What a great week!

As I look back on the previous week, I can't help but be incredibly proud of myself for making some really great choices, keeping myself on track, and following through with last week's commitment.  Today marks 8 days on track - no cheating, no slacking off, and no wavering in my willpower.  Please excuse me while I pat myself on my back and do a little dance.  This is pretty big for me.  I am confident that I have turned a page in my fitness & nutrition novel, and that there's no going back.  Another happy dance...

I am down 5.6 pounds from last week.  Now, before we get too excited or say "Hey, Debi, that's too much for one week!" let me remind you that I have been doing a yo-yo thing ALL year long, fluctuating within an 8 pound range.  I am about 9 pounds away from my ultimate goal, which I hope to reach by January.  After this week's initial loss due to the nutritional changes I have made (and stuck to), I plan on losing around 1/2 to 1 lb per week until I reach my goal.  Then it will be onto maintenance (which I have never been able to do) - but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

In the meantime, I am really happy with this week's nutrition.  It was pretty balanced.  I did eat 5 times, pretty much each day - which really kept me feeling good, energized, and not hungry - score!  Using my Bodybugg has helped me a LOT in terms of seeing how many calories I burn on any given day, how much I am consuming, what my deficit is, what my protein/fat/carb balance is, the times I am more active than others, what my workout calorie burns are...it's really very cool and I think it will definitely help keep me on track, especially with the fall & holidays fast approaching (that's my tough time of year in terms of falling off the wagon).

Here's my meal plan for the past 7 days...

Tuesday:
B - Steel cut oats w/1T dried cherries, 1T dried blueberries, 2tsp chopped pecans
S - 1/2 apple, 1T natural Peanut Butter
L - chocolate Shakeology w/almond milk & cocoa powder
S - Larabar (Apple)
D - dinner salad w/2T Newman's light balsamic dressing, 1 serving Trader Joe's Tarte Aux Champignons

Wednesday:
B - Rolled oats w/1T dried cherries, 1T dried blueberries, 2tsp chopped almonds
S - 2 organic brown rice cakes w/1T peanut butter
D - tofu veggie lettuce wraps (a la P.F. Chang's), steamed broccoli & sugar snap peas
S - Pure Organic cherry cashew bar
 

Thursday:
B - Rolled oats w/1T dried cherries, 1T dried blueberries, 2tsp chopped pecans
S - Larabar mini (cashew cookie)
L - chocolate Shakeology w/almond breeze, 1/2 banana cocoa powder & PB2
D - dinner salad w/1T Newman's light Italian dressing; leftover tofu veggie lettuce wraps, broccoli & sugar snap peas
S - 2 slices cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread with 1T natural PB

Friday:
B - rolled oats w/2T golden raisins, 2tsp chopped pecans
S - Raw Revolution bar - mini (chocolate & cashew)
L - chocolate Shakeology w/almond breeze, 1/2 banana cocoa powder & PB2
D - dinner salad w/1T Newman's light Italian dressing; Shirataki noodle bake w/vegan "cheese"
S - Raw Revolution raisin & chocolate bar

Saturday:
B - rolled oats w/1T dried cherries, 1T dried blueberries, 1T chopped almonds
S - Raw Revolution Tropical Mango bar (SO good!!)
L - chocolate Shakeology w/almond breeze, 1/2 banana cocoa powder & PB2
D - dinner salad w/1T Eating Right yogurt ranch dressing; grilled shrimp, 1 slice marathon bread with 1/2T Smart Balance light w/flax
S - Raw Revolution raisin & chocolate bar


Sunday:
B - Rolled oats w/3T golden raisins & pecans
S - Raw Revolution cashew & agave mini bar
L - chocolate Shakeology w/almond breeze, 1/2 banana & 2tsp cocoa powder
D - 1c butternut squash & silken tofu soup; 1 slice marathon bread with 1/2T Smart Balance light w/flax,  dinner salad w/1T Eating Right yogurt ranch dressing
S - Shakeology pudding

Monday:
B - Rolled oats w/1T dried cherries, 1T dried blueberries, 2tsp chopped pecans
S - Kind bar (Fruit & Nut)
L - chocolate Shakeology with Almond Breeze, 2 tsp cocoa powder & 1T cacao nibs (okay, chocolate overload!)
D - dinner salad, 1c butternut squash & silken tofu soup; 1 slice marathon bread, dinner salad w/1T Newman's light italian dressing
S - Shakeology pudding and Larabar mini (cashew cookie)

Decide. Commit. Succeed.

Decide.  Commit.  Succeed.  I see those words all the time.  It's Beachbody's slogan - it's everywhere.  I had decided and committed to be fit in August.  I posted my goals on my blog for everyone to see and so that I would be accountable.  However, I fell short.  Way short.  In fact, it was one of my roughest months.  First, I felt overwhelmed.  Also, frustrated.  I let stress get the best of me.  Instead of rising above, I went under.  I did not succeed.  But it's okay.  I am not going to beat myself up over it.  It happens.  Moving on...

This weekend, I thought a lot about the Game Plan Event that I attended last weekend.  I learned quite a bit about Beachbody and about coaching.  I left there with an enthusiasm and excitement that was hard to contain.  I thought more this weekend about my business, how I want to grow it, how I want to succeed...but also how I want to attain my personal goals, especially those that I left by the wayside last month.

I Decided to Commit to Succeed!  Here's a few things I am doing this month...

• I am making time each day to focus a bit on personal development by reading or listening to some inspirational words
• I am reminding myself that every decision I make - no matter how insignificant it seems - DOES matter.  It might not seem like it matters right now, but in the big picture, it totally does.  Each small positive decision I make - hundreds a day - will help me to reach the goals I am setting for myself down the road.
• I am committing to a 30 day challenge - focusing on clean, vegetarian eating
• I will remain in touch with my accountability partners and will check in often
• I will use my Bodybugg and track everything daily
• I will not let stress/frustration/irritability hold me down - it's time to learn to rise above and keep my head held high...and move forward with positivity
  
  
  

There you have it!  This month, I have Decided.  I will now Commit.  And I WILL Succeed.  :o)

Let's Fall Into Fitness!

I will be running a contest beginning on Friday, September 3rd and continuing through Monday, September 6th @ 11:59 PM. For any new or existing Beachbody customers of mine who purchases either Shakeology or a Workout Program, I am offering some goodies.

(You won't get this on Ebay, my friends! haha!) Everyone's a winner! :o)

Shakeology: For any new or existing customer who orders Shakeology while the contest is running, I will enter your name into a drawing to win a brand new container of Shakeology Fiber Boost and a brand new 30 day supply of Core Cal Mag supplements, along with a Shakeology shaker cup and the Thin Kitchen recipe book (a compilation of recipes including entries from some of Beachbody's popular trainers). These four items are valued at almost $65.00!

**All customers who purchase Shakeology during this contest will get a set of Shakeology recipes and a sample of PB2 powdered peanut butter (best Shakeology add-in, in my opinion!)

For more info on Shakeology Boost: http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/MDSUSH31103G?referringRepId=36833

For more info on Core Cal Mag: http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/CoreCalMag?referringRepId=36833

Check out the recipe book here: http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/thinkitchen?referringRepId=36833

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Workout Programs: For any new or existing customer who orders a workout program that retails for over $50.00 while the contest is running, I will enter your name into a drawing to win an additional workout program. The winner will have their choice of one of these brand new, sealed programs: Turbo Jam or Brazil Butt Lift.  (Yes, I am serious!)

**ALL customers who purchase a workout program (no minimum value) during the contest timeframe will receive a sample packet of Shakeology ~ Chocolate or Greenberry - your choice! *AND* a sample packet of P90X Results & Recovery Formula.

For more info on Turbo Jam (retail value $59.85): http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/turbojam?referringRepId=36833

For more info on Brazil Butt Lift (retail value $59.85): http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/brazilbuttlift?referringRepId=36833

*Please note: There will be 2 winners: one for Shakeology orders and one for workout program orders, as listed above. Winning names will be by random drawing by none other than Miss Alexis Leigh and Miss Ashelyn B on Tuesday, September 7th. Please note - contest prizes will be shipped 31 days from order date, please don't hesitate to ask me why.

Discipline

Discipline. What does that word mean to you? If you look in a dictionary, you'll see several definitions. My favorite, and the one that holds true to me is: "activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill".

I have become more disciplined since last summer when I first started my fitness journey. When I began P90X in June 2009, I was out of shape, over weight, tired, and I did not have the energy that I needed to be active with my girls. During my 90 days, I learned much about discipline. I made a point to workout almost every day. I pushed play. That alone takes discipline. I still did lose sight of that a bit over the holidays last year when I relaxed and only did portions of the program here and there. I found that I started lacking discipline again during that time.

In early January 2010, I realized I needed to get back on track. I began P90X again, routinely, and worked my way closer to where I was last summer. At the beginning of this summer, I was feeling a little burnt out. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE P90X. Tony Horton is amazing and his program ROCKS. I was just ready to do something a little different. When Beachbody announced their new program - TurboFire - I quickly jumped on the bandwagon of coaches who were eagerly anticipating its release. I bought it literally AS SOON as it hit our online stores, and I expedited delivery. I could not wait to try Chalene's new program!

Just as I suspected, I LOVED IT! Because I was worried about losing some of my muscle definition, I still did some P90X strength workouts in addition to TurboFire. However, I had been pining for ChaLEAN Extreme for quite some time, so my mother - I adore her - purchased ChaLEAN for me after hearing me talk about it constantly. Since then, I have been doing my ChaLEAN and TurboFire hybrid.

My alarm goes off at 4:45 most mornings. It's the perfect time to focus on just ME!! That, my friends, also takes some discipline. I have conditioned my body to get used to the early wake up time (most days) and I make the best of each workout before anyone else is in the house gets up.

Here's a short video regarding discipline, put together by Chalene Johnson. She's an incredible inspiration to me. Enjoy! :o)