Shakeology Cleanse Days 2 and 3

Day 2: 
Today went well. I woke up and weighed myself to find I was down 2 lbs. My energy levels were pretty good, I was able to complete Push Circuit 1 from ChaLEAN Extreme. I went a little lower on the weights for some of the moves because I was feeling a little light-headed, but overall was able to push through the workout with little impact from the cleanse. The biggest thing I am noticing today is the light-headed feeling. I can tell I'm a little wobbly when I stand up. My meals were the same as yesterday except I added in a cup of raspberries to go along with my lunch Shakeology. I knew I was going to workout after lunch and wanted a little extra energy to prepare for it. Overall I had 756 calories and burned 244 calories in my workout. 


Day 3:
Two more pounds gone this morning (4lbs so far). Today was a rest day for me and I couldn't have asked for a better day for it to fall on as my energy levels were all over the place. Right after having a shake or a piece of fruit they were fine, but I found myself crashing a lot. I added in a serving a fruit to two of my meals today because of my energy levels. Other than my energy levels, I felt great. My vacation bloaty feeling is completely gone. My stomach is flat again (thank goodness), and my skin looks good (weird thing to notice). Total calorie count today was 771. I didn't burn any calories in a workout since it was a rest day (hello Captain Obvious!). 


Overall thoughts:
I am so happy I did this cleanse. Of course it wasn't the easiest thing and it wasn't enjoyable, but I will totally do this cleanse again. One thing I recommend is to make sure you don't have a lot to do for the three days of the cleanse. I went shopping and ran some errands today (day 3) but don't think I could have handled a full day work or activities. I also recommend that you drink enough water throughout the day. Staying hydrated is important to keep the headaches at a minimum and also to aid in cleansing the toxins. One major side effect I had from the cleanse was a disruption in my sleep. For the past two nights I haven't been able to fall asleep easily and my sleep has been very restless. I think this is due to the extra energy gained from the Shakeology and from the lack of activities in my day. Overall, I feel great and will be doing this cleanse again. I'll post the end results tomorrow morning :) 


To try shakeology, visit my website http://myshakeology.com/esuite/home/lmcdonald 

Shakeology Cleanse Day One Review:


Spending a week in the Leelanau Peninsula with my family means a week of yummy food, delicious beer, and fun in the sun. In order to reset my clean eating habits, I decided to try the Shakeology 3 Day Cleanse. I started my cleanse this morning. Upon waking I had a cup of Candy Cane Lane Peppermint Green Tea (I didn't have plain green tea) then followed that up with a serving of chocolate Shakeology. For my mid-morning snack I had a medium Granny Smith apple. I had another Shakeo for lunch, then had a baby spinach salad with 1 tbsp. of each: carrot, celery, red bell pepper, light raspberry vinaigrette, 4 ounces of 99% lean turkey meat and a cup of Green Tea (I got some at Meijer) for dinner. I ended my day with another Shakeo for my evening snack. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty hungry. I think this is partially because I just got done eating wayyyyy too much food for a week, obviously part of it is because of the low caloric intake today. I did complete Burn Intervals today from ChaLEAN Extreme this morning. My energy level felt fine and I was able to push hard throughout the whole workout. Throughout the day, my energy level has slightly gone down, but nothing major. I haven't felt shaky and I don't have a headache. One key thing to remember to do when doing the Shakeology Cleanse is to drink a lot of water. I have had a ton of water today and feel very hydrated, something I didn't feel all week up north. My total caloric intake today was 696 calories and I burned 554 doing Burn Intervals and Ab Burner. Since the cleanse has such a low caloric intake, it isn't recommended to do it for more than three days. My goals of the cleanse are to reset my clean eating habits, reduce cravings for junk food, detox my system, and get rid of the vacation bloat. More to come tomorrow....


To order Shakeology, or learn more about it, check out my website: http://myshakeology.com/esuite/home/lmcdonald

Summer: Sun, Fun, and Exercise...NO EXCUSES!!

Summer is such a wonderful time of year. It's a time for relaxing, enjoying the beautiful weather (except when it's 100 degrees and humid like it is right now), spending time with family, and attempting to act like you don't have a care in the world. It can be very easy to fall out of your exercise routines and habits. Don't let your summer plans get in the way of your health and happiness. Plan ahead. If you are going to a BBQ, get your workout in before you leave. Workout in the morning before the temperature gets too hot, or at night when it cools off. Make sure you stay hydrated so you don't hit that nasty dehydration wall. If you are going on a family vacation, plan workouts that you can do while out of your usual workout space. I am heading Up North tomorrow but am not going to let that stop me from working out. I have my weights loaded in my car, my workout DVDs ready to go, and my clothes all packed. My family knows working out is a priority to me (plus my sister and brother-in-law are doing the some Beachbody program I am) which helps me fit my workouts in during our vacation. If you can't pack your weights, choose a program that doesn't require equipment like Insanity, Insanity: Fast and Furious, Turbo Fire or Brazil Butt Lift. If you are going somewhere with no electricity, or simply won't be around a TV or computer, make sure you are doing something every day. Go for a hike, bike ride, run, do sit ups and push ups, find a interval circuit on Pinterest and do that for half an hour. No matter what you have going on during your summer, make sure you stick to your workout routine. You will be thankful you did. 

No excuses! Kelly, Matt, and I pushed play at the Murphy cottage on 4th of July. 

For more information on the Beachbody programs mentioned above, go to beachbodycoach.com/lmcdonald

Quinoa and Edamame Salad

This is a delicious salad that can be served as a side dish or a main dish. I got it from my friend Kristin!

2 cups uncooked quinoa

1/2 bag shelled edamame

1/2 cup parsley

1/2 cup green onions

1/2 cup finely chopped carrots

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 cup finely chopped red peppers

Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil

juice from one lemon

1 tablespoon mustard

cook and cool quinoa and edamame. according to the directions on packages.  When they are cooled, add parsley, green onions, carrots, celery, and red peppers. 

Mix olive oil, lemon juice, and mustard together until they are emulsified. 

Stir in dressing and serve. 

This is great for left-overs or to take to a bbq. It's super healthy, hearty, and packed with protein. 

Thanks Kristin!!!!

Nutrition is Key
Why the Campaign to Stop America's Obesity Crisis Keeps Failing
As my students were taking their Scantron testing today and I was very actively proctoring this assessment, I discovered this article in Newsweek magazine. Obesity has been a hot-topic in our nation as of late. On May 14th the mini-series "The Weight of the Nation" premiers. Some of you may have seen Jamie Oliver's television series that looks at school lunches in LA. It isn't new information that our nation has an issue with healthy eating habits. This article focuses on the fact that while exercise is important to maintaining a healthy body, healthy eating is essential. Obviously I am a huge advocate for working out and being physically fit, but having a poor diet is counter-productive to the good I am doing for my body. Prior to the beginning of this calendar year, I lived in the mindset of exercising so I could eat whatever I wanted. This worked fine for me, I think mainly because I was in my lower twenties and still had a decent metabolism. At the end of 2011, I decided to take a real look at my nutrition along with my workout habits. Cutting out or at least cutting down on certain things in my diet has given me a much healthier, physically fit body. My energy levels have increased, I have lost weight and inches, and I feel so much better. Could I be doing more? Sure, we all could. I feel like I have found a pretty good balance of healthy eating and still treating myself to delicious yet unhealthy foods. I haven't had red meat since the beginning of the year (this was almost an unintentional elimination), I eat lean white meat daily, I rarely eat breads and pastas and if I do, they are whole grain not refined white flour based. I eat a whole lot of fruits and veggies throughout the day, which does take some getting used to because of the added fiber. Eating healthy is an adjustment, but it doesn't have to be bad or boring. One thing I like to think about is if I can pronounce the ingredients in my foods. If you take a look what you are putting in your mouth and you can't pronounce the majority of ingredients, re-think it. I can pronounce apple, banana, carrot, celery, turkey, chicken, bell peppers, etc. Think about it! 

Finding Your Why

Since I started working for Beachbody, I have heard the phrase, "What is your why?" a lot. Finding your why means to identify your reasons for pursuing whatever it is you are trying to achieve. For me, my why for becoming a Beachbody coach, pushing play everyday to my workout program, starting this blog, and constantly talking about fitness, health, and nutrition is to help motivate and support people in their journey toward a healthy lifestyle, while also holding myself accountable. Finding my why has also started to be a saying I have in my mind in many other aspects of my life. Why am I am teacher? Track coach? Why am I friends with certain people? Identifying my why or my purpose in engaging in activities, friendships, jobs, etc. has helped me set goals, thus giving my life a new focus and direction. What is your why for doing what you do? How are you going to achieve your why? These are questions that you should be asking yourself everyday. Find you why and become the best person you can be. Live the life you want to live by identifying your why.

Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomato, Feta, Egg White Scramble

3 egg whites

1 whole egg

2 tbsp orange and red bell peppers

1 tbsp onion

2 tbsp baby spinach

1 tsp. feta

1 tsp. sun-dried tomato

 2 turkey sausage links

1 tbsp. reduced sugar ketchup

Approximately 213 calories 

 

I had to workout later tonight than I usually do so I didn't want to have a heavy dinner. I made this light egg dinner and was so pleased. I approximated measurements on everything but the eggs and obviously the turkey sausage.  The picture doesn't do the taste justice.