Yummy Healthy "Fudge Bars"

I have such a sweet tooth.  Here's something easy that I make to help with the sweet cravings.  It's my AdvoCare non-dairy meal replacement shake, dark chocolate flavor.  I freeze it, and it tastes just like a fudge bar to me!  So good!  It's usually my "treat" for after my morning workout.  I look forward to it.  Nutrition on this is 210 cals, 3g fat, 24g carbs and 22g of protein!  Plus many great vitamins!

Here are some pictures of how I make this AWESOME, healthy treat!  If you would like to order some of this healthy alternative, you can order them HERE.  As always if you have ANY questions, please email me at kelrb8@gmail.com or find me on facebook at keli.roberts8.

I pick a dish where it can freeze the fastest. :)



I add enough water to make a pudding-like consistency

I put it in the freezer with the spoon.

About 60-90 minutes later...YUM!!!!!

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Bikram Yoga Groupon

I signed up for a Bikram Yoga Groupon tonight.  Very excited to use it.  I have done Bikram before, but I stopped going because I got bored with the monotony of it...I need more variety in my workouts.  I LOVED the sweat part of it though.

I ended up getting 21 days for 11 bucks.  "Normal" price was 21 bucks, but I have a coupon for 10 off any Groupon deal!

I'm just not sure when to start...it's not too far from my house.  But I know that once I start, I want to use it as much as I can in those 3 weeks.  I think it will go perfectly with my goals in the upcoming months!

Stay tuned in the next few days for my version of "healthy fudge bars".  It's my treat for a good hard lift in the mornings.  SO delicious!

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Emotional Eating

I am trying to think of the best way to structure this post.  I do not want to hurt anyone's feelings, and I do not want to come across as an uncontrolling idiot.  Instead, I am just going to write.  There may be grammatical errors...there may be things repeated or even out of order. 

The most important thing, is that I just want to share and maybe there's someone out there who can relate to me...

I am an emotional eater.  Due to many reasons and things in my life, I am much better now than I used to be.  I was sitting down to gather research, and my stomach just hurt thinking about how I used to torture myself with thousands of calories in one sitting.  But maybe someone can read my story, relate, and learn from it.  I am not sure...

I can remember one night, I was working late at the gym, and there was a guy who was on the treadmill WAY past closing.  I had to wait on him to finish, shower, and leave.  I grew frustrated by the moment.  After I finally finished my shift, I was still so irritated!  I lived right next door to a Circle K, so I went in and grabbed a ton of bad food and ate it all in one night.  I grabbed a large box of hot tamales candy, a large bag of baked ruffles potato chips and french onion dip.  By the time I finished all of this, I'm sure it was 1 or 2 AM.  Not good.  This ended up being an estimated 2550 calories, 62g fat, 464g carbs and 25g protein.  Looking back, I don't know what I was thinking except I remember being so pissed from that guy staying past closing.  So I ate all of those calories just because of him...had to fight hard to work off those extra calories because of him...

There were several occasions where I bought a box of ice cream sandwiches to take home and eat.  My theory was that if I was going to be the only one eating them, why not eat them all in one night!?  Again, looking back this was crazy thinking...I always got a box of 6, which was 1080 calories, 36g fat, 162g carbs and 18g protein.  I ate these in probably an hour tops.  I even remember once I bought a box because I wanted ice cream sandwiches so badly.  So I took one out, and threw the other 5 in the garbage outside the grocery store.  This was crazy too because I wasted money, but at least those extra 5 didn't go on my waistline.

Running 10 miles burns off 1300 calories...and I know that I didn't run that long on any of these occasions.

I had the same theory when it came to goldfish crackers.  Mmmmm...those are delicious!!!  One small bag has 6 servings, which equals 840 calories, 30g fat, 120g carbs and 24g protein.  Once again, I probably ate these in an hour tops.  There were some cases where I portioned them into 6 servings for later, but later ended up being the same evening.  Other times, I'd just go into it knowing that I'd eat the whole bag. 

I still have these tendencies and I'm not perfect.  But I've learned to combat it by changing mentally, and also just not buying those bad foods.  I have other "trigger" foods, and I try not to keep them in the house either, especially since I work from home.  After awhile, if you don't eat them, they just don't sound good.  Plus, I keep myself busier and I do not live by myself anymore, so that helps a lot too.  I have goals and in order to reach them, I just cannot do this to myself. 

I may seem crazy, and I'm okay with that.  If you look down upon me for sharing this, I'm okay with that too.  This topic has been digging inside of me and I felt like it just had to be shared...

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Cardio at Hotel

Here was my cardio from the hotel gym.  It was on an elliptical, no handles.  However, this routine could be done on any piece of equipment.  If you aren't sweaty after this, increase your intensity next time. 

0-3 mins: warm-up pace; no resistance
3-6 mins:  faster, steady pace; increase resistance by 1
7 min: 10 seconds sprint, 50 seconds steady
8 min: 15 seconds sprint, 45 seconds steady
9 min: 20 seconds sprint, 40 seconds steady
10 min: 25 seconds sprint, 35 seconds steady
11 min: 30 seconds sprint, 30 seconds steady
12 min: all steady pace
13 min: 10 seconds sprint, 50 seconds steady
14 min: 15 seconds sprint, 45 seconds steady
15 min: 20 seconds sprint, 40 seconds steady
16 min: 25 seconds sprint, 35 seconds steady
17 min: 30 seconds sprint, 30 seconds steady
18 min: all steady pace
19 min: slightly slower, steady pace

After this, I did 15 minutes of abs.  Don't forget to stretch afterwards!

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Travelling

My husband and I took a short road trip this weekend.  We left Friday morning, and we returned Saturday evening.  I LOVE road trips and it was really relaxing to get away for a bit.  However, I struggle with eating clean.  Each time I travel, it gets easier.  But it's a work in progress.  I am only about 13 weeks out and my training is going well, so I didn't feel like I had to be as strict.  But I knew that I couldn't eat out constantly, or I'd ruin all of the progress that I have been making.  Isn't it insane that we work so hard to lose a few pounds, but we can ruin all of this work in just a day or two!? 

FOOD
It was only a 90 minute drive there, so I only packed my morning snack and tons of water.  I knew which restaurant we would be stopping at for lunch, so I looked at the menu online the night before.  I picked a delicious tofu sandwich on ezekiel bread with a salad.  It was so delicious...I would even make that drive again just for that sandwich!  Haha. 

An hour or two later, we stopped by a little cafe that had frozen yogurt/sorbet and coffee.  I got both.  :)  But that was not a good combination.  I was either so un-used to sorbet that it just didn't taste good anymore, or both together just made a bad taste.  But bleh!!!

For dinner, we decided to go to Trader Joe's (grocery) and take a few things back to our room.  It was so much healthier, and cheaper too!  My husband and I spent about $18-$20 total, and we each were able to eat a good dinner and morning snack the next day.  There was also a Red Robin down the street, right next to Trader Joe's.  Six months ago, I would've just wanted Red Robin for the convenience.  But they have endless fries that are to die for!  I know that it would not have been good.  I was quite proud that we resisted that restaurant, and went the healthy route.  I DEFINITELY would've regretted Red Robin in my workouts the next several days.

The hotel also had "free" breakfast, which is super nice on the wallet.  However, not so nice on the waistline.  They had cereals, fruit, yogurt, breads, muffins, eggs, waffles and sausage.  I decided on two, plain pieces of raisin bread and a banana.  This was the best I could come up with and still try to stay on my clean eating.  Not perfect.  I thought they would've had some plain oatmeal, so I didn't pack any of my own.  Next time, I will be having some in my suitcase no matter what!  But I was still proud that I didn't go crazy on the "free" breakfast.  I went to Texas earlier in the year, and I remember having a few muffins, a couple bowls of cereal, bread and fruit.  And before that...oh my...I'd stuff myself sick from the "free" food.  Word to the wise, this food may be free now, but will you pay for it later in other ways?  Scale, feeling poopy, etc...

WORKOUT
Luckily, our hotel had a sweet gym!!!  It was a Saturday too, and typically I just do some cardio or take a spinning class.  I did 20 minutes of intervals on the elliptical (I will post the workout soon), and I did 15 minutes of ab work with my husband. 

I have been in hotels though where there isn't a gym.  You can still get a sweat in, but you just have to be creative.  Are there stairs or hallways inside?  Go run!!!  Are you in a nice neighborhood?  Go run!!!  Or, bring some workout bands with you and do a workout in your room.  The possibilities with those are endless!  There are always squats, push-ups, crunches and lunges where you don't need any equipment at all!  NO EXCUSES!  How bad do you want it!?

Overall, I'd give myself a 7.5 or 8/10.  I am going to be headed to Texas in August for Success School, and I will be 2 weeks out at this time.  I am going to HAVE to be more prepared with my food.  I am not going to get super psychotic about it...I will be positive, take everything as a learning experience, and I will get better for next time!

The picture below is from our car on the drive home.  So pretty!!!!!

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Un-Boring Cardio

Cardio is not boring at all, unless you make it that way.  How to make it fun!? 

~Watch something interesting on TV.  Just make sure you keep your intensity up.

~Tabatas!  Do an intense 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest.  Repeat this 8 times, for a total of 4 minutes of work.  Rest for 1 minute.  Repeat this cycle for as long as you want the fun to continue. 

~Do some other type of intervals.  For example, walk for 2 minutes, run for 1 minute, and sprint for 30 seconds.  Once again, repeat as many times as you wish!

~Another interval example:  pick a phone number.  Do the number for the levels.  Say the number is 789-4823.  Start with level 7 for X minutes, then level 8 for X minutes, and do this until you are done with the number.  It's a good way to mix it up.

~Switch machines.  There is no rule that you have to do your cardio on the same machine.  Do 10 minutes on the treadmill, 10 minutes on the elliptical, and 10 minutes on the stairs.  OR if you have been on the same machine for all of your cardio sessions for many days running, it's time to switch it up!

~If available, take a fitness class at your local gym.  I have recently integrated a weekly spinning class into my training, and I really have enjoyed this.

~Go outside!  You do not have to be in a gym to get a good workout!

The ideas are endless!  Be creative, yet keep the intensity up!

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Hola!  I have started a blog before, but this time I want to keep it up.  I want to keep myself accountable, and I feel like I have a lot of information to share about health and wellness.  I will try my best to not offend anyone, but I apologize now if I do.

I am a fitness and gym-a-holic.  It's what I enjoy.  I am currently a little over 13 weeks out from my next bikini competition.  I have done two before, and they're quite addicting.  It's those type where I walk on stage in 5 inch heels and a very skimpy bikini and pose.  People ask...why!?  It's a RUSH!!!!! This one will be a little different, as I am going to have a 90% vegan diet.  I want to prove that this can be done on the stage and a "normal" bodybuilder's diet (chicken, tilapia, asparagus, brown rice, etc.) is not the only way to success.  I do not eat meat (yes, that includes fish too), and I stay away from as much dairy as possible.  My only animal bi-products would be in my supplements, which I will discuss throughout future blog posts.  This is for introduction only.  :)

Hard work and dedication is what it's all about.  I'm a normal person and I've been through some tough times...I've been 50 pounds heavier at one point, suffered from binge eating, been picked on, and I'm sure more things that I can't even remember right now. 

But when it comes down to it, I'm on a mission to help people.  It's the MOST REWARDING job in the world!  If I can influence and just change one person, it's all worth it!

I love pictures too!  Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day!



Last winter living in Ohio.  I do NOT miss snow!!!



Right after my first show.  March 2011.
 

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