The Best Protein Smoothie Recipe & My Current Fitness Routine

Exercise:

So as a quick background, I’ve never loved doing any kind of strenuous physical activity or cardio, and growing up I quit every sport my parents put me in. I’ve always been petite and fortunately have good muscle tone, but as I got older and I realized I had to start working to keep that tone, and keep off weight, I struggled to find a fitness routine and quit over and over. I’ m not one for a gym, or so I thought until I started weight lifting. I don’t mean CrossFit, no way. I mean just plain, old-fashioned weight lifting. I’m still working on figuring out a flow, but I’ve recently become comfortable with my gym schedule, and honestly, I look forward to going. Right now, I’m “loosely” following the Power program on the Sweat app, and focusing on building muscle, toning, and body weight super-sets. I usually warm up first by shooting hoops for 15 minutes (I love playing basketball) which is a super fun way to get some cardio in where I don’t feel like I’m working out. Some days I just start with 5 minutes on the stair climber or elliptical then go right to my app. I say loosely follow since I don’t use their scheduled workout planner or tips, I just do the workout as is and try to get to the gym any three days in a week.  

Clean Eating:

I’ve shared my clean eating on here before, but I’ve been off/on clean eating for about three years now. When I first started it, I was so strict that if I had one potato chip I felt it ruined my entire day and I obsessed over it. That wasn’t mentally healthy, and I was starting to see an issue in unhealthy eating behavior, so I stopped and went back to regular or non-clean eating (which is not too much different for me, I’ve always ate pretty good). The second time I did CE, I abided by the 80/20 rule, meaning I ate clean during the week and ate whatever I wanted on weekends. This was the best choice for me because I didn’t feel cheated out of any cravings and it kept me more on track during the week. Then baby came, and at my six-week post-natal appointment, I was down to almost my pre-baby weight except for 9 pounds. During my maternity leave, I was so busy with little help, so I never ate, hence how I lost weight. As soon as I got back to work, well…. let’s just say I was busy with work then coming home to baby so I ate whatever I wanted whenever I could. I started to notice for the first time in my life, excess weight around my mid-section, and my upper arms were bigger. I couldn’t stand the way I was looking in photos and how none of my clothes fit, and nothing was flattering on me. I know they say to give your body a full year of forgiveness after having a baby, but to someone who was always the same size, the same weight, and never had to worry about this before, it bothered me, as little as it is. It’s still a daily struggle to not be hard on myself, but I know that the weight I put on was all me, since I had previously lost the baby weight. I know my body is now forever different after having a baby, but I can still work with it. So, I started CE again and pretty much am still doing the 80/20 rule. The good thing about working out though is that when I come home from the gym, I mentally cannot eat unhealthily so that’s a good help too.

Protein Smoothie:

While I am into clean eating and living, I am not one who goes overboard with supplements, pre-workout drinks, things people add to their drinks to make them super like collagen, oils, peptides, seaweed extract, etc. When it comes to what goes in my body after the gym, the less the better in terms of drinking calories. I’ve tried different protein powders and bars before and thought they were all nasty. I absolutely cannot drink just water and powder shaken together. Since I am a huge chocolate lover, I created a super quick, easy, healthy and delicious smoothie I make after each gym session at home with ingredients you can buy anywhere! Here is my recipe:

·         Almond Breeze- I just pour in the almond milk to the first line on my blender (this gives me enough to fill a tall Starbucks cup perfectly)

·         1 teaspoon of chia seeds

·         1 tablespoon of cocoa powder

·         2 tablespoons of PB2

·         1 scoop of protein powder (Sun Warrior vanilla is the best!)

·         1 banana

·         1 scoop ice cubes

Blend until just about smooth (I like my smoothies a little thick) and enjoy! That’s it, it is super quick and non-fussy. And I don’t top it with chocolate chips or seeds or coconut flakes like you see on Instagram because a.) that’s gross in this kind of smoothie, and b.) it’s a smoothie. To drink. Not chew.

So those are my 3 days I keep myself fit and healthy! If you have any other amazing, simple smoothie recipes, or if you use the Sweat app, let me know what you love!

xo