Legs don't fail me please!

So it begins!! My training journey for my first half marathon training is on!! 

I'm nervous! Yes! I teach a lot of classes, I have 3 kids, I work some late nights and early morning so I can still be present with my kids during the day. I have tons of things to do and my body goes thru a lot of exercise some days of the week. 

Food, rest and sleep have to become a priority for me for the next few months!! 

I had the very smart idea of signing up to what I thought would be a very awesome thing to do with my friends. For a second in panicked and almost backed out but soon realized it is on October 5th, the month were my daddy was born and the same month that he was taken from us. He suffered a massive heart attack and died within seconds. I'm getting all teared up again so I won't write much more about it right now. 

Anyway, I am blessed with an amazing group of running friends, my barbies, who I have met through fitness and running and now we are in this together. Thank god they agreed to do this with me and we are training together, via FB and Nikeplus and some runs togethers. 

Today was my first run and we were to meet at 7am. Clothes, shoes, Garmin all set up last night.  Alarms goes off at 6am and seriously had to give it second thought cause I did not want to get up! Knowing they would be there forced me to get up and do it. I am so glad I did, and they did. 

We are all busy! Some are moms, work full time, we also have things to do, but one thing is for sure. We support each other and we help each other stay committed. 

We are going to rock this race, one day at a time, one mile at a time! 

My biggest motivation is that, although I know my legs will want to give up, my heart will not let them! I am running for you dad!! I know you'll be there every step I take, every drop I sweat, every mile I complete. This is for you Papi!!! My goal is to finish it in less than 2 hours!! 

(P.S. Legs please don't fail me) 

No guilt Pasta with Lean Turkey and red sauce

When you want pasta with less guilt  I ate this every week on my first round of the Fix and still lost 10+ pounds. Portion control!

1 pound ground turkey
2 cups whole wheat rotini
1 can tomato sauce no salt added
1/2 reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp chili powder (less as desired)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 cup low fat shredded mozzarella cheese

Use 1 skillet only.
Brown turkey.
Add all other ingredients except cheese. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add cheese to the top. Cover again for a couple minutes to melt the cheese. Add olives, green onion etc and omit cheese if wanted.

Recipe courtesy of Jessie Meyer Plut 

CHIPOTLE 'S salad dressing recipe but healthier

Home made Salad dressing 

I just can't get enough of this Salad dressing!!! I love the salad, and honestly I know there are so many toppings but I like to save my calories on some stuff like cheese, sour cream and corn.  I'd rather have this salad dressing and eat some chips and guacamole!! lots of it.  I always order the Chicken Salad: bed of Romaine Lettuce, brown rice, chicken, pico de gallo and top it with about 1/2 of the little container of the salad dressing.  It is greasy! but sooo good!! 

We don't really eat out a lot to avoid eating too much junk and specially because we have a very busy toddler that won't sit still for too long.  And this is why I always try to recreate my favorite meals from our favorite places, at home.  

And of course hubby and I had to make a healthier version of the delicious Sweet and spicy Chipotle Salad Dressing, yup, that's what we are going to call this creation.  

 Sweet and Spicy Chipotle Salad dressing. 


INGREDIENTS: 

• 2         chipotle peppers in adobo sauce 
•                    (used Goya brand)

• 1/2     tsp ground black pepper
• 6         Tbs Red wine vinegar
• 1-1/2  tsp Himalayan salt
• 1/2     tsp dried Oregano
• 3/4     cup Extra Virgin Olive oil

• 1/4     cup agave
• 2         Garlic cloves minced

1. 
   
2. 
   
3. Add all ingredients together in a food processor (blender works too) and process until creamy.  Serve and store any leftovers in refrigerator in an airtight container.

Should look like this after a few second of processing








KEEP IT HANDY AND USE AS MARINADE FOR CHICKEN OR AS SALAD DRESSING

1. Let us know what you think! 

Paula & Carlos 

PIYO LEAN MEAL PLAN

PIYO MEAL PLAN

To be able to get the lean muscle we want, we must make the nutrition a key priority.  Here you will find the meal plan i’ve put together for myself and you are more than welcome to print it, save it, follow it.  You’ll find it very simple and easy to follow, with single ingredients for the most part.  I’m very busy and I don’t like to spend all my day in the kitchen.  You’ll see that everything is super easy to put together and I have most recipes on our blog so check them out BY CLICKING 

RECIPES

If you don't have Piyo yet, start here...CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO OR TO GET PIYO

The PiYo meal plan is designed to feed our body enough to feel satiated and nourished as we build lean muscle and burn major calories.  They way I’ve put this together, you can eat in a simple, convenient way, allowing me to put together easy meals.  

I recommend picking the items from the top of the lists in the Get Lean Eating Plan that comes with the program, since they are the ones with the most nutritious content.

Calories:     1650 + 400 = 2050 - 600 =>  1450 calories per day for my current goals

Meal Plan:   Plan B   1400 - 1599 calories

    

Primary Vegetables	5
Secondary Vegetables & Grains	2
Fresh Fruit	2
Lean Protein	5
Healthy Fats	4

Cucumbers, Kale, Lettuce, Spinach and Kale are UNLIMITED!!!  Fill up on those if you feel that you need a little more volume on your plate to satisfy the eye!

SAMPLE MEALS

BREAKFAST:

Shakeology + chia seeds + 1 cup of strawberries

2 eggs + ½ cup oatmeal + ¾ cup blueberries

2 eggs + 1 cup of spinach + 1 toast + 1½ teaspoon peanut butter

Fit pancakes (2 eggs + ½ cup oats + ½ banana)

SNACKS:

1 cup nonfat greek yogurt + 1 tsp honey or agave or stevia + 1 cup berries

Apple + 1 ½ tsp PB

2 hard boiled eggs + 1 Tbs Hummus

Apple + 6 almonds

Cucumbers w lemon juice + hard boiled eggs or 1 Tbs Hummus

1 cup Cottage Cheese + 1 cup Raspberries

Shakeology + half cup berries + water + ice

Rice Cake + 1 ½ tsp PB and half banana on top

LUNCH:

Shakeology + 1 cup Spinach + 1 cup almond milk + ½ cup water + ½  banana or berries

Grilled Chicken + 2 cups of  Salad (add kale or romaine lettuce freely) + ½ sweet potato

Turkey Burger w lettuce + tomato + ¼ avocado + multigrain sandwich thin bread

Grilled Salmon + 10 asparagus spears + 1 Tbs Hummus or ½ sweet potato

Veggies platter (peppers, carrots, cucumbers, grape tomatoes) + ½ cup Hummus

2 egg Veggie Omelette + Feta cheese + 2 Ezekiel bread toast

SNACK:

2 egg veggie muffins

Cucumbers with Lime juice + 6 almonds

1 apple + 1 ½ tsp PB

Greek Yogurt + ½ cup Strawberries + 1 tsp honey or agave

2 Hard boiled eggs without yolk + 1 Tbs Hummus or guacamole

Shakeology + water + ice

Small Veggie platter  + 1 Tbs Hummus

Rice cake + 1 ½ tsp PB or AB or Hummus

2 Turkey Balls + cucumber slices with lime juice

DINNER:

Lean Protein ( Salmon, Chicken, Tilapia, Turkey) + Steamed veggies + ½ cup brown rice

Ground Turkey in red sauce + Spaghetti or Zucchini Squash + sauteed Kale

Chicken, Pepper, Asparagus  Stir Fry + ½ Brown Rice or Quinoa

Turkey burger or balls on top of Whole Wheat pasta w Red sauce + 2 cups greens

Veggie Omelette

Chicken Fajitas (or other lean protein like flank steak, fish, pork loin) No tortillas, replace with lettuce or cabbage leaves. + ¼ cup guacamole

Piyo Food tracking sheets (printable)


Piyo Tracking Sheets

We allow ourselves a cheat meal and a cheat snack over the weekend.  Deprivation only leads to frustration and that leads up to GIVING UP! 

This is a lifestyle change and followoing this plan should give you all the nutrients that you need for your body to feel nourished and balanced so you shouldn't be feeling any cravings. Chocolate is your weakness?? Get chocolate Shakeology and tell me how quickly  those cravings go away!

Keep this handy and feel free to make any suggestions of easy, nutritious meals you find or come up with and I will gladly add them here.  Thank you for joining us in this journey!

We are going to look soooo good!!!

with <3

Carlos & Paula

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HOW TO SCHEDULE YOUR WORKOUT CALENDAR IN TEAMBEACHBODY!

A huge part in a transformation is to be accountable of what you do daily and to keep track so you can always look back and see how far you have come.  This was huge huge huge for me.  Every day I would turn the computer on, or from my phone, and before checking what was going on Facebook or the world, I made sure I checked what my workout was and hit the Start Workout button.  I'll describre the process to you below.  Try this for your next program.  Below I will describe step by step how to do this, it's so quick ans simple but let me tell you IT IS KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS!!! it helped me accomplish my goal of losing 80 lbs! I am absolutely sure it will help you reach your fitness, health and/or weight loss goals. 

Ok ready, let's get started. 

Go to Team Beachbody (click) or 618fitness.com and either log in or create your free membership account.

Once you are logged in follow these steps: 

1.My Dashboard, you'll find a list.  Important ones to look for:

2. Progress and Goals: enter your current stats and your goals.  

3. Photos: upload your before/now pictures.  I know it might be hard to swallow today, but believe me, you are going to want to have those before pictures later and you want to go through this exercise now.  If you are at an unhappy place right now, use this as your motivation to make you want to Succeed really bad! 

4. Privacy: You can change the privacy settings of everything you post here so make sure you go to    Privacy Settings and determine how you want it to be displayed (private, public)

5. Programs:  add the program you wish to start (Piyo, 21 day fix, Insanity, TurboFire, etc etc....) and add anything else you will be using during this journey.  Scroll all the way down and click Save

6. Workouts: Scroll all the way to the top, look for Workouts, click the little arrow, select Supergym, then select the second orange bubble that says Add a Full Program Schedule. 

7. Look for the program  and Click View Schedule 

8. Enter the Date you plan to start and the Time you plan to workout. 

9. Click Auto-Schedule Workouts

Your Supergym should look like this! 

Now you are set.  starting on Day 1 and every single day you will log in and Click Start Workout, a timer will start running and you are off to get your workout done!  You don't have to go crazy figuring out what's next, when is your rest day.  The system will do it for you and let me tell you, when you log in after a few days and you see that calendar full of SuperGym workouts completed, you will not want to give up! 

Its super easy to do, and it's super easy not to do.  You choose your easy! Let us know if you need any help setting this up, email 618fitness@gmail.com

Now go rock those results!!!! 

CHICKEN & VEGGIE FAJITAS

Recipe: Chicken and Veggie Fajitas

This delicious restaurant favorite is easy to make at home! Our version is healthy and packed with a rainbow of vegetables. 

Total Time: 53 min.

Prep Time: 15 min.

Cooking Time: 7 min.

Yield: 4 servings, 2 fajitas each

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 dash sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. olive oil, divided use
• 4 (4-oz) raw chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 1/2 medium green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 medium red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow (or orange) carrot, sliced thin
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 8 (6-inch) whole wheat (or corn) tortillas, warm
• 1/2 cup fresh tomato salsa (pico de gallo)
• Lime wedges (for garnish; optional)

Preparation:

1. Combine chili powder, salt, cumin, garlic powder, and 1 tsp. oil in large resealable plastic bag.
2. Add chicken; mix gently to coat. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Heat remaining 1 tsp. oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Empty contents of bag into skillet; cook, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add bell peppers, onion, and carrot; cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender-crisp. Remove from heat.
5. Add lime juice; mix well.
6. Top each tortilla evenly with chicken mixture and salsa; garnish with lime wedges if desired.

Nutritional Information (per serving):

Calories	Fat	Saturated Fat	Cholesterol	Sodium	Carbs	Fiber	Sugar	Protein
326	9 g	2 g	73 mg	722 mg	32 g	3 g	3 g	28 g

P90X®/P90X2® Portions:

Protein	Carbohydrate/Grain	Vegetable	Fat
1	1/2	1	1/2

P90X3® Portions:

Protein	Carbohydrates	Fat
1	2	1

Body Beast® Portions:

Proteins	Starches	Fat	Vegetable
2	2	1	1

21 Day Fix® Portions:

Green Container	Red Container	Yellow Containers	Blue Container
1-1/2	1/2	1	1/2