I wanted to find a fun way to show people who are curious, what it is that a Beachbody coach does all day. 🙂 It’s really not all that different than being a stay at home mom. And anyone can do this, not just a stay at home parent, but anyone who has an interest in making time for health, fitness and helping others. I am fortunate to have found something that lets me be here with my kids, focus on my heath, work with other people who want to do the same thing, and… make money doing it…BONUS! As silly as this video is, it’s not much of an exaggeration to tell you the truth. I may not ACTUALLY move this fast, but sometimes it feels like it! I’m a mom on a mission.
Just a Quick Post Today + BONUS Sushi Recipe!
We started having a little too much fun with my clean-eating challenge pictures. If you look hard enough you’ll find the Green Lantern in one of the food pictures each day. We crack ourselves up over here. Day 14 started with coffee, and my homemade vanilla coffee cream (the recipe is a few days down in the blog), and an “omelette” that sort of fell apart :(. I had an apple with chocolate PB2, mixed with a little yogurt for dipping, as a snack. Lunch was another tasty, colorful salad. I did my workout and then ENJOYED a Tropical Strawberry Vegan Shakeology…so tasty! And for dinner, I had part of a spicy tuna sushi roll made with brown rice. I was low in the calorie department, but felt fine…so there ya go.
Day 15 was organic oatmeal for breakfast (with coffee…duh!) and a hard-boiled egg. I grabbed a honey crisp apple and some almonds for snack. Of course I had my Shakeology after my Chalean Extreme workout. I made an extra lean turkey burger and sweet potatoes from our CSA for dinner. I LOVE PICKLES (sorry, I just had to get that off my chest!) And when I’m low on calories…it’s popcorn, for a little chill time on the couch with the family. 🙂
Day 16…more than half-way done with my challenge. Can you find the Green Lantern. He may never recover from this challenge. He might be scarred for life. I had an omelette and some cinnamon raisin Ezekiel toast for breakfast. I enjoyed my Shakeology after a super sweaty TurboFire workout. Look at my pretty salad that I made for lunch. Eating a rainbow just isn’t a sacrifice! I made a snack with plain greek yogurt, blueberries and almonds. And then I rocked a tasty dinner of HOMEMADE quinoa and brown rice California roll sushi for dinner! Anyone can make this! You can use the tried and true old-school method of rolling with a bamboo mat, or you can use one of these nifty contraptions:
It kind of looks like some sort of Star Wars laser shooter thingie. You can order it on Amazon and it really makes the whole process easy and fun. The kids enjoyed helping me make our sushi!
And here is the recipe to make your own HEALTHY brown rice & quinoa sushi rolls: 
Enjoy!
Fall Off Horse, Get Back Up, Repeat?
If you’ve never ridden a horse before, it’ll take some time to learn how, right? If it’s been awhile, you’re going to need some practice. If it’s something you want to do…you’ll keep trying until you are securely in the saddle and riding into the sunset, or wherever you want to ride…it’s just that the sunset seems like a place that people on horses want to go. Just saying.
You’ve heard all of the sayings…”Fall down 7 times, get up 8″, “If you fell down yesterday, stand up today”, “I get knocked down but I get up again…” (ok, maybe not a saying, but a catchy tune). I guess you can hear these words and say these things until you’re blue in the face, but until you’ve lived it and embraced it might not seem real. I can say these words to someone everyday, loudly even, and that person may hear what I’m saying, but not believe me. What advice would you give to someone who thinks they’ve failed, and finds it easier to stay down rather than get up and try again?
We’re all going to fall down sometimes right? But if you’ve clearly defined goals in your mind that you really want to achieve…you MUST get back up. Don’t forget what’s important to you, and don’t let a misstep or a step backwards distract you from what you want. Keep it in sight, remind yourself of it everyday. Let every choice you make start with a question: “Is this going to help me reach my goals?” I want to shout from the mountain top, or at least a really high hill, that YOU CAN DO IT!!! Of course you can! It’ll take time, committment and a whole lot of hard work, but if it’s your goal, than do it. Take the time, make the commitments and do the work. We may or may not be discussing horses at this point, but you get where I’m going here. I can believe in you, your friends can believe in you, but you’re the one who needs to get in the saddle and ride. So…do you believe in you? If so, than grab my hand, get up and try again.
Challenge Days 8 & 9
Nothing fancy going on here. I did find some tasty organic pomegranate oatmeal at Costco that I like…so that’s good. I had my leftover frittata for lunch. That tasty looking snack is some plain Greek yogurt, sweetened with a little Stevia and blueberries and crunched up almonds on top. A big salad, some Shakeology and a ChaLEAN Extreme workout rounded out the day. I was pretty low on calories, but I ran out of time in the day, and wasn’t particularly hungry…so what are you gonna do?
Man, I need to do some more cooking. Yesterday I was a little desperate at dinner time and seriously just grabbed stuff out of the frig and threw it together and called it dinner. I had a leftover chicken breast that I chopped up and put on 2 whole wheat tortillas that I spread with avocado. I put a little reduced fat cheese and homemade salsa on top and that was that. Not pretty, but filling and fast. I made another bowl of yummy oatmeal for breakfast. We went hiking so I grabbed a bag of almonds for the trail. I enjoyed another big salad for lunch and worked out like a ninja in my black clothes. No mask though…too sweaty.
If you fell down while reading this blog…GET UP!
Realistic Goals
So a very good friend of mine is getting set to begin a 30 day fitness challenge that we set up. She’s nervous. She’s afraid she’s going to sabotage herself, as she says she’s done before when she realizes she just doesn’t think it’s possible to EVER reach her goals. Well here’s why: her goal is to be “thin”.
What’s wrong with that goal you ask? Well…listen…there’s a better goal to have, and if you trust me, you’ll see it’s better than “thin” or “skinny”. Those are simply unrealistic, unhealthy goals to have when you’re starting your journey. Aim for fitness, and aim for health. That’s it! Make it a daily effort, for the rest of your life; not a 30 day challenge…and then back to where you were before. See every day as a new opportunity to make better choices, and before you know it, it’ll be your habit. It’s not going to happen overnight for sure! But once your mind is on board, your body will start to notice.
We all have very busy lives. We all have the same number of hours in a day. We all have the same choices at the grocery store. Make health and fitness a priority in your life, and you’ll start to make choices that will make you stronger and more resolute each day. You might need to wake up a little earlier (I’m still working on this one myself). You might need to plan your meals ahead. Your health is important, right? It’s worth the effort right? Keep in mind that you’re not going to change in leaps and bounds…it’s going to take baby steps. All the little things you do will add up and they’ll change you.
Aim for strength, both mental and physical. They sort of go hand in hand. Once you see yourself becoming stronger, you begin to feel stronger. Once you feel stronger, you realize…it’s not about being thin, or skinny. It’s about being your best you. You’ll be proud, satisfied and confident. ‘Strong’ looks different on everybody, but it looks perfect!
What is Beachbody Coaching?
What the heck is Beachbody coaching?
Check out this video I made explaining it. 🙂
I’m a Hot Mess!
So I’m doing Chalean Extreme workouts and alternating with TurboFire. I honestly can’t believe what a good workout I am getting. I’ve been a runner for years, but these programs are so challenging! I think maybe it’s just new for me, and so my body is kind of freaking out a little. That is a good thing! My muscles are confused and so am I (most of the time…lol). I come upstairs when I’m finished and scare my husband and children. I am literally a hot mess! A hot SWEATY mess! 
Love/Hate my treadmill!
Last night I opted for a treadmill workout. I LOVE that I can watch Netflix on my Nook while I walk/run up steep inclines. It helps pass the time. But I truly love to hate, or is it hate to love, my treadmill. It’s a PaceMaster…and it’s a really nice one. We had to have a nice one since my husband and I were both training for marathons over the last 10 years. Sometimes it’s a necessary evil, like when it’s too cold or too hot outside. Other times I actually look forward to it. For me, it’s all about mixing it up. It’s good for me physically and mentally to keep rotating my fitness routine. After the treadmill, I did ChaLean Extreme, Extreme Abs. I love that workout! It’s very challenging, but I don’t hate it. When I did p90X…I grew to hate Ab Ripper. I guess you’d hate anything that you did almost 90 times in a row. UGH!
