Healthy Tips for Travel

Traveling can be tough. We all have to do it periodically whether for business, vacations, road trips, or last minute emergencies. So how can we still prioritize our health when on the road?

The simple answer is: Don't compromise on your long-term health and nutritional values

That's probably a little TOO simple, so I thought I would share few more details.

Here are my top 3 tips:

1. Pack Snacks

Packing snacks has saved me from compromising choices many times! I. GET. HANGRY. Anyone else? No? Just me.....well if you're anything like me, when the hanger strikes then anything goes lol. So I always bring snacks and it changes from trip to trip but it generally includes things like:

• Beef jerky
• Crackers 
• Nuts/Seeds/Trailmix 
• Clean Snack Bars
• Dark Chocolate
• Shakeology

For this specific trip I had some fun things in the house and if you missed my live video you can check it out below: 

p.s. the Brami beans were no bueno :(

2. Know your non-negotiables

For me, my non negotiables are dairy and gluten. I will, however, relax on sugar when traveling which allows me some more freedom when I eat out! When you know for certain what you won't compromise on, it actually gives you freedom (and less stress) when eating out! For example - I usually stick to a meat and vegetable dish and will occasionally splurge on something fun like a gluten-free bun or gluten-free dessert! When going out to eat choosing a protein and vegetable is usually a great choice.

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Bison Burger with butter carrots and a gluten-free bun! The lemonade was hand squeezed and I'm sure full of sugar - but that was a treat!

My 2 days away:

Tuesday (on the road in the afternoon):

Dinner: Texas Roadhouse: 6oz steak +vegetables side + some of the crispy potato skin from the baked potato (+snacks in the car)

Wenesday:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with some fresh chopped salsa from the hotel continental breakfast + coffee with some dairy free creamer.

S: Starbucks tall mocha with coconut milk no whip

S: snacks in the car ( see video)

Lunch/Dinner: We stopped at Ted's and I had the above bison burger with a gluten free bun, butter carrots, and hand squeezed lemonade :)

3. Relax and have a good time - 2 days away won't kill you!

If your vacation is only a few days try to relax and not stress out about the details. If you are consistent in your day to day life at home then a few days will not ruin that. As long as it doesn't break your non-negotiable then enjoy yourself! If you are vacationing somewhere for more like a week, do try to plan ahead, utilize the hotel room refrigerator, google restaurants and menus in advance, and make sure to have those healthy snacks on hand!

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Experimenting with Essential Oils

Well butter my biscuit and call me a goose - if essential oils are not #alltherage right now! I'll admit...I was slow to hop on the increasingly popular bandwagon. Being in the health and wellness field however I am always looking for natural, drugless ways to boost my immune system, take care of my body and generally stay healthy. Plus I'm connected to SO many friends that sell essential oils and I kept hearing very positive things about  them.

As a Christian, I also believe that God has provided everything we need and so much can be found in nature - food, medicine, supplements, etc....so the concept wasn't really that shocking to me but....do they work? I was a slow convert. I went to a class and found it fascinating, so tried an oil blend for my husband to help with his pain when his back was hurting so much. We thought it might have helped but his pain was so severe and we didn't have any definitive evidence yet....

Then I found some cleaner lotions that said they have essential oils in them and thought I would try those- not really sure they did anything either except smell delicious. And then somehow one day I decided to order Young Living Thieves. If you live anywhere except under a rock I'm sure by now you have at least heard that name.

As the story goes, a few men were thieves in the time of the black plague and because they carried around these spices, Cloves, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus and Rosemary the legend states that they did not die from the black plague because of how powerful those spices/oils were. ( don't quote me on the spice details).

Fast forward to the 21st century and here I am at the end of 2016 with a super sick kiddo who seemingly cannot get well!  I am telling you - diffusing Thieves kept me from getting sick for the past 3 months!!! Not only has keegan gotten sick, tons of people around me have gotten sick but I diffuse thieves in my room every night and so far so good (knock on wood!).  Now I try to put it on Keegan's feet when he starts getting the sniffles and I want to get another diffuser for him as well so he can regularly diffuse it in his room - he's the one exposed to all those germs at school after all!

Also on a side note, I add 1 drop of peppermint (Doterra brand right now) to my Shakeology and it's like a million times better than peppermint extract - let me TELL YOU! #thinmintcookie 

I just made some DIY recipes and will keep you posted on how they turn out, why I made them, and if I like them :) 

Stay tuned friends!

p.s. what are your favorite uses for EO? do you have any DIY blends you love? Share below!

p.p.s. I do not sell EO but if you are interested in trying some for yourself I can direct you to several awesome women who do! :)

My Favorite Things

Christmas is in SIX DAYS!!!!! Wow!

Some of you are 100% prepared and already have things wrapped, some of you are freaking out because you have nothing, and most of the rest of us are somewhere in the middle.

I wanted to share a few of my favorite products with you in case you need some inspiration. I realize that a few of these cannot be shipped in time, but if one really sticks out to you you can always present a homemade gift card for that item. Let's begin!

1. Dr. Bronner's Lip Balm - my girlfriend introduced me to this very recently and you can find it at Whole Foods. It's an organic lip balm that feels AMAZING on your lips. Soft with a peppermint zip that's just right!

2.  Dirty Mouth Toothpaste. Yup - I brush my teeth with dirt and I love it! This product is clay, baking powder and peppermint oil. Give it a try and you might never go back to your regular toothpaste! You can find it at www.primallifeorganics.com

3. Beauty Counter shampoo & conditioner. Many companies are now being conscientious about the chemicals they put (or more specifically DON'T put) in beauty products. YAY! Beauty counter follows very high standards and you can know that you are getting a quality product that still works. Recently I have been enjoying their shampoo & conditioner - it smells like grapefruit mmmm :) www.beautycounter.com - or I can hook you up with a consultant to purchase through.

4. Slippers - because what woman doesn't love walking around the house in warm cozy fluffy things! I don't have a particular brand or site for you to go through because I've worn many and loved many. Just make sure they are they right size, good quality, and are squishy on the inside. Another perk is if they have outdoor soles so you don't have to feel bad wearing them outdoors too!

5. Primal Pit Paste. I truly cannot rave about this product enough. I'm slowly getting my whole family to use this and everyone who I have seen try it loves it. I searched and searched for aluminum free deodorant that was effective AND didn't make me stink (like a lot of the grocery store "healthy" brands did) and I finally found Primal Pit Paste! Mainly baking powder, coconut oil and essential oils for fragrance, this deodorant smells good, makes YOU smell good, and keeps you dry too. WITHOUT any of the aluminum or chemicals found in antiperspirants. www.primalpitpaste.com My personal favorite is "Jacked up Jasmine."

6. Essential oils. Specifically, Thieves from Young Living. I have to tell you that I really think it's kept me from getting sick several times over the past few months! I've been diffusing it in my room at night. Plus it smells delicious. www.youngliving.com (Let me know if you need a consultant!)
You can also grab this diffuser from Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008RODQFM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

7. And finally, skincare. The past few years I've been trying to get cleaner and cleaner with my beauty products and skincare made me nervous. I didn't want to go all hippie with my skincare and stop the anti-aging skincare I was using unless it worked! I found Primal Life Organics skincare and I do like it. My favorite cleansing and moisturizing package so far is also the most affordable - the bare face package. If you are looking for anti-aging you will want to also include one of their face serums as well. It can get a little pricey depending on what you choose, but you only use a few drops at a time so keep that in mind. With zero chemicals, no water in their products, and high quality oils you are definitely paying for real skin food! www.primallifeorganics.com

That's it! Let me know if you have any questions!

Why I started drinking coffee again....and why I gave it up in the first place

Hello friends!

I hope you're enjoying the beginnings of a wonderful August! :) If you have followed me for a long time now you may have noticed that I gave up coffee (or at least caffeinated coffee) for a long time - almost a year, and now here I am posting about drinking regular coffee again- every day!

To answer why I started drinking it again I actually have to answer the question why I STOPPED drinking it in the first place! Last year when I was struggling with anxiety, insomnia, hormone imbalance and lot of health issues I took caffeine completely out of my diet because it can exacerbate all those issues. On a normal day and in a healthy person, black coffee has many noted benefits! At that time and how I was feeling caffeine was not the best choice and and so I eliminated it completely.

Since then (with many thanks to daily supplements, hormone treatment, daily Beachbody workouts and support from friends and family) I have improved day after day throughout the past year until finally, I feel pretty normal and actually - GREAT!

pretty excited about all the new options!

The past few months I brought caffeine back in slowly by drinking decaf when I wanted to, and half-caff when I felt like it. Recently, we decided to get a new coffee maker and go away from the Keurig we had because frankly, I was tired of the coffee in the k-cups. It's low quality and I didn't enjoy it much. Since we have switched to the Ninja Coffee Bar, we have been using coffee beans and coffee grounds to make regular coffee and I have loved it. Thankfully I have felt NO adverse side-effects from the daily dose of caffeine (no heart palpitations, anxiety or other!) and in fact, have really enjoyed my morning treat and look forward to it!

The Ninja makes HUGE cups of joe!

I'm also enjoying our new adventure of finding our favorite brand of coffee, our favorite creamer and our favorite at home specialty brew..... it's like our daily quest to find what we like the most. Today I tried a delicious homemade mocha and that was quite lovely. I'm experimenting with homemade coconut milk creamers and like what I've tried so far!

Do you have any paleo/dairy-free coffee recipes that you love?! I'd love to hear them!!!

Final thoughts on meal panning, competition prep and experience!

WHEW!!!! Participating in the Beachbody Classic was an AMAZING experience. I am so torn as to whether I will do it again next year or not. Part of me feels like "wow! I've caught the bug - I've done it once, I can do it again - next year lets go for top 10 or even winner!". The other part of me says "You will have your team with you next year and it will be way more fun to eat, and hang out with them than to be cranky and carb deprived for the first half of the trip!" haha

True. So true. If I do it again I think I will change my strategy....this year, if you read my last post about the meal prep experience you'll know that I chose to follow the 21 day fix extreme meal plan and then switch over the countdown to competition meal plan. This was a beachbody competition and I wanted to follow their meal plan to see how it went. To me it was a big experiment! Unfortunately, once I lowered my calorie bracket, doubled up my workouts, and switched to countdown to competition (where you carb and fat cycle....) my body went into self preservation mode and I plataued big time! I stopped losing weight and i couldn't really budge. My theory is that I needed more fat in my diet than was allowed in the meal plan. I also don't think I was eating enough calories for the amount of exercise was was doing!

super tan!!!

Long story short, I still felt great about the effort I put in. Hitting the top 20 was a SHOCK and I was so proud of myself. And honestly just thrilled to have my hard work recognized and rewarded in that way!

The week of the competition was TOUGH - super tough. I did start to tweak the competition plan the week before because I KNEW I wasn't getting enough fat. So occasionally I'd add some into my day. I also started using some juices as greens. The last 3 days I did sort of a combo of 3 day refresh+C2C + my fitness pal app to track everything. It ended up being a pretty good strategy because it was lots of liquids to avoid bloating, fruit, and some meat. We pre-packed a bunch of things to be able to take to the hotel with us!

My OVERALL view of the meal plan for anyone who wants to know:

The REGULAR meal plan ( not countdown to competition) is relatively good. I actually don't think it should be used permanently because the fat levels are way too low, and it's difficult to find enough variety when following the recipes provided. BUT this can be an amazing tool for someone who struggles with knowing how much to eat in a day, correct portion sizes, is very overweight and/or needs an idea of how many veggies/fruits/ meat servings to get into their day. For those things it can be very helpful and provide great guidelines!

For someone who eats paleo, doesn't struggle with weight and already has a sense of portion sizes it ends up feeling restrictive after more than about 1-2 weeks. One thing I did like was how many greens it told me to eat. Something I need to prioritize more going forward for sure!!!

I'm REALLY glad I did this - it was as much mental as it was physical and I am really happy to have pushed through. I'm also glad because now I can talk to my challengers about meal planning since I've been through it myself!

My goals now:

NOW I am happily back to my paleo eating ways :) I (and my body) am thrilled to be eating a lot more fat on a daily basis, and I will have to say my mood has gotten increasingly more positive the past few days as a side effect :)

Also, my husband and I will be going through a strength program together this month. Just because the competition is over doesn't mean I don't want to continue pushing hard! I don't think my competition body is as far as I can go - I still want to build muscle and progress even further!

Competition DAY!!!!!

A HUGE HUGE thank you to everyone who posted supportive comments! I TRULY appreciated al the kind words and encouragement. It meant a lot - particularly for those of you who said watching my journey was inspirational was a great encouragement to me because that's the whole reason I do what I do!!! Thanks for letting me share this journey with you and for being super awesome friends :) xoxo

21 Day Fix Extreme Meal Planning Experience

Meal Planning.....Woah boy did I NOT want to do this. My whole food philosophy is based on not counting calories, not doing portion control and measurements....just eat real food. Well, I have to admit, while that ABSOLUTELY works for everyday energy, health, happiness, and weight management it's not quite enough structure to shred down for a physique competition.

I went back and forth for awhile trying to decide how I wanted to prep for the Beachbody Classic - should I do Whole 30? Should I do Whole 30 with the 21 day fix containers? Should I stick with my regular meals and just be more careful about desserts, second helpings and eliminating any remaining processed ingredients? Finally, I decided to go with the 21day fix extreme meal planning because 1) it's structured 2) It allows me to be a  better coach for those in my challenges who already meal plan - now I have experienced it too! 3) 21 day fix extreme comes with a SPECIFIC additional meal plan for competition prep. BOOM. Gonna do that and trust the process.

So my plan (based on a recommendation from my friend who has competed before me) was to start 21 day fix extreme 28 days prior to the competition, and start the countdown to competition meal plan 21 days prior (you should not do this meal plan longer than that because of the restrictions!). I also decided to begin the REGULAR extreme meal plan that additional week ahead of time to kind of get in the groove of how it works and be familiar with the foods and concepts.

The First Week

Week 1 I was in the 1800-2000 calorie bracket of the "regular" extreme meal plan which came to 5 green containers, 5 red (protein) containers, 3 purple (fruit) 4 yellow ( carb) 1 orange (seeds/dressings) 1 blue (nuts/fats) and 5 tsp (oils/nut butters).

The first week went REALLY well. I went from 119lb to 116lb and felt like I had TONS of food. In fact, I couldn't finish my containers some days! Now to be fair, I did start this while on my period (sorry TMI!) but I may have had more water weight than normal contributing to the fast weight loss.

Positives of the first week: The food tasted great, I lost weight pretty much every day, and I did NOT feel deprived! In fact, I think that it helped me up my carbs, fruits and greens which was great for me!

Cons of the first week: Getting used to meal prep is hard. The first few days it took some serious time to figure out what I wanted to eat and how it fit in the plan. It's also relatively restrictive if you want to be hard core about it because you only have so many recipes to choose from! I will say I caught on pretty quickly and the planning became easier. I have only done the planning a day or two at a time because my husband was doing it with me, so we would organize it between the two of us to utilize leftovers and empty the fridge before moving on!

The Second Week 

(the FIRST week of countdown to competition plan)

The way Countdown to Competition works is a carb cycling pattern. For 2 days you cut fat and fruit completely out and limit your carbs to almost nothing. You focus mostly on getting your greens and upping your protein containers to compensate for depleting everything else. Then you go one day back on the regular plan. So it's 2 days high protein low carb, no fat, and 1 day of higher carb, fruit, and some fat.

I will admit - this week was VERY frustrating. I didn't lose ANY weight and I had been very excited to try countdown to competition to shred it all out! haha I fluctuated up and down .5lbs the whole week and I was SUPER strict. I even dropped down a calorie bracket towards the end of the week to see if that helped, it didn't really. Mentally this was very frustrating. Where normally I would be so happy with me strength progress and totally fine with my body and how I feel and look, this week was a battle because prepping for a competition is stressful! You feel the pressure - even if it's only from yourself.

One tip I figured out for myself in regards to prepping for the high protein days is to make 2-3 types of meat and 2-3 types of greens so you have a stockpile in the fridge and you can mix and match. This way it's available, and it's not, you know, chicken and broccoli every meal 8 times a day haha!

Positives of the second week: Well....honestly I was super stressed and cranky, so it was tough. But learning how to push through is always a positive - facing challenges and showing yourself you can do it is always good!

I tried Greek Yogurt (I'm normally dairy free) and seemed to tolerate it really well! I've since had it 2 more times and it looks like I can add it back into my diet if I want to. YAY!

Cons: Cranky, no weight loss, less variety in the foods!

Start of week 3

I have an amazing husband who helps me remember my goals, and helps me pause to see my progress. I am on day 3 of week three and I have officially bumped down a bracket and I'm mostly within the 1400-1800 calorie range now.  As I type this and I have made a few changes - overall I think it's helping me see progress and less emotional and mental frustration. 

Basically, I cheat a little. This whole plan (even the regular) is super low fat which I don't really agree with - at least not to the extent that this plan goes. It's VERY little fat and I'm used to having a LOT more in my regular diet. I don't think twice about eating avocados, grabbing a spoonful of sunbutter, or cooking with my olive or coconut oil. All of those are really restricted and I think it started to take it's tole on me physically and mentally. SO I added some fat back in when I feel like it on days where I'm not supposed to. For example, on a no fat day I made a "Cereal" out of flax seed, chopped nuts, a little almond milk and stevia. I still measured things out and didn't go overboard, but it was technically "off-plan". 

I have also shaken it up with my greens. These have been difficult for me to find variety because when you are paying attention to oils and you normally roast your veggies in oil this makes it tricky! I've had lots of steamed broccoli and green beans! :) The past week was REALLY busy and stressful ( I was studying for my NASM personal trainer certification - and I passed!), so I made some compromises and got some store-bought green juices to count for my greens on the go. I have tried to choose mostly green ones but sometimes they have a fruit in them also. Oh well. This is real life guys and no one got fat or ruined their progress from drinking a green juice that also happened to have an apple. I also made a fresh juice for myself the other day which was nice - I miss them! I used kale, lemon, carrots, and ginger for that one. MMMMM

I've also upped my workouts. While I've been pushing the whole time, I wanted to push even harder so I've doubled up my workouts to do back to back 21 day fix Extreme followed by 21 day fix.  I've enjoyed that! 

Positives of week 3: Towards the end of week 2 into week 3 I finally budged on the scale again (yay!). A little more flexibility in my mentality has been great. I would rather feel healthy and mentally strong than deplete myself and weigh a few pounds less.

Cons: This week isn't over yet, but yesterday and today I've been really hungry! This may be because I've upped my workouts, but yesterday I woke up early and blew through tons of my meal plan by noon! Paying attention to the containers is tricky. 

More to come! :)

My Personal Beachbody Performance Line Review

Helllloooooo there!


     I have wondered on and off about using Beachbody Performance Line to supplement my workouts and push me to a higher level of fitness, but I just didn't want to invest in it yet. But then I won a sample pack for working my business (Beachbody is super awesome like that - free stuff woohoo!) so I saved it for Hell Week (back to back workouts for a bonus week in 22 minute hard corps) because I figured if ever I would need the boost it would be using that week! So here is my personal experience and review! ( I also split them up among different days so I could notice how they work alone!)

Day 1 - May 10, 2016 - Day 2 of Hell Week

Today I tried Hydrate. I was pretty excited about it because the concept of replenishing our bodies while we sweat is attractive right? That's why Gatorade and other sports drinks (packed with sugar and chemicals) are so popular! So I was looking forward to trying something that's more natural.

My Experience: Today's workout was Resistance 1 and Resistance 3 so there were a lot of pushups, pull-ups, and weighted moves! Since I only had one packet, I used it in one shakeology cup and then had some extra water in another. I saved my hydrate for workout 2 :D

Cons: If you are super strict about sugar, it does have dextrose which is derived from a natural source like corn, but it is a processed ingredient.

Pros: Tasted great, made hydrating a lot more fun, has some really great nutrients in it!

Would I use it again? Yes! I can't tell you after using it only one day how effective or how big of a difference it would make over time, but I would be willing to try it out!

Day 2- May 11, 2016 - Day 3 of Hell Week

Today I tried Energize. I was a little worried because I have been low caffeine to no caffeine since last August due to some health reasons. Energize has 100mg of caffeine from green tea so I wasn't sure how I would respond to it, but with two cardio workouts coming up I figured today was the day to try it if ever!

My Experience: I drank it relatively quickly and shortly before I started my workout. My workout was cardio 1, cardio 3, and core 2 today back to back, so it was about an hour.

Cons: None

Pros: 100% natural, clean ingredients, 15 calories, tastes refreshing like lemonade. NO JITTERS. I didn't notice any heart palpitations or anything weird from the caffeine. Of course my heart started racing with the cardio, but I didn't feel anything abnormal. I was wondering how much it worked since I DIDN'T feel those things, but I can say that it's been 30 minutes or so since the crazy workouts and I still feel energized and mentally alert. No crash or weird side effects.

Would I use it again?: YES! I definitely think this would be a great tool to have on hand because some mornings are super rough for me to get going. I think personally I would save it for those days and not make it a daily supplement. 

Day 3, June 1, 2016 Dirty 30 Extreme

Whew! Well there was obviously a break in there - I got really sick after I finished Hell week :( I had a cold for a few weeks! I decided to try Recover now because getting back into my workouts I was really sore and thought it might help!

My experience: I drank recover after Dirty 30 from 21 day fix extreme and decided it would be a good day to try it because I was super sore and felt like my workout pushed me hard that day.

Cons: I didn't like the flavor (chocolate), and it has whey protein (dairy!).

Would I use it again?: I skipped the Pros section on this one because, unfortunately, I would not use this again. I was fully expecting to like this and unfortunately I didn't. I have heard really great things about how it helps your muscles recover and for me it just did not seem to help at all. In fact, I seemed to wake up even more sore the next day! :( I didn't like the flavor, and the compromise with the whey protein for me wouldn't make it worth another attempt. I really really wish I liked this but to be honest, my regular BCAA powder seems to help more!

Day 4, June something ( I think?) haha

I really took my time trying this one! But I heard amazing things about it and had high hopes!!

My Experience: I REALLY REALLY wanted to like this one! I was hoping it would really help me sleep and/or with my muscle soreness, but unfortunately it seemed t actually keep me AWAKE!!! This could COMPLETELY be a fluke and since I only took it once I can't tell you unfortunately :(

Cons: I didn't like the flavor and it's whey based again.

Would I use it again?: Unfortunately no.

In Summary

One of the things that really impresses me with Beachbody is the effort they put into making all their products top of the line and CLEAN. I unfortunately can't do whey, but that doesn't mean that some of these products wouldn't be more effective for YOU! My overall opinion is that these are safe and made with quality ingredients. If you choose to use a performance line, Beachboy's is top of the line! I also can't tell you with 100% certainty that some of these don't work simply because I only had them once- recover for example, may be something that you see more benefit from after using it multiple days in a row!

For me personally, I really enjoyed the hydrate and energize and have since purchased the tubs to use more frequently!!  I hope this has answered some questions for you :)

If you are interested in trying out a sample pack or purchasing a tub let me know, OR go to my website www.thetinydiva.com! 

How we handled a Vacation/Birthday/Anniversary in one week!

And we're off!!!! Leaving for our vacay :)

Day 1:

B: Leftover chipotle from the night before - ate it in the car on the way to the airport!

S: orange during our layoverS:Beef Jerky (grass-fed) (we had packed snacks!

L: On the airplane - salad with chicken (no dressing)

S: Shakeology when we got settled in (just water and shaken in my cup!)

S: The hotel brought us a tiny bag of kettle corn so we had some of thatD: beef jerky

Activities:

Today we got up, had a two flights with a short layover, and then got to our destination in Austin TX. We worked out shortly after we settled in, and did a PIYO workout in our room. It was a little tight, but we made it work and it get so good to get moving after sitting all day! We followed that up with some swimming in the infinity pool!!We also took the extra time we had tonight to stop by the local grocery store and pick up some extras for the week. There is lots of food here we can eat (which is VERY exciting) but it's also a bit pricey, so we will do a combination throughout the week :)

Day 2:

B: Power bowl (sweet potato, kale, hard boiled egg, poppyseed dressing is what I can remember) + Green juice (Calories: 240salad + 160juice)
S: shakeology with almond milk (we have a fridge in our room yay!) (calories: 170 + almond milk apron40)
L:Salad (calories 240)S: Thunderbird bar a few nuts and fruit (calories: bar 150, nuts aprox 50 fruit 135)
D: gf bread they offered us with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and 1/2 a chicken with polenta and kale (calories in dinner 550, bread aprox 210, oil aprox 50)dessert: a few bites of a gf chocolate/date/nut pie (aprox 150)

Somewhere in there I think I had a few candied pecans too. 
Calorie Total: 2,118 (aprox) Almost everything we had had a calorie count on it which is super unusual for me so I figured I would add it up and see where we landed! (It was actually a bit less because I shared my dinner with Patrick and that was the number on the menu for the total!)

Activities:

Activities:

We had such a great day today! We went on a hike in the morning (whew man did I sweat) and then we went to an archery class, did couples yoga and we even tried aqua pilates :) It was pretty hard at some points! I liked it :) We also got in lost of relaxation time and we were able to be outside a lot. The weather here is super nice and it feels great to sit out on the deck!

Day 3:

Another Day full of adventures!
B: green juiceS: thunderbird barL: 2 eggs, 3 turkey sausage, a pesto-like spread with vegetable and sweet potato hash. And like 2 bites of Patrick's gf bread with jelly!
S: shakeology
D: (vegetarian actually!) a polenta soup kind of like a corn chowder but it was something I could eat because they made it with coconut milk + vegetables over quinoa and pesto +some gf bread with olive oil and a bite of Patrick's steak.
Dessert: a few bites of the chocolate date cake. (Also vegetarian, gf and no refined sugars!)

Activities:

 Today's schedule was PACKED! We woke up and got started with another hike, took a short break where we incorporated our push-ups and plank challenges (yes we did!) and we were able to tour the farm where Travaasa gets a lot of their fresh food! 100% of the food from the farm goes to the restaurant. (Not 100% of the restaurant food comes from the farm, but it is all locally sourced!). Then we moved on to hatchet throwing. That was really fun! We didn't have any fitness classes scheduled so we went to our room and got some PIYO in! Later in the afternoon we tried some geocaching and we wrapped it all up with some guided meditation before dinner. That was an interesting experience!

Hatchet Throwing, farm tour and geocaching!

Day 4 - My Birthday! 

For a much more entertaining version of today check out my youtube video here: Birthday Meals :)

B: kits organic barL: polenta (corn) french toast with a cranberry compote and maple syrup + a fizzy birthday drink
S: Shakeology
S: trail mix
D: Mexican! Corn chips and salsa + chicken tacos on corn tortillas with the rice and bean sides...
Dessert: 2 pieces of a dark chocolate bar we brought :)

Activities: 

Today was much more relaxed. Yesterday was crazy busy, today we had a workout class early in the morning, then we chilled out until after lunch when we had and "Equine Adventure" where we were basically taught how to be horse whisperers (it was pretty cool) :) and then we had meditation in the evening.  Patrick somehow got flowers sent to my room and they were beautiful!! Funny story - we went to a fancy place for dinner, ordered an appetizer, I wasn't feeling the food there, so we hopped across the street to a Mexican place and had some tacos! lol What a fun day :)

Day 5 - Our Anniversary!!

B: eggs, sweet potato hash, turkey sausage and 1/2 gf toast
S: shakeology
S: kits organic bar
S: small amount of trail mix 
D: Salad, steak and side of like a crisp potato thing. Fruity drink for our anniversary :) 

Activities:

Today we got to try a BOSU ball workout which was really neat! Our big afternoon adventure was paddle boarding. I was so bummed we didn't get good pictures out on the water because our phones died from over heating lol! But it was a beautiful day. Turned out to be a great workout too because on the way out we were paddling against the wind. When we got to some coves we could chill for a bit and and get in the water. Then on the way back the wind just blew us right in. It was so cool!

Day 6:

B: shakeology
L: burger with gf bread and fries
D: vegetable noodles with tomatoes and a little feta and sunflower seeds + half piece gf bread with oil + corn soup and chia seed pudding

Activities:

Today I took it slower in the morning and slept in. Patrick got up and made it to a stretch class right away and then followed it up with a 1 mile hill run! I went to a barre class mid morning which was really neat. Kind of like pilates mixed with ballet standing up! While I was there I met a fellow Beachbody coach! I was super excited to talk to her and she was really nice and outgoing. She has worked for BB for 13 years so she knows the ropes! :)While I was at the Barre class Patrick was doing some mountain biking so after that we enjoyed some lunch and then I had a kettle bell class which was ALSO really cool. Today's workouts were challenging! I love to try new things and use different equipment. It was great! We rushed back to our room to shower before heading to our facials at the spa. I've never had a facial before and it was pretty nice! After dinner we took a walk - there is a really pretty drive up and down from the resort so we walked that loop which is about a mile and pretty steep!

New friends, good food, time together, and beautiful scenery!

Day 7:

B: shakeology+ lära bar
L: salad
S: 1/2 bumble bee bar, lära bar later
D: Patrick and I order two meals and split them so steak with mashed potatoes and veggies and a mushroom gf risotto thing yum. We also had a piece of gf bread with oil and a piece of gf bread with pesto sauce (that was amazing). We ordered a dessert but I literally had a bite.

Activities:

We wrapped up our week today!!! Wow has it been fun. My flowers are still blooming so we are going to leave them with the awesome staff here (aren't they pretty?!). Today was filled with fun things - we went on a great hike while geocaching, hung out with some cool people, and did some balance work while we tried to do slacklining! That was different and challenging.


I think the best way to describe Travaasa is adult summer camp. Lots of activities, friendly people, fun environment and good food. We would definitely recommend it as a great getaway! (Just ask me before you go and I'll give you the skinny on what to pack lol! We learned while we were here!)I think after a week as amazing as this place was, I'm ready to go home! I love my bed ( although we are seriously trying to figure out how to buy the pillows here lol!) and love my house. 

It will be good to be home and get back to work! It was actually really great being here as I study for my personal training certification because I got to experience a lot of different classes and workout styles. I was soaking it all in so I can be a better trainer and coach for YOU! :) <3

 

7 Plateau Busters!

Let's face it, no one likes a plateau whether it's weight loss, gaining muscle, building endurance etc...but we have ALL faced it at one point right? So what can we do about it? Well I'm going to tell you. Here are my 7 plateau busters - just for you!

 1) BE HONEST
Are you really eating as clean as you should be? Is your diet solely comprised of meats, healthy fats, whole food carbs ( not processed carbs), veggies and fruits? Or are you still having those late night pizza snacks, dinner out with coworkers so it must be ok to order mac-n-cheese days? (we've all been there).

If you are still eating processed foods then start by eliminating whatever processed foods are left! I mean it - no pasta, no pizza, no bread sides. Your body HOLDS ONTO those things like a leech! (See my previous post Getting real about food - what you need to know!)

2) CONSIDER DAIRY

If you are eating all whole foods, (and if you're not, go back to point #1 please) the next culprit may be dairy. There are a lot of hidden sugars and carbs in dairy and some people just don't do well with it. For me personally, I have found I have to eliminate it. I'm hoping to bring it back in slowly at some point, but so far it seems I do better without it! This is a tough one for a lot of people. We like our CHEESE! (I know.... I miss it too). For healthy individuals I would recommend a 2 week dairy elimination diet. During the 2 weeks, notice how your body responds or doesn't respond. If you bust through your plateau you have your answer. If not, add dairy back in after 2 weeks and again see how your body responds. A good article about what types of dairy are best is here.


If your diet is spot on, and you know dairy is not your issue, I honestly have to tell you to experiment with the following options because everyones body is different and what may be the reason one person plateaus may not be the same for another!

3) TOO MANY OR TOO FEW CARBS.

Take a look at your daily intake. Track the grams if you need to get a better idea (I don't usually recommend tracking calories or grams but in the case of trying to get a baseline sometimes it can be helpful!).  A good place for a woman to be is about 100g carbs (through sweet potatoes, potatoes, plantains, veggies, fruits etc.... NOT grains, wheat, flour, breads etc.....) per day. If you are way above or way below that, try to make some adjustments and see what happens. (Give yourself some time with the change to notice any differences. Listen to your body and be your own advocate!)

2) EATING TOO MUCH OR EATING NOT ENOUGH.

Just like eating too much can be a problem, eating not enough can stall your weight loss too! Very often when we focus on "reaching a goal" we feel like restriction is key. Weight loss CAN'T be easy right? So we limit our calories, and say "no" to that extra serving at dinner even though we are hungry. Restricting your body if it's legitimately hungry puts it into starvation mode where it will store fat to protect itself! Yo-yo-ing between eating too much and eating too little can also throw your body out of whack, so make sure to find that equilibrium. Listen to your body and eat when you're hungry- stop when you're full. A good rule of thumb is to stop eating when you are still able to take a light jog.

 Make sure to listen to your body and eat the appropriate foods when you're hungry. Also know that this has to be consistent over a long period of time. If you do this over two days you may not see results right away. Your body has to know it’s safe and then it will respond.


3) YOU'RE EATING TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE FAT.

I highly doubt with the preponderance of fat-fearers in our society that you are eating too MUCH fat, so you are most likely not eating enough. Believe it or not, you can eat up to 30-50 grams of fat a day.  Again to clarify, this is healthy fats like grass-fed butter, coconut oil, olive oil, avocados, nuts etc...

If you are totally sold on the eat fat bandwagon there is a slight possibility you might be eating too much. These foods, while extremely beneficial, are also super high calorie, and while I normally don't encourage counting calories, if you are just binging on fat foods while also consuming a normal diet everywhere else you might be going a little overboard. Like I said, I highly doubt that's you if you are reading this, most people fall into the "don't eat enough fat" category!



4) YOU'RE WORKING OUT TOO HARD OR NOT ENOUGH.

If you are working out super hard, and this is a new thing for you, your body can be in shock! High intensity interval training (HIIT workouts) are some of the most effective workouts out there because they cram a lot of effective moves into a short period of time while raising your heart rate up and using a circuit pattern. If you go from nothing, to THAT, then your body will react accordingly. Like I mentioned with how much you eat, your body (especially women’s bodies) are self-protecting MACHINES!!!!! If they sense danger they go into survival mode. If your workouts are REALLY intense, your body may just be in workout shock. Don’t worry, as long as you are healthy in every other area you will be fine and this will go away. Make sure to to stretch, take your rest days, eat the right foods and hydrate. Take note if you get overly fatigued after a workout to the point where you don’t recover all day, or if working out brings on a headache that won’t go away. That may be a sign to cool it down a little and give yourself a break.

On the flip side, if you aren’t really getting sweaty and getting out of breath, you may not be pushing yourself hard enough in your workouts to spur a change! If you have been working out for awhile or haven't changed your routine recently you may need to shake things up! We have to constantly change it up if we want results. Consider starting a new workout program, upping your weights, or pushing harder if this sounds like you. If you need some recommendations contact me here.

5. STRESS AND SLEEP. 

Are you getting enough sleep? Is it quality sleep? Do you feel rested the next day? If not, it may be time to prioritize getting to bed earlier (an hour before midnight is worth 2 after, so try to go to bed earlier rather than sleeping in later). Stress and sleep usually go hand in hand and if either are out of balance your body goes into - you guessed it! Protection mode. Schedule that nap, get to bed a little earlier, and cut out electronics during your bedtime ritual if you aren’t getting good sleep already!

6. PRIORITIZE BUILDING MUSCLE.

This goes a little bit into #4, but the more muscle you have on your body, the more calories you burn at rest, which means the higher your metabolism is while doing NOTHING! So during your workouts really prioritize using weights that challenge you, go deeper into those squats (only with perfect form!) and push for that extra rep. Make sure you do as many as you can with  perfect form. Stop and take a break when your form suffers to avoid injury!

7. RELAX! Everyone hit’s a plataue here and there. Be willing to experiment with your body, your food intake, your workouts, etc (welcome to my every day life!) haha. This is a normal part of everyone’s health journey. If you are focusing on the right things and remain consistent you WILL see results over time. Remember, this is a longterm lifestyle which means it doesn’t happen overnight.

Everyone gets frustrated and disappointed at times - but if your lifestyle has really changed and the foods you put into your body nourish it, then you will achieve the results you want - just be patient and keep pushing!!!

Behind the Smile

 Hi all!

I hope you had an amazing Memorial Day weekend!!! My life is awesome. It really is. And every smile you see on Facebook is real. BUT there is a lot of down time that you don't see at home. A lot of frustrations, a lot of well....fatigue!

If you haven't seen my previous post about Adrenal Fatigue look here...Long story short, stress, travel, getting sick, messed up sleep patterns all affect me way more than a normal person like...my husband who is always energetic :) I have been feeling GREAT and strong and wonderful the past few months until I got a cold the past (TWO) weeks and it really knocked me on my rear. At the tail end of my cold was a weekend trip - which i LOVE, but travel stresses me out because it always wears me out.

This is something I really hate because, like I was telling my husband yesterday, it makes me feel so much older than I am. I feel like many of my interactions with people are through a fog because my eyes are puffy, I'm super sleepy, and I just feel....yuck. And THEN it takes me forever to recover - meaning lots of sleep, sleeping in, hydrating and possibly naps for a few days at least.

Oh how I long for the day when I can be a carefree jet setter and have energy to spare! Thankfully, the supplements and regimen I'm on have really helped overall (until the cold knocked me out). But my husband made a great point the other day that I need to look for other things to help me when I travel so I don't get so out of whack. Consider me on it. 

Also, because I had been feeling so great recently I think I slacked off on being careful. I listen to a lot of podcasts, read books, and generally try to continue my education on adrenal fatigue so I know how to handle it and one thing I remember hearing was that if you are prone to it it's genetic and just because you have worked through recovery doesn't mean you are good to go. You basically have to know you are prone to it and be aware of how much stress you are putting on yourself through life, events, travel, working out etc....right before I got sick I completed hell week with 22 Minute Hard Corps which I m SUPER proud about, but I think that may have been what wore my body out enough to be so knocked down by a silly cold.

Within all this crazy stuff - I have SO many blessings! I'm SUPER thankful for my understanding husband who doesn't just say "get yourself together" but is supportive and tells me to relax when I need to. My "job" working as a coach through beachbody - means that I can work hard and relax hard :), the ability to workout every day (and at home on my own schedule)- AWESOME. The ability to eat healthy and make my own foods to support my system the best I can - love it. I'm super duper lucky, and I totally know it! I am very very thankful for everything in my life, but I know someone out there might just see my social media presence and think that I'm super perky and super energetic every day and maybe that's not how YOU are feeling. Maybe you are tired and struggling with something like adrenal fatigue too.

So if you are THAT person, I'm here to encourage you and support you and share my story with you! God has a plan for your life and HE can use us regardless of how we feel if we let Him :)

Fun Memorial day Trip!!

How I feel way too often ;-)

How i WANT to feel MORE often! haha

Celebrating Memorial Day

It's Memorial Day weekend!!!!!! Most people have the day off work Monday and celebrate with family get togethers and ...foooood! 😀 so what are some things you can do to stay on track?

1) Never miss a Monday.

Make sure you still get your workout in! Just because it's a holiday doesn't mean you take a holiday on your health! (Unless you've rescheduled your rest day which is also a great option!!) You don't have to sweat it out for an hour and a half at the gym - get a solid 20-30 minute workout in before your celebrations. If you need a program, I'm happy to recommend some!

2) Choose the best foods.

Thankfully with warm weather there are often healthy choices like burgers or hotdogs (skip the buns!) lots of fruit salads (go for fresh (not covered in pudding or creams) and grilled veggies! Choose from what's available, and be willing to say no to foods outside of your goals.

3) Prepare. 

If you are the one hosting, woohoo! You can choose to make all healthy foods. I never compromise my own standards when I have guests. What I eat is delicious and there is no reason for me to buy or make anything I wouldn't normally eat myself.

If you are GOING to someone's house and know there might not be many choices for you, or perhaps dinner is covered but you are tempted with the treats you know will be there, make your own! No one ever complains if you make an extra dessert to share. This way you know there is a treat you can eat without the guilt!

My Favorite no-one-knows-they're-healthy- Brownies!

4) Enjoy yourself. 

This shouldn't be a stressful process. The goal (overall) is to get AWAY from negative feelings towards food and a restrictive-starve-binge-guilt cycle!!!! The last thing I want is for you to transfer those feelings to your healthy choices. Know what your goals are - know what your limits are. Then be prepared to follow them. If you are someone who allows yourself a treat once a week then plan around this being your treat! If you are someone who is more strict, bring some of your own options. If you aren't sure but want to feel prepared, keep a snack bar (I like LARA) in your purse...the goal is to plan. It doesn't have to be stressful, just know what your goals are are go from there!

And just for fun, I've compiled a delicious sample menu for you to use:

Pineapple Kebobs

Garlic Bacon Burgers

Fruit Salad

Veggie Avocado Salad

Red White and Blue Tart

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER

Finally....If you overdo it on Memorial Day - don't worry about it :) If you have a good workout program going and you are eating healthy the rest of the time, one day won't throw you off track! 

XOXO

Getting real about FOOD - what you need to know.

Hi there! I have so many people ask me about food and what to eat.  People from all walks of life, with different goals and different concerns....so I though I would share with YOU my hottest tips.


So....are you ready for the big secret? It's HUGE!! Are you sure you are ready? ok ok .... here it goes....

I essentially give the same advice to every single person. Whaaaaaaat?

But Kylene! Everyone is different! Everyone has different health needs and goals! That's true. But they should all basically be eating the same. There is a little wiggle room and some shades of the same plan based on health needs, goals, and allergies, but overall the concept is the same for everyone, and here it is:

Avoid Processed Food - Eat Real Food!

And that's it. My work here is done....

.....

.......

Ok - alright - I'll go into some more detail because I love you guys and want you to get you off on the best foot. :) If you haven't already seen my Healthy Steps posts, check them out here for some background info and here for specific pantry swaps!

What to avoid:

1) Breads/wheat/gluten - There is a huge contingency of cranky people that get all upset when you tell them not to eat gluten/bread. "oh well...it's been disproven." or, "oh, that's only for celiacs" etc etc... But it's not, and if they would try it for themselves (seriously what is there to lose? except maybe some belly fat, depression, acne, hormone problems, fatigue, brain fog...you get the picture....) they could find out exactly how it affects THEM since it's different for everyone. Check out a fantastic article here and here that discuss the OTHER proteins in wheat flour, and how gluten (and the other ingredients) can affect people  - even those without celiac disease.

2) Dairy. This is a hotly debated topic even within the super crunchy, paleo, hard core community. No one seems to agree on it EXCEPT that if you choose to have dairy, make sure it's the highest quality (raw fermented etc....) 

My personal advice for healthy people is to cut it out for two weeks then bring it back in and see how you do with it. Some people are fine, others not so much. If you have something like PCOS, a blood sugar imbalance or other medical issues then this is probably one to eliminate semi-permanently.

For information on dairy and which types may be the best to try, read more here.

What to Eat:

1) Vegetables and lots of them! Filling your body with nutrients is THE most valuable thing you can do and getting those nutrients from whole foods sources is the best!

A few ways to get your veggies in:

-Try for a veggie at every meal

- Make 1/2 your dinner plate a vegetable

-Blend them in a smoothie

- Get Shakeology here  - did you know that it's the equivalent of 5 salads?! And has NO chemicals, but is FILLED with 70+nutrients from whole foods? In addition to all that it has probiotics, prebiotics, and digestive enzymes to keep your belly happy!

Drink your Shakeology!

2) Protein and lots of it! Eat as much grass-fed/cage free/wild caught meat and fish as you want! For some detailed recommendations based on individual goals see this awesome article! 

A few protein choices:

-Free Range Eggs

-Grass-fed beef/bison

- Wild Caught Salmon

-Free Range chicken

- Shakeology (sorry but it's true! I drink it every day, and it has 16grams and tastes like a milkshake!)

-ALOHA protein shakes or bars

3) Healthy Fats. This is BY FAR the point I have the hardest time convincing people of. Eating healthy fat helps you LOSE fat! Your body is a survivalist - if you deprive it of what it needs, it holds on to what it has. Eating healthy fats allows you to burn fat in your workouts! Additional benefits to eating fat are: feeling satiated longer, feeding your brain, and cushioning your joints and muscles.

Ways to get good fat:

-Avocados

-Coconut Oil

-EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

-Nuts/seeds/nut butters

-Grass-fed butter/ghee

For more info on fats look here.

Read this article about becoming a fat burner instead of a sugar burner!

4) Carbs - but only the right kind! Sweet potatoes, plantains, fruits, and veggies are all great sources of carbs!!! In a typical "american diet" our bodies RUN on sugar and carbs. We need to get out of that cycle and run on protein and fat. Skip carbs that are breads/wheat/flour/noodles/pastries/ chips etc.... (aka. skip the processed carbs!) 

5) Fruit. We normally like to prioritize this because it tastes so good and it's a healthy food we LIKE. But really fruit is optional when it comes to consuming it daily and that's especially true when we are talking about high sugar fruits! Low sugar fruits like berries are much better to consume on a daily basis but even then you might find yourself utilizing them more and more as a dessert, rather than your healthiest food of the day!

This is not to say you need to limit fruit at ALL if you are a normal, healthy person, you just don't need to PRIORITIZE it all the time. If you have any sort of blood sugar imbalance or insulin resistance however, you will want to be very careful!

Well - that's all folks. It's really that simple, and that "diet" works for almost everyone. Eat real foods, and avoid the fake ones. Eat whole foods, and avoid ones that have been processed or pre-made for you in a facility somewhere. No, of course this is not an exhaustive list at all, but I think it gets you started....if you clicked on any of the links you may have noticed I referenced Mark's Daily Apple a lot. His website has TONS of information and he's way smarter than I am. I get lost reading through his archived of information, but I'm kind of nerd like that :D

For recipes and meal ideas check out these amazing sites:

Against All Grain

Elana's Pantry

The Spunky Coconut

PaleOMG

Disclaimer: I'm not a medical professional or a nutritionist and I don't intend to diagnose, or treat any medical condition or override any of your doctors orders or recommendations. I'm just someone who reads a lot, researches food a lot, and practices what I learn on my own body :)

Mom Love

There are all sorts of moms. Birth moms, moms by adoption, moms by marriage, surrogacy, pet moms (had to throw that in there) ;) It's really cool how God can place a woman I to a child's life (or a child into the woman's life) and create a relationship that is so unique and special-regardless of how it came to be.

I love MY Mom and think she's pretty awesome. Let me tell you why.

1) My Mom is selfless. She could have had a successful career in a time where being a career woman was a lot less common. She chose instead to give up more money and recognition to stay at home and homeschool me and my sisters. I always appreciated that. Her effort and dedication in that area is something I admire. Plus I really liked getting to spend so much time with her. Looking back I can't  imagine it any other way!

2) My Mom is smart. She made sure to educate us on what she believes and why and raised me to critically think through my spiritual beliefs as well. As an adult I really appreciate this because I wasn't raised to believe a script- I was raised to think it through and know that it's ok to listen proactively and agree or disagree with people about spiritual things. In the church this is important and as a woman this is important. So I'm thankful for that foundation.

3) My Mom has my back. Throughout my life I have had girlfriends come and go. Women are just weird sometimes let's be honest. But my Mom has always been there for me. Regardless of the decisions I make whether good or bad. Regardless of what phase of life I'm in or whether we always agree. She makes it known that she loves me no matter what and if I need something she is there.

4) My Mom is my friend. As I have gotten older and made fewer stupid decisions (I think) I have loved relating to my Mom as a friend more and more. We talk about more grown up things. I ask her opinions, we share recipes, we try to hang out, and generally I just enjoy her company and think she's really cool.

5) She's super pretty- I mean- see pictures below. :D

So Happy Mothers Day to the best Mom I could ever imagine having as MY mom. I admire you and love you and basically want to be you. I'm so glad God chose to make us a family.

 

 

 

  

April didn't shower, it poured! :)

Wow I'm always amazed at how time flies when you look back. SO many things have happened this month and it feels so long but at the same time so short! April began with opera at school, followed by ArtsGala, then a performance of Elijah, my nieces 1st birthday, Keegans birthday (this weekend!) and all while I have begun to prep for the beachbody classic!

Opera was a lot of fun - I got to perform the role of Laetitia in WSU's "The Old Maid and the Thief". I'm pretty happy with how I did so if you are interested in hearing my aria you can click here! I have really enjoyed working with my voice teacher this year. As I have worked on my hormones and balancing my health more, my voice has seemed to change and develop as well (yay!). Being able to work on details within a piece is so rewarding!

My super sexy hubby and supportive kiddo at the opera :)

Immediately following opera was ArtsGala - an annual fundraiser and black tie event at WSU. I always enjoy getting to dress up and sing again. This year I was invited to be involved in the room decor and had lots of fun planning, setting up, and seeing it all come together - it looked amazing and that, along with the lovely singing program was a smashing success!

I can't even handle how hilariously awesome this picture is! We posed on the opera set after ArtsGala... and out came the future "Downton Abbey" series lol!

Shortly after these two events were over, WSU was putting on a spectacular performance of Mendelssohn's "Elijah" with Dr. Leung and the Chamber orchestra, all the choirs and a few soloists. I was asked to sing the part of the "Youth" and was so honored to be asked to participate. It was a blast and the whole evening was just fantastic!

On our way to Elijah

Not to be outdone by all the musical splendor that was happening this month, my adorable niece decided to turn 1 and get lots of super cute clothes, books, and a magical chair to sit and look cute in. It's really amazing how much progress children make at that age - every week I see her she has accomplished some new and exciting thing. For example - one week she will be walking just a few steps and fall down - the next she is walking very confidently but can't turn around - then the next time I see here she has it mastered- turns and all!

#ridiculous

This whole month I have been watching what I eat carefully and working towards my goal of the July Beachbody Classic. I'm working out 6 days a week and eating meats, veggies, some fruit, shakeology once a day, BCAAs after my workout, healthy carbs, and healthy fats.

I've already learned a few things. For several weeks I was religiously tracking what I ate using MyFitnessPal app. It was interesting in that it would help me gauge if I was getting enough protein in a day ( I could see how many grams I was eating) and if I had the right balance between protein/carbs/fat. BUT! I was finding that I was plateauing and deciding (conveniently around Evvy's birthday) to relax a little and up my calories. I totally ate her carrot cake birthday cupcake! (don't worry, it was still paleo). What I noticed was I lost weight and so since then I haven't been tracking as carefully. I've been focusing on listening to my body, eating the right foods, (almost no sweets at all) and allowing myself extra when I'm hungry. So far so good and I have bust through my plateau! One thing I do know - I will not get bodybuilder ripped because I don't want to. I don't want to deprive my body of calories, get to the point where I mess with my hormones or energy, and compromise my health. Plus I don't have a coach while I do this so I'm figuring it out on my own! What I do want is to be the strongest, healthiest version of myself by July 28 and I'm well on my way!

Super proud of my 7 month progress!

Keegan is next - his birthday is this weekend and I can't believe the little squirt is going to be 12!!!! How times flies. He isn't really materialistic (yay!) but that makes it hard to find him gifts. He and my Dad I think are the two most difficult people for me to figure out birthday ideas! He just wants to have a sleepover and hang out with his buddies so we are definitely doing that. I will also be making some cupcakes and I think a recipe is a great way to end this update. Below is a picture of the cupcake recipe I'll be using: Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

ENJOY! :)

Beachbody Classic - mental preparation

Well! Many of you know that I decided to participate in the Beachbody Classic this year! I'm nervous and excited! This is a huge step for me - who wouldn't be nervous walking on stage in front of a ton of people in a swim suit while people are LITERALLY judging your body?! haha

What is the Beachbody Classic? It's their version of a physique competition. The basic rules are: first entered get to participate, you must prepare using a beach body program, and you will be judged on personality, body condition and stage presence.

It's more relaxed than say a NPC bikini competition, but at the same time there are some legitimately strong competitors:

I have no goals of winning or placing in the top 20, but what I do want is to push myself, become even stronger and healthier, and not totally embarrass myself on stage in a swim suit.

So here are my goals and some prep:
1) over the next few days I will be counting my calories to get a baseline of what my normal intake is. This will provide me with my maintainable calorie intake. From there over several months I can either up or lower my calories depending on the results.

2) Once opera is over in a few weeks I'll begin focusing hard core on my nutrition. I'm already pretty intense about it but this will be measuring, counting calories, and making sure I'm getting enough fats, proteins, and carbs every day- not really looking forward to this. During April at least I will allow myself some cheats, and some flexibility still. Meal planning will probably become a necessity and this is one thing that will be a hard adjustment for me.

3) I am currently using 22 minute hard corps to prepare and I will see what my fitness level is at the end of this program. I also have 21 day fix extreme and Hammer & Chisel to use as well.

4) Supplementation. I drink shakeology every day, but I've also purchased some BCAAs. I'm training pretty hard and most recovery drinks have chemicals or caffeine in them  so I've had a hard time finding something basic enough to support my muscle recovery without compromising my nutrition as well. BCAA's are just essential amino acids. I am thinking about another protein shake in the afternoon, but I'll have to work that out once I figure out my calories and macros. I want to keep everything as clean and healthy as possible.

5) I do NOT want to get to the point where I hurt my body - either with too much stress, or too much fat loss that it affects my hormones. I'll be monitoring how I feel, making sure I consume enough fat, and I will not deplete my calories past a certain point to protect myself.

6) spray tans and posing LOL! I'll probably experiment with spray tans in May or so just to get a feel for what is appropriate and how it works. This isn't in my regular habits haha. Also posing. I don't want feel like a fish out of water so I will be working on posing in heels, feeling confident, and looking legit!


I am really looking forward to this process! Regardless of how much my body does or doesn't change, I'm already proud of how far I have come in 6 months mentally AND physically - so wherever I end up by July 28th I know I will feel even better!

3 Day Refresh- thoughts and review

I made it!!!! All three days done!!! 

Results: 

Starting weight 117.4 

End weight 114.8

.5-1inch off thighs

Day 1 on the left, Day 3 on the right!

How it works:

3 day refresh is intended to jump start your system by having you drink your protein and fiber, depriving calories, and focusing on vegetables for snacks and dinner. 

Your day looks like this:

Breakfast: shakeology and fruit

Snack: fiber sweep

Lunch: vanilla protein shake, fruit, veggies and fat

Snack: veggies and far

Dinner: vanilla protein shake, dinner with recipe from 3dau refresh book - veggies based

There were also 2 options a day for tea if you wanted throughout the day.

So we're the products GOOD???

Shakeology: If you have followed me at ALL you know I love my shakeology. I look forward to it every day and it's filled with high quality nutrition. Eating this for breakfast was different but I really enjoyed it. It's filling and I felt like I started the day on a positive note!

Vanilla Fresh Protein:

honestly, I am impressed by Beachbody and their quality. This shake was actually really good. Not the BEST but still better than a lot of protein shakes out there in texture and taste. It was even better when I added my fruit allotment (1/2 banana) to it or some cinnamon!

Fiber Sweep:

This was a powder to add to 8oz  of water. It is basically flax and psyllium husk which are whole, healthy ingredients. It also had some lemon flavor. When you open this it basically looks like a scoop of flax seeds and then dissolves. Kind of tastes like VERY mild and pulpy lemonade. In case you are wondering- this is a very natural fiber supplement and so I didn't have any weird reaction (like loose stools) or anything like that. Flax is something I have used regularly so this wasn't necessarily out of the ordinary for my body.

So what did I think of it???:

I personally chose to keep working out during the 3 days and had enough energy to do so. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that however because it makes your calorie deficit even more. You eat around 900-1000 calories each day and that is already several 100 less than usual.

Day 2 and 3 I started having cravings like potatoes and burrito bowls with rice haha. I wanted something hearty and carby. There was some hunger in between meals or sometimes at night after my dinner options were gone. It wasn't terrible hunger- but it was there along with the cravings . Watching my son eat some other food for dinner was hard!

I cheated a tiny bit each day. Day 1- I added some cashews and snap pea crisps to our salad for dinner. And instead of lemon and olive oil I measured out 1 Tbs of our salad dressing. That's why the first day calories are higher I think. Day 2 I had a whole banana (you were allowed 1/2) in the morning with breakfast (I may have done that day 1 as well. Day 3 I had coffee in the afternoon- decaf with coconut milk creamer. 

Measuring my food was weird. This is something I am NOT used to at all! My general opinion is if you are eating whole foods, fruits and veggies there is no need. This was hard!

Obviously, I still had RESULTS! And there were several things I liked about this process.

1) It had me focus more on fresh non-cooked veggies. Getting more in is always good and there was a carrot salad for dinner on day 3 that was really yummy.  I can see using that as a dinner side in the future! I liked the snacks but in everyday life wouldn't limit them as much. For example you were only allowed 1.5tsp almond butter which doesn't go far when pairing it with celery. On the same note, I learned just how far it CAN go haha

2) I liked all the fruit options! Sometimes I ate it separately and sometimes I added it to shakeology or the Vanilla Shake. 

3) It helped me realize that less food CAN satisfy me. When I get hungry I like to eat a lot of food and scarf it down way too fast. For this I had to prepare the day before, measure my food, and be satisfied with what I had. I was surprised how little food actually did make me feel full. Of course I would be hungry later and I'm real life I could then eat more, but it was interesting that the small snacks could satisfy me for a time.

4) I like that it's focused on healthy real food- no chemicals no gimmicks just real food and self control. You have a lot of protein throughout the day and sometimes it's nice to give our belly a break by drinking your healthy meals. Whether that be with shakeology, vanilla fresh, or a green smoothie!

On THAT note- my sensitive tummy had ZERO issues these 3 days! I felt great, my tummy felt good, and the food I got to eat tasted good as well. I love that the goal is to reset your body withOUT starvation and while sill providing you with key nutrients!

I used my Fitbit to log calories and get and idea of how many calories I burned vs how many I ate.

Would I do this again?

I was talking to my husband about this and I actually think doing it in the future one day at a time would be more palatable for me. I don't have a lot of weight to lose and we eat natural, healthy, whole foods daily so it's not that my body needs much of a reset either. BUT I can see using 1 day of this refresh for 24 hours before wearing a swimsuit or  an evening with a fancy formal gown- something where I want to feel tight and slim. 

ALSO- resets are good! Shocking your body with fewer calories for a day is ok! It

Can help you bust through a plateau. The same is true if you are usually VERY strict, upping your calories for a day can do the same thing!

Overall: The program, the products, the ingredients and the results are great! It's a little tricky and you might get cranky by day 3, but it might teach you a lot about healthy snacks, portions, and self control!

If you are interested in trying this you can check it out on my website www.thetinydiva.com  

Or contact me on Facebook! 

#Adulting

Isn't that the truth? So many choices - so many responsibilities - so many life decisions and it's all up to me now? Whaaaaaaat. When did this happen? I have my bachelors degree, got married, divorced, am finishing up my 20's, married again, and have been raising a kid for 3+ years now. You'd think I would be comfortable #adulting by now. I'm totally not.

As soon as I think things are under control something in my life drastically changes and let's me know - no Kylene you are totally 100% NOT in control. Of anything. Let me give you a few examples: 

Personal Life:

 Everything is hunky dory over the summer and then I decide to change a supplement regimen I'm on. I drop it cold turkey, up my workout program and everything is grand for a week. That is, until I completely have a meltdown. And I mean embarrassing, no sleep, crying every day, scared of the world, crippling, one step away from being committed meltdown. That's no fun and has been an ordeal of healing for several months.

Family Life:

Keegan and I have a rocky relationship. One day it's up and we are vacationing together in Hershey PA and having the time of our lives and the next my husband calls us Israel and Palestine. I try to remember that push back is normal and that since he calls me Mom, lives with me every day and is about to enter his teenage years the new found bursts of crying, yelling at me, telling me I'm mean and that I make his life miserable are normal.....but it still stinks. I often feel like a fish out of water and like I'm doing everything completely wrong.

Professional Life:

School - future- career OH MY!!!!! This has been heavy on my mind and heart recently. The first semester of my masters was fine.While I went into it halfheartedly I had mostly daytime classes, the schedule was workable and I got all A's. Then I got my schedule for the second semester and realized it's essentially all evening classes. And to keep my scholarship I can't skip a class this time.... SO I've been really thinking it through - do what I would normally do and take the "responsible", fallback plan of getting my masters while it is free so I have the potential to teach and have some sort of music job if ever wanted or needed in the future (while sacrificing family time); or do something completely out of my comfort zone, drop everything, change my career trajectory and go for my fitness trainer certification and pursue health and fitness coaching???

So. Many. Choices. Despite all of these things, I know that whatever I choose and whatever course I take that God has a plan for me. I have been praying for clarity, and letting God know I want to submit to Him. Unfortunately, He never just pops up in a cloud and tells you the answer. So it's still hard. 

Having a kind, supporting, and encouraging husband as well as my faith that God has a plan for my life keeps me going! I know if I keep plugging along and do so with a positive attitude then He can use me - I'm just not sure how yet! 

One of the things I'm really excited about through all of this is coaching through beachbody. It has really helped me be more consistent in my fitness life and provides a lot of encouragement and support through the challenge groups I'm in and run. I am happy to be finishing out 2015 and soon be going into my 30th year healthier and stronger than ever! This is something that will definitely continue as I search for answers in the other parts of my life!

So here is to letting go of MY control, giving God the control, and looking forward to an even better 2016!!!!

How my life has changed in 6 weeks

I have always wanted to be one of those really organized, productive, scheduled people. You know, the kind that get a lot done, have pre-planned their day and achieve all their goals? I have made efforts in the past and have just not gotten there. Until now, and let me tell you why.

This is going to sound really dumb.... but Beachbody has literally changed my life. A few months ago this girl who I was friends with years ago messaged me on facebook and asked me to be in a challenge group with her. She explained it was where you choose a beachbody workout program and participate in an encouraging online group to stay motivated and accountable to get through the program. If you read my last post you know I had some health issues this year a few months ago - I was wondering if I should commit to something that would fatigue my body more, but I was feeling better and decided to go for it. I chose a program that was 21 days and 30 minutes a day because I figured no matter what my schedule is, I can make that happen.

And I did! And I will be honest, at first I was like "I don't know about this silly group, everyone is posting what they eat every day" cue rolled eyes. But then I realized a few weeks into it that I was getting results. So then I started posting, and I started participating and I made sure I did my workout EVERY SINGLE DAY. And in order to do that I had to start getting organized. I would put Keegan on the bus, workout, shower, and then do homework or go to school. On the weekends sometimes Patrick would workout with me. I became the girl who posted the MOST. I posted sweaty selfies, I posted what I ate, I liked everything everyone else posted, and I tried to be encouraging to the  other girls in the group.

I started looking into online coaching myself because 1) Believe it or not, my goal after getting my opera degree was to get certified as a personal trainer (I know, so not related lol!)  2) I was seeing GREAT results and this was motivating me in a way that gym routines and previous at home efforts had not. 3) It is a fun, pre-existing structure that would make it easier for me to achieve what I already wanted to achieve which is helping other people reach their health and fitness goals. 4) I didn't want to stop this momentum in my own progress!

Since I started coaching I have started having my own challenge groups! AND I LOVE IT. And guess what this has forced me to do guys - it forced me to be even more organized. I have a pretty regular structure to my day now. One of the first things I do is read a book that is motivating and positive. I get emails replied to, my workout done, shower and get ready for the day, and then I go to school or work on homework. By the end of the day I have achieved my goals and I'm ready to hang out with my family and eat dinner. (Usually - sometimes I'm still busy).

This whole thing has helped me become more confident. Physically I feel GREAT. I am excited to be encouraging other people, and I am energized by seeing their hard work. Reading in the morning helps me to prepare my mind for my day so that I start with a positive outlook. These are all things I wanted that are finally coming to light in my life!

If this is something you think you would find helpful in your life then please let me know. I would love to support you through your workouts and celebrate with you as you achieve your goals every day! If you want to scope it out come do this after Thanksgiving workout with me!

Sat Nov 28th
10:30 am
410 E. Social Row Rd
Centerville OH
FREE!

My Real Life

A lot of people comment on my positive attitude and social media presence. A sweet friend told me the other day that my life looks perfect. Another friend expressed concern that my positive attitude may not always be sincere  - or may be forced sometimes.

Well, to an extent it is. You've heard fake it till you make it right? Well I've made a habit of that in my life in regards to positivity. But it's not just a smile on the outside or a bubbly attitude. It sinks deep down into my being. But that is something that has taken years of cultivation and commitment.

So what is my real life behind social media? I am the same person. I think just as positively in my home as I do in public. But there are things I don't share on social media that I go through in private. I have struggled with anxiety for a long time. I often lack of self confidence, and have been through some really trying physical and emotional things.

I think it's time to share a little bit of this because I received an e-mail from a friend of mine recently sharing about some things she has gone through - not knowing that I have gone through THE SAME thing and could talk to her about it.

About two months ago, I had crippling anxiety. I have had anxiety in the past - you know, every day worries, performance anxiety, hyped up energy from my general hyped up personality.....but this was different. I was having this influx of negative thoughts. Scary thoughts that felt as if they were coming from outside of me. I couldn't sleep, and my nervous system was shot. This continued for almost two weeks exactly. During that time, I went to the Dr. twice. I asked for some sleeping pills, hoping that getting some rest might help me cope throughout the day. While those helped a little bit, I was so on edge that not even Ambien would knock me out. Patrick had to take off work several days and literally babysit me because I was so emotionally unstable. I was 1/2  a step away from going to some sort of psych rehab. I'm not even joking, it was that bad. Throughout this time, as scared as I was, I knew there was hope. I knew that if this was happening to me, then God had a plan. I was miserable, I was scared, and I was exhausted. But I knew that it would come to an end at some point. Definitely not as soon as I wanted it to. But it would end.

For the past 3 years or so I have on and off struggled with fatigue. Whenever I would have a busy schedule that normal (healthy) people would be able to handle just fine, I would get exhausted and want to crash. I had been wondering if I had chronic fatigue, I had gotten blood work to check my thyroid, all sorts of things like that. When I would have a more relaxing schedule, I would feel fine. I started hearing about this thing called Adrenal Fatigue. Long story short, your adrenals control your hormones and cortisol levels and when your body is stressed emotionally or physically over a long period of time then adrenals become fatigued and stop regulating them properly. You can read all about it HERE.

When I went to my Dr. about my anxiety she ended up prescribing an anti-depressant. Being a singer, and health nut I really didn't want to take any RX medication long term (it would be a minimum of 6 months) unless it's a last resort. I asked if I could have my hormones tested and she said if I'm having a regular period then it probably isn't worth it. So I sought out a specialist. I chose to go to a place called the Happy Hormone Cottage that specifically works with women.  They did a urine test to see where my hormones and cortisol levels were and met with me about 3 weeks later.

During that time, I was still working through my anxiety, getting better sleep, and prioritizing rest. I was really excited to go in for my results. Turns out, my hormones were very depleted and my cortisol levels were very low - they didn't spike during the day to provide the energy I need in the afternoon! I was given some supplements specifically designed to support your adrenals and cortisol levels, as well as prescribed some bioidentical progesterone to help regulate my hormones again.

I can't tell you what a difference it has made. Not only do I have more energy during the day, I have enough energy to work out every day, and my anxiety levels have dropped to very low. I was so excited this past week that I had enough energy to workout AND go through opera tech and performances!

I know that God has a plan for my life, and maybe this was my sign from Him to really kick my anxiety once and for all. A lot of things certainly don't seem as important now. Maybe it's so I can share my experience with one of you who is going through something similar and needs support? I am always willing to talk to you!

Thinking positively, to me, is crucial. There are so many scary, negative things in this world and in my life. But I know that with God there is always hope. And if there is hope, then there is a reason to keep going.

My husband took my scale...

......and that's ok because it led to an epiphany.

I have struggled with self confidence and body image issues since my early teen years. Thankfully I've brought it under the *mostly* healthy umbrella by focusing on eating the right things and exercising regularly. There will be no skipping meals in my adult life!  I like food waaaay too much. But I also like weighing myself. It's like an addiction for me = *unhealthy*. First thing every morning I get on the scale to see where I am. I use the excuse that it's damage control. Instead of waiting a week I'll know within a day if I need to eat healthier or run harder. 

I have become a slave to numbers. There is a range of what I call my "happy weight". I'm pretty focused on keeping it there. For some reason this summer though I couldn't do it. I was four pounds over my happy weight. Now this shouldn't seem like a big deal right? I still fit in my clothes and no one else can tell. But that NUMBER!

I started taking some supplements this year to help with my fatigue and have struggled with a lot of bloating over the summer and especially about a week ago. It looked like I was 4 months pregnant and it happened twice within the same day after I took my supplements. My husband and I started to make the connection....so I took out the supplements I felt were the culprits and HE took away my SCALE!

Being so into fitness I (mentally) know that scales are dangerous and especially when you lift weights you should distance yourself from the numbers and focus on size and measurements. I've never been able to do this. Until, of course, I had no choice and Patrick took away my ability to depend on the number!

A few things have happened this week:

1) I'm getting better sleep. Whether this was due to eliminating the supplements, the extra workouts I've been doing this month or my efforts that began a few weeks ago to force myself to go to sleep sooner, the results have just kicked in this week and I have more energy, I'm falling asleep sooner and I'm naturally waking up earlier.

2) I'm tuning in to how I feel. Since I can't look at a number in the morning, I wake up and feel skinny. I used to wake up, feel skinny, and then feel bad after I weighed myself.

3) Paying attention to strength. I have been working hard to lift more weights and I am physically seeing the difference. I'm lifting MORE! I'm slowly getting more comfortable with depending on how my clothes fit and how I feel instead of a number on the scale.

4) I'm more conscientious about eating because I'm bored versus eating because I'm hungry. Since I can't depend on a daily check in to do emergency damage control ( which usually made me miserable anyway) I have to be more aware of what I'm eating and why. In a healthy way. If I'm legitimately hungry there is no way I'm not eating something. If I'm just bored I might reconsider :)

5) I had a life epiphany. So last night i was watching an old movie and it starts with a crooner singing a lovely ballad. I thought about how while his voice might technically have the ability to be better it still evoked such a happy feeling listening to it. I then realized its BECAUSE of the uniqueness that it does that. He sang in HIS voice and it was beautiful. I was happy to listen to it just as it was.

Then it made me think about my voice and I realized that I have been comparing my voice to others, and that is just ridiculous. There are tons of "perfect" and mature opera singers that I will never compare to. Trying to sound like them will only cripple me emotionally and vocally. I realized I've gotten into a nasty habit of never feeling perfect enough. Vocally OR physically! I usually have a positive attitude but these are really negative thoughts!

I had to tell Patrick my new realizations. While it sounds very obvious and almost silly that I'm just now embracing this, for some reason it had new meaning last night. I am unique and need to accept myself. In regards to my body as long as I am being healthy and exercising then I need to be able to be happy and CONFIDENT in how I look. In regards to my voice I realized that as long as I'm relaxed, singing in a healthy manner and enjoying it, I need to stop focusing I how it SOUNDS. Because 1) it always sounds weird to the singer and 2) if I'm doing all those things then there isn't much I can do to change the sound anyway. It's just MY sound and that's that. If someone doesn't like it there isn't much I can do so I should stop worrying about it. There is a greater chance that people WILL like it when I'm relaxed and not overthinking things. 

So thanks honey, for taking my scale away. I never knew it would make me even MORE brilliant!