Posted on

HEALTH & in a HURRY

3 strategies for BUSY WOMEN who also wanna make time for their HEALTH

 

  1. PROTECTIVE STYLES
    I have used several different protective styles but in this season I am LOVING crochet braids

 

2.  MEAL PREP in 60 SECONDS

I don’t have hours for meal prep so I use high quality protein meal replacement shakes when the pace increases!!  In the picture one of my favorite “Purple Rain”

 

3. QUICK DRYING NAIL POLISH

Can’t always make it to the salon? No worries quick drying no chip polish like ESSIE works(you can get it from Target)

 

Before & After pictures are created DAILY and you CAN create yours even if you’re in a hurry!!

less than 1 hour between these pictures and that hour included a 35 min workout, shower, “Purple Rain” protein shake, and in the car headed to coach this morning!

YOU CAN ADD YOUR HEALTH TO THE LIST!

 

 

Posted on

7 FUN strawberry recipes

 

Strawberries are a “berry” good choice! :0)

 

 

  1. Stuff them with almond or peanut butter
    remove cap and core the strawberries and take a little off the bottom so they’ll sit up
    I love Justin’s almond butter but you could use a healthy natural peanut butter or PB2

 

 

 

 

 

2.  Cledra’s “Mock” Wendy’s Chocolate Strawberry Frosty
Chocolate protein shake* + 3-4 ice cubes + 3-4 frozen strawberries  + (optional) Carbmaster Skim Milk 8 oz
(*for my favorite 60 second meal prep shakes  go HERE   for details)

3. Infused water

sliced strawberry, a wedge of lime, and a little mint….add to water and OMG…so good!

4. Strawberry margarita  mocktail

  • 1lb strawberries
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup sparkling water
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • Ice
  • Coloured coarse sugar (for the rims of the glasses)
  • Lime for garnish (cut into wheels)

 

5. Strawberry ICE

Use frozen strawberries in place of ice cubes…nice twist & it’s pretty

6. Greek Salad

Slice strawberries and toss with chopped cucumber, feta, and mint with a little high quality olive oil (walnuts, chicken, salmon..optional)

 

7. Simple Sorbet

2 cups frozen strawberries, a touch of favorite sweetener(I like sugar in the raw or Stevia), a little water or coconut water …blend on low and gradually increase speed to highest setting and BAM! Simple Strawberry Sorbet…you could even add a little watermelon to the mix to shake it up even more. I use my Vitamix for this but I”m sure other brands would work.

 

Posted on

Lighten up & just enjoy yourself

The temperature is heating up and that means vacation, family reunions, summer break, summer holidays and with that comes all of the justification to “lighten up and just enjoy yourself”.  I was talking to a client recently about my trip to Mexico and she asked me if I MADE myself workout and drink my favorite meal replacement shake.  When I shared that I didn’t MAKE myself I CHOSE to both workout AND have 1 shake a day (I normally do 2) she said…Cledra do you ever LIGHTEN UP AND JUST ENJOY YOURSELF?

I found that interesting because she made me realize that MY definitions at 46 and 9 months of what it means to LIGHTEN UP AND ENJOY MYSELF have changed.  In this season a lot is changing …my hormones are shifting, my Daddy has transitioned, my eye sight has changed about what it means to LIGHTEN UP AND ENJOY MYSELF.  I’ve struggled with weight since age 11 when I got on the scale in for the Presidential Fitness test and at 5’9″ and 135 lbs I declared myself fat. Obviously I wasn’t but because IT WAS MY DEFINITION I operated based on that definition and began dieting.

Similarly if your DEFINITION of ENJOYING YOURSELF is pigging out, being inactive, laying around in a carb coma for a few days only to return home bloated, annoyed that your clothes are tighter, and angry for doing what you already knew wouldn’t have a great outcome…no thanks.  Been there done that had the Lane Bryant charge card for years to support ENJOYING MYSELF.

Hear me clearly…I am passing NO  judgment for how YOU want to define “enjoyment” but as for me and my 46 years and 9 month temple that holds the Holy Spirit that I need every moment to make it in this season…my definition includes making choices that keep me awake to this short thing called life.

 

My definition includes making choices that limit and come close to eliminating time wallowing about the way I look.  Spent most of my 20s and 30s fighting that scale…I”m done.
I’m less concerned about a number and more concerned about a LIFE. The LIFE my GOD sent HIS only son for me to live abundantly.  I’ve allowed that lesser voice that we all have to rob me of a lot of time, energy , and money being a professional starter on programs that I never finished only to lose money and gain weight and regret.

No…”enjoying myself” has new meaning….what about for you?  How do you “lighten up and enjoy yourself?”

No one gets out of life alive…I plan to leave here on “E” and that’s for ENERGIZED ’cause I”m empty from pouring it all out!

xoxo,

Cledra

 

 

Posted on

When taking care of business has replaced taking care of you

SELF CARE…you already know you SHOULD do it. You’re smart so you’ve heard it all before and you KNOW what to do but the idea of traditional advice like

Drink a gallon of water…yeah right. Try getting that through airport security or holding it through a 2 hour meeting

Cook all your food on Sunday…ah nope. I have church, a soccer game, and at some point I’d like to get some sleep & spend time with my family

Hit the gym 6 days a week…not happening...this week I’m out of town, next week I’m in all day meetings and…yeah not happening

 

If any of these sound familiar I get it. You are BUSY and listening to traditional advice you may feel like busy means busted fitness but not true.

Here’s your GO HIGH when TIME IS LOW list to get your body right while your schedule is busy:

  1. (20 min workout)HIIT…HIGH Intensity Interval Training can give you what you need in 20 minutes & no gym membership required
  2. (60 second meal prep)HIGH Quality Protein Shakes (low quality food is usually quick food(insert drive thru) but not so with a 60 second protein shake
  3. HIGH quality sleep(did you know that low quality sleep drives cravings? AND recent data shows that it’s not necessarily more sleep you need but greater quality)
  4. HIGHER WEIGHT TRAINING…if you have a cardio dominate routine then you aren’t doing yourself any favors. Weight training is triple threat to extra fat gain because it strengthens your body, increases muscle mass which increases calories burned at rest, and the “after” burn for a weight training session is much better than after cardio

 

Being healthy doesn’t have to consume your entire life for you to get fit & it doesn’t mean you can’t keep handling your business.

I hope to continue to be your reminder to add YOU to the incredibly long list of things you get done each day!

 Your reminder that YOUR HEALTH is on your “to-do” list today!

xoxo,

Cledra

Posted on

What my favorite Pastor said…life changing

You ever felt like your Pastor was talking directly to you?

Ever felt like…now HOW did HE know that was what I was dealing with?

Well that’s what happened to me when my FAVORITE Pastor was talking about the power of GOD’s deliverance.

First let me give you a quick back drop to what was going on in my head…

I’ve been very transparent about the impact losing my father suddenly has had on my weight and how I’ve had to hire at one point someone who specializes in grief to help me cope and heal at the level I craved healing but in the process of all of that some of my VERY OLD eating habits resurrected.  For instance, in moments of really difficult heartache I would go to the drive thru at McDonalds and get sausage (you know they have that “have breakfast all day” marketing going on) and my Daddy and I used to have breakfast “all day” meaning at night sometimes and so in some way it connected me to him BUT it also connected me to a larger pair of pants and THAT…THAT was a DISCONNECTION that needed to take place!

ANYWAY…that’s the struggle and honestly it was a struggle that I had been praying about and yes…you could say asking for GOD’s deliverance.

AND THAT’s when my Pastor had the nerve to say something that hit me SO HARD I honestly wanted to walk out. Not because I didn’t like what was said but because the impact was SO deep I just needed some time to process …so he goes

People come up to me all the time and say Pastor I asked the Lord to deliver me from “so and so” but I still can’t help doing “so and so”. I don’t know what the Lord is doing in my life because I’m not delivered. (that’s my paraphrase of his setup)

 

AND THEN…OMG…he said the life changing comment

 

GOD WILL NOT DELIVER YOU FROM WHAT YOU STILL WANT TO DO

GOD WILL NOT DELIVER YOU FROM WHAT YOU STILL WANT TO DO

 

Hold up…STOP the PRESS…“what you STILL want to do”

 

Real talk…on some level with my YEARS of being in this space of weight loss and wellness I had to admit that on some level I still wanted to indulge I just didn’t want the consequences of the indulgence. Can you relate? You know you wanna still have a LITTLE but have A LOT of progress?

Was it possible that my heart wasn’t turned to GOD for COMPLETE DELIVERANCE ?

COMPLETE DELIVERANCE as defined as Lord destroy my DESIRE and WILL for ANYTHING(including that sausage) separating me from the Cledra YOU had in mind?

I’m convinced that when it comes to at least weight loss we want the Lord to help us with being disciplined TO A POINT.  Help us TO A POINT where we can see PHYSICAL RESULTS(smaller clothes and a lower number on the scale) but GOD is interested in SPIRITUAL RESULTS.

Numbers like the number of times we look to HIM for comfort instead of a cookie,  the number of minutes we study HIS WORD, the size of our faith, the willingness to drop the “scales” of judgment and offer grace.

GOD looks at the heart and I was convicted so much by what my Pastor said that I was led to go before God and admit that I wanted to change consequences more than I wanted deliverance and to search my heart , break my will, replace it with YOUR purpose, and renew my mind.

Can’t wait to tell you what happened next but I will say it has changed my life AND my body,  but for now…I wanna invite you to go to GOD and get real about your position.

Have you been asking for deliverance from something that on some level you still really wanna do? Do you want deliverance more from the consequences than a true break from ever having the desire?

I also invite you to Relevant Life Ministries to hear my favorite Pastor…Pastor Eddie Gross. 

Worship is at 10:30 am on Sundays at 1860 Sandy Plains Road Marietta, GA 30066

Leave me a comment and let me know …have you asked for deliverance? Do you have it? Do you still on some level still want to do what you asked to be delivered from ?

Post below OR come tell me in person because I’ll be up front with my favorite Pastor at the end of service to greet and welcome you!

LOL,

Cledra Gross

Eddie_Cledra_picture.001