Sorry it's been awhile!

Hey Everyone!

I'm so sorry it's been awhile! Life throws you curveballs sometimes:)

I promise I will be uploading soon so check frequently!

xo

Workout of the Week

Hey Everyone

This week's workout of the week is weight training for the upper body. Most of these moves I've added in a squat or a lunge for a little extra burn. I use 3-5 pound hand weights.

5 rounds 10 reps

side lunge with bicep curl
forward lunge with bicep curl (10 each side)
triceps kickbacks in a squat
rear fly in a squat
chest fly (lying down in the same position you'd be in a sit-up)
upright row in a squat
reverse lunge with shoulder press

Enjoy the workout!

DISCLAIMER: The author is not responsible any injuries sustained while performing the exercises suggested

Shopping list for this week's meal plan

Hey Everyone

So here's the shopping list for this week's meal plan:

unsweetened almond milk
apples
whole grain bread
plain hummus
lightly sweetened greek yogurt
flax seeds
almond butter
eggs
pears
carrots
almonds
bananas
whole grain pasta
canned diced tomatoes
fresh herbs
whole wheat pitas
spinach
romaine lettuce
tomatoes, fresh
feta cheese
black olives

Note: This probably isn't the perfect meal plan but it's better than eating convenience food and that's what I'm doing my best to try and avoid. I might not stick to this perfectly, but I find at least having a plan makes a difference.

Water: I heard that you're supposed to drink 8 glasses of water a day. I try to get as much water as I can and I definitely encourage you to do the same!

Food time! This week's meal plan

Hey Everyone

So I thought I'd share with you this week's meal plan and shopping list. Now what you might notice is that I'm repeating the same meals & snacks a lot. I do this every week and kind of have my go-tos. I don't get sick of certain foods easily which I find helpful so I don't have to buy too many groceries. I have dance for 3 hours Tuesdays & Thursdays so my meal plans for those days are a little different (which'd be great for you if you do some kind of sport after school!)

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
BREAKFAST
1 glass unsweetened almond milk
1 hard boiled eggs (I make mine the night before and refrigerate them)
1 banana
LUNCH
water bottle (I'm trying to cut out juice & pop)
greek pita
apple slices
almonds
carrot sticks with hummus
DINNER
whole grain pasta with diced tomatoes and fresh herbs (note: this is basically dinner every day this week. That may not work for you but I find convenient)

Tuesday, Thursday
BREAKFAST
1 glass unsweetened almond milk
1 apple
1 slice whole grain toast with hummus
LUNCH
1 water bottle
lightly sweetened greek yogurt with flax seeds
sliced apples with almond butter for dipping
1 hard-boiled egg
1 pear
BEFORE DANCE
carrot sticks with plain hummus
almonds
1 banana
AFTER DANCE
whole grain pasta with diced tomatoes and herbs


WEEKENDS
... are totally crazy for me so I just try to stick with eating healthy!

Workout of the Week

Hey Everyone

I'm all about fitting in a workout to give you a boost of energy. I saw this workout awhile ago and thought it would be a fun one to share :)

Easy as Pi Workout

3- minutes cardio (mix it up)
    1 minute high knees
    1 minute high knees with jump rope (use an imaginary one if you don't have a jump rope)
    1 minute burpees

1-  minute modified plank


4- minutes conditioning
    1 minute double crunches
    1 minute push-ups (this weeks EOTW)
    1 minute side plank (right)
    1 minute side plank (left)

Repeat circuit 2-3 times

Exercise of the Week

Hey Everyone

This weeks exercise of the week is Push-Ups.

Push-ups are a great way to strengthen your upper body and they're bodyweight, so no equipment needed. I try to do my push-ups on my toes, (even if I don't go all the way down) but sometimes if I'm ridiculously tired I'll switch to modified. Push-ups are one of those exercises where its quality over quantity, so make sure you pay careful attention to your form.

I'm setting a goal for myself this week, and I would encourage you to do the same. I'm going to try to do 25 push-ups a day. I have a weak upper body so it's going to be a challenge!

Upper body workout

Hey Everyone

This is an upper body workout a friend of mine shared with me who is a competitive gymnast. Its one of my favourites and I try to use a timer for the planks because sometimes we count fast to finish the exercise. Its totally bodyweight so no excuses!

2x10 push-ups
2x1 minute : plank (on hands elbows if you can)
                  rear plank (normal plank but you flip over so your fingers are facing towards your toes and your front is facing up)
                  side plank-BOTH SIDES (on hands not elbows if you can)
2x20 elevated tricep dips (I do mine on a sturdy chair)
20 v-snaps*

Have fun and post your times (using a stopwatch) in the comments section!

*How to do a v-snap: lie down with your belly button facing up and your arms and legs stretched and long. Without jolting your back, bring your arms and legs up at the same time to form a V. Don't worry if it takes a little while to get the hang of it.

Fitspo quote of the week

Hey Everyone!

I love this weeks fitspo quote because sometimes we all need that little extra push to believe in ourselves.

Fitspo quote of the Week

Hey Everyone

As you all know I love fitspo. This one I love because this workout I accomplished a goal of mine, 2 12-minutes bodyrock workouts back to back. You'd be surprised how strong you are :)

Workout of the Week

Hey Everyone!

I've seen this workout all over the place and I'm going to try it as soon as I'm done posting :) I love 100 rep (or however many rep) workouts!

The Workout:

100 jumping jacks
90 crunches (you can use all different kinds)
80 squats (you can add a little extra challenge by holding 5-12 pound weights)
70 leg lifts (35 each side)
60 jumping jacks
50 crunches
40 squats
30 leg lifts (15 each side)
20 jumping jacks
run for 10 minutes OR 15 burpees

Have fun!

Exercise of the Week

Hey Everyone!

This weeks EOTW is lunges. They are also a favourite of mine and like plank, there are a bunch of variations. You can do forward lunges, reverse lunges, walking lunges, reverse walking lunges, side lunges etc. You can also add weights and add in biceps curls. Here is an example of a forward lunge.

Emotional Eating

Hey Everyone

Today I felt like I should talk about emotional eating. It's definitely something that we all do whether or not we realize it or not. For me, I find that I eat when I feel crappy about something. Sometimes it has to do with gossip, friends lying and family stuff. I could go on forever those are just a few things. I was once so bad that I would sit at school and plan what I was going to binge on. When I ran out of things like bakers chocolate and desserts I would binge on gallons of tomato juice, 5 or six pieces of plain white bread with butter. One of my go-to's was to make 3 packets of those dry chicken noodle soup noodles and eat it all. I would eat 1 or sometimes 2 of those frozen pizzas. Afterwards I would sit on my bed and cry my eyes out thinking "why me?" I became increasingly jealous of my other friends who didn't have this problem. I compared my body to theirs, and sometimes I would pick little flaws of theirs just to make me feel better about myself. I tried to stop but nothing seemed to work. I was stressing over it but that didn't seem to work. I found working out and being healthy great in helping control my binges. I'm not saying I haven't done it in years, because the truth is it does happen sometimes. I hope that by sharing with you all you will be able to start figuring out your emotional eating

Cardio (no equipment needed)

Hey Everyone

Today's cardio breakdown looks like this:

10 high knees
10 push-ups
10 squat jumps
10 (without the push-up) burpees
10 jump lunges
1:00 min elbow plank
10 crunches
10 mountain climbers
10 one-legged squats
1:00 min wall sit

Do 5 sets of 10 reps

Have fun and feel the burrrnnn!!!

Workout of the week

Hey everyone

I did this one yesterday and you can definitely feel the burn! I find bananas are one of the best post-workout snacks

Workout time

Looking forward to smashing this! Post your times in the comments section below I would love to hear them also if you are confused about a move don't hesitate to ask!

Greek Lemon Roasted Potatoes

Someone sent me the Mennonite girls can cook cookbook one year and it's definitely become a favourite! This is probably my favourite recipe from that cookbook to make. You can make it with or without the potato skins but I prefer the flavour and find they get less mushy with the skin on but that's just my opinion

6 large potatoes cut into wedges (peeled is optional)
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. lemon juice (more or less depending on taste, freshly squeezed is always best)
1 tbsp chicken bouillon dissolved in
1/4 c. water
2 tsp dried oregano
2 garlic cloves pressed (or garlic powder to taste)

Peel and cut potatoes. (When I makes a big batch I omit the peeling).
Place in a 9x13 pan combine remaining ingredients together and pour over potatoes stirring well to coat ever piece.
Bake at 425 for 1 hour. You may cover them for the first half hour. Stir every 20 minutes or so.
I personally don't cover them because I like the crisp edge, but that is an individual choice.
Also my oven is a little hot and I find that they are done in about 40-45 minutes depending on how big the potatoes are.
Go ahead, squeeze just a little more fresh lemon juice on if the flavor isn't intense enough.

Fitspo quote of the week

Fitspo is short for fitspiration. I love these quotes as they help keep me motivated. This one is so perfect because this is basically why I started this blog <3

Exercise of the week

Every week I'm going to do an EXERCISE OF THE WEEK

These are usually some of my favourite exercises and I'm going to try to either make them with no equipment or basic equipment.

This weeks EOTW is

PLANK

Now as you will all discover I am obsessed with plank. It tones all over, you don't need any equipment, and you don't need to change into workout clothes to do it. Sounds good to me! There are tons of variations but I'm just going to do basic plank. Try to hold it between 20 seconds- 1 minute.

My Fitness Journey Part 2

It was the middle of winter when I did the step aerobics VHS and I loved doing it. I started doing it every day. I remember one day I wasn't thinking about how much of the video was left and when the instructor said "Good work, see you next time!" I was shocked! I had actually FINISHED the workout!! That was something I didn't even think I would be able to do. Over the course of a few months, I started going through every workout DVD and VHS in the house. I can't tell you if I lost any actual pounds, but what I can tell you is that I gained so much more.

I started going on amazon and looking up workout DVDs for reviews and just to get an idea of what was out there. The first workout DVD that I ever bought was Jillian Michaels' 30 day shred and subsequently her DVD ripped in 30. Those DVDs were great, (although I couldn't do either of them for the full 30 days because I found them a little too hard on the knees) and it became a part of my love of working out. I started renting DVDs from the library, asking family if they had any I could use. It was awesome! I now have a pretty nice DVD selection ranging from kickboxing to pilates. Another favourite of mine is the website Bodyrock.tv which I would definitely recommend checking out.

I'll be posting some of my favourite workouts, as well as suggestions for some of my all-time favourite DVDs. I'll also be posting some recipes and some of my favourite cookbooks. I really hope that I can help you in getting confident from working out.

My Fitness Journey Part 1

I've had issues with emotional eating and binge eating. I was in a really unhappy place, until I discovered how working out and eating right can change things for the better. I originally hated my weight and appearance, so I wanted to try to lose weight. Honestly, I could hardly do one modified push-up and that isn't an exaggeration. I started doing 10 push-ups and 10 sit-ups at night, because that was basically the only exercises I knew. For some people that would be way to easy but I'm not gonna lie I was a little tired by the end of it. I stuck with that for a few weeks, and I was definitely in for a surprise. It wasn't so much that my body was changing and that I was losing weight, it was that I found myself a lot happier. Doing those 10 sit-ups and push-ups every night made me feel like I'd accomplished something. I remember how happy I felt when one night I did my push-ups and sit-ups and realized that they were too easy for me! I almost started skipping around the house with delight. I looked online to find some more exercises and was astounded to find how many there were. I took a piece of paper and started writing all of them down. I remember when I first discovered my obsession with plank. I know it sounds crazy but planking is seriously addictive.

In the past, whenever something bad happened, my consolation was cookies, chocolate and candy. I started doing my push-ups, sit-ups and planks whenever I felt like eating when I wasn't at all hungry. It helped! I felt amazing and for the first time I didn't feel sluggish all of the time.

My mom had been really into step aerobics in the 90s, and her old step was lying around in the storage room. I brought it out and popped one of her old VHS tapes in. An annoying peppy instructor in ugly workout clothes led me through 15 minutes of torture. The workout was 60 minutes but I couldn't finish it. The thing is, after doing that 15 minutes. I layed there, exhausted on the couch and I felt incredible. Accomplishing a workout gives me the most amazing feeling.