Showing posts with label Nutrition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nutrition. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Dinner! - Zoodle Spaghetti!

I'm an intuitive eater, for sure! So I don't track or pay a TON of attention to my food meticulously, however I do try to be mindful of types of foods I'm eating timing wise. For example, I train legs 3 days a week, so I know on those 3 days I can CARB UP because my goal is for growth in my glutes and hamstrings and they workout takes A LOT out of you, the other 4 days I'm not looking for as much growth as I am shape, so I try to keep those days higher in proteins and fats than carbs. I also try not to stuff my face with carbs before bed (regardless of the training day) because carbs need to be used to not turn into fat! So this is a perfect example of my dinner from the other night on a non-legday.

Zoodles!

First, spiralize some zucchini! You can get a spiralizer of some sort from Wal-Mart or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I got mine on Amazon! Click Here to order one. Zucchini shrinks up real small, so you can spiralize a lot of them !!

Next, through them in a pan and simmer on low-med heat with seasoning while your brown the meat!  

Brown the meat you're using! You can use ground turkey or extra lean ground beef. I use extra lean ground beef and season it with sea salt, pepper, and chilli powder! 


Strain your meat and noodles, then combine with sauce! This is the sauce I use (I'm not creative enough to make my own. This gets the job done!) 


Mix it together and enjoy!! :)
High protein, lower carb dinner :) 


Happy Wednesday! :) 



Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Bloat Be Gone Update!

Happy Transformation Tuesday! If you guys read my Bloat Be Gone post (here!), then you know the struggle I was having and what I was testing to help it out! This is an update on progress from that post. 
As you know, I was using a Gut Health blend of tea that has oodles of benefits for your insides to keep them healthy and I'm still LOVING these blends!! (see previous post for specific blends!) So here's an update. 


In my previous post, you saw the first two photos, a 10 day difference with a non-bloated, happy, healthy tummy!! In the third picture, you can see that still stands true!! The third picture AGAIN was in the evening, after a full day of food and my tummy is still just as happy as it was before! I wasn't expecting a drastic change from photo two and three because my goal isn't weight loss, it was just to maintain my bloating issue, which is exactly what is happening!! So you have Day 1 (morning) Day 10 (evening), and Day 20 (evening). 

SO excited I've FINALLY found something to make my insides happy again and it isn't a pill or a medicine!! Thank you Teami !! <3 

For those of you who need a short recap, I have been implementing a Gut Health combo tea from Teami Blends to help with my unhappy insides. I was using both the Skinny Blend and the Colon Blend and LOVE them. (See my original "Bloat Be Gone" post for details and health benefits). 

Now I am also incorporating the Alive Blend and the Energy blend to help regulate my Hypothyroid energy drops! This morning was my first time testing out the Alive Blend and I mixed it with my typical Skinny Blend and OMG. First of all, YUM, second of all, MY ENERGY IS AMAZING!!!! 

When I wake up, I normally feel like I've been hit by a bus, twice. (I know my hypothyroid peeps understand). Normally this drags on until about lunch time. This morning I got up extra early to get a workout in with my Brawler Bootcampers and thought FOR SURE I would be DRAGGING all day like I normally am when I get up extra early to workout before work instead of waiting until after work (totally not a morning person...) But to my surprise, after my workout with some good endorphin pumping, I had my Alive/Skinny Teami blend heading to work and I'm feeling AWESOME! Clear mind, lots of energy, not falling asleep if I sit too long, but also not WIRED like I am when I have espresso. 

Just a little bit about Teami's Alive Blend. 


This herbal blend is geared toward eliminating chronic exhaustion (my fellow hypo peeps!), getting your metabolism going, heightening your focus and concentration, boosting your energy, decreasing migraines (#blessed), and increasing your blood flow and circulation to clear your skin! (buh-bye acne!) 

So far I am obsessed with those three blends! Bring me ALL the herbal remedies to medical problems please!! :) 

Any of my fellow hypo peeps, bloaty gals, migraine suffers, or sleepyheads, swing by www.teamiblends.com and get a discount with the code: BARBELLS

Happy Tuesday FitFam! <3 


Thursday, November 3, 2016

Bloat Be Gone!

Bloating. It's frustrating, inconvenient, annoying, and just no fun! Even worse? When you can't figure out what the heck causes it!! There's nothing worse than busting your tail in the gym (or at home) and wanting to feel awesome and show off your hard work in your clothes (or without) and feeling like you CAN'T because you're so bloated!! Maybe your core muscles are under there somewhere... but who knows because you ingested SOMETHING that made you swell up like a balloon. 
For me, its pretty much anything I ingested. Eat a full sized pizza (gluten free, of course), bloat; Eat a salad, bloat. Drink water to flush it out, bloat. Hmmmmm.... It's FRUSTRATING. Trust me, I know. I'm sick of my dress pants cutting into my hips and stomach after lunch too, don't worry. 

I've tried A LOT to help this issue... from cutting out certain foods, to special probiotics, and nothing really seemed to help. So I figured I'd just have to deal with a "food baby" more often than not, yay. 

Then I stumbled across TeaMi Blends. Now, two things. One, I absolutely DO NOT think that any kind of tea, pill, wrap or anything of the sorts is the solution to your health and fitness goals. NOTHING will substitute hard work EXERCISING and CLEAN EATING. Two, I love teas so I have tried "weight loss" teas in the past just for shits and giggles, so I'm aware of all the crazy advertisements that buzz around. I did not try this tea for weight loss. Period. 

However, I am all about the natural healing of issues with your body, for those of you who have followed my Hypothyroid journey on Instagram. I'll drink some natural herbal tea before I'll swallow a pill full of chemicals. What caught my attention about this tea is the Gut Health aspects of it. Obviously, if we're bloating a lot, that's a SIGN that something is up and irritated in your digestive tract and it needs some lovin'! I ended up giving two TeaMi teas a shot: Skinny and Colon.

The Skinny tea is for daily drinking and I've actually REPLACED my morning coffee with it (WHATTT!?! Yay for less teeth bleaching!). Because this tea is loose leaf tea, it comes with a cute little steeper, so I just fill my steeper in the morning, drop it in my cup, and refill my cup throughout the day when I'd like more tea! My office is FREEZING, so a warm drink is necessary. You get 30 "servings" in a bag for loose leaf tea, however because you can re-steep all day, you're really getting a lot more bang for your buck. So lets talk about the Skinny Tea for a second. One, I hate that its called skinny tea. Yes, it helps with the bloating and digestion so it makes you feel skinnier, but it is by no means a solution for weight loss that some people assume it to be by its name; luckily that is not how its advertised. I wish it was called Confidence tea, because you really do feel so much more confident when your tummy is flat and happy! The herbal blend that makes up the Skinny tea focuses on boosting your metabolism, calming and soothing muscle soreness, spasms and tightness, reducing bloating, soothing digestive issues, and improving skin complexion. It's been a great addition to my workout routine and current eating schedule! I'll never complain about a metabolism boost, not as sore muscles, and clear skin!  

The Colon tea I think is the biggest game changer here. It tastes DELICIOUS (husband approved) and really does its job. Like I mentioned earlier, if you're bloating a lot, that is a sign from your body that something is not happy, so the herbs in the colon tea go straight to the source. I drink this tea every other night, and steep 2 glasses from one bag. (You only steep for 2-3 minutes... but ease your way into that ;) ) The herbal blend that makes up the Colon tea focuses on detoxing your internal organs, flushing out harsh toxins that have built up from pollution, harsh chemicals, and processed foods, healing digestive issues and improving digestion, and improving the quality of sleep. If toxins are built up in your digestive tract, the nutrients you consume cannot be properly absorbed, obstructing your efforts in reaching your health and fitness goals!

Gut Health is just as important for reaching your goals as your physical workout routine and your eating habits! Gotta take care of the outside AND the inside :)

Anyway, after adding this combo of teas to my current workout routine and eating habits, here's what I saw after 10 days! I really wasn't expecting to see a huge difference in general, let alone early on. I like to give things about 3-4 weeks of consistency before I conclude they don't work. (My husband may disagree and attest to my mini-meltdowns when I spend three days eating healthy and my abs are back yet....So I may as well have Fro-Yo because its not working... ha! ) But in reality it DOES take about 3 weeks to notice changes in your body, skin, etc, so whatever you're doing, stick it out for at least that long, then reassess! :) 

The photo on the left is me in the morning (can you tell I'm SUCH a morning person?). But typically in the morning, you should be your leanest because you've just spend all night letting your body eat itself.... and here we are, bloated. The picture on the right is me in the evening, after a full day of eating..... holy moly. I feel SO much better. I would have expected to look more bloated than the first photo, because I was 3 meals and some snacks in... but to my surprise, my tummy was normal! The right side is a happy, flat, non-bloated tummy!! (and also a non-padded sports bra. Yes they're really that small. #sadday . The tea did NOT make them disappear, I promise.) 

I'm super excited to see what the rest of the month brings and looking forward to having a happy Tummy from now on! #ThankYouTeami

There was a big sale the other day so I got the Energy blend and the Alive blend too, in hopes that they will help with my hypothyroid energy plummets! Hypothyroid peeps, I'll keep you updated ;) Stay tuned for a post on that ! :) 

Teami is offering a discount on all teas and super cute tumblers at www.teamiblends.com , discount code: BB20 at check out, for anyone interested! 

Happy Thursday!

Thursday, June 11, 2015

3 Day Refresh Results!!!

Down 8lbs and 13.5 inches in 3 Days!! 

As you guys saw from my previous post, I started my 3 Day Refresh on Monday! Time for a break down and review! I'm gonna be reallllll honest ;) 
So I measured the night before my refresh and the morning following the finish of it! 
My starting stats: 
I'm 5'10
145lbs
Stomach- 33.5in
Bust- 30in
Glutes: 37in
Right Thigh- 22.5in
Left thigh- 22in
Left Arm: 11in
Right Arm 11in
Upper Chest: 36.5in


Day One: 
 I was all prepped for the day! The cleanse was wrapped around eating fruits, veggies, healthy fats, accompanied with Shakeology, Fresh Start Shakeology, and a Fiber Sweep Shake. Also optional was herbal tea! 
Day one I opted with my 4 Shakes, broccoli, avocado, green tea, apple, and red peppers. All portions for each type of food is given in your booklet! Exercise is to be VERY light, so your body can use its energy to heal your insides! So for day one, I hit up Cize (launches in JULY!!) for my workout. I'm not going to lie, going from splurge eating to a cleanse was culture shock for my body. I wanted to eat my arm off, almost all day. (Told you I'd be honest!) I also wanted to quit, but I stuck it out. 

Day 2: 
I prepped again, for work. I woke up with a slight headache, but I expected it. My prep looked VERY similar to the prepping above. I will say that dinner falls in its own category with special recipes in your handbook! On the left was one of the dinner options with a Barbells and Boots spin, spiralized! I spiralized 1.5 carrots and sauteed them in coconut oil with chili powder and sea salt. Still feeling fairly hungry between meals and snack, but not near as bad as the day before. Went to the gym with my fiance`, and ended up doing 43 pullups and a couple RDL's before I was SHOT. However I was not the only one doing this refresh. Many people in the company were, and I became discouraged from all they were saying, I wasn't feeling like they were. Surely I was doing something wrong. I wanted to give up and eat some popcorn chicken and french fires, or even the Spinach-Feta Chicken Sausage and Mac'n'Cheese my fiance` was eating next to me for dinner, I'm not gonna lie,but again I didn't eat all that stuff.... One. More. Day.  


Day 3: 
I slept GREAT. Woke up with no headache, and made it through the day without feelings starving.  Could I finally be doing something right? I finally was feeling the results my teammates were feeling. I'm just a late bloomer is all ;) My workout was Cize again, I can't even tell you how much fun I have doing it!! Can't wait for this program to launch for everyone to enjoy! Anyhow, last day. I was on point with my meals, and felt good. I even ended up going for a job with my puppy later... Without feeling like I was going to faint! (I'm not a cardio person... at all). Time for results..... 

I COULD NOT believe me eyes when to took my measurements and weight.... HOLY COW!! 

I'm still 5'10... but now... 
137 lbs (-8lbs)
Stomach- 27in (-6.5in)
Bust- 29in (-1 in)
Glutes: 37in 
Right Thigh- 21.5in (-1 in)
Left thigh- 21in (-1 in)
Left Arm: 11in
Right Arm 11in
Upper Chest: 32.5in (-4 in)



I'm am BLOWN AWAY by my results! I went in to this wanting to have more energy, clear my skin up, and lose some bloating, I had no idea just how much by body needed to heal! 

If you are interested in doing this for yourself, click here and we'll chat! :) 

Comment your email address BELOW for Refresh Info! :) 

Look forward to chatting! Have an awesome Thursday, Fit Fam! :) 

XOXO Tay 


Monday, June 8, 2015

3 Day Refresh!



I've gotten VERY off track recently, with my nutrition, business, fitness, personal development, everything! With Monday's for me always being about new goals, my goal this Monday is to get back on track!

Here's how I'm going to do it. Today starts the first day of the 3 Day Refresh!

The 3 Day Refresh is a great way to kickstart a fitness journey, get your self back on track or just keep yourself maintained once a month! Its a series of simple nutrition and Shakeology to Refresh your body from toxins and junk :)

So today is my day one! My stats are:
I'm 5'10
145lbs
Stomach- 33.5in
Bust- 30in
Glutes: 37in
Right Thigh- 22.5in
Left thigh- 22in
Left Arm: 11in
Right Arm 11in
Upper Chest: 36.5in
Hips: 33.5in

So my first meal of the day was Greenberry Shakeology with blueberries and water! :)

I'm excited to kickstart my Fit For the 4th Challenge with this! :) If you're interested in joining my Fit for the 4th Challenge, email me at tayraesfitnesscraze@gmail.com ! :)


Check back here for Updates on my 3 Day Refresh! :) 

XOXO Tay 

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Breakfast Macro Breakdown

Cinnamon apples oats and an peanutbutter protien shake 
✳Cinnamon apple oats : 1/2 cup of natural old fashion oats, 1 cup of chopped apple, 2 tbsp of cinnamon
❎ Cal: 233, F: 3.4g , C: 50g, P: 5.6g
✳ Peanutbutter protein shake: 1 scoop of Vanilla Protein, 1 scoop of Chocolate protein, 2 tbsp of PB2, and water.
❎ Cal: 205 , F:4g, C:20g, P:24g
Enjoy!

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Breakfast on the Run!

If you're like me, and your clock somehow runs 10 minutes behind everyone else's resulting in the "fashionably late to everything" label tacked on to your personality, quick meals can be a live saver; especially when it's in the morning for breakfast.

Here is a super-quick breakfast your can whip up as you're running out the door. This morning I literally went down stairs, let my fur-baby outside, and while she was doing her business, I put all these ingredients in the blender pitcher, and set it next to the blender on the counter. I let her in, ran up stairs and got ready, ran back downstairs to leave for class, (conveniently our kitchen is next to the door), popped the prepped pitcher on the blender, blended it up, poured my smoothie in a cup and ran out the door. Literally took like 45 seconds!



  • Ice
  • Almond Milk
  • Vanilla Protien 
  • Frozen Blueberries and Raspberries 
  • Spinach 
  • Blend and Enjoy! 



Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Clean Treat Tuesday!

Good Morning Fit Fam! Happy Tuesday! I hope you took your Monday by the horns and are crushing all the goals you set! :) 

Here is one of my favorite EASY clean treats:

Cinnamon Nutmeg Protein Mini Fruit Pies! 

❤️ 1 cup oats blended to powder
❤️ 1 cup skim milk or almond milk
❤️ 2 scoops vanilla protein
❤️ 1 tsp cinnamon
❤️ 1/2 tsp nutmeg
❤️ Blend this all together!
❤️ Pour into muffin tins
❤️ Add blueberries and raspberries and top with coconut!
❤️ Bake for 14 minutes at 350 degrees.

Soooo yummy and easy!! Enjoy ❤️


XOXO ❤️ Tay

Saturday, January 31, 2015

h2o for the Win! Spice Up Your Water!

I was chatting with one of my clients this morning, and she wasn't the biggest fan of drinking JUST water, so she asked if she could put lemons in it...Inspired blog post!

I can't explain to you how important and beneficial it is to drink the proper amount of water!! A few of the many benefits are:

  • It helps keep your body fluids in balance (say bye-bye to bloating!)
  • It helps energize your muscles (when muscle cells don't have enough water, they can't preform at their maximum potential!)
  • It helps keep your skin and hair fresh and healthy
However, if you're like me, you might not always drink enough water. At one point I was really good about getting in my 2 gallons, but nowadays, I'm not as dedicated as I should be. It normally just slips my mind honestly, not to mention I love sweet tea... But, I have found that fruit infused water is a life saver! The fruit gives the water flavor, some extra nutrients and detoxifying properties! There really isn't much to it! Just pick your fruit, slice it up and throw it in your glass, bottle or pitcher! The longer it sits, the stronger the flavor. The fruit can be used up to three days in cold water. Enjoy! :) 




Monday, June 24, 2013

Winner Winner, Eat Clean Dinners!

As I always say, eat clean, train dirty ;) Your diet is the biggest key! I know eating clean can be hard, but it doesn't have to be boring !

Not the prettiest picture, but here we have sautéed onions and peppers with corn and green beans on top of raspberry walnut chicken, brown rice, and a mango purée, delightful!!! :) 


Then tonight I enjoyed a pepper, onion and turkey bacon omelet while doing some homework :) 

Get in the kitchen fit fam!! :) 

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Clean Eats!

Getting bored with your clean eats and food prep? Here's some ideas to keep it creative! :) 
These have been some of my clean eats recently. 


On high carb days, protein pancakes are the way to go! I'll be honest, I'm not creative enough to find a homemade pancake recipe that I like, so I just use a Gluten Free Mix, with two scoops of Vanilla Whey protein, topped with Greek yogurt and fruit! 


Here's some color! Steamed Zucchini, onion, red peppers, orange peppers, yellow peppers, and corn over grilled raspberry chicken on a bed of brown rice, outlined in apple slices :) 
Get at that protein and good carbs! ;) 


Some more color! Scrambled Eggs with spinach, red and yellow peppers, onions, and tomato basil garlic chicken with a side salad. DELIGHTFUL! 


Enjoy Fit Fam! :) 



Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Breakfast!

So this morning I decided to actually wake up and make breakfast, so I made protein pancakes with Greek yogurt and strawberries on top! :)
So I used all natural pancake mix, it only has 0 grams of fat, 4 grams of sugar, and 27 grams of carbs! Add a scoop of your favorite whey protein, and cook up your pancakes! I didn't want the sugar and fat that OS in syrup, so I topped mine with Greek yogurt and fresh fruit. Delicious and super healthy. Enjoy :)


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Breakfast! :)

Tired of wanting coffee and not being able to have the sugar, creamer and flavor to make it taste how you like because its not worth the calories, fat content, and sugar to put all the junk in it? Try this! Just take your black coffee and your favorite protein, throw a scoop of it in (mine was vanilla) put it in the blender, and then throw it in a cup of ice! Delicious and super healthy :) I just had oatmeal and strawberries to go with it. Enjoy! :)