The Secret to Confidence

How comfortable are you in a bikini? How about just in shorts? The answer for me was "not as confident as I should be". Even after working out for over six months I still didn't feel like I could pull of a bikini perfectly. When working out, and dedicating so much of your time to something results are expected and confidence should come with it. One day I went bikini shopping and I just didn't feel like I looked as great as I felt. I had been working on my abs for awhile so that couldn't be the problem. The problem was my legs. So after that day I dedicated 75% of my workout to my legs. I decided if this is what is limiting my confidence then I am going to everything I can to fix it. Here I am a month later and feel like I have conquered what was holding me back. I not only feel more confident in my clothing, I feel more confident in my work out and am performing 100% better than I was a month ago. What was my secret to this huge boost of confidence?

SQUATS
Squat it up Ladies! These may seem like a very manly exercise to perform but there is a reason behind all the hype. They work wonders on leg definition and work wonders on the butt (that's where the confidence will come from;)! This confidences isn't going to come within the first week or even the second week. I almost quit because they were just too difficult, but I am so glad I didn't! I start with just squatting 50 pounds. You might have to start with less depending on what your legs can handle. Perfect this before you move on. Make sure you can perform at least three sets of 12 at 50 pounds before you even think about adding more weights. With this you are building your base. After you have done this add 5-10 pounds and perfect that and keep going till you reach your goals. I saw the most progress when I got up to 100 pounds. Once you conquer this strenuous exercise you will feel like you can accomplish anything. It is such an uplifting feeling and will motivate you to keep pushing yourself.

Follow @gymknowledge on Instagram for the correct form for all your exercises!

Sweet Potato Nachos

I love nachos! Every time I go out for Mexican I would always go for the extra large nachos...my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Good news, I have a Healthy alternative! Those extra salty tortilla chips and large amount of dairy in the sour cream just wasn't cutting it for my healthy lifestyle. I got the inspiration for these nachos from fitfunandfantastic.com. I changed the recipe to my liking since I never like to follow exact directions. There are a lot of alterations you can make to this recipe, just try different things and see what you like!

Sweet Potato Nachos
Serving size: 1

Chips:
1 sweet potato
   salt
   pepper
4 tbs olive oil

Turkey mixture:
1 serving of ground turkey
1/4 green bell pepper
3 tbs onion
1 minced onion
  cumin powder (to taste)
  chili powder (to taste)

Avocado topping:
1/2 avocado
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 chopped tomatoes

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425. Cut the sweet potato into thin strips (like a chip) and put them in a cookie sheet. Pour the oil over them sprinkle the salt and pepper over them (mix them around). Cook for 15 min. After 15 min flip them over and cook for another 20 min.

Start cooking the onions, bell pepper, and garlic in a skillet. Add the ground turkey, cumin powder, and chili powder and cook until done.

Put the avocado in a bowl and mash it up. Add the yogurt and stir. Chop tomato and add to top.

Habits, Habits, Habits.

Do you have something you do everyday? Why do you do this?
The reason is repetition. That's all it takes to start a healthy lifestyle, you just have to start. Start having a veggie with dinner every night, start adding fruit to your lunch everyday. When starting a healthy habit it doesn't have to be all or nothing, A habit is learned and can be added to. Just think of it this way; when you start your healthy lifestyle you are a "beginner" but slowly you will evolve to the "intermediate" stage then finally to the "expert" stage. Of course this will NOT happen over night, it won't even happen in a month. You have to teach yourself, and slowly evolve your habits it to nothing but healthy.

One healthy habit leads to another. I realized that the more I ate healthy the more motivation I had to workout. I figured since I'm feeding my body right why not make it look like it. So I began working out. This habit is more challenging to start than most. (It did not happen overnight...it actually took me about six months to make it an "expert" habit). When I started working out it led me to try to eat even better than I already was. I was putting in so much work at the gym that I would remember that and choose the best option for me health. Working out made me accountable for what I ate. This is why getting exercise mixed into your routine is so important.

Eat healthy so you have the fuel to workout and workout so you have the accountability to eat healthy!