Little Lies= Little Results

I read an article recently that really hit home for me.  I used to (and still at times) tell myself these little lies that result in well, no results or a lack of positive results. 

One of the biggest things I tell myself is that "I don't eat that much."  This is the biggest lie you can tell yourself.  You  may eat all healthy foods, but if you are supposed to eat 1700 calories, going over that can still add weight, even if it's healthy fruits and veggies.  The best way I have found that helps me control how much I am eating is to keep a journal.  I use My Fitness Pal, a website that includes a database with all kinds of food you can track.  There is also a mobile app you can use so you're always in touch with your food diary.  The other way I keep track of what I'm eating is to text pictures of what I'm eating to a good friend.  There is no judgement but if I am eating something not so great, she will call me out on it. 

The next excuse I have told myself is "I train really hard on my own."  Well, sure, we tell ourselves that.  I used to work out at a gym and I would go for 30 minutes and do something on the elliptical and throw around a couple of weights and call it a day.  I would think I was working really hard.  Then I learned the meaning of a true work out and I no longer believe that I used to train really hard on my own.  I follow a workout program on DVD now (I've done Chalean Extreme and am working through Turbo Fire now) and every now and then I still find that I could amp up the intensity level.  Working out to a DVD helps, but it still isn't perfect.  Try to find people who can keep you accountable.

Another excuse we tell ourselves is that "We don't party that often."  Well, what is your definition of "that often?" And what is your definition of "party" even?  I looked at the calendar and every single month I have something going on.  Whether it's April and I have Easter and my anniversary or November and I have my birthday and Thanksgiving, something is going on every single month.  Even August (end of summer) and January (beginning of the year) have something going on.  So, whether it's a small gathering for a neighborhood block party, or a large wedding reception, you still have a party where food and drinks are served.  Watch what you eat and drink.  Consuming a lot of empty calories in a beer or wine glass will be a detriment to your weight loss.  Excessive partying can also lead to lack of sleep, which is not good for weight loss and energy levels.  Try to control the amount of parties you attend or at least what you consume.

"I don't have the time or money to get in shape."  I do not even know how to begin to address this.  I wrote a blog (found here) about the most common excuse (lack of money) for losing weight.  See how I address that in that article.  As far as a lack of time for working out, I will address that in another blog but honestly, there is NO EXCUSE.  You have 24 hours in a day.  If you sleep for 8 of them, and work for 8 or 10, that still leaves you with 6 to 8 hours of YOU time.  Yes, you may have the kids to take to soccer practice, or a meeting at church.  But honestly, what do you do with your time at the end of the day?  How many hours of TV do you watch?  How many shows are in your DVR right now waiting to be watched????  You can take an hour (or even a half hour) a day to work out.  I do not want to hear that excuse.  Beachbody even offer a 10-minute trainer workout where you can do one 10-minute workout or string a couple together to do a 20 or 30 minute workout!!!  There is NO EXCUSE!!!!  I'll address it in a blog later this month a bit more in depth.

I laughed when I read this excuse: "It's not MY fault I can't lose weight."  Really?  Who makes the decisions on what you eat or how you exercise?  Who twists your arm with the donut in it?  Who whips out the debit card for that venti chocolate mocha with extra whip?  This is not an excuse I have ever really used.  Even the fact that I am adopted and do not know my medical history does not negate the fact that my weight is my responsibility!!  I know there are some medical conditions that make it difficult to lose weight, but you still have choices. 

Excuses are well...  excuses.  They do not get the work done...  If you are truly considering a life change, stop making excuses.  That is the first thing you can do.  I know this seems harsh but I have been there, with every single excuse in the book.  Trust me, it will get you nowhere!  Excuses- throw them OUT THE WINDOW!!!  When you've done that and fully come to grips with the fact that losing weight and getting healthy will be a good thinig for you, you will feel free and better!!!!!!

Body Image- You are Beautiful

A topic that is near and dear to my heart is something I struggle with every single day.  It's something that almost everybody has struggled with.  BODY IMAGE.

How you see yourself and your body sets the tone for your day, your week, your month.  I used to struggle with my body image.  I hated what I saw in the mirror and it would depress me.  If you are not happy with yourself, then nothing else matters and trying to improve yourself won't help because you are not in a frame of mind to change anything. 

When wanting to make changes in your life, especially if you want to lose weight, accepting who you are is a critical step.  If you do not love yourself, you won't feel motivated to change.  This is how I felt several years ago.  I hated myself.  I hated my looks, my shape, how I felt, the clothes I wore.  Nothing made me happy at all because I didn't love myself.  It also affected my relationships, especially my marriage and friendships. 

I had a great friend who told me that it was OKAY to love myself no matter what I wanted to change.  She took me shopping and we found an amazing outfit that I looked awesome in!  What a difference a great outfit made.  From that day on, I started to love myself.  Did I love everything about myself?  No way!!  BUT, I started to love myself enough that I wanted to make changes and make myself healthier. 

Loving yourself and who you are RIGHT NOW is the key to motivating yourself to change, if a change is what you need or want. 

Struggling with your body image and learning to love yourself?

Follow some of these steps or ideas and it should help!

1. Spend time in prayer. This is a big one for me. I wake up every morning and spend some time talking to God.  He gives you the power to love yourself and be confident throughout the day.  Rely on HIM to give you the power to pull through whatever it is that has you struggling.  Also realize that He made you in His image. He loves you so much and no matter what you're going through, He will continue to love you.  He wants you to be healthy and one of the first things you can do to be healthy is to love Him and love yourself. 


2.  Find a friend who will give you honest feedback no matter what (even if it's bad) and go shopping.  Find an outfit that makes you feel amazing.  Your friend will help with that.  If you look in the mirror in the dressing room and just feel ugly in the outfit, toss it to the side.  Maybe ask the sales person to help you.  If you go to a department store like Macy's or Dillards, they will help you find the perfect outfit. 

3.  Take that outfit and your friend and go treat yourself to something nice (NOT FOOD related).  Go get a pedicure or a manicure (or both!).  Go to a concert.  Go to the movies.  Go to the mall and strut your stuff in your new outfit.  Get a massage.  Do something that you love with your friend in your new outfit.

4.  Purge the negativity.  This was a big one for me.  Negative thoughts and attitudes are extremely contagious.  If someone doesn't like your new look, ignore them.  Get rid of the negativity in your life.  If you have someone not supporting you now as you work to start loving your body image, they won't support you when you start to lose weight or change your lifestyle or pursue other goals.  Get rid of the negativity in your life.

5.  Surround yourself with positivity.  The opposite of getting rid of those negative people:  surround yourself with people who love you no matter what, honor your wishes to pursue certain goals, and want to see you succeed in loving who you are.  These people will play a critical part in helping you love yourself. 

6.  Wake every day and do one thing that helps you love yourself.  For example, I choose an outfit that makes me feel confident and awesome.  I LOVE wearing skirts.  I found a few that fit me so well and so I bought several.  Then I accessorize. You would be surprised at how much a great accessory can boost your self esteem!  Give it a try and see how it helps.  Find a great pair of earrings or an awesome necklace or purse and you are on your way to feeling more confident than ever!!

7.  Try reading a personal development book on the topic you struggle with.  For example, weight is something I struggle with which directly affects my body image.  Reshaping it All by Candace Cameron Bure has helped me see things in a different light.  I love how she writes.  It feels like she's having a conversation with me.  Another book on my reading list is Made to Crave.  It is a book that will help me focus on craving God instead of food (which is a big problem for me).  So find a book that interests you and read it.  Find a few friends to read it with you!  Then discuss it and how it is impacting your life. 

You are a beautiful person, no matter what.  Find one thing right now that you love about yourself and write it down where you can see it every day- your bathroom mirror, your refrigerator, your phone, computer.  Then every day find one more thing that makes you happy about yourself.  One day you will wake up and realize what everybody else knows:  You are BEAUTIFUL no matter what!!!!!!  Once you realize that, your focus will change from wanting to change yourself because you dislike who you are to now I want to make changes BECAUSE I love myself. 

I'll leave you with this thought:

Just because you might be overweight or have things you want to change about yourself, does not mean you can't love yourself.  Love who you are.  The rest will take care of itself.

How do you keep going when the going is tough?

Has this ever happened in your life?  I know it has in mine!

The scale doesn't cooperate...
The co workers want to eat out and you can't say no because the boss is going...
One beer turns into one beer too many...
The 24 hours that were there turned into not so many...
It's just a tough day, week, month...

So the going is getting tough.  Remember not to focus too much on the past.  The past is behind us.  We are looking forward.

Here are 10 tips I focus on when I'm trying to regain my focus:

1.  Focus on today!  Focus on what you can control right now.  I don't know about you, but I can only handle focusing on what is happening right now.  Even focusing on the whole day seems like a lot.  So take a moment and focus on just what is happening right in this instance.

2.  Try to release the stress and tension.  This isn't helping you focus.  Take a brisk walk.  Exercise.  Go hit a few tennis balls.  Get a massage. 

3.  Reach out for support.  Beachbody coaches provide FREE personal support to help you get back on track.  This type of support is invaluable for me.  My Beachbody coach is amazing and I could not do this without her.  It's one of the reasons I became a Beachbody coach.  So I could help others struggling through the same things I am.  If you are not ready to connect with a Beachbody coach, connect with a friend.  Surround yourself with positive people who are there to support you.

4.  Hold on to hope and gratitude.  Be hopeful that you will pull through this challenging time.  Be grateful for the victories you have already achieved.

5.  Comfort and care for yourself.  Take the time to take care of you!  If you need 15 minutes away from everybody, take that time.  Read a book, close your eyes, take a nap, grab a cup of coffee.  Whatever you need to do to comfort yourself.  Do it!  (But don't use FOOD!)

6.  Know that this struggle is temporary.  No matter what the struggle is, it will hellp you grow and learn.  It is also just temporary.

7.  Let go of what you cannot control.  Just like #1 says to focus on what you can control, do the opposite with the things you cannot control.  You probably cannot control where a group of co workers go for dinner.  You express an opinion, but you don't have the ultimate say so.   BUT you can control what goes in your mouth!  Drink one beer if you must.  Drink only water!  Don't touch the chips at a Mexican restaraunt.  But let go of the things out of your control. 

8.  Commit to a goal.  What do you want to achieve today?  Tomorrow?  This week?  This month?  This year?  Think of what you want to achieve and then commit to it!  It won't happen if you don't commit.

9.  Lean on faith.  God has given you a beautiful body and He wants you to take care of it.  BUT He loves  you no matter what.  Even if you trip up for a night and gobble down a whole tub of ice cream.  He still loves you but lean on the fact that He wants you to take care of your body. 

10.  Allow yourself to dream.  This is my favorite one.  My husband and I settled on the dates for our Hawaiian vacation today.  We leave July 18.  I am dreaming of a sexy me lounging on the beach with a 90 lb weight loss under my belt.  Guess what?  It's not only a dream but a goal!  I can most definitely do it.  It will take a LOT of hard work, but the dream is taking shape. 

Take each of these and ponder what they mean to you during the tough times.  You can do this!  Make a goal, lean on people for support, dream!  You are a beautiful person!

My Story... Out in the Open

This was really hard to write, and post.  But I've been challenged to step out of my comfort zone...  so here it is:

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I am a traveling corporate trainer.  I am on the road about 40-46 weeks out of the year.  I train 8 hours a day, standing on my feet, and then provide support for 8-15 hours a day during a go live process.  We do one of those a month.  I was tired of feeling like I was exhausted at the end of the day with no energy during the day.  I made a few changes in my life.  I hope to encourage you to do the same and make some small changes that will have a huge impact!

My journey began about 15 years ago.  I was about 10 pounds overweight at about 150 and my parents did not want that to escalate.  So they really honed in on my eating habits and tried to keep the junk away from me as much as possible.  Unfortunately, I still found ways to eat it.  Instead of toning up and losing the 10 pounds, I just continued to gain weight.  When I left for college, I did not gain the Freshman 15; instead, I gained more like the Freshman out of control 50 pounds.  As I look back on it now, I can just picture myself wolfing down the fast food and cafeteria food like it was the last thing I was ever going to eat.  Not a good feeling now.

I dated a little bit and dating always made me want to lose a little weight but I didn't know how.  So I just kept eating.  I eventually pushed past the 220- pound mark and all I was wearing were sweat pants or pajamas out in public.  It was disgusting.  I was about 230 when Mike and I got married and from there, I started to control my eating a little bit more but I still did not understand what good eating habits were.  I had a job where I sat all day long and then I would go home and sit some more.  I was rarely active, and it does not help that my hobbies involved sitting too.  When we moved to Washington State five years ago, I was about 270 and I still continued to gain weight.  When I met my good friend, and personal trainer, I was weighing 280.  The heaviest I had ever been in my life.  I was still feeling gross.  But she helped me find a place in my heart and mind where I could accept who I was at the time, but with the knowledge that I was working to change it.  I bought great clothes (just a few) and felt so much better about myself.  This allowed me to concentrate on losing some serious weight.  My friend helped me lose 30 pounds so I was back down to 250.  I felt so good about myself.

Then the scale stopped moving.  I got frustrated with myself, and stopped the healthy eating habits.  I even stopped talking to my friend for a time who had helped me so much.  When we reconnected about six months later, I had gained at least 15 pounds of that 30 back.  So I was back up to about 265.  I was going through a time where I just didn't care.  I didn't care that I was overweight.  I didn't care what I ate.  I just ate and ate and ate.

When Mike and I moved to Louisville in July 2011, I weight in at about 270 again.  I was traveling more with my new job and I kept telling myself that the traveling was what got me.  I couldn't find the time or the money or the creativity to eat healthy on the road.  All excuses.

Then, one day, in February 2012, I snapped.  I was on the road the previous week like always, and I came home.  Mike wanted to go and do something...  don't remember what it was...  tennis or a walk or just shopping.  I was sleeping 11 to 12 hours and waking up not rested.  And I would waste my two days home a week in bed and being lazy.  All of a sudden something clicked inside me.

I weighed myself and to my dismay, I saw the number 290 flash across the screen.  WHAT???  That had to be wrong.  I stepped off the scale and re-weighed myself.  Yup, there it was...  290.  My heaviest I had ever been and VERY quickly approaching 300 pounds.  I was only 10 pounds away!!  I was obese and I hated it.

I called my friend who had helped me lose the 30 pounds three years before, almost in tears.  I begged for her help.  I told her I didn't know what to do but I needed to do it and FAST.  I was 30 years old and almost 300 pounds.  I was so ashamed that I had let myself get so out of control.

She had introduced me to Beachbody and the power of Shakeology a year before that but I was not ready to hear her.  In February, I was.  I didn't care what it took.  I was ready.  So March 1, I started drinking Shakeology.  I replaced one meal with a shake.  And it was so good.  My cravings were limited, and I was feeling more energetic.  Now, when I went home, I was no longer sleeping 12 hours a night and not feeling rested.  I was sleeping 7 to 8 hours a night and waking up so energetic!!!!  What a difference.

On April 4, I started Chalean Extreme.  It is a combination of strength training and cardio and it's a workout I can do in the comfort of my own home.  Wow!  Building muscle helps me so much!!!!

I've also started eating cleaner, less processed food.  I'm feeling so much better and as of July 2012, I'm down 22.5 pounds!!!!!  It's a SLOW process, but this time, I'm NOT giving up.  I have come too far to stop now.

What is on these pages is a story of me.  I'm a work in progress.  I'm in the middle of a drastic lifestyle change and this page is how I document all of it.  I'm so excited that you've read my story and I hope it has encouraged you to let you know it is NOT TOO LATE.  I'm so happy with where I am now, and even more thrilled with where I am going.

Setbacks in Success

I wrote a blog a few weeks ago about measuring success.  It's not always based on the scale and you should see victories in other places. 

Today I want to talk about what happens when you don't succeed, miss out on some goals, and you have setbacks in success. 

Here are some of my thoughts.  I encourage you to post in a comment below some additional thoughts you may have as well.

1.  FORGET THE PAST. 

You cannot change what you did a year ago; you cannot change what you did five minutes ago.  The choices you made then are GONE and done with.

2.  You have the power to make sure the mistakes of yesterday are not repeated in the actions of today.  You have the power of choice.  Choose the strawberry over the licorice.  I promise you will start to see great results when you CHOOSE to make the right decisions. 

3.  The future is in your hands.  When you choose to forgo the huge dish of ice cream and instead choose cut up fruit with Greek yogurt, you are defining your future self. 

And your future self thank you. 



4.  One of the biggest ways to overcome a setback is to determine why the setback happened in the first place so you can make sure it doesn't happen again!!

5.  The last thing I want you to remember is that the setbacks you experience have the power to push you forward if you choose to learn from them.  

My biggest setback occured about four years ago.  I lost 30 pounds with the help of a friend.  For about four weeks, I did not see the scale move at all.  It was frustrating and discouraging.  And I gave up.  Not my finest moment.  Then I fell into a cycle of "I don't care what I eat."  And I gained back the 30 pounds....  PLUS an additional 10.  That is a HUGE setback and one I am not proud of at all.   BUT, I learned from that.  I learned that sometimes the scale does not move but there are other things to be proud of.  I also learned that how I felt then is NOT something I ever want to experience again.  The despair was a horrible feeling.  I felt lost and then when I saw the scale at my heaviest back in February, it clicked.  I needed to try again.  And this time, I am not giving up.  I've since lost 22 1/2 pounds.  I have 17 1/2 more pounds to go before I lose what I gained back.  But it's my setback weight I'm losing.  After that, I'm going to start fresh and really push those eating habits and push my limits with working out. 

As usual, I am ending my post with a CHALLENGE!!!!!  This one might be easy for some but difficult for others. 

Don't purposely suffer through setbacks.  But understand them and use them as a learning experience!!

DO NOT GIVE UP!!!!!! 

Interview about Goals

I was asked several questions about my goals recently and I thought I'd put them on "paper" and let the whole world see.  Why?  Because I want to achieve my goals and accountability is part of that.  So, I am giving my blessing to anybody who reads this and wants to keep me accountable:  if you see me faltering, TELL ME!  I want you to keep me accountable and help me reach some of my goals. 

I also want to let you know that I will never ask my clients to do something I would not do myself.  So when I answer these questions that were asked, I would ask these things of my clients and of myself.

1.  What are your fitness goals?


My fitness goals include losing at least 150 pounds, doing 25 push ups on my toes (REAL push ups), seeing some definition in my abs, and working out 5 times a week for at least 30 minutes of hard work or an hour of not as hard work.


2.  How far do you have to go?


As of today (July 15, 2012), I need to lose 127.6 more pounds, still be able to do 20 more pushups on my toes, see a LOT more definition in my abs, and consistently workout 5 times a week.  


3.  What do you have to do to reach them?


This is a tough question.  Let's start with the easy one:  be able to do 25 pushups on my toes.  I want to be able to do this by the end of August.  I know I can reach this goal, but it's going to have to work in conjunction with my other goal of working out 5 times a week.  I HAVE to build my strength and be dedicated enough to see that doing 25 pushups on my toes is a big deal (I haven't been able to do that since high school... over 10 years ago).  


To see more definition in my abs, I definitely need to be focused and dedicated to working out 5 times a week.  I also need to be watching my diet.  No soda, refined sugars, processed foods, and very little sodium is how I will see progress there.  


To lose 127.6 more pounds, again, I have to workout 5 times a week, watch what I eat, and stay dedicated to the fact that I'm getting healthier.


4.  What are you willing to do to get there?


I am willing to cut out all soda, refined and FAKE sugars, processed foods, and lower my sodium to get to the number on the scale.  I am also willing to limit my alcohol intake to one drink a week.  I will work to eat out a lot less (limit it to twice a week- once with Mike, once with my co-workers).  I also am committed to working out 5 days a week for at least a half hour when I do Chalean Extreme and a whole hour if I am walking or playing tennis or doing some other form of cardio work.


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So there they are folks!  My goals.  On "paper" for the world to see.  


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You know I'm always good for a challenge.  :-)  


So here it is:  I want you to take the four questions I have posted here that someone recently asked me and ask yourself these four questions.  THEN, I want you to find someone to keep you accountable.  It can be a spouse, a friend, a co-worker, even me...  Then tell your answers to that person.  Ask them to hold you accountable like I just asked you to hold me accountable.  Feel free to comment below too if you want.  I want to see what your goals are.  Then, let's work on meeting those goals together.  

A Shakeology Testimony

I know a lot of women suffer from this type of situation and it's really painful.  So I thought I'd share what I've experienced over the last few months as I've started drinking Shakeology and experiencing its benefits.

I have never had regular periods. And when I had them they were so painful between the cramps and headaches. I would be out of commission for at least two days and oftentimes the entire week my period lasted. I finally went to see a doctor and was put on a birth control pill to help regulate. This was of course before I knew of some of the harmful effects horomones can have on your system. I started to lose a little weight and about two years ago, I tried getting off of the pill. For one cycle I was ok but then the second cycle it was right back to misery and it was worse this time, or at least it felt like it. So I went back on the pill. I hated it but it was the only thing that worked to keep my periods tolerable.

The last week of February this year I started drinking Shakeology. Three months ago, I thought I'd try to get rid of the pill. I hated having the horomones in my system. I knew they were messing with my mood and my ability to focus on work and personal life. For three months, I have had a regular, pain free, headache free cycle. I even had very little cravings (which is also unusual). This has not happened in over ten years and I thank Shakeology for that. I am so thrilled. I'm almost in tears because these cycles would be so incredibly painful for me and now I can still live!  Shakeology has given me those preciouis weeks of my life back, which is a huge deal, especially when I'm on the road travelling so many weeks a year.

The Most Common Excuse

What excuse do you use for not eating healthy?  Time?  Money?  Work?  Lack of support?

The most common excuse I hear when people do not want to lose weight is that it costs more to eat healthy. 

Consider this:

Cancer is not an easy or inexpensive disease to treat.  People can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on treatments and procedures.  Other diseases such as diabetes are ones you are stuck with for the rest of your life.  Digestive issues can be miserable to deal with.  Some diseases cannot even be diagnosed unless a thousand tests are run which exhausts the body and the pocketbook.  I have several older relatives who spend over $800 a MONTH on prescription medications for high blood pressure, diabetes, pain, ulcers, cancer, etc.  And think of the side effects!!!  Headaches, diarrhea, high blood pressure, constipation, ulcers, higher risk for some cancers...  these are all side effects I hear about on TV commercials for medications.  Is it worth it?????

I cannot guarantee that disease will not crop up in our lives, even if we eat healthy.  I have a very good friend who's mother ate healthy almost every day of her life and she still ended up with cancer.  BUT, if we can eat healthy and help reduce the chances for cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc, isn't that worth it?  If we can eat healthy and reduce the risk (and completely get rid of the risk in some cases) for the need for some medications, isn't it worth it?

I found this article in the USA Today that really highlights some great points!!

1.  The five categories of food that were evaluated in this article in the order of least expensive to most expensive:  grains, dairy, vegetables, fruit, protein and less healthy foods.

2.  Consider your portion sizes.  A serving size of potato chips costs much more than a portion size of carrots and you will feel more full and satisfied!

3.  Proteins tend to be more expensive, such as chicken or fish, but eggs and beans are also sources of protein that is much cheaper. 

4.  The reason fruits and vegetables are higher in price is because we need more servings of them per day!! 

5.  In each of the food groups listed above, there are expensive items and inexpensive items.  If you always buy the most expensive, most exotic fruits, OF COURSE they will put a dent in your wallet. 

6.  Most people only allocate about 20-25% of their food budget towards fruits and vegetables.  The government suggests closer to 40%. 

Another great place that you can cut back is through what you drink!!  If you cut down on the soda, that will add up a lot!!  Even diet sodas that are horrible for you add a lot to your budget.  Try drinking water or iced tea with all your meals.  You can add lemon or cucumber or berries to your water or tea to make a nice refreshing treat that is not mundane. 

While I was doing the research for this blog post, I really evaluated my own grocery bill.  I spend on average about $80 every two weeks for Mike and I.  This usually includes some meat (chicken, pork chops, ground beef, steak), some almond milk, regular milk, healthy snacks for me, a few unhealthy snacks for Mike, and all kinds of veggies and fruits that I put into my shakes in the morning or salads at lunch or dinner.  I already have spices at home so I rarely need to buy those.  That totals about $160 a month for groceries from the store.  Then I look at my Shakeology and because I'm a Team Beachbody Coach, my Shakeology is only about $97 a month.  My entire grocery bill is a little over $260 a month for both Mike and I.  Now, if Mike ever decided to start drinking Shakeology, our bill would go up to about $360 a month. 

Eating clean is not really hard on the budget if you just look at what you're spending your budget on.  It can be harder on your creative brain cells though because it does take some thought to come up with food that is clean, not processed, healthy and NOT BORING, right? 

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I have a challenge for you:

Do some research and come up with three dinners that you can cook this week that are CLEAN. The Eat Clean Diet website has some awesome recipes.  Give three of them a try.  See how you feel and how your pocket book feels.  If you shop smart and eat smart, you will achieve great results both in how your body feels and how your budget feels!!

Weekly Meal Prep- Does it help????

I mentioned in another blog the importance of planning ahead.  When I am traveling and know I will be on the road, I plan ahead by making sure I have access to a refrigerator and/ or microwave and that there is a grocery store or Wal Mart near by.  That's the easy part.  What comes after that though???

When I find out that there is a Wal Mart or grocery store nearby, I plan out exactly what I will be eating for the week:  breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Then I make a grocery list.  I also decide which ONE night I will either eat out or order room service (depending on the hotel).  

This week, I will be in Bowling Green, KY.  It's only about 2 hours away from me, so I will be able to drive there.  Which MEANS, YAY!! I get to take almost everything with me.  

Breakfasts are easy:  Shakeology!  I already cut up the cherries I will blend with it and I will buy bananas when I get there.  I will take with me my PB2 and Shakeology.  

Lunches are a bit more challenging as I need something to take with me as I don't have time to go out and grab something to eat in between sessions.  This week, I plan on buying cut up lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, broccoli, and radishes.  I'll take with me some balsamic spray dressing (10 sprays= 10 calories!!).  I will buy some turkey lunch meat (sliced from the deli if possible) for my protein.  I'll also buy some Greek yogurt for a mid-morning protein snack and some apples.  That should take care of my lunches.

I will go out to dinner on Thursday night.  Probably eat something at the hotel restaurant, such as salmon or steak, maybe grilled chicken with some grilled zucchini.  That sounds tasty.  Other dinners will include items similar to my lunch.  Lots of veggies, salads, and maybe some microwavable fish if I can find some.  

What is the benefit of planning ahead?  By planning ahead, I am able to stay on track and focused.  I know exactly what I'm eating, no matter where I am.  It's definitely worth the hour or two I spend planning on a Sunday evening.  

Benefits to Exercise

What is your favorite go to exercise?  Do you walk three miles in the morning on the treadmill?  Take the dog for a walk in the evening?  Work the elliptical for a half hour three times a week?  Tennis?  Think about your go to exercise.  Then think about why you do it.  Mine is Chalean Extreme and tennis.  I LOVE the strength training in Chalean Extreme and tennis is just plain fun.

Exercise is a critical piece to any lifestyle change.  The Mayo Clinic identifies seven key benefits to exercising regularly.  


1.  Exercise helps control weight.
2.  Exercise helps to combat detrimental health conditions.
3.  Exercise improves mood.
4.  Exercise boosts energy.
5.  Exercise promotes better sleep.
6.  Exercise can help put the spark back into your sex life.
7.  Exercise can be fun!!!


US News identifies seven ADDITIONAL benefits to exercise.


1.  Exercise helps to reverse those detrimental effects stress has on your body.
2.  Exercise helps to lift depression.
3.  Exercise helps improve learning.
4.  Exercise helps to build self-esteem and improve body image.
5.  Exercise leaves you with a natural high, a type of euphoria.
6.  Exercise helps keep the brain fit.
7.  Exercise might help to keep Alzheimer's Disease at bay.


Medicine Net tells us that 64% of men and 72% of women fail to fit in an activity on a daily basis.  I agree, it's difficult at times to fit the workout or daily activity in.  However, reading the fourteen benefits above makes me want to make sure I am fitting the workout in no matter what.  Jenelle Summers is always talking about how she fits in her workouts at 10 pm if she needs to.  Sometimes that's what we have to do!  The key is to COMMIT to your workouts and activity, no matter what.  Trust me, you will see the benefits!!