How do you handle Road Blocks?

Okay, so when it comes to working out and eating clean you always have little road blocks and sometimes some unexpected detours that try to throw you off coarse! Like the day (about two weeks ago) when I showed up at the gym for a heavy leg/glute day to find I'd left my tennis shoes at home (15 minutes away!) In the summer I always wear my extra support flip-flops and that's all I had!  My enthusiasm to go bust a move diminished even more as I sat in my car outside the gym realizing my lifting partner would not be joining me!  I so wanted to just say "forget it!"  I just didn't have time to run all the way home as I was paying a babysitter, who's on a time schedule herself!  I wasted five minutes pouting in the car before I finally decided to give it a try with what I had.  I told myself, "Work with what you've got; just make it work!"
 As I walked into the gym I was hoping there wouldn't be too many people in there to see the "dumb lady lifting legs with flipflops!"  Nope, not too many people, just 4 GUYS!
 I started off with barefoot dead-lifts, ten pounds lighter than my usual but I added 5 more reps and did 4 sets instead of 3!!! That worked! Then, I struggled just a bit to get my form right on my lunges, so I skipped the heavy lunges on the Smith Machine and opted for barefoot walking lunges... I did enough, packing two 20's that I almost had to crawl to the leg press!  I actually think I got a better leg press workout than usual so things were looking up!  I got through the rest of my workout, some of it with these beautiful flip-flops and some of it barefoot. But believe me when I say, my butt was SORE the next 3 days! Whoohoo!!!

I did get a few funny looks from the guys in the gym, luckily I didn't know them so I didn't really care!  Once I got going and started feeling my quads, hams and glutes working to their potential I didn't care what I looked like! 

Now, I'm not saying go workout without the proper shoes,,, I'm darn lucky I didn't hurt myself!  However, look how I handled a road block and didn't let something little give me the "excuse!"  
Too many people always have "excuses" and I've heard 'em all!  Ya know what?  If you want something bad enough you'll make it work!  If not, then stop complaining about not being able to reach your goals! Love the body your in or change it! 

Geez, look at all that "support" haha!!!

Train hard ya all!!!

Is life about reducing cellulite?

When Jillian Michaels was asked what do you like least,
Here is what she had to say:


"My ass! I hate it! There's cellulite on it, and no matter what I do, I can't get rid of it. The reality is that it's connective tissue. I can starve and my boobs will go and my face will get gaunt, but I will still have cellulite. It's not so much about aesthetics for me these days. Instead, I think a lot more about the mark I'm going to make on the world than about the back of my ass."- Jillian Michaels

Wow,,, I can so relate! Poor woman! I guess it's just normal! I'm working on being happy with my cellulite ass and all of me!  I've worked hard transforming my body after the third baby and this is as perfect as it's going to get!
So, I tell myself,,, Keep working hard and enjoy life but remember life is more than reducing cellulite! 

Garage Challenge Workout!

So, I did this workout last Sunday morning in the 95degree garage!  Yes, it was that hot at 7am!  and my time on 6 rounds was 30:50~
Today, same workout my time was 27 minutes~ really got my sweat on!
Here it is:
10 Jump Squats (body weight, get low and jump HIGH, make em worth it)
10 pullups (I did assisted with orange band)
10 Turkish Get -Ups  5 on eachside http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVDiFNy8NUA
10 Jumping jacks (keeps my heart rate up!)
10 walking lunges with Slosh Pipe overhead (step out far, focus on tight core and feel the up motion through your glutes~)
15 hanging ab strap knee raises http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNkNW7pciNI&feature=fvsr

I did 6 rounds but one could do more or less depending on their fitness level.  I push myself pretty hard through this workout and don't want to compromise good form so I usually don't do much longer than 30 minutes!  After 30 minutes at this intense of a level one starts to get shaky and weak and loses good form! 
I'm just pleased I did better on my time by over three minutes,,, whether that was because of the cooler temperature or I was pushing harder I'm not sure but hey, I'll take it! 
Push yourself hard and you'll see progress, EVERYWHERE!

CORY'S Protein Pancakes-- YUM!!!

Cory's Protein Pancakes

2 ¼ C. Oatmeal (quick oats)

1 C. unsweetened Apple sauce

¾ C. Liquid Egg Whites
¼ C. Fat Free Greek Yogurt
¼ C. peanut butter
2 T. Ground Flaxseed
3-4 scoops whey protein (Vanilla is best but Plain works too)
¾ teas. Cinnamon (we use the Cinnamon Plus from Pampered Chef, it has nutmeg, allspice, cloves, ground orange peel and ginger. This is almost a must to get the taste right!)

OPTIONAL:
Add some dried cranberries (this helps make them sweeter)
Your favorite sweetener. We use about 3 T. of Truvia
ground nuts like walnuts

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl with a hand-mixer.

Then add water to get "pancake batter consistency." Usually about a half a cup. It will likely thicken up as you are trying to get all your pancakes cooked so just add a little more water as needed.
Non-stick spray in a skillet on Medium to Med-low heat… they need to cook slow or the middle doesn’t get done.
Use a ¼ C measuring cup to pour in pan.

Keep refrigerated. They are great cold or warmed up. GREAT ON-The-GO snack! The only bad thing is they disappear too fast! Even the kids love them!

Makes 16-18 pancakes.
Nutrition facts will vary but this is approximately what we figured ours to be per pancake:
Cals: 130
Carbs: 14g
Fat: 3g
Protein:10g

Now, for the rest of the story

So, as much as I don't even want to mention it,,, I have to go back to my goal!  Remember, I mentioned my "goal" a few posts down??!? Yeah, that magic number of 120 was my goal.  I didn't think that it was that unreasonable since I am only 5"2' and my bottom healthy weight is like 110 pounds so honestly what's the big deal?  Well, the big deal is,,, as many of you know "THAT LAST TEN POUNDS IS THE HARDEST!"   GEEZ!  NO kiddin!!!~  I DID NOT get to my goal!  FAILED!!! The closest I got was 122.something!   I'd like to say I am still close but since I went into the transition phase of the Vdiet, no such luck.  I am back up to 125.  
I follow a couple Fitness Girls blogs and it was encouraging to read what they had to say about weight... Holly Shraeder  http://www.hollymariefitness.com/ says you will fluxuate all the time, up and down within 5 pounds.  That you really have a 5 pound range you sit in.  She also said you don't gain 2 or 3 pounds of fat overnight! DUH, I know that!  WATER weight!?!?!  I can seriously weigh myself at night before I go to bed and get up in the morning and weigh 2 or 3 pounds MORE!  That must be with age,,, "Old Lady Water Retention?"  So, for now the scale is taking a break! We will NOT be dating every morning, nor at night!
Well that was a depressing story,,, let's move onto something more positive!
So, remember when my husband did my measurements and they didn't change at all?  He suggested I go get my body fat done again!  Sooo,  Body Fat % here I come! And this will explain why I am not overly frustrated with the stupid scale! There's more than one way to determine success!
 Body Comp. Scan:  This is a machine you lay down on and it scans over your body,,, scanning your tissue, determining how much fat and lean muscle you have.  It's expensive, $35.00 a scan but VERY informative.  The only problem is it tells you the fat you have EVERYWHERE, like around your organs and such!  Well, that would be all good if you really needed to know that, but I had to remind myself my numbers made me seem "fatter" than I actually appear!
Check this out!
Aug. 2, 2010 (2months after having baby) 145lbs
37% fat    24,586g of fat,    39,326g lean tissue
April 13, 2011(12 months after having baby)  130lbs
27% fat    16,335 g of fat,   40,408g lean tissue
June 8, 2011 (13.5 months after having baby) 125lbs
21% fat   12,371 g of fat     42, 242g lean tissue

Also on June 8th Jesse from Downtown Gym did my body fat with the "pinchers".  He got me at a total of 18% body fat! which makes sense because that doesn't take into consideration of ALL my fat on the inside of my body! I was happy with that!
Chest 15%
Abs 20%
Thigh 27%
scapula 13%
Triceps 13%

THEN I did the Vdiet plan and intense workout schedule for 6 weeks, and cried to my husband that NOTHING had changed! So, on July 21st I went back to Jesse to get my body fat done again.
Chest 11%
Abs 14%
Thigh 17%
Scapula 9%
Tricep 10%
For an average of 12.2% body fat!  FINALLY GOOD NEWS!~  I don't see it, but hey, I've gotta be happy with these numbers!  I feel great and people who haven't seen me in awhile say I look great so I've got to be happy! I am!  I am happy with the results of HARD WORK!  See,,, it can be done!

Peanut Butter Muscle Bombs

Peanut Butter Muscle Bombs


2 cups natural unsalted, peanut butter, drained of seperated oil (I use the chunkie)
2 scoops Vanilla Whey protrein
A FULL 1/4 C molasses (over flowing)
2 tablespoons flaxseed (I use the meal)

If it is too dry I add a little flaxseed oil

In lrg bowl mix together the ingredients,, this takes some muscle

Form into "walnut size" balls, wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the freezer for two hours, OR I just leave them in the freezer, prefer them frozen

makes about 25 balls. Per bomb: 150 cals, protein 6g, carbs 8g, fat 9g

Be careful because their dangerous! You're either eating them or thinking about eating them! ;)

Is this the end???

I started the Velocity diet (Vdiet) in June, for 28 days. This was a mostly all liquid diet- Superfood/vitamin shakes, protein shakes, flaxseed and a little natural peanut butter with one Healthy Solid Meal (HSM) a week. Again, my word for June was HARD! Yeah, it was not easy, but actually now that I look back on it, it wasn't bad! The Vdiet's therory is rapid body transformation that takes some serious dedication and no, it's not for everyone. What it did for me: ease of meal planning for myself,,, "Have shaker will travel" was my motto, it helped me get through a plateau, reduced the cravings for junk, a little fat lose and a little muscle gain. Now, ready for the honesty??? Here's what it didn't do: It didn't allow me to go out with my friends for dinner or a drink or eat dinner with my family, It didn't allow me to lose weight on the scale- and keep it off, and it didn't help my measurements to change,,, NOT even a tiny bit!
Here's what the scale did... I was a 125.7 the first day of the Vdiet. The scale was down, then up, up, then down (a pretty boring roller coaster really!) but on the 28th day I was 123.2 pounds~ So, a 2.5 pound lose in one month wasn't bad. Even though I really felt like I had worked harder than that, I thought, "hey, I'll take it!" However, by the 5th week frustration set in with the transition phase of the Vdiet (only change is I added in 1 HSM a day) the scale started going up FAST! In two and a half weeks after the 1st phase of the Vdiet I had gained it all back,,, yep, back up to 125.3 So, with extreme frustration I had my hubby do my measurements and photos just last night. I thought this would be helpful since I know the scale is NOT the only measure of sucess! All this hard work for the past six weeks and my measurements were ALL EXACTLY THE SAME! As I'm about to cry, all my poor husband can say is, "Well at least they didn't go up!"
NO, This is NOT the end... there's more to the story!  I know, it's getting too long. I know, my eyes are burning too, but you have to stay tuned to hear the "rest of the story!"