CHIC WAY TO STORE YOUR FITNESS ESSENTIALS

I AM SOOO HAPPY I FINALLLY DID THIS.

My roomies and I ALWAYS have like a million ugly plastic containers on the counter ranging from pre workout to post workout to protein powders and superfoods.

We try to put them away but seriously we use them everyday so they just end up on the counter taking up SO much space and I was just over it.

If it's going to be on the counter all day I at least want it to look good, you know?

So of course I went to arguably the best place everrr (Marshall's) and I bought these three glass storage containers. They were all under 5 dollars....I kinnnnnda want to do this to my entire kitchen now.

And while I was there I got other stuff I didn't need, like this gold tray, this zen candle, conditioner (actually needed) and some rose water linen spray for my bed.

Whatever. We like it right?

....

The big container has my MRM Meal Replacement in it, the small pink one if our pre workout that we love, and the last container is MRM's Sacha Inchi Superfood!

I am going to start putting this stuff in my smoothies everyday!

I was reading about it and apparently it is a seed that grows inside a fruit in Peru that kinda has a nutty flavor. 

• It reduces inflammation ALL OVER YOUR BODY, including our brains so it helps with our mood and headaches.
• They also contain a good amount of tryptophan which helps raise our "feel good" hormone serotonin, which makes us happy !:)
• On top of that it is PACKED with Omega-3 fatty acids which help with our bones, vision, skin, hair, and reduces our risk for diabetes.

So anyways, I've been wanting to tell you guys about these superfoods because they are SO good for us and they're something new that MRM is offering. They have SOOO many to choose from so i'm starting with these and then I'll try a new one when I'm done!

Don't forget!! If you order anything from MRM make sure you check out with my promo code CHELSEY so that you get 40% off!

I would be so bummed for you if you paid full price when you can get it for almost half off lol.

xoxo

WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THIS LITTLE BLACK PILL?

(Currently Listening To: Lying Together by FKJ)

Alright, so have you guys heard of this charcoal pill? 

I got this about 2 weeks ago when I was starting to have some MAJOR stomach issues, and let me tell you what I THINK happened. So like I said before I LOVE L-Carnitine and I've found it to be working BUT I think something doesn't work for me when I take L-Carnitine and then I have a protein shake a few hours later.

Which SUCKS. I'm trying to mess around with it to see what the problem is but I'm pretty sure it's the combo so I might switch over to L-Carnitine pills rather than the liquid. 

ANYWAYS - So I did some research on these pills and found that they are mainly used to effectively treat a body that has been poisoned. Even though thats how I feel, haha I know that's not what happened. BUT I've read on multiple platforms that these pills are also helpful in cleaning out your digestive tract, reducing bloating and gas and can even help prevent hangovers. 

So here's how it works. The charcoal doesn't necessarily absorb the toxins in your body but it rather has the toxins BOND to them (since charcoal has a negative charge and all these toxins in our body have a positive charge - little science for ya). 

Side note: In come cases I am VERY adamant about reading every last detail and every last instruction and for some reason I think I'm noticing that when it comes to natural supplements, I never really read the directions.

(Funny side story: This whole not paying attention reallllly F'd me over a few years ago when I bought some Niacin from whole foods. I read like a million supplement bottles while I was there so by the time I got home with my Niacin, I thought in my head that I was supposed to take 3 Niacin. Little did I know that I was thinking of a different supplement and i was really only supposed to take ONE Niacin. 

So whatever I'm on the phone with my dad and don't double check the amount and just pop three into my mouth and maybe like 10 minutes later I noticed I was getting SUPER hott, and itchy and rashy. I got off the phone, looked at the bottle and was just kind of like "oh shit - well there's nothing I can do about it, i'll deal with this rash for a few minutes."

NOPE. Full on thought I was going to die in my apartment alone as I called out of work. I was SHIVERING and sitting in a bath tub with ONLY hot water on and it still didn't feel warm enough. Freak right?

That episode ended with me crawling out of my bathtub, laying in my bed in my towel while I drained into a 4 hour nap. I remember going to Habit Burger as soon as I woke up, looking like HELL,  to get some sweet potato fries and a veggie burger and this fool was STILL trying to hit on me while I was barely enjoying my meal outside. 

Moral of the story: Read directions.)

Back to what we were talking about.

So this time, I didn't read FIRST about how you're supposed to drink water all day long when you take these pills. i didn't drink enough water because I already felt nauseous and then these pills made me even more dehydrated and then yesterday my stomach was SUUUPER messed up.

Again though I'm all about trial and error so today I had some more charcoal pills and I've been sipping on water all day and my stomach FINALLY feels back to normal so they helped!!

My friend told me that she had these also when she got back from Coachella and it helped ALOT and my roomie used to take them before drinking and said they were a game changer so definitely something to try!

xoxo

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU'RE ACTUALLY HUNGRY.

Seriously though, how many times have you said, "I can't tell if i'm hungry or not". HA. I definitely have and it's annoying because it seems like it should be a pretty basic human instinct.

But I'm someone that reallllly pays attention to my body and why things are happening and what's causing things and blah blah so after doing some research and paying more attention to my body and the actual way I'm FEELING, I was able to learn that the hungry feeling, isn't always what we think it is. 

Here's some major times that I think a lot of us might think we're hungry when we're really not.

The very first second you wake up.

Duuude, there's been times that I wake up and feel like my stomach has been eating itself for the past 12 years. Like I can feel it in my sternum kind of hunger. So I used to just think nothing of it other than HOLY SHIT I'M STARVING then go have 3 bowls of cereal. 

After some research and a little bit of paying attention I realized when this feeling was happening which was when I would wake up much earlier than usual. Which at first didn't make sense to me and kinda made me feel like a psycho because I'm like okay, I'm feeling this way and I really didn't have dinner THAT long ago. 

Here's the situation: Sometimes when we wake up too early, we start to go about our day while our stomach is still doing some maintenance that it takes care of while we sleep. This includes releases certain acids so if we wake up while that process is still happening then it kinda hurts and feels like hunger but it's not.

My suggestion? Honestly what I do is just have a cup of tea or coffee and wait until my normal time that I eat breakfast. After one cup of coffee I feel much better.

Another reason you might be hungry right when you wake up could be that you ate too much crappy food the day before.

Okay this has happened to you guys too right? You cheat like a crazy person the night before and have a burrito like 20 minutes before you knock out and wake up again feeling like you haven't eaten in forever.

When we eat shitty food (lots of sugar and simple carbs) we spike our insulin levels. In order to balance our insulin levels, glucose is released. When glucose is released, it stimulates the appetite section of our brain THUS making us feel hungry again. Get it? This is why I always say to avoid simple carbs! They make you tired and then you feel hungry again quickly.

If you didn't sleep ENOUGH, you'll feel symptoms of hunger.

Two hormones contribute to this:

Leptin and Ghrelin. 

Throughout the day when we get hungry our body will produce the hormone Ghrelin to let us know that we are hungry and that it is time to eat. 

When we get full, our body produces the hormone LEPTIN to let us know it's time to STOP eating. 

When we don't get enough sleep our body starts making more Ghrelin and LESS LEPTIN causing us to feel hungrier. 

If you feel hungry LATE at night

This is a big one no? This coined the "late night snack cravings" phrase that lets everyone think that it's just like a thing that happens. Technically it is but it's not an excuse. When we stay up late we obviously get tired SO our body tries to keep us awake by signaling to us that it needs SUGAR.

It knows that sugar will give us an extra kick in the ass so out of no where you start to feel like you need some chocolate or ice cream or a soda or whatever.

Instead of caving, I suggest just having a sweetened nut milk like almond or coconut and calling it a night. OR just pound a glass of water. Water will reduce your cravings AND give you energy. It's a win win. 

If you're stressed, you'll feel hungry. 

Stress just triggers hunger hormones but at the end of the day, actually eating in a stressful habit is merely a habit. Next time you get stressed, instead of reaching for something to scarf down, try deep breathing, exercising, or journaling.   

So basically, if you JUST woke up and it's earlier than normal for you or you ate a lot of junk food before going to bed and you feel hungry...chances are that you're not. 

If you're low on sleep and feel hungry, try drinking water and taking a nap first.

If you're stressed try the tips I mentioned above.

Have any comments? Leave them below :)

MY DIET AND WORKOUT PLAN BEFORE MIA.

Sooo getting bikini ready for summer in general is usually a big enough motive to kick my ass in gear BUT when you throw Miami into the picture, a girls gotta step up her game, right?

I'm already picturing bright bikinis, plain cheeky bikinis, sun hats, and margaritas!

BUT i've realized that I am straight up THE WORST when it comes to depriving myself of things. As soon as I say I cant have ANY alch or ANY sweets, or ANY extra carbs, I LOAD UP.

I don't know why but I know a lot of girls do this. So what i've learned is thatI have to set mini goals in order to get to the big one and that usually always works. 

For example, instead of saying "I'm not having any drinks until we land in Miami", I'm just not going to have any drinks from Monday - Saturday, & I'll allow myself drinks on Sunday. Same goes for extra carbs. Like have you guys seen that zoodle pasta i've been making on my snap ? (CHELSEYROSE) The cous cous I put on that is seriously SO GOOD that if I don't put it in the fridge as soon as I get my serving out for lunch, then i'll pick at it haha.

But if i'm strict with myself throughout the week then I don't feel bad about having more on Sunday. 

Okay, anyways, I'm blabbering. 

Here's my plan for the next 2 months!

Breakfast: My green protein Smoothie (LOW SUGAR!) or my blueberry breakfast smoothie (just because I'm hooked on these right now & I can eat the same thing for literally months. + they're obviously loaded with ALL NATURAL INGREDIENTS and will give me fuel without making my digestive system use up too much energy first thing in the morning.)

Workout: So I have ClassPass & I freaking LOOOVEE it. If you do have Class Pass I suggest doing what I just started doing which is booking four days worth of classes at a time. I would do more if I could but the max is 4. I pick at least one cardio class like Spin or a boot camp HIIT type of class, one Yoga class, and two sculpting classes like barre or pilates

Days 5 & 6 are just whatever sounds good or whatever I feel like I need. My schedule has kind of been to do a hard ass class on Saturday afternoon since I take Sundays off and then I slowly get back into the workout week with Ariel Yoga on Mondays, then take on that 4 day schedule. 

Scheduling your workouts is a HUUUGE way to be successful with your bod goals. The hardest part about working out realllly is showing up. Your mind will try to stop you 10 million times before your body does. Your body WANTS to go. 

If you don't have class pass and you workout at home or go to the gym, I'd suggest this schedule:

Monday: Walk uphill for 30 minutes

Tuesday: My booty Blaster Workout before Lunch

Wednesday: 20 Minute Intervals ( 2 minutes quick walk, 1 minute SPRINT)

Thursday: My HIIT Game

Friday: 30 Minute run + This Abs Workout ( It's harder than it looks!)

Saturday: My full body at home workout as featured on The Body Book. 

Okay MOVING ON!

Lunch: Always a protein and greens or healthy carbs and greens for me. I believe in a diet high in protein, greens, and healthy carbs and low in fat. That doesn't just mean "low fat" titled foods. those are actually usually always worse for you because companies replace that fat with sugar. It means I try to make even healthy fats my least consumed micronutrient. I've found that that just works better for MY body AND I was influenced after reading the China Study. (Read my review of the book here). BUT as always - do what is best for you and always consult a doctor before starting a new eating plan that you are unsure of. 

I love making Zucchini Noodles with a spiralizer (Some are as cheap at 10.00 bucks like this one on amazon!) & then I add 1/2 cup of couscous to it + lemon. SOOO GOOOOD.

Or I'll make a HUGE arugula salad + 1/2 cup whole wheat pasta.

Or my cilantro Salad <3

Honestly right now I'm SO GOOD with those three options. I'm obsessed with how these dishes fill me up but don't make me sleepy, they're all vegetarian and made with fresh ingredients! I have to stay on the go, I don't have time to crash in the middle of the day so I don't eat anything too heavy.

Snacks: Okay. The flax seed tortilla chips from Trader Joes are my shit. I love snacking on those with their pineapple salsa. 

Jimica + hummus is bomb and refreshing because jimica is packed with water. 

1/2 cup cous cous - because sometimes I just can't resist.

A Juice. Right now I'm loving NAKED's New Cold Pressed Juices. Found them at VONS.

Still with me? Almost done :)

Dinner: I always always always no matter what, every night of the week have a salad with dinner. 

I don't think it's necessary to completely avoid carbs for dinner, but I do take a very small portion...like maybe 1/4 cup grains of quinoa, sweet potato or brown rice if I'm in the mood.

Then I'll do some kind of protein like beans or fish and then my salad. But honestly I'm a HUUUUGE fan of bowls. I actually think I eat every single meal out of a bowl HA. 

I like to mix everything together. So i'll do a bowl of cauliflower rice with egg whites and veggies and make a "stir fry" or quinoa + veggies and shrimp if i'm feeling fancy...because shrimp is soo FANCY...

Or just another huge salad + grains because I really am obsessed. 

The idea here is everything is natural ingredients, no animal meat, milk , cheese or yogurt, lots of water and coffee or tea. 

I count ingredients NOT calories and I set small goals. 

I hope this helps you figure out a schedule for yourself! 

xoxo Chelsey