With that in mind, its also time to start working those legs a little more and get summer or bikini ready.  But as a fellow busy woman, I know it can get hard, so here is an amazing workout that tones and sculpts your legs and burns tons of calories and takes less than 20 minutes.  It doesn't get easier or better than this.  So you better try this one.

I know how hard it is to do weight training workouts when you are not sure if you are doing the right exercises and in the right way.  And I also know that results are limited when you don't do the workouts correctly so don't worry, I am here for you. That is why I worked my butt of to bring you this CD with over 100 exercises withdetailed descriptions on how to do them to make sure you do them perfectly and pictures of them.  You are going to love it, check it out here:  Virtual Exercise Library.

You see, I have a little CONFESSION to make.  The last few months have been the hardest months of my life.  I have lost my grandfather, recently lost my aunt who was murdered and now, my house broken in to. 

So what feelings have I been dealing with?

Pain, sadness, panic, fear, heart ache, trauma, the feeling of violation after the break in, and the list goes on.........

Why am I confessing this today?  Well, I hope that through my experiences and what I have learned it will inspire you to find that inner strength that can control your entire being.  Really, I am writing this because just yesterday, I had several people who know what I have been through ask me.....  How do you do it Michelle?  How do you continue to work and write your posts and be so positive and workout and act as if nothing is happened?

So, I decided to let it all out.

I definitely don't feel as if nothing as happened, actually I feel devastated and emotionally exhausted.  But if I let those feelings take control of my vision, my mission and my life, I would have lost my mind months ago.

I am lucky to #1 Serve a God who loves me and gives me peace.

I am lucky to #2 Have a loving and supprotive family.

I am lucky to #3 have my Health & Fitness to focus on and use as an anti-depressant.

I am lucky to #4 have amazing people like you who I feel responsible to keep working and moving forward and delivering to you tools to help you with your goals.  You keep me motivated.

So many times people go through tough times and let those times darken their spirits, lose their motivation, let go of their health and bodies, deprive them of their joy.

I REFUSE!

So I immerse myself in the word of God, spending time with my family, working out and fueling my body properly.

I mean, what else am I to do?  If I dont do those things, I will suffocate, I will drown.  And life is too short and too good to let that happen.

In the last few months I have seen what people can do with MEDICINE to treat DEPRESSION.  Though it looked tempting...... I REFUSED.  I couldn't wait to get home to exercise,  that would be my medication.  And so it was.  I remember the first day I exercised after being in Venezuela for a week after TRAGICALLY losing my aunt, I got on the treadmill for a run at 6am and all of a sudden TEARS FLOADED FROM MY EYES.

I was a bit embarrased but I felt so grateful, that that was my drug, that was my medicine.  That was when I let it all out.  I realized how lucky I was to have EXERCISE be a part of my life.  I felt so grateful.  In a moment when I could have stopped being active because I was so emotionally exhausted, I chose to WORKOUT FEARLESSLY & INTENSLY! 

In a time where I could have EATEN AWAY AT MY EMOTIONS, I chose to fuel my body with the proper nutrients.  Eating more CLEAN than ever.  I REFUSED for these circumstances to bring me down.

A few days ago after the break in to my home, after the trauma, the fear, the pain, I was exhausted.  I had a packed week and no time for my morning workouts, I had to give my times to clients.  And one night at 7pm while my son played outside with Daddy and I felt that anxiety was about to overtake me, I pulled STRENGTH out of I don't know where, and took out a stabililty ball and one pair of dumbbells and did a 15-20minute workout while I watched my family.  Within minutes I started seeing how grateful I was to have them, and the anxiety went away. 

Here is a picture Danny took of me while they were playing, I literally did my workout in front of my driveway while they played.

I felt so much better!  I felt alive!  And I thought to myself.  If I can do this, so can anyone.  If in a moment like this of PURE EMOTIONAL EXHAUSTION, I can do this, anyone can.

Friends, I say this to you not because I am super woman not to show you my strength, but to SHOW YOU where to pull that STRENGTH out of.  What to think of in times like this, in order to take you from sadness and exhaustion to joy.  So that you can APPRECIATE what you have AND take advantage of the time and energy you have and utilize it in the best way possible.

A friend asked me, how can you still post and blog and be so positive even though you are going through all of this.  And my response was..... I HAVE TO!  I HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE!  I feel a responsiblity to you guys to continue to help you and inspire you to do and be better.  And I LOVE that responsibilty.  Because of YOU, I wake up every morning and WANT TO WORK.  So THANK YOU!

What DRIVES YOU?  What MOTIVATES YOU?  What do YOU LOVE?  What fills YOU with JOY?

Immerse yourselves in these things whether you are in a good place right now or in a bad place, because all of those things will fill you with JOY AND GIVE YOU REASON TO LIVE TO THE FULLEST.

Thanks for letting me share this with you and I hope this inspires you to WORKOUT HARDER, EAT CLEANER, DO YOUR JOB BETTER, SPEND MORE TIME WITH FAMILY no matter what you are going through.

Kashi products are very popular, I am sure you have all tried one of their products at some point.  As for me, I went through a phase where I did love some of their cereals (Go Lean) and I know a lot of people eat their bars and give their cereals to their kids so this is probably good for you to know.

So the claim is that Kashi's advertisement for "all natural" is really NOT "all natural", there are actually hazardous substances in their products.  Here are a few from an article from www.livingmaxwell.com

- Phytonadione (Vitamin K) has not been listed by the FDA as generally recognized as safe as a food additive. Its injectible form is listed as a prescription drug.

-  Bromelain is an enzyme derived from pineapple. According to the National Library of Medicine’s Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB), its production requires acetone, which is a hazardous synthetic substance.

- Sodium Molybdate has not been declared to be generally recognized as safe by the FDA. According to HSDB, molybdenum salts are by-products of uranium mining and can be found in fertilizers for leguminous crops, citing American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists.

These are just a few!

Should we be upset?  Ummm, ok a little, I mean we were basically lied to, but the reality is that if you want to eat "ALL NATURAL", you should NOT be eating pre-packaged foods and cereals and bars.  You should be eating foods like vegetables, fruits, proteins, nuts, seeds.  Foods that are TRULY NATURAL & ORGANIC.  If you want to eat foods that are "all natural" then you should be eating foods that are ORGANIC.  Because if they are not organic than even your fruits, vegetables and proteins contain radiation, chemicals, pesticides, etc, to increase shelf life.

Is it more expensive?  

Heck yeah!

But this is where you must make a choice for your health!  I rather give up some SHOPPING (yikes, I know this is a tough one, lol), or going out to dinner, or cable tv and use that money to feed my family quality and safe "all natural" food.

The truth and MY OPINION is, I'm not surprised!  I am not surprised that there is all this "crap" excuse my language in these products.  And truthfully we should all steer away from these types of foods if we want to be healthy.

I know its expensive and if you can't afford to go 100% organic, I understand.  Just try to start with just your produce and then just try to cut out all pre-packaged foods, cereal bars, cereals, cookies, etc.

There are so many HEALTHY SNACKS that you can feed your kids and yourselves that are tastier and healthier than these Kashi cereals and bars.  I have tons of healthy recipes for snacks and breakfast options here on my site.  Recipes like Blueberry Protein Cakes, Cinnamon Roll Muffins, and Pumpkin Protein Cakes, just to name a few.  They are also organized on My Pinterest Boards by categories to help YOU, keep your healthy recipes organized.  So stay clear of these Kashi snacks and go for the real deal.  Great ingredients, great taste and easy to make.  Enjoy!

If you AGREE with ME, SHARE this on your FACEBOOK page.

P.S.  If you want to get all my NEW HEALTHY RECIPES, TASTY HEALTHY SNACKS, FAT BURNING WORKOUTS, EXERCISE VIDEOS, and much more, make sure to LIKE My Facebook Page, as I put all my updates and new recipes there.  

P.S.  For all my ladies doing My 30-Minute Workout Express Program, I am so proud of you!  I am glad you are enjoying the workouts and getting such great results.  Thanks for connecting with me and letting me know how its going.   You know I always love to hear from you.  So if you have any questions with your 30-Minute Workouts, make sure to email me.

If you LIKE these WORKOUTS, make sure to SUBSCRIBE to My YouTube Channel to get more FAT BURNING & MUSCLE TONING WORKOUTS.  In My Channel, I also have tons of Exericse Videos, showing you tons of different exercises and how to do them correctly so that you get great results.

P.S.  Thanks for all the great emails about the "Virtual Exercise Library CD".  I have gotten tons of great feedback on the CD.  I'm glad its helping you do different exercises and do them properly.  And thanks for all the SUBSCRIBES to My YouTube Channel.  It's great to be able to show you how to do all the exercises and workouts in video instead of in print.  

By the way, if you ever miss any of the videos, you can also find them on My Pinterest Boards.  You guys have been REPINNING them like crazy.  I love that you are applying all these tools I'm giving you to help you get FIT & FAB.  Keep it up!

I know how frustrating it can be to feel "stuck". You are working hard but you just can't seem to lose those last 5 lbs.  So I am going to use my little sister (29, not so little) as an example.  

Coco, has been running 3-4 times a week and she has made some really big changes in her diet which I am really proud of.  This may be like you!  You have started exercising and eating so much better and lost 10 lbs, but now you are stuck.

This is my beautiful sister

First of all, don't worry, be at ease, as you can TOTALLY get rid of those last 5 lbs.  

In order to make a change in your body, you have to create a stimulus, you have to challenge it.  In order to lose weight, you have to EXPEND (BURN) more calories than you CONSUME.  Here's a good piece of information:  1 pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories.  So to lose 1 lb, you have to be in a 3,500 calorie deficit.

So you basically have 2 options:

• Eat better and less quantity.
• Exercise more.

For my sister, she has made some great changes in her diet.  She no longer eats bread.  She has oatmeal for breakfast (the flavor kind), she has salads for dinner, nuts for snacks, etc.

So what does she do now?

She has to step it up.  She is definitely not eating perfect, so ask yourself..... honestly, what in your diet can you make some changes to eat healthier.

For my sister here are some changes she needs to make:

• Eat the plain oatmeal and add cinnamon instead of using the high sugar flavored oats.
• Add some protein to her breakfast (egg whites).
• Have a mid morning snack (protein shake, protein muffins, etc.)
• Instead of eating white rice at lunch, have extra vegetables.
• Drink more water.

Now if your diet is pretty good, maybe you need to burn some more calories.  My sister says she is stuck and she can't lose those last 5 lbs, but all she is doing for exercise is running 3-4 times per week.  Once she adds those 3 weight training workouts, which by the way she is doing my 30-Minute Workout Express, since she only has 30 minutes before she goes to work, she is going to be burning a ton more calories, plus she will be building lean and toned muscle which will help her burn even more fat.

I'm giving you these details about my awesome sis, so that you can learn from them.  Because maybe you can relate to her or maybe you too, need to make some of these changes.

Here is another checklist of things to do to help you

Lose those last 5 lbs:

• Are you eating a small healthy meal every 3-4 hours?
• Does every meal include a lean protein, a healthy carb and a vegetable?
• Have you cut out all wheat products, dairy, processed fat and sugar?
• If your meals are good, have you decreased the serving sizes (as to decrease your caloric intake) FYI: only cut your calories by 200 at a time and make these changes weekly.  Example:  This week your averaging about 2,500 calories per day, next week you will average about 2,300 calories a day.  You don't have to go nuts counting calories, just look at your portion sizes and cut them back by 1/4.
• Are you drinking half your body weight in lbs in ounces of water per day?
• Are you taking a multi-vitamin and fish oil?
• Are you drinking a post-workout protein shake immediately after workouts?
• Are you doing 3 weight training workouts per week?
• Are your cardio workouts interval workouts (they burn more fat)?

If you make all the changes that I listed above and you apply the principles I just went over in my sisters example.  I promise, you will LOSE THE LAST 5 LBS.

P.S. Thanks to all my BeFit Moms, you guys have been emailing me with your amazing results of weight loss (averaging 2-5 lbs a week).  I love that you are loving all the yummy and healthy recipes.  Keep it up!  I love this program, its definitely the best program I have out now.  If you haven't checked it out, check it out here.  

Check out what this BeFit Moms said:

Keep posting all your success stories and questions on My Facebook, I love reading them and answering them.

Also, thanks for REPINNING ALL my Recipes and Workout Videos.  I love Pinterest, isn't it awesome.  I love pinning all my healthy recipes and workouts on My Pinterest Boards, and I love seeing your boards as well.

Are you trying to lose weight and feel stuck?  How much weight do you want to lose?

Make sure to stay connected with me on Facebook where I post all my updates, including, workout videos, my favorite exercise videos, healthy recipes, smoothies and shakes recipes, tasty and healthy snack recipes and much more.

P.S.  You can also find tons of great tools for you to get closer to your fitness goals on My Pinterest Boards, if you haven't been there yet, you can not miss it, go there now:  My Pinterest Boards

If you try this workout, make sure to comment below and tell me what you thought and how many sets you did.

Especially women who have had children!  It's like we feel we can never get our belly to look the way it used to.

The great news is.................

You can!  Its just that most people go about it the wrong way.  Aside from having the proper nutrition (which is crucial), after having experienced pregnancy, the entire abdomen has been distended.  So the BEST EXERCISES to do are ones that work the DEEP lying muscles of the abdomen.  

Do you know what those muscles are and what exercises work that?

Nope, not crunches.................

Look below, to get todays workout to flatten and tone your belly!

P.S.  Its important to work your entire body in a balanced manner and weight training gives you the BEST RESULTS.  If you are not sure how to put an effective workout routing together but you want a great workout that will help you shed pounds of fat and tighten and tone your body, click here:  Workouts.

It's important to change different variables in your workouts in order to continue seeing great results.  Here are a few variables:

• Repetitions
• Sets
• Rest
• Exercise
• Exercise Order
• Tempo

So if you want to continue seeing great results change up your exercises.  Tune in to My YouTube Channel:  Michelle Marie Fit, to see tons of exercises, workouts and much more.

P.S.  I also have a great CD with over 100 exercises with pictures and detailed descriptions on how to do them.  I love changing up my exercise routines.  Click here to check it out:  Exercise CD 

What is your favorite THIGH BLASTER?  In the comments below, tell me what your favorite leg exercise is and what your least favorite exercise is.

Now, I know sometimes shakes can be icky and boring, so I am working on coming up with tons of different delicious and nutritious shakes for you to enjoy.

Today's Blue-Nana Protein Shake has a great combination of protein, carbs and healthy fats, so its a winner and you have to try it because its also DEELISH!

Nutritious Fact about Chia Seeds:

1. They are very rich in omega-3.
   
2. They are high in fiber and calcium.
   
3. They are easy to digest.

If you haven't tried chia seeds yet, I urge you to try them.  They are great to add to your shakes and also to muffins, pancakes, salads, rices, etc.

Ok, enough about the boring stuff, here is today's healthy recipe.

Healthy Recipe:  BLUE-NANA PROTEIN SHAKE

Ingredients:

1 scoop vanilla protein powder, I used Formula 1

1/2 banana

1/4 cup frozen blueberries

1 1/2 cup spinach

1/2 cup almond milk + 1/4 cup or more of water (check for consistency)

1 tbsp chia seeds

Instructions:

Blend all ingredients in a blender.

Have you ever tried adding greens to your shakes (kale, spinach, arugula, mint, etc)?

What ingredients would you like to see in a shake or smoothie?

Make sure to PIN this recipe to your PINTEREST BOARD and make sure to follow MY PINTEREST, for tons of awesome healthy recipes, healthy snacks, healthy protein shakes, and great workouts.

Also, make sure to stay connected with me through:

• FACEBOOK
• TWITTER
• PINTEREST
• YOUTUBE
• TUMBLR

The other day I came home from work and was getting ready for a play date at the park.  I wanted to take something fun and healthy to eat for the kids and the moms so I decided to try one of Dashing Dish's recipes that I found for Strawberry Muffins.  

Of course, I am always trying to find ways to find amazing recipes and make them even healthier and yummier.  And this one was a melt in your mouth hit!

This is what they looked like when they came out of the oven.  And it took me only a few minutes to put it all together.

They are golden, berry and delicious.  And every ingredient is healthy.  I added protein powder to the recipe I found and I had to add more liquid and reduce sweetness, so here is the recipe.

Make sure to SHARE it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

And also comment below on any ideas on how we can make these muffins even better.

Healthy Recipe for a Healthy Snack:  Strawberry Protein Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cup oats (gluten-free if possible)
• 1 cup plain low fat greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 3-4 packets of Stevia (this is according to your taste)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup of strawberries, half inside batter and half for the top
• 1 scoop of protein powder
• Almond milk (1/4 cup +), I eye balled this and added it to the blender as needed to get the right consistency.
• 1/2 cup almonds or walnuts (optional), this will add a nice crunch and some healthy fats.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a (preferably silicone muffin pan) with coconut oil spray and wipe down.  Place all of the ingredients (except the strawberries) in a blender or food processor, and blend until oats are smooth. Fold in half the strawberries. Pour into the muffin pan and top off with a few strawberries.  Bake for ~ 20 minutes or until golden brown and done.

These muffins are ridiculously good and crazy quick and easy to make.  And they are so healthy!  You have to try them.  Its so much easier to eat healthy, lose weight and get fit when you have healthy foods and meals available.  

Take the time to find and make some delicious healthy recipes and you will see what amazing results you get and how much you will enjoy the process, versus feeling deprived and feeling on a diet.

I have tons more healthy recipes like this, click here to see how you can get them right now:  Healthy Recipes

What is YOUR favorite fruit?  What fruit would YOU like for me to find a healthy recipe to use it with?  What tasty and healthy ingredient would you add to these muffins to make them better? Let me know in the comments below.

Follow my Pinterest Boards to get more delicious and healthy recipes: My Pinterest Boards

The other day I was in the mood for pasta and meatballs.  How the heck do I make that healthy?

Well, I found this great recipe on Skinny Taste for meatballs and I made it over to be HEALTHY & FIT, so here it is.  I served this with brown rice pasta, added some greens and it was one delicious, healthy and comforting meal.  I urge you to try it, because it is insanely good.

Healthy Recipes:  Red Crockpot Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs extra lean ground turkey breast 
• few tbsp Reggiano Parmigiano cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup parsley,  chopped
• 2 egg whites
• 6 large clove garlic, minced
• grill seasoning
• 2 tsp each of dried basil and oregano
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1 bag fresh spinach

• 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• grill seasoning to taste
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil 

In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, egg whites, basil parsley, garlic and cheese, oregano and grill seasoning. Make into small meatballs.  In a crockpot, pour the can of tomatoes, bay leaf, dried seasonings and basil.  Add in 1 bag of fresh spinach and stir well to incorporate.  Place the meatballs on top and cover with a lid and turn on high and let sit for 4 hours.

Look again how yummy this looks.........

You can also try these with buffalo!  Yum!

Do you like italian food?  

What is your favorite italian dish?

Let me know in the comments below and I will make it one of my HEALTHY RECIPES MAKEOVER and I will make it FIT & HEALTHY for you.

Make sure to PIN this healthy recipe to your PINTEREST board and SHARE it on FACEBOOK and TWITTER.

Guess what?  

I have over 300 healthy, fit and delicious recipes like this for you to try.  Click here to see how you can get them RIGH TNOW.  Healthy Recipes Now