Back in the Saddle

Yesterday felt AMAZING!  After taking my week off I was back at FULL commitment level yesterday and I felt great!

I had inadvertently dehydrated myself between Friday-Sunday (just wasn't thirsty and didn't force myself to drink much) so come Monday when I was hydrating I was spending a LOT of time down the hall from my desk (if you know what I mean) 😉

But, I was back on track.  Committed to my nutrition yesterday and stuck to it!  The only exception was I didn't plan on having a snack last night but it was Family Night (buy 1 get one for $1) at Roxberry...but it was a fruit smoothie so I gave myself permission.  PLUS, I did something I've NEVER done before....I had them add Kale to my usual LOL Lime...and guess what...DID NOT TASTE IT!!!!

YUM!  Also adding to my great evening was getting a package from my Uncle who made me another rack for my growing shot glass collection!  I also got a package from a friend addressed to "The Gorgeous Jessica" which made me smile...especially when I saw my new LIP SENSE enclosed!

But then....I noticed the packet that came home from school....

WHY???  Why do we have to do fundraisers with World's Finest Chocolates????

After putting J to bed and finishing what I needed to do on my computer, I strapped on my workout shoes and went to KICK BUTT!!

Getting in my Core de Force made me feel ALIVE again!  YAY!  I was sweating and huffing and puffing and just feeling GREAT!  Sat down and watched part of an episode and headed to bed.  My head hit the pillow and I didn't move or ANYTHING until my alarm went off 6.5 hours later (and I really had to pee).

I need my break weeks...but man it feels great to be back too!

Jess Because...Fitness DOES Matter

Roller-coaster of Life

Does your life ever feel like this...or is it just me?

I tell you what, the roller-coaster that is MY life is just insane sometimes!  Are you a stress eater?  Are you a stress NON eater?  I am typically a stress NON eater.  I get so stressed out that I just A) can't stop and eat B) don't stop and eat or C) completely forget that I haven't eaten.  Just like most stress induced habits, these can be difficult, if not impossible, to break.

Personally, I also suffer from (self diagnosed) Situational Stress Induced Insomnia (SSII).  When life gets so stressful even Tylenol PM won't let me sleep.  My brain won't shut off.  I keep replaying conversations (or emails) over and over in my head, replaying them again and again and even responding to emails in my head.

For me this week is one of those severely stress induced weeks for me.  Monday night was the worst for SSII.  Tuesday, was my non eating day.  I didn't eat lunch until nearly 3:30 pm (breakfast for me was 5:30 am).

What do you do when you're beyond stressed and you're at the peak of your roller-coaster ride?  For me I LOVE to do a hard kicking workout!  I love kicking butt and taking names within the walls of my own home.  This week, however, my roller-coaster came during my "easy" week.  Every 3-4 months I take an easy week and pretty much just stick to my walks at work.  I do this rest week for a lost of reasons.  One reason is as good for me as working out is, sometimes taking a break is good for me too.  And, since I can't always plan when HIGH STRESS roller-coaster weeks will happen, sometimes the two overlap and it leaves me in a funk!

I did get a 21 Day Fix workout in on Monday and I'm STILL sore from that workout!  So, I got one good one in this week.

HANG IN THERE....tomorrow will be a better day.  I will make it a better day!

Jess Because...Fitness DOES Matter

It Takes 21 Days

It takes 21 days to form a new habit....who is with me in making that habit a GOOD and HEALTHY and LIFESTYLE CHANGING habit?

Did you know the following:
     It takes 4 WEEKS for YOU to see your body changing.
     It takes 8 WEEKS for FRIENDS and FAMILY
     It takes 12 WEEKS for the REST OF THE WORLD!
     KEEP GOING!!!!

If it takes that long (and honestly, sometimes it takes longer) then why delay your start?  START NOW!  Start now with me and the support of others.

Looking forward to my next challenge.  I'm looking for at least 21 participants for my next challenge (we will proceed even if I don't meet this goal).

JOIN my next challenge group.  The challenge will be held March 8^th-March 31^st (21 days excluding Sundays/rest day) with prep week beginning March 1^st.

What’s in it for you?  EVERYONE will get the satisfaction of completing a challenge and the lifestyle changes that will come with it…at least one person will win a $21 Amazon gift card?

What are the rules?  This challenge is going to be focused around the 21-Day Fix program (workouts and lifestyle eating).  However, if you don’t wish to use this program you can still be part of the challenge.

How do you win the gift card?  POINTS!  Each point will transfer to an entry into the random drawing at the end of the challenge.  Here is how you will earn points:

Start the Program with Points

Purchase the 21-Day Fix Essentials Package ($59.85) = 8 points
http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/21DayFix?referringRepId=1334775

Purchase the 21-Day Fix Ultimate Package ($119.70) = 14 points
http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/21DayFixUlt?referringRepId=1334775

Shakeology 30-Day Supply ($129.95) = 15 points
http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/MDSUSH311G?referringRepId=1334775

ON DEMAND (best value)
http://www.teambeachbody.com/en_US/bod-offer?referringRedIDd=1334775
            12 Month Challenge Pack (includes Shakeology) ($199) = 20 points
            12 Month On Demand Only ($99.95) = 10 points
            6 Month On Demand Only ($59.95) = 6 points
            3 Month On Demand Only ($38.87) = 4 points
            30-Day Free Trial On Demand Only ($0) = 2 points

If you already own the 21-Day Fix program or already subscribe to On-Demand = 5 points

During the Program
Workouts
            Any Workout = 1 point (per workout)
            21 Day Fix Workout = 2 points (per workout)
Reporting In = 2 points (per day)
Shakeology = 1 point
CHALLENGES = 10 points

You can start with up to 20 points/entries and get up to 5 points/entries per day (up to 15 on challenge days).  That’s over 150 possible points/entries!

REFERRALS!  Want your friend to join?  REFER THEM!  I might consider adding a referral bonus points.  Just have them email me (jessica dot haworth @gmail dot com)

Send me your email address for an invite to the challenge.  Please use the links above to make any purchases and let me know once you've made a purchase.

WHO IS WITH ME?  I am totally excited about this challenge and the life changing ramifications it can have for people!  They say it takes a Village to raise a child (and don't I know that)...but it also takes a Village to support and encourage life altering changes.

Jess Because...Fitness DOES Matter!

*Point system subject to minor changes and adjustments.

New Holiday

Someday there will be a holiday where it is customary to give a bouquet of celery and maybe a nice bowl of ranch dipping sauce!

What about a bowl of fruit?!?!?!

Even better....a bouquet of fruit!  YUM!!!

But...until then we seem to have EVERY holiday revolve around FOOD!  Not just any food...candies and sweets!  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE it...but it's so hard to say no!

On Sunday my Mom gave my son, J, his Valentines gift bag of candy.  It included 5 Sixlets packets.  They aren't my son's favorites and he knows I LOVE them so he gave them all to me.  Sweet boy.  Sunday night when I was packing my lunch for work on Monday I asked J to bring me my lunchbox.  He did and I noticed he had tried to sneak one of my Sixlets into the bag.  What a sweet sweet boy.

Monday night J was super excited to give me my Vday gift (thanks Grammy).  It included a bar of Lindt White Chocolate with Coconut.  A flavor I hadn't had before (and Lindt chocolate is one of the few I can have without fear of making my body angry).  I gave J a square and I ate a square and told myself ONLY ONE SQUARE PER DAY!  It was really divine!  A soft sweet flavor, almost didn't know there was coconut in it, just a hint of that flavor.  Perfect.

Then as I was getting J ready for bed there was a knock at my door.  My sweet neighbor brought me homemade cookies (not the same ones pictured above, but similar).  It was very sweet of her...and I did have to sample them that evening (after my workout, of course).
[P.S. To my neighbor if you're reading this, THANK YOU for the cookies!  I really do appreciate it and this post isn't to make you feel bad for doing something nice.]

I might or might not of sampled some of my son's rock jelly beans as I was putting them into baggies for him too...sssssshhhhhhhh.

So....I started my ACTUAL Valentine's Day off right...

My Crimson Red Lips...Red Heart Necklace from my boy, Red Sweater, Red Chocolate Roses for my co-workers, and my PINK Strawberry Shako.  I did not pack any treats for my lunch today (nor did I let my son pack me a treat).  I'm hoping for some strong willpower today.

So...what do you say?  Should we start a new holiday where Vegetable or Fruit Bouquets are expected?  (Personally I would prefer the fruit because I'm not really a Veggie person :)

Hey, one final thought.  If you splurge a little today, BIG WHOOP!  Don't beat yourself up and make yourself feel low.  Start over again tomorrow, it's ok.  I used to not allow myself ANY sweets, but then I would find myself cheating and cheating hard!  A treat now and then isn't going to undo everything you've worked towards.

Just Because....Fitness DOES Matters

Daily Food

As I have mentioned a few times, 21 Day Fix was LIFE CHANGING for me!  Not just the workouts but the way of eating (notice I didn't use the word diet).

I tried "eating right" just really by portion control and that just did NOT work for me.  I was working out and still not loosing any weight.  I finally committed...and in that 21 days I lost 6.6 lbs!  IN ONE MONTH!  This proved to me 100% that what you eat DOES matter!
[The next month because of a medical prescribed diet and lowering my calorie intake WAY more than is truly healthy, I lost another near 15 lbs!  I don't recommend that.]

I didn't follow the 21DF every day.  I usually stuck pretty hard to it Monday-Friday, tried my best on Saturday, and then Sunday was my "free" day (not my "screw-up-all-my-hard-work-and-pig-out" day).

My favorite part about this plan is that it teaches you portion control AND teaches you how much of what you should be eating every day.  I tried calorie counting before...I could really eat whatever I wanted as long as I didn't go over my calories...but that's the thing, I was eating whatever I wanted.  I wasn't eating fruits and veggies...I was eating cheeses and other things that really should be limited.  I also like it because it's a great visual, especially for teaching my son about food.  We don't always succeed at this plan, but we try our best.

Ok, here goes, what do I eat every day?

First, according to my weight this is what I should eat everyday:

• GREEN: Veggies, 3 servings
• PURPLE: Fruit, 2 servings
• RED: Protein, 4 servings
• YELLOW: Carbs, 2 servings
• BLUE: Healthy Fats/Cheese, 1 serving
• ORANGE: Seeds/Oils, 1 serving

Once you get used to the serving sizes you don't have to use the provided containers everyday, but you certainly can.

Breakfast
Shakeology RED

Morning Snack
Noosa Yogurt RED PURPLE

Lunch
Tuna / Chicken / Ham RED
Pickle / Celery GREEN (I'm not a huge veggie fan, so I do my best)

Snack
Apple / Strawberries PURPLE
Pickle / Celery / Olives GREEN

Dinner
Tacos RED YELLOW BLUE ORANGE

BOOM!  There it is!  The magnificent secret.  I don't eat the same thing for dinner or even lunch every night but this is the typical guide of my daily menu.  As you can see, I didn't even get all my green containers in...I just don't like veggies so that one is hard for me, I really try though.  I classify tomatoes as a veggie, so when I have Chili I get my greens in.  You'll also notice I have pickles and olives listed as veggies.  Olives are usually classified as an orange, but I have to move things around to make it work.  I used to eat a lot of carrots, but for about 2 months (because of my medical diet) I ate carrots EVERY SINGLE DAY and I honestly can't choke them down anymore.

How do you plan your meals and menu?  As I've mentioned in previous posts, dinner is the worst and I still struggle with that, but I'm trying to get to a place where I can get better at that...someday.

P.S. I don't take supplements either, other than potassium, twice a day (otherwise I get MASSIVE charlie horses in my sleep).

Jess Because...Fitness DOES Matter

Comfort Zone

Last night I stepped WAY outside my comfort zone and did something I really truly had no intention of ever doing....I DID A VIDEO!

Here is a snapshot of the moment.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to talk!  My nickname as a child wasn't "motor mouth" for nothing!  But sitting in front of a camera to talk about myself...that was a little frightening.

I'm co-leading a challenge right now with my amazing coach, Amy D.  It's a challenge for 3 weeks (starting today, Wednesday February 8) about LOVING YOURSELF!  Amy did an amazing group video where she sang my praises and I felt obligated to introduce myself to the group.

I did it.  I survived...you can check it out here and please don't judge me.  Thoughts?  Comments?  Tips for my next video?  Some helpful criticism is ok (and I know I talk a lot with my hands...maybe I'll have to do something to keep them busy next time).

Our daily check in's this month are HEART!  (I love that...my amazing Amy D. is just awesome)

H-hydration.  Did you drink enough water?

E-exercise.  How did you do?  Did you get it done?

A-appetite.  Meals, how did you do?  Did you over-eat, under-eat?  Did a coworker bring in doughnuts?  Did you help yourself or walk away?

R-read.  Did you take time to read (or write) something inspiring?  Something to motivate you?

T-time.  TIME FOR YOURSELF!  This is a self-love challenge...taking time for yourself everyday is important.

If you haven't joined our group yet, there is still time, send me your email and I'll get an invite straight out to you!

Jess Because...Fitness DOES Matter

Scale or No Scale

"To scale or not to scale, that is the question."

This is 100% a personal decision and really there is no wrong choice here.

This is why I SCALE!  I weigh myself every Monday morning, first thing in the morning.  I even write it down and keep track.

Why?  Doesn't that make me weight obsessed?  Let me explain.

I used to see all these transformation picture and think "that's amazing, but it'll never be me.  I will never let myself get to the point where a drastic weight-loss is necessary."  BOY WAS I WRONG!

I have been "blessed and cursed" with a good metabolism.  I can pretty much eat what I want and not gain weight.  I call this a blessing and a curse, a blessing for obvious reasons but a curse for maybe less obvious reasons.  It is a curse because it took me until I was nearly 32 to develop any sort of regular fitness regiment into my life.  32!  That's way too long to live life with essentially ZERO activity.  No, I wasn't sitting on my butt the whole 32 years prior, but I wasn't consistently active either, and I certainly NEVER watched what I ate...no need to.

Then I had a child.  I did NOTHING active during my pregnancy.  I gave myself permission to eat whatever I wanted and sit on my butt all day.  That was my right wasn't it?  I was entitled to be lazy because I was growing a human.  I was entitled to eat whatever I wanted, because it was for the baby.  I don't remember the exact number but I did gain a lot of weight and the ONLY weight I lost for the next 3-ish years was the weight of my child when he was born.

After my divorce and the stress that put me through and introducing some workouts to my schedule I did loose most of my baby weight.  Once it was off though I pretty much gave up on trying to make time for exercise.  I didn't need it anymore.

Fast forward to around 2013/2014.  I'm really struggling with my migraines and start on new medications.  I was NOT stepping on the scale.  I had gained nearly 30 lbs before I even knew it!  Just like that, overnight it seemed like.  I hadn't changed the way I ate.  I wasn't working out but that wasn't new.  I honestly had NO idea the scale was moving up because I wasn't stepping on it.

When I finally knew the extent of my weight gain it was from calling and asking my doctor's office for my weight over the years from appointments.

Last year I listened to Candace Cameron Bure's book "Reshaping It All" and in a lot of ways it was life changing!

She struggled a lot with weight and eating, especially being a child actress.  She described why she steps on the scale (I can't remember with what frequency she does).  She steps on the scale so that if it starts moving up she can catch it right away and do something about it.

**LIGHT BULB**  Had I only been doing that could I have avoided gaining those 30+ lbs?  To be honest I'm not sure...but this time I'm determined for that answer to be YES.  Never again will I let that scale number creep up without being totally aware of the situation.  I want to be in control of my life and destiny.  I don't want to have another drastic weight-loss story.  I want to have an AMAZING life story!  I don't want my life to revolve around the scale, but to use the scale to make sure I don't hold the wool over my own eyes.

THIS is why "I scale."

Jess Because...Fitness DOES Matter