Hard Work Pays off

I am getting closer to where I want to be at a physical level and I am happy to say that my hard work, pain, sweat, tears, struggles, falling down and getting back up is starting to pay off. At 54 I am more fit than I was in my 20's 30's and 40's. In spite of the fact that I had a shoulder injury due to a fall I had off my bicycle a couple of months ago (see blog Dec 22) and have not been able to do and upper body weight training, I have continued to do my workouts to the best of my ability by modifying. My arms look like noodles right now, thank god for muscle memory, I know my muscles will remember what they need to do once I can start pumping iron again.

I Still want those rock hard abs and at my age I have to work harder, so they tell me and really watch what I eat. To be honest, I've just been a little bit lazy. I know I should maybe add more ab moves and yes maybe I am using my shoulder injury as a excuse or I think of it as "God" letting me it's time to slow down for awhile. This past summer I was doing several workouts a day with my friend, maybe I was over training just a little bit. For now I am just doing Turbo Fire and running on my treadmill. And thank goodness for my Shakeology for giving me energy I need to push through and not to mention the health benefits.

My goals this year 2012 are:
Running a half Marathon in April
Climb Half Dome with my sisters in May
Run the CIM Full Marathon in December

Peace, Love, Health, and Fitness,
J9

30 THINGS TO STOP DOING TO YOURSELF

I love this post and I follow this person's blog and you should too.

All of these "things" took me 40 years to learn. Coming from a very dysfunctional family never knowing what kind of day it was going to turn out to be and just trying to go with the flow. Going through a rehab back in 1997 I learned so much about myself. I still have to work on numbers 6,8,18,24 and 25 and I'll admit number 9 too. Instant gratification can be dangerous.

Today I live for today. "Yesterday is gone, tomorrow never comes, all we have is today that's why it called the present". Sometimes I have to just stay in the moment, this moment, right now is all I have to worry about and what a beautiful thing this moment is. Finally I am okay with me, I am okay just as I am and who I am, almost comfortable in my own skin..almost there not completely there but closer than I was yesterday.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Nothing could be closer to the truth. But before you can begin this process of transformation you have to stop doing the things that have been holding you back.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you. You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.

2. Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on. No, it won’t be easy. There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them. We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems. That’s not how we’re made. In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall. Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time. This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.

3. Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself. Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves. Read The Road Less Traveled.

4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. Yes, help others; but help yourself too. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.

5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else. Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you. Don’t change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.

6. Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.

7. Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing. Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success. You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.

8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us. We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.

9. Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive. But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.

10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either. You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else. Read Stumbling on Happiness.

11. Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place. Evaluate situations and take decisive action. You cannot change what you refuse to confront. Making progress involves risk. Period! You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.

12. Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.

13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. There’s no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.

14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you. But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.

15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others are doing better than you. Concentrate on beating your own records every day. Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.

16. Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own. Ask yourself this: “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”

17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you. You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough. But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past. You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation. So smile! Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.

18. Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart. You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate. Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.” It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.” Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself! And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too. If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.

19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.

20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway. Just do what you know in your heart is right.

21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.

22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things. The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.

23. Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done. Read Getting Things Done.

24. Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile. Don’t take the easy way out. Do something extraordinary.

25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while. You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well. You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.

26. Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.

27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out. But making one person smile CAN change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus.

28. Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy. One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time? Three years? Five years?” If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.

29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen. Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.

30. Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs. Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.

http://www.marcandangel.com/

Peace, Love, Health, and Fitness
J9

New Beachbody Challenge Starting February 6th, Reserve your spot now!

I had a blast getting my Beachbody Challenge groups started in January and everyone is kicking butt. Getting their sweat on, working on eating better, encouraging and supporting eachother. Total accountability baby!

These challenges are awesome. It's very simple! "FITTNESS + NUTRITION + SUPPORT = SUCCESS"! I want everyone to succeed. The great thing about this is it's FREE depending on if you already have a Beachbody Workout and Shakeology. And what is better than investing in your health and fitness?

These Beachbody workouts are done in your home on your schedule on your terms, you are accountable to yourself and the other people in your group. The great thing about these workouts is that they work, I am proof of that just ask me how many programs I've done (from beginning to end) and I am not done yet.

Too busy you say? How about 10 minutes a day? everyone has 10 minutes!! How about joining a small group of people doing 10 minute trainer with Tony Horton? Heck, you can do the workouts on your break or lunch break at work

Have you been thinking about starting to get back into working out and need something to ease you into it? Try Slim in 6.

Does your Booty need some help? How about a Brazil Butt Lift Challenge?

The groups starting on February 6th will be small groups of up to 5 people all doing the SAME workout. So reserve your spot now. Want in? Message me for details. I love what I do and if you commit to this challenge I will commit to you 110%.

Help me to help you get healthy, getting fit part is a bonus!

Please enjoy this very inspiring video.

Peace, Love, Health, Fitness,
J9

Running Free 3

My girl Journey is the most beautiful Parti Pomeranian. I just love the way her fur flows when she runs. She is so smart and loves me unconditionally, she is so loyal and rarely leaves my side. She is a skiddish girl until she warms up to you then you have a friend for life. This short video really doesn't do justice to how gorgeous she really is.

Peace, Love, Health, and Fitness,
J9

A MILLION CRUNCHES AND AND SIT UPS AND STILL NO ABS!!!

My husband and I have had the discussion about what the best way to get great abs. He says, I'm going to do my 1000 curnches now and I tell him I am going to do my workout and eat something clean. I found this great article that someone posted that justifies my way. Abs are made at least 70% in the kitchen and 20% to 30% in the gym.

The article was written by Tom Venuto. I like to post important points from great articles on my blog so that when I need to back to the subject I know where to find it. There are so many articles I read and eventually I lose them.

So here is what Tom has to say about what my hubby and I argue about a lot.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"1,000 Sit-Ups And Crunches A Day and Still No Abs!"

One question I received recently REALLY got my attention because a young guy told me he was doing 1,000 crunches and sit ups a day and said he still couldn’t see his abdominals. He wrote:

“Tom: I have been working out for around a year now and I cannot get my lower abs into any type of shape. I'm starting to see my upper abs a little bit, which is great, but despite doing 900 various crunches, ab roller, and 100 sit-ups four days a week, along with my regular workout on the weights, I still have a tire around my waist. What else can I do?”

What did I tell him? Well, I gave him the same answer I’ve given thousands of people over the years, which is the only true “Secret” to great abs...

It takes training to increase strength, build endurance and DEVELOP the abdominals, but to SEE the definition in your abdominals - or any other muscle group for that matter - is almost entirely the result of low body fat levels.

This may sound counter-intuitive, but if you can't see your abs, it's not an issue of “muscle development” at all. You simply have too much body fat covering up the ab muscles. The lower abdominal area also happens to be the one place that most people - especially men - store the body fat first.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is another GREAT point.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's a Scientific Reason Why Your Lower Ab Flab Is The Last Place To Go: Belly Fat - A Big Problem

Most people don't have their fat distributed evenly throughout their bodies. Each of us inherits a genetically determined and hormonally-influenced pattern of fat storage just as we inherit our eye or hair color. In other words, the fat seems to "stick" to certain areas more than others.

There's a scientific reason for this. Your fat cells are not just inert "storage tanks" for excess fuel. They are actually endocrine glands which send and receive signals from the rest of the body. You could say that your fat cells "talk to your body" and your body "talks to your fat cells." This occurs through a hormone and receptor system.

For body fat loss to occur, you must first get the fat cell (adipocyte) to release the fat into the bloodstream. THEN, the free fatty acids must be delivered to the working muscles where they are burned for energy.

For fat to be released, the hormone adrenaline (epinephrine) must be secreted and send a signal to your fat cells. Your fat cells receive this hormonal signal via adrenaline receptors called adrenoreceptors.

Fat cells have Beta 1 (B1) and Alpha 2 (A2) receptors. B1 receptors are the good guys. They activate hormone sensitive lipase, the enzyme that breaks down the fat and allows it to be released into the bloodstream to be burned. A2 receptors are the bad guys. They block the fat-releasing enzymes in the fat cell and encourage body fat formation.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This next part I have always wondered about, then I changed my diet drastically and started seeing results, who would have thought? Not me because I never really did any kind of research until this past year. What I was doing was not working and I was working my butt off. I added more intense cardio like intervals on my treadmill and just for about 20 to 30 minutes and you don't even need to do it that long, but diet is the key.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How Body Fat Storage Patterns Affect You And Keep Your Abs From Showing

What's the point of all the physiology? Well, it turns out that in men, the lower abdominal region has a higher concentration of A2 receptors, so this gives us one possible explanation of why the lower abdominal region is often the first place the fat goes when you gain it, and the last place it comes off when you're losing it. (Incidentally, the fat in women's hips and thighs is also higher in A2 receptors). This situation is dictated by genetics and by the hormonal and enzymatic pathways we discussed.

Think of ab fat like the deep end of the swimming pool. No matter how much you protest, there is no way you can drain the deep end before the shallow end. However, don't let this discourage you. Lower ab fat WILL come off, it will simply be the last place to come off. First place on - Last place off.

This helps to explain why abdominal exercises have little impact on body fat loss. It's a huge mistake to think that hundreds or thousands of reps of ab exercises will remove lower abdominal fat, except to the degree that it burns calories and contributes to the calorie deficit. What removes the fat - all over your body - is a calorie deficit and that comes from decreasing food intake, increasing activity, or a combination of both.

What I suggested to this young man was cutting back the ab training, spending the time he was wasting on excess ab exercises for more intense, calorie-burning cardio and weight training for the rest of the body. I also suggested he do an accounting of his food intake, get his nutrition in order and decrease his calories slightly if necessary.

As it turned out, his diet was a mess, and as nutrition experts like to say, "You can’t out-train a lousy diet."

It's a monumental error to think that 1,000 reps of ab work a day will make your abs finally "pop" when your diet is a disaster and that's leading to fat storage. It’s not that ab exercises aren’t important. But all the ab exercises in the world won't help as long as you still have body fat covering the muscles. You can't "spot reduce" with abdominal exercise and YOU CAN'T SEE YOUR ABS THROUGH A LAYER OF BODY FAT!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope this article helps someone, it has answered a lot of questions for me and it makes sense. I am not a nutritionist or a personal trainer, I am just a regular girl trying to get the most of what time I have left here on earth for as long as I can and I am doing the things I need to do so that I will be around for my kids and grandkids.

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises/abs.html

Peace, Love, Health and Fitness
J9

HIKING HALF DOME..SISTER TRIP!!!

This coming May my sisters and I are going to be climbing Half Dome!! I love Sister time!! So excited. A few years ago I went to Yosemite with a bunch of my good friends and went on a hike up glacier falls and I could barely breath, thought I was going to die, I had not exercised in years, I had high blood pressure, was anemic and was going through a bunch of health issues. But I didn't want anyone to think I could not hang so I went on that long exhausting hike up to Glacier Falls. I had no business doing that hike at all.

I knew I was in trouble at the very beginning of the hike when we were barely at the base of the trail and I was already winded. There were 6 of us. It was a beautiful hike, I just had to keep stopping to rest every 6th step and I told everyone to go on ahead. My friends Maggie and Lou stayed with me. I thought about turning back but my head kept telling me you could make it. There were people passing us and every time an older person would truck on by me I felt so low and out of shape. 4 hours later I made it to the top and "WHEW" what a relief that we didn't have to hike back down because we made arrangements to be picked up at the top. I did feel accomplished that I made it but I never want to feel so unhealthy and unable to keep up with everyone again and they were just walking at a normal pace, guess the altitude got to me too.

Since I have been on my health and fitness journey I feel 110% more energetic, happy, healthy, fit and ready to hike Half Dome. After that last trip to Yosemite I thought there was no way I would even think of attempting Half Dome. This time I want to enjoy the beautiful view, animals, water falls, birds, and everything else. Until then I am going to just continue doing what I a do, my workouts, running, hiking and keeping my diet clean as possible. Life is too short. I used to spend ALL of my spare time laying on the couch watching TV and snacking on junk, don't get me wrong I do still like to relax, but for at least an hour or more a day, 6 days a week I treat myself (yes it's a treat) with a workout or two and by just doing those simple things everyday, I get to feel good inside and out. I fuel my body with good carbs and good fat. I don't even remember when I had fast food. Change is good. I'm happy I made that commitment to myself and stuck with it. It wasn't easy at all and far from pretty and I am proud of myself.

Peace, Love, Health and Fitness,
J9

Turbo Fire HIIT 15 Drill 1

Turbo Fire HIIT 15 Drill 1. Doing my best with an injured shoulder on these drills. Not supposed to be swinging my right arm so don't tell my physical therapist. But I have been warned that I won't heal if I don't rest it. Sure do miss my "guns".

Peace, Love, Health, and Fitness
J9

Turbo fire HIIT15 Drill 2

Turbo Fire HIIT 15 Drill number 2, almost bit the dust at the end.

Peace, Love, Health, and Fitness
J9

Turbo Fire HIIT15 Drill 3

Me doing Turbo Fire HII15 drill number 3. It's the most difficult of all of them. I just love the short burst or energy followed by brief rest.

Peace, Love, Health, and Fitness
J9

My Beautiful Yappy Fur Babies, They Eat Clean Too

These are my girls Miss Ellie (Brown pom, my husbands)I call her Ta-Ta and Journey (Black and white, my girl). They are my husbands and my kids, they are small, hairy and very happy and yappy. There is hair all over the house and I am constantly sweeping, vacuuming and picking up fur and what ever sticks or attaches to them from outside like grass, leaves, twigs, stickers etc. They love to go bye bye. It's so funny whenever the blinker is on Miss Ellie always starts yapping, took us awhile to figure out why she always started barking out of the blue, then we realized it's the blinker, always cracks us up.

It's pretty funny when my hubby and I go places and I am constantly picky dog hair off of him. Don't get me wrong it's not like we are covered with dog hair because we always check each other but sometimes I find myself picking "Journey" off of his clothes. Or if I am visiting a friend and find a long white hair I always have to say "oh look, I brought Journey or Ellie with me". So embarrassing. It however is not so bad in the summer when we have them trimmed with the puppy cut, they look like little bears.

In spite of all of that, we love them dearly. And we like to make sure they are healthy by getting them checked up, shots up to date (rabies) and if they look like they are under the weather, we get them to the Vet ASAP. Not only that, some people may think it's kind of over the top but we rarely feed them can dog food or any dog food except for dry kibble that they snack on. We have gotten them so used to eating chicken breast that we cook. Lately when I juice I thought it would be a good idea to make use of the stuff I waste in my juicer and mix it in with the girls chicken. We eat clean and healthy why not make sure our fur babies eat clean and healthy too. Today I made my juice for the rest of the week of carrots, celery, apples and kale. I sauteed the pulp then mixed in chicken and ground turkey that my husband cooked and chopped up for them and "Voila", dog food for a few days and they love it. It also taste good. What can I say, they bring us happiness, love us unconditionally and are ALWAYS happy and loving the least we can do is make sure they are healthy and loved back.

Doesn't that look yummy? You can really through it over a salad and there's a meal. No real recipes, just throw it all together and in the fridge it goes. Get this, my husband takes that extra step every morning when he feeds them and warms it up for them. One more thing, little Miss Ellie (his baby) sometimes will wait for him to "hand feed" her, can you believe it? And he does it. Cracks me up but he loves every minute.

Peace, Love, Health, and Fitness
J9

NEW!! TROPICAL STRAWBERRY SHAKEOLOGY

Tropical Strawberry Shakeology® will FINALLY be available to purchase starting on Feb 14 Happy Valentine's Day!! And I know it will be well worth the wait.

The protein source is fermented sprouted brown rice so no soy!! It's also VEGAN!! Not to mention lactose-free, gluten-free, and of course over 70 plus super foods like, chia, wheat grass, maca, just to name a few and is sweetened naturally with coconut extract powder. I am looking forward to getting mine. I just love my Shakeology every single day. It is the "most nutrient dense super food meal replacement on the planet". Be sure to message me your address if you want a sample.

Peace, Love, Health, and Fitness
J9

Shoulder Injury Update

I went to my physical therapist this week, he gave me a couple of new exercises to help my range of motion. Since I have pretty much been doing nothing but resting my shoulder these past 2 weeks I am not in too much pain. I am feeling so much better now that I am getting some sleep. It seemed like every night I was awakened by pain at 2am just like clockwork, even the pain meds didn't help much. My house has suffered a little as far as just general sweeping, mopping and vacuuming but it's worth it just to rest. I am lucky and blessed that my husband doesn't mind doing laundry otherwise we would have nothing clean to wear.

I have picked up on my workouts just a little. Still no weight training but that's ok. I am a big Facebooker and most of my friends are all fitness and health junkies. I see their posts and what they are doing and it just makes me want to get better so I can dive back in. I am lucky to have people in my life who support me and "hold" me back when I want to go for it because if was up to me, I'd never heal correctly. So just for today, no P90X, no INSANITY, no BODY PUMP (well maybe), a little running and a lot of Turbo Fire!!

Peace, Love, Health, and Fitness
J9

I Want to be Ripped at 55

This is Rachel McLish back in the 80's she was my idol, today she is 56 years old and looks great. She is still going strong. I love her physique, she has always looked very feminine never really bulky or steroided out not to mention she is very beautiful. Not bad for someone over 55. I want to be like her when I grow up :)

Ever since my 30's I have always wanted to have that hard, ripped, defined body with the strong looking legs, toned arms and great 6 pack but no matter how hard I worked out and how much I tried to diet my body never changed. Back then I was healthy and in shape but never achieved that dream body I always wanted.

Today, I know that abs are made 70% in the kitchen and 30% in the gym. I have been doing Beachbody workouts for a year and a half and I can honestly say that at the age of 54 I am in better shape and healthier than I was in my 30's. My goal for this year is to get ripped. Believe me I don't have the energy I did back when I was in my 30's but I also know that I know now HOW TO DO IT RIGHT. And if I get stuck I have a bunch of like minded fitness junkies like me that I can go to for advice and suggestions and believe me I ask questions.

I am excited to get started, still waiting for my shoulder to heal (see previous post on my shoulder injury) and I think I'll be good in another couple of weeks as long as I keep doing what my doctor tells me to do and rest it. Going back to the doctor tomorrow, hope he has good news for me.

Wish me luck, I'll be posting my progress. I truly believe you are NEVER TOO OLD TO REACH FOR THOSE GOALS!! BRING IT!!

Peace, Love, Health, and Fitness
J9

Ciao!

TONY HORTON ON LIVE WITH KELLY

Tony Horton maker of P90X, P90X2, 10 Minute Trainer, Power 90 just to name a few was on Live With Kelly today. How cool is that?

My journey started with P90X on July 7th 2010 and whenever I need that extra something, I go back to basics, basics for me is P90X, it prepared me for where I am now. I know that once I had my mind made up I was going to Bring It. It took time, hard work and commitment, you don't just wake up 2 weeks later in shape, for me I believe the key is to keep going. Don't stop just because it's hard, it is hard but you get stronger and it gets easier and believe me when I say It Is Worth It. Need a challenge and accountability and motivation? Shoot me a message, I am always happy to help.

Peace, Love, Health, and Fitness
J9

CHALENE JOHNSON ON "LIVE WITH KELLY"

Trainer of Turbo Fire, Turbo Jam, Turbo Kick and Chalene Extreme Chalene Johnson live on Live with Kelly. Beachbody workouts are all over the place. That's because they work. Chalene is an awesome trainer and motivator. Love her.

Peace, Love, Health, and Fitness
J9

6 Reasons to Drink Shakeology

Shakeology is the ultimate nutrition rich protein shake that provides healthy nutrients in a low calorie formula.

It takes the guesswork out of nutrition whether you use it as a meal replacement for weight loss, or just to make sure your body gets all the nutrients it needs for the best health. With one serving, you get over 70 high-quality ingredients! Convenient, huh? Definitely.

Why drink Shakeology?

1 – Nutrients. Do you eat the recommended daily servings of fresh fruit and vegetables every day? I’ll be the first to admit that I tend to forget to keep up with my servings. With over 70 organic nutrients from all around the world, Shakeology delivers a variety of nutrients that your body may be missing. For those of you who are like me and tend to forget to keep up with your servings, you can now get everything your body needs plus some in one glass.

2 – Vitamins. Say bye-bye to your bottles of vitamins! When you have your Shakeology, you don’t need to take all those other separate vitamins every day. This complete meal replacement shake contains high-quality antioxidants, 23 vitamins and minerals, super green phytonutrients, whey protein and essential amino acids, prebiotics and digestive enzymes, good carbs, and low fats. Definitely the best supplement shake I have come across.

3 – Weight Loss. Having trouble with that weight plateau? Tons of people will hit that wall were weight loss seems close to impossible. Here’s the solution, lose weight by replacing one meal per day with a shake. It also helps with reduced cravings and healthy digestion and regularity.


Me enjoying Shakeology for breakfast
4 – Energy. Helps sustain energy needed to exercise, which helps lower total and LDL (“bad“) cholesterol. Especially good when used in combination with intense workouts like P90X, Insanity, and TurboFire. Personally, I have been replacing my breakfast daily with Shakeology and have successfully cut coffee and caffeine from my diet, which is helping me stay tone since caffeine is known to cause the “bloat” effect.

5 – Save Time. This is most definitely a plus, especially if you’re like me and are always on the move with a tight schedule. It’s fast and convenient to get all your nutrition even with a full schedule. This meal replacement shake is easier to make than a salad and great as a healthy snack when eating full meals is not possible. My wife and I make it a nightly routine to blend our Shakeology up shortly before bed. That way, when we wake up, we take them out of the fridge, shake them up and enjoy as we begin our day. This way, no matter how busy we may be or how short on time we are, we have no excuse to miss out on our daily nutrients to help promote the best results.

6 – Save Money. What? Save money? Yes! Save money by replacing many nutritional supplements with just one shake a day. By using Shakeology as a meal replacement, which breaks down to about $4 a shake, you actually save money. The average person spends between $5-$9 on a meal, sometime more, so by replacing a meal with your Shakeology daily, you will save money, plus, receive more nutrients than even your healthiest meal. That’s a win-win situation. Think of it this way, you can’t look at it as $120 on top of what you’re already spending, but $120 replacing what you’re already spending at the grocery store. Remember, you’re replacing an entire meal with Shakeology and therefore don’t have to purchase the groceries for those meals. Plus, if you would actually purchase all the foods necessary to get the same amount of nutrients and vitamins that are in Shakeology, you would be spending quite a bit more than the cost of Shakeology. It makes sense!

Shakeology contains no caffeine and is certified low glycemic! Shakeology also rated 97 out of 100 on www.foodfacts.com. Vegan Shakeology (Tropical Flavor) will launch in February.

***Borrowed from Motiv8fitness.com***