VLOG?

Hello everyone! How is everyone enjoying their Labor Day weekend? Mine has been pretty relaxing. Got some good workouts in, yummy food in my belly and some studying done. I've been thinking about doing a video blog, a "vlog," what do you guys think about that? I've been getting a lot of questions pertaining to my diet, workouts, daily routine, etc, and thought it would be easier to go into detail about those things via "vlog." I did try to make a video the other day on my computer, and when I played it back, there was no sound (lol). So I guess I have to figure out what the problem was before I go forward with any vlogging...but keep your eyes open for a vlog entry in the near future. Would you guys like that more? I think it would be a bit more personal and you guys could connect with me on a greater level :)

My first week back at school was pretty stressful...I'm taking seven classes as well as working directly after my classes mon-fri until 6:30 and then getting my gym time in. I've been trying to figure out a set schedule for me to follow that would be the least stressful for me to follow on a daily basis. It's been hard sticking to my diet while sitting through back-to-back classes. I've been doing meal preps, where I cook meals for the entire week, which helps me in the morning getting food together, and I do really recommend meal prepping on say, a Sunday night, to get all of your meals put together for the week ahead of you. The only downside to meal prep is that is incredibly time consuming. When I do meal prep for the week, it takes about 3 or 4 hours to cook everything as well as another 45 minutes cleaning up afterwards. Even though it is time consuming, it definitely makes my mornings a lot easier when getting food together. It cuts out from decision making and running around trying to put a healthy lunch together.

I've recieved a bunch of questions from people asking what I take for lunch with me to keep up with my meals during the day, so I wanted to give you guys some examples of things I've been making that keep me full and satisfied until my next meal.

One example of something that I make during my meal prep is tuna. 

This is so simple and fast to make and keeps fresh for the entire week. 

I separate the tuna into containers and grab one in the morning for my lunch box, 

pair it with an unsalted rice cake, and there you go - one meal ! 

I make my tuna using canned tuna in water.

I mix in Mrs. Dash garlic/onion seasoning (sodium free), 2 egg whites, and chopped up cherry tomato 

This meal I usually pair with a handful of almonds 

Another recipe that I've recently come to love is overnight oats. 

This meal I eat for breakfast because it's a little bit higher in carbs and I like to get the majority of my carbs in with breakfast. 

Mix together:

1 cup water

1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

3/4 cups oats

10 almonds

1/4 cup protein powder of your choice

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbs flaxseed

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

4 egg whites

Refrigerate overnight and heat up (2 minutes) in the morning and enjoy! 

This recipe is so easy to prep the night before and takes literally 2 minutes to heat up in the morning and enjoy! The oats get almost like a pudding consistency overnight and taste delicious the next day! This meal is incredibly filling and packed with nutrients - I love it! 

I don't want to make this entry too long with recipes, so I'll stop there and add some more recipes on my next post. I have a delicious new protein pancake recipe that I've been using. I'll put the picture up on today's post to keep you guys wanting more :) 

....YUM!!!

I also wanted to add my most recent posing pictures for you guys..I got my shoes in the mail the other day and now posing practice is in full swing :) I'm getting super excited for my competition - you guys have no idea! 

 (sorry, Derek got in the top picture haha)

Most competitors take up posing classes to learn how to pose and what the judges are looking for, but I'm trying to do everything myself. I've been doing a lot of research and video watching and have been working really hard to get my own personalized pose. It's all about posing in ways that best reflect the symmetry and best assets of your figure. I think so far I've been doing pretty good working on my stage presence and poses. I really need to concentrate most on posture, however..that's what's been getting me. 

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your Labor Day and have a great week back to school / work! 

Keep an eye out for my protein pancake recipe and even a vlog in the next post!!!!

xxxo

Fitness Felicia 

Emails...

Hello All! How was everyone's weekend? Mine was spent in bed with the flu :( I'm still not feeling that great, but wanted to write a quick post regardless. 

As for the contest goes, I do have the winners, but I need email addresses for all of you who have participated in the contest so I can get in touch with you guys! Everyone has won something, so if you participated, please get those emails to me ASAP so I can email you your prizes!! 

That's all for me today, I'm going to get back to resting but will be sure to have a new post up for you guys tomorrow! 

Have a great rest of your sunday evening :)

xxo Fitness Felicia

PS I made this little picture workout, what do you guys think!!?

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 

CONTEST TIME!!!

CONTEST!!

Hello everyone! How is hump day treating all of you? Mine has been HOT! Very hot! I think temperatures around here made it into the high 90's today. I spent most of my day in the sunshine by the pool taking in the sweltering heat (while still working all the while -___-)

I've decided that I'm going to have a little contest for this blog. I've seen other blog sites hold little contests before and I think it really helps to promote the site and the blogger, so why not give it a try?!

The contest will begin today and end three weeks from today - July 11th. 

The rules are simple: 

-Follow my blog 

(there is a link on the right side of the blog which you can click to follow me)

-Leave a comment stating what you do to stay healthy/keep in shape and/or any suggestions/questions 

you have for my blog

(must leave an email address at which you 

can be contacted if you place in the contest)

-Follow me on Twitter 

-and/or-

on Pinterest 

 (must repin at least 1 pin from my "Gym Rat Blog" board)

(click on the "contact me" page where you will 

find my twitter account and pinterest account

 that you will be able to click on and then follow me)


-Vote in my poll about what you would
 like to see me write about on this blog
(can be found on the right side of my blog page)

And that's it! After completing the 4 steps above, you will be enrolled in the contest.

The winners will be chosen at random.

(Hint: The more comments you leave on posts, the more times your name will show up, giving you a better chance at one of the three prizes) 

The Prizes:

1st Place: (1 winner)

Workout Outfit (top and bottom)

2nd Place: (1 winner)

3 Workout Headbands and 1 Water Bottle

3rd Place: (10 winners)

Your own, personalized workout/diet plan 

focusing on what your goals are

OKAY GUYS!! Let's see how this goes! Tell your friends! Tell your neighbors! Tell your family!! 

SPREAD THE WORD! Because you know you want free stuff, dontcha?! And it's EASY free stuff, nonetheless !! So go for it!

I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST OF LUCK! 

Let me know if you have any questions :) Go Get Em! 

xxxxooo

Fitness Felicia