Hello!
First and foremost, I am sending positive vibes to every single person in the world right now. It is a difficult time. It is important during this time to stay home if you are able to. A few reminders to frequently wash your hands, do not touch your face, stay home if you are feeling sick, practice social distancing, and cover your cough.
If you have followed me for some the past few weeks, you know that I am doing a six week challenge with Iron Tribe Fitness. Doing this six week challenge, I received a meal plan, a personal grocery list, a food preparation instruction, an accountability coach, and three workouts per week with TRAINERS. I have so far lost 14 pounds throughout the five weeks and going into week six. It is not enough that I have lost a lot of weight and fitting into clothes I have not been able to in years, but I overall FEEL amazing. People have frequently asked me, “what is your secret?” Honestly, I wish I had the secret sauce. I mostly just listen to what my trainers tell me to do. However, eating healthy and working out has become such an important thing in my life that I want to share part of what I feel has helped me throughout my process.
WHAT YOU EAT:
I truly believe you can do all the workouts in the world but changing eating habits has been very important on this life long journey I have started. I used to never believe in breakfast and now… I do. It is not anything crazy though. It is simple. I will walk you down exactly how I have been eating for the past couple of weeks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
BREAKFAST –
EVERY morning (this is the one meal I have not changed) is Greek Yogurt, orange or apple, and spinach salad with bell peppers and cucumbers.
First of all, I never wanted to eat Greek Yogurt because I thought the only kind available was plain and that is hard for me to eat. I had to put strawberries and blueberries, and Nature Valley Granola Protein Oats and Honey from Walgreens just for me to get it down my throat. However, I have recently discovered that there are flavored Greek Yogurts out there! Do not judge me, I was not used to this lifestyle. I eat Greek Yogurt in the morning because this serves as my protein and it is not too much for the morning. I like the Chobani Greek Yogurt. I eat an small orange or apple to satisfy my carbs, and you can NEVER go wrong with veggies. Spinach is always my go to, but I need the bell peppers and cucumbers. I also add it Italian dressing to my spinach salad.
I am a bit more flexible with dinner and lunch but they seem to remain pretty constant. I like to have a protein shake in-between breakfast and lunch & between lunch and dinner. YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH PROTEIN.
LUNCH:
Lunch, I usually eat turkey lean fillets, asparagus or spinach salad, with beans or brown rice. This is such a good meal. I love it. I love the fact that I can eat healthy and still enjoy my food. I also just go to Wal-Mart for all this stuff.
DINNER:
Dinner is super simple. I just have Skinless Chicken Breast with Cauliflower rice and that is it! I personally make my own cauliflower rice. I am not sure if this is correct, but I stem it and then chop it up into smaller pieces!
MEAL PREP:
Now, I am sure this sounds like a lot because who has the time to make these meals every single day?! I surely do not want to and thankfully, I do not. I do meal prep which I believe saves me so much time during the week. I meal prep EVERY Saturday OR Sunday. This takes me a total of about 3 hours to cook everything for the week and put it into the containers.
I bought some stuff on amazon to help me with this journey. I had no idea that meal prep containers existed. I am here to inform you that do exist and they are great! I bought a three compartment meal prep container set. Click here. But where do I put my lunch when I go to work and/or school? Great question! I also bought a lunch box so that I can take my lunch and dinner on the go. Click here. I also measure how much I eat, so I eat the right amount.
Additionally, I now drink protein shakes. This is completely new to me. I personally get the Equate Whey Protein Supplement with the Smooth Vanilla flavor from Wal-Mart. I accidentally got Equate Isolate Whey Protein Supplement one time and was not a fan, so pay attention to what you buy because there is a difference. It just tastes a little different. I personally just use water for my protein shakes. If you have any ideas of what else to put, feel free to comment or message me! I put the supplement into a Blender Bottle to mix the supplement and water. Click here.
Lastly, it is important to keep yourself hydrated! At the beginning of the year (January 1, 2020), I gave up soda/pop/soda-pop (whichever you prefer). However, I noticed that I was using juice as a replacement for soda which was just as bad. So, I decided to give up soda and juices all together. Now, I ONLY drink water and protein shakes. People are advised to drink 8 glasses of water a day which equals to about 64 ounces of water a day. I like to KNOW how much I am drinking, so I bought a water bottle that measures how much I drink. The bottle only goes up to 32 ounces, so I need to drink two of them a day AT LEAST. Click here.
WORKING OUT:
Now this part, I am probably the least helpful with because I do most of my workouts at the gym with coaches. I work out 6 days a week. I can honestly say you can never go wrong with squats, running, working on your glutes, abs, legs, and arms. I am NOT an expert. I am just merely sharing my experience. I wanted to point out something I noticed on my journey. For instance, sometimes you do not have to be in the gym for HOURS or even an hour at all to see results. My workouts with coaches last 45 mins TOTAL. Do not think that to see results it is merely the time you spend in the gym. Short workouts are beneficial as well. It always does not have to be anything crazy like lifting 50 pound weights on each arm. Some workouts do not even require equipment/weight.
I highly recommend getting a personal trainer, even if it is just for one month (if you can afford it). I did this about 4-5 years ago and it was amazing and worth the money. I got one because I did not know what to do in the gym. I did not know what it meant to eat healthy. Having a trainer helped me work through what I should be doing and what to eat and stick to my goal. I know I can give up if I do not have someone pushing me, so having a trainer helped me with that. I also recommend joining a gym that holds group workouts/classes. Sometimes classes can be intense dancing and you do not feel the intensity because you are having so much fun. DO WHAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU!! Also, there are a ton of online resources for FREE.
Lastly, there are also resources on YouTube, apps, and Instagram! There are so many people who share their workouts on Instagram!
Fitness Instagram Accounts: here are a few to name.
@fitnesswithmara
@fitnessartillery
@ashleigh_jordan
@dmirgonfit21
@fitadvices
@squat.guide
@jenna.deleon
@missremiashten
@whitneysimmons
@ajahzifit
@thedessyrayfitway
@alittletaeste
@amanadaa__fit
@nataleebfitness
@homeabs
@mrandmrsmuscle
@tiarascoops
@gymtears
@_itstutu
@homeabguide
@theqii_tofitness
@homeworkouts_4u
CONCLUSION:
This is very different than my normal blogging because it is not DIRECTLY related to law school, but I do think it is important to have some type of workout schedule going through law school. I personally gained a ton of weight because all I did was sit in class, eat out, sit at a desk and study, then go to bed, and repeat. I would always say I did not have the time. But I am still busy, and make the time. We make time for things that are important to us. This experience so far has changed how I overall FEEL in the mornings, throughout the day, and when I go to bed. I wish I would have started this sooner. As always, I hope my experience, shapes yours. Let me know if you have any questions!
Legally Complicated 