Results from Cize

I'll be honest, I was a little skeptical about what my results from Cize would be. I mean, it was super fun, but I didn't have to pick up any weights, I didn't do any push-ups or squats. I figured at best I would maintain, which wouldn't be a bad thing.

However, I just figured out my losses for the 28 days of Cize, and I'm down 5 pounds and 3 1/4 inches! Considering that I really did not stick to the meal plan this time—I just overall tried to eat healthy—the results were surprising, and that gets me excited!

Not only is this workout fun, but you really can get results from it. You burn so many calories having a blast trying to master the routines, that you don't have to be doing the typical "workout" moves. I honestly am kicking myself now, because I know if I had of stuck with the eating plan I would have killed my results, but here's to next time, because you better believe I will repeat this fun workout!

My real goal for this program was to follow the schedule and stick with it. Usually I end up missing a day somewhere and either having to double up or switch my scheduled day off for the week. Well, for the first time ever I completed the program without any alterations to the schedule! How was I able to do it this time? Because it was fun and easy to get myself down to my basement dance floor each morning!

Interested in dancing your way to a healthier, fitter life? Just click on the Cize ad to the right, leave a comment or hit the "Contact Me" button at the top. I would love to help you get started dancing to your goals!

A Summer Of Ups And Downs

I've said before that I want this blog to be a reflection of me as a whole person, not just the health and fitness stuff. So today I wanted to share with you one of the super fun things Jake and I did this summer!

At the beginning of the summer I noticed that Six Flags New England was offering a great deal: buy four Season Gold Passes at a reduced price. Perks included lots of "bring a friend free" days, early admission, free parking, and entry into all the Six Flags theme parks.

Jake thought it sounded like a great idea, especially since we were headed to California and would be able to visit two of the Six Flags parks for free. I messaged my sisters to see if any of them were
interested in getting in on this great deal with us. Thankfully one of them was, and she and her husband also got tickets.

You may be reading this thinking, "What a waste of money," or "They're crazy!", or maybe even, "What's the big deal?"

Well, to me the big deal was several things.

Jake and I love roller coasters! In fact we planned our honeymoon around Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH, one of the roller coaster capitals of the world. However, since then we hadn't made it to any theme parks. Between work, the time it takes to get there, and the cost involved it was just something we hadn't done. These season passes gave us the chance to visit many theme parks, ride many roller coasters, all for what was essentially the price of a couple of day passes.

The other thing we thought was really cool was our ability to bring friends for free or at discounted rates. How fun is it to be able to invite some friends to go spend a day riding roller coasters and they don't have to pay a thing? We love blessing others and sharing the things we have been blessed with, and so this was just another way to do that.

So far we have been to Six Flags New England twice (and we're headed there again tomorrow), Discovery Kingdom twice, Magic Mountain twice, and after tomorrow we will have brought six people in for FREE! We're also hoping to make it over to Great Escape and bring some more friends for free this fall to Six Flags New England again!

Now that we're planning to move to Maui, spending time with family and friends has become our top priority!

Apes, Elephants & Dancing

At one point or another I have looked like an ape or an elephant attempting to dance. I am NOT a
dancer. I don't have very good rhythm and I'm not the most coordinated person in the world. When it comes to dancing, I'm pretty stiff (blame it on being raised a "baptist"), but I pushed through week one and two of Cize, a new workout by Shaun T., and, wouldn't you know it, I'm starting to look and feel like someone who knows how to dance.

Once you have completed week three of Cize you will have learned all six dances. (That is if you choose the advanced version, which this non-dancing, uncoordinated ape/elephant/girl was able to do!) Looking back, what I thought was "hard" in week one is now a breeze. Week one truly was a foundation week. You learn basic choreography that Shaun T. builds on in the coming weeks.

After week one, the difficulty of the dance moves advances. Shaun T. takes the very basic movements you learned and adds more complicated sequences and speed. The dance titled "In The Pocket" was ANYTHING but in my pocket! lol! I honestly wasn't sure that I was going to have it nailed by the end of the week, but on the last day I finally felt like it came together for me.

Week three was slightly more intricate and advanced than week two, however, for the most part, I didn't find the dances that much harder to grasp. At this point I had become quite familiar with many of the moves, and following the rhythm was a bit easier. My favorite dance by far is the very last one, not that it's easy, but it's a lot of fun, and it's done to the song "Chandelier," which is a great song to dance to!

Now here I am in the final week where Shaun T. has you go back and do each dance one more time, and I am even more excited about sharing this program! Why? Because it truly is a fun workout! I haven't lifted weights, done squats or any other exercise, and yet I am losing inches and pounds and feel strong. My coordination has improved and I don't feel like a bumbling ape/elephant anymore. I know I'm still a little stiff and some of my moves are awkward, but I'm having fun!

This is such a great program for people who struggle with not enjoying exercise because Shaun T. keeps you so focussed on following along and learning the steps that you don't really feel like you are "working out."

It's also a great program to get your teen or child involved with. If you live in the northeast, like I do, winter is LONG, and we New Englanders tend to put on the pounds, but a program like this can get the whole family moving and having fun together. Maybe we will even have to have a specific accountability group for families that want to take on the Cize challenge together! (Just don't be jealous of my photos from the beach when, Lord willing, the hubs and I move to Maui in January!)

If you are interested in getting this program or have any specific questions, as always feel free to contact me through the link above, leave a comment or find me on Facebook!

Review Of The FIXATE Cookbook

When I started 21 Day Fix it was life changing for me. It wasn't your typical "diet" because you don't count calories. Instead it has these little color-coded containers in which you place your food, and then you eat the right amount of containers to get your daily dose of carbs, proteins, veggies, etc. This was finally an eating plan that I could follow forever! It taught me healthy portions and the best kinds of food for each group.

The only problem that I eventually ran into was that I got sick of eating a container of meat, a container of veggies and fruits and carbohydrates. I wanted to make real meals again, but I didn't know how to combine the foods I needed to eat into meals that tasted great and still met my daily caloric requirements.

Enter FIXATE, a cookbook created by Autumn Calabrese, the creator of 21 Day Fix. Instantly my problem was solved! The book features 101 recipes that Autumn uses for her own family and work with the container plan. This new cookbook has upped my game because I have tons of go-to, delicious meals that work with my healthy eating.

Jake and I have enjoyed homemade tomato sauce, cake, brownies, chicken parmesan, macaroni and cheese, French toast, zoodles, and meatballs—just to
name a few. It has brought so much variety back into our diet while at the same time not sacrificing what we've learned about healthy eating.

I would recommend this cookbook to anyone. Whether you are doing 21 Day Fix or another Beachbody workout, or are just wanting to eat healthier and have a variety of options.

If you are interested in ordering FIXATE or have any questions, please leave a comment below or get in touch with me via the contact button above.

Cize Week One In Review

I've completed the first week of Cize, the new dance program that came out in July. I thought I would
share my experience so far.

First off, I am a NON-dancer, as in, never took any dance classes, don't really have any good moves, and would quite possibly embarrass anyone that I was with if I danced in public. The thing I like about this program though is that Shaun T. breaks down the moves into tiny pieces, has you do them over and over again, and slowly strings those moves together. By the end of a 30-45 minute workout you can actually do a short dance.

I'll be honest, just because I am a coach, workout regularly, and host online health and fitness accountability groups, does not mean I LIKE to workout. I know it's good for me, and I like how I feel when I do a workout, so I make myself do it. Even if I don't really want to, I do it. The great thing about Cize is that doesn't feel like "working out." It's fun, the time flies by, and honestly if I had more time I would keep going because I want to nail the dance and feel like a dancer.

While I haven't picked up weights in over a week I end my routines drenched in sweat and exhausted. I've also ended the first week with some visible results—down 2.3 pounds and 3 inches overall!

So who is this program for? Those who don't like to exercise, of course! It's also great for those who do like to exercise but want to change things up for a while. It's great for dancers, non-dancers, young, old, and just about everyone else.

If you are interested in learning more about this program, my online groups, or becoming a coach like me, feel free to leave a comment or send me a message through the "contact me" link above!

Elephants and Roller Coasters!

It's been almost three months since I wrote that The Elephant In The Room post. (You know, the one where I talked about that little problem in my life. Uh-huh. That one.)

Anyway, Jake and I still have no babies on the way. And it's still been a roller coaster of emotions I've dealt with from time to time—kind of like the roller coasters Jake and I have been riding at Six Flags theme parks this year! But you know what? Despite all the roller coaster-ing—the emotional kind, not the Six Flags kind—I feel I'm in an even better place then I was three months ago when I wrote that post. No, that doesn't mean it isn't still hard at times. That doesn't mean I don't still get a little sad when I hear about other people having babies. But, wow, God has brought me a long way!

The tool that has helped me on this journey the most is going through a study called, "God's Perspective When Life Hurts," by Darlene Kordic. I honestly don't really remember why I signed up for this study at my church. I think it was simply out of convenience—it was on a weeknight that I was actually free, and since we live a lot closer to church now it was just easy to go. I didn't sign up for the class because I thought I needed it or that it would change my life. It just seemed like a good opportunity.

Thankfully we serve a God who will take our "convenient" decisions and use them to put us where He wants us to be.

One of the greatest takeaways from that study was a reminder of who God is. Who is He? He's an all sovereign, all wise, all loving God. His power, greatness and control over all is beyond our comprehension. He can move and direct despite the evil in this world to bring out His purpose in the lives of His children. I was reminded that His plan for my life is perfect and better than anything I could ever dream up on my own. When life gets hard I may struggle in the moment to believe that His plan is the best, but that truth remains.

This study is worth checking out for anybody who has ever struggled with wondering how a loving God can allow such bad things to happen. Even if you have deep hurts, major struggles, emotional suffering, and just don't understand how to work through those raw emotions, God can still be a rock for you and this study is a wonderful tool to realizing that. Or if you just want to gain a greater understanding of suffering and God's will, you should check out this study.

There are DVDs that go along with the study if you wanted to do it for a small group. There is a workbook that goes along with it, but it is comprehensive enough that it could be a stand alone if you wanted to do the study by yourself.

If you have any questions about it you can leave a comment or contact me through the link above.

PS. If you are pregnant or have just had a little one please do not feel bad for me. Instead let me snuggle with them and get my fill of baby loving :-)