I Pick Things Up and Put Them Down...

Yea, as in Planet Fitness.  Since I started working out, that is the gym I have gone to 1.) because they are cheap, 2.) because it was the least intimidating gym when you haven't stepped on a treadmill in years.  I know lots of people have their opinions about a gym like that - it's a joke, not serious, a place to go for free pizza and tootsie rolls, the weights don't go up high enough - I know, I've heard them all.  But in all honesty, for the past year and a half, they have had everything that I needed to get me where I wanted to be.  They have plenty of cardio machines, dumbbells, weight machines, cables - most of the basics you'd find at any gym.  I would recommend them to anyone who is on a budget and wants access to this equipment, or someone who might not feel comfortable walking into one of the bigger "fancier" gyms.  

So, then why, you ask, would I go in there yesterday to inquire about cancelling my membership?  Well, the same reason I like it there is the reason I felt the need to leave - my comfort level there is just a little...shall we say, TOO comfortable?  I walk in and don't even need to sign in anymore because almost the entire staff knows my member number by heart.  I know all the regulars and they know me (if not by name, at least by face), and the equipment has become familiar and easy to maneuver...aaaannnddd therein lies the problem.  I've made little progress in the last few months because my routine has become soooo...routine.  I noticed a while back that I was literally just going through the motions.  And while increasing the weights, reps, intensity, etc. were obviously the first things I thought of, I found that my heart just wasn't in it anymore.  I needed variety to be challenged.  There's only so many times you can do the same leg press machine before you get bored.  

I truly believe this saying that "If it isn't challenging you, it isn't changing you."  This goes for anything, not just fitness.  My whole life, I have always had a nasty habit of staying right smack dab in the middle of my comfort zone - school, career, friends, and now my workouts.  I think it's something a lot of people struggle with and don't even realize it.  Many people will never know what they are truly capable of because they are afraid to push the limits.  WELL...I WANT TO KNOW WHAT I'M CAPABLE OF.  I'm pretty dang sure it's more than what I've been doing.  Yes, at one point my, now, regular routine was certainly a challenge for me, but the whole idea is to continue to grow and evolve, and that just hasn't been happening for me.  So instead of sitting around and wallowing about hitting a wall, I decided to do something about it.  So I went and signed up for the new LA Fitness that just opened across the street (sorry my Planet Fitness buddies, I know that's kind of a slap in the face!) - a much bigger gym with more machines, weights, classes (which I've never taken before and am super nervous about - but I'm doin' it!), and variety to challenge me.    

While I know some of you are saying "Big deal, you switched gyms, why are you blogging about this???", on a certain level, it IS a big deal.  It represents my realization that to continue to grow, we must do things that are sometimes outside of our comfort zone, and that's not an easy thing to do for most people - regardless of how trivial it may seem to someone else.  But the important thing is that we acknowledge it, so that we can move past whatever it is that is standing in the way of reaching our full potential.  I think that AMAZING things can happen when we strive for this.  

My point, here, is that if there is something in your life that you have been putting off doing, fitness/nutrition-related or not, just because you're either scared or don't want to put in the extra effort, realize that it's only going to hold you back from so much of what life has to offer.  My boss, Kat (who is an extremely smart lady, but has STILL yet to read my blog, so maybe this will get her! he he he) has always told me "You could be so much better than just mediocre - you just have to learn to get out of your own damn way!"  

Whether it is just getting up the guts to walk into the gym, or going for that big promotion that you never thought you could get, get out of your own damn way, and tell that little voice in your head that's keeping you in your comfort zone to shut the hell up!  :)

"You will either step forward into growth, or you will step back into safety."  -Abraham Maslow

5 Must-Haves To Get The Body You Want No Matter Who You Are!

Did you ever notice that the more you learn about something, the more aware you become of just how much you actually don't know about it?  Take fitness and nutrition, for example.  Over the past year, I have learned so much more than I ever knew, and yet the more I learn, the more I realize how in-depth these topics can get.  It's truly mind-boggling.

There are a few things, however, that no matter what stage you are at in your journey - whether you are a rookie starting a new diet/exercise program, a seasoned fitness enthusiast or somewhere in between - that are just basic principles that will help you to reach your goals.  Easy to understand, but also easy to forget about, once you start trying to cram all that other, more complex information into your brain.  So these are a few things that you NEED in order to get where you want to be:

1. A Positive Attitude - It sounds corny, but you would be surprised how far this will get you in life.  Ever notice how draining it is to be around someone who's a Negative Nancy ALL THE TIME???  You can accomplish so much more if you channel your energy into having a more positive outlook.  If you start a task expecting to fail, chances are: you're going to.  But if you go into it with an open mind and the ability to see the brighter side of things, you're increasing your chances for success, exponentially.  This will also ensure that, should you experience a setback (notice I didn't say failure!), you can get right back on track and keep going!  

2. A Good Support System - I have been fortunate enough to have this right from the start.  Once they realized that this was something that was important to me, my hubby, family, and friends have been there for everything from moral support, to offering baby-sitting services so I can get to the gym, to stock-piling green tea just for me (thanks Dad!). I do understand what it's like, however, to have people in your life who form sort of an "anti-support" system - the nay-sayers who seem to secretly (or not so secretly!) want you to fail and always turn their nose up at your healthy lifestyle choices.  It is hard to get past this - especially if these are people that are important to you - but it can be done.  This just means you will have to actively seek out positive, like-minded people to be your personal cheerleaders. Whether it be through the internet (as I've mentioned before Facebook and MyFitnessPal are great resources for this) or someone you know from the gym, look for people who have similar goals so that you can support & motivate eachother.  Once you do this and continue pushing through to reach your goals you may even notice a funny thing happens: those nay-sayers will sometimes have a change of heart and become your biggest supporters!

3. Knowledge - With all of the information available to us through TV and the web, this can actually be harder to obtain than you would think! There are tons of myths and misconceptions floating around when it comes to weight loss, muscle-building and general nutrition/fitness, and it can be a full-time job trying to filter through it all to get to the truth.  But if you make a real effort to become knowledgeable about what you are trying to achieve and how to go about it, it will make all the difference!  The best and most relate-able example I can think of is abs.  If you are like I was a year ago and go by infomercials or what celebrity personal trainers tell TMZ, you believe you either have to pay 42 payments of $19.95 (plus shipping/handling!) or do 10,000 crunches a day to get flat abs.  Do a little more research though, and you'll actually find that those washboard abs everyone's after are more likely to pop up with a few tweaks to your diet than from killing yourself doing every belly busting fad workout imaginable. Yep, the truth is that no matter how much you build up your abdominal muscles, you won't see any of that hard work if there is still a layer of bodyfat covering it.  Having this information enabled me to change my approach and saved me from hours of very frustrating and fruitless labor.  They weren't kidding when they said knowledge is power!  :)

4. Hydration - So, if you are a human being residing on the planet Earth, chances are, at some point in your life you've been lectured on proper hydration.  I have too.  It wasn't until recently, though that I finally listened - and I mean, very recently. Even with my exercise and diet in check, my downfall has always been not getting enough water - mostly out of forgetfulness, or sometimes just laziness.  I would have 1 or 2 cups of green tea and call it a day.  I didn't realize just how detrimental this was until I unknowingly fixed the problem.  I was suffering from symptoms of chronic dehydration without even realizing that there was such a thing.  To me, dehydration meant that you got a dry mouth and a headache, and if it was bad enough you would die.  Well clearly, I wasn't dead, so I thought nothing of it.  What I didn't realize is that if your organs, muscles, brain, etc. aren't getting enough water, you can also suffer from symptoms such as fatigue, anxiety/depression, forgetfulness, inability to concentrate, water retention, achy joints, weight gain, excessive hunger and cravings for sugar and carbs - all of which can obviously have negative affects on your health and fitness goals, as well as other aspects of your life.  It wasn't until I got my mental clarity back from correcting this that I put it all together.  There are tons of opinions out there about how much water is the proper amount, but here are a couple of resources to check out if you suspect you are in need of a little more H20, too! 
 ---> BeWellWithMichelle: Stressed and depressed or dehydrated?
 --->  MattyFusaro: How Much Water Should I Drink A Day?
 --->  Human Water Requirement Calculator

5. Realistic Expectations - When I say this, I mean it more in terms of time frame than actual goals.  Too often, we place limitations on ourselves because we think that if we set our sights too high, we're only setting ourselves up for disappointment.  So, yes, while it may be true that not everyone has the genetics to look like a Victoria Secret model or Arnold Schwarzenegger, I would be hesitant to say don't shoot for it if that's what you truly want.  I have seen people make amazing transformations with a little hard work and determination!  What you should be aware of, though, is that these transformations don't happen overnight - at least the long-term kinds.  Be sure to set up a realistic time frame that you hope to achieve your goals in.  While this may be frustrating sometimes (because obviously, who wouldn't want to wake up tomorrow morning with their ideal body???) it is imperative that you realize that it will take time.  Setting up some short-term goals is always helpful because it will give you a sense of pride in what you've accomplished on the way to that long-term goal.  If your goal, for example, is to lose 50 lbs., set short-term goals at 5 lb. increments, so you can have a little congratulatory party for yourself when you meet them!  And don't beat yourself up if you do experience a setback - because REALISTICALLY, no one is going to be 100% perfect 100% of the time.

Hopefully, this has shed some light on some of the most key elements to helping you meet your goals, whatever they may be.  They are things that have been instrumental in me reaching mine and will continue to be so as I change and strive for new things.  So obviously, I would love to hear if this has helped you in any way, because that's the purpose of this blog, of course, but if I am being completely honest, I am also writing this for myself.  Because let's face it - sometimes life gets hard and everyone needs a little reminder that all you need to do is go back to the basics! 

Clean Brownie Recipe

So, I didn't mention the REAL name of this recipe, because if I had said "Black Bean Brownies" in the title, chances are you might not be here right now, am I right? Haha, sneaky, sneaky!  Well now that I've got you here, I only ask that you keep an open mind because this is one of my FAVORITE recipes!!!


I found it on LeanBodyLifestyle's YouTube channel and I'm completely hooked on it.  It's pretty easy, has lots of fiber (I don't think I have to go into detail on why that's so great!), and if you're a clean-eating chocolate addict like I am, you'll love them!  I make them all the time and everyone who I tell this to gives me that same "OMG she's finally cracked" look, but I PROMISE YOU WILL NOT TASTE THE BEANS!  The only complaints I have gotten are 1.)the aftertaste of the Stevia (you could substitute with real sugar if it bothers you that much, but keep in mind, that would make it considerably "dirtier" - ha ha) and 2.) this is a direct quote - "They are too chocolatey."  That last one was from my sister though, who has always been pro-vanilla, so in my mind that makes her opinion null and void. :)


Sooooo, on that note, you might be wondering how exactly I'm going to turn THIS:

into THESE:

Welllll...here goes!  Here is a list of the ingredients that I use - if you clicked on the link for Michael from Lean Body Lifestyle's recipe above, you'll notice they are just slightly different, because of course I had to play around with it and put my own twist on it - although the original one from the video is amazing too, as are all of his recipes!!!

INGREDIENTS: 

1 (15 oz.) can Low Sodium Black Beans

1/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 cup Stevia

6 Tbsp unsweetened baking cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1 scoop chocolate protein powder (not in the original recipe, but if you just had a good workout, your muscles will thank you!)  ;)

Vanilla extract (your preference - I usually do a couple of teaspoons or so!)

2 egg whites (the original uses 1/2 cup liquid egg whites from a carton - I find that the texture is a little lighter with real egg whites)

About 5-6 oz (give or take) water

Cooking spray 

DIRECTIONS: 

1. In a bowl, add all dry ingredients together.

2. Be sure to rinse the beans well.  Blend the water and beans in blender/food processor.  

3. Add the wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.  Slowly add more water if needed - it should have sort of a thick pancake batter consistency - thinner than the batch in the video above, but they'll still be perfect, I promise!  

4. Spray brownie pan and pour.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. I find that 22 min is just about perfect in my oven, but yours may vary, so keep an eye on them - they will be a little dry if they bake too long!  :)

Now for the icing! I will admit, I actually haven't tried the protein icing in the video, although it does look delicious.  But I added protein into the brownie itself and I have a couple of different SUPER EASY icing options you could try out if you're with me on the Walden Farms calorie free bandwagon. :)

Option A: Fluffanutter Icing

If you LOVE LOVE LOVE peanut butter, like I do, you'll probably want to go with this one.  You could do it one of two ways:

Equal Parts Natural Peanut Butter + Walden Farms Marshmallow Dip

                                              OR

Equal Parts PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter (mixed with water to your desired consistency) + Walden Farms Marshmallow Dip

Microwave for a few seconds to soften, mix together and ICE!

Option B: Low Fat Cream Cheese Icing

Equal Parts Reduced Fat Cream Cheese + (You guessed it!) WF Marshmallow Dip

Same directions as above!

*** I can't give exact measurements for the icing because I usually (especially if I'm using the PB2 recipe because you can't mix that in advance) ice each brownie with a small serving when I am ready to eat them, instead of icing the whole pan all at once!  Mix the amount you would like at your discretion! 

Nutrition Info:

Brownies (without icing): *NOTE: Traditionally, you would cut a pan of brownies into 16 squares, but taking into consideration my love for chocolate, I just don't see the point in having that small of a serving - ha ha - so I cut them into "Brownie Bars" (meaning 8 larger brownies).  So the info below is if you are going to have 8 brownie bars - if you prefer regular size brownies, just cut everything in half!  :)

Calories/Brownie Bar: 90

Protein: 9 grams

Fats: 1 gram

Carbohydrates: 17 grams

Fiber: 6 grams

*** Also, one last helpful hint that I learned the hard way - if this were a batch of regular brownies, I would simply cover them and store them on the counter (out of the reach of the dog, of course, since, even though he can barely see, he still always knows when there is something yummy up there!), but because of the beans, I HIGHLY recommend refrigerating whatever you don't plan on eating right away or you WILL end up with a mouthful of rotten beans!!!  Not fun!!!  :)

Hope you enjoyed this recipe and are brave enough to try it out because it will be totally worth it!  Comment below and let me know if you liked it!

Also, since my blog is still new and I'm still trying to figure out exactly where I'm going with it, if you have any suggestions on recipes or topics you would like to see to make it more interesting and fun, I would greatly appreciate any feedback you might have!  Thanx!

~Sara  :)

Work For It

"All I did was wear this cool Ab Sculpting belt and eat healthy and work out 5 days a week."  Oh, is that all?


Right now, it's 3:43 in the morning and I had to get up out of bed to write this because I was laughing so hard.  I woke up to the usual infomercials that were clearly meant to target people in a half-awake, gullible stupor who will buy anything if you tell them it will give them abs!  Buy this belt and you'll have a six pack...oh yea, and I'm sure the fact that the person ate healthy and worked hard for it, had absolutely nothing to do with it.  But it got me thinking...


Why are we so quick to buy into these products that give us "quick, easy" results? Haven't we learned by now that nothing worth having comes for free?  And nothing that promises to work overnight, with no hard work on your part is going to stick, even if it gives you temporary results.


Something I've noticed over the past year is that when you lose a dramatic amount of weight, people tend to want to know how you did it.  I get comments on a daily basis about my weight loss - some are encouraging and meant to be taken as compliments, others not so much.  The one thing they all have in common, though, is that they are followed by "What have you been doing?"  When I first started getting asked this question, I would say "I eat healthy and I work out."   Apparently this is not the correct answer, though, because you get some very strange looks when you tell people this.  At first I was confused, thinking maybe this was just too blunt and would then fumble around in an attempt to make the story sound more interesting and theatrical.  Sometimes I would take it personally and spend the rest of the conversation trying to figure out what I had said wrong.  Did they think I was being sarcastic or snide?  Or perhaps lying?  



Then it hit me.  It simply wasn't the answer they were hoping for.  They wanted that quick, easy fix so that they, too could jump on the magic weight loss bandwagon.  And my answer was neither quick, nor easy.  It's not magic.  It's science.  It's dedication.  It's consistency.  


Calories in, calories out.  You can't expect to eat 5,000 calories in fast food a day and cross your fingers that your body will just "forget" because you did a half hour of cardio that day, or because you took some magic fat burner that claims it's going to make you look like a fitness model!  And you can't expect to go to the gym 3 times a year and see results, either!


It sounds harsh, I know, but somebody had to say it.  But the truth is that, from where I stand, if I had the choice to use some magic product to get quick, easy results or to work hard for the body that I want...knowing what I know now, I think I would choose the latter.  Because the feeling of knowing that you worked hard for something and stayed dedicated to a goal is even better than the aesthetic results of that goal.  Whatever your goal is, when you reach it, of course it's a great feeling!  But when you can say that you got there because you and only you put the effort into it, it's even better.


I think most people do know this, because I'm sure at some point in your life, you've felt that feeling of pride when you worked hard for something and really earned it. I'm not inventing the concept, here.  We are just so quick to forget, and sometimes we focus on the wrong things - the results.  I have a folder on my computer of motivational pictures that I've saved over time and I look over them when I'm having a bad day.  This one always helps when I'm starting to feel like I'm fixated on the end results, instead of enjoying the process it takes to get there:

Sometimes all it takes is a little change you make in your life.  And then another.  And another.  And then it snowballs into a whole new way of life and you start feeling better and better everyday.  I just told a friend recently, that if you had told me 5 years ago that I would be so into living a healthy lifestyle, I would've told you that you needed to be committed, because you're out of your damn mind.  I never thought I would make such a big change in my life - I'm not sure I even thought that I wanted to make that change.  Until I did.  And it feels pretty amazing.  

So, if you are someone who is thinking about making a change to your diet or exercise routine, as I said earlier, you will have to learn the facts, do the work and understand that real results will not come overnight.  It's a lifelong journey and you will have to learn to appreciate the process.  It won't be easy, and you might even have those days where you just want to give up, but what I can promise you, is that it will be TOTALLY worth it in the end to know that you worked your ass off for it.  :)