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I Made It Y’all

Previously In The Life Of Erika

I know there is a lot going on in the world right now, but I’m going to take a moment to talk about this. Just shy of two years ago I took this very hike (Ramona Falls) with my dad. It was just a few months after my 7 year relationship/marriage ended. I remember vividly how I was feeling back then. I put on a brave face and acted like everything was fine, when in reality my life was crumbling around me and I was more broken than I had ever been. I felt like I was drowning financially, mentally, and emotionally. I saw no end in sight… I was broken and lost. I remember sitting here taking this original picture with a smile on my face, praying that I would get through this time in my life…

2018

In the two years that followed I moved from my home to a townhouse, from that townhouse back to my parent’s house, I lost both of my surviving grandparents, made a pretty drastic job change, and I had my heart broken a time or two in there. I felt as though my life was nothing but a shit show, for lack of a better word. However, in that same two years… after about a year itself, finalized my divorce and paid off all of my attorney fees. I had been drowning in debt during that time as well and I will as of this next week have what’s left of that debt completely paid off. To top it all off I was able to purchase my first car completely on my own… I made it through what seemed like a never ending storm and I did it all on my own!!!

Today we made that very same hike and I sat in that very same spot… Two years later. The woman sitting there with a smile on her face, has a real smile on her face and in her soul. I fell countless times but I refused to give up, I regained my independence and my confidence. I am finally healed from those experiences, I have put back the pieces of my life that were left and created a new life that I am so proud of. A life that I couldn’t be more excited to live!

2020

A Day In The Life, Fitness

Traveling & Keeping on Track!

Previously In The Life Of Erika

Summer time is when most families are traveling and ours has been no exception. We have been to San Diego, Coeur d’Alene, and Maui this so far this summer. I know, I know that’s a lot of travel in a short amount of time with a baby. Those tips, tricks, and “how does she do it?” will be saved for another blog post! Getting back on topic… As most of you know I have been working on losing baby weight and getting back in shape, which is still going well, and the most important part is not letting myself get derailed while traveling with my little family.

Before I get too far into this topic, I want to give you a little background information. When I first started this journey 4 years ago I has ZERO self control when it came to eating out or attending events where food would be around, food I knew I shouldn’t be indulging in. I pretty much became a hermit, I had a horrible relationship with food. It gave me anxiety, made me depressed, and negative. Looking back, the amount of self control I’ve gained over the years amazes me. I am so proud of how far I have come! I now see food as fuel and do my best to make better choices when I do find myself eating out.

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I don’t know about you guys, but when I am traveling I find it hard to take a bunch of prepped food with me. A day or two sure, but 5 days worth of meals is A LOT! Instead I take ziplocks of my protein with me, grilled chicken (if I can), and completely prepped meals if I can. In situations where I find myself at a restaurant I look over the menu carefully and look for things that would be cleaner options. Now lets be real for a moment… When I look at a menu I really want the pasta or a cheeseburger, and it can be hard to go with something else. In those moments I reflect on why I eat the way I do and train the way I train. I have goals. Will that cheeseburger or pasta help me reach my goals? Probably not. Not to say that you should deprive yourself and never ever have food like that, I mean come on! We’re human, well at least I am… I will indulge in something like that when I have a refeed/free meal. Do I regret it? Absolutely NOT!

When eating out I typically order a meal with either chicken breast or sirloin steak, some form of steamed veggie, and a carb (potatoes or rice). Some people feel awkward about making special requests on their orders. In my opinion, you’re paying for it so get exactly what you want! Ask for your chicken without any sort of glaze, ask for steamed veggies not cheesy, ask for plain garlic mashed potatoes and not loaded, it’s okay! You’ll come to find that eating cleaner while eating out can still be satisfying and delicious. My favorite part about making those choices in food is that I am not bloated! The other nice thing is that I don’t feel like I’m going into a food coma after.

Making small choices daily can help you change your life and create a long term healthy lifestyle!

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Fitness

Meal Prep For The New/Busy Mom

Previously In The Life Of Erika

So I’ve come to the conclusion that I cannot meal prep in mass quantities. Right now I’m lucky if I get to eat enough times a day regardless of having prepped meals, and then the food spoils before I do get the chance to eat it. So a couple of weeks ago Jordan and I decided to hit up Costco for our latest grocery needs and I hit the mother load of meal prep essentials for the new/busy mom!!! I have switched from my fresh veggies and meats to the just as healthy but much more convenient frozen versions. Did you know that you can literally buy a 10 lb bag of frozen chicken breasts for $20 at Costco?? Overall I was paying more for the unfrozen chicken, and I could never remember to put it in the freezer before it would go bad so it was a total waste of money. Now I’ve got this massive bag in my freezer and I can easily pull out what I need in the morning and it’s thawed by the time I need it! I usually prep one breast at a time and it gives me enough meat for two meals. The greatest thing about it is that it will not go bad on me!!


When it comes to the veggies they also have massive bags of fresh frozen ones. I grabbed a giant bag of broccoli, green beans, and asparagus. The broccoli and green beans were only around $6 a bag, such a great deal!! Of course asparagus was more expensive, it always is no matter what but its amazing and so worth the $10 per bag at Costco. I’ve mainly been using the broccoli because I’ve been craving it all the time, for whatever reason. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the giant bag, to find several smaller microwavable bags inside of it. Each smaller bag gives me enough veggies for about 3 meals or so and they taste SO fresh! They are never soggy or mushy, they always come out perfectly and it makes it so much easier than chopping up a giant crown of unfrozen broccoli by hand. Switching to frozen foods has cut my meal prep time in half!!

For my carbs I’ve basically stuck to white rice, yeah I know everyone always says use brown rice but I make white rice fit my macros and most of the time I prefer it. I throw it in the rice cooker while I’m either continuing to prep other food or playing with Grayson and it’s a no brainer, I measure it out when it’s done and I’m good to go! A new staple for me and a yummy way to get my fats in are these individually packaged cups of guacamole. I LOVE guac, it was my biggest craving when I was pregnant and it has just stuck with me since I guess! Anyway they are 80 calories per container and I don’t have to do any sort of measuring, I scoop it out into my rice and mix it in for some extra yummy flavor. Take my word for it, it’s BOMB!!

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Another new staple in my diet are Kodiak Cakes, pancake/waffle mix that is a great source of protein! It also feels like you’re getting a yummy cheat treat, while fitting your macros perfectly. Many people like to make their own protein pancakes from scratch, which is also great but I am not someone who has the time to do that most mornings. These are a quick and easy way to get a meal in and change things up from my usual eggs and oats. They are also delicious, my husband will tell you first hand because he pretty much eats them every morning too! Costco has them for a limited time, so stock up while you can!!

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I hope this post was helpful to some other moms who have been struggling to find some balance between taking care of themselves and their little ones! Happy prepping!!

Fitness

Fitness Challenges!

Previously In The Life Of Erika

To start off this new year, now that I am recovered from delivery and my emergency surgery, I am ready to jump back into my fitness routines!! I have been meal prepping for both myself and my mama bear, which has been awesome! Since moving I haven’t found anyone who understands or has similar goals health and fitness wise, so it has been really hard to keep myself motivated. Back in Idaho and working in a gym I was surrounded by people who had the same goals as I did, it made it SO easy to stay on track and focused on my fitness goals. That’s definitely one of the things I really miss about being there, having people who “get me” and understand my goals. Not to say that I have really put myself out there since we moved, I haven’t… Not even remotely. So to help myself stay motivated I have signed up for a couple of fitness related challenges and I am so excited to get going again! For me to stay motivated I need to have some sort of goal in mind, or I will inevitably fall off the wagon. Yes I’m a personal trainer, but I’m still human!

While I know my overall chances of winning a big challenge are slim, the fact that it provides me a goal makes it totally worth it! The difference between a dream and a goal is a deadline! I love that quote and it’s very applicable to my life right now. Anyway, the first challenge I signed up for is the Bodybuilding.com 250k Transformation Challenge. It runs from January 11th to April 3rd, so it’s a 12 week challenge and at the end they will choose one male and one female overall winner. There’s also the possibility of winning “People’s Choice” prizes, 5 $10,000 prizes. I signed up for this same challenge last year, shortly after I found out I was pregnant. Trying to lose weight/get shredded while pregnant aren’t usually recommended, so obviously I didn’t complete that challenge. This year I am ready to give it my all!! If you’re in need of a goal/deadline here’s the link to sign up, you must do so before Jan 10th 250K Transformation Challenge

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The second challenge I signed up for is a little more personal for me. I signed up for the Jessie’s Girls 3k Challenge, which also begins January 11th. The prizes for this one are more exciting to me, $1,000 cash, a surprise visit from Jessie, and becoming a Jessie’s Girls Ambassador.

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The reason this challenge is more personal for me is because I have met Jessie on two separate occasions. The second time she remembered who I was, which made me feel incredible. She meets tons of people all the time, so the fact that she remembered me made me feel special. The first time I met her I was taking the Axiom in House Certification at the Park Center location. We were on a break and she was there for a photo shoot for Bodybuilding.com. Naturally I stalked her for a little while, don’t act like you don’t do that to people you consider “celebrities”. Anyway, I noticed she had a spare moment so I approached her. She was unbelievably friendly and down to earth, she asked if I wanted a picture and had one of her camera guys take it for us. I had just lost a considerable amount of weight and she was one of my biggest inspirations. I was able to talk at length with her about my journey so far and my goals for the future, she gave me her email and told me to keep in touch. Via email we discussed my goals more in depth and especially when it came to my goal of competing in a bodybuilding competition. She advised me to not take short cuts and do it all the natural way, when it came to my body. She knew of too many women who had taken all sorts of crazy fat burners and other performance enhancing drugs, and by default had screwed up their thyroids and were going to have to be on medications for the rest of their lives. She also touched on social media, with regards to self promotion, because one of my long term goals is to become a sponsored athlete. She advised me not to “buy” followers, stay classy, and always be looking for an opportunity. Challenges such as these are my opportunities and just as she advised, I am taking them!

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The second time I was able to see Jessie was at the Boise Fitness Expo. This time however I was 20 weeks pregnant and had just found out I was having a boy, I was very excited because it was a secret. My friend Andy works at Bodybuilding.com and was gracious enough to take me to the expo and get me in before everyone else, this meant I got to have a little bit more time to chat with Jessie while I was there. As soon as I walked up and said hello, she said, “I’ve met you before, haven’t I?” I said yes, but that I had crazy bright red hair the last time I saw her. I saw it click for her and she replied, “That’s right! At Axiom right?” She asked about my goals and how I was doing with everything, I told her I had competed in my first competition the year before and that I was in the middle of prep when I found out I was pregnant. She was so excited for me and was the only other person besides my husband who knew we were having a boy, it felt so good to tell someone!

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She had recently put out a line of Training EBooks and had a prenatal edition, which I bought and followed through most of my pregnancy. Since then they have become incredibly popular and Jessie’s Girls have seen amazing results! Jessie has always been such an inspiration to me and becoming an Ambassador for her would be amazing! I could care less about the money, but being able to represent her and all that she stands for would be my dream!

So there’s a little bit about one of my goals for this new year and I will be posting more about my progress and journey through these challenges. Feel free to keep following along, I will also start blogging about workouts and other fitness related tips!