Week 2 Figure Competition Prep!

~NPC FIGURE WEEK 2 PREP~

So this was the first FULL week of me back at the gym lifting weights in 4 yrs!! I cannot believe it has been that long since I actually was active in a gym, but I am so proud to say I got my body using home fitness programs through TEAM BEACHBODY and keeping up with my nutrition using SHAKEOLOGY!

This week, my regimen consisted of 5 days of lifting, cardio every morning and 20 min of cardio post-workout.  

Four of these mornings, I actually did PiYo because I am so hooked on it after being part of Beach body's PiYo test group and seeing great results!

I was able to find my abs and lots of toning and strength in my upper body! 

If you want to learn to do push ups and tricep push ups in your sleep, PiYo is going to get you there for sure! Oh and the flexibility you get from the program is UNREAL!!!

If you are wanting to get involved with the new PiYo workout, I will say it is great for ANYONE!! Whether you have back or knee injuries, this program is low impact and no jumping!!

Not only does the program have great exercises for your body, but the nutrition guide is EASY and will show you RESULTS!!

If you want support, motivation, and accountability to get your ultimate health and fitness results, fill out my challenge group application at the bottom! 

My PiYo test group will start June 14th! This is the first group after my Beachbody test group for the company! Get ready to tone, and gain strength and flexibility you never had!

Back to my 2nd week of training! You now know what my morning workouts consist of, and I am separating my lifting days by Leg day, back, shoulders, arms (bis and triceps).

I am only doing my arms once every 3 weeks or so because I have too much going on there.. I need to bring out my shoulders to have more of a V shape! My legs are what I really need to work on.. so that is twice a week.. I already did hamstrings and glutes as a separate day and tomorrow I will be focusing on quads!  

My post workouts are fast paced paced on very very high incline on the treadmill.  I am not use to all this low impact exercise, but its definitely working!! Its crazy to know all these years, I thought the only way to get results is by killing my body, sprinting, and jumping up and down! Totally not the case!!

On to my nutrition! Let me just tell you how important it is to be on a strict regimen.. I have found myself on top of my nutrition now that I am holding myself accountable and made this goal of doing my figure show in October!  I am doing weekly meal plans, prepping all my food, and really focusing on eating every 2 and 3 hours.  It is definitely very hard to do, especially when you have to force food in your mouth when your not even hungry, but I know its for the best and will pay off!! I know its so early in the game, and will get much harder, but I can definitely handle this! I am doing All chicken (6 oz each meal), egg whites (6-10), and my Shakeology shakes with 1/2 scoop whey protein for my protein intake.  For my heavy carbs, I am doing sweet potatoes and oatmeal. I also am doing 2 apples a day.  For my veggies, I have green beans, peppers, and salads this week.  It is so easy to prep when you eat the same thing every day!!

One of my favorite days was LEG DAY! Its totally a love/hate relationship... Hate- because I can barely walk after my workout and days after... Love- because I get to eat WHATEVER I WANT within an hour of my workout LOL!

 I had to do Red Robin!! I even ordered an appetizer which I NEVER DO!! I took my kids with me and had a date!! I ate those nachos with chili and guacamole so fast people probably thought I never ate before lol!!


Then of course my main entree came and I devoured that too like it was nobodies business!! It was a bonus that I was able to have my spicy ranch with my seasoned fries!!

I felt terrible for the first hour after, but surprisingly, I was fine after and the next day, did not feel bad at all!! I guess this is what happens when you are that strict every other day!! You can afford that cheat meal and you wont have to feel guilty!!

I can definitely tell my metabolism is increasing since doing PiYo and now incorporating weights into my routine! I am so darn excited about really being serious about this competition!! My body does not feel deprived of nutrients, energy, or sleep! I am feeling amazing and like a million bucks!! Lets see in a couple months if this changes lol!!

Well I think I am done for now, today was my off day for weights, but I did do cardio, so Saturday is a weight day, and Sunday is another off day for weights, but will continue cardio 7 days a week for now!

Next week I am in Vegas for Beachbody and I am sooooooo excited to come back and share all my exciting news with everyone!! I have lots going on, so you definitely want to stay tuned!!!

Ready for SUMMIT 2014 BEACHBODY!

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Chicken, Cucumber, and Avocado wrap

I have been getting excited to make things with Avocados, so I thought of a few ingredients to throw together and this is what I came up with!! 

Chicken, Cucumber and Avocado Wrap!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb cooked chicken (shredded with a fork)
• 1 cucumber sliced thin and cut 4 ways
• 1 Avocado (chopped)
• 3/4 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1/4 chopped onion
• 1 small bunch cilantro chopped
• 1 small sliced tomato 
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp crushed black pepper
• Dash of Himalayan salt 
• 1 whole wheat wrap

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix cucumber, Greek yogurt, onion, lemon juice, dash of black pepper and salt, and cilantro together and set aside
2. Heat wrap for 10 seconds in microwave and lay out
3. Add cucumber mix onto wrap, then add 1/4 of chopped Avocado, tomatoes, and 3 oz shredded chicken. 
4. Roll up into wrap and enjoy!!

I am using this meal during my P90X3 and FOCUS T25 programs! This healthy Chicken, cucumber, and avocado wrap can be used for lunch or dinner! 

Healthy Snacks 101

Many of us fail to stay on track with our healthy eating and nutrition because we are too busy with our work schedules, kids, and just "other important things." Every time you hold back and keeping yourself healthy, you take a step back with happiness, your health,your body figure, your confidence, and your self-esteem.  If you are one of those people who just cannot get motivated and continue your "DIET", you are not doing something right! I bet I can take I guess!! "Diet" is a word that we should completely take out of our dictionary! Its a word that contradicts itself! WHY?!? Because diets are temporary.. they only last until you are done with it! You cannot live off of diets, so once you are finished, you eventually gain the weight back one way or another! If I am wrong, PLEASE let me know!
It is so important to fill our bodies with nutrients to fuel our bodies and improve our health and well-being, rather than just taking the easy way out all the time! Tell me, if you have gone through eating healthy, does it not feel so much better than eating those chips, pizza, and pop to where you are bloated and miserable?! Then the worst part is, you continue craving that food! You don't have to, but when you feed your body anything, your taste buds will automatically alter to crave what you feed it!  Yes, this means, if you feed your body healthy food and nutrients, your body will crave that too!! We just have to give it a chance!! 
Since we are human and always want the easy way out, we do not even give out bodies a chance when it comes to eating healthy and losing weight the RIGHT WAY!
So I am here to tell you today to get off the fad diets, and work for what your getting! Anything worth having is going to take work... but I promise you, you will be happier and healthier in the long run! Think of adding years to your life to be around your family longer, about not being afraid to be in public anymore because you feel everyone is looking at you.. think of the role model you are being for your children, or future children.  Believe it or not, people are watching you... people admire you, so being the best role model out their will only benefit everyone! Think about the strength and sense of accomplishment you will feel having the ability to control your portions and snacking... Having self control and a sense of accomplishment may be one of the biggest successes out there!
So, it is time to let go of the excuses.... no more I have no time, no more eating healthy is too expensive, because I guarantee you, dairy queen, fast food, & star bucks is NOT cheap!! Nor is sitting in front of the TV eating a whole bag of chips and drinking soda upon soda! You may think I'm being harsh, but sometimes the truth has to hurt in order to make a change! It's time to suffer the pain now before suffering with regret later!
I am going to provide you with some of my favorite snacks I use when I do not feel like cooking, or need something fast and easy!!

1. Fresh Fruit Plate: 1/2 Cup Fresh Strawberries, 1/2 cup Fresh Blueberries, 3/4 cup Plain Greek yogurt and a drizzle of pure maple syrup for a little sweetness!!

2. Shakeology: A health shake meal replacement that contains your daily dose of nutrients, vitamins and minerals to give you energy, take away cravings, and improve your digestion and heart health! CLICK HERE to learn more about Shakeology!

3. Kashi yogurt bowl:  3/4 cup Plain Greek Yogurt, 1/4 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal (I use mixed berry) and 1/2 cup fresh fruit!

4. Clean Chocolate Pudding: This is one snack I could eat every night that helps me get over my sweet tooth! 3/4 cup Plain Greek yogurt, 1/2 scoop Chocolate protein powder ( I use Shakeology), 1 tbsp PB2, and 1 tbsp natural Peanut butter! Top off with 1 tbsp soy free gluten free chocolate chips (found in Organic section at most local grocery stores).

5. Raw Veggies and Hummus: I go for cucumbers, and raw red and green sliced peppers! I am a spicy fan, so my hummus is usually supremely spicy by Sabra! Roasted red pepper is great too! 1/4 cup of hummus is a serving!

6. Nuts and Edamame: I am a huge fan of cinnamon almonds and raw almonds... When I need  little spice, I go for the habanero BBQ (AMAZING), but watch your portions! about 14 almonds is a serving size! Those are your healthy fats! Edamame is an easy snack to take along and put in a small zip lock baggie when you just need something to crunch on, but is high in protein!

7. Some other snacks I have here are Shakeology (travels packets), Mixed berries with Edamame, LUNA bar, and a cutie! What is nice about these snacks is NONE of them need refrigerated, so here you have NO excuse not to be healthy! You can shake up your shake in a shaker cup with water (blending is more fun though of course :) ) and Luna bars are protein bars that help when I want some chocolate!

8. QUEST BARS: Ok I am pretty sure QUEST bars are my favorite protein bar!! They keep me full, lots of protein, and not that many ingredients! When you have less ingredients, they are most likely better for you! Cookie dough and cookies and cream are definitely my favorite! 

9. Tomato, Feta, Basil, & EVOO: Such an easy snack and simple ingredients!  Cut, top it off, and enjoy!

10. Ants on a log:  You got it! You can make eating healthy fun too! Celery, a little natural peanut butter, and top it off with a few raisins! 

11. Mixed nuts and berries: Throw together a few nuts and berries and call it a day! Doesn't get much easier than this!

12. Rice cakes and Peanut Butter: So most people who know me know I can't go a day without a scoop of peanut butter! I like to throw it on a rice cake and call it a day! 

13.  Tony Horton Sticky Bars: Im a big fan of Tony Horton, and a big fan of his sticky bars!! CLICK HERE for recipe!

14. Grapes and Cheese: I am a cheese lover and grapes too! I don't know who put these together as a snack, but they are brilliant! Now be careful since grapes are high in sugar and cheese can be high in fat! I go for the 1% reduced fat if possible and watch your portions! 

15. Kale Chips: Nothing easier than throwing Raw Kale on a cookie sheet and 1 tbsp EVOO with Himalayan salt sprinkled on top and bake at 350 for 12 minutes! You got yourself a healthy snack!

There it is for you! Lots of healthy and easy snacks to chose from! You can make being healthy fun and interesting without spending tons of money and using a lot of time! Remember, it's all about HOW BAD YOU WANT IT!! 

If you would like more tips, support, and motivation to help you reach your health and fitness goals, please fill out an application to get an exclusive spot in my next fitness challenge.  This group requires you to check into our closed group on face book daily to keep yourself accountable and tell me as your coach how your day went! Time to get those results!!

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Homemade Guacamole

Ok so as weird as this sounds, I was never a fan of Avocados... I know most people love them and they are so healthy, but for some reason, I have a hard time with the texture! I literally have had them 2 times, which was during my 21 Day Ultimate Reset! It was a very strict plan, so I was limited on what foods I could eat, so it was included in my salads, but would never eat it alone!
It was not until another co-worker of mine who is an amazing cook, brought in this green dip...Everyone was going crazy over how "amazing" it was, but the color and texture turned me away.. All day long, I kept hearing all about this Guacamole dip, so I decided to taste just a little bit! I took 1 scoop and added it to my brown rice and lean turkey burger.  I was completely blown away! That may have been a bite from heaven lol! I could not believe this entire time I was so opposed to Avocados, but really I just needed a good recipe with it!
So here it was! The most amazing dip I ever had... AND IT WAS HEALTHY!! Anytime I have a dip and it taste good, its usually not a healthy recipe.

HOME MADE GUACAMOLE DIP

Ingredients:

3 Avocados

1 large lime

3 roma tomatoes (chopped)

1 small onion (chopped)

2/3 pint of plain Greek yogurt

1 small bunch cilantro (chopped)

1 packet hidden valley ranch fiesta dip

A few shakes of Chipotle tobasco sauce

Directions:

Add avocados, Greek yogurt,  cilantro, ranch dip, onion, and tobasco sauce into a food grinder ( I use a Ninja). 

Add chopped tomatoes and mix. 

Squeeze 1 lime on top (will help keep its color longer).

If you want the dip to maintain its color longer, the less air that touches the avocado, the longer it will stay green.  You can cover the dip with a pastic wrap and refrigerate.

* Serve with whole wheat pita chips or your favorite snack/dinner!

As silly as it sounds, this was amazing with brown rice and turkey burger!

Spicy White Bean Chicken Chili Soup

Spicy White Bean Chicken Chili Soup

Since my husband is such a huge fan of soups, I decided to make a yummy soup that is perfect for the both of us! He is a huge chicken fan, but I love my spice!!

Ingredients: (6 quart crock pot)

• 3 Cans Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 3 Cans Low Sodium Cream of Chicken
• 1.5 lb cooked chicken  and shredded
• 4 Cans Low Sodium, White Northern Beans, Drained
• 4 Cans Drained Mexican Tomatoes W/Green Chilies
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 4 Large Jalapenos, Seeded, Diced, and Sauteed in Olive Oil (if you are not into all the spice, you can use regular red and green peppers
• 1/2 tbsp cracked pepper
• 1 Tbsp Chili Powder

Directions:

Put all ingredients into crock pot and cook for 2 hours on high!

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Oh how I loved this meal!! Mediterranean food is one of my small obsessions.. Ok BIG obsessions!! You may notice I have lots of recipes that include feta cheese and Kalamata olives in my recipes... I cannot help myself!!

So when I went home to Pittsburgh to visit my mom, I tend to bring home a new recipe for everyone to try. So I decided to make Clean Parmasean Chicken, Kale salad, and this awesome Mediterranean Pasta Salad!! Holy yummy!! This definitely got the job done for me!! 

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

servings 7

Ingredients:

1 Box 100% whole wheat spaghetti noodles

1/2 cup Kalamata Olives 

1 6 oz container Feta Cheese

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp Himalayan salt

1 tsp Black pepper

1 tbsp fresh Basil

1 cup diced baby tomatoes

Directions:

Cook spaghetti as directed on box

After spaghetti cools off, add all other ingredients into large bowl.

Can't get much easier than that right?!

If you are looking for motivation, support, and more tips on weight loss, toning, clean eating, I have a challenge group for the 21 day fix starting Feb 3rd! Spots will be limited, so fill out the application below for one of the 10 spots available!

CLICK HERE to get more information about the 21 DAY FIX

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FREE Clean Eating 101 Group

Hey ya'll! So I know starting a new fitness journey can be somewhat discouraging, especially if you are not familiar with clean eating and nutrition. But don't worry.. I promise there is help for you out there! As a health and fitness coach, I am here to provide support, guidance, and lots of great tips to help you reach your goals!
I will say from experience, I had such a hard time reaching my fitness goals on my own.. I needed support, and someone to keep me accountable so I didn't fall off track so easily.  After having my second child, I ended up joining a Beachbody Challenge group where I received 1:1 mentoring from a coach like myself, and absolutely LOVED the results I got! Not only physically, but learning so much about food was the best thing that I gained! I lost 40 lbs, but had this huge gain of knowledge to take with me and share with others on how to eat clean and live a healthy lifestyle for you and your family.  I gained confidence, and will power I never though I would ever have!
Now it is time to give back. After getting my results, I became a health and fitness coach and have helped over 50 people reach their health and fitness goals.  I run challenge groups to give you 1:1 support and mentoring to help reach any goal you may have.  I have seen so many lifestyle changes that are so incredible and touching.  People have quit smoking, got off medications for Crohn's disease, Hypothyroid, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Migraines.  A huge factor that had helped my challengers with their weight loss and health goals is incorporating our health shake meal replacement Shakeology. This is not a weight loss shake, nor just a protein shake.  You get a daily dose of dense nutrition along with your multi vitamin all in one shake.

Pretty awesome huh?? Literally it is like a miracle in a bag!! I along with my challengers were seeing amazing results in as little as 2 weeks.. what is nice about it is the shakes are ALL NATURAL and by eating all these natural ingredients, superfoods, digestive enzymes, pre and pro biotics, your body is finally getting what it needs and will crave more healthy food! You will notice an increase in energy and decrease in cravings.  Your body gets addicted to what you give it. So for instance, you drink diet soda, chocolate, coffee, etc, your body will need more.. believe it or not, when you feed it veggies, fruits, and lean proteins, your body will want more!  It's all about how you take care of your body and what you fuel it with!
So one of the things I do for my challengers is make weekly meal plans.. It is how I got my results and stayed accountable, so now I give them a guide to use.
This is what my plan looks like this week. I am currently doing P90X3 challenge, so you will notice I have a workout in 6 days a week.

Meal planning has been my life saver. I can not stress it enough how important it is to prepare yourself each week. Having my food prepared gives me hope every day that I cannot make excuses because everything is already right in front of me! Im definitely a NO EXCUSES kinda girl. I feel if you want something bad enough, you will do what it takes!
So here we are... I am opening a FREE clean eating group 7 days long to get you started in the right direction.  I started this last month and had amazing results! We had over 100 challengers in it, and I want to share just a few challenger's results:

Challenger 1    -9 lbs
Challenger 2    -7 lbs
Challenger 3    - 5 lbs
Challenger 4    -3 lbs
Challenger 5    -1.3 lbs (pregnant and wanting to get healthy!)

Some reports from this group:
"I am already feeling more energy in only 1 week!"
"I feel like when I am eating healthy, my cravings are going away!"
"I am so thankful to pass this on to my family!"

So now this next challenge is going to be awesome! Lots of motivated people already joining! I am now accepting challengers and seats will be open until Jan 12th at midnight. This is a great opportunity to learn how to live that healthy lifestyle or even just gain some extra tips!

If you are interested in my clean eating group, you can find me on facebook at  Facebook.com/deidra.penrose

Coconut Crusted Sweet Potato Truffles- Clean version

Coconut Sweet PotatoTruffles

INGREDIENTS: (12 servings)

• 2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed
• 1 oz finely shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup raw, unsalted pecans
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 6 tbsp coconut flour

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. On a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, add potatoes. Bake, turning once, for 50 minutes, until fork-tender. Remove from oven and let sit until cool enough to handle.
2. Halve potatoes and scoop out flesh, discarding skins. Transfer flesh to a medium bowl and mash with a potato masher.
3. In a food processor, process pecans into fine crumbs. Add 1 cup mashed potato flesh (reserve remaining potato for another use) and maple syrup. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl. Add vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and process to combine. Gradually add flour and pulse to fully combine.
4. Scoop out potato mixture in 1-tbsp increments and roll into balls. Transfer to coconut and roll to coat. Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet 
5. Bake for additional 20 min or until coconut has nice light brown color on top!
6. ENJOY!!

Nutrients per serving (2  truffles):

 Calories: 90

 Total Fat: 4 g

Carbs: 11 g

Fiber: 2 g

Sugars: 3 g

Protein: 1 g 

Clean Sloppy Joes

Clean Sloppy Joes

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds lean ground turkey mea

1 (15 ounces) can tomato sauce, no sugar added

1/2 cup clean ketchup (I use the OrganicVille brand)

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 small onion chopped

1 medium green bell pepper chopped

1 medium red bell pepper chopped

Directions:

Put lean turkey meat into crock pot , along with tomato sauce, ketchup, garlic powder, 1 small onion chopped, red and green pepper chopped.

Stir ingredients in crock pot until you have a good mixture

Turn on crock pot and cook for 8 hrs.

Serve with 100% whole wheat bun!

Nutritional Content:

(Data is for 1/8 of the recipe)

Calories: 200

Total Fat: 7 gm

Saturated Fats: 1 gm

Trans Fats: 0 gm

Carbohydrates: 10 gm

Dietary fiber: 1 gm

Sugars: 5 gm

Protein: 21 gm

Nothing like an easy crock pot meal to throw together and get your daily to-do's done, and to come back to an awesome, healthy meal for the family! I know my husband and kids can always go for Sloppy Joes! I woke up this morning and threw everything together, went to the gym and to run my errands and now, cleaning my house and playing with my kids! What a time saver! Thanks to who ever invented the crock pot! lol!

I do my little secret that I do not tell anyone that it is turkey meat and clean until after they are done! No excuse not to eat it ;)

Greek Salad (Clean Version)

Greek Salad

To make the sauce:

INGREDIENTS:

1 TSP DRIED OREGANO

1 TSP SALT

1/2 TSP PEPPER

1/2 TSP DIJON MUSTARD

2 CLOVES MINCED GARLIC

1/4 C RED WINE VINEGAR

1/2 C OLIVE OIL

DIRECTIONS:

MIX FIRST 6 INGREDIENTS TOGETHER

ADD OLIVE OIL IN AND WHISK

Salad:

Ingredients: 

3 cups of romaine lettuce

¼ cup reduced fat feta cheese

¼ cup kalamata olives cut

½ small onion into small slices

1 cup baby red tomatoes

Directions:

Combine all ingredients together and add dressing

Serve and enjoy!!

Clean Greek Salad Dressing

HOmemade clean Greek dressing

Ingredients:

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

2 cloves minced garlic

1/4 c red wine vinegar

1/2 c olive oil

Directions:

• Mix first 6 ingredients together
• add olive oil in and whisk 

Pumpkin Pie Shakeology

Pumpkin Pie Shakeology

Ingredients:

1 scoop Vanilla Shakeology

4 oz unsweetened almond milk

4 oz water

12 oz ice

¼ cup pumpkin puree

½ tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a blender!

Fall is coming and this is the perfect meal replacement to keep you healthy and energized throughout the day! Take away those cravings for unhealthy pumpkin pie and enjoy the healthiest meal of the day!

Why SHAKEOLOGY?? 

• You get over 70 natural ingredients
• Its like going to the salad bar 6 times in just one shake!
• You get digestive enzymes, prebiotics and probiotics to help you immune system and digestive system
• Increase in energy from superfoods
• Reduce cravings
• Anti oxidants to help prevent heart disease
• It is an ENTIRE meal replacement!

If you would like to try Shakeology for yourself and join my challenge group starting Oct 7th!

I will help you through a 90 day program that will help understand clean eating, and how to live a healthy lifestyle! 

CONTACT ME!