Insanity: The Asylum Results

In life we are our biggest critics, our biggest naysayer, our biggest challenge. How often do we overthink something or tell ourselves that we cant do something. in life we are our own worst enemy. Today, as I write this blog post I truly cant help but smile. I cant help but be proud of myself for accomplishing something that I never thought that I could. for completing the hardest workout program I have ever done. its a little program called insanity the asylum. talk about being in tip top shape after you complete this and feeling like an athlete, oh my goodness, yes I do. I truly wish that I could go back to when I was playing sports and would have done a program like this, I would have been a serious elite athlete. but even thou I cant go back, I can strive today to be better than ever. I can do things now that when I was a young athlete, I would have never been able to do.

This program taught me that I needed to dig deeper and push myself to a whole new level. it taught me that I can truly  do anything that I put my mind to. I just need a goal and a desire to crush it. I won't lie, it was not an easy 30 days. and I can honestly say that I cannot wait to take a few days off from working out and giving my legs a rest and time to recover. it was a hard 30 days and I don't know if I would have made it if it was longer than 30 days. it was the perfect balance of strength, agility, flexibility, and pure badass.

Day 0 (Top) Day 30 (Bottom)

Sometimes in life, we have to challenge ourselves, challenge our minds, challenge our bodies and challenge our reason for doing what we do day in and day out. sometimes we get stagnant and hit a plateau but when you challenge yourself to go out of your comfort zone and do something that you never thought you could do, you make amazing strides.

It truly is more than the workout itself. it the lessons you learn day in and day out about yourself and how strong you are. you learn that when you want to give up and throw in the towel, you have to rise up and use the towel to wipe off the sweat, blood, and tears. you have to make each day a fresh start, a new beginning, a new chance to be the best version of yourself. I lost 6.5 inches off my body and I was able to do more moves for the fit test on day 30 than starting day 0.

Now that I officially an Insanity: The Asylum Graduate, I have learned a tremendous amount over the last 30 days.
1. I am stronger than I think
2. I can achieve anything I put my mind to
3. Having a support system of fit friends and family and our amazing clients in our accountability groups, helped me immensely when I wanted to give up but got the extra support and motivation that I needed
4. I really need to get focused on my nutrition. no matter what workouts that I am doing and how hard I work it is the nutrition aspect of it all is the most important. you truly need to fuel your body with the food that is best for it. I can say 100% that I was no where near focused as I wanted to be during these last 30 days. I struggled with the nutrition aspect and next round, I plan on being dialed in
5. Shaun T is my man! seriously his workouts are my soul workouts. I feel like even thou we are not working out together in person, every day that I pushed play and worked out, I felt that he was there coaching me on, motivating me and making me dig seriously deep.
6. I might not have lost a tremendous amount of weight but I leaned out, toned up, muscles started popping through and my strength, agility, and flexibility are better than I have ever been
7. I can say whole heartedly, I am in the best shape of my life after doing these last 30 days.
8. You can truly change your life in 30 days.
9. Wake up every morning and make yourself proud. Make sure that you were better than the day before.
10. Don't forget to go out there and do your best. As Tony Horton says, do you best and forget the rest.

As I find the words to close out this blog post, I am somewhat speechless. I don't know how to finish this. Your health and fitness journey is such a crazy ride. We have highs and lows and ups and downs. We hit bumps in the road and we can have the best. Before I started Insanity: the Asylum, I hit a major plateau. I felt like I wasn't getting the workout that I wanted or needed. I felt like I wasn't getting the results I wanted. I had done multiple workout programs and I saw amazing results. I think I needed to shock my body and do an insane workout like asylum. and you know what it worked! not only did I transform my body but I feel like a whole new person physical. stronger than ever and feeling leaner. its amazing what working out and eating clean can do for you body.

What is next for me??? you might be asking....not too sure. I know for the next few days, I will be taking a rest days and maybe just some stretching. workout wise...eeks I don't know. I was thinking of doing a hybrid program of Insanity Max 30 and Insanity the Asylum.

Will you join me on my next journey??? Join me for 21 days and start your amazing health and fitness journey. Whether you need to lose 10 pounds or 100 pounds, this is for you! Fill out the form below and be selected to join our amazing group!

Hope you all have an amazing day! Remember that you can truly do anything as long as you put you mind to it!

~Nicole

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TurboFire Chili

So, I have heard some amazing things about this TurboFire Chili and I needed to try it. It is absolutely delicious and you can make it in the crock pot! I love using my crock pot and recently I haven't really been using it. I now have meals for the rest of the week and also monday next week. Nothing like being ahead of the game. If you do not like the beans, I would suggest you omit them and add gree peppers, mushrooms or other veggies of your choice! You can really make it your own! Just remember don't over indulge. It is absolutely delicious and you can definitly eat more than you wanted to! If you are following the 21 Day Fix or 21 Day Fix Extreme, it would be 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. lean ground turkey
• ½ cup diced tomatoes
• 1½ cups frozen whole kernel corn
• ½ onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 (15oz.) can black beans
• 1 (15oz.) can pinto, chili, or kidney beans
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• ½ cup water
• 1/2 package Lawry’s chili seasoning
• 4 oz. low-fat shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions. 

1. Brown turkey. Drain and discard any fat. 
2. Place all ingredients except cheese into a slow cooker. 
3. Cook for 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high. 
4. Top with 1 oz cheese if desired.
5. ENJOY

Mama K's Famous Banana Bread

I love banana bread! My mom makes the best banana bread and whenever I have riper than ripe bananas, I always like to make it! Reminds me of home and is healthy.

Ingredients:

• 3 large ripe bananas
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 4 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted and cooled
• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon each salt and baking soda

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325. lightly grease a 9 x 5 in loaf pan
2. In a mixing bowl, mash up bananas.
3. Beat in sugar, then egg and butter. 
4. In another bowl, stir together flour, salt, and baking soda
5. Add mixture in bowl to banana mixture and stir until all flour is moistened
6. Pour batter in prepared pan
7. Bake 55-60 minutes 

It is simple and easy to make and absolutely delicious! Hope you enjoy!

DIY Sriracha Mayo

The latest craze is something called Sriracha Mayo. About two months ago, I was introduced to sriracha mayo from a friend of mine. He had made a sandwich and had it on there. I had always wanted to try it and he shared some with me. Well I fell in love with it. Now I am not a person who likes a lot of spice. I turn lobster color if I have anything that is too spicy. But let me tell you, I loved the kick that it had. It was like a little punch to my taste buds. That day, I went to the grocery store to buy it, well to my surprise, it was $7 for small bottle of sriracha mayo. being that I am on a somewhat tight budget and I couldn't fathom spending that much I left the store empty handed. Maybe a week later, I walked in Trader Joes and in front of me was a huge bottle of sriracha for $1.99...ding ding ding...sold! Now it wasn't the sriracha mayo that I was looking for but I knew for that cheap of a price that I could do something with it. 

The internet is a beautiful thing. I searched for different recipes for sriracha mayo. I came across one that I had to try. It was simple, it was healthy, and I figured I had this whole bottle of sriracha, what could be bad. I ended up making the sriracha mayo recipe from the Bon Appetit Magazine. 

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp sriracha
• 3 tbsp mayo
• 1 tbsp chicken broth

Directions: 

1. Cook chicken broth and let cool
2. Mix all 3 ingredients together. 

I wanted to mix it up and change up my chicken that I had for my salads every day. So I whipped up some of this delicious DIY sriracha mayo and soaked my chicken in it and baked the chicken. It was so delicious and it was so simple. I love easy, simple, and convenient recipes that spicy up your life. As a busy nurse, I don't always have the time to but I make the time to prep my meals. This made it easy for me to quickly prep my chicken and bake it and I had enough for 4 days worth of meals. It was the perfect combination and the perfect kick. I hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think if you do end up trying it! You could add it to anything! 

Homemade Ice Cream

Everyone knows that I love love love me some ice cream! I love Dairy Queen and Friendly's and I could have it every day. My brother and his girlfriend made this for me a few months back and I have been wanting to make it. So I had a few bananas that were beyond ripe and in the fridge. I figured instead of wasting them, I would make Homemade Ice Cream. It truly is healthy and has very few ingredients and really is so simple and it tastes amazing that you would think you were having a cheat meal.


Ingredients:

• brown ripe bananas
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• vanilla almond milk
• optional: reese's pieces

Directions:

1. Cut ripped bananas into slivers and put on a paper plate with wax paper and freeze for an hour or two until hardened. I used 3 bananas that I had in the fridge.
2. Placed frozen bananas in food blender or food processor and mix. 
3. Once bananas are 
4. I added a little vanilla almond milk to thin out the banana mixture. It was thick and clumpy but I wanted to make the consistency more smooth.
5. I added 2 tbsp of  peanut butter and blended together. (For next time, I would put maybe a little more peanut butter into it)
6. I added (and this is optional) reese's pieces. I was craving them and added some to it to give me a little more crunch. (Next time I might try adding strawberries to it) 
7. With the 3 bananas that I had, I ended up having enough for 3 different times. I put the remaining in the freezer that I didn't eat and had it another night. 

This is simple, easy, and healthy. Its a nice change especially when you are craving some unhealthy ice cream. I mean do not get me wrong, I do have ice cream from my favorite places once in a while but this is totally an awesome change. Yesterday, I went grocery shopping and normally I only pick up may 2 bananas, well I picked up about 6 or 7 so that they could ripen, and I could make this again! 

I hope you all try this and enjoy it as much as we love it! You could add anything to it and make it healthier! I mean really its bananas, peanut butter, vanilla almond milk and your choice of topping! It is perfect for the spring and summer months that are ahead of us! Have an awesome day and don't forget to try this healthy homemade ice cream!