The reason I needed to see this tonight is because I let myself get caught up in competition with other people today. It really pissed me off too. You all know I’m doing T25 and I am in Week 3, really kicking butt too. I LOVE this program so much, it is harder than anything I’ve ever done but I love it. Well some of the people in my coaches group are doing T25 as well, but they are ALSO doing Insanity at the same time!!! I let that get to me and got all hurt because they must be superhuman and better than me. Because there is just no way I could do both right now! I feel like T25 is an amazing workout, and it’s sufficient for what I need right now. These folks did Insanity first, so they added T25 on as an extra workout lol. So my hardest workout ever is like a bonus round for them lol. Ahhhh, yeah that hurt my ego a little. So I asked them why, genuinely wanted to know why they needed to do both. Most of them said they are just used to doing 1.5 hour long workouts and T25 was too short for them. Ok I can handle that. But what bothered me is they said if I hung around them long enough I would eventually get there. Ummmm no, I don’t see myself EVER wanting to workout for 2+ hours a day, I want to spend that time with my family! It took me literally HOURS of my day to come to terms with the fact that I am not them. I can’t and shouldn’t even try to compete with them. I need to focus on being better than *I* was yesterday, not who they are or were. It is ME that is my biggest competitor. I’m a very competitive person and my biggest challenge is my ego. So today I learned a very valuable lesson. Tomorrow I will wake up and start over again and compete against myself.

P90X TestimonialWhen I started my second round of P90X in January of this year my coach (whom I absolutely respect!!) prompted me to enter the Beach Body Challenge. I thought why not, I have nothing to lose. So when I finished up that round and had amazing results I was more than happy to update my challenge results! Then nothing happened. LOL. I will admit I thought WTH? I thought my results were amazing, especially if you look at my original pics from when I started way back. But oh well, it wasn’t what they were looking for. I still get to keep the results!
So then I did the Ultimate Reset in June, and had even more amazing results! This time I entered the Beach Body Challenge knowing eh it’s not going anywhere but I want the free Tshirt lol. Still, nothing happened.

Then yesterday, I got an email from the Success Stories department at Beach Body!! WHOAH!!! I had to read that sucker a few times lol. They have asked me to send over additional transformation pics, and sign a release for Beach Body to use my testimonial! Now of course that doesn’t mean that they will use them, but they did ask. I am extremely humbled, and actually kind of hoping they do use my story. I know how much those success stories meant to me as I was doing the work. It is one thing to have some paid actor tell you the program you’re considering works, but it is entirely another thing to have someone exactly like myself tell me how it worked for them.

So last night I sat down and wrote my responses to all of the testimonial questions. Six pages worth. I feel very strongly about P90X and what it did to change my life. I am forever humbled by my experience with this program and have a lot to say about it. I’m going to add the pdf here so you can look at it if you’d like.

What’s wrong with this picture? Hmmm this was my day yesterday, by most counts a stellar day right? But look at the sleep component. Ugh! That is just not healthy for my body at all. I felt incredible until about noon and then I crashed so hard. Which made me think we need to talk about sleep. Your body recovers so much while you’re sleeping. HGH (human growth hormone). What happens when you don’t get enough? Your hormones get all out of whack, your metabolism slows down, and of course you feel lethargic, crabby and susceptible to overeating.
How much sleep does YOUR body need? How do you function best? I know my body functions incredibly at right about 8 hours of sleep. I usually get by on about 6 hours though because that’s how I’ve worked out my schedule to exercise early in the morning. Anything less than 5 hours and I’m having a hard time. 3 hours and 52 minutes? AWFUL.
So last night I made it my priority to get to bed early and sleep a little late. I got my much needed 8 hours of sleep and I feel ready to take on the day right now!

How does sleep affect you?

This was tonight’s dinner, sooooo delicious! I want to point out that it was really pretty cheap to prepare. I used 5oz of chicken breast/$1.50, half a head of kale/$0.99, 1/4 can of Muir Glen diced tomatoes (and those are the pricey kind!)/$0.62, and a half teaspoon of olive oil and one garlic clove, some fresh pepper. That’s it, and I’m stuffed! Total cost? $3.11
Nutritional info:
332 calories
5.3g fat
19.8 carbs
35.9g protein

Pretty well balanced, highly nutritious, inexpensive, REAL food! Now I know nobody buys half a head of kale or 1/4 can of tomotoes, or 1/4 package of chicken. But I will make this same meal four times this week because it is SO good. Or if you were cooking for a family you could use it all at once. I’m just saying eating well does not have to cost a lot.

I have a really hard time resisting these Pumpkin Protein Bars from Jamie Eason. They are so darn good you think they are bad for ya lol. But they aren’t, in fact they are super good for you. I switch out the xylitol with stevia, just personal preference. One of these, a cup of coffee, and my day is off to a fantastic start!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-recipes-pumpkin-protein-bars.html?mcid=pinterest

T25~It’s about TIME

25 MINUTES. 5 DAYS A WEEK. 100% RESULTS.

The only thing standing between you and the results you
want is TIME.

Shaun T experimented for the last year to design a program that delivers the same kind of results you’d expect from an hour-long program, in under 30 minutes. He’s pulled out the rest to give you everything you need, nothing you don’t.

The result is FOCUS T25—and the name implies the intent: If you focus your intensity for 25 minutes, and you do it 5 days a week, you WILL get results.

So a couple of weeks ago T25 was released and I was hesitant to jump right in and try this one. It is very similar to Insanity and I thought, “Oh I can’t do that, it’s too much, too intense, not for me.” See how this negative self talk is an easy trap to fall into? I had decided I was going to do P90X again because I had such good results with that the last two rounds I did. But then something hit me one day, why not, why not me, why not take on something I didn’t think I could do? After all at one point I felt that way about P90X!!! Every now and then I get a hair brained idea that nothing will stop me. Not even myself lol. I don’t like being told I can’t do anything, because I’ve learned that I can do anything I want, if I REALLY want it. And I guess that day I decided I REALLY wanted it, and for me it only takes that once to commit to something. So I ordered it, and I was terrified! But when it showed up I could not wait to get started! Now if you know me I can only start a fitness program on a Monday lol, not sure why but that just makes sense to me. So I started this past Monday and wow was I in for a shock! It was HARD. Like really hard, like holy crap what have I gotten myself into hard! But I did it, because it’s only 25 minutes and I’ve decided I can do anything for 25 minutes. ShaunT is a relentless, likeable, sweet, grueling, demanding trainer! OMG! You can’t say no once he tells you to dig deeper, you just can’t. And next thing you know you’re halfway done and then you might as well finish it right? That first day was Alpha Cardio, and since then I’ve done all of the five different workouts in the first phase: Alpha. I think that Alpha Cardio is by far the hardest of the five, and just for fun you get to do it again on Day 5 in addition to the lower focus workout! Good times lol. I will post my reviews on the five workouts in another update but just wanted to be that little voice inside your head that tells you to take the risk, take that challenge that you don’t think you can manage. Because you CAN do it if you REALLY want it.

Hello friends old and new! I’m so glad you stopped by to say hello. Most of you know I’ve been a fitness junkie for some time now. It’s become very important in my life and I’ve spent a lot of time not only getting my body fit, but my mind and soul as well. This journey takes us on a winding path, twisting and curving and always changing. There are ups and downs, and so often our progress looks more like a zig zag than a straight downward line. That’s part of the journey, and I believe part of what makes it stick. When you fight through all those challenges, lose your footing and gain it again, you have to adapt. You have to learn how to pick yourself back up, dust yourself off, acknowledge your wounds and then put one foot back in front of the other. The process is where the growth happens. But when you get back up, you are invariably changed. You are no longer the person you were when you started. Your experiences have molded you, etched their scars in your mind, and become part of your reason why.

I hope that you will check back often, leave your comments and become part of my blog. Because you all affect me in different ways, and you leave your mark on my journey, just like I hope to leave a mark on yours.