Tony Horton's Sticky Bars

This goes down as one of my FAVORITE snacks EVER! It's full of complex carbs, healthy fats, natural sugars and ingredients... oh man, just so mouth watering. If you love peanut butter and bananas like me, you will LOVE these sticky bars straight from the man himself! #TonyHorton

I did make one little tweak that you won't find if you look up his original recipe, and that's the type of granola. Tony recommends an unsweetened plain granola. When I first went out for the ingredients to make these yummy bars myself, I couldn't find any such granola, and picked Bear Naked's Blueberry Granola. Can I just say: "best decision ever"?! It gave it a little kick that I don't think I'd want to go without now!

So, here are the exact ingredients and steps I used when making them!

Tony Horton's Sticky Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup Bear Naked Blueberry granola
1/2 cup crunchy all natural peanut butter
1/2 banana
wax paper or aluminum foil



Preparation:

-Mix and mash granola, peanut butter, and banana in a bowl until mixed well.
-Spoon mixture onto wax paper or aluminum foil, and roll into a "log" shape.
-Stick in freezer for at least 2 hours.
-Remove from freezer and slice into pieces!

Enjoy as a post workout snack, or healthy snack on the go!

WARNING: You may just become addicted. 



With love,

Unexpected Lifestyle Choices That Lead to Weight Gain

There may be little choices that you make each day that are leading to weight gain, and you don't even know it! Sometimes, weight gain may be so much more than just exercise and diet, but let's explore some of the unexpected lifestyle choices that could be reasons for your increase in weight, or reasons that your body is less able to shed the unwanted weight!

-Going to sleep super late: not only would this probably lead to getting less sleep throughout the night, which can cause weight gain in itself, but there is also a higher likelihood that you are in turn eating more throughout the night! Watching TV late at night is another factor in possible weight gain, since late night TV watchers tend to mindlessly munch on snacks without realizing how much they're really taking in! Try easing into going to sleep earlier by 10-15 minutes each night, and if you do indulge in some late night TV, portion out your snacks instead of grabbing the whole bag of chips, or sip on some water or tea!

-Having your fridge and pantry be too full: this may sound a little strange, but in this case, too much of a good thing may really be a bad thing! Even if it's lots of fruits, veggies, and lean meats, if we have so much food in our fridge that we don't know where to start, we will probably feel pressured to eat much more than necessary each day to assure that our fresh foods don't go bad! Instead, try planning out your meals and getting only what's necessary for the week ahead! That way, you will have everything portioned out and not feel overwhelmed to eat more than you need to.

-Being stressed: Just to stress you out even more, being stressed all the time can make our brains send off all different kinds of hormones and stress adaptors, causing us to turn to coping mechanisms that are not so healthy! Ever felt bad about someone making you feel bad, and you wanted to turn away from exercise, and turn to all of the pasta and brownies? Moral of the story: DITCH the negative nancies in your life, and cling on to the positive pollies! Ain't NOBODY got time for someone who's always down and bringing you down with them!

-Your body is missing certain nutrients: this is why I am so strongly against diets that try to force you out of certain food groups, like "no carb" diets or "sugar free" diets. Our bodies NEED all of those nutrients! It's not necessarily about eating less than you are right now, but eating right. Being low in certain vitamins and nutrients causes our bodies to weaken our immune and metabolism systems, causing us to feel weak, low in energy, and more likely to turn to caffeine and sweets to help that. Point blank: eat ALL of your foods, and eat them right! If you find that you have a hard time getting all of your nutrients and vitamins in, I have always turned to Shakeology, because on busy days, I can be the same way. It helps me rest assured that I have ALL of my daily goodies in!

-Traveling for work/Vacations: it's a no brainer that vacations can lead to weight gain, because, well, vacations mean vacation FOOD! But if you're constantly on the road for work, or a vacation-holic, try to think ahead by packing lots of your own healthy snacks, and making smarter decisions at the restaurants you are eating at. You can still enjoy your juicy cheeseburger, just try taking off one of the buns, and ordering their fresh steamed veggies instead of fries. That's a solid 1,000 calorie save just in those 2 decisions! Don't let a 5 day vacation or work stay ruin a month's worth of hard work!

-Eating with bigger plates: When we eat meals with really large plates, sometimes we can feel that we didn't eat enough when our food doesn't cover the plate, even if our portions were actually correct- our minds have a funny way of doing that! Try eating on a smaller plate. Your food will probably cover the whole thing plus some, and it'll have you feeling more full and satisfied at the end of it!

-Eating too fast: Sometimes we are in such a rush, or we are so hungry that we scarf down whatever meal we have. That's one of the reasons I always try to eat many small meals throughout the day, because I have always eaten way too fast! That way, I will never get so starving that I eat badly or too much. But if you do get to that point, just slow down! The faster we scarf our food down, the longer it takes for our bodies to register what we have just consumed. Therefore, we fill our bellies up way too full before it would've realized how full it was- causing our stomachs to stretch out a little more each time we overeat.

As you can see, a healthy lifestyle can be SO much more than diet and exercise alone! If you have been making lifestyle changes by daily exercise and a healthier diet, and still not seeing the results you want, try some of these tactics out and let me know how it goes!

With love,

Not So "Healthy" Health Foods!

Hey everyone! Today I want to talk about foods that may seem healthy, but are really not! One of the best things I ever started doing was paying closer attention to the labels of foods I was about to buy and consume- I  never realized the possible dangers of some of the foods I was eating, that were claiming to be "healthy!" (i.e. granola bars full of processed sugars and hydrogenated oils)

Before the list of "not so healthy 'health' foods," here are guidelines I always try to go by when grocery shoppnig:

1) READ THE INGREDIENTS! If the list of ingredients is longer than the intro to the novel you're reading, it's probably not a product that should be stored in your pantry. The rule of thumb is that the shorter the list of ingredients, the better. Or, if the list is fairly long, but they are all whole food ingredients that you recognize, then that's good too!

2) SHOP THE PERIMETER OF THE STORE! One of my challengers started the 21 Day Fix with me a couple of days ago. She messaged me so excited saying, "I just had a HUGE realization! Most of the foods we need to be eating are all around the outside walls of the store, and barely on the aisles in the center." I was ecstatic, because that is exactly right! There are very few items that should be consumed throughout the center aisles.

The staples I get to store my pantry usually only involve: long grain brown rice, whole wheat bread/tortillas/English muffins, plain oatmeal, plain yogurt, herbs and spices, natural peanut butter, honey, and all fruit jam, and the occasional frozen veggies (fresh are ALWAYS better, but frozen is better than nothing). Most everything else you need should be around the perimeter of the store: fresh lean meats, fresh raw veggies, eggs, fresh fruits, lean cheeses, deli sliced sandwich meats, almond/skim milk... you get the picture! :)

3) DON'T LET THE LABELS FOOL YOU! So many fast food chains and labeled grocery store items claim to be "sugar free," "fat free," "whole grain," etcetera etcetera. It can be infuriating to think that we are making the healthiest choices possible, when really these marketers are totally FOOLING us into buying their seemingly healthy product, that is really cheaply made and full of unwanted chemicals that are not made to be ingested into our bodies. This isn't to say that I don't sometimes choose the options that are lower in fat, as long as that doesn't mean ingredients in the product are being replaced by even worse unnatural ingredients, or that the low fat content isn't being made up for by loads of sugar and carbs.

Not So Healthy "Health" Foods to Avoid

(and safer alternatives)

• Yogurt: I already try to stay away from dairy as it is, but yogurt does have some really great health benefits. However, most commercially made yogurts are full of sugar! The ones that claim to be "sugar free" are then full of other unhealthy processed sugars. Try to stick with unsweetened yogurts and sweeten them yourselves with  honey, a little stevia, and some berries. I love Fage plain yogurt!
• Dried Fruit: I used to think I was making a healthy alternative by chomping on some dried pineapple and mango, but it was amazingly and sickly sweet for a reason. Again, this option is loaded with sugars, as well as oil and sulfur. Not to mention that they stack on the calories SO easily. It's crazy how many calories such a small amount consists of! There are some healthier options, though- I enjoy the unsweetened, unsulfured craisin options!
• Granola: like mentioned above, a lot of companies throw "gluten free," "low fat," and "organic" on a box to make us think we are making great choices with their products. However, low fat can mean being loaded with unnatural and harmful oils, sugar, and lots a' calories. I really enjoy making recipes like Tony Horton's Sticky Bars instead!
• Frozen Dinners/Canned Soups: I wanted to group both of these together because they are both so loved for the same thing- convenience, but both not good choices because of the same thing: SODIUM. Loads and loads of sodium! Even the "low sodium" soups typically have 400mg or more of sodium. I highly suggest steaming your own veggies and cooking your lean ground turkey for soups and chilis, and trying meal prepping for the week if time for cooking is not on your side!
• Wheat/Whole Grain Bread (AND crackers): I used to group "whole wheat" and "whole grain" breads all into the same category. I figured the darker the bread, and the more seeds and grainy looking they looked, the healthier. But then I found out that they are NOT all created equal AT ALL! In fact, no matter what that bread looks like, unless it says "100% Whole Wheat," I repeat.... 100%!!!! Then it is faux branding! Any other bread is hardly any better than white bread, which immediately turns into sugar=fat in your body. Check these choices for hydrogenated oil, as well!
• Fruit Cocktail/Fruit Juices: No matter how many "real fruits" it's made out of, it's still LOADED with sugars. Stick with water as much as you can, and eat real fruits as much as possible.
• Protein/Meal Bars: I still consume these all the time, don't get me wrong, but they are definitely NOT all made equally! Make sure you really read the labels on these- some claiming to be "protein bars" have 5g of protein and 13g of sugar. Ummm negative. Keep on eye on those ingredient lists, and try to keep it below 200-220 calories and less than 8-9g of sugar. Rule of thumb: protein bars should NEVER have more sugar than protein!
• Sushi: Again, I love the stuff and eat it regularly. However, so many people (including me in the past) think eating sushi is automatically healthy. Unfortunately, that's not the case. A "Crispy Shrimp Roll" laid out is literally a heap of white rice, fried shrimp with even more fried toppings, and usually a bunch of mayonnaise and fat based sauces. Those rolls are also easily 800+ calories! Opt for the basic California Roll, or those rolls that have fresh or raw seafood, brown rice, and a higher content of veggies and avocado.
• Cereal: One unfortunate thing I've noticed over time is that some of the cereals claiming to be the healthiest, have even more sugar than Reese's Puffs! It's ridiculous when you really check the labels. If you just can't give up that yummy cereal, try for those that have lower than 200 calories and 12g of sugar a serving- Kashi Go Lean is a great choice!

These are the guidelines I try my best to follow each time I head to the store and shop for Stephen and I. I hoped I helped someone else reading this, too! :)

With love,

21 Day Fix: Round 1!

So, here's the thing about the 21 Day Fix.

We all want to get fit, and thin, and toned, FAST. We don't want to have to workout for hours a day and deprive ourselves of delicious foods, only to consume 1,000 calories a day. In fact, we'd rather be eating ALL DAY; we'd rather have our entire meal plans totally spread out for us, almost like having little color-coated containers for each food group that we could just fill that would show us the EXACT portions of what we need to eat for the food group.

Oh wait...

21 Day Fix does ALL of those things!!!!!

21 days of only 30 minute workouts. Color-coated tupperware containers for each food group. A certain number of those containers per day depending on YOUR personal body. Fill the container with a food from that group, and eat. Seriously start eating probably more than you EVER have before, and LOSE WEIGHT.

How about then losing up to 15 pounds in those 21 days? Yeah. Of course that would vary by person and body type, but I promise, you WILL get phenomenal results if you follow the meal plan and workout videos.

I am a soon to be bride, and with the results I have seen so far from this program, I am ecstatic to begin it ASAP! If you are ready, do this program with me in my upcoming online fitness challenge group for extra support and accountability! Lord knows I'll need it!

Are you in?! Because, honestly, why WOULDN'T you be?! Get it here now and I will contact you with how to start the program together! :)

With love,

My Beachbody Transformation Story

As many of you already know, my life has been COMPLETELY changed forever by Beachbody programs and Beachbody coaching.

I wanted to make this YouTube video as a chance to show what Beachbody has done for me in a three minute nutshell. I would have NEVER imagined just 6 months ago that I could EVER be in the shape that I am now, and that just 3 months ago my life would have brought me to become a coach with this incredible company.

Beachbody coaching has allowed me to leave my Pre-K teaching job and work from home. I now have the ability to make a full-time income without sacrificing time with my family and friends. This is MOST important to me when thinking of my future, and when Stephen and I decide to *GROW* our family of two!

I never wanted to have to work all day and come home exhausted to my children while they were being raised in a daycare. I know that so many women and families must do that to get by, and I have so much respect for them. But when I realized that did NOT have to become my future, I took this business opportunity and worked on it every spare moment I could around my full-time job to get where I am today and CHANGE the course of my life and my future families' lives!

I want to always be present with my husband and my children. I want to always spread my knowledge and passion for what Beachbody programs has done for me with EVERYONE I know around me!

I know some people can get turned off by the word "coach." I did in the beginning, too! I was thinking, "I am no fitness expert, and DEFINITELY not a nutritional expert. How am I supposed to 'coach' others?!" But that is not up to us. As Beachbody coaches, we are people JUST like you who fell in love with a Beachbody program and the results we got from them, and we want to help others find programs to fit their needs so they can get the same successful results. ANYONE can become a Beachbody coach, and ANYONE can make a significant income from it!

In fact, many people sign on as coaches just to get the 25% discount on all of their future orders! Not to mention, military members and their spouses can coach for TOTALLY FREE!

So please enjoy my video, and feel free to comment or e-mail me (a_corry@aol.com) with any questions you may have. My goal is to help YOU find a Beachbody program that will fit your specific health and fitness goals, in as little time as possible from your home. I haven't stepped foot into a gym in over 6 months, and don't plan on having to ever again!

If you think having extra accountability and support from a small group of others going through the same journey sounds like something you'd love, sign up here!

If you think becoming a COACH on my time sounds like a wonderful opportunity and something you would be interested in learning more about, send in an application here!

Thank you so much for your time and I look forward to hearing from you!