Join Me?!

In all my life I've never done something as fun as this...

JUST DANCE!!!

As adults it's so hard to find some time to just let loose and HAVE FUN! Am I right!?!

Well this will give you a killer workout AND let you relieve some stress while having a blast!

You will get: 1:1 support from me, a community of people wanting the same things as you, online forums, easy recipes, simple meal plans and the chance to JUST have fun while burning some calories!

My first group is already kicking butt AND loving the "workouts" so I decided to open another!!

I am looking to take just 8 people along with me, 2 spots are already taken!

What do you say!? Wanna come shake your booty, have fun and just enjoy working out!?

PM me or drop a comment below and I'll be in touch

What do you stand for?

If you stand for nothing, you will fall for everything.

This couldn't be more true in all aspects of life. Being successful at whatever profession you are doing takes hard work and dedication. It takes knowing your WHY and having it so deeply rooted in your heart and soul that nothing can take you away from it. Not your excuses, not the hard times, not the criticisms. Nothing can rip you from your goals because you stand for something bigger. 

Today I ran the farthest I've ever run alone by far. For the longest time I believed I couldn't. I believed I needed someone to be there next to me pushing me, but today, I discovered that I don't NEED it. When it comes down to it, I need to be able to do it myself and today I did. 

The same goes for your business or career. Don't rely on someone else to push you, to motivate you. Yes, it's good to surround yourself with mentors and leaders. However, it all comes down to YOU and how deeply YOU want it. They can dont it for you. 

Don't be scared to try something new, don't let fear hold you back. Find your wings on the way down and FLY. 

Stand for something greater than those fears, and the excuses and everything else that stands in your way. Stand for yourself and have a believe so strong that nothing can shake it. 

Stop and Think

It's pictures like these that make me stop and think about how far I've come since I started this journey almost a year ago.

I've learned that--

* the negative comments about yourself are more detrimental than anything.

* confidence doesn't come from what size you are or aren't. It comes from accepting yourself and truly loving the person you are, inside and out.

*feeling happy and healthy are priceless.

*being around by 1 person who genuinely cares about you is better than being around 10 who have no clue who you are.

*exercising is the best stress reliever and mood booster ever

*good food= happy body

*healthy comes in different sizes

 

The picture on the left is of the 15 year old me. The picture on the right was taken today. The difference between these two pictures goes way deeper than just what you can see.

In high school and pretty much most of my adult life I struggled with my weight and how I looked. I would often compare myself to my peers and always ended up feeling worse about who I was. My confidence was at an all time low and I let negative thoughts about myself consume my life.

Now I feel happy and healthy. Im stronger both mentally and physically because of the things I've done over the past 11 months. I've found my confidence and now when those negative thoughts creep in I quickly hush them with positive affirmations. I am not ashamed of my body. I am proud of what I have been able to achieve after having three babies.

What happened that prompted this change? Beachbody. I can say without a doubt that through the support, accountability and love I've received I was able to pick myself up and better myself as a person. Inside and out I am changing and it's been an amazing journey.

 

My motivation.

It was about 10 minutes in when all I wanted to do was quit. I have about a million other things I could be doing. My mind was so clouded that I was inches away from giving up and calling it quits. 

But something stopped me. My WHY stopped me. It gave me power when I thought I had none. My WHY is stronger than all my excuses and allows me to push though those doubts.

My advice- Find your WHY and remind yourself daily of it.  Pull from it when you are ready to give up and make it stronger than your excuses. 

Why do I workout?

There are so many reasons why I love to workout. It is a miracle I didn't start exercising earlier in my life. I never saw it as a priority or that I really needed it. Now I know I was wrong. 

Here are a few things it does for me...

Working out gives me freedom from all the stressors in my life.

Working out gives me time for myself, to grow stronger mentally and physically. 

Working out makes me happy. 

Those are my main reasonings why I love exercising. Doing the at home DVDs and running help clear my mind and gives me a sense of peace and pride in my body. 

I'm not doing this for anyone else or to be skinny or to show off or to put anyone down by my accomplishments. 

I'm doing this to be strong, happy and confident in myself. 

Every woman deserves that.

Beachbody FAST...

How much time does it take to workout, shower, look presentable AND have a nutritious breakfast?

Well it took me 1 hour and 16 minutes from start to finish!!! (Even with 3 kids )

Here's how I did it:
Woke up, drank E&E, pushed play on a Max 30 workout, exercised for the FULL 30 minutes, got the kids breakfast, jumped in the shower, got out- searched for clothes (because I never lay them out the night before), got dressed, did my hair and makeup, got the kids dressed and diapers changed, made my chocolate peanut butter Shakeology and...

**BAM** IM DONE!

My morning in a nutshell smile emoticon

It's not a joke when they say it's FAST and EFFICIENT for BUSY people 

As always>> Id love to help you- I'm just a message away 

January 12th!!

To join the gym or not to join the gym?

I will admit that gyms are pretty cool. They have all the equipment you could want and great classes.

But what if you could get the same results you would at the gym in the comfort in your own home? Would you be interested?

-No more traveling to workout.
-No wondering around wondering what to do.
-No following someone else's schedule to make it to a class.
-No wading through tons of people to use the machine you want.
-No paying hundreds of dollars for a personal trainer

If you choose to join my challenge group here's what you would get--

-30 minute workouts from a professional trainer
-a 21/30/60 day calendar explaining exactly what you need to do
-a complete nutrition program, created by dietitians, that is proven to boost results
AND
Support, accountability, motivation, recipes and meal plans from ME!

You don't ever have to feel alone or lost on what to do.

I'm here for you-- just fill out this **application** and I will contact you shortly!

Happy Monday!!

There are FOUR pretty simple rules to starting and continuing a workout routine.

Number ONE is to 

       NEVER MISS A MONDAY! 

By exercising every Monday you set yourself up for a better day and week. Your workout schedule can be set and you KNOW the next time you need to get movin'. You also create a habit that will keep you on the right track! 

Have a NO EXCUSE Monday and get your workout DONE! Whether you walk a mile, run four, lift weights, do ten jumping jacks-- just DO something! 

Anything is better than nothing. 

One Mothers Support

First let me say that I never thought something like this would happen to me. I've read those beautiful stories of other people reaching out by saying a few kind words or paying for someone's dinner. The stories that make me cry and wonder how those people were feeling when someone did that for them.

Tonight I got to experience that. 

Today was a typical day. Brought my daughter to school, hung out with my other two kiddos, cleaned, did laundry-- the list never ends for a mom. My mother in law flew in today so the kids were super excited and really not paying much attention to the directions my husband and I had been giving them. 

Right after picking up my oldest from school I sneaked out of the house for awhile to go for a run. This is my "me" time. I have this new found love for running so I try and make it out at least twice a week. I did really well too! I ran 4 miles and at a faster overall pace. I was so excited!

Anyways, we all decided to go out to dinner for our 4 year anniversary, that happened yesterday. Of course it's a Friday night at 6:30pm so everywhere is PACKED! We landed at Long Horn Steak House and waited for a table. The kids were great as far as waiting. We were all starving and ready to eat. While waiting I noticed a family standing near us. Their little boy was about the age of my middle child and they had an infant. They were quiet and their children really well behaved. Our little buzzer starting going off and we were ushered to our table. 

Dinner was pretty uneventful in the beginning. The kids were being good and actually eating. Everything was coming out fast from the kitchen. Perfect. A smooth family date night, which never happens!

Then it started. My youngest was getting loud and cranky and the other two were just about passed out at the table. As our dinner arrived they informed me that they were out of sweet potatoes for the next 30 minutes so I needed to change my side. For whatever reason I was overly angry about it. Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous. I agree. But all of a sudden the noise my son was making and the fact that they didn't have what I ordered completely changed my mood. Nothing was good enough. My food wasn't that great and I didn't get my damn sweet potato which can arguably be the best thing on their menu. Dinner was coming to a close and my crappy mood persisted. 

My husband grabbed our son and headed to bring the car around. While gathering our belongings, the woman from the waiting area approached me. I hadn't even noticed but she was at the table right next to us the whole time. She was holding her baby girl when she leaned in and very quietly said...

"Hey! I just wanted to tell you how beautiful your family is. You are doing an amazing job. I know dinner time can great rough. I just wanted to let you know."

My face flushed, my heart started racing and I was speechless. I managed to squeeze out a a thank you but not much more. I was in shocked. My body was paralyzed by what had happened that I really couldn't react the way I should have. As I walked away I started tearing up. What this woman just said to me meant so much more than anyone could understand. A stranger noticed my struggle and decided to help. She lifted me up and made me feel better when I was being pretty a pretty lousy human being. I mean come on... Who gets mad over a sweet potato!? Apparently me. Not one of my finest moments.

I should have hugged her and told her that she is my saving grace. She single handily plucked me out of my bad mood and made me count my blessings. She gave me that positive attitude I had lost back at the sweet potato. 

As we drove home I told my husband what had happened and started tearing up again. I doubt he understands just how that woman helped but I will never forget her and what she did for me. This woman touched my heart. I am forever grateful.

This is what mothers should be doing for each other-- lifting each other up instead of silently judging. 

Friday Night Run

Its Friday night, the Hubby just got home from work, and I had an itch to go running. I was feeling great and didn't get in my T25 workout like I had originally planned. So I decided I would have enough time to get in a 3.2 mile run (I'm going to run at least 3.2 each time so my 5K time will get better) before it got dark. It was about 5:30 pm and super cloudy as it had rained all day. Still I went for it. I was TOTALLY wrong about it not getting dark. About half way I realized there was no way I'd make it home. The approaching darkness definitely helped me run harder I can tell you that!! Our neighborhood isn't well lit and its a little creepy running alone in a new neighborhood. 

On top of the dark I made a quick decision to go down another street. There were tons of Christmas lights that made the homes look beautiful so I took it. So here I was lost in my new neighborhood in the dark. I found a way to cut back to the main street by a drainage thing (lol I have no idea what you call those things!). I hopped on the phone with a friend so at least I could listen to her chat. Best idea ever! 

The plus side of wanting to get home as fast as I could was that I pushed harder than I ever have. Also by running down a wrong street I added some distance onto my run. Overall my splits were the best I've ever had for that distance of run so I'm happy I went but I probably won't ever cut it that close again :)

Once I got home I was relieved. My body was feeling great and still on the running high but I knew that I needed to stretch. I'm always so sore after a run and I wanted to make sure to give my muscles a good stretch. I got out my mat and started. Of course my babies joined in. I have to say its absolutely adorable when my son crawls under to give me a kiss. Aw makes my heart melt!

One stretch I discovered from PiYo is called the Pigeon. Its a stretch where your leg is bent ahead of you while the other is extended fully backwards. This stretches needs to be gotten into correctly so here is how I do it. I start off in a plank position, move to down dog and then bring one of my legs through my arms and sit down on my butt. This move can get a little difficult if you aren't flexible so take it slow and don't push yourself too much! I hold the pose for 30 seconds and go back into down dog. Repeat with the other leg. 

Next time you workout, go for a run or even just need a good stretch try this one out! Its awesome and totally stretches you out! 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks for all that you are grateful for. I know in my family it is a time where we all gather, cook and just enjoy each others company. I love that sense of family and it was something I was definitely missing when we lived in Oklahoma alone. Having my mom close is priceless and I am forever grateful that her and her husband were able to join us yesterday. Not only did we have my mom and her husband over we got to spend our very first Thanksgiving in our new home. That's right... we bought a home on the 12th of November and it has been the most exciting and nerve racking experience. I LOVE that we now are home owners and in our home prior to the holiday season.

This Thanksgiving was FULL of firsts for my family and I. Another FIRST happened yesterday as well! I participated in the 5K Turkey Trot!!! 

So at 6:30 am I jumped out of bed and started getting ready. I was so excited and nervous all the same time. I couldn't believe that one of my goals, set back in June, would be accomplished! When I started running I couldn't even make it a full mile without stopping. I had to do intervals of running and walking along with sticking to the T25 program but soon built up my endurance and speed. My time per mile was over 11 minutes!! But I DIDN'T give up. Each time I went for a run I would push myself a little more. I will post HOW to made it from couch to 5K so you can see! It wasn't easy but totally do-able! 

The race started at 8 am so we all piled into the car and headed downtown. Once we got there I could feel the energy. There were so many people walking around, all ready to rock this race. There were people with kids and jogging strollers, dogs, teenagers and seniors ALL prepared to run the 5K. I was amazed to see the variety of people. As we all lined up and waited to hear the starting shot, I was filled with gratefulness and determination. Grateful that my heath and fitness has allowed me to do something like this and determined to do my absolute best. 

The race went a lot faster than I imagined it would!! For most of the race I was able to keep pace with my best friend, Amanda. She can run faster and longer than I can so it helped me keep a steady pace instead of sprinting in the beginning like I wanted to! My adrenaline was definitely to blame for that! Near the end I could feel my energy slipping and my pace slowing. That's went I decided to change my mindset. I KNEW I could do this. So I started running faster. I picked someone ahead of my and made it my goal to catch up and keep pace with them. It was a woman about my age and although she doesn't know it, she pushed me harder that last .50 miles than anything else. I didn't think of my legs feeling like jello or my side screaming because of a cramp. I just went for it. My time for that last little piece of the run was faster than I've ever run before. 

A sense of accomplished and pride went rushing through my body has I passed the finish line. I was so proud of myself for all the hard work I put in over the last few months and happy that my official time was UNDER 30 minutes. 

Here was my final stats:

-Official time 29.22 minutes 
-30th out of 90 runners in my age group (25-29)
-199 out of all 753 females
-537 out of 1411

I can't wait to participate in another 5K and continue to train so I can one day run in a 10K, hopefully this spring ;) !!

I hope you all had an AMAZING Thanksgiving!!