Excuses are Just That

"I'm too tired"

"I am so busy!"

"I am sick"

"I don't feel like it today"

"I'll start tomorrow..." 

Tomorrow turns into about 3 more weeks and then the "I'm too tired," "or its not the right time" excuse pops in again. 

These are excuses are STRONG and they are an easy way out! Its hard to get up every day and do a 30 min workout, its discipline! But your goal is still floating in the back of your mind. That 5-10lbs you want to loose is still just a thought, and that family history of heart-disease is becoming an issue for you, not just your family. 

This was my 2015 up to October when I made a commitment to change. I decided that I needed to get up off my booty and work it out daily. It wasn't easy but my excuses diminished. I did have time to dedicate 30 minutes to the 21 day fix workout, I did have the resources to cut out my 500 calorie daily latte  at Starbucks and replace it with a healthy shake that is full of 70 superfoods, probiotics, and my daily dose of fruits and veggies :) 

2016 is YOUR year! No more EXCUSES! This is YOUR time! 

If you need some help, some motivation, some inspiration, I am here to help ya! I am offering a FREE 21 day Fix workout with the purchase of Shakeology! Don't let 2016 be the year where you have every intention of betting yourself, DO IT! 

New Years Resolutions

Every year people make resolutions. Every year 70% of people quit in January. Why is this? And how many times have we fallen into that 70%? Are intentions are always pure, we always want to succeed. But life gets busy and excuses are made and its easier to stop then to stick with it. 

How do we make this year different? How do we actually succeed? How do we ensure that our busy lives do not get in the way of our goal? How AWESOME would we feel if we reached it!? 

The thing that is MOST important to sticking with your resolutions is accountability! Having someone EVERY DAY checking in with you for a quick second to make sure that you are doing or will do what you need to reach your goal is critical to success. 

My main resolutions this year are the following:

1) To get fit and toned! All I want for christmas 2016 is toned arms and a flat stomach :) 

2) Healthy! I want off my blood pressure medicine!

3) Save, save, save!

How will I get there!? The accountability groups I run! I run 30 day accountability groups for people with fitness goals in mind! I also can help people find a workout and nutrition plan that best fits them! Every. Day. I check in my with challengers. We motivate each other to get our work out in, to make good choices, and the main rule is that we only indulge 20% of the time! 

Its not a diet. We can eat anything! If its in moderation. 

The workout plan is made for you. JUST FOLLOW IT! 

We get daily motivation and tips to help us to live a healthier lifestyle! 

No monthly gym membership!

Just workout 30 minutes in your own home!

Participate month after month! 

My last group lost a total of 26lbs between 6 people! 

Who's in? who is going to stick with their resolutions this year!?

Birthday and Christmas Shenanigans

Please. Please don't make me eat any more!!! I CANT EAT ANOTHER SWEET! And believe me, I never thought I would say that! 

Here is a little recap: 

C and I (C is my boyfriend in case I never mentioned that before, he's the greatest!) drove from the base he is stationed at all the way up to Chicago! A nice 15 hour drive.... 

The long road trip went very well! Besides the fact that I am the annoying girlfriend playing constant sing a long songs, the ride was quite fun! C even downloaded Pitch Perfect on his phone for me to watch...He knows me :) 

When we got to Chi-town we spent a few days with C's family. My favorite night was our trip to the Water Tower for shopping and the delicious meal we had at Rosebud's on Rush. Seriously the best Italian food EVER! I had every intention of photo-documenting this meal but it was just to delicious! 

On Christmas Eve, my birthday, C drove me back to my parents house so I could spend me 26th birthday with them! He spoiled me with a personally designed necklace that is SO cute and means so much to me :) I also got a new tea pot, because apparently ALL adults have a tea pot...who knew ;) 

Christmas was great! Santa brought me a brand new TV that was much needed! I currently have a TV from the 80's in my living room so I can't wait to try this bad boy out! 

Now I am sitting here. Regretting every cookie I put in my mouth this past week along with the plethora of cheese and crackers I ate! haha it was a great and delicious week :) 

Now my 26 year old body is headed for a relaxing massage after the torture I put it through this morning! You know what they say, Never miss a Monday! 

Wedding Recap

It's safe to say that I have the MOST beautiful friends! Especially this lovely lady on her wedding day! 

I had such a fun quick trip back home for her wedding! She was absolutely gorgeous! Its so awesome seeing two people so madly in love with each other, and that is what this wedding was, full of love! 

Pre-wedding selfie of course! Loved these dresses and my hair! Did my makeup myself :) 

Check out these cute robes!! Loved getting ready in these! 

Isn't she the most beautiful bride you have ever seen! 

Check out these dresses! So cute! 

Best friend selfie! 

It was such a beautiful wedding with great friends and family! From the ceremony to the party bus and then the reception we had a great time! The best part was seeing my best friend so happy! They are truly in love! 

And they lived happily ever after 

Disappearing in the Clouds

I am sitting here at the airport. Slightly annoyed I must admit because who likes when they miss their connecting flight because the door of the plane is broken and the have to fix. Should I even be concerned about missing the flight? Or should I be more concerned about the door flying open mid flight and my body falling from thousands of feet in the sky? Or how about the guy who pukes on the plane right before take off and now we have to wait to have it cleaned....at least it wasn't in my seat! 

Exaggeration I know! 

Anyway, Im sitting here watching all these planes take off and it made me wonder where are all these people going? 

Flying is a great analogy! Everyone has a final destination. A place they want to get to, a goal! The same is true with your health! We all have a goal! A dream body, a dream weight, dream stomach or arms. There is nothing wrong with that! 

Here are my goals:

Yes you should love yourself where you are at, but you should also want yourself to be healthy. You should want to have goals to work toward. You should work toward them in a healthy way. There is no need to destroy your body to reach your goal! There are healthy ways to get there! 

This is my goal! And i am not there yet, but I am getting closer! I love this journey! I love feeling great all the time! I am loving life and if you want help to reach your goals, I am there for you! I can help you! Just ask me :) 

Even if you don't want to participate in my accountability groups quite yet you can still help me out! If you let me post on your facebook OR on your blog about my fitness challenge starting in January, I will enter you into a FREE Fixate cookbook giveaway!! Just tag me in your post by sharing the photo below and linking it to my page! 

My Best Friend and Her Fairy Tale

Welp. I've got to suck it up and get on one of those tubes that fly in the sky. Sure I'm scared, sure I my palms are sweaty (knees weak, arms are heavy) sorry for the Eminem reference :) 

BUT....MY BEST FRIEND SINCE THE 6th GRADE IS GETTING MARRIED!! 

I am so excited to stand next to her on her big day! From break ups, to make ups, laughs, tears, awkward stages, puberty, braces, bangs, blue lipstick, dyed blonde hair, mini skirts, and so much more to the biggest day of her life so far! 

Love is such a beautiful gift from God, to be able to spend the rest of your life with your person. The person who lifts you up and encourages you to be a better you. I might have been that person for her for years, but now its time to step away. 

It's hard going from "the person" to the "second person" but I know that her man will fill the shoes of dealing with dramatic episode, wine runs, dance parties in the living room, awful hallmark movies, and many of laughs! 

Cheers to you my best friend! May you have the most wonderful day! 

The Tough Stuff

The holidays can be the HARDEST time for people to set and maintain fitness goals! Even I am REALLY struggling right now! Thank goodness for my challengers and challenge group because they are the ONLY thing holding me accountable! 

All I want in my life is some fried food and cookies!! haha but I saw this the other day and truer words could not be spoken:

Not that fitness is a competition, but I am a competitive person, so every time I don'twant to go to the gym for those 30 minutes or I want to stop for some french fries I just think about all the people who ARE doing it, and how I am bettering my body! 

The struggle is real! However, there is no need to wait till January 1st! You can start now! Even if its just breakfast, or a snack, or walking for 20 minutes! Anytime you do something you haven't been doing, you are making progress! You are making a better, healthier, and happier you :) 

What do you struggle with!?

FRIED FOOD! SWEETS!! HELP! 

I STRUGGLE with drinking enough water everyday! REALLY STRUGGLE! Seriously, all I want is coffee, ALL. DAY. LONG. 

I could have an IV of that stuff! Its SOOOO GOOD! 

So drinking 1/2 my body weight (in ounces) of water a day is a BIG Struggle! Why is this a good thing!?

Well, it keeps the metabolism going! It helps with the toxins in your body! It helps keep you full! It makes your skin all nice and smooth!

Did you know that sometimes, when you feel hungry, you are actually just thirsty!?

Staying hydrated as so many benefits! How do you ensure you stay hydrated!? 

My Fitness and Health Journey--it aint easy!

Time for a little interview about me! 

Beachbody is a health and fitness program. It combines a pre-made fitness proram with a nutrition plan. The goal is to eat clean 80% of the time and workout 5 times a week depending on your program. All you have to do is follow what they tell you! 

I got started in Beachbody a few years ago when I did the Isanity program! I lost 19lbs in that program. I then did the T-25 program! The results were seriously amazing. 

The problem was that I did the fitness program, I stuck with the nutriton, but I quickly came up with many excuses to go back to my old habits! To head back through the drive through and to skip workouts! I had NO accountability! Clearly the program works! I just wasn't holding myself accountable! 

I wanted to be healthy again, I wanted to be that girl in the picture at top! The one who put in the 30 minutes a day to workout and ate healthy 80% of the time! I wanted to get off my blood pressure medicine, I didn't want to follow in my family's footsteps of heart issues! I wanted to be an EXAMPLE! I never was the healthy girl, I never was the fit and skinny girl, I just wanted to look in the mirror and be proud of what I saw! This is MY body! Its my responsibility to take care of it! I had to make a change! I had to get back to that girl and I knew that the ONLY program that worked for me was Beachbody. I tried gym memberships, weight watchers, classes, etc. This was it! This was easy to fit in my schedule and it worked! 

Like I said before, the program worked, I just didn't have the accountability! My friend Krista got me set up on a program called Bodybeast. She started something called a challenge group. This was a group on Facebook that I checked into daily. She also posted some awesome tips, recipes, and health tricks to keep me on track! Everyday I posted how I did with my eating, water intake, and workout! It truly motivated me! I knew that everyday I had to post so I wanted to make sure I could say that I completed everything I had to! Yes, there are days where I don't do it, I am human, but this group gave me the accountability to finish what I started, to reach my goals! 

This was my result! 

Once I saw these results I wanted to help others reach their goals! This seriously was because I stuck to a 30 minute workout 6 days a week, ate clean 80% of the time, and had a coach that kept me accountable! All I did was purchase this workout, made an investment in my health and well being, and BAM I knew I wanted to help other people do this! I wanted to get other people to their goals! Since then I have had even more progress! I also reached Emerald which means I have other people who coach under me! 

If you want help reaching your goals, my coaching is FREE! I want to inspire others, I want to help you reach your goals! I will work with you to find a program that works for you! I can help you get results! I know how it feels to constantly try to diet, try a new workout, THIS IS NOT A DIET! It changed my life! Now my JOB is to inspire you and help you change yours :) 

Contact me by commenting below or email me for questions! I have some amazing challengers with amazing results! 

Don't Skip it, eat it!

I wish that motto was true for EVERYTHING! "Don't skip it, eat it!" Sometimes I like to tell myself thats my motto hehe

In all honesty that is the motto for breakfast! DONT SKIP BREAKFAST! I know its so easy to do! Your running out the door, your late, your hair is still wet, your coffee barely made it into your to-go mug, but I promise you, if you want to see some serious results DO. NOT. SKIP. BREAKFAST.

Why?! It "gets the people going," just kidding, thats a Kanye West reference ;) It does however get your metabolism going! It literally breaks the fast the your body went through when sleeping. If you want to maximize the amount of calories you burn in one day, you need to start off your body with a meal to break the fast and get your digestive system up and going again! 

Best option for breakfast is pairing a complex carb with a protein. Here is one of my FAVORITE meals and its super easy! I wake up every morning at 4:30 because I coach girls basketball. I truly want to stay in bed as long as I can but I know that i need to get up and fuel my body! 

All I have to do is pop a piece of whole wheat toast in the toaster, fry up an egg, and put a little avocado on my bread :) I even through on some veggies this time! 

What is your favorite meal for breakfast!? 

Update

Not only am I super excited for Erin's newest blog design to hit my blog I am also excited about the changes I have seen in my body! 

I have lost weight but most importantly to me this is what has happened in the past TWO months:

- Lost weight

- Lost 8 inches in my stomach

-Lost 4 inches in my waist

-Lost 2 1/2 inches in my chest

- Toned body

- More energy

-Haven't had to take my blood pressure medicine (MAJOR WIN)

- Confidence

- Advanced this business to a new coaching level! 

All it took was following a plan, that is already designed! It took an accountability group that pushes me every day! It required me eating clean 80% of the time with some ups and downs along the way! Its not about depriving myself, I eat whatever I want as long as I eat it in moderation! 

If you are looking for a workout before Christmas or are thinking about your new years resolutions, this is IT! 1 month try it out, and if you see no results its a money back guarantee! 

****Beachbody Black Friday Sales****
Here are the Black Friday Sales going on now! There are some awesome fitness programs! Use this link to shop around for whatever your heart may desire! Feel free to comment below or email me with questions! 

https://www.teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=858525

 

  

Fitness Friday

Its time for Fitness Friday Link up! 

Share with us what workout program you are doing? How successful you have been? What your goals are? Anything to do with fitness!

I am currently doing the Beachbody Body Beast program! It is a weight lifting program and I am LOVING it! 

Here are my results after 4 weeks:
- Lost 4 inches in my stomach
- Lost 2 inches in my chest
- Lost 1 1/2 inches in my waist
- Lost 1 inch in my arm
- Lost 2 inches in my hips
- Lost 1 inch in my legs

Woot woot! I am loving the program! Make sure to ALWAYS take measurements so you can SEE your workouts are working even if the scales says otherwise :) 

Myth Three-No Sweets

Yes, its true, clean eating means cutting down on the amount of sugar you eat, but not cutting it out! EVERYTHING IS OKAY IN MODERATION! 

If you completely cut something out of your diet, you crave it more! I tried it before, no sugar and I seriously thought I was going to die! Suddenly, the Three Musketeers bar that I never liked looked absolutely delicious and I began noticing all the donut stores on every corner. 

Instead there are three options to still get our sugar fill!

1) Use natural sugars to substitute! I like to use honey :) I still make cookies using whole wheat but I use honey to replace sugar! The Fixate cookbook through beach body has some AWESOME desert recipes! One of my favorite things to make make is an all natural peanut butter oat bar! I use oats, all natural peanut butter, honey, and butter. I will post the recipe if you all would like it! 

2) Eat natural sugars! Anytime I get the craving for something sweet I cut up and apple or banana and sprinkle some cinnamon on it! This definitely helps me with my sugar intake because I know what I am eating is natural sugars---hence part of clean eating! 

3) Shakeology: These shakes have helped me out tremendously! They are full of super foods and all natural items! I drink one everyday for lunch. I have made peanut butter chocolate, caramel latte, pumpkin pie, strawberry vanilla, and many other flavors. Since drinking these shakes I rarely crave a sugary snack, and let me tell you I use to have a sugar snack EVERY NIGHT! 

Share with me! What are some of your favorite sugar-free snacks! How do you get rid of your sugar cravings!? 

Check out 
Myth One about veggies and fruit
Myth Two: Chips and Snacks! 

My story

I just finished my VERY first Beachbody Challenge group! It was 21 days of clean eating, shakeology, and following a workout program! I am currently doing Bodybeast which is a weight lifting program but following the 21 day fix eating guide! 

I honestly am not the person to post pictures of myself in a bikini but I am so proud of my results! 

I never weigh myself so I am not sure on the exact pounds lost but you can SEE this works! I was so excited to do a before and after shot and the best part is that its not over! I can't wait to take another on December 1st! 

In November I am offering some free coaching and accountability! I am running a fee 5 day clean eating challenge AND a 21 day fix challenge that starts and ends before Thanksgiving! If you are interested let me know! These results only took ONE month :) 

Fitness Friday Update

It is Friday! It is almost Halloween!! How many of you have great plans for your holiday weekend? Dressing up? What as? 

To be honest, I am not a huge halloween fan...dressing up is just not my thing! However, I do plan on going out this weekend and attending some halloween parties with friends! I just need some costume ideas :) 

Since it is Fitness Friday I want to give you an update of my Beachbody workout: BODY BEAST! 

This is a weight lifting workout! I am currently in week 3! After week two I made the following progress:

I lost .5 inch in my waist

2 inches in my hips

1 inch in my legs

Wahoo! Small gains, but gains none the less! Fitness is a slow process! It does not happen overnight. Sometimes, it can get discouraging! Sure, I would love to see more inches off my waist and some off my chest (I stayed the same) but I need to see that YES, its WORKING! 

Make sure to write down the starting numbers so you can SEE progress! It can be discouraging to go by the scale or just looking in the mirror! If you write it down you can SEE the progress you are making, even if it is small! 

Link up and I want to hear about your progress! 

Myth Two: Chips and snacks!

Last week I posted about the myths of clean eating! There are many misconceptions out there and many different opinions! I am not a nutrionist and what I tell you are my personal findings and opinions! Last week we talked about what clean eatings is NOT:

Clean Eating is not
Myth One: Veggies and Fruit
- Never eating any chips, pretzels, etc
- No sweets
- Everything should be served raw
- No carbs

This week is MYTH TWO:

There are a lot of clean snack foods out there! Yes, fresh is best! That doesn't mean that you can't snack! There are some great clean foods out there to snack on! The best thing to do is read the ingredient label! Some people live by the "5 ingredient" rule. As long as it is around 5 ingredients they consider it good to go! 

I like to read the ingredient label and as long as it is something I would normally cook with its okay. For example: I wouldn't put high fructose corn syrup in a dish I make at my house. That means I DO NOT buy the product! Even if it is more than 5 ingredients it is still okay! There are pretzels that I buy that are made with whole wheat and honey! There are pita chips made with whole wheat, salt, and other things I can find in my pantry. 

My two favorite snacks are:

Aussie Bites! It is a little round delicious ball of goodness full of different grains, seeds, and dried fruit! You can find them at Costco for $9.95. These bites are CLEAN and SNACK FOOD! 

I also like to make Kale chips! I purchase fresh kale, put some olive oil and salt on them, and throw them in the oven till they get a little crispy :) 

There are also granola bars, chips, and other snack foods that clean! 

Moral of the story: snacking is okay, in fact it is recommended in order to keep your metabolism up! 

Broken Phone?

I really needed this quote! I tend to "fall off the wagon" so to speak quite easily! Once I fall off, I am OFF! I think to myself, meh, I already ate poorly might as well keep it up! 

This is so true! If you drop your phone on the floor do you just keep smashing it till its broken!? NOOOO! So why do we fall of the wagon and let all the hard work go!? 

We will make mistakes, we will give in to that temptation! Its normal! We are human! Just because you give into the temptation at lunch doesn't mean dinner has to be McDonalds Big Mac too! 

Think about how hard you have worked! Think about all the time you put in at the gym! Think about all the donuts, ice cream, and fast food you passed up! Don't let one little mistake ruin everything you have worked for!