All You Need Is Love, Support & Determination!!

03/02/2012 vs. 10/12/2002

                I was just looking at my wedding picture, for the gazillionth time, and Im pretty damn proud, not only of myself, but also VERY PROUD of my husband Justin.  He has lost a total of 100lbs. since him and I have been together. (I have lost 65lbs.)  We have been together for 12 years this July  ~  married for 10 years this October.  Together, him and I have lost a total of 165lbs.! ... That's a whole person if you think about it!! ~ WOW!!  Its amazing how being happy makes things in your life all come together!  Dont get me wrong ... It hasn't been easy for him and I to lose the weight ... It has taken time (years as a matter of fact) and a whole lot of work, for both of us, both physically AND mentally ... But together WE HAVE DONE IT!!  Finding happiness in yourself comes first and foremost in order for you to be happy with anyone else OR for you to make that physical change in yourself permanent ... Anyone can lose weight, but I can guarantee that if mentally you are not fixed, that weight will come right back!  Like I mentioned in my first blog post, inner happiness is HUGE!!

                When you have the support of your spouse believing in YOU ~ Believing in YOURSELF comes a whole lot easier!! Im so thankful that I have a supportive husband and that WE believe in eachother!

                   I think it shows in our before & after photos ... Dont you?!?

10/12/2002 vs. 6/08/2012

YUMMY!! =)

I just created another DELICIOUS Protein Shake / Smoothie! (287 cal.)

*  1 scoop of  Whipped Vanilla protein powder ~ 150 cal.
*  1 1/2 cups ice
*  handful of Spinach ~ 7 cal.
*  1 cup Dole Frozen Tropical Fruit Mix ~ 80 cal.
*  1 cup Minute Maid 50 cal. O.J. ~ 50 cal.

Well deserved after a hard workout ...  AND much needed!! :)

*** 8 MiLe SunDaY *** =}

    Just about every Sunday, for the last 76 weeks, I have ran 8 miles on the treadmill.  People ask me all the time 'how do you do it?.'.  My answer is  ...  It has taken me time to build up my miles.  Trust me, I didnt start off at 8 miles!, I've taken it 1. MILE. AT. A. TIME..  I would have to say though, the biggest tool that helped me build up my endurance on the treadmill was following 'Bob Greene's 12 week total body makeover bootcamp'.  It all started back in February of 2005, I was watching the Oprah show, she was starting a boot camp for herself, and some of her staff, lead by Bob Greene.  At that time, I decided that I wanted to do it too... Justin (my hubby) and I had just purchased a treadmill for our home (best investment EVER) so the timing could not have been more perfect!  I followed the boot camp plan to the T for 12 weeks without skipping a workout!  It was just what I needed at that time to jump start my journey into getting in shape.  I went from about 182lbs. to 157lbs. in that 12 week period.  I recommend this plan to anyone who wants to jump start their journey into getting fit.  I also purchased Bob Greene's book that came out at that time, "Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover", which also details the 12 week total body makeover plan and boot camp. I highly recommend reading it!! ~ Keep in mind that nutrition plays a HUGE part in all of this too, not just the exercise, the book goes into detail with all of that. 

 I have broken down the 12 week bootcamp exercises for anyone who is interested to see how it all works or if you even want to give it a try!  ~  You have nothing to lose, but weight, if you do! :)

You have eight workouts a week with one day of rest.

Six days a week, you do 20 minutes of resistance training using dumbbells. Choose a weight that's heavy enough to tire the muscle by the 12th rep—most women begin with five to ten pounds (Oprah's using 15 pounds for the biceps and 12 for all the other moves; the rest of the team is starting with eight). If you already weight train, go through your upper-body exercises. Try some of Oprah's favorites!

Each session includes a cardio workout. Start with 30 minutes, five days a week, and on the sixth day, double the time to an hour. But here's the trick: The more comfortable a workout is, the less effective, so the aerobics are designed to constantly up the metabolic ante. Oprah and her team are using treadmills and increasing the challenge every two minutes by raising the speed, incline, or both. The idea is to continually push yourself a little further than you thought you could go, until you get to the point where you can talk but don't want to.

Every day, take it up a notch; staying at the same level is the biggest mistake people make. Don't be afraid to jack up that incline!

Every week, extend the aerobics sessions by two minutes (week two would be 32 minutes and 64 on the long workout). So by the end of the three months, you'll be doing almost an hour a day, and double that on the sixth session.

On top of all of this, you do a second half-hour workout two days a week. This session is a combination of cardio and strength training that Oprah learned from John Travolta's trainer, Steve Maye: Every five minutes, you alternate between the treadmill and a series of floor moves: situps, squats, and biceps curls and lateral raises with the hand weights.

The 'second workout' that you do 2 days a week:

Do 5 minutes on the treadmill at 3 mph on a 12 incline, or as close to that incline as you can. Every time you get back on the machine, you'll increase the speed and lower the incline.

Next 5 minutes: Get off and a floor series of biceps curls, lateral raises, squats, and situps

Next 5 minutes: Back to the treadmill 3.5 mph and a 10 incline.

Next 5 minutes: Then do your floor routine: biceps curls, lateral raises, squats, and situps.

Next 5 minutes: Back on the treadmill at 4 mph and an 8 incline.

Next 5 minutes: Do your floor work series.

Last 5 minutes: Back on the treadmill at a light jog, 4.5 mph, and a 4 incline.

I hope that this helps YOU, as much as it did ME, to jump start your journey to 'Believe in Yourself' and 'Live the Life You Love'. 
My journey, so far, has taken 7 years and counting, but I now weigh between 135lbs. & 138lbs. (depending on the day! ;)) and I. BELIEVE. IN. MYSELF.!! :)

The "SWEAT" Truth!

          NOTHING BAD comes from a workout that causes sweat to drip off of your face!! ~ As a matter of fact, no other workout feels better than that!!  Once you get that burn ~ IT's ON!! Its not easy ... But thats the point when you know that you are burning calories and KICKING. FATS. ASS.!!  At that point, it is usually uncomfortable and sometimes painful BUT that is only temporary ~ its so worth it in the end.  Those are the kind of workouts that give you that feeling that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!

          The truth is, that your not going to get in shape or lose weight in a way that firms your body. builds muscle. strengthens your bones. and keeps your heart pumping and strong. unless you DO. THE. WORK. ~ and the WORK needs to MAKE. YOU. SWEAT.!! =)

These are a few of my FAVORITE workout essentials & supplements ....

I'll start with my favorite Protein Powders ~ BSN's Dessert Chocolate Fudge and Whipped Vanilla. They taste as good as they sound! 150 calories per scoop w/ 21 grams of protein.
(They blend very well .. no grit!)
Love mixing these in the blender with my next favorite item...








Trop50 Pomegranate Blueberry juice is the bomb!! Tastes so good by itself and also mixed with the above protein powders.
Only 50 calories per 8oz!! ... I also use the Trop50 O.J. to mix with my protein shakes as well.








This is a photo of one of my favorite protein shakes that I make ~ I drink this as a 'meal replacement' after my workouts.
    2 cups of ice
    a handful of spinach ~ 7 cal.
    1 scoop of chocolate fudge protein powder ~ 150 cal
    1 cup of frozen wild mixed berries ~ 70 cal
    1 cup of Trop50 Pomegranate Blueberry juice ~ 50 cal

This would be my favorite 'meal replacement' protein brownie.  I eat these when I havent already had a meal or If I am craving something sweet througout the day! ~ YUMMY!!  My hubby likes to heat it in the microwave for a few seconds before eating his! :) 

(240 cal. & 13grams of protein)

XTEND!!! ~ LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this drink mix! I drink this DURING my workouts.  It helps Build Muscle. Burn Fat. Recover Faster. & Rehydrate. ZERO calories and it's refreshing.

Need I say more! =)

LOVE the Raspberry Blue flavored XTEND!! 

These are the Fat Burners that I take now ... I have seen a big difference in the leanness of my muscle tone since taking the 'Apex' line fat burners.  Im on phase two now ~ these also give me a little boost of energy as well ~ But not too overwhelming at all, like some fatburners can be!

Good Stuff!! :)

This Bad Boy right here is called a BODYBUGG!!  I wear it on my calf. (sometimes on my tricep too.) It monitors how many steps that I have taken in a day and also how many calories I burn.  I have an App on my iPhone for it so that I can get real time info. right from the BodyBugg at any time. You can also log all of your food into the iPhone App so that you can monitor your calorie deficite daily. I highly recommend this to anyone who is trying to lose weight or make a lifestyle change! ~ It keeps you accountable! :)

LOVE THIS!! ~ It's my new therapy! I wish I would have bought one of these months ago!  It saved my ass, or should I say 'saved my Sciatica'!  When my Sciatic nerve was pinched a couple weeks ago I finally went out and bought one of these foam rollers from Target, (my FAVORITE store! :)) best $40.00 I've ever spent!  It was instant relief as soon as I started rolling on my right Sciatica!! Everyone needs one of these!! ~ It's like giving yourself your own personal deep massage!

Not sure how this got on my FAVORITE 'workout' essentials list BUT it IS my favorite!! =)  I always use this to recover on Friday & Saturday after my strenuous workouts all week!! 

It does WONDERS!! hehe! :)

Can you blame a GirL?!? ~  I work my ass off all week! :)

(at least I mix it with DIET soda!)

Im sure over time I will have more favorites to add to the list! ~  But these are my favorites for now! :)

Please excuse any typo's ... Im working hard on proof reading my posts!!

(Its not easy ... but hey, neither is working out, and I manage to get that right!) =)

My GuNz :)

       I had a friend message me and ask me how I got my muscular arms!  Well ... IT'S NOT EASY! Its been a lot of hard work BUT so worth it after seeing the results! :)
My arms are from:
 1. The kickbox fusion and boot camp classes that I take which include so many different styles of push-ups that its insane!, burpees, up-downs, towel/body drags, donkey kicks, plank style exercises .... the list goes on and on! (Oh, and also kickbox jabs & punches ...  almost forgot those!) But the main thing is that the majority of the exercises, that have built my arms in this way, are all done with my own body weight, which in turn also works your abs and core at the same time!

2. Getting extra cardio by running at least 14 miles a week, besides my 3 group X fitness classes that I take, also helps with trying to keep my muscle lean.

3. On Sunday, after I do my famous "8 miles", I ALWAYS do wall crawls w/ push-ups and towels drags. (Towel drags are where you put your feet on a towel and drag your body around with only your arms!) Ya ... Its not easy!! ~ You get that burn not only in your arms & shoulders but also in your ABS, so its a 2-fer! ~ You cant beat that! ;)

Keep in mind that this has taken me a year and a half to build up to so ...

                                               Rezultz.May.Vary!! =)

BooTy Camp Wednesday

         Today is the day I do, what I call, "BooTy Camp"!! It's actually really called "Boot Camp" but you work your booty off ~ so therefore I have nicknamed it "BooTy Camp"!!  Anyways ... "BooTy Camp" is, by far, my most intense workout of the week.  It is one of those workouts that is so hard that everyweek, for the last year and a half, 10 minutes into class, I ask myself "WTF am I doing here, and WHY am I doing this to myself AGAIN?!?"  To top it all off ~ The  amazing woman who teaches booty camp, and the 2 kickbox fusion classes that I take every week, I consider my "Frenamy"!!  I call her my "Frenamy" because she has become a dear friend and mentor over the last year and a half BUT I seriously think that, at least 2-3 times a week, she is trying to kill me (along with everyone else in the class)!! (And any of you who are reading this, that also take her classes, know EXACTLY what I mean!!) LOL!!  Im SO THANKFUL to have the privilege of calling her my "FRIEND"! :)  Her classes have re-lit a fire in me that had been smoldering for years.  She has helped me build both my body strength and my mental strength which gives me the power to believe in myself.  I LOVE HER!  Whenever I tell her that she has helped me with all of these changes in my life she says "she just showed me the way ~ and that I'M the one doing all the work". (She is so selfless!)  Her classes have sooo much energy in them that its hard not to want to work hard and give it your all ~ Even if you are ready to pass out or puke! :)

         In short, I believe, YOU HAVE TO find what gives YOU energy so that you can feed off of it! And most importantly STICK TO IT!! ~ ONLY GREAT RESULTS COME FROM IT! If I would have given up after the first time I took her "BooTy Camp" class or "Kickbox Fusion" class because they were "TOO HARD", I would not be in the shape that I am in today, a year and a half later! I remember thinking, at the very first class of hers that I took, that there is NO WAY IN HELL that I would ever be able to do a quarter of the things that I NOW DO 5 days a week! No one said it was going to be easy! ~ But I am telling you, Its going to be worth it! :)
                    I must go now and get my ass handed to me once again!! ;)

I swear by this little article!! ~ It works for me! :)

"Believe in Yourself"

        I bought a bracelet the other day from 'Brighton' (my newest addiction!) that says "Believe in Yourself".  It hit home with me as I read it ~ I guess I could say that I had an 'AH-HA' moment.  For so many years, sadly, I did not believe in myself.  I would watch others around me believe in themselves and would support THEM as they did so. NOW I can say that I finally 'Believe in MYSELF'.  Inner happiness is HUGE!! It cleans the body and the mind of toxins that hold you back from your goals day after day.  The next bracelet that Im going to order is the one that says "Live the Life You Love", because I believe that it takes 'believing in yourself' to 'live the life that you love'!
                      When you have both elements ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!