Sunday, March 31, 2013

April Fun & Quest Bar Giveaway!

SO fitfam I have a few fun things this new April Month!
Firstttt, A PHOTO A DAY CHALLENGE!

Move Nourish Believe Month
 I am teaming up with @laura_rixon from Instagram and ten other amazing girls and guys to present to you 30 days of either Move, Nourish or Believe inspiration! 
To play along just repost this pic and join our #mnbmonth quest to make our health and fitness journeys more holistic! 
I can sympathize that a lot of these photo-a-day type challenges can often be a hassle to commit to for a whole month. But I encourage you to start with us on Monday and work through the months goals in your own time and space. Post a photo every day, every so often or just once. Lets make living about more than just fitness, clean eating and selflove, lets make life about the complete package, about the complete Move Nourish Believe philosophy!
To share your progress, journey and photos with us and the #movenourishbelieve community tag your photos at #mnbmonth


-----------------------------------------
Next I'm having an awesome  
QUEST BAR GIVEAWAY! 
  If you don't know about my love for quest bars, check out my past reviews HERE and HERE.

THEY ARE MY ALL TIME FAVORITE PROTEIN BARS AND I SWEAR BY THEM.

Low carb because of the high fiber, and high protein, and clean ingredients?!?! WHATTTTTT.
Yeah that's right.

And I'm giving TWO people a chance to win a SAMPLE BOX from Quest Protein Bars! This includes one of each of their normal flavors that they offer!   

Here are the ways to enter:
1) Comment on THIS POST about your favorite flavor of protein bars!
2) REPOST the picture that I post on April 1st on my instagram about the Quest Giveaway and tag #vmquest
3) Upload a picture to YOUR instagram of your favorite clean eating recipe but it MUST HAVE ON THE PHOTO the tags #vmquest and @vmfitness!!! And then tag me in the caption! <3 <3 
4) For everyone who buys my EBOOK, that'll be an entry also! 
-----------------------------------------

And Lastly I'm doing another 


NO CHEAT FOR 2 WEEKS CHALLENGE 

 I had done one of these before and saw some slight progress, and a lot of you joined in on the fun as well! So if you want to join me, DO IT! It's just a fun little thing that'll strengthen that will power! 
I challenge you to NO CHEATS from

April 1 - 15!

That means no junk foods, candies, sodas, etc!
But you CAN eat filling healthy foods like lean proteins, filling veggies, sweet delicious fruits, yummy complex carbs, ALL THAT GOOD STUFF! <3 
Let's get that summer bod underway!
It's better to start NOW getting into shape and eating right and working out than to crash diet like the few weeks before a vacation! So start now, use this challenge as a kick start to your healthy lifestyle journey!

So if you're with me, just tag your progress #vmfitness and #vmfityear so I can see what yummy things you're eating in the kitchen, what workouts you're doing, and how fit you're getting!
<3 <3  

Think that's all I have up my sleeve for now this new month!

I hope you're all having a gorgeous and spectacular EASTER!
<3

Josie   

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

#OperationSxy eBook Volume 1: Down and Dirty Desserts

The EBOOK IS NOW FOR SALE!

#OperationSxy 
Volume 1: 
Down and Dirty Desserts


Over 35 Healthy Clean Eating Dessert Recipes!
+ Clean eating guidlines
+ 2 page printable Grocery List
+ Sample Week of My Clean Eats


Here's a sneak peek at some of the goodies!
Sweet Date Truffles

Cheesecake
3 Layered PB Cups


 PB Cups with Black Bean Brownies in the Background | Microwave Chocolate PB LAVA Cake with Icecream

Topless Apple Pies

2 Layered Fudge Brownie

Banana PB Cup for 1


3 Ingredient Chocolate Mug Cake

Key lime Cheese Cake

Coconut Macaroons

I KNOW CRAZY #foodporn RIGHT?!?!?!


buy
After clicking "Buy now" you will be brought to Paypal where you can purchase it through there! Then you will be brought to a page that will allow immediate download of the pdf!
Enjoy!
If for some reason you can not download the pdf, please send me an email at vm.fitness@yahoo.com
If you make any of the recipes or meals from the meal plan, be sure to tag #vmfitness for a possible feature on my page!

<3 <3

Happy baking!

-->
Click below to read about:

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Confessions of a Hyperthyroid, SUCCESS, and Back On Track

As you all know, I was having a rough month.
I know it's nice to see others in the same position you are in so you don't feel so alone, so my setbacks are kinda good for you all!
But I feel I have wayyyy too many slip ups under my belt now... So sorry if I've ever let any of you down with how many times I've messed up!

So I got my results back from the blood test the other day and was told to up my hyperthyroid medication [tapazole, which is supposed to make my thyroid less hyper] to 3 pills a day.

Now here's the confession part....

Even when I was told to take 2 pills a day.... I did not.
I didn't take any pills.

Secretly... I wanted to stay hyper, and not go into hypo. I wanted to keep my firing metabolism. I didn't want to have the horror stories of those with Hypothyroidism who say it's impossible to lose weight.

Unfortunately, I didn't think of all the other negative side effects that comes with hyperthyroidism. Along with a speedy metabolism, comes increasing hunger and the feeling of never being satisfied with food.
I didn't realize this until I started up again with the 3 pill dosage a few days ago.

When I took the recommended dose in the morning,  
I felt like a brand new person!

I DIDN'T FEEL HUNGRY ALL THE TIME
I DIDN'T FEEL STARVING THROUGHOUT THE DAY
And most importantly
I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE BINGING AT ALL

I was so angry at myself....
All this time I was trying to FIGHT my body, keep it out of whack and not in a normal state by keeping it in the hyper stage. Why?! Just to help me along to get my fit body!?!
Turns out I was doing more harm than good! I feel like THIS is part of the reason why I started binging.... when the hyper symptoms came back.. all these overwhelming hunger pangs and never feeling satisfied with food feelings flooded and overwhelmed me...

Now that I'm back on the recommended dosage, I actually feel NORMAL.
I can't believe I wasted so many months fighting it, when I should have just done it all along: Listened to the doctors, took my medication, and maybe if I had done that I wouldn't be in this position I am now! Ah beating myself in the head as I type this... but no mistakes without lessons learned, and boy did I learn the hard way.

Anyway, that's my confession! I was secretly trying to rev up my body to get the body I wanted, and ended up doing the exact opposite. I made my body go too crazy, hungry all the time, and didn't treat it like I should have, BUT NOW I KNOW BETTER. So if any of you hyperthyroids are out there trying to do what I did.. DON'T!
Learn from my mistakes. Listen to the docs, and get to a normal level! <3
Now I'm excited to get my levels down to a NORMAL person's levels, eat like a normal person, live a fit and healthy lifestyle, and not let myself fall back again!

And sooooo I've kinda had the past 3 weeks to relax, rest, and really think about this lifestyle journey of mine. And I wanted to share with you all what I've come up with.

First off, I may end up quitting my part time job in my Mexi- Italian restaurant... Just to not shove temptation in my face every weekend and set myself up for failure. I'm going to try and find another job that's not revolved around food! This way I can focus on the end of the semester and school work.. but then again I dooo need the money for healthy groceries... ah college budget... this is just a "maybe thought" as of now....

Next, the "clean eating" aspect. I've kinda changed my whole view on how I'll be eating now.
One of the reasons for my binging in the first place, besides making myself super hungry from letting my thyroid go super hyper, was because of restriction.

After a while of eating crap the past few weeks, I found myself not even wanting that much bad food anymore! I was able to say "no" to a burrito, froyo, cereal, and other food vices of mine, which was a HUGE step for me!

Granted I'm not "cured" or "recovered" and I can't guarantee I won't binge again in the future, but this baby step was like a giant step for me, and I'm happy about that.

So because of this revelation, I have made some changes to how I'm going to eat:
  • I will NOT always be eating clean all the time. 
  • I won't freak out about extra carbs or fats etc. 
  • I'm just going to eat "most of the time [80-90%]" healthy and if I find myself needing a small treat, then I'll have it! I'll have an extra scoop of peanut butter, I'll have a little piece of chocolate, I'll have an Oreo or a piece of not so clean bread or some hot chocolate! 
  • I'll no longer say "I can't have..."
    • I CAN have it, and maybe telling myself I CAN have it, will make me be able to say, "Nah, I don't really want it". Does that make any sense? If it's not seen as off limits to me, then maybe I won't crave it so much!
And guess what?! I had this bad boy up here! It was a burger stuffed with a hotdog in the middle, CRAZY right?! And a side of sweet potato fries! Also had a fried oreo afterwards OH MY LAWDDDD. So good.

And in the past this is how it normally would have went:
Eat bad junk meal
Go home
Raid Cupboard
Eat 10 peanut butter banana sandwiches
+ protein bars
+ nature valley bars
+ anything else I could find in my kitchen at that time
Then go to bed feeling guilty as ever

But guess what happened today?

Eat bad junk meal
Went for a walk
Worked on my ebook
Ate a little sampling of one of my new recipes
Walked the dog
Baked tilapia
Finished ebook!
Walked the dog again [he pooped in the house URGH]
Working on this blog post

YES. That's right. NO BINGING. BABY STEPS! 
SUCCESS!

Oh my gosh and I can NOT tell you how proud I am of myself! 
To be able to have a cheat meal, and then NOT go home and binge.... 
I could literally cry tears of joy.... You don't know how many times in the past I would have done the usual routine above.... Go home and binge on everything in site.. 

I can't remember a time I DIDN'T do that! But now I can, and that night is TONIGHT! And I hope for MANY MANY MANY more nights like these! Where I can go out, and eat a not so healthy food, and come back and get back on track!
And man, does it feel GOOOOOOD.

Next thing I'm working on are: Goals. Making clear goals for myself is what I need for motivation.
If you're lacking motivation, that really means you don't have anything you're STRIVING for! Go BEYOND aesthetics like "I wanna look good" but go more for the inner goals, "I want to be stronger, I want my mind to be stronger, I want to start being healthy now so in the future it won't be so hard..." Etc. Find your own goals and reasons to keep to this fit healthy lifestyle!

Or even do the OPPOSITE, think of what'll happen if you DON'T DO ANYTHING.
Like the quote I posted the other day on Instagram:

What'll happen if you DON'T change! Think of the negative views! "I have no control, I don't feel confident, I need to buy new clothes..." Etc etc.... Sad but sometimes the negative reasons push us to act as well!

And next thing I thought about were WORKOUTS. I have to remember to DO my workouts, lift heavy, train dirty, do cardio, and GET FIT! BUTTTT if I miss workouts, it's not the end of the world. A lifestyle journey should be enjoyable for life, not a chore! I'm not going to do things I absolutely despise! If I am just going to be doing things I hate, why would I even WANT to get up and do them? NO, my workouts will be fun, enjoyable, and make me HYPED to get to the gym!

WELLPPPPPP this blog post was kinda everywhere... sorry for my spasticness :P BUT overall I've learned to trust doctors :P, keep up with my medicine, I've gotten a new perspective on this healthy lifestyle, I've had a SUCCESSFUL day, and I'll have many more to come.

Peace out #fitfam <3 <3

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Why I'm Not Competing...

That's right #fitfam

I've made the decision to not compete.....

If you didn't read about my concerns about competing, go HERE to read it.


So along with the many other reasons I had with competing, one of them was to get control of my binge eating problem.... I thought:

maybe if I could get through this prep, then I can get through anything! I can stop binging, stop eating past the point of full/uncomfortable, get control of my eating habits and get back to the healthy lifestyle I had in the beginning! 

But unfortunately it seems to have not really helped and actually has backfired... I find myself wanting to binge more than ever, and sometimes I'm not even able to control it and do end up binging..

I think I went into this competition too fast.

Lots of people PREPARE for competitions.
They've been with the healthy lifestyle for a while already, with their food and eating habits controlled, and at a good healthy lean weight, and they also prepare mentally for all of it, and I was not at any of these points.

When I decided to do this competition, I was at a point in my life that was still rocky, with my whole healthy lifestyle journey. I had been on and off the wagon, battling my binging problems, not completely in the right mindset about what I would be getting myself into. I just thought "Hey, this seems like a good thing that'll challenge me... push me past my limits" but I went in too far over my head.

I should have waited till I was already consistent and comfortable in the clean eating healthy journey, not gone in at a point where I was still dealing with those issues. I should have recovered completely from B.E.D before going into this journey, but it just triggered it all over again.

Like I said in my past post, the past few weeks have been rocky, I got back home with my family for break, and I just let loose. Today I talked with my sister about me contemplating doing this competition and brought up how I was scared about my binging coming back up, and she told me she noticed and also worried about that too, saying she saw some of my old ways emerging again, back when I binged a lot last year. She also said I am a LOT moodier/less happy than I used to be when I wasn't preparing for this competition... back when I was just doing a fit and happy lifestyle.

And I agree with her. 

I felt less happy, on edge all the time, not enjoying the lifestyle, the foods, anything. My grades were also dropping, I snapped at my roommates and my family, no good no good.

These past few days with just clean healthy eating have brought me back to really enjoy the lifestyle. I've missed it. Clean ol' fun eating foods! Healthy lifestyle eating. I don't feel as unfocused, tired, moody, I feel happier, more "Josie". And it's only been a few days!

So in all, that's basically why I'm not competing this summer.

Now I know I've probably let a lot of people down, my coach, my suit sponsor, and all of you ig-ers.

And trust me, I reallly really really wanted to compete.... but in all honesty, I KNOW post comp I would have gone crazy, if I didn't already go crazy before comp... I'd be binging hardcore nonstop and that would NOT be good.... So many horror stories from competitors who can NOT control their eating after comp because they've restricted so long.... and I would just... go insane.....

Please don't see this as me GIVING UP. I am not giving up, I am listening to my body, and not putting it through something I KNOW I'll regret down the road and that will become unhealthy for me....

I'm looking out for me, my health, my sanity right now.
Down the road I hope to get full control of my eating and lifestyle, and THEN, maybe some day in the future, next year, 2 years from now, 10 years from now, I'd love to compete. Just now isn't the right time. And I'm sorry for any of you I've disappointed... but I had to do this for me.

Thanks for understanding fit fam.

So for now I hope to just inspire you all as a regular college student, trying to live the healthy life, one clean eat and workout at a time.

Josie

Monday, March 18, 2013

Truth and #confessiontime...

Soooo now that I have different forms of social media, ill explain what I'll be using each for!

Blog: itsvmfitness.blogspot.com
I’ll be using my blog to update with longer posts and updates! More informational updates or fitness and health related things!


YouTube: YouTube.com/user/thevmfitness
I'll be using my YouTube for random vlogs about my bikini competition journey, and other things like q&a’s, workouts, reviews, cooking, etc!


Tumblr: vmfitness.tumblr.com
Ill use this tumblr to post everything I post on my INSTAGRAM (instagram.com/vmfitness) for those of you who donlt have Instagram! PLUS other daily things, more quotes, maybe random updates on foods I eat, workouts, etc! More of a daily blog than my blogspot blog!!


Twitter: twitter.com/vmfitness
This will be where all my random rantings and thoughts will be :P

Thanks for following my lifestyle journey fitfam! I love you ALL! <3

----------------------------------
If you follow me on my instagram, then you probably saw this post:

"Confession time: been pretty slacking this past week with foods and workouts... I've kinda lost my own motivation! Sorry to let you all down but I'm not always on point either! School was stressful with tests and reviews so I missed workouts (no excuse I know), this ebook is making me taste all these clean treats (still no excuse), and I've just been slackingggg. I've been giving myself excuses and reasons for slacking and thinking its ok.. Like "I have 14 more weeks left" or "eh it won't affect me thatttt much" etc etc. but in all honesty, I gotta take my own advice!! Stop getting in the habit of puttin things off, stop thinking that these little things WILL add up over time... A #randomthoughts of Josie this morning! I even thought of backing out of my bikini competition because of certain things (LENGTHY: but ill put the reasons why in a blog post this week!) however I'm still going to do it and go for it! Just needed to post this pic today, I CAN DO IT! YOU can do it!! You have to BELIEVE in your power to change and get motivated and go out there and kick some serious fat in the a$$! Even when you have days/weeks/times of low motivation, and slacking in the lifestyle, you have to pick yourself up, KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS, WANT to do it, and then simple, DO IT!  again, you don't fail until you completely give up. DONT DO IT. Also, the dessert volume of my ebook may have to be finished early.. There aren't as many recipes as I had hoped butttt if I keep making any more tasty desserts and eating them(been baking like 2-3 a day!) ill blow up like a whale! "


So yeah, basically the past week following my spring break [which ALSO was a bad week with workouts and eating] didn't go so well... that makes 2 weeks in a row of not doing so well... but you know what? IT'S OK! It already happened... it's in the past. Nothing I can do about it now! My excuses were weak too... just busy with school, and trying to get this ebook out to you all, made me bake a LOT, and therefor eat and taste a lot haha [guiltyyyy]. 
Time to MOVE ON. I'm holding tons of water weight and I do feel puffy! But nothing that getting back to routine can't fix right?! 

Oh yeah, I mentioned that I was thinking about backing out of my bikini competition journey... 
Ahhh sighhh I had soooo many reasons for doing this competition and prep, lots and lots of reasons, but the main one that I'll share with you here is because I really wanted to get control of my eating habits, aka 
BINGING.
I thought 

"Hey, if I can get through this prep and hard tough journey, then YEAH I can do anything! I can refuse junk food, stop at 1 cookie, not eat the whole box of [insert delicious naughty food of choice]"

Unfortunately though, it seems that this hasn't happened... I'm still struggling with binging... During spring break I found myself going back to old ways, eating everything I could get my hands on.. and now back at school, I'm still having hard times with control. So I thought,

"Is this comp really helping me achieve that goal I set for myself? Or is it just making me crave MORE because I'm restricting and is it completely making me do what I'm trying NOT to do?"

And while it is true, that it is NOT helping as of now.... I think I'm still going to go through with it... Ah I don't know... it's such a mental struggle... I honestly don't know what to do... That's right guys

I ADMIT I AM WEAK
I AM HUMAN

I am torn now.... 1 of any of these things could happen:
  1. Continue this journey hoping that I can find this control that I crave and yearn for, hoping that I'll reach my goal...
  2. Continue this journey and find myself binging again..
  3. Decide not to compete and just enjoy the healthy lifestyle...
I'm also TERRIFIED of post competition, when it's all over and I get to eat normal healthy lifestyle again... so many horror stories of ladies just BINGING until they're swollen and gain back alll the lost weight again.... and I feel like that will most definitely happen to me...
I know so many of you support me on this ride to my first bikini competition, and I don't want to let any of YOU down.. but I do have to decide what's best for ME. Well it's all in the air right now.. not sure what I'll do.... Will be thinking it over the next few days/weeks etc....

But as of now, I AM STARTING FRESH. Back on the clean eating train after the past few weeks of slacking. I'm just going to continue healthy eating, working out, and see what I decide and where I'm at with the bikini competition journey...


To be continued....


Josie

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Make A Come Back!


Have you been slacking on your healthy lifestyle change?? 

Well GET BACK TO IT!!  

Do these simple effective steps!! 
  • CHUG WATER LIKE NO TOMORROW! 1-2 gallons a day! Get rid of that extra water weight and flush out the toxins from your bod!  
  • START AT YOUR NEXT MEAL! STOP PUTTING IT OFF! The more you do, the easier it'll be to keep putting it off!! Suck it up buttercup and start NOW.  
  • Get back to your regular exercise routine! Lift weights, do some cardio! ANYTHING that gets that heart rate up and gets you to sweatin!  
  • Eat healthy and don't restrict! Lots of people do this, end up feeling deprived, and then go crazy and get back to where they started. DON'T DO IT! Just eat HEALTHY! Baby steps! Cut things out gradually instead of cold turkey if you have to! Don't restrict like no carbs Or no fats. Eat a well balanced whole natural food diet!  
  • Set achievable goals to strive for! Don't set yourself up for failure by aiming for "I'm gonna lose 10 pounds this week!" NO! If you set unrealistic goals, and then don't achieve them, you'll just be discouraged! So set goals like "no cheats this week!" Or "limit to 1 soda a week" or "lose 3 pounds by the end of this month!" All realistic!  
  • Now that you have your goals, make a PLAN and strategy for how you'll achieve them!!! And then put the plan in action! Get to work!!  
  • Lastly, don't be hard on yourself for your slip and setback!! It's the worst when you beat yourself up and feel guilty! Accept it, learn from it, move on, and know how to prevent it from happening again in the future!! Follow all these steps and you're on your way to your healthiest fit year ever!

Saturday, March 9, 2013

My First BIKINI COMPETITION and @MrGeecue

That's right! IT'S OFFICIAL!
I announced on my Instagram the other day when my competition will be!

I posted it mainly as motivation for myself, so that I CAN NOT back out! I was planning on doing an earlier show, but I felt I would NOT be ready in time. Instead of stressing out about it and killing myself over the anxiety and cardio and stress, I decided to do a longer, more comfortable prep for the

JUNE 22
NPC Maryland State & East Coast Classic

It'll be in Rockville, MD and if any of you want to come out and support, that is MIGHTYYY FINEEE BY ME! <3

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Bounce Back from the Binge

Hey beautiful people! Sorry for my lack of updates! Been SUPER DUPER busy with school and comp prep and life in general! But I thought I'd update withhh another binge post.

Since my STOP THE BINGE post was so popular with you all, I decided to write this post on:

BOUNCING BACK FROM THE BINGE


Many of you have come to me either through e-mail or on instagram saying around the same thing:

Josie, I had a horrible binge, what do I do?
or
I had a horrible binge, and I can't seem to stop! I've done it ___ times this week! Help!
and so many other variations of the above.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE! 
Many of us have been through the same thing! I know that for me and others, it really WAS a binge eating disorder, but for some others it could just be a food control problem, which also needs to be fixed ASAP!

Here's what I USED TO DO after I had binged, that never EVER worked because they set me up for failure and just primed me to binge again, so DON'T DO THESE:

  • Fasted the next day/ skipped meals to make up for all the food you had the day(s) prior
  • Went VERY strict on clean eating
  • Worked out for hours to combat the extra calories
  • Felt Guilty & Beat myself up about it

And you know what happened after I did all that?

BINGED AGAIN.

Why? Because I was freaking restricting my body!

So, what CAN I do to set myself up for SUCCESS? And to NOT binge more in the future??

Here are a few things that I've found work in helping me stay in control after a binge:

  • Go back to healthy clean eating the next day [no restrictions, no counting calories, just start the day new, fresh, and healthy!]
  • Drink water like a fish! Water naturally purifies your body, so get all those toxins out!
  • Drink some kombucha or probiotic drinks to reset your pH levels, or some dandelion tea to help out that liver of yours detox
  • Exercise! But don't go CRAZY! Do some weights mixed with cardio to flush out the negatives and give yourself some happy endorphins! 
  • DON'T RESTRICT - make healthier alternatives, find clean eating substitutions, don't cut out whole food groups
  • MODERATION, NOT DEPRIVATION 
  • CHANGE YOUR MINDSET
It's a LIFESTYLE change people! You think you can live your whole life without carbs or without fats or on low calories of around 600 a day? NO. Your body will end up KILLING itself, craving ALL this craziness that you've been depriving it of, your mind will go crazy and then you'll just KEEP REPEATING THE CYCLE OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

The main thing I learned was to NOT cut out foods completely. If you have a craving, try and resist. If you seriously can't, then have a taste! But DON'T have the whole box!

Don't say:
I CAN'T EAT THIS
because your mind will be like 
"OH SNAP, then maybe I should eat it all before I start over tomorrow!"
Instead, Say:
"I CAN have it, I just choose NOT to because it's not good for my body, it won't help me reach my goals, and I CHOOSE to not have it!"

BOOM.
Change your ways of thinking, and you can change a LOT of your actions!

BOUNCE BACK and STOP THE BINGE! 

I'll be filming a video soon for my YOUTUBE channel on more tips to Control Cravings/ Stop Binging/Mindless Snacking! So STAY TUNED!