Hi ladies! I’m so excited to share my two week check in for the Tone It Up Bikini Series. If you’re new here and wondering what I’m talking about, read this post first! For the entire eight week Bikini Series, I will be doing a biweekly check in on the blog. Today is the first one! I’m sharing a weekly workout and food diary for the Tone It Up Bikini Series, so keep reading if you’re interested in the program or just healthy living in general.
Before hopping into the work out and food diary, I wanted to share three key takeaways from a week of clean eating. After reflecting on the past two weeks, I quickly found that my take ways are very similar to my first round of Whole 30 two years ago.
While S and I lead a healthy lifestyle, this winter I indulged too much on little treats through the week. I was basically just working out to counter my treats which is counterproductive. Instead of snacking on veggies, I would grab processed bars and things that weren’t made from Mother Nature. They were considered those “healthy” snacks, but I feel best when I eat whole, clean, raw snacks and meals. I also wasn’t really focusing on how much sugar I was taking in. Sugar is in everything and the #1 way I personally put on water weight. I get addicted super quickly!
So anyways, the past two weeks were a huge reset for me physically and mentally. I’m back to fueling my body with foods that make me feel good, instead of reaching for treats and eating things that make me feel like crap. In turn, my work outs can actually make a difference in my body instead of just counter junk.
After only two weeks of the Bikini Series, I feel absolutely amazing and already lost my tummy water weight from the winter!!! So now I’m starting at my ideal weight and excited to tone up, no pun intended, for the remaining six weeks of the program.
Through this two week Tone It Up Bikini series check in, I wanted to share my three key takeaways and also a one week work out and food diary.
TWO WEEK TONE IT UP BIKINI SERIES CHECK IN: 3 TAKEAWAYS
1.What a difference a week of healthy choices makes. I not only feel much less bloated, everything fits better and I’m back to my ideal weight. I had water weight lingering from too many processed snacks here and there, but a literally one week of clean eating and sweat sessions got rid of it.
2.Weekly progress photos are key. I never put myself on a scale. I don’t see the need. I go solely off how my clothing fits to know when I need to reel my food choices back in. If my work pants feel snug, I know to clean up my food! With that said, I’ve never been one to take weekly progress photos. I’ve been going to the gym/worked out nearly every week with S for over ten years and never took progress photos!
WOW WOW WOW If you aren’t taking progress photos – do it!!! They are so encouraging! I was shocked at my photos that were only seven days a part. I had a little belly bump of water weight and boom – it was gone for my next progress photos. Seeing the two photos side by side was really eye openeing and I think it will continue to be.
I’m thinking I’ll share my pre-Bikini Series and post-Bikini series photos with you at the end of this [maybe!], but for now let me just say if you aren’t taking pictures, I highly suggest you do it! I felt a huge difference after the first week, but dang the photos really proved that.
3. I’m back to the amazing feeling if not craving or wanting processes snacks, indulgent dinners out or refined sugar. THIS IS THE BEST FEELING EVER. I remember feeling this way two weeks into my first round of Whole30. My body legit chooses fruit over candy and home cooked, clean dinners are more appealing than going out and indulging. The thought of feeling bloated or negating my hard work from my work outs just isn’t worth it. I don’t even think twice about it!
I’ve been giving myself one treat a week, so this girl’s gotta choose wisely! My “treat” would be a kiddie froyo in a dish or getting a side of fries with a salad at dinner. So it’s not a whole day of bad foods.. it’s not even one whole meal of bad food. It’s just one small, normal treat.
Having this one allotted treat a week makes me to be conscious and strategic with what I decide to ‘splurge’ on. I just love, love, love this feeling of naturally wanting healthier options over bad choices. This is how I feel during Whole30 too. And uh – fruit tasting like candy is the prime state to be in. I love not being bloated from harsh treats all the time [dairy and gluten are hard for me to digest] and simply – feeling my very best!!
So those three items were my main takeaways! Overall I’m just feeling so amazing inside and out. My progress photos show me how far I’ve already come and I cannot wait to see if I get more toned over the next six weeks.
TONE IT UP BIKINI SERIES ONE WEEK WORK OUT AND FOOD DIARY
Before I get started, I wanted to note, for the Bikini Series I am doing the daily moves every day, striving for five hard workouts a week [spin class, run, Barre or HIIT]. The daily moves are free within the TIU mobile app. The weekly TIU videos are only in the mobile app if you upgrade and pay the $12ish a month. I like having the videos for days I don’t feel like getting out to a work out class. It’s so easy to work from your living room and the videos they are pumping out this year are unlike any they have done before. I really enjoy them because they are super challenging.
For food, I am following the nutritional plan guidelines, not the meal by meal plan. I simply do not need that structure and it gives me anxiety honestly. They released this option for people that want that structure [as Karena does!], but you can just follow the Nutrition Pan fundamentals and eat your own meals that follow the guidelines [like what Katrina prefers].
I also focus on getting in at least four 32 ounces of water. You can read my tips for increasing your water in take here!
DAY 1:
WORKOUT
AM – 2 mile run @8.2 pace, PM – TIU daily moves
MEALS
-PRE AM WORKOUT: coffee, 1/2 a banana
-BREAKFAST: Green smoothie.
I drink this almost every morning when I head to the office. I allows me to get protein in post-workout and sneak in two huge cups of greens. I typically throw in spinach, but will do kale frequently as well. For today’s smoothie I did 1 scoop Perfect Fit vanilla protein powder, 1 cup unsweetened Califia Farms almond milk, 1 scoop Macca powder [Trader Joe’s brand], 1 scoop Amazing Grass Green Superfood 2 cups spinach. Blend! I don’t add fruit to my smoothies since I like to be conscious of how much sugar [even if natural] I put into my body. If I do want fruit, I only put 1/4 of a cup.
-SNACK: pistachios, coffee
-LUNCH: Salad.
2 hard boiled eggs, spinach, 1/2 avocado, olives, cucumbers and pine nuts with fresh lemon squeezed on top
-DINNER:
Grilled chicken, broccoli and mushrooms.
*Tip: make sure almond milk is sugar free and doesn’t have carrageenan! I find that Almond Breeze has preservative junk in it, so I switched to use Califia Farms years ago.
DAY 2:
WORKOUT
AM – TIU Sunshine Sculpt video [legs and abs] & shoulder video, PM – TIU daily moves
MEALS
-PRE AM WORKOUT: coffee, 1/2 a banana
-BREAKFAST: Green smoothie
-SNACK: 1/2 cup roasted chickpeas, handful of pistachios, strawberries
-DINNER: Healthy “enchiladas”. I slow cooked five chicken breasts with 1 cup cage-free chicken broth cumin, salt and pepper. Then my husband sliced three zucchinis with a potato peeler to make the ‘tortillas’. We rolled them all up and baked for 20 minutes at 350*. He topped his with cheese and taco sauce. I had mine plain and they were amaze! We made ‘raviolis’ this way with zucchinis as the pasta and it worked awesome as well.
-DESSERT: 1/2 a chocolate chip peanut butter Larabar.
Tip: We buy all organic, antibiotic-free, cage-free chicken from Trader Joe’s and Wegman’s. When your meat is raised with chemicals and toxins, they go into your own body. This is one thing on our grocery list we 100% always prioritize. Everyone is different, but this is what we do!
DAY 3:
WORKOUT:
AM: daily moves and TIU Cardio Kettle routine [SO GOOD!!!!],PM: 45 minute spin class
MEALS
BREAKFAST: Coffee and 2 eggs, spinach, 1/2 and avocado and TJ’s everything spices.
LUNCH: Coffee and
SNACK: Raw, unsalted cashews
DINNER: Panera salads! I got their summer seasonal salad that has fruit. I used a 1/2 the dressing.
*Tip: To reduce bloating, I eat all my pistachios, almonds and cashews raw AKA no added salt, sugar or junk. Trader Joe’s has the best selection!
DAY 4:
WORKOUT
AM:Daily moves, PM” Skipped.. I had a migraine so skipped out on my PM work out to rest.
MEALS
BREAKFAST: Coffee and 2 eggs, spinach and olives scrambled together
LUNCH: Breakfast was late and dinner early, so no lunch. Crazy meetings!
DINNER: Taco salad. Mixed greens,corn, black beans, guacamole and left over pulled taco chicken [I freeze the chicken in baggies and defrost individual serving sizes].
DAY 5:
WORK OUT
AM: 2 mile run, daily moves PM: spin class
MEALS
PRE WORK OUT: Coffee, 1/2 banana
BREAKFAST: Coffee, green smoothie.
LUNCH: Salad. Grilled veggie patty topped with tomato, relish [no sugar] and mustard with sautéed spinach, avocado oil and fat-free feta.
DINNER: Chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, guacamole and mushrooms on the grill
DESSERT: mini fruit bowl with 1/4 cup unsweetened granola, 1 cup fruit [this bowl is mini!], mini chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon of peanut butter. 
Tip: For veggie patties, I always check the ingredients label thoroughly. Many are jam packed with added junk fillers, sugar and soy. I make sure each ingredients is something I understand without goolging and that there isn’t any soy [affects my hormones so I try to not eat soy, but they sneak it in a LOT of vegetarian/vegan products so look for it!]. I love X and X.
DAY 6:
WORKOUT
AM: daily moves, PM: walking around the city with friends
MEALS
BREAKFAST: 1/4 cup oatmeal, strawberries, 1 tablespoon peanut butter
DINNER: My TREAT of the week! We got dinner at a restaurant near our bestie’s condo. This restaurant has a rotating menu and they brought back the most amazing crispy chicken sandwich so I got that. It was worth every dangggg bite. Oh and S and I split arancini balls balls as a appetizer so I guess that’s technically two treats, haha.
WORKOUT:
DAY 7:
WORKOUT:
AM: daily moves, PM: active rest day with my love!
MEALS
BREAKFAST: S made me a Cat Momma’s Day breakfast! He was so cute. Muenster “gifted” me the sweetest little gifts and made breakfast hehe. For the healthy pancakes, just mix two eggs with 1 banana [feeds 2 people]. For a bigger batch, double it. The key here is to make the pancakes super small so the entire flapjack can fit on your spatchula. If you make the big, they will crumble. We topped with blueberries!
LUNCH: Last nights leftovers with homemade peanut sauce. For the sauce, I just add peanut butter, garlic, ginger in the food processor.
DINNER: Grilled chicken, mushrooms, and lots of peppers
DESSERT: fruit, 1/4 cup unsweetened granola and unsweetened almond milk
Woo – that was a lot! I was going to do a two week diary, but that would have been the longest blog post ever.
As a summary for my second week, I have eaten clean all week and started going to barre classes! My friend Molly and I went Tuesday and then this morning at 6AM. It’s such a fun activity to do with a girlfriend and WOW it burns so good. I think next I want to try Orange Theory with her! We tried boxing a couple weeks ago which was fun, but the gloves are way too sweaty for my germaphobe self.
I hope you have a great Friday and weekend! Are you following the Bikini Series? If so, leave any feedback or questions below. It’s not too late to join too. I will have another biweekly check in with you guys on blog in two weeks. From your questions, I’ll figure out what sort of angle to take. Xo Mindy
SHOP THE POST
PS – here are related posts that may be of interest to you!
Stocking a Healthy Pantry
Tips for Keeping Your Coffee Healthy
My Experience with Collagen Peptides
8 Ways to Increase Your Daily Water Intake
PS – I do not have a nutritional background and am only sharing what works for me. Do what works for you and consult your doctor before making any large life changes.
