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What Happened When I Eliminated Eggs, Sugar, & Caffeine For 28 Days

March 5, 2019 by Tamara Leave a Comment

This post could have easily been titled “I Gained 15 Pounds in 2018” because I did. Towards the end of 2018 between numerous bought of sickness that spread like wildfire throughout our home and the ridiculous amounts of baking I did over the holidays I discovered I had gained 15 pounds after ringing in the New Year.

I was actually fairly surprised because I didn’t really feel heavier. I honestly hadn’t even been paying attention to how I looked in the mirror. When you have 4 kids time management becomes very important. I could probably win a gold medal at this point for how fast I can go to the bathroom, change a diaper, and get myself and all the kids dressed ;).

In February I knew I wanted to overhaul how I was fueling my body and also commit to exercise more consistently each week. So here is what I started doing.

WHAT I ELIMINATED FROM MY DIET

I eliminated 3 main things from my diet that I knew weren’t helping me. Eggs. Added Sugar. Caffeine.

Eggs

I had been so good about staying away from eggs the last few years but slowly in 2018 I attempted to eat them again, mainly by baking cookies and cake. I discovered several years ago through an elimination diet that eggs gave me severe skin rashes and swollen eyes. In fact the day after I took my before picture that I am using in this post I developed the most horrible all over body hives and swollen eyes I have ever had in my entire life. I had to go to the doctor and was prescribed steroids because they were so bad.

Added Sugar

The amount of sugar I was consuming was ridiculous. The American Heart Association recommends the maximum amount of added sugars women should have each day is 25 grams or 6 teaspoons. Most days I was consuming well over this amount. For the month of February I used this recommendation and only ate natural sugars. Meaning no candy, juices, cookies, cakes, breads, pancakes, etc…but instead more fruits and I used maple syrup as a sweetener.

Caffeine

Hi. My name is Tamara and I am an iced tea addict. I love iced tea. I don’t drink coffee or soda but I would take a China Mist iced tea anytime of day. I had been having a really hard time falling asleep the last few months even though I was so tired. So I ditched the tea and focused on drinking more water.

WHAT I HAVE BEEN EATING

When I first wake up I drink a glass of room temperature water. Then for breakfast I have a smoothie with spinach, frozen dark cherries, banana, avocado, chia seeds, water, and a scoop of this protein powder. For lunch and dinner I have either chicken, salmon, or tri-tip with lots of vegetables which is usually a salad or a sweet potato with avocado. I just discovered this dressing and love it.

For snacks I have been making a fruit parfait with siggis yogurt, the Fitnessista amazeballs, or more fruit. Each week I have been trying to drink at least 3 green juices. I am also drinking about a gallon of water daily and making way more trips to the bathroom ;).

MY EXERCISE PLAN

I will be sharing more on this in the next two weeks but I wanted to have a plan to follow because I am always more successful when I have one. I decided to sign up for one month of Gina’s Home Workout Warrior Live plan. I am so glad I did! It came with 5 days of workouts each week and a meal plan. I haven’t really been following the meal plan because of eliminating eggs but it was still worth it. I have 1 more week to go before I am finished. I started this plan on Monday February 11.

THE RESULTS

I feel so much better overall. I am so happy with how I am eating now and that I started exercising more consistently again. I don’t normally weigh myself but I decided I should in February and I lost 6 pounds. I went from 150 and now I am 144.

Before & After Eliminating Eggs, Added Sugar, and Caffeine

I think it is so important whenever you do make a change like this to track also how your body feels, not just how you look. My periods had been off the chart lately with cramping and heavier bleeding and this month it was so much better! My skin also didn’t break out before my period either which was so amazing. I am sleeping better and have so much more energy. My head hits the pillow lately and I am out. I sometimes even fall asleep before my husband shockingly. And he makes sleeping look like an olympic event by how quickly he can fall asleep.

So there you have it! This was an honest look into the start of my fitness/wellness journey for this year. I love the accountability this blog has provided for me during other times in my life and knew I wanted to connect back to this space again for this reason. I am off to get to sleep because I will be up soon enough to exercise and spend time in the bible before the kids wake up. Thanks for reading :).

Filed Under: Fitness, Health, Nutrition, Personal Tagged With: 2019 Fitness/Wellness Update

3 Day Split Workout

October 1, 2018 by Tamara Leave a Comment

Building muscle mass and gaining strength are fantastic goals to have. It can sometimes be challenging to know how to begin to program a routine that will yield these results. I have you covered with my 3 day split workout program that can be done at the gym or at home. You will need moderate to heavy dumbbells that you are able to lift for multiple sets of 8-12 reps. If you have access to a barbell that will be super helpful but you can always substitute with dumbbells if needed.

BENEFITS OF A 3 DAY SPLIT WORKOUT

A spilt workout is a strength training method where you train different muscle groups on different days of the week. This method allows you to spend more time on each muscle group and train with more intensity than a total body workout, plus it also allows your muscles more time to recover.

3 day spilt workouts are easy to follow and are the perfect fit if you are having a hard time making it to the gym or even to squeeze a workout in at home. These workouts will challenge you but they are doable and you will feel so accomplished after you have finished your first few weeks with this type of program.

WARM UP

Here is a suggested warm up to follow before you start to workout. It is always a good idea to warm up before a strength training program to reduce your risk of injury.

30 seconds plank walkouts
60 seconds walking lunges
10 arm circles (each arm)
30 seconds jumping jacks

CHEST, SHOULDERS, & TRICEPS

This workout is a dropset, which means that for this workout you will repeat each exercise 3 times but each time the rep amount will decrease. Be sure to wait 60 seconds after each exercise to let your muscles recover before moving on. For example rest 60 seconds after you have completed the 12 flat bench presses before moving on to do 10 reps of the same exercise. In order to gain muscle mass and strength it is hugely important to let the muscles recover. If you don’t need the rest time you are probably not using weights that are heavy enough for you.

LEGS

The leg day workout is structured differently. There are three separate circuits that you will repeat 3 times each before moving on to the next. After you have completed the circuit be sure to rest 60 seconds before repeating again. Repeat the same circuit 3 times before moving on to the next. This one is a bit of a doozy but it is fun and challenging. You shouldn’t be bored.

BACK & BICEPS

The format for the back and biceps workout should look similar to the chest, shoulders, and triceps workout because you will be going back to the dropset format. The only difference is that for the one arm rows and alternating curls be sure to do the full rep amount on the right arm and then the left arm. Again rest 60 seconds after each exercise but only after you have done the right and left side of the body.

SUGGESTED SCHEDULE

Monday: Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps
Tuesday
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday:
Friday: Back & Biceps
Saturday
Sunday

You have lots of flexibility with how this 3 day spilt workout would look but I like to separate each workout by at least a day. You can of course add in cardio on your other days but don’t feel like you need to do that. Remember walking is great as is swimming if you have access to a pool.

This is the first time I have ever shared this type of workout on my blog before. Please let me know if this is helpful and if you would like to see more workouts like this.

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Filed Under: Fitness, Workouts Tagged With: Strength Training

Movie Workout: The Greatest Showman

September 24, 2018 by Tamara Leave a Comment

Josh and I watched The Greatest Showman several months ago for the first time and it quickly became a family favorite. It also became the new soundtrack for our family dance parties that happen daily. This movie just makes me happy when I watch it. The dancing, the singing, and costumes are all amazing.

Our oldest is dressing up as PT Barnum for Halloween this year and I am in the process of sewing his coat. Wish me luck.

This soundtrack has been on repeat in our house for the last few months. I have shared only one other movie workout on the blog it was for Frozen. So it has been awhile since anything like this has been posted.

You can do the workout while you are watching the movie or you can do it listening to the soundtrack. The soundtrack version of this workout is tough because there is no rest and you are working for 39 minutes straight. For the entire duration of each song you will either rotate between two exercises or do a single exercise.

Disclaimer: Not all exercises are suitable for everyone and this or any other exercise program may result in injury. To reduce this risk of injury, please consult your doctor before beginning this, or any other, physical fitness program. Any user of this workout assumes the full risk of injury resulting from performing the routine presented.

You will need a set of heavy weights for the deadlights, squats, and rows, medium weight for biceps curls, presses, and lunges, and light weights for triceps kickbacks. You will also need a stability ball for the pikes and hamstring curls.

For the entire duration of each song you will either rotate between two exercises or do a single exercise the entire song. For example on The Greatest Show you will perform 5 plank walkouts followed by 10 alternating lunges and repeat until the song is finished. Challenge yourself with those burpees on The Other Side and see if you can hold the plank for the entire duration on A Million Dreams (Reprise).

Please feel free to modify as needed. Take your pushups to the wall and sub out any core exercise that works best for your body and where you are today. If jumping is not your thing skip the burpees and just sit down and get up and down the floor to your feet. You will still be sweating after 3 minutes of doing that, trust me.

Enjoy and have fun singing and sweating while you are working hard :).

Filed Under: Fitness, Workouts Tagged With: At Home Workout, Movie Workout, The Greatest Showman