Simply your not so average 19-year-old girl with a passion for clean eating, cooking, lifting heavy things, and living to the fullest. My determination is what keeps me going. I have bigs goals, big dreams, and I'm going to reach them, no matter what it takes me to get there
HealthyValerie's Summer Challenge | 10.00$
86 days out - Quads progress ?
The picture on the left was taken a month ago, and the picture on the right this Monday. There might not be a HUGE difference, but I can feel my quads becoming tighter and stronger everyday. My legs (excluding my calves because they’re atrophied and will never grow) have always been the hardest body part to develop for me. I have a pretty strong upper body, but long skinny legs.
I’m 86 days out today, and will be exactly 12 weeks out this Saturday. WHAT, ALREADY ? Time goes by so fast ! I will have to put that on my coach’s radar. It may seems like a long way to go, but when you reach the 12 weeks out mark, it’s usually when things get a little harder. Your diet gets tweaked, you have more cardio, you have to start practicing your posing, etc. But I’m excited for this phase of my journey and I will give my 100% every day. Like my coach and teammate Theresa Jenn always say ‘‘You have to take it one day at a time”.
Banana Coconut Pancakes
The thought of eating my yummy breakfast is what gets me out of bed every morning. Usually, I make a myself a bowl of peanut butter and banana oatmeal and cook some egg whites to eat on the side.
But this week, I’ve been making these babies every morning and I’m totally IN LOVE. I tweaked my original pancake recipe a little bit so it fits my food plan, but it really has the same texture and consistensy (think fluffy and thick !)
Ingredients
Pancakes :
- 35 g oats (or 1/4 cup)
- 5 egg whites
- 70 g (or 1/4 cup) cottage cheese
- 1/2 banana
- 1/8 cup unsweetened COCONUT almond milk
- 1 packet Stevia
- 2 drops of coconut extract (the taste is very strong, so don’t add too much !)
- 1 tsp baking powder
Topping :
- The other half of the banana
- 1 tbsp coconut butter
- 3 tbsp sugar-free syrup
How to
1. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor/blender
2. Heat a small skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray.
3. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side. It makes 3-4 small pancakes.
4. Frost the pancakes with the coconut butter. Cut the other half of your banana into slices and top your pancakes with them. Add the sugar-free syrup on top of everything and EAT !
If you try this recipe, take a picture, post it on your blog or Instagram and tag it healthyvalerie so I can see it :)
Valerie’s Clean Peanut Butter Cups
Clean Peanut Butter Cups anyone ? These have always been my favorite chocolate, but obviously they aren’t on my competition prep food plan. I’m also still not allowed any cheat meal because my coach is adjusting my carb, protein, and fat intake to see to what my body responds best. So, I have to find creative ways to satisfy my sweet tooth. The original recipe if from my teammate Theresa Jenn, but I tweaked it a little bit to make it more like a real peanut butter cup ;)
Ingredients
Chocolate :
- 2 scoops chocolate protein powder
- 2 tbsp pure unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3-4 packets Stevia
- 8 oz water
Filling :
- All natural peanut butter or any other nut butter of your choice
How to
1. Blend all the ingredients for the chocolate. Remove from blender and let it sits for 5 min in a medium bowl.
2. Drop tablespoonfuls of chocolate mixture into paper-lined muffin cups. Top each with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter ; top with another tablespoonful of chocolate mixture.
3. Freeze for an hour. Take one or two out of the freezer, let them sit for 5-10 min (they will come out hard as rock !), and ENJOY.
More pictures for your viewing pleasure …
98 days out - Starting my FitnessPrint plan
Sorry I haven’t been able to update this blog this week, but I was very busy with school, work, and starting my program.
Sunday night, my coach sent me my workout plan and food plan for the month. I started Monday and have been following it perfectly this week. The best part is that since I’m still in my muscle building phase, I have a lot of food options to choose from. I’ve been eating whole wheat pasta, peanut butter and banana oatmeal, and even a bit of cheese everyday this week. Talk about some yummy food ! I am a happy camper :)
The workouts are great too, very challenging. I can’t wait to put on more muscles and then start leaning out. Seeing my body change is the most fascinating thing about this whole process.
Unfortunately, on my day 3 of weight training, I torned my right bicep muscle. It started hurting when I got back from the gym, and it’s still very painful at the moment. I don’t know how I did it because I was properly warmed up before my workout and kept a perfect form in every exercises I did. I’m taking anti inflammatory and icing it, but I have to rest. This means I can’t go to the gym for upper body today. First week into my program and I’m already injured, just my luck … Keeping my fingers crossed that it heals really quickly so I can continue to follow my workout plan by Monday.
I might not be able to update my blog this week because I have midterms, but I’ll try my best !
Just wanted to give a big shoutout to my amazing client Danielle ! It’s only been 3 weeks and her transformation is AMAZING. And it’s only the beginning ! Can’t wait to take her futher in her journey to a healthier and stronger self.
Today, I decided to join Team Blessed Bodies to guide me in my journey to the stage. I bought my very first FitnessPrint program and I will be coached by the beautiful and talented Fatima Leite Kusch. I’m starting my program April 1 and I couldn’t be more excited !
At first, I really wanted to do my competition prep all by myself, but I came to the conclusion that if I wanted to bring my best package on the stage July 13, I needed some more help and motivation. The girls in this team are all so inspirational, I know they’re really going to give me the extra push I need.
Can’t wait to share more with all of you !
110 days out - One of those days …
Today was one of those days where the body could not follow the mind. I woke up with the worst DOMS I’ve had in a while. My entire body was sore, and I was feeling weak and tired. All day at school, my head was spinning and all I wanted to do is fall asleep.
I walked to the gym after class with the intention of crushing my chest and tricep workout + some cardio. I was ready, I wanted to give my 100%, but my body could not follow. My head was pounding, and I felt SO weak, I was barely able to carry my 2.2 L water bottle. Imagine trying to lift some dumbbells, nearly impossible. I still managed to finish my weight training session, but it was clearly not the best I’ve had.
So tonight, I’m taking some medicine, drinking tea, and going to bed early. I think I’m getting sick, so I will do everything I can to feel better. Hopefully I’m fine tomorrow and can hit the gym for quads ?
Lesson learned today : listen to your body, it knows best
112 days out - Post-Workout Meal
After a brutal back & biceps workout followed by some sprints on the treadmill, I needed to refuel. Since I’m trying to put on muscles, I need to eat a lot more carbs (I’m aiming for 200-220 g a day). So, I made a stack of my delicious pancakes, but DOUBLED the recipe ! Not all the ingredients were doubled, but I used 1 cup oats, 2 eggs, 1/3 cup almond milk, and 1/4 cup cottage cheese. Topped with 1/4 cup mixed berries that I microwaved for 1 min and 1 tbsp sugar-free syrup. The result :
Can you say YUM ?
113 days out - Core Routine
Today, I worked hammies, glutes, and ABS. For my abs, I did :
- Superset 1 - 3 sets each : 1. RKC Plank (1 min) 2. Dip Station Bent Leg Raise (20 reps)
- Superset 2 - 3 sets each : 1. Decline Crunch (10 reps) 2. Decline Oblique Crunch (10 reps) 3. Plate Side Bent (20 reps)
You will definitely feel the burn. Enjoy !
