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Busy Much?!

platesYikes! It’s been a busy couple of weeks for me! I am used to spinning multiple plates at a time, often while riding a unicycle, BLIND-FOLDED! But I have to say, I might have bit off a bit more than I could chew this time! So to my loving husband, who supports me and gives me sound advice out of love and concern for my sanity, etc. etc….You were right! I had a little too much ON those spinning plates, and a couple of things fell off while I was riding my unicycle! True story.

Everything was going along just fine until I realized that I had forgotten to do something important, that I had volunteered to do by the way, and had several people trusting me to do it! The lovely ladies involved all assured me that it was no big deal, but it was. I was embarrassed and horrified and just really upset with myself about it. All bad things. Mostly though, I was just down on myself for realizing that I can’t do EVERYTHING! I try though! Man, do I try! Always have. It’s in my nature to multi-task, and run around willy-nilly as a chicken does when it’s head goes missing…but once in awhile…I take one or two bites that I just can’t chew. My bad. This particular story has a happy ending though, thank goodness! Everything worked out, I was able to get done what needed to get done, though AFTER it should have been done. Forgiveness was granted, and I can once again sleep at night. Thank Goodness!

Also, you may or may not have noticed that I’ve neglected my meal planning routine! ARGH! What a pain that has been, too! “What’s for dinner tonight?” asks my husband. “I have NO f’n clue!” says me. I’ve been too busy to shop, plan, or cook well. I’m pulling ideas right out of my…refrigerator (ya, that’s it), totally last-minute and late half the time! The kids are all starving, hubby is shoving hand-fulls of pistachios in his mouth, waiting for what might be dinner at some point! It’s been ugly. Add that to the fact that summer months always pose a problem for me when it comes to planning and cooking. I never have much of an appetite by dinner time. When it’s hot and muggy, I just want a salad, or something light, and I certainly don’t feel like cooking anything! I gotta snap out of it though…for the sake of the family, poor things.

Now the good news! Sometimes good things come from my manic desires to do new stuff, better stuff and MORE stuff! For example, I graduated some Challengers from my June challenge group! And check out a couple of testimonials from participants in the group:

  • “I have absolutely loved being part of this group! The accountability is what drove me a lot of the time. Can’t tell you how many times I didn’t feel like working out, or felt like I wanted “just a bite” of something, but knew I’d have to mention it here if I did. Happy with my numbers. Now I’m going to continue with my next two circuits of Chalean Extreme.”

 

  • “I feel like I have learned about a new healthy lifestyle and not about a fad diet. That is what I needed. I am thankful for all of the support that I received and all of the new FB buddies that I met  I am very happy with my results and I can’t wait to continue! I am going to keep eating clean and rockin’ the workouts [hopefully at a much higher intensity when my darn ankle heals] All and all, I am a happy camper!”

*If you’re interested in participating in a 30 day challenge, click the link “30 Day Challenge” above.

In addition, my coaching internship is underway and going really well! I added 6 new coaches to my team who are all ready and excited to learn about what it is that gets me up in the morning, keeps me motivated and fuels my passion to help others…oh and earns my paycheck, too! 🙂 I’m having too much fun not to share it with others!

*If you’re interested in becoming a coach, you can get more information, ask questions, and learn how to participate in the 6 week internship by providing your contact information below.

All in all, I’d like to say that I’ve learned my lesson. *Note the phrase, “LIKE to say”. Time management is not my strong point. I’m working on it. I should  listen to my husband more often when he tells me to take it easy. Honestly though, I feel like I can’t help it. When you love what you do, you WANT to do more of it! Sometimes though…I guess there’s just too many plates!  🙂

 

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6 Week Internship

angie_amandaI love to share what I do with other people who are interested in getting in shape, both physically and financially, paying it forward, helping others and having fun! So I’ve decided to team up with my friend and fellow coach Amanda to run a 6 week coaching internship. It’s so exciting!

Who:

Angie (that’s me!) and Amanda (my friend who I met through social media and turns out we live very close to each other). We’ve both been coaches for about a year and are extremely passionate about what we do.

What: 

Six weeks of daily emails, including: tips/videos/lessons from both of us. Plus a private Facebook group to report to, ask questions, share information, etc…

Where: 

Wherever you are! In your house, on vacation, at the ball game. If you can check your email, you can participate in this internship.

When:

Starting Monday, July 8 and it will run for 6 weeks.

Why:

Because we are having the time of our lives and are passionate about helping others through health and fitness and we love to show others how to build their own successful businesses. We are building teams of like-minded, goal-oriented, fitness-loving friends!

If you’ve ever wondered about what I do as a Beachbody coach, or thought about doing it yourself but aren’t sure how you’d make it work? Amanda and I are ready to show you and teach your through our daily tips and videos and we’ll be working with you very closely through it all.  And wait until you see how much FUN we’re having!  Two coaches are even better than one! You’ll learn all about coaching and how to make this business work for you. Whether you’re a stay at mom, employed full or part-time, you CAN do this and we’ll show you how! If you’re looking for more details, please fill out the form below. If you’ve been thinking about it, why wait? Fitness is a growing field and now is a great time to get started!

**Disclaimer – you do NOT need to be a fitness professional to coach!

Requirements:

  • Love people, helping others, and you must love a good calorie burn!
  • Ability to recognize a good deal when you see one! $39.95 one-time joining fee – that can be WAIVED if you get started with a challenge pack (a new fitness program PLUS Shakeology, to get you started on BIG results to share with your friends & family) PLUS a 25% coach discount on all products and programs! $15.95/month after that gets you 3 websites, maintained and operated for you. No web-designing experience necessary.
  • Love to have FUN! Helping others and sharing in their success will put a permanent smile on your face! Guaranteed!
  • Be your own boss!
  • Work when, where and how you want!
  • Desire to earn up to $500/month to start, with the potential to double or even triple that within a year, and keep growing your income from there.

I can’t wait to invite you to the team and work with you! 🙂

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Better Late than Never!

I did the meal plan! I swear! But I got caught up in all of the Father’s Day festivities yesterday, and just didn’t find a minute to post about it!

I had a couple of splurges over the weekend, just keepin’ it real! We went out for ice cream, and I used to always say, “No thank you”. But my kids began to hate that about me. They wanted to see me enjoying a dish of ice cream as much as they were. And so I decided, that since we go rather infrequently, it’s o.k. to have a scoop or two here and there. And for me I know that it’s not a slippery slope. I like ice cream, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not a ticket to nutrition disaster for me. Now french fries on the other hand…that’s going to be a problem. Therefore, I tend to avoid that temptation all-together!

Anyway…I digress. The point of my splurge admission, is that I’m looking forward to a week of planned meals and staying on track nutritionally. So far, I’m off to a great start! 🙂 And I’m going to need it, because I also just started the second phase of Insanity. Today was the first workout of that madness, and OMG! Have you ever had to crawl to your water bottle?!

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Click here to print and link to recipes.
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Analysis Paralysis

Back+To+Basics

When you make something more difficult than it has to be, it can become so overwhelming that it seems impossible to actually do. Take health/nutrition/the quest for the body you have always wanted. You could read a thousand different articles, theories, magazines, blogs, tips, suggestions, etc…You’ll read about counting your macros, eating certain foods, wearing special shoes, doing your workouts at specific times of day, walking vs. running vs. HIIT workouts vs. crossfit, cardio vs. strength-training, and on and on…But when you boil it all down, all that you really need to do is 2 things: eat well and exercise. That’s it.

I have had challenge participants in the past who have become overwhelmed during the process, because they start over-thinking it. How much protein should I eat? How many days should I lift weights vs. cardio? What shoes should I wear? What if I miss a day? What muscle groups should I focus on/how many days per week? How many reps should I do? I’m not saying that these aren’t important questions to ask. But they’ll spend all of this time scrolling through pages and pages of different tips and pictures and workouts and diet suggestions and recipes. Before you know it, they have spent SO much time thinking about working out, that they never had the time to actually do it! And even though they have read about clean eating, and healthy foods and pinned a bunch of recipes that they wanted to try, they have to grab something quick to eat because they ran out of time.

 
I think there are a couple of things going on here. I think there is an element of avoidance. Since they’re spending time reading about health and fitness, somehow it seems productive. But they’re not actually DOING anything productive. We live in a world where information is everywhere, at our fingertips, on t.v., your computers and tablets, anything you ever wanted to know about anything is right there. And you could never read it all! You’ll find 10 different theories about healthy eating in less than 10 minutes on the internet. You’ll find dozens of workout theories in the same amount of time. So what’s right? What do you do? Well, don’t spend so much time looking, scouring and pinning, that you become paralyzed by all of the information. All you need to know is 2 things. Eat well and move daily!

DIET-AND-EXERCISE
We all have a basic enough knowledge of food to know that some things are good for you, and some just aren’t. I mean the absolute BASICS!

  • Fruit and veggies = GOOD!
  • Chips = BAD!
  • Whole grains = GOOD!
  • Box of mac and cheese = BAD!

When all else fails, avoid the aisles (where all of the processed food lives) and shop the perimeter of the store. You’ll get most of your healthy food there.

 
And as far as exercise goes: lace up a pair of shoes and move: dance, run, jog, walk, jump rope, dvd workout (I can certainly recommend a few!), box, pick things up and put them down, air guitar! Whatever floats your boat, do for 30-60 minutes every day! Go ahead and get a little sweaty! It can’t hurt! 🙂

 
Once you have that totally mastered, and I mean MASTERED it – Like it’s an everyday daily non-negotiable habit, THEN you can pay a little more attention to details. Go ahead and read about protein and the many benefits of strength training, and calculating your macro-nutrients, and picking the perfect fitness shoe, etc…but wasting time on the minutia, especially at the beginning of your fitness journey, just takes your attention away from the basics. Find healthy foods you like to eat, and find a workout or 2 that you enjoy doing. Get yourself an accountability partner, fitness coach (ME!) or join an accountability group (check out the 30 Day Challenge tab at the top of this page), and get working on making a lifestyle change that involves just the 2 basics. It takes 21 days to form a habit (good or bad). Do these 2 basics for 21 days, and you’re set!

 
In short, don’t make it harder than it has to be. Put down the smart phone, step away from the lap-top, stop pinning and start DOING!

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Focus T25 is COMING SOON!

T25

You remember Tania from Insanity right?

Well check out her results from T25.

tania_before-after

Focus T25 should be available to order within the next 2-3 weeks! If you want to be notified as soon as it’s available, sign up below!

“I used to love long workouts, until I created the lightning-fast FOCUS T25.”

By Shaun T, creator of INSANITY, INSANITY: THE ASYLUM®, and FOCUS T25

INTRODUCING FOCUS T25™

The only thing that stands between you and the results you want is time. That’s why I experimented for the last year to see if I could create the same kind of results you’d expect from an hour-long program, in under 30 minutes.

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.

Yes, you are working out for less time. But since you have your shorts on, since you have your sneakers on, and you managed to Push Play, I’m just asking you to give it everything you’ve got, for ONLY 25 minutes. You focus, and you go! 25 minutes. 5 days a week. 100% results.

And there are major university studies out there that prove the value of shorter, more intense workouts. But I’ll save that for later. The only question now is, do you want to be one of the first to see these routines and what kind of results you can get? The answer is yes, because these routines were created at the specific request of Beachbody® CEO Carl Daikeler. The guy’s got no time, and he personally reviewed every detail so he could make T25 HIS personal program.

Don’t miss the biggest breakthrough in health and fitness since INSANITY. Join our email list and I’ll make sure you don’t miss out on the latest news about FOCUS T25.

BE THE FIRST TO KNOW WHEN FOCUS T25 IS HERE

When you provide your name and email address at the top of this page, you’ll be first to know when T25 is available! Demand for this program is expected to be through the roof—so many busy people out there want to exercise and look great, but can’t afford to spend an hour a day doing it. The only way to ensure you get a copy of T25 in the near future is to let us know you’re interested in working out 25 minutes a day to get your best body—right now!

Take a look at a preview and some testimonials from REAL people!

Sign up ABOVE to be  notified as SOON as Focus T25 is available to order!

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Chicken, Veggie, Berry Workout Salad

chicken_workout_salad

Do you like salads? Are you a multi-tasker? You simply HAVE to try this recipe! It’s so good, AND good for you! In just a few simple steps, you’ll have a beautiful and delicious salad that you can feel GOOD about eating! The ingredients are flexible, use what you like, don’t use what you don’t like, get it!? But the steps are absolutely a MUST! Non-negotiable! The salad won’t turn out right if you don’t do it right!

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 chicken breasts (or more, depending on how many people you’re feeding, and how chicken-y you like your salads)
  • 1 lemon
  • garlic salt
  • ground black pepper
  • olive oil
  • lettuce of your choice
  • veggies of your choice, but might I suggest the following: tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet bell peppers, green onions, avocado, celery…
  • berries of your choice: Strawberries and/or raspberries are deelish!
  • nuts or crunchy bits of your choice: I prefer slivered almonds.
  • reduced fat feta cheese (or not, up to you)

For the dressing:

  • olive oil (extra-virginy, of course)
  • balsamic vinegar (a goon one!)
  • Dijon mustard
  • s&p, or Spike, or Mrs. Dash…whatever you prefer

Equipment

  • meat pounder or rolling-pin
  • gallon-size Ziploc bags
  • gym shoes/clothes
  • wrist watch/clock/timing device

STEPS TO TAKE (a.k.a. Instructions)

  1. Put your chicken breasts into a Ziploc bag. Add freshly squeezed lemon juice (or the bottle kind will do in a pinch), a little drizzle of olive oil (maybe 1-2 teaspoons) a dash of garlic salt and some ground black pepper (to taste). *I don’t often measure when I cook…so that’s the best I can do. pounded_chicken
  2. POUND out your frustrations until your breasts (correction: the CHICKEN breasts) are the same thickness throughout, about 1/2″-3/4″
  3. Place chicken in the refrigerator.
  4. Lace up your gym shoes.
  5. Get dressed in the appropriate workout attire.
  6. CRITICAL STEP! Workout for at least 45 minutes! No less! (More is acceptable, as long as it’s not overnight) Feel free to choose whatever exercise method you like. Might I suggest: a jog/run/walk outside if it’s nice weather, pop in your favorite workout DVD (Insanity, Chalean Extreme, Turbo Fire, Les Mills Pump, P90X…etc…), a yoga class, pump some iron! You get the idea! lacing_up
  7. When your time is up, place chicken breasts on a pre-heated grill and cook for about 5 minutes on each side.
  8. Chop up lettuce and veggies. *Don’t forget to flip those chicken boobs after 5 minutes!
  9. Whisk approximately 1 part olive oil to 2 parts balsamic vinegar + 1/2 part Dijon , minced garlic + seasonings in a small bowl.
  10. Toss the dressing with lettuce.
  11. Top with chopped veggies.
  12. Retrieve chicken from the grill, slice into strips and place desired amount on top of individually portioned salads.
  13. Don’t forget the nuts and berries!
  14. Enjoy!
  15. Shower!

have-a-nice-day

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The Dreaded Plateau!

plateaupicUgh! The word sends shivers down our spines! It ‘s not a fun place to visit. Nobody wants to go there, stay there or spend any amount of time there. Unfortunately, many of us end up there and find it VERY hard to leave! We’ve been talking about the dreaded plateau in my challenge groups because it can be SO frustrating to know you’re doing the work, and you’re eating healthy foods, so WHY GOD WHY are you STUCK?!

I know all too well what this feels like. And worse is that when I was there, I convinced myself there was no way off! I was working out almost every day. I was eating ‘healthy’ foods every day, too! I told myself, “Self, you’re 40 now, and this is it, the end. There will be no more progress, no matter what you do, from here on out. That’s it, you’re done.” “SHUT UP SELF! YOU’RE WRONG!” Anywho…then I had this crazy idea that I should give fitness coaching a try! WHY NOT!? That was my ticket OFF the plateau! I didn’t know it then, but I DID have it in me to get off that damn plateau! And what’s great is that it happened while I was helping other people on their fitness journeys. My success was just a big fat BONUS! So 22 pounds later, I’m off the dreaded plateau and finding that my body had it in her to take it to the next level after all. The key is mixing it up, don’t get comfortable and don’t get complacent! Don’t convince yourself – like I did – that you’re too old, too overweight, too busy, too ANYTHING! Just find a way and get it done.

Here is something I wrote to my challenge groups the other day about getting off the plateau:

“If you’re on a plateau, it sucks, but there are ways to bust through. First, look at your workout and if you haven’t mixed it up in the last 30 days, start there. Kick it up a notch. Look into a new program. Change up your routine. Do something you’ve never done. Think outside the box! Increase intensity. Go outside your comfort zone! You really need to get uncomfortable to supercharge your results. And possibly even more importantly is your nutrition. Again you need to be SO on point in order to break through the dreaded plateau! That means NO cheats! 5-6 small meals/day consisting of clean, whole foods and very little or NO processed foods! Keep sodium in check. Eat lean proteins and LOTS of veggies. Don’t eat until you’re full; eat to be satisfied and know when to step away (you can eat again in 2-3 hours). Try not to snack before bed – last food about 2 hours before hitting the hay. Plateaus can be so tricky and frustrating! So you have to really dig deep and push hard! Your body gets comfy when you stall at a weight. It fights to keep you there. What you’re doing is forcing a new baseline weight. It takes effort and a new commitment. But if you’ve made it to a plateau, it means you’ve done the work to get there so you know what it takes to push yourself again! You can do it! I can help!” Help

A few days later I posted this article, which seemed to click with a lot of them! Check it out!

5 Ways to Break through Dreaded Weight Loss Plateaus

The bottom line is you have to get creative. If you typically do a lot of cardio, start incorporating weights into your fitness routine. If you do the SAME things every time you workout, it’s time to switch it up. Beachbody carefully constructs their workout programs/schedules to account for the muscle confusion and switch-ups your body needs in order to NOT get too comfortable. The rule of thumb is that every 30 days you should be changing something up a little, or a lot! I went from Turbo Fire to Chalean Extreme to Les Mills Pump and now I’m on to Insanity and with EACH new workout, I’m impressed with how my body responds in a different way. Combine that with proper nutrition, hitting your calorie goals each day and BOOM! you’re on your way to the next level, off the plateau and on too bigger hills to climb! 🙂 You’ve got this! Just keep swimming – or climbing I guess! 🙂

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Challenge = Change

ChallengeChangeAs I’m getting ready to open my eighth monthly health/fitness challenge, I’m struck by some of the results that I’ve seen come out of them! I’ve heard from a few previous challenge participants over the last couple of days and their results are more than encouraging! These kind of results prove that true change happens when you challenge yourself to replace old habits with newer, healthier habits. It’s the lifestyle change that sets these amazing transformations into motion! The purpose of these challenges is not to get you in the best shape of your life in only 30 days. Rather, it’s to learn how to take care of yourself, and find motivation that you never knew you had, so that you can continue on your journey beyond the challenge.

They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. I’ve seen it happen time and again. Once you get used to the idea of eating cleaner, healthier foods, and making your daily workouts non-negotiable, you start to tackle every day with a new determination and purpose.

These challenge groups work because they combine all of the crucial elements. You get to pick a workout that suits you. Not everyone is expected to do the same workouts, what fun would that be? You have to find something that you enjoy, so that you can stick with it! The good news is that there are MANY to pick from. I personally have done Turbo Jam (seems like a million years ago!), P90X (all 90 days!), Turbo Fire, Chalean Extreme, Les Mills Pump and now Insanity! Some people think that DVD programs would never work, or that they might get boring. That might have been true 10 years ago, but they have changed! You don’t just get one or two DVD’s, you get an entire folder full of DVD’s, each with different workouts, meant to be done on different days. Furthermore, there is a always program calendar to follow (usually 60-90 days) developed by fitness professionals that understand the importance of muscle confusion and well-timed rest days, etc. AND, there are usually some REALLY good tunes to work out to, which always helps me stay motivated!

The second part is nutrition. This was the game-changer for me. I always thought I ate pretty ‘healthy’, but I was definitely eating a lot of processed foods with labels like “low-fat”, and “sugar-free”, thinking that these things were healthy! Now, I’m not saying I don’t eat anything with those labels anymore, but I have switched a lot of it out for clean, healthy, unprocessed, whole foods. When I did, I started to see results like I had never seen before. I was so skeptical about Shakeology before I started, but honestly… now I can’t imagine a day without it! It is so satisfying, and full of nutrition! It curbs my cravings (especially the sweet-tooth cravings!), keeps me regular (if you know what I mean) and gives me enough energy to get through my very busy days! I drink it as one of my 5-6 small meals each day. Eating more often throughout the day, instead of 3 BIG meals, keeps me satisfied all day without the need to STUFF myself because I’m starving! You’ve heard the saying: “Abs are made in the kitchen”, and it’s true! You can work out everyday at high intensity, do crunches and planks galore, but if you’re not eating the right kinds of foods, you’ll never see what’s going on under that belly fat. I always share my meal plan, as well as some of the recipes that I’ve discovered along the way. It is NOT a diet, it’s a lifestyle change!  diet_over

The third and most important element is ACCOUNTABILITY! You can exercise and eat healthy all on your own, right? Well, when you have a group of people, who all have similar goals and expectations, and you report to them every day about your workouts, nutrition, victories and struggles…it just takes it to a whole new level! There’s just something about knowing that you’re going to tell people either “I crushed my workout today”, or “I skipped my workout today”, that motivates you to get it done! You’ll get to look forward to weekly progress checks and celebrate with the group when you’re making progress! Having that kind of support makes the process so positive and fun!

So without further ado, I’d like to share some of the results that have been reported.

  • Since I started, I’ve lost 22 pounds and about 16 inches. (Chalean Extreme, TurboFire, Les Mills Pump & Insanity + Shakeology)
  • Jen has lost 24 pounds and 21 inches! (Chalean Extreme & cardio + Shakeology)
  • Michele has lost 21 pounds and 23 inches! (Chalean Extreme, Turbo Fire, Hip Hop Abs + Shakeology)
  • Gretchen is down 27.5 pounds since she started a few months ago! (Turbo Fire & Yoga)
  • Barb is 62 years old and so far has lost 17 pounds and 19 1/2 inches! (Walking, body-weight exercises & Tai Cheng + Shakeology)
  • My mom, age 63, is down 7 pounds and 6 inches, and looks & feels better than ever! (Slim in 6, Turbo Fire, Chalean Extreme and running)
  • Lisa went from a size 14 to a size 8 and is down a total of 24 inches! (Chalean Extreme + Shakeology)
  • Jessica has lost 12 pounds and over 11 inches and is close to being as fit as she was when she was a college athlete! (Les Mills Pump & cardio + Shakeology)

And these are just a handful of the results I’ve seen! There are lots of reports of losing 10 – 15 pounds in the 30 days of the challenge, but it’s the results that go beyond that, that are SO incredibly inspiring. It makes me feel so good to know that the challenge causes a change in the way we think, eat, exercise and live! It works, if you do! Interested? Ready to start your own transformation? Check out the “30 Day Challenge” link at the top of this page.

FITNESS + NUTRITION + SUPPORT = SUCCESS!

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Let’s Catch up, and Plan Some Meals!

First, here’s what happens when you’re not the greatest muti-tasker in the world. I get big ideas, and try to spin as many plates as I can at the same time. So, earlier, while I was preparing and putting our dinner into the crock pot to enjoy later, I had some leftover ground turkey that I didn’t want to freeze. I thought, “Hey, I’ll just patty these suckers up and throw them on the grill to enjoy later on this week”. I like to add them to salads, wraps, etc…so I’m thinking ahead, right? Well, thinking ahead is no good, unless you continue thinking until your project is complete. I slapped them on the grill, as planned, and got busy spinning at least four other plates and totally forgot about them until about 45 minutes later. And the only reason I remember them at that point, was because someone randomly used the word “turkey”. TURKEY!!! $#*T! And this was the finished product of that experiment.

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Luckily dinner was a success! That meatloaf recipe is SO good and SO easy! It turns out GREAT every time! And the only thing that I do differently is to add 1 C. ground oats (the old-fashioned, rolled kind), because I don’t know nothing bout no whole wheat panko – I haven’t located such a thing as of yet! My mom always uses oats in her loaves of meat, so I knew it would work out just fine!

I made it through my first week of Insanity…relatively unscathed! It’s become evident that I will be doing extra loads of laundry for the duration! I get sweatier during this workout than any I’ve done thus far. Even sweatier than when I run! I don’t mind it though. It’s a challenge for sure, but I love the feeling of doing something that has been a little out of my comfort zone and finding that I CAN do it! Yes it’s hard, but if it wasn’t, there’d be no point in doing it! I’m flirting with the idea of doing a hybrid with Chalean Extreme and only because I LOVE lifting so much. I really love the results that I get when I do it and I don’t want to lose ground on all of the hard work I’ve put in with Chalean Extreme AND Les Mills Pump. I want the benefits of both cardio AND weights! Also, I’m a little ADD…and it helps to mix it up a little during the week.

And now on to the meal plan…I sat outside on this glorious, sunny, summer-like spring day with some of my Beachbody cookbooks. I grabbed the Food Guides from Les Mills Pump and Chalean Extreme; there’s some good eats in there! Just trying a few different recipes this week…mixing it up…keeping it fresh…you know. Also, I had to include a couple of meals that STILL have not been cooked from like 2 weeks ago. This is the time of year when wrenches are thrown left and right! You gotta stay on your toes! I WILL cook those pizzas on the grill if it KILLS me!!! I’m going to be grilling up some flank steak this week, too. I’m a little nervous, because I don’t believe I’ve had beef more than once since about October! I hope it doesn’t wreak havoc on my already ‘iffy’ digestive system! Fingers crossed!

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Click here to print and link to recipes.

Have an over the top FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC week! 🙂

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OOPS! I FORGOT TO BUY A CARD!

0810121926aMy mom loves a good, mushy Mother’s Day card, and although her gift is in the mail (No REALLY, it is!!), I didn’t get a card out this year. So I’ll take this opportunity to ‘mush’ it up right here, in hopes that she’ll check my blog and feel all warm and fuzzy!

For starters…I’d like to thank my mom for a few things.

Dear Mom,

First, Thanks for giving birth to me! That was a big day in my life! (Sorry about the salad tongs.)

Thanks for taking good care of me: wiping tears, cleaning boo boos and such. (That pink stuff that burned like toxic FIRE POISON…I could have done without.)

Thanks for sticking up for me when neighbor Brian bit me repeatedly and also teaching me “Sticks and Stones” to shout at mean kids from behind our screen door!

Thanks for screaming at Mrs. Dennis on my behalf, where all of my classmates could see what a bad-a$$ you were!

Thanks for taking the time to teach me stuff and take me places.

You are responsible for: 

  • my belief that anything is possible – even making an ice rink in the middle of our yard on the coldest day of winter! (Sorry about the pleurisy!)
  • my uncanny ability to be late for almost everything!
  • my lack of buttocks.
  • my LOVE of Swiss Chard!
  • my pursuit of health and fitness!
  • my bunions! 😉
  • returning all of my friends’ clothes and retrieving mine from them.

And without you I wouldn’t have:

  • learned how to cook.
  • long legs.
  • 4 kids that turned out just like me! (Just as you’d hoped!)
  • learned the importance of recycling paper grocery bags by using them for my lunch sack.
  • all the memories! Like: fresh-baked bread with the first-picked tomato of the season, swinging on the saucer swing in the back yard, sledding, camping, fishing, bringing home dad’s puppy, egg-nog, scaring bats away, playing games, staying up late and laughing! Lots and lots of laughing! 🙂

So…Happy Mother’s Day Mom! You are responsible for all the good (and a little of the bad) in me! 😀

Love, Angie