Lately (well, for about a few days now) I’ve been eating more fruits and sort of “simplifying” my diet and making things more suitable to my hunger needs, not just eating lots of food to eat it. I do eat every 3-4 hours though but have been taking it easier on my body and digestive system but not going as protein/carb heavy.

So here’s what I ate today:

• meal 1: egg sandwich (2 pieces of light brown rice toast + 1 egg and one egg white with chipotle hot sauce) + about 2 cups of watermelon cubes
• meal 2: 1 banana + fruit salad + 2 almond butter energy bites (made with almond butter, unsweetened shredded coconut, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla extract, brown rice protein powder, enjoy life chocolate chips)
• meal 3: Smoothie King Acai Apple smoothie (I was out and grabbed this for a quick snack)
• meal 4: edamame + a salad with organic mixed greens, organic part-skim mozzarella cheese, onion, Newman’s dressing …oh and I just had a bowl of puffed brown rice.
• meal 5: we’re going out to eat so I’ll probably be having tilapia + some veggies

I’ve been loving this switch up lately. It’s giving my body a little break from digesting hard foods like lots of proteins, etc.

Also, if I don’t have an egg sandwich for lunch I’ll make it a meal 3 (lunch). And I’ll do oats for breakfast too. Also, for meal 2, I have greek yogurt (Chobani strawberry flavor or Fage) with hemp seeds but I was all out.

Annnnnnnd for the exciting news!!!!

I’m starting a new blog! It’s going to be fitness centered with clean, wholesome foods recipes that will make you lean and sexy. I’m so excited! Also, lots more videos!

More on that soon <3

So what I’m trying to say is, I’ve been doing simple little things that will keep me bikini ready. Like more protein, fruits, salads & protein, carbs at the right time and enjoying treats in the form of peanut butter bites.

Also, something new I tried this morning was adding in liquid egg whites into my oats.

Ok, I thought, this is gonna taste great! People all over blog world say, “oh you can’t taste it at all, it’s sooooo creamy.” <—Seriously, what planet do you live on??? Egg whites in oats = nazty.

I may have put too much (1/4c?) but that’s honestly not a lot. Maybe next time I’ll add a tablespoon? But then what’s the point ya know? I’ve been wanting to get more protein in for my breakfast meal in forms other than protein powder and this didn’t work so back to square numero uno. And I can’t do savory in the morning. Blech.

So, yea, the texture was NOT creamy, and it tasted prettttty bad. I scoffed it down anyways and got it over with because I a) didn’t want to waste it and b) was too lazy to get up and make another bowl without egg whites.

Also, I could taste the egg whites (kind of a duh moment) but I don’t really like the taste of egg whites (except when doused in ketchup or stir fried with a veggie burger or something).

Lesson learned.

Won’t be doing that again!

Or maybe I’ll try a breakfast bake instead? I’ll report back. I do like protein pancakes in the morning though, but I’m trying to incorporate oats into my breakfasts more often than no and my protein pancakes usually don’t have oats in them so maybe I’ll start using oat flour? I’m a mess.

Oh yeah, and changing my macros to higher fats did not work well. My body bloated up like CRAZY and I couldn’t stand it. I do better with a balance of all 3 macros (carbs, protein, fats) as opposed to one or more macros taking the load of my calories.

Onto things I have been eating & enjoying:

Smoothies with berries, OJ and protein powder. Also, acai smoothies with banana + protein powder <—soooo refreshing!

Salt ‘n peppa pistachios.

Aloe!!!!!! I got this at Trader Joe’s and stupidly only bought one thinking I wouldn’t like it. Well, I LOVE it. Must buy more. And I don’t think it was too expensive either (for organic aloe). It almost reminds me of bubble tea, if you’ve ever had that. It also has a subtle grape flour that is so refreshing. The ingredients include a little grape juice so duh, that’s probably why.

One of my favorite Trader Joe’s salad.

BETTER (and healthier) than Nutella! I stuffed this in my mouth the other day while running errands. I was busy and knew I’d be hungry soon so rather than starving, I squeezed this nectar of the God’s into my mouth to fuel me until my next meal.

Needs no explanation. Ate this entire bag in less than 24 hours.

Chia pudding! I made this yesterday before my workout and paired it with a greek yogurt with a lil GF cereal. It helped me bust out a great leg workout (see my leg workout here). This had 2 tbsp chia seeds, 1/4c almond milk, cinnamon & vanilla extract topped with strawberries, unsweetened shredded coconut and honey.

Purchase of the Week

Along with all the watermelon and fruit I’ve been eating (my favorite part of Summer = all the fresh fruit), I ate this Energy Bomb! before my workout last week. DEFINITELY gave me an energy boost. I was bouncing everywhere (more so than when I have coffee). It has guarana in it and some other natural caffeine sources. It’s gluten free, raw and vegan and tastes pretty good! I would definitely buy it again for when you hit a slump or need some fuel before a workout.

Rating: (4/5 stars)

Only reason it didn’t get 5 stars was because the flavor could have been more brownie like. But maybe I’m just a tough critic.

Today I have my very own glutes workout for you. Oooooo, I know your excited to have some burning glutes. BUT, with every workout the more you push through the burn and past your comfort zone, the better your results will be.

You know that cliché saying, “when you leave your comfort zone you see results” well it’s true. So suck it up and do this workout because I know you are all going to want to show off that booty at the beach. Heads will turn.

Seriously. Butts are back.

Let’s get to it!

I do this workout every week, usually on a Monday when my legs are fresh. For the pictures, I use dumbbells as the weights but since I do this at the gym, I use weighted barbells and such for the exercises. I’ll note where I do what. Also, you can do this without weights but for me, to see more results I’ve found that I need to lift heavy to really get some shaping and sculpting in my glutes so do NOT be afraid to lift heavy but remember to keep proper form.

For every workout, I start with wide legged squats. I use a bar with a few plates on each side. I go really deep into my squats but I don’t let my knees go past my toes. I keep my stance wide because I feel I can go deeper into my squat with better form and I can lift heavier. I also point my toes out a bit. You can do this on a smith machine as well but I find the smith machine forces your body into unnatural movements so I do this with a bar + weights on each side.

Also, for photos sake I rested the dumbbells on my shoulders but you can keep them by your sides if using free weights.

I do 3 sets of 8 reps or 4 sets of 10. Sometimes in between sets I’ll do jump squats to seriously burn out my glutes.

Stiff legged deadlifts will do wonders for the back of your legs. They tone up the hamstrings and bring a nice curve to the back of your leg.

I do 3 sets of 8 with a barbell with a few weighted plates on each side or I’ll do 4 sets of 10.

SUPERSET:

I superset split squats with single leg deadlifts for a reaaaaaally big burn. This hurts so good. Split squats will murder your quads/glutes and you will be sweating like crazy. Also, single leg deadlifts will lift the booty up like you don’t believe. Single leg deadlifts are definitely a great way to lift and sculpt the glute. One of my favorites!

I do 3 sets of 8 for each or 4 sets of 10.

When I say either 3 sets of 8 or 4 sets of 10 it means that it depends on what type of leg workout I intend on having. I’ll either focus on my current weights and get perfect form doing 4 sets of 10. When I do 3 sets of 8 that means I’m doing a new weight so I’ll go a little lighter on the reps to get good form. Does that make sense?

Walking lunges.

One of my favorite glutes moves to make that butt salute! I do walking lunges for 3-5 sets of 10 reps. I use a 50-60lb barbell when doing this and place it over my shoulders. Sometimes I’ll pulse in a lunge for 2 counts when doing walking lunges to make it burn even more.

Sumo squats are another great way to target your glutes in a completely different way.

There’s tons of different ways to do squats and since I love them so much I do a lot of different variations to hit all the angles of the glute.

I do 3 sets of 10-12.

Another way to target the glutes. I do 3 sets of 8-10 and I usually do this move on a hack squat machine with my legs close together as shown in the picture. I obviously did this with free weights because I don’t have a hack squat machine in my backyard…if only.

Calf raises. You can do this with free weights but at the gym I do seated calf raises and standing calf raises. I do 3 sets of 10-15 reps for each exercise.

Butt kick backs are a great exercise to do at your home. I don’t use any weights but always end my leg workouts with this move. You pulse your leg up, up, up and you glutes will be on fire. It’s a great way to fully burn out the glutes and really get them to perk up.

I do 5 sets of 20 on each leg.

Lastly, bridges.

I also do this move at the end of all my leg workouts. It lifts the buns in a big way. Sometimes I’ll do it weighted with a barbell over my hips for 3 sets of 10 reps but lately I’ve been doing it for 5 sets of 20 reps.

Also, sometimes I incorporate leg abductions into my workout. And also, I do the leg press, lying hamstring curls, and leg extensions depending on what I want to include in my leg day.

Each workout usually takes me 45 mins to an hour to complete and I try keep my rest between sets to 30 seconds. And don’t forget to eat some carbs + protein post workout to repair them muscles!!!!

Happy sweating!

It’s not some recipe you’ve never seen or heard about before, but it’s nice to introduce to those of you who have no idea how to make “guilt free” cookie dough. Obviously, this does not taste OMG EXACTLY LIKE TOLLHOUSE COOKIE DOUGH (!!!!!) but it tastes good for what it is.

What it is: a ball of energy that will lift you up and push you through that workout or those few more hours at work (or to shut your sweet tooth up for five seconds).

What’s in it: healthy fats from almond butter, soul-soothing chocolate chips, energy & muscle sustaining protein powder, and warming cinnamon.

What’s not in it: butter, flour, lots of sugar.

So as you can see, there’s some major differences here from the regular cookie dough but hey, if you have a craving and want something that will keep you on track then this is it! However, it’s not to say that the occasional spoonful[s] of raw cookie dough are not a good thing, because believe me, they are a goooooooooood thing.

And you get a big ‘ol thang-a-dough.

(In the background is our garden-in-a-pots. Heh, it works! Except the stupid squirrels or birds or something eat all our tomatoes so we only have about 3 growing now and they’re pale green, which means we’ll finally be eating them in December. We’re also growing cucumbers and peppers and herbs. And if anyone wants a kilo of basil, hit me up.)

Chocolate makes me so happy, ugh. There’s days where I don’t think I can handle another second and I’m about to go run off a cliff but then I take a look at the pantry, rip open that chocolate bar (or in my case, I love handfuls of chocolate chips ), and eat it until I am centered again.

Yes, chocolate makes me centered.

Eating chocolate = my form of yoga.

CDB Snack (aka, cookie dough ball snack). Serves 1.

Low sugar, grain free, added protein, healthy fats.

• 1 tablespoon almond butter (you want it slightly drippy so it mixes well)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla protein powder
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon or so of almond milk to help mix it all together (if needed)
• pinch of cinnamon and a drop of vanilla extract
• a few liquid stevia drops (if you prefer, optional)

Directions: Mix all ingredients except the chocolate chips in a bowl. Then, add in the chocolate chips. Form in a ball and eat!

Other: You can also freeze this for a frosty cool cookie dough ball OR you can blend it in a smoothie/top oatmeal/greek yogurt with it. Get creative!

PS – I filmed a workout video. Omg, do I really sound like that!?!?! I hope to edit it and get it up by this week!

So, don’t think I’ve gotten up and left the interwebs, I’m still here! Just taking it at my own pace and blogging when I see fit, not to blog just to blog for page views. Because let’s get real, this little blog is not rolling in any significant amount of dough and honestly, I don’t have too many followers, but I blog here because I love it. Whether I have 2 or 2,000 followers.

Moving on…

Recently, I’ve changed my macros to 40/30/30. I wanted to change it up a bit and see how my body responded.

40/30/30 means –> My diet will consist of 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fats.

Of course, that’s all theoretically speaking Usually I’m getting my highest amount of fats in for the day, around 80-110g protein (it’s hard for me to eat SOOOO MUUUUUCH PROOOOTEIN, DUUUDE), and 140-180g carbs. It also depends what kind of mood I’m in and all that all stuff but I try my best!

I use myfitnesspal.com sometimes to track my progress but sometimes it’s annoying (and can become obsessive). Usually, I’ll track my food for about a day or two to see where I’m at and from then on I’ll just base my days off the previous days I tracked. Does that make sense? I have this whole mumbo jumbo in my brain about what I need to be eating so at least it makes sense to me. Heh.

Anyways, I’ve always been a girl that LOOOOOOOOOVES healthy fats, I can’t get enough. I could do without any other food group. It just satisfies me so much more than carbs or protein would (alone)… if food combining then carbs + fat are probably what keep me fullest the longest.

So today’s eats so far have been some almond flour pancakes!

I’ve eaten them everyday for breakfast this week… I’m in love with them.

Here’s the ingredients:

• 1 banana, seriously mashed to oblivion
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup almond flour/meal
• cinnamon, vanilla extract, teeeeeny amount of baking powder,
• 1 scoop protein powder

Mix it up to a super smooth consistency and then cook like pancakes!

I mix it up the night before and then go to bed and in the morning I have a great pancake batter waiting for me to cook it up and eat it. It’s super useful because I’m a zombie in the morning and usually spill coffee over myself every morning and syrup gets stuck all over me so it’s one less thing to worry about.

I top my pancakes with maple syrup or agave and a tablespoon of almond butter sometimes.

Here I made a big one but you can also make teeny tiny ones like I did this morning.

I also put about a teaspoon of coconut oil in the pan before cooking.

Other snacks from today:

Unsweetened green tea with lime from Starbucks, a raw bar, and a snack pack (I just ate the veggies and tzatziki). If I don’t have time in the morning or I ate all my other snacks I’ll usually pack, I will make a quick run to Starbucks to pick up my meal 2. It works. Otherwise, 90% of the time I eat a plain, nonfat greek yogurt with a peach or some other type of fruit.

Snack from yesterday:

I got this at a store I was at. It’s pretty good for 40g of protein.

Purchase of the Week

And lastly, my most proud purchase as of late:

A Maaji Swimwear bikini!!!! I’m in LOVE with Maaji Swimwear. The bikini is super flexible and the fabric is to die for. It’s like no other bikini fabric I’ve ever felt. Super flattering and totally worth it! I’m definitely splurge on one.

Rating:

(purchase of the week will be where I showcase one thing I purchased throughout the week and I’ll rate it and let you all know whether or not it’s worthy )

Alright, got to get back to work.

I’ll keep you all updated on my new macro shenanigans, in the mean time, train hard!!

HAPPY FRIDAY

So what does your diet look like?

Processed foods, excess sugars, and white flours?

Or

Lean meats (or fishies in my case), fruits, vegetables, limited sugars, and whole grains/complex carbs?

I shouldn’t say you’ll *only* see your abs if you eat lean meats and such as I stated above because some people have absolutely horrific diets and somehow have abs. BUT, the other 99% of us need to have a diet that’s clean and lean and fuels our body.

You will not get abs by under eating and will not get abs by over eating. You need to eat complex carbs and proteins and healthy fats at each meal. And I’m sure you’ve heard of that before. This isn’t rocket science nor is it ground breaking news I’m writing. It’s the basics.

And the basics work.

I do the basics.

So my abs routine…

Here’s what I do:

• 5-6 meals a day (I’m doing a “what I ate” post soon, so you will see what I eat)
• eating every 2-3 hours
• limited sugars
• healthy fats (I LOVE fats… people need to get over the fat free diet bullcrap, healthy fats DO NOT MAKE YOU FAT!! ugh…that really urks me )
• complex carbs… complex carbs do not make you fat so get over the low-carb phase
• lean meats… I eat fish (I keep tilapia, salmon, and shrimp on hand) as well as beans and tofu and eggs/egg whites

So that’s what I do and that’s 90% of my abs.

To workout my abs I do some planks, crunches on the ball, twists, sit ups, etc. Nothing crazy or ground breaking. My routine is very simple and I work my abs 1-2 times a week max.

And one last tip for abs…

DRINK WATER!!!!!! And lots of it.

Stay thirsty my friends

I also hope to either do an ab video showing my favorite moves or give you a set routine sometime soon but for now, you need to get your diet right before you start to tone up your abs.

Happy sweating!

Reminder: this workout is done using mostly free weights/in the weight room, not the machines. When doing a workout like this, make sure to choose a heavy and challenging weight load that will have you maxed out at the end of your set (but won’t sacrifice form…quality over quantity). Don’t be after to lift heavy, you will not get bulky!

Put down the barbie bells and lift some heavy iron… let’s go.

Duration: this workout took me about an hour but depending on your fitness level it may take you more or less time, go at your own pace

Warm-up: 5 minutes of light cardio to warm up the legs

Workout:

Squats – 1 set warm-up with no weights to get form and warm-up the legs, then 3 sets of 8 (heavy!)

Good mornings – 3 sets of 10

Straight legged dead lifts – 3 sets of 10

Lunges – 3 sets of 10 weighted walking lunges, I use a 50 lb barbell (with pulses each time you go down), then superset that with 10 walking lunges (no weight), after that do 3 sets of 3 (on each side) of forward, side, and backward lunges. Your quads will be *screaming*. Also, I did 1 set of curtsy lunges (10 each leg) and then 1 set of side lunges (10 each leg).

Hack squats – 3 sets of 10

Hamstring curls – 3 sets of 10

Abductor machine – 3 sets of 15-20

Seated calf raises – 3 sets of 12-15

Standing calf raises – 3 sets of 10

5 sets of 20 of – bridges and glute kickbacks (20 bridges, and 20 glute kickbacks on each leg)

This is the exact leg workout I did yesterday and you WILL be feeling it. Just remember, don’t be afraid to lift heavy. If you really want to tone up you need to push yourself far beyond what you think you’re capable of.

As you can see, I *love* lunges. I think they’re one of the best things you can do for your booty!

Happy sweating!

I did that with overnight oats, I ate them for like, 2 months straight and now I don’t want to look at cold oats ever again (or at least for now).

The good thing with pancakes is that you can “healthify” them and they still taste good and you can make so many different variations.

Here’s my go-to pancake recipe. It’s just the base and you can add whatever you want to it! It’s inspired by Tone It Up’s protein pancake recipe.

I do:

• 1/2 banana, mashed
• 1 scoop Muscle Pharm Combat protein powder in vanilla
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1/4 – 1/3 cup egg whites
• 1 tbsp almond milk (or regular)
• cinnamon, vanilla extract

Then I cook it in melted coconut oil on the stove to get it extra crispy and it adds a little more oomph so it’s not so dry tasting.

I’ll top it with the other half of the banana, some maple almond butter (always), and a little pure maple syrup.

It also tastes good with strawberries!

I’m going to experiment with a new flavor soon so I’ll blog about it when I figure it out… since I’m getting sick of the plain ‘ol plain ‘ol.

It’s great for pre-workout, too!

Speaking of, I’m off to hit a leg workout (get an early start to my week)… here’s what I’ll be doing:

• squats
• single leg deadlifts (tones your ass like no other)
• lunges
• hack squats
• seated & standing calf raises
• hamstring curls
• abductor machine
• leg extensions

Train hard!!!

I was in such a blogging funk and just decided to take a little time off and refresh.

I missed spewing my random thoughts to random people on the internet.

Anyways, not sure where I’m going with this post but ill first post a few pics…

Still so darn cutttttte.

I’ve been really focusing on my nutrition and workouts lately and I think all my hard work is starting to pay off/show! I still have a long ways to go and this picture was taken after I worked out my shoulders which makes them look a lot more “puffed”. Soon I hope to always walk around with my shoulders looking this jacked but one day at a time right? Either way, I’m enjoying the journey which matters the most. You need to do what you love and if you don’t enjoy the way you’re working out or exercising, then CHANGE IT UP! Everyone benefits from many, many different types of exercises. I used to think running was the only way I could stay in shape but now I’ve realized how much I freakin’ love weights. And I realize how much I haaaate cardio.

I’ve also been enjoying just relaxing on the beach and spending time with my family and Sean. Sometimes it’s good to just step away from the computer and do things at your own pace and not feel like you have to blog or do this or that every five seconds. Everyone has at least five minutes in their day to find their own relaxation.

I also got some new supps that I’m loving!

I bought this BCAA powder off bodybuilding.com. It’s Scivation Xtend brand and I LOVE it! Best tasting BCAA powder. I drink it during my workouts. I bought the green apple flavor and love it so much. Next time I want to try out watermelon or blue raspberry.

I also switched protein powders and am now using Muscle Pharm Combat Powder. Me and Sean got the chocolate peanut butter and vanilla flavors and share them and I really like this protein powder, it tastes great and I’ve been adding it to my protein pancakes every morning.

Another thing I’ve tried out is BSN’s N.O. Explode. Sean bought this and so I tried it before my workout. It tastes okay and I did feel a little jolt of energy but nothing so significant that I think I will be taking it very often. I try to limit my caffeine intake and I’m not really soooo tired before my workouts that I need this.

I hope to be blogging more often, hopefully 2-3 times per week. I also want to blog some of my clean, healthy recipes so stay tuned!!

I feel like yesterday it was January and I was dreading winter and now it’s spring.

I thought I’d show you all today what is in my supplement stack.. aka what I supplement my diet with. Lately, I’ve also started incorporating fish (tilapia) and shrimp into my diet. For my fitness goals and the “look” I want to go for, I think it’s beneficial for me to get in a bit more protein and as of right now, I’m loving the way I feel and look. I bought a big thing of tilapia at Costco as well as some frozen shrimp so I’ve been enjoying those for lunch and dinner lately. However, I still enjoy my chickpeas, beans, and tofu so I’ve been eating those too! It’s just nice to ease off all the carbs and have a meal that is more protein based than carb based – vegetarians, you know what I’m talking about!

Speaking of vegetarians, that’s why I hate labels. I feel like they can restrict you and make you feel guilty if you try a new food because it’s not in the “definition” of the diet you follow. I just eat what makes me feel good… I eat what I want. I don’t like the label. For me, it’s not about that. I don’t prance around like, “Oooohhh dahhhling, I’m a vege-taaarian dahhhling.” Gag me! I just do me and for me, I love to eat plant based foods, all natural and from the Earth and I enjoy eating fish and shrimp sometimes. It makes me feel happy and sane!

Anyways, back to my supplement stack…

Vitamins:

I take a daily multivitamin every morning. Just a pretty regular brand, nothing special.

Protein Power:

I have been using SunWarrior protein powder but it was starting to get on my nerves how chalky it can taste, so I recently switched it up and am using these two now -

I like to bake with this or add it to my oatmeal in the morning. It’s all natural and sweetened with stevia which I love because when I was looking to buy a whey protein they all had artificial sweeteners and I can’t stand that! This tastes pretty good though for being all natural.

However, I’ve been loving this chocolate whey from MRM brand.

It tastes so good! I will usually drink this in some water after my workout or for a snack. I’ll do two scoops which equals 50g of protein. It helps me curb my chocolate cravings a little (although nothing is better than the real thing ).

BCAA’s:

I have this brand of BCAA pills (branched chain amino acids). I’ve been taking them for quite some time.. since January I think.. and they help promote lean muscle mass and muscle recovery. I take 2 after every workout (if I don’t forget). I hear some people take 2 before their workout and 2 after but that seems like too much to me for some reason. I definitely think they help!

So that’s my supplement stack… it’s pretty basic and is only 3 things. Nothing crazy. And I’ve been seeing great things with my body however, I credit most of my gains and muscle tone to clean eating and lifting heavy.

Up next, a cookbook review! Also, if any of you are interested I can post what a day in the life of my eats look like and the macros and things like that.