OMG!! Another Yummy Meal!! Roasted Red Pepper Chicken and Avocado Salad

 If you follow my pictures posted on my Facebook pages, you see that I eat pretty clean. 

I'm not perfect, and I sometimes have my cheat days. 

These one cheat meals on Fridays or Saturdays are needed so I don't freak out and crave everything in sight!! 

You need a cheat meal too.

You're gonna think like you're cheating when you eat this cool yummy salad.

Here's a yummy recipe from my partners over at Prograde Nutrition for you.

Roasted Red Pepper Chicken and Avocado Salad

• 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
• 1 tsp.  lemon juice
• 1 bag (10 oz.) torn romaine lettuce (about 10 cups)
• 2 cups  shredded cooked chicken
• 1 medium tomato, cut into wedges
• 1 small  cucumber, sliced
• 1/4 of a medium Vidalia or Walla Walla onion, chopped
• ½ cup Red Pepper
• 1/2 cup  Light or Fat-free Italian Dressing
• ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

1. Toss avocados with lemon juice in large salad bowl.
2. Add lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions; mix lightly.
3. Add dressing; toss to coat.
4. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
5. Serve immediately.

Hey, if you like that one they've got 196 more! Seriously, Prograde has a really cool 197 Healthy and Delicious Fat Burning Recipes ebook for just $4.95!

Check it out here: 197 Healthy Fat Loss Recipes ebook <==

Twork it out,
Coach Kri

PS - If you've been on the lookout for simple and nutritious meals then look no further than the Prograde Recipe ebook <==

How Does Strength Training Rev Up Your Weight Loss Efforts?

Strength Training

By Cassandra Forsythe-Pribanic, PhD, RD, CSCS

Q) I've heard that strength training increases my metabolism. How does it do that and will that help me lose weight?



A) Strength training, which involves using weights, bands, kettlebells or other forms of resistance that challenge your body to work harder than it does in everyday life, definitely does increase your metabolic rate. However, so does endurance exercise (such as running). The difference is how long and how much these activities boost your metabolism that really has an impact on your overall ability to lose body fat and/or decrease your weight.

Just so we’re all on the same page, let’s talk about the components of our metabolism:

First we have our resting metabolic rate, or RMR. This is the energy needed (quantified in calories) to keep our bodies alive – our heart beating, our lungs breathing, etc. Your RMR makes up about 60 to 80 percent of our total metabolic rate. The variation in RMR is due to individual differences among people, the foods we consume, and the activity we engage in which can directly change RMR.

Second we have the Thermic Effect of Activity, or TEA. The more active you are, the more your total metabolic rate will be increased. TEA includes all activity from mowing your lawn (with a push mower, that is), to playing basketball, to walking across the room. It’s not just structured activity, but also the activities that we engage in every day to live our lives.

Third, we have the Thermic Effect of Feeding, or TEF. This is the amount of energy expended to eat and digest food and use those nutrients to create more energy.

So our metabolism, known as total energy expenditure (TEE) = RMR + TEA + TEF. Each component is different for each person, resulting in unique metabolic rates.

Strength training increases our TEE by elevating the amount of calories expended in activity (TEA). The harder you strength train, the greater the amount of calories you burn through exercise. In turn, if your food intake does not highly exceed your needs and consists of quality choices, you will lose weight and body fat.

Interestingly, strength training also increases the amount of calories expended in your RMR. The reason it does this is by increasing the amount of lean muscle mass you carry, which requires more energy to maintain and repair than fat tissue.

Both strength training and endurance exercise will increase your energy expenditure at the time of activity, and for a few hours afterwards, when they are conducted at the same intensity (you all have experienced that increase in hunger after a good workout, whether it be strength or cardio work).

However, strength training is unique in that if you perform multiple sets of a challenging weight to failure, scientists have shown that the energy expended afterwards, known as EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) can be elevated for 24-36 hours. Some people call this the “Afterburn” effect of serious strength training.

Overall, strength training can boost your metabolism, but it has to be more challenging than activities you do every day. You can’t expect 3lb dumbbells to make much difference to your metabolic rate if your children (that you carry around) weigh more, or your grocery bags are heavier. Your body needs to remember that strength training requires “strength” so you have to load your exercises accordingly. Otherwise your body won’t get the challenge it needs to build muscle, lose fat and look better in your clothes – and that’s what we’re all looking for, right?

The Simpler Way: New METABOLISM

Prograde’s new METABOLISM dietary supplement is intended to serve as a simple tool for helping you “exercise” your metabolism, raise your calorie-burning rate and get you into the negative fat balance territory where fat loss actually occurs.

Every Prograde products comes with a 60-day, 100% money-back guarantee.

You've got nothing to lose (and everything to gain) by putting your trust in Prograde Nutrition!

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Twork it out!

Coach Kri Chay
Sexy Back Boot Camps in Kansas City

Yummy Yummy Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Shake (Super Easy Recipe)

Dorn, Mervyn, and I train our bodies about five times a week.

If schedules don't match, we still get about three times per week.

After every session in my basement gym, we come upstairs and I use my Magic Bullet from Costco to blend up a great tasting post-workout protein shake.

See below for the recipe on how to make your own fat-burning yummy shake for rapid fat loss and recovery.

==============

½ a ripe banana (use a very ripe banana for the best banana flavor),
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter,
¾ c. skim milk,
½ scoop Prograde Lean Meal Replacement. <==

Blend it up!!

Drink it down!!



Calories: 304
Fat (grams): 9 grams
Protein (grams): 19 grams
Carbs (grams): 37 grams
Fiber (grams): 5 grams

If you want more protein and chocolate flavor then use a full scoop of Prograde Lean Meal Replacement. The 9 grams of fat comes from the all-natural peanut butter and consists primarily of healthy polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

Skinny Jeans... Here I Come!!

Skinny Jeans... Here I Come!!

We started back up with classes this week.

We finished up a few contests and did a ton of workouts, so see tomorrows blog for the contest winners and workouts.

Wendy Greashaber won Camper of the Week a few weeks ago by coming to class every time, bringing in her food journal, doing her homework, applying her knowledge and teaching others about fitness.

Thank you and congrats to her. She won a $25 Gift Card to Bolero Salon and Spa.



I have made a lot of changes from what I eat to how I exercise. Overall, I have always been a healthy eater, but I wasn't hitting all of the food groups the way I should have (and still am at about 80%) Changes that I've made in my diet include increasing fruit, decreasing salty snacks, taking a multi vitamin and a fish oil supplement, decreasing diet soda, increasing water and using the knowledge that I gained from the "grocery store" tour to plan our family's meals. I'm realizing that I can't live my life without occasionally giving in to my favorite salty snacks, I just have to learn to say no a little more often. I try to start each day off right and I don't beat myself up over the bad days.

Another change that I've made is that I am now jogging/running on a regular basis. I'd never been able to make it more than half a mile until I started boot camp. I now run 3.5-4.5 miles on Mon., Wed., and Friday mornings and then run 5-6 miles on Tuesdays and Saturdays. I have to credit boot camp for giving me the core strength that I had been missing, but needed to do this. I work on core doing dynamic "around the world" 2 mornings a week after my run.

Overall, I've learned much more than I initially expected about fitness by just listening in class, trying to do what I'm supposed to, and seeing the results. I'm glad that we never know the daily class agenda before we get there because I'd have a hard time making myself go on days where we do leg excercises. I really have to focus hard at fully applying myself to lunges -- I hate them! (but the pain does wear off -- ha ha!)

My advise to everyone in the class would be: 3 steps forward and 1 step back -- Make your "good days" the best days ever -- see how far you can go! Don't beat yourself over the bad days.

Top Women's Multi-Vitamin

Thank you and congrats to those who walked, jogged, and ran the Night Flight Run Friday night with me ==> Nicole, Jamie, Sondra, Marta, Melody, Jerri, Christie, Carolyn, Kristin, Kelly, and Joni.

Melody asked me ALL day Friday before the race about all the proper nutrients to consume prior to the run. Whether you’re coming to train with us in class or running a 5k race or whatever, you have to be properly fueled up or your fat loss efforts will come to a halt.

Do you know why Melody is hitting her fat loss goals every single week and every single month and was the Biggest Loser during the last Transformation Contest?

She takes advantage of ME. Huh? Takes advantage? WTF!!

Yes. Since she has hired me as her Coach, like all my Sexy Sexy members of my Entourage, she takes advantage of her time with me and picks my brain all day, every day. She is Proactive, not Reactive, and wants to create a better body and better life for herself.

She asks me questions by phone calls, email, Facebook, and text messages about things she has questions about so she doesn't have to "react" and wait until she gets fatter. She's fighting her fat loss efforts head on.

Ok, so you know Vitamins and Minerals are important. Most every woman knows that.




However, not everyone understands WHY they are so important for their body. I met up with Registered Dietitian Jayson Hunter during the fitness seminar two weeks ago and asked him to give us the easy rundown on the Top Women's Vitamins. Here's what he had to say:


Vitamin A - This vitamin contributes to the health of you eyes, skin and nails.

Vitamim B - While B Vitamins are often referred to as "energy vitamins" they don't actually give you a surge of energy, per se. What they actually do is help facilitate metabolic reaction in the body to create energy. They're also necessary for a healthy metabolism.

Vitamin C - This women's vitamin is a great antioxidant and immune system booster. It also helps skin health.

Vitamin D - Helps women absorb calcium. And it may help prevent certain types of cancer.

Calcium - It's actually a mineral not a vitamin. And as most women know already, it improves bone density.

Pretty simple, right? But you can also see why it's so important to understand vitamins for women. When we understand the reasons to make healthier choices it helps us make them.

Now, I get asked all the time by women which vitamin supplements, if any, they need to be taking. Great question.

Well, if your nutrition is 100% perfect all the time then you probably don't need to take any.

Like I’ve said in class before, if you consume at least three servings of fish per week you don’t need to take Omega-3 vitamins. If you are consuming three servings of lean meat per day, you don’t need to drink a protein shake, etc, etc.

But that's not the case for most women. Most women are busy as heck and don't always find the time for proper nutrition. So if that's the case with you I recommend taking a Whole Foods based Multi-Vitamin. And the only one I recommend is Prograde Nutrition's VGF 25+ for Women.

It's actually really cool because it's literally made from 25 veggies, greens and fruits. You should definitely check out Prograde's Women's Vitamins. At the very top of the page is the list of ingredients. You can see the 25 whole foods they use to make VGF 25+ for Women.

Pretty cool, huh? The nutrition of 25 whole foods in a bottle!

If you want to save tons of moolah and you need extra protein, the perfect Multi-vitamin, and Omega-3’s, then the Prograde combo packs are the best bang for your buck.

Guilt Free Fat Fighters

Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, I'll make this short and sweet.

Here are two Guilt Free Fat Fighters (and a BIG reminder) to enjoy tomorrow:

1) Celebration Sorbet

Put a scoop of raspberry (or whatever your favorite flavor is) sorbet in a martini glass and sprinkle with fresh berries. Drizzle with champagne or sparkling apple cider.

2) Strawberry Dippers

Dip whole strawberries in low-fat French vanilla, lemon chiffon or chocolate yogurt.

Easy, huh? Guilt free AND delicious!

Ok, now for the BIG reminder.

My buddies at Prograde Nutrition are having a "Chocolate is for Lovers" sale for Valentine's Day. Read below to find out how to save 14% on all purchases of their AMAZING organic dark chocolate Prograde Cravers. Amanda and Kathy from the GAGE class have ordered, saved money, and loves their bars.



Seriously, they are the BEST tasting healthy snack bar on the planet.

Happy Valentine's Day!

PS - Here are all the details on Prograde Nutrition's 14% off Prograde Cravers sale.
Organic Dark Chocolate Prograde Cravers have no preservatives, only 180 calories and they come in three yummy flavors: peanut butter, almond butter and spirulina.

Here's everything you need to know:

- Again, because it's Valentine's Day, the sale is 14% off all purchases of Prograde Cravers

- When you checkout you will enter this coupon code to save the 14%: vday0909

- Shipping will take 3-5 days, so while I HIGHLY recommend you jump all over this sale, don't purchase these as a gift expecting them to be their for Valentine's Day itself. Buy them as a healthy gift for yourself or others.

- The offer cannot be combined with others from Prograde and it ends TOMORROW, February 14th at 11:59pm EST.

- Prograde Cravers are NOT available in stores anywhere. You can only find them online here: Prograde Cravers

Ninja Kicking Fat Fighting Pills

So another new year is upon us. Untold numbers of people are "resolving" to win the battle of the bulge this year.

Some people are actually laying out a solid plan based on exercise and nutrition.

Others are going to go on yet another fad diet.

Even worse, lots and lots of soon to be disheartened folks will be turning to the latest miracle pill they've seen on TV or the Internet.

It's really sad.

The marketing for these pills gets cranked up to full blast now that it's January. These far less than reputable companies know how desperate people are. And they certainly know how much greater that desperation becomes in January.

Look, you and I know better. We know that the only way you're going to Ninja Kick that fat off your belly, butt, hips and thighs is to eat right and exercise.

Know what else is sad?

Once people come to grips with the fact they've been ripped off over and over by these "miracle" diet pill companies, oftentimes they'll refuse to listen to reason about nutritional products that have actual benefits.

For instance, did you know that Essential Fatty Acid products help promote fat loss through the stabilization of blood sugar levels?

But genuine Neptune krill oil – which you can be certain you are getting with EFA Icon – is much better absorbed than fish oil. This means you can take 1/5 the dose and get by with two small capsules rather than ten large ones.

And that they may also help regulate mood, improve heart health and decrease joint pain?

If people are looking for a pill to take - one that is actually based on research - they should strongly consider adding an Essential Fatty Acids product to their diet.

I'm asked all the time what I use and it's Prograde's EFA Icon (you can read more about it here: EFA Icon



Again, I know you're too smart to fall for the gimmicks, but if you know of anyone trying a diet pill this January, please tell them to get real. They'll be better off for it.

Twork it out,

Kri

PS - Again, if you're looking to add a great Essential Fatty Acid product to your diet be sure to check out Prograde's EFA Icon. It's the best out there. EFA Icon