My Best Friend's Wedding

My Best Friend Brittany's wedding is coming up in a week. My daughter is her flower girl and we are both super excited. I went shopping for a dress last night and love the dress but realized I need to really focus on my diet and exercise this week so that I feel good in the dress. So here is my plan. I'm going to do a shakeology cleanse on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday next week. I'm only going to drink water and Shakeology, aka no pop, sugary coffee etc. I'm going to try and do Hip Hop Abs or modified workouts every day! If it works like it usually does I could lose up to 10 pounds in the next week! That would be super exciting and I would feel much better in the dress that I love. This is a reminder that no matter how far in advance you know about a special event you should start preparing right away! You never know how quickly that event will sneak up on you!

Mobile!

I'm mobile people! Well at least in the walking sense! I can't drive for at least another week so that limits my getting out and about, but at least I can walk! I did ask him the dreaded "when can I workout" question and the answer was not what I as hoping for. He said atleast 12 weeks total til I can work out. This means I still have 8 weeks left! Ah how am I going to make it! So I'm doing some research to see if any of the BeachBody programs would allow me to still workout with out any intense plyometrics. I used to be one to find excuses to get out of working out, especially in high school when it came to P.E.. But now I am so stressed out not being able to do anything! I'm getting frustrated! I need to do something or I'm going to go crazy! My try Hip Hop Abs tonight...not remembering any impact moves with that one! And I could always use a focus on my abs! I'm less likely to eat in my house because I hate going to the grocery store more than I have to, so that will be better on controlling my calories and making sure I don't over eat. The downside is I'm more likely to forget my Thyroid medicine and that prevents my metabolism from performing correctly, which prevents weightloss. So right now I'm trying to figure out something to make me remember! I'm really focusing on Personal Development lately. I've been through a lot in the past several years so I'm taking this time to become the person I was meant to be. I want to be the best that I can be for my daughter! Nothing else is more important than that. I also saw a post today from a friend labeled "Goodbye Beautiful Body, Hello Beautiful Baby"...do people really think it has to be that way?!?! You can so have both! Just look at my friends Tarah Carr and Lauren Knight! They are two hot mommas and have gorgeous babies! You need to be happy with your body so that you don't give your child the wrong ideas about body image! So get to where you want to be now and learn healthy habits so you can teach your child those habits and values! Well sorry for the rambling post I'll try to structure my next ones!

Needed Break

Do you ever feel like you just need a break for certain things in your life and you will come back stronger and better after. That's what last week was like for me. I was sick, behind in school, and tired. So I decided to slow down on the business side and get my health and school back in order. I feel now I am able to hit this full force and knock some socks off some people! I am really excited recently because a sad but exciting opportunity has come into play. My 8-star upline coach who was really over everything that happened in Decatur, has decided to move to Atlanta. Although this is really sad and everyone is going to miss her, it is an opportunity for others to step up to the plate and take charge. A good friend of mine, Jason, and I have decided to take this and run with it. So we are collaborating our ideas and we hope to set Decatur on fire for this business and especially their health! I'm excited for the opportunity to become a leader for our community. I've done a lot of work personally in my life. Reading Personal Development books and just focusing on my inner self has helped me tremendously! I feel like a totally new person! So I hope that you can watch me step up to where I need to be and become someone that other's come to for help with their fitness and nutrition and just life in general! Love you all and thanks for reading!

Cutting Calories is a Good Thing Right?

Most people know that the common rule of weight loss is to eat fewer calories than you burn. This is true. In order to lose a pound you need a deficit of 3500 calories. But doing this in a short amount of time can back fire one you. How you ask? When you body gets too little calories it goes into what we call starvation mode. The body starts to store fat instead of shedding it in order to prepare for "starvation". It's afraid it won't get food so it stores up instead. This will cause you to either hit a wall or even gain weight. NOT WHAT YOU WANT! So the MOST that I suggest you deficit from your day is 1000 calories. Now ok this does not mean that you only eat like 500 calories and burn 1500 working out 6 hours a day! NO! Your body burns calories when you are asleep! This is figured into your burn for the day. A calorie burn is all of your burn for the day...this includes digestion, moving, chewing, EVERYTHING! The equation for your resting metabolic rate if you are a female is this: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) - (5 x a) - 161. W= weight in KG (lb/2.2) h=height in cm, a=age. So a 143 pound 5'5 21 year old's RMR would be as follows (10x65) + (6.25 x 165.1) - (5 x 21) = 650 + 1032 (rounded) - 105 = 1577. This means even doing NOTHING all day you burn 1577 calories. So if you wake up and walk to the bathroom...boom more calories. A normal person with a sedentary job would most likely burn an additional 500-800 calories. I highly suggest going to www.teambeachbody.com and figuring out your caloric needs under "Eat Smart" then Nutrition Tools. This will give you the calories you need to eat based on the RMR, BMR, and activety level as well as goals! If you are really serious I highly suggest a BodyBugg. It's 90% more accurate in giving you your exact calorie burn for the day! The meal plans on the Team BeachBody site will also help you stay in your calorie goal. I did a review of the BodyBugg in an earlier post so please check it out! So don't workout all day then only eat 1000 calories. You will be fatigued, have headaches, and NOT LOSE WEIGHT! If you have more questions or need help figuring out you caloric needs just message me on fb!

Day 1 of the 30 Day Challenge and my PB2 Review!

Today officially started the 30 day Summer Shakedown Challenge! I have 3 girls doing it now and I'm so excited for them! I text each of them this morning with a word of encouragement and a tip of the day! One of the girls text me back and said she tried TurboFire and it was...and I quote..."that was 1027477282 times better" than the other program she used to do! I love converting people to my FAVORITE workout ever!It's just such high energy and the music makes you want to workout! Jeez please just click the TurboFire link to the right because the video speaks for itself!!! Now my diet on the other hand wasn't 100 percent today because I was at my grandparents. Now I love them to death, but fudge, ice cream, and chinese food are staples at their house. It's really hard to say you want something that they have to go out of their way to fix. So I had general tso's and ate very little. I fixed my unhealthy lunch option with a nutritionally power packed Shakeology for dinner. One thing was a little different with this Shakeology than any other I have had so far...PB2.

I learned about PB2 from other coaches and customers in the business but never really did any research til lately. I looked online and the prices are reasonable but the shipping is a little pricey. Luckily I found a local store that carries it. They had one left and said that they sell out like crazy. So note to self "stock up the next time they are in!". I was a little skeptical at first...would powdered peanut butter live up to my desire for creamy delicious peanut butter? and the results are in....IT DID! I could taste the Peanut Butter right away! It was a little more gritty than usual but I think if I try and mix the PB2 with the water first it would be better. Either way it was a great way to get my favorite taste of Peanut Butter with 85% less fat and only 45 calories compared to 190 in regular peanut butter. I will forever use this unless for some horrid reason I run out before I can get more! My tip for the day is learned from the Japanese and is about portions and fullness and is called "Hara Hachi Bu". It's about stopping eating when you are only 80% full because your stomach is probably really 100% full. This has helped the Okinawan's live longer and healthier than any other people in the world! This by chewing your food at least 20 times before swallowing or taking sips of water in between bites! I hope to visit Okinawa some day to not only visit a fellow coach and internet friend Tarah Carr, but to also learn secrets like these from the healthy and fit elderly there!

30 Day Challenge Count Down

Hi All! I'm so excited because in 2 hours we officially launch the 30 day Summer Shakedown Challenge! This is 30 days on one on one motivation, support, and education about health and fitness. At the same time it's a competition to win a prize at the end, plus get the benefit of better health and wellbeing! I'm excited because at the end of this 30 days is my friend Brittany's wedding! I'm so looking forward to wearing a cute dress and feeling comfortable in it! Plus Bailey is the flower girl so I'm going to have to be in front of people trying to help her! The thing that I have learned in the past few weeks is how to get over temptation. It's amazing how just changing your eating habits for three weeks can curve your cravings and help you feel better. I had been eating so healthy for the past week and a half especially, and then Saturday night I had finished my cleanse and I was hungry. I have migraines and hypoglycemia so sometimes the cleanse is hard for me. So I just wanted good thick food!!! So I ate food that was CRAP, and what did I feel like afterwards? CRAP!!! OMG I regretted every bite I put in my mouth. So no more of that! I don't crave sweets anymore...sweets for me now are either frozen grapes or dark chocolate squares. I love these treats and they don't break the calorie bank! I also love my dinners. I use the rule of 1/2 my plate being a veggie, 1/4 being a carb, and 1/4 being meat (about 3-4 oz). For example tonight

this was my dinner, the carb was the corn, veggie was the asparagus, and then I had 4 oz of grilled chicken. Then if you can't eat chicken alone like me, I use BBQ sauce...and thick BBQ sauce...this way you use less and BBQ sauce isn't highly caloric!! This was sooooo filling and tasty!!! I also watch the FOOD Channel...you might think this just makes me hungry and I eat more...but I watch it to learn how to make delicious dishes with substitutes to make it more healthy! You'd be surprised that many of the shows show great ways and different ways to make vegetables! Also watch the portions they use...they are much smaller than we are used to in America...but they are what we are suppose to eat!! So if you want lasagna go for it...but eat the RIGHT portion. I perfer to eat MORE food like a huge salad...than a small piece of lasagna. Or I'll pick one meal to eat less and plan small snacks around it that are low calorie but filling. Like grean beans with spray butter and steak seasoning. It's about 70 calories and a huge portion. Great idea to add to a small meal! Message me on FB for more ideas or help! I would love to know your goals and where you are in life!

Day 2 of the Cleanse

I couldn't wait to post this! I got on the scale this morning to see a....drum roll....5 lb drop!! I almost started dancing, then I remembered I still can't put weight on my foot! So happy with my results so far! I feel lighter and I feel great! I am still struggling with the headaches though. Still haven't decided if its stress, weather, being cooped up in this house, or the calorie drop. Today I'm going to say the calorie drop because no one was here at lunch time to fix me my shakeology so I still haven't had it...that only puts me at like 200 calories so far and that is definitely not enough! So I can't wait for my mom to get home and fix me my salad and shake! I'm going in to work for a few hours tonight so hopefully that will not only help my headaches but my mood as well! oh and I also just did my first ever YouTube video and you should check it out and tell me what you think! I'm so excited to finally get my story out there and so that people know why I'm not skinny like I was a year ago. I love motivational videos of other people's stories and I hope that this can help someone else~ Well short blog today! See you tomorrow!

YOUTUBE LINK: http://youtu.be/Q6TqidnXe_M