Tag Archive for get lean

Weekly Update: Workouts, Fat Loss Success, & More!

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Happy Friday friends!

First off, thank you for the awesome feedback on the 8 Weeks to a Killer Booty I released last week! That puppy got shared over 80 times on Facebook. I guess people really want a better butt haha.

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HELLO

Anyways, I thought I’d pop in and let you all know that I’m alive and well, just took a little break from blogging.

I’ve been really working on taking breaks and not overwhelming myself, so unfortunately, blogging had to take a back seat.

But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been lifting my little heart out!

How about a little recap from last week…

I was instructed to take a few days off by my coach, since I haven’t done that in, oh, years?

The closest I came to a break was while in Big Bear, except that I hiked, wakeboarded, and paddleboarded my way through the small town. Guess that didn’t really count as a break. =)

WORKOUTS THIS WEEK

Monday: LEG DAY…Deadlifts, Bulgarian Squats, Leg Press, Swiss Ball Leg Curls, Goblet Squats and more!

Tuesday: Upper Body: Barbell Military Press, DB Bench Press, Rows, Lat Pulldowns, and more

Wednesday: CROSSFIT…yep, that’s right. My friend talked me into going to Crossfit with her and it was a lot of fun. Here’s what we did

  • 5 min. EMOM Power Cleans
  • 5 min. EMOM Squat Cleans

11 minute AMRAP

  • 45 Double Unders (i did 135 singles because I can’t do very many unbroken DU’s)
  • 15 KB Swings
  • 5 Hang Clean & Jerks (I did Push Jerks)

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My traps are SOOOOO SORE. I haven’t done any olympic lifting in months and months, so it was like a whole new world for my traps! Haha.

Thursday: Another leg day. This time: Back Squats (was supposed to be front squats but my collar bones were bruised from CrossFit the day before), Hip Thrusts, DB Lunges, Leg Extensions, DB Sumo Squats and some ab work.

Friday: Supposed to be on upper body day, but my body is pretty shot. I’m going to do some at-home yoga (My brain can only handle 30 minutes, so I’ve been doing this Vinyasa flow every now and then. I actually like it too! Who am I?!)

Since I’m missing my upper body day, I’ll be doing it tomorrow instead along with an ab circuit and then will be taking a full rest day on Sunday.

CLIENT UPDATE

I’m so, so proud of my clients Kaspars and Melissa. They both signed up to for my fat loss program and their results over the last 30 days have been amazing! Fat loss success at it’s finest!

They lost a total of 15 inches!!! And Kaspars gained some in the booty!!<==LIFE GOALS

But what really struck me and made my day was this….because THIS is what it’s all about:

“We both see the huge changes in our approach to nutrition. We are much more intentional in our meals. Kaspars packs his lunch everyday, and Melissa works for Wolfgang Puck Catering– so food is always around. Because of the program, she actually takes the time to eat every few hours instead of fasting all day, and feasting in the evening.
Thank you so much for taking us through this. It’s lead to some changes that we intend to keep.
It may sound absurd, but we’ve started treating our bodies like they belong to people we like.” – Kaspars & Melissa Lucey-Grinsberg

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You guys are just awesome. So excited to continue working with you and see where you are in another 30 days. (if you want results like Kaspars & Melissa, email me at [email protected])

OPERATION GET LEAN 

Yes, don’t worry. I’m still kicking butt on my Operation: GET LEAN project (my own fat loss goals). I had about a week and a half set back where my head just wasn’t in the game, and I ALLOWED my excuses to get in the way.

I’ve been practicing taking poor thoughts and turning them into positives. For example:

“Ugh, I can’t eat (insert yummy food here).”

TO

“I can totally eat (insert yummy food here) whenever I want. I’m choosing to work towards fat loss, and more importantly I GET TO do this. I’m not going to eat it right now because it doesn’t support my goals”

It’s been truly life-changing. I don’t ban any foods, as that only contributes to poor eating habits and a poor relationship with food. I eat for my goals, and am still able to eat ice cream, cereal, and all of my other favorites almost every single day.

But I didn’t realize that by having simple negative thoughts like the one above, could be so negative. My awareness of that (thanks to my awesome coach) has led to a big change for me. Of course, I’m always a work in progress, but these simple tactics are helping me to truly transform my body AND mind.

Here is my most recent photo taken about a week ago.

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Next week’s will be even better  now that I’m back on my game! 😀

That’s all I’ve got for now…back soon!

-Lizzy

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Dog Beach Sunday + Operation Get Lean Update

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Most Sundays, I spend my time thinking about the week ahead, planning, prepping, and most often, dreading. Dreading because I start to think of the 23043 things I need to do and I get really overwhelmed. This week, I decided not to let my mind go there. To just enjoy my day, have fun, and not be on someone else’s clock. Don’t get me wrong, I love my clients, I love my work, but it’s also nice to not have any appointments or scheduled events. Yesterday was just that.

Charlie and I got up around 10am (score for sleeping in!) and finally Oscar couldn’t take it anymore and demanded that we get out of bed. Not kidding, he growled at us until we got up. We got dressed and headed straight for coffee. (Priorities)

We decided it was the perfect day to take Oscar to Rosie’s Dog Beach in Long Beach. The weather was great and watching him run around the beach is too much fun. The first 60 seconds after you let him off the leash is just pure crazy joy. He SPRINTS through the sand, weaves through all the people, splashes into the water and frolics around like a deer. It is seriously awesome!!

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After our day at the beach, we headed home and Charlie went to work. I went grocery shopping, started prepping my food, doing laundry, and finally started preparing for the week around 6pm. I think I like this schedule much better than many other Sundays!

Operation Get Lean!

Speaking of prepping food, I owe you guys an update on how my diet is going. I’m happy to say that it is going really well! I’ve got my head in the game and I’m actually really enjoying this process. I’m training my ass off, eating what I need to eat and the results are showing. I won’t say there aren’t times that are tough, because there definitely are! But I’m in such a good mental state and feel so glad that I’m doing this with a healthy relationship with food, unlike the way I dieted years ago (when all or nothing was how I saw dieting). My post-workout carbs on most days have been a McDonalds ice cream cone or cereal and that definitely satisfies any sweet cravings I have.

IMG_9389I’m also eating plenty of food, so while I do feel hungry at times, I feel pretty good for the most part. On the nights I’ve felt really hungry, I’ve had an extra serving or 2 of vegetables, which almost always takes the hunger away. I’m eating enough for my body and in no way starving myself, but some hunger is expected when you’re aiming for fat loss. The other thing I’m doing I like to call “Macro-Sunday”. I basically eat what I want within a set of macro-nutrient parameters so that I can get any cravings I have satisfied. For example, yesterday I made a pizza bagel with a whole wheat bagel, shredded cheddar cheese, and turkey pepperoni. Totally hit the spot!!!

I’ve had many questions about this, so I thought I’d answer here. For those wondering, I’m NOT following an IIFYM plan for the other 6 days of the week. I’m actually using a set meal plan (created by Erik Ledin) and it is because I’m finding that to be easier for me. I also really trust Erik and he isn’t “just another coach”. The dude is smart and knows what he’s doing. I don’t have to think about my food 24/7 or plan every day, which I’m terrible at doing anyways.  I just plan for the week and then eat the food I have prepped. So much easier for me. This isn’t to say that IIFYM isn’t a good thing. In fact, for many, this is much better for them. I just would actually prefer NOT to have endless options each day. It actually makes this process harder for me. Everyone is different and what works for one might not work for another. I start my clients on an IIFYM plan because I do feel that it can be one of the safest ways to diet (when it comes to the mental side of things), but some of them prefer a set meal plan. Anyways, just thought I’d throw that out there. There is no one way to do this, so don’t be afraid to experiment and DON’T feel like a failure if you try one way and it doesn’t work for you.

Here is what I look like 2 weeks in:

IMG_9380Please excuse the fact that I’m wearing socks (haha) as well as the deadlift bruises on my shins!

I’ve lost –

  • 1/2 inch off my waist
  • 1/2 inch off my hips
  • 1/2 inch off my chest (oh yay! cuz those buy zithromax online to get smaller! (rolls eyes))
  • 3.5 lbs

Nothing crazy, but that’s just the way it should be. Slow and steady wins the race! I can’t wait to see what the next 2 weeks bring. I feel like I’m in my groove and I think the next 2 weeks are going to see some really great changes. 😀

On top of this, I hit some new PR’s this week too!

  • Deadlift: 6 reps at 205 lbs
  • Front Squat: 6 reps at 100 lbs
  • DB Push Press: 8 reps at 35 lb DB’s
  • DB One Arm Row: 10 reps at 40 lbs

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Overall, this is definitely going as well as I could have wanted it to and I’m just feeling good.

Question of the Day

1. Have you ever taken your dog to a dog beach?

2. What’s your favorite way to spend your Sunday?

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6 Week Challenge Details

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Hey friends! Happy Wednesday! Hope your week is going well. I’m working away, but having a pretty good week so far. Monday was definitely a MONDAY, but so far the rest of the week has been pretty good. I’m excited to relax a bit this weekend too, or at least attempt to. I always say that and then find 1,454,756 things to do and end up being pretty busy. Guess we’ll see how I’m feelin’!

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On Monday, I mentioned that a friend and I were going to tighten up our diets a bit and do a 6 week challenge with each other. We are both in pretty good shape and eat pretty well already, but we both want to take it to the next level!

I wanted to share the details of what we’re doing, so here goes.

6 Week Challenge Details

-Clean/healthy eating M-F (clean meaning minimally or not processed whole foods)

-Saturdays & Sundays: eat what we want within a certain calorie range (this will allow us to be able to satisfy our cravings without going overboard)

-Work out 5-6 days per week (we already do this, but will continue).

-Cut out breads/tortillas and keep our carbohydrate choices to sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, & brown rice pasta

-Cut out sweets and desserts during the week (we can fit it into our weekends if we want it!)

-Lots of fruits and veggies

-Lots of protein: chicken, ground turkey, lean ground beef and other lean red meats, fish

-Healthy fats: avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, and nut butters

Why We Aren’t Setting a “Meal Plan”

In my experience, a meal plan sets me up for failure. Even if you are getting enough food and like the food you’re eating, it automatically sets a restriction right from the start. This makes you feel deprived immediately, even if you’re not. By setting some guidelines and not creating a carved out meal plan, I think we will have more success.

Progress

We’ll be tracking our progress here on the blog. I’ll be doing a weekly post to recap how the previous week went and to check in with measurements, weight, and photos. We will be taking photos later, so stay tuned for those!

Feel free to join us on the 6 week challenge! Each recap I do, I’d love for you to chime in with comments on how you’re doing on your own challenge! Your challenge can be the same as ours, or you can do something that fits your goals better and post about that. I love working with people as a team, so the more the merrier!

Questions? Feel free to drop me a line at [email protected]

See you guys tomorrow with some photos!

Have you ever done a challenge?

What is your biggest goal RIGHT NOW?

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