NEVER GIVE UP...KEEP GOING!

This was back in 2008 and when I saw this pic...I was so disappointed, embarrassed and disgusted with myself.
I needed to do something but I am not a patient person and I wanted the weight off like now!
I tried the HCG diet which was 800 calories a day with drops and very restrictive and I couldn't exercise.
I did lose weight but when I added things back in...the weight came back and more.
I tried Atkins but due to no carbs and with having hypoglycemia I felt sick. I looked into other weight loss programs and quick fixes but something was missing but I couldn't figure out what that was.
I was so tired of putting my hope in a pill or drop or restrictive plan...it was very frustrating. I didn't know what to do until a friend told me about an amazing program.
The 21 Day Fix was what I needed and helped me to learn how to eat healthy and not feel deprived or restricted and I was loving the workouts! My FAVORITE workout program still!
Yes...it was hard and I was so sore but it was so worth it. I still have hard days and I do have cheat meals but I don't let those days get in the way of my journey. I can't look back because I don't live there anymore.
I am doing this for me...one day at a time.

Awakening Within Journey: 18 MONTHS SOBER!

Awakening Within Journey: 18 MONTHS SOBER!: 18 MONTHS SOBER!!! I remember that day that I first walked into a meeting...I was so scared and wanted to run. I had no idea what was in ...

TRUTH...
I weighed myself this morning and gained 15 pounds!
Before I would make excuses and put blame on other things so I wouldn't have to admit what was really going on. It seemed so much easier to hide behind baggy clothes and put a wall up...I didn't want to be seen.
I was in a miserable place back then...I didn't like how I looked...I was disgusted with myself and I didn't believe in me.
When I saw that number this morning...I KNEW I had a choice to make...

1. throw myself a pity party and do nothing
OR
2. get off my ass and keep going!

I NEED to remember "why" I started and keep doing this for me! Even though I have bad days and struggles....going back to the lonely place I was is NOT an option!

This journey is so very important to me and reaching my goals is just the icing on the cake.

STUMBLED....STAY DOWN OR GET BACK UP???

Things have been crazy lately...

We have had fires all around us and I have stumbled BIG time in my fitness and nutrition.

I have not worked out in two weeks and have gained 10 pounds...the only one to blame is ME!

I chose to not workout...I chose to eat like crap.   Now I have a choice to make.

Do I stay down or do I get back up and keep going?

I can stay down and throw myself a pity party OR I can remember my "why" and keep going to achieve my goals.

I remember how miserable I was when I gave up and did nothing.  I have to ask myself..."Do I want go back there?"  HECK NO!!!

I refuse to quit....everyone stumbles and has roadblocks BUT what we decide to do with those can make a difference.

I CHOOSE TO KEEP GOING!!!

Guilt free muffins....heck ya!

LOVE my new cookbook!

HECK YES I CAN CHALLENGE!

HEY EVERYONE!
I am looking for 10 people who are ready to kick off August in my "Heck yes I can" challenge group!

You will get...
*30 minute workouts
*30 days of Shakeology with the shakeology cup
*7 color coded containers for exactly the right portions
*simple eating plan (no calorie counting or weighing ounces)
*encouragement, support and motivation
*VIP access to my online group
*PRIZES

I am giving away the Fixate cookbook for those who are committed to doing the full 21 days for the 21 Day Fix Program.

Comment below "heck yes I can" or "I'm in" and I will message you the details.

Cannot be a coach or working with a coach.

And for the first 5 people to purchase the 21 Day Fix Challenge Pack there will be an additional SURPRISE prize!

GUILTY PLEASURES!

Here is one of my absolute FAVORITE things to eat....totally delish!!!

Quinoa and Avocado Sushi Rolls

 

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Serves: 3 rolls (6-8 pieces per roll)

Ingredients:

For the Roll:

• 3 sheets of Nori (sushi paper)
• bamboo rolling mat
• plastic wrap
• 1 cup of Quinoa
• 1⅓ cups of water
• ½ cup rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 ripe California Avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced
• ½ cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained
• 3 strips of bacon, crispy

For the Spicy Mayo:

• 2 tbsp Japanese Mayo
• 2 tsp Sriracha Hot Sauce
• dash of Sesame Oil

Instructions:

For the Quinoa:

1. Wash the quinoa in cool water to remove any soapy residue. Place quinoa and water in a small sauce pan. Set to high heat, stirring occasionally until it reaches a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and let cook for 12-15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile in a small saucepan combine the vinegar, sugar and salt over low heat. Stir constantly until the sugar and salt are dissolved, then remove from heat and cool. Once the quinoa is cooked use a wooden spoon to scoop it into a plastic or wooden bowl. (do not use a metal bowl, it does not react well to the vinegar). Pour the vinegar mixture over the quinoa gently fold it in. Let the quinoa cool to room temperature.

For the Sushi Roll

1. Place the bamboo mat on a flat surface, lay a sheet of plastic wrap on top, then a sheet of Nori on top of that.
2. Use the back of the wooden spoon to carefully spread the cooled quinoa evenly over the Nori (about a ¼" thick). Leave about ¼" of the Nori uncovered at the end furthest from you.
3. Place two to three pieces of California Avocado on top of the quinoa (the side closest to you), followed by a few pieces of sun dried tomato, then top with the crispy bacon.
4. Lift the end of the mat, and gently roll it over the ingredients, pressing gently. Roll it forward to make a complete roll. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
5. Use a sharp and wet knife to cut into 1" pieces.

EATING HEALTHY DOESN'T HAVE TO BE BORING AND TASTELESS!

I wanted to start sharing some yummy recipes with you!   

Eating healthy doesn't mean you can't eat a variety of delicious foods!

WOO-HOO! LOOK WHAT CAME IN!

I love cookbooks and this came in today!  Feels like Christmas in July!  

So excited to try these recipes out!!!

#yummy

TURN THOSE NO'S INTO YES'S!

You can turn that no I can't into YES I CAN!

You can turn those fears into courage

You can use your journey into an inspiration for others

You can turn your excuses into action

You can turn that bad day into a good day

You can turn a negative into a positive

You can turn your life into what you want it to be!

You are stronger than your fears!

You are more important than your excuses.

You are worth the risk.

Don't ever forget that!

REMEMBER YOUR WHY AND KEEP GOING FOR IT!!!

FIND A WAY OR FIND AN EXCUSE...

Ever have those days where you just DON'T want to work out?  I DO

When those thoughts start getting into my head...I go through the positives and negatives.

POSITIVE...
I feel better about myself
I am one day closer to my goal
I have more energy
I am getting stronger
I am proud of myself
I am healthier
I believe in myself

NEGATIVE...
I am disappointed in myself
I give up on me
I feel "blah"
I don't want to do anything
I throw myself a pity party
I doubt myself

So...which one do I choose?  Which one makes me feel better?  Do I find a way or find an excuse? To me...it is a no brainer.

EVERY DAY IS A CHOICE!  

DELICIOUS WATER FLAVORS!

Whether you are working out, hanging out at the lake or just trying to stay cool in this heat....make sure you drink plenty of water!

Here are some yummy recipes to give your water a kick...

GOALS...STARTING, BELIEVING AND KEEP GOING!

When I first started this journey back in September 2014...I was scared!  I was constantly getting in my own way and sabotaging myself.  I kept telling myself it was too hard and I was going to fail so why bother.

BUT I started thinking "Lori...you are miserable anyway...at least try".

So my first goal was STARTING!  I kept making excuses for why I shouldn't but I knew I NEEDED to do this for me....not anyone else but for me!  Was it hard?  Hell yes it was hard!  I was so sore and wondered what had I gotten myself into to.

Second goal....BELIEVE IN ME!  When I first started I kept getting on the scale and would let the number define how I was doing and who I was.  But I realized it is more than that....how were my clothes fitting, how my mindset was changing and how much better my eating was.  MOST IMPORTANTLY....I started believing in myself again!

Third goal...KEEP GOING!  No matter how many times I stumble...no matter how many mistakes I make....I refuse to give up.  I look at my before photo and remember "why" I started.  I don't want to go back and live that way again.

STUMBLED BUT KEEPING MY PROMISE TO MYSELF...

Wow...things have been crazy lately.

First we helped move my oldest daughter and granddaughter to Texas and then we helped friends move to Kentucky.

To be honest...I have fallen off track with my nutrition and workouts.

I have two choices...
1.  Let my stumble stop me from achieving my goals
                                       OR
2.  Don't focus on the past and keep going.

I choose to keep going!  Why?  Because when I look at my before pic and how miserable and embarrassed I was...I ask myself "Do I want to go back there?"  "Do I want to be that person again?"

No matter how many times I stumble and fall...I made a promise to myself to keep going and never give up.

It is not always easy but one day at a time....I CAN DO THIS!

THINKING BACK AND I WON'T GO BACK...

About 8 months ago I kept making excuses about why I shouldn't take care of myself..."it is too hard"  "I don't have time"  and the big one "it costs too much."
But then I saw a pic of myself and wanted to cry.  I was embarrassed and disgusted with myself...why did I let myself get like this?  I was so damn stubborn that I could not and would not see what I was doing to myself.

Then in September of last year I FINALLY decided to take that first step and I am so very thankful I did.
YES...I was worried about the cost BUT I looked through our budget and saved up and took that first step and I will NEVER go back!  How I feel now compared to how I felt then is a BIG DIFFERENCE.
Has it been hard?...YES!  Have I wanted to give up?...YES!  Do I have bad days?...YES!  BUT I REMEMBER WHY I STARTED AND HOW FAR I HAVE COME.  
The feeling of being able to look in the mirror and smile is so huge!  Knowing that I am taking care of ME is the best UNSELFISH thing I can do!
This journey has been filled with triumphs and trials BUT I refuse to go back and be the person I once was!
WE ARE ALL ON A JOURNEY....WHERE IS YOURS TAKING YOU?

CHOICES...WHICH ONE?

I have good days and bad days...we all do BUT what we choose to do makes the difference.

I have not been as consistent with my workouts and eating as I need to be and I have two choices...
1.  Get back up and keep going
2.  Listen to those thoughts in my head and quit

What do I choose?

 * The first one will take determination and getting off my butt and continue to do what I started.
*The second one would be easier BUT not better for me in the long run.

So...my choice is THE FIRST ONE!

 I have to ask myself...WHY would I want to stop when I have come so far?  WHY would I want to stop when I feel so much better?  WHY would I want to stop when I can help others?  WHY would I want to stop believing in myself?  WHY would I want to go back to those days of looking in the mirror and hating what I saw?

I NEED to remember WHY I started and how good I feel about myself.  I NEED to remember how far I have come NOT how far I have to go.  I NEED to remember that feeling of accomplishment.  I NEED to remember that every day is NOT going to be perfect.  I NEED to remember that I choose whether I will or won't.  I NEED to remember that I WILL reach my goal.   I NEED TO REMEMBER THAT I AM DOING THIS FOR ME!!!!!!

EXCUSES....DON'T SABOTAGE YOURSELF!

Well....this first few weeks went by pretty well then I got into my own head and starting making excuses.

I kept thinking..."I don't have time"..."I am too tired"..."there are other things that are more important"..."I will do it tomorrow"..."It's too late now"....etc.

What I was doing was sabotaging myself into NOT doing what I knew I needed to do.  I starting falling back into the old me and wanting to give up because it was taking too long.

But then I looked at my before and after pic and KNEW that I could not and would not give up on my journey.  Why did I want to stop myself from doing something that helped me in so many ways?

I KNEW that the only one stopping me was me!  I had to dig deep and keep going because going back to the way I was was NOT an option!

Even though the excuses and negative thoughts kept coming back I had to CONTINUE to believe in myself and keep going!   NEVER LOOK BACK!

More to come...

LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN...

The day I started my weight loss journey on 9/15/14 I was so scared and worried that I would fail again.  But I was determined to try and do it the right way....none of the quick fixes I tried made me feel proud of myself and always left me searching for something more.

The first day was hard....I was so sore and automatically started thinking of quicker easier ways to do this but I knew I needed a change and needed to do the work. I had had enough of starting over and over again.

As the days went by...the soreness left and I started feeling stronger and I could see and feel the results....I was finally smiling and proud of myself.  It was an amazing feeling knowing "I" was doing this and the hard work and consistency were paying off.  

I was not only changing on the outside but on the inside too.  I used to hate looking in the mirror and going out in public because I was embarrassed and ashamed of how I looked.  But now I can walk down the street and know I am making an amazing change in my life.

I am believing in myself and loving myself again.  Something I haven't done in years....I am not only smiling on the outside but on the inside too.  What a blessing!

Here is my before pic...

And the journey continues....

TIME TO STOP THE FEAR AND BELIEVE!

I FINALLY realized what I needed to do and that was going to take determination and consistency.  But I didn't know where to start...?

I didn't want to do the same thing over and over again...I was getting too bored with those.  Then I found out a friend of mine was doing some really fun stuff.  So I decided to talk to her and get some information and what she told me sounded great!

I was interested but very nervous and fearful of starting over and failing again.  I was so tired of doing good and then falling down and not getting back up.  I would get inside my head and listen to all the negative thoughts like..."why are you trying again?"  "you are just going to fail"  "you can't do this"  "what are other people going to think of you?"  "once you fail again people are going to say I told you so" and on and on and on.

I HAD to stop listening to those negative thoughts and BELIEVE in myself again.  I needed to do something...I was not happy with the way I was feeling about myself and the way I looked.

For once...I KNEW I needed to do this for me...

More to come...

FINAL QUICK FIX...THIS HAD TO BE THE ONE!!!

I was so happy to start this new journey and I KNEW this was going to get me where I wanted to be and fast!

All I had to do was pig out for 3 days and on the fourth day I needed to eat 800 calories a day and use these drops 3 times a day.  Only white meat (4 ounces), drink a lot of water and only green vegies...how hard could this be?

The first day of 800 calories was hard!  I did not feel good at all from pigging out to dropping those calories so fast but I was determined to do this!  It got easier as the days went by and I lost weight!

I was feeling great about myself and enjoying the new me..even other people started to notice and ask me what I was doing...so I told them.  I HAD to share my quick fix with others and help them too.

I did this for over 6 months and it got to the point where we couldn't afford the drops anymore due to my husband getting laid off.  There were more important things that needed paid.  But I kept up on my eating until the day I just had to have something I shouldn't and that was the end of that.

I should have known that depriving myself wasn't working but of course I was too stubborn to listen to my own thoughts and feelings and the day came when I couldn't take it anymore.  I did it again and I was loving the taste of food I hadn't had.  What was wrong with me?  I felt like such a failure!
The ideas of taking diet pills and making myself sick kept coming back to me BUT I didn't want to go back there...it was not good for me.

Would I ever find something that worked?  Would I ever quit being so stubborn and realize what I really needed to do?  I don't want to be a failure anymore.  I prayed that I would find what I was looking for.

More to come...

 

QUICK FIX #3...THIS HAD TO BE THE ONE!

I was at a horse event for my daughter and noticed that her trainer was looking amazing!  I asked her what she was doing and she said she was just eating a lot of protein and cutting out carbs.

Well...heck she looked great and the weight had come off fast which was what I wanted.  So I bought the book and tried it.  Things were going great...I got to eat all the protein I wanted and a few other things but carbs were out.

I have hypoglycemia and I didn't realize this would have an effect on my blood sugars levels...man did I start feeling sick!  I was shaky, lethargic and not clear in the head...what was wrong with me?

I did some research and realized that I wasn't helping myself...I was making myself sick by not having the nutrients I needed.  So I started eating carbs again and I felt much better BUT the weight was not coming off as fast and to be honest came back on....Dang it!!!

So I gave in and tried the whole exercise and eating healthy thing...that didn't last long.  I hated working out and eating healthy was so blah and unappealing.

Back to my hunt for a quick and easy fix BUT would I ever find one???

Well...lucky me...I DID find one and I was going to go all in....heck ya!!!

More to come...

QUICK FIX #2...MOST INTERESTING ONE SO FAR :-)

The cabbage diet got old really fast and I was tired of the restrictions and eating the same things over and over again.  So I found something else and this was the most interesting one to date.

I saw this infomercial about putting something in your ear that would hit the pressure point to curb my cravings for eating.  Hmm...sounded interesting...why not?  So I ordered it even though my husband thought I was nuts.

My package came in the mail and the instructions told me to put it in my ear and push on it to hit the pressure point...ouch!  That did not feel good but I was more concerned about the pain than eating...so does that mean it was working?   I kept trying it for a couple of weeks but that got old fast and it did not feel good.  My ear was so sore!

In the back of my mind I KNEW that eating right and exercising was the answer BUT nope...stubborn old me didn't want to go that route.  So I kept looking and found something that I saw other people doing and losing weight fast!  That was awesome and I HAD to try that!

More to come...

QUICK FIX #1...

I knew that eating right and exercising was the way to go BUT no thank you.  I wasn't a very patient person and I wanted the results NOW!

I promised my husband I wouldn't do the diet pills anymore and I wouldn't make myself throw up...so now what?

I heard about this cabbage diet and you could eat all the cabbage soup you wanted and follow a daily plan...sounded good to me.  It promised quick results too....just what I wanted.  So I made a nice big pot of soup and ate and ate and ate.

I followed the meal plan and didn't do too bad.  I lost weight and was pretty happy how fast it came off BUT I was getting so tired of eating the same thing over and over and over.  Maybe just maybe if I was really careful I could add some stuff back in.  Sounded good to me.

So I started adding things back...carefully at first then...BAM!  I was so hungry and just went for it.  Big mistake!  My body was craving those foods I had deprived it of and boy did they taste good!

Guess what?  I gained my weight back and more...what was I going to do now?  Back to more research and finding other quick fixes.  I was sure there was one for me.

More to come...

THE BEGINNING...

When I was younger I didn't have a weight problem BUT I did have a self-esteem problem.  I came from an abusive home and was bullied in school.  I thought I wasn't pretty enough or thin enough or good enough and I felt like I needed to change my appearance and the way I dressed so others would like me.

I started by taking pictures of how I looked and how much weight I wanted to lose.  I wanted something quick and fast so I bought these diet pills called Dexatrim.  You were only supposed to take one a day...I took 3-4 a day and felt like I was on speed.  I didn't each because I wasn't hungry and to me that was awesome.

I lost weight and bought new clothes that fit better and showed off my figure.  I then decided to wear make-up and dyed my hair blonde.  I was sure I would get attention and friends now!

I did get attention and friends but I had to be careful how much I ate so I kept using those diet pills and if I ate too much (or I thought I did) I would make myself throw up.  I NEEDED to stay thin so people would accept me.

Yes..the attention felt great...but how far would I go?

More to come...