Hi guys!  I cannot believe I’m already halfway through this Prep!  Between working full-time, training, eating, and life, it’s been a while since I’ve updated all of you!  We posted an older entry as well, but hopefully now that things have settled down a bit I can get back in the habit of updating the blog more frequently!

The secret is definitely in the routine.  I love the structure and discipline that comes with Prep.  There is so much dedication, focus, and intention around the routine.  I still focus on taking things one day, one meal, one workout at a time.  I give each one 110% and move through each one each day, and the days slowly turn into weeks, and the results are slowly coming.  It’s such an amazing process, but the secret is definitely found in CONSISTENCY in the routine.

Don’t get me wrong, things are still really different this time!!!  So far so good, but man, this time just feels a lot more I guess calm??  It’s really weird.  First off– I’m slowly seeing changes week by week, but the scale has barely moved!  Coach says not to worry though, that I’m right on pace!  ….I’ll take it!  My diet hasn’t changed all that much from offseason, so the biggest difference I’ve noticed with this prep compared to last year, is that I’m not craving things nearly as much.  Honestly, it seems easier!!  I guess mainly because this has been a “lifestyle” for me for a whole additional year for me, so it’s really not a big deal.  Eating clean and eating six times a day, is just how I eat!  It’s been almost six weeks since my last cheat meal, but all I really want is a vodka soda with lime and maybe a cupcake.  Hilarious, right?  This time since I’m doing so many shows back to back, I’ve been a lot more focused on how I feel—I know now to expect low energy on my low carb days, and have structured my rest day so that it falls on a low carb day, and know to REST!!!  My energy levels so far have been pretty on point, up until this week—we upped my fasted morning cardio to 45 minutes (way more than last year! Lol!) and my low carb days, I’m only doing 25g of carbs.  A ½ cup of oats in the morning with breakfast, and that’s it for 24 hours!  On Tuesdays and Thursdays at least.  Needless to say, I’ve learned that low carb day + leg day is a shitty combo, and I won’t make that mistake again!  Also now that I’m working from home 100% of the time, it’s been a lot easier to get my cardio and training in than last time.  That’s such a blessing—Prep is hard regardless, but it would be so much harder with a demanding job and crazy schedule!!  Shane has been amazing as always, encouraging me and supporting me in this journey.  I’m so lucky to have him by my side!!  I’ve got such an incredible support system of friends and family surrounding me, that I really just want to make everyone proud and enjoy each day as much as I can.  As I write this, I’m making a mental note to focus more on this journey as an individual one, instead of constantly comparing it to last year.

Outside of just pushing myself in my weight training, I’ve also taken up my cardio a notch from last year, incorporating more sprints, running, and track workouts to help lean out my legs.  It’s working!  We’ve also added a topical fat burner called Vasoburn (like IcyHot without the icy) which is also really helping.  That said, though, I’ve only lost 3 pounds since I started this Prep almost 8 weeks ago!  WTF.  Again, the scale is just a number— progress pics tell so much more.  You can see in these two pictures how much difference a year has made.  I’m still up about 25 pounds from stage weight last year, so we’ll see how the next 7 weeks go!  In terms of muscle mass and added size ALONE, we know I’ve made significant changes to my physique this past year.  I’m back to training with my Coach and posing once a week, which helps me stay focused and structured with my routine.  Cardio, Eat, Work, Eat, Train, More Cardio, Eat, Sleep, Repeat.

I’ve also realized that I feel more confident in this process and myself and what I can push myself to do than I did last time.  Today at least.  It’s very easy to look on Instagram at other competitors getting ready for national level shows, or their progress pictures, etc., and become really discouraged.  I try to just remind myself to compare me to me.  That’s all I can do!  When you give your best, and work hard, and do that day in and day out, the results will come.

We booked another photo shoot for two weeks before the first show, which also happens to be my 31^st birthday weekend, and this time it’s with a different photographer which will be fun.   My custom suit from Tamee Marie and custom bedazzled, BEAUTIFUL shoes from the Shoe Fairy are coming soon, so the excitement is building!!

On another super exciting note, NICOLE WILKINS (a.k.a. my Figure competitor HERO/IDOL) will be here in Dallas hosting one of her Fitness Phat Camp Bootcamps March 18^th – 20^th and I can’t WAIT to go!!!  It will be so fun to learn from her, gain new insights into fitness and nutrition, and meet new Fit Friends!

Stay tuned for more frequent updates!

Till next time,

-Mere

I’m excited about this post, and I think a lot of you will be too!  Let’s face it, as much as we try to meal prep and plan our meals, sometimes we are in a pinch and need to eat a meal on the road or away from home.  Maybe you have a job that has a lot of dinners and lunches with clients that you wine and dine, or travel a lot, and that requires a lot of eating out.  I thought I’d share some of my favorite tips and tricks for making healthy choices when eating out.

I’ll preface this by saying that when you are really trying to be mindful with your nutrition, lose weight, build muscle, etc., you should avoid eating out as much as you can.  Not all restaurant meals are unhealthy, but when you eat out you cannot really control what and how much you are eating as well as you can when you prepare and cook your own meals.  With that said, we all like to get out of the house and enjoy a meal out with our friends and loved ones.  Live a little!!

Here are the parameters I try to follow when I am out (NOT ON CHEAT MEAL NIGHT!) and looking at what to order:

• Stay away from fried anything— fried chicken is certainly delicious, but it’s not healthy!
• Salads are a good option, but leave off the croutons and cheese if you can. They are nothing but empty calories. Stick with vinaigrette dressings and always order dressings on the side.
• Stick with grilled lean proteins—fish, chicken, etc.
• Avoid creamy sauces, cheese, and butter sauces. These usually add hundreds of calories.
• Avoid pasta and rice dishes. They are chock full of of added butter and SALT and have way more carbs that you probably need.
• Send the chips and bread back.
• Look at menus and nutrition facts ahead of time so you are prepared and will be less tempted to order something off your “plan”.
• You can always ask for your food to be prepared without butter or ask to have things grilled.
• I will almost ALWAYS order a side salad instead of the rice/fries/potato option

I also thought I’d share some of our go-to meals we’ll order when we need to eat on the run:

Chipotle—

Order the burrito bowl with chicken, ½ as much brown rice, or no rice at all.  No beans, no cheese, no sour cream.  Pico, hot sauce, a tiny bit of corn, and lots of lettuce!  Guac on the side.

Chick-Fila—

Grilled nuggets with a side salad.  Vinaigrette dressing on the side.  Their market salad is a good option too but doesn’t have a lot of protein.

PeiWei—

Did you know you can get ANY of their bowls steamed with the sauce on the side?!  I love this option, and will get it with the spicy sauce on the side and use just a tiny bit to dip my veggies in.  Watch how much of the rice you eat, though, and order brown or white rice, but not fried rice.

Ghengis Grill—

I can almost eyeball my protein amount and can get a ton of veggies!!!  The healthier sauces are usually spicy, but try to avoid the sweeter ones to save calories.

Jason’s Deli—

The Turkey Wrap is your best option outside of the salad bar.  The soups are pretty much salt licks, and don’t even look at the nutrition facts for the sandwiches.  To save even more calories, order the wrap with no ranch dressing or on the side.

Rock Fish/ Seafood places—

Stick with grilled white fish (no butter) and grilled or steamed veggies with no butter. You can also do boiled shrimp or crab!  YUM!!!

Breakfast / Brunch—

Go with egg-white and veggie omelets or scrambles, and plain oatmeal. You can add Splenda and cinnamon to your oatmeal!  Avoid biscuits, pancakes, pastries, waffles, bacon, sausage. and pretty much all the good stuff. L  Brunch is another one of my favorite cheat meals!!

Mi Cocina/ Mexican Restaurants—

We love the Mico Rico salad from Mi Cocina!  Again, leave off the cheese and bacon but otherwise you’re pretty set.  Chicken fajitas and chicken fajita salads are probably your best choice if you can’t find grilled options on the menu.  Just watch the rice/beans/chips.

Sushi / Asian Restaurants—

Sushi is usually a pretty clean meal, especially if you’re not ordering rolls with sauces or tempura batter.  Sashimi is a great option as well.  Asian restaurants will usually give you the option to get your entrée steamed, so try that as well.

Pizza—

Seriously, just save this for a cheat meal.  Anything else will be disappointing!  If y’all have ideas on how to make restaurant pizza a clean meal, let me know, I’m all ears!!

American / Bar Restaurants—

A grilled chicken salad can be found almost anywhere, but again look at the toppings and dressing choices.  For example, most of Chili’s salads have a RIDICULOUS number of calories, but appear to be “healthy”.  I will sometimes do a grilled fish, or turkey burger as options too.

DRINKS—

Sidenote: Alcohol is almost entirely void of any nutritional value.  You want to lose weight quickly?  Cut out alcohol for two weeks and see what happens.  That said, I love the occasional cocktail, so here are my favorite “skinny” options:

• Skinny Margarita
• Vodka soda (NOT TONIC) with extra lime
• Wine
• A light beer
• Diet Coke with vodka or Malibu and lime
• Avoid frozen drinks, craft cocktails (those are my favorite), sweeter cocktails, and blended drinks

Stick to your guns!  It’s not easy to start or stick to a lifestyle of clean eating.  If it were, everyone would do it.  However, I can promise you that every healthy choice you make will give you more confidence and motivation to keep making more of them.  Your body will thank you and you won’t feel guilty for sabotaging all of your hard work in the gym.  Keep working hard!  Remember, I’m always listening and willing to help, so feel free to email me at Lipglossandlifting@gmail.com.  I just started a Facebook page, too, so give it a like (search for Lipgloss and Lifting)!

Till next time,

-Mere

How many times have you heard the old saying, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”?  Well friends, I’m here to tell you that it is definitely true!!!  Eating a healthy, nutritious breakfast will not only help power you through your day, but it will also help boost your metabolism and keep hunger at bay throughout your day as well.

Let’s start with why NOT eating breakfast is really bad for you.  It’s called BREAKFAST because you are breaking the fast that your body endured while you were sleeping.  Your brain and body need food to function.  On an empty stomach, you’ll be battling your blood sugar, and won’t have the energy to get you through your day.  Coffee alone isn’t enough!  I used to think that a (flavored) Yoplait yogurt, or a packet of Quaker flavored oatmeal was enough for breakfast.  And now I know that I was eating no where near enough protein for that first meal of the day.  I’m also a big believer that starting your day with a healthy, nutrient packed meal will help you make healthy choices the rest of the day.

Many people eat breakfast, but I would venture to say that most aren’t eating the right foods for breakfast.  Who doesn’t love a giant stack of pancakes, a waffle, or a fluffy omelet?  Or BISCUITS!!!  Can you tell I love carbs? And don’t even get me started on Shane’s undying love for bacon…  I’m no stranger to big breakfast—I even asked my coach if I could do Sunday Brunch as my cheat meal instead of dinner Saturday night! LOL!  As awesome as these all sound, a great breakfast should have both protein and complex carbs, and a small bit of healthy fat to keep you fueled.

Here are some of our favorite breakfast staples:

• Oatmeal
• Egg whites
• Whole Eggs (be careful your fat content with yolks)
• Protein pancakes
• Cheerios
• Berries or some banana in with my oats
• Egg white and veggie scramble or omelet
• Sweet potato hash
• Ezekiel bread and turkey sausage/ turkey bacon are healthy options too

And of course, no morning for me is complete without COFFEE!!  I take mine with a splash of half & half or fat free / sugar free creamer (but, during prep I take it with a splash of almond milk or black).

This list is in no way all inclusive, but here’s my list of foods to AVOID for breakfast:

• Starbucks drinks that are full syrup / calorie—these can average 400 calories plus (some Frappuccinos even hit 1,000 calories!) and are full of sugar and fat
• Breakfast sandwiches and burritos from anywhere with a drive thru
• Bagels with cream cheese (simple carbs will spike your blood sugar, and the cream cheese will pack on a TON of calories and fat with little nutritional value)
• As much as I love them, pancakes and waffles shouldn’t be an everyday thing
• Believe it or not fruit juice is a terrible choice; it’s loaded with sugar, carbs, and calories.
• Most cereals are completely laden with sugar and chemicals; you should avoid them.
• Pop-tarts, toaster strudels, and all of their boxed friends are horrible for you. Pretty much anything like that will keep you full for about 5 minutes.
• Muffins, danishes, cinnamon rolls, donuts, etc. Try to avoid white breads and pastries at breakfast too.  They won’t stick with you and are almost completely void of any nutritional value.  Remember complex carbs are your friend, that means oats, rice, sweet potatoes

Here are two of my favorite recipes for a quick and easy breakfast.  Give ‘em a whirl—they’ll make your morning!

Easy Microwave Egg White Oats (I eat these probably 3 times a week!)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of egg whites
• ½ a cup of oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• About half of a banana mashed (or a handful of berries)
• A few drops of liquid stevia
• 1T natural peanut butter or chopped walnuts

Directions: Mix everything but the peanut butter together in a larger microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for 1 minute 15 seconds.  Stir.  Microwave again for 2 minutes stirring every thirty seconds.  Then mix in the peanut butter after it’s cooked.  Delish!

Veggie Egg White Scramble

Ingredients:

• About a cup of egg whites
• A large handful of spinach
• Veggies—use whatever you like. We usually go for chopped bell peppers, mushrooms, jalapeños, or onions
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Sauté the veggies on medium high heat for about 5 minutes.  Add in the egg whites and spinach and cook for about 5 minutes until everything is cooked together.

Hopefully you all are excited to get a head start on your day with a great breakfast tomorrow morning.  I know I am!  Thanks again for reading!

Till next time,

-Mere

Hi everyone!  Hope this finds you well!  Wow—I just checked, and it looks like I haven’t done a post in 2 weeks!  Y’all probably wondered where I went!!   I’ve been busy throwing weights around I suppose!  Feels good to sit down and write!!

I frequently get asked A LOT about nutrition and what I recommend people eat.  I thought I’d give a brief overview  of how Shane and I plan our weekly meals, and then later over the next couple of weeks take things meal by meal to go further in detail.

“Meal Prepping” in my opinion can best be defined as pre-planning your meals, pre-cooking the meals you have planned, and then adhering to eating those meals that you have planned and cooked.

I’m sure that many of you can relate to how things used to be in our household.  Let me give you a little back story on how our meals have evolved over our 10 year relationship.  When we were first married, I really took it upon myself as a newlywed to cook dinner for us every night.  Growing up, my family had always traditionally had dinner together and I really enjoyed cooking (and, I still do)! Shane and I would think ahead of time of what we wanted for dinner that week, I would grocery shop (*note—I LOVE to grocery shop!!), and then cook dinner when I got home from work.  We typically ate things a lot of American families do—spaghetti, tacos, stir frys, those frozen meals in bags (a.k.a. salt licks in a bag—they are full of sodium!), and every now and then I’d try out recipes I’d seen online, in a magazine, or on the Food network.  But this got to be exhausting.  I got tired of constantly cooking and cleaning after working a 10-12 hour day.  I wasn’t working out at the time, but who has time to cook a gourmet freaking dinner every night?!  We never fight, but there were oh so many nights where one of us didn’t want the “planned” dinner that night, or we got home too late to care and went out to dinner instead.  Food was often wasted, and pounds kept creeping up.  Sometimes I would take leftovers for lunch the next day, but we’d usually throw a lot out because I’d cook too much food for two people, oh and Shane never ate leftovers back then.  Honestly, we probably ate out or ordered in 4-5 nights a week easy.  Shane would never eat breakfast, never took snacks to work, and ate out for lunch every single day.

Fast forward a few years.  When I joined Texas Fit Chicks boot camp, the trainers put a lot of emphasis on clean eating.  This opened up my eyes a lot!  I had always tried to be pretty healthy eater.  Since High School really, I would often choose healthier food options over burgers, pizza, etc., but the clean eating concept really clarified it a lot for me.   I would take snacks to work, but realize now that I was probably not eating enough food.  I would often skip breakfast, or have just a yogurt or pack of oatmeal, and maybe have a few almonds or a granola bar if I got hungry during the day at the office.  In my last job I often had to take clients out to lunch, which meant eating out almost every single day.  And the pounds just kept creeping on.  I still “cooked” dinner every night, but focused on healthier, cleaner options.  A lot of our dinner recipes from about 2012 – 2013 came from a website called skinnytaste.com.  It’s fabulous if you’re looking for simple, easy to make healthy dishes.  I still use them from time to time!

Last year when we finally made the decision to really make fitness and nutrition part of our lifestyle, things totally changed.    I really began researching nutrition and the concept of macros, and what I should be eating in order to fuel my body, not just lose weight.  Instead of planning my weekly grocery list around recipes, I began planning it around protein, carb, and fat sources.  Things totally changed for us.  It wasn’t easy at first, but we figured out that having pre-cooked chicken, and simpler meals geared around hitting our macros really worked for our lifestyle and was SO much easier than freaking cooking every night.  Both of us eat 6 meals a day (3 meals, 3 “snacks”) and have one weekly cheat meal (Saturday nights!  Hooray!) where we go out to dinner.  It has saved us so much stress and money (that now gets put right into supplements, protein powders, and cute workout gear! HA), but the best part is not having the “what’s for dinner” debate every night.  Well that, and how freaking awesome you look and feel when you’re healthier!  I really don’t miss the stress of cooking a fancy schmancy meal every day.  Are our meals boring? Sure, some would say that, but we eat a lot of the same foods day after day and we’re okay with that.  This is a lifestyle.  It doesn’t work for everyone but it works for us.  Like I’ve said so many times before, nutrition is the BIGGEST component to getting results.  You can just eat clean, whole foods, really put a limit on eating out, cut back (or cut out!) alcohol, and NOT EVEN WORK OUT and see results.  On the other hand, however, you could bust your ass in the gym every day of the week, and if you’re eating crap you’ll never see results.  Interesting, huh?

You don’t have to be super “hard core” with this.  Maybe just start by thinking okay, I’m going to cook dinner these nights, and go out to dinner these nights, and here’s what I’m going to have for dinner when I cook.  I’m going to pack a lunch every day for work instead of eating out, and I’m going to have xy and z for breakfast and snacks.  The tricky part, though, is being consistent with it, meal after meal, day after day.  It WILL get easier!

Here are my biggest tips for meal prepping and how it works for us:

• ALWAYS have cooked chicken in the fridge. I change up our seasonings, and cook about 2 pounds of chicken twice a week.  We weigh it out when we eat or pack our meals.  Chicken will stay good for 4-5 days at a time.  Shane does the same thing with lean ground beef since that’s mostly what he eats during the day.
• Cut up fresh veggies or buy frozen ones. You can microwave just about any vegetable in 2 minutes!  Season them with whatever flavorings you like and it will change up the taste.
• DON’T BUY JUNK and you won’t be tempted to eat it! If it’s not in your house it’s not there to entice you.
• I grocery shop once a week (every Sunday!) and buy everything we’ll need for that week. God knows how many hours I spent stopping by the grocery store on the way home from work after a long day just to wander around the aisles before I figured out what to make.  Going to the store once a week is so much easier!  I love a clean house and a well stocked fridge on a Sunday afternoon!  By Saturday night the following weekend, our pickin’s are slim and the fridge looks empty!
• Have healthy food options at home and you won’t be tempted to eat out as much. Yes, this means grocery shopping, buying healthy options to eat for the week, and thinking ahead of time.
• Bake sweet potatoes ahead of time! I bake about 8 at a time (350 for an hour and half and they’re perfect!) and they stay good for 4-5 days in the fridge.
• Have quest bars, rice cakes (watch the sugar!!) and almonds on hand for healthy snacks and fats.
• Shane weighs out most of his meals and puts them in Tupperware for the week so he can just grab and go when he’s headed out the door. I work from home most of the time, so I don’t have to do this, but I’ll admit it’s much easier and I do it a lot when we’re out and about on the weekends and such.
• Every Sunday, I “baggie up” my supplements for the week—pre / intra / post workout, and my vitamins for the week as well. This saves A LOT of time and ensures I won’t miss something if I need to rush to get out the door.

Hopefully my tips and tricks were beneficial to you.  If this is a new concept for you, I would encourage you to try having your “meals planned” this week and see how things go.  I’m always HAPPY to answer questions and would LOVE to hear from you.  Feel free to email me at lipglossandlifting@gmail.com.

Till next time!

-Mere