Fitness Diary: Protein Pancake Recipe

Hello All!  This is one of my favorite pre and post workout meals.  Protein pancakes are lean, full of fiber, and complex carbohydrates.  Check out the video below to see how I cook these up.  I have also posted pictures with the nutrition information for some of the ingredients.

Oats and Non-fat Greek Yogurt

Protein Powder

If you have any questions please let me know and remember to watch in HD.  Until next time, tootles!

DIY Organic Black Soap Shampoo

Hello!  This is a quick tutorial on how I make my own shampoo.  Its all natural, easy to make, and very affordable!  You can purchase the black soap and find out more information by clicking here. Also,  I misspelled the name of the natural thickener that I use.  The correct spelling is Xanthan Gum, not Xanthum gum.



This shampoo is great.  The all natural black soap does not dry my hair out.  My hair feels very soft and not stripped while still being very clean. If you have any more questions, please let me know.  I'll catch you all soon!

P.S.  Check it out in HD!

Curly Updo Tutorial

Good Afternoon! I know it has been awhile but...one trip to Florida, 4 wisdom teeth and 1 sinus infection later, I'm back!



 I did this hairstyle over the holidays and I wanted to share the tutorial with you all. It is a cute updo that can be done with all hair types and lengths.  This style was done on hair that was 80% dry.  I used water, Dr. Miracles Soft Hold Gel, and the edge control from Curls. If you have any questions please let me know and remember to check out the HD version of the video. Tootles!

Holiday Giveaway Winners!!

Please check out the YouTube video to see the winners of the holiday giveaway! If you have been chosen please email me at cirwin@electriksunset.com with a shipping address. Thank you all for entering and enjoy the rest of the holidays!

HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY!!! 3 PRIZES!!

Check out the video for the details, rules, and deadline. If you have any questions please let me know!  This is just a little gift for all of you awesome people!  Happy Holidays!

Fitness Diary: Food & More Through Instagram

Just wanted to do the diary through instagram this week.  Below are some random pictures from my instagram, @cnirwin. Take a look and read below for information, recipes and more!

Lets begin from top to bottom, left to right!

One of my clean post workout meals.  Above is chicken sauteed in extra virgin olive oil seasoned with black pepper and Ms. Dash seasoning.  Spinach that was sauteed in extra virgin olive oil and mushrooms sauteed in extra virgin olive oil with a tad bit of teriyaki sauce. 

Saturday night at my friend's birthday party.  This is the cropped chain printed jacked from my last thrifting post.  I just like my outfit...nothing special about this pic lol.

My protective style for the week.  I had a cute puff, that you will see soon.  I just retwisted it and pinned the twists up in an updo.  

One of the best post workout smoothies in the world!  I used one banana, one mackintosh apple, 1/2 cup of blueberries, 3/4 cup raw spinach, and 1 scoop of Isopure Vanilla protein powder.  I also added ice because I like my smoothies cold.  Blend on speed 6 until everything is crushed and mixed well!

Fresh twist out puff using Natural Twist and Set Lotion by Design Essentials.  I used Coconut oil (I have found that coconut oil isn't a good sealer for me. It is excellent at adding shine to my hair when fluffing it in the morning.  I figured I'd give it one more try.  I usually used my whipped shea butter mix for sealing and it is excellent!) to seal the moisture in from my leave in conditioner.  To wash, I used a bar of black soap that my friend bought me from the Caribbean (Nikki hooks me up!).  For my deep conditioner I used Topganic Deep Treatment Mask with Argon Oil.  I did these twists on towel blotted hair and used a stretched headband to get my super high puff.

I love this oatmeal!  It is clean and so easy to make.  I made it before heading out to work one morning.  It is super healthy, and oatmeal made from raw oats is a great fat burning food!  Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Take 1 cup of raw oats and turn down the heat so that the oats come to a simmer.  I added one apple and 1 Tsp of cinnamon powder.  Let this cook for 10-20 minutes.  The longer it cooks, the thicker the oatmeal will be.  Let it cool and be on your way!  It is great for traveling on the train to work especially if you have containers.  Or you can just warm it up when you get to work!

I received the product in the top of the picture from a curlBox sample.  I finally decided to try it.  I say finally because I got that sample in August.  It works FANTASTIC!  I rocked my puff in the previous picture for about 4 days.  Then I took my puff down, used a super wide tooth comb and gently detangled my hair.  My hair wasn't really tangled at all because my twist outs really do not get tangled.  I used a spray bottle and sprayed a little bit of water in each section.  Then I took a little of this product and applied it to my section.  After that I twisted up and repeated around my entire head.  My hair was and still is so soft! I am thinking about purchasing the full size of this product.

Last, but certainly not least...it's Christmas Time.  I love the holidays and my tree!  I get so excited! Stay tuned because I will be posting a video for my holiday giveaway tomorrow!  

Until tomorrow, tootles!

Fitness Diary: Red Flags Of A $$ Hungry Trainer

steroidjunkie.com

Good evening.   This will be my second fitness diary entry.  I find this one to be quite interesting.  I've experienced PT (personal training) and since then,  I felt compelled to give you guys the "Red Flags of Trainers".  Let me start by saying, we all need help or need to do our homework before diving head first.  There is nothing wrong with seeking the help of a PT.  Just come prepared with our own agenda as well.  You might as well, because it surely isn't free.  I will try to show you the warning signs and tell you how to be prepared without putting people on BLAST.

• Make sure that you do your research.  When you have a specific goal that you'd like to reach, a simple google search on the healthy way to achieve your goals does not hurt.  Having an idea about the direction you should go will save you a lot of time and energy listening to a trainer that does not understand your goals.  If it seems like the trainer's plan is a little broad or lacks specifics, this is a red flag.  Try finding a trainer that comes up with a specific plan that's just for you.
• This leads me to my next point.  A trainer is not only there to be a physical coach, but also like a dietitian.  To me, if you're going to take me to the next level, I need to see that you also know diet is about 70% of the battle.  Make sure you bring up diet early in your meeting.  Request a special plan that is again, just for you.  If you know of any friends or strangers in your workout facility that may train with your trainer, or any other trainer, ask them what kind of diet they are on.  Two things that are red flags are if they don't have a diet plan, or you find that everyone has the same diet.  I have experienced this years ago.  The trainer basically had everyone on a body building, mass gaining diet.  That may not be everyone's goal.  If I am paying a significant amount for training, it should be personalized.
• To keep on the personalizing kick, please make sure your trainer is prepared.  Before you even begin your workout, make sure that he/she can tell you what you will be doing for the next hour or however long the session is.  I have experienced trainers that seem to make up the workout as they go along.  This is SO NOT COOL!  Imagine yourself giving a presentation for work.  How well do you think it would go if you made everything up on the spot and weren't prepared?  Not too well.  Think of personal trainers the same way.  This is their job and it is only right that they take it seriously and come prepared!  If you feel like the trainer is making up your workout as you go...you have seen another red flag.  And believe me, it is not hard to tell.  A simple "what will we be doing today?" can reveal if they are prepared or not.
• This next tip is mainly about safety.  I can't stress this enough.  Everyone starts on different fitness levels.  Your trainer should realize your fitness/strength level and not push you too hard. You can most certainly have a challenging workout without going overboard.  You can seriously injure yourself when you are pushed too far...and yes there is a such thing. I always believe in giving 100% anytime you work out. Your trainer should know what your 100% is at the stage you are in.  If you have to constantly ask for water breaks because you can't catch your breath, or if your trainer doesn't believe in a short recovery period (which is actually good for your heart rate), consider asking why or moving on. That is definitely a red flag.  Don't let them tell you that you have to finish something or you're a quitter/failure. If a trainer gives you a guilt complex because you just simply can't do something right now or its out of your fitness level at your current stage, that's not cool and not uplifting.  I've experienced this and it made me quit that trainer. 
• In general, make sure you don't feed into everything they say.  I will not say all of what I have been told, but some of it was ridiculous.  Sometimes we all say things just to get what we want.  Some trainers really want money and will say anything to get it.  I've been told that if I eat too much lean meat I will start to look like a man, at any point my arms can swell and turn green like the incredible hulk, and that if I lift heavier I will bulk up a lot.  These are all incorrect.  There are several disclaimers and other things that can easily prove those statements to be wrong for my body type, gender, diet, and metabolism.  Anyway, listen to what your trainer says and question it.  It is so important to educate yourself first before listening to everything someone says.  Yes they are supposed to be experts on personalized diets and exercise routines, but like I said, anyone can say anything to get what they want.
• Be aware of trainers that try to sell you extra services or products before you even see results.  Constantly being asked to buy more stuff is annoying and definitely a huge red flag.  If your session consists of 30 minutes of working out and 30 minutes of selling, you should see a problem.
• The last red flag I have seen is just simple subtleties.  Being on time to sessions, not cursing at me as your form of encouragement, and other simple gestures go a long way.  I'm not paying to be cursed at and wait for you to show up, if they even show up.  Talking on a cell phone or not monitoring your form during workouts because they are distracted is just rude.  You want someone that is positive and polite; someone that will give their undivided attention to you.  This will make it easier for the two of you to communicate and therefore you'll see better results. 

I really hope these tips help!  These tips are based off of personal experience.  It is so important to do your research and not be afraid to ask questions.  I can't stress enough that if you are paying a good amount for a service,  you should be satisfied and getting the best service.  If you've experienced any of these red flags please leave it below.  We can all learn from each other and help one another get the best help possible!  Have a great night and stay healthy!

Protective Style How To: Crochet Braids

This is a quick video I did showing you all how I style and re curl my crochet braids.  Also, I have put a link to the original tutorial below.  I used the same braiding pattern and technique.  I did not leave any hair out, but she shows you how to do the closure without any hair out.  I hope this helps and if you have any questions at all please leave them for me!



Click here to view the crochet braid installation videos.

Fitness Diary: Mind Games

Good Evening! If you follow me on Instagram (@Cnirwin), you know I have adopted clean eating and intensifying my workouts.  I have a lot of fitness goals that I've met, and am currently trying to meet.  I get a ton of questions about my diet, recipes, and my workout regimen.

2nd Week in October

So, I want to start a series called "Fitness Diaries".  My first "entry" will be about getting your mind right.  How many of us have said we want to make a change, eat a certain way, weigh a certain weight, and cut out bad habits, but never get around to it?  Well hopefully, these tips can get you in the right mindset to accomplish your goals.  So lets begin!

• First you need to realize that you want to make a change; specific changes.  So many of us say "I want to eat better" or "I want to work out and get in shape".  Unknowingly to most, these goals are very broad and have no specific direction.  When you say that you want to eat better do this:
• Sit down, make a list of food that you eat a lot or love to eat, and evaluate it.  Evaluating this list will help you determine if you eat a lot of processed foods, foods with chemical sweeteners, a lot of sodium, artificial coloring/flavoring, and food high in saturated fat/cholesterol. You can simply Google the nutritional facts of these food to see the ingredients and nutritional value.  
• Once you shock yourself by looking up foods you thought were good, but turn out to be bad, do research on healthy replacements.  I found that instead of eating pretzels which are high in salt and empty carbs, I could eat edamame (Soy bean) with a little bit of sea salt.  There are many healthy ECONOMICAL replacements for a lot of the processed foods we eat. 
• Lastly, determine what can fit into your budget.  I always say organic is the way to go...but let's be honest, organic is also the EXPENSIVE way to go.  I buy some organic foods and some not so organic.  I do things like completely soak my fruits and veggies to give them an extra clean. So budget yourself, because it is really easy to spend unnecessary money on organic foods that may not even have to be organic.
• You should do the same thing when evaluating your physical activity.  Ask yourself what you currently do. Google what ways you can gradually increase your physical activity without over exhausting or injuring yourself, and take steps to improve your physical performance which includes making time for workouts.
• The second step in getting your mind right is being realistic.  A lot of people give up or never even start making changes because they set unrealistic goals.  Everyone has a different goal.  Everyone is at a different place when they start.  And you have to realize that it will take time to get to a certain place.  You can't say things like "I want to lose 100lbs in a month" and expect to do it in a safe healthy way.  First of all that's not healthy and second of all that's just not realistic.  Write down what you want to achieve and break it up into stages!  This is the best way to go at a moderate pace without overdoing it.  
• Lastly, set up a schedule for yourself.  In my schedule I include what I eat in a day, the physical activity I will do for that day, what I will have done by the end of the week, and so forth.  By the end of the month you will be able to track what you ate, and what you did.  You can match this against the amount of weight you lost, the amount of processed foods you ate, the amount of weight you gained (because that's also a health goal), or the amount of muscle mass you've gained.  Tracking your progress is very important!  It gives you motivation to keep going.  If you're like me, you can take monthly pictures of yourself to see how your body is changing.

We must all realize that reaching optimal health has to do with our mindset, our diet, and exercise, AND IN THAT ORDER!  Your mind has way more power than you think.  Just think about it, what tells you that you can't do something...a little voice in your mind.  So first before I go into recipes, diet, and different exercises, I need you all to get this down.  Leave me a comment if you'd like letting me know at least one thing you want to change and have recorded.  The next post will be about choosing the right path for fitness; not falling for a money hungry trainer that will tell you anything just to get $$.  They sound so convincing and can fool a lot of people because they just don't know the "Red Flags of Trainers". LOL I digress... Until next post, LETS GET IT!

New Protective Style: Crochet Braids

I just wanted to give you all a quick update on my winter protective style.  In the picture below, this hairstyle was about 3 weeks old. I did a set of crochet braids with Kanekalon hair.  I used perm rods and boiling water to curl the hair.  About once a week or once every other week, I brush the curls out and redo the roller set with the hot water.  In between,  I refresh with water and KC gel.  Check out a quick glimpse below.

As I stated before, this picture was taken when the crochet set was 3 weeks old.  It will be a month this week and time for me to redo them.  I will post a complete tutorial on YouTube this week when I redo them.  If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment.  Until next time, Tootles!