I so Love getting people together to focus on their health. Its why I love being a Beachbody Coach. Its one of the greatest things I've found because it provides me with accountability to continue on my personal health journey and it inspires me to really focus on other people and see how I can add value to their health and wellness journey. 

It's important for everyone to feel like they have supporters in their life journey. Health and fitness happen to be hard work, the harder something is the more we need support from others in a similar situation. Not everyone had over 100+ lbs to lose, does that mean I can't relate to how hard it is to need to drop the last 10-20 lbs and tone up? No I absolutely can relate a struggle is a struggle when it comes to our health and I can support anyone who is on a journey that runs parallel to mine.

This is one of the reasons I enjoy doing 7 day Free challenge groups. I always invite everyone on my facebook friends list, if for some reason you aren't getting invites let me know ... I'm human I may have missed one when I was clicking on everyone. These groups are usually focused on something specific, I've done a clean eating challenge where I give you a meal plan for the 7 days and we check in with each other, post food pics, and share what we've done for exercise daily. A 4 day Shakeology Challenge where I provide you with packets of shakeology, sample recipes of what to put in your shake, and a clean eating guide. I'm currently hosting a free 7 day buns and guns challenge where I post a daily workout, I film myself doing them for my group to watch and then do! We post when we've completed the set, take a selfie, answer a daily question and build some strong muscles together for 7 days!

I always invite my free group challengers to join me for a 30 day accountability group, these ladies get first dibs on spots in my accountability group! Typically these groups are focused on a specific Beachbody program that I'm doing or have done previously so I can work with them and help them through any obstacles that happen along the way. This group is the real deal baby! 30 days of accountability that I provide by asking a daily question, asking you to send in your beginning and ending body measurements, beginning and ending weight, before and after photos, taking daily selfies post workout, during workout or of what you're eating! Typically there is a prize for the winner(s) of this challenge!

What I love about a Beachbody challenge is that it comes with everything you need to be successful. You simply have to push play, and focus in on your nutrition. Program dvd's, a meal plan to follow with each program that gives not only your grocery list but also recipe ideas, and 30 days of the awesome and CLINICALLY proven to be as good for you as we already claimed it to be... Shakeology.

I don't tell you all this to sell you stuff, IF you choose to buy a program to help support your efforts in changing bad habits into goof life long habits I'll be here to support that effort by lifting you up and supporting you however you need it, I'd be your life long beachbody coach! HAHA!! If you don't want to join the 30 day group it's all good, I do have the free groups once a month too that you're welcome to join. I only ask that you also invite your friends to join you in the free groups, that everyone sign up for a FREE beachbody account on my site, and to be understanding when I check in with you about your progress and offer up recommendations to help you in your journey!

I love this life, where I help YOU get your life back and YOU help ME continue on my journey..all because we can lean on each other and get the support we need to rock this!

Its a hell of a thing.
A girl, a woman really, has spent so much time being strong for herself and for her child. Doing things on her own, making all the choices and hard decisions.
So why is it that this hard working woman, mother of one, can't figure out how to make the choices and hard decisions when it comes to her first romance in 5 years?

The say that in 2011 one in eight relationships were founded online. Its within this crazy, kinky, slightly over dramatic, and maybe just a smidgen creepy world that I met Him. My man. My lover. My heart.
He's infuriating, slow moving with matters of the heart, slightly conceited, highly intelligent, wonderfully dominant, and attractive man. In some ways he reminds me so much of my father that I laugh, and I mean full on belly laugh.In other ways he gives me things I have never had from a man in my adult life.

The man has a voice that puts butterflies in my tummy. I read somewhere once that a woman was trying to describe 'the feeling' she got when her man  used 'that voice' on her. She likened it to her stomach going ka-thunk. I have to say that I agree with that; the ka-thunk is definitely what I feel when I hear his voice.

Love.
He has my heart. And my mind. He's the first thought of the morning and my last thought before I go to bed.

new year.. new you, errr .. new me?

OH man!!!
I decided to wait until Jan 3rd to begin any type of New Years resolutions, and today was a day that will go down in infamy .. I stepped on the scale for the first time in quite a few months and realized why I'm all but living in sweat pants. Holy freaking cow... almost literally it seems!!
I have a background on my computer that has a random faded pic of a girl who's thin in a stretching pose and it says, 2011 the last fat year of my life and that's a promise. Well it's time to make, AND KEEP, that promise to myself. The scale does not lie, my clothing size does not lie, my ability to move & stretch & walk up a flight of stairs does not lie.

So the question is: how do i do it?
There are so many options, one google search yields so many results I can't figure out who's right and who's wrong. Everyone I talk to has a different view on the subject and a different past. Do i log every calorie that goes in my mouth and keep it under a certain amount of calories? If so how many calories should I intake? Shoudl I cut carbs, or cut fat? Go paleo or Weight Watchers? Do I take a picture of every meal instead of writing it all down? How about I don't eat anything that has more than 45% of it's calories from fat? These are just a few ideas rolling through my head on the food subject.
The fitness subject is a different subject all together. I MUST MOVE and I must do it at least 3x a week. We have a bike in the basement and I WILL start there. I'd like to be ready to run again, even if just for intervals of time, when the winter is over.

I'm hungry.
I started wrigin this post because well I needed to occupy my hands and my mind with something other than food. My stomache is letting me know that I did not give it the 'normal' amount of food that it would like and now I'm being terrorized. Gum made the problem worse. Water should help right?
I decided to count my calories today by adding everything I ate to myfitnesspal.com that way i can track food and activity in one place. We shall see if this is how I decide to continue.

Sunday...a not so fun day

Some days I think that life would be easier if the people around me made my schedule. The person who is my sons child care provider and my parents should get together and make my schedule so that they can have all the glory and all the annoyance that comes along with having a job. I don't know if this is something all mothers go through or just single moms, but it would appear that I can not please anyone or everyone with my work schedule and that stress is wearing on me. It seems I'm always forgetting about a class I have to teach, that conflicts with the time I my son needs to be dropped off to school, or I remember but the babysitter doesn't. Or how about that extra day I picked up to give me some extra cash while it is available to me (as in before the 1st of the year when the hair industry is eerily quiet). Talked about the day with my mother, and of course I did not use specifics because I didn't have them, but she readily agreed to watch my son. Now 5 days from my event my mother asks me what my shopping plan is for that day.
What shopping plan?
I highly dislike shopping on Black Friday. I don't have anyone to go with, its crowded, and I always have to go to the bathroom while in line and because I'm there by myself I lose my spot in line!
Of course this now brings about a whole new conversation..or should I say argument. Where I'm charged with the crime of taking advantage of my mother, on her day off, without any thought to the amount of time I needed help with my son.
I hate the phrase: You're taking advantage of me.
This is my parents key phrase lately and I'm pretty positive that they say it because they know it upsets me.

So yeah I suck. I didn't know it signed up to work from 9:15-7:30 on Black Friday. It didn't occur to me that I'd work that long on an optional demo day. It was inconsiderate of me to not check and assume that my parents would cover the day because its rude to ask anyone other than family to watch my child after a national holiday. I'll share the blame on this, my mom for not remembering what I was doing on Black Friday after our entire conversation about working, and me for not giving specifics.

Why on earth do I feel that this is the last straw?
Colossians 3:20 says: Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
I most definitely have not obeyed my parents in this, or in other things lately all of which has lead to them feeling as though I'm taking advantage of them.

Ephesians 6:4 says: Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
I definitely feel as though I'm being provoked by my parents and most especially my father. If there are ever 2 peopel in my family that do not get along it is my father and I. This causes some tense situations, there has been a time when my mother has stood between us because we carried on an argument too long.

So today I went to church and sang with my choir family for the first time in a month or so. On our way into the sanctuary after the worship set i stopped to hug our Pastor. Which of course turned into a tear-fest. He can make me cry like no other and with such simple questions, "How are you?" and "How can I pray for you?"

When  was the last time someone asked how they could pray for you, and you knew they meant it? You knew they might begin to pray as they walked away from you or you were added to their daily devotional time either or any way it was done, you just KNEW they called to the Lord on your behalf in prayer. It takes my breath away every time someone genuinely offers to take my problems to God. It would seem that problems iron themselves out faster when there is more than one powerful voice raising up unanswered prayers.

Thankfully the prayer that was prayed over me this morning, lifted me up enough to deal with the 'you take advantage of me' afternoon session with my parents today. I understand what they are saying, doesn't mean I have to like it, but it does mean I need to respect it.

Faith, it does not make things easy it makes them possible. Luke 1:37.

(Bible verses may pop up from time to time, most especially on Sundays. I do not know where this blog will take me, or what things I will discuss here, just know that future posts may contain verses or they may not. Thank you for your openness and willingness to understand and maybe take away some verses to reflect upon.)