My Lunches in Pictures: 2017-2020
The gallery of images that follows is in no way all the lunches I’ve had from 2017 to 2020. It’s a snapshot to show the basic composition of lunches, a macro scheme I’ve followed from 2007 when I first read and adopted the nutrition principles in Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto and Nutrient Timing by sports nutrition scientists Dr. Robert Portman and Dr. John Ivy. Adhering to the knowledge in those books and making adjustments based on my evolving goals, I’ve maintained muscle and stayed between 13-16% body fat from 2007-2020. What do all these meals have in common besides being my lunches? Balanced Macros: A…
Bodyweight Training: Save Money, Prevent Injuries, and Stay Fit for Life
Bodyweight training is surging in popularity. This trend can be seen in the form of the calisthenics fitness movement and is the foundation of CrossFit training. If you follow any fitness tags on IG, Snapchat, or TikTok, you’ve surely seen posts of people performing gravity-defying yoga stands or difficult strength and technique movements, like planches or muscle-ups. But outside of the amazing strength and skill of athletes shared on social media, anyone can undertake bodyweight training, and there are three solid reasons to do so: it costs nothing, its beneficial for all age groups and levels of fitness, and it can make you stronger than the muscle-isolating, aesthetically geared workouts…
2020 Self-help Message
I’ve been part of a superficial industry for a long time now: the fitness world. After seventeen years of people criticizing my body shape or exercise goals, I came to realize what I wrote below, which is intended for anyone struggling with rejection, minimization, or insults regarding their health and fitness goals. The message: don’t seek validation outside yourself I’ve learned that in all areas of life, it’s important to focus on your unique journey and not what others think or say about you. Doing otherwise can lead to a negative self-image and poor mental health. Only you know all your starting points: the struggles and obstacles you broke through…
How I Raised My Credit Score as a Broke Single Mom
Financial literacy wasn’t a topic in my family home while I was growing up. By my early twenties, my mind was pretty much programmed to believe the financial odds were stacked against me. I never looked into building my credit because I didn’t understand the value of doing so, and after gross mismanagement of my first credit card, I was hesitant to ever get another. My debts at the time were composed of over $9k in student loans from a for-profit college (yes, I fell for one of those) and a $500, interest-gathering balance from my first credit card. In my twenty-one-year-old mind, I had simply too much debt to…
4 Simple Rules to Post-pregnancy Fat Loss
Pregnancy puts a woman’s body through some incredible changes to bring life into the world. As a woman’s waistline expands, it’s normal for her to get self-conscious about her figure and worry she may never return to her prepregnancy build. After delivering her child, she can be left with extra fat, loose skin, or both. But, if you’re an expecting mother reading this, don’t let that psych you out. Every year, plenty of women reclaim their prepregnancy figures (and sometimes a fitter body) through following tried-and-true principles, which I’ve condensed into the rule below, the same rules I followed to get a fitter body after having my son. Rule 1.…
Baby Foot Exfoliating Foot Peel Review
As a busy, working single mom and college student, I can’t always make it to a spa, much less afford it. I’m all about in-home beauty treatments, and foot peels are a treatment I keep up with. I discovered the Baby Foot exfoliating foot peel via a video review on my PopSugar Roku channel. I watched the video, was stunned by the results, and I bought my first Baby Foot package. After the peel, my feet were as smooth as a baby’s, literally, for about three months. I became addicted to the softness of my feet, and now I do an in-home foot peel every three months. Watch PopSugar’s Review…
Updated: Undesirable Side Effects of Steroid Use
Bodybuilding is a sport/activity wherein many people choose to take steroids to achieve rapid, maximum muscle growth. Competing on a bodybuilding stage and standing beside the perfectly muscular and super lean physiques of champion bodybuilders can be overwhelming. This can result in an easy dismissal of all the hard work you may have put into your physique, whether months or years of training. For this reason, I advise people with plans to compete in physique competitions to proceed with caution and great awareness. Many competitors have no qualms about using numerous and varied means to obtain a winning physique. And, no, a natural bodybuilding competition does not entirely mean “natural.”…
Testimony from a Female Ex-Steroid User
This post correlates with my earlier posts: “Undesirable Side Effects of Steroid Use” and “7 Reasons Why I Don’t Compete.” The video below is of strength athlete, Gracie Davis. She is a voice of caution for women who use or are considering using steroids. Her deepened voice and other masculine changes she has experienced from steroid use are permanent; her gains in strength were not. Anyone who has created a decent body through athletics is likely to at some point be compared to someone who has taken steroids. This is sad, but true, and has happened to me multiple times. Why? Because many “users” reach the top of their sport and often…
