Five Hard Truths of Extreme Weight Loss

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bodyimage

Starting weight-Mid Progress-Current (photo credit on right @TonyCurtis)

Well, I asked you what you wanted and here you have it. I tried to think of the best way to describe my journey, and I know a lot of my followers like discussing the tough stuff. From body image to learning acceptance, here are five hard truths I learned when dieting. Feel free to share.

1. I lost friends: When I took time off from drinking and partying, many of my friends did not stick along for the ride. When I wanted to do a show, there were some that questioned it. I learned about “complisults,” which are the old”compliment insults”. The “Oh I could NEVER do that or wear that,” or “you’re braver than me.” Whatever. What I learned is that people are like crabs in a bowl. When one tries to crawl out, they all grab and try to drag the successful one back in.  I have talked to men and women who have spouses who try to derail their successes or those of you who talk about friends who get upset because they won’t go out and get messed up. Understand this, you will never be a success in the eyes of a failure.  People simply are afraid because your successes are a direct spotlight on what they themselves cannot do. Cut your losses, move on. The people who are worth loving will take the high road with you, a much tougher road, but worthwhile. 

2. I faced demons: It was only when I really cut out alcohol and bad food that I realized how much I depended on it to cope. Just thinking about a stressful day at work makes me want bacon cheese bread. No shit, dieting is kind of like rehab. Your body wants to die and shake on the floor, and the only way not to relapse is to face all the crap that made you start the addiction in the first place. It is critical in dieting to understand why you are eating and face it head on.  It sucks, but its necessary.

3.  I learned acceptance:  Competing is a harsh sport. Being judged on your body is like OMG IM DYING.  I remember riding in the car on the way to my show and saying, “Well I don’t want people to judge me just on my appearance.”  My husband replied, “You know you literally signed up for  a show where people are judging you on your appearance right?” Oh yeah. My bad. When I received my judges comments back, they said things like “lean out,” or “be way leaner.” Being a formerly heavy, it hit hard AF. My default is to cry hysterically while running uphill on a treadmill, but it’s not healthy. Next time, I will try different workouts and tighten my food, but my package is my package.  You may look at a girl and say “Oh my gosh, I wish I had her arms,” but I guarantee she’s wishing she had your legs.  At the end of the day, whether you are in a bikini on a stage or in a suit in a board room, people will judge you. Deal with it.

4. Being unhappy with your appearance doesn’t change when you reach “goal weight”: I remember specifically saying the phrase, “I’ll be happy when I weigh…” DONT EVEN GO THERE.  Because you won’t be.  Another level brings another devil. Competing has given me some body image issues, I’ll be honest. When my abs left, I almost held a funeral. I know staying “show lean,” is what I want,  but it’s not sustainable. I’ve only gained 4 lbs from my competition, but my head feels like its 15. The fat version of myself would tell me to go jump off a bridge because I would have killed to have abs like EVER.  Offseason is meant to grow and rest, so I have to understand I’m not Beyonce right now.  In order to combat these awful feelings, I like to focus on other goals aside from appearance.  I set new benchmarks,  like perfecting boxing combinations, hitting PR’s in weightlifting, or trying a new activity.  I eat foods competing won’t allow; in fact, this week I had a butternut squash ravioli that would bring you to your knees.  Most importantly, I’m always f*cking Beyonce, are you kidding?

5. Losing weight is a journey, not a destination: You will never look exactly the way you want. If you pull up a photo on Instagram and say “I want to look like THAT,” you’ve already screwed yourself over. During my prep, my body changed  every two weeks. Some weeks I hated what I saw. I had worked harder than ever and NO CHANGE. Ever seen someone hold their own arm fat and cry? Come on over. I would beat the crap out of myself wondering where I went wrong. Hindsight is 20/20, and yes I did change, but you have to trust the process. Follow a plan and don’t focus on weight or “trouble spots.” My legs did not come in until the final week.

But I’m not going to be all talk here.  In an attempt to be as honest as possible with you, I am going to drop in UNEDITED and UNFILTERED pictures of my check-ins during prep. Understand that these were taken 1-3 weeks a part. (There are too many to include all of them) I didn’t have pics in the beginning, so the first is a picture of about my starting point. I also want to point out that my starting weight was about 135 and my finish weight was 124. Trust me, I still felt too heavy to go to stage (which is absurd) but I want to give you some perspective here.

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 I also want to point out that I would love to show you my progress from the back, but unfortunately some gentlemen (or not so much) seem to think this is for their personal enjoyment.  There are plenty of great, awesome guys that follow me, but the pervs have now ruined it for everyone.

I truly help these help you on your journey.  If you have any advice, questions or comments, drop them below.

Stay Awesome,

C

Battling the Binge

/ caitlin1011 / 3 Comments

liz-lemon-pizza

So most of you saw that post the other day where I lost my mind and binged on chili. Let me be clear that chili is not the only thing I’ve binged on before. You name it, I’ll eat it. What’s most important when dieting is to learn what triggers you and make a plan to combat it. In business we do it all the time; we look at competitive threats and make plans to get around them. Same concept here.

To be honest, a lot of my binges happen after drinking. When we drink our inhibitions go down, and desire to eat like crap go up. There’s also a lot of scienc-ey stuff involved here, but we’re not going to get into that. If I have two glasses of wine, by the second I’m already scheming about who will drive me to get tacos.  So really, what causes you to binge?  Think hard. Is it having a few cocktails? Is it stress? Boredom?

I’m also notorious for what I like to call “the ambien effect.” Remember those stories about people who took ambien and would literally drive places not knowing they were going? I do the same thing with food/stress.  Sometimes I’ll be eating and not even know it! I’ll be on a conference call and  realize I’m halfway through a bag of chips.  When I started my competition prep, I really had to learn what made me tick. Nothing will make you face down demons like a bikini competition.

Remember that diets are made up of small changes. My old boss used to say that life is much like a compass, you can change a few degrees and end up in an entirely different place.  Take this approach. Take small, gradual changes and you will soon be in an entirely different body!

Here are a few strategies you can take to address binging:

*If you’re stressed at home: Keep healthy snacks nearby. If you crave sweets, swap out the sugary treats for sliced apples or fruit with fat free whipped cream on top.  You can also make bomb smoothies with vanilla protein powder and fruits.  If you crave salt, try zucchini chips with popcorn seasoning on them. Make your body think it’s getting a treat.

*If you’re drinking: Make sure you’ve eaten before you go out. Eat plenty of fibrous foods (veggies with chicken for example) and drink water in between drinks. Really know your limits and hold yourself accountable. Try to avoid sugary drinks, and if you must drink, stick to a vodka soda or red wine. Beer is a surefire way to bloat.

*If you’re hungover: So you didn’t listen to the above? I get it. The important thing about this is not to give into the little demon that’s telling you to order a Papa John’s Pizza RIGHT MEOW.  In fact, a lot of bodybuilders believe it’s not necessarily alcohol that hurts diets, but what people do during/after.  Swap out the pizza for toast and egg whites AND HYDRATE. Thank me later.

*If you’re bored: Anyone else a boredom snacker? I seriously love snacking while I watch TV.  Swap out chips and popcorn for baked cauliflower.  Make zuch. chips! The important thing is to measure things and put them in a bowl. A bag of chips is a recipe for disaster in our house.

*If you’re strapped for time: This is my all time screw up. I think I am going to an hour long meeting and end up out all day. This is a surefire guarantee I’m driving through Chick-fil-a.  Keep snacks on you. Seriously, and not like sugar loaded Clif bars. Some of my favorite snacks are Quest Bars, Ostrim Jerky, or a Protein Shake.  Even if you’re going to a short meeting, pack something in your purse.

Look, these are just a few triggers that I’ve had to combat in this long process we call dieting.  You might screw up, but the important thing is to get back on track.  Don’t keep pushing it until tomorrow. Learn from your mistakes, drink water, and lift heavy. Got any other strategies? Drop them below!

Yours Truly,

Cait  

 

When You’re Not OK

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This morning I was scrolling through my facebook, and I noticed a few posts from people who were celebrating anniversaries or major milestones. #Blessed. Eyeroll. It’s sometimes I find myself scrolling down these posts thinking, “Um wait, should I be wanting a baby?” or “Should we be taking more vacations?” I scroll through Instagram at all the models and literally want to go throw up everything I ate.  Leave it to social media to make you feel like crap about your life.

In today’s society, a lot of us feel pressure to post positive things, to paint ourselves in the light we want people to see us in. “Look at me everyone!” Ok, so yesterday I posted a picture of my “new” short haircut. I looked at it again and realized I am guilty of the same thing. I was all like “Hey guys check my sassy hair” I SIT ON A THRONE OF LIES.

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I like it now but serious.

Yesterday, I was so NOT ok. I had a bad day. I was stressed about a trillion things so I ate half a bag of rice chips and a bowl of chili for lunch. I was overtired and feeling guilty about my food binge during a crazy weekend. My workout sucked. I was so stressed that at my hair appointment to get a trim, I CUT MY F*CKING HAIR OFF.  Straight Britney. I actually like it now (and thank god my stylist is good), but still. I was able to drown my sorrows in red wine while watching the Presidential Debate. ***cue more drinking*** My bad day rolled in to this morning. It was freezing, raining and I committed myself to go to boxing. I didn’t want to be there. Then I got in a fight with my husband (my fault). NAILED IT. After that fight, I decided to take off my eyelash extensions because I decided I no longer need nice things.  Imagine a lunatic rubbing baby oil on her eyes while crying  and muttering the phrase, “I am doing the best I can”? Then I cried and stared at myself in the mirror. Then I ate chili for breakfast and blew my macros, so I’m in poverty the rest of the day. ANYONE WITH ME HERE?!

Anyone who saw me or spoke to me yesterday probably had zero clue I was having a terrible day. I actually ran into someone at the gym who said , “God you never miss a beat do you?” Um yes, I do. I missed the whole freaking band.

My point here is; I want everyone to know I’m not perfect. I get so many emails from you guys telling me how I’ve “got it all together,” and it makes my stomach hurt when I read that. I’m not over here like nailing life everyday. I love my job, but some days it is really really hard. I love my husband, but some days he drives me crazy AF (sorry, if you’re reading this).  I love being fit but some days I don’t want to workout. I have made so many mistakes on this journey. Some days you just need to drink wine and cut your hair off.

There are many coaches and wellness people that will tell you “If you are on a plan, don’t ever drink,” or “stick to the plan.” Here’s the thing: You will mess up. It doesn’t mean you are a failure.  If you need to have a glass of wine, have the damn wine and clean up the food. Binged? Start fresh tomorrow. The next time you look at Instagram or Facebook, remember this: It is OK to have a bad day.  When I started this blog, I promised honesty. And sometimes honesty has a boy haircut and chili breath.

Join me today; Start fresh and keep perspective. 🙂

Getting Vacation Ready!

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trxrsz

A lot of you have written me with questions like, “Got any tips for losing weight in the two weeks before my vacation?”  We’ve all been there where the swimsuit comes in the mail and we have a “holy shit” moment. I had one last week in fact.  I’m headed to a bachelorette party and realized my six pack is less like Diet Coke and more like Busch Beer. Eeeeeekkkk.

The truth is, there’s nothing you can do in two weeks or two days that will drastically change your appearance, but there are a few little tricks you can engage to look lean and mean.  The above picture was taken a week before my competition. I was off of a 12 week plan of no drinking, pretty strict dieting, and 6 days a week of working out. If you have motivation to do this, I suggest hiring a professional trainer. I use Tracy Holtzmann of Sleek Body Method. 

So if you don’t have 12 weeks and you’re panicking, don’t fear. I’ve got tips. But unfortunately I’ve also got some hard truths:

  1. Crash dieting is dangerous and can cause metabolic damage. Drastically cutting your carbs or doing something insane just isn’t worth it for a “beach body.”
  2. Nothing changes overnight. If you want to have a beach body, get on a program and stick to it.

If you’ve been on a diet and just want to slim down, here’s a few little tips!

  • Stick to a low sodium diet with non-bloaty foods: Stay away from breads, pastas, starches and things that can make you puffy. As you begin a diet, take notes. Broccoli actually makes me bloat, so when I’m hardcore, I stick to miracle noodles or zucchini.  I also love sushi, which is relatively healthy, but I can’t hang when it’s almost time for show.
  •  Water water water: You heard me, you’ve gotta drink water. Right now I’m just doing a gallon a day. Many bodybuilders also “dry out,” or dehydrate before a show, but I’m not sure I would recommend this if you are just going on vacation. You are going to be drinking alcohol (likely) and you will want to be sure you are hydrated for that. Not worth the hangover.
  • Detox Tea: Did you know you can gain up to 5 lbs from flying? Yup. You don’t just feel fat when you travel, you actually can hold water weight. I like to drink Dandelion Root Tea which is great for kidney function and detoxing. Water pills aren’t always healthy, so I prefer to go the natural route. Please beware of Instagram “skinny” tea though. Don’t waste your money here.
  • HIIT Workouts: High Intensity Interval workouts are great to burn max calories in a short amount of time. There are many downloadable ones online. Also, there are many HIIT bodyweight routines that can be done in your home or in a hotel room.
  • Get Plenty of Sleep and Manage Stress : Many bodybuilders will say “you grow when you sleep.” Sleep is essential for muscle recovery,  increases energy, but most of all, helps manage cortisol, which causes belly fat.  Cortisol increases when we are stressed, and can actually be linked to excess body fat. I’m not a trainer or a scientist, but I will tell you there is a significant link to the body’s response to stress and body fat.  I recognize managing stress is easier said than done, but at least focus on getting 8 hours of sleep a night.
  • Spray Tan: Dark tans help hide cellulite and other undesirables. Not that this is really a diet tip, but wrinkles and cancer suck, so spray tan!

I hope these tips help you to get ready for vacay! Got any other helpful tips?! Drop them below!

The Best Protein Pancake Recipe

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It’s the most important meal of the day. Whenever I hear people tell me they “just can’t eat breakfast,” I’m like “DEAR GOD WHY.” Eating a filling, macro-friendly breakfast is critical to your success throughout the day. If you aren’t eating until lunch, then you are really going to binge. HARD.

ingredients

This is one of my go-to recipes both on and off prep. Here’s what you’ll need.

1/2 cup Kodiak Cake Mix (can be found at Target or on Amazon.com)

 1/2 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (I prefer 1st Phorm)

3 tbsp Liquid Egg Whites

1/4 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

This recipe is very macro-friendly and can be modified to fit your desired goals. Guys can probably add a whole scoop of protein if they wanted. For my macro trackers, here is the full amount. In case you’re wondering, the app is MyMacros+. You can get it in the app store.

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The recipe in itself is pretty simple, just spray a nonstick pan and heat up about mid-temperature.  While heating, mix up all of the ingredients until they are a pancake-like consistency. You may have to add or subtract almond milk depending on your protein, but it should look like this:

bowl

Pour the mix into the pan and wait until the mixture starts to bubble. Once the bubbles pop, it’s time to flip it. It took me a while to get this right, but even if you mess it up it is still delicious 🙂

pancake

Watch for the Bubbles! 

Once you’ve flipped, wait until golden brown.  Eat with your desired toppings (I prefer zero calorie Walden Farms) and enjoy!

final-ingredients

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five Important Pillars of Weight Loss

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DEADLIFT2RSZ.png

Myth : Lifting heavy makes you fat

First off, I want to thank you all for taking the time to read my blog. The response has been completely overwhelming! I love hearing everyone’s story and of course I will do anything to help along the way. Many of you have reached out because you would like to start your fitness journey, but have no idea where to start. Oh lawd, trust me I was there.

In the past two years, the things I’ve learned about fitness have blown my mind.  I never realized how much I was cheating myself in the past by not learning some of these critical facts.  I hope these help you on your fitness journey. If you have any others, drop them in the comments section!

  1. Throw away your scale. Take it and recreate the scene from office space where they smash their computers to bits. The scale is total bullshit.So many women say, “well I
    weightdiff

    Left: 135 lbs Right: 125 lbs Science is amazing

    think I’d like to weigh 125 lbs. What they don’t realize is that you can weigh 125 lbs and be a size 6 or 125 lbs and be a size 0. Muscle is smaller than fat.   See the pic to your right. In the left I weigh 135 and was about a size 8. On the right I weigh 125 and am a size 0. 10lbs…7 sizes. Measure your progress by inches or my personal favorite, selfies!

rhonda

Note to Self: Be like Rhonda.

2.  You’re gonna have to lift heavy. This message goes out to a lot of my girls: get in there with the boys and lift heavy.  “But I don’t want to gain or get huge!” The truth is, you will gain, but it will be lean muscle.  If you don’t tone that muscle under the fat, you’ll be flabby. Many people who lose a lot of weight struggle with loose skin.  I don’t because I get in there and throw those weights around.  I was so scared at first, but don’t be intimidated. We all need to start somewhere.  Don’t get me wrong,  I do cardio but you have to strength train. My team mate Rhonda teaches Zumba, but you’d better believe she can hold her own in the weight room. Rhonda has a motor in the back of her Honda. Because she lifts.

3.   You’re going to have to eat more food.  A lot of people actually don’t lose weight because they aren’t eating enough or enough of the right foods. So many girls tell me about how they drastically slash their carbs. Carbs are good for you when they are the right carbs. My diet is full of carbs like zucchini, english muffins, sweet potato, and more. When you deprive your body of carbs for too long, you will sacrifice your muscle. Also, if you aren’t eating enough, your body could feel it is in starvation mode and hold fat longer. If you don’t know how much to eat, check out IIFYM.com or even better, sign up for this 90 minute class that comes with a set of macros.  Still confused? Check out my blog post on IIFYM.

4.  Drink Water.   Water has amazing benefits. Not only does it create healthy skin, but maximizes physical performance and prevents bloat. It also has many health benefits from fixing constipation to prevention of kidney stones. (I had them. Lort,water-benefits you don’t want them).  You should at least be drinking a gallon a day. Before my competition I had over 2.5 gallons a day. Now, that’s not an everyday practice, but I was lean AF.  You’re going to have to go to the bathroom more, but hey…small price to pay?

5. Change your mindset to “You can have it all, just not all the time.” I know so many people say things like “I just workout so I can eat.” Welcome to the hamster wheel of dieting my friends. When I was heavy, I would do nearly an hour of spin class then go smash some wine, wheat thins, and cheese because it was “healthy.” If you are just trying to change your lifestyle, maybe drink one day a week instead of 3, and swap out the wheat thins for cleaner carbs. Don’t get me wrong, I can still eat an entire pizza like a snake devouring a rat. (your welcome for that image)  A method like IIFYM allows you to enjoy yourself, but in moderation. Remember, dieting is simple…calories in vs. calories out!

What the Heck is IIFYM? The Basics

/ caitlin1011 / 2 Comments

iifym-tracking

 

I’ve been approached a lot regarding how I lost weight. I get statements like, “You must eat like nothing.”  Most people assume I ate salads and boiled chicken and almonds like a regular old bodybuilder. Truth is: I didn’t. I followed a new(er) method called IIFYM, short for “If it fits your macros.”

Don’t get me wrong, I worked my ass off. My workouts were tough, but what we all know is that 80% of weight loss happens in the kitchen.  Sure, I had to make some adjustments, but IIFYM was a great move for me.

What does it mean? It means that rather than eating rabbit food, you can eat the things you want vs. eat the things that are gross. IIFYM is designed to base your food on what your body needs vs breaking it up into five pre-planned meals of chicken breast and broccoli.

For example, right now my caloric needs are 1180 a day.  My coach will have me eat 141 grams of protein, 100 grams of carbs, and 24 grams of fat. This was during a show diet, so understand that this is pretty aggressive for the average person starting out.  Now that I have these numbers, I can eat whatever I want to fit in there. For example on this day, here are a few of the things  I had

1/2 cup of cheerios= P: 1.5 C:10.00 F:1.00

1st Phorm Vanilla Whey: P: 12 C:2 F: 1.5

Light String Cheese: P: 6 C: 1 F:2.5

Zucchini Chips (4 cups): P: 6 C:15.4 F: 1.59

a-day-of-macros

A snapshot of tracking macros. Tracker is MyMacros+ (available in the app store)

 

Of course this isn’t everything I ate in a day. Flexible dieting is great for those that want to live a fit lifestyle, but also moderate their food in a way that still allows for every day activity.  On an off season we eat 80/20, which means 80% of our daily intake is “clean” food (vegetables, whole grain, fruits) and 20% is what we want. (In my case it’s poptarts, donuts, pizza, whatev.)

Sound overwhelming? It is. This is a tough thing to learn, but it is something you will have for the rest of your life. If you want some jacked up meathead to tell you to eat six pieces of tilapia and some asparagus, be my guest. But let me tell you, if you don’t understand the methodology, you are screwed the second you stop that diet.    Your metabolism will slow down, so if you want to stay lean, you’d better like chicken breast. So yes, this is a lot of work on the front end, but you are going to learn how to live healthy for life.

Also, here is a little tough love for you. (I had someone tell this to me). This is only going to work if you try hard and really learn what you are doing. You can eat lean cuisine, or bro diet, but I don’t really think that shit is fun to eat. SORRY NOT SORRY. I like drinking wine, I like eating pizza, and I like having a social life. This works for me. There are times during competition where I bro diet, but most of the time I eat what I want (in moderation).

“You can continue to do 30 day squat challenges or crash diet, but I’m telling you now…you are setting yourself up for failure. In 30 days, you’ll have a better ass and a flatter stomach, but 30 days later you’re back where you started because you binged on poptarts. “

If you are interested in learning IIFYM, my amazing trainers are teaching online classes! A 90 minute class gets you your own personalized set of macros, and the basics on how to track. I suggest this for new folks, and think it’s a great tool to start the process. Otherwise, you can learn more information at IIFYM.COM.

What questions do you have? Drop them below!

Dieting while Traveling: Tips and Tricks

/ caitlin1011 / 4 Comments

If you don’t know me, you should know that I did my first competition prep while traveling 85%. I still travel that much! Managing nutrition on the road is one of the most challenging things ever. Especially in sales. We are usually asked to go to dinners, have a few glasses of wine, meet clients, etc.  Temptation is literally everywhere.  When we travel we forget to drink fluids, binge on airport food, and spend nights indulging with coworkers. I made these mistakes early on, and here’s what I learned: you have to plan.   Here are a few tips and tricks I learned along the way:

Do your research: Carefully research your hotel.   My preferred hotel chain is Marriott, and they have the Residence Inn, which has mini kitchens. (These are awesome, especially in prep)

When researching your hotel, you should find out the following:

  • Does it have a hotel gym or do they have an agreement with a nearby gym?
  • Does it have a microwave or do they charge a fee to get one? (some do this,
    Residence Inn in Phoenix. You can prepare your own food or have room to store groceries!

    Residence Inn in Phoenix. You can prepare your own food or have room to store groceries!

    it’s absurd)

  •  Do they have a concierge lounge (complimentary waters, biatch!)
  • Does the room have a kitchen?
  • What restaurants are nearby? Do they have healthy options? Is it something you can suggest for a business meeting?

 

Pack emergency snacks. Holy crap!? Need I say more.  When you are traveling, YOU WILL get hungry. Have snacks on hand like quest bars, rice cakes, or fruit.  If you forget emergency snacks, there are usually coffee shops with cups of fruit. Opt for those.

 Pack a water bottle. Fill it up as soon as you get through security and fill it up all day long. You can gain around 5 lbs of water weight from the air.  It’s so jacked up, but the more you water you intake, the more that goes out.

Vodka or water? No one knows the difference.

Vodka or water? No one knows the difference.

 Avoid planning meetings around drinks: This isn’t always possible, but if you are serious about weight loss, you really need to cut back on drinking. For those of you that are groaning, understand that drinking not only slows progress, but can cause a major binge the next day. Coming back from a binge can take weeks.

That being said, It can make people uncomfortable when you show up for happy hour and then don’t want to drink. When I was in prep, I tried to plan lunch meetings instead of “dinner and drinks.”  It avoids the uncomfortable, “Why aren’t you drinking?” question.

  • Tip: If you can’t avoid a happy hour meeting, try having just one drink with a glass of water. You could also get there early and order club soda in a rocks glass. Carry it around all night and no one knows the difference!

I swear to god. Don’t open the menu:  This trick sounds totally insane, but I am a sucker for temptation. I have no will power.  In order to completely avoid making a poor choice, look up the restaurant menu before you even go in the door.  Make sure it is calorie friendly and don’t even open the menu when you get there. This eliminates temptation for you.  Most popular restaurants list their menus online, but if you aren’t here’s a good rule of thumb.

Clean protein: (chicken or steak) + clean carb (veggies or salad) + light in fat (dressing,  sauce, or maybe the chicken is cooked in a little oil) = usually a good choice. 

For example: I might have

4 oz filet mignon + asparagus

or

chicken + salad with light balsamic on the side. 

Also restaurants like using a lot of salt so please please drink a lot of water. 

Lastly, make time to workout: When I first started my job, we had a company meeting and there was barely anytime to workout. I was really afraid that I wouldn’t look focused or people would judge me if I took time to go to the gym. When I got down to the fitness center, I saw one of the female executives on the treadmill. I told her I felt bad that I was working out so early in the day. She turned to me and said,

“We work so many hours in this job, if you don’t take care of yourself, you’ll go insane. Make time to make it a priority and don’t be sorry.” 

It’s easy to want to work around the clock when you travel.  I won’t lie when I say I have jogged to a fitness facility at 4am, but I am usually graced by the presence of top executives. I’ve learned that successful people make health a priority, and much like their work lives; they don’t make excuses.

I hope these tips have helped you in your fitness journey. Do you have any other tips you’ve picked up?! Leave them in the comments below!

 

 

 

Oh hi.

/ caitlin1011 / Leave a comment

Thanks for visiting me. This blog is built to teach every day women how to live healthy and empowered lives. As a former overweight individual and professional, I want to share my knowledge with other women about flexible dieting and working out on the road. I recently competed in a bikini competition and did my prep while traveling 5 days a week. Not only did I compete, but I placed. You can read more about that on my “About Me,” page. I’m excited to share my journey with you!

I ask that all visitors refrain from negative language and self talk. Women need to support each other and if you are interested in tearing others down, please seek psychiatric help and check us out later! Have fun and stay positive!