What I eat in a day...

I get asked what I eat A LOT…

So here’s a random day with a picture of part of it.

Brekky - Blueberries , Life Shake (20g protein) & Collagen-9 (10g protein - this is a complete collagen so you can count it towards your protein goals) Life Shake can be found HERE, and Collagen-9 HERE.

*Beachbody, Isogenix, and Vital Proteins DO NOT COUNT towards protein goals, they are incomplete proteins

1st snack - Shaklee Peanut Butter Crisp Snack Bar (10g protein, 130 calories, enough to hold me over between meals, but not too much that I’m too full for the next meal)

Lunch - Calamari (22g protein) salad w/ balsamic (Calamari steaks from Costco and $4.99 / pound )

Dinner - Beyond Meat Burger (20g protein) (purchased from Costco) & Zucchini (purchased from Trader Joe’s)

2nd snack - veggies & ⅓ avocado

Beverages - Water only! It’s been said, if you water has calories in it, it doesn’t count towards you water intake, but if you’re reaching ½ your body weight in ounces, I’m not worried about this. For example, I weight 128 lbs so I need to drink at least 64 oz of water a day, factoring in more if it’s really hot, or if I exercised.

So that’s about 80+ grams protein which is reasonable, but could be higher. Veggies and carbs have protein too, you just have to choose wisely. I love Dave’s Killer Bread for this reason; especially with my son Matthew because all he wants are carbs - rice cakes, tortillas, cereal, bread .

8 yrs ago I started supplementing with protein shakes at the suggestion of my doctor because I wasn’t getting enough. I find this to be the case with 95% of the people I train. How’s your protein intake??? Reach out with questions!

It's FITNESS, meets kindness, in a game of BINGO!

I’m going to do a fun and healthy competition. See how many rows you can fill up and for each row you complete, you will be entered into a drawing for free T-Shirt from my website! Share this with your friends and up the challenge!

Another burnout - this time I'm focusing on triceps!!!

Lets get tank top ready because ready or not, summer is coming!!! Nobody wants their arms flapping in the wind, so try these moves with the suggested repetition range and see how many sets you can do. Aim for at least two sets, but if you can do more, DO IT!!! You’ll tank me, and be even more proud of yourself, tomorrow. You might not like me today, but I’m ok with that. I’d love to hear your feedback! Subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss any more challenges!

Autumn Date Night Ideas

Autumn is here (per the calendar, sure doesn't feel that way).  With all the time we've spent at home lately, getting out and having some (safe) fun can be rejuvenating.  Grab your partner, friends, kids, or even pets, and pick an idea from the list I shared.  Let me know what was the most fun and tag me on Insta @eat.sweat.pray! 

We've started doing “day dates” so it isn't just movies and dinner all the time, so corn maze, apple picking, and carving pumpkins look fun to me.  Normally I'd chose baking, but with all the sugar this season, I'm not brave enough to test my willpower!!

Cocoa Nut Butter Protein Balls

These are sooo easy and can be modified however you want if there are allergies!

Ingredients:
- 5 cup QUICK oats (old fashioned requires more sweetener IMO)

- 1 cup any Creamy nut 🥜 butter (just make sure it’s clean and there’s no added sugar or oil)

Yogurt, Shakeology powder, loose granola on top! 1.5R, 2Y, 2 tsp

- ¾ cup sweetener of choice (I combined local Honey🍯 and Pure Maple Syrup)

- ½ cup cocoa

- 2 scoops / packets Shakeology (any flavor and either whey or vegan will do)

** if for a kids’ class, you could switch 1 cup of Oats with 1 cup Rice Krispies for a crunch

**other modifications can be diced cranberries, nuts, coconut or chocolate chips. These will require more sweetener to make it sticky enough to hold, so instead swap out ½ cup Oats for these modifications.

Directions:
1. Mix together with a mixer or you’ll get an arm workout too. It doesn’t matter which order you add ingredients, I mix once all are in the bowl.
2. Roll into balls (24-30), or put in a 13x9 pan and make bars (yields ~20-22 bars depending on thickness).

Serve with plain greek yogurt for breakfast (see above) with 2 - 3 balls (these are sweet enough so you don’t need a sweetened yogurt like Vanilla, and then you forgo the additives that aren’t great for you anyways). You can also put additional Shakeology in your yogurt and stir together before topping with loose granola, or crumble a few balls.

For lunch these can be a healthy carb (2-3 balls), or for snack (kids 4-5 balls, adults 2). These are heavier than my 21-Day Fix Granola Balls so I limit these to heavy fitness days like training, or days I work out for longer than 40 minutes.

Let me know how you like them! I find them very kid friendly!

Eat like your life depends on it!

The color of your veggies means something!

Our bodies are pretty amazing things and do so much for us, we owe it to our bodies not to fill it with crap! Did you know that the color of food actually tells you something? It’s like a fortune cookie :)

Blue/Purple: Lower risk of certain cancers, urinary tract health, memory function, healthy aging. Ex: purple cabbage & eggplant.

White: Heart health, healthy cholesterol levels, natural detoxifiers, lower risk of some cancers. Ex: Cauliflower, artichoke, garlic, onion, mushrooms, parsnips, turnips.

Red: Heart health, lower risk of some cancers, memory function, urinary tract health. Ex: Beets, red peppers, radishes, red onion, rhubarb, tomatoes.

Orange/Yellow: Heart health, vision health, healthy immune system, lower risk of some cancer. Ex: Butternut squash carrots, peppers, pumpkin, sweet potato.

Green: Lower risk of some cancers, vision health, strong bones and teeth. Ex: Arugula, asparagus, broccoli, green beans, leafy greens, spinach.

Which color do you tend to eat the most? What changes will you make after reading this?

Miso glazed Eggplant

This picture doesn’t do it justice to how delicious it is. It is so flavorful, super filling and such a great serving of vegetables. My entire family loves it which I never dreamed my 6 yr old son would TOUCH. AN. EGGPLANT. There are so many recipes on Pinterest, but a lot have unnecessary sugar. The miso is so strong, I’d let it speak for itself. So often people take a vegetable and douse it in sauces and it’s no longer healthy. What’s the point in that? Fried okra? Why not grill it? I digress…

Cut eggplant in 1/2 lengthwise and soak in a bowl of water, any temperature fro 5 minutes. Meanwhile make the sauce.

SAUCE:
1 TBSP miso glaze
2 tsp cooking sake
1 tsp olive oil (1/2 for sauce and 1/2 for frying pan)
Cook over medium to light heat and stir together until well blended.

Drain bowl with eggplant and slice eggplant meat in criss-crosses (make sure not to cut too deep so skin is cut). Microwave for 4-5 minutes (1000 watts vs 750 watts) and remove carefully. Divide sauce evenly amongst eggplant halves and cook face down on frying pan on medium. Only needs 1-2 minutes on stove. Remove from heat and enjoy with your favorite protein. I ate both halves which was enough vegetables and carbs (~26 carbs per eggplant) so this with Tuna was my dinner portion. I was VERY satisfied.

Let me know if you try it and any modifications you make!

Transform :20 | Week 6 | Day 7

As Shaun T says, you’re done, but you’re never finished - AMEN TO THAT!!! There are 365 days in the year, 52 weeks. This was only 6 of those 52, what will you do the other 45 weeks between now and Feb 25 2020?

In a lot of ways, your transformation is all about getting stronger, faster, and more able to KEEP GOING on your fitness & nutrition journey. What does that look like for you? Will you do another round of Transform :20 or fire up Beachbody On Demand to see what other programs peak your interest. Need some guidance? Reach out and I’ll help you pick, or we can create a hybrid together - this is my speciality!!

Now for the fun part!! Today it’s time to take our “after” pictures and take our new measurements. You’ve earned your progress and it’s recognize all your hard work! You can enter the Beachbody Challenge Contest, and you’ll not only have the chance to win big cash prizes, but you will even receive a free gift (while supplies last - 1 per year). Go to BeachbodyChallenge.com for details.

Don’t forget to film your final 1-minute challenge like you did way back in Week 1. The idea is to submit them side by side, so we can show off to each other how far we’ve come.

One final thing: THANK YOU. Thank you for joining me, supporting each other, motivating me on hard days, showing up for yourself every day and for not letting life get you down, or stop your progress. Life is busy, it’s surprising, but it’s ours and how we chose to live it out impacts our health, our mindset, and other’s health and mindset in our house. You can’t change other people or their habits, but you are in control of yours.

So, which program are you doing next? I can’t wait to hear below!!

Transform :20 | Week 6 | Day 6

You guys - don’t get emotional on me… unless you want to! Can you believe this is our last workout of Transform 20? Don’t go thinking because it’s “balanced” it’ll be too easy and you’re going to bypass this. NO YOU’RE NOT! This is Day 41: BALANCED and we didn’t come this far not to finish! Today we have 3 transformers left: Climb Push-Ups; Plank, OBL Trap; and Balanced Dips.

I know you’ve been working hard, but I really want you to think about today’s workout from a different angle—FUN. Every single step is built on 6 weeks of sheer willpower, determination, and commitment.

Do not forget - tomorrow is PICTURE and measurements DAY! Stay on point!

Transform :20 | Week 6 | Day 5

Today is going to be ah-mazing. It’s Day 40: CUT and SHAUN-A-THON. Guess what? You’re going to do THREE sets of 3 Transformers — yep, that’s not a typo and I’m equally as scared. haha The first set of 3 Transformers are: Over Step Jump, Hand Rel Push-Up, and Triangle. The next 3 are: Rapid Taps, Twist OBL Kicks, and Rocketman. The final 3 are: Parkour, TS Squat Reach, and Lunge Punch. Lets go all out and see if we can beat our previous 5 weeks of transformers. Today is IT!

Shaun T loves motivating others and giving the TOOLS needed to truly transform our body AND our mind. Even though this group will be ending soon, I hope you’ll stay committed to fitness and nutrition and keep going. Team Energize ALWAYS has some group going whether it’s 3-Day Refresh, 30 day, 60 day or 90 day challenge. Message me your goals and we will figure out together what suits you best! Do not slack on Shakeology, it’s not something you drink only on days you work out, or during challenge groups. There’s a reason there are 30 servings in each bag and these come monthly. You should be running out and stalking your mailman for your new bag. Or is that just me?!?!? haha

Transform :20 | Week 6 | Day 4

Do you see it? Can you taste it? It’s the finish line and we only have three more workouts till we are there!! THREE! How awesome is it that you’ve made it this far—and that we’ve all done it TOGETHER. Community and accountability are the perfect combo and when like minded women get together - we are unstoppable!

Day 39: POWERFUL. Your 3 Transformers are Parkour, TS Squat Reach, and Lunge Punch.

Today is a full checklist day. Did you…
Enjoy your Shakeology? If so, which flavor?
Eat according to your nutrition plan? If so, are you doing containers or 2B Mindset?
Take your Beachbody Performance supplements? If so, which ones? Energize and Recover are my must haves!
Track your workout AND your Transformers? Did you beat last week?
Give yourself 3 affirmations? If not, do it now. STOP EVERYTHING AND DO IT!!

Tomorrow is a SPECIAL TREAT. I can’t wait to let you know what’s going on, but trust me, you are going to LOVE it.

Transform :20 | Week 6 | Day 3

You ladies R O C K! We are on track to finish STRONGer and finish PROUDer than when we started and I couldn’t be more excited for your finish! This is Day 38: STRONGER, and I want you to really think back to the first day you did this workout. Do you feel stronger? Do you have more stamina? Are the moves easier? They might not be because as we’ve journeyed along they’ve actually gotten harder, so it’s ok if your answer is NO to any of those. We are just trying to be our best every day and forget about the rest! Share below the biggest changes you’ve noticed along the way. I’ve noticed more cleaning out in my muscles.

Your 3 Transformers are 90° Ab Trapper, Hover Ab Kicks, and Burpee Hop. Lets try to beat all 3!!!

Transform :20 | Week 6 | Day 2

try and motivate someone today! this is my hubby doing T20 (modifying without step) and he started on his own, 3 weeks behind me just because he was tired of watching and wanted his own story. Be that motivation for someone!

Today I want you to pull out your 6-Week Transformation Tracker and look at all those days where you showed up for yourself and didn’t give up, esp when you noted that you really didn’t feel like working out, or something negative happened and almost derailed your fitness time. I’m so proud of you for not letting that happen and telling those voices to SHHHHHH for at least 20 minutes!!

This is Day 37: FASTER. By now you should be going at max speed, which is much faster than when you started!. Move those feet, stay nimble, keep your eyes on your step, and be light on your toes and the balls of your feet, so you are safe with the landings. Your 3 Transformers are Over Top, X Jack; L Reach; and Ski Abs, In/Out.

Transform :20 | Week 6 | Day 1

I hope you’ve been checking in with Shaun T and the cast with the behind-the-scenes show “Transform Your Life with Shaun T”. Watching it has helped me stay focused and motivated, and I always know I’m going to head into my workout even more fired up and ready to go. It' also reminds me that although this journey is OURS as a group, it’s all about ME and my results, my nutrition, my willpower and my showing up every day because no one else can make that happen for me.

This is the last week so no holding back. No second chances :) First day’s workout—only 6 workouts and you are DONE with Transform :20.

Day 36: BURN. Your 3 Transformers are: Rapid Taps, Twist OBL Kicks, and Rocketman.

Check out a few of the ladies from our last T20 round…they crushed it. One saw major scale changes 7-8 bs in 6 weeks but not visible changes and the other didn’t see many changes on the scale, but clothes were much loser. Our bodies are all so different and transformations will happen at different times, different areas of our body, and with different effort. Don’t compare yourself because “comparison is the thief of joy” - CS Lewis. Ok, now lets press play!

Transform :20 | Week 5 | Day 7

Rest day or not, my food is still on plan.

It’s our LAST AND FINAL REST DAY!??!?! YOU GUYS, WE ARE DOING IT!

It’s been an incredible journey so far, BUT WE ARE NOT DONE YET. Spend today with loved ones, walking, worship, whatever lights your heart on fire and maybe stretch / roll it out so you’re ready for 7 more days of W O R K! You know our last week isn’t going to be easy - Shaun T doesn’t know easy :)

Often in challenge groups, I see people comparing their progress to someone else’s. Please don’t do that. Your metabolism, age, story, etc are not the same as anyone else!!! And everyone transforms at a different rate and in different ways. I might notice more change in my abs than legs, or visa versa and that’s based on my nutrition, exercise, bonus with weights (or not), etc. Just look in the mirror at the beautiful person staring back at you. T H A T is your only competition. And she’s simply beautiful and getting healthier by the day!

This is YOUR journey. And hopefully you’ve discovered that when you COMMIT to a program and believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything.

Transform :20 | Week 5 | Day 6

wearing my motivation today!

Final workout day of the week, and I am ready to CRUSH it. Day 34: BALANCED. Your 3 Transformers are Climb Push-Ups; Plank, OBL Trap; and Balanced Dips. As for me, my motivation for myself is “get on that step, and get it done.” The rest of the day will be about family and maybe a massage if there’s time, but I need to get this done for ME so I can give to the rest of the little, and big, people in my house who rely on me.

What are some of the words you use to motivate yourself? What else do you do for motivation?

Transform :20 | Week 5 | Day 5

Meal prep using some of the recipes from T20 nutrition guide

We’re finishing the week STRONG! It’s Day 33: CUT and I know you’re going to give Shaun T everything you’ve got.

What do you think about the recipes in the Beachbody Nutrition Guide? I’m totally addicted to the homemade applesauce (right bottom) and sweet potato hash (left bottom). My family loves both of these so I’ve literally made them every Sunday because they don’t last in our house but 3-4 days. You might think your kids won’t eat like this, but when only given healthy options, I found my kids adapted pretty quickly because they don’t love to starve. ha!

You also have Beachbody Blog with some amazing recipes, Shakeology tab on website with “recipes by flavor”, my nutrition tab on www.eatsweatpray.com and 2B Mindset recipe book that might have come with your order. I’m weary of sending you to Pinterest because you never know how knowledgeable the person is that wrote the recipe. I’ve seen “21 day fix approved” recipes that were full of brown sugar, white sugar and white flour. UMMMMM, NOOOOOOO! If you’re consistent with Shakeology, you should be getting my weekly menus which are new every time so no risk of getting bored here! https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/blog/recipes

Once you’ve found the recipe you like, scroll to the bottom where it shows portion container count.Make it work for you if it’s over, or under, your container count. These recipes aren’t a catch-all for everyone, you need to tailor it. All should work with containers and 2B Mindset nutrition plans.

Transform :20 | Week 5 | Day 4

Are you CONQUERING Transform 20 this week? I hope you are, but only you know if you’re really giving it all you’ve got! Give each other some encouragement to crush today’s workout. It’s Day 32: POWERFUL and your 3 Transformers are Parkour, TS Squat Reach, and Lunge Punch.

A few of you have pointed out that your Transformers are one of the things you most look forward to. Is that true for you? I love when I’ve done 2 because I know the end is in sight. I try not to look at the timer and with only 20 min, sometimes I’m caught off guard and we are done. It’s that quick!

Transform :20 | Week 5 | Day 3

Hump day! Middle of the workout week! It’s Day 31: STRONGER. You know what you need to do to get through this — work your butt off and don’t be discouraged if you NEED Energize to literally get through the workout. I drink it every day except rest day and there’s no shame in getting an extra push so I get more out of my workout. And it’s safe and effective or Iron Man wouldn’t be partnered with this Beachbody line! If you don’t have it, I’m sorry you’ve been missing out, but message me and lets get you started! We have 2 flavors now, lemon or the N E W fruit punch :)

Keep your head clear, stay motivated, and if you need extra motivation, your Transformation Tracker has great quotes from Shaun T that I like to put on sticky notes in my kid’s lunchboxes, on my fridge, computer, car dashboard, everywhere basically. Ha! Today’s 3 Transformers are 90° Ab Trapper, Hover Ab Kicks, and Burpee Hop.

Transform :20 | Week 5 | Day 2

Amazing results can be yours too! No magic pill to this. Do the work and you’ll get results.

Let’s do it. You’ve got this—Day 30: FASTER. Grab your Energize because you’re going to need it today, grab your step and towel, and get ready to sweat. This is the sweetest day for me for sure!! Your 3 Transformers are Over Top, X Jack; L Reach; and Ski Abs, In/Out.

Lets talk safety for a second. Yesterday in the first transformer…i busted my butt. Yes, you read that right. As I was racing through it, I lost focus and started looking at the new photos I hung on the wall and counting in my head, but no eyes on my step and WHAM…I tripped and flew through the air, knocked my step in the air and landed on my bum. I made a loud noise and yelled “oyeeeee” and needless to say, neither of my 2 boys watching Spiderman even FLENCHED a bit. Well, thanks guys. I got up, started the transformer over and beat last year’s number. Proof that we can still go. But, lesson to chose form over speed and stay focused. Eyes on your step! SAFETY FIRST YALL!!!