Do they use steroids?

So I feel like a lot of people don't know the difference between fitness competitors. I have heard people say that the majority of fitness competitors use steroids, and that is so far from the truth, its crazy. What many people do not get or understand, is how we can form or bodies all through diet and exercise. We study a lot on how to gain muscle and lose weight. They are experts at manipulating their bodies. They work extremely hard and eat extremely clean. Most are some of the healthiest people around.

Bikini Competitors-
They are very lean. Less muscular. More cardio, less weights. No steroids.













Figure Competitors-
More muscle. They lift a lot of heavy weights and have been building their bodies for quite some time. No steroids. (lower body fat and more muscle)

Fitness Model-
They are more natural looking. More well rounded with weights and cardio. No steriods













Body Builders-
Lots of weight lifting. They have spent a lot of time building their bodies. Steroids are probably in use.














Crossfit-
These girls sweat hard and lift heavy. Very strong. Most fallow the Paleo Diet. No need to cut or bulk. NO steroids













*** Most of these girls don't look the way they look on stage all year around. They spend a couple months bulking. Bulking means more calories being consumed and mainly weights. About 14 weeks before a competition or a photo shoot, they add a lot of cardio into their routine and limit their carbs called cutting.














On the left is a picture I posted one time on facebook, and it got comments that it was not attractive and she was manly looking. On the right is the same girl. Hmmm, yup ugly and manly. totally....

uh this girl is beautiful in both pictures. She is showing strength, instead on skin and bones. Much healthier.

LA FitExpo

- I had my cooler (6 Pack Bags) packed with healthy food and I was ready-

So let me just start off by saying Sunday was amazing!! For people that do not follow fitness models, crossfit competitors and the whole fitness lifestyle, it might have been boring. Poor Mitch did a good job at not really showing it. But I was in heaven. Like any expo, a lot of it was people selling and sampling out their product. I sure got enough protein in that day with the amount of protein bars and drinks I had haha. I was cool to see all the athletes there though. I saw so many people I follow on facebook or instagram that are my inspirations, I was star struck. There was everyone there from fitness models, to fitness competitor, to body builders (look for a post about these three types in the upcoming future). They had a crossfit course all set up and teams were competing. I really want to get a team for next year. I think if some of the people I work out with all got together and went next year, we would kill it. Might be a new goal. They also had a lot of healthy food tables. They had a booth for people with hemorrhoids, yaaa lovely. There was a lady there doing body fat percentages, so of course I got mine done. It read 17.1% give or take a percent or two. She looks at me in disgust and says I am too low. Yes I am lower then the average female. But both Mitch and I left the booth and was like "Um does she know where she is at? This room is filled with people a lot lower then what I am". That was interesting. Here are some pics from the day.

This is Savannah. She is the gal behind muffin-topless.com She is the sweetest thing. I almost went to the expo just for her. If you haven't seen her website, go on it. This is where I get some of my amazing recipes from. She is on facebook and instagram too

This is Dana Bailey or as the fitness people know her DLB. She is HUGE in the fitness world. She is so awesome and down to earth. Couldn't believe I got to meet her. She is so pretty, nice and man is she strong!!!!

So those were my two favorites. I went around to so many booths and got samples and saw all the new things they have coming out. I took a lot of information on the proteins and supplements and all that and I am really looking forward to reading up on all of it. I am interest to learn the science of what they are all claiming. That is a goal of mine this year, is to find out what people need and don't really need for their bodies. Slowly but surely, Ill be posting about the stuff I research.

But here are some more pics from the day...

-Me doing pushups for a protein shaker!

- Went to the original Muscle Beach (Venice Beach). I would love to workout every day outside with the view of the ocean

Lets just say I had a great day filled with fitness!!!! :)

10 easy tips to healthy eating

I see so many people trying to be healthy and they don't know where to start when it comes to eating. So here is a list of simple things I do to stay on track.

1. LOG ALL YOUR FOOD!!! This is one of the most important things you can do. Log everything that goes into your mouth. You will be surprised how things add up. I use myfitnesspal. It is an app or you can go on myfitnesspal.com. I have mine set where you can see exactly what I eat every day. So friend request me @ srfrsmwr and you can use mine as a guide.

2. WEIGH AND MEAURE all your food. This is another very important part, especially when you are starting off. I can guarantee you are not guessing correctly.

3. Do not starve yourself. If you are able to, get your metabolism done. This way you know exactly how many calories your body needs to function. I suggest eating a minimum of 1400 calories. If you eat too little, your body will go into starvation mode and hold on to the fat.

4. If you log, then you will be able to see how much you are eating are carbs vs fats vs protein. My carbs usually make up about 30% of my diet, about 30% is fat and about 40% is protein. It is better to go over on fat and protein then carbs. My calorie total is set to 1500 but then I add my workouts in and that gives me added calories.

5. Have a big breakfast and a small dinner. Eat within 45 minutes of waking up to give you energy for the day ahead of you. Eat about every 3 hours. I have about 3 meals, my first one being the largest and the last being the smallest, and 3 snacks.

6. Stay away from sugars and carbs three hours before you go to bed.

7. Load up on veggies every single meal!

8. Shop on the outside of the grocery store. Stay away from the aisles

9. Make your own food!!! Do not buy premade food. Stay away from the quick oatmeal, the pre-made sausage patties. They are filled with sugar, salt and fake ingredients. Take one day out of your week and make your turkey burgers out of lean ground turkey. Get old-fashion oats, measure them out and add cinnamon and stevia and wa la, you have quick oatmeal, you can just grab and go. All you need is one day to prep your food, and the rest of the week you will be good. Refer to my older posts about food prep

10. Give yourself one cheat meal a week. This way you can eat what you want to eat for that one meal, guilt free. I promise if you eat clean the rest of the time, this one meal will not make you gain 10 pounds. It will also prevent you from just snapping one day and eating everything in sight.


Please let me help you!!! Nutrition is what I love. Do not hesitate to ask.

Make good decisions :)

How to make a change...

So as many of you know, I am going to Arizona State University and is majoring in Healthy Lifestyle Coaching. Never would have guessed would you? haha. I am taking a class this session call Fundamentals of Wellness. I loveeeee it. It is exactly what I want to be learning about. Past classes have all been about how to overcome the cultural difference when treating patients. Yes it is interesting, but I swear I have taken like 5 classes on it and I am getting to the point where I am just going to snooze through them. So finally I am getting a class that isn't so much on what to do in the work place. Any whoooo. I will probably be getting a lot of my posts from this class now, joy :) We just finished reading about the steps it take to make a change. So here they are, and you should follow them.

1. Shaping. This involves starting slowly. Have that goal in your mind and take baby steps to get there. Do not overwhelm yourself and do not skip steps. Reward yourself for meeting your goals regularly.

2. Visualization. Visualize your plan of action. A lot of athletes do this. I remember as a swimmer and a  diver, I would think about every part of my 100yard butterfly or my front 2.5 off of three meter. By doing this, your are preparing yourself mentally for he challenge ahead (yes it will be a challenge)

3. Modeling. I did this one a lot. You learn behaviors by watching others perform them. Like I have said before, when I changed my life into a better and healthier life, I followed every health blog, every athlete on facebook and pinned every tip on pinterest I could find. Along the way you twist and change things to work for you, to make it your own. But you always need a starting point.

4. Controlling the situation. If you are trying to quit smoking but all your friends are smokers, are you really going to be able to quit? Probably not. Some will, and those people are amazingly strong. You need to surround yourself with people or an environment that will help you make a change. Do not make it harder for yourself.

5. Reinforcement. Positively reward yourself!!! This will keep you motivated. Obviously, if you are trying to lose weight, don't reward yourself with food, think of something else that won't set you back on your goals.

6. Changing self talk. BE POSITIVE. Tell yourself you can do it, even if you slip up. We are all human and we will eat that chocolate cake, but do not quit because you slipped and fell. Get up and keep running to the finish line.

Change your behavior, and reach your goals!

Yummmyyyy French toast

So you think you can't eat yummy food while trying to lose weight on your "diet"!! Well you thought wrong. Be creative! You can do it. Guess what I had this morning? French toast. Oh yes sir I did. And that isn't even my cheat meal AND I am trimming up and not bulking anymore. Stop eating lame boring food. Here is my French toast.

1. Whip up an egg in a bowl
2. Put a tablespoon or two of cinnamon and a packet of stevia in the egg and mix
3. Use your paleo, spelt, Ezekiel or whatever healthy bread you use and dip it in the egg
4. Put it in the pan
5. Top it off with a little more cinnamon and stevia or almond butter or the Waldon Farm zero calorie syrup.

ENJOYYYYYY!!!!

Motivate

One of my goals this year is to stay on top of this blog. My major is Healthy Lifestyle Coaching. I love to talk about nutrition and exercise. Like really love. I take in every piece of information I can get. The new year always starts the trend of being healthy, which I love. I love seeing my newsfeed and Pinterest filled with motivating pictures, people and new recipes and tips. I have joined a couple 30 day challenges myself. Before you start screaming at me that I don't need to lose weight, I already know. That is not why I am doing it. I want to see how others run programs and challenges and how they keep people motivated. I also want to help others. I want to be motivating. I want others to have the success I have had. There is always room to grow and learn from others. 

I am going to try my very hardest to post often. I will post tips, recipes, workouts and different information. 

Remember, everyone is different. My way of eating might not work for everyone. I eat very very very little dairy, sugar, wheat and gluten. My diet is similar to the Paleo diet, I guess, but it isn't to the T. I do believe in having good fats in your diet, but I don't eat as much as the people that do Paleo incorporate. I also tend to eat a tiny but more carbs then they do. I do not eat a lot of carbs but if I do not eat any, such as toast in the morning and a little bit of Quinoa for lunch, I tend to crash very fast. Some people can do it, but I can't. You have to remember everyone one is different. Listen to your body!!!!

TIP OF THE DAY: Drink a gallon of water a day. Water does wonders to your body. Get a water bottle you love and buy a couple of the same kind. Calculate how many of those water bottles you need to drink a day to get to your gallon then drink it! Spread it out throughout the day so your body can absorb as much as it can. If you drink it all in one sitting, your body will absorb only part of it then get rid of the rest. So spread it out!!!

I hope you all made your goals and are working your butts off to achieve them. You can do it!! If you fall, get back up again and keep moving forward. I believe in you :)

Do something fun!

TIP OF THE DAY: do something that is fun! If you don't like what you are doing you won't stick with it. I hate cardio but love lifting. I know cardio is good for me too. I also love competition and fast pace stuff. So what do I do? Crossfit. I love it, I am addicted to it. Do what you love!

This lady is awesome and having fun!!! This is a must watch :) try to have this much fun when working out

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6RcVtON3Zlc