21 Day Fix and Beyond

So what now, where do we go from here?  It is time to get rolling and get people on track where they need to be with their weight loss.  I am so proud and happy to be able to see that people want to make a change in their life and take the step that they need to take to make a difference not only in their health, but also in taking care of their body.  Yes you can say that you will look amazing and you will be able to wear the sizes that you have always wanted to, but not only that it will spark something within you.  That something will be, that someone that has been hidden underneath all of the habits that have kept you feeling sad, fatigued, and unmotivated.   It is time to start getting people where they want to be.  I am so happy that I am working with my first group of challengers who decided to take that courageous step in their life to get back on track with their health.  

When I became a Beach body coach, like any new coach, in the business I wasn't sure that anyone would even care about what I was up to.  But my dedication to the program and my real interest in helping people has brought me to this point.  I now have my first group of people that want to make changes and have trusted me to help them through this process of being better in their own lives.  

As a coach I am dedicated to their journey as well as my own.  I have even decided to go a second round of the 21 Day Fix, but this time with a hybrid of the Brazilian Butt Lift to give my legs the appearance that I have always wanted.  Now please keep in mind that my entire life I have always had a very soft body without real muscle tone and I never knew why.  Now I understand the importance of strength training as a part of any fitness program, and will make sure that it is a major part of any program that I decide to try.  

The 21day fix will give me another opportunity to get more of the toning that I am after and then give me the time to get the new program coming out by Chalean Johnson that has gotten very great reviews and that is Piyo which will be released very soon.  Piyo is a program that combines flexibility, strength, and stretch all combined in one program.  Keeping our body guessing is very important and Piyo will give you the opportunity to combine Pilates, Cardio, and Yoga all into one program that will make you leaner and more flexible.  

So for the next 21 Day Fix round here is my workout schedule although I have reached my goal weight I will monitor where I am in terms of my weight and when I see that I am going down too much in weight I will go to the maintenance calorie mode which will allow me to still make good progress but not lose anymore weight.  The best part about reaching your weight loss goal is that you get to decide how to manage your progress and your eating habits.  You have control over your progress and you are no longer playing guessing games about what you're doing right or wrong on your fitness journey.

So here is the calendar that I have made for the month of June which starts tomorrow.  I know that it is a little much, but that is how I roll.  I love to push myself to new limits.  I realize that there are people that do more and do less, I am not trying to be better than anyone else.  I am simply pushing myself to new limits in hopes of achieving my own personal goals.  My only expectation is that anyone reading this is doing the same.  I am only in a competition with myself.  Till tomorrow loves nighty night!

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.

  

http://www.iwanttogetripped.com/featured/join-a-challenge-group/

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 9

Here I am at day nine! I am so happy to say that I am almost at the halfway mark of this program.  I can't believe that I have made it this far with the kind of discipline that I have been missing from my life for the last three years.  I knew it was in there somewhere and from the changes that I am beginning to see and feel I will get some great results.  I have posted a few pictures of myself, but my final pictures I will show at the end the way that they are supposed to.

So today was a little different because I did not get up at my usual time in the morning of 5:00 a.m. and start my day.  I got up this morning and got the kids breakfast and ready for school, but soon after I went right back to bed.  Today I had the day off from school and the day off from work so I finally had some time to really catch up on sleep that I felt I needed.  I can't emphasize enough how important it is to be rested.  The body needs to rest in order for the progress you are making to work.  So I got up at about 10:00 a.m. which really got me off to a late start.  I had my coffee and water, and then I grabbed a banana half and my Shakeology and took off to school to get my final grade and my project.

When I got home I got ready right away to do my workout, which today was the Upper Fix.  Now today I tried to lift a little heavier on some of the exercises, where last week I lifted fifteen pounds today I tried twenty pounds.  The reason I did was to push myself.  I got through one of the sets with the heavier weights but on the second set I went back to the lighter.  It's OK to switch out your weights if you are failing to complete the exercise the important thing for me was to get through.  Today's workout, and I don't think I mentioned it the last time, was a lot of floor work on abs, chest, and push ups.  It was just as tough as the last time and I didn't expect it to get any easier.  The most important thing is that I got through it.

Today I had scheduled the Extreme Abs workout from Chalean Extreme's videos but instead I decided to do the 10 Minute Ab Fix from the 21 day program that I was dying to try out.  It was pretty intense and I am glad I did it.  This workout was non-stop for the full ten minutes and we switched exercises every thirty seconds, so she really worked out all areas.

Eating today was on target again.  My meals consisted of 96% lean beef, yams, eggs, olives cheddar cheese, Shakeology, spinach, tomatoes, bell peppers, coffee, water and a banana.  Eating these kinds of clean foods are making a huge difference in the way that I have been feeling, and I am getting quite used to the smaller portions as well.  Up to this point I have completely left out salt from my diet and granted my foods can taste pretty bland at times but sacrifice will be a huge part of my success.  If I ever get a hankering for salt I definitely look forward to eating some green olives which are allowed on the eating plan.  My last comment is that I have gone the entire program without alcohol.  I am so happy that I have made it this far without it.  I will continue to push myself through without it.

On top of smashing my finger today in between my two fifteen pound weights and forgetting that I put my shakeology in the freezer too long, today was another great day!  I hope you will stay with me because tomorrow I want to share my story with you and how my life has gotten me to this point and on this journey.

I know that there are people out there that are thinking of starting a fitness journey or are thinking about changing your life with a healthier lifestyle.  It is a process and it takes time, commitment , even having some ups and downs on the way.  It's OK were human, and we make mistakes.  We fall down but we get back up.  If you want support, or a cheerleader, advice about nutrition, and a new fitness routine that works with your time and schedule don't be shy.  Please contact me and I will help you.  I am having a 21 Day Fix challenge group on the 26th of May and I would love to have you join.  Please fill out the online form and I will get back with you as soon as I can.  Thank you.

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21 Day Fix Day 3

What a last couple of days! I always wonder how we can do so much in one day.  When the day is over I can look back and say WOW, you really did all of that?  Anyways today was day three of the 21 day fix program and today was lower fix.  Now I was completely amazed at how sore my legs were from the cardio fix, and the soreness lasted till today.  So if you are thinking about doing the program then keep that in mind.  The reason it got my attention is because I haven't been that sore doing the other programs.  I am not by any means complaining in fact just the opposite.  I was super ecstatic about being so sore simply because I know it has shocked my muscles.  Shocking the muscles means change and that's what you want.  Stretching for longer periods after the program is over helps, even a hot shower is soothing to those muscles, but I have to say I welcome the pains.

So much like my day on Monday I pretty much had to follow my same routine.  Monday's and Wednesday's for the last three months turned out to be very complex because of the way I scheduled my life drawing class in the evenings from 4:30 p.m to 7:20 p.m.  I also work a few hours in the morning so as you can imagine they are days of just running around everywhere.  Today I was thinking to myself it just can't be a good thing to have to run around so much because it gets in the way of the healthy habits you are trying to form, but life can't get in the way of health.

Again like my Monday I took portions of my meals on the go with me to work and school.  I had my shakeology for breakfast along with my coffee, and water.  My two main meals I ate at home and of course felt very satisfied.  It was my goal once again to stick to the plan and my determination got me through today.

The lower fix workout was really great, we had quite a few varieties of squats and lunges including weights.  I started today with ten and fifteen pound weights because I know that we have more strength in our legs and should be able to use heavier weights.  I would not advise though if you are trying the program for the first time to use very heavy weights simply because you have to figure out what you can handle.  Starting out with no weights or even five pound weights will get you a fantastic workout, just be sure to write it down for the next time, consistency is the key to your success on any strength training program.  I love that before you know it the program is done.  All of the workouts are thirty minutes long.

So today I feel more tired than normal all of the running around gets to me after a while so tomorrow I get to rest.  I am giving myself the gift of sleep because it is so important to your weight loss program.  Today was the last day of class and school is officially done for me.  Sleep is the next thing on the agenda.

There is a fitness challenge group on the 19th of May if you would like to try the 21 day fix and have full support from myself as your coach and a ton of amazing people please email me at lulu_love13@yahoo.com or find me on Facebook (Lucia Perez).

Till tomorrow, sweet dreams.

21 Day Fix

OK so I should be receiving my 21 Day Fix challenge pack today.  I am hoping that there won't be any delays with my package.  I am going to commit to this program and I am super stoked about what my results are going to be.

I am a work in progress and I still need to get those few extra pounds off, but I have been working my fitness since mid January and I have lost inches and a few pounds.  When I started my fitness journey I was 132 pounds, and already doing regular cardio.  I did not however, have a structured fitness program until I started Chalean Extreme on the 13th of January.  I was also not going to get a new gym membership because I felt it was a waste of my money and time, since you really do need a trainer to get results.  Chalean Extreme was all done for me.  Oh I failed to mention as my friend and I got half way through the Chalean program we decided to add in Brazilian Butt Lift workouts to our routine for variety.  We wanted to do more leg work as well as build strength.  Busy mom slash student slash employed I just did not have the time for that.

As a result of Chalean Extreme and Brazilian Butt Lift combination I lost:

Thighs 2 inches

Arms  1 1/1 inches

Waist  2 inches

Hips   2 inches

Bust   1/2 inch

Weight loss 4 pounds

Now Sadly I have a teenage daughter with a camera that uses the same card as my little digital camera so my day one pics are gone forever because she somehow managed to delete them.  That made me really sad because even I can't tell what a huge difference I made in my progress.  So if you have a teen in your home and likes to get into your stuff be sure to keep your day one pictures safe.  At least, I have another starting point for my 21 Day Fix challenge that I am very much looking forward to!!

I will be having a challenge group on the 12th of May if you would like to participate please feel free to contact me via email, or Facebook, or my coaching site!  I would love to see you reach your fitness goals for the summer!! It is a 60 day challenge so you will definitely feel great and see results.  I will be working along side Melanie Mitro on this challenge!! So come and join me!!

Contact Lucia Perez

949-272-6878

lulu_love13@yahoo.com 

please put in the subject line: May 12 Challenge Group