Happy Sunday!!!  I’m sitting here getting my thoughts in order for the week.  As a busy mom and lots of things to do this week I HAVE to be prepared or my to do list and responsibilities are going to take over my health and fitness!!!  Do you find this happens to you?

Do you constantly put others needs before yourself?  Do you put yourself on the back burner?  Do you justify why you SKIPPED your workout because your kids or husbands needs were more important than yourself?  It’s ok, it happens and it’s totally normal!  Now it’s really important to stop letting that be an excuse.  It’s time to empower yourself.  You can start with making a daily to do list.  Whether it’s first thing in the morning or before you go to bed each night make a list.  The best place to make a list is somewhere that you will have it with you at all times.  For me that is on my iPhone.  I have a running list of the things I need to do each day.  Then, I set priorities to my list. There are usually 3 or 4 things that MUST be done today and your health and fitness should be a priority!!  The things that can wait until tomorrow and that won’t impact your immediate financial and physical success go on the medium priority list!  The things that are nice to do go at the bottom.

So this leads me to how I prioritize my family, our to do list and my list.  Everyone has the same amount of hours in their day the same amount of days in the week but WHY ARE SOME OF US SUCCESSFUL VS OTHERS?  It’s because the successful ones decide that they are not going to settle for ordinary, that they are going to be extraordinary.  Sometimes that means forgoing my evening TV show or an extra hour of sleep.  I believe that my Sunday morning meal planning and preparation is what makes me stay on track through the week!  Printing out my meal plan and placing it on my fridge gives me a quick easy reference for what to do each week!

Prepping snacks and my lunches keeps me from running late and deciding to eat out for the day!
Also making it a priority to get up early before my family wakes up allows me uninterrupted time to plan my meals but also allows me to be done by the time they wake up!  Family is so important so finding that balance between yourself and them is KEY!!  Don’t mistake that for an excuse to forgo your meal planning, but a reason to make a sacrifice!!!!

So starting tomorrow I not only am kicking off my STRIPPED challenge group but I myself am going on the 28 day STRIPPED MEAL PLAN!  It’s a month until VEGAS and the ANNUAL BEACHBODY SUMMIT and I want to be in tip top shape!  You always feel better when you know you are eating as clean as possible, working out and feel lean.  Last year I followed the Stripped plan and I really felt amazing.  I wasn’t starving myself or crash dieting it was basically limiting certain food groups and the serving sizes per day of starchy complex carbs, cutting back the dairy and limiting good fats to 1-2 servings a day!  This plan not only gave me energy but it made me feel really amazing!  Belly bloat was gone, sluggish evening feels disappeared and my abs never looked better!  When they say that ABS are made in the kitchen they are NOT joking.

Here is my meal plan for the week.  Notice lots of veggies and Shakeology is my life saver for a snack option.  I know that I’m getting the nutrients my body needs to fight cravings, to have more energy, to stay healthy and to keep my portion control in check.  I lot of people are afraid of meal replacements or protein shakes but this is not your traditional protein shake!  The quality of your food is so important.  If you do not like a lot of foods or veggies then this is a really great way to make sure that you are getting NUTRIENT DENSITY each day!  Nutrients are so important to your body.  I know you can’t see them and it’s hard to understand what effect they truly have on your health but they MAKE A HUGE difference.  People who started drinking Shakeology have decreased joint pain, cravings, fatigue, and so many more!  You have to give it a try!  If you want to try it, I have single serving packets available that you can purchase and try!

If you look at my meal plan you can see a trend.  A lean protein at each meal and a complex carb from a fruit or veggie!!!

The book I followed is the Eat Clean Stripped, Tosca Reno.

I am using her meal plan as a guide and substituting my own proteins in for the ones that I do not like.

My workouts are Body Beast and Insanity as a hybrid workout and I will be posting my progress pics as I go!

The key to my success has always been the challenge groups.  I know that if I have to report in to someone that I am much more likely to stay on track!  I hate having to tell my accountability partner that I let them down!!!  So join my next Beachbody Challenge group and learn tips like this as well as many many more!!!

More links about the Clean Eating Stripped Plan:

http://melaniemitro.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-stripped-meal-plan.html

http://melaniemitro.blogspot.com/2011/08/eat-clean-stripped.html