Dream Big Playlist

I wrote in one of my earlier blogs about my favorite things. One of my favorite things to use along my workout journey is my IPod. I love this little pink bad boy.

I always have my IPod in at the gym, in the car or at my desk at work. I love music and I think people would be very surprised to see the wide variety I have on my IPod.
I name my playlists something fun or inspiring. The one I listen to now is called DREAM BIG. My other gym playlists are labeled Get Big <3 and Gym <3 Rock. Of course the Gym Rock playlist is all rock music.

I wanted to share some of the music that is currently getting me through my early A.M. workouts.

My Favorite 11 Workout Songs:

1. Titanium by David Guetta & Sia

2. Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) by Kelly Clarkson

3. Drowning (Avicii Remix) by Armin Van Buuren

4. Fastest Girl in Town by Miranda Lambert

5. Tonight is the Night by Outasight

6.Turn it Down by Kaskade

7. Midnight City by M83

8. Ladi Dadi by Steve Aoki (feat. Wynter Gordon)

9. So What by P!nk

10. Dance in the Dark by Lady GaGa

11. Marry the Night by Lady GaGa

I know it is quite the variety of genres but I LOVE my current playlist. Normally I switch a song halfway through and I am finding I am not doing that with this one. Some are a little bit more techno than I was ever used to, but I'm actually liking the change of pace.

Monday is always a rest day for me so I am excited to get back to the gym tomorrow. I take Mondays off for two reasons, 1.) the gym is ALWAYS crowded on a Monday & I like to avoid the crowds whenever possible and 2.) Mondays are just rough in general... don't you think?

I hope everyone is enjoying my posts so far.
I began my new Facebook Fan page... check it out when you can!

Fit From the Inside Out

=)

Thank you for listening!

Xo

Anna

My Cup of Tea

It is Sunday and this is one of my FAVORITE days!
I love getting ready for the week. I grocery shop (usually) on Sunday and prep food for the week. My last post talked about Turkey Meatloaf Muffins. They don't last long in our home so I will be making more today! I plan to post my grocery list for you all soon too.
I started my morning by making a cup of green tea. This is part of my morning routine.

Tazo Teas- China Green Tips, Berryblossom White Tea, Zen, Green Ginger

Some of my favorite teas are from the Tazo Tea Company. The company has a sample pack that I originally picked up at Target. I sampled all of the different teas and found the ones I liked. I really like their black tea, Awake and their decaf Passion tea. The Passion Tea is great iced. Starbucks brews Tazo Teas for their tea drinks and I was first drawn to their Passion Iced Tea.

Tazo Tea Sample Pack

Green tea keeps me energized throughout the day. I drink it warm or iced depending on what my mood is. =)
Thank you for listening!
Xo
Anna

My Favorite Things

I have to post some of my favorite things that help me get through this journey.
I am a very busy person and I rely on great products to get me through the day.
Here are some of my must haves and favorites...
1.) Plenty of plastic Tupperware containers. I cook in bulk and eat six times a day. I pack leftovers in single portions in smaller Tupperware. I love the Ziploc brand and the Rubbermaid brand containers. I especially like when different size containers have the same lid. This way I don't have a bunch of lids without containers to match. Frustrating.
2.)A great work out playlist! I update my playlist on my IPod often and change the name of each playlist as I create new ones. Right now my gym playlist is titled "DREAM BIG".
3.) My Fitness Pal App on my phone. I love this app. I am able to log my food all day long. It does the calculating for me and I can keep track of exactly where I am during the day. At times I know I need to increase carbs or decrease protein. I watch my sugars every day and the My Fitness Pal app helps me monitor what I am consuming in one day. They also have a website to use as a tracker if you don't have the application on your phone. SO NO EXCUSES!
4.) Measuring Cups- I have many sets of measuring cups in my kitchen. I was never one to measure my food, but it doesn't really make sense not to control portions while you are eating. Too much peanut butter can increase your fats and too much fruit can increase your carbohydrates through the day. Consistency is key when working toward a goal and measuring cups help keep me consistent.
5. ) Oxygen Magazine is my ultimate inspiration! I read it cover to cover and save all of my magazines to refer to at a later time. I love the information, photos, and workouts inside. In addition, I love looking up to fitness models who are living my dream. When I see a physique I love in a magazine or get inspired by an article on a certain model, I look them up on Facebook. If I can find a Facebook fanpage for the model I follow it for inspiration! I think it is important to find people you can relate to. If you are a 50+ woman follow Tosca Reno. If you are a new Mom I love Kim Dolan Leto. My personal favorites are Kelsey Byers and Amanda Adams. Really the list could go on!

Believe in yourself first... the rest will follow. I can't begin to tell you how many times I was held back because of fear. Let it go. All of your dreams are on the other side of fear.
I stay consistent. I don't do any fancy workout routines or cook fancy meals, I simply stay consistent and challenge myself. People are often looking for a quick fix and I promise you... there isn't one. If there was... we'd all use it.
Thanks for listening!
Xo
Anna

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

If you know me you know I am absolutely hooked on lifting weights and building muscle. I am not an Amazon woman nor do I have bulging muscles and veins.
I lift weights mainly because it makes me feel great to see the changes in my body. When I lift heavy weights I feel like I am sculpting the body I wasn't born with. Second reason is because I know that muscle 1.) takes up less room than fat and 2.) the body burns more calories trying to maintain the muscle on your body. That leads me to how to properly build lean muscle, aside from working out with weights.
THE KITCHEN! I have two favorite places... the gym and home in the kitchen.
I live by my Best of Clean Eating book and magazine and my Oxygen Magazine. I have found great recipes on bodybuilding.com also.
I love to make sweet potato fries, homemade pita chips, different protein bars and my favorite recipe right now is Jaime Eason's Turkey Meatloaf Muffin from BodyBuilding.com. In fact... they are in the oven right now.

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

2 Lbs. Ground Turkey

3 Egg Whites

1 Cup Quick Cooking Oats

1/2 tsp Ground Cumin

1/2 tsp Dried Thyme

2 tsp Dry Yellow Mustard

2 tsp Black Pepper

2 tsp Chipotle Pepper Spice

1 tsp Salt

2 Tbsp Garlic Powder

1 Small Onion

2 Celery Stalks

Preheat oven 375 degrees

Spray muffin pan with non-stick spray

Mix all ingredients together

(I start with the dry ingredients first, then add eggs, turkey, celery & onion)

Roll mixture in to even balls and place in muffin tin.

The recipe makes 12 muffins.

This is 8 of the 12 we made =)

This is my absolute favorite right now because it is quick and easy to make and makes for easy servings of lean protein throughout the day. I skip the salt in mine, but I wanted to write what the recipe calls for.

As always, thank you for listening.

Xo

Anna

-Mondays-

I decided to make Monday my rest day. I figured... I hate Monday as it is and the gym is ALWAYS packed on a Monday, so resting seemed like the best decision.
Last week I set the goal to go to a spin class and well my procrastination messed that goal up.
I added it to my challenge for this week along with "a gallon of water a day". Today I completed day #1! 6 more to go!
My spin class will be tomorrow morning and I will complete a fast bicep & back workout. I have been trying to write down all of my workouts, but I lose track.
I am actually dreading the spin class, but I think that is exactly why I failed to go last week.
This week I plan to find some new recipes to try. I love finding a healthy alternative to some of our favorite foods.
Like this last week...
I usually do my protein shakes in the blender, but the mess is such a pain to clean up.
This week I decided to try putting my pumpkin pie shake in the shaker cup and giving that a shot.
It worked and its my new favorite grab and go!

In my shaker cup I did-

1 scoop of vanilla protein

1 teaspoon (1serving) of No-Flavor Glutamine

2 tablespoons of raw pumpkin

(don't use pumpkin pie filling. make sure the only ingredient on the can is "pumpkin")

1 cup Almond Milk

All Spice & Nutmeg

(I don't measure these. Less than a teaspoon though)

I put the almond milk in first. I find that nothing clumps if the milk is first and I shake the cup really fast! (USE YOUR GUNS!) :-)

My second creation for a shake was done on Easter. 

I was craving one of the peanut butter eggs I put in Nick's Easter basket. ( I HAD TO!!! They are his favorite)
My alternative... chocolate protein, vanilla almond milk, protein, and peanut butter. It honestly was great and halted my craving for those sugar filled eggs.

I look forward to more recipes and more thoughts.
Wish me luck at spin class.

Thank you for listening!
Xo
Anna

Love. For. Food.

Happy Thursday!
Today I started using http://www.myfitnesspal.com/... again.
I have used it before, but I customized my macro nutrient goals and set my own daily calorie intake this time. I think it has helped a lot. It excites me to aim toward realistic goals.
I am still doing research to make sure that I am setting my daily calorie intake goals the right way. I still want to lose body fat, but I don't want to jeopardize my hard earned muscles.
I ate like I normally do and I came in pretty close to my goals.
I had 154 calories that I still needed to take in (11g Carbs, 35g protein and over did the fat by 6g), but I am extremely happy with the way my day went.

Totals	1,776	182	49	158
Your Daily Goal	1,930	193	43	193
Remaining	154	11	-6	35
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein

Nick and I made (well mostly Nick) yummy tacos. We were craving Chronic Taco so we came up with the best way to make a "knock-off".

Those are whole wheat/yellow corn tortillas. After putting it in my the food tracker... I know there HAS to be a better alternative. I'll keep looking.
We used lean ground beef, fat-free cheese (just a little), fresh white onion, fresh tomato, and LOTS of cilantro... with a squeeze of lime. My favorites are lime and cilantro together. I think it adds so much flavor to food.
When you look at this photo it looks like there is a glob of sour cream on each taco... Do not fear!!! It is plain 0% fat Greek yogurt and tapatio. Plain Greek yogurt tastes exactly like sour cream to me. It was a great alternative. A little bit thicker, but yummy.
I got the idea for the "spicy sour cream" from http://www.littlebshealthyhabits.com/.
I love this blog. It has helped me so much with great recipes and motivation.
We loved this dinner. Next time I think we will try it on top of romaine lettuce rather than a tortilla.
My fitness goals and clean eating goals are really making me feel good about myself. I wrote my entire workout today in my phone (I plan to create an organized post of workouts I do) and tracked all of my food intake.
I feel great. I can't wait to wake up in the morning and get inspired by others and the gym! My goals are small at the moment, but I truly believe this is what I was missing before. I was setting goals that were too big and wasn't setting smaller goals in order to reach them. The big picture was harder to grasp and I would get discouraged and let down.

Tomorrow is Friday and I look forward to my final workouts of the week.
What goals have you set for the week? Are you reaching them... or are you putting them off 'til tomorrow?

Thank you for listening!
Xo
Anna

New Day

Taking a new approach...
I've set some new goals for myself and new challenges and I am really excited.
I started my "New Year" journey in March on my Birthday. Unfortunately I haven't stayed solid on a clean diet and successful routine. I have had many cheat meals, relaxed routines and self doubt.
When really thinking about my goals this last week I have really began to see the importance of sticking to smaller goals, accountability, and stepping outside of my comfort zone.
There are always going to be people that envy you, judge you, and have their own opinion about who and what you should be. A recent personal message from my favorite fitness model, Kelsey Byers reminded me of this. Encouragement from someone that has been exactly where I am is what I needed. Focus on my dreams, goals, and passions.
I feel so blessed that I am healthy and able to get up every morning and hit the gym. I never want to forget where I came from, but I definitely want to go somewhere.
This journey is going to take time, but I need to take the steps to get there.
Tonight before bed I will create a bodyspace account and utilize every tool to track my progress. I have been using my planner more, setting weekly challenges, and staying strong when the cravings for Easter candy kick in.
I don't think I am missing anything in life other than my own self-confidence. Tracking myself by writing things down is holding me accountable. My first progress pictures were taken on Saturday and I look forward to tracking progress with those. Yesterday and today I accomplished drinking 1 gallon of water a day. People are beginning to notice my hard work and the more they notice... the harder I want to work.
Tomorrow is a new day and I am looking forward to one more day of progress. I look forward to getting the courage to publicly post my progress pictures. I look forward to the lives that I am going to change by struggling FIRST through the journey then sharing with others.
I am more excited today than I was yesterday and I cannot wait for the future.
Because I struggled a little... I am going to call Saturday, March 31st day #1. Although I have been on a fitness routine for almost a year, I have never stayed consistent or reached any specific goals.
This is it... My year for change.
Where did your week, month, or year for change? Can't define it... why not start now?
I look forward to sharing my journey...

Thank you for listening.
Anna
Xo