A Journey To a Fit Lifestyle.
It doesn’t get easier, you just get stronger.

March 1, 2021-April 5th 2021

          This one has been much anticipated, and highly requested! I’ll start with telling you this, nothing you do in the gym will give you the results that you truly want unless you’re willing to go all in with the right lifestyle and mindset. This includes having the right nutrition and water intake. Believe me I know you don’t wanna hear that because I never wanted to hear it either! Make sure you pop over to the “Everything I eat in a day” blog to hear more about my journey to the right “food mindset!” 👀🤪🙌🏼 you may see some muscle growth, and it’s still very good for your heart health. But if you’re like me I spent years and years doing endless workouts with little to no change to my body. Don’t skip down to the bottom, SPOILER ALERT- I’m going to be sharing an easy leg work out from my trainer! You can also find her info below, and catch quick Friday fitness tips on my Instagram! 😻✨

A little backstory, maybe this will help you understand my relationship with working out. There were many years where workouts were something I genuinely dreaded. But technically I started working out at a very young age! My parents started me out at the dance academy when I was probably six years old, that developed into me joining the competitive travel team when I was in fifth grade. Honestly, I’m incredibly thankful my parents encouraged me to do this and although I want my children to be able to choose their hobbies, I really want to give them a leg up on their future health by helping them enjoy being active at a young age! 

GO STARLITES! 

From the outside looking in it seemed glamorous. Sequins and pom-poms, fake lashes and slicked back hair! But our practice routines were pretty intense and it showed on the dance floor! From fifth grade until I graduated I was on the HPAC Starlites. Coach Laurie and Kelly did not give us much slack, but it was the BEST environment! It made me LOVE being there and I never realized I was working out. We would have anywhere from 2-4 practices a week and they usually lasted 3 hours minimum. We did a different course of ballet training, as well as strengthing and conditioning with the gymnastic coaches. On top of this, November through May was competition season and we’d have at least 2 a month. Not only did this help me stay in shape growing up, but it gave me a love for just moving my body. It also gave me some incredible quads and calf muscles! 😅🙏🏻

After high school I quickly gained weight. I had no idea the amount of calories I was burning through competitive dance. For me it was not working out, it was fun and artistic. But that quickly hit me when I found myself at least 25 pounds heavier. If I’m honest, it left me in a dark place. Going from eating whatever I wanted and being relatively in shape, to not being able to fit in my clothes and some days that was disabling. I won’t go through all of the different types of workout programs I’ve tried, but let me tell you there were ALOT! If you read my blog about nutrition you’ll recognize this mindset shift I talked about.  

It does not matter what workouts you are doing, it matters what mindset you have. Fitness cannot just be a fad, it has to be a lifestyle change! For years I struggled with my weight going up and down, I had so many different insecurities about my body. There were times I missed out on different events or would show up incredibly late because of how self-conscious I was about how I looked. I’d workout incredibly hard trying different programs. I’d do far too much cardio and no weight lifting, Zumba and body pump classes. At one point I was even starting to love Pure Barre workouts, it reminded me of my early dance days! But realistically none of it was changing my body. Not only because I constantly ate whatever I wanted, including binging on ice cream and sweets, but the consistency wasn’t there.  

Friend, if there’s anything you take from this let it be this, the quicker you get weight to fall off, the easier it is to come back. If you want to be able to find a balance it needs to be a lifestyle change. No more working hard to lose 10 pounds before vacation just to splurge the entire time and gain it all back. The up-and-down roller coaster of gaining and losing weight or trying to gain muscle is exhausting if it’s not a long-term vision for you. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean you have to be a gym rat or never eat the chocolate again! At the end of 2019 my friend Shawn who is a certified trainer REALLY helped me understand how to find this balance. What worked for me was counting my macros (you need a trainer to write this for you), committing to working out 5 times a week, and learning the 80/20 rule (this meant strict diet in the week-but weekends I allowed myself to splurge). This finally gave me results that were sustainable!  

@shawnnjustinee

When it comes to deciding your workouts, I think it’s really important you enjoy it. For me, lifting weights was not enjoyable because I didn’t understand how to do it. There are still some times movements my trainer will give me that I have to look up videos to understand correct form! To start out, start simple. The biggest thing about workouts and diet’s is when it becomes the way you live rather than becoming something you do for a short timeframe. You have to remember it’s those small consistent habits that add up to make a BIG difference. You do not need to go from 0 to 100 with your fitness and nutrition. Start by implementing small habits, cutting out soda and artificial sugars and 30 minute workouts a day. Do this for a few weeks and then challenge yourself again with even more. This is how you can start to incorporate this in your life without burning out. 

March 1, 2021-April 5th 2021

 Finally, I’ve gotten to a point where I truly enjoy eating healthy (with weekly cheat meals and occasional ice cream splurges) and have found my workouts are my ME time! 6 weeks ago I began working with the talented Kristy McAulliffe who owns Hustle Harder Fitness (Instagram: @k_mcauliffee). Kristy is amazing, she has helped me learn SO much with my health, losing more fat, and gaining muscle! 💪🏻 I asked her to share her top tips for beginners with us......

MEET MY TRAINER! 

Tips For Beginners: 

1.DO NOT OVERWHELM YOURSELF WITH TOO MUCH INFORMATION: the internet is full of conflicting nutrition info and exercise info. Start simple if you don’t follow a diet or exercise start with 1 first. It is a lot to do it all at once if you are not doing any to begin with

2. DRINK YOUR WATER

3. Eliminate processed foods as much as possible:  quick tip: if it comes from a box or can it is probably not good for you.

4. GET AN EXPERT (TRAINER) to help formulate the right plan that is correct for you so you don’t spin your wheels and get frustrated.

Kristy McAulliffe is incredible, she’s has completely transformed her body with dedication to nutrition and workouts! She’s currently in prep for competition, and truly knows so much about fitness. Follow her on Instagram @k_mcAulliffe to be inspired! Kristy has helped me begin my transformation to the best version of me too! 🙌🏼😍 

Checkout this effective leg workout she wrote just for y’all! This is a leg work out that can be done at home or at the gym.  It is focused on toning and shaping the quads, hamstrings, and glutes.  This can all be done with weights and bands and can also be done without! 

Contact Kristy:  hustleharderfitness757@gmail.com

Make sure to check my Instagram out to see this workout in action!