There is a day that folks who are on a weight loss journey look forward to. It’s kinda like Christmas morning and your Birthday all wrapped up in one.

It’s the day you not only ‘get’ to but ‘have’ to downsize your clothing!

While my weight loss journey, which has been filled with lots of ups and downs, quite literally speaking! and is still is progress I have reached the point that many of my clothing items don’t fit because they are too big now!

So on this day I am going through what is truly a ‘right of passage’ for anyone on a weight loss journey. It’s important for me to really take a look at how each item fits so loosely and really take time to take in this transformation. It’s the best positive reinforcement and motivator ever! As I gaze into the full length mirror I can see how far I have come and also where I want to be. I see myself, my body, transforming like a butterfly…. it’s amazing, it’s surreal and I am grateful!

I was noticing my clothing choices as I sorted through them. Hmmm.. mostly all dark colors, mostly all black…. because that color is supposed be ‘slimming’ right? Where is anything bright and cheery colored?, guess those colors are just for folks who aren’t  ‘fluffy’ or ’round’…like me.  
 
Sure I had a few items that had color but always paired them with a little black jacket. always trying to hide my body, hide myself. Hoping nobody would notice what was obvious … my weight.

For the last few months, when I go clothing shopping, I look for items with color.. Items that are bright and cheery… like me! I learned something during my ‘right of passage’ day… I don’t want to hide behind dark colors anymore.. That’s not who I am and not who I ever was!

So the happy ending and moral to my story, at least so far since it’s not over yet, is this: Represent yourself everyday for who you truly are, don’t let society or fashion trends tell you who you are or should be. It doesn’t matter where you are in your weight loss journey… be who you are now…  turn up the color …. you are beautiful!
 
Staying in true form, I was morphed into my very colorful ‘cartoon self’ this month by my wonderful Biggest Loser friend Christa!  (she’s vying for a spot on BL13) …. my Avatar proudly drinks DesignerWhey/Biggest Loser Protein 2GO in what else but delicious Lemonade flavor! Hope you all are having the best summer ever! See you back here in September! 
 
Stephenie   

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Ever feel cranky?  You wake up in the morning and EVERYTHING goes wrong?  Sometimes I feel like I cannot pull myself out of my morning slump.  I open my eyes and sluggishness takes over.  A slug has taken over my eyelids. Yuck!  I step out of bed, drag myself to the kitchen, step in the dog’s bowl of water, and discover the house is a mess.  The counters are still dirty from the night before.  There are toys on the floor and a mountain of laundry to put away.  I am in a bad mood!  Grr!

So what CAN help me out of this bad mood?  One thing that helps me is proper nutrition.  Foods can increase our energy or deplete our energy.  One of the biggest energy suckers is sugar.  There are many negative side effects to sugar, including feeding cancer cells, increasing your risk for Alzheimer’s, contributing to hormone imbalance, and gaining weight and fat.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want ANY of those side effects.  My daughter, Britney, wanted to let you know that sugar causes sugar bugs in your teeth!  And they probably do not exist, but cavities definitely do!

Do you think food does not have an effect on your brain chemistry?  Think again.  Everything we put into our bodies becomes a living part of us.  So choose wisely.  Today!  Every day! 

Ever cruised the aisles of the grocery store and wondered if the food is good for you?  I did not used to think about all of the bad stuff in our food.  Now when I go through the grocery store, I see aisles and aisles of stuff that will not help make my body healthy: crackers, chips, candy, cereals, prepackaged foods, and frozen meals.  Many of these foods have extra ingredients that are not really food. 

There is great stuff out there!  You just have to find it!  Even in the prepackaged, frozen foods, and chips and crackers departments!  Just do your research and read ALL the ingredients and know what they mean.  It takes time to get knowledgeable about nutrition.  I have heard from two friends of mine recently about a popular brand of chips with MSG, which is not listed on the label, causing them headaches.  MSG, food dyes, and other additives are not going to help us get healthy.

So what is safe?  Designer Whey has a great healthy product, low in fat, high in healthy whey protein.   My personal favorite, French Vanilla, is sweetened with a natural sweetener called Stevia   Awesome!  I enjoy knowing that my kids get the taste of sugar without the side effects of weight gain and craziness that sugar can cause in kids.  Britney would also like to let you know too much sugar can make you wild!  Watch out for that!  We do not want any wild kids, grown-ups, or grown up children!

So, here is my soothing Cranky-Attitude Busting Smoothie: 

Strawberry Bliss

1 scoop French Vanilla Designer Whey Protein Powder
6 – 8 Strawberries
4 cubes ice
½ cup Coconut Milk, Organic Milk, or Organic Soy Milk
1 small piece ginger – less than 1 tsp
1/8 cup pistachios – Roasted and Salted is fine

Blend well and enjoy!

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Hey Everyone!

Well it’s been a crazy couple of weeks, but we’re (finally) settling in nicely. I’m so glad that summer is here in full swing.

So, my inspiration for this post came from my recent trip to the local market, where I saw a bag of fresh key limes. Immediately my mouth began to water as I imagined a cool, creamy key lime pie (which is one of my all-time favorite dessert flavors).  However, at six weeks post-partum, I just received the “okay” to start exercising and finally working towards my goal of fitting into my pre-pregnancy jeans. Obviously making (and eating) key lime pie isn’t exactly a step in the right direction!  However, I recently stumbled on a recipe for Lemon-Buttermilk ice pops and thought “What if I can tweak this a little to taste more like the key lime pie I’ve been craving and make it a little (or a lot) more healthy?”

Now I know what you’re thinking, Buttermilk? In an ice pop? Weird. But stick with me here. I’m not one of those people who enjoy a nice cold glass of buttermilk. In fact, it has always tasted a little like spoiled milk to me (but I love to cook with it!). So when I ran across this recipe I was intrigued. Well, after a few adjustments (including some good ol’ French Vanilla Designer Whey), it’s now one of my (and my daughters’) favorite summer time treats!  Buttermilk provides a creaminess and tang that balances the key lime flavor perfectly, without adding a heavy amount of fat and calories. It just works! These ice pops are not only super delicious and refreshing, but a cinch to whip up. I also feel confident letting my girls make this with only minimal help (and mess!). Not to mention I love having a homemade dessert in the house that is healthy, too.

Somehow I have a feeling that “Key Lime Ice Pops” will be enjoyed in our house a lot this summer… hopefully in yours, too!

Till next time!

- Andrea

Key Lime Ice Pops (Adapted from Whipped)
2/3 cup Stevia-in-the-Raw
5 TBSP fresh key lime juice
2 TBSP key lime zest
Pinch of salt
1 scoop Designer Whey French Vanilla Protein Powder
1 2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk

Whisk Stevia, lime juice, lime zest, salt and protein powder in 4-cup measuring cup until sugar dissolves. Whisk in buttermilk.

Divide mixture among ice pop molds and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours and up to 5 days.  (Yields 6-8 ice pops, depending on mold)

Total nutritionals for entire recipe: 278 Calories; 32g Protein, 0g Fiber, 6g Fat, 25g Carbs, 22g Sugar.

Per popsicle (Yield 6): 46 Calories, 5.3g Protein, 0g Fiber, 4.16g Carbs, 3.6g Sugar.

Posted in Andrea M. | 3 Comments

Week 3 is over! Boo-to-the-yah people.  I had quite a week, with an impressive high and a bummer of a low.  I’m excited to tell you all about it- what I learned from it and maybe there’ll be a nugget or two in there for you as well.

So, let’s keep this positive to start…  I got myself a little thing called a runner’s high.  I used to get them during weekly training runs- and could even solicit this phenomenon on command every time I raced.  I would call it a euphoric state where everything physically, emotionally and spiritually is in synch.  The pain from running is numbed, endorphins are tapped and you feel like you could go forever. 

Well, Tuesday I was doing some light interval work at a grassy park near the beach and it just hit me.  It began as an ice-cold prick down the back of my neck- then my stride lengthened and my chest heaved in rhythm.  I started sweating really hard too as my body began to push itself through the workout. My calves have (and still are, thank-you-very-much!) killing me.  I knew that changing up my running surface to something a little more soft like turf would make sense…  just look out for ankle-twisting gopher holes!  That, coupled with the cool ocean breeze was invigorating… I hadn’t tapped the adrenaline reservoir in years… at least not from running.  I will be sure to make at least one of my sessions this week at the same park- running with expectation for similar results.

Now for my low… don’t worry, I will spare you the details…  but I yaked…  puked, vomited, upchucked, barfed, chundered, regurgitated, spewed (we love you Garth), threw up, heaved and tossed my cookies (I think there was a boot in there somewhere)…  all at the same time! I was praying to the porcelain god, I tell you what!  What? I didn’t give any graphic details- it’s your imagination, people.  Well, without saying much more- I was messed up.  I had just completed a Thursday workout and was feeling sick coming down the home stretch.  What happened was I’d eaten much to close to my work out.  Let this be a lesson to you all…  running after you’ve just eaten is bad- your body no likey. 

It’s amazing to me how in just one short week I experienced such a dramatic shift.  One day I felt like I was flying and the next I was just trying to make it back to the office!  Yes, this is the part where I relate my time out on the road to life.  I can’t help it people, life is far too short to waste breath telling you about my pukefest, my barf-o-rama, my– sorry, you get the point. I want to make substantial connections to what I do in my everyday life with my life’s purpose.  I want my time here to be meaningful- to have value and be of substance worth sharing.

What I realized this week is that there are circumstances that are out of my control.  They may be successful in bringing me down and/or building me up.  Like my dad used to tell me, though- don’t go around with a control panel on your chest giving people and situations full access to push your buttons.  I am not as interested in the potential the situation has on me, but in the potential in me to overcome this situation!  I think it’s futile to obsess and worry about what may be…  it’s not a matter of if, but when because this life ain’t perfect, folks.  Energy, time and a commitment spent toward a productive will-do/am-doing attitude are a far better investment. 

As I begin my fourth week, I will be ready for the ups and downs in my training regiment and as I discussed in Week 1, I will remember the good times when I’m fighting the bad ones.  Ice those calves and have a great week- leave me some comments (did I miss any chunky synonyms?) and I will see you next time. Thanks for sharing in this with me.

Posted in David Ewing | 1 Comment

Last week the Designer Whey Facebook page had a post asking about your favorite summer berry.  I know that blackberry was the winner, but (as much as I love blackberries) raspberries have always had my heart.  So to all my fellow raspberry lovers out there, this blog’s for you. 

When I was growing up, we had raspberry bushes along the length of our backyard.  In the summertime when the berries would “come on,” my mom would always tell us to let them be (since they were meant for her infamous raspberry jam).  Knowing that the berries were” forbidden” made them all the sweeter, and nearly every day a few handfuls would disappear into our eager mouths.  Looking back, I’m sure that my mom was well aware of our “secret” raids on the precious berries (I’m sure our stained hands and mouths, scratches on our arms and plenty of guilty glances toward the kitchen window gave it away), but rarely did she say anything. 

For the past few weeks I have been anxiously waiting for raspberries to arrive in our grocery stores. Frozen berries are great (I use them almost daily in my smoothies), but there is something special about the taste and texture of freshly picked raspberries.  I always try to capture that taste in all of my recipes, but while frozen berries provide the chill and thickness in a smoothie, they don’t possess the level of freshness that off the vine berries afford.  How could I keep the smoothie texture without using lots of ice and watering down the delicate flavor of the berries?  After numerous attempts (and a few failures!), I finally arrived at what I think is a perfect balance of freshness, flavor and texture. Why not freeze my liquid ingredients?  So here it is – my NEW favorite smoothie… for this week anyways. 

Till next time!

Fresh Raspberry Summertime Smoothie

1 cup fresh raspberries, divided in half

1 scoop Designer Whey Strawberry Protein Powder

2 Tbsp ground Flax seed

1 cup plain yogurt

½-1 packet Stevia

3-4 cubes So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk (ice cube tray purchased in Target’s dollar section)

½ cup So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk

Method

Combine ½ cup raspberries with the remaining ingredients, blending very well (the coconut milk ice cubes freeze extra solid.) After desired consistency is achieved add in remaining ½ cup raspberries and pulse 3-4 times, just until combined (this is the key to maintaining the “fresh” flavor!) Pour and enjoy!

Posted in Andrea M. | 2 Comments

Here are five reasons why cross training needs to be part of your 5K training schedule:

1. You’ll improve your cardiovascular fitness, your chance of injury, balance out all of your muscle groups, while improving athletic performance

2. Ask runners to name one benefit of cross-training, most of them will tell you injury prevention. Injury prevention is by far the most widely recognized benefit of cross-training among runners, but it’s hardly the only one

3. Cross training can enhance a runner’s ability. By increasing a runner’s power, you can  lengthen of your run without getting fatigued 

4. Cross training creates a balance within our muscle groups and gives us stability and flexibility that can enhance our overall performance and training.

5. Cross training helps you avoid running burnout

CROSS TRAINING IS FUN!
No matter how much passion you have for running, if you do it often enough or run the same route, it will become boring.

 Most humans crave variety and get turned off by monotonous exercise routines. Cross-training helps you maintain your enthusiasm for running, making it possible to train harder and more consistently and ultimately to perform better in races.

WHAT IS CROSS TRAINING?

Cross training includes cycling, spinning classes, weight lifting, swimming, elliptical machines and yoga, just to name a few.

Cycling – It’s easy on the joints, strengthens your legs, & builds endurance

Weight lifting – Builds strength, develops legs muscles so they perform better for running

Swimming – It’s a great overall muscle toner, and strengthens your lungs

Elliptical – great for taking stress off the joints and getting your cardio in

 TWO HOT WAYS TO CROSS TRAIN:

If you’re looking to challenge yourself with something new, try TRX (www.fitnessanywhere.com).  Designed by a Navy SEAL as a go-anywhere workout, TRX is a complete total-body training tool that helps athletes and fitness enthusiasts take their performance to the next level. The TRX Suspension Trainer is built around a set of nylon straps that create resistance from two sources: your body weight and gravity.

Need another great cross-training option? Take a Kettle Bell Class (www.kettlebelltraining.net), now offered at many gyms across the country. Kettle Bell workouts are the ultimate in cutting edge strength training. Cast iron bells are used to develop the correct blend of strength with flexibility for maximum fat burning and muscular endurance. Kettle Bells will shred your mid section, tone your legs and strengthen your back while pushing your cardio capacity to the limit. 

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Run on a soft surface, if and whenever possible. Running is such a convenient form of exercise because you can run on just about any surface, anywhere you like. But not all surfaces are created equal – some have a greater impact on your body and can cause stresses which can ultimately affect your knees and other joints. Studies show that if you run on softer surfaces, your running career will last longer. Ideal surfaces include grass, trails, a track, a treadmill and sand, as long as they’re flat and even. Concrete and asphalt, although the most common, are toughest on your joints.

Posted in 5K Training | COMMENT ON THIS BLOG

Maintenance. That has been quite a scary word since my finale last December. Everyone warned me about it, but I would always think to myself that it would be a whiz. Peace of cake! Truth be told, the daily struggles of maintenance are something that I believe I will deal with for the rest of my life. 

Like I’ve stated before, I went back to lifting weights soon after my finale. I hit the weights hard and put myself on a muscle building program with the help of ProteinBlitz’s 60g of protein per serving. I figured I would need all the calories I could get while building, so my eating got a little out of control. Now, it is nearly physiologically impossible to pack on a bunch of muscle without adding on a little fat as well. So for three months I bulked and bulked and bulked. I was working out a lot so I felt as though I needed those calories to add muscle, but I took in more than I could handle, so my weight jumped up more than I expected. It was kind of like a slap in the face when I stepped on the scale. 

I needed to change things up. For the last two months I have been in the cut phase of my program. I had to trim a little more than expected, but I knew it had to be done. I increased my cardio and actually added more protein shakes with the Protein Blitz while dropping my overall caloric intake. I’m proud to say I’ve actually dropped more than 15 pounds, but more importantly, I’ve packed on even more muscle than before. I’m two notches in on my belt, my pants are a lot looser, and I’m actually starting to see abs again! Who knew they would come back. 

I feel unbelievable right now. There are two weeks left until the next Biggest Loser finale and I will be the on stage correspondent for DietsInReview.com. I was almost dreading doing it in the shape I was in a couple months ago, but look forward to doing it in the shape that I am in now. I can’t wait to wow everyone with my new muscular frame. I pick things up and put them down! 

Note: Mark Pinhasovich received free product in exchange for his blog. 

Posted in Mark Pinhasovich, The Biggest Loser | COMMENT ON THIS BLOG

For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a Mom.  So when it came time for me to have my own children, it was very important to me to ensure that I had healthy pregnancies. As the newest contributor to the Designer Whey blog, I’m excited to share my personal experiences and a few tricks I have learned along the way for raising a health conscience family. For all of the Moms out there, you know this is no easy task!

Pregnancy can be filled with aversions, cravings, dos and don’ts, you name it! Not to mention well- meaning family and friends who encourage you to “eat for two” at every turn.  It’s very easy to get caught up in all of this, put on excess weight and not maintain a healthy diet.  Not only is that frustrating, but it can also create problems for you and your little one.  The way I see it, YOU are responsible to give your children the best start in life that you can. It’s only nine months, right?  (Only?!?)

One of my biggest challenges with this pregnancy has been eating a healthy breakfast. I know I need to, but when I first get up in the morning the LAST thing I have wanted to do is eat something good for me. Being a mom of two already, mornings can be rushed and hectic. Get the Hubby out the door with his coffee, my oldest off to school WITH her lunchbox and keep my toddler from melting down if things don’t go exactly as planned. (And I’m doing this again why? 

Protein is a vital nutrient in pregnancy. Not only is it the basic building block of your body’s cells, in turn it forms the building blocks of your baby’s body, too. The recommended daily amount for a pregnant woman is 70 grams per day, that’s 25 grams more than usual. When you are supposed to only add 300 calories a day to your diet, this can be tough.  Using Designer Whey has been a godsend for me! I can make one big batch of smoothies in the morning, feel good about what I am putting into my children and ensure that I am making a healthy (and yummy) choice for my baby. Not to mention my kids think I’m a hero when they get to drink a Chocolate Berry Cheesecake “shake” first thing in the morning!

My morning protein smoothie “habit” (I say habit, because now I can’t go without one!) is helping me to maintain a healthy weight gain for this pregnancy. As of 35 weeks, I have gained 27 pounds and I feel really good about that.  Keeping a healthy balance (amidst the chaos of everyday life) often seems to be a full time job in itself.  So to all my fellow Moms out there (pregnant or not), hopefully my journey can help to make your day a little easier.

Until next time!

Andrea

 Chocolate Berry Cheesecake Smoothie:

1 scoop Designer Whey Double Chocolate Protein Powder
½ cup low fat cottage cheese
2 TBSP ground flax (optional)
½ cup frozen mixed berries
½ cup almond milk

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Enjoy!

Posted in Andrea M. | COMMENT ON THIS BLOG

One of the great things about living in Utah is we have four beautiful seasons. However, I think we may be the only state to have two seasons in one week. We had frost and snow on Monday and today its going to be 80 degrees. Yesterday, as I sat at my daughters track meet watching my son eat a snow cone I couldn’t help be a little jealous (because I am trying to watch how much sugar I eat) that I was “enjoying,” plain water. Well, this morning as I was preparing for day two of the track meet I decided I could also have a frosty treat. I’m going to attempt to make a Lemonade Designer Whey Protein 2Go®  icee. Doesn’t sitting in the sun sipping frozen lemon aide sound wonderful! I love Biggest Loser Protein 2Go® Lemonade!

Enjoy your weekend

Burgandy

 Burgandy Keel received free product in exchange for her blog.

Posted in Burgandy Keel, The Biggest Loser | COMMENT ON THIS BLOG