MFT28: The end of easy work-outs

Thursday February 28^th, 2013

Hello my gym enthusiasts….or not.

I can not express the excitement I am in, in order to start Greg Plitt’s MFT 28 program from Body Building Website. I just finished a 30 day to 6 pack program and that kinda has set something off in my brain and motivation. I just want to push harder. I want to sweat like all those other weight lifters.

Looks yummy! hehe…

Currently I am taking this week off of intense work-outs to get ready for this program. There are a lot of new exercises that I have never done before. The MFT 28 program focuses on weight training at a rather rapid pace. Which means I can’t be “figuring” out my starting weight during my first week. That has to be established before. I am doing that this week and practicing the exercises as well. Do not want to get hurt, other than the good “sore” feeling.

The plan calls for working out twice a day. Starting your day with a very INTENSE work-out, which means low reps, high weights. Then at night you repeat the same work-out exercise at night but instead of focusing on weight, you focus on fat burning. Which means higher reps lower weights. EXCITING!!!!!!

This exercise is the one I am so freaking excited for!!!!

The plan also calls for a rather specific diet, an almost all juice/shake diet. Basically you take a protein shake before each work-out, one after each work-out. So that is 4 protein shakes per day. One full proper clean meal. High-Protein, low-carb, caveman meal. You can eat until you are full. This meal is taken as your lunch. Between workouts and your meal you also take a bridge liquid meal, which is basically casein powder and water/milk. The bridge meal before lunch can be mixed up with some fruit and veggies, but the one you take before going to bed has to be just the powder and milk.

Basic Meal Plan …. all liquid. :O

The diet is what worries me the most. I mean its an intense work-out then to just follow it with shakes and juices. Funny how the food is what worries me more, than the pain I will be in from the soreness. *shakes head*

Anywhoos check out the program! Would love to have some people do it with me. Lol. It would be a great experiment. 🙂

Wish me luck!!! Eeeeekk!!!

xoxo,

Bianca

Watch the first 5 minutes….the Giant Set is what I am MOST excited about!!! That looks awesome! 

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Wednesday Foodie: Green, Nutty, and Yummy Smoothie

Wednesday February 27^th 2013

Happy Hump Day Dollies.

I am soon beginning an intense 28 day weight strength training. I mean its super intense and it makes me super EXCITED!!!! Yet, one of the things about this program is that almost all the meals are juice meals. You get one meal per day that is a proper meal, but thats it. I have been looking at some smoothies and juices. Of course I searched on pinterest and came across this smoothie and decided to give it a shot. Skinny Green Monster by Gina. (She has some awesome recipes!)

The banana is under all that leafy goodness.

So at a glance you will see that its all green. When I made it I was so ready to be like “ewwwww”, but no! It was remarkably delicious. It was thick, smooth, peanut buttery, bananaish, all around goodness. Hiding the fact that there are 2 cups of raw spinach in there..

Greek yogurt is what gives this smoothie its thickness and smoothness. 😀

Be conscious of how much peanut butter you are adding. We don’t want to make this a fatty smoothie. I know its delicious but keep an eye on it.

I also began adding nuts to it. Just a little handful of brazilian nuts. It adds a little bit of nuttiness to the taste. Yumm.

It is also very filling. Just give your tummy enough time to send the message to your brain that you are full. I know as a society we see a liquid meal and automatically assume it can not fill us up. Yet, I have eaten lunch then followed it with this smoothie and I was super ugly full. I started just taking the smoothie by itself and once I give it some time I can feel that I am actually full.

UNSWEETENED Almond Milk. 1 cup is just 30 calories. Can’t beat that!

The recipe calls for a frozen banana, but I used one at room temperature. I enjoyed the semi-cold taste. If you want it cold then use a frozen ripe banana or ice. I used ice once and that was nice too, but I prefer semi-cold.

End result….yummmy!

So give this awesome smoothie a shot dollies. It is delish!!!! Happy *nom* *nom* Wednesday.

Another great thing about this smoothie is that you can use that spinach that is beginning to wilt a little. Makes no difference here!

Recipe:

Adopted from Skinnytaste.com

• 2 cups of raw spinach
• ½ cup of Fage 0% Greek Yogurt
• 1 ripe banana
• Small handful of brazilian nuts
• 1 tbsp. of Organic Peanut Butter
• ¾ cup of Unsweetened Almond Milk
• Some ice (optional)

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients in blender.
2. Blend on high for a couple minutes, to make sure spinach gets all blended in.
3. Enjoy!

xoxo,

Bianca .

Click on picture to go to the website for recipe and blog. 😀

MVM: The death of excuses

Monday February 26^th, 2013

MVM: Never, Ever Give Up, Arthur’s Transformation Story

Happy Monday!!!

Today’s motivational video comes from a man named Arthur. His transformation is incredible! Unbelievable really. It is a must see video. It really shows how dedication and commitment can transform your life.

Weight loss, along with many other things in life, are not easily attained. Many of us back down on the face of hard work and determination. We look at it and instead of embracing it we run to the darkness and wallow in our failures. Then, as humans, we create all these excuses in order to justify that running away. We never take responsibility for them. We never REALLY take responsibility for them.

We blame it on work, on society, on the temptations of fast food, on our schedules, on our body, on our families, and we blame it on life. “Oh its not fair! How come I was given this life? Why can I just have been born a skinny person?” (That was me). We curse the gift that was so preciously given to us.

At the moment you let go of excuses, at the moment you take responsibility, at the moment you decide to face hard work and embrace determination that is the moment your life will begin to bloom. That is the moment you will begin to live. LIVE the LIFE that was given to you.

This isn’t just about weight loss, but about anything that might be standing in the way of living a happy fulfilled life. Your career, lifestyle, residence, family, self-being, they should all be making you happy. If you do not wake up with a smile on your face, then change it. There are no excuses for not living a happy life.

This man had many “acceptable” excuses, but he didn’t accept them. He faced hard work and embraced determination. He stumbled many times, yet he got up every single time. When was the last time you got up?

xoxo,

Bianca

A play with turquoise

February 22^nd, 2013

Happy Friday to all my pretties out there.

One of the things that I love about make-up is that it is colorful. I honestly do not like just sticking to neutrals, browns, and light pinks. I love COLOR. I love that it is unique. Not many women are comfortable wearing vibrant colors.

I remember when I had my 15^th birthday, my make-up was done rather vibrantly. Well at least for me at that time. I honestly felt like a clown. So if you are beginning your make-up journey I do recommend starting with the neutrals and low key colors until you get used to having color on your face.

The deep purple is great here because it does help tone down the turquoise just a little bit.

I began right away with vibrant colors when I began my journey into the make-up world. I just loved it. I felt a little weird and was nervous that I was going to LOOK weird, but people began commenting positively on it.

One of my favorite tones is turquoise. I just LOVE the vibrancy it brings and how it attracts attention. Shades of blue are not common colors used. So it is great to be able to manipulate them and wear them.

I really do enjoy the pinks and reds on the lips. I really have never had a desire to “tone” things down. lol

In this look I used turquoise as my base and a deep purple for the crease in order to create depth in the look. I can’t remember what I used for the highlighter, but something a little lighter than your natural skin tone works best. I also have a whiteish/shiny eye shadow in the inner eyelid in order to just make it pop. Of course always with a bit of mascara and eyeliner.

Tip of the Day: The first skill you must really acquire is blending. Just like any other skill it takes practice. A lot of practice, but once you have acquired the blending skill ANYTHING is possible.

Try to be a little bold this weekend dollies and add a bit more color to your world. I think you will like it. Have an exciting weekend.

xoxo,

Bianca

Smile!

30 Day Ab Workout Celebration and Review =)

Thursday February 21^st, 2013

Good Day to all my pretties out there.

I am so happy. I want to celebrate my big accomplishment of sticking to a 30 day ab program and finishing it. My 30^th day was yesterday with a 30 minute uphill treadmill cardio. The program calls for 6 days of gym time, 3 of those 6 days has two visits to the gym. One in the morning for cardio and one in the evening for the strength training.

I am including a little review on the program and pictures of my work log. The pictures are of sets that I am most proud of or of sets that I didn’t think I could do, but I did!

In this set I progressed from just lifting the bar (0 lbs) and at the end being able to lift 10lbs.

The Program: 30 Days to 6-Pack Abs by bodybuilding.com 

The Good:

• I like that the program is 30 days. A month goes so quickly.
• Awesome variety in strength training. Something different each work-out session.
• When it came to the ab workouts they were exercises both repetitive and new. You can see the improvement.
• It gives you an idea of how much time you should be resting. It is so hard for a new person going into training to know how much to rest.
• With designated reps and sets it gives you a sense of pushing yourself since you only have a specific number of sets or reps to do with each exercise.

Oh my gawd! I was so afraid to do these. I saw myself falling on my arse. So far I have not. Now I can go 10 on my first set. Yay!

The Bad ( I am a gym rat….so I don’t have a lot… lol):

• The two day at the gym situation. At some points I did want to work-out. I wanted to do cardio, but I was so sick of the going indoors. I began doing hikes and outdoor jogging/walks. After awhile though it gets to you, but for me it was just a couple of times during the month.

I was able to press 25lbs in each side!!!! yyeeeaaaaaah *flexes muscles*

Tips:

• You have to have deep commitment to go to the gym 6 times out of the week for four weeks and a few days.
• When you get bored of the gym, get ready to hit the outdoors.
• No EXCUSES. There is no room for “I am tired days”. You only have one rest day and it is planned. You are going to have to just tough it out.
• Push yourself! Just be safe. The program really makes you feel like you have to push yourself. Especially like in sets when you only do 6 reps. Just remember to be safe. Especially when dealing with dumbbells. If you have a spotter then you can push harder.
• If any of the exercises hurt or you are not comfortable with look for an alternative. There is a decline skull crusher in the program. I was totally not comfortable with that just because I do not have a spotter. So I opted out and did it on a flat bench. Don’t hurt yourself!
• Hit the gym pumped to hit it hard. I mean after all its ONLY 30 days.

This is an example of an exercise I pushed beyond my comfortability. I was used to just doing up to 180lbs. I got up to 240lbs. 😀

My Results: I did not go into this program expecting the 6 pack as a result. I went into it because my belly area has just been so hard to get rid of. I was trying all that I knew and not working. So what I was looking for in this program was to see the belly change somewhat. Which it did. A couple of weeks ago I measured myself and had lost 8 inches around my waist. I can definitely see the curve of my waist become more drastic. The belly is also changing shape which is awesome cause that means some of that fat is turning into muscle. I am happy 😀

Felt so good pushing up weight after weigh…I dont know what it is about increasing the weigh each set that is just AWESOME!

This is using a machine….ugh hard squats, but love the sound the machine made. Made me push harder.

I. do. not. like. these. PERIOD. >.< No weights, no machine, just your body. UGH! But I moved up! 😀

With this one I was just happy I was able to go that high using my upper body.

This was an exercise I was avoiding cause it was going to show me how weak I was with triceps…it became one of my faves. 😀

xoxo,

Bianca

Wednesday Foodie: Lemony Brussels Sprouts Leaves

Wednesday February 20^th, 2013

Wednesday Foodie: Brussels Sprouts

Hello Dollies!!!

Today’s recipe comes from Pinterest. (The origin of the recipe comes from Martha Stewart’s website. Crisp Brussels Sprouts Leaves.) I was looking for recipes that dealt with just veggies and came across this brussels sprouts recipe. It seemed simple and easy enough to pull off. I gave it a shot.

The recipe calls for the brussels sprouts to be trimmed and the leaves separated. Seems like a pretty simple task until you actually do it. Separating all those leaves from the small ball of the brussels sprout is not the fastest task. It didn’t take me forever, but the prepping time of 15 minutes are mostly all spent on doing that task.

Once you separate the leaves and such it is pretty simple afterwards. You toss them with some olive oil, walnuts, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt & pepper. Put them in the oven a few minutes and done!

My lemony brussels sprouts leaves. 😀

Mine didn’t really have a crispy taste to them. Some of them did, but most didn’t. I didn’t want to leave them in longer because they had began burning around the edges. Took them out and served them. They were pretty tasty. I did enjoy that they had some flavor to them.

Future Modifications:

Some future modifications that I would do is perhaps adding some spicy ingredient to it. The leaves idea is great if you are entertaining and kinda want to present them nicely, but for just eating at home I think I would just cut them in ¼.

Overall, it is a great recipe for brussels sprouts and making them edible. So give it a shot!

Happy future *nom* *nom*.

xoxo,

Bianca

Click on the picture for the recipe.

Cheat Meal: The weak link

Tuesday, February 18^th 2013

Tuesday Thought of the Day: Treating yourself, viewing unhealthy food as a reward.

Good Morning to all of ya!

Today’s thought comes from…well I don’t know really. Lol. I began recording my thoughts on my phone as soon as they popped in my head so they wouldn’t get lost. Not sure what triggered this one. Here it is nonetheless:Treating ourselves with food, especially unhealthy food. In other words CHEAT MEALS.

Uhmm yeah. That is exactly what it looks like.

In the process of loosing overweight one of the things I had to train my brain out of was the idea that I “deserved” that slice of cake, pie, ice cream, onion rings, nachos, etc. I was in this deep belief that because I had been good with my diet, exercise, work, or personal life I deserved to have a treat once in awhile. That there was nothing wrong with me setting up a cheat meal at the end of the week for all the hard work being put in. In that moment I didn’t really see what was wrong with that. My desire for that sweet food or fried food fogged up the reality: I was putting that unhealthy food on a pedestal.

Thumbs way down!

When I began loosing weight two years ago I was not allowed to have cheat meals or snacks to treat myself with. I felt very deprived because I had done it before. I thought it was a great idea to keep the weight off and not let cravings take the best of me. My friend wasn’t going to have it. It was just not allowed. It isn’t until now that I am forming my vision for weight loss for other women that I see the danger of the so called “cheat” meal.

lol….too funny

The danger does not come from the mere fact that cheat meals tend to be rather unhealthy. The real problem comes from the fact that we are further training our brains to enjoy and relish unhealthy foods vs. the healthy choices we make throughout the week. Women hold on steady and fast to their week of healthy eating with one thought in their minds “oooh if I am good this whole week I can have a slice of cheesecake this weekend. Man that cheesecake is going to taste so good. I will eat this horrible spinach smoothie now, but will be so happy this weekend when I am having my slice of cake.”  :O

There is really no growth or change happening. All we are doing is “sacrificing” a week’s worth of eating for a meal at the end of the week. The fact remains that our brains still believe that the way we eat during the week is not our preferred way of eating. We do not learn to love the healthy exchanges we have made, but learn to “deal” with them for the reward at the end of the week. We focus on that cheat meal with a sense of desire and longing. Then when the meal is over a despair/sadness come over realizing you now have to wait 7 more days until your next cheat meal.

Food should not be a reward

 

 

The worse part of it is that we continue to train ourselves to believe that in order to reward ourselves for the good behavior we should do it through food, unhealthy food to top it of. We deserve better than that. How is it logical that the reward you are giving yourself is in reality a punishment to your body?

 

 

 

Stop this ugly cycle of food being so powerful over us! Reward yourself every day by the healthy choices you are making. Realize how much more energy that healthy meal is giving you. Celebrate the fact that because of the choices you make every day you have gone down 1 dress size. Reward yourself with a hike, a movie, a book, an extra hour of sleep, with something that will make your life better. Stop making food mean more than it should. Food should only have ONE PURPOSE. To keep you healthy. Any other meaning is man made.

Was I able to resist cravings ALL the time? No, I stumbled and ate unhealthy. Yet, I did not make it believe it was ok because I was good for two months. I realized it was a bad behavior. I realized the damage I was doing to my body and my soul. I deserved better.

What do you deserve dollies? In order to become that thin person you want to be you must change your mind. Stop desiring and looking forward to eating certain foods and begin feeding your body what it really NEEDS. Not what your brain wants.

xoxo,

Bianca

MVM: It is HARD WORK

Monday February 18^th, 2013

Happy Monday to all of you out there!

I hope you are all doing awesome and are enjoying the holiday weekend.

Today’s Monday Video Motivation comes from the realization that becoming what you desire to be is not easy. It is hard work. That is right HARD WORK. The video mentions how at times we do run away from hard work, we are afraid of it. We hide from it.

Many times I tried loosing weight. Many times I tried to become what I wished to become, to make my dreams into reality. Yet, when it got really hard, when I had to really put in the hard work I quit. I couldn’t do it. No, let me rephrase that “I WOULDN’T do it.” I was afraid, envious, tired, etc. The excuses were endless, but they were there. Confirming that I was too weak to confront the HARD WORK that needed to be done.

Hard Work is not going to go anywhere. Hard work is not going to disappear and let “easy” take over. Hard work is persistent. It pushes you. It pushes you so you learn to push back. To show that you can deal with it and anything else out there.

Change is hard work. When life has become easy, that is when life has become monotone. When routine sets in and your dreams begin to dwindle. Stop running from hard work. Confront it and accept it. When you push back at hard work, you will learn that hard work has nothing on you.

xoxo,

Bianca

A Given Life vs. A Created Life

Tuesday February 12^th, 2013

Tuesday Thought: Create the life you want, do not settle for the one given to you.

Hola! Hola!

Good Tuesday to all my pretty dollies out there. Today’s thought comes after some thinking about my life and whining about it. Whining because I thought it was just too hard or that for some reason it should just be given to me.

Wow!!! Best quote I have read in awhile! Amen

We all are given something. We are given a certain destiny, a certain life. Many of us settle for that life. Some of us fit perfectly in the life that is given to us, but most of us in some way or another grow out of it or never really fit into it.  We crave for more, for things that seem out of our reach, things that we believe we were not destined to be or that we somehow do not have the tools for.

It is not an opinion, but a fact. How many people out there dislike their job. I do not mean “I had a bad day at work and I hate it today.” Kind of dislike. The kind that you hate waking up to it, you do not enjoy walking into it, your day in and day out never change and at the end of the day/week/month/year you feel like you really haven’t accomplished much or nothing at all. Yet we continue at it because we feel we have no choice. There is no way out. Worse of all you know that if you sat down for five minutes to really think about what you would rather do it would either be “out of your reach” or somehow have no idea because you never really stopped to examine your life.

That was me. Going through the moods and the stages. Doing what I was supposed to be doing. Graduating from one school to the other, volunteering, working, getting the necessary credentials, getting a job, being an adult. Being the fat blob that life had lead me to become. I was living the life that was given to me without questioning it. Just knowing I hated it. I felt like it was how it was meant to be.

Are you?

It wasn’t until this year that I realized that two years ago I stopped living the life that was given to me and made it my own. I took control of my destiny and changed from being and ugly duckling to the swan I have become. Unconsciously, I made the choice to say “I do not want to be an ugly duckling. I want to be a beautiful, unique, desired swan.”

This year I consciously made the choice to begin the business that excites me. To make the difference I have always craved to make. Helping women discover their hidden beauty.

I was so lucky in life (when it comes to education and profession). I was given a profession. It was so easy to become a teacher. I had no obstacles. It was given. I enjoy teaching (do not get me wrong) I really do. Which I am lucky in that way. Yet, I know that it is not all that I crave. For a long time I questioned whether the hard path was mine to take. I mean after all if there was an easy path perhaps that is what I really as meant to be. I was a lazy Mexican. lol

Can’t say it better.

Is this new adventure hard? Yes. Is there a big chance of failing? Yes. Do I need to step out of my comfort zone? Yes. Will other people know about my failure? Yes.

On the other side of the coin….Is there a possibility of this becoming a very successful business? Definitely Yes. Will I discover parts of me that I never knew where there? Of course! Will it give me the lifestyle that I so crave to have? Yes. Will it be hard? Yes. Will I be living the life I want? YES! Will people know of my success and crave it? Damn right.

You are the author…not your routine.

I have a true belief that we were given a life. A life to not just sit back and let itself play out like a regular old movie, but a life that should play itself like the latest attraction. A life that should be filled with light and laughter. A life that should shine against all the other darkness. A life to be proud at the end of your days. If the end came tomorrow, would you be content? Would be happy for the time given here?

Stop wasting your time living a life that was given to you. Take it, own it, make it YOURS. Do what YOU want with it. Be brave, be hard working, be who you were meant to be.

So ask yourself.

Am I going along with the life given to me?

OR

Am I living the life I am creating for me?

xoxo,

Bianca

Monday Video Motivation: Under Dogs

Monday February 11^th, 2013

Good Morning Dollies!!!

I hope you all had an awesome weekend and enjoyed every little minute of it. I am going to try to do a motivational video, story, or quote every Monday. I think Monday has such a bad rep for being the beginning of the week for so many people. Hopefully this helps a little to get your week started in a good note!

I know that there have been times when the last thing I want to do is get out of bed and go work-out, work, get ready, run errands, etc. One time I remember being just in bed and laziness being rather powerful. I was going through some videos and found this great motivational work-out video about someone. That little 4 minute video just made me get up out of that bed and push me to the gym. I thought to myself…they had plenty of days they didn’t want to get up, but they did it and look at them now! I have no excuse!

To start things off, I found this video on youtube. The creators actually have a variety of videos and this was their first one. I thought it would be great to put it up here. I love the song because it really talks to those really trying to loose weight. We are all the under dogs. We have to wake up early and head into the cold. We have to put in our 1 -2 hours of gym time instead of sleeping. We set our clocks for exactly 7 hours. The thought “I want to stay under the warm covers” creeps into our minds, but as an under dog we have learned we need to push back hard and get out there! Why are we the under dogs? Because we are the ones that at one point hated the gym, we are the ones that were not given that great metabolism, we are the ones that have to put every day work to just maintain a healthy weight, then if we want to go above that we have to push harder!

We have decided to create our own lives and not just take the one given to us. (which is a great start to the week cause my Tuesday Thought is all about that!!!)

xoxo,

Bianca