Only ONE Shake A Day?!

This is a question I get a lot. The way it's asked varies but it's still the same premise: How do you lose weight if you only do Shakeology ONCE a day?

Answer? Without secretly starving yourself.

I usually hate math but it helps make my point so *deep breath* here it goes...

The average person probably needs to eat a minimum of 1500 calories a day to LOSE WEIGHT at a healthy rate. That might be higher for you if you're more active or have a higher Basal Metabolic Rate. But we're going to stick with 1500 because it's in the middle.

That means if you eat 3 meals a day they should each be 500 calories. What's an example of a 500 calorie meal?

Click for recipe

Seared Chicken with Apricot Sauce
1/2 steamed broccoli with lemon
1/2 steamed spinach with lemon
Cheesy broccoli potato mash
Banana pudding pop


Okay, back to the shakes!
Those 2 a day shakes usually run 90 calories. The instructions say to eat a sensible dinner. So let's use our 500 calorie dinner above as our "sensible dinner."

90 + 90 + 500 = 680 calories

Not even one thousand calories for the ENTIRE DAY. That, ladies and gentlemen, is starving.

Even if you have a couple of snacks, and assume those snacks are 100 calories each, you still don't hit 1000 calories.

That's why people gain weight back after they stop their "shake diet." Your body has been starving and when you start truly feeding it again (with your healthy 1500 calories) it will hold on to everything because it's in a panic. When you go from eating 600-800 calories back to 1500 it doesn't matter how healthy you're eating...your body freaks out.

How does this change with Shakeology?

The big point is that Shakeology is more calories. We've been drinking the Chocolate Vegan so I'll use that in this comparison. It's 170 calories. Plus, the nutrition can't be beat! Check out the ingredient list!!

We want you to learn to eat healthy food! That means ACTUALLY EATING! So if we go with the "500 calorie healthy meal" assumption the math looks like this:

170 + 500 + 500 = 1170

MUCH closer. You could easily maintain this for a few weeks to jumpstart your weight loss and then add in healthy snacks to bump up to where you need to be for calories. Going from 1200 to 1500 isn't going to be as much of a shock to your system!

To learn more about the awesomeness that is Shakeology click here! Remember that I'm not a medical professional and I can only speak from experience!

Temporary Insanity

This week has been pure insanity and it's not just the workout.

Friday my husband had jaw surgery. He has (well, HAD) an overbite that can't be fixed with braces so they broke his jaw, screwed it with space, and now bone will fill in between. It's sort of cool if you think about it. The body does crazy things.

This was the first time he was totally under anesthesia so I was a little freaked out. His mom took him (because whoever took him wasn't allowed to leave until the surgery was over) so I got updates by phone. He did great and he's recovering well...

BUT...

He needs a lot of rest (he's up for a few hours before he gets tired and has to sleep), he super swollen (his bottom lip swelled so much it was splitting), and he's on a NO CHEW diet for 6 weeks. Let me tell you how thankful we are for Shakeology right now! It's seriously a staple now more than ever.

Well this also means he's not allowed to workout for a good long while. No idea if he'll be allowed to workout in 6 weeks or not. I couldn't NOT workout that long and it didn't feel right to keep doing Rev Abs without him (it's sort of our bonding thing right?)

So I started Insanity!

I've finished week one and I'm already hooked.

I spend a lot of the workout staring at the screen panting. I also have to press my hand to my mouth and breathe deep so I don't puke a lot. I have yet to even make it through the entire WARM UP.

This is a video from right after my very first workout.




It really is  keeping me sane. Throughout all of the crazy I've been looking forward to my daily workout. It's an hour (workout plus shower) that is just for ME. And the endorphins are a huge bonus for my mood!

I'm posting videos after each workout so be sure and subscribe to Kas Fitness on Facebook to keep track! https://www.facebook.com/KasFitness


Do YOU want to go insane? I'll be starting an Insanity Challenge Group on OCTOBER 15th 2012!! Several of the slots are ALREADY RESERVED so if you want on the list (or want to convince me to open it as a larger group) you need to let me know sooner rather than later!

Baby Steps to Better Health

I've been meaning to do this one for awhile. I know when I started changing my lifestyle I floundered a bit. "Where do I start?" is a big question. It's hard to know how to get started STRONG without inviting burnout.

If you go through and toss every junk food in your house, replace it with healthy food, and tell yourself you'll NEVER EAT BAD FOOD AGAIN you'll probably do fine for a few days. Some of you will do fine for a week or two. Eventually, though, you'll resent not being able to eat your favorite foods. You'll binge, feel like you failed, and give up for a few weeks only to do it all over again. It's common!

So here are a few baby steps to get you started!

1) Food Journal. When you start out don't worry about calories. This is more for volume and type of food. Put times on here. You may realize that your "weak spot" is in the evening (it is for me) or that you eat most of your calories at dinner after barely eating all day. Track for 1 week and put "bites" in there. 1 bite of a cookie throughout the day isn't a big deal...10 bites throughout the day is a serving of cookies and a bigger deal.

2) Choose Water. You can have your coffee but try to avoid fancy coffeehouse drinks. Those are LOADED with fat and calories and you should only have them if you work it into your plan for the day. (They're TREATS for me) Making your coffee at home will also save you money! Stop drinking sodas and juice! No one NEEDS juice! If you want a serving of fruit have an actual piece of fruit! You should be drinking 1oz per pound of body weight in water. Yep, that's a lot! You can add lemon/lime/cucumber to it for flavoring but try to ONLY drink water.

3) Protein Breakfast. Eat breakfast! This was the HARDEST for me. Try to eat close to 400 calories for breakfast and make them mostly protein. When I first started out I had to eat in shifts. I would make breakfast, eat half of it, wait an hour, and eat the other half. Now I devour breakfast! This is going to jumpstart your metabolism for the day!

4) Make Smart Swaps! Click on that to get 10 things you can swap to make healthier choices!

5) Get Sneaky. Top 10 Ways to Sneak in Exercise.


Those are 5 things to get you started this week! Next week we'll do "Toddler Steps To Better Health!"

Come on over to Kas Fitness and check in with us! Do you need advice or motivation? We're there for you!!
https://www.facebook.com/KasFitness

Goal Setting 101

Every now and then I'll ask my Kas Fitness fans to share their goals. 

This is met with a variety of results. Some people aim high, some aim lower, some ignore me all together (Ha!), and some seem to get a bit down about goals.

What is it about goal setting that makes people feel prickly? Is it stepping out of their comfort zone? Is it realizing that they don't HAVE goals? Or is it deeper than that?

Sometimes I get upset with goals because it reminds me of all the past goals I missed. I suddenly remember that time I set a goal to lose 5lbs and gained 10. Or the time I decided to increase my fitness level and didn't actually work for it. That's when I waffle on current goals...when my brain starts to say to me

What if you fail?

You know what? Your brain (and mine) needs to shut up. 

Set a goal that is reasonable. If you KNOW that you can only lose 2lbs this month THEN SET THAT GOAL. Don't say to yourself, "Well, I don't have much to lose and 2lbs would be a good goal...but I'm going to push for 10 instead." At the end of the month when you've lost 3lbs you won't be happy that you surpassed that original 2; you'll be depressed that it wasn't the 10.

Don't worry about other people's goals. Always remember this: Your "before" is someone's "after" and your "after" is someone's "before." If you're carrying around an extra 20lbs don't get discouraged by the person only carrying around an extra 10lbs...because somewhere out there someone carrying around an extra 50lbs is seeing your "before" and WANTING TO LOOK LIKE YOU.

Set short term goals. It's fine to say "I want to lose 50lbs this year" but don't leave it at that. Break it down. How many pounds is that a week? There are 52 weeks in a year so to lose 50lbs in a year you need to lose about 1lb a week...or 4lbs a month. 4lbs is a lot easier to see in the future than 50lbs.

Be mindful of phrasing. Someone once set a "goal" on KF to "not get any fatter." That's a fine goal IF you phrase it in a positive way. A better way to phrase that goal would be to "maintain current weight."

So I want you to head over to Kas Fitness and share your goals with us. We'll be checking back at the end of the month to see what you accomplished! Go get it!





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Ultimate Skin Care for $55 a month? Yes Please!

Everyone wants to look better. That's part of why people start a workout program and healthy eating plan.

But what about skin care? Drinking water and eating healthy sure can help your skin look and feel better, but what if you want to do MORE?

You could go to a health spa and spend a ton of money for possibly painful and, in some cases, slightly dangerous procedures. You could take time off work to recover from chemical peels and face lifts. You could risk nerve damage from injections.

You know...or you could get Derm Exclusive.
Watch this 4min video to see it used basically live.




A few averages for what Derm Exclusive does...all single treatments. Prices may vary depending on where you live and what kind of spa.

Microdermabrasion = $150
Photofacial = $300
Laser Resurfacing = $1,000
Botox = $300

Total cost (not including time off work for recovery) = $1,750

The Derm Exclusive Ultimate Kit includes a 90 day supply of: the 4 products in the video, 3 additional add-ons that will only make it better, an extra Fill & Freeze (awesome), AND a travel bag.
Retail cost: $165 (less if you're a Club member or Coach)
Per Month: $55
Per DAY? $1.83 (I'm serious)

Better skin for $2 a day? What are you waiting for??? Click HERE and select "Derm Exclusive" and get better skin NOW!

Bad Habits, Blog Series, and RevAbs

Bad habits are HARD to break. I'm not even talking about things like smoking or whatever...I'm talking about emotional habits.

I have a history of depression and anxiety. Over the years I've come to fight against it a lot. But, honestly, a lot of it is ingrained habit now. When I have a hard day, get bad news, get frustrated, etc... my first instinct is to curl up in a ball and WALLOW in that feeling. Truly, I have so much to be thankful for and, if I fight, can avoid giving in to the wallowing...but the feeling is still there. It's a habit just like anything else! Did you know you can have EMOTIONAL Habits?

Moving on...

I get a lot of questions about what I eat and how much we spend. Basically, we try to keep it at about $500 per month for the 4 of us. That does NOT include eating out money. That is an entirely different fund. Our Food Budget includes raw milk in it so the amount spent at the grocery store is less than that $500.

So, I've decided to do a blog series for July where I track our purchases and meals made with those purchases. Yes, this means you'll get to see when I sneak in junk food and when I throw up my hands and say "I'm not cooking tonight" at the end of a hard day! No, I don't buy totally organic produce (I don't even stick to the dirty dozen...I know...fail) but if you're on a super tight budget this series will be for YOU. Hopefully I can help you make some healthy choices and learn to shop a little more efficiently.

The first post will include a list of things I ALREADY HAVE. I'll tell you right now that the shrimp and chicken breasts were on SALE when I bought them...normally those are too expensive for my taste. Are you excited?

Expect some photo updates every 30 days or so as you follow my and my husband's RevAbs journeys. I'm loving this workout so far. Brett has charisma even through the screen. I'll tell you that phase one is already changing my body and I'm only about a week into it.


Which update are you most excited about?

Hungry But Not Starving

I'm hungry...all the time.

I'm also eating...all the time.

I'll be honest and tell you that this is sort of weird for me.

The last time I was hungry all the time I was eating 500-800 calories a day. Now I eat a minimum of 1700.

I have a metabolism. I'm not sure I've had a functioning metabolism for the last 10+ years. No, I'm totally serious here.

How did I do it? How can you replicate it?

1) Eat a filling, protein rich breakfast.
You should aim for 400 calories. A wrap with egg whites, avocado, potato, and veggies is perfect (just measure things out so you're in your calorie range) The first WEEK I did this I couldn't finish it. I'd eat half, wait an hour or so, and then eat the other half. Now I easily inhale my breakfast and wake up HUNGRY!

2) Eat every 2-4 hours.
Yep, even if you're not hungry. Eat SOMETHING. Even if you just eat an apple or have a small glass of milk. Think of hunger like a scale of 1-10. 1 is so starving you think you're dying and 10 is so full you could puke. You want to stay in the 4-6 range as much as possible. If you get to 2-3 you're more likely to overeat and end up in 8-9. (okay, enough numbers!) Eat frequently.

3) Stay hydrated.
Seriously. Drinking 8 glasses of water a day isn't enough for everyone. Aim for 1oz per pound of body weight. More if it's hot or if you're working out or if you just feel thirsty!

4) Exercise regularly.
Once you fuel the fire you need to keep it running....by running (or weight lifting or dancing or or or...just MOVE)

5) Give it time.
If you eat tomorrow and wake up the next day and don't feel hungry don't think you've failed. It takes time. Just keep at it!

Bonding over Health

When my husband and I got our first apartment our diet was terrible...LOTS of processed foods. One thing we LOVED was chips and dip. We got caught in, what I call, the "chip-dip-cycle." That's the one where you  run out of chips but have dip leftover so you buy more chips so the dip doesn't go to waste. You finish the dip but have chips left so you buy more dip...and so on.

Except not this glamorous looking...

We would sit and watch "TV" (our computer) and eat chips and dip...it's how we bonded. We worked at the same place but didn't spend a lot of time together during the day so we would bond over House MD, LOST, Heroes, etc...and chips and dip.

Bonding...right?

We gained weight. We felt awful most of the time.

Now we know better!

Today we start RevAbs TOGETHER! We're going to bond through exercise. We've worked out together before and I love it. He pushes me to work harder, to finish out a set, and to keep pushing when I think I'm done. Yes, there's a bit of competition there! It's a healthy competition that pushes us each to be our best.

I want that for you!!

I want YOU and your significant other to BOND OVER HEALTH.

Which is why I'm starting a Couples Only Challenge Group on July 9th!

Get healthy with your main squeeze

If you want to get healthy together message me NOW https://www.facebook.com/kasondra.morin  Spots for this kind of thing fill up FAST!

Motivation for today

Top 10 Chocolate Shakeology Recipes

These are my favorite Chocolate Shakeology Recipes! Yes, I've tried them all and they're all fantastic! I love that Shakeology gives me variety!

Click to learn more about Shakeology!

All are made with one scoop/packet of Chocolate Shakeology in a blender. All include ice to taste!

1) Peanut Butter Cup

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1 Tbl peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

2) Chocolate Minty

1 tsp mint extract

1 cup water

3) Chocolate Bananas Foster

1 banana

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp rum extract

1 cup milk

4) Mocha Chiller

1 cup cold coffee

1 tsp cinnamon

5) Post Workout Recovery (my own recipe)

1 cup water

1/4 tsp sea salt

6) Cheeky Monkey (my own recipe)

1 banana

1/2 tsp coconut extract

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

7) Salted Caramel

1 cup milk

1 tsp caramel extract

1 dash sea salt

8) Maple Buttercup

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 cup milk

9) Cinna-Nutter

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1 cup milk

10) Straight Up!

Just add water or milk!

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