Cassey Ho's Blog, page 88

Catalina Island for the first time! | Day 18 of 90

Happy Labor Day fellow Americans! Hope you’re enjoying the last unofficial day of Summer.

Eating out on a diet. | Day 17 of 90

I don’t know what happened yesterday but after I worked out, I ate a quick lunch, did some stuff, and then all of a sudden it was dinner time and Sam and I were at an All You Can Eat Korean BBQ restaurant. Let’s just say I ate all I could eat. And then some.

Oops.

DAY 16 RECAP:

My Fit Journal looks empty, but umm – that dinner box right there – it tells you what I ate but nowt how much I ate. Honestly you guys, I really do believe that I could be a competitive eater. There’s a part of me that wants to devour burritos the size of babies and also inhale burgers as big as my face so that I can win a free shirt and have my photo on some random wall of fame. I’m gonna make a promise to myself that I will do this before I die. (I hope it’s not the death of me :P)

This was lunch after my lifting workout. Chicken drumsticks. Baba ganoush. Butter lettuce with some sriracha dressing that I bought and don’t like. Lunch was ok.

Now…on to much more interesting things.

KBBQ.  All you can eat KBBQ!

I was super excited to eat out with Sam. Trying out new restaurants is a thing we love doing. When we first started dating, we literally gained like 10 lbs right away because of this. Haha. We had a phase in college where I wanted to try out all of the fast food burgers and fries and compare them against each other. Ya. Times were different :P

These days, I eat a lot more specifically, so it can be hard for us to enjoy a random meal out. I always have to check the menu first, which I totally don’t mind doing. I love trying new flavors – it inspires me to cook with different ingredients, which makes me a better cook.

Anyway, back to KBBQ.

This picture looks all innocent but just multiply the amount of food you see by like 8. Haha.

Technically, Korean BBQ is super safe for Keto peeps. If you get the non-marinated meat and eat it with the salad, you’re good. The oil and salt for dipping is good too. You just gotta stay away from the marinated meats (they can have a lot of sugar) and the rice that comes with the meal.

None of that was a problem for me. But before we sat down, Sam and I promised each other that we would not overeat.

But.

WHO WERE WE KIDDING.

IT WAS AN ALL YOU CAN EAT RESTAURANT.

And if my parents have ever taught me anything, it’s that buffets are meant for eating so much that you make the restaurant lose money on you!

So, as much as I tried to contain myself, I couldn’t. My upbringing won. I had to bring honor to my ancestors!!! Plus it was too much fun feeding my bottomless pit of a stomach.

And you know what? It’s ok. Sam and I left dinner, stuffed, but very happy.

This was the first day in my 90 day journey that I went pretty wild. But I own it and I don’t regret it one bit. Although I’m not counting calories, I know I ate a lot – even if all the food I consumed was keto friendly. An excess of calories is still an excess of energy, which has the potential to be stored as extra fat.

In the big picture, it’s one tiny setback. But I know it won’t affect my end result. In fact, it strengthens my journey. Every time I fail, I have a chance to practice resilience and come back even stronger.

So, if you’re on a diet right now and you plan to eat out – here are my tips:

Check the menu first. Make sure the restaurant has something you can eat. If they don’t, don’t go there!
Don’t be afraid to ask for substitutions. I do this all the time. Even if it annoys the waiter.
If the portion looks huge, ask for a to-go box and box up half of it right away so that it’s not staring at you, and also so you that you can eat it later. Yay for a “free” second meal!
All you can eat places are pretty much never a good idea :P

Where do you guys typically like eating out? What’s your fave cuisine?

 

The post Eating out on a diet. | Day 17 of 90 appeared first on Blogilates.

Your September Workout Calendar! | Day 16 of 90

Happy Labor Day Weekend! For us Americans, it means a 3 day weekend and lots and lots of of sales! I actually don’t remember the real intention of Labor Day so I looked it up. Back in the 1800s, factory workers were putting in 70 hour weeks with no days off. Labor Day started off as a movement to lower the work hours and get more days off. Today the average work week is about 40 hours and most people work 5 days a week. Me on the other hand – I work every single day! But I love my job and I choose to grind because it’s the progress and the growth that drives me.

Anyway…speaking of sales! All crop tops, tanks, and tees are 40% off until Monday! This black one is my fave. I pretty much wear it with everything. Use code “TAKE40” at checkout. Go cray. Click here to shop.

Next up, I’ve got your September Workout Calendar!!! If you’re thinking of starting your own 90 day thing, use this for the 1st 30 days of your workout regimen. It’s all set for you. You can start filling out your Fit Journal Sept 1st.

Click to download hi res cal!

SUNDAY: All About Arms

MONDAY: Booty Blast

TUESDAY: Crush it Cardio

WEDNESDAY: Amazing Abs

THURSDAY: Total Body Tone Up

FRIDAY: Take a Break

SATURDAY: Legs for Days

If you’re new to the monthly calendars, this is how it works!

Click on the hi res link to download the calendar and print it out for your wall.
Head over to blogilates.com/calendar and click on the videos of the day. It’ll take you directly to the YouTube video!
Do each video once (unless otherwise stated)
Check off as you go!

That’s it!

DAY 15 RECAP:

Yesterday I woke up with my head banging again. I thought maybe I was hungry so I ate some cottage cheese with blubes for breakfast (so good), but the headache still wouldn’t go away.

I try to avoid pills, but I had to take an Advil because I was headed to Barry’s Bootcamp that morning and I needed to perform. Luckily my headache went away by the time I got to the studio. I had not been to Barry’s in a long time (cuz I hate running) but this journey has inspired me to do things I fear. After not sprinting for what seems like over a year, I was able to get back up to 12 MPH on a 30 sec print which is CRAZY FAST for me. The last time I went this speed was probably 2 years ago and I injured my lower back from doing it. Thank goodness I didn’t die this time! I am glad I can still do it!

Back to the headache. Some of you guys commented that this could be the “keto flu”. I had never heard of it before so I looked it up.

Symptoms of Keto Flu include:

Fatigue
Headache
Irritability
Difficulty focusing (“brain fog”)
Lack of motivation
Dizziness
Sugar cravings
Nausea
Muscle cramps

Out of the above, the headache is the most prominent. The past couple days I did feel a bit fatigued but I thought it was because of my period and the crazy workout I had the day before. Sam says I am irritable right now :P Otherwise, there’s def no loss of focus or motivation, which is good.

The cause? Apparently, it’s my body adapting to the transition of burning sugar to burning fat for most of its energy needs.

How to cure it? I need to make sure I am drinking even more water than normal, replacing my electrolytes by salting my foods, sleeping enough, and eating more fats.

Okay I am on it!

After Barry’s, I walked to Chipotle and got myself a chicken salad with guac, sour cream, cheese, pico de gallo, salsa, and romaine lettuce. You know, I’m not sure how I feel about have the guac, sour cream, AND cheese all in one. I felt like it was excessive and overstimulating to my tastebuds. I think I could do without the sour cream and cheese.

I got hungry right after lunch and had some brie cheese and cashews. Good snack. Keeps me satiated.

For dinner, I tried making my own scallops after being inspired by my friends at The Joint! I seasoned them with salt and pepper and then pan seared them for 1 min or so on each side in olive oil. Not bad! Probably my best ones so far! But still, I have a long way to go before I can call this perfect.

I had these seaweed almond crisps with baba ganoush on the side. Very good. I also ended up eating my scallops and butter lettuce with baba ganoush and it was amazing. I love baba ganoush.

I found these seaweed crunches at Costco and they are surprisingly very low carb! A serving has 1g of carbs, 1g of protein, 2g of fat and it comes in at just 30 cals. Plus – it tastes SO GOOD.

Okay, so remember in my week 2 recap, I said I wanted to try new stuff? Well Sam and I stumbled into this Moroccan store (I think) and we found this thing called “yogurt drink”. I don’t intend on making it a permanent part of my diet, but we both wanted to try it, we both had zero idea what it was, so we bought a whole jug for fun!

Umm. It was. Interesting. Kinda tastes like milk with lemon in it? Or milk with vinegar in it? Basically like a plain yogurt with no added sugar for flavoring. Let’s just say we don’t know what to do with the rest of it!

Last night Sam and I also went to a couple’s massage for my self care of the week! When I got home, I didn’t realize that I had left my Apple Watch at the massage place until it was 10PM! UGHHHHH. Luckily when I called, they said they still had it! Phew.

When I drove back to get my watch, I turned on Taylor Swift’s new “Lover” album on full blast and soaked in the lyrics. I’m still getting used to it, but I like that she’s returning to her old sound with some newness. The “Reputation” era is def a thing of the past and I’m glad she’s happier again.

Before coming back home, I wanted to surprise Sam with some Matcha boba, so I found a highly rated place not terribly far away!

I ended up getting myself almond milk flavored with Jasmine green tea, no sugar. It was…not good. Ha. But what do you expect!? I will need to play around with making my own coconut milk matcha drinks at home. Doesn’t that sound good?

Oh and Sam was so happy when he got his matcha boba! Ha, we have not adhered to not eating late thing. Will work on this :P

The post Your September Workout Calendar! | Day 16 of 90 appeared first on Blogilates.

Week 2 Weigh-In! | Day 15 of 90

The week 2 weigh in is here. And I am on my period. GREAT.

Weigh ins will happen every Friday and I will be comparing my Friday to Friday stats. Last week I did my Friday to Thursday stats but then today I realized that wasn’t truly a full week since I weigh myself in the mornings. Anyway, here are the updated results!

WEEK 2 WEIGH IN:

This week I lost 1.8 lbs and 0.3% body fat! YAY! PROGRESS!

If I am to hit my goal of 120 lbs and 20% athlete level body fat in the next 10 weeks, I need to lose about 1.05 lbs a week and 0.35% body fat per week.

Week 1, I definitely hit that in both categories. But week 2 I only hit it in the weight category, not body fat.

It seems strange to me, especially since I am doing cardio and weight lifting – which means I should be burning fat during my workouts and during rest. So could it have something to do with my period? Hmm.

I use a scale that utilizes BIA or bioelectrical impedance analysis for assessing my body composition. Maybe the extra blood and water retention somehow affects my body fat? I found a published article in the International Journal of Exercise Science literally on this topic: “The Effect of the Menstrual Cycle on Body Composition Determined by Contact-Electrode Bioelectrical Impedance Analyzers.”

The article says that “Manufacturers of BIA technology recommend to avoid testing women when they perceive to be retaining water during the menstrual cycle.” But…in the end, researchers found that “Regardless of the BIA analyzer used for the assessment, no significant differences in body composition measures were found between cycle phases.”

GREAT. So it’s not that…

Now, I need to figure out how I can begin to lose body fat at a faster rate while also retaining or gaining muscle mass. My workouts are balanced between cardio and weightlifting so I highly doubt it’s that. It’s not like I’m running half marathons everyday, so it’s gotta be the food, or when I am eating the food?

I’ve read a ton of articles defending both sides of the argument – “eating late makes you fat” vs “doesn’t matter when you eat.” But since I’ve been skipping breakfast and eating my dinners around 8pm or 9pm – maybe there’s something to the timing?

This Health article says that “your body is more prone to burn fat at certain times of day and store fat at other times.” Interesting. Supposedly the calories you eat during the day are used by your brain and your muscles. Excess calories get stored in your liver as glycogen. When you’re sleeping, your body converts the stored glycogen into glucose, and releases the glucose into your bloodstream to keep your blood sugar levels steady. Then once all the stored glycogen has been converted into glucose, the liver begins to burn fat for energy. The catch is that it takes a few hours to use up the day’s glycogen stores so that’s why late night eating doesn’t help if you also eat an early breakfast.

That’s the thing though. I don’t eat breakfast because I am still full from last night’s late dinner. So technically, shouldn’t my body be burning fat anyway, regardless of the time?

My dinner is around 8-9PM and I don’t eat lunch (my first meal) until 12 or 1PM the next day. So that’s a 15-16 hour fast. I mean – I’m not trying to do intermittent fasting, but I guess naturally I’m doing it because I’m just not hungry in the morning.

Hmmm…

Not sure exactly what to do here. I think I’ll continue to do what I am currently doing and check back again next week. But I’ll keep the whole eating late thing in mind…

Oh I also don’t take multivitamins or supplements (except for the collagen once in a while). Everything I consume is real food. I wonder if taking something extra would help? Will need to do some research. What do you guys think?

DAY 14 RECAP:

It’s the first time I have filled out the super unhappy face. Since getting my period 1 days ago, I’ve been getting these crazy headaches. And I’ve been feeling super sluggish. I took one rest day and then the next day I went back to working out. But I still feel not myself. It’s odd because periods never usually affect me, especially not when I am being super active like I’ve been lately. Perhaps it is something else. I don’t usually like taking medicine but just took an Advil. Need the headache to go away.

Breakfast was eggs with cheese, a sausage, and pico de gallo.

For lunch, one of my friends invited me and Sam over to try a restaurant he recently became involved in! The place is called “The Joint” – a seafood resaturant in Sherman Oaks, CA and OMG. IT WAS SO GOOD. We told our friend Benny that on a hungry scale of 1-10, we were only a 5. But ummm…we ended getting served on the 10!

See those scallops there? ONE OF THE BEST. I’ve only had scallops this good one other time in my life. At BOA in Beverly Hills. This one came with mushrooms on top and the scallops were seared to PERFECTION. AHHHH I need to go back and have more immediately.

These were the shrimp! Also very flavorful! I only had one because I ended up devouring the rest of the scallops.

Sashimi plate. But not your typical sashimi. These fishes have been “dry-aged” – which is a Joint specialty. What is that you ask? I didn’t know either. I thought they were going to serve us fish jerky that was going to taste super salty or something. But actually by dry-aging your meat (basically hanging your meat upside down in a controlled environment like a fridge) you remove the blood, moisture, and slime from the meat and you’re left with just the fat and the protein, so the meat ends up tasting way better. Apparently, the fish can be dry-aged up to 40 days!!! WITHOUT GOING BAD! That is insane. The chef told us that since he has perfected his dry aging process for fish, he runs a ZERO FOOD WASTE restaurant because he doesn’t have to throw out rotten fish. Whoa. That’s revolutionary.

Oh and taste wise, some of the best sashimi I have EVER had. SO buttery and so soft. Yea, that’s old fish I ate. And today I am fine. Weird huh!!!

Then we had dry aged cooked salmon. This was also very very good. But I liked the sashimi better!

For my veggie, I had green beans. These were excellent.

Sam and I ate so much that we could not even fathom having dinner. But then when 9:30PM rolled around we both were a little hungry.

I had cottage cheese with blueberries – first time I ever tried this creation. OMG you guys – this was actually SO GOOD! The blueberries exploded in my mouth like sugar bombs! SO YUMMY!

This is my week 2 reflection. I want to stretch more and basically try new food combos next week! Will go grocery shopping later this weekend and keep you posted!

Oh, also – ready to hear who the winners of the Fit Journals are!!??

Congrats to:

@lyricaldancer10

@janakolarxx

CASIDY_S from blogilates.com!

Yay! POPFLEX will be reaching out to you guys to get your addresses. If you want one, you can purchase one in my shop here!

The post Week 2 Weigh-In! | Day 15 of 90 appeared first on Blogilates.

12-Week Fit Journal Giveaway! | Day 14 of 90

Today is a special day! It marks 2 weeks of my 90 Day Journey! WHOOOO!!! I cannot believe it. This is actually going a lot faster than I thought!

So to celebrate, I wanted to do a giveaway for those of you who have been supporting me THE MOST! My blog readers :)

I’m giving away three 12-Week Fit Journals!!!

I am DEAD SERIOUS when I say that this little planner right here is what’s keeping me on track. I genuinely look forward to writing in it everyday. It’s so satisfying to write in my food, my workouts, and my stats – it makes me feel like all the hard work I’ve been doing isn’t just a thing of the past. It’s a permanent part of my history – in my own little fitness storybook that I can always look back on.

The 12-Week Fit Journal is super lightweight so you can carry it with you everywhere! I put it in my mini backpack with my 2 bottles everyday!

This is the Daily Page. You get a big space for food, workouts, water, sleep, and random notes to self. Also, you can start on ANY day of the week. (Like how I woke up and decided Friday was going to be Day 1!)

You’ll def want to bring your Fit Journal with you everywhere since it also has a grocery list space inside!

There’s a measurements page that allows you to track your stats once a month, for 3 months.

At the end of every week, there is a reflection page. This is extremely important because we need to give ourselves time to be grateful for the hard work we do. It’s an honest page where you can open up about things you’re proud of and things you’re scared of.

So, how do you enter?

For your 1st chance to win, leave a comment on this post and tell me why you follow Blogilates. I’m actually really curious.
For your 2nd chance to win, go follow @blogilates on Instagram and comment on the Fit Journal giveaway post! Click here.
For your 3rd chance to win, go follow @popflex_active on Instagram and comment on the Fit Journal giveaway post! Click here.

I’ll pick a winner in 24 hours and will announce in tomorrow’s blog post! You can comment AS MANY TIMES as you want on each platform. You can be from ANY COUNTRY and be ANY AGE.

Good luck!

DAY 13 RECAP:

So yesterday my period started. I became a ravenous beast. I did not take pics of all the cashews and almonds I ate, but I ate a lot :P

Lunch was the ahi tuna salad from Tender Greens. For some reason they forgot my egg! So sad. FYI I took the potatoes out.

A couple hours later, I couldn’t stand it anymore so I got up and warmed my turkey chili as lunch #2.

Then I had a handful of almonds and another handful of cashews with 2 cans of La Croix – a sparkling water. This new flavor Pomme Baja ain’t so bad!

So, even after 2 lunches and a ton of snacks, I got a hunger headache! I don’t know why my period makes me so darn hungry!

For dinner, Sam and I went out with a friend to a restaurant called Mixtape in LA. For appetizers, I ordered this charred “cauliflower steak” with spicy sauce. It was…meh. The cauli wasn’t cooked enough and the sauce was nothing too special.

As a second appetizer, we shared fried brussel sprouts. These were good. But like, pretty much anything fried is good :)

For my main course, I got a protein style burger. There were some grilled onions, pickles, and cheese in there. Overall – the meat was hearty but the flavor was lacking. Honestly you guys, the protein style burger at In N Out is way better. Plus it’s only a few bucks. This was $16.

There’s ravenous Cassey’s meals for the day! Let’s see what happens on day 2 of my period tomorrow! Oh by the way, I’m also starting to feel under the weather. No idea why. Really not ideal for Labor Day Weekend :*(

The post 12-Week Fit Journal Giveaway! | Day 14 of 90 appeared first on Blogilates.

Why rest days are important | Day 13 of 90

I AM SO TIRED. I don’t take rest days until my body tells me I need one, and let me tell you, I NEEDED ONE TODAY. This was me this morning.

I woke up and felt very, very slow. I also felt extremely thirsty :P I mean yesterday’s workout was so intense that it’s probably still burning calories right now as I type.

I AM DEAD.

Yesterday during lunch time, I went to a local studio that specializes in CrossFit, HIIT, and circuit training type workouts. I had been telling the Blogifam about it for a while, so we finally we put it on the calendar and the brave few of us who dared to go, went! It happened to be upper body day! Brittney, Laurel, and I did all sorts of crazy things…like tricep dips on olympic rings and pushing a sled that was a few hundred pounds. It was so hard but also so gratifying!

We ended up a sweaty mess, but I forced everyone to take a post workout pic for the blog. I mean – I NEEDED PROOF!

So, rest days – why are they important?

#1. If you want results, rest.

Rest days are for recovery. There is a lot of work being done internally, even if you don’t feel like you’re doing anything on the outside. When you’re resting, your body is replenishing energy stores and repairing the muscle tissue that was used (and possibly even torn) from your workouts. But don’t worry – these tears aren’t bad things! The rebuilding of the tears is actually what helps you grow bigger and stronger muscles! I know it sounds strange, but that is just how our bodies work. The “microtrauma” happens when you’re pushing yourself to lift heavier than you normally would in everyday life. That’s why when you wake up the next day, you’ll probably end up feeling sore! Like me today :)

#2. You could hurt yourself really badly if you don’t.

It’s not worth it to squeeze in another workout when your body is telling you no more. You may think burning some extra calories is cool and all, but there’s an actual limit to how much you can push yourself before you PHYSICALLY break.

When you’re exercising, you’re putting stress on your bones and your muscles. Rest days and sleep allow your body to make new cells and rebuild. If you don’t give your body time to get stronger by repairing itself properly, you may get inflammation and injuries, and won’t be able to work out for a long time. It’s just not worth it. That’s why my monthly workout calendars focus on different muscle groups everyday. Plus you’ve got a built in stretch and rest day. This allows you to to have a balanced approach to exercise.

#3. Working out too much can DECREASE your performance.

Just like how you can get burned out with work, you can get burned out with working out. Do it too much and you will get mentally bored and physically exhausted. Your performance will decrease simply because you’re tired of it. This is a sign that you need to SWITCH IT UP or take a break. Also, giving yourself the mental space will allow you to come back tomorrow with so much more vigor!

So, don’t ever feel like rest days are a waste of time! Listen to your body. Depending on how hard you’re going, some of us may need it more than others. I know my body well enough to not schedule in rest days until I can feel one coming. Also with my sometimes sporadic schedule, I’ll allow a travel day to be a rest day naturally – instead of forcing one in while I am at home.

DAY 12 RECAP:

I can’t believe I have been filling out my Fit Journal for almost 2 weeks now!!! It’s been cool to be able to circle the happy-happy face almost everyday. It’s interesting that when you write things down, you begin to notice patterns more. And honestly, since starting my 90 Day Journey, I’ve been a lot happier. This is so cool.

For lunch, I had chicken shawarma with mushrooms and cauliflower rice. I am getting very sick of this but I finally finished it. That was the last of it. I won’t be buying chicken shawarma again for a while!

I snacked on thai chili almonds and baba ganoush with sweet baby bell peppers when I started getting hungry. Guys, I am seriously am in LOVE with the baba ganoush I made. You guys need to make it. It is literally THE BEST thing I’ve made in a while and it is so keto friendly.

We met up with a couple friends for dinner. I was in charge of choosing the restaurant since I was the one with the most specific guidelines for my food! Luckily in LA, pretty much every restaurant has a “healthy” section so this made it easy for everyone to eat something that satisfied them. I ordered this grilled chicken salad with tomatoes, bell peppers, goat cheese, pepitas, and onions. It was delicious! It normally comes with tortilla crisps but I just told them to remove those. Oh it also came with with jicama but I personally don’t like jicama so I got rid of those too!

There you have it! What I ate. It’s interesting to see how much less I am mindlessly eating because of the Fit Journal and this blog. I really can be a zombified bottomless pit when it comes to food – especially when I am bored or stressed. So if you’re having trouble with the same thing, I suggest you try writing down what you eat. It REALLY keeps you accountable.

Oh and a final little reminder…

The post Why rest days are important | Day 13 of 90 appeared first on Blogilates.

5 Ways to Light the Fire Inside You | Day 12 of 90

When I first set out to take this journey, it was purely for myself. Then a few close friends said they were going to embark on their own versions. Some wanted to include more meditations. Some wanted to burn off the post baby weight. Some wanted to write songs everyday. Some wanted to finally get their lives under control.

It is crazy how infectious motivation can be. I’ve been seeing a good amount of you guys starting your own 90 day journeys too! That’s so cool.

For anyone who hasn’t caught the bug yet, but wants to – here are my tips for how you can light the fire inside of you!

HOW TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF (to do anything!):

#1. Define your goal.

Whether it’s you wanting to get to a certain body fat % or you wanting to do 100 crunches without stopping or you wanting to finally run your first half marathon – make it SPECIFIC. That way you’ll know when you’re getting closer. Progress is incredibly motivational.

#2. Define your timeline.

If you’re setting a goal without a deadline, it becomes this nice dream that kind of just floats around in the air. If you want to get it done, you need to give your goal priority. You need to set a date for completion. When I told myself I had 12 weeks to get it done, my entire mindset shifted. I went into business-mode Cassey. I laid out my game plan for my 12 weeks and calculated the steps I needed to take to get there.

#3. Define your why.

Goals and deadlines are great, but without a purpose, it means nothing. Why are you willing to go through this? The journey will have plenty of great moments, but it will also have plenty of terrible moments where you’re going to ask yourself “Is this even worth it?” If your “why” is not deeply rooted in your soul, you will find yourself quitting.

I see a lot of people starting their own 90 Day Journeys – which is great – but don’t just do it because you saw me do it and you think you should too. That kind of thinking will have you giving up when times are rough.

Your “why” does not need to be as numerically specific as your goal. But the “why” needs to be strong enough to pull you up when you think you can’t keep going.

#4. Write.

Writing down what you’re doing every day and how you’re feeling gives you a sense of accomplishment. Whether or not you hit any mini goals that day, the literal act of writing is a wonderful thing because it allows time for reflection. It’s also incredibly therapeutic. As adults, we move through life too fast and forget to give ourselves a moment to quietly appreciate how capable we are as humans.

Everyday I am writing in my Fit Journal and on this blog – and let me tell you, it’s brought so much happiness and gratefulness to my life. It slows me down and clears my sometimes muddled thoughts. I look forward to the actual motion of filling in my meal boxes and writing down my workouts. It makes me feel like I’m completing my homework or something! I feel so much more whole after I write.

I suggest you keep a mini notebook or Fit Journal with you at all times. This has helped me stay super on track.

#5. Announce your goal to people who will support you.

Private goals are nice, but honestly, if you really want to get it done, there’s nothing better than having other people keep you accountable. The key thing here is to find trustworthy and supportive people who will keep you on track. You don’t need to tell the negative haters in your life. They’re just going to derail you. Tell the people that you know will want to see you succeed.

When I woke up that one Friday morning a week and a half ago and decided I was going to go on a 90 day Journey, the first person I told was Sam. I was nervous about it though because I knew I’d be getting backlash on the whole thing. But he encouraged me to do it for myself. I cried and told him I hadn’t been doing things for myself for a long time, and that I felt drained trying to be someone people wanted me to be. In that moment I knew that I 100% had to embark on this 90 Day Journey. I knew that no matter how many people would be against me, my biggest supporter would be there rooting for me the entire way.

Find your supporters and let them support you! It could be a family member, a friend, or even an online buddy you met through Blogilates.

Hope that helps! Any of you have goals you’re trying to accomplish?

DAY 11 RECAP:

Here’s my Fit Journal entry.

Monday I was lit on fire from the inside like a raging inferno! I don’t know what got into me but I woke up and was like “I want to take Pilates Reformer.” Then I was like “It’s only 2 mi away – I’ll run there!” by 8:15am I had done so much already!

The run felt so much lighter than ever! I don’t know why but maybe my cardio is getting better! Yay! I hate cardio so much so maybe on this journey I’ll learn to love it a tiny bit more ;P

After Pilates, and before we drove off to work, I made myself a keto smoothie. I mixed strawberries, avocado, MCT oil powder, protein powder, and almond milk together with ice. Unfortunately it was weird. So umm, I’ll need to give this another try!

After a couple meetings at work, I attended my intense stretching class. Good news. Middle splits were lower than ever before! Still hurts like crazy. BUT PROGRESS Y’ALL. No pic. Maybe next time.

There was no time to prep a home cooked lunch, so I ordered from Tender Greens. This is the Ahi Tuna salad with tomatoes, green beans, romaine lettuce, capers and an egg. I order this every single time I eat there. It’s my absolute fave.

It was a long day. Sam and I didn’t leave the office until 8:30pm which makes for a late dinner. We need to work on not eating so late. Oh well, at least traffic was a little better!

For dinner, I shredded some chicken drumsticks and had chicken tacos wrapped in butter lettuce, filled with pico de gallo, guacamole, and salsa.

The tacos were good, but not as good as this right here. You guys. Sweet peppers with baba ganoush is my new thing!!! OMG. It is absolute perfection! The sweetness and the crunch from the bell pepper is balances the creamy, slightly salty taste of the baba ganoush. I AM IN LOVE. You must try.

Have you been enjoying these blog posts lately? What else do you want to hear about?

The post 5 Ways to Light the Fire Inside You | Day 12 of 90 appeared first on Blogilates.

Why is it ok for men to lose weight, but not women? | Day 11 of 90

On Sunday, I met up with a couple friends for a 7:45am weight lifting class (Sam came too, yay!) and then we ended up having a pretty deep post-workout conversation.

My friend Jason Chen (he’s an awesome OG singer on YouTube) and I were talking very candidly about our goals. When I first announced that I wanted to get super fit on my 90 Day Journey, he wrote me and said that I inspired him and that he wanted to do it too! Hence why we met up for weight lifting class at 7:45am on a Sunday.

He was asking me about how things were going and I told him about all the controversy I was experiencing over wanting to lose some weight and shed some fat. He was genuinely astonished. He said that whenever he announces that he wants to lean down, it’s never become a “thing”. His community either applauds him or they scroll right by. No negativity whatsoever. No “you already look good, why are you doing this?” comments. No “it means you don’t love your body” assumptions.

Last week, I was also talking to another friend who texted me about my feature in Women’s Health. “Fitness IG Star Cassey Ho is on a 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge – And People Have Feelings.” The title itself already primes one to think I’m doing something bad.

Then she said just after a few scrolls, we saw a link to a Men’s Health article applauding a man for basically doing the same exact thing. “This Guy Reined in His Diet to Lose 30 Pounds and Get Shredded.”

The article begins with the man saying that “stepping on a scale drove home just how far downhill he’d gotten. At his heaviest, he was about 207 pounds.” Hmm sound familiar??? The corporate life was apparently taking a toll on him, affecting his overall appearance and his health. He said he looked like a “blimp.” So what did he do about it? He went on a new diet and committed to a “rigorous workout plan” which helped him lose 30 pounds in 17 weeks.

I don’t think it is a coincidence that both our journeys started with us stepping on the scale and realizing we needed to make a change. But I find it absolutely sexist that my decision to lose weight and shred fat is considered “disappointing” while his is being celebrated.

I mean, think about it. Women can’t do anything without being judged for how they look – even when it DOESN’T MATTER. Female athletes for example, often get comments on their outfits instead of their achievements. Same with women in politics. Same with women in business. And the sad part is, not only are we being judged by men – some of our harshest critics are own fellow females.

From what I’ve observed, I don’t see men judging other men on how the look. If they lose weight, no big deal. If they gain weight, no big deal.

If I lose weight, all of a sudden I’m “not body positive” and a “bad influence on women”. If I gain weight, all of a sudden I’m “too fat to be a fitness trainer.”

Why? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because we were brought up to pay so much attention to our looks from the beginning. Makeup. Push-up bras. Shaving. Small waists. Comparing ourselves to the prettiest girl in class or the hottest actress on TV. Maybe it’s a weird insecure human-behavior thing that falsely makes us believe that by bringing other women down, we can bring ourselves up?

I don’t think that behavior is representative of POPsters – so I’m grateful for the kind, amazing, and encouraging women who make up the Blogilates community. I whole heartedly believe that some of the criticism that I got for starting the 90 day Challenge came from a place of genuine concern for my health and for other women suffering from eating disorders and body image disorders. The rest of it, I’d categorize as people being angry at me and not respecting the decisions that I am making for my OWN BODY.

Why do you think men and women are judged so differently when it comes to weight loss and weight gain?

DAY 10 RECAP:

Sunday was a glorious day! I woke up and weight lifted with Sam and 2 friends! Then I took Sir George to my favorite groomer (she specializes in Japanese style dog haircuts) and asked her to give Sir the biggest ballin’ ball style head she could.

And look…

I’M DEAD.

THIS. IS. PERFECTION.

If you guys look at my IG feed, all you’re gonna see is every kind of ball head Japanese dog. I am obsessed with dogs from Japan because I’ve never seen anyone treat a dog’s haircut with as much precision and artistry as Japanese groomers. I’ve been working really hard to grow Sir’s hair longer and thicker so that his ball head can be huger and huger. The bigger the ball, the better :P

While I was waiting for Sir’s hair to be all done up (3-4 hrs they said), I took a dance class and did work on my phone!

Next, for lunch I made tacos. Sam had regular tortillas. I swapped mine for butter lettuce. Inside there is ground turkey, pico de gallo, roasted peppers, fresh homemade guacamole, and a little bit of mozzarella cheese on top. These were AMAZING.

For dinner, I attempted to make my own baba ganoush! I was really scared it was going to taste weird (I had never made it before) but to my total surprise – IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! I used this recipe from Cookie + Kate.

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds Italian eggplants (about 2 small-to-medium eggplants*)
2 medium cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice, more if necessary
¼ cup tahini
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing the eggplant and garnish
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus extra for garnish
¾ teaspoon salt, to taste
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of smoked paprika, for garnish

I now have baba ganoush for the rest of the week! WHOOOO!!!

The day was also glorious because Sam and I made dinner together! I asked him to zoodle the zucchini and he totally killed it. 2 fresh zucchinis for him and 2 more me. We patted the zoodles down with paper towels so many times – pre and post sautéing but they were still really wet. I wonder if we need to eat them raw? I’ll need to look up some zoodling techniques.

I also made some roasted chicken drumsticks! Yum! Dinner was sort of a mix between middle eastern and Italian? Whatever. It was good!!!

Oh, but you know what was NOT good?

I tried out this vanilla flavored MCT Oil powder that a company sent me and I mixed it with almond milk. It tasted pretty weird. It tasted fake-sweet. I hate fake-sweet. I’d rather not have any sweetness at all. I’ll report back to you guys once I figure out how to use this. So far, no luck!

The post Why is it ok for men to lose weight, but not women? | Day 11 of 90 appeared first on Blogilates.

Spontaneity and Victory | Day 10 of 90

Yesterday was such an unexpectedly fun day! I started off my Saturday morning by taking an 8 AM circuit training class while Sam went on a local hike with Sir George. I thought it was just going to be a regular day so I went grocery shopping and bought a ton of ingredients to make tacos, baba ganoush, and keto blueberry smoothies. I thought we were just gonna go home after that so I could cook and blog.

But then Sam said, “Want to go to Jackelyn’s to eat breakfast at a cool diner and then play Settlers of Catan after!?” I was a little thrown off by his spontaneity…but then I was like YES I DO!!!!

So we quickly stopped by the house to put all the groceries in the fridge and then we headed out to Jackelyn and Nick’s place, which unfortunately is like 40-45 min away even on a Saturday morning. That’s LA for you. We used to live so close, so hangouts and dinners were super convenient, but then…

Last summer Sam and I found our dream house! :)

Every time we’re at home I seriously feel like I am actually AT HOME. I feel so relaxed. I feel so happy. And I feel so removed from the craziness of LA. We are no longer in the city – city, so getting into “LA Proper” as they call it means we have to suffer through the traffic. As much as I HATE, like absolutely HATE driving into the city, the trade off is worth it. Having to not pay for parking meters all the time and being able to actually drive up to a grocery store and walk in without having to push a button to get a parking pass is so incredibly amazing. I love the suburbs life. But I do miss being close to my sister!

Anyway after the drive, we met up with Jackelyn and Nick at a local diner and it was so cute! I felt like we were stepping back into the 50s or something. I got an omelette with mushrooms, spinach, onions, and sausage. I traded the house potatoes and toast for a side salad. I also asked for fresh salsa in place of the ketchup.

Oh and before I forget, here is my Fit Journal entry:

The page got wet from the frozen veggies I tossed on top of it yesterday!

After brunch, as we were walking back to Jackelyn and Nick’s place, something green caught my eye. I saw this huge plush avocado in the window! It was the BIGGEST avocado I have ever seen in my entire life. So I forced everyone to go inside the shop so I could get a closer look at the avocado. I mean…

LOOK AT THIS AVOCADO!!!

I kid you not, I was going to buy this plush avocado for myself – ya know, cuz I work hard and that’s how I wanna spend my money! But then, I looked at the tag and…

The avocado was $250.

$250!!??!???

WHAT!????

No thanks.

So I took some pics and boomerangs for Instagram and then we left ;)

So even though we had just eaten, Jackelyn and I kinda have bottomless pits for stomachs so we felt like we wanted to have smoothies. So went into Lassens and I got myself the blueberry keto smoothie and Jackelyn got the Paleo peach.

OK, so for those of you who are reading my blog post yesterday, remember that when I was ending the post I told you that I might win Settlers of Catan?

Well, I need to back this up and say that I absolutely suck at Settlers of Catan and really basically any “board game”. Jackelyn and Sam always win. I ALWAYS lose. Somehow, I am cursed with the worst rolls on my die and quite possibly not the best strategy :). Anyway, yesterday Nick had been ahead the entire game (he made sure everyone knew that too lol) and I wasn’t doing too bad myself. So get this – just before Nick was about to win the entire game, I pulled out a couple ninja moves and swooped in last minute to claim VICTORY!!!!!!

And you guys! The craziest thing is that I was playing Settlers of Catan while actually blogging on my computer. LOL.

After the game all four of us decided to get massages. I usually never stray from my usual masseuse but whatever. Saturdays are for spontaneity right?

I’m so glad I did it because my massage actually ended up being so good! I always get myself a deep tissue. And when I say deep, I mean I need you to go REALLY DEEP. As in…I need you to dig your elbow into my skin and drag it all the way down the length of my back. It doesn’t matter how much I’m grimacing, the slow torture brings me into total bliss.

Self care checked off for the week!

After massages, we all stopped by a new boba shop that apparently makes their boba fresh by hand. Sam ordered a Matcha shake and it looked so delicious. Normally I would have wanted a sip (I mean matcha milkshakes are my ultimate YOLO), but honestly guys, I’ve been feeling so solid with my 90 day journey that I wasn’t even tempted to try any! Big victory for me!!

Even though I know that one sip wouldn’t have affected me, I went back to the “why” behind why I am doing this 90 day journey. A big part of it is building my mental strength – to not be swayed but what others are doing or saying or in this case, eating. I honestly can feel myself getting physically and mentally stronger as I get into week two of this 90 day journey. And it feels so empowering.

But who said you can’t eat fun foods on keto! (Well, lazy keto in my case.) Look what I found!

An ice cream with only 5 g of net carbs??? Hmmm. I had to buy it.

By the way for those of you who are curious how you should be calculating net carbs this is how you do it:

Net carbs = total carbs – fiber – 1/2 (sugar alcohols)

I read that low carbers typically subtract 100% of sugar alcohols but keto-ers subtract 1/2 to be safe. So I did half!

The reason why you can subtract fiber and sugar alcohols is because they are supposed to be indigestible carbs.

So how did it taste?

Surprisingly REALLY GOOD!!!! Omg I was blown away. It was creamy and the sweetness didn’t taste fake. I had never seen the ice cream brand Rebel before, but it’s legit guys. They had a few other flavors like strawberry, chocolate, and peanut butter too. I’ll need to try it next time!

For dinner, I cooked up some cauliflower risotto. This pack came with asparagus and mushrooms.

I also made myself some chicken drumsticks and poured a ton of sriracha all over everything…but guess what guys? It’s not your normal sriracha!

My friend Michelle of the blog Nom Nom Paleo came out with a better-for-you sriracha!

Check out the ingredients side by side:

First off, you can see that the Nom Nom Paleo Sriracha is sweetened with organic date syrup whereas the regular one uses sugar. Plus it lists tomato, garlic and apple cider vinegar as ingredients – things I actually understand!

So was it good? I was hesitant, because I’ve tried the Trader Joes sriracha and that stuff is no bueno.

Guys, the Nom Nom Paleo sriracha is VERY GOOD. It tastes nearly identical to the “real” sriracha, but in a weird way, almost better? Maybe it’s sweeter. I am not sure. But it is so good.

I think you can find it at your local Whole Foods! Let me know if you end up trying it!

I also had a side salad with some Tessamae‘s lemon pepper dressing. This dressing is great if you’re on Whole30. There’s never any dairy or added sugars in it.

Can’t wait to write to you again tomorrow! Hope you’re having a great weekend.

The post Spontaneity and Victory | Day 10 of 90 appeared first on Blogilates.

OMG this Keto Smoothie is SO GOOD | Day 9 of 90

Jackelyn and I are really trying to do our stretching classes at least 2 times a week, and so far, so good! I am beginning to get lower in my middle splits which is so cool! It’ll take a long time but I am happy there is progress, no matter how small. Honestly – I really never thought I’d ever get there in my lifetime. It just seemed so impossible.

But you know what? I really do believe that if you keep trying hard enough at something, it will happen one day. But to a point of course. This would not apply to things that cannot be changed like your ethnicity and your age, for example. Hmmm…but who knows actually…maybe one day people might choose to identify age fluid? You never know!

DAY 8 RECAP:

First of all, I am SO SAD that my Fit Journal got wet! I accidentally threw a bag of frozen veggies on top of it and didn’t notice until 5 minutes later :(

Anyway, yesterday I did weight lifting at 7:15am with Sam and then later took Stretch class with Jackelyn at 11:30am. After Stretching, my sister and I went to Mendocino Farms and ordered salads for lunch! We devoured them while discussing POP Retreat 2020. Which by the way guys…I’m going to announce the date and location in the next couple weeks! GET EXCITED!!!

I ordered the Chicken Cobb Salad and it was delicious! I took the bleu cheese off because I cannot stand bleu cheese! To me it smells like stinky armpits. Eew.

A couple hours later, I tried the Blueberry Keto Smoothie from Lassens, a local health food store. It was absolutely incredible! But also…$8.99! So I went on their site and checked out the ingredients because I am TOTES going to make this at home.

Blueberry Keto Smoothie Ingredients:

Organic Blueberries
Nuzest Vanilla Protein
Organic avocado
Unsweetened almond milk
MTC oil

Total Net Carbs: 16g

For dinner, I had the leftover koobideh with a ton of asparagus. I squeezed Sriracha all over it and it was SO YUM.

There you go guys! I’m currently playing Settlers of Catan and trying to write this blog post at the same time (in between turns). I’m getting very close to maybe winning, so I need to focus! Anyway, I’ll let you know what happens tomorrow! Have a great start to your weekend!

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