Officially a Beach Body Coach!!

I did it! I took the plunge and am now a Beach Body Coach. I'm pretty excited about it. I've had such great success with Shakeology and the beach body programs that really it made sense. My coach Mayra has been telling me for months she thinks I would be great at it. I guess we'll see if she's right or not. ;) 

If I didn't believe in this I would never have become a coach. I only hope that I can do for others what Mayra and Beach Body has done for me. I included a picture below just so you could see that it does work. If I can do this.. well so can you. Just check out my blogs from the past 6 months.. Like I said.. If I can so can you! 

Pic on the left taken 2/4/13 and on the right taken 6/23/13

If you are looking for a coach or just want some more information please let me know. You can check out my page at http://www.beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/faitheddy 

Comment below if you are interested in more information. I promise to get back to you as quickly as possible. 

Tiger Stripes and the Bikini

I've debated for a few days about even writing this post. It could possibly start a shit storm or it could be just fine. I follow several fitness accounts on Instagram and there are always photos of women who are in their 20's with perfect bodies and flawless skin.  I know there are PLENTY of moms who don't have a stretch mark to be found and they can chalk that up to amazing genes. I commend them for getting back into shape and showing off what they have after baby. 

What about the women who aren't in their 20's and have perfect bodies and flawless skin? What about those who have had children and now have the marks to prove it? After seeing picture after picture I started to get a little mad. How are we not being represented in that world? I used to be really embarrassed about how my stomach looked. And now after months of hard work of losing weight and fat I've decided I'm going try to be proud of what I have. I have two beautiful children and this is what I have to work with. Sure surgery could fix it but I don't have the money and really removing them would just take away from who I am and what I've done as a human, as a woman and as a mother.

That's right.. I'm wearing a bikini.. and I wore it in public!!

I posted this picture on Instagram and a few women commented on it saying I inspired them. Made me tear up a bit to be honest. I was definitely expecting some negative comments but I didn't get one! I will continue to work hard and exercise every day to improve myself. I still have a long journey ahead of me but I will keep chugging along. Day by day and workout after workout until I get down to a healthy weight and I feel completely comfortable with myself. I hope this inspires some mom whose stomach looks similar to mine or even just some girl who was overweight and ended up with stretch marks as a result and has lost weight and is now a healthier and happy person. 

Till next time! 

60 day Turbofire challenge complete!!

Today I finished 60 days of TurboFire and Shakeology. The last two months have really flown by and I'm just blown away by how far I've come. Not just physically but mentally as well. I no longer hate what I see in the mirror, instead I try to find the positives and the places where I could work a little harder. 

When I started this in February I didn't think I'd get too much out of it. Maybe a few pounds gone and something to have every morning for breakfast but what I got was a whole new way of looking at things. Its really easy now for me to pass on treats or junk food. I don't feel tempted at all. I'll drink a ton of water because soda now just makes me feel ill. I've also decided to cut out bread from my diet because, again, makes me feel ill. I'll have it for special occasions but it'll be few and far between. Making healthy food choices are so much easier than before and I imagine it'll just get easier as time goes on. 

So without further ado.. Here is the progress photo:

The picture on the left was taken on 2/2 and I weighed in at 157 lbs. Waist was 30.5", hips were 40", thighs were 23" and both biceps were 12".  The picture on the right was taken today, 3/31. I weighed 152.2 lbs. Waist is 28", hips are 36 1/4", thighs 19.5" and biceps are the same. Overall I lost 5 lbs and a total of 9 3/4" all over. I definitely could have worked a little harder but I'm not unhappy with my results. I lost fat and gained muscle. My goal at the beginning of this of 15 lbs was just crazy! I'm ready for a new challenge and to set a new goal.



With that said, I start Insanity a week from Monday. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be laying on the floor convinced I'm going die the first two weeks at least. I need to talk with Mayra and try to figure out what I should set my goal for this time and make sure its a realistic one. I'm pretty proud of myself. Not only for the accomplishments I've made but because I also won the group challenge for March! After Insanity I'm going to give another 60 days to Les Mills Combat! Has anyone else done this? 

I'm proof positive that ANYONE can do this. Whether you are following a beachbody program, you are just doing one of your own or following one of the bajillion programs out there on the internet. YOU CAN DO IT! I promise you. I was probably one of the laziest people I knew and I got off my ass and look at what I accomplished. 

If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them. I'll make sure I'll do blogs once I've started Insanity. Til next time kids!!

30 day challenge Complete!

I did it! I actually completed something I said I was going to. I'm pretty damn proud of myself and the accomplishments I made along the way. And I'm excited to do it again. I've signed myself up for another 30 days to see how much farther I can go. 

February was a rough month emotionally. It marked 6 years since my dad died, I turned 35 and an important relationship in my life for the last year changed. I don't do change well and this one has been unbelievably difficult for me to wrap my head around and accept. I'm sure I'll get there eventually but for now its just a process. 

I discovered a lot about myself the last month. It takes me 30 days to develop a habit that I can stick to. My will power and self control is stronger than I thought and I realized that when I need a push I just have to ask for it and I'm not going to be mocked or ridiculed for having a weak moment. I cut out a lot of things from my "diet". I haven't had a soda in weeks, I drink mainly water. I'll still have a treat every now and then (I had a few cupcakes and other goodies the weekend of my birthday) and I don't beat myself up for it cause one little treat isn't going to unravel all the work I've done nor am I going to binge. I even learned to control that part of me that would go on a giant food binge when I was upset or depressed. Instead I channeled it into my work out. I'll admit there have been quite a few workouts in the last few weeks where I was just sobbing by the end from emotional release. 

Below is the before and after. I started out on 2/2/13 at 157 lbs even. 30.5" in the waist, 40" in the hips and 23" in both thighs. Today I weighed in at 154 lbs even, 29.5 in the waist, 37.5 in the hips and 21" in both thighs. 

I'm just amazed at how far I've come and I'm ready to tackle the next 30 days  with less emotional drama and more determination. I'll continue to do Shakeology and TurboFire (Really I love that program no matter how left footed it leaves me feeling sometimes) and will add in some P90X at least 2 days a week and on days where I have shorter TurboFire workouts I'll add in The Butt Bible workout as well. (Go check them out on Youtube! Pauline Nordin is hilarious!) 

I want to say a big thank you to Mayra, Sarah, Caragh, Lisa, Jacqui, Dani, Mandy, Mel, and all the other Fitsquad members who gave me encouragement and an ass kicking when I needed it. I wouldn't have made it nearly as far as I did without their support. And the Monsters also! I can't even begin to tell you how much I love those two boys and how much harder I would push myself through my workout when they were with me and I knew they were watching. 

I'll continue to update my progress here and will most likely blog about my P90X experience also. Let me know what you think! I promise to upload a blog soon about all the goodies I've gotten from Sephora over the last couple of months as well as some of my current favorite products soon. 

Till next time! 

Week 4! Home Stretch!

Its hard to believe that this is the start of week 4 of my Shakeology and Turbofire challenge. The last part of last week was really rough for me. I had a big (well I think it was big) life change happen and all I wanted to do was crawl into a hole and hide. I didn't realize just how much your emotions can affect you. I was thisclose to diving head first into a tub of ice cream and a box of twinkies. I went through the what if's, I should have, could have's, seriously I was a wreck. My work out that night I was bawling. I think it was because I had just let go of so much emotion and had channeled it in a healthy way instead of sabotaging the shit out of myself. Honestly I can't even tell you how hard it was for me not to take a nose dive off of that emotional cliff and just say screw it. The OLD me would have done it.. I'm really glad that I didn't. 

With that being said this last weekend was my birthday. I turned 35 on Sunday. I ate mostly healthy but I did have a cupcake or two on Saturday night during my birthday dinner and a slice of pizza and some cheesy bread on Sunday with the littlest monster. I didn't work out on Friday but did Saturday and just got home way too late on Sunday to even bother with it. I was worried this morning that I had set myself back but much to my surprise I hadn't.. My waist is still the same but I'm down another inch in the hips and 2 inches I think in the thighs! Can we say happy dance?? Yeah... that totally happened.. 

Tonight I picked up a few groceries and needed a few new sports bras (almost giving myself a black eye is really not fun) and a shirt that was on sale. All three are size Mediums! I haven't bought anything that was a size medium for 2 years. I realized over the weekend that people are noticing which is a great boost. 

the pic on the left is tonight 2/25 and the one on the right is from 2/2

So there's my progress so far.. sadly clothes aren't the same in both photos but what's important is now I can SEE the difference.. I know I've said this before but I'm really excited to see what the next several months are going to bring especially with summer coming! I almost had an anxiety attack when I walked into Target tonight and saw all the damn swimsuits just hanging out and mocking me.. I literally stopped turned around facing the doors and almost walked out. I may never wear a bikini again but I realized its not about that. Its about how I feel in the clothes (or swimsuit) I have and not stressing out about what other people think. I'm going to just conquer it. Come June I'll be hopefully several sizes smaller and won't be walking around the pool sucking in my gut and covering up my flabby booty. LMAO. 

Ok! Time to wrap this up.. I kind of feel like I rambled a bit (SORRY!) and well I stink so a shower is in order. I hope that those of you who read this and are in the middle or just starting out in your journey are having a good week and are continuing to push yourselves. 

Till next time kids!

Shakeology and Turbo Fire Update!

I thought I would update you all on the last few weeks. Yesterday marked the beginning of week 3 of Shakeology and Turbo Fire (both Beach Body programs) and so far so good! I've lost about an inch around my waist, hips and thighs and gained about a half an inch around my biceps. Pretty good I think! More progress than I've seen all the other times I've tried to better myself through diet and exercise. 

Here's what I've learned today. Its better to determine how you are doing by measuring inches lost versus weight lost. Muscle weighs more than fat right? Right! Now while I weigh about the same as when I started this I am, in my humble opinion, slimmer.. Pants that before were snug or gave me a slight muffin top I now need a belt (or will soon) to wear.  Overall I feel better, I'm not as grumpy and I sleep better and with all the water I drink, my skin and hair has also benefited (although the hair and skin is also compliments of Biotin and coconut oil masks once a week). I also have more energy which the monsters certainly like!

after my workout tonight! I like to make funny faces

I found that during the week if I don't work out within 10 minutes of walking through the door of my house I'm mostly likely not going to so I've made it mandatory to do just that as soon as I'm home from work. I get the monsters settled with home work or dinner and I change clothes and flip on which ever work out is on the menu for that day. Sometimes the little guy will do them with me while the older one reads a book and tells me to let him know when I start doing a workout program that doesn't consist of shaking my butt.. haha.

I've decided to continue with Shakeology and will most likely try either Insanity or P90X as well as continue doing Turbo Fire into March. I'm thankful I found something that finally works for me. Its such a huge relief really and as I've said in previous blogs having an amazing group of people to kick my ass in gear if they think I'm calling it in is great!  

I will probably do another blog here in a week or so and show you what has come of the last 30 days. You all can judge for yourself how I've done. No matter if I've lost 5 lbs or 15, 2 inches or 5 by the end of it I'll just be proud that I FINISHED something I said I was going to. I hope that I inspire someone who is trying to get healthy for themselves to just do it and give it their all. I'm doing this for myself but if I inspire even one person along the way.. well that's just icing on the cake now isn't it? 

Til next time kids! ( I promise I'll have a blog up soon of some of the goodies I've recently acquired in the make up department!)