Gun-Tacular

I joke a lot with my husband about who has the bigger "guns". Of course HE does, but I still make him go through the whole "look at my guns" process. I never understood why as a woman our arms seem to be the weakest part of our body. As a mother I either had a baby in my arms, grocery bags or laundry baskets, so they were always being used and I thought that they were being pushed to max capability. If this were the case.... why is it one of the hardest places to define muscle?

I like to call that hangy skin under my arm my "Hello Hello". This is because when I wave hello to someone, it reverbs and waves a few more times after I am done. Apparently that is called your tricep muscle, and on Sundays I get the pleasure of working them until I wanna puke or drop a weight on my head. I never used to like to lift ANY sort of weights with my husband ( I usually ended up in tears in the change room ) but now that I have a routine in place it makes it easier to get my workout in. He lifts with me. He spots me when I need assistance and he makes me keep going when I say I am done and I can't do anymore. In my head I scream to myself  "JUST DO IT" but at him it sounds more like this.. "Will you just SHUT IT!!".

It has taken months of slow steady movements to have clear definition of muscle in my arms. It is not massive muscle but sexy. I can see where time and effort is a paying off and I am noticing it. TIME... that is the key to all of this. Remember that it is NOT going to happen over night.

Sleek and Sexy!

Goodbye to my Hello Hello

These are my Lady Remingtons. They are sexy and fabulous because I made them this way. So next time you want to kick it up a notch... Look at your husband, Get in to the best muscleman pose there is, kiss your bicep and say.. " Welcome to my Gun show!! "

Toxic Purge

Negativity will drag you down. Even if you think that it isn't bothering you, deep down it is affecting you without you even realizing it. This can come in many forms: words, expressions, jobs. friends and even personal items. I slowly started purging just with observations. Ever hear the statement," If you would shut up long enough you would be able to hear what's going on around you?"  How very true it is. I started listening to how people were talking to me. Taking the time to dissect what they REALLY meant behind the " I don't want to hurt you" or "I just wanted to get your attention" statements. It didn't matter if they came from family or friends, they were said. We ALL have or had people in our lives like this. I felt GREAT when I let them go out of my life. Like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. Getting to the point of just letting someone know that they are negative and you do not want them in your life anymore can be harder than it sounds. But think of it this way.... You have an old pair of jeans that have served their purpose, You just bought a whole new wardrobe and feel fantastic about it. As you are putting everything away you come across "the jeans". They don't fit in to your new wardrobe (life) because they are just not right for you anymore. Dilemma... Toss them or keep them around just because. How many "just because" items do you have in your life?

Purging makes us feel better. It is healthy in so many ways. Mentally, Emotionally, Spiritually and Physically. Did you know that you can actually make yourself sick from keeping unhealthy things in your life? If you don't want to call it that, try "Spring Cleaning ". We all know it's hard work and we know it has to be done but no one really wants to get their hands dirty. So when IS the right time to take care of business? For me, it was when I started to get angry. Last week I dumped 2 garbage bags of clothes off at The Goodwill Box. I kept them around as my safe clothes. My just in case I gained 5 or 6 lbs. Or the "fat day" clothes. Really?!?! 2 bags worth??? It was the next confident step in to my next phase. I am pretty sure I did that with "those" friends too. I just kept them around just in case. See where I'm going??

Letting go of my fat past has helped me to move in to this new life with a new perspective. I love it! I love all the new positive people I have in my life. The ones that are a breath of fresh air. The ones where I don't have to hide my enthusiasm for feeling good. Or when I am having a killer boot camp night they are in my ear pushing me. I tend to get a little angry when I am focused and I hear things being said TO me. So I would like to publicly apologize to Crystal Cox and Jenna Inglis for getting mean while doing tricep dips. They are not my favourite exercise. Like they are right up there with burpies but I do them because I know they are going to benefit me in the end. And YES they were pushing me with positive words and energy like I have always done with them but that night, during that round in the circut there was nothing I wanted to hear.. LOL. I'll show you how those triceps are actually shaping up next time....

So create a new you. Peel back the layers that are just hanging around and are not really necessary in your life ( kind of like your tailbone ) and get rid of them. Underneath all of that toxicity is this beautiful flower waiting for clean air to breathe and flourish and grow. Don't be afraid to still hold on to some thorns to keep away the pests either.

This is my Positive for the day.... " I am an ecological treasure. Without me here this earth would not be the same". Find your positive and tell the world :)

Eating really is easy

Food... It is everywhere and we have to think about it every day. The favourite question in my house is, " Mom, what's for supper?" So let's start at the basics. We have families and it is hard to just rip everything out of their mouths because WE can't fit in to anything in our closet anymore. They didn't make me fat, I did! When I started changing my food choices I never emptied out the cookie cupboard and said that's it. I knew that no matter where I was going to be there was going to be food and decisions to make. So I started at home and I knew that was going to be hardest part. But, by leaving it in the house I was building self control and I don't even know it. I just want to point out that my husband and children have learned to adapt to the changes I made ( whole wheat bread, skim milk and a LOT of chicken ). I say it was by choice. My husband says it was for survival.

Groceries 101...  Shop the outer circle. All the basic food groups that you need are there. Take note that the packaging is also very simple. No fancy boxes or lingos on it. Just what it is and that's it.

I can see what's inside THIS packaging

Eating off the Menu 101... look for something Grilled or Baked. Fried = Fat. For salads, ask for your dressing on the side so that you can control how much goes on. Sometimes the wrist gets a little weak and your lettuce needs a life jacket.

Ask for your dressing on the side

 

 

For breakfast ask for egg whites only and dry rye toast

Chicken Fajita guts.. ( no shell and no cheese )

Keep it Simple 101. I keep my food choices simple and limited. By doing this my meal choices are easier. It is a no-brainer when it comes to what I am going to eat at each meal.

4 oz Veal on salad

Special Occasion 101. Super Bowl in my house means Nachos. Lots of cheese baked on top of ground chicken and nachos. This doesn't mean that I can't eat.. it just means that there is a healthier version available as well.

Their Super Bowl Nachos

My Super Bowl Nachos

 

 

Basically just choose wisely. It really is easier than we think. Once you have it under control then you can start to implement more changes in to your life and your family. And, you never know when you might have to talk a friend off the Banana Split diving board and throw them a lifeline of yogurt and berries.

So be confident, keep it simple and keep your best friend on speed dial.

Hot to Trot

It's 9:30 pm on my ab/cardio burn 500 night, I am BeautyFuel'd and ready to go.. Or am I? Not just yet. I get to the gym and apply my BeautyBum. Not just to my bum, but to my thighs and to my belly ( because I am jiggly there ) and I am off to get my workout in. I'm rockin out with the music in my ears and concentrated so deeply in my plank, there is NO DROPPING allowed, that when my 1 min timer goes off I notice the heat that my body is putting off. It feels good! After ab work I get my cardio in. I head over to the stair mill for 10 min of warmup before jumping on the treadmill. Let's just say that my warmup was more like a RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!! My finger slipped and I hit an extra number and I was off to the races. Literally!! Now imagine running up stairs and not being able to slow down at all while trying to press a button to change the speed and not fall off looking like you just got shot out of a cannon!! Ya HI!! That was me :) You can stop laughing now... After catching my breath, I realized if you just ride it till your feet hit the ground it stops. Who knew?!?! Did I give up and say, " oh no Mr. Scare mill you win!" ... Nope. I got back on, started over, finished my 10 min and survived.

I headed over to the Treadmill to get the rest of my Burn 500 done and I was nice and toasty. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that I was getting the "look" from a few stragglers this late at night. I ignored and kept on my way. Sure I was sweaty but then you start to wonder do I have something hanging out of my nose? Nope it was just the fact that I was truly a sweaty mess... This is what they were looking at

I would like to say that it is just the lighting or a bad angle of the camera but that would be a lie.. It is full on Tummy sweat from a kick ass BeautyBum intensified Cardio workout.

So what have I learned from all of this, other than don't press buttons with sweaty fingers? I learned that mistakes will happen and there is nothing pretty about going to gym and getting the job done. I may walk in some Saturday mornings with my makeup on and my coffee in my hand but when it is all said and done I will be a sweaty mess and hungry like a beast! Don't worry about what the girl next to you is doing on the machine or how many calories she has burned. You worry about you! Pull your hat down and put your blinders on.

So put your ear buds in, rub your BeautyBum on and spend the next hour on the best ride of your life! It's ok to scream a little while on it but please remember to keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times or you may get injured :) ..... or fall off like some of us.

Bumps in the Road

What happens when you get a wrench thrown in to your game plan? Do you whine and complain? Throw a fit like a 2 yr old? Or do you just give up without even trying?! My choice has been to push right through it. I have learned to modify and adjust to be able to push through just about everything that could possibly be thrown at me in the last 7 months. I mean really, we don't lay there on the delivery table and get away with saying.. "I'm out! That's it .. I'm going home now." We push through and get the job done. So why do we think that it's ok to do it with our health? It's because that is what we know. What we are used to. Think about it for a second.. We have all quit on ourselves at least once without even knowing we're doing it. Excuse is just a bigger word for quit. We teach our kids to never quit, don't give up, give everything you've got and do your best! Be the Best you can be.... When is it time to take our own advice.

The new 8 week BeautyFit Bootcamp started last week. I knew going in that I was going to have a mental struggle this time around. I know my body can and will do all the things that Sandra wants it to so now it's time to test my mental will power. Use whatever words you want.. Push, Pull, Drag, Throw, Jump.... but they all need to equal up to wrapping my head around these 8 weeks and focusing on what needs to get done. I have already accomplished so much and I just need to get through this little mental block. 31 days smoke free, 5 years Doritos and sour cream free and a whole bunch of weight and inches free. Those were big hurdles for me. Now I see them as speed humps. They were just big enough to irritate me and slow me down but not big enough to stop me from getting to my destination.

I'm human and I'm working on myself daily inside and out. I will never be "finished" because there is no fat lady to sing at the end of this for me. I know what my body can do on the outside... Now it's time to push the inside and see how far THAT will go. "Strength comes from within" means more than you will ever know some days.

Through all of this, mental meltdowns will occur. So if you see me laying there in my own sweat and tears, just hand me a kleenex and move on, I'll get over it.

Not a bird .. Not a plane.. it's a Supa Cheetah!!

I'm not sure what goes through your mind before you start mowing down on a bowl of ice cream or a bag of chips but I know what goes through mine... You gotta Burn it to earn it! Oh sure we justify to ourselves all the reasons why it is ok to have it. BUT... what did we really do? Here were a few of my reasons. Do any of them sound familiar?

1. I walked to the DQ therefore I deserve it
2. We only get together once a month and I don't want her to think I don't appreciate her cooking
3. I'm just going to have one piece of Birthday cake because it only comes once a year.

All these reasons and excuses I would use got me to where I was. It got me sitting on the couch chomping down on a Super size bag of Doritos with a tub of sour cream ( don't judge. We all have our vices and that was mine ). I am a total emotional eater. Plus the fact that I grew up where we all gathered around food to every function didn't help either. I am well aware now what that "one little cheat meal" used do TO me. They all added up. Day after day, calorie after calorie. Sitting on my butt watching all the weight loss shows on tv. Where does it end?!?! Well, now I know what that cheat meal does FOR me. For me it STARTS when I tie up my laces and put my ear buds in. FYI.. I watch those same shows now on the cross trainer at the gym.

I have no fear on this side anymore

Sandbag Squats just for FUN?!?!

Never take the easy way out anymore

Not gonna lie, I literally bust my ass for a solid week to earn that meal. I double cardio (am and pm), I push extra weight with my legs and I do not falter one bit. I am totally focused and there is nothing that gets in my way. Some people may think that is a bit extreme for just one meal. Is it really?? I don't think so. Because the joy on my face knowing "I burned it to earn it" can only be described by a medium thin crust veggie pizza and a small blizzard.

Yes I ate the WHOLE damn thing!!

... and this too :)

Oh now don't think that it just ends there... It SOOOOO doesn't! After this yummy cheat it began again the next day by rolling my carb loaded icky tummy to the gym. Fittingly it was a Sunday and I had abs to focus on. And BOY did I ever.. LOL. A small little message from your coach the next day wondering if you are still in bed in a carb coma kind of gets you motivated to get up.

Food will always be there. There will always be a viscous cycle of sugary ooey gooey goodness waiting for us around every corner. But we make the final decision as to whether or not that yummy platter of deep fried battered everything in the kitchen is going to end up in our mouth. And IF it does.... What did you do to really earn that? If you have to question it in your head at all then you probably should opt for the healthier option and step away from the greasy platter.

So when you see something crazy in the sky every few weeks, it's just me wearing this awesome cape. On the back it says SUPA CHEETA!!

A Proud and Wounded Warrior!!

Where do I begin?!? Let's start Friday night around 11:30 pm or so. I send Sandra a message "Seriously aren't you even the slightest bit nervous?? Even if you aren't can ya just lie to me?" She replies, "I'm excited like a kid at Christmas".... and so the journey begins... LOL

Saturday morning, 3am my alarm goes off and I spring out of bed! I roll over kiss my husband who is snoring pretty loud, so I can only assume he was in a deep sleep. He doesn't move. I continue kissing him until he gets so annoyed he wakes up and says... "What time is it?" >> "It's 3am. Time to get up!!">> "You need an hour and a half to get ready. I need 10 minutes"  (who knew THAT statement would be so true.. LOL) Either way, up he got! He gets the cooler out adds the half frozen water, then starts loading it with all the food that I prepped for us. Since I was unsure of what kind of food would be available I made sure that we had enough for lunch and for snack through out the day.

Be Prepared. There is never an excuse good enough.

 While he gets everything ready at home I go gas up the car. Somehow I lost my wallet in that 10 min time period. So after a few choice words, frustrated tears and messages being sent that we are running behind, it is found in the driveway. Apparently I DID need that hour and a half that he so kindly suggested to me.

WE MADE IT......SO EXCITED!!!

We pay, we park, we shuttle in on first class limo service, grab our packets of gear and paperwork and go find a spot to get ready. Pictures are taken, laughs are had and shoes are put on. I would just like to say that these kicks below did not survive the trip home. I laid them to rest in a pile that are being donated to countries that can't afford shoes (with the other 10,000 pairs that I am sure made it there too). So at this point we are BeautyFuel'd (who knew how handy THAT would come in.. LOL) and I had the BeautyBum in my bag. I applied on my tushie before we left.

Our Limo Service

RIP Kicks... You served me well

Never leave home without it

It's 8am, the flames roar high in the sky and we are off to conquer the next 3.24 hellish miles of our (ok maybe just mine) LIFE! I quickly came to realize that being 16 days smoke free was going to come in pretty darn handy! I was able to keep a steady pace and not breathe through my shoulders. But to actually breathe with my diaphragm in use.

Screams come from behind the bushes and then we see it, the first muddy jump. We all giggle when we see it because it is only a little jump... and then MORE SCREAMS!! This was an abyss of knee high thick black mud at least 50 ft long. I know this because I went through it. We knew we were going to encounter mud so might as well get used to it right from the get go. Up hills and down hills MANY MANY times, over and under obstacles and then the most amazing words of the day come from the woman that I admire and who inspires ME!!.. " You have GOT to be effin kidding me!!!" as we both stare up the longest climb known to man to the top. I giggled in between my panting for air and said, " I'm sorry and I don't want this to sound mean but that was the most fantastic thing I have heard all day!" Now, I'm not sure if she just kept a slower pace to not lose me or if I kept up to her but either way Sandra kept looking back to make sure I was alive and still coming. And I was always there.

We get to the water slide of death and this is where it should be fun to slide down a slippery tarp on a ski hill right?? Well yes and no. There were a few damages to my body and others later in the day got it WAY worse than me. I looked through pictures online. We get to the bottom and we can hear music and smell fire. That means we were almost to the finish line. Are you kidding me?!?! I'm almost done?? Over the cargo net I go as Sandra waits for me on the other side... " Let's go gurl. We're gonna finish this together!" is what I hear. We jumped some fire and trudged through mud on our hands and knees and then I CROSSED THAT FINISH LINE!!! I held my hands up high and I crossed that line with pride in my heart and a smile on my face. Final time was 51min 58 sec.

That mud was GROSS! and so thick!!

FINISH LINE!!!

I wore my mud and my wound proud!

So here I sit 3 days later, still banged up and sore like you wouldn't believe. I pretty much look like I have been beaten up or I went on a drunken bender and had a fight with the pavement and lost. I also sit here knowing that I accomplished something that I never thought I could do. Who knew that a little comment of "I'm in" would be so life changing. Here are just a few things I learned during this adventure..

 

 

It's healing pretty nicely!

1.   When you think you can't go any further, you really can.
2. A ski hill is nothing more than a big pile of dirt. It can't hold you back if you want to get to the top.
3. Victory is that much sweeter when you have your husband and your friend / coach at the end to say I am so proud of you!
4. You gotta Burn it to earn it NEVER tasted so good!! ( I'll tell you all about that next time )
5. I had no idea that gravel and sand could find its way in to THAT many places on my body.. LOL

And finally.... Wounds heal and fade away but pride of accomplishment stays FOREVER!!