Lots of A-HAs

I had a big A-HA moment this week.  I've been trying to diligently track all my food & activity on My Fitness Pal and I've been somewhat successful.  If I don't do it immediately before or after a meal, it doesn't get done.  And then I have guilt.  Ugh, I'm so hard on myself!  I noticed one of my friends had her food diary as public.  I thought that was a bit daring.  I always had mine private because I didn't want people to see when I slipped up.  Of course whenever I started a new diet, I told my friends.  I couldn't dare to be seen as failing, even though everyone has a bad day.  And sometimes you just NEED pizza and wine.  Anyways, I realized that the best way for me to help others in my coaching was to show them what I was eating.  I've found that I need to eat a lot more calories than I thought and what better way to show others that you can eat a lot & still be healthy.  So I made the decision on Monday to make mine public (EEK!).  Now ALL of my friends can see EVERYTHING I log here.  If you're on MFP, my username is andee711.  I even promise to log the pizza and wine :)

I've always been a been a yo yo dieter (like the majority of us).  I go hard core for about a week or two, then I have a slip up, then I say "ah screw it".  And a few months later, I feel gross about myself and the cycle starts all over again.  I actually thought about it & I've been doing this for about 20 years.  Wow...20 years.  Since I was a teenager.  In all that time, I never found something that clicked for me.  I finally feel like this is it.  Since January, I've been eating right (90% of the time) and exercising pretty regularly.  Sure I have weeks where I just don't have it in me or I'm super sore and those days I give myself a break.  I allow myself to take a break instead of beating myself up about missing a workout or eating junk, which is often the beginning of the end for me.

I'm seeing changes in myself that I never thought I'd see.  First there are the physical ones...less wobble in my arms, the backs of my thighs are noticeably smaller, and I HAVE to put my jeans in the dryer.  Now the mental changes.  I feel better about myself.  I feel better in who I am and in the knowledge that I am setting an example for my family (gotta love it when your 4yr old joins you in your workout).  My anxiety is better because I get all of this nervous energy out.  I know I am doing something good for ME and as a mom, it's sometimes hard to enjoy something that is just for you and not for your whole family.  But wait a sec, I AM doing this for my family!  (that was a serious a-ha moment after I wrote that last sentence)  My healthy lifestyle is benefiting them as much as it is me!  We went for a big walk Easter Sunday instead of just lazing around the house.  My husband is going for a run most nights.  My boys, who are already active, are more in tune with healthy eating.  Though as I type this my 4yr old is gnawing on a big chocolate bunny but, whatevs, it's spring break, he's been playing outside most of the day and is covered in dirt.

Get your family involved!  Get your friends on board!  YOU can be the catalyst to everyone around you being healthier!

http://bit.ly/1dpmHFG

New Program!

I haven't posted for a while for a few reasons but mainly, I just didn't have a moment where I thought "I need to do a blog post about this".  I've been having a tough time grieving lately and it's hard to be motivational to others when you're having a crappy day.  The exercise does help though.  Helps lift my mood, focus on something that's good for me and sweat out the negativity in my life.

I finished ChaLEAN Extreme and, while I didn't lose a lot of weight, I lost a bunch of inches!  Here are some before/after pics:

Where did my hips go??  I'll be honest, I didn't think I had that much of a change while I was doing it so I'm so glad I took before/after shots.  I HATE pictures of myself.  Even the ones that look good.  Don't like my body, smile, hair, clothes, none of it.  But I'm slowly working to change that mindset.  It takes time to change a lifetime of habits but I'm on my way.

I then started what has become BeachBody's huge seller, the 21 Day Fix.  It sold more in a week than they had projected entirely, to the point where it got back ordered pretty quickly.  Here's what you get with the Fix:

2 workout DVDs with 10 workouts, Shakeology shaker cup, meal plan & containers for portion control.  OMG I was in love.  Portion control is, I think, where the majority of us struggle and these containers really and truly help.  There is a calorie calculator and a chart that shows you exactly how many of each container you can eat & what to put in it.  It was slightly intimidating at first because A-I was excited and B-I like to complicate things for myself.  

I started off strong and then life got in the way for about a week so I've restarted the Fix to get myself back on track.  Week 1 went great and then I started doing a squat challenge which REALLY gave me a lot of pain in my hip joint so I needed to take like 4-5 days off.  Couple that with working last week and I just went off the rails.  It happens.  Nobody's perfect.  Least of all me.

I'm day 2 into my restarted week 1 and let me tell you, the chick that devised this system is the devil herself.  Autumn Calabrese is a fitness trainer & bikini competition winner and has a SMOKING body.  The workouts are tough but they're only 30 minutes.  You can do anything for 30 minutes, right?  One of the things I love about the BeachBody workouts is there's a timer on the bottom of the screen so you know exactly how much longer you have to endure whatever it is you're doing.  

Don't forget, as a BeachBody Coach, my coaching is 100% free!  Just sign up for a FREE BeachBody account so I can keep track of who I'm coaching.  I became a coach to help others with their fitness & nutrition goals.  Helping others, in turn, helps me to keep myself on track & motivated.  Just follow my link or message me with any questions.  http://bit.ly/1dpmHFG

Until next time.....