Freaking Delicious, Lean, Turkey Meatloaf

I never knew I could be so excited about a square of meat.

But I totally can.

This meatloaf is freaking delicious. 

The thing is, I forgot all about this meatloaf. Growing up, the thought of meatloaf repulsed me. To me, "meatloaf" does not sound fun or inviting. However, my mother makes the best meatloaf in the world. She would pair it with her made from scratch macaroni and cheese and I was in pure heaven. Last week, I was on the phone with my grandmother and she was telling me that mama was in her kitchen making meatloaf for she and my grandfather. A light bulb went off in my head. I immediately made my grandmother put my mom on the phone so I could write down my her recipe. I decided to add and subtract ingredients so I could create it in a healthy, clean way. It worked! First try too! (that rarely happens).

Friends this meatloaf is easy, delicious, lean, packed with protein, and I can almost guarantee your husband, kids, dogs, cats, mistress, cousin, sister, and uncle will love this. 

• 1 pound lean or extra lean ground turkey
• HALF a pack of meat loaf seasoning
• 1/8 cup of bread crumbs of choice OR 1 slice of bread broken up into little pieces
• 1 egg and 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup of Unsweetened original almond milk 
• Low sugar ketchup OR Sriracha sauce (healthier option)
• Optional: any vegetables such as onions, peppers, etc. that you want to add. I don't like anything that "crunches" in my meatloaf thus I have omitted those.

What do you do:

• Preheat over to 375 degrees
• Spray small baking pan (8 x 8 or similar) with nonstick spray
• Place all ingredients except except ketchup or Siriacha in a large bowl
• Mix thoroughly with clean, washed hands until well blended
• Place meat in baking pan and pat until meat has formed into the pan
• Bake for 55-60 minutes
• Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes
• Lightly coat top of meatloaf with sauce of choice
• Enjoy with your favorite sides for a hearty meal!

Nutrition information

Serving size: 4 oz

Servings per meatloaf: 5

This will vary depending on variations of ingredients/brands used. This is to be used as a guide only.

Calories: 155

Fat: 8g

Carbohydrates: 4g

Fiber: 0g

Protein: 20g

The Hump Day Blog Hop!

Happy Hump Day everyone! We are halfway through the week and the hump day camel is too freaking cool, so lets have some fun and a blog hop to celebrate.

This is a little different than a link up. To participate, simply add your blog link. There is no required entry or anything like that. This is about networking, making new friends, and finding new blogs.

All I ask:

1) "The Hump Day" blog hop button button be displayed anywhere on your blog page or a specific entry with a link back to me or the weekly co-host. (Please do this. These blog hops take a lot of work and preparation.)

2) You don't have to follow me, but in the words of Blake Shelton: it'd sure be cool if ya did.

3) Please follow the co-host. I love helping and promoting these amazing women in the blog world! I do this to not only meet new people, but help my friends make new friends and readers.

4) Mingle with your fellow Bloggers.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.fitnessblondie.blogspot.com" title="The Hump Day Blog Hop"><img src="http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a593/fitnessblondiel/humpday_zps418f63f6.jpg" alt="The Hump Day Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Please help me welcome this weeks co-host; Rebecca from Red Tag Chic Los Angeles 

Rebecca is just... I mean look at her. Pure awesome. She is full of style, beauty, and grace. I'm not that big into fashion, but with Rebecca's blog, I connected to her instantly - especially her her very "down to earth" nature. She is a CPA by profession but I think we can all tell what other calling she has. The part of I like most about her "about me" Much as I would love to have the latest “IT” bag, a front row seat at the Fashion Week, and all the top luxury brands at my beck and call, I love the thrill of saving a couple of bucks by finding a good deal, remixing and shopping in my closet……and living in Los Angeles makes it all fun and easy. Definitely make sure you hop on over to her spot and say hello! 

______________________________

My Weekly Nutrition and Training Plan

The below nutrition plan is what I eat Monday through Friday. Saturday and Sunday during the day I still eat clean but will eat whatever is left over or what I have around my apartment. Two nights a week I have "treat" meals - whatever I choose. They are usually Saturday and Sunday night, but it does vary. I switch up my eating every week. I plan the week before what I want to have for meals, make the grocery list, and prep the food on Sunday's. A lot of times people will ask me if I get bored eating the same thing everyday. The answer is no. It is only 5 days a week that I eat the same thing. I eat to live - not live to eat. It took me a long time to come to that.  I also do this to save money. I live alone so I can't really cook tons of different things during the week because it's too expensive and will go bad. There are also ways you can switch up your eating day to day. Like my Quest Bars for instance; I eat a different flavor everyday, same with my yogurt. You can read here for meal prep ideas!

Total down (since 11/25/13):  46.6 pounds!

Meal 1 (7:15 AM)

2 slices of turkey bacon and 1/4 cup of plain grits with pepper.

I always buy the cleanest type of bacon I can, it's worth the price.

Meal 2 (10:30 AM)

Chocolate and Strawberry Protein Oats

1/4 cup of plain oats, half a scoop of Lean Body protein, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and sliced fresh strawberries.

Meal 3 (1:15 PM)

Meal 4 (4 PM) - [Pre-workout]

1 Quest Bar and an apple

Gym: 5-6:15(30)

Meal 5 (6:30 PM) [Post workout]

1 pack of Kay's Natural protein chips and fresh grapes

Meal 6 (8:30 PM)

Lean turkey meatloaf (freaking delicious), made from scratch clean red potatoes, and sauteed asparagus

Recipe coming soon for meatloaf and potatoes

Bed time: 11 PM

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

Sunday: (Rest) - done!

Monday: (Weights) - done!

-30 minutes of cardio: StairMill ( HIIT: 150 SPM for my work and 60 SPM at rest. Work is 60 seconds, rest is 90 seconds)

-Weight Circuit:

   -Shoulders: Seated lateral raise machine, 50 pounds: 3 x 15

   -Back: Lateral pull down machine, 75 pounds: 3 x 15

   -Biceps: Standing bicep curls, 15 pounds: 3 x 15

   -Chest: Lying chest press with dumbbells, 22.5 pounds: 3 x 15

   -Triceps: Tricep kickbacks with dumbbells, 12.5 pounds: 3 x 15

    Sample workout

-15 minutes cardio: Elliptical (Incline 9, Resistance 10)

Tuesday: (Core)

-10 minutes of high intensity interval training: Tredmill (Work: 2 minute walk on a speed of 3.2 MPH with an incline of 12 [the highest is 15] Rest: 1 minute walk at 0 incline and a 3.4 MPH speed. Alternate)

-20 minutes cardio: Elliptical (Incline 9, Resistance 10)

- 3 sets of 45 second planks

- 3 sets of "Russian Twists" with a 10 pound weight plate

- 3 sets of 20 crunches

- 3 sets of 20 heel touches

- 3 sets of  10 elevated leg crunches

-10 minutes of high intensity interval training: Tredmill (Work: 2 minute walk on a speed of 3.2 MPH with an incline of 12 [the highest is 15] Rest: 1 minute walk at 0 incline and a 3.4 MPH speed. Alternate)

-10 minutes cardio: Elliptical (Incline 9, Resistance 10)

Wednesday: (Weights)

-20 minutes of cardio: StairMill ( HIIT: 150 SPM for my work and 60 SPM at rest. Work is 60 seconds, rest is 90 seconds)

-10 minutes cardio: Elliptical (Incline 9, Resistance 10)

-Weight Circuit:

   -Shoulders: 3 x 15

   -Back: 3 x 15

   -Biceps: 3 x 15

   -Chest: 3 x 15

   -Triceps: 3 x 15

    Sample workout

-10 minutes of high intensity interval training: Tredmill (Work: 2 minute walk on a speed of 3.2 MPH with an incline of 12 [the highest is 15] Rest: 1 minute walk at 0 incline and a 3.4 MPH speed. Alternate)

Thursday: (Plyometric Full Body + jog)

Back in February, I wrote about my "at home" workout that I created since I was snowed in for two days and could not go to the gym. I call this "The Hot Mess Express". I was incredibly sore for days after this work out, so I decided to do it once a week because it was so hard. My heart rate was through the roof and it worked every muscle in my body. My shoulders, abs, and thighs were the most sore. It is a little difficult to explain, but I will try my best. I hope to do a full blog entry and YouTube video for this soon. It truly is AWESOME.

I created a playlist on my Iphone that is an hour and 10 minutes of upbeat pop and rap songs and I blast that on my blue-tooth speaker while I exercise. It's about 12 songs, so I do 12 different routines. I repeat the routine for the entire song then switch.

Below are different routines I do during a song. I repeat the exercises for the entire song then I will move onto the next routine. I did this for 30 minutes:

-Mini suicides runs:

-Kickboxing cardio routines (I have 3-4 different routines for this. I do not know the names of the exercises so that is why I am not listing that out right now)

-10 Jumpsquats, run in place, then 10 jumping jacks

-10 regular jumping jacks, 10 scissor jumping jacks, jog around the living room

-10 pushups, jog down the hallway, walking lunges back to the living room

-20 burpees, 10 high kicks

-10 pushups, jog around the couch, 10 jumpjacks

30 minute jog on the greenway behind my apartment.

Friday: (Legs)

-20 minutes of cardio: Elliptical (Incline is switched between 1, 9, and 20. Resistance is switched between 9 and 10)

-Leg Workout:

   -Squats (4 x 15. Two sets of 55 pounds and Two sets of 75 pounds)

   - Leg Extension (3 x 15, 50 pounds)

   - Leg Curl (3 x 15, 110 pounds)

   - Leg Press (3 x 15, 270 pounds)

-10 minutes of cardio: Elliptical (Incline, 9 and Resistance, 9)

-Hard, long Stretch

Saturday: (Rest)

Weight Lifting 101 for Women

If you have read about me and/or my fitness journey, you know that I first began exercising when I was 13 years old, at home, doing exercise videos. They all required free weights/dumbbells/whatever you want to call it. I always thought lifting weights was just a part of exercise. I did not worry about becoming "big and bulky". The women in the videos were not big and bulky, they were just really toned and had pretty muscle definition. I liked it. However, I can see why women worry about lifting weights. It is understandable. There are some women who partake in bodybuilding and try to become bigger. Women can, if they eat a very high caloric diet of protein and carbohydrates and pair that with lifting extremely heavy weights; but truth be known, they will need assistance from an artificial substance to become as big as some of them do. That is just the bold truth. I have friends all across the United States who are bodybuilders, bikini, and figure competitors, etc. and I have been around the industry for a long time. Naturally, women do not have the testosterone in their body to have the muscle enlargement that men do. However, every woman is different. What works for one woman may not work for another so when it comes to exercising, engage in activities that most positively respond to your body.

Weight lifting is important for every woman. There are so many benefits to it that cardio alone can not provide. If you pair weight lifting with a clean diet, you will start to see more results than you do with just cardio. Weight lifting and strength training increases bone density which is essential for us women, it burns more calories at rest, helps with stress and depression, increases "good" cholesterol, makes you stronger, it can assist with lowering blood pressure, and lowers the risk of breast cancer; as it reduces high estrogen levels linked to the disease. 

The first thing to understand about weight training is how important your form is. Correct form comes above anything when you are lifting weights. If you have lift a piece of paper because any other weight is too hard to do with correct form, then do it. If your form is not correct, you are wasting your time, not building muscle, and you are very susceptible to injury. 

There are many ways one could divide their workouts for weight training. You could do two body groups a day; a lot of my friends who are more focused on building muscle rather than fat loss, do this. I do not right now, as my primary focus is just fat loss. I have plenty of muscle, I just need to lose the fat on top of it.

If you decide to do two muscle groups a day, paired with cardio, I would recommend one "push" muscle and one "pull" muscle. The reason I recommend this is since the two body parts engage in different ranges and motions on the exercises, you do not burn out. You are able to lift heavier, more reps, and with correct form. 

12-15 reps are ideal for most women. If you want to focus more on really building muscle, go with 12 reps. That will be hard and it should be. The last two reps should be a struggle for you. If your focus is more on fat loss, go with 15 repetitions. However, even then the weight should not be easy. If you can perform all of your exercises with correct form, and are not struggling at the end, you need to bump your weight up. Your work outs should always be a challenge; if they aren't, you will stay where you are. I recommend 3-4 exercises per muscle group and 3 sets per specific exercises with 12 repetitions. A 60-90 second rest should occur after each set. Often times you will see it written as "3 x 12" - that means 3 sets of 12 repetitions. 

The way I personally lift weights now is by a weight circuit. I do this 3 times a week. The other days I like to hike, do a plyometric workout, leg, and core workouts. When I do my weight circuits, I do each upper body muscle group; one specific exercise, 3 sets of the exercises, and 15 repetitions per set. The body parts are back, chest, biceps, triceps, and shoulders. 

If you see below I have outlined each upper body muscle group and three specific exercises for each group. This is a sample you can go can buy for a week of training; this allows you three days of weight circuit. Engage in one exercise per muscle group, each day. Anyone can do this - you can do this at the gym or in your own home.

A Springy, Sunshiney Weekend Recap

It has been an excellent weekend! Friday after work I started my weekend by kicking booty at the gym. I did 45 minutes of cardio and an upper body weight circuit. Afterwards I went back to my apartment to get glam then I met my girlfriend Alexis at "City Tavern" for a cocktail. I opted for a vodka tonic and it was so good - it was my first drink in 3 weeks. I have no real reason as to why I have not been drinking lately, I just haven't. I even went to a wine tasting with my family last weekend and didn't partake! I thoroughly enjoyed my drink though. It was a beautiful evening for a cocktail on their patio. 

After, Alexis and I went to the movies to see "The Other Woman". That movie was SO good! If you have not seen it yet, go grab your girlfriends, and make an evening out of it. I was laughing out loud the entire time. Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann are awesome together; and Kate Upton was super cute. Most of all, I loved the story about friendship. Friendship with my girls means everything to me so I was all about this movie. I can't wait for it to come on DVD. Also since I am a cinema junkie, I have a Regal card. I had a ticket for a free popcorn so Lex and I decided to split one. The cashier "upgraded" my free small popcorn to a large and holy popcorn! I have never seen anything like that! Who could eat that much popcorn?! She and I barely made a dent in it, ha!

Saturday morning I went to the mountains to go hiking. I had 10 miles on the agenda for the day. And guys I have to tell you, it was a hard hike. My body felt kind of tight, achy, and just tired. I only had one small cocktail Friday night so I know it wasn't that. Mentally I was ready to go because I love hiking so much, but my body was not in sync. I hiked up the mountain, sweat pouring off of me - because I was tired, the hike was that much harder. Then, when I was coming down the mountain I kept yawning! I tripped like a million times as well. I have gotten good about hiking over the rocks and not tripping over all of the tree roots, but yesterday I was off of my game. However, I did it! I pushed through the whole time and I did my 10 miles. I always feel amazing when I push myself to keep going, even when I want to stop.

I finally arrived back home at 4 PM. I did some things around the apartment then accidentally fell asleep on the couch for quite a while. When I woke up I was still tired and felt soreness kicking in, so I took a long bubble bath, watched a movie, and went to bed pretty early.

Because I fell asleep early, I woke up around 8:30 this morning. Since it was my rest day from the gym and I had a lot of errands to do, I decided to do my hair, makeup, wear a cute outfit, and make a day out of it!

I met my girlfriend Brooke at "Brixx Wood Fired Pizza" for a bottle of Pinot, pizza, and some girl time. Again, it was another beautiful day so we of course had to sit outside. We ended up talking for hours. My pizza was delicious too - spinach and arugula on whole wheat crust. I love restaurants that offer healthy alternatives! 

Once Brooke and I parted ways I had a ton of places to go. I went to Old Navy to use my Old Navy cash, a local produce stand, GNC, Ulta, Michaels, Target, and Harris Teeter. It felt like one of those days where I ran out of everything! I got it done though!

Now I am waiting for my last bit of food prep to finish in the oven then it's another bubble bath for me and my Sunday night shows. How was your weekend?! Linking up today! 

A Wonderful Weekly Wrap - Friday 5!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful week. Mine was pretty pleasant; lots of work and training, but those are two things I love so win/win. I am ready for the weekend though!

(1) Monday my legs were screaming at me. I could not believe I was so sore from my workout on Sunday. I was even more sore than when I go hiking; it was a great feeling especially since I did not even want to train Sunday, but I pushed on. After work, I forced myself to the gym for 45 minutes on the Elliptical and an upper body circuit. Once I finished at the gym, I checked my mail like I usually do. That was when my day was made!

Next weekend my girlfriend Sandra and I will be spending the entire weekend at "Carolina Rebellion" letting our inner metal head shine through. Most people cannot believe I love heavy metal so much, but what can I say? I am weird person, ha! This concert is going to epic. My favorite band in the world will be there; Five Finger Death Punch. I am so in love with the lead singer; Ivan. I hope to meet him to let him know that we are getting married. 

(2) Tuesday work went by as normal then I took the evening off from the gym. I was still really sore and I knew if I kept pushing myself even when I was hurting so much, my workouts would continue to suffer. When I got to my apartment, I realized I had a package in the office waiting for me.

Thank you to Infulenster and PUR water! They sent a water filtration system  for me to try and write about. This is very special to me because this my first time being able to do this solely because of my blog! I have had opportunities in the past to receive compensation and products in lieu of writing, promoting, and reviewing them, but it just did not feel right. I am all for obtaining compensation whenever you can, but I just don't know how I can be passionate about tampons or toilet paper, ha! However, filtered water? Yes please! I drink water like it is going out of style. I swear I walk 5 miles a day from my office to the bathroom at work. I constantly have a glass of water by my side all day long. It is one of the healthiest habits I have. However, I am really bad about buying plastic water bottles from the grocery store and throwing them away once I have finished drinking the water. I would like to be more environmentally friendly so this was the perfect opportunity. I know my water is filtered and it tastes great. I can truly tell a difference in the taste, which I have heard people say before, but I did not really expect. I had another water filtration system a year or so ago but I did not use it. The pitcher was too small thus I was constantly having to re-fill it and changing the filter was expensive and a pain to do. Pur is much more affordable and simple plus the pitcher is the perfect size. I am thoroughly enjoying this product and will continue using it. What do you guys think?

(3) Wednesday morning I was running late for work. Ugh I hate being late for anything. My poor Marty had a hair ball (his hair is ridiculously long) and he got sick all over the living room. So my day started wonderfully, ha. I ended up only being about 10 minutes late, and when I walked in I had a beautiful surprise waiting for me! I was cheesing like no other!

It was "Administrative Professionals Day" and my president surprised me with the more gorgeous arrangement of flowers. They are perfect for spring and I love the assortment of colors. He did a great job of picking them out - I was thoroughly impressed. Normally I am the one planning surprises or gifts for fellow manager's or employees, so having the role reversed on me for once was great!

Update: the flowers have bloomed so beautifully since Wednesday morning! They look gorgeous.

(4) Yesterday my Bodybuilding.com order arrived. I can't rave about that company enough. I placed my order Tuesday evening with regular shipping and received it Thursday. That is stellar service right there. They had a killer deal where you could buy Jamie Eason's protein powder and receive a 90 capsule bottle of the multi-vitamins for free! It was like this sale was speaking to me because I had one multi-vitamin left and I was completely out of protein.

I am sipping on the protein now for breakfast and I have to say it is delicious. I mixed it with unsweetened vanilla almond milk. I like it because there is no artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors, and it's gluten free. It's a great brand of protein!

(5) Say hello to my friend, Maegan. Her blog is "Creating Confidence". To all of my amazing friends and readers, please pop over and say hello to her. She is trying to grow and spread the message of her blog, and I could not more excited to help promote her. You guys know I am all about "girl power" and empowering women -- so is she. I worked with Maegan at LA Fitness and she is a wonderful friend of mine. Another fun fact - she was on America's Got Talent. Y'all know that is my favorite show. She writes about being a teenager and young woman in the American society. She also provides interesting prospective's on how the media and TV affects us from our looks to behaviors. Maegan posts are refreshing and a must have on your blog roll! She is guest posting for me soon and I can't wait to see what she has to say and write about it. 

Off to take on the work day then let the weekend begin! Linking up today!

My Weekly Nutrition and Training Plan

The below nutrition plan is what I eat Monday through Friday. Saturday and Sunday during the day I still eat clean but will eat whatever is left over or what I have around my apartment. Two nights a week I have "treat" meals - whatever I choose. They are usually Saturday and Sunday night, but it does vary. I switch up my eating every week. I plan the week before what I want to have for meals, make the grocery list, and prep the food on Sunday's. A lot of times people will ask me if I get bored eating the same thing everyday. The answer is no. It is only 5 days a week that I eat the same thing. I eat to live - not live to eat. It took me a long time to come to that.  I also do this to save money. I live alone so I can't really cook tons of different things during the week because it's too expensive and will go bad. There are also ways you can switch up your eating day to day. Like my Quest Bars for instance; I eat a different flavor everyday, same with my yogurt. You can read here for meal prep ideas!

Total down (since 11/25/13):  46.6 pounds!

Meal 1 (7:15 AM)

3 protein muffins

Meal 2 (10:30 AM)

Quest Protein Bar (the flavor varies day to day) and a large apple.

Meal 3 (1:15 PM)

Meal 4 (4 PM) - [Pre-workout]

1 Light and Fit 80 calorie Greek Yogurt with a tablespoon of chia seeds and plain sliced almonds.

Gym: 5-6:15(30)

Meal 5 (7 PM) [Post workout]

3 oz of top sirloin with homemade red mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli/mushrooms.

I poked holes in the sirloin (because it has no fat, it can be tough) and marinated them in balsamic vingerette for 24 hours. I cooked via stovetop and sprinkled Carolina blackened seasoning. I do not prep these all once. I made the mashed potatoes by boiling baby red potatoes until soft, placed them in a big bowl, sprinkled Garlic and Wine seasoning, melted 1/4 coconut oil and poured over potatoes, and 1 cup of plain Almond Milk. I then blended everything together with a mixer. I will have the recipe up soon.

Meal 6 (8:30 PM)

1/2 cup of fat free cottage cheese and a 2 tablespoons of dark chocolate morsels. 

Bed time: 11 PM

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

Sunday: (Plyometric Full Body + Jog) - done!

Back in February, I wrote about my "at home" workout that I created since I was snowed in for two days and could not go to the gym. I call this "The Hot Mess Express". I was incredibly sore for days after this work out, so I decided to do it once a week because it was so hard. My heart rate was through the roof and it worked every muscle in my body. My shoulders, abs, and thighs were the most sore. It is a little difficult to explain, but I will try my best. I hope to do a full blog entry and YouTube video for this soon. It truly is AWESOME.

I created a playlist on my Iphone that is an hour and 10 minutes of upbeat pop and rap songs and I blast that on my blue-tooth speaker while I exercise. It's about 12 songs, so I do 12 different routines. I repeat the routine for the entire song then switch.

Below are different routines I do during a song. I repeat the exercises for the entire song then I will move onto the next routine. I did this for 30 minutes:

-Mini suicides runs:

-Kickboxing cardio routines (I have 3-4 different routines for this. I do not know the names of the exercises so that is why I am not listing that out right now)

-10 Jumpsquats, run in place, then 10 jumping jacks

-10 regular jumping jacks, 10 scissor jumping jacks, jog around the living room

-10 pushups, jog down the hallway, walking lunges back to the living room

-20 burpees, 10 high kicks

-10 pushups, jog around the couch, 10 jumpjacks

50 minute jog on the greenway behind my apartment.

Monday: (Weights) - done!

-30 minutes of cardio: Elliptical (Incline is switched between 1, 9, and 20. Resistance is switched between 10 and 11)

-Weight Circuit:

   -Shoulders: 3 x 15

   -Back: 3 x 15

   -Biceps: 3 x 15

   -Chest: 3 x 15

   -Triceps: 3 x 15

*It is hard for me to list the exercises I do for my weight circuit. The gym is so crowded when I go that I almost always have to improvise when I lift weights. It depends on what is free at the time to be used.

-15 minutes cardio: Elliptical (Incline 9, Resistance 10)

Tuesday: (Rest) - done!

Wednesday: (Weights) - done!

-30 minutes of cardio: StairMill ( HIIT: 150 SPM for my work and 60 SPM at rest. Work is 60 seconds, rest is 90 seconds)

-Weight Circuit:

   -Shoulders: 3 x 15

   -Back: 3 x 15

   -Biceps: 3 x 15

   -Chest: 3 x 15

   -Triceps: 3 x 15

*It is hard for me to list the exercises I do for my weight circuit. The gym is so crowded when I go that I almost always have to improvise when I lift weights. It depends on what is free at the time to be used.

-15 minutes cardio: Elliptical (Incline 9, Resistance 10)

Thursday: (Core)

-20 minutes of cardio: StairMill, 80 SPM

-10 minutes cardio: Elliptical (Incline 9, Resistance 10)

- 3 sets of 45 second planks

- 3 sets of "Russian Twists" with a 10 pound weight plate

- 3 sets of 20 crunches

- 3 sets of 20 heel touches

- 3 sets of  10 elevated leg crunches

-15 minutes of high intensity interval training: Tredmill (Work: 2 minute walk on a speed of 3.2 MPH with an incline of 12 [the highest is 15] Rest: 1 minute walk at 0 incline and a 3.4 MPH speed. Alternate)

Friday: (Weights)

-20 minutes of cardio: StairMill at 80 SPM

-Weight Circuit:

   -Shoulders: 3 x 15

   -Back: 3 x 15

   -Biceps: 3 x 15

   -Chest: 3 x 15

   -Triceps: 3 x 15

*It is hard for me to list the exercises I do for my weight circuit. The gym is so crowded when I go that I almost always have to improvise when I lift weights. It depends on what is free at the time to be used.

-15 minutes cardio: Elliptical (Incline 9, Resistance 10)

Saturday: (Hiking)

13 miles of hiking at Crowder's Mountain!

Sunday: (Rest)

Weight Loss Fads I Do Not Follow

One thing I have learned about people while on my weight loss journey, as a Personal Trainer, and as a blogger who not only writes, but loves to read other blogs is: a lot of people are looking for a "quick fix" when it comes to losing weight. They go crazy over a new product that has become available as it promises to deliver a miracle, they can do something for only 5 days and drop 10 pounds, etc. When I was younger, I fell victim to a few of these, but I quickly learned that nearly everything is a gimmick.

If you want to lose a significant amount of weight and live a happy, healthy life, you need to fall in love with clean eating and regular exercise. Executing those two things are what guarantees a life of being fit. I will add this disclaimer that every persons body is different; what works for one person, may not work for someone else. You may love doing some of the "fads" that I don't; that is fine too! My writings, research, and opinions are not the only way to do things. "Different strokes for different folks".

1) Juicing

I like this idea if you do this naturally to get in more fruits and/or vegetables. If you have a juicer at home and you put fresh produce in there, make your own, and have it WITH a meal, I think juicing is fine. I would not use it in place of eating vegetables and fruits though. Juicing as weight loss, meal replacements, and/or to "cleanse" you, I do not believe is a good idea. Juicing all of your fruits and vegetables takes away a lot of nutrients; the skin is where an abundance of those are found. Furthermore, a diet of only "juicing" slows down your metabolism. Your body needs proper fuel to burn fat and provide energy. Juicing lacks significant amounts of protein, fat, carbohydrates, and fiber. Juicing alone cannot provide all of those nutrients. When a person starts significantly depriving themselves of those, the body shuts down to prevent itself from going into "starvation mode". The body begins burning muscle and storing fat. Then once your juice cleanse is over and you are back to eating regular, solid food, your body has a slower time digesting it and using it as expendable energy. Juicing is expensive from what I have found and can add a ton of unnecessary sugar. Your body has a colon and kidney's that "cleanse" your body, you do not need a "juice" to do that for you. Eat proper foods and exercise - that cleanses. 

2) No Carbs

I hate how carbohydrates have such a bad reputation. When I first started my weight loss journey, I told you guys how I researched and had notebooks full on information that I was finding. I not only wanted to lose weight, I wanted to learn and understand my body. I saw a lot of "low carb" diets and how it was the best way to lose weight. I thought I would try it and I did. I was miserable. How bad my mood was, was just the tip of the iceberg, plus I exercise far too much to deprive my body of essential carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are broken down into three different types: sugar, fiber, and starch. Simple carbohydrates are the delicious yet unhealthy types of carbohydrates to consume - a big base of those are sugar and starch. Complex carbohydrates such as fiber are essential for well-being, digestion, and energy. Carbohydrates provide a thermogenic effect that will increase calorie burning. The carbohydrates standard role is to be our MAIN source of energy and/or "fuel". Carbohydrates are also kind of like the "partner" for protein. This is called "protein sparing". The protein sparing effect conserves protein for muscle tissue, and expends carbohydrates for energy. Carbohydrates protect the protein you consume from being converted to glucose (sugar) to serve as an energy source when glycogen and plasma glucose levels decrease. Depriving your body of essential carbohydrates over a long period of time causes major stress on one's liver. The liver has to manufacture glucose from fats and proteins. Ammonia is produced as proteins are converted into glucose, which can be toxic to the immune system and cell function. Carbohydrates are especially essential to anyone who exercises heavily, athletes, etc. If you are not as active, high(er) carbohydrate intake is not necessary, but you still need to consume them. Consumption just needs to be the right items. See below for a list of complex carbohydrates.  

3) Fully relying on squats

I have always had big legs and a big butt; even when I was a child. Part of it is definitely genetics and part of it was growing up taking gymnastics and dancing. I hated my big legs and butt growing up, but now I am different, thankfully! I love my big booty and it is my favorite part on me physically. I love working my legs and glutes to the core. I always plan my leg workouts the day before my rest day from the gym. Most days I can't walk after my leg workouts! However, squats are not the be all, end all. I did not start regularly squatting until May of 2013. My butt was built on high incline walks (seriously high inclines are the best), heavy leg press, hip thrusts (definitely do these, they are more glute focused than squats), walking lunges, leg extension, leg curls, and and plyometric workouts. Squatting is an awesome exercise and I love to do it (specifically back squats), but it will not make you nor will it break you. That is kind of like buying a sports car, but it only coming with an engine. The engine is very important, but you need other parts of the car to make it run. Same with glutes and legs.

   

4) Cardio only - no weight training

This makes me give the "side eye" more than anything. "Lifting makes you big and bulky! I only want to do cardio!". People want to "tone up", what do you think toning up is? It is muscle!



First off my arms are hands down the worst part of my body. Guys I hate my arms - I want to love every part of me, but my arms? No way. They are slowly... so slowly... getting smaller, but I think they make me look so much bigger than what I am. They did not start improving until I started adding muscle. Lifting heavier and 3 times a week is what is helping shape my arms and make them smaller. Clean eating is the root of course, but when I really dedicated myself to lifting weights, that is when I started to see a difference. Woman do not naturally have nearly the testosterone that men do. Therefore, we will not get "huge" by lifting weights like they can. Sure if you artificially inject testosterone into your body, women can get huge, but not by clean eating and weight lifting. Adding muscle mass to your body burns more calories when you are at rest. Cardio is great, you burn fat and calories while you are engaging in your activity, but once you stop, it's over. However that is not the case with weight lifting. Your body continues to burn calories even after you finish. Muscle is metabolically active tissue. Growing older leads to your bones decreasing in density and becoming more brittle - especially in women. By doing regular strength training, research has proven that you can both increase your bone density and work to prevent osteoporosis. Weight training enhances performance in cardiovascular activity. How awesome is that? Add muscle to your body by weight lifting, which burns calories at rest, and assists in burning extra calories while you do your cardio workouts. You are stronger therefore can go harder and longer which melts fat away from your body. No matter how old I get or what type of fitness activities I get into, I will always be in the gym lifting my weights!

[Update] I received a few personal emails and comments from women who want to lift weights but are aren't sure how to start, what to do, they're intimidated, scared, etc. I will write a post about how I started weight lifting with tips, ideas, and advice for you guys! I will have that up within the next 2 weeks.