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) :-)

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 :-)

Oh Hey Everyone :-/

Hey Guys! 

I know that I have been MIA for awhile…life has been pretty busy. I am in the process right now of starting new things and I think that you will all be very excited! So what I thought I would write about today is myths of working out. Since I started working out regularly I have heard some strange things about women working out. Like crazy weird things! :-)

1.       Lifting weights will make you bulky like a man. – WRONG!! The first thing to remember is that men and women are built differently. We all have different muscle structure…just because you start lifting weights doesn’t mean you are going to turn into a female bodybuilding. Lifting weights makes your body make muscle. Muscle burns more calories than fat, more fat burning = good

2.       I want to tone – so I’m not going to lift heavy weights. – WRONG!! Sure starting out at 3-5 weights are good. But you can’t stay at those weights forever. In order for the muscle to grow it has to be challenged. You have to slowly increase your weight. 

3.       Eating healthy is boring. – WRONG!! Eating healthy should and CAN be fun. I love try new things. I love trying new recipes. Not all of them are good…not all healthy food is delish. But you find the things that you like and run with it. I love Van’s crackers and hummus, one of my go to healthy snacks…now does that sound boring?!?

4.       You only have to do cardio or weight lifting. – WRONG!! I believe that in any workout routine you need to have a balance. I am not saying that weight lifting is the only thing to do, I am not saying that cardio is the end all be all. I use a combination of both. I vary the intensity of both in order to have a well rounded workout routine. Weight lifting is important for muscle development, cardio is important for heart health. 

5.       I am going “no carb”, “no fat” – WRONG!! I do not believe in elimination diets. When I was doing prep I eliminated a lot of foods and I found that I craved those things. I believe that people process food differently and needed different levels of fat, carbs, protein, lactose, gluten, etc. I always say start with an even diet of proteins, carbs, and fat. See how your body responds and switch things around. No diet works the exact same way for everyone, so find a diet works for you…but steer clear of elimination diets!

6.       Eat less calories to lose weight. – WRONG!! Back in college I would do calorie restriction in order to get ready for spring break, summer, a dance :-O. Calorie restriction sends your body into starvation mode in which the body holds onto fat and water, giving you the appearance of being heavier. Now why would anyone want that?!?!?!? Make sure you get enough calories to support your resting metabolic rate. I need at least 2000 calories on days when I work out and 1500ish when I am resting. 

7.       I worked out today, I can eat anything I want. – WRONG!! You cannot out exercise a bad diet. If you want to change the way you look it starts in the kitchen. You have to feed your body well in order for it to work well. Think about your car, if you put crappy oil, crappy gas, crappy everything in the car it will run like crap. DON’T do that to your body. Feed it what it needs, exercise to help building muscle and cardio endurance, and you will be amazed at how your body responds. 

I am very passionate about exercising and nutrition. I believe that it is the cornerstone to a happy, healthy life. Before starting a workout/nutrition plan make sure you do all your research. I have been working out myself for two years now and I am still learning. I’ll share my gym story. When I was in college I went to a gym with my friend. I literally went once and never went back. I was only familiar with a treadmill and it was the worst thing ever. After graduate school I put on 30 pounds and felt horrible about myself, so I decided I was going to go to the gym and get a trainer. I work with 2 very skilled trainers for a year. They helped me understand fitness, nutrition, supplements. I met people who were “gym rats” and they helped me learn more and more. I moved from doing 3 days (1 weight lifting – with my trainer, 2 cardio days) to 6 days (no trainer, 1 cardio day) a week. I use to be self conscious in the gym, and now I feel like I own the place ;-) I put my music on and rock out. So take all this in…set a plan...and kick butt!

I work hard every day to achieve the body that I desire. But it does not happen overnight. You do not have to be scared of the gym. Go in there…kick a$$...and leave feeling awesome! :-)

Happiness :-)

Today I thought that I would give you guys a little bit of background on myself and why I decided to do this blog. About a year ago I ended a long term relationship, at the end I started to feel like I had lost myself somewhere and had no idea who I was or what I wanted from life. During this period I thought, well might as well get in shape while I think about who the hell I am. This was the greatest thing I could have ever done for myself. I have learned so much about myself in the last year than I have in the previous 25! One of the biggest changes I see is my self-esteem and overall happiness. I talk to my patients about happiness all the time, so I thought I would share some of my helpful hints that I have picked up over the last couple of years to increase happiness. Enjoy :-)
 
1. Positive Thinking - in typical social work fashion this has to be first! If you know anything about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, you'll know that changing negative thinking into positive thinking is one of the main tenets. How do you do this you ask?! Well when you start to feel yourself, or catch yourself, being negative make a quick change to something more positive. Example - "I feel fat" change to "It's a beautiful day outside today". People a lot of times think that they have to make thinking changes toward themselves, that's very difficult in the beginning, it is much easier to just think about random positive things. Think about your favorite flower or a funny joke. Eventually those negative thoughts will decrease and you will begin to see things in a positive way.
 
2. Positive Peer Group - Have you ever heard that saying, "you are what you eat"? Same concept..."you are who you hang out with". If a person hangs out with people who do drugs and steal the likelihood of them participating is high. If you hang out with someone who likes fitness and health eventually it will be something you like as well. You want to be around people who bring out the best you possible. You want to be with people who push you to be better and are positive. Believe me...I have known positive Penelope and negative Nell and one is DEFINITELY better than the other. 
 
3. Self-Esteem - you are probably like "duh Cassie, this one is obvious". Unfortunately there are so many people out there that do not like themselves. Low self-esteem is for a variety of reasons. Some of it stems from early life experiences. Sometimes it develops later on in life due to continuous negative experiences. Whatever the reason people, a vast majority of these people are women, do not like themselves. I am very guilty of this. During my first prep I was CONSTANTLY comparing myself to others. I wanted to look like them, I wanted what they have. Well what is so fricking wrong with what I have right now?! Nothing is exactly right. I started to change the way I was looking at things, stopped comparing myself to others and almost instantly I was happier.
 
4. Love of Others - One thing that I have learned in life is that I have not gotten to this place in my life without help from other people. I have amazing parents. I have an amazing boyfriend. I have amazing friends. All of these people have been with me through thick and thin. This one is not "loving" someone in the romantic sense, it is about knowing that there are other people out in the world. This world does not revolve around you. When you have a bad day the world doesn't stop spinning. To love others is to leave your problems at the door sometimes as well as being able to trust others with super secret spy stuff (aka SSSS) :-) Believe it or not there are people out there that do not trust and all they think about is themselves, it's sad because they have to be very lonely. 
 
5. Spirituality - I honestly don't care if you believe in God or Jesus or Muhammad or whoever. Knowing that you are here on this planet for a reason should give you solace. It should be something to relish in and focus on when you feel off "centered". Spirituality is about knowing that no matter the reason, you are here and you have a purpose. Finding that purpose is the spice of life. Live it up, find what you like and go for gold! Meditation, prayer, church, yoga, deep breathing are various examples of ways to evaluate spirituality.

 
6. Hobbies - for goodness sakes do fun things! I mean for real, what do you like to do? Find fun things and do them! We tend to let hobbies go due to kids, job, time management problems, etc. Don't let these things get in the way of your happiness. Hobbies should be the thing you turn to when you need an escape, when you want to turn that frown upside down. :-( ---> :-)
 
7. Healthy Lifestyle - this one is probably the easiest to understand. Put crap in = get crap out. Healthy lifestyle - this includes exercise and diet. But it also includes sleep and your emotional/mental well being. I am not going to go into health a whole lot because I mean...seriously this is a blog about health, come back and I'll CONSTANTLY tell you about it ;-)

 
8. Practice, Practice, Practice - happiness is not something fixed...it is fluid. Some days will be better than others. You want to practice these 7 things DAILY! I promise that if you practice you will feel much happier :-)
 
I know this is not a typical post for me...but I think that mental health is just as important as physical health...you cannot have one without the other. Hope this helps...please ask questions in the comment section if you have any!!