Monthly Workout Calendars

Happy Planksgiving, have an Ab-crunching Christmas, and a New-Bod-New-Year! Need some motivation this season? A workout-timeline is usually very helpful! Check out these awesome Holiday (or monthly) Challenges! I got most of these from Pinterest so feel free to find your own or make your own if these won't work for you. Setting up a timeline is a great way to stay on track and to make sure you're doing something daily to work towards a goal. Work-out calendars work great for any time of the year. Push yourself this season so you'll be swimsuit-ready before it's too late!

 (oh and sorry if some of the dates are from previous years! Adjust them as needed!)

Oh and here's a link to a this awesome printable!

Fast Food: If you have to have it, what should you have?

Whether you choose to dine out at your local MickyD's or you have no choice/time you should be informed on what's actually the best food options available there. Do you think the salad is always better for you than the cheeseburger? You may be wrong about that...

Wendy's

McDonald's

Carl's Jr.

Burger King
(Almost 1200 calories for a sandwich! Can you say heart-attack?)

Dairy Queen
(only food items)

In order to reduce your calorie intake:

1. Look for lighter/less calorie menu options
2. Try grilled rather than crispy!
3. Size small rather than the Large (portion sizes)
4. Skip the dressing on the salads or do a side salad instead
5. The less fatty condiments the better
6. Instead of soda, take the water cup!

All Nutrition labels can be found on the websites of fast food restaurants. This information has to be available to the public. If you ever have a question about the nutrition facts, just ask! :)

Also, 

Just because I have listed fast food restaurants does not mean that numbers aren't similar if not higher in regular restaurants. Portion size has a huge impact on the numbers! 

THINK BEFORE YOU EAT! :)

Couch Potato Fit: 9 Exercises you can do without Leaving the Couch

Hey Lazybutt! You're going to love this one! I've got 9 workouts that you can do without even leaving your couch. I call them "couch-potato workouts." These are simple, easy exercises that can be done on pretty much any couch. I was only wearing gym clothes because I had just gotten back from the gym when we filmed. You can literally do these workouts in your Christmas onesie. I know you all have one. hahaha oh and plus, you'll probably be sitting on a couch 50% of the time during the holidays anyway so why not try it out? enjoy!

1. I learned this in a yoga class! It's harder than it looks, good luck!

2. Shoulder dips! 

3. Stair Steppers!

Whoever owns the couch probably won't like this one very much! haha 

4. Lunges! (both legs of course!)

5. Leg lifts! The stabilizing leg should burn! Feel the burn! :)

6. I call these bad boys butt-squeezers! Tone those glutes, lazybutt!

7. V-ups with a pillow! This one rocks! 

8. Mason-twists! (although a couch pillow doesn't weigh very much, it's still a good workout!)

9. Finally, push-ups! If you use the arm rest of the couch

it's almost easier! You got this!

Those are my 9 Couch Potato workouts! I hope you enjoyed them and tried them out! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and thanks for reading!

Meal Planning: Healthy, To-Go Meals

I promised to blog my meal planning progress so here we are! I've noticed that most of my meals are "To-Go" meals because I'm a working student. I was also really lazy with my meal planning... which was expected! I am posting my Monday-Wednesday meals today. It really isn't that hard! You can do this! Here's some simple steps to get started:

1. Make a calender and a grocery list: plan out every meal you'd like to make for the week, including lunches, breakfasts, AND dinners. Try to have a few repeat meals. For example, I decided to do chicken, rice, and veggies (bagged, microwavable veggies are super easy by the way) for dinner one night, and the same meal for lunch two days later. Leftovers ROCK when it comes to meal prepping. You'll be cooking your foods in one day so you'll have PLENTY of food to store in the fridge for another day.
2. Groceries and prepping! After you've headed to the store it's time to get cookin' good lookin! (I was lazy with my prepping and I only cooked half of my chicken breasts on Monday) You can prep your meals however you want. Get some Tupperware and get going! (I bought a salad keeper from Walmart which works wonderfully because it's a great lunch box, the tray is freezable and the bottom compartment can be microwaved. There's also a little bottle for dressings.) 
3. Add snacks! Just because you've planned 3 great meals for each day doesn't mean you can't snack in between! In fact, you actually maintain weight better if you have 2 small snacks between your meals. 

P.S. don't be afraid to add something sweet. A little cookie or mini-candy bar in your lunch is perfectly fine! Your meals don't have to be pure rabbit food. Monday I tried eating just salad, celery with peanut butter, carrots and ranch, and applesauce. It was the worst day of my life. Make sure you add some carbs into your meals as well. Without carbohydrates you will get tired and lose your energy throughout the day. 

Here are a few of my meals from this first half of the week! ENJOY!

Yogurt, granola, and raspberries! yum!

Prepping my chicken! woo hooo!!

Chicken, white rice, and steamed veggies

Salad, Ranch dressing, and Applesauce

Chicken, veggies, and rice again! So good.

The best day of the week hands down! Spaghetti, Salad, Applesauce,
 Yogurt w/ Raspberries, & a mini sugar Cookie!

Big breakfasts are always awesome. They keep you full of life until lunch time!
No hangry fits at school guys.

Carrots, applesauce, and ranch

Rabbit Food :(