First Week Of My Journey to The Stage

My first week of finally getting serious with my meals is over. I have been training consistently for months and it allowed me to maintain but for me, it's all about my diet.

I eat 5-6 clean meals every day and really focused on having my goal present in my mind every day.

Don't get me wrong, I am surrounded by junk food every day and it's hard to deny it but I did pretty good. I lost the 4 lbs I put on from the holidays plus another pound. I have a lot of muscle I need to gain but I have about 7 months to prepare.

Here are some pics I took Saturday morning after the gym:

I want to build my calves, quads, abs and of course get that SHELF BOOTY! I will try to post pictures every week to keep me accountable. Add me on Instagram @determined2bfit where I post pics everyday.

It's the second week of the new year and I hope you're still sticking to your new goals. If not...NO BIGGIE! Dust yourself off and keep going! What is holding you back? Everyday is a new opportunity to be better than the day before. You got this! Remember, I'm here for you!

XOXO,
E

Distance Make the Heart Grow Fonder

First off, Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there! I hope you all had a wonderful day.

Today was the day I had to say, "see ya later" to Robbie. I am already counting down the days I get to see him again. He is my best friend and I'm so blessed to have someone so wonderful in my life. 

On Saturday we took a shuttle down to the River Walk. It is a pretty neat place to walk around and there are tons of restaurants! We walked ALL day! Even on base we took some buses but since I didn't rent a car we had to hike every where. I def got in plenty of cardio this weekend! The weather was rainy and humid when I first got in to Texas on Friday but the Sun was out the rest of the weekend. The humidity is something I'm not used too. Even tho it's well into the triple digits in AZ it's not humid so I was sweating way more here in TX! I feel for my hubby who has to walk in it everyday without Summer weight ABUs. 

Today we grilled at the hotel I stayed at on base. They had a grilling area with picnic tables. We had steak and zucchini for lunch. I was bummed that the room I booked didn't have a full kitchen but just a fridge and microwave. I had to return some of the groceries we bought from the commissary and I couldn't make Robbie my famous pancakes. Thankfully I brought plenty of oats and protein with me to make due. 

Tomorrow I plan on getting up and training at the fitness center next to my hotel and getting in some extra cardio. I will be heading back to AZ and reality. I have a lot to focus on during this last stretch of our boot camp/tech school journey. I finish school July 2nd, I will be putting 110% into my training and starting all the steps for our move over seas. Hopefully the time will go by quick. I can't wait to have Robbie back home and then start our next adventure in Italy!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Let's stay focused on our goals this week :) 

Here's a shameless selfie I took in the bathroom at the air port on Friday! Lol my flight was delayed 5 hours so I was beyond BORED. 

Happy Sunday! 

Red White & Blue Protein Pancakes

With Summer here and the 4th of July right around the corner, I decided to concoct a simple yet delicious festive treat!
I love my protein pancakes and I also love berries. They are seriously the best combo. I would die for blueberry pancakes any day of the week, but now I can eat them completely guilt free. Plus, they are fueling my muscle factory ;) Who could ask for more?!

Here is the recipe:
*Note: you can tweak to meet your own protein needs as well

Ingredients:

• 1 cup wheat bran
• 5 egg whites, 1 whole egg
• 1 tbs baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbs stevia
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 c blueberries
• 1/4 c strawberries

This should be enough for 2 medium sized pancakes

Directions:

• Combine the dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl
• Add the egg whites and egg
• Whisk until it is a batter like consistency. If it still seems a little thick, add a little water to the mixture and whisk
• Add the fruit and whisk
• Spray a pan with calorie free non-stick spray and place on medium heat
• Add the batter to the pan in the form of a pancake
• The pancake will rise and when cooked, flip and cook the other side
• Add sugar free jams or syrup
• ENJOY!

OMG so yum and full of fiber, protein and low carb :) 

*Note: I have been getting belly aches from eating too much fiber. If this is the only fibrous thing you eat then you should be fine but I tweaked the recipe a little for those who do have a lot of fiber. Instead of using 1 cup wheat bran I did 1/2 c wheat bran and 1/4 c quick oats. I prefer to add a little hot water to the oats and stir them up before adding them to the batter. The texture of the pancake is a little creamier from the oats but they still taste awesome! 

Wedding Anniversary

Yesterday Robbie and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary. I can't believe how fast the time went by! Even though he is in TX right now, it was still a very special day. So much has changed within this year. Robbie joined the military and has been away for 5 months now, I completely changed  career goals and started a new school, my best friend moved away and we found out we're moving to Italy and that's just a few things to name!

This year I grew even more in love with fitness. This year was truly about finding balance and what works for me. 

My wedding was my first "real" fitness goal and after it was over I was so lost.We indulged on our honey moon and I continued when I got home. I didn't know what to do next because the whole reason I started my Facebook page and blog was to keep myself accountable while prepping for my wedding. So I kept thinking, "oh man all my followers won't care now that the wedding is over", which definitely wasn't the case!

 

I gained about 10 lbs after my wedding and reversed a lot of my hard work. I was still training but my diet wasn't 100% and I was hating the way I looked. I wasn't as active on my social media outlets because I couldn't see how the heck I was supposed to be a motivator when I wasn't doing a great job on my own. I experimented with new diet tricks like carb cycling to see what works for me. It's all about trial and error. No matter how hard I tried, I could NOT carb load. Now that I know what works for me, I stick to a lower carb, higher fat, low sugar diet 99% of the time. 

I really feel that I had to go through all of this to figure out who I am and who I want to be as far as fitness goes.

 

In december I decided enough was enough and it was time to get serious in the gym again. I called Rachael and we began online training and my diet was back on point. I started seeing changes in my body after 12 solid weeks of consistency and that's when everything clicked for me. 

This is a LIFESTYLE. I picked up the pieces and got back on it. You will never fail as long as you DON'T GIVE UP!

Everyone has down seasons of their life or times where they need self discovery, especially after accomplishing a big goal. I've learned more about my body in the last 7 months and I am so grateful for that. 

I personally need to have short term and long term goals to keep me going. My short term goal right now is to be photo shoot/competition ready and my long term goal is to be comfortable in a swim suit year round. 

I know that it will take work but now I have developed the habits and I am ok with many of the sacrifices it will take to get there.I love lifting weights and seeing how my body can be shaped through fitness.

I can't wait to take my fitness journey to Italy!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me thru all my goals and continues to follow my page and blog. I appreciate more than you know!