Hammer & Chisel Week 5 Recap

-Getting Closer To Our Goals - 

We are back in action. If you have been following my weekly recaps from Hammer and Chisel you would have read that we lost a little bit of motivation for a few weeks. It wasn't that we were outright not doing it we just were not focused like I knew we should have been. Something clicked last weekend leading into this week and I was back in the game and motivated. I was really proud of myself for not missing a workout this week. We mostly stuck to the meal plan I had created for us and I even tried a few new recipes. We put together a pretty awesome broccoli cheese soup recipe that was really simple and quick. 

My partner in crime was also back in action with me and for a few of the days our little man joined us too. He told us he likes working out with the "sweaty guy" compared to the girl. The sweaty guy is Sagi from Hammer and Chisel and the girl is Autumn both are the trainers we workout with on the program. 

Mid week I celebrated turning the big 2-9! It was an awesome day. My friends and family treated me like a queen. Lots of presents, flowers, cards and love. Excited for this year. I really feel like big things are coming my way. I have been working hard on a lot of personal and business goals to create what I call life by design. I have a feeling my hard work will soon be paying off. On my birthday we went out to dinner. I even had some cake and ice cream this week so there were a few treats. Honestly though, that does not phase me. This has never been about a diet, rather a lifestyle change. I eat clean 90% of the time. A few treats won't kill me. 

One thing that I have found very motivating is the fact that I am starting to see a physical transformation in myself which has not always been common with me. I have not lost weight in awhile and I weigh more than I did when I started my journey because of the muscle I gained. However,  I am currently down 6 lbs since starting the program. Which for me is actually quite a lot! 

Here's to keeping up this motivation in the coming week ahead of me. Getting closer to the end of the program. Going to add in the 10 minute ab additions as often as I can in these next few weeks. You may remember this but my husband and I are competing against one another for the best transformation. I am hoping I win, but he may still beat me. Something about a girl with goals, she's pretty hard to beat if you know what I mean. 

Below you will find what this weeks meal plan looks like! This is my number one tool for being successful with healthy eating. Meal planning is a must for everyone! 

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The Master's Hammer and Chisel Mid Point Check In

HALF WAY BABY! HALF WAY!

Still here rocking this one together! Starting to see some awesome results! 

I don't know what it is but for some reason since Christmas I have been struggling to get back on track with Hammer and Chisel. WE LOVE IT but we really have been in vacation mode AKA slacker mode. I did awesome during the holidays but for some reason after the holidays is where I have fallen short. I battled the flu right after Christmas then spent the past week traveling for a Beachbody event. There were lots of dinner and lunch parties that took me out of my typical routine for meal planning. While I did "pretty good" last week I still think I could have done better. I only missed two workouts but my nutrition was still just so so. I can't seem to eat enough. I keep skipping out on my veggies. So this week I was supposed to take my mid point photos and weight myself. While I am starting to notice a change in my upper body and my pants are getting a little tiny bit big, I am not getting as "cut" as I know I could be if I were on point with following the containers. Hence why the transformation is not so dramatic. 

Totally loving my new workout tank! 100% truth!! 

Last week I tried a few new yummy recipes that I wanted to share them with you. Both were out of this world amazing!! Click on the following links for the recipes. Quinoa Berry Parfait  and Ham and Bean Soup 

While I was a little nervous about this one, it was a perfect morning treat. I wasn't sold on quinoa in yogurt but it actually was awesome.

For the duration of the program I am looking forward to doing what I said I would and sticking to the plan. Even on the weekends which seems to be where I am falling short. I just started a new challenge group this week to help some new clients get healthy. I think that accountability piece with them is really going to help me too. As long as I have been doing this who coaching gig, I still find I need to treat my own journey the way I did in the beginning as a challenger myself and my results tend to be much better. There truly is strength in numbers.

Here is the meal plan I will be following this week. FOR REAL ;)

Loving my nail and hair transformation I am getting from Shakeology. Check out these nails! 100% REAL!! My body loves the vitamins! 

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The Masters Hammer & Chisel Week 2 In Review

Struggling But Getting By 

Working out isn't so bad when you get to have this guy along side you. 

I saw this coming this week. I knew I was going to struggle. Our calendar was packed with activities almost every single evening this week and several of the occasions involved food. I planned ahead knowing that I may get off track. It wasn't a train wreck of a week but I will say a few days I went over on my portions. One of the days I was almost too busy with work to even eat anything at all during the day. My snooze button was my friend this week too. Most of my morning workouts turned into evening workouts but at least they did get done. 

Monday night I traded out my workout for a PIYO live class at the YMCA. I went with one of the other coaches on my team to support our friend Kristi. She was teaching her first live class so we had to join her. It was so much fun and a great workout. After an hour of it, I came home needing to sleep so I put Monday's workout on the back burner and actually did two on Tuesday night. Talk about sore that evening. I used my Recover drink that night because I knew I was going to feeling it in the morning if I didn't.

Thursday night was my worst night in regards to my nutrition. I had a holiday party for work and I did have a cocktail, a plate of pasta from the Olive Garden and a piece of orange cranberry cake. I wish I could say I regretted it but I really didn't. The holiday's only come around once a year so you might as well enjoy it once in awhile right??

How adorable are these cookies? I had to have ONE! Couldn't resist. 

My shirt sums up this week! The struggle has been so real with the holidays! Staying on track with my nutrition and workouts takes some serious willpower and focus! 

My partner in crime is still kicking butt with me. We both are starting to notice a transformation. My stomach is getting flatter and my pants are already starting to be a little less snug. My goal for this program is abs and arms so I am happy that the transformation is beginning. 

Below is this weeks meal plan. I realize that this coming week will be even more difficult to stay on track because of Christmas eve, Christmas day and traveling for the holiday. While I am not after perfection, I am hoping to stick to the plan for the most part. Looking forward to the coming days with family and the memory making that's to come. If I can keep up with my workouts and stay on track with my nutrition during this week I can do anything ;)

Happy Holidays to all of you!!

Week 3 - Meal Plan Done 

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The Master's Hammer & Chisel Week 1 Review

Week One - We Survived! 

Before we started the program, we spent a lot of time on Sunday "getting ready" for the challenge. We made sure we had all of the right equipment and that it our space was clear and set up for where we would be working out. We planned out our meals and prepped them. Our grocery bill was surprisingly much cheaper than usual simply because we bought very few processed foods. 

Before going to bed Sunday night things got real and we did our before pictures and measurements. Talk about humbling when you hand your husband a measuring tape and hand him the camera to capture what needs improved. As much as we didn't want to do it, I know we will be glad to have the before pictures seven weeks from now when we finish up the program. 

Happy to have saved some money this week on our grocery bill. 

So you probably are wondering, what were the workouts like right? I will tell you they were challenging and fun. We both really liked how each day we alternated between the different trainers and that each days workout varied in time. Friday was exciting because it was only 25 minutes. Sunday was more challenging with a 45 minute workout plus 10 minutes of abs. Even though I am in pretty good shape, I will say that some days this week were really a challenge for me. I was only a little bit sore earlier in the week from the muscle confusion I was putting myself thru. I had an acupuncture appointment mid week and had her adjust me too. My hips were out for some reason so I tried even harder to focus on my form the rest of the week. 

Getting sweaty! 

All along I thought I would be the one who had to push him while we do the program, but honestly he was my cheerleader and challenged me to push a little harder each day we worked out together. 

This was our morning cocktail... Okay not really it's a little early for that but we did reach for some energize this morning for an extra boost before our workout. Any guess what cup is mine? We have been using the performance line while we do this program to help push us a little harder.  

Loving the performance line for this program, it's a must if your working out hard core!!

All in all we did a pretty great job of sticking to our meal plan. I will say we fell off the wagon over the weekend because we were out of town and had little control of what we were eating. We packed snacks and food for the road but by the end of the trip we did have to do some dining out. While our choices were not horrible, they were not as great as they should be while we are doing the program. We tried two new dinners last week and loved them both. I included the recipe below for the almond crusted chicken we made early in the week. It was so simple and really filling!

One of our many yummy dinners last week. You can find the recipe by clicking here 

Below you will find what we are having this week to eat. I have a few holiday parties planned so it made meal planning more difficult. Instead of planning WHAT I will eat, I simply allotted foods from certain containers and I will pick and chose as I am there. As much as I would like to say it will be spot on, I know it won't be. As long as I am trying to stay on track though, that is all that matters to me. 

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Almond Crusted Chicken

Almond Crusted Chicken 

My husband and I are doing Beachbody's newest program The Master's Hammer and Chisel and one of the recipes in the program was this Almond Crusted Chicken. It was suggested to pair it with some mixed veggies so I went for yellow squash and zucchini. I cooked the veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper. I roasted them in the oven for about 30 minutes on 350 degrees. I also made brown rice to go with this dish. I was really excited to try using the almond flour as the breading and we were all very pleasantly surprised with how it turned out! Give this one a try!

Below you will find the recipe for the chicken. 

Ingredients

6 - 4oz chicken breast
1/2 c almond flour
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 large egg white
1/4 c water
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tsp olive oil 

Directions

-Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
-Place a chicken breast on a cutting board and slice thin and pound it out thin
-Combine almond flour, garlic, lemon peel, salt and pepper in a shallow dish; mix well then set aside
-Combine egg and water and whisk to blend.
- Dip each chicken breast into egg mixture and coat.
- Heat oil in large ovenproof skillet over medium heat.
-Add chicken and cook 3-4 min each side.
-Place in skillet oven. Bake for 10-12 min.

Enjoy!!! 

Ready Set Go - Hammer & Chisel

Hammer & Chisel Program Prep Week Done

Well after waiting for months to start the program, today is go time. I learned about Hammer and Chisel the newest program from Beachbody this past summer when the program was announced at our Coach Summit. It looked like something I wanted to try along with my husband. Typically I do the programs by myself but this one seemed like a good one for us to do together. For months we have been talking about it and were anxious to get started with it. Of course last week when it launched I was one of the first to get my hands on it and order. We did some prepping over the weekend to get ready. We made sure we had all of the required equipment, did our meal planning and prep along with our before measurements. Today we will get ready to take on week one of eight. I really was not looking forward to the before pictures and measurements but I know that this is necessary if I want to see any progress while I am doing this. The scale might tell you a number difference but the picture shows the true transformation.

One of the pros so far of this week is that our grocery bill was way down. I did not buy any foods that would get us off track from our goals that we have. It was mostly all fresh organic foods. Very few items that were processed. While we did go the organic route, not buying the processed snacks helped to save some money.

Our day one meals prepped and ready to be put in our lunch boxes before we take on the challenge. 

My husband and I are doing this competition style to see who can get the better transformation. I am in pretty great shape and eat clean 90% of the time. He on the other hand has not worked out in months and has been eating more junk food that he would like to so honestly my bets are on him for the transformation win. I plan to give him a good run for his money though.

Day one without my morning coffee before my shake. Added in the focused energy boot to help with my caffeine withdrawal. 

Check back weekly on my blog to get a progress update with how the week went and see our weekly meal plan. Stay tuned!

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