Let's talk scales!

Do you own one?  Do you step on it daily, weekly, monthly...yearly??  

I tried this thing where I gave up stepping on it daily because I was driving myself crazy with it!  I know our weight it important to being healthy and all that, but I was getting obsessed with it and I'm sure that's not healthy.  ;)

 So, the last time I stepped on my scale was September 13...I plan to get on it on October 13 and see where I am!  I have to be honest and say that I've been tempted to get on it more than once since then, but I'm waiting!  

So, tell me, do you stress over the number on the scale or more about how you feel?  One thing I have learned with my "don't you dare get on the scale challenge" is that I'm concentrating more on how I'm feeling and how my workouts are going and less about if I'm losing weight.  That's a good thing right?!?!  

Anyway, I'll leave you with that for now...have a good week!  

Chris  :)

Hey gang!  So, my goal of blogging once a week went straight out the door this Summer.  Why does that happen?!  

It's like when Summer hits, everything else goes out the window.   The only reason I can come up with is that there's more fun to be had in the Summer so that takes top billing right?!  :) Nothing wrong with that!  

However, it also seems that we tend to be more lenient with our diet/exercise regimen or at least I do.  Of course I teach fitness classes so I still managed to workout regularly, but the diet...well that needs some real work.  I don't like to admit that I am not always good at this health and fitness thing...I mean I'm a coach and fitness instructor, I'm suppose to always be on my game!  Or at least that's how I feel...  ;)

I will say one great thing that came from this Summer is CIZE!  If you haven't heard of it yet, please look it up and check it out!  It's a new workout that is more dance than workout and ANYONE can do it.  Shaun T created it and it is amazing!  I was able to get certified to teach it on August 1 and brought it to my class lineup just about two weeks later.  

Just in case you were wondering who CIZE was for....

It's been a fun new format for me to teach and I'm hoping my students are liking it just as much!  It's good to learn new things from time to time...keeps the mind young!  

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope to be bringing you more tidbits as we get into Fall and back to routines!  

Chris :)

 

What to do with my time...

Hey gang!  I haven't posted in a while and that means I'm slacking...oops!  I have a little bit of a good excuse for not posting the past week, but other than that, I'm out of excuses other than I just didn't do it.  Why do I procrastinate?  Something I need to fix...but we'll discuss that in another post :) 

Last Wednesday (6/3/15) I had my gallbladder removed and I'm trying desperately to figure out how to rest and take it easy!  It doesn't come easy for me, am I the only one?  I thought, 10 days or more off, great!  I'll get organized and get caught up on some things that I have been neglecting...like my blog!  

It turns out, I'm not very good at getting organized, something else I need to work on.  After all, I am reading Sunday's paper today...Monday!  So between feeling anxious all the time because I want to be doing something and the game I'm playing that I affectionately call "what to eat and how much", I guess I have a few things to work on.  Have a great day and please if you have advice, comment below!  

Chris :)

Confidence...something that's been on my mind a lot these days.  Do you consider yourself to be a confident person?  It's not something that comes easy to a lot of people I think.  It certainly doesn't come easy for me and really never has.  I do,however, have a lot of practice acting confident in situations where I really wasn't.  Now, I'm not saying I'm never confident, but that I second guess myself a lot.   For some reason, some of us are hardwired to believe that there is someone out there doing the same thing we, but better.  

Everyone has struggles or times when things aren't going perfectly.  With everyone living their lives on social media, we tend to post mostly just the good stuff and not the struggles.  We all have them, even if someone looks like they have it all together, they might not all of the time.  We, of course, want to share all the good stuff and try to put the not-so-great stuff in the dark.  That's the stuff that's no fun right?!  So, I can't speak for you, but for me...I know I tend to think that my life is a hot mess a lot of the time and everyone else is right on track!  Logically, I know that's not the truth, but the insecurities that I have are telling me that I need to do better.  That's my lack of confidence speaking.  So what do you do when you lack confidence in a particular area of your life?  Dive in feet first!  I have always been overweight and just really unhealthy, I was a lover of all things fast food and those lovely little carbonated beverages that are packed with sugar.  I figured I was the last person that should be helping anyone live a healthier life, but that's exactly what I'm doing now.  About 3.5 years ago, I was working at a Curves for Women and we were having trouble getting a Zumba instructor to stay on staff for our members.  One of the ladies I worked with said to me "You know, you should do this!  You should become a certified Zumba instructor and teach the classes!"  I thought she was crazy at first, just saying!  She reminded me though that I do have an outgoing personality and love people so I thought "Can I do this?"  It was one of the scariest things I've done, but I signed up for a certification 3 hours away from me because it was the earliest one I could get and I knew I would back out if I had to wait too long!  I mean, I would love to say that the rest is history, but it wasn't that easy.  I struggled in the beginning because I thought I just wasn't going to be as good as the other instructors in the area and why would anyone want to come to my class.  It wasn't until I just embraced what I had to offer that my classes started growing, and if they didn't start growing, that would have been ok too!  I was more comfortable in front of the class and just having more fun with it in general and after all, that's what work should be right...fun?!  I only tell all of you this so that you understand that what I'm doing now is in direct contrast to what I thought I was suppose to be doing.  I still get nervous posting personal things about myself, such as before and after pictures...scary!!!  I do it though...because it scares me and I don't want my fears to hold me back. 

I'm still a work in progress, but if I can do it, you can too!  Have a great day!  

~Chris :)

Happy Motivation Monday guys!  

I know Monday is a bad day of the week for most of us, but for me, I like to think of it as a fresh start each week.  We don't need to wait for a new month or a new year for a fresh start.  I can't speak for everyone, but I always waited for a new year, month, or big event to make a new start.  If I messed up two days in, I waited until the next month, year, or big event.  What kind of sense does that make?!  Not knowing or thinking back then that I was setting myself back even further waiting for the "perfect time" to start over.  

Every day is a good day to turn your life around if you choose to.  I'm not a big fan of big changes all at once, especially when it comes to myself.  I'm a creature of habit so to change everything at once, I would set myself up for failure.  Not that there is a such thing as failure, if you keep trying, you're not failing right??  I didn't have a stellar weekend, which stemmed from not having a stellar few days before the weekend so today is a new start!  It may not be diet related for you as it is for me, but whatever it may be, turn it around today.  It may be your work life, it may be your home life, maybe you seek more organization (don't we all?!) maybe you want more quality time with your husband, kids, or other family...let's make this week a great one!  

Have a great week guys and as always, thanks for reading!  

~ Chris :)

So....in my efforts to feed my family healthier (real) food, I'm trying new recipes from healthy cookbooks that I've had for months (collecting dust) and trying to make as much homemade as I can.  I decided I would try making my own bread instead of buying it from the store.  Did you ever notice that bread doesn't mold anymore?  It just becomes hard as a rock...it never did that before?!  

Anyway, I digress...I found a recipe for homemade french bread online (French Bread Recipe) and it is really tasty and easy!  I've always been afraid of making "homemade" baked goods.  I'm not sure why, my mom always made homemade breads and such as we were growing up...maybe I thought it would be harder than it is.  Of course I'm only one recipe in so it may get more difficult as I experiment more!  Next up will be wheat bread I believe, since I am eating healthier and have a bunch of wheat flour to use up ;) 

I wanted to share my pictures with you...

Just out of the stand mixer and ready to rise!
 

Who knew it would actually double in size?!

I did have to do some kneading (I was hoping the mixer would have done all the work), but it wasn't too bad.  Split into two and rolled up (seam side down) and placed on a sheet pan sprinkled with corn meal.

Doubled in size again and ready for the oven!

Sorry my photo is off center, I will get better I promise!  Anyway, all done and even a little fancy looking with those cuts on top!  It is delicious!  

~Chris

 

So...the sun is shining today and it's actually warm outside, finally!  Which I love!  Plus that always makes it a little easier to be productive...or is it just me?!  As I'm getting some long overdue projects completed this morning, I almost forgot to eat breakfast, then my snack too....almost!  

I find that I have to plan out my meals and snacks each day otherwise I'm literally out of control with my eating because I have no direction.  I mean, we are told over and over again that we can exercise for an hour each day, but if we don't get it together in the kitchen, the weight won't come off.  So, I thought I would share with you some of my everyday tips that I use to stay full and stay out of the kitchen cabinets. 

Healthy snacks are a must!  I won't lie, I do keep some cookies and little snacks like that in the house for my kiddo as a treat from time to time.  Most days though, she wants what I'm eating so it works out for both of us!  There are far too many to name, but some of what we keep on hand include: 
~low fat/low sugar/natural ingredients/high protein bars (my kiddo is below with her snack from yesterday)
~cheese (I know I know...but it's good for calcium and protein...in moderation)
~raw almonds
~fruit
~rice cakes
~popcorn (hey it's a whole grain!)
~chocolate chips (for when you just HAVE to have a bit of chocolate)

Always eat breakfast!  I know there are a lot of you out there that say you're just not a breakfast person, but it doesn't have to be a big breakfast or even one that you cook.  It can be yogurt and some fruit, or cottage cheese and toast.  Just get something in within an hour or so of waking up so your body runs more efficiently throughout the day.  A go to favorite of mine is two eggs (cooked any way you like) and fruit.  It's simple and fast and starts my day off healthy.  This is my breakfast at least 4 days a week :)

Plan ahead for lunches and dinner, especially if your evenings are busy.  If you've planned well enough for dinner, lunch could be leftovers the next day!  If I'm making chicken for dinner that night, I'll grill more than I need so I have it for salads for the rest of the week at lunch.  When I make brown rice, I steam a bunch of it to add to recipes for the remainder of the week, plus it's a whole grain so I feel good about adding it to meals.   Planning ahead doesn't have to be intimidating or even time consuming.  Just find what works for you and stick to it!  So tell me, what are some of your tricks that help you stay on track?

So, I've been thinking about this a lot today...what did you want to be when you grew up?  I know, it's a funny question, but we all had something in mind didn't we?!  

I had a lot of different "professions" on my list as a child.  I, like most little girls, thought about being a wife and mother although that didn't take top billing by the time I reached my 20's.  That didn't come until late 20's/early 30's.  I also wanted to be a hairdresser, which I did do for a long time.  Other things on the list included teacher, chef, lawyer or legal assistant, and detective.  Wow I had some high expectations didn't I?  Of course I have been a hairdresser, but as far as the rest of the list goes...I didn't meet those expectations and that's ok.  You never know as a child what's going to make you happy as an adult anyway.  ;) 

I taught my Zumba class this morning and have been thinking about this ever since that class ended.  Up until today, when someone asked me what my job was, I would answer that I'm a stay at home mom and a Zumba instructor.  I never really thought of saying anything else before today.  You see, I'm also a Coach with Team Beachbody and starting in just a few days, I will be instructing PiYo classes.  I think, for some unknown reason, I was apprehensive to describe myself as being a Fitness Instructor/Coach.  Like it made it real or something...even though I've been teaching Zumba classes for more than 3 years now.  The realization hit me that I actually am a fitness instructor and coach and I work everyday to help as many people as I can.  If you look back on my childhood list, it's mostly about helping people so I kind of met my expectations...just in a different way.  That's life, or at least how mine is.  Please tell me I'm not the only one that whose life doesn't go according to plan!  Those are just my thoughts on today...until next time!  Have a happy and healthy day!  :)

Hey gang!  So, I'm brand new to blogging...so new that this is my first one!  I just wanted to give you a quick run down of who I am and why I'm here.  I've been on a mission to lose weight, as so many of us are, and I've learned that it is about so much more than the number on the scale.  It's about persistence, strength, NSV's (non scale victories), consistency, accountability, and probably about 50 more things that I can't think of right now.  Who knew this was going to be so involved?!  When you decide you want to lose weight, you figure...alright, I'll watch my calories and workout a few times a week.  That should do it right?!  I'm sure that works for some people out there, but it sure hasn't been that easy for me and that's ok!  I am learning so much about myself and what I'm capable of, things I never thought I could do...and I'm doing it.  A little at a time, but progress is still progress.  I tell my challengers all the time...one day a time, one pound at a time.  Or it could be one meal at a time or one project at a time.  If you're like me, you set a goal to get something done and you feel like you need to do it all at once...not so!  One day at a time...one step at a time! 

My hope is that you'll come here and find a little motivation and inspiration as we go about this together!  :)