Nathalie is also a dear friend whom I have worked with for years to get her stage presentation just perfect to showcase Nathalie’s beautiful body lines, which has earned her several first-place titles on the NPC stage, as well as in several other bikini and physique competitions outside of the NPC.  She is a French Native and a mother to a beautiful boy, Sean, who comes with her to our gym, Steel Barbells (15115 Califa Street, Van Nuys, CA).  Although I am her posing and presentation coach, I am also her nutritionist, and Nathalie trains herself with some of the most incredibly glute-sculpting workouts I have ever seen and taken part in! She is extraordinary at creating the perfect butt for women to prance around with pride in!  I call Nathalie the “French Booty Maker”! Not only is the “French Booty Maker” workout great, but the creator, Nathalie Bernard, is a very special woman.  Nathalie is filled with an incomparable vibrance and a faith in her clients that is truly invigorating for their workouts!  She has a victorious spirit (whihc you can see displayed in her story about overcoming a surgery nightmare this past year, it’s a tear-jerker, but very inspiring).

We just love this Fit Mom at Steel Barbells! Check her out at her Facebook Page and keep up with all of her great fitness videos (posted daily) and photos of good times and hardcore workouts with her clients at Steele Barbells Gym.

In the meantime, check out one of the fun but very challenging glute workouts that Nat and I did (it’s part of her “French Booty Maker” routine that she created).  Fun stuff, but man, does it ever burn the fat off of your butt! No wonder this Fit Momma doesn’t have cellulite.  Nathlie Bernard-  remember to join her and I at our Facebook group America’s Hottest Fit Moms.

“Simple, fast and healthy meals are my only alternative.”

The best part about them is that they require little to no work for preparation. “3-minutes or less in prep time” is my rule, because as a single mother to three children who are all busy with their own careers and school and training, I simply don’t have time for anything more than this, whether I’m cooking for them or for myself.  Simple, fast and healthy meals are my only alternative.

As far as the taste of lentils, they can vary based on the spices used, of course.  My personal preference is the Indian combined with Mexican spices.  I am posting that style of lentils in this recipe today.  They taste so good, even my children like them! And the texture is so smooth, that you can even mash them into a paste and spread them like hummus. They are absolutely delicious! See me son here to get his feedback on them! In the meantime, feel free to post comments and join my facebook page or join our group at AmericasHottestFitMoms.com  to interact with the rest of the Fit Moms in the group and maybe talk about lentils and other fitness recipes and the fitness lifestyle. In the mean time, enjoy the lentils and BE PHENOMENAL!

Makes 2 servings:

1 cup lentils

1.5 cups water

2 tbsp olive oil

in desired amounts:

onion powder

garlic powder

curry powder

cumin powder

red pepper (cayenne, or dried red chili peppers- whichever you prefer)

himalayan salt (mild amounts for those who are sodium-sensitive)

and finally,

4 corn tortillas (i prefer yellow due to the rich flavor and also higher nutrient content)

Directions:

1. pour all ingredients, minus the corn tortillas, into a soup pan.

2. boil at medium heat (i usually boil it all for about 30 minutes).

3. turn off heat, stir, and cool until water is nearly dissolved.

4. as you wish, you may also add a little fresh squeezed lemon juice

5. spread onto your corn tortillas and munch away!

EVEN IF YOU’VE BEEN UP SINCE  4a.m., WHEN THE KIDS GO TO SCHOOL, YOU ARE JUST BEGINNING!

A lot of fit moms do this, and it’s been proven time and again for every mom, these quiet peaceful mornings give us a chance to rev up the engine for the day’s events.  Once any mom finishes the morning mommie routine though, it’s on!  The children get up and start getting ready for school, Fit Mom makes breakfast, packs lunches, preps for the work day, and takes the children to school! After the kids get to school, people think a mom may be able to rest.  Nope.  Every mother knows that when mom time goes down, work time goes up.  It’s all about packing in as much work and daily tasks and responsibilities as possible in the 6-8 hours that the kids are gone.  That means, work, mail, filling out papers and making appointments for family affairs (medical, dental, school, recreational activities, etc), attending appointments, working at the office, keeping meetings, work events, and then being done with everything in time to go pick up the children from school.

After school, there’s homework time, dinner time, chores, (and often times, arguing with the children to get them to do chores), more responsibilities & organization, and then bedtime for the little ones. Then you get started on prepping for the next day. It doesn’t end here either.  A lot of times there are things we’ve forgone to do other things throughout the day, so when the kids are in bed, all moms know that it’s time to finish up daily tasks that didn’t get done, fill out the next day’s check list, and then finally, we can go to bed!

AFTER SCHOOL, THE DAY IS STILL IN HIGH GEAR! YOU CAN’T REST.  A MOTHER’S WORK IS NEVER DONE. SO HOW DO YOU FIT COOKING IN?

It can be tempting to get fast food with this type of schedule.  For even the fit mom is exhausted and doesn’t want to cook.  So what can you do? In this busy life we lead these days, Fit Moms are not the only ones on the go.  Everyone is looking for fast meal solutions that are also healthy.

There are answers to our wishes for convenient, fast and healthy eating!  If you like lean fish, you’ll love these recipes.  Two out of my three children love fish.  My third usually just eats chicken off of the foreman grill when we have fish for dinner.  I started doing these 3-minute or less prep time recipes to ensure that everyone in my home is satisfied and healthy.  And since I don’t like cooking, and like a lot of parents, I don’t have the time, I have a motto for this:  ”If it takes me more than 3 minutes to prepare it, I won’t make it.”

Here are the recipes via my youtube channel.  I’ve done them in video format because, well, typing isn’t fun, and videos are easier to follow.  So here ya go! Enjoy!

Mahi Mahi 

Pan Fried Tilapia (breaded but lean!)

Tilapia Tacos (here’s the “after” video)

Baked Indian Spiced Salmon 

All of these can be made with veggies or yams and taste delightful without adding junk into the mix… Enjoy & Empower all you Phenomenal Fit Moms!

Don’t forget to visit the group on facebook, and you can join us at AmericasHottestFitMoms.com

And of course, always remind yourself to BE PHENOMENAL!  You are Worth the Work!

-Nita Lee Marquez

www.AmericasHottestFitMoms.com

As a mother who was married at one time, I had the luxury of a second adult in the household to ease the stress at moments of overwhelm.  I had someone there at night telling me they love me, just like I do my children.  The affections and praises of another adult make all the difference in the world when it comes to replenishing our energy stores. There is something to be said about being a mother in a two-parent household, even if it’s not picture-perfect, which mine wasn’t, it’s still an ease on the daily tasks of motherhood when someone else can take the kids to the amusement park or do something outside the house with the children so a mother can have peace, quiet and solitude, and of course, have another grown up say, “You’re doing great,” to make you feel appreciated and valued. It also gave me time to start focusing more on myself and my fitness goals for myself and my family.

After I became a single mom, I went through the jolting reality of how much that other adult’s presence in my life meant.  Being a fit mom by then, yes, I certainly had an advantage in being already settled into some of my fitness habits, and it certainly helped my self-esteem to be getting into better shape even though I was a single mother of three.  Most people expect that a woman falls apart physically in such scenarios.  Still, I was by myself with these three, one of whom, is diabetic, my little infant son (now 9).  It was harder than before to keep moving along so energetically on a daily basis, even though I had already built a lot of those fitness habits.

There was a point though, where I was finally able to make the correct adjustments that have come to be my hallmark as a fit mom today, the adjustments of efficiently living fit as a mother.  There are many efficiency points in living the life of a fit mom, but all moms, especially fit moms, understand the value of making choices that help us capitalize on our most precious asset (aside from our kids, of course): TIME.

Integrating my family time with my fitness time was a great option for me, and evaluation of my life choices, helped me see how I could make more time available for both.  Taking inventory of our personal choices is key. If you want to have the life of a fit mom, it’s about choices.  Not that we won’t make mistakes, but taking inventory on ourselves helps us realize the places where perhaps our choices aren’t paying off.  Being a fit mom isn’t as hard as it seems.  Choices can make life efficient, and there are plenty of choices that help in streamlining our efforts for living the fit life and being a mom.  I made the following adjustments in my life, and adapted to not only being a single mom, but also a mom who was more fit than ever!

1) Avoid nights out at the bars and happy hours. Why? Because for one, alcohol makes you fat, whether people want to admit it to themselves or not, and two, that time spent would cost me more time in the gym and it was already taking time away, so it’s a double-whammy.

2) Take the kids to the track or the park instead of to the movies and McFastFood.  Being active at these places helps make life the fit mom more fit, the kids get more fit, and when they see you doing sprints or even racing with them, they are not only with witnessing that their mom totally rocks, but they are gaining a totally different type of bond with us if they grow up with that image instead of the images of sitting around a TV eating junk food. How do we fit moms really want our kids to remember their childhood? Let them go to the gym with you, if you have that ability, or go for walks or bike rides.  Fit mom time made family time creates a completely different bond with us to our children.

3) Cook foods and meals that are fast and easy AND fit!  It’s possible.  I started coming up with these quirky little quickie recipes because I never liked cooking in the first place.  I was more of a salad and sandwich mom when I was married.  However, I did have a Foreman Grill.  With that thing, I can cook meats from the frozen state , and have a meal in less than ten minutes, with only a couple of minutes of prep time.  I have begun posting some of those recipes that my children like and I benefit from the healthiness of because everything I make in my 3-minute-or-less prep time recipes is low-sodium, low-fat, low-carb, and high-protein.  This is great because all of these recipes are already tasty and the taste can be even more enhanced with your favorite spices, sauces, yet still stimulate your metabolism (your body’s ability to burn fat).

You can find some of my 3-minute-or-less prep time recipes on my YouTube channel, fitnita.

One sacrifice you do NOT have to make in living the fitness lifestyle is family.  There are a lot of Fit Moms out there who have learned to maintain their fitness lifestyles while still managing to keep the family first.  Learn more about family-first fitness here at www.NitasWorld.com and we now have a group of moms who have come together to support each other. Find out about joining the group at the America’s Hottest Fit Moms site page.

Here are some links to my yummie (but slightly cheesy) Fit Mom 3-Minutes-or-Less prep time recipes:

Tilapia Tacos Part 1 (you could use chicken in this process as well!)

Tilapia Tacos Part 2

Grilled Tilapia

Anti-oxidant Protein Shake 

Egg White Breakfast

Lentils (My son Quinn is in this video too! Funny!)

There you have it America’s Hottest Fit Moms and friends, fitness lifestyle made easy.  Don’t forget to comment on this blog so I know how helpful it is for you! I will always adhere to the readers interests, so keep me updated on what YOU want!

Be well. Be You. Be PHENOMENAL! You are Worth the Work!

-Nita Lee Marquez

-Nita Marquez

This is how my journey started.  I always exercised, but when I started truck driving I was 24-years-old and weighing 180 pounds. I quickly fell into the customs of other drivers. And ultimately gained weight at a rapid pace. By age 26 I put on 50 pounds I felt terrible.

I had a physical, and the doctor said I was gaining weight too fast and I had to lose some weight. So I made my mind up, I was going to get more fit and that was that.

I was a big YouTube head (still am). I wanted to see ways to lose weight without exercise because of my schedule at the time. I stumbled across a video documentary called “simply raw”. In the show, about 5 type 2 and 1 type 1 diabetics that were sent to Arizona to eat an all raw diet to reverse their disease.

At that time I didn’t know anything about eating raw. As I watched the show, I saw how it was working for people.  And they were losing weight!  That struck my curiosity that people can let their bodies heal and go back to its natural state just through eating.

After that I learned more about raw food through books, web, Tv, and word of mouth. I stopped making excuses, got my butt out my truck when I stopped, and worked out in the parking lot at truck stops and rest areas.

Now at 28 I’m down to the weight I started with, but I have more energy and wisdom than I ever had before. I’m now a advocate for not only raw food but just good eating and strong fitness.

Here are some foods I enjoy regularly to stay fit:

Life is a series of goals when I reach one I set another one. So never look at me as a finished product but a work in progress. – Aaron “Rawfood” Raglin

Raw Pasta on Ghetto Rawness

My highest body weight was 320, I don’t know what my body fat percentage was then because I didn’t care enough to measure it. My current weight is 145 and 13.9 percent body fat, I’m 5’6. Because I had such a tremendous weight loss and also because of my age I do have some skin issues.

I’ve been at my goal weight for over 2 years so I did, 6 months ago, have a tummy tuck-to remove the panniculus and also a breast lift and augmentation. I have great definition in my arms but I have flappers which I am currently scheduled to have removed on February 2nd. I have worked out hard for 2 years and the skin wasn’t bouncing back. Surgery was the only answer because the skin movement can be quite painful. Of course it wasn’t as bad as say someone who lost that amount and didn’t exercise but because I am an exercise fanatic the skin is more troublesome.

My ah-ha moment was when I started having heart palpitations and was sent for an echocardiogram which came back normal. Went back to my primary physician who, as I was leaving her office, poked at my arm and said I think your having palpitations because your retaining fluid let me put you on a diuretic.

All I heard was blood pressure pill and said, “Oh no, I’m retaining fluid because I’m a fat ass!” I walked out her door and said that was it for me I wanted to shed the weigh. I didn’t stop there I decided I wanted to get into the best shape of my life. All thru my life I have been overweight, there are so many down stories to tell. I think the biggest down was having such low self esteem that my choice in men sucked. I always chose men that were abusive and cheaters and always thought that I couldn’t do better.

I think the proudest moment I can remember was when I dropped below the 200 pound mark. it was life changing. I also remember the smaller I got the easier and more fun the exercise became. Another moment was when my son came to my house and I was in bed, and he felt around in the bed and said where are you, where is the rest of you. Made me feel really good!

I wake up every morning KNOWING I’m a fit mom because I will NEVER go back to the old me! My two sons, 23 and 21 love the new me.

Donna and her son after over 100 pounds lost by each of them!

My weight loss caused my younger son to lose 100 pounds himself and my older son is extremely fit now because of my urging! I am so proud it is a family affair. We all have our different loves as far as exercise is concerned and we don’t exercise together but we all exercise!

My favorite exercise is group exercise.

• I love the Les Mills programs.
• Body Attack-sports inspired cardio
• Body Pump, high repetition class using weights
• Body Vive, an all over work out including cardio, stretching, toning with bands
• Body Combat, a martial arts cardio class
• CXWorks, a core training class
• but my all time favorite is Body Step, step aerobics at its finest!
• I also enjoy an occasional 5-8 mile run.

I have gone from 300 plus pounds to actually being a Body Step instructor. My diet is mostly calorie counting and filling those calories with good food. I keep sugar at a minimum, eat high protein and good carbs. I don’t really follow any specific ratio. I just eat good! With all the cardio, I need fuel.

I work out pretty much everyday but I do try to take one day off a week. I log about 12-15 hours of exercise a week. Seems like a lot but I will never go back to where I came from and I enjoy it! Its a family at the gym!

My favorite Fit Mom snack is peanut butter. I get it just ground peanuts, eat it on whole wheat bread with no sugar added preserves.

Most of my inspiration came from within. The determination, the sweat, just the general wanting to be fit was me. I owe a lot though to the instructors at the Brooks Y where I work out. Their hard work and love of exercise and being fit definitely kept me motivated! Also, wanting to live longer and better was a big factor.

I’ll be honest, at first, I thought losing the weight would make my marriage better but I lost 145 pounds in 13 months and 250 overnight! (divorce)

I always tell people I don’t want to be their hero, the determination comes from within and everybody’s health and weight loss is a personal journey for themselves. What works for me may not for another. I am there for support and to motivate but I don’t want to be considered as super human. I ground myself all the time by saying it was a great thing losing all the weight but I shouldn’t have been there in the first place!

Donna

The family-first and career-driven fitness enthusiasts give me many reasons to share easy and fast healthy recipes with you.  Since I built America’s Hottest Fit Mom™ as the fitness brand that represents Fitness Empowerment for Everyone, I feel this compelling need to be sure to address everyone, as well as the Fit Moms in all the articles, and also, I want to be sure to tailor everything in a way that it is going to help anyone who views the videos and reads to articles.  Just like our lifestyle is fast paced as Fit Moms (and Fit Dads), we have a need for quick, easy, hi-protein/lo-fat/lo-glycemic-carb/lo-sodium recipes.  Just as we don’t have time to prepare food, it is necessary to present those recipes and steps in a fast fashion so you can learn how to make the foods within 3 minutes, too! It wouldn’t make much sense to do a 30-minute video on 3-minute meals.

Now, I am going to share my own America’s Hottest Fit Mom™ Fit Tips and 3-minute Recipes via video. I’m no camera woman, so don’t go expecting Martha Stewart-esque production quality.  These 3-Minute recipes are going to be done with my web cam Just like I need my life- Simplified!  Here’s the first one.  We would love it if you joined our group on Facebook and became a member so we can answer your questions, helping you become a Fit Mom (or Dad), or just getting you more fit in general.

Remember, America’s Hottest Fit Mom™ means Fitness Empowerment for Everyone!

In our group, you’ll learn how to live more fit in a very time-efficient and pragmatic fashion.  Parents know that this is absolutely necessary for being fit and raising a family.  America’s Hottest Fit Moms™ Facebook Group is for anyone, as well as Fit Moms or Dads out there! Anyone wanting to learn more about living the fitness lifestyle in a way that makes sense, join the Nitasworld.com Mailing list and join our Facebook Group Now! All of America’s Hottest Fit Moms are here to empower ourselves while we empower others!

see an easy lo-fat/lo-carb/lo-sodium/hi-protein meal here!

Thanks for stopping in at NitasWorld.com, home of America’s Hottest Fit Mom™ Fitness Empowerment for Everyone!

Join our following at Facebook by liking NitasWorld.com on the homepage of the site!

Or follow me! Nita Marquez 

Get Fit. Stay Fit. You are Worth the Work!

Be Phenomenal!

Nita Lee Marquez

www.NitasWorld.com