Tips on Dining Out, The Healthy Way!

How many people absolutely love weekends? The freedom to relax, hang out with friends and family, do all those fun activities, and EAT OUT!?!?! OH NO... all your hard work is instantly ruined because there aren't any healthy items on the menu... and you think, oh that's ok -- I'll just start again Monday!

WRONG WRONG WRONG.

I am here to share with you five tips that I think will be very helpful for you while dining out... AND you won't have to eat just rabbit food! Exploring the different ways to modify your meals is very simple and easy! These are the tips that have helped for me and normally what I do when I go out to eat.

Tip 1: Map out where you will be eating!

Why you ask? -- The reason I make this tip #1 is because it is the most crucial! If you are prepared for where you are going to dinner, you will be able to look at their online menu! Most companies nowadays share their menus on their websites. This will give you a chance to look over the menu, pick and choose what you like and think about ways you will be able to modify it to be much healthier!

Tip 2: Ask for grilled, broiled, or steamed!

Why you ask? -- Obviously, this should be a given. If you are trying to stay on track with your nutrition and fitness.. when you're out to dinner and you find an entree you like but it's breaded... ask if there is an option for it to be grilled or broiled. Breaded meats PACK on the calories... on average a 4oz piece of grilled chicken would be between 100-125 calories. If you were to get a piece of breaded chicken, there could be double if not TRIPLE the amount of calories there!! Also another tip I want to share here, if you have side options .. choose the steamed veggies!! There is no extra added fat, which essentially means no extra calories!

Tip 3: Ditch the POP/Soda!

Why you ask? -- Oh my goodness, where do I even begin here. The amount of sugar, the 16-20 ounce glass you're getting, and oh how many refills did you just have? Pop is a no go, ask for water. Most health and fitness websites mention you are suppose to drink half your weight in ounces! Add some lemon to it and you have yourself a healthy flavorful drink SUGAR FREE!!! This should be a given, just ditch the pop!



Tip 4: Sauce on the side, please!

Why you ask? -- Getting your salad dressing or sauce on the side will help cut back on those calories! If you get your sauce on the side, typically (from when I waitressed) the ramikins are about 2 oz, BUT when the restaurants put the sauce right on the entree, you can never gauge actually how much sauce you will be getting! Dressings (such as ranch) are really high in fat and calories. I usually get my salad dressing or sauce on the side and just dip my food in there but very cautious not to use a lot of it.

Tip 5: Save your cheat meal!

Why you ask? -- Ok, so when you're on your health and fitness journey -- and you'e trying to eat healthy but your friends asked you to go to dinner this weekend. OH NO, WHAT DO I DO... RESTAURANTS ARE PURE EVIL... no no no! Just listen, if you are on point with your eating habits during the week and you know you have an obligation to eat out with friends or family, be cautious throughout the week and save your cheat meal. Maybe you want to have a glass of pop or you would like to have mashed potatoes and gravy with all the fixings. You don't want to deprive yourself, and I'm not telling you you have to do this to lose weight or be healthy... just make healthy choices and you will do great!

I hope these five tips help you better handle eating out situations. I know they can be rough, and when  you're eating out with friends you don't want to be the "difficult" person but sometimes, you have to. Don't let the peer pressure of others affect your decision. It's your body, you have to live in it... not them! I am not saying I am a fitness expert or nutritionist, I am simply offering you my personal opinions and advice! I hope you find them helpful.













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Dreams Don't Work Unless You Do!

Good Morning followers, newbies, and all my lovely friends! :)

I wanted to share with you today something that means a lot to me because honestly for my entire life, I have never really had anyone pushing me to get to where I am today but that didn't stop me from working towards my goals and dreams. The quote of the day today is going to be "Dreams don't work unless you do!"

This quote really puts everything into perspective.. because it very self-explanatory. You see, you will accomplish nothing until you are willing to work on accomplishing something! How many times have you dreamt about being debt free, losing 10 pounds, owning your own business, landing that dream job, or owning your own home? In order to accomplish these things, you must come up with a plan, stick with it, and eventually things will fall into place! I have worked extremely hard for the last 13 years to accomplish everything I have.

I was fourteen years old beginning my first job. It was a summer program where I would have to "work" about 6 hours Monday through Friday. I mean what kind of 14 year old wants to spend their summers working? THIS GIRL!! I came from a family that did not have a lot of money, I wasn't able to go shopping at the mall or do the fun things all my other friends were doing BUT I wanted to do those things, so I had to work for it. This mindset put me on a path I knew would take me far. I feel that if I would not have started working at such a young age, I may not be where I am today. I was focused, determined, and wanted things I didn't have at the time.

Fast forward to June of 2005, I was graduating high school... I was always told that I was to go to college, but no one in my family did so I was falling into a path where nope, I don't want to go. I didn't want to spend four years in college, it just wasn't what I was looking to do. However, something came over me and I decided to start my college career at a technical school, Bradford School in Pittsburgh. I moved away with a close friend from high school and we started our adventure as college students just 2 weeks after graduating High School!! We were eager to begin this journey. I have to say I am very thankful that I changed my mind and went to college because I became even more focused and determined. I worked about a year and a half after graduating with my Associate's degree then decided I wanted to go back to college for my Bachelor's Degree.. in January 2010, I was officially a full time student again at Robert Morris University!

Why am I telling you all of this... because these are just some of the steps I had to take to get to where I am today... Fast forward to September 2014... I am a college graduate, I landed my first official "salaried position" two weeks BEFORE I was graduating college. It was so awesome to not have to stress about if and when I would find a job because the economy wasn't doing so well during this time. I busted my behind to get to this point in my life.. I would work multiple jobs while in college just to ensure I was able to pay my bills.. Most people would have probably given up at this point. Sacrifices needed to be made... I knew it would suck at first but the outcome would be so much more rewarding than feeling that sense of regret for the rest of my life.

Facts:
I bought my first brand new car. I pay for everything I have. I worked my butt off. I paid for my own wedding, no help from family or friends. I would work multiple jobs. I have my own apartment. I put myself through college, every penny of the way. I cried a lot because of stress. I have paid off 75% of my credit card debt within the last 4 months. I am looking to purchase my first home. I NEVER GAVE UP. I am excited to see what my future holds for me.

My life may have thrown me many curveballs.. sometimes I thought how am I ever going to overcome this, but deep down... you will find that strength. It may take a lot longer sometimes but you have to focus on getting back up rather than staying knocked down. Rise above it all and you will come out on top. Because remember, Dreams Don't Work Unless YOU DO!

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If you are looking for a way to help you reach your dreams and goals, looking for someone to help keep you accountable, email me at tbbcoachsteph87@gmail.com or fill out the contact form below! I would love to chat with you about an amazing opportunity!

Motivation. Inspiration. Confidence. The TEAM behind it all.

Team (noun): a group of players forming one side in a competitive game or sport.

Team (verb): come together as a team to achieve a common goal.

A team is consisted of people from different backgrounds, despite their ignorance of each other's lives, coming together on one side... essentially to achieve a common goal. Although in a sport, the team may not always see eye to eye and fail to motivate each other. One member may feel they are better than the other individuals, and only look out for themselves. Hypothetically speaking, this is where the team breaks apart and may not achieve that common goal due to the competitiveness amongst each other for the spotlight.

Team Call!

Which brings me to my sole purpose of this post. I am a member of a health and fitness team. We essentially "Team" (verb) up together to achieve a common goal, like stated above. This team is a a group of people where we are not searching for that spotlight, nor are we trying to steal the "thunder" from anyone. There is no scout at tonight's big game, nor is there a trophy at stake. We are a team searching for the simplicity of bettering our lives. We are a team that enjoys sharing our success with one another. We are a team that motivates, supports, and encourages every other member to do the very best we can every single day. When some days we are feeling completely defeated, we turn to this "team" for advice. This team is my accountability group... my reason behind not giving up. I feel that if I just gave up, I would disappoint them. They are the most selfless, caring, and amazing group of people I get to share this passion of mine with.

Team Fearless and Fit was founded by Mrs. Amie DeSanzo. She strives to be the best she can, pushes herself to a new limit every single day, and stresses living everyday FEARLESS. This team consists of many people from all different backgrounds, but we all have one goal in common... Help people achieve their goals and enjoy a healthy fulfilling life. We are Beachbody Coaches!

Becoming a coach has helped me step completely out of my comfort zone on many different levels. I have began to "develop" myself. In other words, I have been reading books, listening to speeches I found on You Tube and even began attending trainings to help better my knowledge in this health and fitness field and continue to push myself to a new challenge every single day. I have adopted a "Better Everyday" lifestyle. I know that everything I am doing today, is getting me one step closer to my goals.

I am so beyond grateful for my team, and I just want to give them a huge shout out for taking me under their wings and being so patient with me as I take on this journey. You all are the most inspiring, intelligent, and beautiful (inside and out) women I know! Thank you all for supporting and motivating me to be the best person I could ever be. Without you, I'm not sure I would even be typing this post right now! xoxo <3

Quote to live by: Coming together is a beginning, Keeping together is progress. Working together is success! <3

-Henry Ford

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My Dream Board - Goal #2

To continue with my dream board goals, my goal is to become credit card debt free. While I still may have a lot of student loans to pay off, I am determined to get all of the credit card debt gone before the end of the year so I am able to pay larger amounts on my student loans!

During my college years I was working multiple jobs which needed to be very flexible with my schedule for my classes, so I would sometimes work seven days a week. Since I was pretty much making minimum wage at these jobs, it only went so far. I was paying for rent, utilities, car insurance, car payments, food, etc. This amount of money only goes so far... I was desperate so I unfortunately opened up a few credit cards to help pay for books and other supplies, but had gotten in really far over my head. 

After many years of racking up the credit card debt, I was completely sick to my stomach and felt like I was falling into a dark hole I would never get out of. I never had someone preaching to me about the importance of credit cards, and how difficult they would be to pay them all off. I would only pay the minimum balance, and when you look at your statement, and you see the part where it says if you pay just the minimum balance it will take you X amount of years to pay them off, yea I never realized how bad it actually was. And to think how much money I was wasting I felt hopeless.

Finally, I was able to land my first big girls job, which allowed me to have a bit more flexibility with my money and really start focusing on getting my finances in order so I will one day be able to afford a brand new car (which I have bought already), be able to buy a brand new house (which I plan on doing rather soon) and live life comfortably without restrictions.

I set a very strict budget for myself. Although, it may have meant sacrificing certain things like new clothes, new shoes, a new purse, and going out to eat all the time; I knew that I was getting myself back on the right track. Since mid-June of 2014, I have since paid off 4 credit cards. I only have three more to go and I could not be more ecstatic. Yes, you may think this is a lot, and yes it really is, but I know I have made mistakes in my past that I am cleaning up to ensure I am able to live a happier, stress free life where I don't have to constantly worry about being burdened with financial freak outs!!

I will have another post coming up within the week going over ways I have set my budget and how it helped me pay off four credit cards in just two and a half months. Make sure you stop back! :)

Quote to live by: Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

-Michael Jordan

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The struggle is less painful than regret.

Listening to personal development the last couple weeks has really helped me look at things a lot differently. I have really started to think about what I really want to do in life, what I want my purpose to be and how I am going to work on getting there. It's amazing how just a few positive actions every day can change your outlook on life.

I want to share with you my struggles in life, and how I will never regret making any of the decisions I did to get to where I am today. The sole purpose of me sharing this is not for you to feel pity for me, because the last thing I want or need is a pity party. I am simply sharing this because I know what it feels like to feel the pain of being neglected, unwanted, rejected, hopeless, to feel taken advantage of, and to feel completely and utterly defeated. But with a positive mindset, and the willingness to keep fighting even when the world is doing everything in its power to knock you down... you will have the strength to stand two feet taller with a huge smile on your face feeling that sense of accomplishment and knowing damn well, you will NEVER be defeated.

So growing up, if you know me, was not all that glamorous. I was the middle child of four girls. We constantly had hand me downs, we shopped at thrift stores regularly, lived on a very tiny budget and moved A LOT. When I say moved a lot, I REALLY MEAN A LOT. Did we have a good enough reason to move all the time, NOT AT ALL... financial issues arose, family matters came about, life got in the way, and there we were - packing up the boxes, on the move again. In all honesty, I felt like we were constantly running from our issues instead of dealing with them.

While I want to share with you all my struggles and the ways I was able to overcome them, it may be a bit overwhelming for me to really dig deep down and share with you these moments. While some I will not share, others I find it important for you to know that other people sometimes struggle with the same thing... and come out of these situations stronger than ever. While this is not all of them, I am going to do these in phases, to hear more -- you will have to come back around!

Struggle: From Kindergarten until 9th grade, I had attended NINE different schools. NINE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS in two different states (Pennsylvania & Tennessee), definitely a struggle. In second grade, I had attended three different schools that year.... how can any child manage this constant change.... I couldn't commit to any sports, cheering (which I LOVED) or any other activities because we were constantly moving. I cheered one year in 3rd grade, tried out for the dance team in 8th grade made the team and then a few days later found out we were moving again so I wasn't able to experience that... I was able to finally try out for cheering at my new High School, made the basketball squad, cheered until I graduated and it is definitely one of my favorite past times. During the three years I cheered, our basketball squad was a competition squad so we did a few competitions and ended up qualifying to cheer in WALT DISNEY WORLD. Talk about being ecstatic, we ended up getting first place in Florida and it was seriously a dream come true, to be on that floor in front of hundreds, if not thousands of other cheerleaders! Most amazing experience ever for my limited cheering career.

Struggle: If I made a friend who I got really close to at a new school, 3 months later we were on the road moving somewhere else and I never saw them again. It wasn't until 9th grade where I finally finished my four years of school at the SAME school. It was the longest we had ever stayed in one place, and this I was very grateful for because I was able to find some of my very best/life long friends. Making friends WAS NOT an easy task either. I was very shy and well, yes... people can be very judgmental and not want to add the "new kid" to their circle of friends. It was definitely rough going into high school not knowing a SINGLE PERSON. Eventually people approached me and I was able to find my small group of friends who were so welcoming and friendly! I absolutely adore my friends to pieces.

Struggle: A very, very small budget does not go very far, especially for a six person family. You need food, hygiene products, have bills to pay, etc., which left little to no money for the fun things such as family vacations, going out with friends, birthday parties, etc. I took my first vacation, one that I had paid for myself a week after graduating high school - Senior Trip to Myrtle Beach. I started working at the age of fourteen to pay for the clothes I wanted, and to be able to actually go hang out with friends. When you don't have a lot of money, you miss out on a lot of fun things but it then that helps you realize the value of a dollar.

While all of these struggles may seem so small, add them all up and you put a lot of mental stress on a person. While as a kid/teenager growing up, it really depresses you and it was difficult getting through this lifestyle.. But here are some of the ways I have overcome these struggles the last couple of years.

Learn to be Grateful: I am grateful I was able to cheer four years during my school years grade school career and experience the excitement it brought to me. I know that there were some families who couldn't afford to let their children do any sports so I am glad I got to experience it for the few years I did.

Appreciate the people in your life: The friends I made during my last four years of high school are still some of my very best friends, and I couldn't imagine my life without them. From being my college roommate, to my gorgeous bridesmaids in my wedding.. the distance between us now means so little when we're all together and reminisce on the great times we had together. We know get to watch each other grow with their families and remain life long friends!!

Great work ethic: Growing up living on a tight budget, it helps you appreciate the things you do have in life. I always paid for everything after I got my job because I did not want to have that burden on my mom having to scrape up the change to be able to purchase things for my siblings. Not having to pay for my school clothes or anything else, helped her have more spending money for the other three girls. You learn that you must work hard for the things you want in life. If you can't get it at a certain point in your life, you are determined to work extra hard to make sure you will get it in the near future. In the end this makes you a FIGHTER.

Why am I telling you all this... because experiencing a crazy life growing up, I feel I came to be quite successful. I am happily married, living with my husband, puppy and kitty! I was able to purchase my first brand new car with ZERO miles on it back in 2012, I have a decent paying job, I put myself through college... every single penny of the way and I am finding ways to live my life better every single day. I may have went through a rough time to get here, always said "why me, why me" but now, I am saying "why not me" and there is no one stopping me from reaching my goals. I want you to know it's okay to not like these past events in your life, but when you overcome them you become that much stronger. You have to keep fighting like the warrior you are. Eventually, you will get there.

"We cannot allow the past to affect where we are or where we are going. Some of us had been chipped away at, but we can be whole again if we just put the past behind us. Stay in the darkness or find the light." - Craig Holiday

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