Eating Better for your Health

12 Ways to Better Eating-Mental Approach

Lots of people are trying to eat better,... trim off some extra pounds gained over the holidays, or get beach-ready for a moment in the sun. Eating better is hard, and many people get frustrated, fall short or give up. Here are some key ways to make your eat better stick.

1. Set Goals: It starts by having clear and realistic goals. Write a list of things you want to change about your diet. Also incorporate goals that you may have regarding your body and plan your diet around those goals. I recommend setting present goals, short term, and long term goals. If you try and do everything all at once you can be overwhelmed and want to quit. Take it one goal at a time if need be, and one day at a time, this isn’t a race. You may also want to write reasons why you want to make a change in your eating habits. You might share your goals with others who will help you meet them. You can put your goals where others can see them “on the fridge, at work” to motivate you to work harder. This will also get others behind you and involved in your new routine. As you achieve your goals, check them off. This will give you a sense of accomplishment and add excitement leading to your next goal.

2. Have Realistic expectations- Any diet plan needs to work with you and not against you. You need to be realistic when setting up the parameters of your new diet. Your plan needs to work for you and your situation. It needs to fit your schedule and your budget. If you don’t follow your budget, your cooking costs will get too high and you will have to withdraw from the diet you set up. If you don’t cook for your schedule and your eating times you will find yourself without food and scrambling to find a healthy choice. So be realistic with time, and give yourself extra time to prepare food, or have food pre-packed. Also know that obstacles can and will come into your path from time to time to derail you and your progress, so don’t think that everything will be easy and will just happen. This takes work.

3. Be Proactive - Make a list of healthy foods you enjoy, and what foods you can take with you to work, in the car, school, etc. You can create entire menus revolving around where you will be at what time of the day. Never give yourself an excuse to not have something available for you to eat, no matter where you are when you are supposed to have a meal. Always keep healthy foods on hand. If you don’t you will probably eat whatever is available at the time whether it be fast food, office treats, etc. This can throw off a diet plan and get you in the habit of making bad food choices and eat whatever is fast and convenient. Know where you will be at what time of the day, when you are open to cook, to eat, to shop for groceries, and plan accordingly. When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

4. Consistency is key - Most people respond well to consistency. Make a plan and stick to it. Try to eat at around the same times daily and keep to the same portion size and caloric intake.. Your body will recognize this pattern and in turn keep your metabolism burning and your energy levels will stay high. You will feel better, and get in a healthy routine. It is easy to sabotage yourself by grabbing nasty snacks to meet uncontrolled cravings. The time you spend on planning and consistency is a true investment that will benefit you for the rest of your life.

5. Be flexible - Of course, even the best plans fall short at times. Life can sometimes get the best of all of us. Sometimes your eating routines need to change. Where you can, try to plan ahead for these events and have items on hand you can take with you when you’re in a rush or are eating out. Example: Bag of almonds, protein bars and shakes, fresh fruit. Also educate yourself on nutrition through the internet, books, and magazines. You can use this knowledge to help you improvise and find foods that are compatible with your diet, for example if you are out with friends or stuck with no time to cook. Find items that are less time consuming that you can take with you in a pinch.

6. Don’t be so hard on yourself -Nobody is perfect all the time. If you mess up, miss a few meals, or even have a bad couple of days, just pick yourself up and get back on track. You’re doing this for you, and the added stress of not living up to your own expectations can lead to a total diet derailment. Being healthy and eating healthy does not mean you can’t enjoy foods not on your meal plan. So don’t be so hard on yourself. YOU CAN DO IT!

7. Stick with your plan - It takes time to develop healthy behaviors. After about a month of eating better consistently, you will have developed a habit. You will find that everything you initially may have had a hard time doing becomes more effortless and be a normal part of your day to day life.

8. Have fun - Eating right takes dedication, commitment and sacrifice. Don’t stress yourself out over small bumps in the road. You have the power to change any negative into a positive, and you have the choice to have a positive outlook regarding any situation you find yourself in. Find fun ways to keep yourself motivated. Get friends and family involved. Set challenges at home, with friends, or at work to start eating healthier. Take the time to cook and try new and interesting recipes. You are making change for the better, so why not make it enjoyable.

9. Give yourself praise - You are not a dog so don’t reward yourself with treats. Realize that changing your eating habits can be a daunting task for anyone. Just think how long you have had your current habits and know that changing those habits will not happen overnight, but with time. Congratulate yourself on any healthy changes you make, you deserve the praise. Praise builds confidence and makes you feel good about the healthy choices you are making, and in turn help keep you on your path to betterment.

10. Don’t rush into this - People always start with the best of intentions and will try and do everything at once. They get overwhelmed and quit before they really even started. Small changes add up and can make a huge difference. Work on one thing at a time and keep adding to it. Before you know it you will have many healthy habits that incorporate together to make a healthy lifestyle and a healthier and happier you.

11. Focus on the journey and not the destination - To live a healthy lifestyle is never easy. In order to enjoy this lifestyle with all the ups and downs, we must enjoy the process and the journey on the way to our destination. Once we hit our destination we immediately look to the next mountain top and we either want more, or worst case scenario we think that we have accomplished all we need to and we relax on all of the things that got us there in the first place. Take pride in small victories along the way, they add up.

12. Measure Success and Set New Goals: Making successful changes means measuring your progress towards your goals and recognizing your accomplishments. As you meet short-term goals, you can plan the next steps with more confidence. Constantly re-strategizing your goals takes long-term visualization. That long-term vision needs to be broken down into doable steps.

courtesy of Melanie Mitro at MelanieMitro.com

21 Day Fix Day 14

So here I am at day fourteen and I am ready for the day to be over.  I am looking forward to getting my rest because tomorrow I am going to hit it hard with the doubles workout week.  It's in this week that if you want to you can do two workouts a day.  Now I know that this coming week is going to really test my will but I have every intention of doing it as planned.  I have already gotten a little bit of a taste of working out twice a day because this last week I worked out with my daughter Gloria in the evening.  It has been great but at the end of the day I am ready for bed and glad I ate all of my food.

Today was a working recovery day and I had to do yoga.  As usual I was feeling a bit of a funk.  I find that the nature of the job that I have currently really drains my energy.  When I leave it's as though my body wants to fully relax, by that I mean lay down.  Instead though I got past it and got to work.  For me it isn't an option to skip a workout, but I know we have  those days where we are just not feeling it.  The difference for me is that I had that attitude too many times before in the past and I have not been successful because of it.  I did what I had to do for my body and I gave myself the proper stretching that I am going to need for the coming week.

What I loved about today is that I got to do a little bit of catching up.  The girls were at their aunt's house and I was able to focus on some things I needed to cross off of my to-do list.  One of those things was my food preparation.  I got it done pretty early closer to 5:00 p.m and  that was perfect.  Today I bought 95% lean pork to change things up a little bit.  Lean meats are allowed so I grabbed some of this at the store.  Normally I try to stay away from pork, beef or poultry because I typically like eating fish, but when I eat fish I don't always feel full.  With all of the exercise that I am doing this next week I want to make sure that I feel satisfied after my meals.  I also added papaya, blueberries, strawberries, almonds, hummus, tomatoes, broccoli, sweet potatoes and my Shakeology for one of my meals.  So I am set.

Some of the other foods that I enjoy that I am happy to see on the meal plan are:

Veggies:

Kale, collard greens, brussels sprouts, asparagus, beets, string beans, squash, peppers, carrots, and cauliflower

Fruit:

Raspberries, Blueberries, blackberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, oranges, tangerines, apples, apricots, and grapefruit

Protein:

Sardines, Fish cold water wild caught (cod, salmon, halibut or tuna), buffalo (bison, ostrich, venison), yogurt, clams, shellfish

Starches:

Sweet potato, yams, quinoa, beans, lentils, edamame, beans, brown rice, wild rice, potato, corn, amaranth, buckwheat, barley

Healthy Fats:

Avocado, almonds, cashews, peanuts, pistachios, pecans, walnuts, coconut milk

Seeds:

Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, flaxseed

Oils:

Olive oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil, pumpkin seed oil

Freebies:

Lemon, vinegar, mustard, herbs, spices, garlic, ginger

Well to give you an idea of the healthier choices to pick from.  I have been very consistent in my choices.  To have balance I have chosen to eat cheddar cheese the last few days but I switched today to hummus.  I am looking forward to tomorrow, and I can't wait to get my butt kicked! 

There is still time to join the May 26th challenge group, if you think that you are ready to make that commitment to change your life, let it start as soon as possible.  There is no time like the present to get into shape!  Please fill out my online form I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Goodnight Everybody

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21 Day Fix Day 11

Day eleven and I am still in this all the way.  I am feeling better than ever and so happy with my results up to this point.  Today was a sleep in day so another late start to my day.  Sleeping in was great because felt very rested when I got up and there is nothing better than that.  I had plenty of water with my coffee, and another day drinking a smaller amount than normal (of coffee).

Today my eating was very good, I have to say that I am getting very used to not adding salt to my food.  I find that I can live without it.  The flavor of the food I am enjoying more and I am now realizing I was eating way too much of it before this program!  Alas I am cured of that need for salt, in fact, I did not eat any of my olives today so I will have to replace my orange container with something else tomorrow.

Pilates always catches me off guard because there are some exercises in there that are a little intense like the planks, and the leg exercises.  Ultimately though it is one of the active recovery workouts so it should be seen like a rest day.  Now on the program you workout three weeks straight, which I absolutely love, but some people may not be into that.

I got a lot of joy from my fruit today.  I added very sweet pineapple into one purple container and strawberries and blueberries into another.  Mixing the two was absolutely delicious, simple and satisfying.  For tomorrow's menu I am having some of the same but adding some papaya to the mix.  Papaya has so many health benefits that we eat it quite regularly here at home.

Foods for tomorrow are, 96% lean beef, broccoli, cucumbers in lemon juice, strawberries, blueberries, broccoli, cheddar cheese (very small amount) eggs, two slices of Ezekial flaxseed bread, water, coffee, and last but not least my shakeology.

I am loving this program so much it has brought me back to a positive place in my life. I am hoping I can help others get to this place it is amazing!

There is still time to get into my challenge group on the 26th of May if you are interested please fill out the online form I would love to have you!  

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21 Day Fix Day 8

So I have made it to day number eight and I am pretty excited.  I am getting off to a good start.  My workout today was the Total Body Cardio which is what I was supposed to do on the Monday that I started but I didn't look at my DVD's closely enough.  No biggie I got the workout done.  In my workout though I did find that I had to switch from my ten pound weights to my eight pound weights.  I really pushed myself very hard so I had to stop for a second two times altogether.  I didn't beat myself up I just kept going with it.  The worst thing that you can do is throw in the towel if you are getting tired.  The best thing to do is catch your breath and keep going.  My belief is that if you stop you will tell yourself it's OK to quit and you are only giving up on yourself.  Change takes hard work it takes getting out of your comfort zone and going against the grain.  If you never stop to tell yourself that you may always be stuck.

When I finished my 21 Day Fix workout I decided to add in High and Tight from the Brazilian Butt Lift DVD's I know I created a certain calendar of workouts but I wanted a little extra work on my legs.  The High and Tight in my opinion is the gold nugget of the Brazilian Butt Lift because it really targets those areas in a woman's legs that need to get the work.  For me, that workout goes by fairly quickly and I really enjoy it very much.  I could even do it twice but I don't want to overdo it.

After that I had my Shakeology midday again, with ice cold water and coffee.  It gave me the boost I needed to get through the afternoon.  Although I didn't really have any homework or anything because school is out I still had a busy day.  I found that I had food left over at the end of the day which for me is good and not so good.  The reason I thought it was good was because I am reassured I have enough to eat, but there is the factor of eating late in the day.  I made sure I ate just about everything, but the only thing that I had left was some shredded cheese.

So for my meals tomorrow I have 96% lean beef with garlic and pepper, yams, shredded cheese, eggs, olives, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, spinach, coffee, water and Shakeology.  Now this may seem like a boring meal plan, as I am typing it looks that way, but the great thing about prepping and packing your meals this way is that you can get creative with what you have available to eat.  For example, I will crack an egg over bell peppers and spinach that I have cooked slightly in the pan with my one teaspoon allowance of oil.  Have that freshly cooked with pepper is very tasty to me in the morning and filling till my next meal.  If it tastes bland you can add cheese from your allowance to spruce it up, so it's all about being creative.  When it comes to the kitchen I am far from that so if I can do it anybody can.

So put a fork in me I am done for the day.  I am ready to get some sleep.  Till tomorrow.  

There is still time to join my challenge group on the 26th of May if you would like to do the 21 Day fix in a private group with all the help and support to get you through I am here to help you.  There are some spots available and I would love to offer the support you need to succeed.  Please fill out the form below and I would be more than happy to contact you.  I am in this for all the right reasons and ready to help you succeed.

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21 Day Fix Tip

Today is day four of my 21 day fix and I slept in this morning for an extra three and a half hours.  I feel great, and I wish I could have slept in longer.  Here is a product that I discovered at our local and only health store Sprouts.  Sweet Leaf Sweetener is a liquid form of Stevia that I use now instead of sugar, honey, or any kind of sweetener.  This product comes in several different flavors and tastes great!  I have tried the chocolate, english toffee, hazelnut, and coconut.  The fruity flavored ones and the cinnamon are not so great they have more of a medicine like flavor, but overall the ones listed are the best.  I have used this product now in my coffee for the last three months and I find that is satisfies my sweet tooth.  

Yesterday was a perfect example, as I ran out the door to my final semester critique for my life drawing class I was craving sweets.  So I made myself a small iced coffee to go with a little coconut stevia to satisfy my need for sweets.  The toughest part about changing your diet for a period of time is that you are going to get a sudden rush of cravings after you're three to four days in guaranteed.  It's great to have a backup plan and know you have something that will satisfy that need.  

I love that on the 21 Day fix program you are allowed some sweets, but you have to replace some of your meal portions for those sweets.  Since you are clean eating for the majority of the week then those allowances are okay.  I am trying to stay away from that need to eat the sweets because I want to be disciplined and see where this program will take me without any of those allowances.  I am not perfect however I may feel differently tomorrow, but I certainly will not beat myself up for it if I decide to have something from the list.  

If you are starting a program I consider this a lifesaver because it tastes great, and if anyone has had plain stevia it has a strange taste you have to get used to.  Okay I hope this helps.

We are having a challenge group on the 19th of May and I am inviting you to join if you are interested or thinking of trying the 21 Day Fix you can do it along side a group of great people along with my support!  I would love to have you just email me at lulu_love13@yahoo.com, or facebook me Lucia Perez.  Till later on in the evening.  Have a great day

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21 Day Fix Day Two

I am excited to report on my first day of the 21 day fix.  Ideally I would have liked to report yesterday, but I was swamped the entire day with things to do.  From the moment I woke up, to the time I went to bed I was doing something.  It was very helpful to pre-pack all of my meals in their containers so that my meals were all ready for the next day.  

I took some time to prep all of my meals on Sunday night and measured everything in the colored containers and then transferred them to Glad food storage containers with lids.  What I loved about doing this is that I didn't have to hassle with it the next day and it was one less thing that I had to do.  My day consists of cooking meals for the kids, working out, school, and my job plus my own meals on top of that.  So this was great.

My day went as follows:

6:00 a.m. breakfast: water, coffee and Shakeology (at home)

9:00 a.m. snack: papaya, water (at work)

10:00 a.m. snack: protein portion (at work on 15 min break)

11:00 a.m. snack: cherry tomatoes (at work)

12:30 p.m. work out Cardio Fix, water (at home)

1:40 p.m. meal: protein portion, sweet potatoes, and avacado, water (at home)

4:00 p.m. snack: beets in lemon juice (at school)

7:00 p.m. protein, sweet potato, cucumbers (at home)

7:15 p.m. snack: papaya (at home)

Now normally I would not eat this late but my day was super hectic and I was trying to do my best to satisfy my hunger throughout the day with my required portions of food.  Where I work I have to sit in one place for periods at a time without leaving so I plan to take snacks that don't need refrigeration and that I can eat slowly so that they will last me.  Having a busy schedule requires me to adapt to situations that may seem difficult but I always manage to do my best and figure out a plan that works for me.  

I have to also mention that when I sat down for an actual meal I was very happy that the portion that I ate was very satisfying. I was very concerned that I would not have enough to eat.  As it turns out the portion sizes were perfect.  I even had food left over at the end of the day that I was reluctant to eat because of the time I ate it.  I ate it anyways because I absolutely did not want to go under my required calories for the day.  So I have to say I was very happy about that.  

Now my Cardio Fix workout was the first workout for the 21 day fix program, and let me tell you it kicked my butt! I really wasn't expecting it because when I looked at the program it was said to be for beginners. Now the modifications are very simplified so I think that anyone can do this workout.  I always tell myself "if you can't do it then do the modification" and work your way towards the advanced moves.  There is absolutely no shame in that, at least not for me, after all I am doing this for me.  But overall I was pleasantly surprised at how sweaty I got.  I definitely feel I got my money's worth, in fact my legs are very sore this morning.  

I almost forgot to mention that I created a workout calendar on the computer and I added a supplemental workout to my workout plan.  I added an additional ab workout from both Chalean Extreme and Brazilian Butt Lift's workout video to give my abs an extra kick.  I will post that later.

Today is another hectic day, but I am happy to report it is the last day of class and I will have one less thing to focus on from today forward.  It's nice not to be spread too thin, because it gives you more time to take care of you!! I hope this helps...Have a great day everyone.

21 Day Fix Starts Today

So I it was my goal to try to post my pre-21 Day Fix preparation but I will have to write about it even though today I start  the program.  I spent the weekend shopping, as well as working on final projects for school.  I am currently a student at the University of Texas at El Paso and I am studying Graphic Design for a second degree.  So having to work, finish up school projects, and really focus on my business is time consuming.  Not to mention I am raising two beautiful teenage girls as well on my own.  Luckily, the semester is over on Wednesday and I can really have one less thing to focus on.  

So I spent the last week just mentally preparing myself for the fact that I was going to be eating only certain portions a day from certain lists of food.  I will admit I was feeling anxious about whether or not I was going to get enough food to eat.  I was also worried that my food would not have flavor since I can't really use salt, and lets admit it we all know or maybe should know that salt consumption makes our bodies retain water.  I know this for a fact because I used to do cleanses and would leave out salt altogether for weeks and always saw major results.  But as I have gotten older I find that I am more stubborn and that tendency has gotten me into trouble.  It's an unwillingness to commit or compromise.  I would think that the easy way would still get me results.  Well joke was on me, I made a decision last year towards the end that I was going to make major changes this next year of 2014.  I knew that I wasn't going anywhere in my life the way it was with my health, career, and lifestyle.

I made a New Year's Resolution for the first time and on that list I had this:

9. Work on toning your body the way you've always wanted to.  And make a commitment to seeing it through.

Now please don't misunderstand my lifestyle wasn't too extreme, like a party animal or anything, because I am raising two children and I have to be my best for them.  I just wasn't giving 100% to anything and it showed.  So towards the end of last year around November I started to exercise more.  I would run at the local high school track, I even started to jump rope (great for calorie burn), and started doing leg exercises in the morning.  My problem was that I just didn't have a clear plan or direction with it.  my resistance training was unguided and I realized that I needed to be taught what to do.  

So it was my good friend who told me about Chalean Extreme and challenged me to do her program for the next 90 days.  It was just what I needed, and basically the answer to my inner prayer for guidance.  God works in mysterious ways, he has his little angels all around doing his good work.  That was the beginning of the journey that has brought me here today.  So I decided to really search for that inner will power that I had been missing from my life for the longest time, and I finally pulled it out for this challenge.  I told myself that I would really make a commitment to this program because I want to see it work for me.  I want to see results and everyday I want to feel great!  I deserve it and I have to take care of me!

Today is my first day and I am off to a great start.  I've had my water, shakeology for breakfast, and all meals prepared!  Time to get ready for work, and after I will do my first workout... Have a great day!! Amores!

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21 Day Fix Preparation

I am preparing myself for the 21 day fix program.  There are several things that I need to do before I get started.  First thing's first I am looking to see what is expected of me.  I am looking at the time frame for the program and making sure that I have the 21 days marked off of my calendar to make sure that I know exactly what is going on.    

       

This program is all about portion control and with that it will teach you to the proper amount of food you should have on your plate.  Along with the program you receive a package of small containers that are different colors.  (purple, green, red, yellow, blue, and orange to be exact)  The colors represent certain food groups that you will be able to choose from as your food selections for the day.  For example the purple container would represent the fruits food group and depending on your intake plan you would have a certain number of servings in this container.  Some fruits listed are raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, figs, banana, papaya and apples.  These are only a few for there are quite a few to choose from.  

Green-veggies

Red-meat

Yellow-starches and carbs

Blue-good fats 

Orange-nuts seeds

The plan is designed so that you will get 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 30% fat, the balance you need for weight loss proper energy levels.

My plan is to make lists of acceptable foods for the household since I do have two teenagers to feed as well as myself.  Fortunately I have two teenage girls who like to eat their fair share of healthy foods, and begin to prepare some batches on Sunday to make sure I have what I need to get through the next three days.  I chose six foods from each list to have variety and Saturday I will go grocery shopping.

Another thing to keep in mind is that this meal plan is a clean eating plan.  For twenty one days I will not only be eating foods that will bring me back to a completely balanced diet, but I will have to do away with some items.  

SALT (some 21 day recipes allow a small amount)

COFFEE CREAMER
SUGAR
HALF AND HALF

CREAM

SYRUPS

can all say goodbye because I will not be able to have any of these.  I can live without this for 21 days after all I have made this commitment to myself that I have to do this right.  I don't have to give up coffee and green tea is okay to have too, but if you add anything from List B (1-2 tbsp. nonfat milk, or 1-2 tsp. of raw sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, agave syrup, or stevia) you are limited to two cups a day.  Now if the program said no coffee I would rethink it.  I am a coffee addict and I need it in the morning.  I am willing to compromise although I use a stevia that has zero calories, zero carbs, zero sugar.

Now what I love about this program is  that it's not so strict that you don't have room for cheat treats.  You do have some cheat treat options to choose from should you need a fix.  This eating plan is so clean that a cheat treat given, not abused, can be eaten in their proper portions.  Some examples that I can live with are chocolate covered almonds, potato chips plain kettle, tortilla chips and oatmeal cookies.  Now knowing how I am, and I am far from perfect, if I give myself a treat and I think I have been good I may over-indulge.  I am going to do my absolute best to be good.  I have done it before on past cleanses and I can do it again for 21 days.  I always remind myself that 21 days from now chocolate, wine, chips will still exist and we can live without each other.  

Last but not least, water water and more water.  It is crucial to this plan to drink enough water.  They cannot stress it enough.  They give you a ton of great ideas for creative ways to drink water.  Now I find that as I have gotten older I have a harder time with water because it runs right through me, and I have a pretty busy and hectic schedule most days.  But it is not going to be an excuse for me to fail on this program, so I will make sure to consult my physician to see how I can get this resolved.  Drinking water is so important to your overall health that I plan on making it a priority.

Shakeology is a part of this plan.  This part of the plan I am looking forward to because since I started using this product I have felt so amazing.  Because I will be eating at a calorie deficit I wont miss out on any nutrients with this product.

I almost forgot to mention that you do get some spice recipes that you can use to bring flavor to your foods, they are listed in the free foods page as well as things like ginger, fresh garlic..the usual suspects.  

With all that being said next time I will touch on the caloric part of it.  I plan to write about my journey on this program in hopes to inspire others to have the courage to try and get healthy and fit!!

Ciao amores!!

If you would like to be a part of a 21 Day Fix Challenge group please fill out the application below. There will be one beginning on the 12th of may and there is still time to participate if you think this is something that you would like to do.

contact me at lulu_love13@yahoo.com

Site URL -http://www.beachbodycoach.com/lululove13 

          

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Welcome!

Hi everyone my name is Lucia Angela Perez and I am a Team beachbody coach!!  I started my blog mainly to share my experiences and my story in hopes to inspire you and help you in any way possible on your weight loss journey.  I am a mother of two teenagers, beautiful girls

Gloria and Isabel, and since they were born my body went through some changes I never really saw coming. The pregnancy with Isabel took me to a whopping 198 lbs.  Now for me that was the heaviest weight I had been in my entire life.  Not only was there the weight but the changes to my skin as well.  Now I have always been a very active person my whole life without physical activity for me was no life at all.  I have always been one to bike ride, fast and moderate paced walks,  jogging and starting late last year I really fell in love with jump rope.  I loved jump rope because it is one heck of a calorie burner!!!  It took me a couple of years, 3 in fact, to lose my baby weight with just cardio, but the one thing that I finally realized is that my body never really changed in appearance.  I never seemed to have any kind of muscle tone.  Even when I got a gym membership and used the machines in a way that I thought was right, I never saw any real changes.  I got into the pattern of getting a gym membership and going for three months strong, not seeing any changes and then cancelling it.  It was very frustrating for me.  Then I would go back to just cardio and nothing really made a difference.

It wasn't until this year believe it or not I decided that on my new years resolution I would get toned, and get the body I finally wanted no matter what.  Then one day out of nowhere I got a message from my best friend Shanna asking me if I would like to join her for a workout challenge.  She asked me if I would be interested in doing Chalean Extreme with her and that it was a 90 day program.  Low and behold it was a program that had resistance training!! Now at first I wasn't sure.  I didn't know if I could commit, but because she is my best friend in the world and I knew that it was important to her  I agreed to do it!  Best decision of my life!!

We started mid January of this year, we tracked all of our progress as necessary and even saw great results!!  We stayed in touch everyday always making sure to push each other along with encouragement, and with that alone I was able to successfully reach the end of the 90 days together!!  The accountability we had to each other is what I felt was the reason for our success, and I knew that coaching others was the right fit for me.  If my friend and I could do it together I know I can help others make it through any program that they decide to choose!! 

I am looking forward to adding more to my blog, look for my Chalean Extreme results next