Top 5 Reasons to do the 21 Day Fix

What a great Thanksgiving we had this year!  I have so much to be thankful for today and everyday!!
But oh boy did I overdo it on the food!!  Have you ever noticed that Thanksgiving dinner is made up of mostly carbohydrates?  Let me recount the food we ate just for dinner on Thanksgiving day; mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing (dressing), mac n cheese, dinner rolls, corn, green beans, ham and turkey!  HOLY MOLY!  That's a LOT of CARBS!!  But you know what, it's once a year, so I indulged!  And I felt like crap the rest of the weekend, which is why I do not eat like that all the time.  And also why I am super excited to be starting the 21 day fix nutrition plan today!

Why the 21 day fix??
Here is why I love the 21 day fix and also why it is so effective.
1)  It's an easy to follow nutrition plan!!  It comes with these cute little containers that you use to measure your food so no counting calories or points.  The containers are color coded; ie.  RED is for your protein, PURPLE for your fruit and so on.  The nutrition guide shows you exactly how to figure out how many of these containers you get to eat in a day based on your personal needs.  It also contains great recipes and meal ideas. 
2)  The workouts are 30 minutes long!!!!  That's it, one half of an hour!!!  Anyone can make time for that!  The workouts also come with a modifier so just about anyone can do it.  And believe me, when I first started, I used the modifier often!  And it can be done from the comfort of your own home!!
3)  The meal replacement shakes that come with this program (Shakeology) are AMAZING!!  I seriously do not go a day without my Shake.  It is full of nutrients and superfoods!  It gives me so much energy and helps keep those cravings at bay.  My whole family drinks these shakes because I know, even if they eat terrible, if they've had their shakes they are getting the nutrients they need. 
4)  It takes 21 days to break a bad habit and start a new good habit.  Following the 21 day nutrition plan helps you to break all those bad eating habits and teaches you how to eat healthy, clean food that also tastes good.  This is not a quick fix!  This nutrition guide is meant to show you what foods you should be eating ALL the time, not just for the 21 days.  You can't get finished with the 21 days and then go right back to what you were doing before.  What you can do is take what you've learned from the challenge and apply it to your daily life with an 80/20 rule.  That's what I follow.  If you eat right 80% of the time then you don't have to feel guilty when you have cheat meals the other 20%.  It's all about moderation and that is the one thing that the 21 day fix has taught me.  I do NOT diet but I do provide the fuel my body needs with an occasional treat. 
5)  It works!!!

So even when I am not necessarily doing the 21 day fix workouts (I like to change my workouts often), I like to follow the nutrition plan.  This is the program I started with over a year and a half ago.  This is the program my hubby started out with over 6 months ago.  It is the program that we will always go back to.

If you are interested in ordering the this program, you can fill out the form on this blog or go to my website here http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/BCP21D160?referringRepId=582447
Make it a great week!!!

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip

This will be a short post since I'm currently trying to get my house in order and food prepared for company this Thanksgiving day.  But I wanted to share really quickly a yummy healthy appetizer for anyone who may still be looking for ideas. 

Every family get together I am required to make my buffalo chicken dip.  If I don't I could possibly be banished from the family.  ;)  While it is super delicious, it is definitely NOT healthy!  So, when I started my healthier lifestyle, I decided I needed to find a healthier version of it, at least for me.  Now, I usually bring my old version and my healthy version for those of us trying to be healthy.  So, this is one of things I will be making for Thanksgiving day.  I figure we will have plenty of unhealthy foods to eat, I should at least have one that isn't so bad. 

This can also be 21 day fix approved!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of cooked shredded chicken
1 cup of plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp of shredded Mexican cheese
Texas Pete buffalo sauce to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix chicken, Greek yogurt, half of cheese and buffalo sauce together.  Pour into container.  Top with remaining cheese.  Bake until heated through, about 15-20 minutes. 

Serve with celery sticks or crackers of your choice. 

Now, it doesn't get much easier than that!  And I promise, it is delicious!!

Sorry, I don't have a picture of the finished product since I won't be making it until Thursday and I never thought to take a picture of it before.  But here is a lovely picture of the ingredients.  :)

When Momma's Don't Make Time for Themselves

I'm in the mood today to be brutally honest about something that, as a health and fitness coach, I hear a lot. I spend a lot of time inviting people to join me for various health and fitness challenges that I run through Facebook.  I do this because I genuinely want to help others feel good about themselves and to reach their goals, whatever they may be.  I do want to point out that I, in no way, believe that everyone should be the same size or weight.  My goal is to empower people, especially women, to feel good about themselves, whatever size or weight they are.  Also, it is important to me, as someone who lost her mother way too young, to keep you healthy and energized.  If you are not eating the right foods and you are not exercising, chances are, you are not as healthy as you could be.  I want all you of you mommas to be around to watch your children, and grandchildren grow up.  And I want you to be able to enjoy that time with them, to have the energy to play and chase them around.  If you are not taking care of yourself, you are probably not able to do this like you could.  I know you want this too!!  So now, I'm going to say it, and I know you don't want to hear it but hear it goes.....STOP MAKING EXCUSES!

Look, I know you are busy, whether you are a full time working outside of the home mom, a stay at home mom, a single mom or a part time working out of the home mom!  I get it, you are BUSY!!  Time is the number one excuse I get for why people can not complete a workout program or eat healthy.  And I understand because I've made the same excuses.  But the thing is you HAVE to make the time for this one thing so that you can continue to do all the other things that you do.  The stress will catch up with you if you do not have a way to channel it.  Believe me, I know!  I use to have so much stress in my life and I let it eat away at me until I had major stomach issues.  My stress was affecting my kids and my marriage.  I had to find a way to let it go so first I let God fully into my life and decided to let him take over the stress. Secondly, I found a way to channel my stress through exercise.
So here is some food for thought because I know someone is reading this and saying, "well she has no idea what my life is like, I really don't have the time!"  And you're right I don't know what your life is like and you don't know what mine is like.  I'm not here to judge you and I'm certainly not telling you that you are a bad person because you haven't made this a priority yet.  What I am here to tell you is this, as bad as you think you have it, I can guarantee that we can find someone who has had it worse, and who was able to overcome it.  As busy as you are, I can guarantee that we can find someone who is busier, but was able to make the important changes in their life.  This goes for all aspects of your life.  I think this is an important thing to be reminded of.  If there is something that you want in life, then make it a priority. 

The point of this blog entry is not to put you down for not making health and fitness a priority.  My goal today is to inspire you to want to be a better person, to start taking care of yourself, to have you look at things a little differently.  I know all about the momma guilt that is involved when we do something for ourselves.  I lived with it for years!  But by taking care of yourself, you are in turn taking care of your children.  You are helping to ensure that you will be here for them a little longer.  You are providing yourself the energy to take care of them.  You are setting a positive example for them to follow.  Children learn by what they see you do, not what you tell them to do. 

If you want my help to get you started, message me or find me on FB at https://www.facebook.com/Tammy-Fierce_and_Fit-1423818677926236/

End Of Year Resolution Challenge

How many of us make New Year's resolutions every January only to quit them and give up by March?!  You're kidding yourself if you say that you never have.  We've all done it! 
Why wait until the new year to make a resolution!!??  I say let's make a resolution right now, to NOT end this year putting on that extra Holiday weight! Let's make an end of year resolution to get in shape and healthy NOW!!

As some may know, I haven't had a real "weight" issue in my past.  But EVERY single year starting in late October through December I put on my extra "Holiday weight."  I could say it's so that I can stay a little warmer during those winter months.  I have always lacked self control during this time of year.  I overindulge at all the Holiday parties.  I stop working out.  I lose my mojo every year at this time.  But NOT this year!!  I am determined to stay in control!  I don't want to spend January making up for my lack of control and motivation during November and December.  I don't enjoy playing make up. 

So I am starting a year end resolution challenge starting November 30 and I would LOVE for YOU to join me!  We can help hold each other accountable, keep each other motivated and support each other!  This will be a 21 day challenge, finishing right before Christmas.  The program will consist of 30 minute workouts that contain a mixture of cardio and weight training with a professional trainer that you will do at home.  It's only 30 minutes so NO EXCUSES!  You will also get a 30 day supply of a superfood meal replacement shakes that are natural-packed with 70+ superfoods and scientifically proven to change your overall health, called Shakeology.  It helps you lose weight, reduces cravings, reduces cholesterol, increases your natural energy and digestive regularity.  I can not live without my shakes!  You will also get meal planning ideas along with some recipes to keep you on track.  And of course ME as your coach to support you the whole way through!!  I will be running this challenge through a private Facebook group. 

If this sounds like something that you would be interested in, please comment below or send me a message and I will be happy to get you more information.  You can find me on FB at https://www.facebook.com/Tammy-Fierce_and_Fit-1423818677926236/

Or my website at http://www.beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/tgilles3177

Family friendly healthy baked fajitas

Does it sometimes seem impossible to find a meal to cook that everyone in the house will eat and enjoy!?
This is my biggest struggle!  I have three kiddos, 12, 10 and 3 years old. My 12 year old is by far the pickiest eater!  If it's healthy, chances are he won't like it.   My middle son is mostly easy to please, with just a few foods he doesn't like. And my 3 year old, well she's 3!  Therefore, one day she will love a certain food then the next day hate it. She is currently into dipping everything. It doesn't really matter what you dip it in as long as she sees you dip it. Lol

Well, today's recipe that i'm going to share with you is a hit with the WHOLE family!  I know, it's hard to believe but it's true. In fact, we have it on a regular menu rotation. And you know what else???  It's super easy, inexpensive and HEALTHY!!  BONUS!!

So without further ado, here is my recipe for Healthy Baked Chicken Fajitas:

Ingredients
Seasoning
1 Tbsp Chili powder
1/2 Tbsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp Corriander
1/8 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Almond flour

Fajitas
1 small onion
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 orange pepper
1 pound chicken breast
2 Tbsp Coconut oil
1 small lime
Whole wheat tortillas
Plain nonfat Greek yogurt (healthy alternative to sour cream)
Avocado

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all all the ingredients for the seasoning in a small bowl and set aside.
Cut the peppers and onion into strips. Place them in a 9 x 13 in casserole dish. Cut the chicken into strips and add to casserole dish.
Sprinkle the seasoning over the chicken and veggies. Drizzle coconut oil over top of that. Take your hands and mix the ingredients until everything is coated.
Bake in over for 25-30 minutes. Squeeze the lime juice over top of mixture after it comes out of oven.

Serve in tortillas, add avocado and Greek yogurt to taste!

Tammy Transformation; inside and out!

Clean and Healthy Crockpot Turkey Meatballs

Who doesn't love a good meatball!?

As I sat down Sunday afternoon to plan my menu for the week, as I do every Sunday, I was trying to come up with a couple quick easy recipes.  You see, as a mother of 3, there seems to always be something going on in the evenings:  Cub Scouts, baseball, basketball, Musical rehearsals, therapies, etc, etc.    I know this is a very common thing in most families today.  So the question is always how do we throw together a quick dinner that is also healthy and kid friendly.  That can be a lot to take in to consideration.

I often browse through Pinterest looking for such recipes (there are a ton out there!) but even when I find one, I tend to like to make it my own.  I like to think about what ingredients I already have in my house and how I can substitute those for other ingredients I don't have.  Sometimes it turns out delicious, sometimes not so much.  But, hey, that's how you learn!

Without further ado, here is my recipe for Clean and Healthy Crockpot Turkey Meatballs!

Ingredients
1 pound of Ground Turkey
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp of Gluten Free Italian Bread Crumbs
1Tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 can Tomato Sauce (clean)

Mix ground turkey, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, parmesan cheese and bread crumbs together.  Form into small balls.  Place meatballs in bottom of crockpot, cover with tomato sauce and sprinkle with a bit of Parmesan.  Turn on low heat for about 4 hours.  Serve over whole wheat pasta!

Our Transformation

In honor of Flashback Friday, I wanted to share my hubby's and my transformation.  The changes that have taken place in our lives both physically and mentally in the last year have been astounding.  My changes started out physical.  I lost the baby weight after having my 3rd child.  I was starting to fit back into my old clothes again.  And of course this made me feel more confident.  I loved the support I received from online health and fitness groups that I was in and decided I wanted to give back.  I wanted to help others gain their confidence back too.  I became a health and fitness coach, not realizing the full impact it would have on me.  I started wanting to be better in all areas of my life.  I started, for the first time in my life, reading personal development books.  I became addicted to these kind of books.  I'm always looking for ways to improve myself.  I started to want to push myself physically also.  I didn't need to lose any more weight but I wanted to be stronger.  Here's the thing about working out.  Once you start seeing the changes taking place in your body, you become addicted.  I love the way working out makes me feel!  It makes me feel powerful and strong.  It is how I distress!  As a mom of three, it is often my only "me" time.  So when I look back at old pictures like the one below, it makes me feel so good to see how far I've come.  And because I know its more than just the physical.  I'm not trying to look good for anyone else, I'm trying to feel good for me.
Now, for my darling husband.  We laugh and joke now when we see old pics of him.  He always says, "Oh my gosh, why didn't you tell me that I was so fat?!"  And I say, "I didn't know!"  I guess what they say about love being blind is true.  I never realized how overweight he had gotten and obviously he didn't either.  And the weight didn't matter and it still doesn't.  What matters most to me is that he is finally doing something to better his health.  Being overweight is not healthy for anyone especially when you have heart disease that runs in your family.  We have both had parents die at very young ages due to heart failure.  And the last thing we want to do is leave our children behind so young.  So we are working on making ourselves as healthy as possible so that we can stick around and annoy our children for years to come!  ;)

Nothing can beat the confidence and energy we have gained from finally taking a stand and doing what is best for our health.  That is why I am so committed to helping as many people as I can do the same. 

If you need help getting started, contact me, I am ready to help you, help yourself!  We can't do it alone, we need a good strong support system to help keep us accountable.  I can provide that for you and I want to!

Breakfast is served!

I thought I would share another recipe today. I have a few favorite go to recipes, that I will usually have at least once a week. They are usually pretty easy and kid friendly. Today's recipe is a breakfast burrito.
For many years, I never ate breakfast. I wasn't and still am not a morning person. I would drink my coffe and that was my breakfast. I have since learned the importance of eating a good breakfast. It really sets the tone for the whole day. If I start the day off eating healthy, I'm much more likely to continue that behavior the rest of the day. Plus, it gives me the energy I need to get through my early morning workouts.
 I love to start the day off with some good healthy protein!  I was actually never a big fan of eggs but I have learned to become a fan by making them in a way that I can enjoy. So here is today's healthy breakfast burrito recipe.

2 farm fresh eggs
1 farm fresh egg white
Southwestern seasoning to taste (mine is homemade, will share in future post)
1 Turkey sausage link
Few sprigs of Spinach
1 whole wear tortilla
1 tbsp Organic Salsa

Scramble eggs, add seasoning and cook until done. While eggs are cooking, heat up turkey sausage link in microwave or skillet. Cut into bite size pieces. Add spinach, cooked eggs, sausage and salsa to tortilla. Enjoy!

21 Day Fix moves

I typically workout six days a week. I'm one of those people who genuinely enjoy working out or at least how I feel after a workout. My problem is that I tend to get bored fairly easily with a workout. So since I recently finished Beachbody's Insanity program, I have been sort of drifting through different workouts. This week I went back to my roots with the 21 day fix program. I'm also doing a five day clean eating challenge meant to boost my metabolism and cleanse my body. I will write another post about that later.
I think it's funny how when you change workouts, your body can become so sore no matter how good of shape you're in. My body has hurt this week and I've loved every minute of it (well most of it). The soreness reminds me that it's working, that the exercises are changing my body. I like that feeling. So overall I've enjoyed going back and doing this program again. It's been a nice change of pace and obviously is doing my body some good.
I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite moves from the 21 Day Fix. For those who are t familiar with the program, it's basically a workout and nutrition plan that I pair with Shakeology. The nutrition plan comes with containers that help teach you portion control and what foods you should be eating every day. It makes eating healthy a lot easier. You can click on my website for more details if interested.

Here are a couple of my favorite moves:

1)Oblique Side bends:  stand with feet hip width apart, using weight in right hand bend at the waist and pull up. Put your hand on your side so you can feel your obliques tighten. Do for 1 minute on each side. 

2)Plié  squats with upright row:  Stand with feet a little further then shoulder width apart, toes pointed out. As you go down in a squat, pull your arms up. Don't let your knees go over your toes. Do for 1 minute.