Feeling Accomplished!

Today I accomplished 1 hour on the treadmill!  GO me!!  That is a personal best.  Even when I was training for the State Police, I never spent an hour on the treadmill.  Maybe 30 or 40 minutes but never an hour!  Granted, most of the time was walking at a 6.0 incline but I'm still moving my body!  

With that said, accomplishment is something that is important and everyone's got to feel some sort of way when they achieve a personal record, goal, or task.  Think about what makes you feel accomplished?  Crossing off all the bills at the end of the month as paid?  Your child getting all A's?  Losing that nagging 10 lbs that's been hanging around since college?  Getting a promotion?  I'll share some things that make me feel accomplished: 

Weight loss
Paying off a bill 
Getting house work done (even though it just cycles back around)
Putting the laundry away
My family enjoying something that I have cooked
Finding a new recipe that is in line with my changed life style

And keeping with my progression theme here... I decided to try losing weight.  I am just like everyone else that has wanted to start something but gave up because I thought I couldn't do it.  The truth is, you CAN do it.  Anyone can.  I am living proof that anyone who has the desire can do it.  Losing weight ultimately starts with the fire inside yourself to want to be healthier.   The next step is in the kitchen.  I found that I was eating and drinking so much CRAP that my body didn't need.  I would buy icecream just to satisfy my sweet tooth but it was only calories that didn't do anything for me.  To satisfy my sweet tooth, I drink Shakeology!  Shakeology feels like you're cheating but you're really not!  I have it with a cup of coffee and ice.  Boom!  Mix that baby up in the Ninja and I have the same tasting thing I'd get from McDonald's or Starbucks!  Who needs that $5 coffee when I have a shake that comes out to be about $4 and loaded with everything my body needs to get off on the right foot.  


So that's what I've got for right now.  Think about what makes you feel accomplished!  Go out there and get it!

Shrimp Tacos - Fix Approved

The other night, my husband wanted to just have a salad for dinner.  When he got home, I surprised him with dinner already on the table.  Here's what we had.  Shrimp tacos!  And guess what!  They are #21dayfix approved!  It was simple and great!  You can change this up as much as you want.  The best part is that you can allow your family to make their own!  Here's what I used and how I did it!



Ingredients:

Soft shell tortillas (whole grain)
Shrimp (40 shrimp)
Red cabbage (1/4 of a small head)
Avocado (1/2 avocado)
Tomato (2 plum sized)
Spinach (1/2 cup)
Red Onion (1/4 cup)
Red Pepper (1/4 cup)
Cilantro
Lemon juice
Lime juice
Your choice of seasonings

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Slice tortillas into 4's and insert them into a muffin tin.  Place them in the oven for approx. 10 minutes.  They will become "taco bowls".
3.  Place shrimp in skillet and cook on the stove top.  Add desired seasonings.  I used the 21 Day Fix southwest seasoning this time.  Shrimp do not take long to cook so keep an eye on them.
4. Dice vegetables.   Use desired amount so that approximately 2 TBS are topped onto each taco "bowl."
5.  Splash desired amount of lemon/lime juice and cilantro onto your mixture.  Mix it up like a salsa.  A lot of people add MANGO here as well.  I did not have any mango so I did not include it in this recipe.
6. Remove the tortillas from the muffin tins and place them on a plate.  Insert the desired amount shrimp and salsa into your bowl and you're ready to go!

I figured out that if each person were to be served 3 bowls, it is 1 RED, 1.5 YELLOW, .5 BLUE, and .5 GREEN.

You can use this as a dinner, lunch, or appetizer depending on how much each person is served and how much you're going to make!

2015 & Why I Became A Beachbody Coach

Well, here we go... a second post of the day.  This should be a good one so get ready, get set, .... GO.

Most of us have something in mind for the New Year.  Sometimes that's a goal, an actual resolution, something you're looking forward to, a change, etc.  If you don't have anything in mind for the New Year, maybe now is the time to think about it.  2015 is LITERALLY right around the corner.  Hopefully you're thinking of something.  Why not think about how you can improve yourself?  Don't you want to see something better in the mirror?  Let's be honest, we all have room for improvement... that's right, even you, Michelle Obama!

Which leads me to the second part of my titled post.. Why I became a Beachbody coach.  Most of my life I have been over weight.  Honestly, when you're growing up and your parents take you out to places like McDonald's and Burger King, you're forced to eat the things that are bad for you even though you're too young to know any better.  Then that leads to making poor choices as an adolescent and into adulthood, you're still making those same choices.  I was active in high school but I was still the "fat kid" that everyone made fun of or wasn't friends with because I was fat.  Period... I was a cheerleader and swimmer all through school and did track only for 1 year.  I had friends but the "cool kids" were the skinny basketball players with no more than their name and parents' money to back them up.

In college, I wasn't active at all.  I worked in the rec center but never actually went there to work-out.  I never really got into that.  College gyms are full of skinny girls talking about how fat they are and how they had to "get in shape."  Get in shape for what?  Why?  You're already a size 0.  Me on the other hand, I was discouraged from going to the gym.

So finally... why I became a Beachbody coach... like so many people in the world today, I struggle with my weight.  I struggle with looking great and feeling great in my own skin.  I struggle with the scale.  I struggle to realize that no matter what, my husband is going to love me even if I am 300 lbs.  I don't want to struggle anymore.  I don't want to think about myself dying at 50 because I'm unhealthy.  I want to be there for my children, husband, and family.  I want to live and not be a burden because someone else has to take care of me.  I want to feel free to do the things I want to do and not be held back because I am over the weight limit.
I have never tried dieting and exercising regularly.  I never tried anything and one day it hit me ... if I didn't do something with myself, I would be that over weight adult that had to refrain from activities because of my weight.  So I did some research and when my friend, coach, and sponsor told me about her business, I was intrigued.  I looked into it and saw that it was something I wanted to try but just didn't know when I could for financial reasons.  I spent many days looking over the program called 21 Day Fix and learning about clean eating.  I saw that it paired well with Shakeology and then I looked into that.  I did 2 rounds of 21 Day Fix and after the first round I had only lost 4 lbs and 10 inches over all.  Now that I am on my 3rd round, I am down 17 lbs.

Now that I know more about what to eat and how much to eat of each food group, it's much easier to go shopping and cook those foods.  My husband and I enjoy cooking together and now he's interested in my journey too.  He asks questions like, "can you eat this/that?"  and is also conscious of the things he puts in his body.  I couldn't be happier.

Which leads me to my next point... feeding yourself healthier foods also means you can feed your family healthier foods.  That is what I enjoy best.  My older daughter is getting so many veggies and fruits and she actually likes them!  The most satisfaction I've gotten from this experience (other than weight loss of course!) is seeing my family eat a better, more colorful plate!

With those things said, I invite you to visit my Beachbody site.  It does seem a little "run of the mill" and standard right now but it does have a lot of valuable information in regards to the programs.  I encourage you to take a look and see what sparks your interests.  There is a lot that I recommend and there is a program for everyone.  If you're just looking to tone up or lose weight, there is something for you.

I look forward to starting a challenge group in the future so shoot me an email if you need that little extra boost to keep you accountable!  We'll get ya added to that! :)

Follow me on Instagram: holli.stilianidis


Holli's Beachbody Website
hstilianidis@gmail.com

First Post!

Hello Everyone!  

Welcome to my Fitness Factory blog!  Thank you for visiting.  I will be using this to not only track my progress but also to help you with your fitness goals.  I hope to add tips and tricks to help you achieve greatness!  I haven't been doing much blogging since college and I apologize now if I don't seem to always keep an update going on here but I will try.  

A little bit about me.. I am a married mother of 2 little girls.  My family means the world to me and I want to be around for a long time to experience the great joys of my family.  Which is my NUMERO UNO reason for beginning this long journey to become a better version of myself.  

Like I said, I have 2 young daughters and a husband that are my world.  After having my second daughter, I decided that it was time to make a change.  Two years ago I met Nicole through a mutual friend and she was the one who really inspired me to do something about my self image. She was really the one who created this monster but ultimately she ignited a fire inside me to become conscious of my self... physically. 

Thus far, I am new to this whole lifestyle change "thing" and with that said, I have learned a lot over the last few months in respect to eating and exercise.  To date, I've lost about 17 lbs there is no looking back.  

Check back later for some more posts!