I butter my broccoli....

In the beginning.....

Back in early 2010 I decided to go on a quest.

Not that sort of quest but more of one focused on health, fitness and the pursuit of an amazing physique.

The truth is I was tired of looking the way I did. I wasn't happy and I didn't feel good. I was somewhat active. I ran and thought that was all I needed to do get trim and healthy. Here's a before:

Now some people are looking at that and thinking, "I wish I was there now!" But in truth this blog really isn't about you (I'm only teasing!). And while my appearance matters to a certain degree, what I really want to point out is that I didn't feel good. In fact, I felt frumpy, had no clothes that fit properly, and kept thinking, "Someday I'll get up and do something about it." Which brings me back to early 2010....

I had no clue how beneficial weight training was until I started researching it online. There are scores of articles on why women should weight train and not be afraid of the heavier weights. I saw women like Jamie Eason, Ava Cowan, Erin Stern and Nicole Wilkins and knew I wanted to have a body like theirs. When I looked up their workout routines I discovered they didn't put a huge amount of their focus on cardio but instead threw themselves into the weight room. That's when I was ready. I wanted buns of steel.*

One day, I joined the gym and never looked back. I looked up hundreds of different exercises and took note of them in my iPhone. I even considered jumping into a figure competition for the hell of it (which I've never done, but who knows what the future holds?).

I learned the most important thing I've ever learned in my life. Consistency pays off:

<---This photo was taken in November 2011 and I was feeling bloated that day. 


This photo was taken around the same
time. --->




Sorry, but you have to have a good diet too....

Diet is EVERYTHING. You cannot eat crap otherwise you'll probably look like crap too. You are what you eat, right?

After I joined the gym I tightened up my diet too. Here is what it looked like when I first started:

Breakfast @ 7:00AM: egg whites, oatmeal
Snack @ 10:00: Nonfat Greek yogurt, granola, maybe some fruit
Lunch @ 12: Chicken/fish, brown rice or something else whole wheat, salad
Afternoon snack @ 3: protein shake or something like that
Dinner @ 6: More boring crap
Gym session at 8:00PM
Post workout: Protein shake, blah blah blah

In truth, it worked for me. It really did. But I never really felt satisfied. I wouldn't eat red meat because I thought the amount of saturated fat in it was not good for me. I love tri-tip and if someone prepared it I might have a slice or two but would immediately feel guilty afterward. I didn't eat cheese unless it was fat free. The only healthy fats I consumed were nuts, avocado, olive oil, and those found in fish (which are great and I still eat those). I even stuck to egg whites for fear that the yolk would give me mass amounts of cellulite.

Slowly but surely I started delving more and more into the nutrition world. I discovered a funny word, "Paleo" and learned that it is an interesting lifestyle. This was the first diet I had ever heard about that refrained from eating grains and legumes. I was truly surprised. I had heard that whole grains and legumes were essential in any healthy person's daily meals. That's where you get your carbs, right?

I did more research. I read the book, The Paleo Solution, by Robb Wolf. It just made sense. Grains, gluten, legumes, can actually do more harm then good. Robb explains this perfectly in his book. I highly recommend that you grab a copy if you are interested.

Now my diet looks more like this:

Breakfast @ 7:00AM: 2 eggs, sauteed kale or broccoli, raw sauerkraut, small fruit
Snack @ 10:00: Full fat Greek Yogurt with blueberries and a small amount of raw honey, or a larabar or I just skip all together
Lunch @ 12:Protein (this varies constantly, usually dinner leftovers), salad with a homemade balsamic dressing
Afternoon snack @ 3: Organic Beef Jerky, small amount of macadamia nuts (if I hadn't had nuts that day), or small fruit/veggies
Dinner @ 6:Meat and veggies sauteed in butter
Gym session at 8:00PM
Post workout: chicken and sweet potato/pea protein with banana/whey protein with a banana and berries if I failed to prepare chicken beforehand

For a long time I struggled with food. If I ate something that wasn't "on plan" I told myself I screwed up. I would mentally punish myself which would leave me feeling really down. I've come a long way since then. I've learned that food is meant to be enjoyed; real food that is. I don't eat junk but I enjoy the whole egg, a large piece of tri-tip, chicken wrapped in bacon, full fat cheeses, and naturally sweetened treats.

I've come a long way and still have much to learn. I'm not going to sit here and say, "If you want to look like me, you have to do this!" That statement simply is not true. Everyone is different and everyone reacts differently to food. If there is anything I have to say about food and what you should be doing it's this: Avoid processed food; eat real food. That's really all there is to it. Next time you're in the grocery store, choose foods with little to no ingredients. Look at the labels of the foods that you are used to eating. You might be surprised at what you find.

For anyone reading this who has also come a long way in their fitness journey, I would love to hear what's worked for you. Please post any tips and suggestions you may have for others beginning their new lifestyle. I don't think there's one specific magic formula that works other than whole foods and consistency.

And for those of you who haven't started, what are you waiting for? Get to it and start feeling better today, NOW. You can do this.





*Please note: I tried to find a funny picture of "Buns of Steel" but when I googled it, nothing appropriate came up. Use your imagination, which I'm sure you're doing anyway.