Life After the 21 Day Fix

Life after the fix you must be wondering where do you go from here?  I have to say that my journey on the fix was a real eye opener.  Not only did the reality set in of what not to eat, but it also made me realize that you just can't get past seeing results if you are not eating the right foods.  So when you are finished with the program you know what the consequences are going to be if you drink, eat processed foods, consume large amounts of sugar, and basically eat too much.

I am happy to say that I  can live without a lot of these foods.  I know that a lot of people become very attached to these kinds of foods because they are made with the intention to have people hooked on them, but for the longest time I have been living without them.  I would have my moments of weakness, I am not going to lie last year in 2013 I was in the regular habit of not cooking myself breakfast and going to McDonald's in the morning because that was my favorite meal.  Sausage, syrup, pancakes, fried hash browns, yes that used to be my favorite thing to get before a stressful day at work.  I knew deep down inside that I should not be eating there but I know now that I was drowning my stress in food.  I had a lot going on in fact too much.  I look back on it now and I remember the stress I was under working a full time retail job.  Especially in a store location that was being run down to the ground by an inexperienced manager.  Fortunately, I was smart enough to walk away.  The clarity from not being there made me slowly come back to who I have always been, a healthy individual with real goals and dreams.

My journey has lead me to the present moment.  I have had success with this program after not giving up on it and everything that I started from the beginning of the year. I am happy to say that my mindset remains the same only with success in mind.

So now that I am done with the fix I am going to make a new workout schedule.  Since I have been finished I have continued to work out at least once a day.  I do have the option to maintain and eat the amount of food I need to do that so I don't lose anymore weight, or I can continue to eat the way the fix designed it to so that I can continue to lose weight.  The beautiful thing about this program is that after you are finished you are taught how to maintain according to way you decide to exercise.  That's right the program goes so far as to think it through even after you are done.  How can you not appreciate that?  The best part is that you do not have to sit there and write your calories nor track them on the popular programs like My Fitness Pal.  I was using that program to track my calories and it was very time consuming.  It was helpful to know how much I was eating but the fact is you have to eat the right foods.

That being said I have been working out all week the day after I finished I did allow myself a cheat day after three weeks of being good.  My day started with my Shakeology which I had been craving for three days.  It was the most enjoyable treat that I could possibly have.

 

I mixed it with peanut butter, banana, and milk.  We had some red meat, and vegetables we also worked out that day for more than an hour we did Sculpt from the Brazilian Butt Lift and Zumba.  With our dinner we did enjoy a margarita.  A small cheese tray with olives, it was a very nice reward considering how well I did.

Now I am back on track my eating has not changed.  Today I did the lower fix and the cardio fix with my daughter Gloria.  Yesterday I did the upper fix which kicked my butt because I went heavy with my twenty pound weights.  My plan is to continue a plan for another two weeks and then possibly try the new Chalean Johnson Piyo program that is coming out real soon!

Summer Challenge groups are also just around the corner and spots are filling up.  If you want to get the results that you deserve please join me in a challenge group it will really change your life.  If my story hasn't demonstrated that real results are possible then I don't know what else to say about it but it is possible to get to where you want to be in terms of fitness and health.  Contact me for more information.  Please fill out the online form. 

21 Day Fix Day 16

I have to say that today was a very good day.  Let me begin by saying that I had scheduled a doctor's appointment because I wanted to voice some concerns.  Knowing that I was going to see the doctor early in the morning was exciting because I know that the best time to weigh yourself is in the morning.  I refused to get on a weight scale the entire time that I have been on the program simply because I was afraid and nervous that I may not see the any change in my weight, which had been a problem for me since the beginning of the year.  Since the beginning I say physical changes in my body but no change in weight.  This was a cause of concern.  To my surprise when I got on the scale I was already down five pounds.  I could not believe my eyes when I saw the number, and after the visit from the doctor I asked if I could get on the scale again so I could get a picture for proof!  They were more than happy to allow me back onto the scale. And as it turned out I grew a couple of inches as well, how that happened I have no idea.

Since starting the program I came to several realizations about what I was doing wrong for the last three months since I began my fitness journey.  One thing was realizing that I had been using way too much oil to cook my food.  Even though it is olive oil, it is still not good, to use too much of it.  Probably from using close to a tablespoon to cook food I have gone down to one teaspoon maybe one time a day everyday.  I have also realized that the amount of dairy such as cheese I was eating way too much of.  I was eating an entire avocado some days when you are limited to half for the entire day.  Finally, I was eating way too many sweets thinking that my workouts were significantly more important than the food.  So lesson learned, there is a lot of truth to the 70/30 fitness rule.  This program has taught me so much in a very short period of time.

Today was my sleep in day following with the doctor's appointment, so I got off to a later start with my food.  I ended up eating my meals later than I would have liked to but I ate everything that I had planned out for the day.  I got a significant amount of water, in fact the recommended amount for the day, as well as my Shakeology. All in all it was a great day.  

Workouts for today were the Upper Fix, and Cardio Fix.   Upper Fix was a killer, I used heavier weights on some of the first rounds to really push myself.  Bent over rows, for example, I used twenty pound weights, and then switched to fifteen pounds on the second round.  Push ups were super hard but I was able to beat my record and do thirteen on my toes instead of twelve.  It may not seem like a lot but it was quite challenging.  On the Cardio Fix I was already feeling tired but I had to push through because this is the final week of the program and I only have this time to really prove to myself that I can do it.  I got quite winded but all of the exercises got done.  Later on in the evening I invited my daughter to do the ten minute Ab Fix with me and she was more than happy to.  Tomorrow I will do a workout later on in the evening so that I can invite her again because the workouts really help her self-esteem.

Food preparation for tomorrow is done.  My menu consists of 96% lean pork, eggs, spinach, green onions, broccoli, mini heirloom tomatoes, red bell pepper, strawberries, blackberries, papaya, coffee, water, shakeology, Ezekial flaxseed bread, sweet potatoes, cheddar cheese, almonds, and allowed two teaspoons of oil and I may just use one.

As I am trying to figure out what plan I am going to do next, I do want to remind that I am putting together a small group of people for my next fitness challenge.  I am hoping that I can get a 21 Day Fix Challenge group together as well as a general challenge group.  If you are interested in participating in my group please contact me the spaces are limited and my groups are small.  Till tomorrow goodnight everyone. Please fill out the form below.

  

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21 Day Fix It's Go Time!

Here we go everybody it's go time this week.  On this scheduled week I had two workouts scheduled everyday till the very end so that is ten days left of hard work.  I have no intention of taking it easy.  The way I see it is I am fighting for my life here.  I am running that marathon and I plan to come in first, and the best part about it is that the only person in the race is me.  What Jane, Joe, or Hilda thinks really doesn't matter, the only thing that matters is that I challenged myself to the fullest extent and said YES on every single exercise.

Today I got through every exercise.  I made sure that I got the appropriate weight that would allow me to get to the end.  Last week on the Total Body Cardio fix I went a little heavier and I failed during some of the exercises.  Now in my mind failing is usually a good thing it means you just woke up your body and it is has been successfully shocked, but then I thought I really wanted to get through the entire minute.  Changing the weights out to lighter was still challenging but got me through to the end of the minute.  I found myself out of breath and heart pounding.  It was great.  

After total body I jumped right into the pilates workout and that was perfect because it is a recovery workout and felt very good on my muscles.  Don't get me wrong it wasn't super easy, it just wasn't as intense as the cardio.  I certainly did feel the stretching and the planks are deceptively intense.  Last but not least I just had to do the ten minute ab fix.  I figured I would go hard or go home. That is just me, my tendency is to go big, to really push myself in certain areas of my life.  Other areas of my life require baby steps, but I have to say that I am working on it.  

Today I realized that I only had five days of my Shakeology left of the packets.  This time around I got the bag because you get more days worth in the bag than in the packets.  I won't get the packets again.  So I made sure to stay ahead of the game by not being in a position where I will run out of it.  Shakeology is the most important part of my daily eating because I get all of the nutrition that I am not getting from my meals.  Now I like that the eating plan is balanced for us and allows us to pick healthier choices for ourselves but at the end of the day I want to make sure that I have complete nutrition.  As well as my shake I also take fish oil.  

Food today was on target and prepped in the evening.  I chose almonds today instead of olives.  I am going to leave out the olives for the rest of the fix so that I wont have any extra salt.  For tomorrow on the menu there will be lean turkey, cheddar cheese, Ezekial flaxseed bread, papaya, strawberries, broccoli, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, coffee, water, and shakeology.  I am looking forward to the day because it will be another day of very hard work.

I am looking for some individuals to create a challenge group if you are interested in the 21 Day Fix program pleas contact me I would love to get you through with all the support to help you succeed.  You will be able to track your progress, and receive the help you need to succeed.  If you are ready to change your life let me help you.  Please fill out the online form.  Looking to create a group for June.

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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 Six Dirty 30

I've made it to day six successfully so far.  Up to this point I have stuck to the eating plan as strictly as possible, because I have no intention of self sabotage.  I have not had any added salt to any of my food just spices and herbs.  My determination is so strong that I am even drinking tons more water than yesterday.

For my meals I had cauliflower, free range ground turkey, half of a banana, an egg, a little bit of cheddar cheese, olives, cherry tomatoes, coffee, water, mashed sweet potatoes, and my Shakeology.  I still have an egg, sweet potatoes, and half of a banana left and I am saving my banana for last.  Today I decided to have my shakeology midday because I needed to save it for when my sweet tooth hit me.  It was a great idea on my part because not only did it satisfy my need for something rich and sweet but it gave me the boost I needed to get through the afternoon.

Today was the dirty thirty workout, and let me tell you it was awesome.  It was really tough and as usual I was pleasantly surprised at how hard I had to work.  These workouts make me work very hard, and that is how change will come for me.  I am, at my age realizing through these programs that nothing in life comes easy and I am grateful that Calabrese is kicking my butt!  Better late than never I say.  In the dirty I used eight, ten, and fifteen pound weights.  We had quite a full body workout and I really enjoyed it.  I started the exercise after work which was at 12:45 p.m. but then I realized I wasn't going to finish it 15 minutes in because I had to take my daughter to an appointment.  So I stopped, went to the appointment and when I got home I started the workout from the beginning with the same intensity as the first time.  I didn't mind and I got through it, because I can't get enough of the exercise.  So I left it at that, I skipped Extreme Abs because I was already super hungry when I was done.

I am noticing more strength in my legs, and my shoulders.  I can see definition when I look in the mirror and I love what I see and how I feel.  Overall it has been a good day today.

Reminder:

May 26 2014
21 Day Fix Challenge Group
Fill out the online form if you are interested or want more information

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