ONE STEP AT A TIME!

Todays society is flooded with the idea of quick pro quo. So much so that people have spent billions of dollars believing there is some kind of magic pill, or special tool that will help you loose weight. The reality is That FITNESS is not always a piece of cake. There is not magical pill it ALL comes down to hard work and dedication to your diet and exercise regimen.  In order for you to achieve everything that you want with your fitness goals you must work for them. I usual have trouble with this reality somewhere around 6am when I need to get out of bed and start moving but I push the snooze for another hour of sleep, or when some one brings a tray of warm cookies to the office. It's hard to get up in the morning and it's hard to simply say NO. We all know the benefits far out weight the momentary satisfaction we get from that cookie or that extra hour of sleep. I've even gone so far as to talk myself into reason's why the bad decisions would be good for me. The truth is we all do it simply because it is human nature. The big question is, how do we stop and do what is best for our health. I think the answers lies in taking one step everyday to become the healthy person you want to be until one day you wake up and you've made a journey. Today get up and choose just one step toward achieving your ultimate goals. This week my step was to go to cross fit, and eat healthier for dinner. This week, my goal was accomplished. Next week I'm going to keep that alarm on and get out of bed. I'm going to take my fitness goals on one step at a time. I want to go to cross fit and get my booty out of bed and do a 20 min run every morning. So it's on its time to start getting after it. What are you going to do for you today?

NO PAIN NO GAIN

I don't think the old adage no pain no gain has ever rung more true then today. We are doing good on our fitness goals this week. I'm so proud of my husband. He had been sticking with it through all the sore muscles and pain of getting through a workout. We went to CrossFit at Paladin again today and it was a good workout. A tip from the peanut gallery...I think gloves are a good idea... I've got giant blisters all over my hands from doing so much work on the bars these past two days. I like to call those blisters Fitness LOVE..LOL.. but I guess like I said NO PAIN NO GAIN. I have felt so great the past couple days and I think me finally getting that second workout in in the evening is making all the difference. I almost can not express in words how much more energy I have had. Along with my Cross Fit regimen every night  I am sticking with my Tone It UP diet. I have been eating great and doing my booty call in the morning and my night cap with Cross Fit. I even and a delicious smelling wedding cake come in to the office and was able to decline.  (it did smell good though and it was hard to resist a giant nintendo controller made out of lemon raspberry cake). I literally beat the pants off that nintendo controller well at least a cake shaped like one.  I just feel like I am on top of the world and I think the thing that makes it most exciting is that Mike has been so excited to do it with me. It is nice to have your husband not just by your side cheering you on but going through the trenches with you. Together we have been kicking butt and taking names. Well maybe not names but definitely taking initials..lol. Tonight was a really good time at cross fit because our good friends Jamison and Charolett knocked out a great workout with us. There is nothing like having the people you spend you life with you. I feel that it gives you an even bigger reason to get out there and do it every day. It's extra inspiration if you have to meet someone there and working out with your husband or your friends goes a long way to inspiring you to push yourself 1. to get there 2. to go harder when you are working out 3. having the satisfaction of doing what you love with who you love. On a side not I have to tell you about my awesome dinner. Tonight we ate my pecan pork with southwest beans and corn. Its the "new" pork and beans at my house...YUM-MY! Until next time >>>Keep It Real! 
                                                 

CROSS FIT TRY OUT

So all this cross fit talk from my little adventure has given my husband and I some inspiration. I think we are going to jump off the deep end together and join a cross fit gym... My hubby's friend and co-worker has a police inspired cross fit gym he just opened and we went for it this evening. We only did a 15 min workout named "Cindy". I guess they have 2 kinds of workouts and you never do the same workout twice which for me keeps it from getting boring. The two types of workouts are "The Girls of Cross fit" and "Hero's". The Girls of Cross fit workouts are all named after Hurricanes because they rip you up... The Hero's workouts are named after fallen police officers, fire fighters, and military. They are designed to be impossible to finish and if you do finish is a huge honor to the fallen. I really like how this is so tied into what my husband does for a living. I think that means a lot to him. Enough with the sentimental's let get back to The "Cindy". It consist of 5 pull-ups, 10 pushups, and 15 air squats. I was thinking after warming up really how hard can this be. Then I got a little kick in the booty. You don't just do those three things you keep doing them as fast as you can for 20 mins. Needless to day KC was nice to us and had us only go for 15 min. I have to say it was a very rewarding workout. I like that you aren't having to wait on others you can go at your own pace however fast or slow that is. You can take breaks when you need to and it allows you to push yourself past your own limits. Your completing against the best you, you can be. Its nice because everything you do in that gym from beginning to end took 45 min. including warm up and full workout! Admittedly this morning both Mike and I are pretty sore but it feels really good to complete something that is so hard. You feel like a champ when you leave and even though we were sore I felt like a champ this morning. We are definitely going back tonight to see what they have in store for us. Shout out to CrossFit Paladin for a great workout cant wait to come beat the clock tomorrow!

REDNECK CROSS FIT

Friday:  I was a good little bird and was able to stay on the diet all day and had no major breakdowns. Alesha and the Traboki crew really kicked my booty in my afternoon with the Traboki workout we do every friday as an office to build team work and to keep us healthy. One of the many perks I get to have working for my amazing boss, and no I'm not sucking up... that one comes from the bottom of my heart.  Laura (my awesome right hand gal) and I stuck it out and I have to say that workout was a killer. I stuck to my slim down regimen for the whole day friday. I had a lot of motivation to stick to it because I had a little TV appearance for our local station for the Boys Ranch Telethon.

Saturday: This weekend was full of adventures. We decided to go to the lake with a few of our closest friends. I was not really sure how I was going to make my TIU diet work over a weekend full of lake food, and frothy adult beverages. I was pretty determined to make it work out so I took a peek into my trusty TIU plan arsenal and found a couple of great recipes to help me out. Also, lucky for me in my camper I have an oven which really came in handy. My husband wanted to have his big fish fry, frying up all the northern pike and walleye that he caught this year in Canada. You could see the fear in my eyes when he told me fish fry. I thought there is no way I can do this but we made it happen. I let him fix my fish up with his special seasonings and I was able to bake my fish instead of frying it up. It worked out great. What really helped me was in the morning I was able to shake up a quick protein shake, and yes I did the TIU shake dance...LOL! One of our adventures was coming back from the Lake. We got caught in a rain storm. Which was amazing since we haven't seen any rain for at least a month or more. The whole crew was in the boat on the way home and we were getting soaked. All the girls headed in the camper when we got back to camp and the boys took cover under our neighbors lean to. It was fun it reminded me of girl scout camp sitting around listening to the rain with nothing better to do then just that. The best part is that it pour it was the best rain the lake area has had in 2 years! Needless to say it was one of the all time best days at the Lake this year. Thank goodness for good friends, good food and priceless memories!

Sunday: What a day...this was definitely the most exciting day of the weekend. It started out good. I had my morning shake then Mike and I got busy putting away camp. We got all that done then headed to Spur (I always thought this was the ultimate name for a little Texas town) to our hunting lease to get all of our property off the lease because we had decided to let it go this year. So we are driving along on our lease when we come to the usual water hole that we have to drive through to get to our hunting blind. It is just a little spot that for years and years we have had to travel through the mud to get where we needed to go. However, today was different thanks to all the rain we had the day and night and morning before. We were trucking along in four wheel drive through the mud hole like always. When suddenly we hit a super low spot. The passenger side of the truck sinks so deep it bumps me forward in my seat. The next thing I know Mike tanks it into reverse, the tires spin, then he shifts it to forward, the tires spin some more. He looks at me and says a few choice words then says, "welp thats it". He gets out and tries many heroic efforts to free us none of which work. An important side note: When is going to a place where they no they will be traveling through mud, it is wise to have a shovel. We did not. We finally have to call in the big guns after a couple of hours of failure. The Arp family came to our rescue and of course was able to pull us out in about 10 minutes. We were about to give it up for the day when Rusty suggested that we finish what we came down here for. We agreed and took off down a newly made Rusty road (this would be a road in which rusty crashes over trees and through fields to avoid any  water hazards making his own road) We follow him and get to work. Little did I know I was going to be taking my self through the Redneck cross fit gauntlet. LOL. We took apart the entire deer stand unbolting and unscrewing every piece then we loaded all the wood into the pick up. We then proceeded to the ground blind loading it on a trailer. We all put in our lifting getting it put in the trailer that was quit a task. Then I moved cinder blocks into the blind to keep the front of the trailer steady for when we would drive down the highway. Needless to say with all the lifting, unscrewing, unbolting, cinderblock lifting and truck pushing. I created my own little Redneck Cross fit workout. I was so tired after we got done doing all that and rewarded myself with a little nap on the way home form Spur. If anyone is interested in my new Redneck Cross fit workout please do not contact me for live demonstrations. LOL.

META-Delicious

Today was good. I ate and did my workout like I was suppose to. I also had a ton of stuff to do at work today. Everything got done and I was able to keep up my diet while I was at it… My big accomplishment for the day was drinking my first meta-D… this is a metabolism drink that you make yourself.

6 oz water
2 oz apple juice (non sweetened)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
a small dash  cayenne pepper

Honestly when I was mixing it I was gaging because I could not imagine how that combo of everything could ever taste good. Just the thought of it was grossing me out. What I got was a big fat whopping surprise. I raised the glass hands shaking and lip trembling with horrible images running through my head of me puking it up after my first drink. Closer and closer I inched the cup to my lips, then a pause I put the cup down and had a
FLASHBACK>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
 A couple of months ago I wanted to try the will remain nameless weight loss system that some friends asked me to buy…I said okay and bought into this huge package of drinks and protein shakes and pills. All this stuff you had to take at certain times of day needless to say it was complicated. Well the first step in this system was a cleanse. Part of this cleanse was a crazy fiber drink. So day one I am suppose to be taking this drink. Mistake number one: I mixed it up. Mistake number two: I mixed it at work. Mistake number three: I'm and extremely busy person at work..common I'm running a very busy very successful clinic after all. So I mix this thing up I of course get called away from my desk to deal with whatever fire is afoot. I come back in about 15 min to find that the contents in my glass are well congealed with a consistency thicker then jello. It reminded me the the ballistics gel you see myth busters mix together on the show. I turned my glass upside down  and the stuff didn't budge. I also literally bounced my spoon off the top of the "liquid" yuck yuck yuck!  Well all of my employees at the clinic are cheering me on telling me stuff like, "common lindsey you have to take it you paid a ton of money for it", "maybe you could eat it like jello", and " we can mix water with it and it will be just like normal". So like a good little indian I try to follow my routine and add water into it …It was now chunky liquid….so I go get a giant straw and it I brave up to choke this stuff down with all my staff cheering me on like and olympic athlete trying to win a medal. The only prize I got was a stomach ache and a huge fear of drinking anything suspicious. I did it though…
FLASH FOWARD<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Then I thought no I have to do this, I want what this can give me no matter how bad it taste. Right before I take a swig of my drink I'm thinking of the previous event the the horribleness that followed after taking that horrible drink. It made me think of all the junk that it had to contain to do something so vile in a cup… and I thought wait a minute there is no ingredient in this drink I don't know what it is. No way no how could this possibly be worse then that experience. I bring it up to my lips I take a swig and to my surprise **it was actually really good. It was seriously the BEST METABOLISM DRINK that I have ever taken and the best part is that every single ingredient was natural and I could pronounce the name**…I don't know if I should but I could seriously take my metaD two times a day. IT WAS GREAT!!!! I'm just so impressed with this program and so excited everything I'm putting in is good for me.  I know exactly what it is without having any fear of globs of junk or weird chemicals going into my body. I AM IN LOVE WITH TONE IT UP DIET PLAN!!!! Thanks to the K girls for making this the single best diet experience of my life.

so here it is the food rundown for the day.

Meal1: egg whites, tomato, Ezekiel bread with butter buds on it.
Meal 2: banana and Meta D
Meal 3: grape fruit
Meal 4: carrots and peanut butter
Meal 5: chicken with broccoli and a little bit of cheese

TESTED

Today was  a pretty tough day… I had a lot of stressful events happen at work that really tested me sticking to the diet. So as far as my day went I did an okay job. I had a great workout in the morning and did twice what I normally do. I worked out for and hour and 15 min I was able to get up extra early, that allowed me to go to the grocery store to get what I needed on my grocery list. It was great to be able to really get a jump start and stock my fridge with good food. Honestly I didn't have to throw anything out because my husband and I for quite some time had been committing the sin of fitness sins eating out almost every meal, so there was nothing to clean out. Now to the not so great part of my day. Our server at work went out and it looks like it was going to be a $6000 fix… yep kinda crazy…no to mention the hours and hours worth of patients that we were going to have to call and reschedule for that day. It was a little wild.  At work the previous day we had our patient orientation class  and every patient orientation class we have cookies. It just seemed yesterday that I could not get full enough. I was eating like I should but was still hungry. My stress levels were through the roof and in the past I always comforted myself with food. Bad I know, which is what got me to where I am now. I would go into the break room and It was like all I could smell was the intoxicating fumes of baked sugar and peanut butter. I have to say it took everything I had to not sink my teeth into one of those soft delicious peanut butter cookies. As the stress levels went up the want to eat a cookie just kept increasing. I was able to stave off my want for a cookie, but I failed at lunch I ended up eating tomato soup and super  cheese sandwich.  That lead to a chain reaction of not eating my meal four or five. I ended up not eating anything for the rest of the day which is not good. I got so busy during the second half of my day I forgot my snack. When I got home I didn't feel like eating because i was so exhausted, so I just went straight to bed. I guess this was a reality check for me and a good opportunity to let you know that no way no how is it all going to be perfect all the time. You just have to chalk this day up for a loss and go to the next day. Do better tomorrow thats all anyone can ask for.

Meal 1: egg whites and tomatoes
Meal 2: banana and grapefruit
Meal 3: tomato soup and 1/2 a grilled cheese.

A GOOD START

Today was a good day I got up and was determined to make my goals a reality. The first thing I did was go do my Booty Call "morning workout" … I woke up at 6:30 which I would say is a modern day miracle for me. I went to bed with my work out clothes on so I wouldn't have any excuses when I got up. I know I'm a nerd but I guess that makes me a fitness nerd and who could make too much fun of that. I threw my shoes on and out the door I went. Tired and battling the 6:30 traffic in lubbock…lol which anyone that lives in dallas would seriously be rolling on the floor laughing at that comment.  I got to the gym and surprised my self by doing more then just my 30 minute booty call cardio workout.  I ended up doing a full weight and cardio circuit. It was great, it just felt so good to push my self, not because I was listening to a trainer spouting off a bunch of junk he wanted me to do, but because I was in control my body. I was calling the shots and the shots, I called were the right ones.  Starting my day off with a workout really made my day easier.
The night before I was really dreading starting my diet wondering how in the world was I going to make this happen. I'm insanely busy when I'm at work you can ask any of the patients or staff. I'm running around from one problem to the next fixing things. It really feels your day up. I had so much anxiety the night before I even had a night mare about it. Working out this morning really helped me battle a lot of the anxiety.  I followed through all day with my 5 meal plan eating the correct portions of protein to carbs to fat.  THANK YOU TONE IT UP for giving me this incredible gift of good choices. What I taught myself to day is that it is possible. IT IS POSSIBLE….. I can hardly believe those words are coming from my mouth. I really had my doubts if I could pull it off. I did and did it well. It was like when I got home with my empty lunch box I could hear yelling in a stadium voice…SCORE!!!!!!

Here's my meal plan for today:
meal 1: protein shake with blueberries
meal 2: carrots and peanut butter
meal 3: salad with chicken ,parmesan cheese and pickled okra
meal 4: carrots and peanut butter
meal 5: tilapia and veg med.

I'm fixing to take off and do my second workout…my friend  Dialith and I are going to work off the buns with some roller blading. I can tell you this I'm ready to rock and roll for tomorrow.