Chapter 1

They say it takes four weeks for you to see a change in your body, eight weeks for your friends and family to, and twelve weeks for the rest of the world to. So it begins, day 1 of my 12 week challenge to go from 24.5% body fat to 18%, to lean out and gain more lean muscle mass, to become that bombshell buried inside. I ordered an awesome tank top from FitPanther that says "Earned Not Given" in a medium as kind of my motivator/goal to rock at the end of my 12 week challenge. I will have a hydrostatic body test done in six weeks to see my progress and see if things need to be changed and then again at the end of the twelve weeks to see if I've accomplished my goal.

A friend told me "Fail to plan, plan to fail" which is really true especially if you're taking on a challenge like this. It's important to have a workout plan and it's important to have a meal plan so you stay on track and make the progress you want. I will be following the weight training program found at www.bidybuilding.com/fun/womans_lean_sexy_bible.htm and adding in some HIIT and longer runs for some cardio. My cousin Brett put together a macronutrient profile to follow which will have me carb cycling (having the highest amount of carbs on leg day, a medium amount on the days I work my arms, and the least amount on rest days)

 

So it comes together to look a little something like this. Once that was done I needed to start planning out my meals for the week that would fit into it. Then came the grocery store!

 



Meat, nuts, dairy, fruits, vegetables, little bit of whole wheat pasta, and of course one needs copious amounts of Tupperware!!! (And a food scale is mighty helpful)

So on the menu for this week we have:

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Pie:

I got the idea for this recipe from http://paleomg.com/almost-5-ingredient-pizza-spaghetti-pie/

I used lean Italian turkey sausage and ten minutes before it was to be done I added a bit of fat free cheese and lean turkey pepperoni and let me tell you IT WAS AMAZING!!!

 

Cauliflower Pepperoni Mac N Cheese

Got the recipe from Deceptively Delicious but I used fat free cheese, fat free cream cheese, almond milk, and coconut flour. I also added in some more lean turkey pepperoni because hey why not?!

 

Spinach&Feta stuffed Chicken Breasts

 

 

 

 

Pretty simple things but food prep does take a lot of time. I don't usually have time to do two sessions in a week so I do it all at once but I find I stay more on track when I do plan ahead. I also have Brussels sprouts, salad, and sweet potatoes in store for my veggie fix. For snacks I have greek yogurt ( I add different things in it to keep the flavor interesting), different types of nuts to give me those healthy fats, protein shakes (my fav brand right now is Cellucor!!! It blends great with water or you can add it to yogurt, cereal, baking, you name it!) I also drink a tooooooon of water throughout the day...no exaggeration...I pee like every twenty minutes haha

Well I guess that wraps it up for my plan as far as the challenge goes. If you want to see my daily self fitness motivators or how I put these recipes into action follow me on instagram: JBuckle87
Thanks for tuning in ; )