21 Day Fix Rockstar Challenger

I want to give a huge shout out to one of my rockstar challengers, Lauren. She has done incredible with 21 Day Fix so far. Lauren is an eighth grade English teacher who was hoping to lose a little bit of weight and tone up before her wedding in July. After just 21 days, she has lost 9.5lbs and a total of 9 inches! This is amazing! I can't wait to see her changes after her second round of 21 day fix.

Lauren's fiance has also had amazing results after just 21 days! Take a look at that difference!

What I love most about this is the fact that these are REAL people and REAL results!  21 Day Fix is an amazing program that teaches you how to portion your foods and what foods are best to eat. It also includes several 30 minute workouts that will kick your butt! It's one of my favorite programs, and will work for people who are beginners to more advanced in fitness.

These could be your results! Stop holding off and change your life today! Let me help you! click here to start today!

Strawberry Avocado Salad

I had this awesome salad at Applebee's! It's really tasty and not bad for you!

Romaine lettuce
1/4 cup sliced strawberries
1/4 avocado sliced
3 to 4 oz grilled chicken, sliced into strips
1TBsp pine nuts (optional)

I use an organic all natural balsamic vinaigrette for dressing. Check back for my clean strawberry dressing that I'm going to be making!

Here's a picture of the salad from Applebee's! So easy to make at home :)

Avocado Eggs

As everyone knows, I love recipes that require little ingredients, are easy to make and healthy! I call this one my healthy fats breakfast.

So you are going to need one medium to large avocado and two eggs. You are going to cut the avocado in half and then scoop the avocado insides out, until you have a thin ring around the edges. Then crack an egg into each half. I add a little sea salt, pepper to taste.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. I like to add fresh cilantro to mine. You can add any spice to it for flavor. I've seen people add paprika, hot sauce, and even Turkey bacon. Yum!

Fruit or Vegetable?

Let's play a game!  It's called fruit or vegetable.  I'll write the name of the produce, and you take a guess!  Ready?

1.  Tomato
2. Cucumber
3. Spinach
4. Squash
5. Potatoes
6. Avacado
7. Beans
8. Corn Kernels
9. Olive Peppers
10.  Peapods
11. Sunflower Seeds
12. Nuts
13. Grains
14. Pumpkin
15. Cauliflower

Got your answers ready? 

Would it surprise you to know that only three of these are technically speaking vegetables? It surprised me!  If I'm being honest, I never knew that nuts, grains, seeds and beans were actually fruits!  Want to know which ones are vegetables?  Spinach, potatoes and cauliflower! 

A fruit is "technically" any part of a plant that develops from a flower. The rest of the plant is a vegetable.

I'm just posting this because I thought it was interesting.  When you are trying to eat a balanced diet, do not count avocados, seeds, nuts and grains as your fruit servings.  I count them as a separate category ( category for grains and another for healthy fats etc.). 


 

SUGAR...I Wish You Would Just Disappear!

When you're having a craving for something sweet, read this! I've always had a sweet tooth, but sugar is so bad for you!  Here are 6 good reasons to just stay away.

1. It rots your teeth. Who likes going to the dentist? I sure don't! Keep eating and drinking (yes you drink sugar too) sugar and it's a sure easy to find yourself at the dentist office with a bad tooth ache.  Just envision yourself with big fat ugly, black rotten teeth. Uck! When you're giving your children sugary foods, your giving their teeth reasons to rot!

2. Sugar leads to weight gain.  That's right, you heard me!  When you eat sugar, your body may burn some for energy, but for most of it ends up being stored as fat.   When you consume a lot of sugar, insulin is released to handle the overload.  The more sugar in your bloodstream, the more insulin is released.  Insulin takes this sugar (now glucose) and stores it in your liver and muscles and your fat cells!  Of course, it's much more indepth than this, but for sake of making this short just know that it turns to fat!  Who wants that?

3.  Sugar contributes to many diseases.  When too much sugar gets stored in our liver, we can develop Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. This disease is very much associated with many metabolic diseases.  Stay away from my liver sugar!  Just stay away!

4.  Sugar has been associated with cancer. Someone with cancer has uncontrolled growth of cells.  The cells multiply and can not be controlled.  Insulin plays a large role in this multiplication of cells.  It is believed by many scientists now that when your insulin levels are constantly raised from sugar consumption, metabolic issues occur leading to inflammation which in turn lead to cancer.  People with high levels of sugar are more likely to get cancer than those who do not have high levels.

5.  High sugar diets can lead you to feel hungrier than lower sugar diets.  People with higher sugar diets have less activity in the satiety center of their brains.  In turn, this leads them to feel hungrier. 

6.  Sugar is addicting!  I really don't believe in eating anything that is addicting.  You need a balanced diet.  If you're addicted to eating sugar, you will have a harder time having a balanced diet...just my opinion.

Salads!

Spinach and Kale chicken salad

I buy a bag of mixed spinach and kale.  If they don't have that at the store then you can use just spinach of buy them separate and mix together.

A small handful of No sugar added dried cranberries

A small handful of sliced almonds

6oz cooked chicken breast, sliced into strips

Feta cheese

clean, washed mushrooms

Sliced green peppers (optional)

1 Tbsp of balsalmic vinegrette or dressing of choice

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

Here is the hungry girls salad!!!! The first is lettuce, steak, goat cheese, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions. The second is turkey bacon, egg slices, tomatoes, avocado, chicken and blu cheese. Who says a salad has to be boring?!

Stuffed Chicken and rice

Stuffed Chicken and Rice

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Feta cheese (one small container)
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• dried cranberries
• Whole grain brown rice
• Mrs. Dash for chicken
• 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
• Orange slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Mix the feta cheese, almonds and dried cranberries in a small bowl. Slice the chicken breasts in half, not cutting all the way through. Stuff each chicken breast with the mixture and fold each piece back over.  Use a toothpick to help keep it closed if you need to.  Garnish each chicken breast with orange slices and Mrs. Dash for seasoning.  Rub the coconut oil in a baking pan and then place chicken on it.  Cook for 35-45 min, until chicken has reached 175degrees F.  Serve over a bed of cooked, brown rice.

Meatloaf

BEST MEATLOAF I'VE EVER HAD!  I'm completely serious!  My husband pretty much hates healthy cooking, but he loved this meatloaf!  I got this recipe from the book "The 21 Day Sugar Detox".  Delicious!

So here is what you need:
For the Sauce:
7 oz tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilatro
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
black pepper to taste

For the Meatloaf:
1Tbsp coconut oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chili powder
 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 carrots, grated
1 bell pepper, any color (I used yellow), finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 eggs, beaten
1 lb ground turkey
1 lb ground beef (leanest you can find)

So you can either use one large meatloaf pan, or two mini pans.  Whichever you prefer.  I used one large pan.  Preheat your oven to 375' F.  Line your pan with parchment paper.
First you are going to want to make the sauce.  In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine tomato paste, water, bell pepper, cilantro, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Let it simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir occasionally so that the sauce does not burn.  The sauce should be thick.

In a medium skillet, melt the coconut oil over medium to low heat.  Add the onion and cook until the edges begin to brown.  Add in the garlic and stir. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked onion and garlic, cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt, pepper, carrots, bell pepper, and cilantro.  Mix it well!  Add eggs and ground beef to the mixture with your hands and combine well.

Place the meatloaf in the pan.  Spoon about 1/2 cup the sauce mixture over the meatloaf.  Use the rest as dipping sauce after it's cooked.   Bake the meatloaf for 60 to 70 minutes.  Internal temp should reach 160'F.   Enjoy!!!

21 Day Fix Days 4-7

Days 4 thorugh 7 included pilates, Dirty 30, yoga and cardio fix.  I have to say, cardio fix was by far the hardest for me to do!  It's funny how in just 30 minutes a day you can get such an intense, good workout!  I love it! 
Pilates and yoga were such a wonderful and much needed treat this week!  I felt renewed!  Dirty 30 did require small weights (I used 5lbs and 8lbs), but cardio fix didn't require the use of anything but yourself. 

The food part is still a work in progress, but it's going a lot better than I thought it would.  I'm finding myself not eating all the yellow containers each day.  I really have to plan out my meals and stick to my schedule with eating everything to make sure I get all my food in. 

I'm sore and tired, but could not be any happier with this program!  I didn't anticipate the workouts to be as challenging as they are.  I know that I'm going to be so much more toned with this program, than any other program I've done.  Don't let me telling you that it's challenging scare you off!  There is a wonderful modifier on this program! I think people of all fitness levels can do this!  I can't wait to see my results in 21 days!!!! 

For those of you interested in doing this program, I am coming up with a few weekly meal plans that are family friendly for my challengers.  I highly recommend doing this (men and women).  O, and do I need to point out how amazing Autumn's body is!  Watching her during the workouts is my motivation to push harder!!!!!
Click Here to order your 21 Day Fix Challenge Pack!

Almond Flour Crackers

So if you know me, you know I only do simple! I will NEVER slave in the kitchen! I couldn't believe how good and easy these were to make! So here's how you make them:

What you need:
1 cup almond flour
1 egg
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried basil (you can use fresh if you'd like)

What you do:
Mix all ingredients together well. Roll into a ball and place in a Ziploc bag. Put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. If you need to leave in overnight that's fine.

Between two pieces of wax paper, roll the dough out into a thin layer (not too thin though). Cut pieces into one inch squares (or whatever shape you like). Place on a lightly greased pan and bake in oven at 350' for 8-10 minutes, or until crackers are golden brown.

ENJOY!

21 Day Fix Days 2 and 3

So I didn't post yesterday, but my workout for 21 Day Fix was upper fix. I LOVED tks workout! I've never had a strong upper body, but this workout rocked! I used 5lbs and 8lbs. If you have pretty good arm strength, then use heavier weights.

Like the last workout, this one consisted of rounds. Each exercise lasts a minute, and you do each round of exercises twice.  Most exercises do require the dumbbells, but you also do some exercises without, like pushups.  I can usually do a good 10 pushups, but my arms were so worn out I had to go to my knees (don't judge me for only being able to do 10 pushups!).  We're my arms shaking? Yes! But that's a good thing! It wasn't so hard that I wanted to die, but it was still hard enough to make me sweat like a pig! I can't wait to see what my arms look like after 21 days! Never thought I'd love an upper body workout, but I did love this one! 

Day 3 was lower fix (today) and I felt the burn!!! I am positive that I will have one fine butt by the time I through with this! I'm already sore :) Upper Fix is still my favorite, but I liked this one too. It was similar to the other two, with one minute exercises. Overall, it's a kick butt workout(literally!).

As far as food goes, I'm finding that you actually get a lot more than I originally thought. When I saw how small the containers were I thought, "OMGEE I'm going to starve!" Turns out, I actually have had to make sure I'm eating enough. I've really upped the greens and cut back on the processed foods. I'm feeling good and wondering why I didn't start this earlier! Does my husband like all the salads I'm making, no, but I know my family is eating so much healthier thanks to this! I've added pictures of some of my food and workouts.

It takes hard work to change your body!!!!! Is it your time to change???

21 Day Fix Day 1

Ok so today marks my first official day doing the 21 day fix workouts AND eating plan. This is tough for me, because I love to eat a lot!!!!  I NEED this portion control, and am looking forward to my results!

Ok so the first workout is total body cardio. I wanted to puke when I was finished! Cardio is not my thing, but I know how necessary it is to get the body I want. So this workout requires a light set of weights. I used 5lbs. You have four rounds with two exercises in one round.  You have things like surrenders and cross country skiers.  Cross country skiers just about killed me! Ha! So basically, you do cardio with weights, so you're working your arms while getting your cardio in. The last round works your abs, and believe me, you'll be glad for that break at the end! It was tough workout, but I loved it! You work EVERYTHING! Hence the name :)

The eating plan is something I've never done before either. You have colored containers for portion control. I can have 3 green, 2 purple and yellow, 1 Orange and 1 blue, and two teaspoons. I started with egg and 1/2 banana pancakes, a very green salad for lunch, and I'll make stir fry for supper. I added Shakeology with berries in as a snack and some nuts. Overall, this isn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Of course it's just day one! I may be saying something else by the end if the week!

Want to join me? CLICK HERE

Flourless, gluten free pancakes

LOVE love love these! Perfect when you're wanting good breakfast food, but want a healthy meal. It's got more protein in it than pancakes, leaving you more satisfied.

Ok so all it requires is two eggs, a banana and a little bit of your favorite flavor of Shakeology. You can make it without Shakeology, but it adds nutrition and more flavor.

So beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Smash a medium banana and then add it to the eggs. Mix the eggs and banana together and about a Tablespoon of Shakeology, and cook it like a pancake! I usually use strawberry or chocolate Shakeology. I just pour the batter over a lightly nonstick sprayed medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook on both sides for a couple minutes (until eggs are cooked).

Alternative to Shakeology: Shakeology is full of nutrition so I would use it if you can, but if not as in a dash of cinnamon and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. You can also add in a teaspoon of flaxseed if you would like.

SUMMER SALE!!!

I know that for any of you, price is a problem when comes to finding a fitness program. Well Beachbody has a sale starting today and ending the 9th! Crazy discounts!!!! If you have made excuses for not working out in the past, you can't make them now. There are AFFORDABLE programs available for everyone! Check this out! And notice how low the coach prices are! Another reason I'm a coach!!!!

Sale items here!

Starts At 3Pm Central Time!

Being a Beachbody coach

I receive messages all the time on how happy people are with my help "coaching" them. I can't tell you how happy it makes me that I can make an impact on their lives. Today, I received this message from a challenger of mine,

"Just a plug for Katie Blank.  She's an amazing coach!  I've lost almost 10 pounds with her and the program is sooooo easy to follow.  The big thing for me is, I don't have to cook a different meal for my family.  I feel so much better, have more energy, am sleeping better, am in a better mood...it's more than just losing the weight.  I actually WANT to work out (which is a big deal for me because I hate to sweat.)  All of this in a little more than a month with Katie.  She pushes me and keeps me accountable for what I'm doing.  I know that she's going to check in with me so I don't eat 152 cookies or drink a soda, and I work out because I know she's going to ask me.   This is the first time in my life that I've stuck with a get healthy program, and I think that it has to do with having to be accountable to someone.Do this with her!  It's the best money I've spent and the best decision I've made in a long time."

THIS IS WHY I DO WHAT I DO!

If you had asked me a year ago what I thought my life would be like now, I would have been very far off.  A year ago I was pregnant, fat (not just from pregnancy) and fitness had no place in my life.  I can remember thinking, "after I have this baby, what if I can't get thin again?" I actually started telling myself that it was ok if I was just a little overweight. A few weeks after giving birth, I decided to give ChaLean Extreme a try. This was the best decision I ever made.

Little did I know that this would change my life. I finished the program and was just shocked at how much weight I'd lost, but also a little discouraged at how much I still had to lose. I had a friend who was a beachbody coach and decided to join one of her team's challenge groups. I honestly knew nothing about them, but I knew that I'd try anything to get my body to a place that I was happy with.  So I did a P90X3 challenge group. These beachbody coaches kept me motivated, supported me and pretty much held my hand through the end of the program.  I can remember days where I really didn't feel like working out, but this group got me through it. 60 days later, I was at my goal weight. I honestly couldn't believe it.  

After the group ended I just kept thinking, "What if I could help people too?" After a lot of thought, I just decided that I needed to give it a try. The investment was small so I didn't feel like I had a lot to lose. I am so thankful that I took that leap of faith and joined. I am still on my own journey to get fit, but I get to support others while I do it. I don't have to "sell" anything. I just get to help people. Do things get sold in the process, yes, but I'm not a so called salesperson. 

I have this amazing opportunity to help against obesity! How cool is that?! I've been surrounded by positive, inspiring people who love to help others! So let me point out for you exactly why being a beachbody coach is amazing.

1. You are your own boss

2. Work when you want to and part time!

3. You help others live a healthier lifestyle

4. Financial freedom!

5. Work with positive, inspiring people.

6. You get a discount on all products!
7. It's only $39.99 to sign up! (How cheap is that?!)

If one through five don't make you want to become a coach, then #6 should. Did you know that you can be a coach just to get the discount? You wouldn't have to do anything, except make monthly orders for yourself. For example, if you drink Shakeology, you could become a coach just to get it discounted. 

I feel privileged to be a beachbody coach. This is just an amazing opportunity for you to make an impact on the lives of others and your own. You don't even have to be "fit". You just have to be willing to work towards your goals and you can share your experiences with others.
If you are at all interested in coaching, please fill out my form below. There is no obligation! I just want to share this wonderful opportunity with everyone! Who wouldn't want to do this?!

Fill out my online form.

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