Brazil Butt Lift- Which Type are You?

Before you begin Brazil Butt Lift, you need to determine your body type. You will follow a certain 30 day schedule based on body type. I love 30 day programs because I think anyone can commit for 1 month. Plus, I am sooo amazed to see really awesome results in such a short time.  If you are not really sure about what your type is, don't worry. 

The "booty blueprint" is very detailed yet simple and will help you determine your type for sure.

There are 4 different schedules for the 4 different Bumbums

• Too Flat or Square
• Pear Shaped
• Too Big
• Combination

Too Flat or Square- lack volume and shape. Basically a straight shape lacking enough curves.

Pear Shape- Curvy but a little too big around the hips. Stubborn saddlebags give you a wide shape.

Too Big- You got volume and its round but its bulging and dimply

Combination- Unsure or A little bit of all 3 of the above types.

Broiled Grapefruit and Kale Chips

Last week, I tried out a couple new snack ideas that have been on my list to try for a while. Broiled Grapefruit was one. 

The recipe I had called for 2 Tablespoons White Granulated Sugar and 2 Teaspoons Brown Sugar. The sugar is necessary for the grapefruit to brown and caramelize. As you can see from my photo below, mine did not brown completely on top. Well, I just didn't want to use so much sugar. I used about half of what the recipe called for and stuck the grapefruit halves in the oven broiler 550 degrees. After about 7 minutes, took them out. Since they did not brown completely, I put a teaspoon of rum on top of each and used the torch to complete. 

Haha, you take your pick. Sugar or rum! I chose rum this day.

I like grapefruit so this was pretty tasty for me. Warm, little bit of bitterness and lots of sweetness. Next time I will have it with honey and maybe granola for some crunch.

Broiled Grapefruit- Torch

I also tried Kale Chips. From what I've read they are a little tricky to make. Oven temperature and cook times differ across the board so this is a recipe you certainly have to experiment for yourself a few times. I drizzled about 2 tbls olive oil over a batch of freshly washed kale. Sprinkled salt, paprika and parmesan cheese. Tossed everything nice and layered it on a cookie sheet. 

Kale Before- Tossed with olive oil, parmesean, salt, and paprika

My first batch were in the over for 7 minutes at 325 and were too crispy. The second batch was much better and so was the third. I liked it, didn't love it. And I do Love kale. I guess if I ever try them again, they will get better and better. 

However, I did like the kale before it went in the oven. It was so yummy! 

Kale After- Crunchy with a little softness. Not bad.

Baked Fresh Cut French Fries?? These are The Best!!!

French fries are my absolute FAVORITE Junk food! 

They are crispy and soft and salty and oily and just delicious to me. But they can be FULL of FAT and counterproductive to indulge in. I will enjoy some fries once in a while when dining out when I know that the establishment makes good ones. Other than that, I generally steer clear. 

Today, while at the mall, I had a serious craving for french fries and walked toward the food court. I changed my mind by the time I reached the counter but decided at that moment that I would make my own once I got home. They would be fresh cut, healthier and still really tasty. 
And... I would not fall off the wagon today. So, here's how I made them. 

Ingredients
I used small Yukon Gold potatoes, olive oil and salt. 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Put on a pot of water on the stove.

Peel and cut potatoes in strips at desired thickness.

Once water boils, add potatoes carefully.

Boil potatoes for 3 minutes ONLY. Any longer will overcook them and make them mushy.

Drain potatoes and put in bowl. Thoroughly mix in 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and salt as desired.

Layer potatoes in single layer on nonstick pan. If not nonstick- spray with cooking spray first.

Cook for about 30-40 mins turning once halfway through.

You will end up with crispy fries that are moist and soft inside. 

Add salt and spices. 

Use desired dipping sauce. 

Enjoy!

Delicious!

Meal Plan for the Week Sept 9th-15th

I based this week's meals off what we have plentiful in our fridge and what's on sale where we live. Most of the fruit that my family enjoys is on sale this week and last week. So I literally stocked up on fruit like peaches, nectarines, grapes and melons over the weekend. Plus, the greens in my garden are abundant so, they have to be cooked and eaten and stored this week.

Slowly, I have grown to really enjoy simpler foods. I love just having a bowl of fruit for breakfast. My fruit bowls usually consist of about 3 cups of fruit so enough to keep me energized and satisfied in the mornings. I am also simplifying things by having my Shakeology for lunch. I won't fret around this week wondering what will I have for breakfast or lunch because it will either be a bowl of fruit or Shakeology period. On Wednesday, I will try and still keep up the "no animal product" rule that we as a family kept up this summer. Saturday is a work in progress so until plans are solidified, I do not have meal plans in place except for breakfast. Then on Sunday morning, I will relax some and have some warm cereal just to change things up a bit.

So here is my plan for the week and I will share pics and recipes next Monday!!

What challenges do you face when planning meals

for yourself or your family??

5 Steps to Keep You Focused on Your Fitness Goal

How focused are you on your health and fitness goals??
Usually we start off pretty focused. We are eating healthy, getting our workouts in for a few days in a row. But then something happens. We may start to skip a meal here and there or overeat. Then we may miss a workout or two in a row. Then we start to wonder, "What happened to my plans to lose weight?" We may start to lose FOCUS and motivation when we do not have an Ultimate Goal associated with our actions.

How Do You Stay Focused On Your Weight Loss Goals?

5 Steps to Keep you Focused

1.  Have a GOAL.
How much do you want to weigh? What size do you want to be in? What specific date do you plan to reach that goal?

2.  BREAK that goal down into manageable goals.
Is your ULTIMATE goal to lose 20 lbs? Its seems like a big number. However, when you break that 20 pound goal down into 1 lb a week you know that in about 5 months you will have achieved success. 1 lb a week is a very manageable and not so overwhelming goal.

3. Create a Step-by-Step Written plan on how to achieve your goals.
500 calories less a day means a deficit of 3500 a week or 1 pound loss a week. So will you reduce your calorie intake or increase your activity by 500 calories? You must make a plan to determine how you will create that deficit. A step-by-step written plan will help you to stay focused.

4.  TRACK Your Results. In order to know that you are moving in the right direction, you need to track your achievements. There are several tools that you can use to track your meals, your measurements, weight loss, calories burned etc. My faves are Teambeachbody, MyFitnessPal and journals.

5.  PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK- REWARD YOURSELF
There is no need to wait until you hit the ULTIMATE goal in order to reward yourself. Celebrate small success! Talk about your acheivements with others. Get a facial, buy a new pair of shoes, or clothing or better yet- put on those jeans that were too small last year. Rewarding yourself can help keep you motivated.

Always keep your ultimate goal ahead of you. You should think about your ultimate goal daily as you work through the smaller tasks to get to it. Do whatever it takes to keep your eye on it. I have a dress I want to wear in 6 weeks. So I am going to make that dress my screen saver and keep it hanging somewhere I can see it! I am also going to track my daily habits and progress so I know exactly what direction Im heading in.

 

I am here to help support, motivate and reward

you in your fitness journey. 

If you want help with setting goals and need help with nutrition and finding a fitness program that fits your needs email me at yesprettylanise@gmail.com

Meal Plan Monday

My meal plan for this week has a LOT to do with my weekend. My husband and I visited a restaurant in Indiana for dinner. It’s similar to one that we have dined-in before so we both expected to enjoy our meals. The concept is Brazilian grill, and the men bring you as much meat as you like until you turn your placecard up to say "Stop." But, this one also included seafood (which was yummy)- fish, shrimp, and crab legs. And then there’s the salad bar. We enjoyed our dinner there. The food was great and the staff was too.

Anyhow, there is a chance that I had some undercooked beef. I prefer my meats well but there were a couple mediums on my plate. I just cut off the red and enjoyed the fully cooked portion. But, for my stomach, that wasn't good enough I guess.

Fast-forward to next day and I’m sick as a dog and can’t hold down water. Made a visit to urgent care to stop the madness. And now I don't want to see any meat nowhere near me! I'm not even sure if I will have yogurt or eggs this week. (And I love eggs) I was in so much pain and couldn't sleep without a bucket near my bed for 2 days!

So my meal plan this week is mainly plant based. It works out too since my current challenge group will be working on adding more fruits and veggies to their meals this week. I will be able to share with them some yummy vegetable recipes.

Enjoy!

I will post pics next week!

 

Crafty Mom I Am. LOL

Having kids means Always spending extra money. Sometimes it's not the, "We don't have the money for this."  A lot of times it's "I'm not wasting money on that." Needless to say, 2 theme kid parties within 2 weeks times 3 kids equals 6 costumes/accessories that will never be worn again out the house. One party, a 50s theme, the other a Superheroes theme. The things I could do with the money that I would spend on these parties....

So I got to thinking. There has to be something I can do to make this happen. Having 2 boys who didn't care too much about the 50's theme. I decided to keep them simple. White socks, white t-shirt, cuffed jeans. My daughter though, needed a poodle skirt. I knew I would be better off making the skirt vs buying it. Online they were running around $40- not gone happen. I preferred not to sew and just in time I found a couple no-sew instructions and made it happen for just under $6. Found some inexpensive pink and white felt at the fabric store. Already had sparkly sequins and funky ribbons. Also used my hot glue gun and a button and that's about it..  Even made a skirt for her doll.  Came across a poodle template at www.obseussed.com and resized it to my daughter's shirt and her doll's skirt. Such a fun activity to do with her and Grandma!!

For the Superhero costume party, I decided to go ahead a just do a major search for a few days for the costumes my kids wanted and found pretty good coupon codes online. Four costumes with masks for just under $70 with shipping was the best I could do. However, my youngest really wanted to  be Captain America because he wanted the shield!! Ughhh! That's all he really wanted. Well, I decided that we would have to make the shield and the night before the party, we did.
Used the cardboard box the costumes were shipped in, an old blue folder from last school year, the white packing paper from the costume packaging and red spray paint, which we already had.  Saved myself $20 and the shield actually looked pretty good! Cost- FREE!


I'm pretty crafty by nature, just not always very precise.  Overall, I was pretty pleased with my last couple projects for the kids. More importantly, I showed them that there are plenty of things you can create right at home with supplies we already have and save a little money.

Meal Plan Monday

Here is my meal plan for the week of August 5th.

 

 

 

Again we will be utilizing much from our garden for vegetables at breakfast, salads at lunch and veggie sides at dinner. We also toss spinach, kale, Swiss chard or Bok Choy in the blender when we prepare our shakes.  Meats for the week will include chicken, turkey and steak. Love to include protein at every snack. Cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, hard boiled eggs and string cheese are my faves at snack time.

 

 

 

Here are some pics from last week meals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last week went fairly ok. Our first Wednesday "Earth Day" of clean vegan inspired eating went fairly well.  Since we spent a large portion of the day running errands we packed the car with snacks like lots of fresh fruit, baby carrots and almonds. The problem I think was that we felt more like we were snacking all day versus eating meals. It's not that that's a bad thing.  It's just kind of different thing. And then there was also a point where the kids and my husband felt like they ran out of options.

 

This week I will have more options available to them and have a new dinner recipe for us to try out. The kids loved having a large bowl of fresh fruit salad for breakfast and juicing later during the day. So we will keep that part in the plan.

 

We attended 2 parties this weekend that switched up my meal plan in the evening. My meal plans are a guide for me when my schedule is pretty typical. When I remember that I am supposed to be somewhere else, like a party, I make changes in my normal eating routine to accommodate for eating away from home. I usually will eat and drink and possibly have dessert while out. That's just me. So on those days, I simply had a Shakeology in morning and snacked on fruits and vegetables and drank tea and water before heading out to those functions.

BONUS- I weighed myself this week and I am finally pushing past a plateau. Down a couple more pounds and I know that my midsection is tighter and more toned. Will take measurements next Monday.

 

11 Years

The end of August will mark 11 years of wedded bliss for me! Not sure of exact plans for August and October,

(we celebrate twice) but what I am sure of is that I want to look good doing whatever we will do!!

My goal for month end is to lose another 5-7 pounds. That is reasonable and attainable if I am committed to do it. I am ALL about putting in the work. No quick fixes, so I just will have to keep myself in line.

To Keep Myself in Check I will...
 

• Post a meal plan weekly
• Track everyday during week on My Fitness Pal
• Keep my FB Challenge Groups motivated daily
• Complete my Focus T25 Workout according to schedule
• Add in a couple days a week of strength training- Body Beast
• Keep snacks healthy and meals filling
• Drink Shakeology daily
• Continue Wednesday as "Earth Day" (that's what my kids call it)
• Keep processed foods to a minimum. (I do not eliminate food groups)

As always, if you have healthy recipe ideas- PLEASE SHARE!!

Meal Plan Monday

Meal Plan for Week of July 29th

Here is my meal plan for the week. I base the majority of my meal plans on what I like to eat and what's readily available in my home. We have a pretty big garden that we eat from every day. We have lettuce, arugula, kales, Swiss chards, collards, beets, Bok Choy, Asian greens, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers and a variety of herbs like cilantro, parsley, basil.

Dinner is typically something that my whole family will enjoy. But it has to be something that I can modify to fit my nutritional or fitness goals for the week. I prefer not to make 2 separate meals so it has to work for my family.

New this Week!!!

The 5 of us, (my husband, 3 kids and me) are doing 1 complete day of Clean Vegan Style eating.

On Wednesdays, our meals and snacks will consist primarily of fruits, vegetables, beans and nuts. No animal products like dairy or meat. No breads, processed or junk foods. The kids are excited about juicing and making smoothies and I think I will try out making the zucchini and carrot pasta this week. We will keep this up on Wednesdays for August and then make adjustments when school starts. This week will be our first complete day so I am still working on a plan for dinner. (If you vegetable entree ideas please let me know)

I will post pictures of our meals and share next week. :-)

Setup for a Comeback!

I didn't exactly do what I originally set out to do with Body Beast last month. As much as I loved the workouts and the progress that I made during months 1 and 2, I did not maintain the nutrition aspect for the Beast phase, which is the last 4 weeks of the program. During this phase, you shred the extra fluffiness you put on during the first 8 weeks of the program.

What happened exactly?
For starters, I jumped into the program without fully taking the time to read and understand the nutrition guide. I did calculate and understand my daily calorie intake. But the dynamics of it- keeping up daily with my percentages of carbs, proteins and fats per day- I did not do so well. 
Despite the above, I still managed to build pretty good muscle definition in my biceps, shoulder and upper legs during the build and bulk phase. I am happy with those results.

What happened last month during Beast Phase?
Vacation- 9 days with my loves in sunny Jamaica at one of the best all inclusive family resorts. Then a 4-day roadtrip out-of-town 3 weeks later. So my surroundings were out of the norm.  I did not go crazy and eat like I was having my last meal, but my routine was definitely out of sync. For the most part, I eat pretty healthy even while out but when Im on vacation, Im on vacation. If you know what I mean. So if I want to have cake, ice cream, chocolate, wine.... all at the same time and for breakfast, I will, lol.

At some moment during my travels to Jamaica, I finally (after 8 weeks) understood how to manage and track my macros-(fat, carbs, protein). I created a system to make sure I ate what I should eat per day. So upon returning, I followed it the first week and felt FANTASTIC! The fluffy feeling of the Bulk phase was going away, and I could definitely see a difference after about 9 days. My biggest challenge was the limit on carbs-1 serving of fruit a day. I typically chose blueberries because 3/4 cup equals a portion and I split it up in 3- 1/4 servings.

My system to track my daily requirements and intake

Fresh fruit is in season and my fridge is full of mangoes, apples, oranges, peaches, every kind of melon, grapes, strawberries, blackberries you name it. Every hour I'm literally in the kitchen cutting and washing fruit for my children. At some point during week 2, I decided that I didnt want to seriously cut down fruit for 4 weeks. Sounds crazy, but it was a decision I made and stuck with.

 

What I Learned

Well, I did not feel like a failure. It made me realize that Timing is everything sometime. My progress and muscle development during the first two months was awesome. When it came to month 3, I was not ready.  At that time, I just didn't want to do it. I know that my results, or lack of complete results, are a result of my own actions and I am ok with that.  I didn't feel guilty or depressed about it. I continued and kept my meals within my calorie range and I finished the program.  I know I could have made serious progress had I maintained those 19 portions of protein daily and limited that fruit to 1 portion a day but that wasn't that important to me last month. I learned that its important to know what you are getting into, what it requires and plan it around your life. If I had known that I would be fluffy (aka- bulky, slightly heavier, chunky, a lil more thick) while on a beach in Jamaica, I would have planned otherwise.  Plus, if I had really figured out the whole percentage thing early on, I would have had a better idea of what my meals would look like for the months to come.

 

I will be Back to Body Beast and make a Comeback this Fall! My mind will be ready to follow the nutrition guide fully, (plus the supply of fresh fruit in my home will be less abundant.)

My Top 12 Healthy Snacks

Here is a list of my TOP 12 FAVE Healthy Snacks!

In no particular order.

They are all delicious, nutritious, filling and work well with my fitness goals.

1. Hard boiled Eggs

 

2. Air Popped Popcorn with sprinkle of Parmesean Cheese and Smoked Paprika

3. Celery with Peanut Butter

4. Lettuce Wrap with 2oz Turkey and 1/8 of avocado sliced (tortillia pictured)

 5.  Cottage Cheese with Fruit

 

6.  Fresh Strawberries and Dark Chocolate

7.  Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt with 1TBLS honey and 1TBLS crushed nuts

8.  ALMONDS!! or walnuts, pecans, pistachios etc...

 

 

9.   Homemade Banana IceCream- For directions click here

 

10. Whole Wheat Toast with Peanut Butter and Sliced Bananas

 

11. Raw Veggies with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

 

 

 

12. Yogurt and Fruit Smoothie/Parfait

 

If you have any great snack ideas, Please do share!

Good health is a lifelong lifestyle!

coachlanisemartin@gmail.com