No excuses!

So here's the deal--I have been gone ALL day the past two days working a conference all day and babysitting until 2 a.m. each night. I'm EXHAUSTED. I'm running on EMPTY. But, at 11:00 p.m. I realized that I hadn't met my step goal for the day(I use a Jawbone UP as a daily goal in addition to my fix workouts- i have a goal of 10,000 steps). And-- just past midnight- I got all of my steps in! I'm still babysitting until 2a.m. and I got up, got moving inside of the house-- ‪#‎noexcuses‬ ! We do it!

The start of a brand new journey!

Last month, I had decided that it was time to make a new jump in my health and fitness and I began the 21 Day Fix (a whole other post! Awesome program!). But, as life always seems to do…it got in the way. Rather, I let it get in the way. After two weeks, I lost 6 lbs., toned up and then fell off the wagon (again).

Fast forward to to just after the annual Beachbody conference, where the 3 Day Refresh was released, and I knew that I needed to re-dedicate myself to the journey. See, my problem has never been simply eating healthy or being active. My problem is consistency and staying dedicated. I know, that great things only come with great sacrifice and much dedication. I don't know why I do it, but I have the hardest time in the world staying dedicated to one program and being CONSISTENT. Being PART of a fitness community is something that makes me extremely happy and keeps my focused (as I was when I was part of the Fit Girl Studio Team).

SO, When my friend Mandy posted her results from The 21 Day Fix and her new business with Beachbody- I was all over it. I wanted to know what she had done and how to get started. I had other friends give me info on Beachbody before. But, I just wasn't ready to commit. Now- I was game on. I love health, fitness and helping others. Oh, and who doesn't want to make extra money? Therefore, I TOOK THE PLUNGE! I signed up to be A TEAM BEACHBODY COACH. I haven't been this happy and excited for nearly a YEAR. I struggled all year with some deep stuff. Now, I'm offered a fresh start? YES! I'm really looking forward to continuing my journey with this wonderful company that allows others to continue working on their own health while helping others.

I can't wait to share everything I'm learning!

Back to square zero

I'm back to square zero.

I could say square one, because I do have the knowledge of what to do to get back to the healthy me-- but I truly feel like I am starting ALL over again. Sigh.

So, what happened? How did I gain 15-20 lbs back and lose all muscle tone and strength? I stopped. I had some health issues starting in June and I was nervous to work out- so I stopped. I felt sad and frustrated and didn't exactly emotionally eat. I wasn't stuffing my face, but I ate "normal." I didn't stick to Paleo and most certainly indulged in more than my fair share of dairy and sugary sweets. I had surgery back in September and I got SO MANY amazing gluten free cupcakes. And, guess what? I ate them ALL. And, when they were gone...I got more. This, my friends...is how you gain 15 lbs easily. It's really pretty easy. Don't work out, don't stick to your nutritional plan and indulge in sweets whenever you feel like it. Oh, and I forgot-- stop taking your vitamins and drinking enough water. That will make you feel just about as good as gaining the weight in the first place did.

So, here I am...in the vicious cycle that is attempting to be healthy, fit and happy. As I have posted many times before. For me, personally, all three of those go hand-in-hand. And, part of MY happiness is being healthy and fit. Over the past 5 months- I have done everything but create those healthy and fit habits to keep myself happy.

...I'm in progress and slowly starting to get it all back together. How?

I joined a new gym (although, I do miss Fit Girl Studio!) and started working with Kelly (wwww.paleoinfused.com) on my nutrition again. I'm cutting out sugar and dairy 100% again on top of my wheat/gluten- because I FELT good when I did. I'm 2 days back on track with my eating and now forcing a workout routine is looking to be a big challenge. I need to just do it, but- it's easier said than done.

How is everyone doing now that the weather is getting cooler? If you've fallen off, or not, get back on and share the journey with me!

Cleveland Yoga

This past weekend I was headed to our annual family party in Cleveland. My cousin suggested that while the guys were golfing we could hit up a yoga class. My cousins go to Cleveland Yoga regularly and really like their hot yoga (not Bikram) classes. But, I haven't really been practicing yoga that much lately and my other cousin (Tiffany) wanted to take a beginner class. I was game! We both signed up as a drop-in ($15- which is also the price of a 1 week unlimited for new clients).

We signed up for the 8:30 basic yoga class on Saturday. We got there a bit early and were the first ones in the room. There were cubbies (not lockers, though) at the front. You also were responsible for bringing your own mat and towel (I've gotten really spoiled by free mats and towels at Fit Girl). We signed a waiver and headed into the studio.

We were the first ones in the class and noticed the guide lines on the floor. I've never seen that before! We took a spot in the back and sat on our mats. Right when class was about to start- BAM- the room was PACKED! We even had to move our mats over to make room for people.

The instructor started in the front of the room with some basic moves. The start of the class (15-20 minutes) was all introduction and learning basic moves. At that point, I thought it was going to be super boring, to be honest. After the start, we went through a flow and I was in a familiar spot. The instructor did a nice job of circling the room and giving verbal corrections but no hands-on adjustments.

The only downfall? We hadn't signed up for a hot class but we happened to look over at the air and it was at 89 degrees. We were all DRIPPING sweat! The instructor even announced, "Well- it's hotter in here than in the hot studio today!" I forgot my towel and I was really wishing I had it after about 20 minutes!

I enjoyed the class and if I lived in Cleveland I would probably do some drop-in classes. Thanks Seth for introducing us to a new studio!

OhhmmmmM! I went with the flow

I've been at Fit Girl since the fall but somehow I had never taken Yoga Flow...until last night! I have had a very wonky schedule lately and haven't been able to get to many classes. I typically prefer to go to morning or early evening class (early evening are out during the summer due to working) instead of late class. I got to the studio a little bit early and grabbed a mat and block. Andrea was all smiles and excited that I was finally trying her class!

I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I've taken Spin Flow, Sculpt Fusion Yoga and Restorative Yoga but...generally speaking...I've never found yoga to be "my thing." But, after signing up for a yoga class (at Cleveland Yoga) with my cousins this weekend I figured I should take a class here first.

I LOVED IT! Class started with a group "Ohmm" and moved into some stretching. I was actually very comfortable with many of the postures and even had a lot of experience with most of them from my other classes. The flow section was familiar because of Sculpt Fusion Yoga (with Lindsey).

I even attempted a posture that I had never heard of before and seemed very hard:

Flip Dog starts off in downward dog. Then, you lift a leg straight back and into the air. Next, you bend the knee isnt a tabletop/shelf position and gently release you body around to "flip" and rest the other leg onto the floor. 

I had a super embarrassing moment (although no one flinched and no one made me feel bad)- we were all against the wall doing stretches up the wall and then had the option to go into a back bend/leg lift. I was able to do it and hold it until I fatigued. When I got fatigued I took a break and started it again. The second time, when I came down, I didn't straighten my legs. Instead, I came into a tuck position which made me slam my heels into the wall and make a loud BOOM! Oops! Andrea asked if I was okay and assured me, "The wall isn't going anywhere." Whew! I was so embarrassed!



At any rate, Thanks Andrea for helping me give yoga another shot! I'll be back on my mat soon ;)

Paleo Pancakes

Okay,Okay! I'm posting my (not-so-SECRET) recipe for PALEO PANCAKES!

These delish treats are protein packed, sweet (almost like crepes to me) and the BEST weekend breakfast EVER!

Ingredients:

• 1 banaana
• 2 eggs
• optional: sprinkle of cinnamon, blueberries, apples, coconut, strawberries, chocolate chips, etc

Directions:

1. Crack 2 eggs, whisk 
2. mash up 1 banana into mixture
3. Add cinnamon
4. Heat up butter or coconut oil in a pan
5. Cook pancakes on medium/high heat (smaller usually come out best) until the edges bubble a bit and seem brown
6. ENJOY!

Spin Shred did it again!

Spin Shred...oh how I love to love you!

I took Spin Shred with Liz yesterday and my legs are on fire today. Now, you'd think it would be my arms because of the crazy arm circuit...but as of yet they're feeling okay!

My legs are a different story. Maybe it was the heel-click squats, or the squat into side kicks.Oh, or maybe it was just the 40 minutes of spin included in class. Oy!

At the start of class, I was chatting with a friend (don't worry it before BEFORE class started) and then Liz starts her welcome chat. She tells us that we've got a great class with great music and a killer arm series that's sure to burn... a fellow fit girl and I locked eyes and started laughing. Liz looked at us and had a huge grin. She wasn't lying!Our arm series was killer and had many people dropping to their lightest weights or no weights at all. The very last series we ALL did without weights and it was STILL a killer! Sometimes I wish that we could have our macho guy-friends, boyfriends and husbands come in and attempt to do our workouts with "little weights" and see how they feel haha. I am SURE they couldn't keep up!

Well played Spin Shred...I'm sore. You did it again!