Cassey Ho's Blog, page 81

2 days left. | 88 of 90

2 days left. This coming Wednesday will be my 90th day on this journey. I can’t believe this chapter of my life is coming to a close. It’s a weird feeling of being proud and sad at the same time…

My 90 day journey has been a metamorphosis. I use this word specifically because of the shedding that‘s been happening. I’m not talking about weight or fat. I’m talking about the shedding of the way I used to feel chained to being someone I wasn’t. I’m talking about the shedding of the way I used to let other people control my narrative. I’m talking about the shedding of the way I used make excuses for my stagnation. I’m talking about the shedding of old “followers” who didn’t believe in my metamorphosis.

As Wednesday approaches, and as I prepare to come out of this 90 day cocoon, I’m excited and terrified all at the same time. How will I use my new wings? How will it feel to leave behind the structure of this 90 day journey and head into my next stage of life?

More to chat about when I post my FINALE before and after later this week. What would you like to see? Photos? Measurements? Weight? Body fat? Muscle mass? Comment below.

Also, I know it’s been months since I have released a new workout video, and many of you have expressed how much you missed them, soooooo….

ENJOY! I love this one. It is so fluid, graceful, and elegant.

Yesterday’s Recap:

BRUNCH:

29% carbs, 51% fat, 20% protein

469 calories

2 eggs (1 is not pictured), kale with lemon juice, kobucha squash, jicama, sweet potato, bacon, sunflower seed sauce, and pesto. This was our final meal at the Powergirls Retreat!

DINNER:

31% carbs, 36% fat, 33% protein

554 calories

Eggs, turkey meatballs, broccoli, cauli rice, and mushrooms with LOTS of sriracha.

Cauli rice, broc, and a chicken skewer.

SNACKS:

61% carbs, 37% fat, 2% protein

554 calories

Oatly ice cream wit blueberries.

A dried mango!

Kombucha!

Yesterday I came in at 1,342 calories and 127g carbs (37%), 62g fat (41%), and 73g protein (21%). Wow, I can’t believe I won’t be logging my food like this after Wednesday! It’s gonna feel weird!!!

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Almost there! | 87 of 90

AHHHH!!! We are at day 87! Only 3 more days!!???

WHAT!

Okay, I am really tired right now. Just got back from the mountains and then choreographed a little workout routine that I am filming tomorrow with some friends! (I know, I know. I should be resting but I have no time right now.) This is a really challenging season for me. I’m busier than I have ever been, but it’s all good. Right now, I just need to make it to Wednesday. Wednesday marks the end of my 90 day journey and it marks the end of a week of CRAZINESS. I’ll get to sleep and relax a little. I really need it.

ALMOST THERE.

I’m trying to figure out how I should announce my day 1 vs day 90 results…

I’ll definitely show you the difference in my measurements as well as my weight and my body fat percentage. I’ll take an after picture so you can compare it to my before picture. And of course I’ll debrief my entire experience. There will be a lot to talk about BEYOND the numbers. It’s going to be an intense blog post that will get really REAL and really DEEP. I’m excited to reflect this coming week and see how I have evolved as a human. I’m thinking the finale blog post will go up Thursday or Friday this week because it may take a while to write. We shall see.

Yesterday’s Recap:

It was day 2 of the Powergirls Retreat! Here we are fueling up after a long day of photoshoots! How cute is this cabin style restaurant!? Everything is SO CABIN! I love it!

BREAKFAST:

25% carbs, 51% fat, 24% protein

410 calories

Our chef Michelle of Well By Michelle made this AMAZING brekkie dish!!! Jicama with smashed avocado and Everything But The Bagel Seasoning, a hard boiled egg, radishes, smoked salmon, green beans, and sauerkraut.

LUNCH:

28% carbs, 53% fat, 19% protein

516 calories

Turkey meatballs, portabella mushrooms in coconut aminos, kobocha squash, spinach, broccoli, pickled onions, avocado, sunflower seed butter sauce, and pesto sauce! This was a Power Bowl for the Powergirls. SO GOOD!!!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!

DINNER:

16% carbs, 32% fat, 47% protein

325 calories

We went out for dinner and I ordered an orange roughy with capers, carrots, and broccoli. It came with a side salad. Honestly really missed Michelle’s cooking!

Side salad with Italian dressing.

SNACKS:

47% carbs, 50% fat, 3% protein

393 calories

Oatly vegan strawberry ice cream with strawberries. UGH. SO GOOD.

Snacked on some toasted coconut chips. LOVE this stuff. Costco.

Popcorn for late night snacking.

Yesterday I came in at 1,645 calories, 122g carbs (29%), 87g fat (48%), and 93g protein (22%). The food that Michelle made has been SO NOURISHING. My skin is glowing and my gut is happy. Yay. I can’t wait to show you more from the retreat in my YouTube video recap! That won’t be going out til a few more weeks though…since we’re wearing some pieces from unreleased POPFLEX! EEE!!!!!!! (Yes you heard that right!!!)

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Week 12 Weigh-In | 86 of 90

Hey guys!

I am currently in the mountains hanging out with a bunch of amazing women, having the best time talking about our struggles, our dreams, our bodies, our insecurities, our purpose…but also like, how much we love food, vegan cheese, and working out – duh :P It’s been so incredibly nourishing to be around other women who are so kind and so real. I truly needed it after this weirdly emotional week that left me feeling so low.

This weekend POPFLEX is hosting our first ever Powergirls Retreat. As I write this, we’ve just wrapped day 2 and WOW – so much has happened. I’ll tell you everything in a vlog that I’ll edit together for YouTube. I will also show you ALL the behind the scenes there. But here’s just a bit to get you started :)

Presenting the Powergirls Retreat Cabin!!!!

Isn’t it SO CABIN!???? The inside is ever more cabiny. I can’t wait to show you more!!!

Gift bags for each of the girls.

Slumber parties don’t have to stop after elementary school :) We made DIY lip scrubs and ate ice cream sundaes. PLUS – we fancy – so we also hired a private chef to cook healthy food for us ALL weekend long!!! Doesn’t that sound like a dream?!

There’s so much more I wanna show you, but a lot of what we did will be revealed in a much bigger way soon! So that’s all for now, k? ;)

Moving on!

Week 12 Weigh In.

There are 4 more days until my official 90th day which will be this Wednesday. For my 90th post I will do a FINAL weigh in as well as measurements and my before and after!

I’ve lost 1.8 lbs since last week, 0.4% body fat, and I’ve gained 0.2% muscle mass! Wow, I did not expect this drop! Especially because I’ve been traveling, eating different foods, and emotionally stressed. There’s still a lot to learn about my body.

So, 4 more days to go and I am officially 1 pound and 1.4 body fat percentages away from goal. I honestly can’t believe I’ve actually gotten this far! Just goes to show you how important clear goals are. If you know where you’re going and you know your “why”, then you won’t let anything mess with your focus.

Will I make it? Def not on the body fat %. On the weight? Maybe? I haven’t stepped on the scale since I’ve gotten to the mountains so no idea what my weight is! But overall, I’m feeling really good. So whatever happens on Wednesday, it doesn’t matter. Because my 90 day journey has already served it’s purpose. It got me back to feeling like myself, and for that, I am proud.

Yesterday’s Recap:

BREAKFAST:

26% carbs, 71% fat, 3% protein

160 calories

Had a quick vegan coconut yogurt for brekkie! This new brand I found at Target called The Coconut Collective is actually REALLY GOOD! Wow, I am impressed with the Target food buyer!

LUNCH:

54% carbs, 38% fat, 8% protein

235 calories

Small lunchy snacky situation as we were driving to the mountains and didn’t have any real lunch prepped. So 1 banana and a partial pack of jalapeño cashews held me over til din.

DINNER:

28% carbs, 39% fat, 33% protein

693 calories

Kale salad with butternut squash, apples, pomegranate seeds and apples, Japanese yam mashed potatoes, lemon & tarragon chicken, and chimichurri beef! DELISH.

SNACKS:

59% carbs, 38% fat, 3% protein

541 calories

Quite a few pieces of dried mango. YUMMMM.

A bunch fo different vegan ice creams and sliced strawberries. Yes, some was Oatly and some where others, and hands down, OATLY tastes way creamier!!!!

And some coconut chips!

Yesterday I came in at 1,629 calories and 171g carbs (41%), 75g fat (42%), and 67g protein (16%).

Ok guys, it’s 12:28AM. I’m super tired. Need to sleep so that I can get up for our early morning yoga class!

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Do face exercises actually work? | 85 of 90

Hey guys!

A couple weeks ago, I asked you guys on Instagram if you wanted me to try out “face workouts” and an overwhelming number of you were like YASSSSSS. (I didn’t know you guys knew it was a thing!) So, I’ve been diligently testing some facial exercises out for the past 2 weeks. Want to know what happened?

Well, let me tell you exactly what I did!

I performed the same routine everyday at night before I went to bed. I used Olay Retinol24 night serum that was sent to me for this post to help me glide my hands across my face better. It is REALLY IMPORTANT to add serum or moisturizer on your face to create a slick, frictionless surface. You don’t ever want to pull your skin!

Also, on the topic of Retinol – I haven’t used any Retinol products since I had severe acne as a teen. It used to dry out my pimples but unfortunately, also my entire face – leaving it red, itchy and flaky. When Olay came out with their Retinol24 products, the combination of vitamin B3 plus retinoid complex promised hydration as well as brighter, smoother skin with less visible wrinkles. So I was curious to give it a shot!

Helpful Tip: Since you will be using a little more moisturizer or serum than you normally would without performing the facial exercises, try to get a quality serum that won’t break the bank. Olay is affordable so it makes skin health accessible.

Here’s my before pic (eew lol):

THE FACE EXERCISES

Here were the moves that promised to lift my cheekbones and tone by jawline! Oh and before I started, I pressed lightly into the divots of my collar bones 20 times. I’ll tell you why later.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Cassey Ho (@blogilates) on Nov 8, 2019 at 10:19am PST

 

Temples to neck x 6
Third eye lift x 20
Cheek lift x 20 ea cheek
Jawline shaper x 8
Mini jaw circles x 20
Face Lifters x 6
Smilers x 6

The entire routine takes about 5-7 minutes depending on speed!

THE INSPIRATION

These moves were a combination of exercises that I found most enjoyable and effective after testing out a ton of face exercises on YouTube. There were a lot of questionable videos out there…but I was able to find a celebrity facial expert, a doctor, and an old Japanese massage “method” that seemed reliable. Here are the videos I drew inspiration from:

Dr. Mona’s Anti-Aging Face Lifting Massage:

Celebrity facialist Su-Man’s two-minute skin rejuvenating self-facial:

The Japanese Asahi Massage Method:

5 Minutes Japanese Facial Massage – Get Rid You of Wrinkles in 30 Days

HOW DO FACE EXERCISES WORK?

Face workouts are supposed to be all about decongesting the lymph nodes near your face and neck. Apparently, clogged lymph nodes can lead to acne, dull skin, puffy skin, and dehydrated skin.

So, to perform lymphatic drainage on your face, you’ve got to first open up the lymph nodes by your collarbone – this is where everything will drain! So before I went into the exercises above, I pressed lightly into the divots of my collarbone about 20 times! The experts say to make sure you do this or else the lymph has nowhere to drain to.

THE VERDICT

A couple things before I give you my final verdict.

#1. Nutrition has a lot to do with it.

I made sure to stay super hydrated – like no less than 100 fl oz of water a day. I also limited my dairy intake and sugar intake. Since I’ve been on my 90 day journey, my meals have been generally low carb, so lots of veggies and lean protein. I stayed away from highly processed foods.

#2. The type of moisturizer you use matters.

I used the the Olay Retinol 24 Night Serum consistently for 14 days. It has a blend of Vitamin B3 + retinoid complex that’s supposed to hydrate my skin for 24 hours while reducing fine lines and wrinkles and giving my face a smoother complexion, a brighter look, and smaller pores.

Here’s my before and after.

SO DID IT WORK??

My skin is very smooth and super soft!! It does also look brighter! COOL! I think the Olay Retinol 24 Night Serum definitely played a role!

Now, the facial exercises. Let’s just be clear that these weren’t really exercises. It felt more like a facial massage. However, I must say that it felt REALLY good and relaxing. The “face workout” was lovely to do at night before bed. It helped my body and mind slow down and prepare for sleep.

Another thing is that it made my face feel like it was alive! My muscles even felt a little sore, but in a good way like after a massage! I’ve never had sore face muscles before. It was an interesting and new sensation.

Now, let’s talk physique.

Is my jaw more toned? Are my cheeks higher? Honestly, I can’t really see a huge diff but then again, I’ve only been doing it for 14 days. If my face looks slimmer at all, I’m going to credit it mostly to my 90 day journey and the effects of the overall fat loss. But maybe…JUST MAYBE…14 days isn’t enough for significant face exercise results! Who knows.

YAY OR NAY ON FACE WORKOUTS?

I mean, if it brings you a level of relaxation, then yes, by all means do it! Additionally, having a routine of any kind brings consistency into your life, which might help you feel calmer. But if you’re looking to ACTUALLY slim down your face, no face exercise will ever outdo a bad diet and lack of physical whole body exercise. If you want to lose fat on your face, you’ve got to start thinking about fat loss as a whole. You cannot spot reduce your face, or any part of your body for that matter.

Can face exercises lift your cheekbones though? Actually, maybe.

I went to a facialist once who performed some pretty intense moves on my face and behind my ear (painful, but in a good way), and when I looked in the mirror afterwards, my cheekbones did look higher!!! Specifically, she took her knuckle and performed quick, deep, circular motions behind my earlobe area near my neck/head (whatever you call that area) and pressed in pretty hard. I almost wanted to cry. But she did it only for about 1 minute each side, so it was doable. I’m 100% not sure how that worked, but she said it had to do with loosening the tension I held in my jaw (due to stress) that was pulling down my cheekbones. CRAZY! Try it!

What do you think? Will you be trying face workouts?!! And if you already do them, do they work for you?

Now, back to regular programming! Here’s yesterday’s recap!

YESTERDAY’S RECAP:

LUNCH:

17% carbs, 52% fat, 30% protein

538 calories

Miso soup.

Sashimi salad with avocado.

Blistered shishito peppers.

Low carb sushi roll.

DINNER:

15% carbs, 44% fat, 41% protein

695 calories

Half a rotisserie chicken, green beans, and BBQ sauce at the airport.

SNACKS:

94% carbs, 1% fat, 5% protein

205 calories

Red mango frozen yogurt!

Blueberries.

A Mango electrolyte drink from Nooma. My friend Ro gave me one for after my flight (she was taking care of George) and I ended up drinking Sam’s too :) SO GOOD!!

All in all, I came in at 1,558 calories and 99g carbs (27%), 65g fat (41%), and 114g protein (31%). Okay the Popflex Powergirls are here and we are ready to drive to the woods! I gotta go!

And once again, big thanks to Olay for sending me the Retinol24 collection to try out! If you guys want to try, it out, click here!

Are you more or less curious about face workouts now?

Love,

Cassey

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Not feeling so good. | 84 of 90

Ugh guys.

Not having a good day. Or week. I’m not feeling my best. It doesn’t have anything to do with my 90 day journey – so don’t worry.

It’s just that I’m so weak when it comes to dealing with other people’s opinions of me. I don’t know why I let it bother me. It shouldn’t. Especially not after 10 years of being a “public figure”. But it still does. The same way it always did like when I was in high school. I am so afraid of making other people unhappy. I allow people’s opinions of me to rock me to my core, make me cry, and in the end, I crumble to pieces.

Every week, I write in my Fit Journal to stop letting the comments negatively affect my well being. And every week, I fail. I’m sad, but I’m just going to fully be with this feeling for now…and learn any lessons I’m supposed to learn while my soul is heavy.

Anyway…I’m gonna change the tone because this blog post is getting too sad. Plus it’s 11:35PM, I’m tired, and I need to wake up early again tomorrow to rent an SUV and drive into the woods for the 1st ever Popflex Powergirls Retreat!

Here’s a pic Sir George to cheer us all up.

OH and yes we just came out with a matching vegan suede mat to accompany your 2020 Fit Planner!!! This makes me very VERY happy. I love matching things.

We even made a matching cotton carrying strap! I call this design “Happy Girls“!

And this design is “Lush Garden“!

It also has a matching cotton yoga strap!

If you guys are in the market for a new yoga mat, this is the one. The texture is velvety soft, the color never fades, it’s thick and cushiony, and you don’t slip as you get sweatier! In fact, your hands get grippier as you get sweatier. How cool is that? You can check out all the designs here.

Yesterday’s Recap:

Fit Journal entry. Yesterday I filmed 7 workouts. Nuff said.

BREAKFAST:

93% carbs, 3% fat, 4% protein

105 calories

Early morning banana to fuel my early morning shoot.

LUNCH:

33% carbs, 30% fat, 37% protein

547 claories

5 workouts in. Lunch was jerk chicken, jerk beef, jerk tofu, kale salad, spring mix salad, and beans with a side of watermelon.

DINNER:

19% carbs, 35% fat, 46% protein

370 calories

Cauli rice, eggs, chicken skewers, broccoli, furikake, sriracha and a side salad.

SNACKS:

54% carbs, 18% fat, 28% protein

582 calories

Turkey and broccoli with furikake.

Shrimp with cocktail sauce.

Post workout banana. 7 workouts done.

Kombucha.

Oatly ice cream. Can’t get enough.

Overall, yesterday I came in at 1,604 calories and 170g carbs (42%), 45g fat (25%), and 136g protein (33%).

Okay, I’m falling asleep. Talk to you later! Tomorrow is day 1 of the Popflex Powergirls Retreat! So excited!!!!

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I’m so tired. | 83 of 90

Hey guys!

It is 10:36 PM and I’ve been up since 4:30 AM! I filmed 7 workouts in all and I AM TIREDDDDDD. (Sam and I did manage to squeeze in a massage though.) Tomorrow I need to get up at 5AM because I am flying to the Bay Area to visit our warehouse to prep for Black Friday! Then Friday it’s the Powergirls Retreat! And that day starts for me around 6AM. SOOOO this week is CURAZAAAYYYY. Just need to get through it.

Anyway, here’s some BTS of me at my FitOn App shoot this morning!

I’m excited for you guys to see these workouts! They are filmed sooooooo beautifully…it’s cinematic quality! I’ll let you know when they are out.

Here’s a peek at “Video Village” where the Director sits and watches all the cameras.

Sam and I brought Sir George on set and it made everyone so happy! It’s so cool how much joy pets can bring into an atmosphere. Sir loves people so much…he was thrilled to be there with the crew :) And he was so good, he didn’t even bark once!

Yesterday’s Recap:

Fit Journal entry. ‘Twas a rest day so that I could prep for my huge video shoot!

BREAKFAST:

10% carbs, 65% fat, 25% protein

230 calories

Egg white, spinach, and bell pepper egg bites.

LUNCH:

41% carbs, 13% fat, 46% protein

307 calories

Had no time to eat lunch at work, so ate it on the way home in my lap. No worries, Sam was driving! Had chicken, cauliflower rice, and zucchini with coconut aminos and hot sauce.

DINNER:

22% carbs, 40% fat, 38% protein

446 calories

 

Eggs, broccoli, 3 meatballs, and cauli rice with sriracha and furikake.

I also had a couple of these bacon wrapped scallops from Costco! Sam surprised me and got them for me!

SNACKS:

57% carbs, 23% fat, 20% protein

259 calories

Kombucha. I also had blueberries. Forgot to take a pic.

Shrimp with cocktail sauce.

Butter lettuce and turkey.

Oatly ice cream. I just found this at Target and OMG I’M DEAD. It is SO GOOD. IT IS EVEN BETTER THAN REAL ICE CREAM I AM NOT EVEN KIDDING.

Yesterday I came in at 1,242 calories and 102g carbs (32%), 48g fat (34%), and 108g protein (34%).

Okay, my eyes are getting tired. I need to go to bed. Love you guys. I can’t believe there is only 1 week left of my 90 day journey!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!

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Gotta go to bed early… | 82 of 90

Hey guys!

It’s currently 6:20pm and in less than 12 hours I will be in downtown LA at shoot filming 7 fitness videos for the FitOn App (free to download and use)! I decided to take a rest day today in order to save my energy for tomorrow. Plus I will need to get to sleep early tonight. As you can see, this blog post is going up “early” for me (as in not 12am), so I’m already prepping for success!!!! I will DEF be sore for days after, but I love the challenge.

How’s your November going so far? Have you downloaded the November workout calendar yet?

By the way, for those of you using the calendar on my blog, and checking workouts off, is it working for you? Please give me your feedback as I am going to be making some technical changes soon and need to know what you like and don’t like about the calendar. I want to make it easier for you to follow along!

Since we are officially 57 days away from Jan 1st, 2020, you really need to start thinking about our goals for the new year. Make sure you grab your 2020 Fit Planner before it runs out. This year’s planner is seriously THE BEST one we’ve ever made and would make such a great gift for the holidays too!

I love it so much and I CANNOT wait to use it in full! I’m filling out the front pages already. I plan on making some of my dreams come true next year – cuz life’s too short not to!!! Oh and yes, one of them is to go on our Honeymoon :)

Yesterday’s Recap:

Fit Planner entry! Sam and I went weight lifting in the morning! I’m really happy for Daylight savings because it’s easier to wake up now…and…it’s no longer dark in the morning! Thank goodness!!!

BREAKFAST:

39% carbs, 65% fat, 25% protein

230 calories

Spinach, bell pepper, and cheese egg white cups.

LUNCH:

38% carbs, 16% fat, 25% protein

325 calories

Chicken skewers, zucchini, cauliflower rice with hot sauce and coconut aminos.

DINNER:

18% carbs, 53% fat, 29% protein

522 calories

Pork ribs with BBQ sauce, broccoli, and cauliflower risotto.

Bacon wrapped scallops.

SNACKS:

43% carbs, 35% fat, 22% protein

203 calories

Kombucha!

Mini KIND bar! Caramel almond and sea salt mini. Yum.

Shrimp and cocktail sauce.

Ice cream. Finished my mini tub!

I came in at 1,281 calories and 86g carbs (26%), 63g fat (42%), and 105g protein (32%). Yay protein goal was achieved!

Okay, finished by blog before 6:40pm and now I’m gonna do a few more work things, pack my clothes for tomorrow, and prep for bed!!!! See you later guys!!!

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In life, you must be flexible or else you’ll break | 81 of 90

Hey guys!

I spent the last couple days with my family and you know what – even though we yelled at each other, hurt each other’s feelings, and went “silent treatment” on one another all within 24 hours of seeing each other, I do love my fam. We’re messed up and broken, but we will always have each other’s backs. There’s not much more to say without crying, so I’ll stop here.

Anyway, when I was at my parent’s house, I was def off of my usual routine. I didn’t really workout, I didn’t cook my own food, I was stressed from all of the arguing and I had no scale to track my numbers for my graph. But you know what, life is life. You can’t be on top of everything, and you cannot be rigid with routines. You just can’t. You just do the best you can and keep going. You’ve got to allow yourself to be flexible or else you will break.

So for 2 days, I ate totally new foods and had to constantly explain to my mom before every meal why I wasn’t going to have her deep fried egg rolls or her flaky pork stuffed pastries! They’re amazing but I always bloat and break out after. There were definitely temptations too! My mom, dad, and sis had pistachio ice cream every day and you know what? I offered to scoop it for them! Hahaha. It was all good though because my goals have trained me to be laser focused on this journey. Whenever I wanted something sweet, I had a banana or nuts and berries, and it totally satisfied my sweet tooth!

Oh and weird thing…

When I got back today, I stepped on the scale and was SO surprised to find that it went down. Like huh? Stress, yelling, snacking, not working out? Who knows. The body is weird. Maybe it needed rest, new foods, and family time. Either way, it’s interesting to track these things because when I look back, maybe I will be able to see more patterns.

Anyway!

When we were visiting my parents, my sister planned an outdoors trip for everyone, which was really cool. It got us moving and not arguing :) We visited the Valley of Fire and did some hikes together while snapping fun pics!

Here’s sis and I posing on a rock. How PRETTY IS THIS PLACE!!???

I’m also wearing a shirt from my sister’s new climbing apparel brand “monopkt.”! I am so proud of her for starting her own clothing line! It’s so comfy!

The shirt I am wearing says “wanna take this outside?” I love the positive spin on a question that has always meant trouble.

Yesterday’s Recap:

OMG GUYS I finally am reunited with my Fit Journal!!!!! SO HAPPY!!!!

Yesterday…was…INTERESTING.

I am the world’s worst traveler.

I have been known to go to the wrong airport on the wrong day and even miss my flights while being at the airport on time. Well, I’m sad to say yesterday was just another one of those days. Without Sam or Jackelyn by my side…things somehow always end up going wrong. My flight departed without me and I was sitting 50 ft away from the gate.

Guys, I am the ACTUAL worst.

I’m always distracted – doing a few things at once, and I forget to focus on the one MOST IMPORTANT thing I need to accomplish…which is…TO GET ON THE PLANE.

I was put on standby and was so lucky that I made it on the next flight out. I am seriously so incompetent, it’s almost funny, but actually, not really.

BRUNCH:

27% carbs, 37% fat, 36% protein

367 calories

Coconut chicken curry with cauliflower rice. I also had butter lettuce, carrots in Vietnamese fish sauce, and some pork tenderloin bits.

DINNER:

34% carbs, 43% fat, 23% protein

565 calories

Cauli rice, pork ribs, zucchini. I also had some ghost chili bbq sauce.

SNACKS:

66% carbs, 28% fat, 6% protein

434 calories

‘

Kombucha!

Coconut water!

Pineapple!

Dried cranberries and pistachios!

And then again because I couldn’t stop :P

Low Cow sea salt caramel ice cream!

Yesterday I came in at 1,367 calories and 156g carbs (42%), 60g fat (37%), 77g protein (21%).

How are you doing these days?

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Women try guessing each other’s weight… | 80 of 90

Hey guys,

I just uploaded a video unlike any I have ever made before. It’s an uncomfortable social experiment that’s already drawing a lot of attention.

 

I decided to gather a bunch of women together to figure out how accurate BMI, weight, and body fat percentage actually were to a person’s health. I mean, I think we all know to not “judge a book by its cover” but can you judge a person’s health based on an industry-approved medical standard?

I started planning this video a while ago, and I was very aware of how sensitive this topic was going to be. We needed to find women who were comfortable discussing their weight on camera and we needed to produce this video in the most compassionate way. I didn’t want anyone to run off set crying or upset. I wanted to have an open discussion with real feelings about some real taboo topics.

I’m currently reading the comments on YouTube and it seems that the feelings on this video are split 50/50. Some people are moved to tears because they’re incredibly touched…and then others are very upset, saying it was a terrible, pointless video meant to make women feel bad about themselves.

So, what was the point? To show that labels and numbers have as much power as we want to give them. They can make us feel bad. They can make us feel good. Or they can just be data points. But your health, which includes both your mental health, your physical health as well as your happiness is something that cannot be accurately assessed by any number. A number does it’s best to help medical professionals categorize your health as a starting point, but it’s not the entire story. Health really does look different on everyone.

My content is meant to make you think. Yeah, it’s uncomfortable, but when did we ever become smarter, better humans by being comfortable all the time? We grow the most when we’re challenged – and I’m talking emotionally challenged too. If this video made you feel a certain way, take a moment to reflect and ask yourself why you feel that way. Can you dig deep and dissect this feeling further? Some of you may find that you need improvement in the area of not letting numbers control your happiness. And others of you may just find that you don’t want a relationship with numbers at all, and that my content didn’t help you achieve that. Both are okay to feel.

Just so you know, each woman was mentally prepped for the shoot and knew that we’d be discussing weight and other sensitive body image topics. Our producer interviewed each woman who was casted one by one in person, and made sure they were comfortable with the topics before committing to the shoot. The entire Blogifam and the crew was very careful in making sure the women felt good during the entire process, from casting to shoot day to video release. The mental health of each of the women was my first priority.

Shoutout to Irene, Darlyn, Bynay, Ebony, Celeste, Paloma, Covi and Rachel for making this video possible! They were so brave, so vulnerable, and so positive. It was amazing getting to spend time with these women and create a cool thing together.

By the way, here are the charts I was referring to:

BMI chart by NIH:

ACE FITNESS body fat % chart: 

I’d love to know your honest thoughts about this video. How did it make you feel? What did you learn?

Yesterday’s Recap:

LUNCH:

 3% carbs, 67% fat, 30% protein

369 calories

Chicken thigh seasoned with salt and pepper with a side of sautéed spinach in olive oil. I also snacked on some steamed pork my mom made.

DINNER:

46% carbs, 23% fat, 31% protein

739 calories

Vietnamese summer rolls! I ended up eating almost 10 of these! Each was filled with shrimp, pork, cucumbers and lettuce! I snacked on a bunch of chicken drumsticks on the side, and dipped everything in hoisin sauce. I went ALL out! Hard not to when you mom is cookin!

SNACKS:

77% carbs, 16% fat, 7% protein

554 calories

Pistachios and sweetened cranberries. Had about 3 of these mini handfuls!

2 bananas YUMMMM.

Had an entire jicama plant. It tasted like a slightly less sweet pear! Kinda a fan now!

A huge handful strawberries.

Yesterday I came in at 1,662 calories and 201g carbs (47%), 56g fat (30%), and 95g protein (23%).

I am home now, so ready to get back on track. I already meal prepped my lunch tomorrow. LET’S DO THIS. 9 more days!!! AHHHH!!!!!

The post Women try guessing each other’s weight… | 80 of 90 appeared first on Blogilates.

Week 11 Weigh-In | 79 of 90

Hey guys!

I’m currently at my parents house with my sister! We’re about to go on a family hike, so I am going to make this brief!

Last week I was active every day so that makes me happy!

THINGS I NEED TO START: Start doing less. Start giving myself space to think bigger and be more creative.

THINGS I NEED TO STOP: Stop letting people’s opinions affect my well being. Working on this.

WHAT AM I EXCITED FOR NEXT WEEK? Next week is the Powergirls Retreat, and we hired a private chef for our girl’s trip, so I am excited to try all sorts of new, healthy food! Plus I am excited to spend time with some incredible women :)

Now, here’s my week 11 weigh in.

There wasn’t much movement this week, as last week’s was pretty intense. I lost 0.2 lbs and my body fat % and muscle mass percentage stayed the same. In total, I’ve lost 13.2 lbs!

10 days left with 2.8 lbs and 1.8% body fat to go. At this point, I realistically don’t think I will be making my original goal by the 90th day, but like I said on day 1, I predicted that this could be the case.

How do I feel about that?

I feel great about it! Why? Well, ever heard this quote?

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it, you will land among the stars.” – Les Brown.

The wonderful thing about this journey is that I’ve gotten so much farther than I would have without my goals. I am so glad I set something to work towards. It’s made me so focused and determined.

In regards to what will happen after my 90 days? Well, not much will change on my end here. I love my current lifestyle and I don’t plan on changing the way I eat or the way I work out. I’ll keep cooking, I’ll keep dancing, I’ll keep weight lifting, I’ll keep doing Pilates. However, one thing that won’t be exactly the same is that I know I won’t be blogging every single day. It’s been really tough sticking to that schedule, but it’s kept me super accountable and super aware of my feelings and progress.

Yesterday’s Recap:

Let’s see what I ate! You’ll notice that the food will start looking a little different this weekend because I am at my parent’s house!

BREAKFAST:

22% carbs, 43% fat 35% protein

316 calories

Cauliflower risotto, eggs, and turkey meatballs.

LUNCH:

20% carbs, 46% fat, 34%t protein

383 calories

Cauliflower egg thins, cauliflower flatbreads, oven roasted turkey, tomatoes, butter lettuce, and jalapeño sauce.

DINNER:

44% carbs, 28% fat, 28% protein

622 calories

Fresh strawberries!

Pho (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) with NuPasta noodles. YUMMMMMYYYYY. The noodles were perfection and tasted like regular vermicelli to me!

SNACKS:

67% carbs, 33% fat, 0% protein

120 calories

A cup of barley tea with MCT oil powder.

Kombucha for the road!

Yesterday I came in at 1,441 calories 125g carbs (34%), 59g fat (37%), and 105g protein (29%). I did my best with the pho as I wasn’t really sure what was in the soup, but overall, everything tasted amazing and I feel good, so probably not anything too crazy. Plus, my mom made it!

OH also!!!

Tomorrow…

You know the big shoot I had about a month ago?

Well, the video is coming out tomorrow! AHHHHH!!!!!!

I literally cannot wait for you to see it. We’re still finalizing details on the edit right now, but oh man, I’m nervous. It’s the first video I’ve made of this kind and ahhhhhh all I want in the world is for the message to resonate with you.

The post Week 11 Weigh-In | 79 of 90 appeared first on Blogilates.