Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Oats

THIS my friends, is heaven in a mason jar!

My life is hectic as it is; I don’t have the time to spend hours in the kitchen – but when you eat 6x a day, it can seem IMPOSSIBLE to keep it all clean, all the time. Welcome to my life, overnight oats!

I discovered overnight oats about 2 months ago through my second love, Pinterest – were you expecting anything else?

Talk about a QUICK & EASY meal with on-hand ingredients. It’s as if overnight oats were calling my name. Good news, I’m finally listening!!!

If you have 4 minutes and 2 mason jars, then get in your kitchen (like right now) and make this for yourself!

Ingredients:

1 mashed banana
1 cup oats
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup all natural creamy PB
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp light agave or pure honey

Directions:
Mash up your banana in a large bowl with a fork or potato masher. Throw in the rest of the ingredients and mix together very well. Split between 2 air tight containers. I used mason jars because they're awesome! Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or conveniently, overnight! Top in the morning with a bit more milk/hot water, and your favourite CLEAN toppings!

** nutritional information is approximate

October Weight Warriors!

CONFESSION TIME... Tony Horton made me CRY! You know that P90X program, the crazy hard one, and the crazy guy who made it -- yeah, I'm talking about HIM!

On Saturday I went to our quarterly Super Saturday and learned that Tony Horton's dad, who recently passed away, used to donate to the Wounded Warrior Project which helps thousands of injured warriors when they return from the battlefield.

Upon his passing, Beachbody came together and decided they'll be donating $5 for every P90 Challenge Pack sold (Tony's newest program!) -- and if that wasn't enough to bring tears to my eyes, they showed us Tony's reaction to this news. Incredible!

Beachbody never ceases to amaze me with their constant giving back -- they are the foundation of the heart and soul of every coach, and the reason we work so hard to change lives. It's all about GIVING BACK!!

And with that, comes my NEWEST challenge group!  

I want to give back – to you, to our warriors – I want to give the OPPORTUNITY to change your life. And I want to get started NOW with Tony Horton and P90!

Is P90 for you??? The answer is YES. P90 is for EVERYONE. The beauty of this program is the MODIFIER! Yes, the workouts are challenging, otherwise, why bother! The program is for ANY fitness level!

So say yes to YOU and join me in the October Weight Warrior challenge group to never spend another winter covered up in baggy sweaters and track pants! 

RSVP YES TODAY: https://www.facebook.com/events/1546026728946775/

21 Days to a NEW Me!

Ever have one of those times where your body feels sluggish, bloated and BIG, and you get this feeling that it’s telling you it wants a RESET? Yeah, I’m there!

I summer’d pretty hard! I had fun, had quite a few cocktails and spent lots of time around the BBQ. It was just what the doctor ordered after having a hectic few months of buying my first home and changing jobs. But as always, it caught up to me!

Now, take me back to 2 years ago after summer and I’d be freaking out at seeing the scale go up, my clothes not fitting the way they did last winter, and the thought of looking in the mirror with no clothes on! I mean, it wasn’t the GREATEST sight this year either, but I didn’t really care! I had the tools on hand to get back to ME and the only thing STOPPING me from putting my tools into action was ME.

I started with my before photo. I needed to see the changes I wanted to make in my body before deciding my next step – how quickly did I want to get there?

I knew I wanted something that wasn’t long so I could see results quick and give myself a good foundation to get myself back on track. My workout regime was great; it was my nutrition that wasn’t on point.

IT WAS 21 DAY FIX TIME!!!

I LOVE the fix because unlike its name, it’s not a quick fix – it’s a solution to LEARNING about nutrition and creating a sustaining meal plan, NOT a diet. I don’t do diets.

I spent a week prepping for my 21 days. I wanted to do it right, meaning I needed 3 solid weeks where there was no temptation to cheat and time to meal prep & get my workouts in.

Wait a second… what is the 21 Day Fix??

The 21 Day Fix is 3 weeks to becoming the best version of you. It’s spending 30 minutes a day in your home gym working out with trainer, Autumn Calabrese; it’s portioning your food to eat 5-6 balanced meals throughout the day; it’s drinking a BOATLOAD of water every day. It’s 3 weeks to CONFIDENCE! Oh and it's eating lots of yummy foods and NOT restricting yourself! 

Now don’t get me wrong. You can’t do 3 weeks of the fix and drop 50 lbs., but what you can do is a few rounds of the fix and drop that weight! Everyone is different and will have different results, but the success is there! Your food is portioned out to exactly how much of each food group you should be eating every day, and when that is combined with quick, intense workouts, your body naturally sheds the weight. YOU’RE FEEDING IT RIGHT! 

Check out the yummy foods I ate in week 1! I tweaked my meals to what suited MY lifestyle. I prepped my food twice a week – Sunday and Wednesday – so that I could grab and go each morning before work. If there was a night I wouldn’t be home in time to make dinner, I had Shakeology. It filled me up, it was quick, and I wasn’t cheating on meal plan.

I’m currently in week 2 of my fix and feeling AMAZING! I’ve decided to do my final measurements, weigh in, and after photos on day 21 because I want to be surprised! I’ll be sure to share my results with all of you though.

In the meantime, if you have any question on what the fix is all about, or you want to join me on an awesome 3 week journey, don’t hesitate to email me samanthaleefitness@gmail.com so I can tell you MORE about this awesome lifestyle change!

Also learn more about the fix and Autumn below!

Real Life Transformation: Carla

1. Tell us, what’s your name?

My name I'd Carla Da Silva and yes I am Portuguese:)

2. Since the start of your transformation, how many inches/pounds have you lost and how long did it take you?

Since I started my transformation in July of 2013 I have lost about 40lbs. I started my journey at a size 14 and now I am a size 6. It took about 6 months to lose all the weight and inches.

3. Why did you choose to make a change in your life?

I think I was tired of trying to lose weight and failing. I saw that Samantha had some success with Beachbody and I was like why not me? I was not comfortable in my own skin and I was tired of being the chubby girl with a cute face.

4. What methods did you use to lose the weight and inches?

With the help of Samantha as my coach, Chalean Extreme and deciding this was going to be a life change and not just something temporary I was able to hit my goals and surpass them.

5. How hard was it to change your eating habits?

I thought it would be difficult to change my eating habits as that was the biggest struggle for me in the past. It was a fairly easy transition because I followed the meal plan in the CLX nutritional guide. I actually find it harder to stay on track now then it was starting out. I had something to prove to people that said I couldn't do it.

6. What sort of support did you have to help you through this new journey?
The challenge group I think was the key component to my success. I am very competitive so the idea of getting a prize for losing weight and participating in group challenges fuelled my fire. I didn't have a lot of support from family at first but now they are on board! I've got everyone making healthier choices!

7. What was the hardest part about this journey?
The hardest part about making the change was going to family functions and not eating everything in sight. I have a big Portuguese family and everything revolves around food!

8. What has kept you motivated to keep going?
Seeing results kept me going and then of course once you create a routine you build a habit. I started out working out 5 days a week with 2 rest days and now I make an effort to work out or do something active daily!

9. What changes do you love most about your new body/life?
I love that I feel so much better! I use to have stomach aches all the time and I had NO energy. I like that I can wear things with confidence now and that I can find clothes in almost any store. Most of all I am happy that I could inspire others to do the same. There is nothing better then paying it forward!

10. So what can we expect from you next?
I am going to start the Body Beast program next so for me the next phase is seeing more muscle definition. I would also like very much to be a certified nutritionist. Nutrition is so important for overall weight loss and people have so many misconceptions about food.


Discover the life changing program that started Carla's journey here:

The Fit Package: 30 Day Challenge

We all have goals in life, whether it's to lose 5 pounds, 20 pounds, or 100 lbs. It may be to lose no weight, but to gain. Or maintain your current weight & tone your body instead… whatever your goals are, I'm here to help. 

Weight loss is simple. It is! Once you put work into it, you realize it’s deeper than counting calories and working out. It’s all about the complete package.

NUTRITION + FITNESS + SUPPORT = SUCCESS. 

So, what if I gave you the complete package for success? I'm talking to YOU – the normal person who is unhappy with where you are, the person who can’t find the motivation, the person who doesn’t feel like they have support, the person who doesn’t know where to start. That normal person who just wants to feel normal again. 

Is that you? Then this group is for you… RSVP and message me for details & let's get you started on your 30-Day journey, a journey that will become so much longer than 30 days!

The time to commit to yourself is NOW.

RSVP here: http://on.fb.me/1rvWHkC

Transformation Tuesday

1. Tell us, what’s your name?

Rachel Warner

2. Since the start of your transformation, how many inches/pounds have you lost and how long did it take you?

I went from 217 pounds at the beginning of my journey and my weight as of today is 173.4. That’s 43.6 pounds since starting Insanity back in March of 2013.

3. Why did you choose to make a change in your life?

I was sitting on the couch eating a huge bowl of cereal and the Insanity infomercial came on the screen. It was at that moment I decided enough was enough and I made the call to order the program.

4. What methods did you use to lose the weight and inches?

I’ve done Insanity, the 3 Day Refresh, and I drink Shakeology daily.

5. How hard was it to change your eating habits?

It was hard for me to change my poor eating habits so my results could have been better.

6. What sort of support did you have to help you through this new journey?

It wasn’t till I found my coach Samantha who offered to give me extra motivation that I actually used my program and started to see huge results.

7. What was the hardest part about this journey?

I only had the program alone to keep me motivated and after a couple weeks it was done. I tried again for a couple weeks and again gave in to the changes and the pain that was involved with the program.

8. What has kept you motivated to keep going?

Beachbody Coaching is what’s kept me on track and I love inspiring others to do the same. I love this new healthy lifestyle, the friends I’ve made and the positive effect it’s had for my family. What had first started as a way to keep myself on track is now putting gas in the cars and paying for our weekly groceries.

9. What changes do you love most about your new body/life?

I didn’t only finish I succeeded in doing the program all 63 days without missing a workout and lost 14 pounds and got my lost confidence back. Once Insanity was finished I shared my results with everyone. I was so proud of what I’d accomplished.

10. So what can we expect from you next?

I am currently training to run my first marathon which the old me would have never even thought of. I plan on dropping another 20-30 pounds in the next year and hope to bring this new lifestyle to as many people as possible. The sky is truly the limit!

Want results like Rachel’s? Join the Insanity challenge!

Why I Choose Double Workouts over Double Fisting

As I look back on photos from my ‘party hard’ days, I see a girl I used to know – a girl who had fun, a girl who smiled, a girl who made great friends with alcohol. I have no regrets about those days, but I now look at that girl and I don’t recognize her. I look back and remember how I drank to suppress memories I didn’t want to think about anymore, to forget the fact that all of my friends rocked their bikinis while I had to lie and tell them I forgot my bathing suit, how I spent countless dollars shopping for clothes to keep up with appearances while at the same time having battles with myself in every single change room. I look back now and I feel sad for myself. I spent so many years fighting over something that could have been fixed with just a few small changes, but instead I turned to something that just harmed me further for years.

In the summer of 2012, I was laying on the couch with my dog. She was whining to go for a walk, and I remember not even having the energy to get up off the couch to let her outside. It was incredibly embarrassing. I knew I needed to do something, I just didn’t know what I needed to do. Now, I’m not huge into ‘fate’ but at that moment, I saw an infomercial that literally changed my life. This little blonde woman was jumping around, kicking, punching, dancing, and I remember thinking “is this actually a workout?” I was so intrigued, I watched the entire 30 minutes. What was this phenomenon called Turbo Fire? Who the heck is Chalene Johnson? I hadn’t ever seen her before! I had to find out more! Within 20 minutes of my research, Turbo Fire was purchased and on its way to me.

And then came the FREAK OUT! Me? Working out? Jumping, kicking, punching? Ha! No way! Nope! Not me! Why did I even order this? Am I a total idiot? What a stupid purchase I just made! I had a week full of mini heart attacks waiting for my package to arrive. When it finally came, I opened it up, read, and pressed play. And that was it.

The workouts were completely out of my comfort zone. I did them anyway.

I couldn’t jump very high. I jumped anyway.

My arms got tired of punching within the first 5 minutes. I punched with everything I could anyway.

There was the need for coordination I didn’t have. I tried anyway.

I didn’t have the strength to do bicep curls. I did as many sets as I could anyway.

I struggled for 3 weeks to get the moves down, and it was SO tough. I danced for a few years and I can count beats like nobody’s business, but this was different. It was coordination I wasn’t used to, it was fast, there were moves my body hadn’t done in so many years, I got tired easily, and it made me sweat a LOT more than dance ever did! It created this really weird high I wasn’t used to. I had heard of ‘runner’s high’ but never really believed in it – until I found this workout.

Turbo Fire was the beginning to the rest of my life (so cheesy!)... but seriously. I never imagined I would look forward to working out. I never knew my body was capable of getting up at 5am every morning to SWEAT before work. I didn’t even know this much energy could come out of one person. I always thought those happy, energetic people just had different happy genes, ones that I was never born with. Doesn’t that sound sad? That’s because IT IS SAD!

 The fire inside you that working out creates is something that’s impossible to turn back on. My workouts and routine aren’t perfect, nor would I ever expect that of myself. I let life get in the way something, because I am human, I am still learning, and I want to LIVE my life rather than let life live me. All I know is that when I wake up on a Sunday morning and push my legs as hard as they can with a jog before I come home to lift weights, it feels a LOT better after a night of double fisting beer!