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Helllllo All!  Hope all of you had a fabulous weekend!  I feel like I'm still playing catch up from mine.  Or maybe it's just this week has already been very eventful, I just can't seem to get caught up!  Well, let's rewind to Monday...  First day of school!  My little twinkies went back to school yesterday.  This year is a little different, scratch that, ALOT different.  They are now in Pre-K, but they go everyday for a half day in the morning AND they ride the bus to and from school, AHHHHH!  I can't get over how fast they are growing up!  And they just absolutely love it.  Which at the same time makes me both happy and sad.  I'm glad they adjust so well to change, but it makes me sad to see them growing up, they are not my little babies anymore :(  Well, they'll always be my babies, but you get the picture!  Ah well, that's life I guess, they are growing and changing and so does Mom :)

Alright, up to speed on Tuesday, almost mid-week and I feel like I have a TON to do.  Been working on a few projects and it's getting down to the wire.  I'll fill you in on the projects when the time is right, so def. stay tuned :)  I think it's safe to say that habit is starting to form again for me in the workout department.  I'm in week 2 of the P90X/TurboFire hybrid.  P90X isn't all that bad, I thought I'd be bored outta my mind by now, but I'm loving the strength training in it and I haven't been this sore since I first started TurboFire!  That's a good thing, no pain no gain, right!?  So, I mentioned before the act of falling into a habit.  I desperately needed to get back to habit, summer was WAY too good to me this year and I cheated ALOT with yummy indulgences.  I never once slacked on my workouts, I will say that, but the clean eating part of it all really fell by the wayside.  But, now we are heading into September and I plan on getting back on the clean eating train.  At least for now, I am not allowing myself any cheat days.  This is not to say that cheat days in your diet are bad, they are actually a good thing, as long as you are doing it in moderation and not all the time.  In no way should a diet ever leave you feeling deprived.  You will surely fail at your diet if it ever gets to that point.  The need for me to execute this "no cheat days" aloud is purely my own choice and something my body desperately needs.  I can definitely tell my body has taken a beating from all my cheat eating in the past month.  Technically, the best option for me is to probably to do a cleanse, but I'm not really up for another cleanse anytime soon.  So for now, my plan is to eat clean for the next few weeks going forward.  With Labor Day weekend coming up this will be a good test for me to push my mind over matter.  I am not giving myself the excuse to indulge in sweets over the weekend simply because it's a holiday weekend.  I DO plan on spending some time with my friends and family in leisure.  Sounds good to me! 

So, how do ya'll handle your cheat days?  Are they on occassion?  Do you even have one or are you one of those souls that has extreme self control when it comes to something like this?  If you are, I'm so jealous!  I also envy those that are not sweet eaters because they just flat out don't like em.  I wish I had those powers!  Sweets are my weakness!   But I will prevail :)
 
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Hey ya'll!  What an extremely busy week it's been already, and it's only Tuesday!  So, after a much needed and well deserved week off, I'm back at it.  Yesterday marked day one of the next chapter in my fitness journey; P90X/TurboFire hybrid!  To be completely honest with you, I've never been too interested in P90X.  My first impression of this program is intimidation, extreme difficulty and just plain not up my alley.  But, what I do know is that this program DOES work as I know way too many people who have had success with this program to not believe that it works!  So, despite my own opinion on the program I decided to go for it and give it a whirl and I gotta say, I'm glad I did.  Yesterday was my first P90X workout; Chest & Back.  Holy pull ups and push ups!  LOL :)  For the record, I'm AWFUL at both!  However I was able to get through the entire workout with modifications and yet my arms still felt like they were gonna fall off! Ha!  This is a great opportunity to improve, by the end of the 90 days I WILL be doing a full set of push up NOT on my knees and WILL be doing a pull up from a pull up bar without assistance.  Now, being a Turbo girl, I'm used to a fast paced,uypbeat tempo... you will not get that kind of format with P90X, instead it is replaced with Mr. Tony Horton's innocently goofy humor :)  Which in the end was equally motivational!  Today I got to go back to my roots and hammer out some Fire 45 EZ, it was soooo nice being back with my soulmate workout!  Tomorrow is another P90X workout, send a prayer my  way, I believe it's Yoga X, 90 minutes long!  Ahhhhh!  ;)
 
Hello There!  Last week I was a little MIA, but for good reason!   Let me rewind to last week so I can give you a brief update.  Last Sunday we were outside enjoying our fire pit and unfortunately my poor son Haiden grabbed lid of it and burnt his hand, YOW!  Poor thing had bliters all over his hand and he was pretty miserable.  But, I did all that I could to keep him comfortable and the next day he was acting fine and as good as new, with a few small blister ;)  So, just as I think the week can't get too much worse, I was dead wrong.  Tuesday I had to have a physical for life insurance purposes, nothing major, a nurse came to the house took my measurements and also needed a blood sample.  I've given blood before and never had a problem with it, until this time.  Apparently I was pretty dehydrated, but in my defense they told me to fast for 6 hours prior to the physical, so I did and I didn't drink anything either!  Well, apparently when you give blood you absolutely need to be hydrated or you will faint.  And that's exactly what happened to me.  Never have I fainted in my life and let me tell you it was the single most scariest moment of my life.  I had no idea what happened or where I was when I came to.  Thankfully enough I was in my own house and the nurse was very caring and helpful and took care of me and my kids until I was coherant.  Not a fun experience and needless to say I took some time off from working out because the experience alone drained me of any energy I had.  In the few days after I definitely felt better and was fine, but I also came to realize just how thankful I am for my health.  It is amazing how quickly it can all be taken away from you.  Gives a whole new meaning to living each day to the fullest.  But, anyways, that was the last of the bad luck!  By Thursday things were on the up and up, I was diligently back to my workouts and planning my hubby's surprise 30th birthday party for that Saturday, which went on without a hitch and he was completely surprised!  Sunday was a much needed day of relaxation and also my last and final day of the 120 day TurboFire program.  YEP!  I did it, I completed TurboFire!  Woo Hoo!  A great accoomplishment for me, what a run!  I plan on taking this week off from any hardcore training, I will still continue to do light cardio and maybe throw in some pilates and yoga.  Next week, I'll begin the hybrid of P90X and TurboFire.  Bring it X!!
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120 days of TurboFire - DONE!
 
Happy Monday All!  So as you know, last week I ventured back to the South Beach Diet, Phase 1.  Let's just say it started off good, but by the time I got to Thursday, it was downhill from there.  Well, I won't say downhill, because I still ate fairly clean, but I did not however, stick to Phase 1.  I need my good carbs and my fruit!  So, I was a little dissappointed with myself for not sticking with it, but then I realized that my workouts are very intense and I burn ALOT of calories each time I work out, ranging anywhere from 600-1200 calories, depending on the workout.  When you burn alot of calories you need to fuel that fire with food and good food like clean carbs and fruits.  I knew the way I was eating was affecting my workouts because I was tired during my workouts and I'm very rarely EVER tired durning my workouts, I needed food to give me energy!  So, with that being said...  I'm nixing the South Beach, Phase 1.  I plan on starting this week with clean eating, whole grains, lean meats, plenty of veggies, fruits and 'good' carbs.  I plan to keep a food journal so I can measure up my intake and balance that up with the calories I burn during my workouts.  Sounds like a plan, right?!  Ok! So let me just give you a recap of what I did eat during the week that I was sticking to Phase 1.  It was good food, minus the carbs ;) 
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Here's what my breakfast usually contained. An omlet with 1 egg and 1 egg white, inside were chopped red peppers and onions and fat free cheddar cheese. And a side of 2 links of turkey sausage.
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My lunch more times than none was my Shakeology. No fruit added. Most of the time it was mixed with natural peanutbutter or 2 tbsp of nonfat greek yogurt and vanilla extract.
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My lunch last week on Thursday (which is when I was in the city), was from a place called Chili Peppers, which is comparable to a Chipotle. I got the burrito bowl, obviously minus the wrap. I got the chicken with black beans, tomato, banana pepper, onions, cilantro and medium salsa. All acceptable on South Beach, Phase 1!
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Dinner was always the hardest. Try making dinner with no carbs, it's hard! But, it can be done :) This was a dinner my dear hubby put together for us one of the nights last week (so sweet, and so nice to have the support). He made grilled lamb chops, and grilled veggies that included eggplant, banana peppers and a whole onion, all from our garden! Not the lamb ;)
So, as you can see, it's not all that bad.  This is some good food right here, it's not like I was starving myself :)  But, I was however depriving myself of food that should be in your diet naturally.  Those foods such as fruits, whole grain and clean carbs are a neccessity to your diet.  In the long run that is what an individual will be able to stick with and make part of their daily lifestyle.  I still love South Beach, they have some excellent recipes, but I don't plan on restricting myself anymore.  This is a lifestyle, this isn't something you do for two weeks and move onto the  next, this is something you stick with for life.  And I'm glad I've come to this realization and I hope in some small way I've infulenced you all out there that fad diets are not the answer.  It's all about balance and smart decisions and being educated.  I love this life, I learn new things about myself and my surroundings each week, I hope ya'll are too.  Make everyday a learning experience! Have a great week ya'll!  Talk to you soon :)

Oh, and P.S. - this week is my LAST week of TurboFire!  120 days straight!  WOW!  Can't wait for my next fitness journey!
 
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Well hello there!  How was everyone's weekend??  Mine was good, very productive.  We got some house projects done, went to a few kiddie birthday parties and now it's back to the grind.  So, August 1st!  Can you believe it?!  I know I can't!  In just a few short weeks school will be starting back up, which for me is a good thing, the kids will finally stop chanting, "I'M BORED, I'M BORED!"  I do love the fact that August 1st starts on a Monday though, it really gives a true feeling of starting fresh with a new vision and new goals.  With that said, next week will be my final week of TurboFire, which means it will be a recovery week, which will give me a little break before I start the hybrid workout I talked about last week.  I may even give myself a rest week in between the two programs, but we'll see ;)  Also, starting this week I have decided to go back to Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet.  I feel like I've definitely used the excuse 'cheat day' way more than I should of this summer :)  But, hey it's summer and I'm not going to sacrifice those beautiful sunny days, they are so few and far in between here in North Central Ohio!  So, I'm going back to the basics starting today and getting back on track.  Here's to Day 1!  Hope ya'll have a fantastic week and start the month off right!