Well hello there gym rats and health nut enthusiasts! So sorry for neglecting you guys the past few weeks...my life has been SO crazy I have had no time to blog. But I'm back :) I've recently moved into a new apartment, gotten back into the gym after facing that horrible mono, and have been busy getting ready for my next semester at school. Like I said, life has been hectic!
I got back into the gym about a week and a half ago, and I feel great. I think actually getting back into the gym and into my old routine after being sick has helped me feel better, quicker.
My diet and training is stricter than ever, as I am just 10 weeks out from my first show!! I can't explain how excited and nervous I am to get up on that stage. I'm so proud of myself for sticking with things for so long and can't wait to see the changes in my body over the course of the next 10 weeks. It's definitely been a whirlwind of a journey.
My diet has changed significantly ...I'm focusing on losing about 1 pound a week, and so far, so good. I've cut my carb intake to about 75 grams a day (this will change the closer I get to competing), and am really watching my sodium to stay away from being bloated and holding water weight. I'm eating really lean, lots of eggs, turkey, chicken and fish. My diet has been pretty bland, but I'm definitely noticing changes and couldn't be more thrilled!

Here are my current stats...I'm weighing in at 128.5 and am at 20.5% body fat. By competition time I would like to be at 120 and around 18% body fat. So, I'm almost there! Eating clean and training mean!

I'll fill you guys in on some of the recipes I have been using the past couple weeks:

I've always loved Mcdonald's breakfast burritos - and decided since I can no longer eat their burritos, I would make my own, healthy version!

The recipe is pretty simple:

1 veggie torilla wrap

4 egg whites

chopped red bell pepper

chopped green bell pepper

chopped tomato

chopped onion

1 slice of weight watcher's american cheese

1 link of turkey sausage

Put all the ingredients together in the pan (veggies and sausage first to cook them through - then add the egg whites). After cooking all the ingredients, place them on the wrap, fold, and enjoy! I've been making this breakfast almost every day. It's about 150 calories, 36 grams of protein, 20 carbs and very, very low in fat and sodium. It's also very filling, so it gets me through until lunch with no trouble! 

Something that I've been eating for lunch quite often lately is a Jennie O turkey burger with 

half a slice of weight watcher's American cheese, two dippy eggs, and a veggie on the side.

I use my George Foreman "skilLite" to drain the fat from the burger (it gets a bit dry, but much healthier). It's a quick meal that takes about 15 minutes to make with virtually no carbs and very low in fat and high in protein. Jennie O, to me, makes the best turkey products out there, and if you haven't tried anything of hers, you are really missing out! 

For a low calorie, low fat, low carb dinner meal, try this awesome mixture that I actually made just tonight! It came out really, really good! 

I used:

20 oz lean, ground Jennie O turkey

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

sliced onion 

2 cups long grain organic brown rice

6 egg whites

Basically, same things as the breakfast burrito, cook everything together in a pan (veggies first to soften, then add the turkey, egg whites and rice go in last) - and wha la! You have yourself a delicious, low-cal meal to end your day with! I made a lot of this mixture so I can save it and take it as a lunch to work the rest of the week. Just heat it up for a filling and tasty treat. You don't even need any side dishes because this meal is so filling and has all your nutrients in the main course! 

Last night, I made a fish dish that I absolutely LOVED. I've always had a hard time with fish, never really liking it too much. I usually use some soy sauce, lemon and garlic on my fish, but last night I decided to try something new, and I am SO GLAD that I did. I get tired of my dishes pretty quickly, but this is one I definitely think I can handle for a while :) It was so easy and fast to make, too!

Preheat oven to 425

Coat fish with 1 tbs pure honey (I used tilapia and salmon), a few pinches of pure cane brown sugar, and some crushed pecans

Bake in oven for 15-17 minutes (until fish is cooked) - and that's it! 

I served long grain brown rice and green beans on the side, and this dish was amazing. It was sweet and crunchy, and a nice change from the rest of the meals I've been eating lately. 

Derek (who is the most picky eater) LOVED the fish as well, which is certainly a great sign :)

Out of all the recipes I've posted tonight, if you try any, this is certainly the one to try!! 

I also have a new ab exercise for you guys to try! 

This exercise should be preformed on a decline bench with a weight that you're comfortable with (I am using 10 lbs here, I believe)

Simply start lying down with arms extended all the way over your head (almost touching the ground)

Lift the weight up, keeping arms straight at all times

Finish 1 rep by touching your feet

I've been doing 3 sets of 25 reps - this exercise absolutely kills your abs! 

I think that gets me about all caught up with you guys for tonight! I promise I'll be getting more posts up now that things have settled some! 

Thank you, everyone, for all the feedback on my last post, and keep it coming! I love hearing what you guys think or if you've been trying anything! 

Do you guys have any progress pictures of yourselves? Send them to me - you can click on my "contact me" tab and get my email - I would love to do a post on a success story! 

Have an awesome night! 

One more day and its TGIF - hang in there, everyone!!!

xxxo Fitness Felicia 

 

"Dressed Up" Diet Meal Ideas

Hello All! Feeling much, much better today! It was my first day back at work and I think getting out of the apartment and being with other people helped my recovery process greatly!

I just wanted to put up a quick post of some of those meal ideas I was talking about in my post from yesterday. I know the diet is horribly bland and boring, so here are some ideas of meals that I eat to keep me semi-satisfied.

Here is one of my breakfast meals..

egg white omelet with half a slice of cheese and chopped tomatoes,

whole wheat toast with PB,

cottage cheese with a bit of homemade blueberry jelly

Above I have a grilled mahi mahi burger patty. 

Mahi Mahi is a fish that doesn't really have that "fishy" taste that

Tilapia does, so it's a lot more bearable. 

I paired it with long grain brown rice and a dry salad (YUMMMMM! haha)

(sorry the picture isn't all that great)

This is a salad I made for lunch

I used organic lettuce, black beans, that plain salsa that i LOVE (a few posts back I have it),

tuna fish, whole grain tortilla chips crushed up and some lemon 

I made this salad for my sister and I - she hated it but I thought it turned out pretty good, actually! 

This is another little concoction I made for lunch one day, I make it all the time now I love it so much!

What it is is: chicken burger, grilled, organic baby romaine lettuce and spinach, tomato, cucumber, lemon, and some hummus - turns out delish when you mix it all up :) 

Pair it with a greek yogurt and you're golden ! 

And as a little treat, I made sweet potato brownies one day last week.

It was the first time I've ever made them - they tasted a bit different from regular brownies, 

but they were still really chocolatey and moist and very, very good. 

I would def. make these from now own over any other brownies,

I think they'd be pretty easy to get used to. 

I kind of just messed around with the ingredients, 

next time I make them I'll let you guys know if they come out any better and

what I did different. Here is the recipe for now:

Felicia's "Healthy" Sweet Potato Brownie Recipe

2 Medium Sized Sweet Potatoes 

6 eggs 

1/2 cup organic coconut oil

1/2 tsp flax seed

1 tbs honey

6 tbs whole wheat flour

4 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup enjoy life choc chips

1/2 cup walnuts (personal preference)

• Start by preheating oven to 350 degrees 
• Use the microwave (or oven, or boil) to cook the sweet potatoes
• Once potatoes are cooked, peel the skin off, place into a large bowl, and mash
• Add eggs, coconut oil, honey, vanilla - mix thoroughly
• Then add flax seed, whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, choc chips, walnuts and cinnamon
• Once well mixed, put into a baking dish (I used a 13x9 pan)
• Bake for 29-31 minutes (no more, no less!)
• ENJOY!

They came out so moist and yummy, and they smelled great! I'm thinking that next time I'd like to incorporate applesauce somewhere in the recipe, but I'm not sure how much or if it

will clash wit the sweetness and moistness of the sweet potatoes. So maybe you guys try it

for me and let me know lol. :) 

Enjoy your night, everyone!

xxo Fitness Felicia 

Last Day of the CONTEST! Abs On Abs on Abs

First and foremost, I'd like to alert you all that 

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF THE CONTEST!! So hurry up, you still have time to enroll in the contest - the prizes, I must say, are pretty great! The contest directions are just a few posts back. 

Get to it ASAP! 

Next, I'd like to just tell you guys how incredibly proud of myself I am. I'm really working hard to get in tip-top shape for my competition coming up in the fall. Most contestants have their own personal trainers, but I am serving as my own personal trainer. And as a first time contestant, that's pretty ballsy I think. At this point, I'm really not worried at all, just more excited than anything. I think the experience is what I'm looking forward to most. I've talked to a bunch of people who have done their own competitions, and they've all had a blast, so I'm really, really looking forward to it and am loving the results and changes I'm seeing in my body along the way. It's really exciting!

Here's pictures of my triceps progress so far... I really wish I had a before picture to put on here :( oh well. I'm just really excited with the results I'm seeing and wanted to share my excitement with all my readers :)



I had a comment on my last post from a reader who had said she needed to work on her abs some more, so I'm using that comment as a topic for today's post: AB Exercises and foods that BLAST tummy fat!

Here is an ab routine that's been killing me the past few weeks that I'd like to share with you guys! I like to switch up my ab workouts every few weeks or so because there are so many different and effective abdominal exercises that you can do. I often get bored once I fall into a routine, so switching it up a lot also helps to keep things interesting. The following ab routine, however, is a compilation of my most favorite abdominal exercises. These exercises are what get me the most sore after all this time. I always like to mix at least one of these exercises into any new abdominal routine I start.

The workout: 

Begin with a superset of Straight-legged weighted hanging leg raises and bent leg raises 

(or not weighted if that is too difficult)

 Complete 4 Supersets - 15 reps each

30 seconds rest between each set 

Bosu Ball Elevated Planks 

Complete Four Sets - 60 Seconds each 

45 seconds rest between each set 

Bosu Ball Elevated Oblique Mountain Climbers 

Complete 4 Sets - 30 Each Leg

30 seconds rest between each set 

Bosu Ball Oblique Crunches 

Complete 3 Sets - 15 Crunches Each Side

45 seconds rest between each set 

Complete this workout and I promise you, your abs will be on fire the rest of the day and into the next day or two!! 

To go along with your new ab workout, try eating some of these fat-blasting, hunger-suppressing foods/drinks to really shape that belly up! 

Green Tea: 

Green Tea contains something called catechins that help the body burn fat by increasing the body's metabolism as well as increase the rate at which the liver burns fats. Don't like green tea? Try taking a green tea supplement of at least 300 MG a day. It has the same effect as drinking about 4 glasses of green tea (about the amount you need for the body to really start burning fat)

Vinegar:

Vinegar helps to activate enzymes in your body that breaks down fats. Try using vinegar as a replacement of fatty salad dressings in your salads. 

ALMONDS (nuts in general):

Almonds (nuts) are filling and will keep you feeling full for long periods of time, fighting off your hunger to eat other not-so-good foods. Keep clear of salty or flavored nuts, though, which can quickly add calories to your nutty snack. A small handful (about 25) almonds as a snack will work to fight off that hunger! 

Raspberries:

Just one cup of raspberries has about 6 grams of fiber in it! A summer fruit, keep berries in your fridge at all times and munch on them when you're in need of a light snack. One cup of delicious, low-cal raspberries will help to suppress your appetite longer than most other unhealthy snacks. 

Eggs:

Packed with the vitamin B12, eggs are a great food to help burn fat. Your body needs B12 to metabolize your fats. Worried about cholesterol? Keep it simple and eat egg whites. Grocery stores make eating egg whites simple these days and sell egg whites in cartons that you simply pour into your cooking pan and enjoy! 

Try out some of these fat-blasting foods and deffinately try out the ab workout! Let me know what you guys think! Remember, I love feedback so stop being so darn shy!! I love reading what you guys think about all these posts :) 

Have a wonderful evening

xxxo Fitness Felicia 

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth..

...I've just been busy, busy, busy!!
How has everyone been?! Sorry it's been a few days, but things have been cray!! GUESS WHAT, though?!! I got my first call for a client for personal training! Exciting, right?! I'm very excited :) I also put an ad in the newspaper to see how that goes. I actually got an email saying I can't put flyers in people's mailboxes anymore (lol woops), so I had to find a new way to get the word out...we'll see how this new method works! I'll keep you guys posted.

So..I know you guys are all just dying to know what I've been up to the past couple of days, challenge wise. So let's see, I have Thursday, Friday, and today to cover.

Thursday's new challenge is pretty exciting...I signed up for my very first figure competition!! Exciting, right?! It's in October, so that gives me about 4 months to focus on my training and diet...which opens up like, a million new challenges. I have to switch up my workouts and eating habits completely. Which opens doors to LOTS of new things for me! I'm competing in the True Novice Figure category, which is for first time competitors. I'm not really sure how much of a chance I have at actually winning, but I'm excited that I'll at least get the experience of competing.

So that was Thursday's challenge. Onto Friday..

Thursday I completed my workout cycle for the week, so Friday's training consisted of only cardio and some core exercises. Friday's challenge was a new recipe. Sorry it's been mostly recipes lately, I'll start up with new workout posts tomorrow again. I'll be switching up my workouts completely, so I'll have lots of new things to put on here for you all.
Friday's recipe was "egg muffins"

I wanted to try out this recipe because I started a new job where I will be starting work a lot earlier than normal, and wanted something that I could grab quick without having to wake up even earlier to make a healthy, complete breakfast. These egg muffins can be wrapped up in saran wrap after making them and can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days before going bad. I actually really liked the way they turned out.

Recipe:

Large eggs (use one for every muffin spot on the muffin tray)

Any toppings/seasonings you normally put on your eggs

These were so simple, and quick to make. 

Start by cracking an egg into each of the muffin spots of the tray. 

Add your toppings and seasonings into each of the eggs. I added low-fat cheese, sodium-free ham, tomato, mushrooms, pepper and garlic powder. 

After adding your toppings, put into the oven at 350 degrees and keep in for about 12-15 minutes. 

I really liked the way these egg muffins came out. I wanted to try them with egg whites, but wasn't sure how they would turn out and I didn't have the time to try. I'll try using egg whites next time to see how they turn out. I'm not sure if the egg whites would be too thin to hold up as a "muffin."
Heat them up in the morning for about 30 seconds, and you're good to go! I haven't tried them cold, but I like my eggs hot, so that's how I ate them. I'm sure they would be fine cold if you chose to eat them that way.

I haven't done my challenge yet for today, but check back later tonight or tomorrow to see what it will be!! ;)

How is everyone's weekend going so far? What's everyone been doing to keep healthy?!

Check back later on for today's challenge. Let me know if you guys try this recipe out. Has anyone reading ever done any figure competitions before? Any words of advice??? I really have no idea what to expect! I'm very exciting to start training, though.

Talk to you guys soon/!

XXOO 
Fitness Felicia