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Want 25% off your favorite Cellucor products?

Uh'vvvv course!

Well, I recently became apart of the Cellucor Affiliate Program!

Click on the banner above

..Order your favorite Cellucor supplements

 ..Type in my code at checkout: COURTNEYG

..You will receive 25% OFF your order

AND

If you create a Cellucor.com account, you will be granted free shipping!

I love Cellucor Whey protein. 

I'll be posting again soon on different ways to incorporate whey protein into your diet other than in a shake. 

I'll also be posting about the product line Cellucor has to offer.

So, click on the Cellucor banner above to get started towards a healthier lifestyle!

 

Don't Wait, Start now!

It's almost Summertime! 

You know what that means? 

Time to dust off that dreadful swim suit!

Say whaaaat?

But, sunshine, sun bathing, and swimming pools should be exciting, not dreadful!

Well, you still have time to get that 'summer bod' you've been dreaming of.

Wait...

That's just it. 

You think you "still have time," so you can put it off just a little longer.

Don't put a time limit on your health.

The time starts now and ends..NEVER. 

No fad diets or 30 day cleanse.

This is LIFE. 

Whatever your fitness goals may be, healthy is what you should strive for. 

Don't compare yourself to others. 

Love who you are. 

Put in the work and results will follow.

Strive for progress not perfection. 

Sometimes we are blinded by advertisements perfect poses, good lighting, and professional photography/editing on social media to where we lose sight of what is really important.

Our health.

In 2013, it happened to me.

 I was one of those people blinded by social media. 

I wanted the thigh gap, protruding hip bones, and the flattest stomach. 

I ate little to no carbs, low calorie meals, and cardio was my bae. 

I wanted to become the skinny stick figure girls I followed on Instagram. 

To me, I was never skinny enough. 

It's a disease. An awful disease. 

And looking back now, I feel as if my case was one of the rather mild ones. I can't even begin to imagine what some girls go through.

Stop comparing yourself to others. 

YOU are your only competition, and you're competing in a competition called, LIFE!

Everyone's body is different and requires different ingredients in order to maintain a healthy cycle. Find what works for you and commit. 

I hope this gets you up and motivated to start your week off on the right foot! Happy Motivational Monday!

If you need ANY help with getting started with your diet or exercise, contact me via Facebook, email, text, however you need to, I am here to help.

Increasing Your Metabolism

To increase your metabolism...

Add these boosters to your daily routine

Eat (a good) breakfast
...just a coffee or a granola bar isn't going to cut it.

Cinnamon
..I put cinnamon on almost EVERYTHING. 

 Lemons ...add to your water.

Cayenne Pepper
...use with CAUTION

 Protein packed meals 
...add whey protein to your diet 

Foods high in fiber
...fills you up faster and helps with burning calories 

Eat smaller portions every 3 hours
...eating smaller meals every couple of hours keeps the stomach happy and metabolism revved up. 

HIIT workouts
..after a HIIT workout, your body still burns fat, increasing your metabolism. 

Water, Water, Water
...drink LOTS of water throughout the day to boost your metabolism.   
 

 





 

Meal Prep Party

So, I wanted to share the process of meal prep, and what I use/buy to complete mine. Yes, it can be exhausting, but once you make it a habit, it becomes an addiction. I absolutely love meal prepping. Not only does it save time, but it's cheaper (for me), and keeps things organized and portioned perfectly.

I know a lot of people don't know what to use, the containers to buy, what portions to measure out.... well, let me just share with you what I do in this AWFUL, GRUELING, process of meal prep. :)

Containers:

I use the small, square Glad containers. In my opinion, if you use the containers with multiple slots, it leads to overloading the container, which could lead to larger portions. Keeping it simply, small, and square is just easy, {unless you're one of those weirdos who don't like their food touching... cough* my baby sister}.

List: 

I always, always make a list before going to the store. Follow your list and ignore the jelly-filled donuts Italian style bread sitting in the bakery window. Following your list will help you get through the store quicker, and keep you on task, away from that warm, fresh bread. -Bread is my weakness, can you tell?

When making your list, keep an idea of what you will be preparing. How will you group the items in the container? How will you cook the items? What will you use to cook them? Once you get into the routine of meal prep, this will all come quicker.

C-note...
Keep it simple! Meal prep is exhausting, don't try to whip up some fancy, French dish to portion out into your containers. I'm sure you're saying, but simple is blandddddd. No, you're bland. I didn't say this was going to be easy. You have to train your 'buds, as well as your mind. Try different seasonings, oils, and sauces. Trust me, chicken and veggies gets old; you have to be creative!

When I meal prep:
I meal prep on Sunday nights after workout. I make enough for dinner that night all the way up to Wednesday night. Come Wednesday night, I meal prep after workout for Thursday's and Friday's lunches/dinners. Saturdays, I cook breakfast and lunch (similar to the same things I eat during the week), and usually, Saturday nights, I'll enjoy my one cheat meal for the week somewhere yummy. Sunday mornings, I cook breakfast and lunch, then the meal prep process repeats. This works for me, and I know several people that meal prep on Sundays for the entire week. I just don't like cooking THAT much food, and having 'leftovers' that long.

Items I meal prep:
Since I meal prep twice a week, I get to switch up what I'm eating mid-week. I usually start with chicken as my meat for the beginning of the week, then switch to ground turkey (made into my meatloaf) for the remainder of the week. I switch my veggies around each week using things like, asparagus, squash, bell peppers, onions, broccoli, and green beans. I'll throw in black beans or kidney beans sometimes for extra carbs and protein. I ALWAYS prep brown rice and sweet potatoes in each container, every week. I want to make sure I'm getting those carbs!

Portions:
Chicken-  2-3 tenders
Meatloaf- 1/4 (since I'm only making this for 4 meals)
Veggies- around 1/3 cp of each
Sweet potato- 1/3 or 1/4 depending on the size of potato
Brown rice- 1/3 cp

C-Note...
I haven't prepped fish yet. I figured once I'm tired of one of the meats I'm using, I'll switch to salmon or tilapia. I may even use steak one week!

Snacks:
It helps to prep your snacks too! Put them in baggies and small containers, BOOM* ready to go. For example....

Count a serving size of almonds and put them in baggies. Wash, and cut up fruits to store so they are easy to grab and on the go. Instead of taking the whole bag of rice cakes to work, {guilty}, bag a serving size of them up to take with you. I promise, you'll save so much time and money preparing not only your meals, but your snacks too.

C-Note...
The only thing I don't prep is breakfast. I like my eggs fresh and bagel thins not over a day old. If that is the only meal you are having to cook each day.....then, make that "fresh and so lean, lean!"

I hope this 'preps' you for your meal prep! If you have any questions, feel free to ask! 

IIFYM

Hey FitFam!

Hashtag bodybuilding, hashtag fitness, hashtaggggg

....Yeah, little too much but HEY, just trying to get you motivated!

This post may look familiar, well, that's because it is. I took my last post from my old blog and edited the ish out of it.

Now...

Let's talk about this craze, IIFYM real quick.

Okay, so what is IIFYM? *Disclaimer: I am in no means a personal trainer (I wish), nutritionist, or licensed in any area of fitness, so take proper precautions and seek a doctor/CPT before starting a new workout or meal plan.*

 Ok, now that I got that out of the way...

IIFYM is, "If It Fits Your Macros." Basically you fill out personal information on the website, (age, sex, height, weight, and even how many times you workout a week), then you choose your goal, (lose weight, bulk, or maintain). The IIFYM calculator then calculates your daily intake for protein, carbs, fat, fiber, and calories according to your goal. The "rule" is you can eat whatever you want throughout the day, as long as you do not exceed those calculations. 

I don't know how I feel about eating poptarts and oreos any day of the week other than weekends.....
Sayyyy whaaaat?

*CG Note*

 I'm a very routine person. I like to eat healthy (little to no cheats) during normal business hours. I enjoy it actually.

I have multiple cheats throughout the weekend, but I also get my workouts in. As of now, Sunday is my rest day. Weekend treats are something I look forward to. I like the idea of reward. When Friday night rolls around, it feels rewarding to say, "Heyyyy, let's get sushi and fro-yo tonight!"

*CG Note*

I counted macros for about 3 solid weeks (not including weekends). It's a lot of work if you use a variety of ingredients. I would write down every single thing I ate, then calculate to make sure it "fit." I thought I was eating enough within each macro category. Boy, was I wrong.

I entered in all my information, how often I exercised, and my goal. My macros came out to 2,352 calories, 341g carbs, 130g protein, 52g fat, and 26-33g fiber a day. Within the first couple of days and without changing my eating habits, I noticed my problem areas.  My carb and protein intake was entirely too low, I was taking in too much fat, and my calories were substantially lower than 2,300.

Basically, IIFYM opened my eyes to a whole new perspective of eating. I learned that in order to meet my goal, I was going to have to EAT. Or.. eat more. And Yes, it's a lot of work to write down and count every single thing you eat or [[track your macros]], but if you want your goal bad enough (and you want to have your favorite treats any time, all the time), you'll make the commitment! OR, you can just eat the same ol' boring thing everyday. Some of the dessert recipes I make throughout the work week, I write down the ingredients, so even then, I'm kind of tracking the deliciousness I consume during the week.

So, I'm going to try and include the macros on some of the recipes I post. It'll help those of you who want to try IIFYM or who are already counting. The recipes with multiple ingredients will be more of a close estimate rather than exact. Sometimes, I toss in a little less or a lota more of certain ingredients depending on my taste buddies. So give yourself some macro wiggle room when it comes to my recipes!