Contest Winners!

I entered into a photo contest on Facebook & I told everyone who voted for me that if I won then I would give away 3 prizes. The first place prize is a bag of Greenberry Shakeology. The 2nd and 3rd place winners get their choice between 3 workouts DVDs - Insanity Fast & Furious, TurboFire Greatest HIITs, or Brazil Butt Lift Secret Weapon.

Well.... I won!

Thank you to the 218 people who voted & those who went the extra mile and posted it on their wall and invited all their friends to vote. Woohoo!

I entered the 218 people who voted into a Random Line Picker:

Then I shuffled it a few times and picked random winners!

Drum roll please.....

The first place winner is.... Heather Jenks!

The second place winner is.... Adrienne Lansing!

The third place winner is... Kathy Showers!

Congratulations!

Asylum Day 17 - Strength

Today will be my 17th Insanity the Asylum workout! It is going by so fast, but I can't say I want it to slow down. Ever since the workouts have started to repeat themselves, I have come to dread working out. I know that this is not how working out should be. You should enjoy what you're doing, look forward to it everyday. It's not that the workouts are boring... it's just HARD WORK! I feel SOOOOO accomplished after I complete each one and I know that's what keeps me coming back for more - that and it's only a 30 day program! I have 2 weeks left and I will complete every single workout that is left!

All I can say about this program is that it leaves me literally dripping sweat after every workout. I've never sweated so much in my life. You'd think that I'd be dropping pounds like crazy from all this sweat that I'm losing, but I'm not. I'm ok with that though because I know I am getting physically and mentally stronger! After I finish this program, I haven't decided what I'll do next. Whatever it is, it's going to seem like a piece of pie compared to this!

Asylum - Day 9

So I've completed one week of Insanity the Asylum and I am now on my 2nd week. Yesterday was the Back to Core workout and I am definitely feeling the soreness in my back today! Ouch!

Just a few minutes ago, I decided that I would look to see what is on my workout schedule for the day. So I log into WOWY and see that it is Vertical Plyo. I think I died a little inside when I read that. It's the hardest workout I've ever done. But I can't let fear take over me. I will conquer this workout. I can do this. When 5:00 rolls around, Vertical Plyo & I will meet again - I can't say I'll kick its ass, but I'll definitely give it my best shot!

What's the hardest workout that you've ever done?

Asylum - Day 7

Wow! I could of swore I had made another blog update sometime between Day 3 and Day 6, but apparently not! I guess I have some catching up to do! You'll be glad to know that I have stuck with my scheduled workouts so far! Day 3 was Back to Core. I think that is probably my favorite Asylum workout! I always noticed in people's before/after Asylum pictures that they develop these awesome back muscles... now I know why! It is a workout that really focuses on your back and I definitely felt it the next day! Day 4 was Vertical Plyo. Oh my gosh! I do believe that was the hardest, most intense workout that I have EVER done. I was sweating buckets during it! Now I look back at it and even though it was only a couple days ago, I don't really remember what made it so intense. I just remember that I felt great after accomplishing it. I seriously wanted to quit after the warm-up, but I pushed through the entire thing! It felt awesome to accomplish something so hard. I am so blessed to have the athletic ability to get through that workout and any workout for that matter! Day 5 was a rest day and a much needed one at that! I was moving into an apartment on Saturday so I really didn't have the time or energy to complete an Asylum workout, so I am thankful that it was my rest day. Sunday came soon enough and I was back to doing Speed & Agility. This time around, I was able to do more of the moves before taking a short break. I also sweated a ton more than I remember sweating the first time! Today I have Day 7 - Strength.

As I mentioned, I moved into a new apartment on Saturday. Unfortunately, it's an upstairs apartment so working out is going to be quite difficult. I am thankful that I still live in the same town as my Mom, so that I can still use her basement as a workout area, but at the same time it just sucks. I don't want to have to drive somewhere to workout - that's what I hated about the gym. I could always use that as an excuse not to go. But this time it's going to be different. I am more committed this time than when I had a lousy gym membership. I'm glad I committed to the Asylum 7 days ago or else I probably would be more inconsistent with my workouts since my routine is changing.

I've decided, I've committed, & I will succeed.

Asylum Day 2 - Strength

Yesterday was my second day of Insanity the Asylum. Strength was the workout on schedule. It wasn't your typical strength training routine. It was more of cardio + strength. Almost all the different moves required the use of dumbells or resistance bands. What I really liked about this workout is there were some moves that you could either do on a pull-up bar or you could use dumbells instead. Shaun T shows you how to do it both ways. I really liked this because in our basement we don't have anywhere to set up a pull-up bar, so it was nice to be able to use dumbells instead. I found that this workout was a lot of pushups, but it's not just like pushup after pushup. He has you doing a different move inbetween pushups to make it crazy intense. By the end of the 50 minutes, I was dripping sweat! The last move he has you do is frog jump and then go back into a plank with one leg up in the air. I was literally slipping in my own sweat!

My inner thighs are really sore today, which really surprises me! That is the last thing that I thought would be sore. It is possible that they are sore from Day 1 and the second day soreness just hasn't caught up with me yet. Today I have Back to Core on schedule for Day 3.

Are you doing a scheduled workout program? Let me know how it is going!

Entering the Asylum

Last week I flew with my Success Partner (who happens to be my Mom) to Los Angeles, California to attend a Beachbody Coach Summit. It was a huge conference with 2,500 attendees who were there to learn how to better themselves and their business. It was one of the best experiences of my life. We brought home all sorts of knowledge that we are now putting into action.

Before we left, my Mom and I decided that we were going to start Insanity the Asylum when we returned home. For those of you that don’t know, Insanity is a 60 day intense workout program. Insanity the Asylum (30 day program) is meant to be done after you’ve completed a round (or two) of Insanity. My Mom and I both have done a round of Insanity, but it’s been a few months. In the mean time, we’ve both been doing ChaLEAN Extreme. I am embarrassed to admit that I actually didn’t finish my ChaLEAN Extreme/TurboFire hybrid that I previous wrote about. I don’t really have an excuse; I made it to day 70 or something and just kind of got bored with it. But that’s ok because I’m on a different journey now.

Monday June 20^th was our official start day of Insanity the Asylum. I like to think of it as Day 0, since that’s when I did the fit test. Yesterday was Day 1 and the workout on schedule was Speed and Agility. This was the only workout in this program that I have tried before so I was pretty familiar with it. It starts out with a warm up that requires the jump rope. My ceiling is too low in my workout area (my basement), so I just pretend like I have a rope in my hand. I feel like it’s just as intense and that way I’m not tripping over the rope every two seconds. After the warm up and stretch, Shaun T had me break out the agility ladder that comes with the program. I was jumping in and out of it, doing pushups in it, bear crawling across it – anything you can imagine being done with a ladder like this, he had me doing. It was crazy intense but fun at the same time! After the workout, he takes a couple minutes to cool you down. I was happy to see that cool down come as I was dripping sweat. I felt accomplished!

I plan to document my 30 day journey with Insanity the Asylum by writing blogs and videotaping it. At the end of the program, when send in your before and after pictures, you get a free t-shirt. I am EARNING my T-shirt! My goals for this program are to increase my performance which will be measured by the fit test but also to strengthen my core. My core is super sore today so I know I am on my way to reaching my goal already! Please come back to look for more updates and to cheer me on. Keep me accountable!

Mental Battle

Have you ever been doing something really well and then all of a sudden you just quit? This happened to me recently. During the month of April, I was so dedicated to my workout routine. There was nothing that was going to get in my way of working out. I didn’t even take full advantage of my rest days; I always tried to get in some kind of physical activity. One thing that helped me stay accountable to that was tracking my workouts in WOWY. This is Beachbody’s online gym that I pre-schedule my workouts in. It changes the color of the calendar date after you log your workout and I was determined to have a calendar of all completed workouts for the month of April. I’ve never done this before – I’ve always skipped a day or even just forgot to log my workout when I did one. Well I achieved my goal as you can see:

But after April, my daily schedule changed as did my motivation. I graduated from Michigan State University on May 7^th with a bachelors in Psychology (yes, I’m bragging). So that weekend was filled with celebrations which brings along bad food and drink choices. I didn’t work out that weekend just because of everything going on (yes, this is an excuse). I fell off of my routine and it was hard to get back on. The following week after graduation I started working a full time job. When I was in school, there were some days that I would be home by noon or even 3:00. It was much easier for me to get a workout in on those days when I had extra time. Now I am working 8-4:30 Monday-Friday. By the time I get home, I’m hungry for dinner and then I want to let that digest before I workout. And then I think to myself, I have to work out for an hour; there goes an hour of my night. The excuses start to form and I experience a mental battle. Thoughts that race through my head as I’m sitting on the couch being lazy: You need to work out. How are you going to look this summer in a bikini? But that requires sweating and then you have to take a shower. But, Alicia you know you will feel so much better after you workout. You feel fine right now….. Well, you get the point. It’s like a devil and angel are sitting on my shoulders. There were those days that the devil won, but most days I made myself do my scheduled workout. I did feel so much better afterward; it’s just starting that was the hardest part.

It’s all about getting in to a routine. For some people that have crazy work schedules that vary week to week, this can be extremely challenging. I would have a hard time doing that, but you’ve got to do it. I am now on day 68 of my Turbofire/ChaLean Extreme hybrid. I am in between the ChaLean Push phase and the Lean phase, so right now it’s just a bunch of TurboFire workouts day after day. I love Turbofire, so I’m not complaining. I do miss my strength training though! It looks like I have until June 10^th until I begin the Lean phase – I’m so ready for it! I need to kick things up a notch. Summer is fast approaching and the Beachbody Summit is in 4 weeks!

Getting Started

So many people ask me how I find the motivation to workout. So many people want me to give them some of my motivation. I can give it to you - but it's up to YOU what you do with the motivation I have to offer. I know how it feels to not want to work out... I still have those days. Some days, it's just because I'm being lazy. If that's your excuse too - then you have to make yourself workout. You know you will feel so much better afterward anyways! If you make yourself workout on your lazy days then you will feel so much better about yourself mentally and physically. On the other hand, if your body is in pain - sometimes it's ok to take a day off. It's important to allow your body a day of rest in order to recover and avoid over training. But sometimes you might just want to use the excuse that you're too sore to workout just to avoid working out. If this is the case, make yourself workout! Don't try to trick your own brain! If you want to reach your goals, you're going to have to go out of your comfort zone!

Working out for the first time in a long time can be hard. I think the hardest part of working out is getting started. But you've got to make yourself. I promise you - working out is going to make you feel a whole lot better than sitting on the couch. Not only will you have accomplished something great but exercising releases endorphins that give you a natural high! Even if it's only 20 minutes - just think of how many more calories you burned in those 20 minutes of exercise than you would of watching TV. I love the saying - No one ever regretted working out, they only regretted not working out. It's so true! So my advice to you if you're struggling to work out consistently is

1. Find something you love! 
2. Make yourself do it for 5 minutes - if after that time you don't feel like working out, then quit. But give yourself at least 5 minutes!
3. Schedule your workout. Know not only what workout you're going to do the next day but at what time. Don't break this appointment with yourself!
4. Just do it!!!!!

If you need more help getting started. If you just don't know where to begin. Please feel free to leave me a comment or email me: bbcoachalicia@gmail.com I would love to help you live a healthier life!

Taking Breaks from a Healthy Lifestyle

Do you think it is ok to "take a vacation" from eating healthy and working out while you're on vacation or on special occasions, such as holidays? Will one day or one week really matter? What do you think?

My personal opinion is that it depends on the person. If you're the type of person that is already struggling to eat healthy and work out everyday, taking a week off or even a day could really put a dent in your success. This type of person may find it hard to start back up again. They will continue to eat and (not) exercise like they are always on vacation. On the other hand, if you have been working really hard with your nutrition and exercising consistently, then I think that you should be able to reward yourself every now and then with a "cheat" day. The key is "every now and then". You shouldn't take an entire day each week to "cheat". It's suggested that you have one meal a week that is considered cheating - if you want to stay on track. It's important to give yourself cheat meals. This is all about a lifestyle change. There is no way you're going to go your whole life without eating your favorite greasy food again. Eating once a month or so, will hopefully help satisfy your cravings and give you something to work for.

This topic sparked my interest because recently my Mom went on a cruise and yesterday was Easter. My Mom planned on visiting the fitness center everyday on her cruise. She came back and told me she didn't even go once, however she stayed pretty active during her cruise. So while she did take a vacation from working out on her vacation, she wasn't just being a complete bum. She was proud to announce that she only gained 1 pound on her cruise! That's pretty impressive knowing how much food is available on those cruise ships! Yesterday, being Easter, was my test. I'm not going to lie... I ate horribly. I totally indulged in my Grandma's mashed potatoes and gravy. They were SO good! Even though I am 22 years old, my Mom got me an Easter basket full of my favorite candy and a Subway gift card :] How could I resist my favorite candy? I couldn't! I did do one thing that I was proud of yesterday... I worked out! I think this is one of the first times that I have actually worked out on a holiday. So that was pretty big for me. I knew that if I was eating horribly, I had to at least workout so I could burn some of those calories off. I didn't even log my calories yesterday, I didn't even want to know how many I ate. But I think that's ok, because today I am back on track.

So what do you think? Do you use vacations and holidays as breaks from your healthy lifestyle or are you disciplined enough to stay on track?

GO HEAVY OR GO HOME!

I've been doing a ChaLean Extreme/TurboFire hybrid for the past 44 days. I've really stuck with this program and following it like the schedule says. I have noticed that the schedule has me doing strength training and then the next day it throws some cardio at me. For the most part it alternates between the two. There are 3 phases to ChaLean Extreme: Burn, Push, & Lean. Currently, I am in the Push phase. I believe I have 1 or 2 more weeks left of the Push phase. Then the schedule has me doing TurboFire workouts almost everyday for a few weeks. After that I'll begin the Lean phase. I think over the next month is when I will start noticing big changes in my body. TurboFire really helps my body burn calories and since I've been building up muscle for over a month, I will burn even more fat. Chalene Johnson always likes to say MUSCLE BURNS FAT! It's pretty much embedded in my brain now. Check out this video to learn more about ChaLean Extreme:

 

I recently got some new Bowflex SelectTech weights. They are SUPER nice and worth the investment! It's one set of dumbbells that you can turn a dial on to switch to a weight between 5-52.5lbs. I love that we don't have to have several dumbbell sets laying around the house and it's super quick to change weights. If you're doing strength training (which you should because MUSCLE BURNS FAT), I highly suggest looking in to getting a pair of these. Before all I had was a pair of 5 and 8 pound dumbbells. Now I am lifting up to 20 pounds with some exercises on ChaLean Extreme. The Push phase I am in now is all about lifting heavy, Chalene says GO HEAVY OR GO HOME! So now that I have the appropriate dumbbells to do that with, I am really feeling this workout! It makes me feel so strong, yet so weak at the same time! If you want to do ChaLean but don't have the financial funds for the dumbbells, you can always use resistance bands! There is always a person in the videos that uses the resistance band. They tend to be cheaper than weights but just as effective! Let me know if you're interested in learning more about ChaLean Extreme or any other Beachbody program!

Best Workout Ever!

Have you ever done a workout that was so much fun that you never wanted it to end, yet at the same time it is so intense that you have sweat rolling down your face into your eyes? I have! It's called TurboFire! Last spring, I saw this preview for Turbofire and immediately knew I just had to have it:

 

It didn't come out for a few months after I first saw this preview, but the day it came out, I was one of the first ones to order it! It comes with 12 different workouts that range in time from 10 to 55 minutes. It comes with a class schedule that you follow so you're not just doing random workouts everyday. Having a schedule really helps me stay motivated. A schedule allows me to count how many days I have worked out and also how many I have left until the end of the program. It's fun to do a different workout everyday. Since there is 12 different workouts, you always feel like you're doing a different workout! All the workouts are centralized around High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), which has been found to burn up to 9x more fat and calories! This type of training makes you workout as hard as you can for less than a minute and then you get a break. Chalene Johnson, TurboFire's instructor, says - "You have to earn that break!!" So you work extra hard so that you can rest for a few seconds. Chalene's energy throughout the workouts just keeps you going, it's so motivating! Another great thing about this workout is the music. It's especially made for the workout so the punches and kicks match up with the music. Just when you want to give up, the music gets pumping and you get your second wind! It's truly amazing! I could go on and on about this workout, it's just fantastic. Here is a video of my brother and I doing Turbofire. I've gotten a lot better at it since this but this video still entertains me:

If you're interested in purchasing TurboFire, you can do so here. You will not regret it! It comes with a 90 day money back guarantee - so what do you have to lose, besides weight and inches?

Set the Bar High!

The word Goals has been in my vocabulary for quite some time. When I was in high school, I was on my high school cheerleading team and like most sports teams, we had goals. We had individual goals, as well as team goals. It was always fun to set a goal at the beginning of the season to have something to work toward all season long. As I graduated high school, I became a cheerleading coach. I always have my teams set goals. We don't just come up with goals and keep them in the back of our mind, we write them down. I usually have my girls make a big poster with all their goals on it. It gives them something to look at during practice, it's especially helpful when they are having a hard day.

So what exactly is a goal? According to Dictionary.com:

–noun

1. the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.

2. the terminal point in a race.

3. a pole, line, or other marker by which such a point is indicated.

In other words, it's something you work toward. I've learned over the years that a goal should include, what you want to do and when you want to accomplish that by. I think a lot of people when thinking of goals forget the WHEN. It's important to put a deadline to your goal. You should always create several goals including long term and short term goals. Short term can be two weeks to a month from now and Long term can be a couple months to a year from now. Goals should also include how you're going to get there. What are you going to do to lose the weight? What are you going to change to be able to spend more time with your kids?

Another important thing to do is to WRITE down your goals on paper. You don't have to hang it on your wall if you don't feel comfortable, but at least have it written down. Don't think you can just keep it up in your head. Goals are just dreams until they are on paper! If you want to keep yourself more accountable then hang up your goal in a common area - such as your bathroom. You will go into your bathroom several times a day, so seeing that goal posted on the mirror can help you stay focused.

One last thing is to make your goals reasonable and attainable. They should be something that you have to work hard for, but still are achievable. For example, if you're working a minimum wage job right now, it wouldn't be reasonable to set a goal to be a millionaire by the end of the month. Sorry, but chances are slim that it will happen.

Today, I wrote down my goals. I've had my goals in the back of mind for quite some time now. I finally decided to take my own advice and write them down. Here are my goals:

1. To lose 4 pounds by May 7th. I currently weight 134 and have since the beginning of the year. I'm ready to break this plateau and get to 130! I am going to do this by watching my food intake and making sure I exercise 6 days a week. I chose May 7th because that's the day I graduate from college. I could celebrate two successes in one day!
2. A long term goal of mine is to weigh 125 by August 1st. I am going to achieve this goal by counting my calories on a daily basis, and incorporating strength training and cardio to my everyday workout routine. My best friend gets married in August and I want to be able to get my bridesmaid dress altered to at least one size smaller by then. 125 is also the weight I left high school, so it would just be awesome to weigh that again. That's only 9 pounds less than I am right now, so I know I can do it!
3. One of my business goals is to help one person get on Shakeology Home Direct by the end of April. I want to introduce this shake in to someone's daily life so it can help them like it did me! I am going to send out samples so people can try it before they buy it. I will share this shake with everyone that I think could benefit from it... which is EVERYONE!
4. My academic goal is to achieve a 4.0 in one of my classes, and at least a 3.5 in two of my other classes by the end of the semester. I am going to do this by not procrastinating, taking my time with my homework, and studying for my exams. I know by my grades right now, it wouldn't be reasonable to work toward a 4.0 in all of my classes so that's why I am aiming for a 3.5. Plus, these are the grades I need to raise my overall GPA to a 3.6. I am at a dang 3.5 and some odd decimal numbers right now, so it would be awesome just to raise it to a 3.6. I can do this!

Already today, writing down these goals has helped me. I didn't feel like working out but you know what? I did anyways! I have goals that I need to achieve. I will not fail! And if I do, I'll just set new goals! It will be ok!

I invite you to share some of your goals with me. I want to know what you are working hard toward! Please feel free to comment with your goals here on this blog, write them on My Facebook, or Tweet me your goals! If you don't want everyone else to know your goals, but would like to share them with me please send me an email: bbcoachalicia@gmail.com. I can also help you write goals if you need help.

Renee's Transformation

Every now and then I want to post people's success stories on my blog.

My very first one is my friend, Renee. I've known Renee for 5 or 6 years now. She used to work with my Mom and then I ended up working as an employee at her and her husband's restaurant business. I never really noticed at the time but after two pregnancies, Renee had put on a lot of weight. Renee knew that my Mom and I started getting into fitness, so she came to us when she decided she was tired of being fat. Her first Beachbody purchase was Hip Hop Abs. After that, she was hooked. In January, she decided to become a Beachbody Coach in order to get the 25% coach discount. Since then, she's bought ChaLean Extreme and she is now drinking Shakeology on a daily basis. Now she has people asking her how she lost all her weight and is able to help people the same way that my Mom and I helped her. I am so proud of how far she has come! She is a great role model for her two little girls. Check out Renee's blog for more information on her fitness journey: www.reneemstoll.blogspot.com

If you would like to be featured in my blog, please leave a comment or send me an email: bbcoachalicia@gmail.com

The Actual Cost of Shakeology

A lot of people tell me that they can't afford Shakeology, but if they could they would definitely drink it. Can you really put a price on your health? I think of Shakeology as an investment in my health. If I only do one good thing for myself, it will be to drink Shakeology. I know that my body needs all the vitamins and minerals Shakeology has in it, and I know that I won't eat the foods that I need to daily to get those same vitamins and minerals. Not to mention that it tastes delicious! Now, let me break down the cost of Shakeology to show you what it really cost!

If you think Shakeology is expensive, let me show you how it not only can save you money, but it can make you money, while giving you the best health you have ever had.

Shakeology is a meal replacement shake, therefore it's designed to replace 1 daily meal. I personally use it to replace breakfast, since I don't always have a lot of time in the morning to eat a full meal. I can take Shakeology to work or class with me; it's very convenient. Let's break down the numbers.

Average cost of a healthy meal  $5.50 a day - Monthly cost: $165.00
Cost for 1 month of Shakeology: $120.00
Difference: $45.00

By replacing 1 meal a day with Shakeology, you will be saving $45 a month. That’s $45 a month back in your pocket for drinking something that will improve your health, and help you to lose weight, make you feel better, and even look better.

Now lets look at the Beachbody Coaching opportunity:
Average cost of a healthy meal  $5.50 a day - Monthly cost: $165.00
Shakeology monthly cost on the coach program: $90.00
Monthly Coach Fee: $15.00
Difference: $60.00

That's a difference of $60 a month.  That is a huge difference! Imagine what you could do with $60 extra dollars a month?

Now lets say, you are on the coach program, and you have lost 10-15 pounds the first couple months you are on Shakeology. Your friends and co-workers say something to you about how you’ve lost weight and they want to know how you did it.  You tell them about Shakeology and they decide to try it.  You just made $30. You get 3 friends interested in Shakeology, that's a gain of $90.

Average cost of a meal  $5.50 a day - Monthly cost: $165.00
Shakeology monthly cost on the coach program: $90.00
Monthly Coach Fee: $15.00
Difference: $60.00
3 friends who decide to take Shakeology: $90 income per month

Those 3 friends are now paying for your monthly supply of Shakeology, so you no longer have to pay the $90. Therefore, you are saving $150.00 by drinking Shakeology daily, being a Beachbody Coach, and sharing health with others! Not to mention all the health benefits YOU will receive from replacing one meal with Shakeology!

You want even more excitement?

• $150/month for a year? $1800!
• Over the course of that year, you could achieve your fitness goals!
• Shakeology comes with many health benefits!
• Imagine if you got more than 3 people hooked on Shakeology! You would not only get your supply of Shakeology paid for, but you would make a profit!
• Figures can not express the happiness you will feel from the weight loss, income, and the satisfaction from helping other people that you will get from Shakeology!

Shakeology doesn't seem too expensive now does it?

I currently have Shakeology Samples to send to you! There are a few easy conditions you must meet before I will send you a free sample.
1. I must be your coach. If I am not, sign up for me to be your FREE coach.
2. You have to be committed to investing in Shakeology, if you enjoy the taste.
If you are serious about trying Shakeology, leave a comment or email me: bbcoachalicia@gmail.com

If you're ready to purchase a month supply of Shakeology, head on over to www.shake.fireup4fitness.com I promise you, you will not regret it!

Accountability!

When you’re living a new healthy lifestyle, it is important to have some accountability. You’ve got to tell people about what you’re doing. If you make it a public announcement, you’re more likely to stick to your goals. For some people, announcing it to the world may not sound like the most appealing idea and that’s ok. You need to find an accountability partner. He/she needs to be someone that you trust and is dependable. This person may not be your best friend. Sometimes best friends like to comfort you. You need someone who isn’t going to put up with your excuses. For example, my Mom and I are accountability partners. Sometimes she’ll come home from work and be like, “I’m tired. I don’t feel like working out” I have to remind her that she isn’t going to reach her goals with that attitude. Most of the time, she’ll suck it up and press play.

I think the best accountability that I have found is on social media. When I was doing P90X, I found other people on Twitter, who were also doing P90X. We would always report to each other about our workout that day. It was nice to find people that were doing the same routine as I was. We could relate to each other. I really don’t think I would of got through P90X had it not been for them. When I didn’t feel like doing my workout, I would think to myself, what would the people on Twitter think? It really pushed me that extra mile. I enjoyed sharing my success with them. Whenever I was doing my workout and did something out of the norm, such as not taking breaks during Plyometrics or doing the bonus round, I always look forward to tweeting it after I was done. Twitter provided me with accountability, as corny as that may sound.

If you are struggling to stay on track, find an accountability partner. If you don’t have any family or friends that would fit the job title, look elsewhere. Visit Twitter, Facebook, message boards and try to find people that can relate your story and journey. I am always available to be an accountability partner, so please contact me if you need an extra push. I’ll take and give all the accountability I can get!

Every Calorie Counts!

The number one piece of advice I give to people when they want to lose weight but don't have very much money is to count calories. This cost absolutely nothing and can make the world of a difference! My favorite site to log my food calories is MyFitnessPal. This site has a pretty large database of food, so you can just type in what you had and it's usually already in there. If it's not you can manually enter in the calories, fat, protein, carbs, etc. for that food. It's also great because it has a lot of popular restaurant nutrition facts as well. When I am eating out, I try to look up the menu items on my phone using the MyFitnessPal App to see what I can eat and stay within my calorie limit. Awesome website!

When I first started exercising, I didn't really think food mattered. I knew it was part of the formula, but I thought that I could exercise and still eat whatever I wanted and lose weight. Well that's not how it works. You've got to keep track of what you're putting in your body. Every single calorie counts. About 7 months ago, I got this amazing tool called the Bodybugg. It's a device that I wear on my arm that calculates how many calories I burn. It pretty much takes the guesswork out of weight loss. I can go online and enter my food into the bodybugg program and also see how much I have burned during the day. Since weight loss is all about burning more than you take in, I always have to make sure I have a deficit in calories. If you have the extra money, I highly suggest you get one. It's awesome, it really is! But really, you don't need one of these fancy tools to lose weight. All you need is a piece of paper and a pencil. Write down every little thing you put into your body. It will make you more conscious of what you're eating and you'll think twice before you sneak a cookie!

Have you had success counting calories? Leave me a comment, I want to hear about it!

Shake Shake Sha Shake it!

I've always had problems with eating. I love to eat food! I especially love all junk foods. Even though I know how bad they are for you... fast food french fries taste so good. I knew this would be the hardest part of the weight loss battle for me. Over time I made small changes in my everyday diet. I didn't try to cut all junk foods out at once because I knew that would not be a sustainable lifestyle for me. The first thing I did was add Shakeology to my everyday menu. Shakeology is a meal replacement shake that includes 70 different healthy ingredients. The main reason I wanted to drink it was because it supplies me with all the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc. that my body needs but wasn't getting by eating junk food. It comes in two different flavors - Greenberry and Chocolate. I thought I would really like the Greenberry because I am more of a fruity person than I am Chocolate. My Mom ordered some Greenberry, so I tried hers before I placed my order. I'm not going to lie, I didn't like it. I still don't like the Greenberry taste to this day. Over time, I've found people either absolutely love it or absolutely hate it. For example, my Mom drinks Greenberry everyday and prefers it over the Chocolate. Even though I am not much of a Chocolate person (how many girls have you met that say that?), I decided I would give the Chocolate a try. It turns out, that the Chocolate is actually really good! A lot of people mix it with peanut butter, milk, or bananas but I really just like it mixed with water. So, I started drinking Shakeology everyday for breakfast. One reason I decided to replace it with what I normally was having for breakfast is because I know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A lot of times I would skip breakfast because I didn't have time to eat in the morning or I just didn't like breakfast foods. Now, I know I am getting a healthy nutritious breakfast everyday!





I've been drinking Shakeology on a daily basis now for about 6 months. The major benefits that I have seen from drinking it are - weight loss, reduced cravings, more energy, and regularity. I can really credit Shakeology for helping me lose 20 pounds. I want everyone I know to start drinking Shakeology or at least give it a try to see if you can benefit from it!

This month I am offering a special for my customers that order Shakeology on Home Direct from my website! When you buy Shakeology on the auto ship program, I will personally send you Insanity Fast and Furious or a TurboFire Greatest HIITs workout ($20 value)! Also, when you order it on Home Direct, Beachbody will send you a free shaker cup and a free workout program. Give it a try! 

You've got to enjoy it!

After seeing my 30 day results pictures, I knew that I had to keep going with P90X. I wanted the results and I wanted to be able to say that I was a P90X graduate. It didn't get easier after the first 30 days. I am not sure how far I was into the program but I had a mental break down. I was tired of being fat and working out everyday and not losing any weight. I was attached to that number on the scale. There was this one day, where Plyometrics was on my schedule. I still remember that Plyo was always on Tuesdays, I don't think I'll ever forget that. I hated Plyometrics because I hated cardio - it was SO hard for me! I pushed play on this particular Tuesday even though I did not want to. I dreaded doing it. I got about a quarter of my way through my workout and I just busted into tears. I am not even kidding, like I said I was having a mental break down. I was crying because I was so frustrated with my body and I hated working out! I didn't think it was fair that my friends could eat whatever they wanted and not exercise one bit yet still be tiny. Why couldn't I be like them? I remember thinking all of this. Plyo is hard even when you're in the right state of mind but adding tears just made it harder! I am not sharing this with you so you can feel bad for me, I just want to share my experiences. I want to let you know that I have not always been this die-hard fitness fan. I've had my fair share of struggles. To sum it up, I quit my pity party and I finished the P90X program. All 90 days of it! While I did see some physical changes, I think P90X helped me most with my mental state. I had this attitude afterward, if I can do 90 days of P90X, I can do anything. I felt great!

It just so happened that this new program TurboFire was released the same week that I ended my 90 days of P90X. TurboFire is a cardio kickboxing workout by trainer Chalene Johnson. I loved Turbo Jam and this was a step up from it, so I knew I definitely wanted to get it. I seriously was one of the first ones to order it when Carl Daikeler, CEO of Beachbody, announced that we could start placing our orders! To be honest, I was kind of nervous to start TurboFire because it was cardio and I hated all forms of it! But after doing just one TurboFire workout, I fell in love. I cannot say enough good things about this workout, it's fun, it's intense, it's just awesome! I looked forward to doing it everyday - unlike P90X. Plus, not all the workouts were an hour long so it was easier to commit myself to it.

My advice to you is to find a workout that you enjoy doing. If you hate doing something, chances are you won't push play everyday. You will find excuses not to work out. If you don't like exercising then you haven't found your soul mate workout yet. It's out there, I promise. Let me try to help you find it! It might not be the same program that I love, it may be different than the one your best friend uses. That doesn't matter because this is all about YOU!

P-90-WHAT?

So now you all know from my last blog post that I always hated working out. I didn't enjoy it. It wasn't my thing. I rather sit on the couch with my laptop stalking people on Facebook then get my butt up and sweat for 30 minutes. So after my Mom and I became Beachbody coaches we decided we were really going to get serious about losing weight. What has really pushed me from the beginning is our goal to be walking billboards for Beachbody. What better advertisement than your own body? We took our "before" pictures and I think that is when it really truly hit me that I was overweight. I was disgusted with that picture!

It was toward the end of February and my Mom and I decided we wanted to start P90X. We had been doing random workouts the entire month. We picked a new one everyday from Turbo Jam, Slim in 6, Yoga Booty Ballet, and Hip Hop Abs. We really didn't know how P90X worked or what it was. We just knew that people had gotten AMAZING results when they used it. When looking through the P90X workout discs (there are 12 different ones), we decided to try out this Plyometrics work out - I assume we picked that one because the name was a lot more interesting than Back and Biceps, Shoulders and Arms, etc. Ha! Lets just say we didn't even make it 5 minutes into the workout. We were dieing during the warm up. Right then is when we realized just how extreme P90X was, no wonder people look amazing after doing 90 days of that! After that, we knew we weren't ready for P90X yet, so we kept doing random workout routines.

My 30 day P90X results

It was mid-March after I came home from a Spring Break trip in Georgia that I decided that I was going to give P90X a try again. I tried to get my Mom to start with me, but she didn't think she was ready for it yet. So I started the P90X journey all by myself. After about a week of doing each workout, I realized that the Plyometrics workout that my Mom and I had tried out a month earlier was the HARDEST of the entire P90X system. Go figure that we would pick that one to test out! If you haven't done P90X before, it's a BIG commitment. You have to be dedicated to workout at least an hour everyday for 6 days a week. For someone who had only been working out for a month, this was a big chunk of time. But you know what? I made time! I wanted to change my body more than anything! The first 30 days went by and the number on the scale barely moved. I was VERY discourarged. How could everyone else lose 20 pounds in the first 30 days and my scale didn't even reflect a difference? I then decided to take a 30 day picture. I compared this picture to my "before" picture and I couldn't believe the difference. My body was changing!

I will leave you with that for now. So what do you think? Was I mentally and physically tough enough to complete P90X? What do you think of my 30 day results? Are you up to the challenge?

A New Me!

I decided to start a blog to track my fitness journey. To be honest, this is actually my third time beginning a blog and then I always get busy and never write in it. I am committing this time to write at least once a week - even if it's just a short paragraph!

I want to start off telling MY story! A little over a year ago, I decided I was tired. I was tired of being fat. I was tired of watching the numbers go up on the scale. I was tired of having to buy bigger clothes. I was tired of being the fat one out of my friends. I think it really hit me when my doctor told me that I was overweight and needed to lose weight about 30 pounds. At first, I was in denial. I was more upset that my doctor would bluntly come out and say that I was fat, tell me that I need to lose weight, but not really give me a plan to do it. So a few months went by and then I finally saw some pictures of me and knew that was it. I was determined not to gain anymore weight - EVER! I started going to a local gym. I had a gym membership for quite sometime but like most gym memberships, it didn't get used very much. I would go to the gym to run on the treadmill, use a few of the weight machines, do a few sit ups and be done. I'm even embarrassed to admit that my Mom and I would leave the gym and hit up the ice cream shop down the street. Wow.

Then one day in February 2010 my Mom got a package in the mail from Beachbody. It was a set of 5 different workout programs and some accessories to go with it. I couldn't believe she would spend more money on useless fitness products. We have every fitness product under the sun - Bowflex, Gazelle, Wii fit, Wii active... you name it, we got it! She told me, like she always does, "I'm going to get in shape!" I was like "Uh huh, yeah Mom, how many times have you said that?" This is also the time that my Mom became a Beachbody Coach. It wasn't very long after until I realized this opportunity that she was involved with and she got me to sign up. My mentality when I signed up to be a Beachbody coach is everyone wants to get in shape! Everyone knows someone who wants to lose weight! I never really knew how powerful these products really were at the time.

Stay tuned because in my next blog post, I will let you know what came next for me after I signed up to be a Beachbody Coach!