A Year of Blessings!

It's my fourth week of P90X3 & Body Beast hybrid, and I realized in disbelief that as the beginning of November, this week officially marks one YEAR since I joined my first Bombshell Fitness Challenge Group, and ordered Turbo Fire and Shakeology. I was terrified at the thought of putting down that money on an at-home fitness program and some weird powder beverage I had never heard of, especially as a broke preschool teacher. But, there was just something inside me saying that it was what I needed. I had people telling me I would never finish the program, and that Shakeology was stupid, but in reality- it was one of the best things to ever happen to me! I am so thankful I invested in something I was so skeptical about.

Not only am I now in the best shape that I have ever been, but that seemingly small decision ended up completely changing my life! Beachbody coaching is now a business for me. I get to earn money by helping change the lives of others like my coach did for me a year ago- finding a program that fit my needs and that I would love, finding the right Shakeoloy flavor for me, and then giving me the accountability and fun support I needed to finish the program in my challenge group. Sometimes it's hard to believe that this is my "job"- doing something that I am so passionate about, and that is so much fun, and I get to literally watch people transform their lives! Not to mention, that as an active duty military family, it is totally free. How many businesses can you begin for FREE!? Pure craziness!!!!

So now, a year later:

The Workouts

Oh man, I have been LOVING the mixture of P90X3 and Body Beast more than ANYTHING! I have typically been using P90X3 workouts for an added mixture of cardio, and using Body Beast workouts the majority of the time for lifting sequences. Because of how fast-paced Body Beast is, I'm thinking it already gives me the cardio balance I need, because I am huffing, puffing, and dripping sweat the entire video! However, sometimes our bodies just need a break from pumping iron, so I enjoy P90X3 for MMX, Yoga, Pilates, Agility X, Dynamix, Isometrix, and lots of other great workouts.

I might be a bit of a freak, but having sore muscles is one of my favorite things in this world! There is something about pushing yourself past your limits each workout... lifting a muscle group until it feels like you are about to bust through your shirt and can barely move your arms or legs anymore. Then, the next day, the pain of the work you accomplished and just knowing the definition of muscle that will soon be there!

Of course, with harder weightlifting exercises comes more of an importance of nourishing your body correctly. Before, I would always workout first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. With Body Beast, I have been drinking a protein shake or eating a protein bar prior to exercising, and then immediately either drinking my Shakeology for breakfast, or having a different protein supplement directly afterwards. I know how much strain I am putting on my muscles with this program, so I want to make sure that I am properly feeding them to repair the tears and help them grow stronger and bigger with each workout!

I am also SO SO close to a pull-up... I am waiting for the day that I can post my first real pull-up on here!

The Meal Plan

I have started to pay more attention to my carb intake than any other food group, because I want to skip the "bulk" stage of Body Beast straight to the "cutting" stage, since my wedding is only two weeks away! No bulking necessary for me right now!

I am trying to consume 2g of protein per pound of body weight, and only about 1g of carbohydrates per pound of body weight. Of course, some days are better than others. Like, last night (Saturday is ALWAYS my cheat night), I probably ate my body weight in blueberry biscuits and sausage and biscuit casserole at a pot luck party... BUT today I will use that to my advantage with heavier workouts and more carb cutting than before! I want these muscles to be out and about more than ever in my wedding dress.

Stephen has been enjoying eating healthier too, and with our hectic lifestyles, I've been enjoying making super easy, big meals and snacks for us to pick on throughout the week and that I can easily pack for him when he goes to work!

Basil Pesto Chicken and fresh steamed broccoli

Celery slices with fresh canned chicken mixed with red pepper hummus

Cucumber slices with mustard and garlic hummus

Steamed mixed veggies- sometimes, frozen is the only way to get them in, and that's ok!

Ready made pot roast from Walmart. Throw it in a crock pot with some water, and you have a healthy family meal!

"Skinny" Taco Salad: ground lean turkey with homemade taco seasoning, mixed with lettuce, plain greek yogurt for sour cream replacement, shredded cheddar cheese. Delicious!

Healthy breaded chicken from Team Beachbody recipe book!

The Business

October is over, and with that comes the end of the Fall Classic, a little fun competition between us coaches! My coach Carmel and I were on a team together, and ended up coming out winning two tier prizes for our accomplishments! Our accomplishments were really just a reflection of how many lives we changed this past month, so it's incredibly rewarding and inspiring to be congratulated and rewarded on something we love to do. We are getting a really neat Team Beachbody shirt and stadium bag!

I am so looking forward to helping those that really want to push through the holidays to a better lifestyle. As I mentioned before, although it may seem crazy to try to start a health and fitness journey around the holiday season, this is the time that I started last year, and it was the best decision I could have ever made. YOU CAN DO THIS! I remember traveling to Pompano Beach, Florida for the holidays and getting my challenge group posts done in the hotel, and squeezing in my workouts in the little floor space there, as well!

Hotel workouts with my niece last Thanksgiving in the hotel!

Luckily for you guys, the most AMAZING program is on a MAJOR sale with Shakeology for this month only, and it is absolutely PERFECT for holiday travels!

You may have heard me rave about PiYo before, and for good reason! It is extremely low impact, but still HIGH intensity! Meaning... no, you won't be jumping up and down and all around, you won't even need one single weight to finish this program. You will use your body and your body only to get you in incredible shape. PiYo, like its name suggests, is a mixture of pilates and yoga inpsired moves- meaning it's not exactly pilates and yoga, but you will get that amazing, relaxing feel to it that you get from those sequences. However, you will be sweating so much without barely leaving the floor that you don't even know how Chalene Johnson is doing that to you!

Take my word, it is incredible. And for right now, you can the PiYo Challenge Pack, an entire month's worth of Shakeology (your nutrient dense meal replacement shake) and the PiYo program for only $140! That's a savings of well over $50, guys!!! Just think... a month of meals and a program to keep forever, for about the same cost of only two months of a gym membership or one month of Crossfit. Does it get much better than that?! I think not!

To get in on this amazing deal and join my upcoming free challenge group, apply below and I cannot WAIT to work with you!!!


With love,

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Unapologetically ME!

I did something that I wasn't proud of yesterday.

I randomly flexed in the mirror, was shocked at my most recent improvements, snapped a picture, and shared on Instagram. But, I was nervous and didn't share it on Facebook. I was scared of what people may think. I was scared of being judged for being a female with slightly larger than normal muscle mass. 

When I realized that these thoughts were coursing through my head, I then started to think, "WHAT?!?!? Everything you have worked so hard for, the things you have taught OTHERS not to fear, including judgement from others... and now you're going to run scared from the progress you are making because it may not match someone else's goals?"

So, no more. I am firm believer in practicing what you preach. So many of the beautiful women on my team have been nervous to share their progress photos. Either they are not where they want to be yet, or just have not yet become comfortable with the thought of baring skin on social media. I always comfort them and let them know, "You know what? Someone needs to see this. Someone needs to know that you are going through the same things that they are, and you have tools to help them. You have succeeded no matter WHAT stage in your progress you are currently in." They always come to a realization, share their pictures, and draw in the people that NEEDED them in that moment, and needed their help.

Why am I not telling myself the same things? Who cares if someone is going to judge my muscular figure? That's ok. Maybe I will not connect with them. But you know what, I can and will connect with someone that has the same goals as me, that is ready to shed those last few pounds of fat, that is in love with weightlifting and hates cardio, that would be proud to see defined muscles when they flex in the mirror.

Goals change over time for each person. Mine are now to become the most fit, trim version of me with proper diet and exercise. I REFUSE to be ashamed of that. On Monday, I'm even going to restart P90X3 + Shakeology with one of my girls while using the 21 Day Fix containers to maintain portion control. I hope to be even MORE defined by the end of that!

So, this is me. Unapologetically me. I like lifting heavy weights, I have a hard time giving up carbs, but I am seeing and striving for improvements every day. 

I will never stop doing what I love!

xoxo,

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Why Women Should Lift Weights

When I first started my weight loss journey, I was similar to many women in the fact that I assumed lifting weights, especially heavy ones, would result in me getting bulky, broad, and a thick look that I didn't want. I wanted to get a lean, elongated, and a sexy sculpted body. What I didn't realize at the time, was that the exact thing that I thought would bring me away from the results I wanted, was the one thing that actually was going to get me there. 

Ladies: lifting HEAVY weights are the KEY to getting lean, sexy, sculpted bodies!!!

When I did my first round of P90X3, I shedded 8 inches of fat overall on my body, but gained a few pounds in lean muscle. I never lifted anything less than a 10 lb dumbbell, and that's what I used for the exercises that required a light weight. So many times when women begin to exercise, we gain a few pounds in the process and totally lose sight of the big picture: that weight is just a number! It is NOT the main source we should be looking at for our progress. Look in the mirror! Try on your old clothes! Take the measuring tape out! Weight gain can simply mean that we are putting on muscle- but that is GOOD, because although muscle weighs more than fat, muscle also SCORCHES fat! The more muscle you have, the more fat you are going to lose, because muscle burns significantly more calories than fat even at a resting state. Therefore, the more muscle you have, the more weight you are going to lose by doing virtually nothing. Will you gain a few more pounds? Maybe. But will you look a heck of a lot better? YES!

Here are some of the reasons why women will NEVER get bulky, or start to look "manly" from weightlifting:

1. Women naturally do not even possess the testosterone levels to gain muscle mass like men. Normal testosterone levels for men fall between 200-1200 ng/dl, while testosterone levels for women are typically between 15-70 ng/dl. Therefore, even if a man is at the lowest end of the testosterone level, and a woman is at the highest, the man would still have TWICE the amount of testosterone! Women do not contain the hormonal support to ever gain muscle like a man. If you ever see female bodybuilders that seem to possess similar muscle mass to men, it is because they are using outside testosterone injections or steroids- they are doing something to alter the natural state of their bodies and testosterone levels. 

2. Studies have SHOWN that men and women can train the exact same way- meaning, women MUST lift those HEAVY weights in order to achieve the sexy "toned" look that we want. Lifting heavy weights will give us the "V" shaped back (but not broad like a man's, because again, that is not possible for our bodies), the shapely legs and lifted booty, the tight, lean, sculpted arms, and of course that flat tummy we ALWAYS dream of! In reality, lifting light weights for a long period of time will just increase your muscle endurance, while lifting heavy weights will build your muscle strength- burning fat, increasing metabolism, and sculpting your muscles even more.

3. The word "toning" is actually a misconception. I still use the term, because I think of it in a different aspect than some, but here's the kicker: our muscles do not change. When some people say "tone your muscles," we are really just shedding the fat around them and making them protrude more. Now, we can build muscle and make them bigger, we can LOSE muscle, but we cannot "tone" it. The bigger we make our muscles, the leaner we will look. :)

4. Sometimes when women (or men) begin to train in weight lifting, they do get bigger and bulkier and blame it on lifting weights. This is simply because those people are gaining actual weight in fat by consuming too many calories. Along with weight lifting, we still need to be at a calorie deficit to lose weight. Do not think since you are lifting heavy weights, you also need to be consuming thousands of calories to make up for it and "feed your muscles." That's not the case. In fact, people can overeat on very healthy foods as well- healthy foods can still add up to a lot of calories! The main thing you want to make sure you are doing is feeding your body and muscles the proper nutrients it needs DIRECTLY after lifting weights, and that is protein! A simple protein shake (or for me, Shakeology) will do the trick. But other than that, I have lost the most weight and gained the most muscle from eating around a 1,500 calorie diet for my body and build. If I wanted to lose more weight, I would either have to create more of a calorie deficit in working out longer to burn more calories, or eating even less. 

Therefore, if you are getting bulky and thicker "from weightlifting," it's really that you are gaining weight in general.

Alright ladies, I hope this cleared the air on some of your weightlifting fears! So FEAR NOT those big weights! Get all up in the heavy weight zone at the gym and boot the guys out of the way! Doing a Beachbody program like me? Bring those heavy weights HOME! Don't spend money on the 3 lb'ers! Show those guys who's BOSS! ;)

With love,