A reminder

Yep – that’s me a few years ago. I came across the picture when I was going through a box of photos. (I really, really, need to put all those pictures in an album – but that’s for another time). I figure if I post this picture, it will be out there and keep me motivated to stay on track. What keeps you motivated?

Why I drink Shakeology

Before I started drinking Shakeology on a daily basis, I was not getting all my servings of fruits and veggies that we are supposed to get.  I won’t lie, my nutrition sucked.  Every day I craved sweets like you wouldn’t believe.  I didn’t have time to make my breakfast in the morning, so on the way to work, I would stop at Peets for a non-fat, sugar free Vanilla latte and a pastry.  If the line at Peets was long, I’d hit Starbucks and get something similar.

Then a friend of mine suggested I try Shakeology.  I was skeptical at first. The first time I tried it, I just mixed it with water.  ICK.  I thought “people like this?”  But the more I looked into and found out all the ingredients they use to make this – I thought I’d try it again. This time, I BLENDED IT with a banana, Better N’ Peanut Butter (from Trader Joe’s), ice and water.  HELLO!!! What a difference.  It tasted like a freakin’ awesome milkshake.  Not some health nut protein shake.  I couldn’t get over how this one shake is like hitting the salad bar 5x.

I no longer have to drink caffeine every morning to wake myself up.  I have lots of energy now.  I no longer crave sweets on a daily basis because I have my chocolate shake every day!   It’s like dessert, and really, who wouldn’t want to start their day off with some dessert? Seriously, this shake is a total no brainer for those who want to get their nutrition on track.  And here is some proof:

FYI – even though I’m not there yet, I was told that Shakeology helps with hot flashes! So ladies, if you’re going through the “change” and your doc wants to put you on hormones — you may want to check out Shakeology.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

I braved the crowds at Target this morning and didn’t realize that I had spent over 3 hours wandering around the store.   By the time I was done, I was exhausted, dehydrated and hungry.  My first instinct was to stop at Starbucks there and get a peppermint mocha & possibly a pastry.  I stopped myself.   Instead I bought a bottle of water and downed that sucker.  I felt much better and was able to deal with the crowds – especially when I was trying to drive out of the parking lot!  Talk about a nightmare!  It’s amazing how people forget their manners around the holidays.

Oh – here’s the update on my deltoid strain.  I ended up going to my massage therapist and it got worked on for almost an hour.  The day after the massage, my shoulder and arm were sore.  Two days after – it felt like I NEVER had the strain in the first place!!! Uh – HELLO – why, didn’t I think of that before?!

Anyway – what I really wanted to post was to say Happy Holidays to you and your family & 2011 will be a fabulous year!!!  xoxo

It’s been awhile since I’ve stopped by

Time has flown by since I last posted here.  Not much has happened, except that I’ve was in Spain for a couple of weeks and I’ve started a new Turbo Fire/P90x hybrid plan with a friend of mine.  Let me tell you, it’s kicking my booty!  Back in August/September – I think I got tendonitis (or a deltoid strain) in my upper arm – bicep/deltoid area.  I obviously didn’t let it heal correctly, as it still bugs me to this day.   I am now going to ice it, take some pain meds and see how it goes.  I’ve been modifying my workouts by the way.  So even though, I can’t do the push ups, or throw a punch, I’m still getting a workout!  If this self-diagnosed injury doesn’t heal in a couple of weeks, then yes, I will see about getting an appointment with the doc.

random thoughts

When it comes to losing weight, I have pretty much stalled.  I’ve maintained my weight at around 121 lbs – give or take 1 or 2 lbs each way.  I know it’s my “diet”!  I really love a good meal and I love a good glass of wine or cocktail. And no, I won’t give those up either, I just have remind myself that I can’t do that every day.   Going out every night? Yeah, pretty much out of the question.  Though, last week was bad.  My social calendar was full.

Highlight of last week?  Going to see The Goo Goo Dolls live at the Concord Pavilion.  Ok, ok, it’s called the Sleep Train Pavilion, but I prefer to call it Concord Pavilion.  I had never seen the Goo Goo Dolls live and they blew me away.  How the hell did I not put that band on my radar???? They sounded great live! (And it doesn’t hurt that the lead singer is hot! HELLO!!!)

Anyway, I rushed from work so that I could get to my friend’s house at a certain time.  I didn’t plan my dinner, so by the time I made it to her house I was starving!! Thankfully, she had Shakeology and I was able to have a shake for dinner. (Peanut butter, chocolate Shakeology and a banana – The. Best. Mix. Ever!)  Though – I really need to tell her that she needs a real blender and not that little Magic Bullet.  (It’s too small! You can’t fit all the fruit, ice and water into that little thing).  So, if you have a Magic Bullet – seriously upgrade.  Get a full size blender.

Trying to reach my goal weight is a tough process.  I’m halfway there now.  It’s amazing to me how I was able to lose the 12 lbs so far if I put my mind to it.  I worked hard and now I can get rid of my big clothes and buy smaller clothes!  Now, I have to work harder at it.  I really need to watch what I eat and plan out all my meals.  No one else can do this for me. It has to be me.  I also need to change up my workouts and not stick to just one workout because I will get bored.  I’ll still keep doing ChaLean Extreme – gotta lift some weights!  But instead of doing just Turbo Fire, I’ll mix it up with some Insanity and Hip Hop Hustle (Chalene’s fan dvds).

I’m back!

It’s been a while since I posted here.  Did ya miss me?! J  Kidding. Just so you know, I have been keeping up with my workouts.  I was doing Turbo Fire exclusively, but found that I was losing some muscle definition that I got with ChaLean Extreme, so now I’m doing a ChaLean Extreme/Turbo Fire hybrid.  I need to have the weight lifting 3x a week; otherwise the definition – for me – goes away.

I’m working out 6 days a week, and I really have to go back to watching my calorie intake again.  Things got kind of crazy for me when a new restaurant in San Francisco opened up.  I love, love, LOVE food.  And this restaurant – well, I wanted to lick the plates clean – but that’s a story for another time.

I’ve pretty much maintained my weight at 121.  I fluctuate up and down, but it’s been consistent.  Now, you may think that’s a good weight to be at, but I’m really short.  (I’m still hoping to hit 5’ – but since I’m a 30-something chick, I highly doubt that’s gonna happen).  My original goal weight was 115.  Now, I’m looking at 110-112.   If I want to hit my goal weight, I’ve got to start watching what I eat again.  I’m not strict on my diet. Oh heck no!  If I went on one of those low carb, no carb, eat-all-the-bacon-you-want fad diets, I’d be sneaking food all the time! It’s all about portion size.  If I’m craving something, then I’ll have it, just not a lot of it.

Take your cardio to the next level and melt fat like butter

I was able to get a preview of the new Turbo Fire HIIT 15 workout from Beachbody.  The HIIT 15 is only a 20 minute workout and let me tell you… I was pouring with sweat by the end! This was only 20 minutes!  Turbo Fire HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) was intense and I LOVED every minute of it.  I can’t wait for this program to be released on June 18.

Hello again!

This past holiday weekend I was in Vegas. I had a great time! No, I didn’t hit the clubs in Vegas. I went to Vegas to see comedian Russell Peters do his stand up at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel. He’s extremely funny and can be sometimes raunchy. The night prior to that, I checked out the Blue Man Group show. (Note, if you ever get tickets to the show, the cheap seats are good too!!!! Unless of course, you want to sit in the first 5 rows and wear a rain poncho.)

I indulged in food and cocktails over the weekend. Hey, I was in Vegas! It was so hard to try to eat healthy. I was so worried about gaining weight that I ended up hitting the gym working out on the spin bikes and treadmill. And as luck would have it – I didn’t gain any weight! Now it’s back to reality and eating normal healthy food again. The only dessert I will be having is my daily Shakeology.

Now it’s time to focus on losing some weight and getting toned. I’ve been stagnant at 122. (My weight fluctuates 2 pounds each way.) My goal weight is 115 – but I think I can shoot for 110-112. (I’m really, really SHORT! So 110-112 is not too skinny for me). When I get down to a size 4, I will ecstatic! I’m in between a 6 and 8 right now (depending on the brand). My work clothes are big on me, but I refuse to buy any new work clothes until I hit 115. I have however bought new weekend clothes. Summer is around the corner, and I can’t wear my old summer clothes.

Don’t stress out about the small stuff…

Last weekend I called up a friend to see if she wanted to hang out. She didn’t sound like her usual bubbly self and I was wondering what was going on. I went on about a chick flick and asked her what she was doing for the day, she told me, in a flat voice, that her brother in law died.

I was stunned and immediately started to tear up. I asked how he died and she told me that he took his own life. The first thoughts that came to mind was, “What an asshole! How can he do that to her!!!”. “Total selfish act!”.

She told me that he had been depressed and it obviously had gotten worse recently.

Fast forward to today – I found out he was a reservist in the military.

He served at Gitmo…

Finding out that little bit of information made me change my attitude. My heart goes out to the family. My heart goes out to him. The pain he must have felt over the years from what happened while he was serving our country. No one is prepared for what they will see when they are sent to war to protect our country. We will probably never find out what happened over there either.

So, when you stress out about the little things – I missed my workout, I ate too much, I don’t have time do to anything… AAACCKK! Rethink that.

Your life is probably easy.  Don’t stress out about the small stuff…

Apparently the shin splint still hasn’t healed

So I’ve been doing the Insanity and Turbo Kick workouts and I’ve noticed that feeling of a slight strain in my leg, as well as a strain in the back of my thigh.  I guess I didn’t let the leg heal like I should have.  That kinda sucks!  I really want to do the 2 cardio workouts because I think they’re so much fun, but I don’t want to mess up my leg any more than it is.  A shin splint can turn into a stress fracture I was told, so I guess I will lay off the intense cardio for bit.  I’m going to try some Hip Hop Abs tonight – I feel like dancing a bit so we’ll see how that goes.  I know it’s late.  I should have worked out earlier today, but I spent this morning catching up on email, FB and Twitter.

So off I go and try some Hip Hop Abs!