I only weighed myself a few times during the vacation, and and it ranged from 133-135.5. After hitting my normal macros for a week, my weight did as expected (see chart). This week, avatar kept me on those same macros. I probably should have taken it off vacation mode as soon as I got back (so I'd have a macro increase), but to be safe and conservative, I kept it on as I hit my previous macros. It's all good, that's what experimenting is all about!

Date                     Weight               Protein (g)             Carbs             Fat            Total Cal
7/7/2017              131.2                 129                        162                43             1551 (+0)
6/30/2017            133-135.5         VACATION MODE AvatarNutrition Feature
6/23/2017            130.8                 129                        162                43             1551 (+49)
6/16/2017*          131.1                 129                        152                42             1502 (+50)
START                   130.0                 128                        145                40             1452

Moral of the story -- don't freak out about macros on vacation! Just be smart about it, enjoy it fully, and your weight will go back down once you're back in the swing of things!

<3,
- C

Alright dudes, I am on vacation this week with my family at Bald Head Island, NC (funny name right?!). I've decided to try out Vacation Mode with Avatar Nutrition. This is a setting you can put it on to let the system know you are on vacation and not tracking accurately. I've never used this feature before, so we'll see what happens! I lost a little weight since last week (time of the month), so the system increased my macros.

I'm super excited for this week and we are having so much fun already! I have a pretty huge family and every day a different person makes dinner (aka unknown macros). Instead of making my own dinner (salad + grilled chicken) as I did in the past on family vacays, I'm going to aim to hit a decent protein intake and calories... but I'm not going to be crazy about it. I'll enjoy drinks and whatever dinner whoever makes every night! So that's my plan for this week -- enjoying my vacation! So without further ado, here's my stats for the week and the changes Avatar made:

Date                     Weight               Protein (g)             Carbs             Fat            Total Cal
6/23/2017            130.8                 129                        162                43             1551 (+49)
6/16/2017*          131.1                 129                        152                42             1502 (+50)
START                   130.0                 128                        145                40             1452

Hi friends! Just wanted to pop in and give you an update that the macro-friendly chain restaurant and fast food lists have been updated! Tons of restaurants have been added -- Cheesecake Factory, Logan's Steakhouse, Cracker Barrel and more!

IIFYM CHAIN RESTAURANT MASTER LIST
IIFYM FAST FOOD MASTER LIST

I'll also be making some "infographic" style posts on my Instagram like this one, so be my friend on IG too! Hope y'all are having a great week so far!

<3,

- C

Dang, I have been slacking on the blogopshere! From here on out, you can expect weekly updates every Wednesday because I have decided to document my FOURTH reverse diet here on the blog! This time, I am doing a little experiment with Avatar Nutrition as my coach! I will be posting all my stats again every week so you can see how Avatar is adjusting my macros based off of my check-ins! Before I dive further into that topic, I am SO EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE...

My Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe has been published in the latest issue of Modern Fitness Magazine! This is seriously a bucket list dream of mine and I'm so stoked!

Speaking of recipes, I have now written 300 macro-friendly recipes that are all up on AvatarNutrition.com. I can't believe it's been a year already that I've been writing for Avatar! Just in case you are new to the world of macros, Avatar is an online nutrition coach that was designed by Dr. Layne Norton, Mark Springer and Katie Coles. Unlike macro calculators, Avatar has a complex algorithm that adjusts your macros weekly based off of your weekly weigh-ins. The site has tripled its users in the past 5 months, so that kinda tells you something -- it freaking works. People are getting insane results, which is so cool to be a part of such an awesome team. I'm excited to give this reverse diet a go as I have always either coached myself or had Layne coach me. You know me, I like to experiment. ;)

So if you can give up two days of starbucks and spare $10/month (instead of the >$200/mo coaches usually cost) I'd definitely recommend checking it out. I'm excited to try it, that's for sure! Next week I'll talk a little more about where I'm at currently in my fitness journey and I just might have some more exciting news around the corner..

Love you guys!

- C

Wow guys. It has been a hot minute since I've posted on here and for that I apologize... so I am giving you this beautiful magical gift of a PROTEIN UNICORN FRAPPUCCINO!! These drinks are all the rage at starbucks this week but with 70+g carbs, it's a no for me with my current cutting macros and I'm sure for many of you out there as summer dieting season is in full-force. So without further ado, here's a Unicorn Frappuccino that will save your wallet and your summer bod! ;)

PROTEIN UNICORN FRAPPUCCINO
170kcal: 4F/15C/18P (recipe makes 2 servings)

Ingredients:
- 80g frozen mango slices
- 40g vanilla whey
- 80g 30cal almond milk
- 145g whole milk yogurt
- 6-8 ice cubes
- stevia/splenda to taste
- pink and blue food coloring

Directions:
1. Thaw out mango slices slightly, then blend with yogurt until smooth.
2. Add all other ingredients except for food coloring and blend until thick.
3. Pour mixer contents into two bowls. Add a few drops of pink food coloring to one bowl and blue to the other, then stir until smooth.
4. With a spoon, splash sides of clear cup with blue frappuccino, then fill the rest of the cup up with pink and blue, alternating colors until full. Feel free to add a little nonfat whipped cream on top and sprinkles. Enjoy!

Hey friends! All has been quiet on the macro experiment front lately, sorry about that! I spent the majority of December very sick and it turns out I actually have pneumonia! So you know I partied HARD on New Years Eve -- with shots of NiQuil and going to bed at 9 PM. I am taking some legit doctor prescribed medicine so hopefully I'll get better within the week!

Anyways, sickness aside, I am super thankful for the awesome year 2016 has been. I've grown deep friendships, had some really cool opportunities and experiences, and learned more about myself than any other year.

Even though it may not seem like it from my bubbly/crazy self, I struggle with a lot of things -- self-doubt, body image issues, fear of not being "enough", and even depression. And heck yes I will admit these things on here. I was bullied a ton as a kid and although I blocked a bunch of that out of my memory, I still deal with it every single day. Not saying these things for pity or to be a downer, I just want to always keep it 100% REAL. And ya know what? It would be AWESOME if those things would go away, but that's not my new years resolution. In fact, I don't have one. So why did I just spill my soul out on this blog post? Because I want YOU to know that you're not alone.

I feel like this time of year can be a bummer. Weight gained, fun over, back to work we go. What I want to focus on this year is being intentional about thinking about all of the GOOD instead of the negative. Wake up every morning and thank God for what He's given me. Becuase guess what -- NO ONE is perfect. Even the fitless model on instagram with a million followers who looks like she THINKS she's perfect aint perfect. And most importantly, the same God who created the entire universe created you -- every beautiful, "flawed" part of you. So that's my challenge to myself and to you! When you wake up in the morning, let your first thought be a prayer to God about something you are thankful for!

Anyways, that's all the crazy talk for now. If you ever need a friend to talk to about these things you can always email me. I am here for you, not some "instafamous" fitness person, I promise you that. My goal is to share God's love with as many people as I can. So talk to me! :P

Much love,
- C

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or priaseworthy--think about such things" -- Philippians 4:8

Happy Wednesday dear friends! I've got 2 new videos for you on the bloggosphere this AM. Enjoy!  <3

GUYS, JUST WARNING YOU. THIS RECIPE WILL CHANGE. YO. LIFE. Seriously my new favorite recipe ever ever EVER!! You lit-ch-rally cannot taste ANY protein in there. Magic in yo mouf, can't wait for you to try it and tell me what you think!!

MACRO-FRIENDLY MONKEY BREAD
160kcal -- 3F/20C/13P (per 60g piece)

Directions:
1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water--bath water temperature, but not too hot as that will kill yeast (100-120 Fahrenheit). Stir for a few minutes.
2. Pour yeast/water into a large mixing bowl. Melt butter until just slightly warm and add to yeast/water mixture.
3. Mix in 100g all-pourpose flour and 138g whey. Continue to add the rest of the flour until a dough is formed.
4. Kneed for about 5 minutes and continue to add flour. You may use slightly more or less flour than recipe calls for; it depends on the protein powder you use and how it absorbs water. Just weigh as you go to track accurately.
5. Once dough is formed, let rise until doubled in size (1-1.5 hrs). I usually bring water to a boil in a large measuring cup in the microwave, then I place the dough, covered, in the microwave with the warm water to keep it in an enclosed warm space. You could also put it in a warm window or somewhere else warm in your house.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. In one small bowl, mix equal parts cinnamon/stevia (or splenda). In another bowl, mix 40g walden farms syrup, 16g brown sugar, and 15 sprays of 0cal spray butter.
8. Pinch small handfull sized balls out of dough and dip into cinnamon/sugar mixture, then place into baking pan or cake pan. Continue this process until all dough is used.
9. Pour syrup mixture over monkey bread and bake for 30-35 minutes.
10. Enjoy! A delicious (optional) sweet glaze you can put on top is powdered sugar + a little almond milk + 2 monkey bread Devotion Nutrition Flex Flavors -- mix until glaze consistency is reached. It's super simple, and you can use as little or as much as you'd like on top! <3