Protein Confetti Cake

Soooo....

One of my biggest issues with staying on track is my LOVE of sweets. Seriously, I would marry a chocolate cake if I could. :-P I try to stay focused and on track but I frequently have a "treat dessert" in my week as well as a "treat meal". This is helpful, but I have been looking for a healthier dessert so that I can indulge without feeling guilty. So last night after a long time of searching Pinterest I found a good recipe!!

So with a little adaptation for a weightlifting queen like myself, here is the recipe! I call this Protein Confetti Cake.
- 3 tbsp of whole wheat flour
- 1 tbsp of protein powder
- 1 tbsp of stevia
- sprinkle of cinnamon
- 1/4 cup of milk
- 1 egg white
- splash of vanilla (or extract)

1. Mix all dry ingredient together.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together wet ingredients.
3. Spray another bowl with non-stick spray
4. Mix dry and wet ingredients.
5. Microwave for 50 seconds - 2 minutes (I set mine for 2 minutes and just watched. Everyone's microwave is a little different)

 

One of the great things is that this recipe allows for you to change and make it whatever you want. If you want chocolate cake, add unsweetened chocolate, or chocolate protein. Its simplicity is wonderful! And did I mention that it was delicious?!?!?!???!! Enjoy! 

Food Face Off: Coffee Creamers

Ok, so I decided that I had so much fun on my last food face off that I wanted to do more!!! So what I'm hope is to find foods that are "controversial" and put them to the test!!!

Up first is coffee creamers. So many people drink coffee to get the day started, but are they healthy? When I first started trying to have a healthier lifestyle coffee was one of the first things I changed. I had talked with my trainer and we discussed that sugar free is better than fat free, because they tend to add boo-koo sugar to make it taste yummy. So I started get sugar free everything. In general this is probably a good practice. To this day I look at sugar and sodium and I try to get the product with the least amount. So recently I started wondering, is sugar free creamer good for you though? There is a difference between being "better for you" and "healthy". So here is what I learned:

REGULAR COFFEE CREAMER

 -Most (if not all) coffee creamers have partially hydrogenated oils. This is a process that manufactures do to make a semi-solid liquid. This is a mixture of soybean and/or cottonseed oil mixed with a metal (say what?!?). This is then added with flavor (natural and/or artificial) and water to make coffee creamer. The scariest part of this is that partially hydrogenated oils are TRANS FAT - the worst kind of fat. The kind of fat that leads to heart disease and diabetes (say what?!?!).

RULING: NOT HEALTHY

-And just a side note about trans fat: Most people know now that this is the worst kind of fat and although it does occur naturally in some foods, it should never be consumed from artificial sources. Health conscious people read labels and look at the fat content, and if it has trans fat, they throw it on the ground and have elephants stomp on it :-P . Those tricky manufactures though try to sneak trans fat into products unbeknownst to the consumers. They will put <0% , this does not mean that there is no trans fat (people think zero means none...it doesn't). Companies can use <0% and still sneak 0.5% of trans fat! When buying food in the frozen or aisle sections, you always want to look for partially hydrogenated oils, this means trans fat, which means you need to call your herd of elephants!

-Another note, recently (June 2015) the FDA has come out and said that more studies have looked at the effects of trans fat on overall health and have made the move to ban manufactures from using it in foods. When this ban will be put into place is still uncertain, most likely 2016 will be the cutoff and companies will have to stop using partially hydrogenated oils. (awesome sauce!!!)

SUGAR FREE COFFEE CREAMER  

- As listed above most sugar free coffee creamers contain partially hydrogenated oils, really the only difference is that they use Splenda (sucralose) instead of sugar. In the future I want to do a food face off of sugars, but currently I am still in the process of research, so look for it in the future! Sugar free still has fat, still has calories, still has hydrogenated oils. So in reality it really isn't any better for you than regular creamer.

RULING: STILL NOT HEALTHY

"HEALTHIER" REPLACEMENTS:

-Ok so I imagine that your next questions, is well Cassie, what do I put in my dern coffee?!? So I have some suggestions that would register in the healthier column.
1. Coffee Mate Natural Bliss - this newer coffee mate has no artifical substances and no partially hydrogenated oils!! WooHoo!! It is made with milk, cream, sugar, and carageenan (a natural thickener). Just use it wisely - meaning don't dump the whole thing in yo cup!
2. 1% or Fat Free Milk - this is a great option because you can get calcium and a little extra protein with your daily cup o' joe! Add some stevia for extra sweetness. You can also look at other natural sweeteners like honey.
3. For you dairy free or allergy peeps: Almond or Coconut (unsweetened versions) milk. Add this and a little stevia - viola!

So the ruling, as usual try to consume as much whole, natural foods. My go to rule when buying groceries is to have as few ingredients as possible. So if it has a long list of ingredients that wouldn't go in the cart. It takes time to let this process become the norm, but I promise it's so worth it!!!

Health Food Face Off: Ground Turkey vs. Ground Beef

So today during a meeting I was talking about breakfast (imagine...me...talking about breakfast!!) and I was saying that I had some turkey sausage links this morning and he replied, "You know turkey isn't always healthier than beef". At first it kind of took me aback, but then I started thinking...

IS GROUND TURKEY HEALTHIER THAN GROUND BEEF? 

So there are a couple different points in this debate. (1) Nutrition, (2) Price, and (3) Taste.

(1) Nutrition: just with about anything you can find ground turkey and ground beef that have about the same nutritional value. Some of the things that you want to look for in meat products are saturated fat and calories from fat. Cholesterol is also present in meat products and if you are looking to lower your cholesterol than you should look for meat products that are lower in cholesterol. 93% percent turkey/beef means that both products have 7% fat. These are the nutrition facts for the nutrition facts for turkey and beef at 93%:

 (from Myfitnesspal.com database)

So when you compare you can see that both have similar calorie totals, similar fat, cholesterol is lower in ground beef. 


(2) Price: The biggest thing for me personally is price. I buy a large amount of eggs, ground turkey, oatmeal, and anything sugar free. I have noticed in the grocery stores here (New Orleans) ground beef is more pricey than ground turkey. If you have a hometown butcher that can get ground beef cheaply I would say "you go!!". But if you have to buy in bulk (competitor, family, etc.) lean ground turkey may be the healthiest and cheapiest.


(3) Taste: This is a personal thing. I was raised on lean ground beef  but to tell you the truth I can't really taste the different. Burger and meatballs are pretty much the only thing that I can say that probably would be better if it was 85% ground turkey or 90%, more fat helps the meat stay moist. But at the end of the day I look to seasonings and spices to help increase taste. 


At the end of the day it is up to you! I also encourage people to look at other forms of ground meat that can be tasty alternatives (i.e. buffalo, chicken, etc). It is also ALWAYS important to do your research and know what you are doing. Food is no different. Hope this helps and if you have any questions you can leave a comment or send me an email!


Happy FRI-YAY!!!!


:-)

FitCassie Workout and Nutrtion Plan

 Hey Guys!

Happy Monday. So I have been working on a workout and nutrition plan that I would like to share with you all. So before I start I want to say a couple things,

1. What works for one person might not work for you, always do your research and find out what methods work for you.
2. The workout is my split. I have things that I want to focus on, you may wish to focus on different things, therefore feel free to change things up!
3. I don't do calories. I try to stick to whole, natural, foods. I worry more about getting all my nutrients. I have also been doing this for good amount of time so I know about how many grams of each nutrient I need. I would also suggest doing research to figure out exactly how much you need.
4. If you do calories, do calories. I won't judge!
5. I put on the nutrition low carb, this doesn't mean no carb or really even low carb. It's a way to make me mindful on days that I don't work out.
6. Also I am doing a program called HIITMAX. In place of this I would suggest doing another HIIT workout. I have some on here that I have posted that you could look at, or you could do sprints!



Ok so here it all is!

 Ok below are the workouts and nutrition broken down a little more. I like to be able to write the weight that I am using during workouts. For nutrition, to keep myself on track I am giving myself a percentage of how I did at each meal. This will help me be more accountable to getting all my meals in and staying on track!

Below I have a link to the PDF file of the above workout and nutrition. This is my first time inserting a PDF into a blog, so please let me know if you can't get it. Or something went wrong. I am not super amazing at getting all this in, so I'm praying this works!!


FitCassie Workout and Nutrition      (<----this is the link for the PDF) :-)

Breakfast Burrito

Ok, so I know that I post a lot of workouts. But one of my favorite things to do (besides lift obviously!) is to cook. I find it so exciting to put together new recipes that are delicious and nutritious! So this week I thought I would share my "Breakfast Burrito" recipe with you.

I stumbled onto these a couple weeks ago when I was trying to find a healthy breakfast option. I LOVE BREAKFAST! Like most breakfast dishes you can customize this recipe however you want...you want extra protein, more veggies, sweet, savory, this burrito can do it all! So the recipe I did is a little plain but delicious nonetheless. I have put the macros at the end for those of you who want to fit this is your macros!

Breakfast Burrito

-15 eggs (5 whole eggs, 10 egg whites)
-5 turkey sausage patties
-1/4 cup of habenaro jack cheese
-Mission "Carb Balance" Burritos
-Picante Salsa

Other things that I have seen are sweet potatoes, onions, bell pepper, turkey bacon, etc. For the salsa I put a a tablespoon in a Tupperware and put that on as you eat this glorious entree!

Here are the macros from my burrito. Now don't be alarmed...this burrito is stocked full of healthy carbs, fats, and proteins. I try not to worry to much about calories, more about the content. I used burritos that had higher carbs (note the dietary fibers = good carbds), but if you are trying to do lower carbs you can get a different type of burrito!!


Happy Eating :-)

Monthly Food Calendar! :-)

Look at me....2 post in two days!!! :-P

So today I wanted to share the family calendar for this month. I am working on my calendar for next month and I will make sure to share with you before June!

I really love the idea of a food calendar because it helps you stay focused, you plan ahead, and you get to try new exciting foods. I have time to research new foods and ways of tailoring them to my lifestyle needs. So without further ado, here is the menu!

 So here are some of my pictures from my tasty meals :-)

1. Red Beans and Rice
-I live in New Orleans and Red Beans are a staple. I decided to look at ways of making this typically heavy dish healthier. I used a pack of dry red beans, turkey sausage, birds eye seasoning mix (or onion, green pepper, celery), bay leaves, pinch of thyme. I put it all in a crockpot and went to work. Mixed it with some medley minute rice. Delish!







  
2. Chicken, Mushroom, and Spinach Alfredo
-I love pasta but have struggled to find a recipe that is healthy and doesn't upset my stomach. This recipe was so fast and simple. I created it with a co-worker, so this is a Cassie Original!
Recipe:
-Chicken (diced)
-Frozen Spinach
-1/2 pack of mushrooms (really however much you want)
-1/2 reduced fat cream cheese
-1/2-1 cup of chicken broth
-Italian cheese (shredded)
-garlic, onion
1. In a skillet cook diced chicken
2. In a dutch oven, saute garlic, onion, and Italian seasoning
3. In dutch oven add in 1/2 cream cheese and 1/2 cup chicken broth. Mix under you create a cream. You can add more broth as you go so that you have a creamy sauce and not a paste.
4. Add spinach (I used 1/2 pack) and mushrooms to sauce, stir. Add broth as needed.
5. In another pot boil water, cook noodles.
6. Mix chicken in with sauce.
7. Serve over noodles.
Enjoy!!

On the menu I have dessert nights. I absolutely love Skinny Cow desserts. I have a couple different types, they are all between 100-150 calories. It is the perfect little indulgence after dinner.

Hope you all enjoy the menu and you all will be in for a treat June's calendar!

Monday Post

Good Morning!!!

So today I wanted to share my workout schedule and some goals for this week. In my last post I talked about being prepared so I hope this will be helpful for you guys, and you can modify to your life!

Goals:
1. Get to work on time every day (seriously I get to work at 8:02 - I need to be here earlier!)
2. Focus on getting appropriate rest.
3. Put 130% into every workout.

Workout Schedule:
Monday - off
Tuesday - Legs (Squats) and HIIT
Wednesday -  Upper Body (Back Focus)
Thursday - HIIT and Abs
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Legs
Sunday - Upper Body (Shoulder Focus) and HIIT

So I will try to post as much info about workouts and meals as I can (but let's be real, I probably won't do it as often as I should :-P). So below is my tentative meal plan for the week and my workout from yesterday.

Meal Plan:
- Breakfast - Protein Shake
- Snack 1 - Chocolate Chip and Banana Muffin
- Lunch - Chicken Noodle Soup (under the weather today)
- Snack 2 - Greek Yogurt and carrots
- Dinner - varied?!?!? (today it's kabobs!)


Shoulder Workout: 500 rep WOD
1. Shoulder Press (smith machine/barbell) (10x10)
with bicep curl (3x10)
2. Upright Row (barbell) (5x10)
3. Lateral Raise (5x10)
with triceps extension (3x10)
4. Front Raise (5x10)
5. Arnold Press (10x10)
with dips (3x10)
6. Rear Delt Raise (5x10)
7. Shoulder Circles (10x10)


--I incorporated other upper body exercises to give the delt muscle some rest. I tried to do the whole workout in 1 hour (it took like 10-15 more minutes than that). What you want to go for is minimal rest but effective reps. Remember to do a weight that is appropriate yet challenging.


I hope you all have a great Monday!! :-)

How to Stay on Track

Today's post is going to be about how to keep your eye on the price. One of the biggest issues I have had in the past is staying on track. It doesn't matter what your fitness goal is, it could be to compete or to lose weight, or to just be healthier...IT'S HARD. I have struggled in the past with restricted eating habits and would binge eat, which would lead to a whole host of other problems. So I did some introspective work and looked at how I could be better. How could I learn to be happy with me, my life, me me me?!? So I have been thinking about it and here is my list.

1. Create a plan: Have you ever heard "fail to plan, plan to fail". That's exactly true. You want to create a plan. I like a schedule...but different folks, different strokes. Creating a plan should be the first step. This will keep you focused and then you won't be running around like a crazy person. I like creating a dinner menu and then taking leftovers for lunch. I posted my family menu in the last post. Another thing about creating a plan, is that you want to write it down and keep it visible. It's just like a goal, having it written down makes it much more likely to get accomplished.

2. Allow for indulgences: One of the biggest problems people have when trying to be healthier is that they cut all "bad" foods from their life. They say "I'm never going to have another cupcake". A week later they are in a bath tub surrounded by cupcakes :-O. One thing that I learned from competing is that you need to have a "cheat" every once in a while. This is so that you don't binge later. I like giving myself a treat or two a week. Usually after dinner. I try to make healthier choices, like a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich instead of a pint of Ben and Jerry's (but hey if you have control than go for it ;-) ). I am not a huge salty person, I love sweets so I give myself a little something every now and then. I also believe in the 80/20 diet...and if there is cake at a staff meeting you best believe I will be there :-) (I'm literally eating a brownie as I type this!)

3.  Make healthy swaps: Just like a said above, just because you are being healthy doesn't mean you have to eat baked chicken and broccoli every morning/noon/night. Make a list of your favorite foods and take some time to come up with alternative recipes. I love tacos, so I make healthy turkey tacos. I use ground turkey meat, pico de gallo, lettuce, and greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I love being able to be creative and try new things. It doesn't always turn out yummy, but that's how life goes! Another great thing is that you have access to the internet which has a million and one ways to create new and exciting foods!

4. Take it one day at a time: Not everyday is a good day. Remember to be present in the day that you are in. If you start to feel discouraged because you aren't seeing progress, focus yourself in this day. Focus on doing the right thing today. Don't give up because you feel bad. I always try to get to bed time and still feel "ok". If I feel hungry, I eat (I also try to actively decipher between hungry and bored). But I try to set small goals everyday to stay focused in the present. If you focus to much on the future (or the past) you'll miss out on all the wonderful aspects of the present day.

5. If you slip up, move on: Listen...I'm not sure if you're aware, but you are a human being. You will make mistakes...we all make MISTAKES! You will go out to dinner one night and go a little over board....oh well. Start over tomorrow. Now don't go crazy and eat everything in sight...but don't badger yourself. Don't guilt trip yourself. Learn from the mistake. So this night that you went over board, maybe you had a busy day and didn't eat your snack. Maybe you didn't drink enough water. Maybe you ate to fast. LEARN. Be present in the moment in which the mistake happen and use it as a learning tool. And try again. Don't give it. If you have to create a mantra to get over the issue say this to yourself "Oh well, that's life, tomorrow is a new damn day" Boom!

6. Set goals: Similar to the first helpful hint...set a goal. Why be healthy? Do you want to run a race? Do a triathlon? Do a competition? Having a goal will also help you stay focused and help with your overall plan that I said before. It doesn't have to be a profound goal, even something as simple as drinking more water is moving in a positive way.

7. Eat to live not live to eat: I have struggled with food for a long time. I go between saying "F it" and "God why can't I be better". Recently I have focused on eating to live. I don't eat if I'm not hungry, I only eat to feed my body. I also learned that I need to love myself and love my body. When I started reminding myself of that I started to feed my body to fuel it. I started to look at my body as priceless, a perfectly flawed priceless piece of wonderfulness.

8. Emotional eating: Many people use food as a coping skill for their emotions. Think about it, food is used for happy moments, sad moments, depressed moments, anxious moments, ALL sorts of moments. You want to be able to decipher between hungry and emotional eating. There are other coping skills that should be employed when you are experiencing an increase in emotions, eating should not be one of them. I work with substance abusers and one of the things we tell them is about HALT - hungry, angry, lonely, tired. These are the times that people fall back into bad habits. It should be these times you focus on setting good eating habits, but just an alcoholic would not drink, you should not eat.

9. You're not on a diet ANYMORE: I was reading a book about binge eating disorder. And one thing of the many things that stood out to me was an experiment that happened between WWI and WWII. The government was trying to learn how many calories that average, healthy male needs in order to function on the battle field. They took healthy (physically and mentally) young men and had them eat low calorie diets for a certain period over time. The researchers were blown away by their findings. It showed that these men (who previously had no body issues and/or food issues) started having body dysmorphic disorder symptoms. They became obsessed with food. That is all they would talk about, they would do calorie restriction and they binge eat, they had serious mood swings, all sorts of horrible things. Things that most people attribute to a woman just "being a woman". Could it be that society has put women on such a tight line that even from early ages girls worry about weight and food. Its like being on a diet all the time. With this being said, you are no longer on a diet...strip that word from your vocabulary. I like to refer to it as my nutrition, or my lifestyle. I like to eat healthy food, not because I'm on a diet, but because I am trying to be healthy.

10. Enjoy life: Listen, you only get one shot at life...so try to enjoy it. Have some cake, drink some wine. Live people! Everything in moderation!

I hope these 10 tips have helped. It's hard to stay focused, but with these things in mind it may be a little easier. Please leave comments about things that have helped you!

Let's Get Ready!!

Hey!! Hope you had a great weekend!

With the holiday coming up this week it is important to set yourself up for success NOT failure. This starts with a realistic plan for the week.

For this week I am going to set up a meal plan (based on Jim Stoppani's Shortcut to Shred diet) and then follow the same workout regimen that I did last week. Here are some helpful tips to start your week.

Meal Plan - .75-1 gram of protein, .5 gram of fat, .5-1 gram of carbohydrate.

Workout Regimen - pick 1-2 main body parts, create 2-3 exercises per body part. Instead of rest do a cardio exercise in between sets. It doesn't have to be anything crazy like sprints but just something to keep your heart rate up, like jumping jacks.

This is going to be my week:

Breakfast - 2 egg muffins (see previous post), 1/4 cup of oatmeal, 1/2 apple

Snack 1 - 1/4 cup of nonfat greek yogurt, 1 tbs of peanut butter, a couple chocolate chips (taste like cookie dough :-) )

Lunch - 4 oz of steak tips, asparagus, a small salad

Snack 2 - 1/4 cup of meat sauce (turkey ground meat), spaghetti squash, cabbage

Dinner - 4 oz of lean protein, 1 small sweet potato, broccoli


Workout - 5-6 days

1. Remember Christmas is this week. You will have to plan around this, there are a couple things you can do, (1) this can be one of your rest days. (2) you can do a body weight workout at home. (3) you could go for a run...if thats your thing (yikes :-P).

2. Plan your workouts. Most people do not want to workout to hard around the holidays but this is the time that you need to push yourself. Do those extra 10-15 minutes, push yourself on weight, etc. This will help you feel better when you are eating a little more this week :-)

Here is my week:

Monday - Chest, Triceps, Abs

Tuesday - Shoulders, Legs

Wednesday - Back, Biceps

Thursday - rest

Friday - Chest, Triceps, Abs

Saturday - Shoulders, Legs

Sunday - Back, Biceps

For the exact workout that i will be doing this week check out the shortcut to shred on bodybuilding.com...its an amazing workout.

I will try to be better this week with posting workouts and videos. So check back :-)

Yummy Egg Muffins :-)

Happy Monday!!!

I know I may be in the minority but I LOVE Mondays. I try to view Monday's as a brand new start. It's a chance to start fresh and try again. I don't always stick to my diet or workout like I should but Monday is a brand new day to try it all again. Some people dread Monday's because its the beginning of the week...but why would you want to start your week off with negativity?!?! I choose to be positive and I believe that helps me throughout the week.

Today I started my week with meditation and some yoga stretching. It's a pretty big pain to wake up 30 minutes early and get moving...but it is so rewarding. I feel more energized and positive throughout my day. I highly suggest that you guys do something that helps you get up and at em' in the morning! It could be doing crossword and drinking coffee, eating breakfast at home, meditating outside, etc.

So last night I made some egg muffins just to have something new for the mornings. It also was helpful because I didn't have to make my normal egg white scramble. It was super quick and tasted delish!

Southwest Egg Muffins

-10 egg whites
-5 whole eggs
-1 jalapeno
-1/2 white onion
-4 strips Canadian bacon (can sub with turkey bacon)
-fiesta cheese - optional

1. Cut up onion and jalapeno, set aside
2. Crack eggs and beat until yolks have been broken.
3. Spoon egg mixture into muffin tin (if needed spray with Pam before). Fill up only 10 muffins.
4. Add onion/jalapeno/Canadian bacon mix with egg.
5. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Sides of muffin should be lightly browned.
6. Add cheese if desired for 2 minutes while in oven.

-Let egg muffins cool for 5 minutes and then remove from the pan.

***Enjoy***

Goals Goals Goals

Hello everyone!

So yesterday I said that in the month of November we should all set goals. So some facts about goals (I'm going to go all social worker here ;-) ).

1. Writing down goals help commit it to memory. Writing it down also makes it more "real". Write the goal down and put it somewhere that you look everyday that way you can always be reminded of what you are doing.

2. Set specific goals. You want to be as specific as you can be when you write the goal down. Don't allow for any (or as few) loop holes as you can. I promise that at least once during your time you will want to give up, you will want to fore go the whole thing, and creating subconscious loop holes allow you to feel less guilt. For example: "I want to lose weight" - good goal nothing wrong with that...BUT how much weight? in what time frame? what are you going to do to lose weight - not eat, exercise, get plastic surgery??? A better way of setting this goal would be: "I want to lose 25 pounds in 3 months by going to the gym 4-5 times a week, doing at least 15 minutes of cardio each day, eating healthy, whole, natural foods, with one cheat meal a week." This goal is much more specific, you can measure the goal as you progress through the month. You know what you have to do to achieve the goal and you know what not to do.

3. Be honest with yourself. You don't want to set a goal to high that you will not achieve and then be disappointed. Set realistic and achievable goals. Know that weight loss can be tricky and losing on gain pounds is not necessarily the best way to monitor health and fitness. You can set long term and short term goals, that will help you stay more realistic.

Ok so here are some of the things I am going to work on this "No Fat November" :-)

1. Write in blog at least 3 times a week. Include such things as workouts, nutrition information, or recipes.

2. Only get on the scale on Tuesdays. I have a huge problem with getting on the scale too often. YIKES! It can ruin my mood completely. I want to focus on how I feel and how my clothes are fitting.

3. Stick to nutrition plan 90%. I am going to set a plan on Sunday (I'll try to share it with you guys) and then stick to it during the week and allow for 1 cheat meal and 1 cheat dessert. (I have a tendency to overdo it...so hopefully this will help me reign it in a little).

 

WOD:

1. Squats (5 sets, 15-10 reps)

2. Leg Extensions superset Calve Raises (5 sets, 15-10 reps)

3. Leg Curl superset Glute Bridges (5 sets, 15-10 reps)

4. Lunges (5 sets, 15-10 reps)

CARDIO:

--On leg day I like to do cardio that helps relax my legs. The ellipical and the bike are great ways to help move the lactic acid out of your legs. 

--Check out my Instagram for more leg day fun :-)

Hey Everyone!

I hope you all had a great weekend! With the holidays coming up I want to focus on staying focused during this time. Remember we all want to have a good time, and no one wants you to not enjoy the holidays. Having cake, pie, stuffing, etc is ok in portions, but its important to stay focused on health and goals. During this time I try to enjoy the things that I like to eat (sweets, sweets, sweets) but I also continue to go to the gym and eat my normal food 90% of the time. Don't let all your hard work go to waste!!

So this is what I am purposing..."No Fat November". This is a plan that is relatively simple and will help us all stay focused. I will be the first to admit that since I got back from vacation it has been hard to stay focused. I want this to be the time of year that I complete my goals and get focused for my future fitness goals.

What I also think is important is that we set goals that are not directly related to the gym. Maybe its eating better, maybe its focusing more at work. I think that it is important to focus on health and wellness, but that does not just incorporate the gym and nutrition. It also includes your mental health and physical well being. So think about something that would help your overall health. This month I am going to try (please bare with me on this) to let you know about the workouts I am doing, as well as food. If ever in doubt, check out my Instagram page, I definitley get more stuff going there.

Here is my workout for today:

-Back and Biceps

1. Seated Row superset Dumbbell Curls (4 sets, 15-10 reps)

2. Dumbbell Row superset 21's (see description below) (3 sets, 15-10 reps)

3. Lat Pulldown superset Hammer Curl (dumbbells or cables) (3 sets, 15-10 reps)

4. Push-up superset Burpee Curl (5 sets, 10 reps)

-Cardio: 30-45 Minutes - Interval Training.

--Descriptions:

1. Dumbbell curls can be done in a variety of different ways. I like to start with my palms facing my outer thighs, and while bring the weight up I turn my wrists to face the ceiling. You can also start with your wrists facing away from you and bring them straight up with no pivot.

2. 21's - using a barbell, 7 full curls, 7 curls where you stop at 90 degrees, 7 curls from 90 degrees to 45 degrees. See my Instagram for a video example.

3. Lat Pulldown's can use a variety of different bars. Make sure which ever bar you are using that you pull with your lats. At times when the weight gets heavier people tend to want to use their arms to help...don't do that. You also want to make sure that your back stays straight during the motion, don't use momentum to bring the weight down either.

4. Burpee Curl - do a modified burpee, when you come up to standing position, instead of jumping you are going to curl. Make sure the weight is relatively light this exercise is very challenging.

Happy Lifting guys! :-)

Nutrition 101: Protein

Nutrition 101: Protein

Most people know that you need protein everyday. What most people don't know is the importance of protein. Protein is one of the 3 macro nutrients that your body needs on a regular basis. Proteins are important because they contain amino acids, which are the building blocks of cells. Most people, even I am guilty of this, don't know how much protein to take in or when...which are both SUPER important. Protein intake will depend on your age, sex, and activity level. I will discuss ways to calculate protein intake later on.

So, what is the important information that everyone needs to know about protein? Ok so in the post I will go over the different types of protein as well as supplements for protein. At the end I'll given some info on types of protein as well as some little facts about protein.

1. Different types of protein: complete and incomplete proteins

-----Complete protein is a source that provides a person with all essential amino acids. Essential amino acids cannot be made in the body. These amino acids are important for the body in order to help repair and make muscle, tissue, cells, etc. Basically everything...duh! So you need to make sure that you are getting these types of amino acids in your diet. These amino acids can be found in animal based foods.

-----Incomplete protein are sources of food that provide some amino acids but not all 20 essential aminos. Incomplete proteins can be used together to create a complementary protein in which two or more sources is used to complete the 20 essential aminos.

Now I know this is a lot of information...and you're probably like whatever Cassie, why is this important. Well its important because you need to make sure that you are getting adequate amounts of protein in order for your body to function at its maximum potential! This is especially important for people who do not eat animal based proteins...you need to investigate your food to make sure that you are getting all 20 essential aminos!!

2. Supplements. Lots of people ask me about supplements that I take. Maybe one day I'll blog about that...it depends on the season that I am in and I have differing views about supplements than most I believe. First let me say that supplements are just that...SUPPLEMENTS. They are NOT replacements for regular food. Supplements should be used to supplement your diet to make sure that you are getting everything that you need. I only use protein supplements when ABSOLUTELY needed. And I'll let you know those times in just a little bit!

-----Whey protein: there are three different types of whey protein powder. Whey is a by-product of cheese production that is used because it is a rapid dissolving protein. Whey is great for the beginning of the day and making sure that you have something in your stomach to kick start your metabolism. Whey is also great right AFTER a workout to start the repairing process for your muscles. Right after a workout you need to get (at least) protein in your system within 30 minutes.

    1. Concentrate - higher fat ratio, usually the best tasting protein because it has more fat.

    2. Isolates - remove the most of fat and lactose, taste is mild and similar to milk

    3. Hydrolysates - less fat of the three, higher level of protein, taste is "ok" (remember to think it has less fat and that's the most important part of this). If you have a milk allergy this the whey to try first, less likely to have an allergic reaction.

-----BCAA - branched chain amino acids. You want to take this during your workout and after your workout. Helps aid muscle repair.

-----Glutamine - This is an amino that is in BCAA's as well as whey but in small amounts. This will help prevent muscle soreness if taken during workout and post-workout.

These are the supplements that I take everyday. I usually take whey only once, right after my workout. I take BCAA's and Glutamine during my workout and after to help prevent feeling sore the next time...because that is NO FUN!!!!!!!

3. Protein Intake - depending on age, sex, and activity level your protein level will be different. Most people who workout regularly need at least 1 gram of protein per body weight. One of my post earlier (I think the first) has a link to a calculator that will tell you the amount of macros you need for your goals, age, sex, etc. Use that!!!! If you don't take in enough protein your body will start to breakdown muscle. To much and your body won't process it and its basically wasted.

That is all I have about protein. I hope this helped. Let me know if you have questions...or anything else that is helpful for others!!!

Nutrition 101: Carbs :-O

Carbohydrates:

When talking about food most people will divide it up into macro and micro nutrients. Macro nutrients include protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Micro nutrients are smaller like vitamins and fiber. It is important to know the significance of all of these nutrients in order to use them effectively. So what I want to focus on first is carbohydrates. I think that carbs get a bad rep because of the way most people consume carbs.

***Carbs are extremely important for your diet and need to be consumed daily.***

So why do carbs get a bad rep?? Well because of things like pop-tarts, candy, and white bread. These things are what we call fast digesting carbs and beyond that have very little nutritional value. Carbs can be divided into three different categories; slow, medium, and fast digesting carbs.  Examples of different types of carbs will be later on, don’t you worry :-)

Carbs are important because they are vital for energy produce and muscle replenishment. Different body types will use carbs differently, but mainly carbs are for energy. When you ingest carbs they are converted into sugar (aka glucose), which in turn gives you energy. If you ingest fast digesting carbs you will have an insulin spike which will make your body store that energy as fat. Slow digestive carbs give your body the ability to store those nutrients as energy in your muscles to use later.

When I put together a meal plan I like to make sure I have a well balanced meals. I also like to consume mainly “whole” foods. I think to eat things with very few ingredients, and if it has more than a few I like to make sure that I know what they are. Some of the things people eat these days is crazy, and if you look on the box you can’t pronounce half of the ingredients! So when putting together your meal plan…look for carbs that are as close to whole and natural as possible!!

Examples of Slow/Medium/Fast Digesting Carbs

Slow – sweet potatoes, wild rice, beans, red potatoes, and fruit

Medium – banana, potatoes, brown rice, oranges, orange juice, whole wheat pasta

Fast – white bread, white rice, cold cereals, rice cakes, fruit juices

Carbs are needed in any diet and all of these types of carbs can be used on a regular/semi-regular basis, you just have to know the appropriate times.

 - Slow digesting carbs can be taken in at any time. Good to take in at all three major meals. These carbs are going to keep you fuller longer because they take your body longer to digest.

- Medium digesting carbs can be taken right before a training session. As you work out your carb storage from early will start to deplete, so taking in these carbs right before a session will help maintain a steady blood sugar throughout your workout.

- Fast digesting carbs should be taken immediately after a training session. You always want to make sure that you are refueling you body after working out. Your body is in prime mode to effectively use and storage fuel at this point. Use fast digesting carbs and protein for maximum benefits. These types of carbs do not have to be ingested, one could use medium digesting carbs after a workout…it is simply the best (and only time) to take in these types of carbs.

Examples of carbs for meals – (these are some of my faves :-D)

Breakfast: oatmeal, Ezekiel bread, sweet potato hash

Lunch: brown rice (or wild rice), sweet potatoes, black beans

Post workout: brown rice or sweet potato

Dinner: brown rice, rice pasta, sweet potato

One thing to remember…that veggies are the best carbs! The more and more veggies you eat the better. Veggies not only are low in carbs, they are full of fiber and other micro nutrients that help you feel fuller longer without throwing your diet off a bridge! 

I usually take in about 1/3 cup of any carb and then 1-2 cups of veggies. Some of my favorite veggies are green beans, spinach, and broccoli! 

Look for my nutrition 101 to come! 

Makin' Groceries :-)

“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”

Food prep day - (top) lunches for a week, (bottom) calliope food prep clean up crew, (right) homemade almond butter. :-)

One of the biggest things that I have learned in my prep to be healthy is that you are a lot less likely to cheat if you have worked hard to prepare healthy meals. With that being said, people a lot of times wonder what does healthy meal prep look like. Well I am here to help

1. Make a grocery list. Going to the grocery store can be an exciting time when first starting out and you’ll want to buy everything! Problem is that if you buy to much then a lot will go to waste, not good. So be honest with yourself and make a grocery list of the things you need. I eat about ½ dozen eggs a day, so I will need about 5 dozen to get through a ten day period. I like to make as few grocery trips as possible so I will load up on things that I use everyday as well as things that don’t go bad, like frozen veggies.

2. Make a menu. It is a lot easier to make a grocery list if you have an idea of what you are going to make for meals. I usually like to have two different lunches as well as two different dinners to alternate every other day so I don’t get bored.

3. Stay on the perimeter of the grocery store. I try to avoid the middle isles in stores because that is where the majority of the processed food is located. I once was told that 80% of your grocery cart should be foods that have one ingredient ( i.e. vegetables, fruits, oatmeal, rice, etc.). Going into the middle isles you may be tempted to pick up things like macaroni and cheese or chips, avoid these!!!

4. Have a budget. I remember when I first started eating healthy I would go crazy and buy all this “healthy” food. Unless you’re a millionaire, which I am not, its good to have a budget to stick too. This will also help with not buying things you really don’t need. I will buy some things that are more expensive, like natural peanut butter or Ezekiel bread, but the majority of the stuff I will look for the cheapest brand.

5. Organic vs. Not – this is a personal decision. Some people do not have the ability to buy organic food because it is significantly more expensive. Don’t feel bad! Buy healthy food and if you want some organic apples go ahead. If you can afford organic food go for it! I usually spend more money on things like antibiotic-hormone free meat. Some times we have to make tough decisions but as long as you are trying to be as healthy as possible I applaud you!

6. Pick a day to do all your prep. Prepping for a week is a job. It takes time and not taking the time means you are more likely to not do it correctly or not do it at all. I like to meal prep on Sundays. This is the day where I don’t work and I have the ability to clean my house, do chores, and meal prep.

7. Buy Tupperware! Some people prep in plastic baggies some put it in Tupperware, do what you want but have a system. I like Tupperware because then I can put it easily in my lunch box and come home at night, wash and reuse.

8. Create “staple” items that you must always have. I got through a lot of things on a regular basis (i.e. eggs, peanut butter, turkey bacon, sweet potatoes). These items should always be on your list. Make sure that you have enough to get through a week.

9. Only prep one week at a time. I have tried to prep for two weeks at a time, but by the end of the first week I look at the food and it looks old or I just don’t want to eat it. Changing things up is important, so only prep for a week. I usually alternate between some of my favorite meals. Like week 1 and 3 I’ll make the same dishes and 2 and 4 will be the same. But I do them a week at a time.

10. Have fun! People look at the grocery store as a chore, don’t do this! This should be exciting. I LOVE going to the grocery store. I love creating new foods and trying new spices. The grocery store is where it all begins! So have fun, make it an adventure!

Ok so those are my ten things you need to think about before grocery shopping. So here is my “typical” grocery shopping list. I hope you all have a great time shopping and prepping!!!

Eggs

Avocado

Unsweetened coco powder

Oatmeal

Peanut butter

Splenda/truvia

Turkey bacon

Almonds

Green tea/chamomile tea

Hot sauce

Frozen veggies

Sugar free maple syrup 

Chicken

Rice

Mrs. Dash seasoning 

Ground turkey 

Onion

Fish

Bell peppers

Tomatoes

Sweet potatoes 

The Importance of Nutrition!

Today I am going to focus on nutrition! But…before I do that I want to talk about the difference between a diet and a lifestyle change. Diets have an expiration date, once you reach the goal most go back to the old way of doing things. This is detrimental because you end up right back where you started. Another reason why diets are bad is because most people partake in “crash diets” defined as,

                “A weight-loss diet undertaken with the aim of achieving very rapid results”   

You may be happy that you lost all the weight so quickly, but the majority of people gain it back and then SOME! You also want to be careful when participating in “fad” diets and anything that says you can lose “10 pounds in 10 days”. Losing weight quickly means that you are at such a calorie deficit that your body is actually gone into starvation mode and is burning muscle because it is energy dense, instead of fat burning.

The most important thing that I have learned about diet is that your body needs, requires nourishment! This comes from getting a steady amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. I have been on multiple different diets, and I can say with certainty that I feel my best when I have a balanced diet of protein, carbs, and healthy fats.  Now everyone is different and goals are different so I, nor anyone else, can tell you how many you should get on average. For my competition I am trying to cut (get leaner) while still building muscle, so my protein is high and carbs are lower. Here is a website that you can go to and put in your info and it will tell you what you daily should look like. I know that it is a pain in the butt to calculate the exact amount of food that you need at each meal, but in the end it is worth it I promise. I am three weeks in and can see an amazing difference!

                http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

When I started my fitness journey I knew that I was going to have to make lifestyle changes. No more Taco Bell runs or Kit Kats during the day. I don’t worry so much about calories, as I worry about the “macros” of what I’m eating. One thing that I have learned recently is “macros” and “micros”. Macros are your proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Micros are your vitamins, phytochemicals, salt, etc.

Now with all this information we can start to make a meal plan! The best meal plan is one that has six meals spread throughout the day in order to maintain an active metabolism. You want to plan three larger meals; breakfast, lunch, and dinner and three small snacks. You need to think about the times of day that you will be active and plan around those (i.e. I work out at after work so I need to eat a larger dinner to help with the calorie deficit). If you work out in the morning, breakfast should be your biggest meal, etc.  

****Before you read my meal plan please be aware that I am currently cutting for a bikini competition so my diet is very strict, this is not an average diet. Use the macro calculator to find how much you should be taking in daily and use this meal plan as a base****

My basic meal plan…

Breakfast:

4 oz of protein (eggs)

1/3 cup of carb (oatmeal, Ezekiel bread)

Snack 1:

4 oz. of protein

½ oz. of nuts (or 1 tbs. of natural peanut butter)

1/3 cup of carb (brown rice, black beans, sweet potato)

Lunch:

1 cup of green vegetable (broccoli, small salad)

4 oz. of protein

1/3 cup of carb (same as above)

Snack 2:

1 ½ scoop Protein shake (whey protein, yummm)

½ oz of nuts (1 tbs. peanut butter)

Dinner:

5 oz. of protein

1 cup of vegetable (anything green!!!)

1.5 oz of avocado

1/3 cup of carbs (same as above)

Snack 3:

4 oz. of protein

1 oz. of avocado (1 tbs. of peanut butter)

This keeps me full and satisfied all day! I like this meal plan because it gives me the ability to make different kinds of protein (ground turkey, chicken, and fish) that way it doesn’t get boring! I love peanut butter and avocado so I usually eat those instead of nuts (make sure to buy NATURAL peanut butter, more to come on that later!) Once you start a meal plan you may be thinking to yourself “man that’s a lot of food!” Your body becomes accustom to being fed regularly and starts burning fat more effectively. I can actually tell what time it is by the way my body feels. I don’t really have to use an alarm clock anymore because my body knows that at 7:30 am it is time to eat! If you start to see yourself getting hungrier you can always add more vegetables!

Many of you are probably like “ok, we get it food is important but where is the workout?!” The very first thing that I learned in my fitness journey is that food is 90% of losing weight/being healthy. Exercise will help, but it is important to get a good firm grasp on your nutrition first!

First hand experience, I have been eating relatively clean for about 6 months. Stayed the same weight, 136.4 to be exact! I would have a cheat meal once a week and little cheats (like a Kit Kat) throughout the week. Not until I became fully committed to my diet did I start to see SERIOUS changes. My body has changed so much! I promise that workouts are coming soon, but nutrition is by far more important and my favorite thing to talk about! 

If you have any questions leave me a comment!!

Progress Picture of me for my first month of training. Check me out on Instagram, link at the top of my page!