I mentioned in an earlier post, that after visiting Sister and Jim in Charlay, I was going to begin the Tone It Up Fitness and Nutrition Plan. Well it has been exactly one month and one day and I am proud to say that I have been following the plan successfully and can already feel a big change!
You can read all about my experience and transformation below (in my official contest entry essay below), but first here is my experience from the past couple of weeks in photos!
Being Prepared and Planning is KEY:
I easily spend one - two hours (if not more) planning for the week. As the weeks have gone on, it has gotten a LOT easier and now I have many of the staple ingredients in my house. But Sunday night, nick and I always spend it in the kitchen prepping and preparing for the week.
Morning Workouts, called "Booty Calls"
I set my alarm for 6:15 every morning and go for a Jog/Run/Walk before Asher and Nick wake up. It was difficult at first, but now I look forward to it every morning. It is a great way to start my day, and have some ME time first thing in the morning. (Not to mention the metabolism and energy boost I have through the day!)
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| YUP- Even when I was in New Orleans for 5 days, I got up early and got in a good Booty Call EVERY DAY! |
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| This was this past Tuesday 6/24/14 I typically average about 11 miles a minute, but picked up the pace, really pushed myself and averaged 8 minutes 46 seconds per mile! |
Breakfast and Perfect Fit Protein:
I have never been one to eat breakfast, but after exercising in the AM, I am hungry. So, we have started making smoothies every morning with PerfectFit protein powder...and they are delish!!
My favorite combination is:
8-10oz unsweetened almond milk
1/2 Banana
1/4 cup frozen mango
1 scoop perfect fit protein
1 cup spinach
* Sometime I will throw in a quarter of a pear or some un-sweetend coconut flake just for variety.
LOTS of water during the day:
I try to drink about 100oz of water a day. They say that you should take your body weight and divide it by two. That number is the number of ounces you should be drinking a day. I find that a glitter cup and straw help me drink more!! Coconut water also helps!
Making Good Choices when Eating Out:
This is not always ever easy to do, and requires asking questions and sometimes being "that girl" that asks the waitress to modify her order.
Afternoon Toning Workouts!
Cardio in the morning is great...but not enough. I saw the difference it made in my last two weeks. Getting in that afternoon workout is NOT easy. I always try to go for a brisk walk around the lake at work after lunch time...just to take the edge off and keep me going, but for the past couple of weeks I have also got in a PM workout. I STOP working at 5pm and head into an empty office with my computer, weights and mat and complete the toning video for the day!
TIU puts out a weekly schedule for both AM and PM workouts so I never have to think about which muscles need to be worked. It really is like having my own personal trainer. And the best part is that its FREE! Even for people who did not pay for the nutrition plan. You can see the weekly schedule on their blog and follow along exercise guides for everything they tell you to do. And as a bonus, most of the workouts have youtube videos to go along with them!
*they have a ton more videos besides "Bikini"...but I joined during the #bikiniseries so these were the most recent videos!
Lean, Clean and Green eating at Home
The tone it up plan comes with over 100 pages of recipes and they are all split up by category and also helps you plan if the meal is appropriate for meal 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 that day. We have yet to find a recipe that we do not like. And it is refreshing to be in the kitchen after a day of work, preparing a good healthy meal for my family!
Some of our dinner favorites from the plan so far are Grilled Scallops in a white wine sauce, Coconut Shrimp, North Shore Garlic Shrimp and Ginger Sesame Chicken Stirfry. For lunch we are good about bringing in left overs and Salads with homemade Tone It up Dressing (Poppy Seed is my favorite so far) or I have been enjoying Tone It Up Chicken Salad, Waldorf Wrap, Teriyaki Tofu Wrap (wrapped in a collard) and Sexy Spring Rolls (rolled in rice paper!)
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| Don't be fooled...The muffins and pancakes are made with protein powder and bananas, and the Salmon on the bottom is covered in chopped walnuts! |
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Tone it up is having a contest for all their Nutrition Plan followers and, I thought what better way to reflect about the past month, than writing an essay to submit for the contest! If I win that is just a bonus, but just taking the time to reflect on this past month, all that has transpired and the new lifestyle is prize enough. To read about the contest and the prizes click here.Here is my submission:
Contiki Destination: Fiji Islands Stopover (New Zealand Featuring: Fiji including the Mamanuca Islands & Yasawa Islands)
Name of Guest: Sara Dimitroff
Why I chose this guest: My sister has been a Tone It Up member for 2 years and has never stopped encouraging me to join her in her journey. It took me some time to get on board, but once I finally did, it changed my life (read below). Not only is she responsible for introducing me to TIU but has also encouraged and motivated me to stick with it, checks in with me daily, and we even send each other TIU monthly care packages for added motivation and reward. I work full time and she has adjusted her daily workout schedule so we can do our afternoon workouts together over video chat. Even without all of the above, I would still choose my sister because she is my best friend.
LIFE CHANGING. I can’t think of a better adjective to describe my experience with TIU. My sister is responsible for the introduction. I read through her nutrition plan, copied a few recipes, started my mornings with a booty call and bombshell spell, and after 5 days I felt so great, I purchased (and printed) the plan for myself.
Before beginning TIU I never found time for ME. My husband, three year old son and my career always came first. I “didnt have time” to exercise and I was always “too busy” for meal planning and cooking healthy at home. This has all changed. I look forward to my booty calls. I stop work at 5pm every day for my afternoon workout. Meal planning has become an obsession, and its much easier to cook dinners and bring lunch to work when I am prepared. It feels great being productive in the kitchen, and cooking dinner for my family every night. My son loves to help me in the kitchen, and even though it takes twice as long, I love spending this time with him, and teaching him healthy habits. We have yet to find a recipe in the nutrition plan that we do not like! My husband also really enjoys the recipes and has been eating them for lunch and dinner and lost 25 pounds as a result!
This is not a diet, this is not a quick slim down or detox. This is the new me. This is my NEW LIFE. Everyone at work and all my family and friends know about it because this is who I am now, I feel great and want to talk about it all the time in hopes of encouraging them to join me!
Thank you Katrina and Karena (and Sister): YOU have given me the tools, power, motivation and inspiration to CHANGE MY LIFE, and words can not even begin to describe my gratitude.
BEFORE and AFTER PICTURES:
As part of the contest, there was also the option to submit a video. I figured I would have a better chance at winning if I took advantage of the "optional" opportunity. But since I already explained all about my transformation, I decided to ask some of my coworkers and friends what they thought about the NEW me and my experience with Tone It Up.
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