About Me
My name is Savannah Rose Neveux.
I’m 23 years old, born and raised in Los Angeles.
I grew up riding and competing in horse shows and played club soccer for many years. I also traveled the country playing professional laser tag (I’m a nerd). I was a vegetarian my entire life, until this past year when I started eating fish and chicken. I just graduated with my B.S. in Psychology.
Studying Psychology in college (and having furthered that education on my own afterward) gave me a newfound appreciation and understanding of the importance of therapy and mental health counseling. If you or someone you know is suffering from an eating disorder, self-harming or if in general, you feel as though there are things in your life you can no longer handle on your own, I hope you will take a moment to look through the links I have in my help section. There is absolutely NO SHAME in seeking help. It takes courage to reach out!
I get asked practically everyday what I did to get in shape, and how long it took….
During my high school years, I was a straight edge kid. I never drank or got into any serious trouble. I had a pretty healthy view of myself and was actively involved in sports and productive things. Once college hit however, I went a little wild. An unfortunate side effect of too much partying, junk food and an overall unhealthy lifestyle, I became extremely insecure about my body and myself as a person.
My transformation happened in two parts. At the end of my Sophmore year in college I weighed in at 130 pounds.. that may not seem like much to some of you, but having been 105 pounds through high school and NEVER considered “fat” .. I looked and felt significantly different (horrible). Trying to hide behind baggy shirts and stretchy pants only did so much. I felt awful and hated what I had let myself become…
Over that summer (3 months) I lost 15 pounds and felt SO MUCH better.. during those 3 months I lifted weights (barely) and did a lot of cardio.. but mainly I changed my eating habits and stopped drinking. My problem areas stayed, but at least I could fit into my old clothes.
When I got back to school, over the course of junior year and that following summer, I gained back another 10 pounds because I went back to the way I had been eating and drinking.
Finally, senior year I got real. I woke up one morning with an incredibly bad hangover. My skin was tingling from dehydration, my head throbbed, the light from my window seared my eyes and the rolls of my beer gut squished together. I realized then and there that I couldn’t continue living my life this way. I immediately got up, threw all the junk food and alcohol away, joined a local gym and started doing research on bodybuilding, nutrition, supplementation and everything to do with fitness. I decided I was going to go hard and reach my goals. I stopped drinking and I started following a bodybuilding diet and training regimen. I lifted seriously 6 days a week and ate clean 6 meals a day with a protein shake post-workout. I got plenty of sleep and drank a gallon of water a day. Within a couple months, I noticed significant changes in my physique. By the time I came home, my parents were shocked at how much I had changed (for the better). The picture was me right after I got home.. my first fitness shoot.
I stopped complaining about the things I didn’t like and started taking ACTION to fix them.
It took me months of clean eating and heavy weight training to achieve the transformation I achieved. Before that I had tried everything from yoga to kickboxing to pilates… but nothing changed my body as quickly and drastically as weights. Most women are petrified of weight training because of a silly myth about getting “bulky” or “manly”. Women do not have the levels of testosterone necessary to bulk up the way men do.. and I am living proof of that. Those women bodybuilders you see have been eating tons of food, training extremely heavy and consistently and taking steroids for many years to achieve what they have achieved. A physique like that does not happen by accident and it certainly doesn’t happen overnight from picking up a heavy dumbbell!
Through this blog and my website, I hope to motivate and inspire as many people as I can transform their lives for the better. With an obesity epidemic across the nation, it is crucial that we all go back to the drawing board and educate ourselves on basic healthy eating and exercise principles! Get healthy & get active! =)
TUMBLR - TWITTER - FACEBOOK - YOUTUBE
My interview with CutandJacked.com
My interview with Muscle & Strength
My interview with Refuel Your Soul
When people ask how long it will take to reach their goals… I really can’t say. It is completely dependent on your body, your health, your current fitness level, your diet, your training and your level of dedication. I’m not gonna lie, it can be hard and sometimes you have to make sacrifices (for me that was skipping the dessert and the frequent booze-fests with friends). I know no one wants to hear that.. but it’s the truth. There is no magical pill you can take.. you can’t eat tons of pizza and beer and never work out and expect miracles to happen… it takes hard work. The good news is.. in the end it’s worth it… and the more effort you put into your goals, the more proud you will be once you reach them.
What is my diet/training like?
5 a.m. - Cardio! This varies day to day. Sometimes I don’t do it at all. It just depends.
6 a.m. - Protein shake - 1 scoop Protein powder + 1 cup unsweetened almond milk + 1 cup ice (blend!)
7:30/8 a.m. - Weight training
9:00 a.m. - Protein shake - 1 scoop Protein powder + 1 cup unsweetened almond milk + 1 cup ice (blend)
9:30 a.m. - 1 egg + 3 whites + salsa + 1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal (sweetened with stevia and cinnamon!)
12:30 p.m. - 3oz Cod (or chicken) + 3oz green veggies (sometimes I make a salad with other veggies, other times I just have broccoli or asparagus) + 1/2 cup brown rice
3:30 p.m. - 3oz Salmon + 3oz Yam + green veggies
6:30 p.m. - 4oz chicken + 3oz green veggies
8:30 p.m. - SLUDGE, my favorite! Casein + Tablespoon natural peanut butter + a tiny bit of water.. mix until you get a thick creamy consistency, freeze for 20 minutes and enjoy!
My nutrition changes daily, as I get bored easily and like to mix it up. But this is the basic skeleton of my diet. I have a lean protein source at each meal and get my complex carbs mainly from veggies. I also get my healthy fats from the natural peanut butter, salmon, olive oil, avocado, etc. I don’t eat fruit. My intake currently is somewhere in the ballpark of 1700 calories give or take.
I get asked a lot about my supplementation and the kind/brand of protein I use.. so here it is! (I don’t have all of these everyday, just fyi haha).
Proteins:
ProFusion by Muscle-Link in Vanilla (they’re my fav, but their chocolate isn’t great)
Optimum Nutrition’s Casein in Chocolate Supreme
Other supps:
Daily Multi-Vitamin (everyday)
CLA (everyday)
Fish Oil (everyday)
Green Tea Extract (everyday)
Biotin (everyday)
BCAAs (everyday)
As far as brands go, it changes depending on what I can afford at the time honestly. Do your research to find out what brand is best for you. You can do this through google and by reading reviews and nutritional info on varying brands.
My weight training split this past month has looked like this:
Monday - Chest + Cardio
Tuesday - Back
Wednesday - Cardio
Thursday - Shoulders + Cardio
Friday - Off
Saturday - Legs
Sunday - Arms + Cardio
I do a lot of supersets during my workouts, so my weight training also serves as a form of cardio! I will occasionally post my workouts on here so you girls can give them a try along with me! <3
My Grocery List:
This would be if I ran out of everything at the same time! =)
- Tilapia
- Cod
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Nonfat Cottage Cheese
- Nonfat Greek Yogurt
- Liquid Egg Whites
- Fat-free Feta
- Natural Peanut Butter (no sodium, with oil on top.. the only ingredient should be “peanuts”)
- Natural Almond Butter (same as above)
- Old-fashioned Oatmeal
- Low-Carb, Whole-Wheat Tortillas
- Olive Oil
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Asparagus
- Bell Peppers
- Mushrooms
- Butternut Squash
- Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
- Unsweetened Baking Cocoa
- Splenda or Stevia
- Cinnamon
- Mrs. Dash
- Mustard
- Protein Powder (I order this from Bodybuilding.com actually.. not the market).
**DISCLAIMER** I am NOT a dietician, counselor, personal trainer, doctor, or any other healthcare related professional. I do not mind giving advice or suggestions, but please keep in mind that I have NOT been trained in these fields. If you ask me a question I will answer it to the best of my ability.
