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#TuesdayTransformation

03|7|2017

Hey hey out there!

Finally getting a blog post up! I’ve been busy sleeping in my free time. (Only partly kidding.)

I’ll admit my life right now seems a little consumed by this whole detox thing lol. While it’s definitely gotten easier, there have been different phases and supplements and body changes to go through and get used to. And, being sure to LISTEN to my body has left me resting a LOT. Hence, the #ivebeenbusysleeping part. So, I’m still taking the stance that while this is not easy, it’s not hard.

That being said, if you know me, you know I like to say it like it is…..so….

Given how this has went so far and some things I’ve been researching along the way, I’m not sure this strict of a nutrition plan is a good idea for someone with a past history of an eating disorder like binge and closet eating. I will admit I was a little worried that this would set me up for failure. And, while I’ve stayed strong and on the plan 100%, I’m not sure I was quite ready for this. AND, I wanted to say this part in case you’re out there thinking of doing a detoxification plan or something really structured and strict and have had prior issues with food. I would still do this, and I know I CAN do this! And, it really only is 21 days…. But, it has created a lot of thinking about what I’m gonna eat when I’m done and I have gotten a little fixated on what I’m not having right now and that’s not exactly the healthy thoughts I was hoping to have. So, I just want to throw this out there to proceed with caution if you have any similar past behaviors as I do. While this is not a weight loss plan and is designed to help reset your body to “factory settings”, I just feel like even as much as your body could need and benefit from something like this, I want you to be sure you’re really in a good place with food first 🙂

Ok, now THAT being said, even given my past, I’m proud and determined to only go up from here! (or dare I say DOWN lol…but you know what I mean)

What this has taught me already is that if I can do THIS with my eating, I can do ANYTHING.

I will be sharing more of the things I’ve went through and that are so common with this after I’m done. My accountability partners often say, “Oh wow, I’m noticing that, too. Or that happened to me, too!”

Here are some of my food pics from the past week 🙂 I’ve still been eating a lot of the same thing to save money and time 🙂 And, it’s actually TOTALLY ended up saving me…..money and time! And, I don’t just mean as opposed to doing the full plan (I’m following something called the Crunch Plan where you repeat meals throughout the week) but for my life in general! My food budget and the time I’ve spent on food is far less in these two weeks than a typical week (aside from buying organic frozen blueberries for almost $10 at our local Wal-mart! yikes not cheap)! What it hasn’t saved me time from doing is actually eating! Ha, I swear it’s so much food that it takes me like a half hour to eat the meals. And, gotta love all the colors and the smells!

And, here are just a few of the temptations I faced!

#yesthosearecupcakesandididnthaveany ~ And, my subscribe & save from Amazon. #imayhavecriedalittle
And, it’s PEEPS season! YAY! I had to post on FB to see who loves them like me. I would say more people do NOT in fact love them…but it was a closer race than I thought it would be!

How many days do I have left? Well, the countdown is officially on! I’m on day 15 of 21!
And, I couldn’t be more excited about my results just two weeks in!
While I still haven’t stepped on the scale or remeasured, as I LOVE to tell my clients, pics don’t lie 🙂

Yes, #operationkillthebackfat is in full-force. #thatshitsgoingdown

There ya have it! The time really has went fast! And, I’ve been working pretty diligently behind the scenes on my next step. Let’s just say I’m so ready for it this time. AND, I so so so miss my workouts! I cannot WAIT to get back to them! Yoga has been great and necessary BUT I need to get my sweat on and get back to weights! Any guesses at to which program I’ve decided to start after I’m ready endurance-wise?? It’s not what I had originally planned 🙂 #staytuned

And, I just had to share this pic of my little that came up in my memories this week. This was one of my fave pics of her when she was little 🙂 She turns 7 this month! #wheredoesthetimego #stopgrowing #yesshesstillaskinghowmanyhourstilherbirthday #imeanhowcuteisshe 🙂

Ok, peace out guys!

And, instead of my live loved sig, #igotthis

 

 

 

I’m choosing not to…

02|18|2017

I spent some time last night and this morning going over more things in the Ultimate Reset guide book. And, I’m finalizing my meal plan and grocery list. I’m using something I found online so there’s not much extra work ~ but I wanted to sub in some recipes that my friends have said are delish.

And, as I was having my first cup of coffee this morning, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad…

If I haven’t mentioned it yet, coffee is one thing I will be giving up for the next 3 weeks.

Now, I do believe coffee has health benefits….in moderation of course.

But, it’s also very acidic. And, one of the main goals with the Reset is to reverse the acidity going on in your body.

And, so it goes….

So, at first this morning, I felt sorry for myself. And, I said, GREAT, “I can’t have coffee starting Monday.”

But, then I remembered…I’m CHOOSING to do this.

So, I’m turning around that thinking. It’s not about can’t. It’s about choice.

And, this is actually a good reminder in so many areas!

If you’re starting out on a new goal, you’re likely going to have to make sacrifices. But, instead of focusing and dwelling on the things you can’t have or do, focus on all the wonderful things you CAN and are choosing to have and do!

The end reward outweighs the sacrifices along the way!

I’m focusing on the positives of why I’m doing this!

Sure, I’m giving up coffee….and cupcakes….and pizza….and wine for a while….

but in hopes of reversing a long stretch of not feeling well….in hopes of finding a better place with food again….in hopes of a kickstart and a clean slate with my weight loss goals.

I would say the things I’m striving for far outweigh foregoing some things for a while. And, rest assured, I’m still not a fan of deprivation ~ but isn’t deprivation just a mindset?? You’ll only feel deprived if you let yourself. Remember, YOU get to CHOOSE.

Adopt this mindset ~ “It’s not that I CAN’T have that. It’s that I’m CHOOSING not to.”

And, shout out to all my coaches and clients in groups and out there working hard! I share this one often and it never gets old!!

 

 

Transformation Tuesday & Bringing Unsexy Back….again

02|14|2017

This is a little bit different than most #transformationtuesday pics you may see out there on social media these days but these are my before and after and during/before images!

The pic on the left was when my daughter was about 7 months old and since I had only gained 17 lbs. being pregnant, I had lost the baby weight by this time. I wasn’t, however, getting very far otherwise. I was still hovering in the high 190s….still trying to find my way….dabbling in a little bit of running and such. But, definitely didn’t have any plans or specific goals and was very loosely following WeightWatchers online. (btw, I’m STILL totally a WW fan….always will be. If done right, it’s a great program! But, for the majority of my WW experience, I used my Pts for SmartOnes & Lean Cuisines, 100-cal snack packs, and drank Diet Coke like it was going out of style!)

The middle pic is after I had been a coach for a little over a year and a half. I had done programs like ChaLean Extreme, TurboFire, P90X3, several rounds of the 21 Day Fix, Body Pump and most of the time I was utilizing the 21 Day Fix/Portion Control containers with clean eating. I got down to about 154 lbs. from 199 and was wearing a size 6 in some things. I had taught Zumba for a while. (AMAZING CLASS if you ever have the chance to go live!!!) This was a time in my life where I was completely falling in love with fitness! In fact, I fell so in love with it, there was a period of time in this season where I would begin to over-exercise. (I’ve talked about that before and will more but that’s for another blog post for the sake of time!)

During this time, I was learning to break up with the scale. I was learning that strength training was so so important and that I was more concerned with being lean, tone and strong than reaching a goal weight. So, while I was happy with my weight loss, I was working hard to let go of the hold the scale had had on my for so so long. For as long as I can remember before I started coaching, I’d been addicted to and controlled by it. I would weigh every day, several times a day. I let it dictate my moods. And, there were times when if it was up, I said screw it and I binged. There were times it was even DOWN and I somehow convinced myself I deserved a reward….of food…and I binged. This would be a vicious cycle for me between college years and before I had my daughter.

After I had her, I realized more and more I wanted to change…NEEDED to change. Not just for her, but for me, too. She needed to see an example of a healthy, strong woman in her life who didn’t use food as a coping mechanism. It had to start with me. I didn’t want the life I had lived to be her life. I knew from the moment I was pregnant that she would need me, but I had no idea at the time how much I was really the one who needed her…

And, so to talk about that pic on the right for a bit.

This is a stronger-on-the-inside me than ever before. But, this is a girl who needs to get back to taking care of her body. I’ve been taking care of my mind and soul and healing….but somewhere along the lines I kinda forgot the part about my fueling and taking care of my body. And, so many things have suffered. AND, I don’t want B to not see me come full circle. She’s already been seeing some of my not-so-good habits. She’s made comments about my chubby belly…..OH dontcha just LOVE a kid’s honesty lol. She’s changed somewhat from being the kid who lived on fruit and veggies and good food to the kid who cries if she can’t have Kraft mac-n-cheese. Now, I’m totally that mom that wants to let her live a little and not make any foods seem like they are “bad” for her. But, we absolutely do need to find a happy medium in our house of her eating healthier. And, again, it starts with me.

So, this me is 193 on a good week and 199 on a bad week (yes, I’m only weighing in once….sometimes rarely twice a week now ~ YAY, that’s something in itself my friends!). I’m still squeezing into size 12s….whereas before when I was wearing 16s and pushing 18s. Now, I totally get that sizes could have evolved over these 7 years but I also know my body composition is still quite different than back in 2010….but I refuse to go buy new bigger clothes. #notgonnahappen  My skin is terrible……I have worse acne now than I ever did in high school. I haven’t been able to get my wedding rings off for going on 2 weeks and talk about a suffocating feeling. I can’t wear any of my tall cute boots because I can’t zip them up past my thick calves. I’m not sleeping well at night and having a terrible time getting up early. My vision is often cloudy. I have serious brain fog and I swear ADHD. And, as I mentioned in a SUPER vulnerable blog post yesterday (you can read it HERE), I truly believe depression and anxiety can improve and be managed with proper nutrition and focusing on several keys things….most of which are totally free and have nothing to do with being medicated! I have a blog post I’m working on to share many things I’ve learned in the past year about overcoming depression and anxiety. It’s good stuff I tell ya! I even have test scores to prove it!

AND, SOOOOOOO, I’m going back to the unsexy things I know I need to do to turn the ship around. If you’re new here and haven’t heard me talk about “the unsexy” things, you can check out this post from a while back. But, basically, I got this from a book called the Compound Effect. If you haven’t read it, you TOTALLY should and as soon as possible lol! You can grab a copy or download it HERE! And, here are a few excerpts.

“This book is about success and what it really takes to earn it. It’s time someone told it to you straight. You’ve been bamboozled for too long. There is no magic bullet, secret formula, or quick fix. You don’t make $200,000 a year spending two hours a day on the Internet, lose 30 pounds in a week, rub 20 years off your face with a cream, fix your love life with a pill, or find lasting success with any other scheme that is too good to be true. It would be great if you could buy your success, fame, self-esteem, good relationships, and health and well-being in a nicely clamshelled package at the local Walmart. But that’s not how it works. … What this book is about, with all the unnecessary noise, fat, and fluff removed, is what really matters. What really works? What half-dozen basics, when focused on and mastered, constitute the operating system that can take you to any goal you desire and help you live the life you were meant to live? This book contains those half-dozen fundamentals; they comprise the operating system called the Compound Effect.”

“By the end of this book, or even before, I want you to know in your bones that your only path to success is through a continuum of mundane, unsexy, unexciting, and sometimes difficult. But as Jim Rohn would say, “What’s simple to do is also simple not to do.” The magic is not in the complexity of the task; the magic is in the doing of simple things repeatedly and long enough to ignite the miracle of the Compound Effect. Jim Rohn taught that we become the combined average of the five people we hang around the most. And, know that daily disciplines compounded over time. Know, too, that the results, the life, and the lifestyle of your dreams can be yours when you put the Compound Effect to work for you. If you use the principles outlined in the The Compound Effect, you will create your fairy-tale ending.” ~ Darren Hardy from The Compound Effect

So, yes, this part is where I got it from ~ “I want you to know in your bones that your only path to success is through a continuum of mundane, unsexy, unexciting, and sometimes difficult things.”

Working out at 5 a.m. 5 or 6 days of the week? Unsexy.
Ha, for some, working out at ANY time of the day? Unsexy.
Logging your food? Unsexy.
Meal planning? Unsexy.
Grocery shopping? Unsexy.
Saying no to pizza? Unsexy.
Not going out to lunch with coworkers? Unsexy.
Drinking water at happy hour with your friends? UNSEXY (if you’re me lol).
Checking in with a coach like me? Unsexy.
Committing to a goal that could take you a YEAR to accomplish? Unsexy.
Sharing with someone else you’re committing to said goal? Unsexy.

Most everything you’re gonna have to do to reach a goal is gonna be unsexy…..mundane….unexciting….and FOR SURE sometimes difficult. And, I’m by NO means just talking about a weight loss goal!

But, you know what isn’t unsexy, mundane, unexciting and difficult? The way you will feel after following through with what you said you wanted.

Stay tuned for my #unsexy health & fitness plans for the next 111 days!

And, Happy Valentine’s Day from B & me!

 

Gotta love new fun snap filters!!! #peaceandlove

Fit Friday (v1)

02|3|2017

Yay, #fitfriday is back! And, going forward, I’m gonna make it more fun with more valuable info for y’all! I want to do some Q&A’s with some coaches on my team who are trainers and nutritionists and more! So, I’ll be asking y’all from time to time for questions and things you’d like to know!!

Today’s it’s all about me 🙂 #iknowsorry

Right now my fitness is at somewhat of a standstill. I was almost two weeks into a new round of Country Heat (i still love love this program btw! half-hour workouts that FLY by because they’re so fun! and, a ton of steps and low impact but great calorie burn?!? #signmeup) BUT, I got sick the middle of January (yes, I’ve been sick a lot this past year 🙁 ) and listened to my body and just did some yoga here and there for almost two weeks. So, I’m slowly getting back into workouts right now until my next phase in the adventure…..I didn’t wanna start a new round of Core de Force and not have time to finish it because….

Starting the 20th, I’m doing something called the Ultimate Reset. It’s like a detox for your mind and body and it’s advised not to do any strenuous exercise for the 21 days of the program. I’m SO excited for this! I totally need a reset on my nutrition….one like I’ve never done before! And, will be focusing on yoga during it! There’s a new program on #bod called Yoga Retreat and it just HAPPENS to be…..21 days 🙂 AND, I also just heard through the grapevine that also releasing on #bod is Yoga specifically for the UR and it’s coming out just as I get started! #winning

I’m excited and NERVOUS to focus so intently on my nutrition. But, I know that a healthy outside starts from the inside….mind AND body. And, I’ll be sharing more as I go about why but there are a lot of reasons I have for focusing on nutrient-dense foods, clean eating and ultimately an elimination plan for a while.

So, to get started, the Ultimate Reset. I’ll be talking more about what that is and why I chose it. And, then after that, I plan on starting my first of 3 rounds of Core de Force! Yes, 90 full days of my fave program right now! It makes me feel #badass! And, I’ll be incorporating 30 days of the Whole 30 with my first round of #CDF!

Lots of changes and exciting things to get back on the right track again!!

And, as if just FEELING better again wasn’t enough motivation for me, this girlie has my back! It’s still one of my top priorities in life to teach her how to love and honor herself and her body 🙂 #yepweloveoursnapchatfilters #becauseshesalwayswatching

Stay tuned for more health & fitness adventures!!

And, for your fit tip for a Friday…
When you REALLY don’t feel like working out, try just doing 5 to 10 minutes of your workout. So so often the hardest part is just getting started! Do 5 to 10 minutes and just see if you wanna quit after that! #ibetyouwont

If you’re interested in taking the ride with me, drop a reply on this post or email me at fistrongpink@gmail.com and let’s explore some options and see what we can fit you with!