The 21 Day Fix: It's all in the Preparation

So, in a normal week, I'd only post once! But! I felt so strongly about the support system thing, I HAD to post it and then I was like, "Wait a minute Alyssa! You and Jared are starting the 21 day fix on Monday so you have to post about that too!"

And yes...I'm starting the 21 day fix tomorrow, and yes, Jared is doing it with me, and yes, I couldn't be happier to have a clean eating and workout buddy who I just so happen to be married too.

I'm sure there are multiple questions filling your head - What exactly is the 21 day fix? It sounds terrible, but it's only 21 days, etc. :)

Well, that's why I'm blogging! This blog is going to be about what the 21 day fix is, how you can use it in YOUR life, and how to prep and begin for it. I think I refused to do this program because I didn't think I could give the time commitment to the preparation and the organization of the food - but alas, I once again have been proven wrong and now it's time to explain it all.

1) WHAT is the 21 day fix:
So, you can read the professional description here:
 http://www.teambeachbody.com/workout-routines/21-day-fix-workout
but, my description: It's a workout and portion control program. You get different colored and sized containers (each container is basically a food group), after doing some math you figure out your caloric needs which tells you how many of each container you should have a day. From there, you read the foods you can eat and make a meal plan! If you eat all the containers you need a day, you'll be full - this isn't a "hungry" situation. It also comes with a workout plan that's about a half an hour a day. Do this for 21 days :)

2) HOW it works: basically it's teaching us portion control. As Americans we tend to eat until we are full and we eat three really really big meals. With the 21 day fix, I'm eating six small meals a day! They say (and by that I mean the professional creators of this program) that eventually our bodies will get used to the normal sized and smaller portions we are supposed to eat! Eventually we will only be able to eat so much, eventually our bodies will get rid of these silly "super sized" tendencies! Plus, we are getting a good workout in - so you are sure to lose weight!

3) WHY it works: it becomes a lifestyle - you can apply it to ANYTHING. Birthday party? Portion out your foods. School day? Plan your snacks accordingly for in between classes.

4) HOW to set it up and organize it!
---now this is where I come in! I've spent a lot of time pinteresting, researching, and trying to find the BEST POSSIBLE way to plan for a busy schedule (and I don't even have kids, so I can only imagine!) I combined a bunch of different methods and made them my own. I definitely spent about half a day on my planning and just trying to figure out HOW to make it work. And in the beginning, it's going to take you that long too - just because it's a new thing and you are completely altering your lifestyle and your eating habits. However, now that I have my plan, I'm set for each week and it's easy to write my grocery list, get the food, and be done!
So...here's where I started.

FIRST: I recommend having a way that's easy to document your progress. This will keep you going and help you survive.
I made this :)

As you can see this is how Jared and I will document our weight and our inches lost. We will use pictures for all the rest. Later on, after making this, I used the bottom to figure out all of the math. Jared and I are obviously different sizes meaning we will have different caloric needs. This means our containers and amount of them we get differs as well - but I managed to make it work.

NEXT: Do the math - figure out the number of colored containers you'll each need. Jared isn't a super huge veggie and fruit eater, so I made a list off of the book of the stuff he actually liked.  

I knew how much he needed of each colored container and I divided that up throughout the day, making sure it made sense with the meals. For example, he needed 6 green containers (green = vegetables) and with three main meals and three snacks I was going to give him one green container at each meal. But he didn't like the idea of having vegetables at breakfast. So instead, we doubled up his vegetables at lunch when he eats his tortilla sandwich!

I made a chart like this!

I color coated each food group to have to deal with the containers, so that way I knew we were covered! Finally...

THIRD: I knew he and I weren't home together during the day, so I leave a little note card each day with what he can eat and by color coding it, then he knows what container to measure it with! The creator recommends measuring with the containers, but then putting everything on a plate instead of eating from the containers. In this way, our body begins to recognize how full our plate should actually be.

Finally, I went grocery shopping and this is where I WAS FLOORED. I normally dread buying fresh fruits and veggies - it's costly. But since I had a plan, went in with my list, and bought only things on that list, I came out spending $50 less than I normally do and I'm feeding me AND MY HUSBAND 6 meals a day for the next 7 days...

NOW THAT IS INSANITY.

my cart was only half full!

SO. WE ARE READY! You are probably looking at my calendar of food and thinking, "That is a ton of food!" and it really is! The creator of the program says we probably won't be hungry enough to finish everything. It looks like alot because when we nourish our bodies with processed foods we don't need as much, but since it's almost 100% organic then we need to eat way more!

I'm excited for this week and for our results. I'm even more excited because Jared is doing it with me!!

Next week's blog will be about our first week's results and our plan for the upcoming week! 

In other news...I've set up my Coaching office and I'm ready to kick some butt for the year!

Support System

First – Welcome to my blog – I’m updating, renovating, editing, and trying to make my blog the best blog that it can be. So, you’ll just have to survive my constant changes for a while J

I've always had people who wanted me to follow my dreams, do big things, and were proud of all of my accomplishments! My parents (and sisters) came to every concert, boring awards assemblies, all graduations, ..you name it, they were there. I didn't realize how much I treasured that support until things got hard and I realized how much I NEEDED that support.

Especially in the health and fitness world.

Let's be real...

I grew up, I moved out, and I needed to cook for myself. That was fine with me. I didn't need them around all of the time to applaud as soon as I did good things. I got married, I had Jared :). 

As I started working out, Jared became the person that would make me do it on the days when I didn't want too. Jared was a great support system - and he still is! He always reminds me to participate in my squat group. 

I became a Beachbody coach in late August, early September. My family didn't (and still doesn't) take me seriously at all. I'm not sure if it's because they don't see how it fits into my life (because I don't live with them daily) or maybe it's because I'm not at my goal weight or my goal size, so they think it's another phase. I'm not quite sure. I'm not offended by it at all, it's more of an observation rather. As I began selling and promoting Beachbody products I have found no involvement or support from them whatsoever. I almost feel stupid talking to them about something that I'm so passionate about because in all honesty, they don't really care. Which is fine, they are allowed not to care.

But this brings me to my next point:

Where I have found the best support system in the entire world (besides my husband, who embarks on an adventure with me every day.)

CHALLENGE GROUPS! I have met the most amazing, supportive, and influential women in challenge groups that post every day. They celebrate with me when I lose those stubborn pounds and they mourn with me when that chocolate cake is too irresistible and I take a bite. They proudly share sweaty selfies with me every day - not afraid to be makeup-less, sweaty, and natural in front of a camera, motivating me to complete my workout for the day. They encourage me to keep going - through the lazy days, the stressful days, and the easy days. They know what it's like to build a relationship with someone, to be in constant contact, to help them find the program, and for it to either follow through or fall through. For these women, some who I have and never will meet in person, I am grateful!

Although I wish my family would invest and involve themselves in my Beachbody life, I know it will come with time.  Especially as they start seeing my progress! :) However, I want to stress the importance of a challenge group, the solid foundation and support system that helped me complete workout programs day in and day out. Challenge groups are constantly forming and going on all around you - please ask me! If there isn't a challenge group for you, I will make one!

We all need support in life - whether for our passions, our jobs, our kids, and our marriages. Take advantage of that support. You can do it on your own, I'm not saying you can't! But, the journey is so much easier, the progress is so much sweeter, and the end result is so much better when you have your cheer leading squad running alongside you the entire way. 

Love and blessings to you all.. 

Taking the Plunge: Spending money on a healthy lifestyle

I've only been a coach for a few months, but even so the biggest problem I've run into (which I'm sure even the best of the best coaches run into too) can be summed up into one sentence..."Wow, that's a lot of money and I don't think I can spend that right now."

That was me..

I was that person...

I said those same things...

That's why today I wanted to share a detailed look of "the moment". The moment I said yes, the moment I typed in my debit card number, and the moment I made the decision to spend an amount of money that seemed to me WAY to expensive for my wedding-planning, house fixing, just graduated-about to pay my debt -self.

I had actually reached out to a coach during my second year of college. I saw her posts, I saw her own fitness story, and I wanted to be in on it. Then I saw the cost. I saw the time commitment. I refused, I just couldn't. To me, this was impossible.

Fast forward two years and an engagement later and I was determined to get fit for my wedding. I had been running daily, but nothing much more than that. My teacher from my student teaching had just become a Beachbody coach and I was slowly watching her transform through her photos and posts. She became an inspiration and when I commented on one of her posts, she messaged me immediately trying to answer all of my questions. And obviously it came down to cost...

She was beginning a challenge group and the program was going to be T-25. T-25 is already a super expensive program as it is - $120.00...that's a lot. Since I had no money and I was engaged and planning a wedding, I obviously had to ask my fiance at the time, Jared. Jared was pretty much against it from the beginning, we didn't have that extra to spend...and he kept glancing over to my "workout" basket where I keep multiple DVDs that I've bought over the years with good intentions. So, I wasn't really gaining about brownie points with that.

After a few days of her giving me more info and me bugging Jared, I finally just bought it - without telling Jared. It came in the mail and he was upset - I was upset, because he was upset and I knew I shouldn't have done it. I'll never forget what he finally said to me, "If you want to take care of yourself and be healthy, then I can't be mad about that." I felt so relieved! I had his blessing to atleast begin a program!

Next comes healthy eating. Everyone knows buying fresh fruit and vegetables, getting the more organic things, and just eating plain healthy can be more expensive! But there are ways to save money and eat healthy, it just takes time. I remember my grocery bill being $200 for just the two of us each week when I started trying to cook healthier. It took a few months but eventually Jared and I figured out how much fruit and veggies we could eat, what we needed when, etc. and now my grocery bill waivers between $90 and $120 a week.

Finally, my shakeology plunge. Shortly after becoming a coach, I knew I needed to start drinking Shakeology. I needed to practice what I preached!  I had been avoiding Shakeology because it is pretty costly each month - $130! Signing up as a coach allowed me to get a discount (which was a benefit) but I finally decided that I needed to do this FOR ME. I needed to spend this amount of money on me each month to make me HEALTHY, FIT, and HAPPY.

This whole "taking the plunge" thing hit me this week as I try to build my team. A lot of people are afraid to spend that much on one thing. I was afraid too! I was terrified actually, and I almost felt selfish. In some way or another, our finances worked out. My shakeology and fitness expenses were covered by my coaching profit - and I was making a little extra on the side! I babysat for a little extra income and put that towards my shakeology. Now, I don't even notice when the amount gets taken from my account!

In the end, I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's worth it. YOU are worth it. YOUR HEALTH is worth it. I was you once, I remember not knowing if I could pay for gas for school the next week if I bought this workout program. But I promise, I won't give up on you and your results will be worth far more than the money it took to buy your workout program, to buy the healthy foods, to buy the Shakeology.
Take the plunge!

Never miss a Monday....

When I had first joined a challenge group, my coach would post her "sweaty selfie" and say, "Never miss a Monday!!" I think this came from our Focus T-25 workout program. Either way, I kinda associated it with her and her positive Monday talk...

..I'm not gonna lie..I hate Mondays. Don't we all? It means we have to get up early, restart the work week, count the days until another weekend. We were supposed to spend our weekend recharging, however we spent it using up the last of our battery life by staying up late, sleeping in, revamping our sleep schedules for a mere two days just to have more fun - only making Monday look worse and worse and dreading the alarm that would wake us up at an ungodly hour.

I kinda always felt bad for Monday. It wasn't Monday's fault that it was placed as the start of the week again.

...off on a rant there.

Anyway, never miss a Monday rings truer than ever in the weightloss, health and fitness world. Monday sets the tone for the week. It's where we reestablish those habits that we've set to help us continue them into the week.

I've lived through this, I've experienced it.

I miss a workout on a Monday. On Tuesday, it's really really hard to push myself to workout - and I'll probably do it half-heartedly if I do. By Wednesday, I've already decided that Monday and Tuesday didn't go great, so why bother finishing the rest of the week.

NEVER EVER MISS A MONDAY. Even if that means you have to get up a little earlier, be a little crankier (which in the end you won't be because exercise produces endorphins and endorphins make you happy), drink a little more coffee, stay up later, rearrange your schedule, set 5 alarms (that's me!) NEVER EVER MISS A MONDAY.

Monday's are important. Today, my alarm went off and I hit the snooze. Next thing I knew, I was in a hurry and it was time for me to leave for work with no time to workout and shower. I knew this could set me off for the whole week - I knew not waking up on time would make my day shift. So right away (as soon as I was coherent enough to wake up and realize I missed my workout) I planned my day, switched a few things, and scheduled in times for my butt workout!

So, I end with this..
What did you do to NOT miss your Monday? It could be the simplest of things - taking the stairs, ordering a salad instead of a burger, etc.

Today: I drank my Shakeology for breakfast and I'm just about to complete my butt exercises for my "Drop it like a Squat" (hilarious name!) challenge group!

Remember... :)

My fitness journey...

I'm only 5'3" and I've always been a little more on the athletic/thicker build side. This has made me consistently in the "overweight/obese" category simply because of my height. I went through the awkward puberty stage like most people.

The summer before my senior year of high school, I spent the summer as a camp counselor. I gained ten pounds in six weeks eating camp food. Most people think you'll lose weight at camp due to the constant activities - which I guess is partially true. Most people also think camp food isn't that great. However, MY CAMP has cooks that make delicious homemade food for all meals of the day and I loved indulging myself in bacon every morning, scrumptious sandwiches at lunch time, and roast beef and mashed potatoes at dinner. All homemade, all mouth watering, all not so great for you...

When I returned home from that summer at camp, I was ten pounds heavier and it was noticeable. I was at the heaviest weight I have ever been in my entire life, 176 pounds.

 It was so easy for my weight to fluctuate. I felt like a bloated whale. I was also slightly depressed. My family had just taken in a homeless girl who had my room, this was my first summer "away" and it seemed like my friends had changed and moved on, and it was my senior year and I was supposed to be making decisions that would affect the rest of my life. My mom had noticed my weight gain ( I mean, who didn't...) and mentioned something. It wasn't a rude comment, rather an observation. The fact that someone had observed and then said something cut me to the core and I made a decision then and there to change this for the better.

I started eating a hard boiled egg for breakfast, a salad at lunch at school, and then simply watching my portions with my family at dinner. Senior year was BUSY - I was running around doing everything with everyone that I didn't' really think about snacking outside of meal time. I also dusted off those Seventeen Magazine fitness pull outs I had saved from years of subscribing. I did the easy exercises (lunges, squats, different types of crunches/pushups etc.) twice a day - once in the morning, once at night. Within three or four weeks time, I had lost 16 pounds! New weight: 160 lbs. WHAT.  I couldn't have been happier! Getting elected to the homecoming court really encouraged me to continue with my habits.

Senior year continued, I graduated, life moved on, and I returned to summer camp determined to not gain weight. I ran often with some other counselors, limited my portions, made healthier choices, and had a crush on a guy that helped me to keep my figure in check! I was down 10 pounds that summer and in the best shape I had been in awhile. I felt pretty, comfortable in my body, and good about myself.

My "crush" and I started dating at the end of the summer, a month before I was to head to college about three hours away. Because we had just started dating, we went out on dates to restaurants and movies, ice cream, - all the fun stuff. However, I made healthier choices and was able to remain the same weight.

College...oh college. Everyone says you'll gain the freshman fifteen. It's definitely true and possible! However, I was blessed with roommates that enjoyed exercise and we worked out almost every day freshman year.

This is my crew - my roomies!

 We used our free gym privileges with ease and you could often find us either working out to Jillian Michael's before class in the morning or in the evening hitting up the elliptical.We joined Zumba classes and had a lot of fun. I gained about five pounds my freshman year, but I'm going to say it was all muscle... even my sister said I looked good! ;)

This was at the end of my freshman year of college. DANG ;)

Sophomore year is when it all started going downhill. I don't think adults remember what college is like once you get into harder classes. I HAD NO TIME. I was barely sleeping let alone working out. I am one the most organized and prepared people I know, but in between school, work, and homework, all I wanted to do was socialize for an hour or so during mealtime. I didn't want to/didn't see the possibility of getting up earlier than I already was in order to workout. I gained some weight (I'd say my sophomore 15) putting me back up at 180)

I graduated college a year early so my junior and senior years were "together". This year, I pretty much hovered around the same weight. My crush turned boyfriend from camp asked me to marry him in October! I was engaged, getting ready to graduate, and preparing for my student teaching semester. Life couldn't have been better! Upon graduation, I moved into the house we would live in together after our wedding. I stepped on the scale and saw that I had gained a little weight and was up to 187 lbs. I wanted to be in shape for the wedding - that was my original plan -  but my life had literally just been CRAZY! Student teaching, graduation, and wedding planning - along with all those parties since we had graduated. I was searching for a job WHILE planning my wedding WHILE fixing up/painting our home WHILE figuring out my life. It was an intense time for my body and my brain. I wasn't eating that much at all because I was so busy and that made it worse for my body.

I started running. We live in a beautiful countryside and the mornings are simply gorgeous so I started running. Well,...first I walked. Then I jogged. And slowly but surely it turned into something I NEEDED to do. My cooperating teacher that I worked with while student teaching, Jessica, had become a Beachbody coach and asked if I would be interested in any of her programs to get ready for the wedding. I chose Focus T-25 with Shaun T. It seemed like the best program for me because it was only 25 minutes a day! Throughout the next ten weeks, I lost 12 inches! 12 INCHES on my body!! I didn't lose a single pound and that was okay because I realized the scale is just a number. I dropped a pants size and have never felt better. My weight might have not changed but my body was changing and I felt amazing on my wedding day.

Honeymoon over and now I'm back at home with my new husband trying to figure out how to live with a boy and make it work. I wanted him to love my cooking so I made every possible thing I could that was delicious and potatoey and filled with butter. I guess you could call me Paula Dean :) This wasn't good for either of us. On top of that, the stress of all those life events of mine within a 3 month period (student teaching, graduation, wedding planning, wedding, home, expenses, learning to live with a boy, job searching) had caught up with my body and I was sick. My stomach hurt, I was nauseous, I was extremely exhausted and napped every afternoon. My stomach was puffy and looked like a 6 month pregnant belly. My first thought was...have I pooped recently? yes. My second thought was...am I pregnant? 8 negative pregnancy tests later I accepted I wasn't pregnant but I still wasn't getting my time of the month.

Ladies, this messes with your body!!! I'm still struggling with my monthly today and it's been so hard getting back on track and handling my body along with it. It caused me to feel bloated, gain water weight, and at one point I was up to 200 pounds, 200 pounds?! I cried that day. I also cried when a lady at the grocery store asked when my baby was due. That is how pregnant and bloated I looked, that is how bad I felt.

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The most current photo of me (taken...three days ago!) - ignore the "R", it was for a craft project :)

SO - my whole story has been told. "But Alyssa, where are you now?!" I'm working on it! I'm figuring out my body, I'm getting further and further away from that 200 number and I'm bringing others with me. This story is so new, so vivid, and so real to me because it wasn't that long ago... My 200 number happened just last month. My body has been through the ringer lately. Sometimes that means I have to know my stress limits, sometimes that means I have to care a little less, and sometimes that means I have to say no. My weight loss journey has been a roller coaster and I'm more than prepared for 2015 to be the year that I meet my goal!

Join me! I'm not perfect, I like chocolate, and I'm just like you. Let's make 2015 OUR YEAR!