted soup so I had canned healthy choice (1g sugar) and crunch master crackers.

Do you like my soup bowl??

I was still crazy hungry and wanted something sweet... or bad for you... Our chocolate chips were out of the question and so was the last ice cream bar in our freezer (don't tell my husband about it it's mine in 13 days)

I decided to be a good girl and follow though with her challenge. I came upon peanut butter and a banana... usually i will put honey on it as it's SOO good!!! Really... probably one of my foods, so much so that it would be part of my last meal if I had a choice.

I went to take a few selfies of this for you guys then realized my mouth on a banana may not look like the most appropriate pictures to be putting on the Internet.. especially in my glasses (I can imagine the headlines right now)..... so I settled with this one to share.

I REALLY need to get more creative with my pictures.....

I did a super quick workout in my basement... can i just say I miss it SO much?? Working out brings me so much joy, happiness, and drive in life! I came up with some awesome workouts anyone can do especially if they haven't worked out in a while... Pray I get enough courage to do a video soon.... (I'm intimidated by doing videos... who would have thought right?) Maybe if i get enough encouragement I will start doing some and get more comfortable.... so speak up if you want me to!!

And finally I had a business meeting tonight with a girl I basically forced to be my friend because I LOVED who she is and what she is about! Afterwards we went to Perkins... and guess what... I had decaf coffee with 2 shots of half and half (imagining it was Baileys Creamer) Did you know there isn't any sugar in half and half?  (for real. google it.)

I feel such a major relief getting all caught up and not having to mess up my morning work load getting a blog from the previous day out. And remember... IF you know how to make a living just blogging... let me know as long as it is appropriate and doesn't involve anything shaped like a banana, I'm in!

Whew, it's late I'm tired.... Catch ya tomorrow night! Only 12 days left until I get to eat processed sugar! I think I will have cheesecake, brownie, apple pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate chip cookie, lemon bar, ... OH! I know!!! a cinnamon roll from Wheatfields.... YEEES!

On a side note I totally feel like I am not as puffy and feel as gross since I've removed (most) processed sugar for 8 days as of now... even after eating half a bag of corn chips. =)

Keep yourself Healthy Fit and Fabulous with small changes one by one!

Love you ALL (even the haters I love you too)!!!!

XoXo,
*Lallenia*

Hidden Sugar & Sunday Snuggles

Urgh... I tried SO hard to get this out last night... but again... it didn't happen. Maybe I need to be a little bit nicer to myself right? I mean at least I'm still doing one for each day. I'm SOOO NOT a night person... I try but I don't function well after 9pm... like at all. My husband on the other hand... exact opposite.

I love to workout in the morning.... he likes to workout at night.
I love to read in the morning..... he likes to read in the evening (unless it's the bible, he'll read for a little bit in the morning to start his day).
I love to see the sunrise... he loves to see the sunset.
I love to meet new people and friends he'd rather sit at home and watch football.
I love to listen to podcasts and audiobooks when I drive he'd rather listen to music when he drives.
and the list goes on....

Isn't amazing how differently people operate? I can't tell you how many times I've tried to change his habits or routines... all that does is get's us into screaming fights or someone resenting one another....

Ok I'm lying .... i STILL try to change his habits and routines... and this is why I am going to counseling sessions..... haha don't believe me?... Check this post out....

I guess I don't really believe our routines or differences make us argue...  if I am being 100% honest I'm using this as an excuse... it's just a matter of working with each other in a productive way in which I, personally, have a control issue and need to figure out why I think everything has to be done my way only..... (did I seriously JUST admit this!!!???... please don't tell my husband.... he tells me this all the time and I deny it.... it just came out onto this keyboard.... shhhhh... it can be our secret k??)

Side note: Don't worry we don't argue ALL the time btw... just when I don't get my way.... ;-)

This is also why I started this 21 day of (almost) no processed sugar diet (aka no crazy amounts of sugar in my diet)... I want it to be MY way and not someone else or some diet plan telling me what to eat. If i just remove the one thing that drives me into over eating on my own terms than maybe I will feel better and start learning how to control my cravings on my own. Then maybe I'd be ready to follow someone else's program (maybe).. please tell me I'm not the only one that feels this way?? I just want to rebel against what I'm "supposed" to do or what everyone else is doing... This probably has a lot to do with how I was raised and something I need to work on. Thank goodness i had good people in my life that all came together to raise me or I could've been a seriously troubled child... worse than I probably was.

** If you're new. (HIIII).. you probably think I'm super crazy already by these first few paragraphs... you can either start HERE or just keep reading and hop on board.... fair warning sometimes this turns into my diary and i don't know what will come out of my fingers..... 

Ok on to day 6 of this challenge I created for me:

Well first... who else has sunday morning snuggles with their family?? And has a  husband and son with longer eyelashes than them??? (I'm so envious of Brad's and Wyatt's eyelashes... is that weird??)

sunday morning snuggles

*I lOVE the filters on instagram.... my face looks super smooth for first thing in the morning =)



Breakfast: The BEST egg casserole EVER! (for real!) A woman brought this to a MOPS group I was part of last year and I fell in LOVE with it! It is a green chili puff egg casserole. SOOO good!!!! Almost NO carbs and the only sugar in it is from the cottage cheese. It is high in fat but fat isn't as deadly as sugar in my opinion....

 mmmmmm......

10 eggs
1 pt. 2% cottage cheese
1 lb. Jack cheese, shredded 
1/2 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2-4 cans diced green chiles

Beat eggs and add everything else. Pour into buttered 9 x 13 inch dish or two 9 inch pie plates (glass). Bake 35 minutes at 350 degrees or until firm and knife comes out clean. Can be reheated after baking. Mushrooms or spinach may be added instead of chiles.

I DID modify the flour for a gluten free one as thats all I had on hand.... still turned out awesome! 

Then we went to church and saw our friend "Shirt" on the way out playing in the storm sewer like always.....

peek a boo!

My son seriously named him Shirt... I'm scared for his future children!

After this I was totally able to talk my husband into going to see Big Hero 6 with us!!!!
Such a cute movie! I'd say it ranks up there with Frozen... for real! Not as much singing but really touching and adorable.

these chairs.... new goal in my life... have a basement theatre with chairs like this...best thing EVER!

Before the movie we had Chipotle...

Love this place as it's really easy to eat healthy here! We didn't even order any popcorn or drinks at the movie.. I was so proud! (its the little things)

After the movie I totally ate my sons other taco he didn't eat as my pre-workout meal.... it was small!

Then we did a quick workout at the gym. I did some leg stuff....

It's SO weird not being able to workout like I used to because of my shoulder issues. There was this cute little chick working out next to me doing push ups off of dumbbells (which were one of my FAVORITE exercises back in the day)... I seriously wanted to kick her in the face because I was jealous... it would've totally been an accident.... but no worries I restrained and went to another part of the gym.

We were busy today!

I made Brad come with me to meet some new friends for dinner.... it was a contractor in town and his wife ... who I LOVE and hope to share more about her with you soon! I brought a caesar salad and they had pizza.

 OH NO!!! I guess this is where I messed up entirely.. .I really didn't think there was much sugar in pizza... turns out there is 2.7-6g per slice depending on the place that makes it.... I just looked it up and saw that.. I should've done my research before hand but it is totally one of those things I just assumed there was probably only a little bit to help the dough and in the sauce... I didn't think there was going to be as much as there is.

Super annoying!

Normally, this would be a good point for me to quit (and go eat Wyatt's halloween candy)... instead i learned from that and won't eat it again while doing the challenge. Much better than getting all mad at myself and giving up.

It was also really weird not eating a dessert when visiting friends! I mean how fun is it to pull out a brownie cake you make for company that comes over... nope. nadda. nothing. sad day.... but thank goodness because that would've been SUPER hard to resist.... I would have because of you though no worries... and no more pizza unless i make it!

I REALLY need to reconcile our business accounts for october so I will catch you all later =)

Keep yourself Healthy, Fit and Fabulous and watch out for hidden sugar!!!

XoXo,
*Lallenia*

Joy and Matzos

This is for yesterday! 

I'm so sad I am a day behind posting these! My goal is to get back on track tonight!!!

I will do my best to keep this one short and to the point! =) 

If you're new to me welcome!!! I'm Lallenia!! I am doing a 21 day challenge of trying not to eat processed sugar... well if it has 2g or less that is. You can start by reading HERE if you'd like or just jump in! 

Today (saturday) I've had a bit of an obsession with PB! Not like I used to... now i can control it but I craved it ALL day! 

Breakfast:

One of my favorites!!!

1/2 cup rolled oats cooked

1 TBLSP natural PB

1 Scoop Protein Powder (usually I'd use chocolate but we didn't have any)

a splash of Coconut milk

SO GOOD! When I use chocolate protein (or mix in cocoa powder) it tastes like a PB chocolate cookies.... well I mean... kind of.. with imagination .... you get it. 

This was kind of a late breakfast.

a few hours later I was CRAVING PB again!!! On toast with coffee.... weird right? 

The other night when I was looking for bread without sugar in it..... Hey I know bread isn't the BEST choice but it's better than eating candy, cookies, or cake... well not BETTER... but it's better. 

I found that my husbands all time favorite bread (rotellas) had the least amount! Less than 1g for TWO. 

All the wheat breads, ryes and oatmeal based had 2-4g for ONE piece.... crazy. So he was excited to see it when he got home. 

I ate 2 1/2  pieces of toast, 1 with PB the others with just cinnamon and butter..... so freaking good. 

 I know many of you reading this are probably pointing your nose up at me as bread is like completely OFF limits, especially to my paleo friends.... I get that. and normally i don't eat it all that much... but for this challenge I'm not going to place it as "off limits". If you read about my struggle yesterday then this makes sense. =) 

Side note: for those of you who DO struggle with eating too much PB.... I started getting the natural kind (usually) because yes WAY less sugar but also because it satisfy my craving but it doesn't make me want to eat the whole jar like Skippy or Jif does. 

I was still wanting something sweet.... so I had a..... you guessed it! POMEGRANATE! 

Check out the health benefits:

I did eat the whole thing again.... it's SUPER good! If it weren't for how time consuming it is to getting the seeds out I'd probably eat 2 of these every day. 

I was going to go to the gym earlier but time got away from me and by the time I was about to Kids Club was to be closed (my husband was at work). When he got home i went for a 4 mile run.... Can I just say I REALLY LOVE to run..... I hate it because I know in order to build muscle and look tight I should be doing sprints and lifting heavy weights... I like those too but I REALLY get a joy from running 3-6 miles. It puts me in a happy place, a different one from strength training. 

This also gives me joy... my beautiful fat kitty sitting like this: 

how cute is she??? so funny!!!! 

Dinner time: 

Wyatt and I snacked on sweet baby bell peppers.... YUM!!!!!!! 

He sees me taking pictures of my food and asks Why.... I tell him it's because I am showing my friends the healthy choices I am trying to make. So wyatt said lets show them I eat healthy too!! Here you go folks =) 

my nose looks SOOOO long... well it kinda is ... oh well... 

I cooked up some grass fed ground beef with taco spices and was planning on having nachos. Then I found my salad that will go bad soon so I made a taco salad.... 

I used these Matzos things instead of chips... we didn't have any at the time.... it was good. This is so weird but i REALLY like the Matzos with PB and jelly on them as well if I'm not eating bread..... I'm also learning you can use these in substitute for a lot of other recipes like lasagna and cakes.... fun!!!!

I still wanted something sweet so my husband picked these up: 

Then I made this: 

It was ok.... it was creamy but not the same as using cow milk. If I didn't use the greek yogurt then it wouldn't have been creamy just watery. I found this on a weight watchers website =) 

1 Package of pistachio sugar free pudding (or any flavor you want)

1/2 cup greek yogurt

1/2 cup almond milk

That was my day =) 

This isn't diet or fitness related but I was sent this skin stuff  called Nerium to try from a girlfriend  in Cheyenne WY... I normally use Olay face lotion. 

I told her  I would take before pictures and after. I figured I'd share the results with you too.  Fresh out of the shower and NO make up on (no judging please) 

my face is SO red.... all the time. 

I am hoping this will take away the redness in my nose that i have to use makeup to cover up

Stop zooming in! Gross!! 

I'll keep you posted what I think of it! 

Ok I'm off to church and trying to talk my husband into going to the Movie Big Hero 6 again since he hasn't seen it ;-) It really is SOOOOO cute!!!! 

You all are awesome!!! 

Keep yourself Healthy, Fit and Fabulous!!! 

XoXo,

*Lallenia*

Confessions.......

End of day 3! 18 more days of trying to stay away from the devil food... processed sugar...

I figured out why I almost died yesterday and feel so gross.... take a guess?

Nope not pregnant (really sad isn't it???).... quite the opposite....

yep! My "friend" came to play this month... (Oh hey, I'm really good at the whole TMI thing FYI.)

Side note: If you're a newbie... HIII!!!!! (that's me smiling and waving like a big dork!) you may want to start with this blog first to know what I'm doing... or you can keep reading and figure it out on your own. ;-) 

Anyways if you're a chick reading this you'll probably find this amusing and relatable. If you're a dude reading this.... good for you man! Don't go away! Keep reading... as it will give you some insight on the way women REALLY feel when their lovely red friend comes to town.

If you've followed me or know me personally you know I struggled with an eating disorder for a long time (bulimia... yes the one where you throw up your food... no it didn't make me skinny so don't do it). During the time of that struggle I also worked out... a lot... like ridiculous amount of cardio.

This caused me to  never have a "regular" menstrual cycle because my body was entirely confused on what to do with me... basically it hated me and is taking it ALL out on me now that I am starting to have a "regular" menstrual cycle. But it's not "normal" it's VERY painful now due to a few disorders I've developed. I believe my ED (eating disorder) is the reason I have what is called PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome ) and Mittelschmerz (This is a very painful ovulation).

 I could be wrong, but I strongly believe if I was taught how to take care of myself when I was younger, told I was beautiful, and learned how to eat to fuel my body not just because it tasted good I would not have resorted to the ED and not struggle with self confidence issues therefor wouldn't be having these woman issues.
(But then what would you read to feel good about your life and happy that you don't deal with all these "issues" like me? ;-)) 

If you have a daughter, seriously, teach her at a very young age about eating to fuel & nourish her body, tell her she is beautiful, smart and important. Even if you have a boy make sure to tell him he's handsome, smart, important and teach him about the foods that fuel his body and the ones that will make him sick later in life... (remember what you eat today will affect you tomorrow.)

Trust me! They listen!! My 4 yr old son isn't perfect (pretty close though) yet he knows to only have a little bit of "bad food" because a lot is bad for his body and he will tell you that. (No I'm not that crazy mom that won't let him have ANY "bad" stuff) He has cod liver oil every night, drinks tons of water and even refuses to eat ice cream sometimes because it's "bad" for his body.... trust me they listen!!!

This is a VERY powerful yet extremely accurate quote I remember daily when I am with my son:

Onward with my day of trying not to eat my entire fridge and pantry... yes this is true.... When it's that time of month some of us women really do just want to stuff our faces because it just seems appropriate and oh! so comforting.

Sooooo ..... I have a Confession.....

When I was a trainer and didn't have this "normal" time of the month (due to my over exercising) I always thought this was just an excuse to eat. I never understood my clients emotional and physical battle with this. I would just think... "Man that sucks to feel that way.... are you SURE it's not just because you don't have enough self discipline?".... Don't worry... I am getting paid back PLUS interest for not fully realizing this reality for so many women.

Yes, there is a kind of discipline but I have learned you also need to recognize and know your body so you know how to approach this situation and be ready for it. (like removing all tempting foods and scheduling out workout dates)

Moral to you males reading this (if you made it this far): When it's "that" time of the month.... buy her her favorite chocolate, some cute workout shoes, and rub her back to sleep for comfort... well maybe not that last one.. I've never met a man that would only "rub" a back for comfort... Be nice and don't get mad when she freaks out for no reason.... is that too much to ask??


Diary for the day:
Breakfast: 2 Eggs & Sweet Potato... don't worry I didn't dare attempt a picture of that again... your welcome.

Snack: I came upstairs from working and was like I NEED chocolate.... So i tried to ease my craving with this savvy little coffee drink....

I made coffee then used coconut milk and sugar free chocolate sauce to resemble a Mocha from Starbucks.... not even close to being the same... but i used my imagination!

Lunch: 10 minutes later I realize I'm STILL hungry!!! Nothing sounds good... I. JUST. WANT. A. BROWNIE. SUNDAY.... instead i literally FORCED myself to eat something healthy... because of you guys.... seriously if it weren't because of this commitment I made to the WWW I totally would've gone and sat at E-Creamery and ate a HUGE brownie Sunday to myself. I settled for a cheese stick and a cucumber salad.... BARF.

SEE! I can't even handle it..... 

But it looks pretty!

Even the cucumber didn't even want to go in my mouth!

I have ANOTHER confession to make here.... so it took me like a thousand times to take a selfie of my "barf" face.... no joke! How in the heck are people so good at taking selfies all the time to post up on social media and look flawless???

I mean check it out... in one i have a HUGE nose... in another my eyes are crossed, yet another I look like I have mental issues (not that there's anything wrong with that) but really... this is a lot of work....

Please don't zoom in this isn't filtered! 

Maybe I need some selfie lessons along with taking pictures of my food??

Snack: After a while I come back upstairs because I still want to eat my house....

I find this Trek Mix... I reach in thinking ok I can totally eat the cashews, chia clusters and almonds out of here and just taste the chocolate chips and dried cranberries on my tongue since they are mixed together... that's not technically eating the sugar right?.... That's like a husband saying "but Honey! we only snuggled together I didn't cheat!".... RIIIGHT.... I totally had a few pieces of chocolate chips and dried cranberries.... Please don't get mad at me!! I didn't have the whole bag!! I wont do it again!

For real though... I didn't over do it.... like at all.... and I feel guilty I even thought I could get away with smelling the chocolate chips...

The cool thing... this didn't make me give up and say FINE I blew it I quit and be done or binge.... Usually that's the pattern I would follow... this time I forgave myself and said hey get back on track.

I STILL wanted chocolate 30 minutes later!! SO I came up with this....

I ONLY had 1 TBLSP of PB because 2 TBLSP has 3g sugar... I know the container would look otherwise but that's because it's almost gone anyways! (I SWEAR!!!) I was hoping the chocolate stuff would taste better later in the day... yeah... it was ok... it tasted good on the PB!! (What DOESN'T taste good with PB on it.... (if you're my close friend reading this you're dying laughing right now!)
Overall this snack curved my craving.... not too bad!!!

Can you guess I was STILL hungry an hour later.... WTF?! I am thinking... this is crazy! I hate hormones! I thought I'll eat something kind of salty to persuade my sweet tooth away. I ate about 20 of these

Dinner: Now this was delicious!!!!

corn tortilla, cheese, grass fed beef, black beans, & taco sauce... low sugar and super yummy!! 

Bedtime snack: That chocolate tea I told you about yesterday my son picked out... SOOOO amazing!!!

mmmmmm I am sipping it right now... be jealous! 

I'd give today an A-.... an A because I didn't even touch the Halloween candy no matter how bad my evil side was telling me you all would never know! That's a pretty BIG deal!

As for working out... I was super lazy today... well actually I planned to go running over lunch but I had A TON of work to get done for this system we are implementing... ok and i didn't want to... who am I kidding.

Don't worry I plan on getting up early tomorrow to go! I desperately need to force myself since i ALWAYS  feel better after I do!

No I didn't do my measurements AGAIN! and no... no picture yet...  maybe tomorrow....

Ok I'm going to take a Midol PM and go to bed... (because you wanted to know that!)

Keep yourself Healthy, Fit and Fabulous one step at a time!!

Love you all!

XoXo,
Lallenia

PS If you want some awesome recipes to use and inspiration for overcoming an ED check out one of my friends blogs here... it's totally awesome!

4 weeks....

Can you believe my show is 4 weeks away?!?! (start here if you're confused?) 

AH! It seriously has been going by SO fast… I am getting nervous! I know I am trying my hardest but I always feel like I could be doing better or more… although…I am like that in every aspect of my life. No matter what I accomplish or do I feel like I didn’t give my best, be my best or I could’ve tried harder. I haven’t quite figured out if this is a good thing or bad thing yet. I hate how I am always thinking I am not “good enough” yet I like that it gives me a drive…. There has got to be a happy medium right?!

I told you last week I was going to go this week without using the myfitnesspal app to keep track of my food… WELL I did not use it for about 2 days, then I became really antsy and wanted to know how I was doing so I logged a couple meals here and there… and today (also yesterday) I have logged every meal again. I suppose this is not a bad habit but after the show I would like to practice being more aware without having to log my food.

 I did have a lot of success in not snacking on stuff and slipping bites of Wyatt’s food into my mouth. I became MUCH more aware of that =) those little sneaky BLT’s (bites, licks, & tastes) sure do add up even if you do not have a child.

This week was actually REALLY great for my diet and training!! I felt strong and I can feel my body getting tighter. To be honest when I went in to get my measurements Friday I expected to see another week of amazing results….

Much to my dismay….

Body fat went down barely to 20.33% from 20.77%… WhatTheFudge? (Oh how I want fudge…. Yummy)

Weight was 137.9… ha-ha yes down .1 of a pound….

Lean body mass stayed the same.

The only explanation for this result was that I didn’t poop (yes I said poop) for 2 days, which means I am holding bloat in the areas he pinched. My iliac crest and my Axilla went down in measurements but not my ab pinch, which proves that it was indeed bloat according to my nutritionist. (This makes sense so I didn’t argue.) We will see for sure this week if there is another big drop (ha-ha get it?).

While I am on the topic… lets talk about body fat…

I have gotten many messages, emails, and questions regarding my body fat. Everyone says you do NOT look like you’re 20% body fat, that seems so high… well I believe it. I am NOT ashamed of it!!!! Take a look at the body fat percent scale and tell me if you’d be ok with 20%?

(This is taken from Wikipedia)

Description	Women	Men
Essential fat	10–13%	2–5%
Athletes	14–20%	6–13%
Fitness	21–24%	14–17%
Average	25–31%	18–24%
Obese	32%+	25%+

Heck yes I am ok with being on the athlete end now finally! That’s been my goal! Anyways the judges do not care about your body fat at these shows it’s all about presentation and the way your body LOOKS…. The scales and BF%'s are obsolete, I just like to use BF% as a measure of progress since we know the weight scale is not the best thing to use. 

Lets go back to my constipation issue since I’m sure you are all sitting there hoping I would talk about my poo. My body is adjusting to this change of diet and is not really sure what way to take it. I have upped my water and am looking into pro-biotics to help because at this point I am not going to mess with my diet much more if I want to stay on track. I feel like I’m 2 months pregnant when I don’t go potty… and I get gassy… (Aren’t you so happy I told you this?) This has got to change in the next 3 weeks!!!!!

(Ha-ha, saw this and thought it was funny! I sure wouldn’t poop in front of him! I’d be constipated for weeks!
 Clearly we know this would be lust because true love you’re able to poop in front of each other right??? )

 I’ve had many clients look at me like I was crazy when I’d ask about their pooping schedule… after all I am NOT a doctor why do I care?? Well to be honest I am a strong believer that everything starts in your gut and digestion system. Diseases, cancers, depression, eating disorders, leaky gut syndrome and many more I believe all have a correlation to your bowels. Call me (maybe?) crazy… but think about it…. You eat food…. It goes somewhere and does something…

It HAS a purpose right? It’s not just meant for taste… (WAIT what!? It’s NOT?!) Your body either uses it to fuel your muscles, skin, hair, nails, teeth, organs, bones, etc. or it stores the food as fat if it cannot be used or there is too much.

Not to mention your hormones (think pimples, menopause, rashes, etc.) have a direct correlation to what you are putting in and ON your body…. When you eat bad meat you get sick… when you roll around in Poison Ivy you itch like crazy… how is anything else different? You body reacts to it in someway... why not let it react in a positive way by treating your body right?

I am IN LOVE with this lady (Dr. Lauren “Lo” Noel) and her podcasts/radio show lately… try listening to this on your next walk… LOVE!

This one is all about pooping!! (Go figure…)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/drloradio/2012/08/29/pooping-101-with-dr-lo
 She even talks about how the way you sit on the potty can help your digestion… she is amazing and I highly encourage you to check her out for any health issue you may be having or if you just want to learn!

Food should be your medicine… really. I seriously would talk about this ALL day…. Try me I dare you… BUT we aren’t here to talk nutrition you want to see my progress pictures and secretly want me to fall on my face don’t you?

I don’t mean that to be rude but haven’t you ever thought about that…

Many people like to see people fail and that makes me SO sad! That is part

Of the reason I became a personal trainer and (hopefully) one day a Physical Education Teacher and coach maybe. I really want to help and see people succeed and reach goals, especially the teenage girls.

I grew up without very much positive reinforcement or support, which really hurt my confidence, & self esteem. I want to change that. I believe people need to be believed in and loved no matter what. It seems whenever people fail or go someplace that they didn’t like or got horrible service they talk about them/that place more. Yet, when people are successful or they go to a great place of service it is not as talked about. 

This week one of my clients really made me realize how people need to reach inside themselves and realize they can make their dreams reality. I do not just mean losing weight or getting fit (although that helps with many aspects and self confidence levels). I mean realize that if you want something & are willing to put forth the work and efforts you can make it happen.

During a session one of my clients looked at me and said,

 “Don’t take this the wrong way but I’m not that different from you… you just have a lower body fat percentage.” I haven’t told her this (until now) but that comment made me SO happy and really appreciate my job even more because it shows just because someone may (so you think) look better than you does not mean they ARE better than you.

 Honestly I am at a point in my life where I am realizing EVERYONE has their struggles and strengths weather they drive a Lamborghini  or a beat up little Mazda. =)

love love love this quote!!

 Some people have certain strengths that they are given to help others reach their potential  in certain aspects of life, weather they use those strengths for others or not is ultimately their choice. I strongly believe God placed us ALL on this earth to love and help one another. 

What makes you any different from me (besides the obvious)? I may have a lower body fat percentage (and I may not), I may eat chicken and broccoli for dinner instead of lasagna… why can't you?  I may chose to get excited about working out and seeing results… you can too if that’s what you want to do.

You may need to use a different approach than me because we’re not all the same but you can still make things happen if you want them too and are willing to put forth the work… not just the effort but really try, be willing to fail and try again.

Whew…. Ok so last little bit before I go eat my chicken and broccoli…. again.

Another client of mine developed this awesome idea for staying on track for 30 days. She used pieces of paper or note cards maybe. She wrote one quote on each of them, then chained them together and hung it up. Each day she pulls down one piece of chain and that's the quote or task for the day to help her reach her goals! How GENIUS is this??? I wish i could take credit! Not only is she counting down the days but it will also keep her in the right mindset ALL day!!! LOVE IT!!!

So here are my progress pictures for this week. I just put these 3 together because I was getting annoyed trying to fit them all together and have some programs to write up still. 

oh how fun my hair is even down =)
(dont get used to that!)

Many of you may be saying but you don't look much different... I see it and those of you who are into this kind of stuff probably see it too. I am not trying to lose weight and get skinny. I want to look fit and toned. There's a BIG difference in the two. So I know i am still on track and I also can tell I am retaining water weight in my triceps. My triceps pinch great so I was told i have water and sodium there and of course my curves at the hips and abs are holding a little too. I am not worried because I know these next few weeks my body will catch on and be what it is able to be at show time. (lets just hope it's what the judges want!!!)

I am actually starting to really appreciate my body and growing to love it, Even if God decided not to bless my upper half. I have worked hard to grow a butt and shape my back and it's working!!! That's why I love the pictures. My weight hasn't really changed much but my shape has been!  Remember the point of me blogging about my experience is so people see this doesn't happen overnight and there are many other factors you need to put into getting in the shape needed for fitness shows and modeling. I am still learning all of them!!!

My goals for this week: 

1. Up my water to 130oz a day...started this yesterday! Yes I am peeing a ton!!!

2. No change in diet except take out my aftershock drink post workout and just use amino acid drink. (XTEND!!!)

3. Start adding more fish to my diet

4. Keep practicing my POSING!!! (I still looked awkward but better than last week yes??) 

There you have it.... 4 weeks away!!

Keep yourself Healthy, Fit, and Fabulous!!

*Lallenia*