He didn't want that appendix anyways and Week 1 of Prep!

Hey friends! Sorry I went all MIA this week, it's been a doozy of a past couple of days. I'm scheduled to take my real estate licensing exam this weekend and when I have a deadline like that I tend to get useless for everything else! Dumb, I know. Also, I had a phone interview yesterday for a sales position that I think went very well, fingers are crossed, and then.....Vic got appendicitis. What a first week of prep, huh? He had been complaining about pain in his stomach all week, we just assumed that maybe it was indigestion or gas and so we tried to treat it that way. I had my appendix removed in college and by the time I knew something was wrong it was damn near bursting and I couldn't stand or move around at all. Vic's work has a clinic on site and the doctor told him "yeah, that is probably appendicitis, you need to get to the hospital" and the nerd went back up to work and finished out a meeting before driving himself to the hospital! He had surgery last night and was actually able to convince them to send him home instead of staying overnight, he's resting now and seems to be well on his way to feeling better!

The rest of the week has essentially just been entertaining the kids between rain storms (yay for the first day of summer rain, poop on that weather) and studying for this exam. I actually found an app that allows me to run through tests and study questions which is a much easier format to work on as opposed to just running through powerpoint slides. I haven't talked a whole lot about going back to work, but I've been looking at different options for the last few months, waiting to see if something particularly awesome grabbed at me. The awesome part is not having to return to work, but being able to be picky about it, but I'm used to having a job and contributing to the family and the kids actually want to be with other kids in daycare/preschool, so I'm on board with testing out the waters. I'm pretty excited about the interview I had yesterday, I'll let you know when I hear back!

But, on to prep. I started this out at 139 pounds, a lot of which was water weight from birth control snafu's and Disneyland trips, so while that number freaked me out, I knew that it would go down relatively quickly.

Last week ---> This week

I started with roughly 16 weeks to play with, so I'm excited to have a good amount of time to whittle down to stage ready. I was about 125 pounds at the Arnold, so I imagine we will have to get close to that again. My starting macros are much higher than they've ever been on prep before and that's exciting! In fact, my carb target for training days is the same as my carb target for my refeeds last prep. For those that don't understand those terms, my coach has me carb cycling. So, I have numbers to hit on training days (higher carb), numbers to hit on off days (lower carb) and refeed days which happen once a week right now and involve much higher carbs to up your glycogen stores and keep you from going totally bonkers, and lower fat to help level out calorie intake. If you are interested in learning more about carb cycling just comment below or send me an email at c.kassel@yahoo.com! I use carb cycling with my clients as well.

Last week ---> This week

I had mentioned previously that I wanted to coordinate these prep updates with some information about Parkinson's disease, considering that my prep is fueled by my Grandmother this time around. The frustrating thing about PD is that they don't know why it happens, and right now all you can really hope to do is use various methods to deal with symptoms. They do know that PD affects the neurons that produce dopamine, killing them and reducing the overall production of dopamine. Dopamine signals the brain on how to move and coordinate one's movements, so as these levels decrease so does your ability to control your movements and coordination. While everyone thinks about tremors when it comes to PD, balance is a huge factor in subsequent injuries and frustration because falling can happen quite often.

As I mentioned before, they don't really have a handle on any way to say "this causes PD", but they have found a number of genetic and environmental factors that they believe play a part. Let's chat real quick about what the Parkinson's Disease Foundation has identified as potentially protective environmental factors, some of which I find exciting. Again, they haven't been able to really nail down anything for sure because PD is such an obnoxious disease to study, but they have found a decrease in the development and prevalence of symptoms when patients are exposed Vitamin D, exercise and caffeine. What does this tell me? This reinforces that developing healthy habits of getting outside, getting exercise and my coffee addiction may be helpful in the long term, haha. The studies on caffeine were small, but showed that adding caffeine to the routine of patients didn't help with sleepiness, but their motor functions were improved. People that have higher Vitamin D levels are at a lower risk of ever developing PD, and the brain benefits of exercise help keep pathways and productions healthy, not to mention that reinforcing mind muscle connections and muscle memory can help with the balance and gait issues that come with PD.

Ok, this got long! It might seem like all of the above is just useless information because there isn't a lot to support anything, and that's what is so frustrating about when I hear about the trips to the numerous doctors that my Mom takes my Grandmother to. Everything is "well, let's try this for a while" and there isn't a whole lot to go on. Ugh. For now, I'm going to ensure that I take the best care of my body in the most basic ways possible, get outside, get moving, eat well, challenge my brain. It's all I can do at the moment to hopefully reduce the genetic likelihood of developing PD myself, since I have a pretty close relative with PD.

That's all for today, folks! Happy Thursday and we'll talk soon!

They made me not hate the zoo so much...and let's talk Glutamine!

Hey friends! Happy Friday, it's the weekend! I think it was Wednesday night when we were laying in bed, having just turned off the TV and I was like "babe, it's almost the weekend! This week has gone by so fast!" His response was "for you, maybe", haha. Truth be told, there are some weeks as a stay at home Mom where I am amazed at how quickly the days go by, and then there are others, and most of April and May were the second type I'm about to describe, where they DRAGGED and I thought Vic would never make it home and it felt like I would go to sleep Friday night and poof, it was Monday morning. Womp, womb. But...this has been a great week! Maybe I still have some Disney magic sprinkled all over me, or more likely, I still have Disney carbs in my system, haha.

When we first moved to Virginia, I was waking up every morning with Vic at 4:30 to see him off and help him get his stuff together in the morning. He leaves at around 5:15 so that he can hit the gym before work, #BroLife, whatcha gonna do about it. Like I mentioned above, after the honeymoon phase for moving back to VA wore off, which happened around the time we got home from the Arnold Classic in March, I was in a major funk and stopped getting up early with him, thinking that maybe I needed more sleep. Well, I miss that time with him, even if we spend it drinking our coffee in silence while we scroll through our Instagram feeds, simultaneously liking posts because we follow a lot of the same people. We don't get a ton of time to be Christina and Vic as opposed to Mom and Dad anymore, so I'm going to start that up again. 

I've been slacking on my meal prep for him lately, so I made him a quick breakfast of smashed potatoes and eggs and threw together some roast beef sandwiches with a Worcestershire Mayo that is super easy to whip up and super flavorful. Literally, get your normal amount of mayo in a bowl, add in about a tablespoon of the W Sauce (it's so long to type, haha), and add in a hefty amount of freshly cracked pepper. Boom. For the smashed potatoes, I had a bag of steamable cute little potatoes from Target that I steamed earlier this week and kept in the fridge. I popped six of them in a skillet, smashed them with a spatula, drizzled them with olive oil and seasoned them and let them cook until crisp. Double boom. I almost won breakfast except for the part where I gave him plain egg whites on the side of his two over easy eggs and my man doesn't do plain egg whites. Forgive the bodybuilder in me that is used to surviving on plain foods. 

The kids and I had a great morning, they slept in late and I got to catch up, like I'm WAY behind, on Southern Charm. Have you watched it? I may start a whole separate series of posts about that show, I'm hooked. After we all got in a good breakfast, walked the dogs and Ryker picked up his 10 pieces of trash, we were off to the gym! For the record, I don't make him do the trash thing, he genuinely loves it and I love seeing him get joy out of something selfless! Today was upper body day, so lots of back and chest work. 

We try to do something fun that is just for the kids every day that we can, and today we made it to the Virginia Zoo! We have a membership to the Aquarium and during the month of June they are doing a member swap, so we went to the Zoo for free. Joke was on me though, because it was nearly 90 degrees and 69% humidity, and everyone was asleep. Like, so asleep that when we went to the orangutans, the dude had straw pulled over his face and was like "leave me the fuck alone or give me your iced americano, Christina". 

Ryker is sleeping like the monkey!

Regardless, Ryker and I had a great time while Cora cuddled her baby and rode in the stroller, mostly unimpressed. Ryker and I tried to find all of the characters from Lion Guard on Disney Junior, I think we only missed out on the Honey Badger Dude and Beshti, the hippo. 

Note Cora's poor little nose, she's had a runny allergy nose for the last two weeks and the skin has finally given up with how many times I have to hold her head still to wipe it with a baby wipe. Poor kid, it does not look comfortable. She was so cute, I would look over and she'd be holding baby on her shoulder, patting her back and singing to her. Swoon!

And finally...the point of this post! 

We got a package in the mail from my sponsor, Gain in Bulk, this week and I was stoked to be able to switch over to them as the source for another product that we absolutely run through in our house. I want to start this by saying that Glutamine and all other supplements are just that, supplements. Glutamine actually happens to be the "most abundant amino acid in the body" (UMM.edu), and for a lot of people it isn't necessary to add in an outside source for the purpose of supplementation. For athletes or people who struggle with a variety of illnesses, it can be very helpful! 

Glutamine helps to get excess ammonia out of your body while also improving your overall immune functions, and in case you didn't know, a lot of your immune system ties to your gut, so people who suffer from gut based issues can benefit from adding glutamine to their routine. High stress, injuries, surgery, illness and even just an insane training schedule (which can cause high cortisol levels, which brings us back to stress) can decrease glutamine in the body, so again, these are times to consider adding it in. 

While some studies have shown that adding glutamine to a diet when suffering from IBD showed no measurable positive effect, many people turn to glutamine to assist with digestion and healing "leaky gut syndrome". They have shown that adding glutamine to enteral feeding methods (tube feeding, like in a hospital) has helped patients in the ICU and it has also been helpful for people coming out of surgery who are at risk or have contracted an infection and it can be helpful for burn patients. 

For athletes, some researchers have made the connection between the sickness that can be seen following high intensity bouts of training or events and glutamine, with the idea that the decreased glutamine in the body from the high intensity exercise and stress placed on the body may lead to decreased immune function. 

As bodybuilders, we like to think that by decreasing ammonia buildup and helping our immune system, glutamine can help avoid becoming catabolic and some believe that it helps promote muscle synthesis. Bodybuilding.com offers an article discussing how intense training sessions can lead to it taking 6 days to get glutamine levels back to normal, and that supplementing can spur an increase in HGH. But, I appreciate that they also focus mostly on how glutamine is important for your intestines and how hardcore gym bros and bunnies can tend to get sick from wearing their bodies down and glutamine can help support your system and keep you from having to take more days off than you'd like. For this reason, Vic and I each aim to get 5g pre and post workout, and if we remember, another scoop in the middle of the day. you can get it from Optimum Nutrition on Amazon, which is what we used to do, but I appreciate that Gains in Bulk includes a certificate proving the purity of your product, showing when it was manufactured, its exact expiration and its levels when tested. Boom. Get it here and don't forget to use my code, ChristinaK10 to get 10% off! 

So, there you have it, folks. Baby Girl is up from her nap and banging on her door. She acts like she doesn't have a shit ton of fun toys in there that she never plays with and like I trap her in a dungeon. Insert Mom Eye Roll here. I hope you have a great weekend! 

Pancake Bowls with Kodiak Cakes

Hey friends! So, I've mentioned it before, but if you aren't following me on Instagram you should hop over and join the party because it's easy to update and interact over there on a super regular basis. But, as I've also mentioned, I really want to get back to updating this platform on a regular basis! I love the freedom of being able to just type away. I start classes up again in July, this time it will be my second shot at Sports Entrepreneurship and I swear I won't drop it three days in this time. I want to be done with this damn graduate certificate and degree so bad! I only have this class left for the certificate before they'll let me take the capstone course, and it's very annoying that I can't do them concurrently, seeing as they are for different programs and not pre-requisites. Dumb.



The topic of today is, drumroll, PANCAKE BOWLS! So, for a while I started making pancakes every day using Kodiak Cakes, my favorite protein, Quest Nutrition Cinnamon Crunch or Peanut Butter flavors, and usually a greek yogurt frosting. Well, then I got lazy and started doing it all in a bowl and popping it in the microwave. Let me tell you, the bowl microwaves up all big and fluffy, but dense and filling and oh my goodness, it's amazing.

Here is what you will need for the base of any version:

Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes: I get this at Costco, but you can get it at this link on Amazon, and they have it for a pretty good price and you can't beat that shipping if you've got Prime. If you don't have Prime, we need to have a serious conversation. What are you doing with your life without Prime? Get Prime. I digress. Go buy Power Cakes while you sign up for Amazon Prime, I've used them for pancakes, pancake bowls, donuts and muffins and they're fantastic. One serving offers 30 C, 2 F and 14 P, making them an awesome base for any recipe.

Quest Nutrition Protein Powder: Cinnamon Crunch is hands down my favorite flavor, click that link and you'll see that with Subscribe and Save you can get it for less than $30, making it less than $1 per serving and that is fantastic for a great tasting source of 20 g of protein. They also make a baking mix, but I haven't tried it. Let me know if you have!

Egg whites: Stock up on these bad boys at either Costco, Walmart or Target. I always go for store brand. Egg whites and Egg Beaters aren't the same thing, so keep an eye out if you are new to buying egg whites in a carton. You can also use fresh, which I think makes it fluffier, in which case I still measure them out and find that three fresh egg whites equates to two servings from a carton.

Baking Powder: I promise you already have this, I've also substituted baking soda as needed.

Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, or you can always use a splash of water.

So, here's the quick recipe for the plain version:

53g or 1/2 cup of Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes
2 egg whites, or 92 g
1 scoop of Quest Protein
1 teaspoon of baking powder
Splash of milk or water until you get a good pancake batter consistency, I usually end up around 1/4 cup but have used up to 1/2 cup as well. Go with your gut.

Mix it up until all incorporated, microwave for 90 seconds! Sometimes it needs an extra 30 seconds, just check and make sure the middle sets!

Great mix-ins include:

1/2 cup of Fruit (I use frozen, because shit goes bad quickly around here)
Extracts! I love the good old original vanilla, but I'm also obsessed with almond, coconut and the very best of all...orange extract. Find them in the baking aisle and CHANGE YOUR WORLD.
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Sprinkles!!
1 serving of chocolate chips, I've also done butterscotch chips and white chocolate chips. Weigh that shit, it's easy to go overboard quickly.
PBFit
The options are endless, if you can imagine it in a pancake, you can do it here with less mess and less opportunity for having to scrape a pancake that didn't set right off of your oven because it's all safe in a bowl!

Here are some of my favorite variations for the pancake bowl itself, not including the toppings:

Blueberry Vanilla Bowl
Add 1/2 cup of blueberries (I use frozen) and 1 tablespoon of Vanilla Extract (I love extracts)

Citrus Pancake Bowl
Add 1/2 cup of chopped frozen peaches, 1/2 tablespoon of Orange Extract, a healthy dash of cinnamon

Chocolate Peanut Butter
Add PBFit to the base, top with chocolate chips and a version of the frostings below!

Greek Yogurt Frosting:

I like to use Plain Fat Free Greek yogurt as often as possible because it is the lowest in carbs, and we'll be adding stuff anyways. I use 1/2 cup for each of the following mixtures.

Things I like to add (and the quantity)
8g of SF/FF Jello Pudding mix- the options here are life changing. It thickens the Greek Yogurt so well and oh man, a little goes a long way. My favorites are cheesecake, white chocolate and butterscotch!
PBFit
Half a scoop or 15g of Protein Powder

Each of the above will thicken the Greek Yogurt even more, making it spread like a frosting. You can also add some of the extracts above, flavoring it even more! This is where I usually add in the orange extract.

All time favorite mixture:

Greek Yogurt
White Chocolate SF/FF Pudding powder
Chocolate chips
1 tbsp of Peanut Butter
All on top of the plain pancake base with Orange Extract added in!

It's straight heaven in a bowl!

Let me know if you try any of these and tag me in your pictures if you post to Instagram!

Not beautiful, but this was the version I had this morning! Plain base with orange extract, topped with yogurt mixed with Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter

#TransformationTuesday Favorites...on a Wednesday

Hey friends! I cannot believe how long it has been since I did anything on this blog, December, yeesh! If you follow me on Instagram (Christina.Kassel) or Youtube, you know that the kids and I recently went to California for a quick trip to visit my parents and go to Disneyland. We had the best time! What I always loved about Disneyland trips was the opportunity to get out of the house, wander in sunshine and magic and avoid TV and phones for a bit. Well, it provided just that. Head over to to this link if you'd like to see the bit of footage I managed to get and here some of my traveling tips!

Now, this was supposed to get accomplished yesterday, but I've been putting extra effort into my housekeeping skills because family is coming at the end of the month and I'm getting a head start, haha! Between that, the gym, Cora not wanting to go down for bed and a dead computer, I didn't get to this post last night or in time for #transformationtuesday. But fear not, we're rebels here and I'm sharing it as a transformation based post, no matter what.

I wanted to share a few of my favorites that have supported a transformation in my habits and my overall day. A lot of these traveled with me to California! I'l include links to everything below in case any interest you and of course, feel free to reach out with any questions or comments! Once upon a time, my blog was set up for affiliate links, which meant I got a very small commission if you purchased anything but I don't think I am set up for that since I've stepped away from blogging, but just in case...there's the necessary disclaimer, haha.

Alright...here we go!

1. 40 oz Contigo Water Bottle

This water bottle is a game changer, folks. It holds 40 ounces of water, the straw goes all the way to the very bottom leaving no drop behind, the top pops up and can be locked to avoid spills and the top also functions as a clip so that you can hold it in place in your bag or on a stroller hook! The straw is a little hard to suck on but the kids manage just fine, you just have to get used to it. At $16.99 on Amazon (normally $24.99), it is 100% worth the money and I love this thing. Pound three of these babies and boom, you've got your gallon of water in for the day! 

2. Nature's Own Double Fiber Bread

Whether I am dieting down or eating at maintenance or in a surplus, it is imperative to get in enough fiber to keep digestion moving and to stay satisfied. Enter my good friend, my favorite bread ever, double fiber Nature's Own. I get this at our Walmart Neighborhood Market, sometimes you can find it at Target as well. At 50 calories per slice, you also get 11g carbs, .5g fat, 3 g of protein and 4 g of fiber. You should try and shoot for about 25-30 g of fiber per day. If you make a sandwich or a great pile of egg white French Toast with this you are guaranteed to be well on your way to your fiber goal!

3. Protein Powders (Quest and Gains in Bulk)

Peruse my Instagram just a bit and you'll find that I use this protein powder so much that I have to actually place a limit on myself. I love mixing it with Greek Yogurt and putting that on toast made with the double fiber bread, or using that same yogurt mixture as a base for ice cream to boost my protein intake and have multiple yummy textures. It's amazing. The cinnamon crunch flavor has crunchy cereal bits and the peanut butter is amazing in smoothies. Man, I love that stuff. Most flavors are roughly 100 calories, 20ish grams of protein and >5g of carbs and very low in fat. So basically, I can count on them only being a protein source. The Gains in Bulk protein, found here, tastes amazing and makes a creamy chocolate malt shake, but it has 24 g of carbs. This is PERFECT for Vic's pre and post workout shakes, so he uses this daily. It also provides 20 g of protein, 100% of your daily vitamins and minerals and is predigested to minimize any sort of bloat. It's priced in bulk and you can also get 10% off with my code ChristinaK10! This is FANTASTIC for people who need a meal replacement since it offers so much more than just protein. 

4. FitCrunch Bars, PBFit and ThinkThin bars

I used to be really bad about surviving off of protein bars because quite frankly, they make these things taste like legit candy bars these days. FitCrunch bars can be found on Amazon and I've found them at Walmart, they are hands down the best tasting bars. Great frosting, baked, crunchy layers and amazing flavors, but they are a big macro hit. If you'll be busy and can't eat a meal, go for one of these for sure! When I was on prep, I would plan one of these as a meal to satisfy my sweet tooth and it was totally worth it to not have all the volume for the great taste. ThinkThin bars are also great, pack a little bit less of a macro punch, but are a second favorite for me. They have a good variety of flavors and some that are less heavy on protein, like the cupcake batter flavor, which is great pre or post workout. I get these on Amazon or at Walmart as well! And finally, PBFit is amazing for adding the best flavor ever, peanut butter, without all the fat. This offers 4C, 6P and 1.5F for a 2tbsp serving, which is plenty when added to yogurt or a smoothie. I've also mixed it with a small amount of water and used it to top rice cakes!

5. Supplements and nightcaps

I recently became a sponsored athlete with Gains in Bulk, and I went with their company because as a stay at home Mom who loves to brunch, I adore that they are packaged in bulk with great prices without giving up quality. Their athlete digestive formula was the kicker for me and why I first tried their products. At $31.95 before my discount, you can get 90 days of the ADF here, it is made up of digestive enzymes and probiotics that help breakdown and utilize your food that much better, offering up to 300 times for amino acid use from your food, which is a big deal. For me, it has allowed me to add Brussel Sprouts and cauliflower back in to my diet without terrible bloating. I take 3-4 every day and wouldn't go without it. On our trip to CA, I lost my birth control but always had this in my purse because #priorities and #gains, duh. I get the Olly vitamins at Target and the sleep formula has really helped me get to sleep quickly. The serving size is two, but I take three about a half hour before bed and I can get to sleep before Vic starts snoring (sorry, babe). I also love to have a cup of tea, or two, before bed and lately I've been having one cup of the Smooth Move tea (let's be over honest, I struggle with not pooping regularly and this keeps things moving), and one cup of herbal. Right now, I'm obsessed with the Vanilla Honey Chamomile, oh man...it's good. 

6. Beats Headphones

Last, but certainly not least when it comes to importance or cost, are my Beats headphones. The white pair like mine are more expensive, but you can get the black ones for like $40 less on Amazon, here. And you know what, check out the Fitbit Blaze as well. Yes, they are stupid expensive. Yes, I would cry so many tears without them. I love them. They make my entire day better. I check my Fitbit like a crazy person and love the way that all that data keeps me working on improving every day. I wear my headphones at the gym and around the house while I'm cleaning, when I'm on the phone and need to be hands free and basically whenever I don't want to hear people talking to me, haha. They are LIFE CHANGING. 

I hope you enjoyed my not so little list! Please, let me know if you have any questions or need other suggestions! Don't forget to hop over to Instagram and Youtube and join the party. Cora's is finally awake, it's 8:19 and my day has to start. Cross your fingers that she's in as a good of a mood as her brother. Happy Wednesday, friends! 

Wipe the slate clean Wednesday?

Oh hey, friends! Sorry I went MIA, again. I guess it turns out that I just might not have what it takes to be a daily blogger, or shit, even a weekly blogger, but that doesn't mean that I don't think of what I want to say to you guys on a daily basis. Which, is probably a lot like me having way too many internal conversations, haha, but it gets me through the day!

I think its the holidays, or I'm going to at least blame them for now, for my stress levels being a little crazy over the last few weeks. Ryker is officially at the age where he understands what is going on around him, he is anticipating Christmas, and so I want to make it extra special. Combine that with a tight budget, and I got in my head big time and stressed about giving him the best holiday possible. Luckily, Cora is happy with my Glade plug-ins and her brothers toys and lights up whenever her family walks in the room, so she's super easy to please!

I also have managed to get super in my head about trying to take advantage of my slight but growing following on social media. I got involved with 1st Phorm as a Legionnaire because I thought it would be a nice way to get a discount on my supplements, while also working with a company that I think is pretty awesome. Well, leave it to me to get stressed out about the fact that while I genuinely enjoy 1st Phorm's supplements, I really missed my PEScience Alphamine and my Optimum Nutrition peanut butter chocolate casein, so I avoided them. That is so dumb! So, I'm clearing my Instagram bio and most of my posts of those affiliations from here on out. Not because we aren't still using their products, but because I'm not in a situation where I am married to them, and I like to change my proteins and stuff just like sometimes you want to try a new pizza place. I still think they have fantastic products, and I'm typing this in my Dedfit joggers, so don't think that I'm not still obsessed with them and ice cream sandwich protein, I'm just not meant to be a sales person. I hate sales. That's why I'm a stay at home Mom now, I quit a sales job, haha!

I guess I just discovered that I don't have exactly what it takes to try and be a social media influencer, in the terms of business. I thought maybe I did because I truly enjoy helping the people who reach out on a daily basis, but when I decided to try and align those goals with the help of those who know how to use social media for business, I just got overwhelmed and frustrated. So, no more. I still have discount codes and links, but I'm just not going to mention them anymore. I truly want to be genuine and open with people who take the time to look at my pictures and read my blogs and captions, so here ya go. Trying to be anything more than a mom that loves to workout and share information and pictures of myself and my family is just more than I want to be, so I'm going to stick to what I know. I've done something similar since I got out of the Navy, where I sit and peruse job boards, knowing full well that nothing will make me as happy as being a stay at home Mom, I guess I just like to overfill my plate! So, I'm cleaning my plate and not in the way that will result in water weight, haha. I've stripped my social media of anyone that I followed that doesn't actively inspire me and I encourage you to try and do the same! Clear out the bullshit. Enjoy yourself and those that you let into your day.

I'm also cleaning house in terms of our real house, donating stuff, getting rid of broken or run down toys and clothing, and tightening up our monthly budget big time. We like to get what we want, when we want it, and most of the time we are just being silly. So, we've decided to foster my increasing love for cooking, to get Ryker involved in the kitchen and to really narrow down what we have to only be what we really enjoy!

The list came out last night of the IFBB Pro's (professional bodybuilders) that will be competing at the Arnold Classic, the professional show that will run the same weekend as the Arnold Amateur, and I am so excited to see so many of my teammates and other professionals on the list! Some of the women that keep me pushing in the gym every day are on that list! This show is a big deal, and we're just over ten weeks away! I'm ready to enjoy Christmas and then really drop the hammer like no other in preparation.

Thanks for listening, guys! This platform helps me a lot, and whenever I get just the tiniest of feedback is really makes a big difference in my day. I know I ramble a lot, haha, but I really do appreciate your taking the time to listen!

Blogmas Day 9: What was I talking about?

It can't be just me, but seeing as I'm easily the worst about it, maybe it is. I'd forget my head if it wasn't attached, except for the part where I'm constantly playing with my hair. Can you tell that I don't have a real topic for this post today?

I spoke with my coach, Kim, yesterday and he's got me "ready to roll" as he likes to say! Vic and I went out for dinner Wednesday night a our final date night until prep is done. I refuse to go out and have someone else cook me a boring, unseasoned chicken breast and vegetables just so that I can put pepper on them. So, we wait until prep is done or until Kim sends me out to eat a steak and potatoes! We went to a restaurant here in Temecula's Old Town that we've been itching to try forever, its called Goat and Vine and serves up some awesome pizza and cocktails. We shared the breadsticks appetizer, which was just their crust with mozzarella and their sauce for dipping and let me tell you, we could have left after that because it was so good. We ordered a lime carnitas pizza, and didn't like it that much. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't "Oh my God" good. I did have an amazing Christmas Punch cocktail that had homemade pumpkin syrup, orange juice, rum, cinnamon and my favorite...it was topped with champagne. Afterwards, we went to a local bakery that I've also been dying to try and we shared a red velvet cupcake and a brownie. I brought back a cupcake, packaged all cute, for our babysitter, only to remember that she just started her first bikini prep four days ago....so Ryker and I ate the cupcake.

Knowing that I was about to go into a dieting phase again, I decided to not just get something like McDonalds or Dominos that I knew would taste the same as always and that I would most likely say "well that wasn't worth it as a cheat meal", so we finally took the plunge to go to these restaurants that we've been eyeing forever, and then we ordered without abandon and just enjoyed ourselves. The best part, instead of feeling like I should finish my part of everything, we brought home so much! I have found that if I go into these situations and don't start off by depriving or negotiating, I can come out of it feeling successful and not overstuffed, while having tried everything I wanted.

Here is the real kicker. So, I sampled and enjoyed. I had two cocktails that had me almost drunk before I started the second (#lightweight), and then I woke up and had to weigh myself for my first Road to Arnold check in with Kim. I GAINED FIVE POUNDS OVERNIGHT! I shot up to 140.1, which by the way, is one pound shy of where I started my last prep. I successfully undid the weight loss that took three months in just one month. But here's the best part....I can still see a tiny resemblance of abs. My size 25 7 for All Kind jeans still fit just fine. Why? Well first, because those five pounds were water. But secondly, because all of this lifting is actually rebuilding my body. While I may be up in weight, for the first time in my life it isn't all going to my pooch! This is why bodybuilding can be so exciting and addicting. If you take the time to learn about the process and your body, you can mold yourself into a different package. For instance, after that weigh in and pictures were taken, all my Coach had to say is that we need to start training shoulders more often, those are our goal right now. So, more shoulders it is! I sheepishly tried to explain away why my weight is so high and he sounded like it just didn't phase him a bit. After nearly five months of getting Morning Face Christina in her underwear/bikini sent to his inbox, I'd have to wager that Kimbo has a pretty good understanding of how my body works at this point, which is why I'm so comfortable submitting to his instruction!

To continue with that, I woke up this morning for my weigh in. I don't have to weigh daily, but I enjoy seeing the chart that my FitBit app provides when it is fully populated. Control freak, much? I crossed my fingers and hoped that I had budged a little from post-pizza-cupcake-extravaganze and TA-DA! Back to 137. Three pounds over night. Did I restrict yesterday? Did I avoid all carbs? I did something truly crazy....I followed my plan. I FOLLOWED THE PLAN CORRECTLY! I ate my oats and my sweet potatoes, damn near a pound of extra lean ground turkey and a shit ton of spinach, cauliflower and asparagus (my favorites!). I didn't restrict salt, but I did drink all but about ten ounces of my gallon of water. It isn't exciting, I didn't take anything, I didn't eat magical Unicorn hair sprinkled with TinkerBell dust, I went to the gym and did a heavy back day, I did my 30 minutes of cardio and I ate a balanced day of foods.

This is why I love this. I love the accountability and I love the simplicity of following the rules and getting the results. I love the process! No weightlifting for me today, it is a weights-rest day, but I do still have to knock out my cardio. I'm thinking that if the weather cooperates, I might push the double strolled up the hill to a cute little park in the next neighborhood! Get a little outdoors time for myself and the kids, get them sleepy and finish cardio all at once? That sounds like the best way ever to start the weekend!

This blog is getting too long, so I'll shush now and go back to perusing all the cute stuff on Young Living's site. I found a dinosaur diffuser that my stinky little boy could use in his room! Now to talk his Daddy into it....wish me luck!

As always...

Coaching inquiries: c.kassel@yahoo.com
All of my favorite supplements (cinnamon cookie batter, oh my goodness): 1stphorm.com/Christina
My favorite all around town gear: dedfitshop.com and use code Christina to save money!
Want to make your house smell amazing like mine?! Ask for my limited Young Living knowledge, I've got friends that know it all ;)

Blogmas Day 8: I'm the worst, BIG NEWS, and essential oils!

Hey guys! So, who is the worst at Blogmas? This girl! Turns out, its kind of crazy to commit to even a little blog post every day unless I carve out an exact timeframe that will be used just for this, so, I present you with a blog written at 5:41 am while my crew snoozes. I'll be writing make-up blogs today, so I promise to fulfill my commitment to get 25 blogs out by Christmas!

I was going to wait to bring this up, but that wouldn't feel right and I could use your motivation, so guess what?

We're going to the Arnold! I found out this week that my application was accepted and I'll be competing in the bikini division!

The competition is March 2-5 in Ohio, which is exactly a week before my 30th birthday. I'm pretty excited to send my twenties off in a big way and I'm excited for this prep. Before anyone is concerned about my health and coming off of one prep to start another, don't worry, I have an appointment with my doctor for a full blood panel and check up, but so far no one is concerned. However, we are responsible people, so I'll make sure that my GP is up to date, and maybe I'll try and get bloodwork done at the beginning and end of prep to see what changes occur.

So, why the disappearance for a few days? I found out about the Arnold on Monday or Tuesday, and it kind of hit me like a truck. I don't entirely understand their application process, but I wasn't really thinking I'd be headed to Ohio this year. So, when I got the good news it took a minute to digest. We've also got a lot on our plate with some other future ventures that we are looking into tackling in the next year, and all around I found myself a bit overwhelmed. I can be a basket case of an anxious person, and one of my tactics is to just quietly wait it out, so....that's what I did. I focused on deciding about another prep (which will go through the holidays) and after a few days, I am so frickin' ready to go.

We'll talk more about that for sure, but before this goes too long I wanted to bring up self-care. I am SO bad about self-care, but am getting better, and I encourage you to really look at whether or not you are giving yourself the opportunity to truly relax and recharge, even for a just a few minutes. I know that running outside in the morning, taking bubble baths or just reading a book are all great ways for me to unplug, so I've been trying to incorporate them into my day more often. Kids obviously require a lot of focus, but I also waste a shit ton of my day on my phone, and I'm pretty sure just the brightness alone makes me grumpy.

So, I'm going to work on reducing phone use around the family, while upping my reading of books around Ryker, and I mean the one's with no pictures. My little copycat wants to do everything we do, so I figure I'll let him see me doing more reading, we'll spend more of our days on outdoor walks. Improving my flexibility will only help my posing, I'll also be trying to increase my time spent on recovery, with RomWod, stretching and rolling out with my foam roller.

I like that a new prep is kind of like a New Year, I've got resolutions and all. But who needs a new program or a New Year for that? It's a new Thursday! Yay! Now decide on even just the tiniest of things that you'll commit to improving for yourself. Be gentle with yourself. 



On the note of being gentler, I have to bring up the cutest little addition to our home!


My dear friend, Christi, is the only person besides Vic, and at points even more than Vic, she has the ability to look at me and say something and I know the words are so true and are coming from somewhere so special. She was there for the birth of both of our children, and her support and love leading up to their births and afterwards will make her a part of the Kassel Family forever and always. 

When I was in a truly crazy labor with Cora, she offered some lavender oil for my belly to help during contractions, and I LOVED it. I buy essential oil lotions, essential oil bath bubbles and so on...but I've never just bought essential oils because of the price. Christi had a special going with a $25 gift card, and so I finally jumped aboard and got myself a starter kit with Young Living. I've been diffusing their Christmas Spirit oil, until I remembered how amazing Peppermint can be for your overall mindset, so I decided to do Peppermint Oil with just a bit of the Christmas Spirit. Just imagine the minty, cheerful uplifting scent of peppermint mixed with oranges, cinnamon and spruce. Dude. I'm a total sucker for plug-ins around the house, but this has changed the ball game. I'm really excited to learn more about Thieves and using it around the house. Is Crunchy Christina coming back? I think so! I'd greatly appreciate any insight on oils you may have! 

And finally, I always share the links and codes for the awesome companies that I'm working with. Considering we'll be traveling to Ohio for the Arnold, and that I'll be working with my Coach and all, my relationships with 1st Phorm, DedFit and YoungLiving are that much more exciting for me. If you've been considering any of their products or haven't taken a chance to look yet, please do! And please let me know if you have any questions about anything! Shout out to my hubby for being so supportive and damn near losing his mind with pride and happiness when he found out I was going to compete at the Arnold. He's pushed me to get involved and follow my dreams, and we're doing it, friends!

I promise to speak to you again soon, I won't disappear! Thank you for all of your support!

1stphorm.com/christina for free shipping and the supplements that keep me on track! (Current obsession, cinnamon cookie batter Level1 or the lemonade BCAA's mixed with vanilla Phormula1 and Ignition!)

dedfitshop.com use the code Christina for 10% off the comfiest clothes, EVER! The all black line is super legit.

youngliving.com It's easier (and cheaper!) to sign up to order oils as a distributor!

Blogmas Day 4

I didn't forget about today, I've been working on my Pardomas Recruit application! Check it out over at my YouTube channel, here!

Blogmas Day 3: A peek into our kitchen

Better late than never, right? Vic and I actually managed to get a full NINE HOURS of sleep last night, so our morning started a tad bit later than usual. We both tend to wake up between 5 and 6 every morning, so sleeping past 7 am was pretty exciting. We ventured out to get bagels and then braved Costco, right as they opened. We think we're somehow permanently stuck on East Coast time, because we didn't go home until nearly 11 and we were like "well, there goes the day", haha. Ryker is way too cool for naps these days, so we introduced him to the Grinch while Cora took a much needed nap after our Costco adventure. Ryker called it the Not Scary Christmas Alien movie and enjoyed it! It has been fun introducing him to movies that aren't cartoons!

I'm pretty impressed with our Costco haul this time around, we loaded up on so many veggies and I've already tried a new recipe with the zucchini and apples that Cora and I loved. Cora is teething this weekend, so wish us luck. She's nearly 18 months old and is just now popping out a handful of teeth at once. She's been only wanting soft sandwiches and warm sweet potatoes, so I tried something new and was glad to see she liked it! She then went straight back to being absolutely pitiful, and the poor thing has just been sleepy and fussy all day. She spent a good portion of the afternoon strapped to my back so that she could snuggle me and I could be productive. She's only got eyes for her Momma when she's feeling down.

I diced up one pink lady apple and one zucchini and sautéed them in one tablespoon of Kerrygold butter, cinnamon and a sprinkle of salt, until they were soft. I got Vic and Ryker to eat the apples, but I can't trick them into zucchini.

I keep saying that I'm going to start cooking one meal that works for all of us, but honestly, it has just become easier to make sure I have everything I need for the staples that we all enjoy, and then I can whip up what everyone likes quickly. For the kids that means grilled cheese, berries, broccoli or green beans, blueberry waffles and chocolate milk. They basically survive off of the above and Goldfish. Considering I can get them both to eat a pretty solid amount of fresh produce on a regular basis and they both get more protein than the average adult, I don't stress on the stuff they enjoy. Silly fact about them, Ryker likes jelly sandwiches, but Cora likes peanut butter sandwiches. Ryker hating peanut butter blows my mind.  

I'm pretty sure he's mostly made of Fairlife Chocolate Milk. 

 We've been getting Ryker more and more involved around the house as he is understanding what needs to get done more each day. He's responsible for feeding the dogs, and gets to help out in the kitchen. We've been baking a lot, but he loves getting to help cook dinner. Along with not liking peanut butter, he generally won't eat pizza either. I thought if he helped put his together that he might actually eat it, but nope. Oh well, we won't have to share with him! When I asked him if he was ready to eat it he replied with "nope, I just want blueberry muffins."

Things that we HAVE to have in our fridge at all times:
Fairlife Chocolate and Whole milk
Extra lean ground turkey
Lean ground beef
Archer Farms frozen asparagus and sweet potatoes
Flavored Muscle Egg
Egg Whites
Reddi Whip
Berries
Shredded Cheese
Whole Eggs
Kerrygold Butter
Spinach
Romaine
Frozen broccoli

Things we always have in our pantry:
Multigrain Sandwich thins
Natural Skippy PB
Goldfish
Some sort of yummy cereal
Eureka bread
Oats
Oh Yeah One Bars
1st Phorm Phormula 1, Ignition, Level 1

We add in random stuff that we wander past when we shop at either Target or Costco (use Carthwheel and Ibotta for deals!), but those round out our staples! We like to try and keep what we eat at home pretty balanced and simple, so that when we want to go out we don't have to feel guilty about indulging a little bit.





1stphorm.com/christina for free shipping and the supplements that keep me on track

dedfitshop.com use the code Christina for 10% off the comfiest clothes, EVER!

Blogmas Day 2: let's get even more personal (some struggles)

Oh hey, guys! Does anyone else wake up extra early to enjoy their house in silence? I adore my mornings where I get to sip my coffee, scroll through emails and pay bills, while the rest of the house is quietly sleeping. It's just so peaceful!

This morning, I wanted to open up about something that I have struggled with for over 15 years. It's shaped a huge part of myself, and is an important factor of my story and especially my fitness story, but it's something that is pretty embarrassing to discuss. Coming off of my competition prep, I've had a new version of the same old problem and you know how they say in school that if you have a question, someone else probably has that same one so you should definitely ask it out loud? Well, I'm hoping this reaches someone who needs to know they aren't alone. Get ready, shit's about to get kind of heavy.

I've struggled with bulimia and binge eating since middle school. Luckily, I was able to overcome the purging with my marriage to Vic. Early on, he had an inkling that something was up and I honestly just felt so overcome with guilt after going out to Buffalo Wild Wings one night (I'll never forget this), that I broke down and told him all about it. What is funny about that, is how as soon as I said something, spoke the words, but didn't ask for help, I just felt so much lighter. My eternal teammate knew the problem and was prepared to help me get through it. Did I just magically become healed from a constantly nagging eating disorder? Hell no! But, over the years I developed the tools and strategies to get me through the hard times and work on myself, both mentally and physically.

Pregnancy was hard for me in that sense. Gaining weight is a tough pill to swallow for anyone that has struggled that intensely with controlling their weight. At the worst, I'd have plowed through a giant plate of French fries or a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and have this dialogue about how my baby didn't want food like that and how I was already failing them. Jesus, Christina, that's crazy! But do you see how I remember all of this so clearly? It's crazy how it really cuts itself into you.

She deserves a healthy, happy Momma

Through my healing process, I've developed the ability to be pretty good at extremes, which is why I think my competition prep wasn't too miserable to get through. Don't worry, I haven't travelled over to a new side of disordered habits, I've just found a new way of looking at my body. 95% of the time I can eat for fuel, eat for what my body needs to do (endurance running, cutting, building), but, the problem I am having post show involves binging. I can stay solid on my plan all day, and then mindless snacking starts and I realize "shit, now I've blown my macro plan!". What happens next? Usually an internal conversation about "well, I could do damage control and move on....OR, I could eat that whole box of cereal and all the Lenny and Larry cookies so it isn't here tomorrow and then I start over!" Do you think that second option actually helps me? Absolutely not! But, it's happening and all too often. I've gained 10 pounds since my show, and this morning I weighed in at 136 even. The day of my second show, I walked on stage at 121, but that is a depleted, dehydrated state, so I'm not counting what I lost during peak week. I know that stage lean is so unrealistic and dangerous to try and maintain, but like I said earlier, any weight gain, even the healthy and necessary kind, is pretty scary.

12/1/2016 My weight is up, but so is my energy and my strength! 

 So, I shared this in the hopes that A) it will help me be more accountable for my binging at night, because quite frankly, I don't want to gain any more weight, I'd like to build my physique at my current body fat percentage to reduce the amount of work that needs to get done in my next prep, if even by a little. B), I always want to be open, honest and REAL with you guys. I'm pretty sure like four people read this and my captions regularly, but I figure if one person needs to read it, maybe I've helped them not feel alone today. 

Eating disorders are like alcoholism (fun fact, I have both running through various parts of my family tree), you don't heal and move on. It doesn't go away. There are always triggers. But, I decided when I wanted to have children, back in my Mustang crying to Vic outside of Buffalo Wild Wings, that I would not give my children a Mom who literally couldn't stomach herself due to something as silly as food. There is no magic here, I decided that I was done and then I stuck with it. The family that I wanted to build and nurture meant more to me than my terrible habit. I was enough, I AM ENOUGH.  Every day, I stick with it. Every day, I decide that I am bigger than my demons and that it may be hard, but if I just stick to my guns, I can get through anything. YOU CAN, TOO. I'm here, friends, and I think this is WHY I'm here. Please reach out if there is anything that you need to get off your chest so we can move forward together.

Forward progress, every day. Never settle.

Love you guys,

Christina

Lifestyle Coaching: email me at c.kassel@yahoo.com, lets work for a more balanced life, together!

1stphorm.com/christina for free shipping and the supplements that keep me on track

dedfitshop.com use the code Christina for 10% off the comfiest clothes, EVER!

Blogmas!

Welcome to Blogmas, Friends! If you haven't heard of Blogmas or Vlogmas before (I may do both!), they are a great opportunity to kind of kick yourself in the butt and use the month of December to push yourself to put out more content on a regular basis. This is something I desperately need to do, so here we go!

I was thinking that for this opening post, we should do a "get to know Christina", since I haven't blogged in way too long! So, here it goes, I'll try and keep it short.

My name is Christina. I'm a stay at home Mom with my son, Ryker, and daughter, Cora. He's 3.5, she's 1.5. They are so much fun, but can be total shit shows as well, so they keep me on my toes. Lately, as Ryker gets older, he blows my mind and becomes more and more like our roommate and that loud guy we hang out with! Cora is a year and a half with no teeth and she refuses to walk, so that's fun. The teeth are there, I can see them wanting to come out and chew food, and she can walk if you hold her hand...as you can see, I'm starting to become aware of how much trouble she may be as her stubborn self gets older. She just learned how to throw a tantrum, so keep me in your thoughts, haha.

 

I served in the Navy for six years before getting out in late September of 2015. I enjoyed the Navy, but I accidentally fell in love with my other half after three months of joining, and here we are nearly seven years later with two kids and a mortgage. This girl wanted to be home with her family instead of sailing the seven seas, so I ran when my contract was up. For a second, I worked for a cyber security firm, but quickly found that I hate being a sales person and that I preferred hanging out with my kids all day, so here I am!

While my husband has helped fuel the fire of my passion for fitness and wellness for years, following the birth of Cora and my second journey into postpartum weight loss, I decided to try my hand at bodybuilding competition. Holy cow, it's so much fun! I competed this fall, twice, and received seventh and third place finishes. My third place finish made me qualified for a National level show, so that is where my focus is at now. I've also found a love for destroying my kitchen with Ryker while we bake up some new concoction, and he loves to help me in the kitchen. We try new recipes regularly, they are rarely aesthetically pleasing, but generally taste pretty damn good! I'm trying to prepare meals that all four of us can/will eat, and promise to start sharing my successes and failures more often so you can laugh, cringe and say "yum!" along with us!

I've been given the awesome opportunity of representing DEDFIT Apparel, whose link can be found here, dedfitshop.com. If you use the code Christina you get 10% off! Their clothing is awesome, but the work ethic and drive of those involved with the company is absolutely amazing. Definitely check them out! I also work with 1st Phorm for all of our supplements, and even Ryker looks forward to his protein oats! Check out 1stphorm.com/Christina for free shipping! If you have any questions about the products or how they can best help you, PLEASE reach out to me!

My mom asked me a simple but important question yesterday while we spoke about my application to compete at the Arnold Amateur this year. "And you love doing this?" I do. My heart sings for this. I soul is so happy and grateful when someone reaches out to me with questions or concerns and we work together to help them start on their own fitness or wellness journey. A client of mine recently met his goal well before the time allotted, all by making one small change with his diet and adding a bit more conscientious activity. I want to put more smiles on people's faces by teaching them how to keep a smile on their face and not falling back to old, detrimental habits.

I hope you guys enjoy following along with myself and my family. We welcome you into ours!

Blogmas Day 1: Complete! Let's do this, fam :)

#DDFIT 10% Christina
#iam1stPhorm
Coaching: c.kassel@yahoo.com