Fitness Beauty on a Budget

I will admit, I can be somewhat of a product whore. I love trying new beauty products and seeing which ones work best for me. And being a gym rat, I need a beauty regime that will keep me looking fabulous after a shred sesh. After all the products I have put to the test, I find that the less expensive ones work just as good if not better then their name brand counterpart. Here are a few awesome beauty products that have stand the test of time with me.

Hair: Suave Keratin and Moroccan Line 2.99-3.99 each (Damn that’s a bargin)

I have long hair and a lot of it. It’s somewhat wavy and all natural color! With the humidity here in Florida, my hair tends to get frizzy no matter how many times I smooth glossing oil through it. I don’t like to put heat on my hair so I let dry naturally even when I am heading out for a night on the town. Since I workout everyday, I am forced to wash my hair more frequently than I would like. This adds to the dryness which in turn results in more frizz! I have used all of the more expensive name brand hair products from Bumble to Bumble to Kerastase but have never really fell in love with just one. I finally broke down and tried Suave’s Keratin and Moroccan line. After the first use, I noticed a serious difference. My hair was softer and 10 times smoother. And I absolutely love the scent! Yesterday I just sampled the Shine Mask and I have to tell you I am utterly impressed. It really brought back the shine 10 fold! I am truly loving Suave products and they don’t break the bank.

Face: Image Skin care Vitamin C and Ageless / Aveeno facial wipes

I guess Dr. Oz is promoting the benefits of Hyaluronic acid and Vitamin C recently but I was already on to this cocktail way before he talked about it on his TV show. Before I was introduced to the Image line, I was using Origins Never a Dull Moment. While I liked the products, it really didn’t do much to support aging. Being that I am 36 years old and not getting any younger, I needed to enlist something that will preserve my youthful glow. After a visit to my aesthetician, I was sent home with the full line of Image Skin Care. Now these aren’t as inexpensive as, say, CVS products but they are moderately priced compared to the higher end stuff. I think I spent somewhere around $200 for 5 products. Not too bad considering Skinmedica charges that for just one! I combine the Vitamin C line with the Ageless Hyaluronic Acid to soften the budding wrinkles and hydrate my skin. I give it 4 and ½ out of 5 stars. I am totally stoked about the results. When I am in a rush and don’t have time to go through the process with Image, I use the wipe and toss method with the Aveeno facial wipes. Really simple, easy and cheap! About 7 bucks at any drug store. With 3 kids, I sometimes just don’t feel like spending a lot of time on my beauty regimen so I opt for a more convenient way to clean my face. They are a perfect cheap way to clean the sweat off your face after a brutal sweat feast.

I hope by sharing this, I was able to shed some light on Fitness Beauty and save you some time and money. I will give updates and reviews when I try out new products that are affordable and work! Leave comments of what you would like me to write about when it comes to fitness beauty on a budget. Until next time; Get Fit. Be Strong. Live Healthy.

Total Body Shaping Workout

In lieu of stepping on the stage after an eleven year hiatus, I will be turning up the heat with my training and dialing in with specificity in order to shape the winning physique. Make no mistake I am no  amateur when it comes to competing.  I compete to win. And this time is no  exception. Stay tune for updates throughout my journey as I coach and develop my very own physique team, myself included!

Workout 1 1/2 hour
2.5 mile warm up

Tabata set: 20 sec of jump to/ 10 sec of rest / 20 sec mt climbers ×8

10-1 descending rep count jump squats super set with 1-10 ascending plyo push ups

16 min AMRAP: done with a partner
3 exercises 10 reps each
Thrusters/burpees/handstand push up with a short 100 meter recovery run  after each round (10 round completed)

I Make NO Excuses…I am Who I am

Zeus is almost a 2 months old which means Vinny’s beard is as old as Zeus and I am well on my way to seeing a glimmer of my old self. Oh how it’s been so long. Vinny says I am too hard on myself and that I lack the confidence I once had. He couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, I feel like I have more now than ever. My criticism of my physique shouldn’t be mistaken for a lack of self confidence. I am a competitor by nature therefore I will not accept anything less than the best. I know I look better than most women my age despite having a baby 8 weeks ago, but I know my potential and I will not stop until I reach it. My confidence is in the fact of knowing I can be better; do better. I aim high and reach even higher. I have been like this my entire life. I don’t know of any other way. This journey isn’t meant to be easy. There will be struggles and setbacks and stressful moments. But none of that all matters if I settle for less. That’s part of having a winning attitude. Winners, like myself (this may sound conceited but I don’t care), are intense. We are critical. We are brutally honest. We are who we are and we do not make excuses for our being. My goal was to look like I once did before the pregnancy. And not for nothing, but I looked amazing. Keep in mind I would have never looked that good had I not been critical. I don’t just show up. I compete to win. I compete against myself more than I compete against others. But, yes, I compete. And I play to win. Let me put it this way. When I stepped out on the gymnastics floor at the age of 4, I knew right then and there I wanted to be number 1. From that very moment I trained my heart out to do so. And I succeeded on many levels. Imagine your 4 year telling you she wants to be an Olympian. Not many 4 year old know what that is. Nor do they know what it takes to get there. I tell you all this because people only see the surface. They never really know what goes on beneath. And for many they don’t care. But for those that do, the people at the top struggle just as much if not more than the norm. We are just like everyone else. We have our good days; we have our bad days. It’s not about the good or the bad, though. It’s about how we treat each other and ourselves throughout the process. It’s easy to be happy and deal with things when we are happy and on top, but it’s how we take on the not so happy moments when the going gets tough.
Throughout the last 2 months, I have had my ups and I have had my downs, but I never wanted to quit. Sometimes my support system has by back and other times I am on my own. At the end of the day you can truly only rely on one person…Yourself. I am heading into month 3 and I plan on turning this shit up 10 fold. I have practically dropped all the baby weight and now it’s time to make some serious gains. I have new goals that I will lay out for you in the blogs to come. Until then Get Fit. Be Strong. Live Healthy!

Why Reinvent the Wheel?

With the fast pace of life and all the conveniences that surround us, it’s no wonder that sticking to a “diet” is tough. But as they say…”when the going get tough the tough get going”. Why try to reinvent the wheel when you can learn from those that have already put their tricks to the test. And one trick that has worked time and time again is food prepping. What exactly is food prepping? Well for lack of a better term it’s exactly what it sounds like. Preparing your food for the week.

Sunday’s are usually the best days for me to prep my food for the week. I hit up the grocery store and select the items I will need to make different meals for Monday through Wed. I normally have to make a second trip during the week to gather up odds and ends for the meals I need to cook up later in the week but once I start off the week right it’s usually easier to follow suit.

Today’s Grocery Trip:

Meal 1 – Ground turkey lettuce wrap (ground turkey, red bell pepper, onion, iceberg lettuce )

Meal 2 – Quinoa fried rice (quinoa, onion, ginger, garlic, frozen peas and carrots, less sodium soy and teriyaki sauce, low sodium chicken stack, sesame oil)

Meal 3 – Simple spinach salad (apples, cucumber, baby spinach)

Snack – strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, almonds,

Misc items – sweet potato, chicken cutlets, chicken thighs (for later meals)

Quinoa Fried Rice Recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 cups water or low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 cup quinoa
• ¼ small onion, chopped
• 3 scallions, chopped and divided
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 eggs, lightly scrambled (still raw)
• ½ cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
• Sauce:
• 1 ½ tablespoons teriyaki sauce
• 2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
• ¾ teaspoon sesame oil

Instructions

1. Rinse quinoa a few times in cold water.
2. Bring quinoa and water or chicken stock to a boil in a medium saucepan, and then reduce to a simmer. Season with salt.
3. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until quinoa is fluffy and cooked through. Remove from heat and let set for five minutes or so. Fluff with a fork.
4. Cool and store in the fridge, preferably overnight.
5. Mix teriyaki, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Set aside.
6. Heat ½ tablespoon olive oil in a large sauté pan over a high heat. Add onion and carrot, cook about two minutes. Add 2 scallions, garlic and ginger to the pan. Cook another two minutes. Add in the rest of the olive oil and the quinoa. Stir-fry about two minutes. Add sauce and stir-fry until incorporated, about two minutes. Make a well in the center of the quinoa pour eggs in, scramble. Throw in peas, then toss everything together until the peas are warmed through, add remaining scallion and serve.