"Stick with It!" February Challenges!

My February challenge groups will be all about helping YOU stick to those goals you made at the beginning of this year 💚 What do you need help with the most? Eating healthy or fitness? I have a challenge coming up for both! Use these challenges to help you tie it all together - fitness, nutrition and support - and get great results.

It all begins with a quickie 5 day clean eating & (optional) Shakeology challenge! I don't claim to be a nutritionist by any means...but I do know that I lost 40 lbs and have kept it off with clean eating and Shakeology. In this challenge, I invite you to try it with me! I'll provide you with a bunch of clean and yummy recipes, help you create a meal plan, and provide you with a week's supply of Shakeology. My goal for this challenge is to help you fall in love with eating a variety fresh and nutritious foods, and for you to experience how it feels to fuel your body in such a way :) The 5 day challenge begins Monday, February 6th!

Immediately following our clean eating challenge, we'll have a 12 day "Fit Everyday" challenge! During these 12 days, I'll help you build a regular fitness schedule, help keep you accountable to following it and provide you with fun little fitness challenges to do at home every day. Fitness can be fun! It's always more fun when you have a group working with you :) Our 12 day fitness challenge begins Monday, February 13th!

Both challenges are on Facebook and are free to join :) To join me in either or both challenges, register using the links below. Once I receive your registration, I'll be in touch to talk goals! 

To join the 5 day clean eating challenge: https://coachbeckyfloyd.wufoo.com/forms/clean-eating-challenge-registration/

To join the 12 day fitness challenge: https://coachbeckyfloyd.wufoo.com/forms/fitter-everyday-12-day-challenge-registration/

I look forward to working with you soon!!! 

Core De Force Sneak Peek and Launch Group!

I can't wait to start another program! You can really fall in love with fitness, it really is possible! You just have to find something you love. Seriously, who doesn't love to kick and punch?! Now, we're going to have an entire mixed martial arts inspired library at our fingertips! I'm just as excited about this program as I was about Insanity Max 30 :) Details coming at ya

30 day program, 7 days/week!
Workouts are 30 - 45 minutes long
Challenge packs release 10/31/16
Base kit releases 11/1/16

Sneak Peek! 

There will be a FREE sneak peek workout on Beachbody On Demand, Monday, October 24th only! 

The first sneak peek workout I did left my upper body and core screaming! I could feel after one workout that this program is going to make major changes to my body. You definitely want to check this one out! Just follow the link below for more info and to get started!

https://coachbeckyfloyd.wufoo.com/forms/core-de-force-sneak-peek-workout-registration/

Launch Group!

If you love the way Core De Force makes you feel after the sneak peek and you want to give this program a try with me, let's do it! Our private Facebook launch group will start on November 1st for a week of prep before we kick off our programs together on Monday, November 7th. It's my goal to provide you everything in our group to set you up for success! From there, it's up to all of us to support and motivate each other to stay balanced over the holiday season. We CAN! I'll provide you with daily tips, motivation and accountability and we won't have that extra 10 pounds to start the new year with. ;) It will be our "Year End Resolution" challenge! 

Follow the link below for more info and to get started! 
https://coachbeckyfloyd.wufoo.com/forms/challenge-group-registration-becky-floyd-fitness/

Spaghetti Squash Success!

Have you ever tried spaghetti squash?! You know those big old yellow melon looking things that you probably walk right by in the produce section. When I got mine, the sticker on it said Cactus Melon. Okey dokey....

Don't be intimidated by spaghetti squash! Many people will use it in place of regular spaghetti noodles when they want to cut down on carbs. It has a neutral taste, making it easily paired with lots of foods. But wait, how do I get spaghetti out of this yellow pumpkin, you ask? When you scrape the insides out after you cook it, it has the consistency of long noodles!

I haven't used a spaghetti squash in a really long time because, frankly, I was so sick of making it with ground chicken and marinara. That's when I found this super tasty recipe on Eat Yourself Skinny! It's simple to put together on a weeknight for a quick and delicious, low-carb dinner. Give it a try!

Spaghetti Squash Sausage Boats

Ingredients

2 Spaghetti Squash
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb ground sausage (I used Giant Eagle Sweet Italian, you could make this dish even healthier by using a turkey sausage instead!)
1 yellow or white onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1-2 pinches of red papper flakes (to taste)
1 10 oz can Rotel tomatoes
1 cup reduced sodium organic chicken broth
1/4 cup half and half
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
Dried Basil to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Cut squash down the middle (long ways) and scrape out the seeds. (Feels like Halloween, doesn't it?!)

3. Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place squash halves face down on the baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes until tender.

4. While the squash is baking, drizzle a large skillet with evoo. Saute onion and garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

5. Add ground sausage, crumbling it with your fingers as you add it in. Sprinkle it all with as many pinches of red pepper flakes as you prefer. Mix well and cook until sausage is fully cooked.

6. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, half and half, sea salt and pepper. Cover and simmer while your squash finishes cooking.

(I was pretty skeptical at this point. Thinking "This looks like hamburger helper right now.")

7. When squash is done, remove from oven to cool. Time for the most intricate and time consuming part of this process.....

8. When cooled enough, start scraping the insides from the spaghetti squash. Use a fork and the strands will easily pull right out. Try not to make holes in your squash's since you'll be using them as bowls for your sausage mixture!

9. When you're done scraping your squash halves out, add all the spaghetti squash strands into your sausage mixture, along with half of the mozzarella cheese. Mix well and make it all super HAPPY!

10. Spoon the sausage and squash mixture evenly back into your squash halves. Wala, Squash boats!

11. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining mozzarella cheese and dried basil, to taste. Place back in the oven for another 3-5 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and bubbly.

12. Serve and enjoy! This is a very filling meal for me and I didn't even need anything served on the side!

Guilt (and GRAIN) Free Pizza!

Friday's. What is it about Pizza Friday's being THE way to start the weekend?  The pizza cravings usually start to roll in around noonish. Then I usually get an email from Pizza Hut an hour or so later, just taunting me with those delectable (and free) crust flavors...how do they know?! And to make matters worse, Friday nights have turned into my movie nights with Damon. Seriously though, what goes better together than a movie and pizza?! Throw a snugly and adorable toddler in there and I mean come on, who can resist.

Today, when the pizza cravings hit, I decided that I wanted to make my own pizza! Again. Do you know what I hated about my previous cauliflower crusts? I've had the obvious - way too soggy and crumbly which falls apart when you try to pick it up. I've had the way too thick crust that only bakes halfway through and sticks to the bottom anyway. Also, I don't play around when it comes to size on pizza night. We need pizza to feed an army basically.... so here's what I did tonight, it was pretty darn successful! Forget everything you know about parchment paper and give it a shot! Let me know if you enjoy it =)

Guilt and Grain Free Cauliflower Crust

Ingredients

1- 2 lb bag cauliflower florets
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
2 eggs
about a 1/4 cup almond meal

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450

2. I used almost a full bag of these cauliflower florets (I have probably about a cup leftover). Cut any long stems off and put the florets in the food processor. Chop in the processor for about 30 seconds, until you don't see any big pieces left and you're left with a fine rice texture. I did this in two batches and ended up with about 7 cups of "cauliflower rice"

3. Combine all the cauliflower rice in a microwavable bowl, cover but keep it vented so the steam doesn't stay in, and microwave for 4 minutes. 

4. Now the REAL FUN begins. I never said this was an easy process...yummy and worth it though!  Dump the cauliflower onto a clean kitchen towel. Let it cool for a few minutes before you wrap it all up and wring the heck out of it to get all that extra moisture out. This step really contributes to getting a crust that's chewy and not just crumby and moist. I probably got over a cup of water out of my towel! Put that muscle into it! 

5. Back into the bowl goes the rice. Now add your seasonings, eggs, cheese and the secret weapon - almond meal! I used about 1/4 cup.

6. All recipes I have read say to preheat pans and use parchment paper. Forget it all. A baking pan sprayed with olive oil spray is what I used. Form your cauliflower mixture into a dough ball with your hands. Plop it down onto your pre-sprayed baking sheet and flatten into a crust. Mine fit the whole pan perfectly! 

7. The baking time for your crust will depend on your oven. It's important to watch for color rather than go by time. Watch for that nice golden brown crust color that you know and love so much. Mine took about 20 minutes at 450 degrees. 

8. Remove crust from oven when it's nice and golden brown. Top with an organic, no sugar added pizza sauce and have your favorite little one sprinkle on the cheese. Top with parsley sprinkles and pop it back into the oven. Bake until bubbly - about 5 minutes!

 This crust cuts very easily. I used a regular old pizza cutter but didn't press very hard so I didn't damage my pan. Using a large spatula, the pieces came up SO easily and didn't fall apart! They were delicious and I didn't feel an ounce of guilt from eating 6 slices  =)

Better-For-You Baked Taquitos!

Seriously though, who doesn't LOVE Mexican food?! If your kiddos love tacos as much as my lil guy does, I bet this will be an awesome way to sneak some veggie power into their dinner...AND keep the taste factor up high! These "oven fried" taquitos are super yummy but half the calories of the deep fried taquitos you can sometimes get at a restaurant. And um, excuse me but....do they serve zucchini in their taquitos?!

You would never guess there is actual squash in this dish. There's nothing but flavor! Damon never once mentioned "spicy" while he chowed down, but if your kiddos are a little sensitive to spicy, try some greek yogurt to tone it down some. It's a great alternative to sour cream!

One final note, if you don't want to use this "oven-fried" method, you could totally just use this meat mixture in any taco related dish you have in your arsenal. Just think of the squashy possibilities! Wheat tortillas rolled up or chips crunched on top of a taco salad, nachos, quesadillas, lettuce wraps...all with this yummy meat and zucchini mixture. I'll be honest here, I picked up all the drippings with my fingers and ate it..... I mean, who wants to waste food, right? ;)

"Oven Fried" Chicken Taquitos 

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb raw lean ground chicken
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt
12 6-inch corn tortillas
Olive oil cooking spray
3/4 cup shredded cheddar (why not use 2%, right?)

Directions

1. Preheat Oven - 425 degrees

2.  Shred your zucchini with the large holes in a metal cheese grater (box grater?). Put in all in a clean, dry dish towel and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. Unwrap it, layer it and pat the rest dry.

3. Heat the evoo in a large skillet. Dump in your zucchini, ground chicken and seasonings. Mix it all up and make it happy! Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 - 7 minutes, until the chicken is done.

(Happy Meat)

4. Spread out the tortillas on a baking sheet, overlapping. Heat them in the oven for 2 minutes. Transfer them to a plate and cover to keep warm. 

5. Coat the baking sheet with cooking spray. 

6. In increments, roll your taquitos up. Use about 1/4 cup of happy meat per tortilla, placed on bottom 3rd of the tortilla, sprinkle with cheese and roll it up into a tight cigar shape - though not too tight because the tortillas might break, but a lot will break in the oven anyway. It all goes to the same place is my motto :)

7. Place the seam side down on the baking sheet. Once all your taquitos are rolled up and on the pan, give them all a quick coating with the cooking spray. This will get them nice and crispy in the oven! Bake them for 15 - 17 minutes, or until they're browned and crispy.

Don't worry if you don't get pretty taquitos, you won't be worried about how they look when you taste them! Make a quick dipping sauce with greek yogurt and your favorite salsa. Damon loved this part. He even dipped his broccoli in it, lil weirdo ;) 

 And the pay off! The best part of my day is when he actually eats his dinner and likes it.

If you try it and you love it, let me know! And please SHARE the squash love with your veggie-challenged-toddler-mom friends!

5 Day Clean Eating Menu: Monday - Friday!

Easy and Yummy 5 Day Clean Eating Menu

Part of what I love about running 5 Day Clean Eating groups on Facebook is being able to show people that, YES, you can EAT with a clean eating lifestyle! We eat a lot. Clean eaters basically plan our entire days around food! And I love to see people discover how awesome your body feels when you eat this way. You simply have more energy when you don't bog you body down with chemicals in processed foods. Your body works so hard to get rid of them, then comes the sluggishness. Eating fresh and non-processed foods will eliminate all that extra work so that your body can focus on shedding weight and building muscle! That's the stuff we want =) 

I created this menu for one of my 5 day clean eating groups with ease in mind. As a busy full-time working mom, it's a rare occasion when I have super involved meal prep or lengthy cooking times on a weeknight. (Prep is always done ahead of time for bulk meals!) So, all of the meals on the menu are simple and made with normal ingredients which you might even have in your kitchen already. I also wanted to make it easy for anyone who is trying this kind of meal plan for the first time and show that them you CAN have the favorite meals you're used to, just with healthy modifications which will taste amazing and make you feel awesome.

If you think you might want to give this meal plan a try, please let me know how I can support you through it! The best way I can support you is through my challenge groups. If you want a group of people around you with like-minded goals, who support and motivate each other, and keep each other accountable daily, then a challenge group is for you! Click the link below to complete the registration and inquire about more information. It's free to join and you would be one step closer to achieving those goals of yours. 

Click here to complete the Challenge Group Registration Form

Click here for Becky's Easy 5 Day Clean Eats Menu

How I Became A Morning Workout Person

I talk to so many people who struggle with finding time to exercise. We all know exercise should be a priority in order to have a healthy body but, more often than not, it’s the first thing to be put off. I have found that I am most consistent with my workouts when I get them done first thing in the morning before my busy day even starts.

I’ve totally been there though. I used to be an evening workout person and it kind of went like this – I would spend all day at work dreading it. Then I would go home and mom duties would take over – dinner, playtime, bath, bedtime. After my son was in bed, I would have to push through the exhaustion of the day and drag myself to my basement, groaning and yawning, to do my hour long Insanity workout at 10 pm, sometimes even later. Ugh, it sucked! A lot of time, the stresses of the day won and I opted out. Or unexpected events would come up in the evening, which eliminated the opportunity to exercise at all that evening. If I did do the workout, I was adrenalized afterwards, which pushed my bedtime later and I was getting less and less sleep as this cycle continued. It was a day to day struggle.

Now, I have a great routine and I’ve never been so consistent with my workouts. I always used to look at my coach, who woke up every morning to do her Insanity before work, and I would think “I would NEVER be able to do that!” Well, one day, I decided I needed to. I could see the benefits from making this switch, but how to do it?! Of course I’ve tried before and that lasted maybe two days….but I was determined this time. I KNEW this was going to be a great thing.

So I really RESEARCHED this morning workout thing! This is what I came up with and put into practice little by little.

• If you want to wake up earlier, you have to go to bed earlier!
• Don’t try to alter your sleep time by a whole hour right away. It won’t work! You’re more likely to become frustrated and give up when trying to make such a huge change all at once. Start small.
• First, pick a date to begin your morning workouts, maybe a week or two in the future. Go to bed 15 minutes earlier, and wakeup 15 minutes earlier for a few days. Then increase it to a half hour for a few days. Gradually increase to an hour before your pre-determined morning workout start date!

• Use ALARMS for wakeup time AND bedtime!
• Bedtime alarm – Count back the number of hours of sleep you need from your desired wakeup time and that’s your bedtime! I have found that 6 hours of sleep is good for me so I need to go to sleep by 11:30 pm to be up by 5:30 am.
• Set two alarms on your mobile. One alarm should be 30-45 minutes before your bedtime and the 2nd should be 15 minutes before your bedtime.
• When your first alarm goes off, this is when you should begin to rest your brain. Start giving up ALL screen time when this first alarm goes off. Turn off the tv, computer and put your phone away. Dim your lights. This will help your brain prepare for sleep. Bright lights in our faces do NOT help with getting us into a restful mode!
• When that second alarm goes off, that’s when you head to bed to do your night time routine. Go to bed in the dark with no distractions. Breathe deeply. Clear your mind of existing thoughts so you can drift off peacefully. Save your troubling thoughts for the next day…because what the heck are you going to do about them now anyway as your lying in bed?! Get over it and you can start back at it tomorrow.

• Your WAKEUP alarms…..
• What I’m about to say is huge. DO NOT HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON! The “extra 5 minutes” does absolutely nothing for you and it’s a waste of your precious time. Our bodies need to go into a restful sleep for 20 minutes for it do anything for us. Your extra 5 minute snooze button could only be making you groggy in the morning. That snooze button is nothing but a tease!
• Set your morning alarm and put it on full volume IN A DIFFERENT ROOM. This will ensure you need to get UP out of bed to get to that alarm. If there’s a room in your house that is brightly lit in the morning, where you will be able to hear the alarm from your bed, use that room. The light will automatically start to wake you up. Flip on every light switch that you pass. You can turn them off after you are fully up and awake.
• Instead of hating your life and dragging your feet to that alarm, begging for the snooze button to relieve you, immediately start to say in your brain “I am awake, I am awake, I AM AWAKE!!!” The body follows the brain. It works!

• Get a SUPPLEMENT!
• I never took an energy supplement before I became a morning workout person. If I didn’t start, I would’ve stayed in zombie mode during my entire workout. So what’s the very first thing I do in the morning? I zombie walk right over to my energy and endurance supplement and chug it down immediately. 15 minutes later, I am ready to ROCK! I use that 15 minutes to pack my healthy foods to take to work for the day. One of the great things about chugging my supplement first thing in the morning was, there was no turning back! Once that supplement was in my body, I wasn’t going to waste it by NOT doing my workout!
• Beachbody now has two awesome energy supplements that will get you ready to move – I use the Energy and Endurance Formula regularly and now they have the new Energize! Both are completely safe for your body without the jittery feeling that I hear some energy supplements can give you.
• I am now at a point where I still take my Energy and Endurance formula before every workout, but I feel like my body is now used to my morning workout time. My body has gotten used to the schedule and now expects me to be moving at that time, so I feel more awake in the mornings even before I take it!

So, there you have it. A look into how I became the morning energizer bunny. People see it like a myth or a legend, that people can actually have more energy by working out in the mornings. It’s so true though! The benefits I’ve experienced from creating a morning workout routine have been plentiful.

* My body feels amazing all day. I love the added energy boost I get from working out in the morning and I can literally feel my muscles changing as I sit at a desk.

* My water intake sky rocketed! When you sweat first thing in the morning, you want more water ALL DAY LONG. Plus, you get a quick couple glasses first thing in your day during your morning sweatfest.

* Food choices improved! I doubt you want to ruin an awesome morning workout by getting McDonald’s for lunch. One good choice, like working out in the morning, will lead to better choices all day. And it’s important to refuel your body with the nutrients it needs to repair and recover! You’re not putting in all this work for nothing, and you can NOT out work a bad diet! Give your body the healthy food it needs.

* Night time FREEDOM! Ah, it feels so good when I take a look at my evening and I don’t have to set aside an hour in it to workout. That’s a whole hour in my evening I can spend my time doing other valuable activities.

* Sleepy sooner! The earlier you wake up, the earlier you’ll get tired. This is a great thing when you want to continue your early bedtimes, in order to continue your early wakeup times!
Stay the course. It may take a while to get your new routine down but I promise you, with all my heart, it will be completely WORTH the change!

Let’s talk and see if you can make adjustments in your life to start reaping the benefits of morning workouts! I am ready to help you get there in any way I can!

Check out this helpful article with more tips to start a morning routine!
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/early-morning-workout-motivation