0 8 weeks later

Happy summer!!

8 weeks ago, I started my very first Tone It Up bikini series. I had known about the TIU girls for years, and have been following them on social media and even watched their Bravo reality show. One time, I even signed up for a challenge and got all the emails, but never did a single workout. I knew I needed extra accountability, so I created a FB group, and a new instagram account just for my food and workout check ins. Both would go on to be invaluable to me.

Little did I know, this series would really change so much more than I expected.

Sure, the workouts were tough, but I was able to fit them in the majority of the time, or make up for a missed workout the next day. The weekly schedule was perfect for always giving me something to do. I loved that I was motivated to get a cardio session in every day by the #150bysummer goal, and the workouts themselves were usually under 30 minutes, so I could easily fit them into my day. Don't mistake a short workout as being easy--they usually kicked my booty and had me dripping sweat. I loved that they packed a big effort into a short amount of time.

The thing that surprised me the most, was the community. Other TIU girls were so incredibly supportive during every day of this series. People from all over the world were liking and commenting on my check in photos, and I even got together with some of the TIU Austin girls for a stand up paddle boarding meet up. There were so many mornings that I didn't want to get up to run or do my daily work out, but scrolling through my Instagram feed gave me the happy motivation I needed to get out bed and out the door. Without those girls who were so awesomely doing their own bikini series, I don't think I would have successfully completed the series.

And successfully complete it I did. I didn't take measurements at the start of the series, but I did track my weight every day, just to keep an eye on what would make me retain water (hint: it's sugar and carbs, or eating a lot late at night). In the end, I lost 14.5lbs! That's pretty awesome for 8 weeks.

I still feel like I have a ways to go, so I am going to continue following the TIU schedule that is out every Sunday, or restart the bikini series today for another go at 8 weeks of booty kicking. If you want to join me, I would love it!

Here are my progress photos. I've definitely been smaller in the past, but I am happy with this for what I have done and what I have planned.

Detail: 8 weeks later

0 Tasty Tuesday: almond butter yogurt bowl

Here's a delicious, filling, protein packed treat that pretty much anyone can enjoy. You can change ingredients to suit your tastes and needs, so feel free to make this your own. It's super easy to throw together when a sweets craving hits, or when you just want a healthy snack.

Happy Girl Yogurt Bowl

Ingredients

1/2 cup nonfat Greek Yogurt, I used plain Fage

1 tbsp almond or peanut butter

1 dash cinnamon

1 tsp agave syrup

1 banana

4 strawberries, sliced

Directions: Place yogurt, nut butter, cinnamon, and agave into a small bowl and mix together. Top with sliced bananas and strawberries. Enjoy the heck out of your delicious treat.

My bowl ended up being just over 300 calories, with 14 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber. Not bad! You can use coconut or soy yogurt, any nut butter you like, and any fruit that sounds like a good addition. You can skip the agave, or use honey or stevia as your sweetener instead. Pumpkin pie spice would probably be a fantastic trade off for the cinnamon. It's an extremely versatile dish that can be changed so many ways, so feel free to experiment and find what works for you.

Detail: Tasty Tuesday: almond butter yogurt bowl

0 Tasty Tuesday: Peanut butter and banana oat cookies

Y'all know I am a total cookie monster. Doesn't matter if it's fresh out of the oven, or 5 days old, chocolate chip, or oatmeal, I love me some cookies. Even when I am satisfying my sweet tooth in a healthy way, I still want cookies. Or cupcakes, but that's a whole 'nother post. Basically, give me a baked good, and I'm a happy girl. I digress. Back to those healthy cookies.

I've been fighting a sweets craving something fierce lately while on this TIU bikini series, and while I applaud myself for my restraint, I am still dying for something sweet to take the edge off. Last week, I finally allowed myself to experiment with some healthy cookies in hopes I could find something that would satisfy the craving, while not dumping me off the wagon. These did great! Chocolate chips, peanut butter, the lovely mouth feel of the oats...not bad at all. I had to put the rest in the freezer to get them out of my sight so I wouldn't eat the entire batch ;)

Healthy peanut butter and banana oat cookies

Ingredients:

3 cups old fashioned oats

2 ripe bananas

1 cup peanut butter (I used Jif reduced fat)

1/2 cup apple sauce (I used one Gogo Squeeze pouch)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand chocolate chunks which are dairy, soy, nut free)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F. Spray cookie sheets with non-stick spray.

In a stand mixer, mash bananas with peanut butter, apple sauce and vanilla until creamy. Add in oats until combined. Add in chocolate chips.

Use a small cookie scoop to place 1 inch balls of dough on your cookie sheets. Smash down slightly with a fork. 

Bake for 15 minutes, and immediately transfer to a rack or onto a plate to cool.

I was able to make 50 small cookies, at 65 calories each. 

And just try not eating the dough, it was delicious before even being baked!

Detail: Tasty Tuesday: Peanut butter and banana oat cookies

0 Tasty Tuesday: Black Bean Burgers

A few weeks back, Billy and I tried a new to us restaurant called Greenhouse Craft Food in Round Rock, TX. It's a locally sourced, seasonal kind of place, and everything we had was delicious! I had the chicken spring rolls for an appetizer, and the black bean burger for my main course. I've actually recreated both of those dishes now! The spring rolls I ate for three days straight and loved every minute of my first attempt at making spring rolls. Now I've tackled my first try at black bean burgers, and think it went over decently. I'll probably be tweaking the recipe each time I make it, but this was a good first shot!

photo via the foodie physician 

Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients for 6 burgers:

2 15oz cans black beans, drained, rinsed and patted dry
1/2 medium bell pepper, cut into pieces
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup grated zucchini (squeeze the excess water out after grating)
1/4 cup grated carrot (squeeze the excess water out after grating)
1/2 cup corn
2 egg (for vegan option, use 1 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 tbsp water for each egg)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup bread crumbs (or oats/brown rice/quinoa)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and coat with non-stick spray.
Place beans, bell pepper, garlic, zucchini and carrot into a or food processor (or blender, like me, if you don't have a FP. Then swear like a sailor when you realize it would be easier if you did) and blend until it's the consistency of refried beans. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add spices, breadcrumbs and egg, stir to incorporate. Feel free to adjust the amount of breadcrumbs used to thicken the batter.
Use a spatula to divide the mixture into 6 parts, then form into patties and place on the baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes, flip (have fun with that!) and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Serve with your favorite burger toppings and sides!

Detail: Tasty Tuesday: Black Bean Burgers

0 bikini series check in

Happy Monday!

I am starting week 3 of the Tone It Up Bikini series today, and I am loving it. The motivation is sky-high for me to continue. I am getting in way more cardio than normal, with about 4-5 runs a week (up from 1-3), a bike ride or two, and I am doing the TIU daily workouts.

My eating has been pretty awesome also, even when faced with delicious temptations. I have found that having an instagram account just for check-ins, food photos and sweaty selfies has held me accountable on the food front. I find myself choosing healthy options easily, making them look as enticing as possible, because I know I will be sharing what I've eaten online. I am all for something that keeps me from eating the garlic bread and all the cookies I made for Billy yesterday, when it smelled and looked so much better than my spaghetti squash and chicken patty.

You know what else is motivating and encouraging? Tangible results, aka WEIGHT LOSS! I started eating clean the week before the BS started, so since then, I have lost 7lbs.
In 3 weeks, y'all.
With my healthy eating alone, I lost 3lbs right away, which I am assuming was water weight and bloating caused by carb heavy foods and processed sugar garbage.

Talk about a drastic change in my eating habits. If you want to know what it is I am eating, follow me on instagram for photos and meal check-ins, @tiu_adrian spoiler alert: it's a lot of fruit and veggies.

I've mentioned before that I track all of my food in My Fitness Pal. That alone is so helpful in this whole ordeal. Before I switched to healthy, clean food, I struggled to keep my daily calorie intake even remotely close to my goal. I had no idea why it was so hard, I mean, I was eating healthy-ish and sometimes working out, so why was I always going over the goal? When I started tracking diligently, and cleaned up my food, it became difficult to even hit my daily goal, not to mention the added calories working out gave me. The best part is, I am usually too full to care. Dang veggies do that to you. Don't get me wrong, I have moments where I am feeling hungry or craving something, but it's usually for something I don't need, and I can substitute a healthy alternative and be just fine. Tablespoonfuls of almond butter have been a saving grace for me when a sweets craving hits. I sometimes pair it with a pack of frozen dark chocolate banana slices, and it's heaven.Quest and Think Thin bars come in handy too, but I try to get my calories from real food, and leave the bars for convenience options when I am busy.

Thanks to all that clean eating, I am actually seeing more definition in my body, and feeling my muscles get harder under the surface. Those TIU workouts are no joke. But thankfully they are usually under 20 minutes, so I have no excuses to miss one. The biggest surprise of this series has been how easy it is to follow. Now, easy is a relative term, because a few months ago I would have cried in outrage at myself for saying that. What I mean is, it's simple to get up, get my cardio or run in, do the quick daily workout, and be done for the day. I've committed to doing most of my food prep on one day, so I can have quick and healthy options to eat for a few days. Knowing what I have available is key to me making those smarter choices.

Are any of you doing the bikini series? Have you even heard of Tone It Up? What works to keep you accountable and motivated when eating healthy and working out?

Detail: bikini series check in

0 An unusual occurrence

I am a self-professed sugar-addict. I would rather grab something packaged and easy when it comes to snacking. I generally don't eat a lot of veggies besides the occasional spinach in my smoothie, and sauteed veggies in my scrambles. I can go all day without giving protein a second thought, because carbs are easier.

The above statements are all completely true, yet somehow, I have been changing my ways. It started Saturday April 19, close to midnight, as I drove home from a babysitting job and thought about what I had to eat at home. The family I babysat for has a hot mom who bakes spaghetti squash, eats healthy, and you can tell she works out because of her defined arms. I want to be her. Besides the mom part.

I stopped at the grocery store and loaded up on veggies before continuing home. Cue to a few days later when I have put together a few delicious recipes using spaghetti squash, I'm eating grapefruit for breakfast, snacking on fruit, finding it hard to hit my 1,450 calories a day because all of the produce fills me up without adding too many cals, and I have managed to lose 3 lbs. Oh, and I haven't craved sugar. WHAT?! Is this really my life?

I was nervous it was a short-lived health kick and I would suddenly need ALL THE COOKIES to make up for my week without them. Even heading back to San Jose for a long weekend, I managed to stay pretty decent, even though traveling is a total trigger for me to eat everything in sight. Coming back to Texas, I have once again turned to a healthy diet, and am enjoying my new workouts since joining the Tone It Up 2014 Bikini Series. Since I was back in CA until Tuesday night, I started two days late on Wednesday.

Confession time: I've been following the Tone It Up girls for years, but never got involved. Last year, I signed up for the Bikini series, got all of the e-mails, and didn't do a single workout or change my eating habits. Horrible, right? This time around, I knew I wanted to do the 8 week series, so I enlisted the help of friends on Facebook, created a group specifically for us doing the challenge (you want in? let me know!) to stay accountable and motivated, and to bounce ideas and questions off each other. I am obviously the most frequent poster, since I sort of feel like a group leader even though this is my first time around doing a Tone It Up plan of any kind. I really like that the workouts are pretty short, but killer, it encourages me to get in cardio miles every day, and I have something else to work for besides my own desires. This Malibooty workout from Wednesday definitely left me feeling the burn!

Today I went grocery shopping and put together two big batches of healthy veggie based meals to split up and use over the weekend. I have all sorts of fruit and veggies available to snack on, and healthy staples like Greek yogurt, string cheese, and ready to make quinoa and fish dishes in the freezer.

So here's my call to my blog friends, want to keep me accountable and help motivate to me to continue with this series? Join the Bikini Series and do it with me! Here's a link to the FB group. I have made it open so you can join if you want.

Oh! I made a TIU specific instagram account so I can post photos of my workouts and food without annoying the pants off anyone not interested ;) follow me @tiu_adrian

Detail: An unusual occurrence

0 Let's get real about resolutions

Over the holidays, I, like ever other female not quite satisfied with my body, started looking for ways to make the new year work in my favor. I happened to send a very harmless looking pin to Casey, and we enthusiastically agreed to follow it. It was a list of things we would give up each month. Not crazy, but definitely ambitious. Each month seemed more than easy to accomplish. Until we had to actually give something up. 

Give up for January? Sweets. Kill me. 

I didn't come close to making it 5 days, let alone a whole month. Telling me not to do something, in fact, gives me this compulsive need to have those sweets. Vicious cycle, party of one.

Realizing this was not really the best way to approach a healthier lifestyle, I told Casey I would come up with a different list for each month. I wanted to add healthy things to my current lifestyle, not take away things I love. Dessert makes me happy. Why make myself grumpy by not allowing it?

So here is my list of ways to add a little healthy to my life each month. And I still get to have my dessert.

January- Drink your water! Halve your weight and drink that number in ounces, every day. Drink a large glass of water before every meal and snack.
February- Add Chia seeds or ground flaxseed to your food once a week. Smoothies, oatmeal, baking, it's such a simple addition and is great for you.
March- Start participating in meatless Monday. Also, eat a salad as your meal at least once a week. 
April- Fill up the right way by eating a serving of veggies before every meal
May- Find healthy substitutions for your favorite condiments. Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, avocado instead of mayo, etc. Be creative!
June- Replace processed sugars (cane sugar, splenda, HFC, corn syrup etc.) with natural. Use agave, honey, and stevia instead.
July- Fill up on fruit! Reach for a banana, watermelon, apples, berries, etc. before every meal
August- Replace your carbs with healthy options! rice with quinoa, pasta with spaghetti squash, be creative!
September- Try a new vegetable or fruit each week. What's jicama? Try it and see!
October- Replace chips and salty treats with a healthy, baked, or veggie alternative. 
November- Try healthy baking substitutions! Black beans in brownies, natural sugar alternatives, apple sauce or Greek yogurt for oils
December- Limit your holiday goodies intake to only one treat per day. Moderation in the face of temptation!

Detail: Let's get real about resolutions

0 Tasty Tuesday: Chocolate banana protein pancakes

Hey dolls, happy Tuesday! I am following in the footsteps of my girl Cassie for her Tasty Tuesday series {even if there's no link up, I have to give her credit!}

Today I am sharing with you a little treat I threw together last week that seriously satisfied some cravings, while keeping me completely satiated, and full for hours. Those qualities are just what you need when you are watching what you eat, especially after a run when I turn into the feed-me-everything-I-can't-stop-eating monster. 

Some back story: I am not a huge pancake lover. I know, it's so weird that I hate bacon and don't really like pancakes. There are plenty of other breakfast options that make me happy, so I usually don't even think about pancakes. Unless of course when I have to run past my neighborhood Denny's to get to my usual creek trail run spot, then all I want are pancakes. Denny's must pump food smells out into the surrounding area to entice customers or something, because last Thursday I just about stopped my run to lick a window or two. which would have been gross, and thank goodness that is NOT what I did. I kept on running, but I still had pancakes on the mind when I got home. Now, I have made protein pancakes in the past that were dry and disgusting and made me want to spit them right out, so it was tempting to just pass entirely on another attempt, but darn Denny's wouldn't allow it, so I came up with these instead! Moist, sweet, flavorful and healthy, these pancakes hit the spot and made me feel good about eating them. 

Chocolate banana protein pancakes with peanut butter

Makes 2 big pancakes

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana

1 whole egg

1 scoop of chocolate protein powder {I use MRM 100% natural Dutch Chocolate whey protein powder}

1 tbsp natural peanut butter

about 1 tsp organic coconut oil to coat your pan

Directions:

1. Heat a small fry pan on medium heat. melt 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil in the pan, then swirl to coat. 
2. In a bowl mash banana with a fork. Add in egg and mix thoroughly. Add in protein powder and mix until everything is incorporated. 
3. Pour half of the batter into your heated pan, and let cook until edges are set and bubbles start to appear. Flip pancake over and cook for about a minute or until the center is cooked. 
4. Repeat steps 1-3 for the rest of your batter to make your second pancake. 
5. Spread peanut butter over your pancakes while warm and enjoy! I like to fold or roll my pancakes up and eat them like a burrito, but that's just me being hungry and not wanting to use a fork ;)

Nutritional info: 365 calories, 29g protein, 33g carbs, 14g fat, 5g fiber, 16g sugar, 9 weight watchers points plus

Detail: Tasty Tuesday: Chocolate banana protein pancakes

0 Sugar we're going down

via my whole food life 

Oh dear Lord, what have I gotten myself into? 

My entire life I have been a sugar and high fructose corn syrup super consumer.Healthy in my house growing up was adding canned or frozen veggies alongside our meat and carbs, and lots of packaged "healthy" yet sugary goods to snack on. Chewy peanut butter chocolate granola bars and Goldfish crackers are not healthy, folks.  

As I aged and became smarter, I have learned that sugar is indeed terrible, and a major proponent to my up and down weight. I've written about my sugar addiction extensively here on the blog, usually highlighting how like cocaine sugar is in its addictive qualities. I am no slouch in my research, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that sugar isn't good. Thanks to documentaries like Food, Inc., Hungry for Change, Forks Over Knives, and Vegucated {watched all on Netflix}I was informed that my Standard American Diet, or SAD {ironic, ain't it} is bad for me. Even knowing this, I just ignorantly proclaimed that "Sugar is my vice, man! I have to have something if I don't drink regularly, smoke, or do drugs, right?!" And how hard would it be to get rid of sugar from my diet? Like so hard I have never wanted to try.

So imagine my surprise when I read a New York Times blog article {seriously, read that ish} last week that proclaimed sugar to be a toxin. "Metabolic syndrome {causes chronic disease and diabetes} is a result of insulin resistance, which appears to be a direct result of consumption of added sugars. The take-away: it isn't simply overeating that can make you sick; it’s overeating sugar. We finally have the proof we need for a verdict: sugar is toxic."

You know what was the most tune changing for me? This line: "The study demonstrates this with the same level of confidence that linked cigarettes and lung cancer in the 1960s. You could not enact a real-world study that would be more conclusive than this one.”

You see, I HATE cigarettes. I think they are one of the most foul, disgusting, and loathsome things a person can do or put in their body. My mother has smoked pretty much my entire life, and it breaks my heart that she won't, can't or doesn't want to quit. You see, she's addicted to cigarettes and nicotine, just like I am addicted to sugar. How can I allow myself to continue feeding an addiction that is just as bad as the one I hate so passionately? That would be hypocritical and I try to live my life as real as possible, even calling myself out on all my BS. 

So last week I decided to reduce, then remove processed sugar from my diet.

First step, removing products that contain sugar, and other sugar by products. My first day without sugar, I was feigning for something, anything, everything. GIVE ME ALL THE THINGS! MOAR SUGAR! I was prepared though, and had my meals planned, with lots of fruit cut up and ready to snack on, and I even had Simply Light chocolate bars that are no sugar added {although, the malitol sweetener, a sugar alcohol, made me super bloated and gassy, real talk} to get me through my cravings at the beginning. 

I will not be using Splenda or other artificial sweeteners because they are just as bad as sugar. Instead I  will be using stevia in the raw and organic coconut sugar. The coconut sugar especially because it has a low glycemic index, so it doesn't affect blood sugar levels or cause insulin spikes, and stevia is a great natural sweetener. You can check out this Hungry for Change post on nature's best alternatives to sugar if you need more suggestions. This My Whole Foods Life blog post has tips for quitting processed sugar that are also helpful.

I can't promise that I will never eat anything ever again that contains processed sugar, {hello, cupcake addiction} but if I can help it, I will avoid it as much as possible. For now, I am just working on reducing what was already in my diet and replacing it with whole foods, fruits, and natural sweeteners instead. We will see how the cravings go once all processed sugar is out of my diet, and what that looks like in terms of my baking, socializing, and general happiness ;)

Detail: Sugar we're going down