A Hard Truth

I saw this posted by my up line coach Jeanette last week and I cannot stop thinking about it:

It is such a hard truth to swallow. Most people feel like they can exercise an hour a day and then eat whatever they want. The hard truth is that your body shape is determined 80% by your diet and 20% by exercise. You can exercise all you want and still end up not losing a pound or changing your body shape because of your diet.

I remember last January. I felt like I was working out a lot. I would have considered myself an active person. However my diet wasn't every good. We would have mac and cheese at least two if not three days a week. Hot dogs, pizza, and fattening casseroles were a daily part of our diets. My husband's motto was the more salt the better.

I remember one day sitting eating a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos and helluva good French onion dip. I was about halfway through the bag and I remember asking myself what I was doing. That I was killing myself with food.

I also remember the day I signed up for my fitness pal. I never realized how all the little handfuls were getting to me. I'd pass the pantry and grab a handful of nuts. I'd finish what was left on the girls plates after every meal. I grab a small candy bar for a snack. Each one of these was pushing me over my calorie limit but not really allowing me to fill full.

As I stated in my post yesterday I felt like my whole life use to revolve around food. That I was shocked that making some simple changes in my diet could give me such drastic results. I remember thinking I know a few people who have done this but there has to be some gimmick. It really cannot be this easy.

I loved reading the Daniel Fast Book. It talked about going back to eating things that God created. Let's not eat anything that man created. In today's world of enriched this and vitamin fortified that it is hard. We also have many genetically modified fruits and vegetables.

If I could give you two tips that will help you lose weight without even adding exercise it would be 1. No added salt. and 2. Limit sugar intake.  Just changing those two things is a start to helping you get on the right track.

The next thing on my list would be no processed foods. If it has ingredients you cannot say don't buy it. If it has more that five ingredients in it don't buy it.

Lastly make sure you are eating a balanced diet. Many will think that just eating fruits and vegetables will help them lose weight but a body needs proteins and some carbohydrates to survive. Also don't starve yourself. Learn to truly listen to your body and eat when you are hungry.

If I could give you a simple program where you could lose 5-15 pounds in 21 Days, only exercising 30 minutes per day and following a simple portion controlled meal plan would you want to join me? I've seen great results and so have many others. I'd love to have you join my next challenge group.

Food is Fuel

I don't know if you are like I was. I felt like my whole life revolved around food. I would wake up in the morning hungry and wonder what was for breakfast. Brian would make us breakfast and then the girls would wake up so it was time to make them breakfast. Then it would be snack time. Then it was lunch time. Then it was snack time again. Then it was dinner. By 8PM I was still hungry and back to looking for a snack. Wow I spent a lot of time eating today and cooking!

Then I started the 21 Day Fix. I remember the first day thinking these containers are small. How am I ever going to NOT be hungry? I meal planned on Saturday for the week. This was a new concept to me. I usually would wait till the meal, open the cupboard and grab the first thing I saw. I remember week 1 day 1. I couldn't even finish all the food that was planned for me. It was too much.

The thing I learned was that it wasn't how many times I was eating or how I was eating it was what I was eating. I love this graphic:

When I made the switch to the 21 Day Fix I decided to go all in and switch our whole family to clean eating too. You be surprised at how less hungry you feel when you aren't on a sugar low or full of salt which is actually making you body thirsty but you sometimes read as hungry.

Every time I try to go back to an "old" meal I fell horrible afterwards. I feel sluggish. I feel like I cannot move and very quickly after eating I am hungry again.

On the 21 Day Fix meal plan and clean eating I have a ton more energy. I feel great. I haven't been sick since I started (knock on wood). My skin is clear until I go back to eating bad. I don't crave sweets as much.

So why don't you join me? The 21 Day Fix Challenge Pack is the special of the month. Join me and you won't be sorry you did.

ABC Growing

I cannot believe how fast ABC are growing up. I wish sometimes I could freeze time.

We were at the Farmer's market a few days ago and they all had to have their pictures taken with Farmer John. They are growing too quickly.

A started Pre K today. Where did the time go? Last year she was in preschool 2 days a week, but this year she will be in Pre K five days a week just in the morning.

I'm excited for her but I don't know what I am going to do. She is so good at keeping her sister occupied while I play with the other sister. Or she is such a good helper at doing the small things like helping sisters get dressed or helping them set the table for breakfast.

I know she will just flourish in her teacher's class as her teacher is an incredible Godly woman who truly cares about her kids. She is one of those women that you implicitly trust and know she always has the best interest for your child at heart. She is also one who you know is praying for your kids and wants the best for each one.

So on this the first day of A's Pre-K I want to wish both her and Miss Julie good luck. I'm praying for both of you. A I know that you'll become the kid God wants you to be. I know you'll eventually grow up to be the woman God created you to be. Learn well from your incredible teacher, have fun with friends, share and play nice.

 To Miss Julie I pray that you have a great school year full of laughter and learning. That you have more good days than bad. That when you need help you are not afraid to ask and that when you need a hug A will be there to give you one.

I love you my precious first born A. Have a great year A and Miss Julie!

As for B and C I cannot wait to see what adventures we can have this year. B remember A does come back in only 2.5 hours. I'm excited to have time with just the two of you. Let's enjoy every moment until D comes!

21 Day Fix--Round 4--Week 2

 

Week 2 was such a great week for me. I am feeling stronger and loving my workouts. I love being able to take 30 minutes out of my day for me. I love that the workouts are challenging but not too outrageous that I cannot do them.

I am finally "popping" out. if you didn't know me you'd probably think had a few too many doughnuts. Those that have watched me lose these last few months are loving seeing my little baby bump. An exciting thing for me this time is that I started to feel the baby moving this week.

Here is my little trip down memory lane. Here was my belly at 18 weeks with the twins and with A:

 I was not surprised to see how much further along I looked with the twins as compared to A. I remember already having to wear maternity ware with B &C by this point in the pregnancy.

 

 

 

Here was my belly at 16 weeks with A and now at 16 weeks with D.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



I cannot believe how much my body is different between these two pictures. I love that the 21 Day Fix is both keeping my weight in check and helping me to stay healthy this pregnancy.

So now on to my week in review.
On Monday was Total Body Cardio. I bumped my weights up to the 12 pounds today. I felt great the entire workout. I love the frog crunches in round four. They always make my abs work. They also get my hip flexor.

On Tuesday was upper body. I'm really trying to not push myself too hard as I am pregnant. For most of the workout I used my 8 and 10 pound weights but for a few exercises I used the 12 pound weights. My back is really strong so especially for the lat pullovers I used the 12s.

On Wednesday was lower body. I felt much better this week. I wasn't sore and powered through this workout. I love the variety in this workout. It isn't all squats and lunges.

On Thursday is Pilates. Boy did I need the stretch the week. During the Superman series I can feel my baby bump now.

On Friday was Cardio Fix. I owned this workout this week.  I even did the pushups during the burpees. I was so sweaty when we finished. I felt like I could conquer anything after finishing it.

On Saturday was Dirty 30. This is still one of my favorite workouts. It seemed easy to me this week even though I was sweating and it left me sore. I used 10-12 pounds the entire workout. For the ab exercise I used a 15 pound weight.

On Sunday was yoga. A great stretch to end a great week.

As for eating I did have my cheat meal for the week. We went to Steve O's pizza for dinner with the in laws on Friday night and then went to Sara's for ice cream. I did have the peanut butter vanilla twist yogurt instead of ice cream. I also ate a lot of salad before munching down on pizza.

The rest of the  week I did really good on the meal plan. I'm still adding 300 calories since I am pregnant. My one weakness lately has been milk. I know my body is craving calcium since I'm craving milk so I've been adding a calcium supplement or eating things that are calcium rich. I also know that my Shakeology is still helping curb a lot of my cravings and keeping me healthy. I know this may be TMI but with the rest of my pregnancies I had to take colace to stay regular. This pregnancy I haven't had to take it at all and have been really regular.

Today is September 1st so I'm happy to announce that the September Beachbody special is the 21 Day Fix. I have had incredible results with this and I hope by reading my posts you can see how much i enjoy it. I have a group that started preseason today. If you ordered by midnight tomorrow you should have your kit in time to start with us next Monday. The deal is awesome as you get the 21 Day Fix workout package for $10 with the purchase of Shakeology. Message me if you are interested in joining me.

I hope everyone has a great week. I'm excited for the third week of round 4 and seeing what results I have.