Today I was listening to a youtube video that Nikki Phillippi posted of her interview with Katrina and Karena from Tone It Up on what makes a healthy lifestyle. Katrina said she believes it starts with a healthy heart: healthy relationships, healthy friendships, great happiness, and taking care of your body.
I couldn’t agree more!
Any time I get caught up in self-doubt or worry that I’m not where I should be in any area of my life, it’s almost always because I’m putting the focus on ME, not on what service I can be to others.
I immediately feel better when I think of how I can make someone else’s day better; or appreciate the wonderful, supportive, uplifting people around me; or stop to notice all the GOOD in this world!
The comparison game never makes anyone feel better. Take the focus off of you and how you “measure up” and start putting the focus on helping others!
Surround yourself with people who make you feel good and lift you UP! If your friends don’t think or act that way, find new friends!! If we lived to be 1000 years old, life would still be too short to waste it on any petty drama.
Find the people who purely embody love and kindness. Start by being that type of person yourself!
Don’t you feel happier and healthier already? :)
Sending love your way, friends!
I would be honored to help you with your fitness journey :) Here is a link to sign up for a free account with me as your coach: https://www.teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=183908. Or you can go to www.teambeachbody.com, sign up for a free account, and enter any of my info in when it asks if a coach referred you: screen name: KatelynLesk, coach ID: 183908
You can contact me or find out more information using:
This past week I went to Las Vegas for a business conference with my incredible team of Beachbody coaches. We all stayed in a house together (the house was AWESOME! A tour can be found on my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/katelyn.lesk.3)!
Daily workouts, eating well, support, everyone making the extra effort to plan ahead/pack healthy food for the conference.... I actually lost weight on this trip and I FEEL amazing! How often does that happen when returning from a trip??
Moral of the story: the habits of those you spend the most time around WILL influence your health! Surround yourself with people with healthy habits or be the one who sets the trend for your friends and family!!!
I would be honored to help you with your fitness journey :) Here is a link to sign up for a free account with me as your coach: https://www.teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=183908. Or you can go to www.teambeachbody.com, sign up for a free account, and enter any of my info in when it asks if a coach referred you: screen name: KatelynLesk, coach ID: 183908
You can contact me or find out more information using:
I often get asked about my favorite personal growth books and how I stay so positive. They go hand in hand. Forcing positivity without true inner peace is temporary. I believe that any sustaining joy and peace comes from a true knowing of your beliefs. And the easiest way to figure that out is to open your mind to other perspectives, to learn what is out there, and to feel what resonates with you as truth. YOU get to decide.
It's nearly impossible for me to pick a favorite personal growth book or tool that has done this for me because SO MANY books, authors, conferences, speakers, youtube videos, podcasts, etc have helped me SEE more and have positively impacted my life. It has also come from my own vigilant application of these concepts, prayer, meditation, and a practice of compassion and self-love. Not once in a while. All day, every day.
I've pulled out my favorite books that were each turning points in my life when I read them. While there are many others, these are the ones that I am constantly coming back to. These books are completely devoid of judgment and teach only love.
"Conversations with God" by Neale Donald Walsh taught me that there is no good or bad; there is only the meaning we bring to each experience/circumstance.
"Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao" by Dr. Wayne Dyer taught me to learn through the powerful examples of nature to allow, to be one, to be flexible, and to live without attachment.
"A Course In Miracles." If you're familiar with it, you know it's a life-long process of untraining ourselves from our conditioned thought patterns of illusion, ALWAYS choosing love over fear. No exceptions. "Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God." -ACIM
"A Man's Search for Meaning," written by psychiatrist Viktor Frankl about his experiences in the Holocaust taught me I can ALWAYS choose my attitude no matter what the circumstances.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. Regardless of politics, external circumstances, or anything else that we may feel is affecting our lives, we should always be striving for our own personal growth. External circumstances are always changing. We develop a kinder, more peaceful, more joy-filled world by first cultivating that within ourselves. We ARE love. Peace already exists. And we can tap into joy anytime we want. It only takes remembering that it is all already there.
Imagine chocolate candy, ice cream, pudding, and chocolate-covered fruit that are all actually GOOD for you! We’ve got it!!!
Here are some GREAT recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth while eating fully healthy foods! These recipes include no added sugars, no artificial ingredients/flavorings/colorings, and are PACKED with good nutrients! They all utilize Beachbody’s incredible health shake, Shakeology! If you don’t know what that is, you can check out my run-down of what I love about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2loh3aOeBOs (and if you decide you want to get yourself some, purchasing info can be found here: http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/MDSUSH311G?referringRepId=183908)!
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease*
I am writing this blog post for a 7 Day No-Candy Challenge that our team is currently running, so I will start off with our candy recipes then get to some other sweet treats later!
ADD-ANYTHING CHOCOLATE
This chocolate recipe is REALLY easy and will be the base for a few of the other recipes. I’ll be honest, I make this a little differently each time so the amount of coconut oil and Shakeology is approximate. The mixture (before freezing) should be thick but still liquidy. The thicker it is, the richer your final product will be. You might want to try a few very small batches to get your mix to your taste preferences! Adding fruit also really helps balance out the richness. Nuts and other similar add-ins help too. AND they all make it even more delicious!!
My favorite add-ins are fruit (I make chocolate covered strawberries and frozen chocolate bananas this way- recipe down below in this blog), almonds, and pecans. I’ve only added them in separately but I'm sure using a combination of these add-ins would be good too! I plan on trying batches with cashews, pecans, and peaches soon (I’ll keep you posted)!
For this particular batch I used pecans as my add-in!
Ingredients:
Approx. 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil
Approx. 1.5 scoops Vegan Chocolate Shakeology (regular chocolate Shakeology works too but vegan chocolate is my favorite of the flavors so that’s what I always have stocked)!
Your add-ins (in this case, pecans)
Melt the coconut oil in the microwave. I add in the Shakeology a half scoop at a time so that when the mix starts to get thick, I stop adding. If it gets too thick, just melt more coconut oil and add that in. Hopefully you can judge by the picture (direct middle square in the above collage) what the final thickness should look approximately like!
Next, add your pecans or other add-ins! For nuts it’s easiest to stir the nuts in. For fruit, I usually pour the chocolate mixture over the fruit.
Throw it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes and you’ve got yourself an amazing treat!!
**Note about the container: My preference is to use this handy glass bowl but it is really hard to get the candy out once it’s frozen (I use a sharp, pointed knife to cut it within the bowl). The easiest way is to pour the mixture (before freezing) onto a small sheet of aluminum foil with edges rolled up. This makes it super easy to remove once frozen. The only reason I use the bowl is that it’s easier to fit in my freezer :)
HEALTHY REESE’S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
This recipe is from my friend and awesome coach, Stephanie Wess (you can view more of her delicious recipes on her page: https://www.facebook.com/getfitwihsteph/). Thanks, Steph!!
Picture care of Steph! :)
Ingredients (this will make 8 peanut butter cups):
4 tablespoons of coconut oil
8 tablespoons of chocolate shakeology or raw cacao powder add stevia as a sweetener
4 teaspoons of natural peanut butter
Place 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds until the coconut oil is liquefied.
Stir in 4 tablespoons of chocolate shakeology. Divide the chocolate mixture evenly between 8 spots in a mini muffin tin. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes.
Pull the muffin tray out of the freezer. Place a half a teaspoon of peanut butter on top of each chocolate disk. Spread the peanut butter evenly over the hardened chocolate with a knife.
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in the microwave. Stir in the remaining 4 tablespoons of chocolate shakeology. Use this to pour on top of the peanut butter layer. **You will want to do this in 2 batches so it doesn’t harden up on you while the first layer of chocolate is hardening in the freezer.
Place the muffin tin back in the freezer and leave it in there for at least 30 minutes.
The chocolate cups will slide easily out of the tin. Keep the cups stored in the fridge or freezer for the best consistency!
CHOCOLATE COVERED FROZEN BANANAS
I warn you, NOTHING about this is pretty but if you can get past the looks, it is a delicious and nutritious treat! Make the chocolate using the “Add-anything chocolate” recipe above then pour over a banana in a bowl and freeze! It tastes JUST like the frozen bananas I used to get at carnivals and fairs as a kid! In fact, you could probably make it a lot prettier by putting the banana on a stick like at the fairs and freezing it on a sheet of aluminum foil for easy removal.
SHAKEOLOGY PUDDING
Shakeology pudding is amazing!!!!! And if you’re doing the 21 Day Fix, it easily fits right into the meal plan!!
SHAKEOLOGY ICE CREAM
Another AMAZING and healthy treat! Like the “Add-anything chocolate” recipe, this one also has a lot of flexibility to what you can add in to make it even more delicious. My favorites are blueberries and strawberries!
I would be honored to help you with your fitness journey :) Here is a link to sign up for a free account with me as your coach: https://www.teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=183908. Or you can go to www.teambeachbody.com, sign up for a free account, and enter any of my info in when it asks if a coach referred you: screen name: KatelynLesk, coach ID: 183908
We recently just wrapped up a free, 5-day online clean eating group. I LOVE hearing the feedback of happier, healthier clients like this (I especially love the comments that show that people are proud of themselves, empowered, and on board with a healthier lifestyle!!!):
In this group, we provided meal plan guides (plenty of recipe options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner) but we also allowed participants who didn’t want to go full-throttle for the week to just pick one or two things that they eat regularly and could, for the week, replace with something healthier. I gave some suggestions in a “This over that” series (posted below for your convenience)!
I also give plenty of guidelines and suggestions for my own personal tips for healthy eating, weight loss, what “clean eating” really means, and more in this video:
Feel free to follow along with your own challenge to yourself for the next 5 days! You are WORTH it!! If you’d like additional support, you’re welcome to sign up for free coaching with me or check out info on our upcoming groups!
I would be honored to help you with your fitness journey :) Here is a link to sign up for a free account with me as your coach: https://www.teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=183908. Or you can go to www.teambeachbody.com, sign up for a free account, and enter any of my info in when it asks if a coach referred you: screen name: KatelynLesk, coach ID: 183908
Salads are always a great option for clean, healthy eating but dressing can be a big downfall of this. Lots of dressings pack a lot of sugars, artificial flavorings/colorings, and partially hydrogenated oils. Even "light" dressings have a lot of not-so-healthy stuff in them.
Making dressings yourself is a great way to take back the power and control exactly what is going into them!
If anyone is interested in specific dressing recipes, I have some super-healthy cookbooks that have a LOT of great options for every type of dressing you might like and I'd be happy to share. Beachbody's Ultimate Reset (a 21 day super healthy food program) also includes some dressing recipes that I LOVE and use regularly!
More info on the Ultimate Reset can be found here:
But I find that the more convenient healthy foods are, the more likely I am to use them! So I posted all of my easy, super simple dressing replacement options below. These are also great things to ask for at a restaurant (every restaurant has the olive oil and vinegar option and if you're at a place with any kind of Mexican food, why not shake things up with a little salsa? also super easy to ask for lemon wedges)! My favorites to put on a salad:
- lemon juice and olive oil (this is my daily go-to- very easy, adds some healthy fat and vitamin c, and the vitamin c also helps with iron absorption from the spinach)
- seasoned olive oil- this Tuscan herb one is delicious
- olive oil and red wine vinegar
- salsa (regular or a peach or mango salsa is fun to mix it up!)
- pesto (be sure to check the ingredients to make sure they are all healthy unless you are making your own)
- not pictured: hummus (I also have a super easy to make hummus recipe if anyone is interested)!
"This over that" day 2!
I LOVE making my own yogurt parfaits! It saves you the added sugar (and/or artificial sweetener), flavorings, and colorings that come in regular yogurt and it's so much more filling and satisfying! My favorite combo is plain organic yogurt with strawberries, raisins, and walnuts. Other fruits, nuts, and coconut are also good toppings. Have fun experimenting!!
“This over that” day 3!
It is very difficult to find a pasta sauce without added sugar. For the longest time, I never considered making my own because I always assumed it was a complicated process! Turns out- it’s not!! Majority of the time it takes to make it is just letting it simmer on the stove. And this recipe is DELICIOUS- I like it so much better than jarred pasta sauce!! It is seriously so simple and easy!!
AND, you get a 2-for-1 today because this recipe also includes my recipe for zucchini noodles!!
Again, here is where single ingredient whole foods win out over things like bread, noodles, and canned baked beans that have a variety of additives and are highly processed. I checked the label on a can of baked beans recently- on top of a lot of added sugar, there is also caramel coloring- why is that necessary?? And why should we be putting that in our body?
My own personal favorite carbs are rice, oatmeal, quinoa, and beans. I much prefer zucchini pasta over regular noodles. And a great alternative for things like pancake mixes are to make your own (if anyone is interested, I have a great recipe using coconut flour)!
These are all things we can control :)
“This over that” day 5: YOU PICK IT!
Since today is the last day of our group, we’d love to be able to help out with anything you’d like to replace with a healthier version but are struggling to find a good substitute! Let’s hear it!!
And in the meantime, let me leave you with this quote from Tosca Reno’s “The Eat-Clean Diet Recharged” book. I hope it inspires you to continue incorporating what you learned and implemented in this group!
Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.
I can’t believe it’s been 4 years since I signed up to be a coach! I have honestly never been happier or more fulfilled in my entire life and it just keeps getting better! There’s not a thing I would change about my journey and experience so far and I am so OPEN and looking forward to what the future holds!!
My first Beachbody Coach Summit (our national conference) back in 2013!
So much has changed since then!!
I share more about what I’ve learned in my 4 years of coaching in this video as well as what I realized I was missing in terms of fulfillment and how I found it:
We run 5 day online coach sneak peeks every month- next one starts Monday. Let me know if you’re interested! These are NO PRESSURE groups! The last thing I would want is for someone to miss out on their DESTINY because they were afraid they would be obligated into something!! Join us for a fun peek behind the scenes!!
And whatever it is that FILLS YOUR SOUL, chase it with all your heart!!!
Sending lots of love and hugs to all of you! Thank you for always supporting me!!
I would be honored to help you with your fitness journey :) Here is a link to sign up for a free account with me as your coach: https://www.teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=183908. Or you can go to www.teambeachbody.com, sign up for a free account, and enter any of my info in when it asks if a coach referred you: screen name: KatelynLesk, coach ID: 183908
Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.
Around this time 4 years ago, I was losing motivation at my gym. My favorite instructor had moved, I was finding myself doing the same, stale thing every time I went, and I was starting to get tired of how much of my evening time it was eating up.
I reached out to a high school friend who I saw doing the Beachbody programs. We chatted about what program would be best for me and I immediately felt reinvigorated by the idea of taking control of my health by starting a new strength training program, called Chalean Extreme. I had been saying for YEARS at my old gym that I needed to do more strength training but didn't have the know-how or motivation to take myself beyond the same few moves that I was comfortable with... the kind you'd see being advertised in a Shape magazine to "get your arms tank-top ready."
She put me into a facebook group with about 7 other women. We worked out at home at whatever time we wanted using the DVD-based program but we would share in the group when we gotten our workout done and encourage the others who still had to do their workout. We even cracked jokes about the people in the program ("did Toni really have 7 kids?? Get outta here, Toni!") and made fun of ourselves doing the moves we weren't so good at ("I almost snapped a workout band during interval day!").
It made the workouts fun and light-hearted. It made eating right a team sport. And it made me feel like I was part of something BIGGER! I was in love!!
When Nicole asked me if I had ever thought about coaching myself, I was in shock. What?? I can do this TOO??? I was flattered that she had asked, excited, and ready to jump in.
I wanted to help people in the same way she helped me. I wanted to reinvigorate others the way I had been reinvigorated by my workout program. I wanted to make others feel like they were a part of a team and a family the way I had felt in our group.
There's more to this story that I will share on my OFFICIAL 4 year coach anniversary in a week and a half, but I really want to take some time today to highlight Nicole. I don't know where I'd be if she hadn't been sharing her journey, if she hadn't been brave enough to share it with me, and if she hadn't put together one of the most kick-butt groups of women that got my journey started off in an amazing way. She has been here for me in so many ways over the last 4 years but what I'm grateful for started way before that. I'm glad SHE took the plunge when she did. I'm glad SHE took a risk with this thing called Beachbody. I'm glad SHE put in the work. All of that was the only reason I found this in the first place. And my life has been changed for the better ever since.
The lower right picture is when her and I met Shaun T at our first Beachbody Summit (Beachbody's annual national conference). Of course we were PSYCHED and meeting the celebrity trainers is STILL awesome. But it's a small, small part of why this whole thing is SOOOO amazing for me. The people I've gotten to meet because of it- other coaches as well as clients as well as awesome people who have simply reached out to thank me for my positive posts- it's incredible. I APPRECIATE every single one of you!!! And it's hard to even put into words how much I've changed and grown as a person over the last 4 years. I am SO grateful for that. It's made the parts of me that I am most proud of. And of course it's given me a job that's also my life's passion! But I would do it for free. You've got my heart and soul, Beachbody.
Thank you, Nicole, for taking that leap and for helping me do the same!!! I don't know where I'd be if you hadn't! Love you!!!
I would be honored to help you with your fitness journey :) Here is a link to sign up for a free account with me as your coach: https://www.teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=183908. Or you can go to www.teambeachbody.com, sign up for a free account, and enter any of my info in when it asks if a coach referred you: screen name: KatelynLesk, coach ID: 183908
Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.
