Squat Challenge completed

I DID IT!! Finally finished the 30 day squat challenge. Today was the last day and it feels great that I accomplished it. I can really feel a difference. My butt feels more toned and firm, and  last week I wanted more of a challenge, so I started using 7.5 pound weights to get more of a work out. I didn't use weights every day during the 30 days, but when I did start using weights I could really feel the difference. It took a lot of motivation to get myself to do it but I'm so glad I finished it!! The plank challenge I'm still working on, it's more difficult than I thought. I don't have a lot of core strength, due to my pregnancy (moms you probably know what I mean.) I'm still working up to 5 minutes but I'm not going to give up! I'm now up to about 2 1/2 to 3 minute plank right now. If you do ever try these challenge don't give up! It will pay off!

Happy! 

 I'll update you guys later on a new work outs and what I've been eating the past few weeks to help me stay fit and get the toned body I've been wanting. 

update

Seriously the squat challenge... SO HARD! I do feel a difference though! I'm on day 17 and I have to motivate myself to do every single squat! It's a great feeling though when I'm done though. What I've been doing to be able to do all the squats is that I will break the squats into sets. When I'm at home I will do it through out the day. I also do some kind of work out video. When I make it to the gym I will add 5 pound weights to get a deeper work out. After each set of squats I do, I will then go on the stair machine for 5 minutes. I can really feel it working and feel that my butt is getting more firm!! 

day 17

 The plank challenge is getting more tough. It isn't as hard as the squat challenge that's for sure! 

I'm up to 2 minutes right now. I also do other core strengthening work outs to build up my abs. 

I can feel the muscle in my stomach but I know it will be awhile till it shows. I still have the mommy belly and know getting my stomach back will take a little bit longer. 

body pledge!

While looking at Pinterest the other night, I found a Pin called the body pledge and I liked it, so I decided to talk about it on today’s post.

Body pledge:

- I vow to start loving my body, however I am feeling, however I look and wherever I am.

Everyone has those days where you just don’t like the way you look. I definitely feel like that sometimes. It doesn’t matter if you are skinny, short, tall, curvy, fit, fat, most people have days where they don’t feel they look and feel good about their body. Lately, I have been trying to block out negative thoughts.

- I promise to stop the negative self-talk and fight back against my negative thoughts- not everything I think is true.

 Sometimes I can think of myself in a negative way. For example, I’m not done with school yet; it has taken me longer to get it done, especially now that I have Liam. I think that makes me unsuccessful. I feel I’m behind in life. I need to remember that as long as I get done with school it doesn’t matter how long it takes me. I still want to achieve that goal for myself.

- I pledge to never participate in body group bashing of others and myself. This includes snide remarks towards other girls and picking apart myself.

I saw a quote the other day, “girls compete with each other. Women empower one another.” I have engaged in such negative behavior in the past, which I’m sure most girls have done. We all have personal issues and we don’t need to talk bad about other people to make ourselves feel better.

- I promise to refrain from hurting my body by-doing violence to it, not feeding it right and not taking care of it.

I want to live a healthy lifestyle, and the only to accomplish such a thing is by eating right and taking care of my body. My family has a history of health problems. I know I might not be able to prevent some things from happening, but I can definitely try to prevent it by taking care of my body.  A healthy life is a happy life!

- I promise to try not to compare my body to others.

This I think is probably the toughest one. It’s hard not looking at others and not thinking, “oh I wish I looked like that” but we have to remember that everyone has different bodies. Own what you’ve got!

- I promise not be affected by the negative appeals of the media. I know the media does not set the standards on beauty and perfection.

Media likes to play with women’s minds and they are good at making us think that we need to look a certain way, well guess what? Those celebrities in the magazines don’t look like that either; it’s called airbrushing and editing. Stop comparing your body to what the media puts out there!!

- I promise to recognize that different body types can be beautiful.

 No one in the world has the same body and all of us come in different shapes and sizes. I know several girls that are beautiful and most of them have different body shapes. Like I said before, own your body! No one else has what you’ve got.

- I vow to recognize my strengths, achievements, and attractiveness. I am a wonderful unique person.

Sometimes I struggle with this one. Some people might see my situation in a negative way, but I need to remind myself that what matters the most is to never let myself down. I can achieve anything that I set my mind to, as long as I believe in myself. Having a baby doesn’t mean that I will never accomplish any of my goals. On the contrary, it motivates me even more!

- I promise to not get down on myself when I make a mistake. I am human, and I know that mistakes are how I learn.

 You live and you learn, you are bound to make mistakes. They can only make you a better/stronger person if you learn from them.

- I pledge to not change my personality or how I act no matter how I feel around other people. Those who do not respect my true self and me do not deserve my friendship.

I like this quote because you shouldn’t change your views, or how you feel about anything just to make someone like you. Be yourself and if someone doesn’t like who you are then do not waste your time, remember that time is the only thing in this world that we cannot take back!

- I vow to stand up for myself, and others, when I hear something harmful or mean said. We all deserve respect and love.

I need to work on this quote, sometimes I have a hard time speaking my mind and I really hate conflict. I want to be able to stand up for others and myself in a respectable way.

I hope you can take the body pledge and believe that you can accomplish whatever it is you want!

http://www.pinterest.com/deidrechambers/

Eating Habits.

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share with you a guide I try to follow everyday. This is from a nutritionist from Utah State University. I keep this on my fridge to remind me to have healthy eating habits. Remember these are just somethings that have been working for me. I'm just sharing some ideas that I thought could help anyone who wants to follow them.

1. Eat every 3-4 hours

Eat smaller meals, more often to keep your metabolism up, and to keep yourself full rather than hungry all the time, trying eats 5 small meals each day. There are always great ideas on Pinterest to try out! 

http://www.pinterest.com/deidrechambers/work-it-work-it/

2. EAT BREAKFAST!!

We've all heard the saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The reason being is if you break down the word it says BREAK - FAST. You sleep 8 hours and when you wake up to eat breakfast you break the fast from not eating those 8 hours. Make sure to eat a great breakfast to start your day! Some great things to eat for breakfast are, granola, apples,bananas, oranges, nuts, bread with peanut butter, oatmeal. 

Here is a link of ideas for meals that you can eat. 

fitsugar.com

3. Variety 

Meals- choose 3 different food groups

snacks- choose 2 different food groups

something to remember is that protein and fiber keep you full longer. Make sure they are apart of at least one of your food choices. 

examples:

Protein: meat, dairy, nuts, beans, tofu

Fiber: Cereal 5+g/serving, bread, crackers, etc. 3+g/serving

fitnessmagazine.com

activelynorthwest.com

4. Balance
It's important to keep each meal balanced to get all the nutrition you need. 

5. Portions

Grains- 1 to 1-1/2 fists

Protein- palm to 1st knuckle

Veggies- unlimited

6. Additions

- Fruits & veggies (2-5/day)

- WATER!! 

-Protein &/or fiber with each meal time

-Activity- consistency is more important than intensity or duration 

7. Emotional eating

Begin identifying reasons you would be eating when you are not physically hungry. Ask yourself when you are about to reach for something to eat, "Am I hungry?"

This is a great guide to follow if you aren't sure what and how you should be eating. I will be posting a few different guides to follow this week! I hope this can help anyone who is looking for ways to better their eating habits!

bye bye baby weight

Hey ladies! I’ve been asked what I’ve done to lose my baby weight. One thing that I did was work out while I was pregnant. You might be thinking I’m crazy: why would I want to work out while being pregnant?  I wanted to stay fit which not only would benefit my baby but would help prevent me from putting on unnecessary weight.

At the beginning of my pregnancy, it was still easy for me to do all the workouts to which I was accustomed. I would attend classes at my local fitness center. I loved going to the aerobic classes. Being in a group setting with other attendees and having the classes directed by an instructor motivated me to work harder. It helped me at times to successfully push through the wall when I felt that I would rather quit.

However, as my pregnancy progressed, it was hard to keep up with the aerobics routine I was following. As a result, I started looking into workouts that would be more suitable for me.

One type of class that I found that was not only suitable for me while I was pregnant but was even more suitable afterwards was a class called “Ball’ates.” It’s a mix of ballet and Pilates that really worked out my arms and legs. Since I couldn’t work out my abs, I just focused on strengthening my legs and arms.

In addition to taking classes at the fitness center, I walked on the treadmill with it being in the inclined position, worked out at home following routines I found on Pinterest designed for pregnant women, and remained as active as I could be the rest of the time.  

At the beginning of my pregnancy, I weighed about 105 pounds, and just before going into labor I was 140 pounds.

While it’s important to remain active, it’s equally important to maintain a good diet. While pregnant, many women make the mistake of eating more often and more than they need to. Many women think eating for two is an excuse to just eat whatever they want. Women using that rationale gain more weight than they need to during their pregnancy, and those unnecessary extra baby pounds are more difficult to lose as a result.

I’m not saying I was a saint while pregnant. There were days when I would just want to eat and eat and eat, taking an extra cookie or grabbing an additional slice of pizza! Like many other women, I would justify such runaway eating with the excuse that I deserved those extra helpings because I was pregnant.  

Go to the gym with friends!

I did my best, however, to eat healthy while pregnant. It was hard, so whenever I craved any sweets, fatty foods, or snacks with empty calories, I would hurry and divert myself in order to follow a more healthy route. I’m not telling other pregnant women to never eat what they are craving! After all, sometimes it’s the body telling women what it needs.  In that situation, it’s best to make an individual decision. I’m just mentioning what worked for me!

Logan Canyon nature Walk

Easy walk during pregnancy and after

 safe to take baby with also!

Now a word of caution about unreasonable expectations for working out after the pregnancy. After giving birth to my son Liam, it took time for my body to heal, and when I did resume working out, I couldn’t follow my routines with the same intensity as I had before. Initially, I worked out as if I were still pregnant, but this time around as a plus, I was able to work my abs.

It took a few months for me to start performing those exercises at the same level as I had before I had been pregnant, and as I said earlier, I had to be patient and just keep working toward my goal.

Oh, and it didn’t hurt that breastfeeding burned some extra calories, too.  

Now, to be honest with you, I’m not eating as healthily as I should be, particularly during the holidays with all the tempting foods and treats available to me. I do, though, use portion control. I still eat what I want, but I control how much of it I consume.

As we all know, the Holidays are the hardest time of the year to stay on track with eating and on getting to the gym. I do my best to workout everyday though. If I don’t make it to the gym, I put on an Insanity Workout disk while Liam is sleeping, or I follow other workouts I found on Pinterest.

You can find so many different workouts on Pinterest, many of them make working out fun! And when you are enjoying a workout, it’s easier to get through it.

Either at home or at the fitness center, I love routines that are upbeat motivating. Zumba is a great class that is fun that burns a lot of calories and that doesn’t feel like a workout. Additionally, some of my favorite classes at the fitness center are power body sculpting, switch, hard core, and ball’ates.  

After 6 months of working out and following portion control, I now weigh around 103 pounds. My goal now is just to tone my body and follow a healthy lifestyle.

Now, no one has to follow exactly what I did, so just do what feels right! It’s possible for anyone to attain goals or proper weight and fitness. Don’t give up! Keep on working for what you want!  And above all, be active!

http://www.pinterest.com/deidrechambers/

 Pinterest has some great work outs and motivational quotes!