Healthy Weekend Eating | Tips & Tricks

Before I began really focusing on my health and fitness back at the end of July, I could no problem eat healthy Monday - Friday. Not a problem at all. Lots of healthy food, working out, feeling motivated. And then Friday came. And it all went down the drain.
I mean, how could I say no to Mexican food? Sitting on the couch sounded a lot better than working out. It was the weekend, you know. Relax. Take it easy. Eat whatever I want. I'll be fine come Monday. Two days wouldn't hurt anything. WRONG.
Monday would come back around, and there I was feeling bloated and icky. Maybe even gained a pound or two. I would start over working out, eating healthy, just to ruin it come the next weekend.  Once I started 21 Day Fix, my perspective changed completely. But not right away.
I learned some tips and tricks throughout my first two rounds of 21 Day Fix that really helped me stay focused on my goal and not completely blow it on tacos and donuts.  (even though some days I'd like to!)

O N E - BE PREPARED When I say be prepared, I mean be prepared in the snack department. Normally on the weekends we go out at least once, so it's hard to prepare for that meal sometimes. But I know that the rest of the weekend, we're going to be eating at home. When I meal prep the week before, I always make sure I have enough healthy snacks prepped to last into the weekend, so they're easy to pick up and go.  I normally have an apple cut up, cucumber, yogurt - something that's easy to grab and go.  I'm lazy. There I said it. If I have to fix a snack for longer than 2 minutes, then I'm much more likely to pick an unhealthy option that's quick and easy. So moral of the story, don't be lazy like me and have snacks already prepared.
T W O - FIX THINGS YOU CRAVE It's the weekend - so that means I want hamburgers, pizza, Chinese food, tacos, donuts, etc. Y'all know what I mean. Go ahead and fix those weekend cravings, but choose healthy options! Looking for a healthy pizza? Fried rice? Hamburgers? Tacos? Check out those recipes for healthy options! You won't even feel like you're missing out on all the grease. :) And you also won't feel the after meal guilt!
T H R E E - 80/20 RULE Okay. Don't get carried away with this. Let me preface this by saying... If you're trying out 21 Day Fix for the first time, stick to it. Don't go by the 80/20 rule (which I'll explain in a minute). It's important to stick to your plan for your first round especially (and maybe even the second), so you can see a true representation of your progress. I promise - once you see your progress, you'll be addicted to the feeling of being healthy, and want to keep going. But if you ruin it within your first round, you may have trouble continuing your journey. Anyway.
Sometimes it's okay to treat yourself. But be mindful of portions and whether you think you have enough self-control to actually control what you're eating. For example - if you go out to eat your favorite Mexican restaurant Saturday night, instead of getting that delicious fried Chimacnga with queso all over it (can you tell I'm dreaming about it?) - one taco isn't going to ruin your whole week. You're still enjoying eating out, but you're controlling what you're eating. 
Or. You've had a great week of eating healthy and working out. One or two donut holes at your local coffee shop is gonna cure your sweet tooth, but not break what you've working on. 80% of the time you're eating healthy, 20% you can have a little splurge. (Not a #1 combo at Wendy's kind of splurge though!)
F O U R - WORK OUT On the weekends especially, I try and squeeze my workout in each morning. I'm less likely to blow my healthy eating plan, if I know I sweat my butt off that morning during my workout. ALSO! Maybe you did get carried away Saturday at brunch. That doesn't mean you skip your workout. Stay on track and move on from the morning. You'll feel a lot better about it!
F I V E - EAT BEFORE Sometimes if I know we're going to lunch or dinner, and there just aren't any healthy options, I'll eat before I go. *SHAKEOLOGY IS PERFECT FOR THIS!!!* Instead of sitting at the table starving watching everybody else eat, you'll feel less tempted to give into temptation if you're not hungry and fueled your body with the good food it needs.
S I X - SHAKEOLOGY! I cannot praise Shakeology enough! Before I started drinking Shakeology, I constantly craved sweets and grease - especially on the weekends! Drinking my Shakeology each morning puts those cravings to the side, and helps me fight through temptations all weekend long.  Instead of the weekends getting the best of me, now I get the best out of my weekends. These tips have helped me curb my cravings and helped me with self-control. What tips do you have for staying healthy on the weekends? -------- If you're looking to start 21 Day Fix or even want to try out Shakeology, I'd love to share more information with you! Feel free to comment, email, and find me on social media down below!

A New Health Journey | BeachBody Coach

Exciting news around these parts, y'all.

I can honestly say, from the bottom of my heart, that throughout these last few weeks, I’ve never felt happier and more content with my own body. If you really knew me, you would know that weight has been an issue off and on throughout the majority of my life. My self-perception of myself has been a rollercoaster. I can think back to different times in my life where I felt amazing, beautiful and healthy. But I can also think back to too many memories where I felt unhappy, unpretty, and most importantly, unhealthy.

After having a little girl in December, I knew I wanted to set a precedence for her the older she got. After gaining almost 40 pounds during pregnancy, like many women, I struggled to lose the weight completely – and in all honesty – I wasn’t at a very healthy place in my life when I got pregnant. So, after struggling to lose the weight all summer, I felt that same unhappy and self-conscious feeling I had felt all too many times throughout various times in my life. So many girls nowadays struggle with self-image issues, and I was no different. Looking at my little girl, I knew it was my job as her mom to get my priorities together, and start taking care of myself. For her sake, for my marriage’s sake, for my sake.

I am lucky enough to live right across the street from my AMAZING coach. She has truly inspired me, and reached out to me to help me realize my potential and capabilities. She gave me the amazing gift of feeling healthy, happy, and confident again throughout workouts, a healthy eating plan, and just plain sweet and simple encouragement. After seeing these incredible results in my body, and feeling content and confident with my health journey, I’ve decided to take the next step as a motivational coach with Beachbody and pay the gift I was given forward to others!

Thank you for sharing in this exciting moment with me, and thank you in advance for all your support! 

First Family Vacation | Hilton Head & Savannah

Looking back at the rest of our vacation pictures from the summer, I don't know whether I should ball hysterically because the baby in these pictures is not so much a baby these days, or kinda be proud that we almost survived her first yer of life. It's so bittersweet.

This vacation was hard. Traveling with a six month old was no easy task. She just seems so - little - in this pictures. So much more dependent. It's amazing how fast time flies and how quickly they change. Soon enough, she'll be going to prom and driving off to college. Don't even get me started...

But I did want to share these - six months late - because I love seeing her progression and looking back at the memories, even though they weren't all that long ago. We were so darn proud of ourselves for traveling alone as a family of three with no help. It was her first trip to the beach, and I don't want to forget one part.

And. I'm kinda already dreaming about summer - and once Christmas passes us, I'll be full on missing the heck out of warm weather and flip flops. I'm so not a cold weather gal.

We ended the last two days of our trip exploring Hilton Head a bit more.  We wanted to see the infamous Harbour Town Lighthouse  and explore Sea Pines. Honestly, we weren't huge fans - I had been before when I was younger, but it just didn't feel the same. The money you pay to enter the resort isn't exactly worth it, the shops aren't fabulous, and the people who live in the resort aren't the friendliest. There were tons of people too, which made it a little harder. It's very pretty though and is great for taking pictures. I think it'll be a once in a while visit if we go back in the future. I'm pretty sure we left early because Harper could hang very long - and we got Wendy's on the way home. Really vacationing it up. Ha. :)

Our final full day, we originally were going to head to the beach, but it was kinda a pain in the butt with all our baby stuff, and Harper needed a day out of the direct sun. She was fighting a little cold through the trip. We decided to head back to Savannah and just explore and grab lunch.  I love that town so much - it's gorgeous and has so much to offer. I'd love for Cody and I to go back just the two of us. There's so much to do, so much to see. We definitely couldn't do it all in one day. We checked some of the old cemetarys around Savannah - SO much history - and walked through River Street - walking through different stores and eating lunch. (which was quite embarrassing to say the least - the baby was hot and tired and I don't even need to go on any further).

But it was perfect. The drive thru meals - the embarrassing lunch - the whole two hours at the beach - the baby's snotty nose - the early evenings in binge watching OITNB. It was all perfect. And I mean that.  Our first family vacation was one I will cherish forever. The first time she dipped her toes in the ocean. Her sweet little bikini bod. Her hair blowing in the wind. Our little family of three. It was perfect. :)

previous 'first family vacation' posts... Botany Bay Plantation Downtown Savannah Burkes Beach - Part One Burkes Beach - Morning

First Family Vacation | Morning at Burkes Beach

We decided to try the beach in the morning with our little beach babe. The less hot the better (and the less people to watch our three ring circus of carrying the million and one essentials required to taking a baby to the beach + carrying the actual baby - who may or may not have a complete meltdown at any moment). :)

Anyway. Harper, of course, loved - loved - loved the ocean again that morning. She's a complete water baby and was pretty darn precious splashing around in the water with her baby shades. Can we please take notice of her little hairs blowing in the wind? I mean, really.

To our surprise, little girl ended up taking a nap right there under our tent - which was pretty amazing, considering my baby doesn't take naps, much less sweaty, sandy, sticky naps. But she did. So for a split second, mommy and daddy actually had a tiny bit of time to actually take a deep breath and relax just the two of us.

We let her play in the sand - which she tried to eat, of course - and took one last dip in the ocean before packing up and heading home for lunch...and naps.

previous 'first family vacation' posts...
Botany Bay Plantation Downtown Savannah Burkes Beach - Part One