Fitness

Plan, Plan, and Plan Some More

/ Dr. Sherri / Leave a comment

Originally published January 21, 2016

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Plan, plan, and plan some more.  Have I mentioned that you should plan?  When setting out to achieve your fitness goals, I have learned that it is key to plan, especially your meals.  Keeping up with a diet or meal plan can be tough, especially if you don’t plan ahead.  When you are crunched for time, it is so easy to stop by the nearest fast food restaurant to pick up a quick bite, ruining your diet for the day.  We’ve all stopped by the “Golden Arches” a time or two when cooking a meal just wasn’t in the plan.

So, how do you create a fitness meal prep, a weight loss meal prep, or a meal prep in general?  What should you cook?  How far in advance should you cook/prep your meals?  Many of these questions depend on you and your personal preferences.

One of the first things you will want to do is figure out your nutritional needs.  An app such as my fitness pal can give you a general idea of your daily nutritional needs.  If training for more specific goals, such as a competition, you should consult with a personal trainer to help you with your nutritional needs.

In a nutshell, meal prepping is preparing all/some of your meals ahead of time.  It’s like creating your very own fast food meal.  Once prepared, you just grab and go.  Of course, it does take a little time and effort, but it’s  definitely well worth it.  I personally only prepare lunch and dinner meals.  I tend to cook breakfast daily.

  • Pick a day of the week that you have extra time to prepare meals.  For myself, it’s typically on a Sunday.
  • You should know ahead of time what you will prepare.  Plan your grocery shopping accordingly.
  • Try to choose foods that can be cooked at the same temperature.  This will save you a little time.  For example, I may cook chicken breast, fish, roasted asparagus, and sweet potatoes in the oven at the same time.  They all cook at various times but utilize the same temperature setting.
    • I typically prepare two proteins, usually chicken and fish.  I’ll eat one for lunch and one for dinner.  I prep about 3 days worth of meals.  After 3 days I get tired of eating the same thing and my schedule permits the cooking of additional meals.
  • If you don’t have time during the week to do additional cooking, you’ll want to prepare your entire week of meals in one day.
  • Make sure you have plenty of containers for your meals.

Some of you may be thinking, “I have a family.  What are they supposed to eat?”  Great question!  My response is simple.  Encourage your family to transition into eating better and living a healthy lifestyle as well.  Initially, it may be a difficult task.  Be creative!  Make eating healthy tasty and enjoyable!

Initially, it may be a difficult task.  Be creative!  Make eating healthy tasty and enjoyable!  Eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring.  Once your entire family is on board, you’ll find that having ready made meals is such a lifesaver!

If your days are anything like mine, you work, pick up the kid(s), ensure homework is completed, and then you’re hauling your children to their extracurricular activities.  A ready made meal would sure come in handy!  Give it a try and let me know what you think! Happy Prepping!

Miss Sherri

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RimSports Workout Gloves

/ Dr. Sherri / Leave a comment

Originally published January 14, 2016

If you workout, then you know that owning a pair of good workout gloves is a must have!  I recently had the opportunity to try RimSports wrist wrap workout gloves.  Initially, I thought they were going to be just a cute pair of gloves for show.  I soon found out, they not only look good, they’re functional as well!  I received my pair in pink and black because I’m a girlie, girl.  I enjoy lifting heavy while preserving my femininity so I appreciated the option of being able to get them in pink and black. No worries men, they do come in all black as well.

These gloves are extremely comfortable.  They run true to size.  I wear a small & the fit was comfortable.  There is a mesh fabric on top of the gloves and between the thumb and pointer, which makes them breathable.  I didn’t have sweaty hands after pulling them off.  However, my wrist area was moist upon removing the gloves.  The wrap support does not get much ventilation.  The wrap support does however, provide adequate wrist stability and support, especially when lifting heavy.  During my workout, I lifted free weights, did presses on the bench, and used various machines.  The grip the gloves provided was amazing.  There was no slip at all.

Overall, these are a great pair of workout gloves, especially if lifting heavy weights and you don’t mind a little moisture around your wrists.  They are cute (for the ladies) and also functional.  Give RimSports workout gloves a try!  Let me know what you think!

Disclaimer:  I received this product free of charge for my honest, unbiased review.

Happy New Year

/ Dr. Sherri / Leave a comment

Originally published January 1, 2016

As the year comes to a close, this is the time that many of you begin to reflect upon your year, thinking about all of your accomplishments as well as areas of improvement.

As I reflect upon my own year, I realize this year has brought upon many changes in all aspects in my life; some good, some not so much.  Learning how to deal with the changes that occur within your life aids in your personal growth and development.  Have you had changes in your life that have forced you to grow?  I certainly have!

Traditionally on New Year’s Eve, people make New Year Resolutions.  By definition, a resolution is a firm decision to do/not do something.  Unfortunately, many people go year after year and never keep those resolutions.  Rather than making resolutions, it may be more effective to set goals.  By definition, a goal is a desired result or something you are aiming towards.  Therefore, if it is your desire to lose weight, eat healthy, etc., set a goal, not a resolution.  Listed are a few of my goals for 2016:

  1. Be a better me
    1. This is always a goal of mine.  This is something that I work on daily.  Daily, I strive to be a better Christian, a better mom, a better daughter, sister, etc.  The saying, “New Year, New Me” is very cliché, but, daily I’m striving to be a new and better me.  When you constantly remain the same, your situation remains the same as well.
  2. Better business woman
    1. This, and all of my goals could fit under my first goal because it’s all about personal development.  I have several business goals that I would like to achieve.  I am elated to report that I have already began putting them in place.
  3. Fitness, health, and wellness
    1. I’m sure this one doesn’t come as a surprise to you.  My goal with this is to remain consistent with both my workouts and my nutrition.  There are many times that I am not consistent with both of them at the same time.  I know that being consistent with my workouts and nutrition (at the same time) will yield the results that I would like to achieve.

What are your goals for 2016?  I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year!

Miss Sherri

In the Beginning

/ Dr. Sherri / Leave a comment

Originally posted October 28, 2014

  • October 2011
  • July 2014

In the beginning of my fitness journey, I had no clue what I was doing or what I was really getting myself into.  Growing up and into my adult year I was always considered “skinny”.  I thought I could eat what ever I wanted and would not gain weight.  Boy was I wrong!  My reckless eating habits eventually caught up with me.  Initially, I was okay with the extra weight because no one was calling me “skinny”.  Apparently the weight gain was more out of control than I thought.  My mother purchased me a scale for my birthday, then weights with a workout video for Christmas.  Her subtle hints clued me in that I needed to make some major life changes.

Like most people, I thought losing weight meant do lots of cardio and that’s exactly what I did.  For about 2 years, my exercises consisted of the treadmill, running, and Wii fitness programs.  I performed them diligently and I did lose a few pounds, but nothing dramatic to write home about.  Last year I began to watch fitness videos on YouTube.  The young lady I was watching at the time incorporated weights into her routines.  I began to do the same I was following along but I still mostly did cardio workouts.

In January of this year, I made a conscious decision to make attempts to get fit and stay fit.  I immediately began surfing the net for workout programs that would yield the best results.  I came across the Butt Bible by Pauline Nordin.  I followed the program for 6 weeks.  For the first 3 weeks, I only did lower body.  I began to see results!  I continued with the program and also incorporated the upper body workouts into my weekly schedule.  The more I saw results, the hungrier I became, the more I wanted to workout and learn more.  Although I was seeing results, something was still missing.  I learned that I needed to change my diet as well to yield the maximum results.  If you ask me, maintaining the diet is the hardest part.

I eventually hired a trainer and competed in the GK Classic, a non-sanctioned competition held twice a year in March and August.  Thus far, I have only competed in one show, but have plans to compete in other shows along with the GK Classic next year.  I have learned many things along the way and still have lots more to learn.  The journey in the fitness world can be both exciting and exhausting.  The awesome thing is you are always working on a better you!