A New Challenge--TF and LMP Hybrid!

Home from Philadelphia...first morning back I'm looking to start a new program!

(People often tell me that I'm must be so busy for having six kids...but here's my secret: daily exercise and clean eating!! If you want energy, you have to fuel right and burn off stress with exercise! Did you know that the brain benefits the MOST from exercise? All the body changes are just SIDE EFFECTS!! :) And yes, SHAKEOLOGY is a daily component of "clean eating" for us over here!!)

Here's what I'm going to get after...a hybrid of two of my all time favorite Beachbody programs!!!

Les Mills Pump for weight training married with Turbo Fire for kickin' cardio! Both have AWESOME music that's OFF DA CHAIN!!!!!!!

If you have these two awesome programs you may be searching for a plan to hybrid them together. There are many ways already written out...and I have chosen this one!

PHASE 1: THE CHALLENGE

WEEK 1

1. Pump Challenge and Fire 30
2. Fire 55EZ+Stretch 10
3. Pump Challenge and HIIT 20
4. Flow and Fire 30
5. Pump Challenge and Fire 30
6. Hard Core Abs and Fire 45EZ + Stretch 10
7. REST

WEEK 2

1. Pump & Burn and HIIT 20
2. Fire 60 + Stretch 10
3. Pump Challenge and Hard Core Abs
4. Flow and Fire 30
5. Pump & Burn and HIIT 25
6. REST
7. Hard Core Abs and Fire 30 + Stretch 10

WEEK 3

1. Pump & Burn and HIIT 20
2. Hard Core Abs and Fire 45EZ + Stretch 10
3. Pump & Burn and Fire 30
4. Flow and Hard Core Abs
5. REST
6. Pump & Burn and Fire 45EZ
7. Hard Core Abs and Fire 60 + Stretch 10

WEEK 4

1. Pump & Burn and HIIT 25
2. REST
3. Pump & Burn and Fire 45 + Stretch 10
4. Hard Core Abs and Fire 30
5. Pump & Burn
6. Pump & Burn and HIIT 20
7. Flow and Core 20

WEEK 5

1. Pump & Shred and HIIT 15
2. Hard Core Abs and Fire 45EZ + Stretch 10
3. Pump & Burn and Fire 30
4. Flow and Hard Core Abs
5. REST
6. Pump & Shred and HIIT 20
7. Hard Core Abs and Fire 55EZ + Stretch 10

PHASE 2: THE CHANGE

WEEK 6

1. Pump & Shred and Fire 30
2. Hard Core Abs and Fire 45EZ + Stretch 10
3. Pump & Shred and HIIT 20
4. Flow and Hard Core Abs
5. Fire 60 + Stretch 10
6. Pump & Shred and HIIT 15
7. REST

WEEK 7

1. Pump & Burn and Hard Core Abs
2. REST
3. Pump Revolution
4. Hard Core Abs and Fire 45EZ + Stretch 10
5. Pump & Shred and HIIT 20
6. Flow and Hard Core Abs
7. Fire 60 + Stretch 10

WEEK 8

1. Pump Extreme
2. Hard Core Abs and Fire 45EZ + Stretch 10
3. Pump & Shred and HIIT 15
4. REST
5. Flow and Hard Core Abs
6. Pump Extreme and HIIT 20
7. Fire 60 + Stretch 10

WEEK 9

1. Pump Revolution
2. REST
3. Pump Extreme and HIIT 20
4. Flow and Hard Core Abs
5. Fire 45EZ
6. Pump Revolution and HIIT 15 + Stretch 10
7. Fire 60 + Stretch 10

PHASE 3: BE STRONG

WEEK 10

1. Pump Extreme and HIIT 20
2. Flow and Core 20
3. REST
4. Pump Revolution and HIIT 15 + Stretch 10
5. Flow and Hard Core Abs
6. Pump Extreme and HIIT 20
7. Fire 60 + Stretch 10

WEEK 11

1. Pump Revolution and HIIT 20
2. Fire 60 + Stretch 10
3. REST
4. Pump Extreme and HIIT 30
5. Flow and Core 20
6. Fire 55EZ + Stretch 10
7. Pump Revolution and HIIT 15

WEEK 12

1. Fire 60 + Stretch 10
2. Pump Extreme and HIIT 20
3. Flow and Hard Core Abs
4. REST
5. Pump Revolution and HIIT 25 + Stretch 10
6. Fire 55EZ + Stretch 10
7. Pump Extreme and HIIT 15

WEEK 13

1. Flow and Hard Core Abs
2. Pump Revolution and HIIT 30 + Stretch 10
3. REST
4. Fire 60 + Stretch 10
5. Hard Core Abs and Fire 45EZ + Stretch 10
6. Pump Extreme and HIIT 30
7. DONE!!!

Starting today will take me deep into October...perfectly in time to change things up and do something new for fighting the holiday weight gain season! (If you are going to live fit, you always keep a plan in place!!)

Anybody want to join me? I'm hopping into this TODAY!!!  Jump in with both feet and let's go!!! :)

Say NO to the Holidays' Side Effect!!!

Source

It's coming...it's approaching...there's no denying...

And you know the drill well.

Christmas shopping lists.

Holiday decorations.

Ornaments.

Teacher gifts.

Class parties.

Stocking stuffers.

Christmas parties.

Holiday meals.

Cookie exchanges.

Christmas cards.

Wrapping.

Flights. 

Travel.

Turkeys.

New Year's Eve parties.

As you DO ALL THIS PLANNING for the holidays...do you also plan on gaining weight?!?!

Probably not. That's not a real fun side effect of all that work!

But, be honest, did you end up doing so last year?

Where will you be in early January 2013? Standing in front of a mirror pledging that THIS TIME you'll make a change...only to find yourself later snacking again when you didn't want to?

I want to offer you something to COUNTER ACT THAT SYNDROME!!

Last year, I put out a challenge to join with me in a challenge where we daily encourage one another to live a life of health and balance. See last year's post here.

I lost twenty pounds since I wrote that post!

REALLY!!!

Another friend in our group lost 91 pounds. Yes, that's for real!

Another lost 10, another 20, another 25 and yet another 70.

We are the serious ones. We have supported one another ALL YEAR LONG. And it has made ALL the difference!!

Yes, this has been our year!! :)

I'm going to open up another group to people who would like to END THEIR TREND of holiday weight gain!

Would you like to kick the extra squish on your tummy/hips in the butt this year?

Would you be willing to join me and a small group of others in a Facebook accountability group?

Would you be willing to post a little something about how your day went each evening?

Would you be willing to say YES to daily exercise through the cold winter months when what is natural is to snuggle down and eat sweets? (You can STILL do this in a controlled way...just AFTER your workout is in! ;))

If this sounds like something you want to do...then drop me a comment here or friend me on Facebook and send me a private message. (You'll find my Facebook badge on the sidebar down near the bottom of this blog.)

We will use Beachbody products as I am a true believer in them and have had nothing but fabulous flying success using them! (And the variety is AWESOME!) Hop on over to my Beachbody page and click "shop" to look through the many different programs available.

Let's enjoy the holidays without the side effect!!!

Decide to GAIN weight for Christmas?!?!

With P90X creator Tony Horton at the Diamond
Beachbody Coach Gala party in LA

As many people know, I am proud to be a Beachbody Coach. I just LOVE it! However, due to our adoption process and going independently, I've not been able to focus on it intensely.

And I've learned that adopting a child is VERY SIMILAR to having a birth child...life is thrown completely out of whack and regular workouts are a distant memory! I've heard it said that adopting an older child is just like having a newborn except that they don't lay down for a nap every 2-3 hours! RIGHT!!

Granted I didn't gain that dreaded pregnancy weight this time, but I have really struggled to get time to workout as I had so regularly done before.

So... I decided to jump back in with a Fitness Challenge that will stretch across the holidays like a big blanket of snow! I mean really--how many of us actually WANT to gain that  5-10 pounds that are SOOOOO easy to pick up during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years?

Do you know that if you do not decide to lose weight during the holidays you will actually gain it? So if you do nothing, you are in effect deciding to gain weight for Christmas!!!! Hey, please pass the fudge. ;)

Think about what it would be like to hit New Year's Eve and realize, "I AM ALREADY LIVING LIKE I WANT TO," and your only resolution to be "keep it up?"

Not possible? Hmmmm. I think you can do it!

So, that's where this challenge is going to come in!! :)

I am offering to coach FIVE people over the holidays and into the New Year (to Grandmother's house we go!). We will develop a community of encouragement and accountability all striving to improve our health TOGETHER. This is a beta test group so there are going to be some requirements so we can get good results.

What are the requirements?

*You must be committed for 90 days. That stretch will look like mid-November through mid-February.

*You need to drink Shakeology daily. And we are hoping for that awesome new TROPICAL vegan flavor to come out in the first quarter of 2012!!!

*You must commit to a Beachbody program. Nearly all programs are 6 days a week of exercise. Some are 5. The daily time commitment is usually 45 - 60 minutes.

*You must be on Facebook. The reason for this requirement is that I want to have all of us in a private group together where we can build relationships, encourage and stay accountable.

*I will recommend that people log their nutrition into an online fitness app like MyFitnessPal. We can all "friend" each other there and stay accountable that way too!

Now for some good news!

On November 1, 2011 Beachbody will release the "Challenge Packs" which include:
* a home direct order of Shakeology,
*a fitness program of your choice,
* 1 free month of the Beachbody Club (The Club includes an awesome meal planner and other great weight loss/fitness related tools).

There are three packs to choose from but since they have not been officially released, I cannot post which fitness programs are in which pack. However, the prices are in the neighborhood of $160 for the beginning programs up to $205 for the more advanced programs. Each pack will come with free shipping and will also save on the whole cost from $25-$45 (than if you ordered Shakeology and the fitness program separately). :)

If this sounds like something  you are ready to COMMIT to...then add a comment to this post and let me know. I will not publish your comments. Supply me with an email and if we aren't already Facebook friends, then request me or give me your page in the comment and I'll look you up.

I'm excited to see who God brings together for this challenge and I'm ready to kick myself back into gear after our adoption!

Holiday weight gain? Not me!! Not YOU! ;)

A few tips to make the days go smoother...

Over at It's Almost Naptime! my fellow mom friend, Missy, has asked for us to share our tips on making life run a bit smoother. I loved reading other mom's tips (what a wealth of knowledge!!) and thought I might post a few that we have used. Nothing earth shattering, but after reading in our adoption training manual that children 4 and under assume that every family is like their family, I think we can all learn from what it's like in each other's houses. I love picking up tips from YOU! Here are a few things we do:

1) My older girls DAILY empty the dishwasher. Even on Sunday. One does the top and bottom rack, the other polishes all the silverware (ha! we all know "polish" is a bit of a stretch here...) and puts all the sippy cup plugs back into the lids. This saves me so much time and it's SO NICE to open an empty, clean dishwasher at the start of the day! (We run it every night while we sleep...look and see if yours has the "4 hour delay" option!)

2) When we homeschooled we had a special daily cleaning time I dubbed, "Home Blessing." We have a watered down version of that now that they attend public school (poor them, with homework, ya know?! wink wink!) I had little plastic nametag pockets that they wore around their necks that I would slide in the tasks for that 1/2 hour segment of the day. It was awesome! This is the ONLY way the 2 ferns on the porch survived the hot summers. (Thank you, Anneli!) Between the 3 of us (Oliver was too young then) we cleaned the entire house each week. Truly, our house was never as clean as when we homeschooled! Hmmmmm...

3) Earning computer time. My kids have to read 1 hour for every 15 minutes they play online. (Mom or Dad approved website, of course.) Books are where it's at and I'm trying to foster a love for reading. Did you know that just having books in your house (you don't even have to read them!) will increase your child's literacy rate? Imagine what would happen if they see Mom reading books at every chance she gets? (That's me...one in the car, one by my bed, one at the table for after dinner for all to listen to (usually a missionary biography) another on the island for when I'm having lunch! People are surprised that I am reading more than one book at a time...but that's why!!)

4) All laundry is taken immediately upon removal-from-body to the 3 baskets in our big closet. I quit having laundry baskets in each room b/c it was more work. One station for all of it. (I need a trick to get them to take it in there!!) My kids know how to sort: dark on the left, light on the right. (that rhyme is important!) I gather the basket that is the most full when I first get up in the morning and get it started as I'm filling up my water bottle for my morning workout.

5) Daily exercise. This is critical in my house, and not just because I'm a Beachbody coach. This is for my own sanity and for the purpose of modeling good habits for my children. I am CONVINCED that watching my mom jump rope for hours in our kitchen has carried over to my willingness to make this a daily part of my routine. (Thanks, Mom!) My tip is that as soon as I get out of bed, I put on my workout clothes. I don't have my quiet time with the Lord in my jammies, I've got a sports bra on and I'm ready to BRING IT! right at 6 am. If I work it right, I can get my workout(s) in and a shower before we have to load into the car by 7:30 am to go to the bus stop. (This doesn't always happen!)

My last tip is to go to bed on time, which I've not done b/c I'm writing this! I have a bed time too...and I try to keep it. It sure makes 5 am a lot easier to tolerate! Good night all!