Poem

This was posted by a women on the beachbody message boards. I thought I would share it was so cute. See Beachbody message boards are like family. Come join the fun.

Subject: TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE P90X by Michelle (TheBestMeforMe)


TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE P90X

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the Gym
Not a spin bike was moving, not even a rim

The plates were all racked on the plate trees with care,
In hopes that St. HortonClaus soon would be there


The wishers were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of ripped abs danced in their heads

And Jim in his lifting belt and Karen in new gym shoes
Were just settled down for an iron-filled snooze

When out on the floor there arose such a clatter,
Jim sprang from the Couch to see what was the matter.

Away to the weight room he flew like a flash,
Tore open the door and made a great crash.

The light on the top of the new-polished floor
Gave the lustre of mid-day to equipment galore,

When, what to his wondering eyes should be fell
But a chin up bar, and eight pairs of dumbells

With a little old lifter so muscled and raw
He knew in a moment it must be St. HortonClaus.

He was dressed all in under armour, from his head to his feet,
and his clothes were all sweaty from intense muscle heat.

Tons of equipment he carried in his sack,
and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

More rapid than eagles his dumbells they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now five, now ten, through sixties for this mob
and made sure we were able to PICK THE RIGHT WEIGHT FOR THE JOB

His eyes--how they twinkled! The weights he could carry!
The nutrition plan he gave us with limited dairy

Your workouts aren‘t working, your proteins to low
P90X … now that’s the way to go.
He clinched both his fists shouting this is not an illusion
To get ripped in 90 days takes MUSCLE CONFUSION,

12 intense routines ,, that;s what it takes,
While controlling your eating with good protein shakes

He was muscley and fit despite pushing 50,
and I smiled when I saw him, thinking man is this nifty.

He said just Press Play and vow to not quit
with P90x you j u s t h a v e t o BRING IT!


Merry Christmas Everyone
X out - Melissa

Update

So as you seen my husband Stu has been posting a little for me. Let me explain!!! As you know I had been applying for jobs and going on interviews since July. Well I found a great one and I started this past week.

The trouble I am having is finding time to do everything, exercising, working, family.....

Any advice welcomed.

All the best!!!

New Website

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to share with a new website Allie and I have been working on. Since it is getting real close to the holidays I thought I would put together a holiday gift guide for the health conscious. So stop by the Fitness Gift Guide and let me know what you think.

Stu

Diet Myths & Cooling Cravings

Hey Guys,

Stu found this over on Tony Horton's (Creator of P90X) and passed it along to me. So I thought that since I haven't posted in a while I would at least post some useful information. Enjoy!

ooops, I just realized I posted this under Stu's name, sorry for the confusion.

Diet Myths & Cooling Cravings
If you’ve wanted to shed some extra pounds, you’ve probably heard and read it all by now, and maybe you’ve even tried half of it, too. With all the information out there these days, it can be hard to pick apart what’s worth trying, what isn’t and separate the solid advice from the bunk. No matter what you hear or read, the simple truth about achieving a healthy weight boils down to getting fit and burning more calories than you consume during the day. Maintaining it means staying fit and not eating more calories than your burn during the day. Sure, there are little things you can do to boost your success or suffer greater setbacks, so let’s look at some popular diet myths and debunk them. We don’t want to waste our time tweaking the wrong things, do we?

Myth 1: Bread and potatoes make you fat.

Completely false. Starchy vegetables and (whole grain) bread, are carbs you need for fuel. The problem is not these foods, but how we tend to prepare them. It’s when you smear your bread with butter and fry your potatoes that you increase the calorie intake as much as four times. Dip your bread in a little extra virgin olive oil or eat it plain instead and dress your baked or boiled potatoes minimally to get the benefits from these foods without skyrocketing your caloric intake.

Myth 2: If you drink water before a meal, you’ll be less hungry.

Well – sort of. Water does curb your appetite if it's incorporated into food like a soup, or a thick vegetable juice like V-8. Apparently, when water is bound to food, digestion is slower and a fuller stomach means fewer hunger pangs. The thing to look out for: It's easy to confuse hunger and thirst, so if you find yourself craving something, drink a big glass of water first and see what happens. It may be that a drink is all your body really wanted.

Myth 3: Shellfish is packed with cholesterol.

On the one hand, it's true. Three ounces of shrimp contain more than a third of your daily cholesterol. But there's more: Shrimp is low in saturated fat and has a bit of omega-3 fatty acids. Eaten in moderation, shellfish can have health benefits. According to researchers at the University of Southern California, eating shellfish every week produced a 59% reduction in heart attack risk. I might just start eating some shellfish once in awhile after learning that.

Myth 4: It’s fine to eat the occasional burger and fries.

The problem: The word, “occasional.” If that means every Friday night to you, you’re probably pushing it. Now, if we’re talking every few months and you're fit, your numbers for weight, waist size, cholesterol, and blood pressure are all good, AND the rest of the time you’re eating vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and other nutritious fare, well, okay then. You’re fine. But few of us are that perfect. If you do “occasionally” indulge, take a nice fast paced 90-minute walk afterward to help offset the effects.

Myth 5: Women can’t do anything about gaining weight after menopause.

While hormones can be blamed for everything from acne to PMS, your fitness level has a much bigger impact on your weight than any hormonal changes that come with age. Most older women who continue vigorous, regular exercise can and do maintain their figures.

Myth 6: Diet soda is worse than the real thing.

Truth is, they’re both lousy for us. Both types increase kidney and heart disease risk, plus they contain acids that erode tooth enamel and welcome cavities. It’s always best to satisfy your thirst with water, diluted fruit juice, and green tea rather than any type of soda.

Well, that’s great to know, you might be thinking – but what do I do when I’ve just GOT to indulge in a little something before I go NUTS??!! I’ll tell ya what. If you’re going to indulge yourself in something sinful and delicious and there’s just no stopping you - do it as early in the day as possible. Researchers say that we get the most satisfaction from our food in the morning and our capacity to feel satisfied steadily weakens over the course of the day. If you eat your biggest meal at breakfast and continue to eat small portions of healthy foods throughout the day, chances are that you’ll be a lot less likely to have strong cravings for unhealthy “comfort” foods in the evening.

Health

In order to change we must be sick and tired of being sick and tired.
~Author Unknown

So this has been a really long week.On Thursday I got sent to hospital due to my health. I was having chest pain, tingling in my fingers, sweating.... Bottom line they thought I was having heart attack. They hooked me up to heart monitors, IV and got medication in me right away. Well they said it was not a heart attack. More a warning sign that I let things get to me. Between high blood pressure and stress I messed myself up.

How do you not let stress get to you. Below is list I got from the Internet of stress reducers. Do you have any good ones.

10 Great Stress Reducers

1. Get restful sleep

2. Eat well

3. Breathe

4. Exercise

5. Say no

6. Laugh

7. Prioritize projects

8. Go outside

9. Talk

10. Live within your budget

UPDATE: Friday I got a job so Now maybe things will turn around!!!!!!!!!!!

Inspiration

Everybody gets there inspiartion from different places. I get mine from certain people who have come in and out of my life and from quotes. Lately I have been finding a lot of good quotes . So today I want to share some with you.

"A man who wants something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse."
Stephen Dolley Jr.
This one of course I would read it as a women. (HaHa) But lets really look at it. There are so many people out there who rather get things the easy way instead of working hard at it. For example, I have been applying for jobs since July and have not found anything, but that has not stopped me from applying to more. I could find a million and one reasons why that's a sign I should not work. However, right now with the economy the way it is I need to work and more importantly want to work so I will keep applying over, and over till I get something.

"Dreams are extremely important. You can’t do it unless you imagine it."
–– George Lucas
This one to me means never give up.NEVER! Have the big dreams. Dream of the big house, the new car, the fancy vactions. You get my point. One thing I do is print out my dreams and put them on a vision board. The vision board hangs in my room that I could look at every day. I visualize them in my head. Dream, dream big and never let anyone tell you that you can not do it.

"Fake it til you make it." Unknown
Last one, this one is very important to me. Things may get hard, people may piss me off but I always smile. When people ask me how I am doing my answer is always " GREAT" Basically it boils down to,act the way you want to be and soon you will become the way you act.

So my question is what inspires you?

It's how you look at it

It's all how you look at things. Do you look at a glass as half full or half empty? In the past I would say half empty but recently I would say half full. I may not have a lot of material stuff for me and my family but we've got each other and we have our health. That's all that matters, right? :)This past holiday weekend made me really look at what I have, and how thankful I should be. I look at the wonderful husband, kids, family, friends I have and I am so THANKFUL!!! There are so many people out there who take life for granted. I am guilty of that. Yes, I am!!! I don't know exactly what has happened to me but whatever it is I am Thankful. I use to complain about everything, I mean everything. Although I still complain (I'm working on that), I realize I have a lot more then many people out there. I'm going to steal a daily affirmation from my husband. I am grateful for all that I already have and for all that is coming to me!

"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly."
-Buddha quotes

Thanksgiving

Most people think of thanksgiving as the time to give thanks. Why do we wait till Thanksgiving? Why do we only do it once a year? What are you thankful for this year???? A lot of people get nervous around the holidays. Get nervous with food issues, clothing issues, self esteem, or family problems. I think you get my point. :) This year let's not think about what can go wrong, or how you are going to approach different issues. Let's think of all the things that are going to go right, all the things we have to be grateful for.

I will start. I am happy and thankful for the long weekend to spend time with my family. I am thankful for the health and happiness of my family! I am grateful for the ability to host and make such a great Thanksgiving dinner (while still staying with healthy eating). I am grateful that my kids get to spend time with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins but most important their great grandmother. There are soooo many things I am happy and grateful for on this great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!

Good food

OK so I left you hanging again. Let me try to explain. I decided that I am always complaining about going to other people's homes because of my eating habits. I never know what's in the food or how it is prepared. So to that end I decided to host Thanksgiving this year. Wow, so much work! I have never made a turkey in my life let alone all the other stuff that goes with thanksgiving. So as soon as I announced I was hosting I started researching healthy ways to make the tradtional thanksgiving food. I found so many great recipes. Did you know that you can make an 89 calorie per serving stuffing???

I will keep you posted on how they taste.

More changes

Although I do not see the numbers moving on the scale (which sucks) I do notice a lot of other perks of my new lifestsyle. Like my clothes being baggy and I can even fit into some of my old stuff from my skinnier times. I also noticed my eating habits have change (I know you say well, duh) but let me explain. In past when I took a cheat meal I could eat so much. Now not only can I not eat as much, if I do I pay for the whole week following. Last night I had a date with my wonderful husband, to see my Philadelphia Flyers win. In past, I would of gotten Chickie fries all to myself, cheese steak, cotton candy, couple beers ...... Wow , have things changed. This time I got a four piece chicken cutlet with buffolo sauce on side. I will admit I was bummed the sauce was on the side. However, as I always say everything happens for a reason. It was good it was on side and not soaked in. Less of two evils. I ate three of them. I traded my last one to Stu for his celery sticks. Yea, I love my blue cheese and celery. Again, I know blue cheese and celery not good but it was lesser of two evils. I also had one light beer not regualr beer. I did have dessert but instead of me getting cotton candy I shared an ice cream cone with Stu. In the past I would of been bad an eaten a whole cone to myself. Don't get me wrong I could of eaten the whole cone last night but I didn't! And I love ice cream. By sharing it with Stu we both got something sweet without being horrible.

I don't know where I am going with my rambling but I definetly see differences in myself. I am not happy the scale isn't moving or that I am not at goal yet. But, I guess I just have to take baby steps.

"Slow and Steady wins the race"
-Aesop

Leaves of absense

I know I have been gone. Let me explain. I try to be as postive as possible on my blog but lots has been going on and staying postive is very hard. I have stayed postive just not enough to write. Sorry!!!!

Anyway, today was hard but great!! Last year both Stu and I were so out of shape we had to pay someone to do a fall cleanup for us. I know, I know not good but let's fast forward to this year. Not only did we do it but did it with ease. Now when I say ease, I don't mean it was easy because it wasn't. I mean that we were able to do it with out having to take a break every 15 minutes. If you could see the size of the pile infront of our house, you would think we had a landscaping team at our house. Now here's the funny or not so funny part. Every muscle in my body hurts. I did not know what a workout raking actually was. I raked leaves for 2 1/2 hours in 28 degree weather. When I looked how many calories I burned from raking, I can't believe it!!!! 920 Calorie...WOO HOO! The weird thing is at this moment that's more calories then I have eaten today.

Once again sorry I left for too many days, I promise to try harder to keep blogging. If you promise to keep working hard everyday!!! As the great Tony Horton says "Do your best and forget the rest!"

Yucky out

Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.--unknown


Today is a cold rainy day here in Philadelphia. I woke up not feeling great, feeling really runned down. When I dropped off the kids at school I did my errands and came home. I did not want to have to stay out any longer in this weather. Now, normally I would not want to workout not feeling well but instead of doing nothing I took advantage of a quiet home and did Yoga X from P90X ....wow, I forgot what a workout this actually is. It's weird since I started blogging I feel guilty if I don't do something ...... guess that's a good thing. A forced accountabilty , kinda.

What did you do today?

Great To Be Me

The power of Love and Gratitude will dissolve all negativity in our lives no matter what form it has taken . Author Rhonda Byrne

Well I finished the book The Secret. It is absolutely amazing. This book has really made me open my eyes to what has been holding me back. I harvested so much negative in my life that the Universe had no way to send good to me. I have decided no more. When I stopped to think what am I grateful for I realized I have so much to be grateful for.

I am Grateful for my husband, he always knows how to make me smile when I am down. He is my biggest supporter in all I do. He is there in good and bad. He pushes me to be a better person.

I am Grateful for my three kids. Although they can be a pain sometimes I love them with all my heart and would be absolutely lost without them.

I am Grateful for my family who has always helped when they can. Grateful for the upbringing they gave me, they taught me to be the women I am today. Thankful for the education they provided me.

Grateful for the home I Live in and the food on the table.

So like I said I have so much to be grateful for that I cant believe all this time I let negative from around me keep me down.No more.

What are you grateful for?

I am ......

It is so hard to stay positive when it feels like all is going wrong around you. Let's see I have been applying for jobs since July. I was told last night YET AGAIN that they went in a different direction, even better the person did it over an e-mail instead of calling me (talk about lack class). This time my frustration got the better of me, so I wrote back asking why I wasn't chosen? They told me because a student would be cheaper. How rude to waste my time :) I was really upset after this latest set back, that I sat here with a big bowl of orange sherbet. I walked into the kitchen to eat more but my hubby/coach told me to get out of the kitchen. Telling me that even though I was under my calories I was eating for the wrong reasons. I now know what they mean when they ask are you an emotional eater, guess my answer is YES!

Are you emotional eater?

Below are a few ideas to do when you get upset instead of hitting the fridge:
*Listen to music
*Clean
*Cook healthy foods
*Go for a walk/run
*Write in a journal/blog
*Call a friend

Say what

Some people call it a diet, some call it a lifestyle change. Some may look at a glass half full, some may see it half empty. Everyone looks and says things different. It's all perspective.

To me this is a lifestyle change not a diet. Diet by definition is what we eat. Lifestyle change is not only what we eat but how we act. I know the weight may not pour off, I know I may get discouraged but it will come. The great thing is that my family is changing with me. This is a way of life we will all know for years to come.


"You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be."
- Author David Viscott


I picture myself with a flat belly sporting a really cute bikini.
How do you picture yourself?

Spread the word

For all of you who read my blog daily you know the last couple days I have been pretty down. Last night Stu wanted to go to bed early and read a little. Now I use to read a little everyday but got out of that. Why??? Who knows.....lack of time? or energy? Maybe the fact that every time I got into bed I fell asleep. Well last night I decided with how everything has been going to try to turn it around. I started rereading the book THE SECRET. Forgot how much I liked this book. One of the major things it talks about is you get what you put out there. Basically, I have been moping around and feeling bad for myself. Apparently being very negative, I have gotten negative back. It sucks but it was me causing it, no one else. Well, it's time to change that. I deserve to get what I want. I want a great body, great job and everything else that may come with it. No time better then the present.

Who else thinks they deserve the best? Well let's go get it, TOGETHER :)


"Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you're going to do now and do it" - William Durant

I get up again

My theme song is Chumbawamba's Tubthumping because of the line "I get knocked down but I get up again you're never going to keep me down......" That's how I constantly feel. I may get knocked down but unless you knock me out, I WILL GET UP AGAIN. This time I'm going to get up and fight harder then before.

Today was a hard day for me. Fifteen years ago today I lost one of my best friends, my mom. My mom like me was overweight and did not take good care of herself. I have had a really tough time going through life without her and that is one of the reasons I AM DETERMINED to make the changes in my life so I am there for my kids when they graduate high school, graduate college, get married, buy their first home..... you get my point.

Today I had been moping around all day and I really did not feel like working out but have no fear....... I DID !!!! My husband/coach made me do it. Now I did not make it through whole workout but doing more then half is better then nothing.

My mom's favorite quote she use to say to me was " If you will it , it is no dream."

Life

Did you ever feel like everything that could go wrong has? Do you feel like all hope is gone? Feel like you don't know who or what to believe in?

Well the last couple weeks this is how I felt. I am having trouble finding a job, I am either over qualified or under qualified. I can't win !!! As most of you know with the market these days the economy sucks. At this point any job :) I am struggling with my weight due to this. I have been depressed because of everything that I have turned to food. Luckily with working out I have not gained to much so far.

When the going gets tough ......... workout!!!!!

Fell off the wagon

Fell off the wagon but I'm not worried I will pick myself up again! Wow was yesterday amazing and tiring all at the same time. A memory my family and I will never forget. As I said my family and I went to the World Series parade in Philly. Between all the walking and holding my kids on my shoulders most of the day I'm sure I got a workout. While holding my son I was getting knocked around so much I had to balance myself without dropping my child. Not easy :) Add to it that I did not sit from about 8:30 am until about 3:00 pm. It was definately a good core workout. Then night time we went to friends to go trick or treating and sleep over. Such a long day!!!

Down at the parade the only thing we could find for breakfast was a bagel and cream cheese. I know not good but like I said I fell off the wagon. Then from 10 am to 5 pm nothing but a bottle of water. Yes, one bottle of water. Then dinner perogies ( 3).

Back on wagon tommorrow watch and see !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Phillies won the world series !!!!!!!!!!!

By now most people know the Philadelphia Phillies won the world series. Thank G-d its over. I have been staying up and watching till all hours and having been majorly dragging because of it. I feel my workouts have struggled for this reason. I did lose 3 lbs last week but if I had worked harder it could of been more. However, I cant live my life with all the what ifs so................

I will say I am proud to say we turned down hoagies from Atlantic city to eat a meal I made because then we knew what we were eating. Calories and all! Tommorrow is Halloween and I hope all of you do not pig out on halloween candy. Pick two or three of your favorites have them and then be done. If you deprive yourself of it you may end up sneaking it when no one is looking and you will do more damage without even knowing. You may sneak one here , one there.... I froze grapes so I have a sweet treat for me :)

Happy Halloween and Go Phillies !!!!!!!!!!

Weekends were made for fun

For all of you who read my blog daily let me say sorry. Let me explain. Friday my son had a football game and I had family in from out of town. My family wanted to come to the game then have dinner at my house. Me being a good mom I jump at the opportunity for my son to have fans. So from the time I woke up to time I went to bed I was moving. I was shopping,cooking, cleaning running to football game....... It was a great day just a lot of moving. However, with everything going on I am sorry to say I did not get to workout. I know, I know I feel guilty. At least I was not just sitting on my butt all day though :)

Then Saturday was Philadelphia Eagles Halloween party with the family. Again a lot of moving but no time to workout. Just like a lot of you this is learning process I am having trouble juggling busy family and working out. I'm human too!!!!! We can learn together along the way.

My question is should I let me feeling guilty for not working out ruin a good couple of days? I know you are suppose to take one day off but I feel my body needed these couple of days. I weigh in Monday morning so I am curious to see if the results are drastically different taking two days off oppose to one day rest.

OUCH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s funny I always call my kids a pain in the ass but that saying has new meaning to me now. I am so sore today. Sore in places I did not even know I have muscles. I really did not even want to workout today but I forced myself to do something. I went downstairs and did Slim in 6 Pack. See I told you, this system is great. I was able to do something so I don’t feel bad but not have to do the whole workout. I was giving my body ( my new found sore muscles) time to feel better.

The Real Deal

So I may not be the sharpest tool in the box. I have been writing everyday how I workout but I bet many of you are wondering what exactly Slim in 6 is and why I like it. So today that’s exactly what I will tell you. So even though some would consider me very athletic, I say I have two left feet. This workout is so dummy proof. That is one reason I absolutely love it.

Slim in 6 completely spells everything out for you.

It includes 4 work out programs:
Start It Up (1-2 Weeks): This routine gets you used the different moves that will be used in the more advanced programs the following weeks.

Ramp It Up (1-3 Weeks depending on how long you did Start It Up): Now you are really starting to burn some calories and fat. After you have done this work out for 2 weeks you will be ready for the next step.

Burn It Up (2-4 Weeks again depending on how long you did the previous work outs - just make sure you did this one for a minimum of 2 weeks): From what I heard this one is non stop moving. The first few times Stu did this work out he would walk funny the next day. I can't wait to get there. Am I crazy for looking forward to it? I say bring it on!!!

Slim & 6 Pack: Short on time or need a change throw this work out in. It will have you abs screaming by the time you are done.

Slim & Limber: Ever wake up one morning and have a hard time moving around, because your body is stiff? Well Slim & Limber is the answer. It is very important to remember to stretch when you are working out regularly. Your body will thank you for it.

Guess what?

There is still more, for those of you who are diet challenged it even comes with an eating plan. Everyone knows that working out is important, but if you don't eat right it won't make a bit of difference.

Between working out with resistance bands to using your own body weight it is both fun and you actually break a sweat so you know you are getting a good workout. I will admit some days I am even sore. I am literally working the inches off one day at a time. :)

Another big reason I love it is, I can do it anytime I WANT TO . As a mother of three some days my schedule can be pretty hectic. I can do this DVD whenever I want. So if I have time in the am I will squeeze it in, if I have time in the afternoon or evening I'll just fit it in!!!!!

Another great thing is your workout is totally portable so there are no excuses. As long as you have a DVD player you are set to go. If you don’t have one available, no problem just switch the schedule around and make it your rest day. For example, say you have to travel on a Tuesday for work or personal, whatever it is. Just take Tuesday as your rest day and do it all the other six days. Slim in 6 helps you eliminate the excuses and just go right to great results. Don’t believe me, stayed tune and I will prove it :) :)

Moody Mom

Do you ever feel like you have to jump through never ending hoops to get what you want? That’s how I am feeling today. Today I could have given Oscar the grouch a run for his money. I am so moody!!! Really didn’t feel like doing much. I did exercise but I know I did it half assed (excuse my French). I guess it means I better wake up on right side of bed tomorrow and work harder. Hopefully it happens!!!!!! If not when all else fails blame the husband. I’m just kidding (maybe).

“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
-Unknown author

I know my body :)

Ok so yesterday I wrote how I got off the couch to exercise and pushed myself just to exercise. Well during that exercise I did something to my shoulder during push ups. I iced it a couple of times yesterday and again today. However, even though my shoulder hurt I still did my routine. I did skip a few exercises with the shoulders but did the rest. I was not going to let one shoulder stop a whole day of exercising. My point is ONLY YOU know your body. It is OK to skip some parts of your exercise routine, do alternate moves, or even switch it your rest day. Heck, even take the family for a walk. You know your body best. Don’t let your pride get in the way and make things worse. It is very important for you to listen to your body!

On a lighter note, as I reported the first day I started at 179 lbs. last Monday and today I am proud to say I am 174lbs. and feeling great!!!!!! 5 lbs. down 48 to go!!!!!!!!!

Pushing Your Limits

Have you ever not wanted to do something and someone forced you to do it and you were thankful for it later? For example, my kids fight me on homework almost every night and I tell them that they have to do it. When the teacher tells them the next day how great they did, they feel great! Well, that is how I felt today. Today we were lying around the house and watching movies with the kids and I knew I had to workout. I kept putting it off and putting it off, but finally Stu (who is also my coach, partner) got my butt in gear and got me off the couch to go work out. Guess this goes back to my previous post, its great to have a partner on your journey.

During the workout there were numerous times I felt like quitting. I just wanted to go upstairs and sit back under my blanket. At this time I closed my eyes and envisioned myself in the bikini I want to wear this year. I envisioned the body that I want and I then opened my eyes and worked even harder.

"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength." - Jane Addams

Round 1: Slim in 6 - Day 1 Photos

Not to pretty now, but just wait and see how I change :)

Buddy System

One thing I learned on this journey is you have to have someone who knows how to motivate you along for the ride. For me that is my wonderful husband. At times I may not think he is so wonderful because he will ask did I workout today, I will answer “NO, I'm too tired” then his responses is always "get your butt down there and workout!" But I will say he is the first to tell me good job when I am done. He is my biggest supporter and I would not be able to do this whole lifestyle change without him.

My question for you is who is your partner? Do you have someone you can count on to prop you up when you are down and cheer you on when you are up? Trust me when I say find someone. Whether it is a friend, boyfriend, neighbor or sibling, just find someone. Even if it is the great people in the Team Beachbody Community. You need to have that someone to hold you accountable and help keep you motivated. If all else fails and you can't find anyone just e-mail me and I will be there for you!

As much as I am hesitant to post these disgusting pictures of me above are pictures of my day 1 so all of you can see where I am starting.

The Incredible Shrinking Mom ....... The Beginning!

Let me introduce myself. My name is Allie. I am 31 years old ( yes I admitted my age) and a mother of three beautiful children. They are not only my reason but my inspiration to get healthy. I'm not saying that a part of me does not want to be one of those moms that people look at and say wow she is a mom of three and looks that good. Mark my word I will be one of those moms :)

On October 13th, 2008 I started Debbie Seibers' Slim in 6 program. I also started eating healthy. I will admit I have always been a yo-yo dieter but that's why my new attitude is so beautiful. I am not dieting I am changing my lifestyle. One may say it is hard to find time to exercise and raise kids but I'm here to tell you that's just an excuse. Having three kids with very busy schedules I still find time to eat healthy, workout and still do not miss a game of any of my kids sports. There are many ways to balance everything and I hope as you follow my journey you will see it is POSSIBLE !!!!!

Always remember if you will it, it is no dream !!!!!! So go out and get what you want ........ because that's what I am doing !!!!!!!!!!