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!!

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 ;) 

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!

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!

Hi All!  Hope you had a fantastic weekend and the beginning of the week is treating you right :)  I can hardly believe that we are less than a week away from August, where does the time go!?  Well, we still have plenty of summer left so let's make the most of it, right?!  Speaking of time flying by, I only have 2 more weeks of TurboFire left, kind of sad, but at the same time what an accomplishment!   The end of this program had got me to thinking, what in the world am I going to do next?  I was debating on starting some ChaLEAN Extreme, but I'm not sure if I want to get into a brand new program just yet.  I do want to focus more attention on running more to prepare myself for 2 more 5Ks I plan on running yet this year, one in September and one in October.  Thanks to my awesome support system in fitness, I was introduced to the Turbofire/P90X hybrid schedule, so I guess I won't be totally shut off from my beloved Turbo ;)  I can't wait to start this program, I really think the weight training is going to be a great addition to my fitness regimen.  How do you like to change things up with your fitness?  Are you more cardio based?  Strength training based?  Or both?

I'm not sure if it's just because it's summer and there is just so much going on, but I really feel that Mondays really shouldn't be the true start of the week... I say that because I never really get around to doing anything or really get into my week until Tuesday!  Just seems to alway be the case, well for me anyway :)  Regardless, super awesome loooong weekend on Kelley's Island.  Couldn't have asked for better weather, everything went smoothly, and that's with the kids in tow!  So, two thumbs up for that alone! 

So, let me rewind to friday... we got on the island around 12:30, got settled in and relaxed at the cabin and did some front porch sitting, in true island fashion, until dinner time.  We all headed uptown and ate at West Bay, burger and fries for me... so good!  Friday night was girls night, so the boys stayed home with the kiddos and we painted the town, hitting all the hots spots and mingling with friends we haven't seen in awile, needless to say we had a blast.  Saturday morning I held true to my word and worked out first thing in the morning before anyone woke up, got a run in and downloaded a sweet little cardio app on my iphone that I did at the park after my run.  The rest of the day was filled with beach time and jet skis and a whole lotta fun in the sun.  We cooked out at the house Saturday night for dinner and it was the boys turn to go up town so us girls stayed in and had ourselves a little bonfire and of course roasted some mallows :)  Sunday was a free for all, we went to the beach again, caught some more waves on the jet skis, grilled out got some ice cream and ended it with all of us gathered by the fire again that night.  What a perfect weekend.  Can't wait to do it again.  But, now it's back to the grind.  To-do lists, emails, follow ups.... we can't avoid it so here's to a new week!  Only 3 more left of TurboFire on my fitness agenda, so stay tuned to what I have lined up for my next encounter on the old fitness scale.  Have a good week everyone and stay cool, it's gonna be a HOT one!

Hi Friends!  I'm happy to annouce that I completed 90 days of Turbofire!  Yes, 15 weeks down!  I still have 4 more weeks of the program left to go since TurboFire is a 20 week program, but 90 days is the milestone and I did it!  I'm proud to announce that since my last measurement 30 days ago, I've lost 1/8 of an inch off each arm & 1 inch off my waist AND hips!  My weight has stayed the same since 30 days ago, but that's ok, I have inches lost and that to me is better than weight lost because I've gained muscle and we all know muscle weighs more than fat :)  So, since starting Turbofire back on March 28, 2011 I'v lost 15 inches and 15 lbs TOTAL!  WOW!  I'm super excited and totally cannot wait to finish up the last 4 weeks of TurboFire and head into ChaLEAN Extreme.  I'm over the moon with this program, it worked like a gem for me!  If I can do this, you totally can do this!  What workout programs have worked for you? 

What a weekend!  To kick off my fabulous long 4th of July weekend I ran my very first 5K!  I can tell you right now that this will not be the last 5K that I run, what an amazing feeling to cross the finish line of that race.  This particular race was the Stein Hospice Regatta 5K, it honors hometown heros that have fallen to God's grace in our community.  I ran specifically for my father-in-law who passed away from cancer almost 4 years ago.  So this was a double whammy of gratitude for me!  I ended up finishing with a time of 26:40, which I'm saying was good for me since I was able to finish in under a half hour :)  Plus, it works out to be about 8 min per mile and for me that's pretty darn good!  But, what an accomplishment and a great way to kick off my weekend.

The rest of my weekend was filled with traditional 4th of July shenanigans.  We hung out at a friend's house with about 30-40+ of our other friends and their families, swimming in the pool, laying out in the sun, BBQ'in it up and of course fireworks!  Yesterday we kept it low key and my awesome foursome spent the day at the beach, grilled out on our brand new patio and ended it with a trip to Toft's for some ice cream and sparklers on the porch :)  It was a great weekend and it went entirely too fast!  But, back to the grind and I start my week off with Week 15 of Turbo and at the end of this week will mark my 90 day journey with the program.  So, you know what that means..... Stats time!  Next week I will be reporting my 90 numbers and I'm hoping for some more inches lost, let's keep our fingers crossed!

How was everyone else's weekend?  How are you getting back on track from the long festive weekend?

Happy beginning of the week everyone!  Week 14 of Turbofire and my advanced workouts, I'm getting so close to the end of the program, it went by entirely too fast!  Nearing the end of my TF program is not the only thing exciting happening in my fitness week, I'm also going to be running a 5K this Saturday!  This will be my first 5K I've ever run in.  And I gotta tell ya, I'm not a runner, but I'm hoping that my Fire workouts will get me through :)  Chalene says it herself in Fire 60 that, that workout alone is equal to running 6 or 7 miles... Ha!  I sure hope so, because if that's true this 5K is gonna be a piece of cake!  Either way, I'm so glad to be doing this run, not only for me, but it is the Regatta 5K for Stein Hospice.  4 years ago, I lost my father in law to cancer, my husband lost his dad and my children lost their grandfather.  I'm running in honor of him.  He was a wonderful man and he deserves to be remembered in every way that we can remember him by.  We love and miss him dearly.  The week will end on a bitterly sweet high note.  RIP Dad.

So last night I got this picture message sent to my phone, low and behold it was a sexy shirtless self portrait of my hubby!  Now, most of you that know my hubs know that he is NOT naturally this hairless LOL!  I've been telling him for weeks to nix the chest hair and show off all the hard work he's put in with the P90X program.  He finally took my advice!  He has been doing the program for about 5 weeks now.  Unfortunately, a few weeks got derailed due to the backyard patio project he's been consumed with.  So for those weeks he kept up with cardio on the elliptical and your regular run of the mill push ups, sit ups and pull ups and kept a strict hold on his diet and that kept him where he needed to be until starting back up.  Kudos honey!  I am so flippin' proud of him, he looks amazing!  Can't wait to see his progess at the end of 90 days.  Join me all, give this guy a round of applause!

Hello hello all!  Very exciting week I'm heading into!  Today I started my Advanced Turbo rounds for TurboFire, yep, weighted gloves and all!  The program of course started me off with the Fire 60, the longest Fire class in the whole program and I'll tell you what, I knocked it outta the park and kept the weighted gloves on for the entire workout!  I really need to invest in a good heart rate monitor because I definitely burned some SERIOUS calories this morning and I am curious to know just how many!  So, if any of you out there can recommend a good one, fill me in, PLEASE!  For real, that workout was no joke, I was drenched in sweat after that hour long session!  The music in this workout is off the hook, felt like I was at a dance party, LOL ;)  After Fire 60 I tackled some Abs 10.  This ab workout is only 10 minutes long, but it will leave your abs SCREAMIN, promise!  These next few weeks of advanced Turbo-ing are going to make a HUGE difference in my numbers, I'm so ready to blast through this plateau!  The week is looking up!  How about you?!