April 26th Weekend Party Jam!!!

Hey America,

Because of the fun we had together this week talking about Herpes and personality flaws lets lighten that load with a weekend party Jam! I am thinking of making this a weekly occurrence and every weekend share with you my Jam of the week that has really kept me movin and groovin.

This weeks Jam is none other than RedFoo Ridiculous!


ENJOY!!!

http://youtu.be/1w9DiGlZks


Click the link above to listen to the song! :)

With love to you,

Be true to you,

Drew

Getting Rear Ended

Hey America,

As you know I love ZUMBA but last week I decided to try something different to start my week and it was beginner Yoga. When I went into Beginner Yoga I was thinking it would be a piece of cake and that I would take to it as easily as I took to Zumba. Lets just say…I did NOT. I kind of HATED it. It was super difficult and I was incredibly sore and basically wanted to drop kick anyone who even said the word Yoga. To be even more honest I gave up half way through class and decided to go "lift weights." Basically, I was looking for any excuse to get out of that stretchy breath controlled hell they deem as yoga. The whole experience was a nightmare. From the second my hands met the mat I was drenched with sweat. Seriously, my hands were sliding off the mat, mega gross. I left faster than you could say Namaste. This is where things got even worse. The next day my legs and arms felt like they had been hulk smashed mercilessly. That Tuesday I still attended my normal Zumba class and was in a lot of pain but still went for it. Well…. We were dancing to this rugged beat and jumping, bouncing, and jamming and suddenly POP. My knee… I popped it… It wasn't broken but it hurt like a mother. That ended up ruining the rest of my workouts for the week and I was only able to take one more class then had to sit it out. So, why am I telling you about my super annoying workout week. I mean isn't this supposed to be a fun uplifting blog? Nobody wants to hear about your weak old knees… What a creeper.

Well this past Monday I reluctantly decided that I would be trying out Yoga one more time… Very… VERY reluctantly. Anyways, this past Monday as I was on my way to the gym I was waiting at a red light to turn right and just as we were about to drive the car in front of me rear ended the car in front of them. It was very surreal and kind of annoying. Since I was the witness to this very minor accident I pulled over to the side of the rode with the other vehicles. My first reaction was to be mad about having to take time out of my schedule but then I realized it must be a sign from God that I shouldn't take that violent yoga class again. While waiting outside for a police officer to arrive the man who hit the other car and I began to make small talk. He noticed that I was very obviously wearing my gyn gear. He apologized profusely for having to delay my workout. I explained to him that I was on my way to take a class that I really had no desire to take in the first place. He told me I should still go and take my class. He obviously didn't see the clouds of heaven part like I did when he bounced into that vehicle in front of him. Anyways he starts telling me about some lady he likes on the radio and how she wrote some book about vulnerability and strength.  Basically I was sure at this point I was being inducted into a cult. Our conversation had turned from kind to creepy in a matter of seconds. The man kept talking about being vulnerable and told me that the book was saying that the most successful people in the world are the ones who make themselves vulnerable. He told me that we are all screwed up in some way or another and thats where being vulnerable comes into play. I stood there smiling awkwardly awaiting a squad car to arrive while he carried on. Then the man looked right at me and said "just walking into Lifetime (my gym) is making yourself vulnerable and that is amazing." Those words struck me deep to the core. He began to tell me how proud he was of me for just going to the gym and how his wife won't even walk into a gym. He was so impressed by me, a complete stranger. These words changed my entire outlook on going to the gym. He made me feel like a success and like I could conquer the world. Honestly, I wanted to cry because of how much those words meant to me. Shortly after he said those amazing words to me a cop arrived, took my statement, and sent me on my way immediately. That was it. Just like that the man who probably said the most uplifting thing a stranger had ever said to me was gone, out of my life forever. When I drove away I drove straight to the gym and went to yoga (late). Last week I was only able to handle about 30 minutes of class well this week I was 15 late but stayed for the last 45 minutes. It was hard but I did it. I pushed myself because I didn't want to let that man down. He believed in me and had just met me.

Why did I tell you any of this? Because even though I was only the witness to the car accident I was emotionally rear-ended. My entire day, week, and probably life will be completely different just because I met this man. I wish I would've actually gotten his name because he made a real impact on me.

So my question to you this week is are you vulnerable? Are you willing to put yourself at risk and ridicule in order to accomplish your goals? Have you ever been emotionally rear-ended? Do you believe in yourself as much as others do?  Be vulnerable. Allow yourself to be changed. Be willing to try something more than once even if it seems really difficult the first time.

Thank you for reading,

Be true to you,

With Love,

Drew

vul·ner·a·ble

ˈvəln(ə)rəbəl/

adjective

1.

susceptible to physical or emotional attack or harm.

Mirror Mirror on the wall.. Who is the sexiest girl by the wall?

Hey America,

Remember me? That crazy girl who was all about health and fitness and bringing America's Sexy back?

Remember how I sort of lost my way a little bit when I got pregnant with a mega adorable baby?

If not let me Re-Introduce myself. I'm Drew and about a year ago I started the journey to a healthier me. Let me be clear when I say healthier I am not saying Skinnier. While I would not mind it if I lost some weight I also would not mind not losing any either. I know that probably sounds insane but its true. I LOVE my body. Even though I am nowhere near being offered a job as a victoria's secret model or a spot in the swimsuit edition of sports illustrated I still love my body. I love me. Do you LOVE you? Do You? So what if your muffin has a top and if your love comes with extra handles? You are still equally gorgeous and as beautiful as any other computer generated image of beauty.

If you have read my blog in the past you would know that my exercise of choice is ZUMBA! It is so much fun and not for the feint hearted. When I began this journey a little over a year ago I was so excited yet so nervous at the same time. I literally pulled out tennis shoes that I want to say I purchased in high school and was wearing my regular clothes that could "pass" as fitness wear. After looking back at my ratchet attire i discovered two things. 1. That I didn't care if I had to wear a potato sack and moccasins I was going to get my fitness on. 2. That I didn't really believe in myself enough to buy real workout clothes. So after I had my gorgeous baby I decided that when I headed back to the gym this time that I was going to do it right! I completely revitalized myself and my wardrobe. Here are some of the things I did to reclaim the sexy in my workout.

1. I went shopping during some awesome sales and I affordably was able to get myself 3 new pairs of kicks, 5 new workout tops, and four pairs of awesome pants. Now when I workout I don't need to constantly look over my shoulder at the other adorable outfits and can look right into the mirror and feel fabulous.

2. I changed my hair. I know this doesn't seem like its important but to me it was. When you take fitness classes they have mirrors. At first I thought this was some kind of cruel punishment so you could not only feel like your dying but could also watch it happen. My hair was in a serious need of a makeover. It wasn't like carrot top ratchet but nonetheless it was ROUGH.  So I decided to figure out what I wanted as a "Signature look" and went for it! Now I absolutely adore my hair and love watching it swing from side to side while my hips do the same.

3.  I started wearing makeup to the gym. I KNOW… Believe me I know. I used to hate the girls who came to class with a fully calculated outfit and MAKE UP on.. Super annoying right? Well prepare a glass of haterade because I am now officially one of "Those" girls. Why? Remember those evil mirrors? Well let me tell you.. Those mirrors aren't so evil when you are wearing the perfect eyeliner and have on some lipgloss that won't quit! Now I LOVE that mirror and I stand in the very front row.

This past Tuesday when I was leaving class one of my Zumba friends stopped me and said "Hey, you look so beautiful tonight with your makeup and your hair! You can't do that!" My response was "Thank you and I have to. This makes me feel good about coming here and doing this." We hugged and I went home.

Why aren't we supposed to do be sexy while working on our sexy? Why? Why not look gorgeous while getting fit? Yes it can be extra drama sometimes bc if you sweat to death (like I do) your amazing eyeliner will begin to crawl down the sides of your face but its still worth it. Its worth being able to LOVE what you see in that mirror and to face it with a smile and pride.

SO this week on the return of this very silly blog that for some reason people read anyways I charge you America to bust out your inner sexy and bring that baby to the gym.  I have missed you America and now I am back.  Ready to restart this journey with you, again.

Thank you for reading and stay SEXY America,

Be true to you,

With love to you,

Drew

 My new hair and mega adorable baby. (no make up on, Irony)

New workout clothes with semi ratchet hair and no makeup on…..yet. ;) 

Pregnant is the NEW sexy

Welcome back Sexy people,


So much exciting things to share with you. This is going to be a catch up blog on whats been going on in the "journey" lately. So lets just dive right in two days before my 27th birthday I found out that I was pregnant. It came a little bit as a surprise as I was convinced that I was most likely not because I was on a journey to healthy living. Pregnancy would just come along and complicate all of that so anyways I am/was and I couldn't be happier. Being pregnant is a bit of a game changer but it is not a journey ender. So here is a little timeline. When I first found out I stayed pretty true to my health plan and everything was going pretty great then the food aversions and cravings kicked in and all bets were off. Not to mention I had a family emergency arise and had to live in a different kitchen and zip code for a week to help out. So needless to say pregnancy was winning the battle against healthy living at first. When I got back home there was some adjusting to do and changes to be made. I told my husband that he had to be strong for both of us right now and keep me accountable to our lifestyle even if that meant arguing with a pregnant woman.

So now what? Almost everything I was eating now disgusted every fiber of my being so how can I stay healthy and pregnant at the same time? The answer is compromise. I quickly realized that I couldn't do or have it all. When I first got pregnant I put on five pounds and immediately decided that this was not how this pregnancy was going to go so I had to make changes and fast. So below I will explain the changes I made in my diet and exercising routine to help balance out the belly.

Eggs.
When trying to do a high protein diet you end up eating a lot of meat, dairy, nuts and the list goes on. Well a few key components to my diet were Eggs for breakfast and beef jerky for snack every day and lets just say even typing those two words is making me want to gag myself. So clearly eating exactly the same was not going to happen. So I have to admit I started to add the C word back into my diet, Carbs. For breakfast I changed out E@@$ for a waffle and kept the bacon to keep the protein train rolling a little bit. Throughout the day was the same thing added in some wheat thins here and there and eat for lunch what my stomach would allow. Dinner we still try to keep mostly protein and that has worked out fine. So my diet has become well intermingled with carbs and protein and is pretty well balanced between the two.  Some other things that had to change though was what I was drinking. With my diet I drink a lot of sparkling water which has artificial sweetener so after the counsel of my doctors office I had to take that to only two servings a day of artificial sweeteners. Which sounds like not a big deal but I was living off of this flavored water. Also I was drinking lots of oolong tea which is loaded with caffeine and when I am pregnant I try to stay mostly caffeine free. Also my doctor informed me that pregnant woman should only consume 1 serving of caffeine a day at the most. My first baby I was a no caffeine rockstar but when your wingwoman is a two year old forget it. So I haven't been drinking a lot of tea as of late. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of low to no caffeine tea options I just preferred oolong because of the health properties and the help it gave to my healthy living. So those are my changes in a nut shell.

Heart-Rate.
Many of you know that my exercise of choice is the dance floor AKA Zumba fitness. Also many of you know that Zumba is no joke for a non pregnant woman so I knew I would be fighting an uphill battle. Right after I found out I was pregnant I went to Zumba that night and then again on my birthday two days later. I was trying to decide and figure out if I should keep going and honestly wasn't sure if I could do it and be pregnant. Well when I went to class on my birthday my instructor got up on the platform and said she had an announcement to make. She was wearing a track jacket and she unzipped it to reveal a tank top that read "Pregnant is the NEW skinny" and also revealed a little baby bump. She told the class that she was pregnant and that she would continue to teach until her baby shakes loose. A feeling a relief just came over my body and I realized that if I wanted to I could do this! So I stayed in Zumba but had to change up my style. I spoke with my doctor on safe exercising practices while pregnant. My doctor informed me that it is all about the heart-rate. When pregnant and working out you need to keep your heart-rate to 140 or less. That would be a challenge. Because lets all be honest when you are plus sized sometimes your heart-rate can reach 140 just by walking up a flight of stairs. So This is how I manage it. I don't wear a monitor I just know my body. I did some treadmill tracking to see what exerted my heart and what didn't. So when I go to class I take it easy and just keep MOVING. I drink water in between every 1-2 songs and slow down when I feel my heart taking a climb. With Zumba I have also added in swimming into my routine because I know that taking Zumba five times a week will slaughter my extremely fatigued body. Also my pregnant instructor only teaches three times a week and after attempting other instructors while pregnant I realized there is NO way I could keep up with these other instructors in my current state. Also my pregnant instructor has changed up the flow to her routines so that there a little cool downs throughout the routines. So I have to say as a believer that God was looking out for me on this one.

Wild Card.
So my pregnancy has been kind of a wild card already. I have back problems so pregnancy only increases the issues I have. My sciatic nerve seems to mess up often as of late and that does make it difficult to stick with my program but nonetheless you just have to get back to it and get back in the pool. Also I have gotten sick a lot with just weather changes and that has made it extremely difficult to stay on track BUT I've powered through it. If I had to miss a week due to a virus circulating then I just got back to it the next week. If my back was causing me grief I would swim that week to relieve that pain. So why did I stop blogging? Well I first wanted to make sure that I was going to be able to stick with the program. Also with all my first trimester curve balls I wasn't able to stick with everything the way I had wanted. The other big reason is because after meeting with my doctor they don't want me to lose anymore weight after my first trimester BUT also do not want me to gain more than ten pounds my entire pregnancy SO... Its been all about maintaining. Which hasn't been easy. I actually have been very minimally taking weight off and my doctors are more concerned about that then me gaining it. I honestly have not been trying to take off weight either just trying to maintain and stay somewhat healthy while doing it. So I am happy to announce that I quickly took off the five pounds I originally gained when I first found out I was pregnant. I am sorry I have not been here sharing my journey with you we just wanted to be at a safe place in the pregnancy before sharing and obviously I couldn't share why my journey was changing and why I wasn't losing weight as rapidly as before. So hopefully you will stay with me on this journey as it changes for the next 6 months. I will keep you informed on my husbands weight loss and instead of weight loss I will just post my current cravings to keep it fun. Thank you for believing in me and I am so happy to be sharing this journey with you! We are so excited about our new bun in the oven and am embracing the challenges it brings. So if you are pregnant and live healthy share your tips with me so I can pass them along!

Cravings and weight loss

Jon's Current weight loss 30 pounds!!!

Drew's craving Anything Hugh Jackman and carbonated beverages.

Thank you for reading and stay SEXY America,

Be true to you,

With love to you,

Drew

I HAVE NOT GIVEN UP!

Sexy people, 

I have not given up or forgotten about you! The past two weeks I have had a lot of insane things come up in my personal life including a serious family emergency that have temporarily knocked me "off the wagon" I can't go into details but I had to come to aid to some of my family which caused me to not be at my house for the last week and therefore away from my diet and gym. (not the best of excuses but just the truth.) I am hoping to be able to return home this next week and jump back into my healthy lifestyle full throttle again. I am sorry if I have let anyone down for not blogging regularly the last two weeks. Life has been crazy. Not to mention my birthday just passed as well and I have been out of town more in the last two weeks then in. Needless to say I may not be weighing in for a couple weeks for obvious reasons ;)

I will give a quick healthy food finding this week. Perdue chicken just released a new line of frozen chicken called simply smart. They have anything from nuggets to patties and they are extremely low cal and carb and very high protein (the way it should be). I bought the nuggets and they taste great. Super recommend for kids, picky eaters like me, or just people on the go. No preservatives of fillers! So go eat and enjoy.

Thank you for understanding and sticking with me on  this journey. Things happen. Life happened. This is only a bump on my journey. I HAVE NOT GIVEN UP!

Thank you for reading and Stay sexy America,

Be true to you,

With love to you,

Drew

One meal at a time

Welcome back,

This week is going to be short, simple, sweet, and to the point.

Not to sound like a support group leader BUT when it comes to eating healthy you have to take it one meal at a time. When you start making large changes to your diet it is hard to do all at once especially if you weren't living any kind of a healthy lifestyle. There will be many times when you "Fail" with eating and in those moments you will feel like you have ruined the rest of your day for eating when that just isn't true. You may have killed breakfast but you can make a difference in your day with your lunch. If you were on the go and had to eat something and ended up eating fast food your day isn't over.  If you can take a walk before dinner or hit the gym for some exercise to help alleviate any damage that meal could have done. My husband and I like to take one day off from healthy eating every week. Sometimes we really abuse our food privileges that day and sometimes just end up eating one carb heavy meal. We have often found that if we only mess up with one meal the next time we weigh in isn't  bad at all. If we blow off the entire day we end up carrying around 2-5 pounds of water weight for two days and have to work that much harder to get back to losing additional weight that week. There isn't much that needs to be gone into on this blog because its pretty self explanatory. Don't blow your entire day of eating because of one food mistake and give yourself a break when you take a meal off. Just remember you can get your day back at your next meal. Just take your diet one meal at a time.

WEIGHT LOSS TO DATE

Jon: 21 pounds
Drew 22 pounds

Thank you for reading and stay sexy America,

Be true to you.

With love to you,

Drew

Foodie Friday!!!

Welcome back Sexy People!

Welcome to Foodie Friday! I have decided to spice my blog up with some variety and instead of lumping everything into one weekly blog I decided to start making entries on Fridays and all about FOOD! So for our first Foodie Friday I will give you a delish dish that you can try that is low carb and low calorie and tastes great! One of the reasons people don't commit to a diet is because you have to DIEt and give up anything that tastes good. So put down those celery sticks and rabbit food and come join the health food revolution!

Protein makes perfect! Are you sick of eating dry lifeless chicken breasts with no seasoning. Turn up the fun with this super simple recipe.

Serves four

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

4 tablespoons of Velveeta Cheddar cheese shreds

Lowrys Seasoning 

Onion powder

Garlic Seasoning

Take the Chicken breasts and butterfly them. (cut them in half but not all the way. Cut it deep enough to lay flat on a griddle or in a pan.) Please be careful whenever using sharp objects while cooking.

Season with all three seasonings on both sides of chicken. 

Cook the chicken until lightly golden brown on one side then turn over to cook the other side. Once turned over sprinkle one tablespoon of cheese on each piece.  Cook thoroughly then enjoy! If you are concerned of food safety make sure you take a knife and cut into one piece of chicken and check to see if it is white or pink. If it is pink keep cooking if it is white enjoy! :)

Serve up this chicken with a spinach salad and enjoy! Very filling and satisfying and doesn't taste overly healthy! This meal minus the salad is less then 200 calories!!! You can't go wrong with that! Also the velveeta shreds are actually higher in protein then in carbs so another epic food win and velveeta cheese is the best!

Speaking of salad, if you are anything like me you like a lot of dressing, croutons,  and a little spinach. I know the salad dressing is what kills you but its what makes the food bearable to me. So If you are a dressing lover like me here is a healthy salad solution that I have come up with. I recently came upon a salad dressing from Ken's. It has a red label, it is lite, and it is italian. It is AMAZING! I usually hate lite salad dressings and this one tastes great. It is under 50 calories for two tablespoons and only 1 carb! Yes 1 carb!!! Most vinaigrettes or italians usually have at least 4 carbs per two tablespoons so what an exchange! So Shout hallelujah from the roof tops you can finally enjoy a salad without overdoing the dressing! They have many other lite options that I haven't tried but if they taste anything like the italian you are in for a treat. So go eat a salad that tastes great with lots of dressing and don't feel bad about it! Below I placed a link to the dressing and hopefully it will show the one I am talking about. :) Also Croutons have proven to be fairly low carb too as long as you check the bag. Usually you can have 6 croutons and only get 4 carbs and if you are pairing this salad with a high protein meal like this chicken you will come out a winner. 

http://www.kensfoods.com/proddetail.php?id=32

Here is the healthy food find of the week

Breyers Carb Smart Ice Cream bars!!! 

http://www.breyers.com/product/detail/113880/carbsmart-vanilla-ice-cream-bar 

These bars are the bomb! They are really low carb for ice cream and taste amazing!!! I have fallen in LOVE with them! I buy the vanilla coated in chocolate. You get the pleasure of ice cream without all the guilt and bloating that comes with them! Obviously Every thing in moderation but these are fantastic. Note: These bars are a little higher calorie then I would like for a midnight snack but still way less calories then other ice cream bars. Just keep track of your food during the day so you can make some calorie room for these delicious treats! 

Both food recommendations have been found at Walmart. I hope you have enjoyed our first of many Foodie Fridays and will eat well this week! If you find something healthy and delicious share it here! I will try it and pass it along to the readers! Lets start a Healthy food revolution and say No More to DIEting in misery! So remember to Live well, Live healthy, and Live long!

Thank you for reading and Stay sexy America,

Be true to you,

With love to you,

Drew 

*Weight loss updates will be posted with the weekly entry focused more on overall health and wellness. The Foodie Friday edition will only be for food! :)