Health & Fitness Challenge!!!!!!

I know, it's been like FOREVER since I have blogged.  Frankly, there isn't much to blog about!  Work and kids have kept me pretty busy!  BUT, I did want to let you know that I am doing my own personal MINI CHALLENGE with some folks starting on Dec 26 and it ends Dec 31!  If you are interested in participating, go like my Facebook page!  Kim Gets Fit!  Tonight is the last night to "Officially" sign up, but you can always follow along, you just won't be able to win prizes!

DISCLAIMER!!!!!!!!  I am NOT a nutritionist nor a certified personal trainer!!!!!!  I am doing this to help motivate others and only teaching them what I have learned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  YOu do this challenge at YOUR OWN RISK!!!!!!!!

Have a wonderfully BLESSED MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Too Much Pressure?

Ever since I started working, I have been FREAKING out and putting TONS of pressure on myself because I feel like I don't have the time I used to to workout (nor the energy) and of course, my eating schedule has been thrown off. I feel like I have gained weight, and losing definition. Well, this past week, I have kind of taken a breather, trying to refresh my mind and not put so much pressure on

 myself. You know what? That helped TONS! I allowed myself to eat whatever, in as much moderation as I could, but not come down hard on myself. You know what? That helped! No, not the eating wrong, but letting go of the pressure! That is key! When going full force in this journey, we MUST keep a clear mind and NOT put so much pressure on ourselves when we hit a slump. What we have to do is find what is going on with us, clear our mind and keep moving forward, without the pressure of feeling like a failure. UGH, I said the word. I have been feeling like a failure and that added more pressure on me. This weekend, I got that good long walk in and cleared my mind and became at ease with myself. Yes, I have some work to do to get back where I was in Sept. but it's not as much work as I have been making myself feel like it is. I also, took more rest days this week. SAY WHAT? Well, I did and you know what? I don't feel guilty! I put in some hard time this week and am proud of what I HAVE accomplished! Instead of focusing on what I haven't done, I am focusing on what I HAVE done! So, if you are like me and put tons of pressure on yourself to do this journey perfectly, STOP! IT WILL DRIVE YOU INSANE! Take this journey day by day, meal by meal, workout by workout. If you take this pressure off of you, I am sure you will be happier with yourself and with your outcome! 

Peace, LOVE, and SWEAT!

Sitting behind a desk now!

Well, today I started my office job.  I made sure I got up extremely early in order to get my morning workout out in before I left.  I was surprised at how few calories I burned during the workout.  I'm thinking it was because I did it without any coffee in my system and maybe I didn't give it as much effort as with caffeine?  Nonetheless, I still got a workout in!
I learned today that sitting behind a desk all day long is a BIG shock to my system!  It was very hard to handle.  Since today was just orientation, I got to come home early.  So I jumped right in and started cleaning on my house and then, ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, my workout before dinner!  I hadn't looked forward to a workout like that in a LONG time!  I can't wait to get my NORMAL workout hours set so I know exactly what is going on and I can have a new routine down in no time!  By no means, will I let having this position set me back!

Talking about set backs, they did give us free lunch for their cafeteria today, however, I prepared my meal and took my OWN lunch!  I am so happy I did because it sounds like the cafeteria does not have lean, clean, and green food!  I already know what I will be taking with me tomorrow as well!  Prep is key!

Bree Bond Guest Blogging!

I want to start off by saying that this blogging thing is actually much harder than what I thought!  New and fresh ideas almost every day is difficult especially when all you do is work, kids, and fitness, and healthy eating!  Yep, I lead a boring life!  So, I wanted to gift you all with something fresh, new and exciting and I asked a twitter friend to guest blog!  I was ecstatic when she accepted!  So without further ado, here is the YOUNG, FRESH and BEAUTIFUL BREE BOND!!!!!!!!!!!!  Show her some LOVE folks!

I’m just going to dive right into my guest post by first saying thank you to Mrs. Kim for asking to feature me and this post on her blog! I’ve always wanted a blog and think it’s the coolest when people ask me to a guest post, so thank you Kim. 

I’ll tell you a little about me. My name is Bree Bond; I’m a 20 year old from Texas, relocating to California to pursue my dreams of becoming an actress.  I am a National Academy of Sports Medicine certified personal trainer and self proclaimed health geek. I just recently received my NASM personal training certification after starting my fitness journey September 2011 through the Tone It Up nutrition program (which I HIGHLY recommend).  Anyways, when Kim asked me to do a post I had no idea what I wanted to write about… She asked me about a week after I had gotten my certification, which was also the exact time where I discovered an injury in my right hip flexor and lower abdominal muscles.  I was in severe pain and I am no baby when it comes to pain so when it hurt as bad as it did I knew I needed at least a week of complete bed-rest. *siiiiiiigh* Needless to say I had a lot of time on my hands…

So here I am sitting down to write this post-one-week-bed-rest. I went through so many emotions last week while lying in bed, all day every day.  (See, you use your core for EVERYTHING so it wasn’t an injury I could really just work around, I knew I needed to seriously let it rest) So, going from working out every single day (6 days a week) sometimes twice a day to a completely bed ridden was a hard pill to swallow for me.  I hurt my ankle when I was in 4^th grade and ever since I’ve had muscle imbalances on my right leg, as much as I tried to strengthen my right leg to match the left I was still left with an overcompensation usage in the right side of my core to make up for the strength differences.  This lead to overload of those muscles, which lead to inflammation, which led to my body saying, “woah bro, no more…” Yes, my body talks like a California surfer dude.  To avoid making you re-live my experience by describing every grueling detail, I just want to share with you all what I learned.

                  I knew all of these things but I am very  hardheaded  and sometimes think I’m superwoman,  this rest only solidified the knowledge I had and I see now that I needed something like this to snap me out of my stubbornness.    

                  I am all about pushing through plateaus, high intensity training, setting goals and having relentless determination to see them out, however… we are not indestructible.  I am constantly seeing things on Twitter like “#TeamNoDayzOff” or “#NoExcuses” and the list goes on and on. People on Instagram constantly making their training seem like torture because of how exhausted they are.  This makes me think, “Isn’t this supposed to IMPROVE our lives?” Now hear me out, I am a work out fool, it’s one of my passions in life, I would work out three-four times a day if it wouldn’t eventually kill me, but that’s just it, my body would absolutely give out.  We aren’t made for constant destruction which is exactly what working out does, it breaks us down so we can rebuild stronger. People ask me all the time how to push through a plateau.  A lot of people will say have a cheat meal, do empty stomach HIIT cardio blindfolded on one leg while wearing a top hat but you want to know my new found advice? Oh you’re going to hate it, I know I did but here it is; Give. Yourself. A. Break.  This is a personal trainer speaking; someone whose income depends on YOU wanting to get your butt to the gym but still I am telling you, give yourself a break.  Take a few days off; throw your body for a loop without shoving a Big Mac down.  Cheat meals only reinforce you old bad habits and aren’t conducive to fitness goals in my opinion. This brings me to the next thing I learned; Eating is everything.  You’ve heard “Abs are made in the kitchen” yeah? Well, here I am to reinforce that idea.  I changed nothing about the way I ate while completely resting, clean eats, 6-7x a day and I barely lifted a finger.  Here I am a week later to tell you that I did not gain a pound. Yes, some days I felt bloated.  Yes, some days I retained water and yes, some days I even ate more than I should have.  But you know what? I’m unchanged by it! How great is that?! One of the many benefits of being FIT, you can take time off, let life hit you and still maintain your fitness progress. Your body is smart, it knows how to work, and it knows how to adapt.    It’s impossible to lose your progress by giving yourself a break! Am I saying give up? Am I saying go “easy” on yourself? No, push, work, drive and then rest… J  You’ll actually come back completely restored and ready to work at your full potential.

Today is my second day back to training and I feel like I am actually making progress again! I am sore! I feel like I’m actually doing some work while I’m lifting! Before I was pushing myself to the point of exhaustion, my muscles to the point of severely painful inflammation and I wasn’t getting anywhere.  A rest day wasn’t the answer, a rest period was. 

I’ll leave you with these ideas.  Exercise and working out are two different things.  Exercise is playing with your kids, going on walks, riding your bike anything that gets your heart pumping a little more than usual.  Working out is for muscular endurance/strength.  It IS possible to live a HEALTHY lifestyle, maintain your weight and feel good without working out.  Working out does provide so many health benefits and I highly recommend it but, I just want you to understand that taking a break from working out and just living actively for a few days can be extremely beneficial too.  You cannot perform HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) everyday and not expect some backlash. Space them out; take into consideration the time, intensity, frequency, type and the enjoyment of your exercise and workouts.  They’re all dependant of one another. HIIT 2-3x a week is great but mix it up with some low intensity cardio too, work all your body parts (everything is connected), throw in core training, foam roll, stretch, rest and repeat. Rest is just as important as everything else I listed.  Be committed to your rest days/periods as you are to your workouts. Even more so be committed to eating for your goals.  As long as you’re putting clean foods in your body at all the right levels and not being sedentary, say hello to improved health levels and fitness maintenance during your rest periods from working out.  Strive for healthy, set goals and be determined.  You are worth every second of this fight for fitness, but sometimes it’s okay to put your sword down.

                  You can follow me on Twitter; @BondBree and also find me on Instagram @BondBree!  I am always open to questions and willing to help with what I can!  Stay strong and beautiful.  Now go workout ;) <3

weight loss apps and my polar

Most people, like me, start their weight loss journey by counting calories.  But like me, they are not sure how many they are suppose to intake and burn, etc.  Well, the first answer to that is it depends on the body and fitness level.  What I have found to be helpful is an app called myfitnesspal.  It's easy to use and since I was able to download it for free on my iphone, it's with me always!  I can take pictures of label instead of hunting for the item, create my own recipes, save my favorite meals, etc.  It is a very useful tool to me and I always know where I stand with my caloric intake, how much sodium I have had, as well as sugar and such.  This site lets YOU organize what you want to see, you can input your workouts and you can even interact with other people if you choose to do so.  I have tried other apps to count calories and workouts, but they just don't seem to be as user friendly as this one.  It also tell you exactly how many calories you have earned after a workout, but be mindful of what you intake.  Also something to remember is that, even though a workout is listed and it may tell you how many calories you burned during the allotted time, that is not accurate.  Each person burns calories at a different rate, so it's wise to use something like a polar hear monitor when working out to get your actual calorie burn.  I never workout without my polar!  There are all different types of polar's and the price range is from about $65.00 (low end) up to $200.00 (high end) and could actually be even higher than that.  I have the lower end model but it works really well for what I want!  I would like to find an affordable one that would tell me my time, heart rate, and calories burned all on one screen!  If anyone knows of one, let me know!  Here is the link to both tools that I mentioned!

myfitnesspal - http://www.myfitnesspal.com

Polar - http://www.polarusa.com/us-en/products

Guest Blogger Coming Soon!

I know that sometimes I get stuck on the same ole' same ole', so I thought, hmmmmm, I need to switch it up for my readers.  So that is exactly what I am doing!  Keep your eyes out as I am sure you will NOT want to miss this!  So excited!

Oh and yeah, that HIIT workout I did from Go Fit Gals?  Yeah totally sore today, but it's a soreness I LOVE!  If you haven't already followed them, do so!  They are on Facebook, Twitter, and they are launching a Nutrition and Workout plan in just a FEW MORE DAYS!


Dominate,and annihilate your workouts!

My HIIT workout and the affect 3 days off had on me

Today I hopped back on the saddle and got 1 of my workouts in.  I was going to do 2 back to back, but after I did a Go Fit Gals HIIT workout, I was wiped!  Man was it good!  I sweat like no other!  I did have to modify one thing but hey, that's ok!  This was still a calorie torcher!  Now, why did I have to modify?  Well, my personal belief is that I did have too many rest days.  I don't think my body can have 3 right in a row.  I felt like I lost some strength and stamina.  So, lesson learned, for me!  You may be able to take that many rest days and not feel any affect, others may not.  It's a personal thing and you have to be the judge.  Anyway, I wanted to share the workout I did in case you would like to try it yourself!  Make sure you follow these ladies on Face, Twitter, and youtube!

Here is the link to the video!

Now, GO WORK OUT!

Take a Rest Day!

Ever have one of those days where you are just exhausted?  Yep, me too!  Here lately, it's been more than usual.  I feel mentally and physically exhausted.  So, even though it's important to workout and push your body, it's also important to take a rest day or two.  Listen to your body, it will never tell you wrong!  Now that doesn't mean, sit around all day and do nothing, it means, don't push your body as hard!  Take active rest days!  I will admit that I took the weekend off, not because I wanted to, but because I was crazy busy and just couldn't fit it in to my schedule.  I usually only take one day off, but, this week, I am taking 3.  Today is day 3 but it didn't mean I slept in nor does it mean that I am sitting on my computer all day!  I have cleaned house and getting tons of laundry done!  Just keeping my body  in motion by cleaning, I burned over 500 calories!  Yep, that's right!  Tonight, I plan on going for a walk.  Nothing overly pushing it, but just a nice walk.  I have never taken this many days off in a row from my workouts (except when I was sick) and my hand weights.  I'm excited to see if this will also help me tone better and get through a plateau that I have been stuck at.  Will let you know how my body re-acts to this!

Why is it important for rest days?  Your muscles need time to heal and repair.  You've been ripping those babies for days and they need healing time.  Another reason to take a rest day?  Burn out!  You don't want to get burnt out on doing good for your body, if you do, you will relapse and end up doing nothing and all that hard work goes to waste.  I get burnt out as well, so that is why I had adapted the following schedule:

Mon-Fri, I hit it hard with cardio for 30 min, then another 30 min toning session.  Sometimes each is longer than that, but that is a typical time frame for me.

Sat is a light day.  I will walk/run, yoga, or a toning session but nothing major.

Sunday - a complete rest day.  Sometimes I am active by hiking, walking, etc. but most days, I just veg out after church.  I deserve it!

If you would like, try my schedule out and then report back to me and let me know how it works for you!

Happy resting!

Journaling

Do you journal?  What do you journal about?  I journal my food and workout routines along with my weight and measurements!  Why do I do this?  It helps me see what foods I am eating, how much I am eating, how many calories I am burning, what workouts are giving me the most burn for the buck, and where I need to improve.  I ALWAYS journal my food in myfitness pal along with my workouts.  Today, I sat a new goal to journal my own personal routines, that way I can know what I did in the workout and be able to repeat it to keep that burn going!  Why haven't I done this before?  I wish I had an answer for that one but I don't.
Here is a picture of how I journal and what my journal looks like!

SO HERE IS YOUR CHALLENGE OF THE DAY!

Go out and purchase a really adorable journal and start journaling!  If you haven't downloaded myfitnesspal, go do it, it's free!  You can also scan the bar code of the food you are eating and it will input all the information for you!

Once you have started journaling, let me know if it has helped you!

Peace, LOVE, Sweat!
I came here with nothing, but I'm going to leave with a legacy!

Determination & Hunger!

Did you wake up this morning with DETERMINATION & HUNGER inside you?  I didn't!  I over slept, had to take one of my children to the ortho, then to school.  Needless to say, I didn't get my workout in when I wanted to!  At the moment, I am blessed to be able to work from home so when I finished my errands, I laced up my tennis shoes and was going for my walk.  Yep, I said walk.  I didn't WANT to run today, I just wasn't feeling it!  Well, I was no more than 10 minutes in to the walk when a song from my workout list came on and totally changed my attitude!  The only words I could hear from the song was dominate, annihilate, champion, be a better me, I am a CHAMPION!  I took off running with determination and the hunger inside me to dominate that run!  I kept that song on repeat until I ended 2 miles later!  That's what we need, determination and hunger to be a better us!  Not only in our health and fitness journey but also in life!  How we treat and view others, our family, and friends,  and those in need.  Today, I challenge you!  Go out and DOMINATE that workout, conquer the food demons, and be a better person to everyone!

Peace, Love, Sweat, and BLESSINGS!

So MANY Blessings!

First, I want to start off by apologizing to my followers for being SO absent!  There have been so many changes happening in my life, that I just haven't focused on this.  Again, I am sorry, and I hope I can be more consistent with this.

The changes have been such a blessing that I want to share those with you!  First, I have changed churches (this one was difficult!) and am now able to be involved with children's ministry again!  I have not been involved since 2010 and that took its toll on me because I intensionally moved from the west coast to be a children's minister.

The other big change is that I will be going back to work FULL time!  Yep, in an office 5 days a week!  I am still working for the band (I can't give them up!  Too much love and respect for them and the crew!)
But this is something that my family desperately needed!  I am excited to be going back and continuing to gain knowledge in the pharmaceutical industry!  This also helps me reach my goal to become a Personal Fitness Trainer!  My intention is to purchase my schooling by Christmas!  Once I get that certification, I am moving on to nutrition, then a certified Yoga instructor!  Yep, I am going to make sure that NO MATTER WHAT I am able to work, work, work!

Besides the changes that have been happening, I have started a fitness page on Facebook that I am MORE interactive with!  Follow me!  Ask me questions!  Recipe exchange!  Everything FITNESS goes!  My page is Kim Gets Fit!

Now, on to the healthy stuff!  Today, my husband and I went on a trail hike together, just us!  It was so awesome!  The weather was beautiful and I got to see God's wonderful creations in a new light.  I also got to see my progress in the form of stamina!  There is this HUGE hill that you have to go up in order to see the river, this time around, I didn't have to take a break in the middle!  To some, that may not seem to be a big accomplishment, but to me, it was HUGE!  I felt stronger and I could tell that my stamina is higher!
This is where I tell you to not give up on yourself because any little change is a HUGE accomplishment!  If you are able to do 2 extra reps, hold a plank 5 seconds longer, walk .25 miles further, YOU HAVE GROWN!  Don't compare yourself to others, compare yourself to the OLD you!

With that, I will do one more shameless plug for my facebook fitness page (Kim Gets Fit)!  Once I reach 100 followers, I am gifting someone with a yr subscription to a fitness magazine!  Then after that, I am hoping to do a challenge with great prizes!  Keep watching and join in!

Peace, LOVE, and fitness!

Try Something New!

Are you stuck in a rut with your workout routine or diet?  Try something new!  If you always walk, put in a few minutes of running every 1/2 mile.  If you use weights, up them!  Not only will small changes to your workouts keep them fresh, it will also change your body!

Diet rut?  How about adding some plain Greek yogurt with a banana and strawberries!  Plain rice cakes?  Add some Conserve on it!  This not only gives your taste buds a change, it will also satisfy your sweet tooth!

It is important for us to change up our routines for two reasons:
1. Changing your workouts will keep you from getting bored with them, which will help ensure you continue to work out.  The added benefit, is in watching your definition change!
2. If we do not change and spice up our diet, we will get bored and more apt to give up on clean eating.  I have fallen victim to this issue many times!

So, get out there and try something new!  While your at it, invite a friend!

My something new was participating in the Color Run last Saturday!  I am always intimidated by runners, but I did my best and kept going!  I had my husband and daughter participating with me so that made it even more fun!  The glow run is coming to my town in about two months, I think I may have to sign up for that as well! :)

Support System

Do you have a support system in place for your NEW HEALTHY LIFESTYLE?  Having a support system is crucial for your success!  I am actually BLESSED to have an outstanding support system.  First is my Tone It Up family!  These are fellow Tone It Up girls trying to achieve the same goals and life style as me.  If you are on twitter, you MUST follow these girls!  You will know them by two things: 1. we have a twibbon that is teal and coral with two girls on it, 2. most of them have TIU in their twitter handle.  My other HUGE support system is my husband!  From the moment I purchased the Tone It Up nutrition plan www.toneitup.com he has been by my side every step of the way!  He will do slim downs with me, he works out with me, he runs with me, and he cheers me on during my dark times!  He alone is crucial to my success and he doesn't even know it.  If you have folks that are negative and don't believe in you and are NOT supportive in your new life style change, please, please find us and lean on us for strength and cheers!

As you know, I recently took a hiatus from blogging.  Well, I took it because I was NOT in a good place mentally.  That affected my healthy choices and I felt unworthy of trying to tell someone else how to change their lifestyle.  During that whole time, my husband stood by my side.  Letting me know that I could do all of this and I still have my food addiction beat.  Today, he did something that really showed me just how much he does believe in me.  He asked me to be his trainer!  I was so humbled and excited that he asked me!  I was in awe that he actually wanted ME when I have been in such a bad place.  Maybe this was the last little thing I needed to bring me out of this dark place and to keep on  MOVING FORWARD!  Yes, he is my support system.  That is the type of person YOU need.  Get your friends and family involved any way possible and they will be the biggest support you will ever have.  Sometimes, it takes baby steps, but it WILL happen.  Like I said, for an immediate support system, follow me on twitter or find my page on Facebook: Kim Gets Fit and I will be there with you every step of the way!

Never, EVER give up because YOU ARE WORTH IT!

Hiatus

Hi everyone,
I am writing to let you know that I am taking a small hiatus from blogging as I am not in a good place at the moment.  I am taking the time to get back to my old self and to get myself better mentally and physically.  I pray that you will stand by me in prayer and continue to follow this blog.  I will return as soon as I am healthy.

Peace, Love, and Sweat!

MIA for a little bit

Hi Folks!
Just wanted to let you know that I will be posting again real soon!  I am trying to enjoy the last days of summer with my children!

Diet and Exercise go Hand in Hand!

Sorry I have been MIA!  Last week, I was sick with pleurisy and was put down for a week!  That was one of the hardest weeks I have had in a long time!  But it was also a week of learning more about this lifestyle journey that I am on.  First thing I learned is,  I can hear all the trainers that I watch tell me that diet and exercise go hand in hand, but I never REALLY listened.  What I mean by this is that I took things for granted. I didn't worry about if i had an off day in eating because I worked out and vice versa (but always ALWAYS remember, you cannot work off a bad diet!).  Well, I knew that I couldn't work out for a week and thought I would just eat clean and I wouldn't have to worry.  Well, I was wrong.  First, I found that since I wasn't working out, I gave up on clean eating within 3 days.  I knew that clean eating would at least help me maintain my weight, but seeing all the definition of my muscles go away killed me!  So.....I gave up, not completely though.  I did do clean eating, it just wasn't as LEAN as it should have been.  In my last days off, it clicked, a lean, clean & green diet and exercising MUST go hand in hand!  DING DING DING!  That's what ALL the trainers are telling me!  It is IMPERATIVE to do both in order to be lean and sculpted!  Yep, you can maintain a weight loss by eating clean, but if you don't work out, you won't be sculpted the way you want and you can work out and be sculpted, but will not be lean if you don't eat right.

Yesterday was my first day back in to working out.  I wanted to come back with vengeance, however, this is the only body I have and I do NOT want to blow it out AGAIN!  So I am taking it slow.  Just like when I first started!  I will tell you this, my muscles are sore!  It's a great feeling!  I am staying away from my weights this week and will start incorporating them again next week and I absolutely can NOT wait!

Running Class

As most of you know (if you read this blog) I am new to running.  I hate it actually!  I always compare myself to other people and by what they have already accomplished!  BAD BAD BAD!  I Really have to stop doing that!  Anyway, in my endeavor to find out when the Wounded Warrior Race was in my town, I came across a running class at a local running store.  So guess what I did?  I signed up!  I needed SOME kind of insight as to what I could be doing better as to form, stride, aww heck, who am I kidding!  I needed all the information I could get!  Well, tonight was the night for the class!  I was so excited but really scared and I shared that anxiety on my personal facebook page. (shameless plug coming!  I have a facebook fitness page as well - kim gets fit) if you want to follow!  Anyway, when I finished my class, I had a response to my status which was simply this,


God did not give you the spirit of fear...but


 of love, and power, and a sound mind. (II. 


Tim.1:7) You can do it! You go girl!   

What a GREAT reminder and motivation that was!  Please don't ever forget that when you are fearful to try a new class or something new at all!

Ok, so back to the class.  Well, one of my biggest fears came true, I was the BABY runner in the class!  That didn't matter though because what they taught was great information for all the runners!  I did come out on top for one thing, my stride! YIPEEEE  (sorry, the competitiveness came out).  I really learned a lot, now just to ensure I actually can make the suggestions happen!  This may call for private running lessons!  My suggestions to all of you just starting out in the runner's world is two things, Don't forget the above quote and take a running class!  It was well worth the little amount of money it cost me!

Don't Give UP!

Sometimes when we have started a fitness journey, we tend to want to give up because we do not see results quickly enough.  I wanted to upload this photo for you to encourage you!  Don't Give UP!

Progress Is Progress

Today, I will be short and sweet!  Sometimes we get down on ourselves because the pounds are not coming off fast enough, or the inches aren't melting away quickly enough.  But I am here to tell you, that if you are really trying and putting your all in to it, you have already progressed!  Whether it's a fast progress or a slow paced one, it's still progress!

The one thing that I have been slowly progressing in is running.  I am not going the distance that I really want, but you know what?  If I can take two more strides over what I had done the time before, then I made progress!  It doesn't matter how fast I go or how long it takes me to FINALLY run a 5K, what matters is my effort and the progress I make in accomplishing my goal!

So, if your progress is slow.  Don't give up on yourself because I haven't given up on you or me.  Progress is Progress no matter what the pace or distance is!

<3, Sweat, and Peace!

Does Your Inside match your Outside?

All my life I have struggled with my weight.  I come from an obese family and pretty much accepted that I will be heavy for my entire life.  I was the FAT kid that was made fun of.  The Fat teenager that none of the boys wanted to have anything to do with (i'm sure the BIG HAIR didn't HELP! :)  My senior year in high school, I turned it around, I pretty much starved myself so I would lose weight and look descent for my Sr. Prom and graduation.  I lost TONS of weight and I felt really good about myself.  The unfortunate thing was, that I didn't do it in a healthy manner and it didn't last long.  My freshman year in college, I gained most of it back!  I struggled with yoyo weight loss and gain the entire time!  My Sr. year in college, I lost a lot of weight again.  This time, it was due to depression and an over exhausting schedule.  I started feeling good about myself though.  I liked how I looked and it showed.  My confidence level was finally up!  Boys that never would speak to me, asked me out.  OMG!  He asked me out!  But yeah, I turned him down.  I wasn't good enough before, so why now?  Anyway, after college, I became that yoyo person AGAIN!  There went  my self esteem!!!!!!  I was NOT confident!  I did NOT feel good in my own skin, and I absolutely HATED getting dressed to go anywhere!  I went through this for a few years and then I met my husband.  What a wonderful man he was/is!  He accepted me the way I was and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me!  Early in our marriage, I got pregnant with our first child.  I really had a hard time with the pregnancy because ALL I could see is me gaining more weight!  I couldn't even embrace that a beautiful baby was growing inside.  Again, I was NOT confident, I did NOT feel good about myself nor could I even feel pretty!  After I delivered my baby, I went on a massive diet!  I only ate 1x a day.  I found yoga and started doing that multiple times a day while she napped.  I then had my husband come up with a routine for me at the gym and started going to the gym.  The weight came off and my body started changing, I was at my lowest weight EVER!  But what didn't change is how I felt about myself.  I still was NOT confident and I still didn't Like myself.  The weight loss didn't last too long because 2 yrs. after my first child was born, I became pregnant with my twins.  Guess what!  Yep, all the things I was NOT was there AGAIN!  After they were born, I started taking diet pill, and again eating 1x a day and yoga.  The weight came off, but because I did it in such an unhealthy manner, it would just keep coming back on.  I struggled like this for 7 yrs.  Up and down, up and down.  Last year, I found Tone It Up.  They have changed my life.  I have lost weight in a healthy manner, have come to enjoy working out, and I absolutely LOVE spreading the work about them!  What I have come to realize is that my inside hasn't caught up with my outside!  I am still that FAT girl who is NOT confident, NOT happy with what she looks like, NO self-esteem, and NOT comfortable inside my own skin.  Do I see this as a hindrance? Absolutely!  What I need to learn is how to get over these feelings!  How do I do this?  I'm not sure.  It's a struggle every single day!  But, I am taking it one day at a time!  I thought I would share in pictures where I was to where I am today.  Yes, there is a HUGE change, but not on the inside!  The inside is still a work in progress as well.

Admitting

The weekend is just around the corner, and I admit, the past two weekends, I have fallen off the healthy wagon!  Why?  I am not sure.  I thought I was stronger than the urge!  This is what I think has happened.  I got cocky!  Yep, I did!  I got cocky in how I felt and how I looked and thought, "Oh, I can have a little"!  Well, that little turned in to absolutely NO SELF CONTROL!  What's worse, I have stomach issues and eating that food literally doubles me over in pain.  So why do it?  I had NO SELF CONTROL!  Self control and regulation is important.  I know that and still didn't listen to myself or what was good for my body.  This weekend, I vow to myself to NOT EAT UNCLEAN FOOD!  Can and will you make this promise to yourself?

Do you over eat?

This past weekend was memorial day weekend, did you over eat?  No, I didn't ask if you chose unhealthy food, I asked if you over ate.  I did!  Yep, I admit it, I over ate on healthy food.  Did this hurt my weight loss?  Yep, it sure did!  How?  Why?  Because, my portions were not the correct amount, I did not stay on my schedule of eating and I grazed way too much.  Even though I work out, it doesn't counteract how much I ate, it never has and never will.  Abs start in the kitchen!  This is with what you eat and how much you eat.  The good thing is, I didn't gain all the weight back from what I had lost in the 7dsd, but I did gain a little!
This is what I have learned about my body though:
I cannot eat any type of bread or wrap when I want to, 2 days MAX!
I really have to watch my salt intake, NO MORE THAN 2 Days a week!
For some silly reason bread and salt are my body's enemy when it comes to weight gain so I have to cut it down a lot smaller than what everyone else does.  I have to listen to my body and watch what the food does to me.  This was learned through trial and error.

So, what's my point?  You can still gain weight eating healthy if you over eat!  This is not me preaching, it's me telling you what I did and what happened so that maybe you can learn from my mistake!

5 - 6 small meals a day, lots of H2O, sleep, and stay as close to your schedule as possible.  A messed up schedule will through you off and BAM, everything is thrown off!

7 Day Slim Down Results!

I recently did the 7 Day Slim Down from Tone It Up's nutrition plan and in the video, I share my results, how I feel, and the wonderful people who helped me through it!  If you need a great nutrition plan that is healthy, safe, and effective.  Tone It Up is the way to go!  I have always struggled with my weight, and fad diets just don't work.  This plan truly works!  They tell you what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat!  The plan also tells you what types of workouts to do and when to do them.  Once you become a member, you are a LIFETIME member, with updates to the plans coming at a constant rate.  Karena and Katrina are very involved with each member and you gain a FAMILY from all the other members!  This has been the only thing I have been able to stick with and feel great!  If you have any questions about the plan or membership, please don't hesitate to ask me.  Tone It Up can be found at http://www.toneitup.com

Don't Give Up! and Talking Hike for Heros!

It's Monday, how did you fair over the weekend?  Did you have a slip up?  If so, don't think it's all over!  Today starts a new week, which means a new day to get it right.  Pick yourself up and quit hating yourself for a slip up.  Quit telling yourself, it's just no use.  Because you know what?  THAT'S NOT TRUE!  Start over today!  Get in that workout, eat clean, drink lots of water!  Keep trying!  DON'T GIVE UP!  You are so worth NOT GIVING UP ON!  Yes, I said, YOU ARE WORTH IT!  If you feel you can't go any further, take a quick break and go again!  You can do it!

As you all know, last weekend, I did an accidental 8 mile hike with my daughter and boy was it tough!  Well, this weekend, I pushed myself even further by setting a goal to walk 10 miles for the Hike for Heros walk.  I chose a flat path because I knew that I wanted milage (that was the main goal for the walk,run,hike,bike). Well, half way through my first round, my back started killing me!  Yep, I have a really bad back.  I wanted to stop right then and there because every step I took hurt! I was really close to stopping, but then I started thinking about all of our military personnel and all of the worries they go through and I just couldn't stop, plus I needed that cardio.  I pushed myself to get through that first round.  During our first bout around the lake, I saw where they had these tandem bikes for rent, and I was like OH, well, I could rent one of those to ease my back.  Then I felt like a wimp, and kept going, pushing myself.  This is a walk and this is what I promised my donors I would do.  I did not give up on myself!  I didn't want to let my Heros down!  I continued to push through the second round, taking small breaks as needed (for my back only).  This gave me the little strength I needed to continue the steps. However, during round 2, I did rent the bike.  For a little bit, I felt defeated.  I felt like I let a lot of people down, but when I got on that bike, I got a whole NEW workout! I LOVED IT!  And because I was still getting a workout in, I felt better and undefeated.  My husband on the other hand hated it! :)  We did our last round on that bike and finished up the last mile walking (the rental place was NOT by our starting line).  I couldn't and DIDN'T give up on myself completely, I just needed to find another way, that was safe for my back. Sure, if that pain wouldn't have gotten so bad, I would have completed 11 miles of walking (which is the farthest I have gone during any workout!).  In the past, it would have been so easy for me to just give up, but instead of giving up, I found another way to keep moving and adding those miles up.  The biggest point here is this.  I DIDN'T GIVE UP ON ME, and you shouldn't give up on YOU!  Give yourself more credit for how far you have come.  Maybe you can't do 11 miles just yet, but don't let that keep you from getting out for a walk or a run.  Remember, every little thing you do to stay active means you are lapping someone who is sitting on the couch doing nothing about their health.  This is a decision you made for YOUR HEALTH, DON'T GIVE UP! You are farther in this than what you think!
Here is a little collage of pics from the walk.

Peace, Love, and Sweat!

Tips for Staying Lean And Green over the weekend

For most of us, eating lean, clean, and green is easy to do during the week, but the weekend GETS US!  We have worked hard all week and all we want to do is RELAX, go to parties, and NOT think about anything.  Me, I absolutely HATE cooking, especially when the weekend comes!  But, I also don't want to undo all the hard work I just put in over the week!  So, even though I don't like doing it, I will be cooking this weekend, ensuring that I don't undo my work.  I also have a party to go to.  What do you usually take to a party?  Sweets, chips?  Well, you can still take those things, just make them clean!  In place of potato chips, make sweet potato chips or kale chips. There are numerous recipes online that I have found.  All it takes is a little research! This also has helped me stay on track.  If you want to take more than one item to your party or cookout, do it!  Do WHATEVER it takes to stay LEAN, CLEAN, and GREEN!  My most recent recipe, which was a huge hit, was pumpkin chocolate chip muffins!  Even my kids loved them!  I found it on pinterest and made tweaks to it so that it would be clean! Here is the address if you are interested! Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe - Allrecipes.com 


Another person who helps me quite often with recipes is fitfoodjunkie!  She has amazing reciepes!  I have tried her banana bread, brussels sprouts, and will soon try Pink Heart Cookies that she found on Pure2Raw's website!  Follow her! http://fitfoodjunkie.com/ Not only does she help with recipes, she gives fit tips and throws in some challenges for you as well!  She has been a great TIU (ToneItUP) sister to me!


Also, just keep in mind that you want 4 oz of lean protein with lunch and dinner and green veggies!  for your in-between snacks, go to fruit or 2Tbs of CLEAN peanut butter and of course, veggies and hummus!  And never forget your H2O!  Water is very important for your body!  Make sure get in at least half of your body weight! So that means, if I weigh 127 lbs, my minimum water intake will be 64 (yes, I rounded up) oz.  Right now, I am over 100 oz of water.  This like eating clean and working out becomes habit!  I actually crave water!  Here are some tips to help you gulp it down!  And fruit, today my water has strawberries and a lime in it!  It is so delicious!  Drink coconut water, I hard time with it myself, but I love Zico's chocoloate coconut water!  Especially when it's ice cold and after a workout!  Tomorrow, I will be walking for our Heros (10miles).  I am sure there will be LOTS of Choc. Zico consumed by my family!


So, Let me know how you did over the weekend! And if this has helped you at all!  I'm new to blogging and want to help anyone I can become healthier and fit!  Also, let me know what you would like to see me blog about!  Have a GREAT LEAN, CLEAN, and GREEN weekend!

Working Mother Works Out!

I want to start this blog post by saying this one was inspired by my Tone It Up sister Sophie, you MUST follow her on twitter @sophiehowl and her youtube page at theSophieHowl. Sophie is an amazing mother and so inspirational! Thank you Sophie for the INSPIRATION!

Now, onto today's post.  As you know, I am a working mother of 3 beautiful children and I also work.  Granted, I am blessed to be able to work from home 9 months out of the year, but I do have to go out on tour for about 3 months (non-stop).  Being a working mom has posed challenges for me.  When I started this journey, the first thing that came to mind was, how in the world am I going to find time to do this?  I work, I have 3 kids that are involved in so many things, there is housework to be done, there is laundry to be done AND I travel!  Well, the bottom line is this, you find and make the time for it!  If you TRULY want to change your health and your body, you will find the time.  When I first started following my fellow Tone It Up sisters on twitter, I admit, I was EXTREMELY intimidated by how much they worked out and how much time they spent working on their bodies. I started feeling really down on myself and was very envious. Then something finally clicked in my head and i turned things around.  I knew that I was giving all I had toward my goal, with all the time I could without making my family sacrifice things.  I ensure that I get a good 30 minutes in a day and do more if/when I can, but ALWAYS 30 minutes!  Sure, my transformation hasn't been as quickly as I want, but I'm becoming ok with that.  I am exactly where I am suppose to be.  

So, I thought, if I had this type of struggle, I am sure there are many other working mom's out there that has the same struggle so I wanted to give you some pointers that I have learned through this journey that may help you to sneak in those workouts.

1. I sleep in my workout clothes (this keeps me motivated in the morning)

2.  I work out as soon as my kids leave for school (for those of you who leave before their children, get up an extra 30 min early to fit your workout in)

3. Plan, plan, and plan (I am not a week in advance planner to my workouts, but I do think and look ahead!) I examine what I have been working on and make sure I focus on a different body part for that extra toning!  I love full body workouts (especially in a time crunch) but I will also add on a focus workout.

4. I work out when my kids go to sleep!  Yes, it's late at night and I am exhausted from work, homework, house work, never ending laundry piles, kids extra curricular activities, dr. visits, and everything else, but if I didn't get a work out in earlier, I will do it this late!

5. If you miss a day, bounce back with vengeance the next day!

6. give your body a day of rest!  I use Sunday's as my rest days.  My priority on Sunday is God and family!

I hope these tidbits help you with your struggle of finding time to fit in a workout. If you have any questions or need any advice, please ask me!  I'm here to help you with your journey! Or go on Twitter and find all of the amazing Tone It Up girls!  Inspiration and Motivation is what we do!

Another amazing mom on twitter you should follow is @fitfoodjunkie I don't know what I would do without her most days!  Thank you Sharisse for all you do!

And to quote my Tone It Up Trainers "Peace, Love, and SWEAT!"

Happy Monday!

It's Motivation Monday!  Hopefully all of you stayed active over the weekend.  My daughter and I did a 8 mile hike on Saturday!  It was one that I had to PUSH through but boy, I felt like a CHAMPION after and so did she!  I took a BUM day on Sunday, it was Mother's Day after all, but I earned that rest day!  I did pretty well staying lean and clean with a small cheat.  I actually ate some cheesy potatoes!  I hadn't had potatoes in such a long time, but I only took a spoonful!

Today I started the ToneItUp 7dayslimdown.  At the end, you are suppose to weigh yourself and measure, so this morning, I weighed to get my starting weight, and to my surprise, I am 2lbs away from my goal weight!  This slim down will definitely put me where I want to be!  Will I stop doing what I have been doing and become less cautious?  Absolutely NOT!  I still have tons of toning to do and if I want to maintain, I have to keep my A game on!  Plus, Eating Clean and working out has become more habit than anything, and I enjoy how I feel after a workout!  You will NEVER REGRET A WORKOUT!

So, with this, I bid you a Happy Moving Monday!  HAHA, see how I changed that to get you moving?  I'm clever like that somedays!  I've been trying all weekend to get a picture of our hike to post, so here's to trying one more time!

It's the WEEKEND!!!! Are you staying active and eating Clean?

Do you know there are 105 days of weekend in 2012?  Staying active and eating clean is essential!  EVEN ON THE WEEKENDS!  So what are you doing to stay active?  I was suppose to go to a 4 hour Krav Maga Women's Self Defense class, but my partner bailed on me :(  Well, I knew I had to do something to stay active so my daughter and I decided to hit a trail.  Where we go, it splits.  One is a 5 mile and the other is an 8 mile trail.  We planned to do the 5 mile trail but somehow we got confused and ended up on the 8 mile trail!  I was mentally not prepared for this and I really didn't think my body was ready for that!  But to my surprise, we DID IT!  At mile 6 I wanted to give up, but I knew that we had to keep going.  I had to change my mindset to keep my daughter going and to keep her in a good mood.  I kept a smile on my face and both of us kept encouraging each other!  My diet?  I loaded up with protein early because I know the trail and knew I needed it. I had organic rolled oats w/a tbs of maple syrup, and toast with organic peanut butter.  Lunch, was skipped since we were out on the trail, and dinner was 2 oz of chicken on top of a salad, 1 mini corn on the cobb, a tbs of whole wheat pasta, and a little wholly guacamole.  Late tonight as I have been prepping the CLEAN pumpkin muffins for Mother's Day, I was starving!  I really wanted one of these muffins!!!!!!!!  But instead, I fought the urge and chose and apple.  Sometimes these cravings are hard, but keep the will power and eat clean!  Remember being healthy is 80% nutrition and 20% working out!  YOU GOT THIS!
If you are a beautiful mother reading this, trying to change your lifestyle, DON'T GIVE UP!  YOU DESERVE THIS!  YOU ARE DOING THIS FOR YOU!  And most of all HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
#EatClean TrainHARD!

My Beginning

My struggle with weight loss has been a life long one.  I come from the Southeast, so eating healthy and exercising was something that I did not grow up on.  Sure, I learned how to starve yourself and lose weight, but that wasn't smart.  I maintained a descent weight for most of my adult life.  I had my first child in 1999 and bounced back pretty quick by eating 1 meal a day and doing yoga.  I actually saw my body changing!  I amped it up for a while, going to the gym about 2x a week along with doing yoga everyday, but never changed my eating habbits.  In 2002, I became pregnant with my twins.  I carried them full term (I WAS HUGE!) I did however, try to do yoga during the pregnancy until I just couldn't do it anymore, again (I WAS HUGE!) and boy, were they big for twins!  1 weighed 7lbs 6oz, the other, 6lbs 7oz. This is the actual start of getting my body back.  I thought I was eating healthy, but not like I should have.  I did yoga, but not like I should have.  I struggled with time management (still a struggle!).  With 3 children, there was NO WAY I HAD TIME TO TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!  So, I let it all go.  I definitely was not obese all those years, but NOT where I wanted to be.  About a year ago, I really started struggling with how I felt about my body, it was spring and all I could think about was wearing a bathing suit.  I knew I had to do something so I found myfitnesspal and started watching my calorie intake.  To my surprise, the app also wanted me to log in my exercise!  What???? Me???? EXERCISE!  NO WAY!  I haven't done that in years nor do I have the time for it! But it told me that in order to lose the weight, I should.  So i started searching for workouts that I could do.  I stumbled upon a Tone It Up workout that appeared to be fast and simple, so I tried it.  Boy was I wrong!  It was fast, but not simple! I was so sore the next day that I could barely move, but something happened during that workout.  I listened to what the trainers were saying about eating and exercising and how it all ties in with changing your body.  I was hooked on them but NOT the exercising part!  I didn't want to give up like I always had so I kept finding more of their workouts on YouTube.  I listened to more of what they had to say, and kept repeating those words to myself. I eventually went to their website and read up on them more, and also started following them and their team members on twitter.  I loved the before/after pics of everyone!  They became my motivation to keep going.  I couldn't afford their nutrition program so I still had the battle of clean eating going.  But, with their workouts and the pointers they gave for free, my body did change and I felt better being in my swimsuit.  THEN it was time for me to go out on tour for the summer!  Uh oh!  I had no control over how my food was prepared, i worked 20 hr days and most of the time had to eat on the run and at odd times.  Workouts didn't happen except for what I do in my job.  Everything that I had worked for was undone.  The upside to this?  I bought the Tone It Nutrition Plan!  I came home from tour and started over AGAIN!  Starting over is never fun and it was a struggle! I lost about 7lbs from the slimdown, but put it back on because of the holidays.  Yep, you guessed it!  I am a yoyo.  I did the slimdown again after the new year and have been doing a lot better!  I still struggle with choosing the right food all the time, but I am no where near where I used to be.  Working out?  I love it!  I don't get to do as much as others because of my busy schedule, but I make sure I get in as much as I can!  I am still not where I want to be, but so far from where I started.  This is a lifestyle change and undoing all these years of unhealthy habits is hard.  As a fellow Tone It Up sister said, I am NOT a beginner, but I am NOT advanced either.  This is what I want the beginners to a healthy life style to remember, change is hard, but don't give up!  When I  struggle for motivation, the things I use to remind myself of why I want to do this is for my health, to be good role models for my children, and to make my trainers proud to say, that I AM A MEMBER OF THEIR TEAM!  If you would like more information on Tone It Up go to their website at www.toneitup.com  You'll never regret you started!