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.

Accountability Partner

Have you ever noticed that it is easier to do something if you know people are counting on you to do it? Maybe you have experienced this in your profession, your family, your friendships, or your social life. I experience this the most in my workout habits. For the past three-four years, my brother-in-law Matt has been my accountability partner. Over the past three summers, Matt and I have held each other accountable and supported each other through multiple Beachbody workout programs. It started with p90x. Matt started working out with it and I figured I would join in. The next summer we moved on to Insanity. Last summer we both completed RevAbs before summer then committed ourselves to Insanity:The Asylum. Starting in January of this year, we both decided that we weren't going to wait until the summer to complete a program, we both wanted to be in shape BEFORE summer, not at the END of summer (duh right?!). I started another round of Insanity and Matt and Kelly did Ten Minute Trainer (which was actually 30-45 minute trainer for them). Not only did I find support through Matt, I also joined a Facebook group dedicated to helping people stay motivated in their workouts. Having Matt, Kelly, Heather (my Beachbody coach), and all my teammates from the FB group encouraging me and holding me accountable to my workouts, truly pushed me to push play every day. Trust me, plenty of days I did not want to press play and had a million and a half excuses as to why it just wasn't in the cards that day. When those days came up, I talked to Matt, I posted on my group, I told people how I was feeling and they basically told me to get my butt in gear and push play (sometimes nicely, mainly not). Knowing I had people who expected me to push play helped get me through the rough days. This is why many of you have heard me talk about Beachbody and my workouts. I need people to know I am doing this so they will ask me about it. If I'm asked about it and I say, "Oh, I didn't get to do my workout today", I know I let myself down and, in a way, let them down. I thrive on the guilt and pressure I feel from others. The guilt is a good thing, it is making me stronger. Think about it, do you do better in life if people are there to ask you questions and hold you accountable? I now have my own Facebook group dedicated to helping people through their Beachbody workout programs. The sense of accountability and support is so incredible in this group. If you are looking for someone to hold you accountable, look no further. I'm pretty good at it and would love to help you. Find your way to change your life, no more excuses! I know without my daily text messages conversations, Facetime, and Facebook postings with Matt, I wouldn't be as committed as I am today. Thank you Matt for making me a healthier person!

Homemade Apple Chips

I love to snack on these. I found the "recipe" on Pinterest. This time I tried Gala, Fuji, and Honey Crisp apples. I'm playing around with the type of apple to find the best one. Last time I tried Red Delicious and Granny Smith (my favorite apple for everything).
How to make:
Thinly slice and core the apple
Place on parchment paper
Sprinkle with cinnamon
Back for 2 hours at 200 degrees
After 2 hours check to see if they need more time. It all depends on how crispy you want them. I like mine a little chewy.

Don't bake at higher than 200 degrees because you don't want to actually bake them, you want to dry them out instead.

Keep them in a ziplock bag.

Turkey Taco Salad

This is one of my new favorite meals. It is so light and healthy but totally satisfies that taco craving.

4 oz. 99% Lean Ground Turkey (precooked with reduced sodium taco seasoning)
2 cups baby spinach
1-2 cups Romain lettuce
2 tbsp. red and orange peppers
1 tsp. onion
1-2 tbsp. Low fat sour cream
2 tbsp. Salsa

Approximately 195 calories. 

I mean really, who could ask for more?

Diet is a four letter word

I really hate the word "diet". It makes me think I am depriving myself of delicious food. I get images of jail cell bars blocking food. Instead of the word "diet", I choose to say that I am making healthy eating decision and that I am on a lifestyle change. The key for me is to allow myself to eat the foods I love in moderation. Have you seen the Yoplait yogurt "Swaportunity" commercials? If you haven't, go to Youtube and look them up. This is now one philosophy I base my nutrition on. Instead of snacking on chips or Cheez-Itz (mmmmmm Cheez-Itz), I snack on fresh bell peppers, almonds, celery, carrots, and apples. All give me that crunch I am looking for in my snack but the latter are much more beneficial for my body. I take the swaportunity presented in front of me and make the healthier decision (most of the time). My favorite swap I have made is lettuce for taco shells. It's amazing how nutritiously empty taco shells are, so now I eat my turkey taco meat on a bed of fresh baby spinach and Romain lettuce. I get my taco fix, but don't feel like a giant slug after I'm done eating. I'm not saying that I have the best food nutrition in the world and that I never eat anything that is "bad" for me, but I try to make 90% of my meals healthy. Lately I have become a sucker for Skinny Cow ice cream. If you know me, you know I am a HUGE ice cream fan. Skinny Cow makes delicious ice cream sandwiches and bars that range from 100-150 calories. These little nuggets of heaven don't leave me feeling like I blew all the wonderful health decisions I made throughout my day. As Shaun T says, "We need to treat ourselves because we work hard". Ok so those might not be the EXACT words he uses, but it is close.

What I know to be true

I know many things to be true in life. The sun always rises in the East and sets in the West, my parents' love for me is stronger than any medicine around, my sister is the most beautiful soul I know, my brother-in-law was meant to marry my sister and be in our family, coffee is comforting, true friendships never need to be re-invented. One thing I have always known to be true is that you get out what you put in. At the beginning of 2012, I knew I needed to put more into my life. I wasn't satisfied with what I was getting out of my world. Sure, I live in Aspen, I have great friends, I come from the most amazing family, I have a beautiful brother, nephew, and niece, I am healthy, I have a solid job, I have a cat the size of a small dog, but something was missing. In order to find what it was, I decided to pick up an old habit, working out. Ever since the 5th grade, I have been involved in athletics. I played volleyball year round through high school while also playing basketball and softball. In college I played volleyball then moved into the coaching world. Working out has always been a part of my life. I've used my workouts for a number of reason, escaping the real-world, getting out frustration and anger, building self-confidence, forming friendships, developing leadership skills, learning to communicate, and just to look good. Knowing I needed a boost in my life, I decided to push play with Shaun T's Insanity workouts. I set myself up for success by thoroughly reading the Elite Nutrition guide, getting Shakeology, and planning my workouts and meals ahead of time. 63 days later, I was a changed person. I finished that round of Insanity on March 4th, and am now on my 2nd round of the p90x/asylum hybrid. I also decided to become a Beachbody coach because I want to help others use the power of working out to improve their lives. I have put a lot into changing my life into a healthy life. In return, I am getting so much out of it. This blog will be about my fitness journey and my passion for living a healthy life.