#MirrorlessMonday Photo Shoot Recap #WhatsBeautiful Style.

June 17, 2013 -
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Good morning everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend for Father’s Day! I am very blessed to have a wonderful father & grandfather who support me in everything I do as well as keeping memories of my late grandfather close to my heart, always.IMG_4532

My Pap, Me, & Papacakes!

The family & I enjoyed a Father’s Day Brunch yesterday which was filled with good food & good conversation! After a morning workout, I had a banana & some of my new All Pro Science plant based protein powder (which I will review this week on the blog) & then headed to breakfast with a raging metabolism! The restaurant had a lot to choose from including a ton of fresh fruit, roasted veggies, & an omelet bar! Like I’ve said before, I eat a lot of plant based foods because I noticed a big change in my digestion because of it but the omelet bar did look pretty tasty so I got a veggie filled omelet as well and enough roasted asparagus & squash to feed a small family. I really enjoyed the omelet but I have to say that my digestion was a bit off this morning (if ya know what I mean). But hey – #BETRUETOYOU and do what you enjoy! Winking smile I don’t stay away from a food if I truly want it but sometimes my stomach is not always a fan. Story of my life, right? but nonetheless, I enjoyed the morning with my family & was glad we could all be together to celebrate our Father’s!

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After brunch I headed to my second home (the grocery store) and stocked up on some food for the week! One of our favorite meals as a family is spaghetti squash so I bought two HUGE squashes (for some reason that doesn’t sound like a real word? ha) and I spent the afternoon prepping dinner for everyone as well as food for the week.

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I wasn’t lying when I said two HUGE spaghetti squash –
fist pump for leftovers for the week! Winking smile

Spaghetti squash is SO easy to prepare!

Just cut in half, scoop out seeds, place face down on a cookie sheet, roast at 375 for about 45 minutes, let cool (don’t forget this step or your hands will not be happy), then scrape out the squash with a fork into a large bowl. I then sauté it on a medium heat for a few minutes in some garlic & coconut oil for some added flavor!

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Spaghetti squash with organic tomato basil sauce
& a side of roasted rosemary broccoli & cauliflower.

– Just sauté the veg with coconut oil, garlic,
& sweet onion with fresh rosemary until tender! –

This combo was filling, fueling, & delish. It’s also a plus that we have leftovers for the week!

Speaking of veggies, did you know that today, June 17th, is National Drink Your Vegetables Day?

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Shout-out to the wonderful people at Naked Juice for sending me this adorable veggie day kit to celebrate this holiday! It included a whole garden kit to plant my own veggies as well as coupons for some free Naked Juice! They have a new “Power Garden” juice which includes 1 lb of veggies in every bottle, fruit, not from concentrate, & no added sugars that I will definitely try out with my coupons! You can also grab a coupon [here] off of their site! Winking smile  Thank you Naked Juice!

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Switching gears to #MirrorlessMonday & the whatsbeautiful campaign that I am working on with FitFluential & Under Armour Women, I have a story to share today!

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Don’t forget that you can still join in! Details are [here]

& you can join TEAM TRUE TO YOU [here].

A few months ago I was talking with a local photographer about setting up a photo shoot for some new pictures for the blog as well as some cool fitness shots. With his schedule, we were looking towards the end of July for the next available slot. In my mind I was thinking what a great goal this would be to work towards, the healthy way of course! Then, on Thursday I got a text from my friend Jess saying that Chris (the photographer) wanted to do a quick shoot on Saturday with the two of us to test out some concepts he had for another upcoming project he was working on. He mentioned we could do some POWERCAKES pics as well to at least get a few in before our actual photo shoot. This meant I had 2 days until the shoot where I would be wearing a sports bra & shorts (a very classy and adorable sports bra I might add- check out Forever 21 for some cute tops!!) Winking smile 

My initial thought was my ego taking over with negative self talk. I initially thought “you’re not ready for it.” “you don’t have abs like Jess does.” “Are people going to be disappointed when they see these?”

And I quickly took a look down to my wrist –

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-coming to a wrist near you soon!-

and I realized – if this wasn’t a test of being true to YOU then I don’t know what is! I am consistent doing workouts I enjoy as well as fueling my body the way it likes while enjoying all types of food without any restrictions. Therefore, I should be PROUD of what I see on the camera – it’s truly ME and I instantly thought of all of the #whatsbeautiful inspiration and thought – what’s beautiful is loving yourself for what you are & what you look like. As long as you’re happy – that’s what matters! I could definitely hear my soul sister Heather in my ear telling me to get out of my own way.

Not going to lie, I was nervous going to the shoot but once we got started, I was so comfortable & it was so much fun! Once I let go of those fears that were initially holding me back – I embraced the whole experience & it was so liberating. Jess & I had such a fun time!

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A shot of Jess – Photo Credit @MetConPhotos

With each shot it was like an adrenaline rush and I started to feel more & more proud of myself & my healthy body. Later that day I went to dinner with my friend Rachel & we talked about the day. I told her how I felt before doing the shoot & how I felt after. I couldn’t stop talking about how amazing it felt to face a fear head on & embrace myself more than I ever have before.

We both agreed that too often we don’t give ourselves enough credit. We tend to look past the hard work we put in and just focus on the mirror or what the scale says. Those images that we think we see & those numbers that we read are nothing more than our ego’s telling us we aren’t good enough.

I needed this photo shoot to prove to myself that I am enough! (as my girl Jody would say). I didn’t do anything crazy to prepare for this shoot as I did my first year of competing (over 3 years ago) whenever I was doing things the unhealthy way. I told Rachel that even at my lowest point of body fat % before that competition & the lowest weight I had been at since high school, I STILL wasn’t happy with where I was. No matter how those pictures turned out on stage of my outward appearance, my insides were still no fulfilled. This led to a big change in my habits a few years ago & breaking up with the scale because I saw this path leading to somewhere I didn’t want to be.

Saturday was a reminder for me to BE TRUE TO YOU & proof that I am proud of myself. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been & I am able to do things I’ve never done. And I can’t help but think that this photo shoot popped up at just the right time to prove this to myself.

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Photo Credit Chris Nolan of @MetConPhotos

Fueled By Powercakes Tank coming to the website soon!!

Moral of the story is that sometimes we need to give ourselves more credit & realize that we are enough. We are all different sizes, shapes, & body types and when we finally embrace that about ourselves – I think that’s #whatsbeautiful.

Once I get more photos from the day, I will definitely share them with you all! Thank you for all of your continued support & encouragement – you don’t realize how much that helped with my confidence for this weekend!

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