Year End Resolutions- Just a Number?

Well today I'm going to share with you a big scary secret I've been keeping to myself for a little while now.  I finally did something I've been dreading and as I suspected the result was as I feared... the Numbers are in and they have increased.  I'm talking about my scale... I had faithfully weighed myself every week well I was completely focused on losing weight and then I hit my goal and just sort of lost all momentum to continue... I mean I'd lost 50 pounds after all! Surely  I could cut myself some slack right? I'd busted my ass for a few years to get to my goal weight...  I'd given up drinks and desserts and junk food, I could treat myself to a few things right? Yeah I did and its turned into a long slippery slope back up the scale.  I'm not impressed with myself at all... I worked really hard.  Well I'm throwing down now because 2016 is my year!  I have a freind getting married in the fall and I plan to look smoking hot and be in a single digit dress for the event! BOOM! There it is I put it out in the world!

This time around as I work towards goals I don't know if I want to focus on the number on the scale as it's actually been nice not constantly wondering what that dreaded thing would say each week or wether to focus on my body and how I feel and look.  I'm thinking maybe a mix of both.  Maybe I can finally be happy in my own body if that's the focus I'm working on rather then getting to a certain number on the scale.  Although I think they go hand in hand as I focus on my body an how I look I will loss weight thus making that number decrease.  Honestly though stepping on the scale was a bit of an eye opener about how my poor choices in diet and lack of constiently exercising have contributed to my climb back up.  I am happy to report I am not where I said I'd never be again but I am getting a little to close for comfort which is really scary to think of.  

So what will I be doing to help... well for one I'm gonna channel my inner badass motivator and stop giving myself excuses.  I know whole heartedly that my nutrition has sucked a big one so I plan to start there and start being accountable for what I eat... It really helped me to use the MyFitnessPal app so I plan to download it and start tracking what I'm eating.  Also the 21 Day Fix portion control containers will start to make a regular appearance in my everyday routine it's an incredible system! With the 21 Day Fix eating plan will come food planning and prep they go hand in hand... I will not throw out anymore food that it bought with good intentions! 

Not everything has been bad in my diet, I have stayed consistent in having my Shakeology daily I LOVE that stuff!  It feels good to know that I have at least been feeding my body some excellent nutrition!  Also by far the best thing I've done this year was getting Cize Live certified!  Seriously that one huge leap out of my comfort zone has made me to have to workout, I mean you can't teach a class without having to know the routine right? It's made me love Cize even more! So my plan for the new year is to bust a move and dance my way back in shape with my Cize program!  I have decided that I needed a fitness goal to work towards so I went shopping on Beachbody and clicked on our newest program and added it to my cart... I honestly deleted and added it a couple times before I finished my order! I am the owner of the Master's Hammer and Chisel workout program!  Eek I know this one is going to be challenging but I plan to get my body ready to be able to complete the program and get the body I've always wanted!

So I have a special invitation for you now that I've laid all my flaws and imperfections out there for you... Yes I struggle too! Wouldn't it be awesome to struggle with someone else? Do you have a health and fitness goal you want to accomplish next year? Are you scared to ask for help? Are you ready to change your life and take control? I'd love to have your support as we go through this journey of living lighter together!  I will be putting together a special challenge group starting on January the 4th to start 2016 off making it the best year I can! And I'd like to invite you to Join Me! If this is something you'd like to commit to for 2016 send me an email at coachmichlg@gmail.com or head over to my Facebook page here and send me a message.  This is my Year End Resolution!

The Things I've learned in the past 5 Years...

Wow it's so hard to believe that 5 years ago I set out to living a happier healthier life! I am on a journey of a lifetime and I choose to celebrate this day! Why? Because I think it's freaking important! Lol seriously though its a milestone and worth celebrating and looking back on what I've learned and done over the last 5 years... the progress I made. What would my life be like if I had of not got up and decided things needed to change? What if I didnt try to eat healthy and start exercising 5 years ago? What size clothes would I be in? How would my health be? I shake my head at the very thought...

 

Then

Now I'm not saying that's it been easy over the last 5 years or that I have it all figure out... just the opposite! I'm still learning new things everyday and fueling my fire to help others and be a supporter and maybe even a mentor to those that are starting their own living lighter journey.  I want to share with you a bit of a realization I came to this summer it's part of why I became a Beachbody Coach and why I started this blog...

 

I was sitting in the general session at Beachbody's Coach Summit in Nashville and was listening to Lindsay Matway a superstar Beachbody coach tell her story and this little light bulb clicked on in my head and I had this ah ha moment! I really related to what she was saying!  I've just seemed so lost and like a failure in life. I often wonder why I was put here, for what purpose. When I found Beachbody I thought this could be my passion! But I've been lost in life, unmotivated and not truly happy. So I haven't been constient in my business and as a result I've just kind of been stuck in netrual and I need to put it into drive! Finally I've realized my purpose, my reason why.... I'm here to help other people reach their goals... I want to save others from drowning in there bodies like I have done and continue to do with myself!

 

Kind of amazing right? Yeah it's ok I cried too.  So rather then focus on the negative because let's face I have not been 100% perfect with my nutrition or exercise this year, I want to focus on the good stuff! Like if you had of told me in high school that I would be certified instructor in Cize Live I would have laughed at you.  I would have thought you completely crazy had you told me I would enjoy healthy eating and actually prefer it over McDonald's or other unhealthy choices for that matter. The fact alone that I would own actual workout clothes makes the elementary school girl that hated gym class drop her jaw in shock. And that I would be interested in learning why my body feels like crap after I eat certain foods and how I can solve this by changing my diet (damn you lactose!) or that by eating healthy and drinking water my complexion would be clear and not greasy and loaded with zits. Like whoa it's kind of mind blowing that one small task 5 years has turned into, a passion in my life! I'm so excited for what this next year of healthy living and learning to live lighter holds for me!

 

NOW!!!
 

Super Cize Confessions

So in my last post I had mentioned about going to get Cize Live certified, well I FREAKING DID IT!!!!!!  Boy let me tell you what an experience that was!  I had also been talking about how I was gaining more confidence and about breaking threw my comfort zones.  (See previous blog post here) Well my certification day was no exception, I thought I was prepared oooh I wasn't lol.  So we started out by learning the whole Cize class routine that we would be able to teach to others when we were done. It was an hour long and man I was feeling pretty great after that.  I got most of the moves down and had survived though the whole thing. We then broke the routine down into smaller bits and then mastered the key moves to Cize.  Lunch time hit and I was feeling pretty great about what I'd learned so far and that I was able to still move!  After lunch we went into more detail on music and how to lead a class.  Ok it wasn't something I had really given much thought about nor have I done anything like this before.  I was always taught how to dance I hadn't done any teaching myself. So that lead to me stepping a little outside my comfort zone. I can do this, I used to be a dancer as a kid,  I know a good beat when I hear one, I just have to learn how to count it out, I got this!   We were then split up into groups so we could be the instructor and lead our groups through the moves. GULP, that's when things jumped WAY outside my comfort zone! I hadn`t expected to teach anyone anything when I was still learning myself!

So my turn came and I froze like  a deer in the headlights.  My brain went complete blank, I had no clue what I needed to do, I forgot all the moves, I honestly think I forgot how to breathe for a minute.  I was so flustered and felt like a complete idoit and failure, how did I ever think I could do this!  Luckily I was surrounded with some pretty amazing individuals who came to my rescue :)  I was very greatful that they helped my through it.  I was litrealy so embarressed I had tears running down my face.  So why am I telling you this?  Because I didn't die (though I suspect I may have actually had a slight anxiety attack, I was kinda starting to hyperventilate) But I didn't quit, I didn't give up and I didn't except defeat there. 

Instead I just kept moving forward, I practiced, I watched what others did and I told myself just let go and have fun, that's what dancing is! I had continued help from the others and do you know what I did by the end of the day?  I lead my group all by myself, with a smile and some confidence.  I can not tell you how incredibly proud of myself that I am. It might not seem like that big of a deal to others but honestly to me it is a huge accomplishment.  I honestly don't think I have been this proud of anything I have done thus far in my life. 

So where to go from here?  Only up of course! I will continue to practice because you know what they say practice makes perfect. I will continue to break down that comfort zone and go outside it, because I know that that is where success lies. To all of those instructors out there who teach any form of exercise, Thank You! You do an amazing job and I am happy to be counted amongst you.  

My Soul mate ♡

So I have fallen in love... yes and it's not the kind that you are thinking of (still single over here). I've heard people talking about that one workout they they just love and it's the perfect match for them. Well I've found mine!  You may wonder... How do you know that you've found your soul mate workout?... Is there really such a thing?... Can you really be happy well working out?  I would have thought you were nuts had you told me that years ago! I'm hear to tell you it's all true!

 

My love, my soul mate is called Cize!  It's the newest workout program from Beachbody and it makes me incredibly happy and sweaty ;)  it's the perfect relationship! So this leads to the first question how do you know when you've found your soul mate workout? Well I  think when you are working out and find yourself smiling and having fun and not really thinking about it as a workout but realize you are completely drenched with sweat, it's a pretty good indication.  For me that is definitely Cize.  So yes to answer the second question there really is such a thing as your soul mate workout. So how do you find yours you might ask? Well for that you have to try new things. Scary I know!

 

Seriously though you have to be open to new possibilities.  Like really what's the worst thing that's going to happen? You might lose an hour of afternoon/evening or your time. You might completely humiliate yourself trying something new out out or you might just have so much fun you want to try it out again.  It's all about stepping out of your comfort zone. Sometimes you can be so comfty and cozy in there that it's hard to do but you might missing an amazing opportunity knocking on your door.  For me Cize is definitely helping me to break out of my comfort zone and by doing so is giving me more confidence! So here is a little side story for you...

 

I did something the other day I had never done before and I videotaped myself doing my Cize routine. I was really sacred and nervous to post it anywhere like who would want to see me do this? Well I got up enough courage and posted it in our private accountability group of Facebook for Cize.  At least everyone in the group is doing the same program as me. Well I was greeted with such positivety and kind words, I even encouraged others to post there videos.  After that I threw caution to the wind and posted it on my Facebook page the next day! I didn't care that I jiggled all over because I'm a REAL person doing a REAL workout! My video has been seen by over 770 people. It's like I took a hammer and smashed my comfort zone and broke it completely down and found happiness and confidence in the process. If that video helps at least one person see that they can dance and do the program it's all worth to me.

 

So to answer the last question YES you can be happy and workout.  If you find something you love to do, it's not a chore.  It's not a oh great I have to go kill myself working out.  It's an Yes, I can't wait to get home so I can do this! It's a Yes, I'm smiling and sweating at the same time. It's a Yes I have found a passion in my workouts and I want to share it with everyone! Yes I've gone a little Crazy... Crazy in love for a healthy happy lifestyle that I wouldn't want to change. So crazy in fact that I decided to go get certified to be able to teach other people how do Cize Live. That's right I don't have a perfect body and I'm ok with that because I know I'm a work in progress too.  I once felt like I was drowning in my body but now I am resurfacing and uncovering who I am and what my purpose is :) I want to help others with their journey too, it's my passion, it gives me great joy.

The Hand that Feeds You

So I won't dwell on my long absence but just get back into my blogging groove. So the other night I was flipping channels for something to watch and stumbled upon this documentary on for a lack of better words, fat kids. No seriously it was about how obesity is affecting kids and teens and how one hospital had a program to help them with it. They also highlighted two kids one who was overweight because of a previous medical condition and the other who over ate by a lot. It was very interesting to watch. I felt bad for both of them because I don't think any child of any age should have to deal with these types of afflictions. I mean yes I was teased growing up more for being short then chubby. But I always knew I wanted to lose weight but didn't want to take the steps necessary to do so. I also suffered from IBS growing up and needed to eat a higher fiber diet then everyone one else. Trust me when I say I really didn't want to eat the whole wheat sandwich and apple when other kids had lunchables and fruit roll ups.

So these teens were given a different alternative they were offered the chance to have gastric bypass surgery. Now I'm not sure where I land on the idea of surgery to help with weight loss yet as I feel that with the right diet and exercise you can make changes and do it on your own. However I realize in some cases this might just not be so simple. So for the surgery the two teens had to follow a diet before hand in order to qualify for the surgery. The one kid who had the past medical condition did amazingly well where as the over eater struggled. Because of this the teen almost didn't qualify for the surgery. Something they said though made me really think. One thing that surgery can't fix is the persons diet and food choices that's all up to the individual. I mean it's not like someone gives a killer a loaded gun and says go out and murder someone, they still have the choice to pull the trigger. Just as no one puts a bag of chips in your hands and says eat this, you still have to decide whether or not you going to eat them and whether to have a small handful or the whole darn bag!

It's not easy and I'm not perfect, I still struggle with foods and the choices I make. It takes a little more will power and a decision not to have that bad meal, treat or food and in finding a balance in what you are eating. Like I will definitely have a glass of wine on the weekends but maybe only 1 on Saturday. I personally plan to start making meal plans again and making sure I pack my lunches the night before because that is when I have been the most successful staying on track. Its an ever learning journey and I will keep on Living Lighter :)