a little r & r.

and by r & r i don’t me “rest and relaxation”~ i mean “review and recipe”. now you know.

psst. there is a giveaway in this post. just a heads up.

i just got done eating the best dinner ever. well, one of the best. it is a shame that i have to tell you about my day before i can show you the gloriousness that i just consumed!

hang tight, you’ll see it in a minute.

WOW~ it was like a trip down memory lane every time a comment came in on my last post. it was so fun to hear all the things you “played” as a kid. a lot of them i could relate to and some of them had me doubling over in laughter (emily, this means you!). among the childhood games that were popular among bloggers: house, librarian, school, little house on the prairie, grocery store (or regular store), bank.. the list goes on. i think the things we enjoyed as children says a lot about who we are today.

also, totally unrelated to meals OR moves.. i think that growing up in my generation (i was born in 1983) was WAY better than kids growing up right now. technology has just come too far and the kids of today will never know the joys of the original oregon trail, the significance of “up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start” or the never ending debate of who was hotter: AC slater or zach morris.

thank you for letting me be born in 1983. i am eternally grateful for my childhood memories.

it is weird to use the “moves” logo before the “meals” one! i guess that is what happens when i complete my wakeup call challenge first thing in the morning! i did 6 minutes of plyometric exercises including jumping rope, running in place, mummy kicks, belt kicks, high knees and butt kicks!

i was totally energized and got ready for work~ by the time i got there i was super hungry.

okay, first up.. breakfast!

meal 1: cranbran vitatop + 2/3 cup 0% oikos + 1 TB mighty maple & coffee (black) @ 8:45 AM

uh oh. another one bites the dust!

this went straight into the trash. i am not an oats-in-a-jar fan. too bad i couldn’t mail this empty jar to miss katie w!

i did managed to scrape out one last tablespoon, enough for my breakfast!

275 calories, 8g fat, 34g carbs, 22g protein

remember how i read this book?

well, in case you missed it, i wrote up a part one review in this post. and guess what? it’s time for my review of part two!

i will do it the same way.. with tid bits of review throughout my meals & moves for today.

part 2: “this is how you eat to get hot and healthy”

remember, part one was all about informing readers about the chemistry of their bodies, the dangers of sugar and which organs of the body make you fat and which make you skinny.  well, part 2 is totally different than part 1. part 2 is where jackie warner begins to introduce her eating plan.  while i enjoyed reading this section, it contained a lot of information i already was aware of.  part 1 was filled with new info for me and i was SO into it. part 2 just reassured me that the way i am living and eating is the right way.  with that said, it has a ton of helpful information to those just starting out on their journey to health through clean eating and proper exercise.

i will go ahead and review each chapter, because i think it is all important information that i want you all to be aware of if you are not already (though most of you probably are!)

chapter 4: “add to lose"

in this chapter, jackie (are we on a first-name-basis, ms. warner? hope so.) introduces her 2 week jump start, outlining several foods she wants readers to add into their daily eats. this includes:

• eggs (2 daily)
• oatmeal (1 cup daily)
• veggies (2-3 cups daily)
• fresh fruit (2 servings daily)
• water and lemon juice (she says the lemon juice is a bile thinner and helps bile do a better job of processing fat. noted.)
• whey protein shake (one daily)
• herbal teas

it is encouraging that i already eat/drink everything listed above, aside from the lemon water.. but you can bet i will incorporate that into my daily gallon of water now that i know what lemon juice does for fat loss! 

this chapter was fun because it included several “quick tips” that were not in the actual body of the chapter~ rather, they were in bubbles on the bottom or side of the page.  some quick tips:

• add spinach to shakes (i think we all knew this one!)
• drink tea at a time when you are most likely to have cravings, it will help curb them
• supplement with extra BCAAs and flaxseed oil to boost your body’s fat burning potential

chapter four also talks about what supplements you should add into your daily intake. this list includes:

• a multivitamin that is rich in magnesium, zinc, B vitamins and fat-soluble vitamins
• omega 3 fatty acids
• vitamin c
• BCAAs and free-form amino acids
• creatine
• CLA (conjugated linoleic acid)

it is nice to know that all of the supplements i take are on the list above. score.

meal 2: a definite mess of deliciousness. and a wasa cracker. @ 12:30 PM

i forgot how much i love fiber wasa crackers. at 35 calories a piece, they really can’t be beat.

that wasa cracker on top was just a vehicle for what lies beneath. let me show you:

what a mess! it was 1 cup of steamed mixed veggies, 2/3 cup of low fat cottage cheese, 3 ounces of diced grilled chicken and copious amounts of ketchup.

it’s true what they say. the ugliest food photos are often times the tastiest eats.

310 calories, 3g fat, 28g carbs, 41g protein

chapter 5: “deprivation doesn’t work”

this chapter was probably the most boring for me.. because it was all information i am familiar with. again, it was nice to reassure me that the way i eat is beneficial to my health.

jackie has a “5+2 food plan” which consists of five total clean eating days, consecutively, and then on the weekend (or two consecutive week days) you can eat two cheat meals, each consisting of no more than 1500 calories. she instructs you to eat clean the rest of the weekend, aside from the two cheat meals, so essentially you are taking in about 3000 extra calories.

she does mention several places that her plan is the “only fitness professional that allows two treat meals”~ however, i do know one other fitness pro who allows this.. mister bill phillips, the creator of body for life.  but anyway, i digress.

the foods that jackie warner tells you to eat:

• four 4-ounce servings of protein, daily
• 3 cups of hormone-balancing/detox vegetables, daily
• 2 whole fruits, daily
• 2 cups of hormone-balancing/detox grains, daily
• 1 serving of hormone-balancing/detox fats, daily

she also gives some good tips regarding carbohydrate consumption:

• always combine carbs and protein at each meal to slow the digestion of the carbohydrate food. carbs eaten alone can digest rapidly into sugar, which spikes insulin, increases appetite and slows metabolism
• mix small portions of starchy carbs with large portions of low calorie veggies to bulk up your meals
• eat canned beans
• eat carbs earlier in the day to prevent overnight buildup of fat and to prevent the rise of cortisol (fat-gainer chemical) levels

other areas that chaper 5 covers include water consumption, portion control, eating 5 times a day, how to create your carb/protein balanced meals throughout the day, the importance of keeping a food journal, foods you need to avoid, the fact that alcohol makes you chubby (along with an explanation why), the importance of eating a variety of foods, and how to plan your two cheat meals. 

want to know what is cool? every last bit of information mirrored body for life. there IS a method to the madness, folks. this way of life works.

meal 3: protein mocha + bowl of nature’s path multigrain flake cereal with almond milk @ 4:00 PM

.. oh, i didn’t take a photo of meal 3. my camera was dead! woops. just use your imagination. i used 1 serving of chocolate protein powder blended with 1/4 cup almond milk and 3/4 cup coffee~ and ice. for the carb portion of the meal i had 1 cup of the cereal with a splash of almond milk. weeee!

meal 3=320 calories, 6g fat, 36g carbs, 33g protein

today was an upper body day and i wanted to HIT IT HARD.. i have a wedding dress to look good in, people! in like.. 2 months! (holycrap)

• 5 min warmup on elliptical

back/triceps (superset):

move	reps	sets
assisted pull up	10	3
assisted dip	10	3

 

chest (body for life set):

move	reps	weight
incline dumbbell chest press	12 @ 10 @ 8 @ 6 @ 12 @	17.5# each 20# each 22.5# each 25# each 17.5# each
incline dumbbell flyes	12 @	10# each

*i did 30 seconds of butt kicks between the first 4 sets for a total of 2 minutes.

**i did this at more of an incline this time and really felt the burn. it was much more difficult with the bench back set a bit higher!

shoulders (body for life set):

move	reps	weight
seated dumbbell shoulder press w/ twist	12 @ 10 @ 8 @ 6 @ 12 @	10# each 12# each 15# each 17.5# each 12# each
front dumbbell raises side dumbbell raises	12 @ 12 @	5# each 5# each

*i did 30 seconds of high knees between the first 4 sets for a total of 2 minutes.

back/triceps (superset mixed with body for life set):

move	reps	weight
single arm dumbbell row	12 @ 10 @ 8 @ 6 @ 12 @	17.5# 20# 22.5# 25# 17.5#
barbell row (underhand grip)	12 @	30#

*i superset the first 4 sets with 12 reps of dumbbell tricep extensions (with a 17.5# dumbbell) for a total of 48 reps.

triceps/back (superset mixed with body for life set):

move	reps	weight
overhead cable extension	12 @ 10 @ 8 @ 6 @ 12 @	35# 40# 45# 50# 35#
cable vrope pull downs	12 @	20#

* superset the first 4 sets with standing cable rows, doing the same weight/rep pattern as the overhead extension.

biceps (body for life set):

move	reps	weight
straight bar cable curl	12 @ 10 @ 8 @ 6 @ 12 @	25# 30# 35# 40# 25#
dumbbell hammer curl	12 @	10# each

*i did 20 seconds of “air punching bag” while in a deep squat and holding 2.5# dumbbell in each hand between the first 4 sets for a total of 80 seconds.

 

back/shoulders superset:

move	reps	sets
plank w/ dumbbell row (10# dumbbells)	10	3
dumbbell snatch (10# dumbbell)	10	3

the end!

sorry, i don’t have the patience to link to ALL those exercises. if you are wondering what a specific one is, you can either ask me or google it :)

total time: 50 minutes, calories burned: 303

chapter 6: “get thin in the real world”

this chapter was all about how to survive with your new eating plan while dealing with daily temptations and the misleading media when it comes to packaged and processed foods.

first jackie talks about the importance of organic foods, the dangers of additives (such as artificial coloring, nitrate, paraben, sodium benzoate and MSG)<—although i LOVE me some MSG! (those are marshall’s initials..hehe)

next up, jackie tells us all how to read a label.

• check out the sugar grams: keep it to 5 to 9 grams per serving (or less than 5 is even better!) because your body doesn’t register less than 5 grams, which means no insulin spike or fat storing, and since it is difficult to always stay under 5, she allows you to go up to as many as 9 grams per serving
• check out calories per serving: make sure you aren’t eating something that is over 450 calories per meal serving and nothing over 150 calories per snack serving
• check out the serving size: don’t be fooled into thinking the WHOLE package of something is one serving. this is often a mistake people make with packaged foods.

chapter 6 also weighs in on fat free VS. nonfat foods. fat free foods are often filled with extra sugars and fillers, while non fat technically means there is 3 grams of fat or less per serving. jackie suggests you opt for low fat over fat free.

two other media gimmicks that chapter 6 instructs you to avoid are “low calorie” and “no sugar added”~ these terms are often used to trick people into thinking these items are healthy, but they often contain artificial ingredients that are in fact harmful to your health.

the rest of chapter 6 goes into very specific detail about what you should buy at the grocery store. she breaks the grocery store down, section by section, and tells you what to buy and what to avoid. it is a very helpful chapter and i am sure those of you looking for guidance when it comes to grocery shopping would find this very useful.

chapter 6 ends with an extensive explanation of the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to eating out. jackie goes over every type of restaurant you can think of! it is a very informative section.

when i got home from the gym i refueled with my very last PB pow wow bar!

 

sigh, cry. sad day when you eat your last POW WOW! thanks a heap, lizzy, i loved these bars. they are my favorite flavor of pow wow thus far!

after inhaling this bar, i got to work on the best dinner ever, which i eluded to in the beginning of this post. well, wait no longer, it’s time to talk about it!

meal 4: garbanzo bean turkey bake @ 8:00 PM

you know what i love? i love throwing things together because i have no desire (or money) to go to the grocery store and having the end result be something totally, incredibly amazing. yep. i love that. it happened tonight.

so good. so so so good. i cannot stress how good this was. i wanted to eat the whole pan, but i refrained.

i started with a package of lean ground turkey and just started throwing in whatever i could find in the fridge and cupboards. since this post is long, i won’t type the recipe up here. instead, you can CLICK HERE RIGHT NOW to see what went into this delicious dinner of mine.

255 calories, 2g fat, 27g carbs, 33g protein

I CAN’T WAIT TO EAT THE LEFTOVERS!

and now i am watching the jazz game! we are losing.. sad.. i hope they pull it together and win this one! we need it!

in case you were wondering, my macros were pretty stellar today. i ended up with a 43/43/14 ratio.

i hope you enjoyed my review of part 2 of this is why you’re fat by jackie warner! do you want to read the book for yourself? well, one lucky meals & moves reader will win a copy of the book! just leave a comment below telling me you are interested in winning the giveaway. i will announce the winner in my next post.

Qs~

1. what is your favorite upper body weight training move? i am in the market for a totally new routine. let’s hear your favorites!

2. doing anything fun to celebrate cinco de mayo tomorrow? i think i need to eat some mexican food!

xo. janetha b.

p.s. i miss marshall!!