Why Shakeology is the Bee's Knees

First of all, what the heck is Shakeology?

Nutrition Simplified

Shakeology is a MEAL REPLACEMENT shake that is the brainchild of the Beachbody company. The biggest misconception is that it's a protein shake. NOPE! It's so much more than that! It is jam packed with vitamins and nutrients that we (as crazy busy folks) typically don't include in our daily diets. The shakes include probiotics, digestive enzymes, antioxidants, preboiotics, vitamins, minerals, amino acids… the list goes on!  Shakeology is SO nutrient-dense, it's like eating SIX salads… except it tastes like a chocolate peanut butter cup or strawberry banana smoothie or snickerdoodle cookie. YES! There are special ways to mix up the shakes that have them tasting like dessert! 

Why do I love Shakeology?

I'll be real with you, I use to have HORRIBLE eating habits. I was always feeling like I needed a nap, was bloated, had crappy skin/hair/nails, felt sluggish while working, was irregular (yup, I'm talking about poop people!), and was extremely moody. So what changed? I started eating healthier and replacing one meal or snack a day with chocolate Shakeology.

By making this change, I noticed a significant difference in my appearance (longer nails, clearer skin, and less damage to my hair), had more energy, and felt more stable mentally… though my husband will probably argue with that one. I also pooped every single day. That may not seem impressive to many people, but as someone who use to only poo a few times a week, it was like the skies opened up and heaven rained down upon me!

Why am I so PRO-Shakeology?

It's an easy solution! Why stop by a fast food chain, coffee house, or gas station to get breakfast on the go when you can have a meal loaded with a day's worth of vitamins and nutrients for the same price? There's no need to skimp on nutrition because of convenience. Seriously, throw a scoop of Shakeology into a shaker cup, mix with water or almond milk, and go! If you're not in a hurry, throw in some spices, fruit, ice, peanut butter, etc to change up the flavor and keep you from getting bored. Personally, I'd rather have a glass of Shakeology keeping me full and giving me energy vs. grabbing a package of mini donuts and soda that has me feeling hungry and ready for a nap within an hour.

Shakeology is also completely NATURAL. Unlike almost every single other meal replacement shake available, it's not bogged down with artificial ingredients and chemicals just to keep the cost down. It tastes good naturally! It is absolutely AMAZING the way you can feel when you give your body the ingredients that were made to fuel it efficiently. 

Most of my friends think I'm nuts when I talk about how much I love this stuff. Seriously,  how could changing one thing make me feel so amazing? I can talk about it until I'm blue in the face, but until you actually EXPERIENCE what Shakeology can do for YOU, you will never know!

I encourage you to at least TRY Shakeology to see how it can benefit you. Yes, even those of you that claim you hate "drinking" your meals. How about you "drink" your snack instead? (Yup, I'm being a smartass…) I ALWAYS have samples available if you'd like to give it a shot prior to committing to purchasing an entire bag. What could be easier on you (and your wallet) than trying Shakeology?! ;)

Comment below or e-mail me for more information and sample flavors!

 

Pregnancy Thus Far (14 weeks)

Many of you reading this may already know that my husband and I are expecting a new addition to our family in early August 2014. This will be our first two-legged child! So now I'm going to go in to how pregnancy has been treating me...

I found this shirt, which is very similar to to the Insanity shirt I earned upon completing that program, to announce our new addition. This was a perfect way considering how invested I have become with Beachbody and my job as a coach!

Unfortunately, I have to give myself twice daily heparin injections. This is a blood thinner that I have been placed on due to my stroke history. I bruise very easily the way it is, but putting me on a blood thinner makes it worse! Luckily, the bruising is minimal, but still… this ain't pretty! Along with this, I am unable to drink my Shakeology, as the vitamin K content is too high for my doctor's liking. As much as I would like to go against doctor's orders (I miss my Shakeo!!!), I realized I can't put my wants first anymore. Along with this, you'll notice my fabulous blanket. We have become best friends, as I nap SO much! Partially blaming pregnancy, the other is due to the heparin.

 Nausea hit me VERY hard around 7-8 weeks along. I had to take generic Zofran every 4 hours just to be able to function. I was fortunate in that I never physically got sick, but sometimes I wish I would have! I am very lucky in that one of my coworkers makes phenomenal ginger snap cookies, of which I purchased a package to use for medicinal purposes :)

I have been having some pretty strange cravings since day 1. Unfortunately, my tiny human isn't a huge fan of the food I typically ate pre-pregnancy. By that, I mean it hates vegetables and chicken… which is what I LIVED off of! Since eating vegetables wasn't an option, I drank a lot of V8 Fusion fruit/vegetable juice to get my daily intake. I have slowly been able to start adding vegetables in my diet (baby carrots are a great snack right now), however unless it is covered in bbq or hot sauces, I still can't do chicken! Some of the things I have been craving include: chips and queso, Fruity Pebbles (or any cereal really), Skittles, milk, root beer, oranges and orange juice, and pizza. Now I am to the point where nothing sounds good until I start eating it. The husband really hates that… makes prepping for dinner VERY difficult!

My skin has become super sensitive, more specifically the tops of my hands. I wash my hands too many times a day to count, and the soap at work did this to me. It turns very red and raw, followed by dry and cracking/bleeding. I had to purchase a calming soap to take to work, which has helped a little. Before bed, I coat the tops of my hands and fingers with triple antibiotic ointment, which has been a miracle! Luckily, the rest of my skin (minus a few facial outbreaks) has tolerated pregnancy pretty well!

A friend of mine allowed me to borrow a bunch of her maternity clothes. She is much smaller than me naturally, however she was nearing the end of her pregnancy in the summer/fall last year, making the clothes perfect for me right now. Mike and I are going south Florida in a few weeks for a friend's wedding, so I need warm weather clothes! These are some maternity capris that are BEYOND comfortable! However, as I was trying on the clothes, I had a moment of panic. I have always carried my extra weight around my midsection - this is what I worked so hard to lose (most of anyway) prior to the tiny human. Upon trying on these pants, it was a mental tug-of-war between knowing that my tummy is suppose to be getting bigger vs. my normal mentality of keeping that area hidden. Mike came in the room, saw me like this, and stated with a smile on his face, "Look at the belly!" I instantly started crying so hard that I hyperventilated. Luckily, he was sweet and talked me off the ledge, but it's a mental hurdle that will take me a while to overcome. My hopes are that when I start to look pregnant to people who don't already know I'm pregnant, I'll be ok. It is so hard being at that point where it could go either way between extra fluff and pregnancy. One friend told me if I felt self conscious, keep my hand on my belly, as that's a sure sign that you're making a tiny human. Note taken!!

A New Adventure

My Sunday began with Week 3 of Focus T25, starting off with Total Body Circuit. I love that TBC incorporates everything, but this workout is a beast! I hate going from standing, to floor work, back up, then down again. When I initially did TBC, I had a horrible calorie burn (270) and barely got my heart rate up simply because I had no idea what was going on! By the second time, I got my HR up a little higher and burned an extra 20 calories. I told myself that I would crush those numbers today... and I did!

T25 Total Body Circuit = Sweaty Mess

It's not the prettiest I've ever looked, but I love seeing all of that sweat! I earned looking that nasty! I used to go to the gym and never work up a sweat because I thought it felt gross. It's all mental. Now I get angry when I barely break a sweat. Crazy how things change!

After my workout, I made a very important phone call that lead to a new adventure for me. I am so excited to announce that I am a new Team BeachBody Coach! Not only does this mean I get to help others achieve their fitness, weight loss, and health goals, it's also additional motivation to keep me going strong. Getting started is the hardest part - making that jump and taking a leap of faith. The same is true for taking those steps to a new and better you. If you are interested in any BeachBody products, or if you're simply curious as to what it's all about, please let me know!

I'm kind of a big deal!
Find me on Twitter to see what the excitement is about!

Mike had to work today, so I was able to catch up on laundry, clean the kitchen, do the weekly grocery shopping, and have everything set up for dinner.  As I mentioned previously, he's the cook in this family. I told him what we were having, and he made it. All fresh and cooked to perfection!

Round steak, spicy green beans, garlic carrots

Food For Thought

Let me first say, I'm not a great cook. I make basic dishes.  In college, I lived off of cereal, turkey sandwiches, Sunchips, frozen chicken nuggets, frozen pizza, and Lean Cuisine meals. Surprisingly enough, it was one of the "skinnier" points in my life. Note I did not say healthier. Now that I am married, however, I am supposed to be more domestic. Let me tell you how that goes:

• Whomever is home first from work (Mike and I both have funky hours) is in charge of dinner.  Usually I screw around at work so he gets home before I do.
• When I do have to suck it up and make dinner, I usually brown some venison or bake chicken. I pair said protein with something green (beans or salad). Throw that stuff on a plate and voila! Dinner is served! Thirty minutes later, Mike is complaining he's hungry and asks to go get ice cream. We then go get ice cream.
• If Mike makes dinner, we usually have chicken, venison, or steak paired with a complex carbohydrate and vegetable. The food is loaded with flavor and tastes amazing! Mike piles my plate high, so usually I pass off my leftovers to him.

Needless to say, Mike is a better cook than I am. I'm ok with this fact, which is why I usually  let him cook. 

The rest of my meals usually go as followed:

• Pre-workout shake before exercising around 5:15am
• Protein shake after working out at 6:15am
• One egg and one egg white scrambled with hot sauce, toast, banana at 7:15am -or- protein bar and banana if I'm running late at 7:40am
• Yogurt or protein bar around 10am
• Leftovers if Mike made dinner -or- two whole eggs with two pieces of bread and hot sauce anytime between 12:15-1:15pm
• String cheese and almonds around 3pm
• Dinner is usually around 6pm or 7:30pm if it's my late night

I fully admit that I do not get enough fruits and vegetables in my diet. In fact, I'm probably way under my calorie count for the day! But hey, this is my accountability to work harder at eating better, right?! I have downloaded the MyFitnessPal app on my phone, in hopes that I can keep a better record of what I am eating. I will also be using it to ensure I drink enough water throughout the day. With my job, it's often hard to take water breaks, so I've been trying to be better.

I also have a problem of getting into a rut with not knowing what to cook. We are on a very tight budget, which makes affording all of the healthy, yummy stuff more difficult. (Side note: we have one grocery store in our town, which lacks variety. The prices are also super inflated since it is a monopoly. Typically, we stock up when we go to larger towns, however produce never lasts long enough to stock up the way we wish we could.) We planted a small garden this summer, which helped slightly. We are hoping to extend it next year, that way we can have healthier items around the house without breaking our bank. 

What are your biggest obstacles when it comes to cooking and nutrition? I would love to know if others go through the same thing as me!