Post Bikini Contest Fitness Plan & TCBY Frozen Yogurt Giveaway

Last year, when I got in the best shape of my life and competed in my first NPC bikini contest, it took less than six months for me to get back out of shape!  The contest was July 2014 and by Thanksgiving, I had gained about 10 pounds (a lot on such a short girl) and had lost a lot of my muscle tone.  Right after the contest, I stopped working out with my trainer and then wasn’t going to the gym much.  My eating was all over the place and I was indulging in too many sweet treats (my weakness!).  So, I returned to my trainer at the end of 2014, and by March 2015, had committed to a second bikini contest in July 2015 to really help me get back into great shape.  
Now that the second contest is over, I’m determined to do things differently to stay in shape.  And, even though I have a MAJOR case of the summer lazies, I am still training with my trainer 3 days a week and I plan to continue indefinitely.  It’s been hard to get the motivation to get up for my 8:30 a.m. training sessions since that gym isn’t particularly convenient and who wants to fight morning traffic in the summer, but I don’t want to lose my spot, because it works out so perfectly when my son is in school and he starts back soon.  I love getting my workout over with first thing in the morning so I don’t have to think about it the rest of the day and it helps me eat better.  And, I’m tying to do two days of cardio – 45 minutes each.  Usually running outside or on the treadmill.  

ASICS running shoes | Zella socks (on sale) I swear by these socks for workouts. They don’t slip down my heel or make my feet sweat.
BUT, I have to admit, I’m over the contest meal plan.  I just don’t want to eat that strictly and that mundane anymore.  I can’t even make myself eat a meal of chicken breast, veggies and rice right now.  I know I have to find the right kind of meal plan that I can sustain as a lifestyle and not just as a 12-week “get-in-contest-shape.” I’m finding my way.  I need to continue to eat a healthy balance of protein, veggies and carbs, but I want to eat them in more interesting ways and with more variety.  I love to cook and have missed creating new dishes and tasting different flavors. 
So, for example, I still like my morning protein pancake, but I also like steel cut oats with a splash of milk, teaspoon of brown sugar, a few raisins and some walnuts or sliced almonds.  Or bacon and eggs.  And grilled chicken is still fine to eat, but with a side of tomato and avocado salad and corn on the cob. 
I made burgers with lean turkey breast this week and instead of a whole wheat bun (I found that was too much bread), put it on 100% whole wheat toast (crust cut off) with low-fat cheese, light mayo, ketchup, arugula, tomato and onion.  I’d do a lettuce wrap bun as an alternative to bread, but I didn’t have any on hand. 
This summer salad with tomato, avocado, red onion, feta, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper is a favorite around here.  I also took it to a party recently and every last bite was gone and I was asked to bring it again.  You can make variations of this salad with olives, cucumber, chickpeas, and white beans too.  
This flat bread prosciutto, mozzarella, arugula pizza with fig spread is delicious!  The flat bread is high in calories (240), so I don’t eat it that often.  I put a light dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper on the arugula before topping the pizza. 
Caprese salad is another thing I’ve indulged in lately as a light snack.  I add a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic too (not pictured).
I’m also crazy for greek yogurt, topped with a handful of granola and blueberries.  So good!
And occasionally, for breakfast or even dinner, I want bacon and eggs.  I used two whole eggs and could’ve went with two pieces of bacon, with 100% whole wheat toast dry.  

And of course, to satisfy my sweet tooth, I have to have some ice cream. Or so I thought.  I’ve found that TCBY Frozen Yogurt tastes just as good (really!) and saves me half the fat and less calories than regular ice cream.

TCBY has some super delicious flavors including Sea Salt Caramel, Chocolate Moose Tracks (has peanut butter in it!), English Toffee Crunch, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (my fave!), Mint Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate Chunk, Classic Vanilla Bean and Extreme Cookies and Creme. 

It sure starts to melt fast in the Houston summer heat!  Better get to licking! 😉 

I feel like life is too short to live without sweet treats!  Makes me think of that Maroon 5 song, “Sugar” – “Need a little sweetness in my life!” Ha! But also so true.  It’s surely about balance, eating well and healthy most of the time, making “better bad choices”, indulging in desserts, and being active and moving to make us feel physically good on the inside. 
And TCBY is giving away Frozen Yogurt for 3 months (6 cartons, a $30 value) to one lucky reader!   Just visit the TCBY site and leave a comment letting me know what flavor you are most interested in trying!  I’ll tell you based on personal experience the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough does not disappoint and neither does the Moose Tracks!

The TCBY website will also tell you when the TCBY truck is coming to a store near you and you can stop by for a free sample and a coupon for $1 off any flavor.  #GetTheScoop!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you to TCBY for sponsoring this post.  As always, all opinions and frozen yogurt indulgences are all my own. 

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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

95 Comments

  1. Megan, you look fabulous!! I so admire you! I am now craving that avacado tomato salad. That looks so so yummy. I can't wait to make it. So many delicious flavors…hard to choose just one. I would have to go with mint chip.

  2. Sounds like a good plan. Love the workout clothes and shoes…those bright colors are so pretty!

  3. My husband & I have had a lot of success following Paleo loosely. Hubby's kept off almost 50lbs for the lastor so years & I've maintained well. We are not strictb& eat small servings of dairy, chocolate, etc. I think the biggest thing for us is really limiting our carb intake.

  4. First, I want to say that you look amazing! Congratulations on your hard work! I am a fellow petite girl (5'1) and a runner. I saw a while back during your training that your trainer had you run slower to tone up before the contest. Would you mind elaborating on this? I typically run pretty fast (8 min/mile) for about 40 minutes but I am feeling the need to change things up. Also, you say you're doing 45 minutes of cardio twice a week-what kind of cardio? Thanks for being an inspiration!
    PS, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough for sure!

  5. You look amazing and thanks for the chance at winning!! It would be a toss up between extreme cookies & cream and the mint chocolate chip!!

  6. Sea Salt and Carmel sounds amazing. I really miss my Blue Bell No Sugar Added 🙁
    I get you with the bland diet burn out. I had gestational diabetes that was diet controlled and didn't mind the diet so much when I had to do it but now that my peanut is here it's much harder to want to follow it even though I know it would help with weight loss watching carbs and sugar so closely.

  7. Wow! You look amazing in these pics…so fit and healthy! And the food looks divine…especially that yogurt!!!

  8. Sea salt and caramel for me!
    You look amazing! I can't wait to try the summer salad. It looks so fresh and perfect for this Texas summer heat!

  9. You look great Megan! If you're looking for new recipes, I second the paleo comment above. I've found most of my favorite recipes – lots of fresh fruits, veggies and meat on the Against All Grain blog – and in the author's cookbooks, both of which you can probably find at your local library. I use the AAG cookbooks multiple times a week! 🙂

  10. Cookie dough ice cream is my weakness but I'm also love all things salted caramel lately, so I can decide which I would be more eager to try!

  11. The sea salt caramel swirl OR cookie dough is calling my name!!! And actually, this might sound creepy…but I was backstage with you at the Branch Warren Classic! I recognized you instantly, but I didn't want to go all "fan girl" on you, but we were in the same novice class! As I'm a little less than 6 weeks out from my next show, you KNOW this ice cream has me drooling! 🙂

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