Join my 21 Day Fix Challenge Group!

On September 1st I will be starting a 21 Day Fix challenge group! How many times have you said, "I'll start eating healthy tomorrow" or "I'll start exercising tomorrow"? The hardest part is committing to that start date and following through. Commit to September 1st and do it with me, I PROMISE that you will be happy you did.

What is a Challenge Group? It's a group of people who are doing the same program at the same time. As leader of the group I will coach you through the program and help you every step of the way. Together we will motivate and inspire each other. You are committing to 21 days - 30 minutes each day for exercise and a very easy to follow diet that teaches you how to eat a properly balanced (and portioned!) diet.

I joined one of these groups when I did my Fix and it really helped to go through it with other people who were doing the same program at the same time. It keeps you accountable and you're less likely to cheat on the diet or skip a workout, but if you do slip up then the group is there to help you get back on track. I am a mom of 3 that's turning 40 in 2 months. If I can do it, then you can too!

You can get your challenge pack HERE. Comment below if you have any questions, or send me an email from my coach page.

Here are my results after just one round of the 21 Day Fix:

I'm BACK in business!

After having baby #3 (she just turned 2!) I decided that my break from exercising (and consequently, eating well) is OVER. Tomorrow will be DAY 21 of my 21 DAY FIX. It's Beachbody's fantastic program for creating healthy habits, teaching you the proper portions that you should be eating AND it also includes a fantastic exercise program. You do one video a day and they are all about 30 minutes. Easy peasy, right? The only thing I regret is not starting this sooner. I feel amazing and I can't wait to take my "after" pictures on Monday. In the meantime, if you're interested in trying this program there's a really good deal out there. Shakeology by itself costs $130, but if you buy a challenge pack you get the entire 21 Day Fix program for only $30 more. Check it out :)

Check out my ABS

I was looking through some pictures this morning and I found one from when I had just started p90x. I also took one today and I'm 8 days into Insanity. So this is pretty much 3 months difference between the left picture and the right picture. Granted, I was in decent shape when I started p90x so I wasn't expecting the crazy results that some people get (you know, you've seen them on YouTube) but this picture really shows that my body IS changing. Check it out...

Low-fat AMAZING Turkey Chili

I am so thrilled with how this came out that I just have to share the recipe. I don't eat a lot of meat (used to be a pescatarian - that's a fish eating vegetarian) so I'm not really into it. However, I do eat chicken and turkey. Whenever you see recipes here, they will be sans red meat. And let's face it, ground turkey is a MUCH healthier alternative to ground beef.

Check it out:


I did not figure out the points of this exact chili recipe, but according to Weight Watchers, a cup of turkey chili or low fat chili with beans is 5 points. Here is what I used:

• 1 package of lean ground turkey
• 1 can low fat chicken chili (OK so technically this is turkey & chicken chili)
• 1 package prepared lentils
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can garbonzo beans
• 1 zucchini chopped
  
• 1 onion chopped (will be sauteed with olive oil)
  
• seasoning to taste (seasoned salt and salt-free 21 seasoning blend)
  

And a picture of the exact items I used (minus the turkey, onion, and zucchini)



I got most of the items you see above at Costco. The only ones I didn't are the garbonzo beans (Trader Joe's), the 21 seasoning blend (Trader Joe's, although I've seen a similar one at Costco), and the seasoned salt (A&P, but I've seen it at many grocery stores and you can use salt & pepper instead).

The steps are quite simple. Pick a large pot. Saute the onion in a small amount of olive oil, add the ground turkey. When the turkey is mostly cooked start throwing in the rest of the ingredients. Simmer the whole thing for at least half an hour. That's about it! The leftovers taste amazing.

This recipe made a TON of turkey chili. My husband and I were eating it for about 4 days and he had larger servings than just 1 cup, but I tried to stick to 1-1.5 cups. My husband also ate it with rice, but I chose not to because I didn't want to waste points on rice (1 cup of white or brown rice is 5 points, although brown rice is clearly the healthier alternative).

Enjoy!

What I do to stay in shape.

If you read my first post, you already know that I have finished one full round of p90x and I also drink Shakeology every day (that's right, every day). But that's not all I do to stay healthy and fit. Before I discovered Beachbody I took a class called Mama Wants Her Body Back. Body Back is a class from the Stroller Strides franchise that you take sans baby. It's boot camp style and it's intense, and it's combined with a low carb diet similar to Weight Watchers. After I got my body back (lost 20lbs!) I started incorporating p90x into my workout schedule. I also trained recently to be a Stroller Strides instructor and I'm excited to be able to share my love of fitness with other moms in my community. The enormous library of Beachbody DVDs allows me to continue to challenge myself and improve my level of fitness so that I can be a good role model for the moms that I interact with in class. If you are a new mom interested in getting in shape, meeting other moms, and taking a class that allows you to exercise with your baby in a stroller, check out Stroller Strides to find a class near you.

I mentioned that Body Back included a Weight Watcher's style low carb diet. After I finished my first Body Back class I started following the official Weight Watchers plan with the new Points Plus system. I recently started tracking my points again (this past Tuesday) because I need to get back on track. Weight Watchers is a lifestyle change, it's not just a temporary solution to weight loss. I can't ever go back to eating pasta 7 nights a week or having dessert after every meal. It's not healthy and thanks to Shakeology, I don't crave sweets nearly as much as I used to. Sometimes when I mention food I will also mention how many "points" it has. When I say "points" I mean Weight Watchers Plus points. By the way, Shakeology has only THREE points! All those vitamins and loads of nutrition with only 3 points.

Welcome to my NEW fitness & health blog!

Welcome to my NEW blog where I will chronicle my daily fitness activities, share some of my favorite healthy recipes, a few personal stories, and motivate my readers to become happier and healthier using a variety of resources. There is so much I want to do with this blog so I hope you stick with it and check in every day, few days, or weekly.

First off, full disclosure here, I am an Independent Team Beachbody Coach. What does this mean? I represent Beachbody by sharing my experiences with their products, selling the products to those who are interested, and becoming your virtual personal trainer and motivator. Basically, whatever you need from me to help you succeed with your fitness and health goals, I AM HERE FOR YOU! Ask me about any Beachbody product. I'm not personally familiar with all of them, but I can help you find the answers if I don't have them myself.

What am I familiar with? I just completed 90 days of P90X and I am so excited, proud, happy, and in the best shape of my entire life. Tomorrow I take my "after" pictures and I can't wait to see the difference. Next I'm going to do Insanity and I'm excited to start. My weakness is extended cardio and Insanity is pure cardio, after cardio, after cardio... well you get the idea. It's like plyometrics on crack (or so I've heard).

I'm also very familiar with Shakeology. I LOVE Shakeology. I've been on it for about a month and a half and I feel like I want to be on it for life. It tastes BETTER than a milkshake and it's the most complete multi-vitamin available. Curious? Read more about it here. And don't worry, I'm going to be talking about this A LOT. I'll share my favorite recipes for both chocolate and greenberry and I'll tell you all about the changes that I've been noticing since I started taking it.

This blog is not just about Beachbody, it's about living a happier, healthier lifestyle in general so I will blog about many different issues, products, experiences, etc. Nothing is off limits. Thanks for coming along with me on my journey!