BeachBody Challenge Day 2

Feb6

Day 2

I meant to blog yesterday, but Ben had my laptop :-P So I’m catching up now. Yes, I continued with the Shakeology Cleanse during the SuperBowl.  Luckily, it was just me and the boys since Ben had to work. This made it easy for me to stick to the cleanse. My boys are young so the game wasn’t a big deal to them. I just had to feed them dinner and they were happy :-)

Breakfast was Green Tea and Shakeology with frozen banana

Snack – 1c of cherries

Lunch – Shakeology and Green tea – spilled half of my shake :-(

Snack – Shakeology. I like to have it after dinner (it’s like a dessert) but since I spilled half my lunch I needed the shake to help me make it to dinner.

Dinner – Tilapia, Spinach, and Broccoli Slaw – Wish I had taken a picture. I marinaded the Tilapia in Balsamic, honey, lemon juice and a little extra virgin olive oil. It came out soooo good! I highly recommend the Broccoli Slaw from Trader Joes. I usually sauté it, but I just used it raw for the salads and it tastes great.

Workouts:

Went for a 3 mile run but it was at a slower pace. My left knee actually hurting me quite a bit :-( I also felt really tired during the whole run. I went out before I ate so maybe I just needed some fuel.

I did Tone It Up’s 300 Rep Challenge that I modified for the Booty:

30 Walking Lunges

30 Kettlebell Swings (10 lbs)

30 BootyLifters

30 Heatwaves (from TIU’s Beach Bum Workout)

30 Squat Jumps

Repeat

Original 300 Rep Challenge

My time was 7:02 – I’ve done several modifications to the TIU’s 300 Rep Challenge and this one has to be my favorite. Get’s my heart racing and booty burnin :-)

Followed it with TIU’s Rush Workout X 3 with 20 Reps Each. This is such a great quick workout. I also did the last of Blogilates Week of 100 Challenges. Eagle Crunches – I did 5 sets of 20 to get to 100 :-) Ended with a 5 min plank (1 min on elbows, 1 min on hands, 1 min side plank each side, and 1 min on hands) for my PlankADay.

I joined a group of girls on twitter doing a 150Day Challenge. It’s 150 consecutive days of working out to prepare for summer. It doesn’t have to be super intense workouts. Just something everyday. Since I’ve worked out every day this week, I’m on Day 7! It’ll go perfectly with my Beach Body TurboFire Challenge since I can cover 90 days with it :-)

Follow @JadeTonesItUp on twitter and Join Us!

Starting My First Beach Body Challenge

Feb4

Today I officially started my first BeachBody Challenge.

I’ve been wanting to try a BeachBody Challenge for a while but have been putting it off. Price being the main reason and the fact that I was a little intimidated. Since I joined Tone It Up and started my new Healthy and Fit LifeStyle, I’ve gained the confidence to try a BeachBody Challenge. I met a BeachBody coach, April Anaya via twitter and decided to join her Fitness Challenge.

Beach Body Coach April Anaya

April started her BeachBody journey in 2009. She signed up to be coach to get the discounts. She’s lost 69lbs and has maintained it for over a year. What an inspiration! After her success, she decided to pursue the business side of being a coach to help others with their health and fitness goals. She presented me with her challenge and was very helpful in answering all my questions.

Her challenge has you pick from a bunch of different Beach Body programs. It depends on you and your fitness goals which one you pick. For beginners, she recommends Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Abs or Brazil Butt Lift.  She tailors her recommendations to your wants and needs.

You can also choose to do a Challenge Pack where you get a program plus a month’s worth of Shakeology. Yes this is more expensive, but you Don’t have to get the challenge pack if you don’t want to.

To Save money, you can sign up to be a coach and get a discount on the programs and challenge packs.  You do not have to become a coach in order to do her challenge.

So Why did I chose to do her challenge? Like I said I’ve wanted to try a BeachBody Challenge for a long time. I felt that I was finally ready to give their programs a shot. I was ready to invest in my health.  April has a great set up for her challenge. It’s a small group of 5 that keep one another accountable. We check in with our workouts and meals and help motivate one another. For more details about her Challenges please check April Out on Twitter: @mommywifey1

I chose to become a coach and take advantage of the discounts too. I also chose to do a Challenge Pack to try out Shakeology. For my program, I chose Turbo Fire since I love HIIT workouts and kickboxing. I probably won’t be doing the business side of being a coach because it’s just not my thing. I will take advantage of the discounts though and get more BeachBody programs once I complete TurboFire :-) I am always looking for new workouts to try out and BeachBody has a lot of variety.

What I got with my Challenge Pack:

TurboFire Program w/ Bonus DVD

30 Day Supply of Chocolate Shakeology

Thin Kitchen Recipe Book

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Day 1

My group is suppose to start on Feb. 6th with the Shakeology Cleanse. I decided to start Today because I will be going to Vegas on Tuesday (the 7th) and I wanted to have the cleanse done before I left. I figure the cleanse will be easier to do at home. I will be following the Tone It Up Nutrition Plan while doing this program but incorporating at least 1  Shakeology Shake every day :-)

The Shakeology Cleanse has me drinking 3 Shakeology Shakes, green tea twice a day, lots of water, a lean salad for dinner and two servings of fruit for added calories. I was really worried when I looked over it because it didn’t seem like I’d be getting much to eat. I told myself that it was Only for 3 days and I Can Do It!

For my breakfast shake I added half a frozen banana. I have to say that I was not expecting the shake to be so creamy. I figured it was the banana. It was very chocolaty – but not too sweet. It was very filling. I really wasn’t hungry afterwards. My cravings just came out of bad habit. It has been a struggle all day  to not eat anything else besides what is on the cleanse. I had a cup of grapes for my snack. My lunch Shake had no fruit and it was still very creamy :-) When I got a craving, I’d drink some water. The shakes really do fill you up and I was not hungry. Just a lot of tempting things around from the boys and the hubby :-)

For dinner I had a salad made with spinach, tuna and broccoli slaw. I need to go restock on my veggies.  Instead of having my third shake before dinner, I decided to have it after dinner – kind of like a dessert. I couldn’t finish it all. I got through most of it, but I was honestly Full.

It’s recommended not to do intense workouts during the cleanse. Luckily today is my active rest day. I went for my usual hour long bike ride in the morning. At night I did 20o crunches, 100 pushups and a challenge from Blogilates 100 Chest pulses. I also did a 5 minute plank.

I also went over the Turbo Fire Schedule and planned out my workouts for the coming week. I wanted to see what I’m suppose to do for the first week and make sure that I pack what I need. I am determined to stay on track with this challenge even while I’m in Vegas :-)

A Very Fit February

Feb1

Well after my December Goals got derailed because of getting sick, I was able to get back to normal through Tone It Up‘s Tonedin12 Challenge that started at the beginning of the year. I was disappointed that I couldn’t follow through with my  goals, but I brushed it off. Couldn’t do anything about being sick and taking care of 3 other sick people.

My goal for January was to get back on track. The Tonedin12 Challenge really helped get me back into my routine. It took me a little while to get back to my intensity level I was at before I got sick. It was really hard to get back into doing bootycall workouts.  That and eating 5 meals a day. Fortunately, I only gained a few months over the holiday season – the one perk of being sick. lol.  This last week has been the best week for me. I’ve been able to kick my workouts up a notch.

And now I’m ready to keep on pushing! February is going to be a Very Fit month for me. I will be following through with the end of the Tonedin12 Challenge – ends on Valentine’s Day. I have no doubt that Karena and Katrina have something great for us after the end of the challenge.  Even if it’s not right after the challenge ends, there’s still their February Calendar filled with challenges that I always try to do :-)

TIU February Calendar

My big Fitness goal will be starting the Beach Body  TurboFire series. I signed up to do a fitness challenge through Beach Body coach April Anaya. We start on the 6th. It’s a 30 day challenge and there is a small group of us doing it together. I am really excited. I’ve always wanted to try TurboFire out. I think that this challenge will help keep me on track with it.

I will also be training for my first half marathon coming up in September. Today I officially registered to do the Disney Half Marathon with a friend. Even though it’s still a long way away, I want to get started on training. I was hoping to do a 10K this month but it looks like I’ll have to wait until March. I’m really excited about this month and this year. So many exciting things coming up.

September 2, 2012

Simple Rules

Jan29

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Sometimes we can make Life more complicated than it really has to be. Not that it can’t get crazy and complicated. When we’re unhappy, it can seem impossible to get to where we want to be. These 3 simple Rules can really help.

GO, ASK, and MOVE!

Don’t let Fear hold you back. GO for it!!

No isn’t something we want to hear but we can’t let that stop us from asking. So ASK for what you want. If you don’t, you don’t even give Yes a chance :-)

The last one is the most important. All your goals and dreams require you to take a step away from where you are currently. Doing nothing gets you no where, so MOVE!!

Getting Ripped with Jillian

Dec30

I did it! I completed Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30 Dvd!! For the longest time, I was very intimidated by Jillian – even a little scared. lol. She is tough! I’ve tried a few of her workouts onDemand and always got discouraged. Part of it was that I was expecting too much of myself. I really wanted to be able to do the workouts as perfectly as possible. I blamed how tough her workouts were as the reason that I didn’t do well.

The truth was, I wasn’t ready. Physically and most importantly, mentally. I let my self doubts and excuses keep me from giving my workouts everything I had. Once I learned that I was the one who had control over how my workouts went, I had more success with my workouts. I decided in November to challenge myself to completing an entire Jillian Michael’s DVD.  I was very lucky to have a friend who send me Ripped in 30.

I actually started to last week of October with Week 1. I did the workouts for 6 days – taking  one day off (from the DVD but I did do other toning workouts). In between Week 1 and Week 2, I took a break while I was on vacation.  I started right back up  with Week 2 when I got back. I think my body was worn out from intense workouts prior to my vacation so the break actually helped me do better with Week 2.

I  Love this DVD.  I definitely got stronger – especially in my arms. I always started with the modified version or copying Jillian and worked towards the advanced versions.  I didn’t always get to the advanced version by the end of the week but I did do better in all the exercises. Jillian was funny and of course tough, but she was also very inspiring. A lot of of her closing words after each workout really had an effect on me. I’ve gone from fearing her to being inspired by her. I definitely want to make sure that I Show Up in my Life Every Day and give Everything in my Life the same dedication and focus that I give my workouts. Thank You Jillian!

Overview: Here’s a few of my favorite moves and how I did. This is Not the entire workouts – just small bits.

Every workout started with a warm up – then 20 min workout with 3 Circuits – ended with a cool down.

Week 1 – Favorite warm up was the Half Squat with Knee grab. Stretching and stabilizing.

Circuit 1: I stuck with the modified pushups but did the Advanced version of the Skaters. The Hollow Man was pretty tough even the modified version. I think I was able to keep my shoulders for about half the time.

Circuit 2: Love the good morning exercise and the running man. She had me laughing when she called it an “80’s Throwback” and to “Bring out the leg warmers.” I was able to to do the Side Plank with both feet straight but stayed on my elbows.

Circuit 3: I was able to increase my weights on the chair pose with rear fly and do the advanced version of the Single Leg Hop – although I can’t get as high as the girl did. I was able to do the advanced version of the reverse crunch with a regular crunch.

Week2: Love the Toe Tap to the Center and Down for the warm up.

Circuit 1: Pendulum lunges with Serving Biceps was a lot of fun. I worked up to the advanced version. Also did the advanced version of the plank jacks. My goal was to stay in plank for the whole 2 minute cardio session and I did! The opposite leg to opposite arm crunch was great :-)

Circuit 2: Did the advanced version of the Side Lunge with Leg Raise – great booty workout. Crow PushUps were really hard for me to do so I did the modified version. The Ab Extension and Hold were also really hard and I stayed with the modified version.

Circuit 3: Loved the single leg with a curl. I don’t think I got my leg as high as the advanced version but I worked on keeping my leg up and off the ground. The sit-up move at the end was tough. It took me the whole week to finally get the move right.

Week3: It gets intense with week 3. Even the warm up was tough.  The leg raise to knee raise to quad stretch definitely worked my balance.

Circuit 1: The bear crawl and duck walk was killer on my legs! She hammers the legs even more with squat jacks. I was already sweating before this circuit was even over. The plank tucks at the end were tough.

Circuit 2: Even more stability work with single leg squats with curls. The roll ups were a lot of fun to do. I worked up to keeping up with the advanced version :-) My heart raced during the squat jacks. I started with the modified version of the opposite arm opposite leg crunch and leg raise. Adding the weight makes a difference!

Circuit 3: She beat up my arms in this circuit. Pike pushups and single leg dips! I had to stick to the modified version for the split jumps. Those are killer on my knee. Her modification worked great because I still got a good work out without stressing my knees out. The pike ups were pretty hard for me so I kept to the modified version.

Circuit 4: I personally think this is about the same intensity as week 3. They were both pretty  intense workouts. The warm up had my favorite waist line crunches :-)

Circuit 1: Loved the yoga moves in the beginning. Leave it to Jillian to use yoga for strength training :-) Felt like a cheerleader doing the kicking jacks. Plank walks definitely work the core.

Circuit 2: For the pushup and renegade rows, I did as many as I could in plank then dropped to my knees when my arms got tired. Of course there had to burpees! lol. I made myself do the advanced version. I had to stick to the modified version of the v-ups though.

Circuit 3: One of my favorite things is how she always works multiple muscle groups like Single leg bootylifter with chest flies :-) I really like the double jump rope. The ab workout for this circuit is my favorite. It works everything. Sit Up, lay down, leg lift, toe touch, then back down.  I do it all the time outside of this DVD.

Of all the motivational/inspirational things she says in this DVD, what she says at the end of Week 4 really impacted me the most. I would lie there after the workout and listen to what she said every time.  “Inhale the possibilities…” “Exhale the self doubt…”

She also has a meal plan you can follow for the 30 days. I stuck with Tone It Up’s meal plan.

So if you couldn’t tell, I would recommend this DVD for anyone looking to get into shape. I recommend Amazon.com for a good price but you can find it at Target and anywhere workout DVD’s are sold. It’s great for any fitness level. Don’t let her intimidate you. She knows what she’s doing :-)  It’s all about the effort you put in that determines your results.

Trying Tempeh Bacon

Dec5

I’m always looking for healthy alternatives to foods that I love that are not the healthiest – like bacon.  One of my fellow Tone It Up sisters on twitter (@FrancesGetsFit) posted a pic of a BLT using tempeh bacon.  I decided to look for it the next time I was in Whole Foods.  I didn’t see the brand she used (Fakin Bacon .. I think). But I did find some tempeh bacon.

Tempeh Bacon

It took me a week to get around to trying it.  Not because I didn’t want to. I don’t cook bacon that often to begin with so I had to think about using it.

When I opened the box and took out the package, it looked like thinly sliced tempeh so I was really curious to see what they tasted like.  I just used olive oil cooking spray and placed the pieces on there.  Cooked it a couple minutes on each side.  It was really very easy to prepare and it smelled just like bacon.

Cooking the Tempeh Baking

I served it with 2 egg whites on top of spinach.

Served with 2 Egg whites and Spinach

So now for the taste….. It had a really great flavor – definitely tasted like bacon. The thing is, the texture.  It wasn’t firm like bacon and it still felt like tempeh. It was a weird combo in my mouth.  It went well with the egg whites and spinach though.  I think that it would be great to crumble up and toss in a salad :-)

What I really liked was how healthy it was. 7 pieces of 1 serving!! I only had 4 and that was plenty. Only 1g of fat, 130 Calories, 3g of Sugar, and 5g of fiber!

Nutrition Facts

Tempeh isn’t my favorite but it is great for a change. I’ve really opened up my mind to trying out new foods. It never hurts to try something out and I have been very pleasantly surprised with a lot of my new discoveries. So don’t be afraid to try out new foods and recipes :-)

Pop Pilates Meet Up

Dec4

I was lucky enough to be able to go to Cassey’s Pop Pilates Meet Up this weekend. It was held in the city which is about a half hour away from me. I was nervous to go for several reasons – 1. I’ve never really done a pilates class before (besides Cassey’s videos at home), 2. I was going by myself, 3. It was in the city which always makes me anxious. I’m fine up until I get off the freeway. There’s just so many people in such a small area and I get lost very easily. I’m also not great a parallel parking.

I left a little later than I would have liked. I’m one of those people who like to be early in case anything happens. So I was rushing to get there on time. I actually passed the place and had to go around – which took some extra time. And then it came time to park. I was lucky to find a spot on the street. I was grateful that my car is compact and that the lady behind left as I was attempting to parallel park so I had more room :-) I got there about 10 minutes late. Luckily, they hadn’t started the class yet.

There was quite a few people there – mostly ladies, but a few guys too :-) I found a place to put my matt and waited. Cassey was there saying Hi to people and she came over to me. She is such a sweet person and gave me a hug. She asked where I was from and when I told her, she mentioned that her friend, Reina was from there too. Her friend and I talked while we waited for the class to start. It was so nice to meet someone from where I live that had the same interests as me. We run along the same trail and probably have passed each other. 5 minutes later, the class started and we went to our matts.

I really had no idea what to expect. I was hoping that it wouldn’t be too advanced since I am very much a beginner with Pilates. I can’t remember the whole routine, but it was great! The workout was also broadcast live through BlogTV so people at home could join in :-) I’m camera shy so hopefully no one at home could see me. lol. After a stretching warm up, we went into ab and core. I remember that this was killer! I started sweating from the first move. lol. My whole mid section is extremely sore from this workout. Everything from my abs, to obliques and even my back. It hurts to stand up, sit down, and especially getting out of bed. I sneezed and it hurt. That’s how kick ass the workout was :-)

We also did some booty and arm exercises. I had a cramp during one of the booty exercises, but worked through it. My booty is very sore today too. I could feel it during my 4 mile run. The half cobra pushups worked my triceps. It’s hard to believe that such small movements can really work our muscles.

Cassey was great. She kicked our booties! She is a really good instructor and I would love to take any class she teaches. The music was great. Loved how we did the Wiggle during the LMFAO song. It was an hour workout that just flew by because it was a lot of fun. We ended by doing a few burpees and took a group picture. Cassey hung out to take pictures and talk with us. There was food and Miracle Noodles for us to enjoy. My parking meter was expired and I had to leave shortly after the workout ended to get home to my kids, but I did take the time to Thank Cassey and take a quick pic with her :-)

Cassey inspires and motivates me. It was such a wonderful experience meeting her. You never know what it’s going to be like meeting someone you look up to and watch on YouTube. You always wonder how they are in real life. Cassey is just as wonderful as I thought she’d be. Beautiful and very kind. I’m hoping she does more meet ups and that I’ll see her again soon :-)

Looking through some pics

With the Beautiful Cassey at her Pop Pilates Meet Up

December Goals

Dec3

Set Your Goals!

I love setting goals for myself.  It has really been the key to keeping me motivated to stay on track especially with my workouts.  I have long term goals, monthly, weekly, and daily goals I set for myself. I work better when I have something to work towards.

It’s that time of year when it’s a little bit harder to stay healthy and fit.  It’s a hectic time for me. I’ve got birthdays and the holidays to deal with. I never have enough time and I feel like I am always in a hurry.  I can get overwhelmed with all that I have to do and get stressed out. In the past, I would have just thrown out any hope of working out and eating healthy. But I don’t want to do that this year. I really want o stay on track with Nutrition Plan and continue to workout.

So I’m hoping that my recent practice with goal setting will help me out. I’ve done two 5K races and reached both personal goals on my time. A lot of my fellow Tone It Up team members have set up a challenge to run every day this month. I would have joined them but I knew that my schedule wouldn’t allow it.  I am currently finishing up my goal of completing a Jillian Michael’s workout DVD (Ripped in 30) – will have a post on my experience up soon. After looking over my new TIU calendar and my schedule for this month, I came up with two new  goals to focus for December:

1. Drink 100 oz. of water Every Day! This might seem like a pretty easy thing to accomplish, but for me, this is a big challenge. My Vegas trip threw me out of whack with staying hydrated and I have had a very hard time drinking enough water. So I’m hoping this gets me back on track and helps keep me from over eating during the holidays :-)

2. Lift Weights at Least Twice a Week! Now that I’ve pretty much reached my goal weight, I’ve decided that I wanted to put on some muscle, especially on my arms. I was lifting once a week with Ben.  We have one day a week where both boys are at school and he’s off of work so we can workout together.  I was shy about lifting because I don’t have much muscle and I was ignorant in thinking that weight lifting was going to make me too muscular. From ToneItUp and the many other fitness sources I’ve come across lately, I’ve learned that building muscle helps burn fat and women don’t get bulky like men without supplements. I’ve really come to enjoy lifting weights and want to really focus this month.

I started on Dec. 2nd and will end on Dec. 31st.  I will definitely let you all know how it goes :-)

Red Sauce

Nov30

So I’ve decided to start posting some of my recipes. Some of them are new ones that I’ve recently found, and some are old goodies. I’m really into natural healthy foods lately so I’ve been looking for ways to make some of my old recipes healthier. Cooking is therapeutic for me. It allows me to be creative and there is so much to learn. When I’m trying a new recipe, I will follow the measurements to the tee, but once I’ve figured it out, I will tweak it to what I like. Eventually, I won’t use measuring spoons and just wing it. I am a firm believer that every one (men and women) should learn to cook at least one dish – preferably your significant other’s favorite. It’s always nice to know that some one took the time to make something you love. Cooking is fun so don’t be afraid to give it a try :-)

Here is my Red Sauce recipe. I use it for spaghetti, rigatoni, lasagna, and pretty much any red sauce pasta dishes.

Ingredients

Ingredients:

Ground Turkey

1 – 2 c. Spinach (frozen or chopped)

1/2 onion – chopped

5 – 8 mushrooms (use as much as you like) – chopped

1 clove of garlic – minced

Italian Seasoning

Sea Salt

Garlic Powder

Red Wine

1 Jar Red Pasta Sauce

Warm Large cooking pan with olive oil. Brown ground turkey and salt and garlic about 1/2 tsp each)

Brown Ground Turkey and add Seasoning

Add Mushrooms and Onions – cook until softened.

Mushrooms and Onions added

Add Spinach- I like to use frozen spinach but fresh spinach works just as well :-)Season some more with Garlic and Italian Seasoning.

Add Spinach

Once spinach is soft, add 1/4 c of Red Cooking Wine, some more garlic and italian seasoning. Lower heat and allow to simmer for 10 -15 min.

Add Red Wine

Mix well and let simmer for about 10-15 min

Add Red pasta sauce. I add water to the jar to make sure I get all the sauce out.

Add Red sauce and water

Add 1/2 c. of Red Cooking Wine.

Add wine, season one last time, and mix well

Cover and simmer.

Season with Garlic and Italian Seasoning one last time. Make sure all ingredients are mixed well then cover and let simmer on low for at least 30 min. Stir occasionally. The longer you let it simmer, the better it tastes :-)

I love to pour it on top of quinoa :-) You can easily make this vegetarian by replacing the meat with your favorite veggies. The more you use the better!

Or mix with your favorite whole wheat pasta.

On top of Quinoa - My Favorite!

Staying Healthy on Vacation

Nov30

I recently went to Vegas to celebrate my 30th Birthday :-) We were there for 5 full days. This was the first time I’ve been on vacation since starting my healthy lifestyle. And it was definitely different.

I did not tell myself that I wasn’t going to eat certain foods or that I wasn’t going to drink at all. This was Vegas and my birthday celebration after all :-) But I didn’t want to throw away all the hard work I’ve done either. If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I did the Slim Down right before my trip. (Click Here for my results).

So… How did I have a Great Time And Stay Healthy? Well…. I did my best to Make Healthy Choices. What does that mean? It means, I made Staying Healthy a Priority. I planned on it.

Pack Healthy:
First, I made sure to pack my tennis shoes. That way I had no excuse to Not at least run. I planned on being active. (Other great things to pack are a jump rope and resistance bands. They don’t take up much room and you can do some great workouts.)

I also packed healthy snacks both in my purse and in my suitcase. This really helped me stay on track with eating 5 meals a day.

Set Alarm and Get Up!
I slept in but set my alarm for 8a. I got up and ran 3 miles every day (for the first 4 days). We were lucky enough to stay with a friend of mine for the first few days (Thanks Missy and Kendall), so I had a buddy to run with. Let me just say, running 3 miles on flat terrain is way easier than running 3 miles up and down steep hills. I didn’t worry about my time or pace, I just did 3 miles.

Don’t Stress!
Since the rest of the day would be spent running around doing activities, I did not stress myself out about getting more workouts in.

Eating Out…. It’s just one of those things that happens. Our meals tended to be later than usual and there were a couple nights where dinner was at 8p. This is where will power plays a big role. Every night, But One, I kept myself to two drinks. For my body size, this was perfect. For meals, I did my best to eat lean meats and veggies -especially if it was late at night. At the same time, I did not stop myself from having a bite or two of something tasty like the veggie fried rice from Tao.

My one downfall was that I did not stay hydrated :-( I fell back into my bad habit of forgetting to hydrate before leaving because I was so preoccupied with preparing for my trip. And when we got to Vegas, I just continued to forget. But I will definitely make sure not to do that again :-)

All in all, I think I did pretty well. Yes, I could have done better with some things but I know that before finding Tone It Up and changing my lifestyle, I would have done A LOT worse. The last time I was in Vegas I didn’t even think about being healthy at all. I drank myself drunk every night, ate maybe 2 meals a day, and would have laughed in your face if you suggested I go run.

When I look back at myself 3 years ago, I’ve come a long way – especially with how I view health and fitness. It is such a Big part of my life. My friend’s daughter asked me about eating fast food, soda, and candy. I told her I don’t eat or drink that stuff. She told me I was weird. Lol. I have no problem with that. I know that it probably seems weird or strange to some people that I’ve given up fast food, soda, and most sweets. Before it would have bothered me, but now it doesn’t. Peer pressure on vacation can be tough to deal with too. I just ask myself “how will I feel about this tomorrow?” If I am going to so disappointed than I won’t have it. You  have to be selfish with your health. I have gotten better at ignoring what others say and don’t care what they might think. I can be Healthy and have a Great Time!