2011

1. How can I get myself to stop eating after dinner? I eat great all day and then lean & green dinner but at 8pm I realllly want a piece of toast or some crackers.

If you want that piece of toast, then eat Ezekiel bread. It is flourless and is made from 4 grains and 4 beans. If you’re so hungry, it must mean that you’re not eating enough throughout the day! Throw some satisfying nuts in there for satiety.

2. how are you able to stay so positive?also how do you manage stress

Hmm…I think I have just always been a positive person. I try to not let the menial things in life bother me. I try to focus on what’s making me smile. And I surround myself with people that make life better. Forget the negative people! You don’t need them! Ohhh stress. The best way to go about it is to let out the congested energy through a workout, a bubble bath, cooking, or venting to someone who will listen. Take yourself out of the situationf or a while and come back when you have a clear head.

3. How can I get my hubby on board with the health eating? He’s naturally really skinny and fit, so he eats pretty much whatever he wants, and I want him to be my accountability partner. It’s hard when he’s scarfing down big macs every week. Lol.

The desire to life a healthy lifestyle has to come from within. You can’t force it on him. Maybe just start making healthier food (but make it attractive looking) and be like, hey try this! And maybe he’ll start liking it. And hs body will crave it. Also tell him that you need his support in this journey and that it would help if he did this with you. Even in small doses.

4. how did you train for your half marathon??

Honestly, I didn’t have a training schedule and I really should have. What I did do was start running longer distances every week. I started with just 1 mile a time on the treadmill back in Jan/Feb and then I slowly either increased my speed, incline, and or distance to make it harder. The whole month before the race I ran anywhere between 4-6 miles a day a few times a week.

5. How often do you give your muscles a break from working out? I feel really bad if i don’t workout everyday and so i usually don’t give them much rest. Is there a way to workout but rest them? 🙂

I usually train 5-6x a week an hr at a time. A good way to workout and relax your mind and body is with yoga.

6. Hi Cassey! 🙂 So, I want the swimsuit model abs (not incredibly muscular, but still defined). Will oblique exercises help this or should I just do abs?

Not only should you do ab AND oblique exercises, you should also do more cardio and some form of strength training (pilates counts too) for overall fat melting. Don’t forget to eat clean as well. That is going to be your BIGGEST help towards getting “swimsuit model abs”.

7. How long have you been working out and eating healthy?

Hmm that’s a good question. I’ve always worked out and eaten fairly healthy most of my life minus college. In college I ate fried things and drank soda without thinking. (Eek!) I started playing tennis as a 6 yr old and then was on the varsity tennis team all 4 yrs of HS. Then in college I took up Pilates and some kickboxing. After graduating I was still doing the Pilates but added in some BODYPUMP. It wasn’t until Spring 2011 that I started SERIOUSLY weight lifting and eating clean. That’s when I started seeing the quickest results.

8. is it ok to take a 5-10 minutes resting after every workout?does it make the fat burning process any slower? thanx for the opportunity!

YES!!! If your body says rest, then rest! But do it out of exhaustion not out of laziness. You need to take breaks so that you can actually do the workout properly and with more energy. More energy and enthusiasm throughout workout = more calories burned.

9. Are the beginner workouts for an everyday routine?

You can def. do them every day. If you feel like you’re getting bored then move on to some of my older POP Pilates videos. There’s always modifications so don’t be intimidated.

10. Hey Cassey 🙂 So I’ve done most of your workouts and my body has slimmed down a lot, but I’m struggling with getting rid of the “love handles”. I do the workouts related to muffin top and love handles daily, but just wondering if there is any way i can see more results?

Yes, you must now do more cardio and eat clean. That means running, kickboxing, dancing, jumping rope, or doing any of my POP Cardios to burn fat. Then you must eat clean. This means only eating whole and natural foods – cut out the refined carbs, sugary and fried things.

11. what is one thing you cannot live without?

Oh yay! A fun question!!! Hmmm…I guess I’d have to say…my contacts. If I didn’t have my contacts I’d be a non-functioning human. I’m seriously pretty blind.

12. Breakfast is my favorite meal and duh most important!do you have any more breakfast recipes you’d like to share?

Well I’m pretty simple. I love baked oatmeal, protein pancakes, egg white veggie omelets, whole grain cereal in almond milk, and fruit & greek yogurt parfaits. Recipes for GALS in Figure and Bodybuilding has GREAT baked oatmeal recipes. Also, Ohsheglows.com has a TON of great healthy recipes.

13. I asked this before but not sure if you saw it or not. Here is the question again: I know this is not a Pilates related suggestion but can you please do a video/blogpost about your weight lifting routine/suggestions? I know you did lots of weight lifting for the bikini diet and I’d like to know what you did for that. Thanks a ton!!!

Lucky you! Just wrote about this here.

14. Are you ever going to make work out dvd’s????

YEAH! I totally want to! But it will happen after I make the app!

15. how do you make money? I worry about you doing all these great things for us for free! I want to make sure you are taken care of since you take such good care of us.

Hahaha, aww what a sweet question. Well I don’t mind doing the free workouts. I love teaching. So that’s fine. I make some $ off of the ads on my blog and videos. But in the end I hope that you guys can support me and purchase the app (it will be cheap though), a DVD, or one of my yoga bags!

16. how to get rid of cellulite on my thighs?

Here’s an old old old post I did on cellulite. Click here.

17. Would you say ab workouts are more effective with a stability ball?

No. But I will say that doing a VARIETY of ab workouts with and without equipment is effective.

18. How do you workout everyday if you are a high school student with lots of homework daily?

Join a sports team! Then you won’t have to think about it. Or even wake up a little earlier to squeeze a 10 min workout in.

19. I’m pretty much a vegetarian (I only eat turkey and tuna on rare occasions) but most of my family is not..it can get pretty awkward lol so I wanted to know when I go to a meal that they have prepared and it is basically only meat dishes or prepared in ways that I don’t care for (fried, bacon grease ect) what do I do!? I usually end up eating some of it to be polite and because I get teased if I don’t but I really don’t like to do that…help me lol

NOOO!!!! Don’t compromise your health to be polite!!!! I am guessing you’re young. If they are teasing you it is because they don’t know how to admit that eating fried greasy stuff is actually harming them. I’d ask to prepare a dish for the family at dinner every night. Then at least you’d have your own meal. And then you can introduce them to what’s actually nutritious to eat.

20. How do you get back on track after a vacation?I’m finding it so hard

Start introducing small bits of it back into your life gradually. You’ll be ok 🙂 Begin first by eating cleaner.

21. Do you think adding supplements to your diet is essential for a person who works out (from strength training to cardio) ? What supplements do you take?

The only supplement I take is whey protein. But only on strength training days post workout. I don’t think it’s actually necessary unless you’re looking for QUICK results. People get enough protein from whole foods like chicken breast, milk, eggs, and greek yogurt daily! It’s just that whey protein is faster absorbed for quicker muscle repair.

22. My lower body is larger than my upper body and I would really like to trim it down. How often should I work my hips, buns and thighs without bulking them up? And how do I get rid of this terrible cellulite on my butt?

You won’t bulk up your hips, buns, and thighs by working them out. Unless you’re carrying a huge bar on your back while doing a million squats. You should aim to target them a few times a week an hr each time. Mix up any of my workouts that will hone in on your “trouble” zones! Also be sure to do some cardio and eat clean. That will melt fat. See above answer for cellulite question.

23. How long will it take for me to loose my muffin top/love handles & flabby arms if I workout 3 – 4 times per week? Jump Rope + Your muffin top & other workout video 😉 About 1hr workout in total~ Thanks! 🙂

I don’t know where you are now so I def cannot say how long it will take you to lose it. But I can promise you that if you keep up with the routine, you will see changes maybe even in the first week. In 2 weeks for sure.

Have questions for me? Go on my Facebook Fan Page and ask away!