I love to bounce!!!! Day 4

I love this cardio program. I know I sound like an idiot but I love love love love it! I get so excited that I have it as much as I do in the program.

Day 4  I started with cardio and then took a break to talk to you guys about why I do this part of the program not in the apartment.

I don’t say this stuff to deter you from getting the program. I say it as a warning that in cardio, your feet will leave the ground. You will love it but people downstairs will know it’s exercise time. Upper body and full body have a little loudness to it, but not enough that you would really bother someone else. Cardio… tons of bouncing. BUT I LOVE IT!!!. You need the belt for cardio only. And honestly, you don’t really need it. It just adds a little fun to the workout… and makes it more resistance on your body… but mostly I think it’s there to let you bounce around and have fun 🙂

Abs was next. I hate you Tony. Not really but I do when I’m doing abs. The weakest muscles in my body. Even if my muscles didn’t separate with my pregnancy with the boys, this would still be a hard workout. But I never took care of my muscle separation so this is basically torture. Anyone else have this problem? Anyways, it’s an ab workout that actually gets everything. And it’s only 10 minutes. But lets be honest here, 30 seconds is enough to make me pout. The main focus is that its a program that is going to help you, not matter how much you dislike that 10 minutes. It could be longer Laura! Stop complaining.
 Best part of situps

 Not best part of situps

Then I did Yoga (soft serve) which actually hurt more this time than the day before. I’m thinking its because I had stretched those muscles a little bit more than I normally would with the yoga the previous day. Sounds bad, but it’s a good thing because that means I USED them. You know what makes me happy? I actually finished it. I felt the burn and I grrrrrr’d my way though it. That makes it enjoyable. And again, it’s not a hard workout. It works everything in 10 minutes without making you feel uncomfortable about the pretzel you’re stuck in. He makes it avaialable for people of all stretchy and unstretchy levels. He comments on how he used to be Mr. Stiff guy and now he’s more flexible. Guess. what, I’m gonna keep working at it and get flexible too. Thank you for the note of encouragement Tony.

As for food today… don’t ask. I didn’t take my shakeology that morning because I left the house not even thinking about it and ended up eating sweets from Burger King and having a soda. That’s kind of a hint hint that I was no where near staying in my calorie range. Ughhhhhh

Daily Challenge July 5th- Face your fears like a 9 year old

I hope everyone’s fourth of July went well. If you’re not in the United States, I still hope it went well and got to see something spectacular like fireworks anyways. I heard the Chinese New Year puts any of our celebrations to shame so you can gloat on me that entire month.

Yesterday I took the kiddos to Oaks Park. It’s an amusement part next to the river that was actually pretty fun. The rides were very state fair-ish but the whole thing was fun… oh how I miss Six Flags. But we did have a great time.

I am a huge thrill seeker when it comes to my rides. If my hair isn’t messed up by the end of it, I didn’t have fun. Two years ago I couldn’t even get my kids on a mini drop ride. This year, one of my kids was all for the spinning and bouncing and woohooing. But the other kid… not so much. He was almost too scared to go on the kids spinning teacup kind of ride. So when my thrill seeker mini asked to go on a ride that spun alternating directions and bounced higher than a two story house, I knew as a mom, I honestly couldn’t force the other kid to get on. We asked, he said no. I said it was just like the first spinny ride but it bounced high… he said no. I wasn’t going to make my kid cry so I said “You know bug, sometimes you have to face your fears to realize you had nothing to worry about. But if you’re too scared right now, I’m not going to make you get on it.” Full House Danny Tanny sappy music was playing for this parental speech by the way, followed by an awwwwwww from the audience. Just kidding. I think Free Falling was playing in the background on the Screaming Eagle ride to be honest. But needless to say, thrill seeker, who had already jumped in line for the spider and was jumping up and down waving for us to come over, was crushed we weren’t going on.

Something I love about my kids is that they protect each other. They feel each other’s pain. When one is sent to his room, the other worries about him the entire time. They bicker like all kids and there are times you’d think they hated each other. But when you get to the heart of it, they’d die to save the other one if they had to. We walked to the other side of the park. Sadly it was all thrill rides and we had already done all the kid rides. I was about to tell the boys we’d go do the kid rides again, but then my kid who isn’t into thrill rides suprised me. He said… word for word… in the goofy style that he’s known for… “Well I guess I gotta face a fear. To the spider!” and started running back towards where the spider was. It was a proud mama moment.

In the line, he faced about 30 changes of heart. It didn’t help that adults were getting freaked out in line and leaving.  I kept telling him we’d stay in line and if we got to the front and he didn’t want to go on, we’d head straight for the exit, but I also said if he faced his fear he would be really proud of himself. We got to the front of the line. He didn’t panic. We got on the ride. He didn’t panic. The ride started moving and I could literally FEEL him shaking next to me. I had a safety bar crushing the air out of me so I couldn’t exactly move to console my kid.

First the car started spinning. I looked over at him and he looked almost puzzled. After the first bounce, I could see a grin. Second bounce, he laughed. Third bounce, he was cheering with his brother. As a mom, of course I was about to start crying like a baby at how proud I was of my kid. But then the nausea kind of crept in from all the spinning. In the 2 minute long ride my NEW thrill seeker was cracking jokes about being Tigger and doing the “Hoo hoo hoooooo” with a few of the bounces. They he said we were Xtreme pogo sticking. The kid was going crazy over this ride. And the previous thrill seeker was laughing and giggling but also pale and extremely nautious like I was.

Right after the ride, my kid who faced his fear wanted to go on it AGAIN! His brother and I… wanted to vomit.

Moral of the story- Don’t share a gatorade with your thrill seeker son right before a spinny bouncy ride. The person who doesn’t drink will have the most fun. Drinking and riding is bad mmmkay.

Bigger moral of the story- Face your fears. If the statistics are in your favor that it’s not going to kill you, and isn’t bad for your health,why not try it?

Your challenge for the day is to think about facing/face a fitness fear. If you’re afraid of a group exercise class but really interested in what the class is… seek one out and give it a try. If you want to try to water ski… put together a group and go. If you want to wear spandex and don’t want to be giggled at for the wobble wobble of your butt… who cares? Shake it till you make it. Afraid your family won’t like your new healthier version of lasagna? They can make a sandwich. They’ll be ok. Try it anyways. Want a friend to come exercise with you but afraid they’ll turn you down? The worst thing they can do is say no, right?

I’m going to follow through with this one also. I have avoided getting a speaker system to teach Hip Hop Hustle at my apartments like they’re going to make me battle zombies in the process. I know I can do a warmup. Why not be the actual leader of the class? I can do this! I’m going to have hubby take me TODAY to go pick out something that will play the music and learn how to yell over it.

Feel that adrenaline pumping? Run with it. Work yourself up. Get excited. Be a nine year old kid with his fist held high and charge towards the Spider.

But not like this guy…

Daily Challenge July 4- Invest in success, not a heart attack

First off, Happy Independance day to all of you American’s out there and a big old “It’s not you, it’s me… no it was you” to my English friends.

Because I woke up too late to get the kids into the 4th parade this morning, I’m taking them to a Lake Somethingwaga park where they have rides and fun stuffs until fireworks tonight. Mmmm carni food. J/k I’m packing sammiches and snacks.

Back to the task at hand… Success sometimes requires investments. Yes, I’m a beachbody coach and would love for you to buy my programs, but I’m here to talk about other stuff mostly.

Do you know how much being overweight is costing you? It may not cost you as much now as it will in the future, but in some ways, it’s costing you now. Your immune system may be low, you may be emotionally eating out of insecurity, it may keep you from getting out and being active outside, even the emotional side of it has a cost. Now fast foreward into your future. How much does a heart attack cost? According to this article, anywhere from 760,000 to a million. The worst cost all together would, of course, be your life. How do they get that cost? Doctors, surgery, prescriptions, checkups, lab costs, ect. ect. I’ve seen it happen in my family. My dad has been hospitalized with 2 heart attacks. One required angioplasty, the other required an open heart quadruple bipass. Add on top of that complications with the bipass. What they don’t factor in is the damage that it costs your family. Constant fear for a parent’s health doesn’t sit well.

So now that I put all that out there, 120$ for the right pair of running shoes doesn’t really sound all that bad, does it? And maybe shopping organic once a week each month? How about an in home ice cream maker where you can put in your own ingredients?

Yes, I know it all adds up, but this is an investment into yourself and a cheaper future. How many 120$ running shoes can you get for 760,000$? 6333 and a few pairs of socks. Do you really think you’re going to go through 6333 pairs of shoes? Lets say you buy 1000$ worth of exercise equipment each year and spend an extra 1000$ on top of your regular food prices for organic food each year. It would take 380 years for you to come up with the cost of a minor heart attack.

When I tell people a bag of shakeology cost 120$ a month or that a fitness program is 120$ and it’s only a 3 month program (that you can repeat as much as you want and keep by the way) I get really funny looks. it doesn’t matter that I tell people shakeology is praised by my doctor for raising my HDL as much as it has and boosting my immune system and helping to re-adjust my thyroid from years of post pardom and diet ideas as a teen. I’m sure I’m going to get the same looks when I become a fitness instructor and tell people what it would cost for me to train them. But lets face it, nothing I ask for is going to add up to that 760,000$. I’m sure some trainers or programs in Hollywood might add up to that much, but you’re not going to spend that. If you were that rich, you wouldn’t think twice into investing in your success.

Now lets add in that

• Organic food keeps you satisfied longer so you eat less meaning you lose weight faster and the grocery bill isn’t as high as you’d expect
• Having an in home ice cream maker would cost about 40$ for the machine (I paid 15$ for mine), you can use truvia instead of regular sugar, add in the fruit that YOU like, and have a low calorie sorbet without having to drive anywhere to get it. The average sorbet costs me less than 5$ per quart to make and that’s with strawberries and the costly cherries.

• The right running shoes will keep you from injuring yourself, make running less painful and more entertaining, and you can use them as regular shoes also. You need shoes anyways. BTW, trust me, get the right shoes. Plantar Facciitis sucks!

So now I’m going to ask you. Are you worth an investment into yourself and a healthy future or are you going to kep giving lame excuses?

Your challenge for the day is to change your mind on what’s worth money in your house. You can’t afford to not understand this. BTW a heart attack is not the only thing that can kill you from not being fit. Just remember that.

Are they really that expensive now?

Day one of the giggles- Ten min trainer (D1)

Who needs to lose weight again? This girl!

It was the 30th instead of the 1st of the month but I’m a firm believer in not puting things off till the first of the month or Sunday or noon. When you can do it, DO IT! It actually irritates me when people say “Well it’s Thursday so I can eat bad until Sunday and then start my diet on Sunday.” Break the rules. Start on a Thursday. I don’t care if it’s Tuesday, do it.

I’ve had 10 minute trainer for a few weeks now. Unfortunately, I did have to wait until things slowed down with the move. Or at least I thought I did. When I stepped on the scale, after unpacking it, and saw 239 lbs, I wanted to cry.

I did the blog on it the other day. You know what I got? TONS OF SUPPORT. Where I thought I would be embarassed and people would look down on me, I found people actually felt a little closer to me for it. On my facebook I had responses saying that people would start that as day one with me.

So Friday we did the 6 mile hike (I’ll post on it later) and Saturday I started 10 minute trainer.

The basic program comes with

• 2 workout dvds that have 5 workouts total on it plus the trainer tips for all of them
• A bonus workout from Tony 1on1
• Measuring tape for your measurment chart
• Measurment chart
• Workout on the go cards
• 10min meals guide
• 2 day jump start (I did not do because I’m anemic and actually do better with Iron from meat instead of supplements)
• The rapid results guide book (great tips and instructions you need for the next two following items)
• A cardio belt which really helps with resistance
• Your resistance band
• and 30 days of Beachbody Club where they help you set up a diet plan with the recipes and grocery chart, tips from the trainers, a blog, chat forums, and 10% off any other beachbody purchases that month.

My Chart

My goal for this month is to lose at least 10 inches and 12 lbs.

My breakfast: Frozen Strawberries, cherries, and shakeology blended in water.

Food: (Does not include snacks like fruit or veggies or anything less than 100 calories.)

Lunch- My brussel sprout, zucchini, little cheese( less than 1/4 cup),  egg mixture from the other day on a tortilla with salsa. It was Colebear approved since he ate it also.

Dinner: It was our first dinner with Josh (my husband) since he had just gotten into Portland that morning. So we went out for pizza. I had a margarita slize (little sauce, all veggies) and a side greek salad with no dressing. Nothing I could do about the cheese since it’s pre-made slices 😦 but honestly it wasn’t a bad choice.

The workout-

Before I get into this, let me inform you that Tony is hilarious. He is not afraid to make fun of himself or his partner when something is goofy. Just when my legs were burning enough that I would want to punch him for coming up with the workout, you have to giggle at what he says. It’s like having an instructor that you love to be around. He’s the biggest part of why I chose 10 minute trainer.

Day one is Cardio, Lower Body, and Abs when you choose 30 min a day.

This is after Cardio. Sweaty!!!

After Lower Body I had serious elbow sweat ;p

Colebear helped me out with sidekicks on Lower Body

Abs, just like any of Tony’s other ab workouts, SUCKED! Not sucked in the way of not doing anything. Sucked as in by the end you’re wishing you had no abs to hurt that bad. It’s always a hardcore ab workout with him. But then again, the man is a beast without having to look like a beast.

All together I loved the workout. By the time the 30 min was over, it didn’t feel like 30 min and I had burned over 400 calories. There’s a timeline at the bottom of each workout. None of the actual exercises go over a minute and before you know it that timeline is halfway gone and then gone all together. So pretty much I felt like I walked into the gym for 15 minutes and walked out feeling like I had just done an hour of working out. The pain the next day was fully worth it.

Growing up with a dance demon is hard

When I was little I took this class called “Jazz”. It was not hip hop or cardio dance party, it was Jazz. Jazz pretty much means “It’s a little hip hop, it’s a little show, it’s a little cowgirl, it’s a little of everything.” Almost like dance threw up into one class. AND I LOVED IT! I had pink bike shorts with a white leotard OVER it. Yah, that’s right, I jazzercized all across that stage. I can still tell you how to camelwalk and Rodger Rabbit. There was something about dance that I loved.

But for a fat kid, that was a lot of work. Volleyball was much easier. And hanging out with my friends was even easier than that as I got older. Dance just kind of went to the back burner.

Fast forward to my senior year in high school. AJ Hoenigman (Yah, I can spell that) somehow wins my heart and talks me into going to a rave. Don’t gasp at me, I’m not the go get wasted on E kind. I was curious. What happened? I was hooked. The music was great, you could dance like an idiot and get away with it, and for 4 straight hours I was complimented on how I danced. I was complimented by strangers. That’s huge for me. All I knew was that I was moving to the music. Even my “Molly Ringwald in the Library” dance was considered genius. You can imagine that all went to my head and raving became my world. Unfortunately so did drinking and hanging out with idiots and I pretty much grounded myself for life. Parenting, my parents did it right.

Wasn’t that a nice little story? Yah, I figured you’d like it. Anyways, what I wanted to get across to you was that dance does something for my confidence. It’s pretty apparent that I’m extremely insecure. Spending most of your life feeling obese, balance challenged, and ugly will give you a kick ass sense of humor but a really bad self esteem issue. So when I dance it’s like I can see what others see.

I kind of fell into Hustle. I started with Zumba, had fun. Went to a cardio dance party class, liked it. Then went to another dance cardio class that was actually a HUSTLE class and loooooooooooved it. That inner confidence was there again. I was able to learn the moves and dance with everyone at the end with no fear. I forgot the rest of the class was even there. That was heaven for me. And this was when I was still 275 lbs. Again, after class, I was immediately praised on my dance style.

Taking instructor training was a no brainer for me. I knew I wanted to start working in the fitness industry and that subbing as an instructor would be a fun way to bring in a little extra cash to start going back to school for nutrition.

What stopped me? I was dancing, a friend was saying they couldn’t wait to take one of my classes if I ever got hired, and the lady behind us says to her friend “I don’t think I could take someone’s class if they were bigger than I am.” Have you ever been punched in the back of the head, kicked in the shin, and then had your heart brutally ripped out, followed by someone spitting on you? Yah, that’s pretty much what it felt like.

So I didn’t put in my application to the gym, I stopped working on Phat Girl Hustle, I tried to push it from my brain. I was going to wait until I lost more weight (had lost 80 by then) and then think about it again. In my head, she was right. Who would take a class instructed by someone who still needed to lose 50 lbs?

Then I really become friends with a lady named Delia. She’s a real life person but when times get hard she’s also the angel that sits on my shoulder and screems “Hell yah!” when I need a confidence boost in dance. She tells me how much she loves that I make the moves my own. I may not look like a perfect dancer but she can tell I really feel the music and put my heart into it. Hustle isn’t really hip hop (don’t ever tell Chalene I said that) but I’m a firm believer that you can even take a ballet piece and add the dirty to it. And Delia sees that with me.

She invited me to a hip hop class that was a blessing to me. It showed me what I lacked, that I’m not an over average dancer. It showed me that I will never be on America’s Best Dance Crew or in music videos. AND THAT’S OK. Because I don’t dance to be great. I dance because I love it. I can’t pop and lock. Who cares? That’s not the class I want to teach. It gives me ideas and it builds me so that I can make Hustle my own and reach out to someone else like me.

So I have my confidence back? Nope. In a few months we’re moving to Oregon. I had it in my head that I would be quitting the post office and getting into the fitness industry. We started making these plans in Feb. and I was playing fantasy in my head that we could survive off Josh’s paycheck and the tiny income I would get from working at a gym and maaaaayyybe instructing. But reality has set in. We really can’t afford for me to not be sure I can make a living off this.

I can do the Hustle moves and put a little swagger to them. Does that make me a great dancer? HELL NO! I really can’t do anything better than club dancing and putting a little grime to cheerleader pop hop. Other than “Jazz” I’ve really had no instruction. Not even ballet. Do you know what it’s like to be a white girl who couldn’t tell you what a plie is? (Had to look up how to spell that.)

Then I go to this hip hop class lately and it’s becoming a curse. I feel like I’m being judged through the whole class. I stopped going for a few weeks but every dance class became that. I’ve lost my confidence with dance.

We can say that lady at the gym who said I was still too fat was wrong. We can say I should get over it. But the fact is, I’m going to hear that a lot. If I can’t get over it now, what’s going to make me get over it later. What if someone says it in the middle of a class and I freeze? You can’t tell a crazy person not to be crazy and you can’t tell me just to get over it. And who really wants an instructor who can’t take it to the next level? This is where my head is at right now. I miss Hustle just being fun.

Would I make a great instructor? Without a doubt.

Can I make it as an instructor? The answer to that is frustrating me.

to be an instructor by kwehkweh