getting healthy – Infinite Life Fitness

Wait, you did what?!?

My name is Jennifer and I have had the opportunity to know Stephanie for my entire life (literally for all 25 years, she is my big sister you know). I have always struggled with my weight and never seemed to be able to get it under control no matter how much dieting or exercise I did.

Jenn_2

About a year ago I decided to start working with the Center for Weight Control at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Boston, MA. This was one of the best and scariest decisions of my life. At the Center, they specialize in various bariatric surgeries for people struggling with weight loss. After many hours of soul searching and research, I decided to go through with the surgery. I had the gastric sleeve operation on July 25, 2016. This surgery consists of removing a large part of the stomach (about 80% of it) and creating a food pouch that is the size of a small banana.

Jenn_3

I am still at the very early stages of recovery, but I wanted to document this monumental event in my life. I have asked Stephanie if I could chronicle my weight loss journey on her blog as she has a wide readership and provides excellent sources of recipes and workouts that are fit for anyone.

I know that there are many people out there who struggle with the “traditional” forms of weight loss. I want you to know that you are not alone and that there are options for you. Yes, I did get weight loss surgery. No, I did not take the easy way out. It has been a complete lifestyle change. It took me a lot of time to decide that this was the right path for me. Weight loss surgery is not an automatic fix to every weight issue that I have. Instead, it is another tool that can be used to help you reach your ideal weight. I hope you will follow my journey as I try to navigate through the world with a different outlook on food and nutrition. I am also working with trainer Stephanie in order to incorporate workouts into my routine that will aid with the speed and consistency of my weight loss. If you have any questions for me specifically or about the surgery in general feel free to post in the comments below and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

Jenn_1

Check back to her some background about my struggles with weight and the process that you go through in order to prepare for the surgery.

~Jennifer~

Follow Jennifer’s story HERE on Infinite Life Fitness. You can also follow her on Instagram @jen_n_juice13

August 11, 2016/4 Comments/by Jennifer McGrew

Uncategorized

… Time to get ready for the summer…

Christmas has come and gone. You have had the chance to relax with your loved ones. You also had the chance to enjoy some good home cooked meals (and desserts!). So as 2015 quickly gets here, you should get ready to start working towards your health and fitness goals.

Like most people, I am sure that you may have started to create a list of things to accomplish in 2015. Instead of making 30…60…90 day mini challenges try to strive for LIFESTYLE changes that will be beneficial for you and your family.

You can try things such as:

cooking more meals at home
limiting how many meals you eat out at food establishments
planning the meals you will eat when you do go out to eat
finding a facility that will accommodate your workout routine and fitness goals
trying to improve your overall eating and drinking habits (healthy snacks and drinking more water)
setting REALISTIC goals to achieve (like losing 1-3 lbs a week…preparing to participate in an athletic activity at a certain time later in the year)

Another important thing to also find is a good support system. You have to have people around you that will help you stay on track and to help you stay accountable for your goals. You can create this group with friends who have similar goals or you can ask your family. These people can be a form or motivation and encouragement for you on the days it is hard for you to stay focused on your goals. There will be days that you will want to give in and give up. But, you have to remember why you want to achieve these goals and find ways to stay motivated and on track with what you want to do.

I am BIG on rewarding the efforts of friends and clients who reach their goals. If it is something small or simple, any prize can help you to stay enthusiastic and motivated about working towards your goal. You can ask family or friends to contribute to your goals. Every time you lose a pound or an inch towards your goals, they can put a dollar (or pledge something else) for you to have when you start to reach your other goals. Lose 15 lbs, have your family or friends take you out to your favorite place to eat. Lose 30 lbs have your family or friends take you to buy a new shirt or pair of pants. Reach your overall goal and reward yourself with a new pair of shoes or new clothes (that will fit your newly sculpted body 😉 ).

There are so many things that you can do that can help you to stay on track with what you want to achieve. The hardest part will be to plan everything out. But once you get started, it may be hard to get you to stop!

Stay dedicated. Stay motivated. And keep striving for success!

December 28, 2014/2 Comments/by admin

Uncategorized

…Infinite Life Fitness Recipe: Zucchini Lasagna…

I don’t know about you…but there are just some things that I can not give up. BUT the key to reaching your health and fitness goals is FINDING A BALANCE. You may not have to completely give up on the things that you enjoy the most. All you have to do is slightly alter them.

I came up with a zucchini lasagna that taste JUST AS GOOD as the real thing…minus the pile of noodles that come along with a lasagna. Not only does it taste just as good…there are fewer calories and MORE protein!

What you will need:

1 lb lean ground turkey (or lean beef or any other chopped up lean meat)
3 garlic cloves
1/2 dices onions
dash of salt
dash of pepper
1 tbsp basil
16 oz contain of low-fat cottage cheese
1 can of tomato paste
1 can of tomato sauce
3 cans of diced tomatoes (i used the fiesta lime Rotel)
1 pack of low-fat shredded cheese
1 LARGE zucchini (or enough zucchini to cover the various layers that you want)

What you will do:

Pre-Heat your oven to 350 degrees
Cook and season meat in a pan and set aside for later step
wash your zucchini (some people have even skinned the zucchini…so you can do what you prefer)
you can slice the zucchini into long thin strips OR you can cut your zucchini into round slices such as I did:

Next you HAVE to grill or saute your zucchini. Zucchini is a vegetable that retains a lot of water. If you do not pre-cook the zucchini when you cook the lasagna it will become a watery/soupy dish.
After you cook your zucchini pieces start to layer your dish:

Now layer your lasagna with the other ingredients:

This is when you can get creative and mix up how you put together your layers. I wanted to have a total of two layers on my lasagna so I just cut all ingredients in half and mixed them up between the two layers.

lasagna

This dish can make approximately 8-10 servings.

I was able to make this dish, separate the squares of lasagna out into containers and freeze the extra pieces. This lasagna was AMAZING flavorful. I would have to say having the lime Rotel added a new burst of flavor. I also enjoyed having the tomato past because that also added to the flavor of the meal.

The fun thing about these casserole is that you can mix and match ingredients and add or change anything that you would want.

Another great thing about making a dish like this is that you will be able to set aside portions of this lasagna to have later during the week. With the added cottage cheese and lean meat, this dish is packed with protein while still leaving you feeling full and satisfied.

Meal preparation is KEY when it comes to helping you stay on track with healthy meal planning and eating. If you have food prepared and ready to eat you are more likely to make healthier meal choices during meal time.

August 29, 2014/by admin

Uncategorized

…Friday FITspiration…

My Friday FITspiration is dedicated to this girl with me in the picture.

She has been working SO hard and not letting anything stand in her way.

She made some goals and she is doing what is necessary to accomplish them!

And to be quite honest on some days she keeps me accountable and motivated!

YES EVEN SOME OF THE FITNESS GURUS NEED A LITTLE MOTIVATION!

She is by far one of my favorite accountability partners and i think it is great that everyone has one!
Even if they do not workout with you, the fact that you have someone that will keep you pushing can make a tremendous difference! Knowing that someone is there supporting you, and cheering for you to reach your goals can help to keep you motivated even on those day you do not feel like doing it!

This can be a friend, family member, co-worker, or even a pet! I have several clients who tell me that their dog will not let them get comfortable until they are taken on a walk each night!

You have to find your own sources of motivation to keep you pushing through your goals.

You CAN do anything that you set out to do. But, in order to reach those goals you have to get up and do something about them!

What are you going to accomplish in 2014?

January 17, 2014/by admin

Uncategorized

…Bad eating consequences…

I wish that food labels had “workout equivalents” rather than calories on them. If I knew that I would have to do 100 burpee to enjoy a bite of a candy bar I would instantly double think enjoying too much of any type of bad food.

I am not saying that you can not enjoy some of your favorite foods! You can enjoy them BUT in moderation. I think that if I knew that I would have to do 100 crunches to burn off that “one extra bite” I would for sure re-think it.

September 26, 2013/by admin

Uncategorized

…Knowing what you eat: Counting Calories…

Do you know exactly what you are putting into your body? Do you even know how much food you are consuming each day? It is said that most people consume as little as TWICE as many calories than they actually need each day.

One of the most important things you need to do to help you reach your goals is to figure out what you are eating and how much you are eating!! There are DOZENS of applications you can download onto your smart devices and they are also accessible on your computer.

You can find an easily accessible and FREE calorie counter site at: http://www.nutracheck.co.uk/

Once you get singed up with these programs feel free to play around with it!! You need to get use to how the program works so you will become efficient as being able to navigate and use the program properly.

Using these types of programs will allow you the change to closely monitor HOW much food you are eating and what kind of foods you are eating.

I suggest a few things:

– when you decide you want to make a healthier change, sign up for one of these programs and track what types of food you eat for a FULL week

– when the week is over go back and look at what you eat a lot of and what you need to eat more of. You will be surprised to see that you consume too much salt, sugar, or another type of food. You will also be able to see that you do not eat enough veggies, fruits, or protein. This will allow you the change to actually see what areas you need to improve on.

– next find some healthy recipes and go shopping! You have to find recipes that will be fitting to your needs! Usually breakfast will be around 300-400 calories snacks will be around 200-300 calories, and lunch and dinner should also be around 300-400 calories! The goal is to spread your meals out throughout the day so you do not feel like you are going hungry! YOU DO NOT WANT TO SKIP MEALS!! THIS CAN HINDER YOUR WEIGHT LOSS! You want to try to stick to a regular eating schedule. I would suggest eating about every 2-3 hours. have breakfast, and then a small snack, lunch, another snack, dinner, and if you are still hungry in the evening have another SMALL snack. You want to try to stop eating about 2-3 hours BEFORE you go to bed. But you do not want to go hungry and you should try NOT to skip any meals

-keep track of what you eat in these applications. They will let you decide if you have the right serving size or more than the suggested serving size. If you stick to the proper serving sizes, a steady workout routine, and drink water you should start to see results in about a month!

Reaching your goals will take TIME! You will have to be patient! You can not eat healthy for a week and expect 15-30 pounds to just vanish! Yes that would be nice but it is not realistic. You have to stay consistent with eating right AND working out. Eating right is the MAIN priority. If you are not feeding your body the right foods it will hinder the results you want to see!! You can spend all the time you want in the gym, but if you eat junk food all of that hard work will go to waste. So this is why it is SO important to get your diet under control so you are able to reach the results you want.

And there you have it! I just gave you the tools you need to help you jump-start your new health and fitness journey!

Any day is a great day to start living healthier…why not start today!?

May 23, 2013/by admin

Uncategorized

…MY fitness Journey: Being “Skinny Fat”…

When meeting new people and clients, people always ask me “What is your fitness Story?”

For me…there is no exciting story. 🙁 But I do indeed have some somewhat of fitness story.

Growing up I was always “thin” and athletic. I have always been active in sports and I always had a pretty regular workout routine. I always had a “flat stomach” and thick thighs. I played varsity sports in high school, I played club basketball in college, and now I am a Fitness Junkie who trains to compete in NPC/IFBB Bikini Competitions. Before I started to dedicate myself to training and eating clean I considered myself to be “Skinny Fat”. I heard another girl use this term as someone who is skinny but is not actually skinny. They may have some extra belly fat or small love handles. And that is exactly what I had. A pudgy belly and love handles that I learned to mask with the right kind of clothing.

My REAL journey started almost 2 years ago! Right around the time I started this blog and when I was getting ready to start modeling.

I use to have the WORST habit of consistently being in the gym for several months, and as soon as winter time came around I got lazy and just slacked off for a month or so. I was always around 155-160 pounds. 2010 is the year that I started to get stressed from school/graduating, working several jobs, and everything else life decided to throw at me. At this time I think I weighed around 165-167 pounds. I am 5’10 so this is not “obese” by any means BUT my body fat percent was VERY high compared to what I was use too. It was getting higher, more than it ever has been. I had began to develop a small “pudgy” belly, my thighs rubbed together, and my jeans were fitting WAY too tight. I just did not like what I saw when I looked at myself in the mirror. I could see the belly I had grown sticking out in my shirt, I could see the small love handles I had also grown, cellulite that was developing on my thighs was becoming more and more noticeable, and I was just noticing all of the other things that had developed on my body that I was NOT happy with.

That is when I decided to make a LONG LASTING change. I wanted to be healthier…I wanted to be more fit…I wanted to work hard CONSISTENTLY to achieve the body I always wanted.

I have a degree in exercise science and a minor in health science. So I had/have a good idea of the kind of workouts that I need to do to get into shape. The problem was, when I wanted to start my hardcore fitness routine it was January 2012 and I had not worked out since October 2011! So yes, I was OUT of shape!

In January 2012, the first thing I started with was Insanity. I had several friends who had tried it and gotten good results so I decided to give it a try. It was a GREAT workout plan for me to get started on. I actually have Insanity to thank for the start of my clean eating! I did Insanity TWICE (yes two whole cycles). I was VERY consistent and stayed with the scheduled program and suggested diet. After completing Insanity for the second time I was FINALLY in shape to start the kind of cardio I wanted and needed to do! So it was at that point I started to create my own fitness plans and I started to work out again at the gym. By this time is was July of 2012.

I wanted to train to stay in shape, but to be honest I am a competitor. I wanted AND needed to train towards a goal. I was already slimming down and starting to look more lean and muscular. But I wanted to kick it up a notch It was at that time I was lucky enough to meet a few gals who were into competing for NPC/IFBB bikini and figure contest. After speaking with them and doing more research I found that it was a PERFECT match for me. I can pick and choose when I compete and there are always competitions that I can train to compete in. Competing would allow me the opportunity to work towards my own goal AND if I got good at it I could possibly travel and compete in other states!

I started officially training for my first Bikini competition mid July of 2012. I had my first competition planned for October of 2012 Halloween weekend. I did great and placed in the top 5 (I got 4th place) in both classes that I competed in. It was an amazing experience and I knew that I wanted to compete again sometime in 2013. I had my second bikini competition mid March of 2013. I only entered into one class because it was a bigger competition (and slightly more expensive). I did not place in the top 5 at that competition BUT that was OK! I knew that I still needed to do some more work in the gym and that is why I am currently training to compete in another competition in June 2013.

Here is a visual timeline of how I looked:

Freshman year Spring Break: March 2005 (weight around 155 pounds)

March 2008

2010 – 2011 was the year of me getting the heaviest I have ever been.

This was noticeable when my jeans (and summer shorts) were tight, my belly sticking out, and weighed the most I had ever weighed at 167 pounds (this was in late 2011)

March 2010

August 2011

January of 2012 is when I started committed to be fit. (weighed around 160)

April 2012 Miami Vacation

My 1st NPC Bikini Competition October 2012 (weighed around 150)

So there you have it! I was never “obese” but I was NOT happy with the way I looked. I set a date and I set a goal and I stuck to it. I created this blog to provide health and fitness knowledge and advice to people. I was a recent college graduate and I wanted to be able to use the degree I had worked so hard to earn to help other people . Needless to say, creating this blog helped me more than I ever imagined. It allowed me the opportunity to practice what I was sharing with those who read my blog. This blog (and the followers) helped to keep me accountable for my health and fitness actions. The motivation, health tips, recipes, and other information I shared on this blog I used in my own health and fitness journey.

And the best past is that my training has only just begun!

I have been consistent with my training and healthy eating for over a year now. I have become a personal training, being a fitness and health coach, and recently started my own health/fitness business. I hope to continue to learn and grow. I hope to help and coach those who seek to start their own health and fitness journeys.

I want to help motivate and educate people on ways to improve their lifestyle. So many people want to live healthier but they just need the help from someone (possibly me) sometimes to help hold them accountable and to help motivate them on those days that they need it! I would love to just be able to help educate them on the importance of staying away from unhealthy habits. I want to guide and lead them as well as teach them proper health and fitness habits so one day they will be able to hopefully inspire and motivate someone else to start making positive lifestyles changes.

My overall goal is to inspire people so they will want to be better. I want to inspire someone to stop making excuses as to why they can not workout or why they need that candy bar everyday at lunch. I want to teach them how to listen to their body and how to appreciate all aspects of their body. I want them to grow not just on the outside but on the inside as well. Starting a health and fitness journey is more than just getting physically healthy. You have to also learn to love the person you are and to love the body you are given.

April 9, 2013/9 Comments/by admin

Posts