Final Thoughts - Always Eat After 7 PM Challenge

This post is sponsored by, “Always Eat After 7 PM”. The opinions expressed below are my own.

We are finally on the last post and week of this series for the Always Eat After 7 PM challenge with Joel Marion. You can check out posts 1 (HERE), 2 (HERE) and 3 (HERE) to catch up! Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight. 

I have definitely learned a lot of things during this challenge. A few things that I have learned that really stick out in my mind are.....

*You can eat as late as you want and even have carbs as late as you want as long as your calories are in check. It won't hinder your results.

*Intermittent fasting gives your digestive system a break.

*IF can create amazing energy.

*Fasting on this plan can actually keep you fuller for longer.


We’ve been traditionally taught to avoid carbs, have an early dinner, and never eat before bed. But the fact is, the latest scientific research shows us this earlier model is not the most ideal. Late-night eating also curbs calorie intake the next day. In a four-week study, dieters added a snack to their daily regimen 90 minutes after dinner every night, and check this out: late-night eaters ate an average of 397 fewer calories per day.

I plan to keep on going to lean out a little more and then I plan to purely focus on building strength and muscle while maintaining my weight (fat loss wise). I am in a good place post baby and I'm excited to keep going.

Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion is now available to purchase. Learn more about the book and how to purchase here.

This post is sponsored by, “Always Eat After 7 PM”. The opinions expressed below are my own.

Always Eat After 7 PM - Week 3 Goals/Update

This post is sponsored by, “Always Eat After 7 PM”. The opinions expressed below are my own.


As you all know, I have been participating in the, "Always Eat After 7 PM" challenge. The Always Eat After 7 PM plan consists of: The 14-day Acceleration Phase to kick-start the program and see rapid results, The Main Phase where you’ll learn exactly which foods to eat when in order to achieve your weight-loss goals, The Lifestyle Phase to keep the weight off for good.  

I am really loving it so far. 

So how am I doing? 

Well, I am highly enjoying the intermittent fasting! I have seen many changes so far especially on the scale. My current weight right now is sitting at 137 lbs. I haven't been that weight since my bodybuilding competition year in 2017. I am below pre-baby weight, which was 142-143 lbs. And even though my weight is lower than right before I got pregnant in 2018, my skin isn't as tight and is definitely more loose than it was before and I am still carrying more fat in certain places than I did pre-pregnancy. Regardless, it's all good and I'm happy with my progress so far. If you look back on my first post talking about wanting to have more energy (HERE), you will see that having extra energy was one of my goals. I can most certainly say that I've been having more energy and that is extremely helpful when you have multiple conditions that cause fatigue more often than you'd like to admit.   

Cheesy Ground Beef Skillet

I have been having larger dinners than I usually do and smaller meals earlier in the day. Based on surprising science, Always Eat After 7 PM debunks popular diet myths and offers an easy-to-follow diet that accelerates fat-burning and allows you to indulge in your most intense food cravings: Eating the majority of your calories at night. One of my favorite recipes from the book is the cheesy ground beef skillet. I absolutely love skillet meals because they are so easy and convenient to make. As my stated in my previous post (HERE), you can have amazing meals and food without depriving yourself. There's plenty of variety when it comes to follow this specific diet in the book that Joel has put together.

Stay tuned for next week's last post with final thoughts!

Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion is now available to purchase. Learn more about the book and how to purchase here.



This post is sponsored by, “Always Eat After 7 PM”. The opinions expressed below are my own.

Always Eat After 7 PM Challenge Update

This post is sponsored by, “Always Eat After 7 PM”. The opinions expressed below are my own.

In my previous post I told you about fitness expert Joel Marion and his new book and challenge, Always Eat After 7 PM, which debunks many myths surrounding the dieting culture with weight loss. While continuing to read the book, I found other benefits for health from this weight loss method that he describes as the three phase plan for weight loss:

“Avoiding carbohydrates and restricting calories later in the day can have an adverse effect on your thyroid hormones, which play a major role in metabolism. When the thyroid fails to secrete enough of the hormones that control metabolism, this can trigger symptoms like fatigue, depression, weight gain, thinning hair, and dry skin.”

“Intermittent fasting really shines when it comes to improving the hormones that directly affect your hunger, blood sugar, and metabolism. One of them is insulin resistance, meaning that it helps your body use insulin more normally, thereby lowering your diabetes risk and boosting your metabolism.”

The quote about intermittent fasting and what it can do for your hormones is definitely an eye opener and one benefit that I've been looking forward to. As I mentioned in my previous post (HERE), one of my goals for this challenge and when it came to doing intermittent fasting was improving my hormones especially dealing with fat loss and metabolism.

Based on science, Always Eat After 7 PM also debunks myths to popular diets and offers an easy-to-follow diet that accelerates fat-burning and allows you to indulge in your most intense food cravings: Eating the majority of your calories at night versus the advice of eating majority of your calories in the beginning of your day to midday.

The most challenging times to curb hunger are just before bed and in the morning. By following the Always Eat After 7PM program, you have the most willpower to stay on the diet because you are eating during the hours when you are most hungry. This also puts you into both intermittent fasting increasing testosterone and your metabolism, while putting you into ketosis.   

I am highly enjoying the book so far! In my next post I'll be sharing the results that I've getting and my opinions on the method.


I was able to get my hands on an interview with Joel. Take a look!

  

Q1: What inspired you to write the book?

After authoring 6 best selling books it was glaringly obvious there were 2 huge misconceptions about dieting that needed to be exposed. The first is that you can't eat late at night or before bed, which science now shows is NOT true. And second, you can't eat large portions that satisfy your natural instinct. This book solves both these problems by providing an evidence-based, enjoyable approach to dieting that can be used by any person to quickly achieve their weight loss goals.

Q4: You’re a six-time best selling author, what is different about this book compared to your others?

Although many of the concepts are similar, the biggest difference is that you don't have to deprive yourself of your favorite foods. You don't have to deal with the burden of eating every few hours. And you don't have to skip the carbs at dinnertime or avoid eating before bed.

Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion is now available to purchase. Learn more about the book and how to purchase here.

This post is sponsored by, “Always Eat After 7 PM”. The opinions expressed below are my own.

Always Eat After 7 PM Challenge

This post is sponsored by, “Always Eat After 7 PM”. The opinions expressed below are my own.

I have been putting my own nutrition plans together since I started my weight loss journey 7 years ago in 2013. After a certain amount of time has passed many professionals in the fitness industry begin to get tired of creating their own plans, and I am no exception. I have never met a nutritionist, fitness trainer, etc. who loves putting together their own plans. Eventually, many of us realize that we like to outsource our plans to gain structure. This can be for many reasons but the most common is that we have either gotten too comfortable or we just want to find someone else who does not operate the same as we do and see what benefits we gain from the change. We love to gain knowledge from other professionals in the health and fitness industry that may have more knowledge and different life experience. Another example of this would be doctors. It’s common knowledge that physicians are discouraged from engaging in self-diagnosis. Simple self-diagnoses for simple diseases are fine but they still look to their own PCP for guidance.



After 7 years of creating my own plans and working with one other individual/coach for bodybuilding and training, I can emphatically say that…. I AM TIRED!! Haha! I thoroughly needed a change. I needed a little more structure coming from someone other than myself. Therefore, I decided to jump onboard the opportunity to receive an advance copy of “Always Eat After 7 PM” by Joel Marion. Over the next month, I will be sharing my experience of the book and diet along with what will hopefully be some great benefits. Basically, the Always Eat After 7 PM plan consists of: The 14-day Acceleration Phase to kick-start the program and see rapid results, The Main Phase where you’ll learn exactly which foods to eat and when in order to achieve your weight-loss goals and The Lifestyle Phase to keep the weight off for good.

Right away, Joel begins addressing myths such as, “Eating late is against the rules and bad for you.” Providing studies and his own experience with weight and fat loss, this book gets right to it. After doing the research, Joel decided to put it to the test and the results were awesome! 12 lbs down in the first 2 weeks, 46 lbs after 16 weeks and more energy.

“Research shows that the average person’s metabolic rate is no different during sleep than during the day. In short, your metabolism does not slow down at night. Nor does your body store fat at the end of the day. Whether it is 8 am or 8 pm, you use food for energy the same way.”

Even after making it back to my pre-baby weight within the first year, my body is still different as in I am storing more fat in other places--hello hips--than I did before getting pregnant with my son and 2nd child. Losing more of my baby fat and wanting to lean out more along with re-balancing my fat burning hormones are at the top of my list. All of us mama’s know how pregnancy/birth can totally screw around with our hormones, which includes the fat burning hormones. I’m excited to dive in and I’ll post an update next week, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, check out this video explaining more about his book......




.

Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion is now available to purchase. Learn more about the book and how to purchase here.

This post is sponsored by, “Always Eat After 7 PM”. The opinions expressed below are my own.

People Magazine: Half Their Size Special Edition 2019

As if not only being in People Magazine once, but ON THE COVER (HERE) (HTS 2018) wasn't an absolute dream come true the first time.... I am totally elated to announce that I am in the Special Edition Half Their Size 2019 issue, which covers my fit pregnancy with my beautiful boo boo mans!! He made his People Mag debut and looks absolutely gorgeous!

View this post on Instagram

Look what’s here guys!!!!!!!!!! My newest feature with @people magazine about my fit pregnancy!! The Special Edition Half Their Size is out on stands NOW and will be on stands until the end of May! 😍 But don’t think that it gives you an excuse to wait to go get your copy!! 😜😘😊 • Thank you People Mag for including me once again. 💙 And know that you guys at People, fam and all of you guys here on insta, fb and the blog supporting me every step of the way and encouraging and motivating me to be my best self helps me to continue stepping out of my comfort zone, blossom and fly. I love and appreciate all of you and I don’t think that I can ever say that enough! 🦋 🌺 #peoplemagazine #halftheirsize #fitpregnancy #pcosmom #3monthspostpartum #dreamscometrue #huffnpufftobuffntough

A post shared by Katie Bolden 🦋 (@huffnpuff2buffntough) on Mar 4, 2019 at 8:44am PST

Cree's Birth Story

It's December 4th as I am writing this. Today is my 32nd birthday and I am spending an hour of my night doing something that I want and love.... writing and pouring my thoughts and stories out on the blog.

View this post on Instagram

Today is my birthday! 🎂🎁 🎉 I’m 32! With all that’s going on... it doesn’t really feel like it’s my birthday and feels just like any other day this year. This past month has been blurring together. My head is not as clear and mental health not as strong as I’d like it to be right now as my hormones and anxiety are temporarily kicking my butt and that’s okay. It’s to be expected postpartum—at least for me personally anyways. There are 3 presents that I got for my birthday that make me happy though... 1. I got a killer gift bag full of Victoria’s Secret/Pink (ya girl learned how to coupon at VS/Pink like a boss!!! VS/Pink sisters... I know you’ll understand and get my excitement! 😜🛍 🛍 2. Within 2 weeks after giving birth my body dropped half of the pregnancy weight that was gained with no effort. Definitely a pick me upper and a shock during this sensitive period. 3. I’m spending an hour of my night writing my birth story on the blog. A little sad that baby Cree no longer wanted to be my birthday gift. Instead he wanted to be my Thanksgiving blessing, which is still just as beautiful. 🤱🏽 Given the situation that he and I were in... he knew he needed to get out and fast. 🙏🏽 Thankful to see another year! 🙏🏽 32... we’re gonna kick ass! #postpartumfeelings #thistooshallpass #birthdaygirl #postpartumjourney

A post shared by Katie Bolden 🦋 (@huffnpuff2buffntough) on Dec 4, 2018 at 12:00pm PST

So what's been going on.... pregnancy and life update

It's been awhile!! Wow, time certainly does fly when you are busy! I haven't had a lot of time or energy to put into the blog lately. I told myself earlier this year that I wanted to start creating better content on this blog and giving this blog a face lift, but with that comes a need for, in my opinion anyways, a great work space (a great and comfortable work space creates great energy, creativity, inspiration and motivation for the work that you are doing). I haven't had a great space in my home that I feel great and productive in. To be honest, my current home has never felt like a home to me. I live in my husband's family home that most of his family members on his father's side has lived in at one point or another. It's a very very old house in a crappy area with crappy people. The house is in poor shape and it leaves my husband and I constantly overwhelmed and stressed out and we do what we can and make the best of what we have. Don't get me wrong... I am completely blessed and grateful for a roof over our heads no matter the condition, but it's not the ideal living conditions and we just can't afford to go anywhere else at the moment. 

A "People Experience"

This still feels like a dream! The realization of how BIG this is did not hit me until much later after working on the project. It honestly didn't hit me until about 2 weeks before the issue hit newsstands. When I told family and contacts (on a need to know basis), they were telling me how huge of an accomplishment it was. I said, thanks or thank you and tried not to act like it was a huge deal.... even though it was! I didn't really feel the impact of the whole thing until much later. When People Magazine asked me to be a part of their Half Their Size issue, I was super excited and anxious, of course. You guys wanna know the whole story behind all of this and how it came to be?!

People Magazine: Half Their Size

Say what?! I am featured in People Magazine's popular annual, "Half Their Size" 2018 issue! 😮😄😱

Bodybuilding.com's Train For Her Magazine & Ambassador News

I had some amazing news back in October! I was featured in the Fat to Fit section of Bodybuilding.com's TRAIN for HER magazine December 2017 issue - my birthday month!!! 

Make sure you guys pick up the latest issue (December) of @bodybuildingcom @trainforher magazine for my latest feature. You can also peep the link in my bio! 🤗💙💗 ••••••••••••• #huffnpufftobuffntough #bodybuildingcom #trainforher #bbcomambassador #teampolar #weightlosstransformation #transformation

A post shared by Katie Bolden (@huffnpuff2buffntough) on Nov 1, 2017 at 7:56am PDT