This September - Suck It Up Challenge!

Who's ready?!!  This fitness challenge group is a private group on Facebook, but I thought I'd share away on my blog, as well. 

My husband, Jay, and I are health & fitness coaches/motivators, and we are starting our new monthly challenge group, properly named SUCK IT UP! This is an excuse-free zone! Just do it and do it with a smile! All members of the group are encouraged to post their sweaty selfies, workout tips, our food, recipes, and we are holding you accountable! How else will your reach your goal?

So hit me up with your goals and I'll find the right workout program/challenge pack for you. All challenge pack orders are due in by September 7th so that you have your pack in by the time the group starts.

Are you ready to suck it up and do it already?!

Look out! I'm close to dropping pant sizes again!

Major Props!!!

What a week it's been for my Beachbody Coaching biz!  I know for a fact that success in Beachbody comes when you have your heart into helping and blessing people. Seeing my promotion to Emerald, getting into Success Club, and being named a top recruiter for the week really shows how much I care for others.

I'm so grateful for this opportunity God has given me, and this gift to help people!

I'm in the 3 recruits column:

Family Walks & Hikes

The temperature was amazing outside! We had this miraculous cold front that brought the temperature from 100s to the 70s!  So we had to take advantage of this time. It was for 2 days, before the temp shot back up into the upper 90s again. :/

We love to hike at this nature preserve, called Arbor Hills. The outer loop winds through woods, over creeks, hills and a grassy prairie. It's about 3.5 miles around. We will be doing this more often when the temperature drops.

Week 3 - Round 1 Results!

Heck yeah!  Over 10 lbs lost in 3 weeks! It's very clear that Shakeology & 21 Day Fix really works for me. The biggest change was my belly shrinking. My husband says that he can really tell in my face, too.  The measurements speak for themselves....over 20" total lost! My booty and my saddlebags are definitely diminishing, too.
I'm almost 2 pants sizes down - like what?!!!  For a woman with chronic hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue and insulin resistance, this is unheard of for me.
I'm ready to go another round! Who's with me?!

Now a Coaching Duo!

Heck yeah!  My husband, Jay, joined my team to be a health & fitness coach. Now we are teamed up to motivate others to reach their fitness goals! It's extremely important to us to help and bless people. I know it's pleasing to God and he places those people in our path to help!

As far as our business, we believe that when we are concentrating on the success of others, God will bless us with big success.

 

 And now....we are a big time Shakeology house now!

Minor Meniscus Tear

I knew there would be downfalls.  Not everyday is going to be a victory in my weightloss journey.

I don't know if it was those dreaded curtsy lunges during Lower Fix or my jumping around during Cize, but my left knee did not like a twist somewhere in there. My meniscus tore and the whole knee swelled up. I concentrated on compression and lots of ice. It looks like I'll need to concentrate on upper body workouts for a while.

The good thing is that my Shakeology and the portion containers from the 21 Day Fix will make up for all the cardio I'll be missing out of.

2nd Week Results! - 21 Day Fix & Shakeology

My first time with Cize

Cize is a new and fun workout program that features dance choreography. And let me just tell you I'm having a blast!  Whenever I talk to people about Cize, I get the common, "oh, I can't dance, though." And that's a total load of BS.  I mean....okay, so you can't dance. I can't either!  But I know YOU DO DANCE anyway, right?  You dance around the house when no one is there. You jam out in the car.  People love to dance!  That's the beauty of Cize, is that it's in your own livingroom, where no one can see you! So dance your little heart out!  Of course, unless, you want to embarrass yourself to the entire internet like I do, that is.

Here is one of the dances from Cize that I'm showing off for you. Again, I can't dance. I know this. But it doesn't matter because I'm having too much fun. :)

New Things are Happening!

I strongly believe that if you want a body transformation, you need to start with your heart and your mind. You're going to need to love yourself enough to change for the better.  You're going to have to break the chains of slavery to food. You will need the confidence and strength to get through the hard times. You need to learn not to insult yourself a bazillion times a day. Positivity will be essential.  Therefore, I highly recommend you add some self-help/personal development to your day. I know what you are thinking, "I don't need this." But you don't realize how much of a difference your day is, when you start it off by reading some personal development.  I just started to read "You Are a Badass", by Jen Sincero.  I love the title, but wasn't expecting so much foul language from the author so far in the first part of this book. And I'm not really keen on her replacing God with "The Universe" or "Energy Source." But whenever I read those words, I just replace it back with "God" in my mind. Also, "The Big Snooze" or "BS" can also be substituted with satan.  Other than those couple of things, this book has been a big wakeup, slap in the face so far. So I know it will really change the way I think as I continue reading.

I've been really hitting the social media lately. Facebook has been my little friend that tucks me in at night. And I would see Instagram every now and then, but lately, it's become better friends. I started a new account on IG called - Stephanie.Gets.Fit

Also, drumroll please.......

I'm on Periscope! Okay, so I'm a little behind on things, but this new app is awesome! A way to broadcast live to the entire world!  Too bad it only stays on there for 24 hours, but this makes me excited and terrified at the same time.  I originally got on there just to watch what life is like around the globe. But it occurred to me that I'm a Christian (well, I mean, I knew that, but you know) and this is something all Christians should take advantage of. God wants us to share the Good News, spread it worldwide. Well, now we have the way to do just that! So if you have a testimony that you want to get out there, this is your chance!  And so I plan to do this. I want to tell my story and testimony live on Periscope. I haven't decided on when just yet, but I'm preparing to get a following first. I plan to use this for Beachbody Coaching things, fitness, weightloss, healthy stuff, as well. But I'm mainly excited to get a chance to tell my story of how an atheist finds Jesus in a crazy event and changes her life around.  So.....follow me! :)

1st Week Results - 21 Day Fix + Shakeology

Week 1 on 21 Day Fix + Shakeology
6.25lbs lost
5.25" total lost

On to the next week! Yay!

Want to know more about 21 Day Fix and Shakeology? Comment or send me a message! I'm a Beachbody Coach here to help you reach your goals!  Join me on this journey!

What I USED to look like!

Can I be EMBARRASSINGLY transparent with my friends for a minute? The reason I am doing this is so that you can hold me accountable. If you’ve known me over the years, you’ll remember I used to be rocking numerous Beachbody workouts and Shakeology in 2011-2012. I had tried everything previous, and due to my thyroid issues, Beachbody and Shakeology is the only thing that worked for me back then. In fact, right after Insanity, I had only 10lbs to go to get to my goal! I was in the best shape of my life! But in 2012, a turn of events, including medical issues, led me to throw pity parties in my honor. I wanted to give up everything I had worked for, including the supplemental income from Coaching and health benefits. And I did.

Ever since then, it has been a slippery slope. I had previously found something that really worked for me and I'm kicking myself that I had walked away from it.

This photo should normally show these photos the other way around, but this is in the right order. I can clearly see a huge difference in what I looked like and I remember how great I felt. Today, I’m  40lbs heavier and I feel awful! Not only that, but fertility issues are preventing us from starting a family. I can only attribute it to my weight and terrible diet. I miss the way Shakeology made me feel. I miss the way I used to look!

So this journey is back on. It’s not the end, it’s not the beginning, but it was just a slip off course. I’m getting back on and I’m getting back to Coaching, as well. This is going to be hard work, but it’s an investment in me and any future children I may have. I need my friends (You!) to hold me accountable! I’m dead serious.

And if this post has hit close to home with you and you are serious about getting back in the game, then join in this journey with me. Let’s stick together. I’ll be joining in with a clean-eating group on FaceBook that is starting soon. Completely free, no purchase and all online. It’s just a group of us sticking together with cleaning up our diet and sharing recipes. We are stronger in numbers to keep no one from slipping off-track. Let me know if you are interested in jumping in so we can help each other out.



I have 50lbs to loose.  What's your goal?

No more pity parties. No more excuses. It is time!

(it's so hard to post this photo, btw)

Southwest Chicken Salad

My husband and I totally pigged out on fajitas last night and had leftovers for lunch today. And I know what you're thinking..."oh, fajitas can be healthy, good for you!" Uh no. It's not the healthy kind. I had some delicious steak with sour cream, cheese in a flour tortilla, way more than I should have eaten. I was so stuffed, but when food is so delicious, I can't stop eating. Hey, at least there were peppers, onions and avocado, so I did have my vegetable serving! Baby steps, right?

We have been in a financial struggle lately and had to make due, so we made a big batch in order to eat for lunch today. The only way I kept it under control is because we ran out of tortillas.

This morning, i didn't have much to cook a proper breakfast. I needed to go to the store. So instead, I cooked a grilled cheese sandwich with scrambled egg inside. The bread was whole wheat, though. Doesn't that count?

However, tonight I think I did better. I wanted to just force feed myself vegetables (yuck). So I thought about doing it in a way that I would enjoy it. I had some shredded chicken left over from another meal, so I went to the store to buy some veggies to make a southwest chicken salad. 

Orange and yellow bell peppers, tomatoes, avocado, romaine and iceberg lettuce

Followed by shredded chicken, black beans, corn......okay, cheese. Yes, cheese, and it looks like a lot, but not to me. I have to have something to make vegetables taste good, k? Eventually, I'll reduce my cheese, but I'm not at that point yet. I had some southwest ranch dressing but not much. 

I was still proud that we ate well tonight. Too bad this is the only health food I like. I can't eat the same thing everyday.

It's a start back into trying again for the millionth time.

Looking for accountability

I'm not new to blogging, but I needed to start a simple one in hopes of connecting with others that are on a similar journey that I'm on....weight loss. Well, not sure if its weight loss or gaining some muscle and being healthier. The reason I say that is because actually loosing fat has been the hardest I've had to endure based on so much against my goal. 

My enemies:

1 - chronic hypothyroidism - weakens metabolism and encourages weight gain

2 - adrenal fatigue - creates a lot of stress and fatigue

3 - sensitive heart rate - cardio workouts are next to impossible when I can go over 200bpm in 10 minutes. I have to stay at low impact (boring)

4 - sensitive to stress - the 3 factors above, plus anxiety, increase the stress and increase a lot of weight around the midsection

5 - emotional eating urges

6 - financial struggles to keep from buying healthy food - seems like the wealthy can only eat right

7 - easily persuaded to pig out by my husband or friends - can't say no and don't want to

8 - I hate vegetables - eating yucky food makes me so sad

9 - I forget to drink water - I guess I lack the feeling of thirsty?

So that sums it up. I want to conquer these hurdles and not be able to use them as an excuse anymore.

For the past 15 years, I've tried so many diets, pills, workout plans, lifestyle changes to no avail. I had some phases where I had success for a little while, followed by gain back to the starting line again. I've read so much over the years to know its all information overload at this point. Experts contradict each other and it all became so confusing and disappointing that I let myself go. Now I'm back at the biggest I've ever been, in 2003 - need to loose 40 lbs.

At 34, I do not have any children, but my husband and I have been trying since February (6 months of TTC so far). Maybe my weight is why we haven't conceived. And that's how long I've been trying back at loosing weight in order to be healthy for a pregnancy. And in the past 6 months, I've started and stopped workout plans, started and stopped diets. I would eat healthy for a few days and ruin it the next day. I would try to workout every day and I'd only make it a week. Why? The disappointing results. I know it takes a long time, but working out stresses my body and if I workout a week solid, the scale will show a 4lb gain! I know I should stick with it anyway, but that gain tells me, "why bother?!" I could do well on eating good, but an example, a few days ago, my husband wants ice cream and I couldn't turn down a huge Blizzard. Then I get so down on myself. I'm terrible at counting calories and WW points. So maybe if I wrote a weight loss journey blog, Thinking that I have readers may keep me accountable. I'll post about my ups and downs, my success and failures, my strengths and weaknesses. And I would like to find other similar blogs to inspire me and to lift up the author as well.

I'll have the hubby take my embarrassing before photos and measurements tomorrow.