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It's Time

It is so easy to become lazy and say, "I don't need to work out today."  I know this because it is what happened to me.  I slipped away from my work out schedule.  So starting today, I am pledging to get back into working out everyday.  I forced myself out of bed at 6:30 and started Burn Circuit with ChaLEAN Extreme.  I did not want to get up.  I was telling myself, "You can do it later this afternoon."  But that's what got me into trouble in the first place, being a procrastinator.  I convinced myself I better get my lazy toosh out of bed and start my work out. 

Since my last entry I have enrolled at Lansing Community College.  I am constantly juggling being a wife, mother, and student.  It can be a little overwhelming at times.  I leave for school Monday through Thursday at 3:15 pm and get home around 8:15 pm. Except for Thursday when I get home at 9:15 pm.  It can get a little crazy at times.  One of the things I found myself doing was eating when I got home and then going to bed.  I know that this is one of the worst things that I can do.  I wasn't burning off the calories I was putting into my body.  So I ended up gaining some pounds back that I lost. 

Now I am pledging to myself that I will begin my new work out regimen.  I will do ChaLEAN Extreme each morning before I start my day.  I will also drink Shakeology every morning for breakfast.  I will NOT eat after 7:00 pm.  I AM going to pack a little lunch for myself to take to school.  Let's get this weight loss rolling!

Are You Worth It?

I've been changing the way I eat and exercising daily.  I have been LOVING it!  Granted there are days that I don't feel like it.  But for the most part I've been working out one hour or more at least 5 days a week.  I feel so much better about myself and I have a ton more energy which is really helpful when you have 2 girls under the age of 3. 

Recently I decided to invest in myself.  I purchased some Bowflex SelectTech weights.  Thanks to my friend Alicia I was able to get a great deal on them through the Internet.  Here are some pictures of me working out with them.

I absolutely LOVE my new weights!  They are so convenient and easy to use.  I'm lifting 20lbs in all of those pictures!  Who would've thought I'd be lifting 20lbs?  Oh and don't you just love my #1 Mom shirt?  I wish I could say that one of my daughters bought it for me but I bought it for myself.  Even if they don't think I'm the #1 Mom I think I am. hahaha!  Yes, I use my jazz boots for my workouts.  They don't ever leave the house so I feel comfortable working out with them on my carpet. :)

The other purchase I recently made is a bodybugg.  What is a bodybugg?  The bodybugg works with a program on your computer. After wearing it all day you hook it up to an USB cord and upload the data from the bodybugg to the program. The bodybugg itself has sensors on it that monitors your activity throughout the day. In addition to keeping track of calories burned you also input calories consumed. The idea is to have a calorie deficit in order to lose weight.  It is the neatest little contraption I've ever seen.  Yesterday was my first day wearing it.  It was pretty neat to see how many calories I burned.  Below is a picture of what the bodybugg looks like.
 

The question I asked myself when making these purchases is "Am I worth it?" Why, yes I am! By having all of these things I am also teaching my girls about health and fitness just by them watching me workout and eating healthy.  Hailey loves to watch my ChaLEAN Extreme dvds.  She is really good at doing squats.  Those are Hailey's favorite.  Evie always tries to do the workouts with me with the resistance bands that I have.

YOU Have To Want It

One thing I've learned from my whole weight loss experience is that you won't lose weight or get healthy until YOU want to.  You can't lose weight because your mom, dad, friend, or spouse thinks you should.  It won't happen.  I know this because I speak from experience.  I knew I needed to lose weight but I wasn't ready  yet.  I knew it was going to take hard work and self control.  Two things that didn't interest me for a long time.  I had to do it because I wanted to.  This time that was the difference.  I didn't do it for anybody but ME! 

Beachbody workouts are the perfect addition to any weight loss program.  They are fun, fast, and effective!  I am telling you they work.  You might say, "Wow, that workout dvd is $59.95!"  "I can't afford that."  How can you not afford it?  You need to take control of your health now!  If you join a gym you will end up paying much more than that and you won't get the same results you will if you use a Beachbody program.  Plus you get to do it in the privacy of your own home with your very own personal trainer right in your living room.  How awesome is that?!
Here is a video on ChaLEAN Extreme. I love this workout program! Chalene is amazing.


Now you've got your workout program.  How can you take your weight loss to the next level?  You need Shakeology.  I'm sure that most of you look at the price and think "I can't afford that."  Why can't you?  You have to remember that it replaces one meal everyday.  You can order it on home direct and have it automatically shipped to your house for free each month.  It's so convenient.  It is delicious and most importantly it's the healthiest meal of the day!  You don't have to take my word for it.  Watch this Youtube Video.  You'll see for yourself.


100 doctors don't lie, either do I. If you're interested in purchasing Shakeology you can click the "Get Healthy Now" button at the top of the page on the Shakeology banner. Start treating yourself right right now! You deserve it!

Family, Fun, and Chocolate

I have been pretty busy the last few days.  On Thursday Tim and I got to take the girls to Bay Valley Resort between Bay City and Saginaw.  We met Tim's mom and his sister and her children there.  We all had a great time.  We spent most of our time in the pool which the kids absolutely loved.

This is one of my favorite pictures from our little trip.  My two beautiful daughters and me.  I am very blessed!   

On Wednesday (the day before we had to go) I tried on my swimsuit from last year.  The greatest thing happened!  It was too big!  Then panic washed over me and I thought,  "I'm going to have to try on swimsuits."  This has never been very much fun for me.  But I went into it with a positive attitude.  The girls and I hit the stores.  The first one I found that I really liked I tried on and guess what?  It fit!  Thank you ChaLEAN Extreme!  I decided that since I liked it and it fit I wasn't going to jinks myself and I was going to go ahead and purchase it.  It wasn't as painful as I thought it was going to be. :)

On Saturday I went with my friends Sally, Alicia, and Kisha to Kalamazoo for Beachbody Super Saturday.  It was great to be surrounded by people who are loving fitness as much as I am.  There were several others there that had a similar story to mine and they had lost a lot of weight.  It's amazing what these workouts can do for people.  I wish all of you could have been there to witness it. 

This is a picture of me standing next to a tall glass of Greenberry Shakeology.  I had a chance to try that flavor on Saturday.  It was pretty good.  I prefer chocolate but that's because it's a great way for me to get my chocolate fix. 

Shakeology is a wonderful way to get ALL of your nutrients in ONE meal.  It's low calorie and high protein.  It only has 140 calories per serving. It has a whopping 17 grams of protein per serving.  It's high in antioxidents, minerals, and probiotics.  Every time I enjoy a glass of Shakeology I am doing something amazing for my body.  It can help you to lose weight, lower your cholesterol, help improve regularity, and lower your blood pressure.  It gives you energy!  Who doesn't need more of that?  There is not another "health" shake out there that has the nutrients that Shakeology has.  You have to ask yourself, "Are you worth it?"  I think you are!  How much money would you save if you could get rid of your cholesterol medication?  Or any other medication for that matter?  That is exactly what happened for a man I met on Saturday.  After he started drinking Shakeology he was able to quit taking his Lipitor pills for cholesterol.  I'm telling you this stuff is outstanding!  If you're interested in finding out more please feel free to contact me or check out my website.  www.myshakeology.com/reneestoll.  I would love to see you become the healthiest you you can be!

WIIFM (What's in it for me?)

When I worked at Career Quest as an Administrative Assistant we had an all employee conference.  That is where I learned about WIIFM (pronounced whif im)  What's in it for me?  I think the same thing applies when we begin a new workout or diet program. 

For me the WIIFM was to feel healthy and happy with myself.  I really didn't like how I felt when I was so heavy.  Maybe for you it's to lower your cholesterol or to get rid of pre-diabetes.  Or maybe it's to feel pretty again.  Whatever it is you need to find out what your WIIFM is.  Once you do there's no going back.  Focus on it.  When you don't feel like working out or you want that donut sitting in the break room at work remember your WIIFM.  When I don't want to workout I think back to how I felt when I was heavier and then I remember that I don't ever want to feel like that again.

Recently I hit a plateau.  It's so frustrating.  I added to my workouts.  Working out twice as hard as I was.  I've been doing really well with eating right.  I've had thoughts about eating the chocolate that my husband brings home.  But I have WIIFM.  I have to remember that muscle weighs more than fat.  I can't give up now.  I've got my eye on the prize.  So I'll keep plugging away and I know that eventually I'll get on the scale and there WILL be a weight loss. 

Everyone will hit a plateau at some point in their weight loss journey.  When it happens you can't give up!  Think about how far you have come.  I would love to hear from you.  What kind of things do you do to help get over a plateau?  Have you ever had thoughts of giving up when the scale wouldn't budge? 

Goals, Rewards, and a Positive Attitude.

Do you set goals?  Do you reward yourself?  If so, how do you reward yourself? 

To make a goal a reality you should begin by writing it down.  That's why I started posting all of my workouts on facebook.  I wanted to hold myself accountable.  If you don't write down your goals you may not reach them as quickly or at all.  Facebook was a great way for me to let all of my family and friends know that I was going to do this.  I was going to reach my goals! 

So you reached that first goal.  How do you reward yourself?  I have rewarded myself in a few different ways.  I bought a new workout program for myself.  This was a great reward!  It helped me to take my workout to the next level.  I purchased some new clothes.  This is a great reminder that you are doing it!  You are shrinking your body.  It's such a wonderful feeling to put a smaller top on and have it fit.  Or a new pair of jeans that are a size smaller and you can pull them up over your hips and button them. One other way that I have rewarded myself is I have bought new workout clothes.  This is another great reward because it's only going to motivate you further to workout.  I personally believe that if you feel good in your workout clothes you will workout even harder.  In the future I plan to reward myself with a pedicure and a massage.  You should NEVER reward yourself with food.  That is not a good thing to do.

Last but not least you should always have a positive attitude.  I know this can sometimes be difficult but it is incredibly important.  You are not going to lose weight over night.  You should never get down on yourself or give up.  Do your best to tell yourself that YOU CAN DO IT!  Because I believe that you really can do it.  There's nothing I dislike more than somebody who is a "Negative Nelly".  Nobody and I mean nobody wants to be around a person like that. 

So remember write down your goals, reward yourself, and keep a positive attitude. 

Just Push Play

Ever have a day you don't feel like working out?  You're tired and you just don't have the energy.  That is exactly how I am feeling right now.  My girls are not feeling well and I spent most of the morning in Urgent Care getting them diagnosed.  Turns out they both have pink eye and sore throats too.  So I've been listening to a lot of whining and crying.  I just feel like I don't have enough energy to drag myself off of the couch and "push play".  I must though.  Nobody ever gets anywhere sitting around and doing nothing.  That is not how I lost 53lbs. 

I know that working out will give me extra energy.  I will feel so much better after I workout.  Today is a big day with ChaLEAN Extreme.  It's weightlifting day.  So I really can't miss it.  Here I go!

It really is true.  You feel so much better after you workout.  I really pushed myself today.  Not only did I do Burn Circuit 3 (which is the weightlifting).  I also did Fat Burn Challenge (which is some intense cardio).  I'm so proud of myself for telling myself that I had to workout and for "pushing play". 

I hope all of you get your workouts in today.  Thanks for reading my blog.

A Helpful Hint or Two

When you have little kids it can make losing weight some what challenging.  One thing I started to notice myself doing was eating what my daughter Evie  left on her plate.  It would drive me nuts that she could leave so much left over.  I would finish it for her.  This is a HUGE no no.  It's hard to do but I finally started walking her plate over to the trash can and scraping off what was left. I don't need to put all of those extra calories into my body.  After I started to do that I noticed that the scale started moving again.  Sometimes you need to step back and see what you're actually doing.  It's so easy to sabotage yourself without even realizing it. 

Another trick that I find works for me is posting a picture of yourself at your thinnest on the refrigerator. I have a picture of myself from when I was 17.  One of the thinnest moments in my life. I posted this picture on my refrigerator.  That way when I feel like I need a snack I go to the refrigerator and see that picture.  It makes me think twice about what I pick for a snack.  Sometimes I just walk away from it altogether.  It's a nice little reminder of what you're working towards.

This is the picture of myself that I have on my refrigerator.  Laugh all you want but if this isn't motivation I don't know what is.  Obviously after having two children my stomach will never look like that again. But it does the job of keeping me away from the unhealthy snacks when I am having a "moment".

I was having cravings for chocolate.  Yummy, sweet, delicious chocolate.  My husband likes to bring chocolate home for himself.  One problem, I would find it and eat it.  So I decided that I needed to find something healthier to satisfy my craving.  Low and behold Beachbody had the answer I was looking for.  A chocolate shake.  Shakeology!  I decided to give it a try.  It's not only healthy for you it's absolutely delicious!  Plus there are so many wonderful things that Shakeology can do for you.  It can help you lose weight by filling you up and reducing your cravings.  It helps you to feel energized, improves digestion, and it can actually help lower your chloesterol. For me it truly is a lifesaver! 

What about you?  Do you have any helpful hints about weight loss that you would like to share?  Is there a product you just can't live without?

I really am a work in progress.  I have been working on myself for the last 9 months.  I mean REALLY and truly trying to change my "lifestyle". 
After I had my second daughter in April I felt huge.  I had a hard time keeping up with my 2 year old and now I had an infant to take care of as well.  I was unhappy with how I had let myself go.  Working as an Administrative Assistant while I was pregnant didn't help matters either.  I sat all day and when you work in an office people tend to bring in snacks.  Not healthy snacks but donuts, cakes, and muffins. I was pregnant and I thought, "Oh well, I'm going to gain weight anyway." "I might as well enjoy myself."  Enjoy myself I did.  The day I gave birth to Hailey (my second baby) I had NEVER weighed so much in my whole life.  I was secretly hoping that she weighed 50lbs.  That was wishful thinking.  After I gave birth to her and came home I jumped on the scale.  Panic started to set in.  How in the world was I going to lose all this weight?  I started to diet.  The scale wouldn't budge.  Curse you donuts, cakes, and potato chips! 
Two of my friends (a mother and daughter team) Sally and Alicia had become Beachbody coaches while I was pregnant.  After seeing their before and after pictures I decided to try one of the workout programs.  The first one I chose for myself was Hip Hop Abs.  I LOVED it!  It was like dance.  I didn't even feel like I was working out.  There were so many dvds how was I ever going to get bored?  I started to eat healthier too.  Salads and chicken became a staple in my household.  Slowly I started to add beef and pork back into my diet.  The scale was starting to budge and then it started sliding.  YAY!  I was finally getting somewhere. 
Sally and Alicia talked me into becoming a Beachbody coach in November.  After I became a coach I decided to try another workout program.  I picked ChaLEAN Extreme.  I am still using this program.  I love the strength training.  I love hearing Chalene say, "Muscle burns fat."  There's something empowering about it to me. 
I hope you'll follow me on my journey of becoming fit and healthy.  I promised my best friend Stacey that this wouldn't just be a blog about fitness updates but things about my personal life as well.  She told me that she likes reading personal things.  I'll do my best to throw some of that in my blogs too.

What's your story?  Are you on the path to weight loss?  Do you exercise regularly?  I would love to hear what your thoughts are on "lifestyle" changes.