6 pack — Blog — Fit Foodie Le

what a DAY! we spent over half of our saturday at our very first event, the Be Fit For Life Health Expo hosted by Student Apprentice on the campus of Houston Baptist University.

it was an outstanding turnout- kids from ages 12-17 showed up and soaked in a ton of health and fitness info at each booth.

we taught the kids about effective fitness and nutrition, and about 6 Pack USA's role in helping people achieve their fitness goals.

this man was in his element and doin' what he looooooves to do- TALK :lol:

Sonny and Brian gave demos on how to calculate lean body mass and body fat using a caliper.

and i proved that clean eating DOES taste good with my PB2 oatmeal carob chip cookies for the babies!

Congressman Al Green even stopped by to say a few encouraging words to the kiddos.

it was a pleasure meeting him!

we also had some help from some great friends of ours- a huge thank you to Miko (r) the Zumba QUEEN for teaching a rockin' class! that girl can seriously MOVE.

these ladies are the BOMB! Miko, Kara and Annette (r) volunteered their precious saturday to help 6 Pack USA make the biggest impact possible.

one last pic before wrappin' up the first part of the expo here.

Whole Foods was in the building teaching the kids about fresh, wholesome, all natural snacks and meal ideas,

while Annette was giving them a great workout, TKB style! she is the best of the best!

Miko was workin' it out on the floor with her Zumba skills,

while Brian, Kara, and I ran drills in the gym and stressed the importance of daily physical activity.

done deal!

we are looking forward to growing, networking, and participating in more health and fitness events in our community, city, and beyond. a final and gigantic THANK YOU to Denesha James and the entire Student Apprentice staff for allowing us to be apart of this amazing event.

after several weeks of planning, meetings, phone calls, and late nights prepping for this event, Sonny was ready to let loose! Tornado burger style.

someone brought one to his office just last week and he says it smelled so good he wouldn't even LOOK in its direction. so, he wanted it to be his epic post-expo meal. notice i said HE!!! i wanted no parts of this lol.

ok maybe a few fries.

are you kidding me...

i didn't IG this cause i didn't want to discourage my followers LOL. but i said i would certainly blog it! i did have a bite- i could NOT resist all that cheese, come on! i saved my appetite for a little later though.

we take our date nights SERIOUSLY. this is not a game. the expo was behind us, and since we were toddler-less for a few more hours, we sped home and got cleaned up for dinner. the weather was absolutely outstanding, and a patio was calling our name.

i promise we planned to go somewhere different...

i had the Ruggles Green atlantic salmon salad with the dressing on the side,

and grilled fish tacos on corn tortillas for Sonny. we could have at least ordered something different, right?

6 fingers up for 6 Pack USA!

Q: screw a 6 pack, i just want my abs to be flat!!! help...

A: this is definitely THE number one question i get asked about. before i show you what i do to get them, there are some things you MUST do and consider before you can ever achieve them yourself.

what you eat affects your tummy. and no, im not talking about just eating too much. i could eat 3 broccoli stalks and blow up like a hot air balloon. i mean really, of all things, broccoli. a number of other healthy foods can cause gas, tummy discomfort, and bloating...see what some of them are, here. even having to 'go' can create a significant bulge in your tummy. i can't do anything about that lol, but you must learn pay attention to how your body reacts to different types of foods. it can honestly take some time, but it's worth it to figure out what your trigger foods are. i now know what NOT to eat before slipping into a fitted dress or my skinny jeans.

maintain a healthy, balanced, portion controlled diet. seems like the older i get, the ratio of working out vs. eating gets a little more lopsided. i thought it was the combo of having a baby and turning 30, but who really knows! either way, i just can't eat like i used to. it used to be 50% exercise, 50% diet. now, it's more like 75% diet in order to maintain my current size and shape. portion size never meant so much to me as it does now. overdoing it can literally ruin a hard workout in seconds. too much sodium makes my tummy poofy, and too much sugar makes it mushy. not saying you can't have either- just remain active and have everything in moderation. overall, stick to fresh, natural foods and cut out the processed, sugary junk.

you won't ever (you hear me? everrrrr!!!!) get that defined, chiseled mid-section until you burn off that layer of fat on top of them. e.g. CARDIO exercise...and on a regular basis at that. now, having a 6 pack requires a very low body fat percentage. unless i'm gonna compete in a fitness competition or something, it's just not that big a deal to me. some type of cardio is definitely needed to keep them toned and flat though. what kind of cardio? sprinting/running, spinning, kickboxing, elliptical/treadmill, athletic training boot camps, etc. take your pick and do at least 45 min to 1hr. of cardio at a time, 3x's a week, minimum. as always, your intensity determines overall calorie burn and results.

do core/ab exercises CORRECTLY. sigh. as an instructor, i see faulty exercise posture every. single. day. if you aren't using your abs/core to begin with, don't expect to see significant changes in them since you are getting help from other body parts! are you pulling on/with your neck? are you abusing momentum (rocking back/forth)? are you just mimicking the instructor and not focusing on YOUR abs? don't just go through the motions. listen to the instructor's cues (if you are taking a class) and focus on feeling your own abs being worked for maximum results.

vary your exercises. look how many muscles make up your core! tons. aim to work your upper abs, lower abs, and right/left obliques. do a combo of different ab exercises to work your entire mid-section.

water water water. water reduces bloating, aides in digestion after your meal, and flushes out those bad toxins. plus, you stay hydrated which is good for your skin and hair anyway. stop it with that sugary soda and juice and replace it with water. you can even do tea and use a natural sweetener if you just have to have a drink other than water with your meal.

6-8 hrs. of rest (preferably 8) every night. ever eaten a meal, gone to sleep, woke up, and could still feel it sitting in your tummy? such a yucky , not so great feeling. after having my little boy and enduring the every 2-3 hour breastfeeding schedule, i immediately noticed the effects it had on my body, physically. (not even gonna expand on the mental damage, lol). anyway, because i wasn't able to sleep for a period of 8 or more hours at a time for a good while, my body never really got the chance to recover fully, which means my food wasn't digesting properly. i had already lost the initial preggo fluid/water weight easily, but my weight loss came to a halt and started to creep back up again as lack of sleep also stimulates hunger. it was a vicious cycle. people are always surprised at sleep being criteria for flat abs..it's that serious. not enough rest can lead to unhealthy eating habits, less exercise, and eventually obesity.