30 Day Squat Challenge!

Okay, I know I have been slacking over here lately.  I have been spending all my time running challenge groups on facebook, working out, and making healthy recipes - I have no time for crafts!!  Soooo sad! :(  I will have some new fun stuff up soon though.  Yay!

Meanwhile - you all should join me for a really fun 30 day squat challenge starting next week!  What is it you say?  It's exactly like it sounds...30 days of squats baby! We have a group on facebook, and every day you do the required number of squats and let us know that you did them.  Easy peasy, right?  You could do your squats while you are doing your hair in the morning, or fixing dinner - even while you're on the phone.  Some people have done them in the shower, but I don't know if I would recommend that.  Yikes!  haha :)

 

It's totally free, no obligation - just fun and hopefully effective!!  Grab a buddy for more accountability & let's ROCK those jeans this fall!!

 

Here is the squat calendar for you to use if you want:

 

 

 

Here is the facebook group link:  https://www.facebook.com/beth.m.clark.7?ref=name#!/groups/529048437167474/

Hope to see you there!! :)

20 Pounds Down!

These are my results so far - I still have another week of my 90 day challenge, but it's fun to see how far I've come!  It took me almost 2 yrs to lose the first 10 lbs, and only 3 months to lose the next 10 lbs!  I credit it all to my challenge group.  I was able to stay accountable and not give up.  I am going to be doing another challenge group soon - you can check out my fitness blog HERE for more information and to read more about my journey so far.

30 Day Summer Slimdown

 

On June 3rd I will be kicking off a 30 Day Shakeology and Clean Eating Challenge group. This group will run for just that - 30 days! It is a closed online support group where I will help you develop reachable health and fitness goals for yourself. We will start out with a week of planning and preparation. We will discuss using food as fuel, pairing lean proteins with complex carbs to give you energy all day long and you will learn how to make healthy eating a lifestyle and not a crash diet!

The point of this program is to teach you how to tighten up your diet so that you can break a weight loss plateau, trim any excess fat and look your best in 30 days.

These challenge groups are really fun!  I am almost finished with my 90 day challenge group and I probably would not still be working out and eating healthy if I didn't have the group for support and motivation!

 

You can learn more about it HERE! 

My Weight Loss Journey

 

I am about 6 weeks into a 90-day challenge group to get in shape and lose weight.  It's been really great for me because I have to post my workouts and what I eat EVERY DAY in the group, so it keeps me ACCOUNTABLE! 

 

I am also making lots of new friends who are going through the same struggles that I am, but who also want to make a change for a healthier lifestyle.  

 

I started a new blog to devote entirely to fitness and eating clean, so that is where I have been recently.  If you would like to read about my transformation journey, get healthy recipes, or even join in a challenge group like mine - HERE is the link to my blog.   

 

I would love to have you stop by and share in my journey.  I will be posting my before and after pictures (Yikes!) when I am finished.  And since this has all gone public - it will be extra motivation for me to stick with it and make some serious changes!!

Healthy Desserts! Seriously!

Oh man!  I am seriously excited about these healthy dessert recipes!!  I am trying to eat better and lose weight, and it is sooo hard to get all my protein in.  (When I really just want dessert!)  Did you know that you should be getting 1 gram of protein for every pound you weigh?  That's a lot of protein - and I'm always looking for more creative (and delicious) ways to do that.

Enter these next two recipes....

Healthy Peanut Butter Dip.  When I first made this recipe, it was supposed to be more like a peanut butter cookie dough.  I added too much water though, so it ended up with more of a caramel texture and flavor.  It was super good, but a little too sweet on it's own so I made it into an apple dip. 

You have got to try this!!  Sooooo good!  And it's a complete meal - protein, carb and a little peanut butter fat.  (I don't think peanut butter counts as a healthy fat, but hey. Whatever.) haha  :)

Ingredients:

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 TBS all-natural peanut butter

1 1/2 TBS water (if you want it like cookie dough, just use 1 TBS water)

Directions:

Add all ingredients together in a small bowl, and stir until smooth.

Serve with chopped apples or celery - enjoy!

The next recipe has two different ways to make it....

The first way is a Protein-Packed Pudding.  Sounds like a tongue twister - tastes like fudge sauce!  Wow!  You seriously feel like you are eating something super bad for you!  Chocolate heaven... ahhh.  :)

When I first made this, again - I added too much water.  (I was following the recipe - sooo not my fault this time!)  It was more like soup than pudding, so I put it in the freezer for awhile.  Then, I scooped it out into a dish and it was magic protein ice cream!  Even better than my Healthy Ice Cream because it's chocolate - hello!

 Nice little evening snack I must say!

Ingredients:
2 scoops chocolate protein powder
1 TBS all-natural peanut butter
1/4 cup water

Directions:
Add all ingredients together in small bowl and stir until smooth.  Freeze if you want ice cream, otherwise - enjoy!

Note:  Since this recipe has two scoops of protein powder in it - you might want to split it into two servings.  Especially if you're watching calories.  My protein powder has about 130 cals per scoop.

Healthy Ice Cream

Okay, seriously - Is it already time to start eating healthy again?? I ate soooo bad over the holidays, and the one thing I ate a lot of was ice cream! So when I started thinking about getting back to eating a healthier diet - I remembered this recipe. I originally got this from Bill Phillips' Eating For Life. (An amazing book for healthy recipes!)

Anyway, I used to make this "fake" ice cream all the time, but I had forgotten about it until recently. It really does taste just like ice cream!

The secret ingredient is: frozen bananas! That's it! It's great because whenever you're bananas start to get a little over-ripe and you don't think you'll eat them - peel them and stick them in the freezer to use as ice cream later.

Ingredients:
1/2 c skim milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional, but hello? added protein!)
2 c frozen banana slices (about 2 medium bananas)

Toppings:
4 tsp sugar-free chocolate syrup
4 TBS fat-free whipped topping
2 tsp chopped nuts

Directions:
Pour skim milk into blender. Add protein powder and blend on high speed for about 15 seconds.
Add frozen bananas and blend until smooth.

Serves 2

Note: Immediately after blending, this resembles more of a soft-serve ice cream. However, if you want to make it ahead of time and put it back in the freezer, it will firm up a bit more like regular ice cream.


Chunky Monkey Variation:

You can add all kinds of fruit and different things to this 'Healthy Ice Cream' recipe (see below) - but one of my favorites is the Chunky Monkey version.

Ingredients:
1/4 c skim milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (gotta add that protein in) haha :)
1 peeled and frozen bananas
1 TBS peanut butter
2 TBS chopped walnuts
1 TBS mini chocolate chips

I mix this all together and then separate it into 2 servings - those calories add up!!  Then, I put them in the freezer and pull it out when I'm really craving something sweet.

Other Variations:
Strawberry Banana - Add frozen strawberries (I tried replacing the bananas with strawberries and it didn't turn out very well for me, so I just add them in with the bananas)

Tropical Blizzard - Add coconut and pecans

Chocolate Banana - Add sugar-free chocolate syrup - or - chocolate protein powder! (am I selling you the protein powder idea, yet?)

Well, I'm sure you get the idea.... :D
Get out there and experiment! (and let me know what you come up with)

PS - I posted a copy of this recipe over on my food blog girls and their meals - there are some great recipes over there - go check it out!

Enjoy!