You, you, YOU!

Greetings and salutations my friends! Last night, I had the opportunity to listen to Tony Horton speak about the "Zen of Fitness." Now, don't think I'm going to start 'ohm'ing or requiring you to meditate, but he brought out some really valid points that can be helpful to many of us.

First, he talked about the last 20 years of life. Now I'm sure most of us are nowhere near that phase (at least we hope we're not), but what you do today clearly will affect how comfortably you live the final phase of your life. It's important enough to repeat...what you do today will affect how comfortably you live the final phase of your life. Look around at the older generation with whom you come into contact. There's a tremendous variety, and I assure you, some took better care of themselves in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, which is why they do so much better in their 70s and 80s. It makes sense, so start taking care of yourself today, so that you can truly enjoy those twilight years when they come.

Second, Tony talked about accountability. Look, I'm not going to sit here and say that working out six days per week and eating healthy is easy. Oftentimes finding the motivation and willpower to push play or to not eat that entire strawberry pie is quite the challenge. Too often we make excuses for ourselves. I hear it all the time...it's too hard to cook healthy, I don't have the energy to workout at the end of the day, I don't have any time to workout, my husband and I were working out together, but he quit, so I did, too. I know all of them, because I used to use them all the time. Put the excuses away...you deserve to be healthier. You deserve to be the best version of yourself that you can be.

Quit thinking that you NEED others to be successful with YOUR goals. Quit thinking that you need your spouse to be your workout buddy. If he or she quits, fine, but don't let that be your stumbling block. If I waited around for my husband to workout with me, I'd be waiting an awfully long time. No energy? Well I'm here to tell you that if you workout, you'll actually gain energy from the endorphins that rush to your brain during exercise. No time? Put down the remote control, step away from the computer, and make time for yourself. Let your spouse watch the kids for 30 minutes and do something JUST FOR YOU. I experienced a lot of grumbling on behalf of my spouse when I committed to me. He grumbled about what we ate, he grumbled about the hour I needed with our one television, he grumbled that there weren't potato chips in the house. After he started seeing the changes in my physique, energy, and attitude, he stopped grumbling. Heck, he now is trying to quit his smoking habit and is cutting back on the Coca-Cola and Ding Dongs. So while my changes may have helped motivate him, HE is making the choice to invest in changes for himself.

Noone is responsible for you except for you. As Tony Horton wrote in his own blog, "It's not your mother or your father. Not your sister or your brother. It's not your God or your Government. It's not the high school bully or your eighth grade home room teacher. It's not your therapist or your wife or your boyfriend. It's not luck or even circumstance. It's not your height, weight or age that makes life great, or not. It's You!" While it's great to surround yourself with positive, supportive individuals, noone except you can make the decision to change your life and make it better.

Let me know if you're ready, and we talk about fitness and nutrition goals. Just go to my coaching page and send me a message. I will be in your corner, if YOU are ready to invest some sweat equity in yourself.

Day by day...it's a process

Greetings and salutations my friends! It's been awhile since I last blogged, but I just returned home from a fantastic two weeks in Ohio with my parents. I dragged all of my P90X gear to Ohio with me, and didn't miss a workout while I was out of town, for which I give a big kudos to myself. On the other hand, I fear that my diet did suffer a bit, but rather than beat myself up for my transgressions, it's important to remember that this is a process. I'm not going to change 38 years of bad habits in 115 days.

The worst foods at my mom's house were, sadly, the two things that I crave the most...ice cream and pretzels. Yep, I ate them, but unlike the old me, I didn't eat half the carton or half the bag of pretzels dipped in cheese. Also, my parents go out to dinner once per week, and I met some friends from high school on several other days, so the opportunity to eat at restaurants was much more frequent than normal. Restaurants really do pose some challenges for those who are trying to eat healthier and with moderation.

We like to think that a good old fashioned salad is always a great choice, but some of those 'nutritious' salad choices contain over 1000 calories and 40+ grams of fat! I had lunch one afternoon with my mom, and after searching the menu, chose a grilled chicken sandwich, thinking I was doing myself a favor. Upon coming home and entering my lunch into myfitnesspal.com, I realized that my 'good selection' boasted 910 calories JUST FOR THE SANDWICH! I was devastated and really angry with myself.

After that, I was determined to really make sure my choices were the healthier one on the menu. In many places, it was hard to find a single option that was less than 900 calories, while other restaurants do go out of their way to provide less fattening fare for the calorie conscious. If you're going to go out to eat, do your homework first. Most restaurants provide nutrition guides for their menus online. Also, myfitnesspal.com has a food search, and many chain restaurant foods have already been placed into the database. Do some searches and write down your options. This is what I ended up doing, and it saved me a LOT of heartache later. In addition, the options were still good tasting food, they simply didn't provide me with an entire day's worth of calories in one sitting.

So yep, I struggled. As each day would close, I would promise that I'd do better the next day. And I did, for the most part. The surprising thing is that even though I felt like like I had disappointed myself with regards to my diet for the past two weeks, I came home and got on the scale, and I'm down 3 pounds. Go figure...I'm obviously making MUCH better choices than I would have made 4 months ago, but still have a ways to go. I just have to remember, day by day, it IS a process. Some days will be good, some not so good, but in the end, we will make positive strides towards a fitter lifestyle.

If you have questions about diet, nutrition, or fitness, please feel free to ask. Just go to my coaching page and send me an e-mail. Day by day folks...we just have to take it day by day.

90 Days to a Better Life

Greetings and Salutations my friends! It was 90 days ago today that I made the decision to invest some sweat equity in myself. Ninety days ago the naysayers told me, "I'll give you a week with that P90X before you quit." Ninety days ago I felt fat and was uncomfortable in my own body. It's amazing what can happen to a person in a mere 90 days.

I made the decision to attempt P90X not because I wanted to 'get ripped,' but because I wanted to feel good inside my own skin. The number on the scale had risen to a level that I swore I'd never allow, but alas, there it was, staring me in the face in late March. I had made a comment to my cousin, Sarah, who was yammering on about loving this workout program she was doing, about how I wished I loved exercising. That was the day she told me to go to YouTube and check out P90X. I did, and was mesmerized, but worried that I wasn't strong enough 'to work' the program. She assured me that I'd be okay. I invested my $120+ that same day. I then waited anxiously for my package to arrive from Beachbody.

Upon arrival, I completed the fit test. I couldn't do a single push-up on my toes, couldn't do a wall sit for 60 seconds, a pull-up wasn't even in my vocabulary, and I thought I was going to keel over dead during the last 30 seconds of the 2-minute jumping jack drill. I decided the "Lean" program would be a better choice for me due to my fitness level, I pushed play the very next day and never looked back.

With the support of the fantastic Beachbody community, as well as some fantastic 'friends' on Facebook, I didn't miss a day. I made the decision that I was going to make time just for me, and that nothing was going to prevent me from becoming a better version of myself. Along the way, I fell in love with exercise, and more importantly, I fell in love with myself again. I had no idea that this body was capable of the things that it can do.

Now, don't get me wrong, it was HARD WORK! There were days when I didn't really want to work out, but I knew that it was necessary. On the days that I needed some motivation, I simply contacted my own coach (thanks, Keith), and he busted my chops for all of 30 seconds, and off I went to bring it. Just knowing that he was in my corner was enough to motivate me. Changing my eating habits has been the more challenging part of the program for me. I have good days, and not so good days (I have those days where I think I'd eat the kitchen counters if they weren't nailed down), but I accept the things I do well each day, and vow to do better the next day on those things that I don't do so well. Ninety days in, I can say that I have truly revamped my former eating habits, but it's still a tough road. It's a progress...and I must remember that each day is part of that progress, and each day that I am successful will make the next easier.

Along the way, I started coaching for Beachbody. I must say, it has been one of the most fulfilling and motivating experiences in my life. I have met some wonderful people, have inspired many to push play every day, and myself, am inspired by their perserverance as well. So, a little shout out to small part of my 'crew' who allow me to be their 'coach' and who motivate and inspire me along the way...thanks to Carolyn, Katrina, Noah, Alisha, Reem, Matthew, and Crystal. You are all ROCKSTARS for pushing play alongside me!

So my 90 days is up...but for me, this journey is far from over. Tomorrow I set new, realistic goals, and push play on a new day. I'm ready to invest another 90 days of sweat equity into myself with a second round of P90X, this time the 'classic' version. Who wants to go along for the ride? If you're game and ready to make some changes in your life, sign up for FREE Team Beachbody membership with me as your coach, here. Let me know how I can help...because I'm willing and able as soon as you are committed.