Author: melaniewalessustainableliving

Fitness Tips

I’ve lost weight and kept it off. The latest results of my mini cut. I’m now 143 pounds down!

melaniewalessustainableliving

I am down 143 pounds in total now since having my daughter February 2016. Less than half my starting weight. Only from training at home with my daughter by my side.

My transformation has not been quick. I have never seen a huge change in 8 or even 12 weeks.

But my results, though slow, are lasting and sustainable and they only get better in time.

In the last 8 weeks of my nearly 5 year journey I went on a mini cut with the goal of losing 8-10 pounds in 8 weeks.

Here are my results.

Down 9 pounds

Down 2 inches off my waist

Hit a Hip Thrust personal best of 375 for 4 reps.

I didn’t miss a day of steps, training, or nailing my nutritional targets.

I had pizza on the weekends via calorie cycling.

I had chocolate everyday through flexible dieting, I just made sure I was still compliant to my calorie and macro targets.

My calories never dropped below an average of 2,090 a day and 250g of carbs. This is because I was easily maintaining my weight before the mini cut on an average of 2,700 calories. There was no need to slash my calories too low.

Now my focus shifts back to the goal of maintaining my weight loss. This is just as much as a goal as losing the weight was.

I want you to know what is possible with time and consistency. It is not only possible to get results, but keep them as well.

Learning how to lose weight and keep it off is a skill that everyone can learn. It is not easy, but like with any skill you will get better at it with practice.

If you are interested in having me coach you along your own journey to lose weight and keep it off for good then check out my online fitness coaching service. If you want to lose weight, gain muscle, and get stronger in a sustainable way I am here to help. Find out more by going to my website. Link Below.

www.melaniewales.sustainableliving.com

Fit Recipes!

Stick to your fitness goals with this easy low calorie and high protein dessert recipe!

melaniewalessustainableliving

Recipe~~~Light and Fruity Jello Yogurt Whip

Super high volume, high protein, and very low in calories.. oh yeah! This simple dessert or snack is a tasty way to help you adhere to a calorie deficit. This entire portion including the berries on top is only 100 calories and has 13g of protein! I also wanted to note that my 4 year old absolutely loved this. I had planned on sharing the recipe ages ago, but she ate it all before I could get a decent photo. So I had to make another batch. It ended up being a great way to get a little more protein in her meals too. Total bonus!

Makes 3 servings

Per 175g serving

70 calories

13g protein

4.5g carbohydrate

0g fat

Ingredients you’ll need

300g non fat Greek yogurt

1 packet Sugar Free Jello of Choice (our favorites are raspberry and cherry)

240ml water

Directions

Bring 120ml of water to a boil. Remove from heat.

Add the jello to the hot water and whisk for 1-2 minutes or until the jello is completely dissolved in the hot water.

Add the remaining 120ml of water (which was left room temperature) to the jello and stir.

In a medium sized storage container add the Greek yogurt. Then add the jello to the Greek yogurt and whisk until the jello is fully incorporated into the yogurt. It should be smooth with no lumps.

Cover and refrigerator to set. Overnight is best.

Serve with fresh or frozen fruit of your choice anytime you need a high volume, high protein and low calorie dessert or snack.

This is one of 45+ 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 out more about everything I offer through my website.

www.melaniewales-sustainableliving.com

Fitness Tips

I’m now half my starting size. Tips for losing weight and keeping it off for good.

melaniewalessustainableliving

This week I have reached a big milestone on own my fitness journey. On the measure of scale weight I am now half my starting weight from where I was nearly 5 years ago at the birth of the preemie daughter. If my journey was only about losing weight however I don’t think I would of been nearly as successful. My journey was also about building muscle, increasing my strength, and gaining an understanding of how to enjoy delicious food while aligning it with my fitness goals at the same time.

My transformation has not been quick. But my results are lasting and they continue to improve over time.

Improving your body composition is a skill and an art form. You will get better at it over time with practice. My advice for getting and keeping your results.

Be Patient

Be Consistent

Train Hard And Smart

Trust the Process

If you make a mistake, learn from it and move on.

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!

3 Minute Apple Pie Protein Smoothie Recipe

melaniewalessustainableliving

Enjoy one of my favorite breakfast recipes. A seasonally inspired smoothie that is super easy, high in protein and so delicious! Only a couple of ingredients and it tastes like Apple Pie. Enjoy!😋

Makes 1 Smoothie

244 calories

24g protein

35g carbohydrate

1g fat

Ingredients you’ll need:

90g ripe frozen banana

110g unsweetened applesauce

30g PEScience Cake POP Select Protein Powder (or other favorite vanilla protein powder)

A dash or two of ground cinnamon

2-3 ice cubes

about 240ml of water, or enough to reach your desired smoothie consistency

Directions

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

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 out more about everything I offer through my website.

www.melaniewales-sustainableliving.com

Fitness Tips

Include these 3 things in your diet to help you stay full and satisfied while on your fat loss journey.

melaniewalessustainableliving

Staying full and satisfied while eating in a calorie deficit? Is that even possible..?! It sure is with your food choices. Pictured are 3 of my favorite things to include in my meals when aiming for fat loss. We often think of big salads, and don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love big salads, but it’s nice to have plenty of options. Fresh fruit, a soup with lean protein and veggies, and sparkling water are my go to’s when I am dieting. If you find yourself having a really hungry day, enjoy all of these in one meal and for about 450 calories you will feel full for ages!

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.

http://www.melaniewales-sustainableliving.com

Fit Recipes!

Seasonally Inspired and Delicious Protein Pumpkin Pie Pancake Recipe!

melaniewalessustainableliving

Recipe~~~ Protein Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

Using my Protein Pumpkin Pie Mousse Recipe and layering it between Kodiak Protein Pancakes makes an incredibly delicious fall treat that contains 35g of protein and only 500 calories. Especially great for a special Sunday Brunch meal. 😋 I believe you can reach your fitness goals and love the food you are eating too!

Ingredients you will need!

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

50g Kodiak Pancake Mix (or your favorite protein pancake mix)

75g 1% milk (or water)

Optional- non stick cooking spray

To make the mousse:

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

Add in the pumpkin and mix well. Then add in the yogurt and mix well.

To make the pancakes:

Combine the milk or water with the pancake mix and blend until the batter is smooth but still a bit thick. Pour the batter into 2 pancakes on a non stick skillet (can use nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking) Cook over medium heat flipping once bubbles pop on the surface of the pancake. About 2 minutes. Cook an additional 1-2 minutes until the Pancakes are golden on both sides.

Serve with the mousse layered between and on top of the pancakes. Then top with the pecans and maple syrup.

Want to make more than one portion? Simply multiply the recipe by the number of servings you would like to make.

Serves 1

500 calories

35g protein

72g carbohydrate

9g 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 out more about everything I offer through my website.

www.melaniewales-sustainableliving.com

Fitness Tips

It’s okay to not always be on a diet.

melaniewalessustainableliving

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!!

melaniewalessustainableliving
This high protein, low fat donut is the perfect way to satisfy a donut craving while still helping you nail your nutritional goals!

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.

melaniewalessustainableliving
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!

melaniewalessustainableliving
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