Fitness Tips

It’s okay to not always be on a diet.

For those of you thinking about or just starting a reverse diet.~~ Taking time to reverse and exit a fat loss phase even if you feel you have not reached your goal body weight or goal body composition does not mean that you are reversing your progress or postponing the results you are after. Believe me, I know it can be scary to increase calories. When I started my journey over 4 1/2 years ago I was closer to 300lbs than I was 200. I know what it’s like to be really heavy and to fear losing your hard earned fat loss results. For me, however, my goal was always sustainable weight loss. I knew that at various milestones on my fitness journey that it would be important for me to dial in and make sure that I could maintain the results I was getting by getting my calories back up to a sustainable level and take a break from being in a deficit. Throughout my journey I have done 3 reverse diets followed by a period of maintenance. After the first two I went back into a deficit to work on my fat-loss goals. Then after this most recent reverse I have entered my first ever gaining phase. The pictures I am showing are where I began my journey on the left, followed by where I ended my latest fat-loss phase in the middle, and where I found myself after 5 months of reversing and maintaining. In those 2 photos I weigh exactly the same! But my calories are up by 600 a day, my daily activity is down and I’m down 3 inches on my waist measurement. In the 5 months between these photos I focused on getting stronger and building muscle to put the extra calories I was eating to good use through a progressive resistance training program. Of course everyone’s results will be different. I wanted to share my experience in the hopes that it could help alleviate any fear you may be feeling as you step into new territory as you build your calories up and take a much needed physical and physiological break from dieting. I still, after all these years, have not reached my “goal weight”. I’m okay with that. A long time ago I fell in love with the process of improving my health and developing my physique more than chasing a specific number on the scale. So if you find yourself food focused, tired, hungry, irritable, and making very difficult progress towards your weight loss goal it’s okay to take a break and build your calories back up even if you are not to your “goal weight”. I promise it will all be okay.🤗

If you are interested in having me coach you on your own fitness journey check out my Online Fitness Coaching Service. I’d love to take the guess work out of it for you so that you can start getting the sustainable results you deserve.

www.melaniewales-sustainableliving.com

Fit Recipes!

The Perfect Healthy Donut Recipe!!

Macro Friendly Donuts!

This high protein, low fat donut is the perfect way to satisfy a donut craving while still helping you nail your nutritional goals! Donuts are a family favorite around my house, so I went on a mission to create a lighter homemade version that would be realistic for us to enjoy everyday. I hope you love them as much as we do!! If you do, remember to ❤️ Like, Share, Tag, and Save to help support my passion to bring more delicious options to us all while we are aiming to live a fit life!🤗

Makes 6

For 1 donut with icing and 3g of toppings

215 calories

20g protein

27g carbohydrate

2g fat

INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED

For the donuts

120ml 1% milk

110g unsweetened applesauce

50ml real maple syrup

1 egg

100g all purpose flour

50g PEScience Cake POP Select Protein Powder

5g baking powder

For icing and toppings per individual donut

15 ml 1% milk

12g PEScience Select Protein Powder (flavor of choice)

(Optional: 2g of Instant pudding mix. If using increase milk to 20ml)

3-5g of cereal, chocolate chips, sprinkles, marshmallows, etc..

DIRECTIONS

By hand or in a mixer, mix together the milk, maple syrup, applesauce, and egg.

Add in the flour, protein powder, and baking powder and combine until just incorporated. Batter will be fairly thin.

Evenly divide batter using a silicone donut baking pan. Enough batter for 6 donuts. Place the donut pan on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until cooked through.

Allow to cool and then remove from donut pan. Store for up to 4-5 days in the refrigerator.

To make the frosting mix together the milk and protein powder (and if using the instant pudding mix). That’s it. Top the donuts with the icing and your favorite toppings. To help thicken the icing, if needed, you can refrigerate it for a few minutes. Works like a charm! Fully iced and topped donuts can also be stored in the refrigerator but enjoy within 2 days of topping. I personally prefer to ice and top them just before enjoying.

This is one of 40+ recipes you will find in my e cookbook. Every recipe is designed to be both delicious and to help you reach your fitness goals! Find the link to my e cookbook below.

https://www.bakespace.com/cookbooks/detail/The-Art-of-Meal-Prep-for-Sustainable-Living/4596/

Find more about everything I offer through my website.

www.melaniewales-sustainableliving.com

Fitness Tips

5 practical tips to help you lose weight and keep it off for good.

Over the course of losing and keeping off over 135lbs I have learned quite a bit about what it takes to make weight loss not only possible, but also sustainable.

Here are my top 5 practical tips to help you if you are also undertaking a fitness journey.

1. Have a daily step goal to ensure you are staying active.

2. Don’t let yourself get too hungry.

3. Eat protein plus fruits or veggies with each meal.

4. The scale fluctuates a lot. Don’t let this stress you out. Track your weight trends over a period of weeks not days for a better measure of progress.

5. Be patient. Be consistent. The only way you won’t see progress is if you give up.

If you are interested in having me coach you on your own fitness journey check out my Online Fitness Coaching Service. I’d love to take the guess work out of it for you so that you can start getting the sustainable results you deserve.

www.melaniewales-sustainableliving.com

Fit Recipes!

This 5 Minute Protein Pumpkin Pie Mousse Recipe is here to save your diet this season!

Low Calorie, High Protein, and Tastes Like Pumpkin Pie. Need I say more?!

Here is the super simple Recipe👇🏻

125g canned pumpkin puree

125g nonfat Greek yogurt

10g PEScience Cake POP Select Protein Powder

10g Godiva White Chocolate Instant Pudding Mix

20ml 1% milk

7g pecans

7ml real maple syrup

Dash of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

In a bowl mix the milk, cinnamon, protein powder and pudding mix. Will make a thick frosting like consistency.

Add in the pumpkin and mix well. Then add in the yogurt and mix well. Can be eaten right away or placed in the refrigerator for a short time to thicken a bit. Serve topped with the pecans and maple syrup. Enjoy within 2-4 days of preparing.

This makes a delightful breakfast, snack, or dessert elegant enough for company. Want to make more than one portion? Simply multiply the recipe by the number of servings you would like to make.

Serves 1

285 calories

25g protein

35g carbohydrate

6g fat

Leave off the toppings if you want to keep the calories even lower. Add more if you want to make them higher.

This is one of 40 recipes you will find in my e cookbook. Every recipe is designed to be both delicious and to help you reach your fitness goals! Find the link to my e cookbook below.

https://www.bakespace.com/cookbooks/detail/The-Art-of-Meal-Prep-for-Sustainable-Living/4596/

Find more about everything I offer through my website.

www.melaniewales-sustainableliving.com

Fitness Tips

Stop making excuses and start taking action. Sustainable weight loss is possible!

These photos are 4 1/2 years in the making. My transformation didn’t happen from being impatient or making excuses. Instead it came from never missing a workout, always hitting my daily step targets, and nailing my nutrition day in and day out. If I did have a day where I ate more than I should, I got right back at it the next day, and those days happened less and less as I got better skilled at planning. I’ve gone through 3 reverse diets and used plenty of diet breaks and calorie cycling along the way. My results got better the more I focused my attention around performance goals. It gave me a great reason to want to eat well. That way I had a measure of my progress that was not just the numbers on the scale. Throughout this journey I didn’t see much change week to week. My rate of loss was about 1 pound a week at most during dieting weeks. But it all adds up if you are patient, consistent, and keep at it. Losing weight and keeping it off is possible. Promise!

If you are interested in having me coach you on your own fitness journey check out my Online Fitness Coaching Service. I’d love to take the guess work out of it for you so that you can start getting the sustainable results you deserve.

www.melaniewales-sustainableliving.com