Finishing the Year Healthy & Strong

*First let me apologize for having to truncate my posts (causing readers to have to click "read more" to read the post in its entirety) because my blog content has been stolen by some thief with a domain registered in India. Thank you Leanne for letting me know- I had no idea. Back in August 2012, several well-known bloggers started truncating their posts because "scraper sites" had been stealing their blog content. I never worried about it and, as a reader, I find truncated posts kinda annoying, so I never did that. But I have to now. My entire blog- every word and photo has been scraped and is now appearing as original content on another blog. So annoying! And the worst part is, I haven't yet figured out what I can do about it. So, I just wanted to explain why I'm now truncating my posts- apparently this makes it much harder for the thieves. I hope you'll keep reading!

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I think I need to get your attention and my own regarding the reality that the holidays are just around the corner! I get giddy with excitement this time of year. Halloween is in a couple days, which really just marks the beginning of the real holiday season for me. I love everything that is related to this time of year, including the coziness of colder weather, wearing red and feeling festive, getting together more with family for longer, relaxed gatherings, celebrating family traditions, shopping for gifts for family and friends, decorating the house, and yes, of course, all the yummy FOOD and DRINKS!

But seriously, do we have to just check out in the health department this time of year? I've already gained a few pounds in last couple of months as I've slacked off my workouts and discovered this ridculously delicious gelato that I've been induldging in too often. It happens. But, we need to be reasonalbe and balanced. I know I'm less happy and more uncomfortable when I'm heavier. Just a few extra pounds on my very short frame (5'1) makes my jeans too tight. And even a couple extra pounds are hard to lose.

I want to look and feel GREAT this holiday season!

via Nike

40 Day Fat Loss Challenge

At the beginning of last year (2014), I challenged myself to get in shape for my first ever NPC bikini contest and reached that goal after 5 months of training (July 2014). Since then, I'd been pretty much slacking on the diet and workouts, but by October 2014, I was not liking how I felt physically when I had gotten used to being in great shape. My weight was creeping back up and my muscle was turning into fat. In November, I started back with my trainer and by December had started embracing my bikini meal plan again, but not nearly as strictly and not without lots of "cheats". It was the holidays after all. And I like to eat as much as the next person. Read more »

Healthy Meal Prep | Grilled Chicken Salad

Today (Thursday) marks Day 7 of our 40-day Fat Loss Challenge. I measured in on Day 1 at 24% (calipers) and today was at 22%! Woo-hoo! A 2% difference in 1 week is a big deal! I'll show you some progress pics soon so you can see what it looks like. I'm also using my heart-rate monitor (twice) and have been surprised at how little amount of calories it says I'm burning during my workouts. I'll get into more detail on that in another post soon too. Today, I'm sharing one of the meals I've been eating- a Grilled Chicken Salad and I always make multiples at a time so I can just pull the assembled salad out of the fridge and I don't have to spend time reprepping. Step 1 is to always have grilled chicken on hand or prepare enough for several salads. If I'm just cooking 4-8 chicken breasts at a time, I use a grill pan. Spray that pan with cooking spray, and heat to medium-high heat. I pound my chicken breasts a little so they are thinner and cook eve

40-Day Fat Loss Challenge (Day 14 Update)

It's time to check in and update my progress for the 40-Day Fat Loss Challenge I entered at my gym. For my body fat percentage, I'll use my trainer's caliper measure since I won't have access to the machine until the 40 days is up. The machine measured about the same as my trainer anyway. My goal is to lose at least 1% body fat each week so that at the end of the 40 days (nearly 6 weeks), I'll have gone from 24% down to 17%. I'm on track for that now, but would love to get closer to 15%. PROGRESS Day 1: 24% body fat (112.4 pounds) Day 7: 22.4% body fat (110 pounds) Day 14: 21% body fat (109.4 pounds) (These numbers reflect what I weigh when I weigh-in at the gym mid-morning. My weight below I take first thing in the morning when I wake up, so it's slightly lower.) Below is a picture of where I'm at as of Day 13. I didn't take a good "Day 1" picture, so the "start" is from December, but it's a good representation o

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