Shaun T and "Hip Hop Abs"

I'm not much of a dancer. I don't think I embarrass myself on the dance floor when I do go out. But choreography is a challenge to say the least. I've done his other "party" workout called "Rockin' Body" and that was a challenge too. Doing two or 3 things at the same time takes practice and I did master them. I need to loose my stomach that will make me look thinner. It is hard for me since I had surgery in 1985 and I have a big scar to prove they cut my stomach wide open so I don't know if my abs are able to tighten up.

"Hip Hop Abs" has a focus on mostly standing ab crunches. Which means you use your core all the time. Shaun's "Tilt- Tuck & Tighten" method is effective and doing the party bounce and walking at the same time takes most of my concentration. Tilt- Shoulders turn forward with a slight bend. Tuck - you tailbone under    ( not sticking out) and Tighten your stomach. If you watch music videos with the hot chicks in them, it looks like the same thing. He is funny and fun and the time goes by fast. I usually am dripping by the time I am done and have gone through a bottle of water at least.
The program was on sale last month so I grabbed a second copy to give away to someone willing and committed to doing the program along with drinking Shakeology. I will be writing on the benefits of that meal replacement shake maybe next time.

Keep Pushing PLAY!

Nadine

Law of the Mind

Second LAW in Dani Johnson's book "First Steps to Wealth" is Law of the Mind.
"It is never circumstances that determine success in life. It is what you do with the circumstances that determines success in life"
Johnson, Dani. First Steps to Wealth: A Revolution to Increase Your Income, Improve Your Relationships and Expand Your Influence. Las Vegas, NV: Call to Freedom International, 2011. 24-26. Print.
Stop saying "It works for everyone else but me", "I could never do that", "I am only a....". That is a negative mindset. You will never get anything accomplished if those phrases are your Mantra.
After being with and married for 19 yrs my husband died. I could have set back, never left my house, stopped paying attention to the world around me and just survived. but I made a CHOICE. to live my life. Life isn't about quick easy money, friendships or love. If you want it, you have to pursue it, MAKE IT HAPPEN. You won't find a job just by sitting home, thinking "if they want me, they know where to find me" you have to out yourself out there. Same with business, love, friendships, losing weight. If you want something bad enough, you think about it all the time. Don't just say I WISH.. say I WILL. Do what needs to be done to make it happen. If I didn't make the choices I did, I would still be 270 lbs or more.
So I challenge you. If you want to be debt free, in love or go on an Alaskan Cruise, what are you going to DO about it?

LAW of WEALTH

Part of growing my Beachbody business is growing myself. That is proving to be a difficult medium. Not that I am stubborn, but concepts that I read or listen to seem so easy to understand at first, then when I think about them I realize I need to go over the subject matter again and again to truly get it. I'm going to start with LAW # 1 from Dani Johnson's book "First Steps to Wealth" THE LAW OF VISION:
"Vision reaches beyond the material dreams. It's also about our life paths.".
Everyone one has dreams of what they want when they grow up. Where they want to be in life. Mine I thought were simple, Home, family, job, security. I didn't think to dream bigger or have a bigger vision because I knew my circumtances wouldn'tll
Johnson, Dani. "Law#1- The Law of Vision." First Steps to Wealth: A Revolution to Increase Your Income, Improve Your Relationships and Expand Your Influence. Las Vegas, NV: Call to Freedom International, 2011. 20-24. Print.

Raw Salted Almond Macaroons.

Saw this on a blog: looked too good not to share:

 

 

Raw Salted Almond Macaroons

(makes 12 cookies)

 

1 cup flaked coconut

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)

1/4 cup raw honey

1/4 cup coconut oil--should be room temperature, warm enough to stir easily 

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 

Optional: 1 Tbs raw cacao powder

( I might change this to a Tbs of my favorite Chocolate superfood powder for 1/2 the batch)

 

In a mixing bowl, combine the coconut, almonds, macadamia nuts, and salt. Stir to combine. 

In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk together the vanilla, honey and coconut oil . 

Pour the liquid mixture over the coconut mix and stir well. The dough should be slightly stiff and sticky, and just beginning to hold together. If you are making the chocolate version, add it in at this time. 

Transfer half of the mixture to a food processor. Pulse several times to break up the larger pieces. Puree for 20-30 seconds until the mixture becomes somewhat smooth and paste like; do not over-process the mix, though, you are not trying to make it like a nut butter consistency. This step helps the cookies hold together better, but leaves a lot of variation in texture by only pureeing half of the mix. 

Add the processed mix back in with the other half and stir well. 

Form into 12-2" balls; pack each cookie together tightly, like a good snowball. You want them to stay together and not crumble when eating them, so they need to be pressed firmly to maintain their shape. Place on a plate or small sheet pan. Press down slightly on the cookies so the bottom is flattened and they don't roll. 

Chill for 1-2 hours before serving to help the cookies set. 

 

I like to serve mine with a glass of raw milk, but you could do almond or coconut milk if you like...you really can't go wrong with these macaroons!

http://risingmoonnutrition.blogspot.com/2013/02/primalraw-salted-almond-macaroons.html

Have You Ever?

-Just wanted something so bad that you can almost touch it?--Felt something so strongly you thought you were going to blow apart with the force of it?
--Been so depressed that you didn't know if you would ever see the Light again?
--Want to help people so bad that all you can do is Point to them the Way and hope they follow?
Some days are better than others. Some days I just want to hide. Some days I just want to quit.
But then I think of all the people that need my help. The ones that are sick from being overweight. Unhealthy to the point that they think drastic measures are the only way out. The ones that need to make extra money but can't find that second or third job. Then they feel guilty for not being able to attend their kids school functions.
I can help
If they let me.
I know why some don't. They are afraid.
of change
of failing
of not living up to someone's expectations.
All that is true.
But we all fail at points in our lives.
The only one with Expectations is YOU!
All I ask is that you commit to a Plan.
We all are afraid of getting out of our comfort zones.
The point is DOING IT!
So what if you fail-- get back up
Life is about Change-- Make yours a positive one.
You will never get past your current situation if you don't TRY!
That is the real issue.
Not Trying.
I dare you to TRY.
You know where to find me.

What will it cost you?

IF your pay per hour is $8.00 and you work 9hrs a day (before taxes- 1 hour lunch) that is $64.00 a day.
If you are sick and you don't have sick pay to cover it and you are off for 3 days that is $192 gross pay that you will LOSE.
What if you get sick more than once a year? or for a longer period of time like a week?

$64 for a day of work -- 5 days off. YOU JUST LOST $320!!!

What if you could STAY healthy and spend less then half of that on the Best Nutrition you can give yourself?

What would THAT be worth to you? What about your family? Your friends?

Do you know someone who is struggling with their health and fitness?

Don't worry about offending them by buying them a Beachbody fitness program or Challenge pack. You could be saving their lives..

Why wouldn't you help them? Don't you love them enough

to show you care?

Relationships

Trying to build relationships takes work.
Sometimes you just start a new college class and the person you sit next to ends up being a friend after the class is done.But it took all semester to get to that point. Most times, even if you think you've built a relationship, it doesn't continue. That's OK too. That's the Nature of relationships. You never know who you will "Click" with.
You might be married to someone for decades and wake up one morning and say "WHO IS THIS PERSON?". Now, THAT is sad. You spent the better part of your youth with the same person and never got to know them? Who's fault is that? Both, I imagine.
Then there are the couples who finish each others sentences. When they sleep, their hearts beat to the same rhythm.  Have to admit, that is pretty special.
What are relationships built on? friendship, mutual trust, love? All that and more I believe.
When my husband died, I was "lost" for a year, stuck in my own head, listening to the hate of his family. I only had God, my family, our two kids and my Church family to turn to. Slowly I came out of my depression, 40 lbs heavier. But that was 3 1/2 years ago.
I went back to College mostly because I had to. Some was to get out of the house. Silly as it is, Facebook and the internet was my window into the world, as I am sure it is for some people.
Then a friend whom I've known for years that I worked with - was having an amazing weight loss transformation. He got me started on Beachbody in-home workout DVD's. I found some NEW friends that are now a part of my life, both on Facebook and in real life. I probably could go to any state and have someone to visit. That's a RELATIONSHIP!
I try to build relationships every day, I am the only one where I work so unless someone calls or comes into my office- I don't see many people. But that's OK too.
You can't get anything accomplished in this world without having a relationship with someone.
Who are you going to build one with? Old high school friends? New friends?
Just get out of your comfort zone and talk to people you meet in the store. You never know where that will lead. Go to a festival -- Meet people you might never see again, that will help you start conversations. And make funny memories too.

Committed Vs Interested. What side are you on? --by Greg Cruz

So, let me ask you guys something, are you committed or just interested? Doesn't even have to be related to working out, it can be anything in your life....
If you are interested, you show up sometimes. If you are committed, you show up all the time.
If you are interested, when things get tough, you give up and move on to your next “interest”. If you are committed, no matter how tough things get, you find a way over, under, around or through obstacles.

If you are interested, you dabble in a bunch of interests. If you are committed, you concentrate your energy on achieving a much shorter list of objectives. In short, you focus.If you are interested, you are easily distracted and often fall victim to shiny object syndrome. If you are committed, you are so focused that you often don’t even notice the irrelevant shiny objects around you.If you are interested, you don’t set goals; rather, you just let it happen. If you are committed, you set goals in a way that maximizes the probability you will achieve them, and you regularly monitor your progress.
If you are interested, you let the fear of failure and other fears keep you from achieving your objectives. If you are committed, you realize that every “failure” is just another step in the direction of achieving your goals.
If you are interested, you allow perfectionism to inhibit your progress, working hand-in-hand with fear of failure to limit your success. If you are committed, you understand that perfectionism is the enemy and you continue to make forward progress, even if each step is not perfect.
Ask yourself, “Am I committed, or am I just interested”? If the answer comes back, “I’m not sure,” or “I’m just interested,” then unless it’s a hobby that you can dabble in and take lightly, you need to reconsider where you are focusing your energy.

My Story. What's yours?

I was embarrassed when I saw the photo on the left of me. I didn't realize how bad I looked with 40 extra pounds. I saw it in the mirror but ignored it. I told myself its not so bad. But I didn't do anything. I kept on my same path. I had been watching a good friend of mine that I worked with at Target (back in the day) Al Rico.

He was doing this workout that I had seen on TV called P90X. That looked too intimidating for me, so I followed his progress and his energy got to me. I found out that Beachbody has a TON of programs for all fitness levels. Slim In 6, Body Gospel, Rockin' Body, Hip Hop Abs, Insanity, Asylum, Les Mills Pump etc.
I got a Challenge pack in Feb which was Slim in 6 and Chocolate Shakeology. I didn't know HOW I was going to afford the Shakeology every month only that I needed it. I didn't know if I could stay motivated enough to stick with the workouts. Al put me in a private facebook group with friends of his. Introduced me, and I was hooked. Between Feb and June I lost 45 lbs and 20 inches.
Then I went on to Rockin Body for 2 months. I lost another 9 lbs and even more inches.
My next program ( I'm LEANing towards) is CharLEAN Extreme.
I want to start that soon.
What are YOU waiting for? I'm a Beachbody coach and I'm starting another challenge group October 27th. You KNOW you need to change your life. You KNOW you looked better in high school then you do now. You might be out of the Armed Forces but you miss your muscle definition. I am right here.
Ready to Help.

Is your Bank Account Looking RED?

OK. I'm going to get real here.
My life is hard. Not as hard as some , maybe easier than most.
I'm TRYING in my Beachbody business to get going. I see others posting about how they are doing and I am cheering for them
just like I WOULD HOPE people cheer for me. But I guess I don't see it.
I don't see the people that are watching me. Either waiting to jump in on getting healthy
or worse yet, waiting for me to FAIL!
Well here is NEWS FOR YOU!
I REFUSE to give up. I WANT a better life for my family
I WANT to be able to marry the new man in my life and we CAN'T until he can move up here
and find a better job and he can't do that unless I can help out.
Mike is amazing and we wouldn't have had anything for Christmas or Birthdays or anything big or small if it wasn't for him.
My question is I post and post and post about everything that is interesting to me, to my friends.
My MISSION is to make a difference in someone's LIFE? Why can't that be YOURS?  WHY WON'T YOU LET ME HELP YOU?
EVERYONE has excuses as to why they can't do something.
Then then complain on Facebook. That their boyfriend cheated on them, they don't have any money to go here or there, No energy to do anything
if they do have money. I DON'T GET IT.
THIS IS AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO GET FIT, GET HEALTHY AND HAVE THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS TO STOP BLEEDING.
It's going to take hard work, COMMITMENT and dedication for anything worthwhile. Are you scared?
me too
Will it be worth it? I can tell you 95,000 coaches (and counting) can't be wrong.
It will be worth it!

Tragic -5/22/2009

I wrote this 5 days after my husband died. I share this so people can see what happens to a family. Not because someone died by accident or a long sickness. But by a disease that while not yet curable, can be managed by proper diet and exercise. He didn't.
TRAGIC
I knew eventually this time would come... but I thought it still would be in the far future... It still took us by surprise. But I refuse to bear the guilt of it... Could I have foreseen it? Maybe if I could see into the future. Could I have prevented it... no, I have to sleep too. He could've taken his mask off at anytime. and we just got it Friday as it was. I'm glad we spent Mothers Day with my family. And that last Saturday with his... I know they will never talk to me again. And I'm OK with that, it's nothing new. The kids can't be turned against me, we already discussed it.
I knew there was a reason why I didn't get the jobs I interviewed for... I needed to be home as much as possible because my time with Bryan was short... I see that now... Doesn't make it any better... When the time is right... I will be out there again. I just trust God more then I had ever done before. --That is nothing new. What is new, (and harder than I can imagine) is sleeping in our bedroom...knowing he isn't there not because he is in the hospital--but because he will NEVER be there again. Silence is not my friend... It is a place I cannot look because it makes my mind spin... I refuse the "what-if" those are the paralyzer. Venom I cannot take.
We 3 will be fine--eventually... It will take a long time to get past this minute of grief... But the next minute will be there and we will get past THAT minute and so on...
We have people that love us and pray for us and will take care and support us. We won't fall through the cracks. I just can't bear the Silence... I had been playing a radio in our room for months and that is still going.... I need my mind moving at all times... even if it’s not important... It just can't sit still and dwell on things yet... It's too new and the grief is almost unbearable...

But I and my kids are loved by many... I can call anyone I need to...
So we start a new chapter in our lives.... Sooner than we expected or wanted...
5/22/09

Things That I'm Learning (points 1,2 & 3)

#1 SHOW UP!
Woody Allen once said that 80 percent of success is showing up.
You have already won half the battle if you COMMIT to showing up every day.
#2 BE CONSISTENT: Showing up is important, but its natural companion is consistency is what makes it a powerful duo. Showing up consistently is where the magic happens. These things, though easy to do, are also NOT very easy to do. Consistency yields results. No matter WHAT you are doing. GO ahead. I DARE you to do it.
#3 HAVE A GOOD ATTITUDE.  Not only do you need to show up consistently, you need to it with a good attitude.
"When all things are equal, Attitude will set you apart from anything else. When you are going for a job - it's the difference maker..." --John C Maxwell.
For me, having a good attitude going into a workout DVD session makes me work harder and not quit. I've quit programs I've done before because my attitude was poor.
What kind of Attitude do YOU have on a daily basis?

Beware of the Cuckoo.

It's hard to have a positive attitude when we are bombarded with negativity every time we turn around. Media, magazines all strive to bring us "down". They don't improve your life or help you lead a better one. Those are Cuckoo.
The worst offender of being a Cuckoo could be the very people around you. Masters in the art of distraction who distract people from their jobs and what they want to accomplish. People who spread gossip, complain about how much they hate (work, job, life). Maybe even make fun of the people that WANT to improve the workplace. These people drag everyone else down with their complaining and negativity.
Don't let them pull you into their negative arena.

 Guard yourself from Cuckoos.

You need to create a Brain-Trust of like-minded people who think like you do.
"Every Truth passes through three stages before it is recognized. In the first stage it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, in the third it is regarded as self-evident."
- Arthur Schopenhauer.
In other words just because the Cuckoos are ridiculing you for stepping out of your comfort zone by putting out positive ideas and solutions. You CAN NOT allow these people to influence what you know is true.
What is the secret to getting through tough times? Where life is heavy and depressing?
--Count your blessings
--Embrace those times and know that you are not alone. They will make you stronger.

The Happiness Movement.

To project a positive attitude - you must have a positive and happy outlook on life. Glass half full kind of thinking.
Shawn Achor in his book Happiness Advantage he states," If we are positive our brains are more alert and engaged, free to create, which eventually leads to more productivity ...happiness and optimism actually fuel performance and achievement- giving us the competitive edge that I call the Happiness Advantage.
Waiting to be happy limits our brain's potential for success, whereas cultivating positive brains makes us more motivated, efficient, resilient, creative and productive which drives performance upward..."
SO What are your thoughts? How do you measure your happiness?