Cassey Ho's Blog, page 49

The Blogilates March 2022 Workout Calendar!

Hey guys!

Helloooo MARCH! This month, we’re celebrating so many exciting things! Women’s History Month, which always fills me with emotion and inspiration. And then, the first day of spring!

Did you know that at the end of this month, we’ll be a quarter of the way through 2022? Sorry if that freaks you out but it’s true! Now’s a good time to check in with yourself and see how you’re doing physically and mentally. Celebrate everything you’ve already accomplished, and solidify your game plan for future goals. If there’s something you want to do better, face it head on. You’ve got this.

If you happen to need something to keep you busy, I’ve got just the thing.

The March Workout Calendar!!! YAY! 

Oooohh I just got the chills. Did you?! I think it’s a sign that we’re about to have an amazing month.

Anyways, let’s check out the calendar!!!!

Download JPEG

How To Follow The March Workout Calendar

Check the Blogilates YouTube playlists to find all of the videos you need for this month’s calendar!!

OR make life soo much easier and download the BODY by Blogilates app! Seriously, this is THE BEST. You will LOVE how you can access the monthly calendar and all of the videos in one place! Now you can find the Glow Up Sessions as a free program in the app too!

Now that you know where to find your workouts, here’s what you can expect each day of the March Workout Calendar. The goal? To make sure every muscle group gets the attention it deserves every week

SUNDAY: Recovery
MONDAY: Total Body
TUESDAY: Abs
WEDNESDAY: Booty
THURSDAY: Total Body
FRIDAY: Arms
SATURDAY: Legs & Thighs

Do each video once (unless otherwise stated) and check off as you go! Each day will be around 45 min of exercise.

REMEMBER! If you download the BODY By Blogilates app (on Apple or Android devices), you’ll have the calendar and workout videos in one place! Plus, you get that “workout complete” checkmark, which is sooo satisfying.

If you’re just getting started or want to ease into working out, my Beginner’s Calendar is a great place to start! It’s a free 4-week program to get you stronger so that you can join in on the monthlies when you are ready.

If you’ve been following my 90 Day Journey to Muscle, you know my goals for March. Now tell me yours! 

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Month 2 Workout Plan + Week 6 Meal Plan Update | Day 36 of 90

Thank you all so so much for all of your support on my last blog post. You have no idea how much your words mean to me. Every comment felt like a warm hug.

After getting my Day 30 DEXA scan and proving to myself that I CAN indeed build muscle in a healthy, happy, un-deprived way, I felt like I was floating in clouds full of ultimate satisfaction.  Waves of emotion overcame me as I thought back to WHY I started this 90 Day Journey. I wanted to reclaim my unhealthy bikini competitor past. Honestly, I can’t believe it’s happening. I really had no idea if my body would react the way I wanted it to because I’ve put it through a lot over the past 10 years.

With 60 more days to go, I am so excited to see what will happen!

Anyway, here is an update to both my new workout plan and my meal plan.

Since last month worked out so well, in general I am not changing TOO much.

Month 2 Workout Plan:

I kept some of my faves and introduced new moves as well. Last month was all about getting used to the motion, so it featured higher reps that stayed the same with each set. This month, I am focused on lifting even heavier. So with each set, you’ll notice the reps decreasing so that I can increase my weight. For cardio, I am keeping my 30 min runs 4 days of the week, and making Day 3 and Day 7 both hikes to help with booty building. I’m doing some intense inclines on these hikes so my heart rate gets up and stays up in a very similar range to run days.

Oh, also I changed my rest day to Day 4 since I was noticing that naturally, Thursday was my most tired day of all. I am also making it an active stretch and recovery day!

Week 6 Meal Plan:

When I like something – be it music or food or whatever – I just listen to the same song or eat the same food over and over and over again until one day I realize that I’ve had enough. Right now, I’m Mariah Carey-ing and rice caking

These are my rice cakes with avocado, pickled cucumbers, Everything but the Elote seasoning from Trader Joe’s, and egg white with LOTS of sriracha, I am ADDICTED. SO GOOD.

Ya know, I was going to have the same meal twice but then I thought maybeeee I should add a little variety. So this is chicken avo rice cakes with tomatoes. Not pictured is all the sriracha I also smothered all over this meal.

Instead of having 2 separate meals of protein pancakes, I decided to combine it all into one major stack of supersculpt pancake heaven! I also added blueberries and peanut butter this week and OMG this meal is DIVINE.

I forgot to shoot the salad, but honestly, it isn’t that interesting looking. It is exactly as you read it above! The mustard with monkfruit is my version of honey mustard and I dip my roasted butternut squash fries in there!

Oh and if you’re wondering what sweet pickled cucumbers are – it’s a homemade sweet pickle!

I just marinate sliced cocktail cucumbers in rice vinegar, monkfruit sugar, and salt (all to taste) and just let it sit overnight in the fridge. They taste better and better the longer they sit! So crunchy and full of flavor! It’s my version of those sweet cucumbers you can get at a Japanese restaurant.

Sunrise Bra from POPFLEX

Okay and this is officially my new favorite pose

My thighs look crazy! They have grown so much over the past month! I honestly cannot believe. I wonder what I will look like in 60ish days!? Regardless, I am having so much fun being focused on my Why. I feel full of purpose right now and I am so grateful that you’re here with me on this journey.

“Her plan is garbage and bound to fail.” | Day 30 results

Today, I decided to do something scary. Something I try to avoid at all costs for my mental health. But, in David Goggin’s book “Can’t Hurt Me”, he talks about being so strong that you can’t even let hate can’t hurt you. This 90 day journey isn’t just about becoming physically stronger, but mentally and emotionally stronger as well.

So, I took a deep breath. (Okay more like several.) I closed my eyes. And when I opened them, I said “Let’s go.”

My heart literally tensed up and my breathing became irregular as I invited unsolicited, hurtful opinions about me into my safe space.

I’m posting some of them here, and I’ll tell you why after you read them.

 

I put this here because I want you to know that there is a difference between criticism (that can sometimes be hurtful but also helpful) and opinions like the above, that don’t serve me in any way. All it does is fill me with doubt and make me feel stupid. But, I have to remember – who knows my body best? Who’s the expert in my journey?

Oh ya. Me.

 

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I need to keep remembering that. I am where I am today because I trusted myself, from the very beginning. And you know what? If I am wrong, I’ll tweak, adjust, and learn from my mistakes.

*sigh*

Anyway, on Wednesday, it was my big check-in day! 1/3 of the way through, I booked an appointment at Bodyspec to get my Dexa Scan for my official Day 30 results. I was SO NERVOUS. No really, I was. With me not having concrete data points (besides scale weight) over the past 30 days and all of this doubt buzzing around me, I really did not want to fail myself and honestly, as confident as I was about my workout plan and meal plan, the things people were saying about me injected fear and doubt into my nerves.

I was so scared that maybe they were right…maybe the cardio was killing all of my gains…maybe I wasn’t eating enough…maybe I was working out too much…maybe I had no clue what I was doing.

Well.

Here are the results.

Remember, my goal?

TO GAIN MUSCLE AND GET STRONGER.

Let’s see if I’m on the right track…

!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DO YOU SEE THAT!!!???!!!!! OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!

Wait hold on, I did the calculations for you in my 90 day journal!

The guy who did my scan was like…wait hold on…the last time you scanned in was how long ago? 30 days ago??? We both started geeking out over the numbers!!!

Guys…I honestly cannot believe. I was hoping to at least gain 1 lb of muscle. I mean, even less was ok as long as I was in the positive. BUT TO GAIN 6.3 lbs of PURE MUSCLE in 30 days!!!????

I took day 30 pics for myself and will keep on my phone, as there is nothing too exciting about them. I pretty much look the same. BUT! I do want to show you my back pic!

Cuzzzzz

You know how I always tell you how hard it is to work my glutes???

OMG. Wait. I literally went from no cuppage underneath my booty to like, cuppage!!??? I don’t even know what to say. We’ve got 60 days to go, and maybe by the end of this I’ll have enough jigglage for a proper twerk! Actually, has THAT been my Why all along!?

;P

Well, now I know that what I am doing is EXACTLY what I should be doing. I will pretty much eat and work out similar to what I’ve been doing the past 30 days for days 31-60, but will tweak a bit here and there to keep things fresh and fun. And no, I am NOT going to stop running. It took me over 30 years to get to a point where I actually have positive feelings towards cardio, so I’m gonna keep doing it.

Oh and btw, to answer some of the people above…

To the one who said my Green Oats is “disgusting” – it’s actually one of my favorite meals and it’s inspired by the Chinese rice porridge my grandpa used to make me. So, I’m actually “sorry” you won’t ever get to taste it.

And to the one who thinks I should stick to just making activewear – POPFLEX is doing great, thank you, in fact growing quite rapidly. So, yes, I will stick to it like you suggest, but I will run the biz while also being on this 90 day journey, cuz ya know, I’m allowed to do more than one thing at a time in the modern age.

Alright that’s enough sass for one night.

A little off track | Day 28 of 90

Ahhhh I made it to Day 28 and my final workout of my Month 1 Plan!

It was so satisfying to fill in the last boxes of this page that has been with me everyday, in the gym, for the past 4 weeks. I can feel my body getting stronger week by week, and the physical change is beginning to show itself too! I can see a slight visible difference in my legs, abs, and arms – but I don’t really see too much change in my butt! My butt is the hardest to grow – I blame it on the genetics. My Month 1 workouts were written to give more focus to lower body than upper, and you know what? The body will react how it is meant to react. I think next month, I will change some of my runs into incline hikes to help with booty growth while getting my cardio in!

Heres’s my week 4 90 Day Journal recap:

Last week was not the best for me food wise. I started getting bored of my food, and then I had some occasions where I could not follow my meal plan so it totally threw me off track for a few days. But by the end of the week and into this weekend, I adjusted my meals to better suit my current desires (taste wise) while still keeping macros generally the same. After the adjustments, I felt much more at ease.

Also I finished “Can’t Hurt Me“. Biggest lessons I learned from the book:

It’s ok to be uncommon. It’s ok to not have everyone like you.When you think you’re working hard, you’ve only hit 40%. You have so much more potential. You can endure more. Tap into your mind and keep pushing.Only listen to the people who have done it before. Do not listen to those who haven’t even come close to attempting what you’re trying to do. They have no say.If you fail, you’re not a failure. You can try again and again and again.If someone’s not willing to see you achieve, it’s not your problem, it’s theirs. Surround yourself with people who have champion mindsets.When it comes to haters, sometimes you can find truth between the lines. If you’ve hit a wall, don’t be afraid to dive in and dissect what they’re saying to improve your game.

I truly enjoyed this read and will try to implement David Goggin’s “Stay hard” mentality throughout all aspects of my life personally and professionally. I got through that so fast so am now scrambling to figure out what my next book should be! Any suggestions?

Below is my final mini check in before my Dexa scan on Wednesday, which will be the official day 30 check in with ALL the data.

Over the past 28 days, I have gained a total of 3.8 lbs. I am really curious to see what that means. How much of that is muscle? Fat? Water? Whatever the outcome, I am excited to get the data and tweak accordingly.

Tomorrow, I will update you with my new Month 2 workouts. I am going to hold off on updating the meals til after Wed, in case I learn something that will affect my nutrition.

Oh, also…

HAPPY GALENTINE’S DAY!!! And happy Super Bowl Sunday! I am about to go make some fresh guac to bring to a friend’s house. I make a REALLY good guac…ah I wish I could make some for you! It’s basically: avocado, lime juice, tabasco sauce, monkfruit sugar, salt, onions, tomatoes, and cilantro all to taste. YUMMMM. Oh and trust me…the monkfruit is what makes it special

Finally, if you haven’t seen already, I put all of my gym bags and backpacks on sale for Valentine’s Weekend! Everything is 30% off with code “BAGS30” at popflexactive.com.

The Belladonna is the bag I use for travel, gym, work – everything!!! Here’s a lil video for your enjoyment!

 

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Let me know what color you end up getting! Love you guys and see you tomorrow for my workout plan update.

Cardio before or after weightlifting? Here’s the truth.

Hey guys!

I’ve been getting some feedback on my 90 Day Journey to Muscle updates questioning how my daily runs could be impacting my strength gains. So, I decided to dig in and see what the experts say about this! Is it better to run before or after a lifting session? Can doing cardio the same day as a lift lower potential muscle gains?

One thing before we get all sciency though. At the end of the day, this fitness journey is for me. Yes, I’m trying to gain muscle and of course there is a “best way” to do this. There are textbook guidelines I could obsess over. Someone is always going to know more than me.

HOWEVER, I enjoy running every day. It’s that simple! For a long time (like, most of my life), I despised running. Over the past few years, I’ve grown to love it because it’s my time to listen to a book or podcast and just be in my thoughts… not working   It’s therapeutic for me, and that’s why it’s staying in my routine at some level, no matter what the research says.

Anyways, let’s learn a little about cardio and muscle gains, shall we?!

Cardio + resistance training = concurrent training

When a program includes cardio and resistance training, it’s called concurrent training. And it’s SUPER common, from athletes to people who workout for general fitness. However, using this type of program when muscle building is the goal does seem to be a little controversial in the fitness community.

What does the science say though? While I was looking at articles and reading both sides of concurrent training pros and cons, I landed on a systematic review and meta-analysis that was conducted to update info from another review done in 2012. The new review (2021) looked at a total of 43 studies, focused on how combining resistance training and cardio in the same fitness program affects muscle hypertrophy (growth), maximal strength, and explosive strength. Wanna know what they found?

Combining cardio and resistance training doesn’t interfere with muscle growth or maximum strength gains. But it CAN impact explosive strength.

First, what’s the difference between maximum strength and explosive strength?

Maximum strength is the most force possible. The highest amount of weight you can lift for one solid rep.

Explosive strength is short, quick bursts of power. You’re moving the weight as fast as possible.

In this review, people who combined aerobic activity (cardio) with strength training saw similar gains as people who focused on strength training alone. Also, it didn’t seem to matter if people combined the two on the same day or had separate “cardio” and lifting “days.”

The explosive strength part is interesting though! Obviously this is an important finding for athletes or people who are training that specific type of strength. The authors of this review recommend at least separating lifting days from cardio days, and possibly decreasing cardio sessions overall to maximize explosive strength gains.

Another interesting thing about this review – according to the authors, most of the older research that suspected cardio may interfere with muscle growth used rats and cell models to make these connections. In this current review, all of the studies are based on human results.

Obviously this still isn’t black and white

You know what I’m going to say. Everyone is different!! Some people probably do find that their results are slower when they include cardio while trying to build muscle. And OMG you can get into a serious rabbit hole digging into the reasons why this may happen. Hormone levels, nutrition, overtraining, hydration, age, genetics, etc. According to another review I read, there just isn’t enough research yet to say for sure exactly why concurrent training works for some but not others.

The authors dive into different molecular pathways, training rations, and a lot of other details, but here’s what I found really interesting:

A person’s training experience and background may be key. So in other words, someone who is highly trained and experienced in fitness is more likely to experience the “concurrent training effect” (cardio negatively impacting gains), whereas people who are newer to strength training may not notice any negative effects.

The takeaway – this is why no single program works for everyone!

And training appropriately is key

Most of the time, the issue with combining cardio + strength isn’t how the cardio literally impacts the muscle. It’s how it could affect your workout performance. When you’re doing cardio and lifting, you risk using up your energy for the cardio part, leaving you with less for your lift. Less energy for your lift = less effort, using lower weights, poor form, etc.

Of course the end result in this situation is lower gains. Annnnd maybe an injury if you’re not careful.

This is where personalization is so important for training plans.

Some people might feel pretty fatigued after 20 minutes of cardio. Some people can go much longer without feeling like they’ve drained their energy.

My run is honestly my warmup. It gets the blood flowing. Just an appetizer for the main course later in the gym!

Should I do cardio before or after I lift?

I get this question all the time! And guess what? It depends. Here is what I would think about to make this decision and maximize your workout!

Consider the mental aspect of your workout.

Are you more focused at the beginning of your workout? If yes, then lifting first might be better. Since form is soooo crucial with lifting, you really need to be mentally present. Then, you can use cardio to “wind down.”

Which way makes you feel more powerful during your lift?

Running before I lift hypes me up and makes me feel more powerful during my workout. But some people might experience the exact opposite. If cardio drains you, fatigues your muscles, or just leaves you tempted to cut corners during your lift, save it for the end of your workout!

Think about your goals

What is your “why?” What is the progress you want to see? If you’re just looking to work on fitness, stick to your routine, get healthy, etc., go with whatever you enjoy and will stick to. Most people trying to build muscle will prefer to lift first. On the other hand, people focused on endurance will probably prefer cardio first. Use this as a place to start if you’re just starting your routine! If you feel like it’s not working for you, switch it up!

So, is cardio killing my muscle gains? Probably not.

But things could change. Who knows!

So far, there’s nothing making me think that my daily runs are getting in the way of my progress. For me, doing cardio first fires me up and gets my head in the game for my lift. I feel energized and I don’t feel like my muscles are already fatigued.

However, I totally realize I’m not very far into my journey just yet. As I start lifting heavier and progressing in other ways, I may find that cutting back on my runs or adjusting in some other way will work better for me. When the time comes, I’ll adjust if needed!

That’s what a fitness journey is all about, right?

Can’t hurt me. | Day 22 of 90

Hey guys!

The title of this blog post is the title of the book I am reading called “Can’t Hurt Me” by David Goggins.

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For too many years, I have allowed negative comments from strangers to affect my emotional well-being and I need to stop letting people have control over me, my mind, my body, and my journey.

I’m almost done with the book, and I HIGHLY recommend you read it. I find myself literally (as in audibly) saying “YES” under my breath every time David says something that rings so true for me, but that I have been afraid to express for fear of being called names. His whole thing is “stay hard” and let me tell you – this Navy Seal is one of the hardest people I’ve ever learned about. He was a victim of child abuse, he’s run on broken legs (literally), has completed over 60 ultramarathons and seems to have hacked the potential of the human mind.

My goal with reading this book is to figure out how to not let other people’s opinions of me bother me. Like, why do I STILL give them that power? WHY do I give them the power to hurt me?

I hope I have an answer after I finish the last few chapters.

But one thing I do want to mention before I get into my meal plan for week 4:

I am sick of the sexism that goes into play when a female wants to be intense, be hard, and push her limits. Why is it that she is labeled “unhealthy”, “unrealistic”, and a “bad role model”? Why can a man do it and be inspirational? Why, when I do it, do people feel it’s ok to tell me to chill out and to focus on more important things, like being a mother? And, why do people feel like they can tell me how much to work out, how much to eat, and how I should be running my business and my life?

Honestly, I was getting so sick of all of this that I was about to just stop the blog posting, stop the IG posts, stop the IG stories, and just be like – kay, you don’t get to be a part of my journey, you don’t get the privilege of my transparency, you don’t get to taste my vulnerability, see ya – I’ll be back in 90 days.

But that would mean that I gave in.

That would mean I became weak.

And that is not what I am trying to do. I am on this 90 day Journey to get in the STRONGEST shape of my life physically, mentally, and emotionally.

See why defining your Why is so important? It was in this time of weakness that I NEEDED my Why. I needed my Why to tell me to keep going. And it did just that, so here I am, pushing on into week 4, trying t0 stay hard, and unhurt.

Week 4 meal Plan:

I am REALLY excited about my meal plan this week because it’s all of my fave meals from the past 3 weeks, tweaked to perfection!

I’ve decided to stay in the 1800 calorie range for now with all macros generally the same as last week’s meal plan. It’s also the FINAL week of my Month 1 Workouts! Cannot wait to write a new plan this weekend and get my Dexa Scan next Wednesday.

Looking forward, next month’s workouts will have less reps so I can lift heavier. Food wise, I will generally keep things the same (well, unless my Dexa Scan tells me otherwise) until the final couple weeks out, aka my faux “bikini prep week”! Still wondering…should I buy an over the top sparkly bikini, wear clear heels, and do a faux walk across the stage…at home!!?? OMG wait, should I get a fake tan? But like, not be a hot cheeto this time!??? Hahaha. WE SHALL SEE HOW DEEP I GET.

But I mean, if we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna DO THIS, right??

Meet the POPFLEX Basics II Collection!

Hey guys!

OK this is so overdue. I have been MEANING to blog about the new Basics II Collection and did not get around to it…til now! So uhhh…pardon the lateness but better late than ever right!?

Here we go.

The POPFLEX Basics II Collection. 

Basically, everything you love, but in easy to wear colors. That’s it. Let’s go over the pieces.

The Alpine Bra

You love this. I love this. How could we NOT?! It’s so flattering on literally everyone. The plunging mesh design, combined with a racerback to keep everything secure – perfection.

Snag this in Black or my fave, Mocha (seriously, go look at my 90 day Journey to Muscle posts and you’ll see how often I wear this!

Also comes in black, because obvs.

The racerback in addition to the higher neckline makes this a great bra for higher intensity workouts.

The Vivid Crop

Just like the Alpine Bra, the Vivid Crop has a gorgeous deep V with mesh detail. But can we talk about the deep V open back?! Elegance defined.

This comes in Black and Cream, because yes you will want to wear it with everythingggg.

Brief pause on tops: Ultimate Hourglass Biker Shorts are BACK!

These are so easy to throw on for a workout, trip to the grocery store, or whatever adventure the day holds. They have the crossover hourglass waistband we can’t get enough of, the new seamless front panel (ahem, no more camel toe), and a booty lifting V back seam. AND POCKETS.

But looooook how easily you can pair the Hourglass Biker with literally any top in this collection to create the most amazing set (like the pic above). The options are endless.

Obviously we had to have these in Black. But THE MOCHA. YOU GUYS.

The Supersculpt Legging comes in mocha too!!!

Seriously, this mocha color is everything. You already know and love the Supersculpt legging, AKA the perfect legging. You can wear these with literally any top in this collection. How’s that for a staple?

Also making a comeback: The Cargo Drawstring Legging

Ahhhh we have waited SO LONG for this.

We first met the Cargo Drawstring Legging in the Safari Collection and ohhhh it was love at first sight. With a drawstring tie-off and super deep pockets, we knew this legging had to exist in black.

K. Back to tops. Remember the amazing Gulch Crop?!

Um, how could we NOT?!

The Gulch has been a fave for a loooooong time – like, since Terrain. I love the crop length that accentuates the waist, the soft voop neck, and thick straps. It’s a true basic, but definitely not boring. This is another one I’ve been wearing on a steady rotation for my workouts lately!

We brought this back in Black, Cream, and Mocha to match everythinngggg.

She’s back! It’s the City Crop Tee…in 3 colors!

I love a basic layering tee, but it can’t be TOO basic, you know? I love the City Crop because its so soft and flowy, but there’s also a super cute bow that can tie in the front or back. It just makes everything look so cute and put together but like, with no effort

You’re gonna need this in all 3 colors: Black, White, and Rose Taupe.

 

The Supersculpt Legging now comes in THREE inseam options

THIS IS HUGE.

I’m on a mission to create the best fitting activewear that exists. This is a major first step to making this dream a reality and OMG I am so excited you can finally shop these and find the perfect length for you! No more pulling at leggings that are too short. No more bunching at the ankles. There’s 25″, 27″, and 29″!

YAYYY that’s everything from the Basics II Collection!!!!

What designs are calling your name?!!!

Choosing less. | Day 21 of 90

Hey guys!

Week 3 is complete! I need to schedule my next Dexa Scan because Day 30 is going to be here in just 9 days! I am so curious to see what my muscle building methods have amassed to.

Clothes from top left going clockwise: (1) Tone Bra and Ultimate Hourglass Biker shorts with pockets. (2) Captivate Bra and Nike shorts. (3) Glow Bra and Sprint Shorts. (4) Warm Up Hoodie and Nike shorts. (5) Alpine Bra and Ultimate Hourglass shorts with pockets in Mocha. (6) Belle Sweater and Mesh Gloves. 

Here is my Week 3 recap in my 90 day Journal:

Workouts:

This week, I did something different. I actively chose to do less. I realized that I had been going so hard (in fact, too hard) that I was waking up feeling exhausted for my next workout instead of feeling ready to crush it. So, I chose to run slower, cover less distance, and I did not up my weights in every exercise.

This decision is something that takes effort for me to do, as naturally, I am an overachiever in my blood. But, I am so glad I made doing less a focus this week, because today, Sunday, I felt the benefits of proper recovery. My run felt more effortless and my weight lifting session felt more powerful.

Food:

I am sooo obsessed with the food I am eating, especially my rice cakes and avo meal. I seriously cannot get enough of it. I am thinking of maybe including it 2x a day on my menu next week!? We’ll see when I rewrite my meal plan tonight.

Oh, but what I CANNOT include…is greek yogurt. I mean, I KNOW I am lactose intolerant and my skin breaks out when I have dairy, but I wanted to create my own high protein homemade dressing. Halfway through the week, I developed a huge pimple on my chin. UGH. Sad times because it was awesome getting that extra protein in in a creative way.

Sleep:

In general, sleep hours increased this week. I averaged around 7 hours a night which was fantastic! HOWEVER – I keep waking up around 3 or 4am due to stressful dreams and then I have to get up to pee too. I actually think my overfull bladder is causing the stress dreams, so I will vow to NOT drink so much water right before bed. I will be better about spreading out my hydration throughout the day time.

Week 3 Weigh In:

From the beginning of my 90 Day Journey to muscle, I have gained 2.2 lbs! I am really excited to get my Dexa Scan in 9 days to see how much of that weight gain is muscle weight. I want to gather some numerical data to help guide my next step.

However, looks like I might be heading in the right direction:

Thank you for your positive comments on my latest IG post. You know, I had been thinking maybeeee I was seeing some gains, but I didn’t want to give myself too much credit this early in the journey. Your encouragement truly empowered me and made me smile deep, deep inside. Thank you.

I can’t wait to tackle week 4. See you tomorrow for my meal plan update!

Meal Plan Update | Day 16 of 90

Hey guys!

Happy Lunar New Year! It is the year of the Tiger – which just so happens to be MY year. They say that people born during the year of the Tiger are thought to be natural born leaders, courageous, energetic, they love challenges and competition, and are definitely risk takers. They also like to give orders, not take them. Ha, sounds just like me

Skort from POPFLEX, Top from F21, and shoes from ASOS

Supposedly my “power” should be stronger this year! Good, cuz I’ll need it. I’ve got to get through this 90 day journey and crush it with the business…so…Moon, Prism, (tiger) POWER!!!

Also, sorry I did not blog Monday as promised. I ACTUALLY chose rest over work. Progress! Major progress! See? I told you I would work on this!

Now, here is my plan for week 3.

Workouts:

Keeping everything the same as last week. I feel good about this routine. Will continue to up my weights where I can, while prioritizing proper form over recklessly lifting heavier for the sake of lifting heavier. Month 1 is all about getting back into lifting and re-familiarizing my muscles with the movement. When it comes time to plan for month 2, I will be decreasing my reps so I can increase my weights.

Food:

As you can see, I upped my calories this week because I wanted to up my fat intake as I was noticing that I was reaching for nuts and guac last week. Fat grams are nearly doubled from 27g to now about 50g. Carbs and protein are up a bit because there’s a bit more food. I am curious to see how this affects my muscle building efforts. I’ve been on this meal plan for 2 days now. My fullness levels and energy levels are still the same as when I was on the 1500 plan, so I am curious to see what happens with muscle growth.

Food pics below!

Rice cakes with avocado and egg whites is a winner. I am keeping this one from last week, but increasing my egg whites to a full cup for maximal protein intake. YUM!!!

Spinach Oats and Chicken, also a winner. I love this one soooo much. Especially with a ton of sriracha and ponzu. It’s so good, I might keep it for all 12 weeks.

I wanted to increase my fat intake this week, so adding avo on top of my sweet potato. Super good. Oh BTW making homemade dressing now and it’s legit. I just mix greek yogurt with sugar free BBQ sauce, some hot sauce and BOOM a high protein dressing with super flavor. It’s amaze.

Supersculpt Protein Pancakes are also back for week 3. But this time, with blueberries and greek yogurt mixed with sugarfree maple syrup. OMG seriously SO GOOD. I love the sweet greek yogurt on the pancakes. It makes everything so desserty and creamy!

Oh and I did not take a pic, but I’ve been enjoying just drinking almond milk mixed with monkfruit sugar and salt to taste. I pour it in a mason jar full of ice and drink from a pretty glass straw. I feel like I am having a milk tea from a cafe! It’s so fun.

K that is all for now! I will check in with you Sunday night and let you know how my first 1800 cal week goes.

Am I eating enough calories? | Day 14 of 90

Hey guys!

Time for my week 2 check in! 14 days down and I am LOVING this sense of focus and purpose I have right now. I needed this 90 Day Journey so much.

You see, my personality thrives off of challenges. My friends say I live my life in sets of challenges. When I don’t have a goal set and I am not working towards something (this is in business, fitness, or pretty much any area of my life) I don’t do well living in moderation. I feel like I am flailing. For some people, that may sound “imbalanced” or whatever you want to call it, but the truth is – this IS my balance. I am just an intense person. I am the opposite of a chill person. I am probably the most un-chill person you will ever meet! If I am happy, I will be bouncing off the walls, jumping, screaming and crying because I am so excited! If I am upset, I will be a depressed potato of sadness on the couch, also crying, because I cry about everything. Extreme is me – and yeah, Sam has to deal with A LOT because I do not stop

Anyway…check out my workout outfits of the week! I did not forget to take a pic of cardio day this time so I have all 6 pics this week. Yay!

All tops from POPFLEX Basics Collection

See Mauve Skort

OMG, also check this out…

POPFLEX Cloud hoodie in Heather Grey

Can we apreesh the beginnings of a leg muscle pop!!?? This is the first sign of physical progress in my body and I AM STOKED!!! I did not expect any sort of visual progress this fast, but it’s so cool to see because it means that I am on the right path on my 90 Day Journey to Muscle!

Here is my week 2 recap in my 90 Day Journal.

Main things I noticed this past week:

Food wise: I noticed myself reaching for nuts and avocado, which tells me that my body wanted more fats. So, I added that into my diet on top of what I had already planned out. (Interestingly, this was not happening in week 1.) Currently writing out my week 3 meal plan and will be adding more fats.

Workout wise: I am so proud of myself for lifting HEAVIER this week and for running FASTER too! Overall, my strength AND endurance are improving and I am feeling really happy about that. I do notice that my muscles get physically exhausted by the end of the week, so I have to take my rest day early. This past week, I took Friday off. I still ran in the morning but I went for a super deep tissue massage in the evening. It was perfection and helped me rest up for a weekend of intense workouts.

Sleep wise: I am failing. A few days this past week I averaged about 4-5 hours a night (it’s tough with all of the POPFLEX launches and the growth of the company – it’s so exciting and I keep wanting to go go go and never stop). The lack of sleep left me with a headache towards the end of the week which forced me to go to bed earlier. I got some 8-9 hour nights a couple sleeps in a row. That was all nice until…my weekend sleeps were riddled with bad dreams. Dealing with some personal stuff right now and seems like my brain won’t stop til the problem is solved. (See what I mean by how I can’t chill?)

So, week 2 results?

All in all, I have gained 0.6 lbs since the start! Last week I got my period, so that explains the sharp increase in weight and then the slight drop after.

Now, I want to address a concern that I keep seeing in the comments. I see that some of you are questioning my diet, saying that I am in a severe caloric deficit, starving, and that I am not eating enough.

Let’s get one thing straight – everyone’s body is different and everyone will react to caloric intake and caloric burn differently based on genetics, metabolism, and past exercise history.  If you are not me, then you do not know what is too much or too little for my body.  Seeing arbitrary numbers floating around the internet and deciding what’s healthy and what’s not for a person you have only met through YouTube videos, IG posts, and blog posts is not a fair or accurate way to prescribe caloric intake for someone.

For those of you who followed along on my first 90 Day Journey, you understand how this works. I start somewhere based on my best knowledge of my body, and then I listen to my body, tweak and keep tweaking until I get the results I want. Thus far, I have gained 0.6 lbs over 2 weeks. I am very full, have great energy and am physically lifting heavier and running faster. Until I get my next Dexa scan, I won’t know if that weight gain is muscle mass or something else, but the fact that I am lifting heavier pushes me to believe it’s muscle, which is the entire goal of this journey! So, to put those comments to rest, as much as some people may want to believe it, NO I am not starving and NO I am not in a severe caloric deficit.

For weeks 3 and 4, I am keeping my workouts the same but will be tweaking my meal plan to keep things exciting. Like I said at the top of this post, I noticed that last week my body wanted more avocado and nuts so I will be increasing my fat grams this coming week to see how I feel. I will keep my protein grams the same, around the 150-ish range, because it’s been wonderful for my muscle growth. It will be interesting to increase my overall caloric intake for week 3 because I am curious if this will increase the rate of which I am gaining muscle and if it will help me lift even heavier!

Ok it’s 10:29pm and I should be in bed now. BYE!