New Year's Accountability Group

I am starting up my accountability group again - January 2, 2017! :D 

It is a women-only closed group (so everything stays private) where we support and motivate each other to eat clean, workout, and reach our goals, whatever they may be. ;) So if you need extra help to keep those New Year's resolutions - JOIN US!! It's totally FREE! Bring a friend. The only thing required is that you PARTICIPATE - no lurkers allowed. (Because that's no fun.)

I really need to get back in the habit of checking in with a group daily. It helps SO much, I can't even tell you. Whenever I think I will just do it on my own, I end up quitting, or making excuses for myself. Then I don't reach my goals & I get disappointed. It just goes around and around. Sound familiar?

My plan is to do another round of The Master's Hammer and Chisel with some Core De Force thrown in for fun. (Love that program!) I am going to be eating at maintenance calories for 2 months and depending how that goes I will either stick with that or eat in a deficit for the third month. I am going to force myself to get back in the habit of taking monthly progress pictures too. (Those are really hard for me.) It is such a great way to see the changes that you don't think are taking place and to see how far you've come. 

These are my new health/fitness goals for the year:

1) Workout at least 5 days a week.

2) Drink Shakeology at least 5 days a week.

3) Lose 20 lbs of fat. (I say fat, not weight, because I don't care what the scale says. I want to drop my       body fat %)

4) Meal plan weekly!

5) Go to bed earlier (7-8 hrs of sleep at least).

6) Drink at least 3 liters of water per day.

7) Complete at least 4 workout programs this year.

Okay, it's official. Now I

have

to follow through. Game face is

on! 

You can do ANYTHING if you want it bad enough. Are you ready??? 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/799024476832150/

How To Check Your Progress Weekly To Make Sure You Are Reaching Your Goals

Do you ever feel like you are working out hard & eating healthy, yet week after week you aren't seeing changes? If you are not tracking your progress weekly, how are you going to be able to know if what you are doing is even working?

There is nothing worse than busting your butt every day for a month and then realizing you have gained fat when you wanted to lose. And that you might have had better results if you would have adjusted your calories or tweaked your training program.

Here are 6 tips to help you reach those goals:

1) Decide where you want to go - set a goal!

2) Establish a starting point. Where are you now? What is it going to take to get there?

3) Formulate a plan of action. (Meal plan/training program) Put it up where you can see it.

4) Act on your plan CONSISTENTLY. Work hard every. single. day.

5) KNOW if it's working or not. (Pay attention!) Some people have been making the same nutrition & training mistakes for years & still wonder why they aren't seeing results.

6) Be flexible in your approach & BE PERSISTENT!

Be willing to adjust your approach as many times as necessary until you reach your goal. Don't do what it takes for anyone else...do what it takes for YOU!

Don't give up!

Okay, so let's go into more detail about how to do that. First of all, you are going to need to know your body fat %. You can get expensive testing done or just use calipers. (I have a scale that I think it just as accurate as calipers.) Unless you are going to be competing in a figure competition, I don't think it matters how accurate it is, as long as you are using the same method each time, you will be able to see changes from week to week.

Once you know your body fat %, multiply that number by your scale weight. This will give you your fat weight. Then subtract your fat weight from your total body weight to get your lean body mass.

Example: Let's say you weigh 145 with 28% bf. 

145 x .28 = 40.6 (fat weight)

145 - 40.6 = 104.4 (lean body mass)

This is a really good thing to know, because each week you are going to calculate these numbers again & you will be able to see if your moving in the right direction for your goals. This will give you proper feedback!!

If you are trying to lose fat, you want to see your fat weight go down, while your lean mass stays the same or increases. But don't stress out if you see an increase in weight or fat from one week to the next. That just means that you have the chance to tweak things a bit and then check again the next week. :) Make sure you check the trends over time - I probably wouldn't worry too much for the first couple weeks of tracking, because you might be losing water weight, but if you are consistently losing lean mass, you will probably need to add calories. It is really empowering to be able to do this yourself!! YOU will learn what works for YOUR body instead of following someone else's advice!

Here are some charts I use to see changes over time.

Weekly Body Fat Progress Chart

Weekly Body Fat Progress Chart (PDF)

Weekly Measurement Chart

Weekly Measurement Chart (PDF)

You should also take measurements and pictures to help you see if you are moving in the right direction. Your weight might stay the same, but if you are losing inches your body fat should be going down as well. I don't really care for the scale too much, but it is a great tool to help make sure that I am staying on track!

Well, I hope that this helps you a little. There is a really amazing book that I call my fitness Bible - it has a TON of information in it & I read it over and over - it's called Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto. Seriously, pick up a copy ASAP! It helps soooo much!

If you have any other questions, or need someone to coach you through the process, feel free to contact me!

coachbethclark@outlook.com

https://www.facebook.com/BodyRemodel/

Buttery Dill Salmon

This is seriously the best salmon recipe I have ever tried. I am not one for strong flavors on my salmon and I really want it to be moist and juicy. There is nothing worse than dry, chewy salmon. Ugh!

This recipe comes out perfectly every time. It is really moist with a light, yummy flavor. (My kids also LOVE it and they usually are not big on salmon.)

Ingredients:
Salmon
salt
garlic powder
dill weed
butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F
Line baking sheet with foil.
Sprinkle spices on top of salmon. (As much as you want. If you like it really garlicky - go for it!)
Top with a pat of butter, about 1 TBS

Bake 15 minutes at 425F

Enjoy!

Tuna Stuffed Avocados

I have recently decided to cut grains, processed food, and extra sugars from my diet for awhile. It's a little tricky coming up with new things to eat for lunch because I could seriously eat a sandwich every day.  I have a yummy tuna/avocado pita sandwich recipe that I used to eat a lot, so I decided to just TRY it without the pita. I didn't even miss it!

The avocado keeps the tuna really moist and the tomato adds a little extra flavor and juiciness. Yummy! You could probably add some celery, onions, or bell peppers if you wanted to add some crunch to it. Extra seasonings would be good as well. (I'm kind of boring when it comes to food though, unless it's SPICY - I LOVE spicy!)

The best part about this recipe is that it takes like 2 minutes to throw together. And it's soooo good for you!

Ingredients:
(makes 2 servings)
1 can albacore tuna in water
1 avocado, sliced in half
cherry tomatoes, diced
sea salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Scoop out a little of the avocado, leaving some around the edge & in the bottom of the skins. Mix the avocado, tuna, and tomatoes together in separate bowl. Add seasonings if you want. Spoon the mixture back into the avocado skins & enjoy!

(I confess, the next day I just ate everything out of the bowl - I was too hungry to be fancy!) haha

Healthy Southwest Chicken Bowl

Have I ever shared my all-time favorite go-to lunch? It's A-MAZING! I seriously eat this almost every day. Never get sick of it! Yummm! 

grin emoticon I seriously eat this almost every day. Never get sick of it. Mmmmm!

Ingredients:

1 red container of chopped, cooked chicken (about 2 oz)
1 yellow container of black beans (1/2 cup)
1 individual packet of guacamole (Blue container or 1/3 cup homemade)

I usually buy rotisserie chicken, cut it all up, and store it in individual containers. (You can also cook some up ahead of time, or use leftovers from another meal.) I buy individual packets of guacamole too. I found the Tableside Chunky Guacamole at Costco. It's really yummy & spicy! 

Then all you have to do is heat the chicken in a pan with some black beans, toss in the guac, and BAM! Delicious, healthy, and fast! :D 

Body Beast, Hammer & Chisel HYBRID!

I only have 2 more weeks left of The Master's Hammer & Chisel! It went by so fast! I absolutely LOVE this program! I am totally planning on doing another round but I think this time I will add in one of my other favorite programs - Body Beast.

This was a really hard hybrid to make. The Hammer & Chisel workouts are total body, working legs practically every day. This is seriously great for the booty! I definitely liked that about the program. ;) Body Beast focuses on one or two body parts each day so I had to be careful when planning this that we didn't overlap the muscle groups too much.

I found the best way to incorporate both programs was to do alternate weeks. (With a little extra cardio added in on the Beast weeks.) This actually works out really great for a couple reasons. 
1) You can adjust your calorie intake week to week to fit your goals. (Like eating more on Beast weeks, and cutting down on the H&C weeks.)
2) There is a lot of variety. I am actually looking forward to trying this one out!
3) You can focus really hard one week on lifting heavy and reaching muscle failure. The next week you can work on your strength, speed, & endurance by adding in the total body workouts each day.

I made this a 60-day hybrid so if you want to continue month 1 for a couple extra weeks before moving on to month 2, that would be totally fine. Feel free to add or remove any of the ab workouts too. I made this based on what I would like to do. ;)

Good Luck! Have fun and let me know how this works out for you! I will be starting my hybrid February 29 if anyone wants to join me.

coachbethclark@outlook.com

https://www.facebook.com/BodyRemodel/

Hammer & Chisel

After jumping back and forth over my workout bench, pull-up burpees, sumo power jumps, and all kinds of craziness - I completed day 2 of Hammer & Chisel! I have to say I am LOVING this program so far! (Even though it's kicking my booty.) wink emoticon

Today was Hammer Plyo. I have to say I was a little scared before doing this workout - luckily it's short - but I think the Chisel Balance I did yesterday was much harder! You have to really concentrate and use more muscles when you are working one hand with the opposite foot. Apparently my balance needs a lot more work! haha 

I'm sorry I don't have those great little videos of me doing some of the moves but I don't want to worry about what I look like working out. That's the point of working out at home, right? I'm sure you wouldn't want to see it anyway. Yikes! ;) 

I will definitely try to give more in depth reviews though so you will know what to expect from this program. I will also be posting my nutrition plan, menu, and hopefully some worksheets, so stay tuned. 

I also made this cute little workout board to motivate me! I got some chalkboard contact paper and chalk markers for Christmas and I wanted to try them out. (I cross off every day but in this picture I added the X's digitally.)

I'm still working on getting everything organized after the holidays. I don't know why it's taking me so long!

Don't let this program intimidate you guys. It's totally doable. I had to modify a few things today but that just gives me room to grow and improve myself. I can't wait to see what I get to try tomorrow! 

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need some help.

coachbethclark@outlook.com

https://www.facebook.com/BodyRemodel/

grin emoticon