Healthiest Year Ever!

Sometimes I come home and have fun things waiting for me at the door.  Thank you Beachbody.  It is very exciting to be part of a company that surprises you with gifts.  Sometimes I earn these prizes and sometimes I just have something at the door for me, Suprise!

Now how did I get this and why is this the healthiest year of my life?  I started using Shakeology a year ago and was hooked.  I love the chocolate flavor and all the nutrients and vitamins that I'm feeding my body in the morning.  It has becomes my easiest breakfast ever.  Scoop of this dash of that blend and I've got a chocolate smoothie.  I literally drink one everyday... okay well almost everyday.  And I really truly love it.  And once I realized I was hooked on the Shakeology and had done my first full Beachbody workout program I knew that I was in it for life.  That's when I decided to become a coach because how could I not wait to share the amazing things in my life.  Products that I believe in, results that I had achieved through hard work while using the products. And then on Saturday I come home and have this cute present waiting for me because I have been drinking my Shakeology for a year.  I have made a decision to be healthy and they are giving me a present for it.  Pretty much a win win in my book.

If you are thinking about trying any of the beachbody products please fill out this form and let me be your coach.  Let's get you started on your journey to becoming a 365er and having the healthiest year of your life.

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Changing of the guard.

After having a fantastic 8 weeks doing a program I absolutely loved it's time to do something that is very good for my body but that I find physically difficult.  Here is a recap of what's been going on.

I dedicated myself to fully completing the 22 Minute Hard Corps program by Beachbody.  It called for 6 workouts a week.  We alternated Cardio and Core with Resistance.  Cardio and core day took about 33 minutes to complete and resistance took 22 minutes to complete.  Now just because these were shorter workouts does not mean that they were not high intensity.  You were moving and grooving the entire time and I was quite sweaty after each workout.  Also, on resistance days you worked out with free weights so you could make them as light or as heavy as you wanted.  The first 4 weeks I started out with 8lbs. and the last 4 weeks I used 10lbs.  I found for me personally these were a good weight. Now for the first 4 weeks I pretty much stuck to the program but the last 4 weeks I found that my stomach muscles were ripped and I mean ripped so I backed off the core workout and only did it 1 to 2 times a week instead of 3 times a week.

My results were very good.  I was able to do more pushups in a minute then I have ever been able to do before.  On my final PT test I did 46 pushups in a minute.  Yay!  I was so impressed with myself.  So after doing a program that I loved doing I'm not moving on to something that I find difficult.  Piyo is a mix of pilates and yoga.  I'm not very flexible and I find myself slightly intimidated by this program but I think it is just what I need to be doing.  So here I go.  8 weeks of piyo.  My hope is that I will be able to do downdog and get my heels to touch!! We'll see.

Living With an Upset Stomach

Most of the time I try to ignore this part of my life.  Or maybe not go into great detail with everyone. If you know me you probably know that I've been gluten free for a few years.  If you know me really well you probably know that I have "bad" days with my gut.  It is not a fun thing to live with but I feel like the majority of the time I have it under control and I don't want to use it as a crutch to not live my life the way I want too.  (for those suffering with Crohns or ulcerative colitis my heart and praryers go out to you)

Well, lately I've been having some more bad days.  Lot's of inflammation and it really isn't fun, actually its painful.  A lot of times I know what triggered the "attack" I normally have succumbed to eating something with gluten or even in the case last week where I stopped at both Taco Bell and Dunkin donuts (I was asking for an attack with those two), but sometimes I just can't figure out what triggered an "attack".  By "attack" I'm referring to inflammation in my gut, pain, bloating and extreme tiredness. (TMI the bathroom is normally my very good friend during this time too).

I recently read a book that a friend wrote and she goes over some of these things because her son has ulcerative colitis and they learned how to control it just through diet and not by taking medications.  She also shared at the end of the book the Dr. that they got a lot of there information from for eating right to help IBS and other gut issues.  He also sells supplements, probiotics and other things to get you back on track.  I went to his site and read a lot of what he has to say and what he recommends.  I'm going to try to do his diet plan and see if I can't get my inflammation down on my own.  (If I can't I believe I will take the next step and contact the dr. and seek his professional advice).  So for the next few weeks I will not be allowed to have dairy, or legumes, or gluten.  I will also eat fruit as a stand alone or before my meals and drink water before my meal or an hour after but not during.  I'll keep you posted on how it goes.  I'm currently in the middle of an "attack" so I can't wait to feel better!

Furbabies celebrate Mother's Day

First let me start off by saying Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there.  You all have the hardest job and should be recognized for all your hard work.  So from someone who doesn't have children but has watched from the sidelines, "You are all Awesome!".

I woke up this morning and Zoskia was bouncing around the room waiting to go outside.  Dane told her to come over to him so she could give me my present from all the furbabies.  This is a great thing to wake up too.  My husband is absolutely the best.  He had gotten me a card that is super silly and adorable about how much he loves me and every silly thing about me.  And the "kids" got me a Star Wars mascara and lipgloss.  It made me smile and made me feel super special.  So, that was my little taste of Mother's day, my furbabies love me and my hubby is the best.

Listen to Your Body

Every once in awhile I have a day where I just need to use a lighter weight.  Either I'm sore or I'm not feeling 100%.  And you know what it is okay to choose a lighter weight.  You need to listen to your body.

Now I'm not saying you shouldn't push yourself on the days you are feeling good but what I am saying is that there are days where you need to recognize that you just not feeling 100%.  Those are the days that I work out with either no weights or lighter weights.  Those are the days that I don't push myself as hard.  Sometime's I'm just a little fatigued and once I start working out I actually start feeling really good, on those days I'll reach for the heavier weight.  But there are definitely times I start the workout and I can just tell me body is not up for a super hard workout.  This normally happens to me after I eat something that causes inflammation in my gut.  This really slows me down and my body is trying to heal itself.  I still want to get a good workout in because I'm not sick but I don't want to overtire myself either.  So, on a day with a lot of inflammation I just start slower and listen to what my body is telling me.  

If you are reading this learn what your body needs.  Learn how your body feels.  Is it just a little sore from yesterdays workout?  Are you coming down with something?  Do you actually need to just take a rest day?  Or is it just a mental block and you really need to get up and rock out that work out.  The more you listen to what your body is telling you the better you will be able to do what is best for it.

Eighth and Final Week

It seems amazing to me that we are on our 8th week of 22 Minute Hard Corps.  This is it folks (except for those of us who are crazy enough to do the Hell Week at the very end, which I just might be crazy enough to try it.) I must say I have really, really, really enjoyed doing this program.  I thought that I would get tired of doing the same 4 cardio, 4 resistance, and 3 core workouts (I have the deluxe edition and have the special ops added. The regular program has 3 cardio, 3 resistance, and 2 core workouts).  But I will say when I start doing the workout I'm ready to kick some butt.

 As always the hardest part of any program for me is the stay the path with my eating.  If I'm really strict with what I will allow in my diet I tend to do pretty well but then hormones kick in and I find myself eating anything with sugar in it.  And once I get sugar it's a very quick downward spiral.

But what's been impressive with this program is that I'm still seeing good results even though my diet has been only about 60%.  Now if I could get that to about 90% I think I'd be a mean lean fighting machine.

So we will see what the final results are on Sunday when I weigh, measure, and do my PT test.  Can't wait to share with you guys.

When I stumble I crash!

Yes, you see it that is one of my big failures on Friday night but unfortunately it is not the only one.

Friday morning starts off like most.  I get up and I get ready for work.  I packed some workout gear because I had a large gap in the middle of my day of no clients so I was hoping to get a workout in during that time.  I head off to work and have a great drive in with no traffic, I love when it is a nice easy drive in with no added stress.  After a few hours I have the 3 hour break so my workout gear comes out and take a stroll down to the waterfront.  It was a little cool and breezy but I knew once I actually got moving I would warm up just fine.

There is this new App on my iphone by Beachbody, BOD, where I can stream my workouts through my phone on the app.  Awesome!  I pull out my phone and get started on Resistance 3.  I didn't have any weights with me but that's okay I still got in a good workout.

After a nice cool down I head back to work and finish my day.  That's when I realize that my hubby will be out and won't be cooking dinner for me... boooo.   I think to myself that's okay you can just eat something light and healthy when you get home.  UH OH.  Nope, I probably should have grabbed something in Georgetown and staved off the hunger that was about to hit and dominant the rest of my evening. 

I get in the car and start my drive home.  About 30 minutes into the drive I am hungry,  I suddenly need food like now.  So, I do the smartest thing I can think off and pull over and get myself some delicious Taco Bell... AHHHH!  After 2 weeks of eating good and having no sugar I completely ruin everything.  LOL and to top it off I'm not even done yet.  I eat my crunchwrap in the parking lot then continue my drive home.  About 10 minutes later I find myself in front of a dunkin donuts.  Ummm how did I get here. Three sprinkled donuts later and now I feel ill.  

Yep that's it. When I stumble I totally crash and fall.  But the good thing is I dusted myself off and I am right back on track.  I will  not let one bad evening define my weekend.  I will not let one bad evening set the tone for the upcoming week.  I will not let one bad evening derail me from all the hard work that I've put in.  I will put it behind me and make healthier smarter choices.  I will not beat myself up for said evening.  (side note.. my body will though for a few days...lol stomach was not to happy about the choices).  Onwards and upwards!