Right??! 🍫🙌🙅💪👙💃 #thestruggle #thestruggleisreal #bestrong #lovethis #sotrue #truth #true #fact #sweettooth #strength #chocolate #peanutbuttertho #peanutbutter #kryptonite #instablog

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"Beachbody Flex" Challenge Group

WOW!! It has been a pretty good spell since I have blogged!! I have a lot of edits I need to make to my Beautifully Fit blog but for tonight, I just wanted to spread the word about my new  "Beachbody Flex" challenge Group that starts this Thursday on FaceBook!  Find me on Instagram - Gr8nailz & this is the post you will see about it:

Are you ready to flex? 

 I AM STARTING A NEW CHALLENGE GROUP ON FACEBOOK THIS THURSDAY CALLED "BEACHBODY FLEX"! I'm starting it on Thursday to avoid the usual over indulging that most often always happens when we are starting a new exercise routine or eating plan on Monday.  There's no need for that with my Beachbody Flex Challenge because you will be allowed your favorite foods! Yup! The whole point of the "flex" is to cut out that restricted feeling we get from dieting! It's going to consist of a healthy eating plan with room to "flex" so you can still enjoy your favorite foods AND lose weight & get fit! It also consists of exercising according to your specific goals AND weekly "Flex Fit" challenges that will target all your trouble spots! I've created this Beachbody Flex Challenge Group to take us ALL THE WAY into the New Year! Through all the upcoming holidays where we all struggle! If you want to be a part of this exciting challenge group, comment below or contact me for more info & get ready to get your "Flex" on!#areyoureadytoflex #beachbodyflex #beachbody#beachbodycoach #LetMeBeYourCoach#joinmychallengegroup #flex #motivationmonday#21dayfix #notadiet #loseweight #fitness #healthy#lifestyle #shakeology #wholefoods #iifym #macrogirl#macros #flexibledieting #newyear #newyou#noexcuses #holidays #thestruggle #recipes #support#recovery #food #foodie

Want to see what Beachbody has to offer you or learn more about Shakeology?! Check it all out on my website! www.beachbodycoach.com/callierickard4

Berry Tropical Protein Smoothie

Well the holidays have come & gone & it's a brand new year!! 

This is the time to put forth our best efforts into maintaining or creating a healthy lifestyle!! Some are already accustomed to what it takes to live healthy & maybe just need a recharge while others are taking their first steps on their journey of health! Wherever the new year finds you & your health / fitness goals...... A sweet, yummy, energizing, HEALTHY smoothie is a must have for us all!! Packed with antioxidants & protein, this smoothie is perfect to enjoy post workout to refuel your energy levels & build muscle!!

Berry Tropical Protein Smoothie

1 container of Light Blueberry Greek yogurt -Kroger brand

1/2 scoop Gourmet Vanilla Dymatize protein powder

1/4 C fresh Blueberries

1/2 C Unsweetened Vanilla Silk Almond Milk

1 Stevia packet

* Pour all ingredients into your Ninja or Magic Bullet, blend & enjoy!!

~ Keep in mind that if you use a different brand if yogurt, milk or protein powder you will have to adjust the nutritional content!! ~ 

 

Coconut Flour Pancakes & what's been on my heart! ;)

So, it's been over a month since I have written a blog post!!!! Gah!  What can I say?! Well, 

alot actually.............

I'll start by saying t's such a busy time of year! But, truthfully ~ lately I have been focused on trying to find a new "fit track" that works for me in my beautifully fit journey! I was exercising vigorously 5 days a week & I wasn't eating enough to fuel my body to keep up with workouts like that. I come from the 1,200 calorie world....... & 1,200 calories are not enough to support a lifestyle of intense workouts 5 days a week. I have a fear of eating more because even though it's been a  long time ago..... I have been overweight & I DO NOT want to go back there! I know it doesn't make sense because I know all about how & what I should be eating to keep up a workout lifestyle such as the one I was living, but knowledge & application are 2 very different things. I am a creature of habit & if it works, I keep doing it. Also, I am after a very different goal that those that workout like that. So, what is the point of killing yourself with your workouts & not fueling up for it?? There isn't a point in it. As a matter of fact, it's harmful! I was completely fatigued, sore, cranky & burned out! I was depriving myself of a cheat meal once a week & totally obsessed with calorie & macro counting & all that crazy mess does is make me go on a binge instead of just allowing myself an indulgence once a week which is a lot healthier. I have a bad back & shoulders that already hurt all the time & a bad knee that I had pushed to the limit. I was working all these areas out anyway, despite the pain it was causing me. I physically had no choice but to lay off for a little while not to mention that mentally it was all driving me crazy! I decided to take a step back & re-evaluate. I am so glad I did! I am feeling a lot more satisfied in my gym routine & with my diet!
I have been at my goal weight & size for years. Do I look like a fitness model? No? But that was never my goal - or was it? My dream, yes..... but not my realistic goal I was trying to stick to...... So, why did I spend so much time comparing myself & killing myself in the gym trying to achieve the look of one? I think because in the world of fitness & health there is a very fine line between being a healthy version of yourself or trying to be a "perfect" version of you or even someone else  & that is a miserable & unrealistic way to live for most people. I know it was for me!  I had crossed that fine line without even realizing it. I was working out like I was entering a competition but eating like I laid on the couch all day! I don't recommend trying it. It isn't pleasant nor is it healthy!
So, for me, since I am happy with my weight & size & am looking to maintain, I have adjusted my diet & workout routine accordingly. I am keeping my calories around 1,200 still for my goal but not kicking myself if I go over  & I am playing around with my carb intake by carb cycling somewhat. I am also allowing a "cheat" day back in my life again. Sometimes it's a healthy cheat & sometimes it isn't. I am still working out but not as hard. I am doing cardio  3 days a week. Either HIIT or really fast paced for 20 minutes. Sometimes 25. I am working my bis, tris & legs 2 times a week & my abs 3 times a week. I am not working my shoulders or back at all due to the problems I have with them but will probably incorporate them back at some point in the future. I am trying to not be in the gym any longer than an hour tops! I am doing a 5 day split because I will always be a 5 day a week gym gurl! I just don't feel right only going 4. Sometimes life gets in the way & it happens but I try to avoid it. I know I will get off the gym  track somewhat with the upcoming holiday but that's ok! I have all kinds of stuff to use at my house cause I am an at home workout gurl too! I actually use my weights, step, stability ball, DVD's ,etc when life just doesn't permit me to get to the gym or when I just don't want to go but I still want to exercise. I am challenging myself to exercise 6 days a week. 5 at the gym & the 6th at home or outside. 
I have been a very active gym goer for years & I truly love to workout! Being so hard core with everything made me despise it. So, right now, lately......I am trying to find my happy place with it all & I am getting there one day at a a time. I am trying to stay balanced. I am 35 years old. I am not perfect!  I am happy with the way I look but there are also a lot of things I would like to change as well & I am sure there always will be. But, I am making a conscious effort to focus on the things I am happy with & not the things I am unhappy with about myself. I want to continue to stay fit & healthy but I want to love the skin that I am in. And I have to admit that I struggle with that. I am extremely critical of myself. I find myself all the time being envious of Cameron Diaz' abs, Jennifer Aniston's legs or Jamie Eason's shoulders. Who isn't?!  But God didn't make me a Cameron, a Jennifer or a Jamie....... He made me a Callie! And it's time I start giving myself some credit for being the Callie that I am! I have been through a lot in my life & am a true survivor! I am talented in many things & I am beautiful in God's eyes just the way He made me! If I am good enough for Him then I certainly should be good enough for myself! By the grace of God I will strive to be the best Callie I can be until the day my life is over. Lately my eyes have become so wide open to the emphasis the world puts on what we look like on the outside.  Enough already! Instead of counting carbs & calf presses we do in a day, we should be counting acts of kindness!! I know it sounds cheesy & I am by no means saying that we shouldn't care about what we look like at all! I am still all about looking my best & staying healthy, fit & all that jazz ~ always will be....... but what I am saying is that we don't need to lose our focus or compare ourselves to others but instead strive more to be the best person we can be by loving our ourselves & our bodies for who we we are & how they are! What they are capable of & what they aren't! And that we don't need to forget that fitness starts on the inside of us! And if we are spending most of our time obsessing with working out, counting calories & what we look like, then how much time is left for the things in life we do that will count for far longer than we will be on this earth?! Paying it forward with a compliment to a random stranger or anonymously paying for someone's coke in the car beside you? I was in Petco Saturday buying healthy dog treats for my babies & there was a rescue group there with 8 dogs they were hoping to find homes for. I opened my box of treats that I bought for my dogs & gave 1 to each of those poor dogs lying in those cages. My heart really went out to them! Here I was buying wheat free, apple cinnamon dog biscuits for my dogs that were in my warm house laying up on my couch while I am gone & there were these pitiful dogs that had been mistreated in their past & had probably never tasted anything better than an Ol' Roy dog biscuit at best!  Thankfully they have been found by a rescue organization but they may very well never know life outside of a cage! It breaks my heart to pieces y'all!  I am an animal lover anyway & I am not saying that this was an unusual thing for me to do & you are probably wondering why I even said that so let me explain & try to wrap this up...... life is so much more than skin deep. That sounds cliche but it's so very true! When we get overly involved in anything in our own little world, whether it be our work, activities, working out, spouse or kids, we tend to push the things outside our little world to the side hoping someone else will see them & take care of it. So, maybe you are a person of balance & none of this applies to you. If you are then that's great! Or maybe you are like me & get a little off balance sometimes & this is exactly what you needed to read. Whoever you are & whatever place you are at, I hope this challenges you to do whatever adjusting you need to do to make your health & fitness journey a more beautiful one that you keeps you fulfilled & happy, not imprisoned. I hope that you will start looking at the positives in yourself instead of the negatives. And more importantly,  I hope that you, like me, will look for ways to step outside of yourself & your little world & look for ways to make make the world around us a better, happier place!

                   Now, who wants pancakes?!

I got this recipe from Spoonful of Fit! Love her blog! You can check it out here!

I have been aching to try coconut pancakes ~ since pancakes are my Kryptonite but didn't have any coconut flour....... until tonight. I bought a bag of unsweetened coconut flakes  (dry flakes, not the flakes in the freezer section ~ not sure those would come out like flour...) at Kroger, tossed it in my Ninja (minus the plastic of course!) & about a minute later ~ 

Voila! Coconut flour!

Coconut pancakes coming right up! 

Super easy! Super yummy!

Low calorie, low carb, virtually no sugar, packed with protein & super delish.....

 what's not to love??!!

 Coconut Flour Pancakes

 Coconut Flour Pancakes
4 Tbsp of Unsweetened Coconut Flour3 Egg Whites
1/4 C Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla & a little bit of Stevia
It made 5 pancakes & I ate every one of them! 
*Nutritional content (pancakes only) ~ 198.5 calories, 12. 8 grams of healthy fat, 2.4 net carbs, 2 grams of sugar & 13 grams of protein!





 I topped mine with 1 Tbsp of sugar free syrup & had my usual egg scramble on the side ~ 1 whole egg & 3 whites! :D