Let Your Goals Guide You

If we all had motivation, we would all probably have everything we have ever dreamed of too. Funny right? That all it takes is motivation and you could have all you ever dreamed of? One little word is all that is separating you and everlasting happiness….

Motivation is something I struggle with, as I’m sure many of you do as well. That and consistency. Pair the two together and you get pure laziness. Aka Audrey. I once had a friend express to me how upset it makes her to see a post that says things like, “start eating clean now, It’s EASY!” It’s not EASY! It freaking sucks! At first it sucks anyways. You crave sugar and carbs and junk food. Because that is what your body has been used to for so long. This isn’t something that is going to change overnight, this is something that takes practice, consistency, and learning. You have to reprogram your mind and your kitchen to be ready to clean eat. Just like you have to reprogram your body, and your mind, to workout. After you have come so far on this journey you forget what it was like to get started. You forget that you start with no experience and scared. Once you have been going, you forget that feeling because it all seems easy now. “it’s not getting easier, you’re getting better.” That alone should motivate you to start, that you WILL get better and that it does get easier because you’re getting better.

Lately my motivation has been at an all-time low. I find the time to workout, I just don’t do it effectively. And when I do it effectively, I ruin it all in the kitchen. I know what it takes and how to do it, just as many of you do, I just can’t get my brain programed right.

As of this weekend I am sitting down and writing goals. Short-term and long-term goals.

Short term goals are going to be week by week and month by month. Long term goals are where I’m trying to get in the end. My problem is that I set my goal for this last April, and I reached it. I did what I wanted to do and never bothered to set new goals. Goals are what it’s all about. Goals are what trigger motivation.

Yes, my goal is to have a rockin’ body that I am happy with, but if I don’t have goals to get there, I’m just wandering aimlessly through my workout routines and my every-day life.

Set goals with me. Tell me what your goals are. Accountability makes a difference. I don’t want to be obnoxious, I just want to push you in the right directions. I’ll only push Beachbody products if you want them pushed. Other than that I will supplement you with what you need to reach your goals in the time that you set for them.

GOAL QUESTIONS:

What do you want to achieve in one week of health and fitness? (write one every Sunday night)

What do you want to achieve in one month of health and fitness?

What is your long term goal that you are working towards in health and fitness?

Why do you want to reach this goal?

How will you feel when you reach this goal?

 

I will answer these questions for you, so that you can see my goals, since I am asking for you to share yours. (Please notice that I use the phrase I WILL instead of I WANT. Because I am in control of my own actions and decisions)

What do you want to achieve in one week of health and fitness?
                -This week I will workout 5/7 days at THE LEAST and lose at least 1 pound and 1 inch off of my waist. I will eat health 90/10 meaning only 1 dessert for the entire week, and control the portion size of the dessert.

What do you want to achieve in one month of health and fitness?
                -For the month of September, I will lose 5 pounds. I will only eat 4 sweets for the entire month starting on September 6. I will get rid of the excuses and be proud of my results. I will lose at least 4 inches off of my body head to toe.  

What is your long term goal that you are working towards in health and fitness?
                -Running: In the spring, April, I will participate in a 10K run
                -Eating: I will clean up my diet and achieve overall health by September 2016. Being confident in my eating skills and knowledge and knowing what my portion sizes should be
                -Workouts: I will be at an overall goal weight of at most 150 meaning a loss of 35 pounds in 12 months. I will lose at least 10 inches from head to toe.

Why do you want to reach this goal?
                - I want to be healthy and happy for the sake of my present, and my future. I want to look good for any future weddings, my own and many of my friends. I want to look at myself in the mirror and know that I am capable of anything I set my mind to and success is not impossible. I want to teach myself to be consistent and persistent with my workout routines and eating habits instead of giving myself excuses to cheat and not workout. I want to be able to run long distance comfortably and use it as my stress relief.

How will you feel when you reach these goals?
                -Week by week I will feel satisfaction and success. Reaching these goals will give me the self confidence that it takes to make it in the big kid world. I will have no regrets in life as to never reaching a goal that I have wanted for so long, instead I will know that I said I could, so I did.

My weight loss has plateaued and I need a reason to be motivated again. Choose to have this reason with me. Make these goals to get motivated with me. We have a clean eating group on Facebook  with great menus that I am willing to share or create for anyone that is interested. I have workouts of my own that I favor and I can give you sites of workouts and names of people who can put together an awesome workout.

Please feel free to contact me at any time, because I need you just as much as you need me ;).

Know that when I am not blogging, I am not doing well. I am not being the person that I want this blog to be about. If you notice that I am not blogging, bug me about it and ask me to write something. Tell me you miss seeing my blog because it is what motivates you. I will get my butt back in gear and start writing more.

 

XOXO, Audrey

Can You Taste It?

Every single day I say, "today I will write my blog". All of the sudden it's 9:30 PM and the day went way too quickly for being my only day off this week...

However, here I am to write my blog! I want to keep up with my trusty followers because this blog is what has kept me going more than anything in the journey. Knowing that if I give up all eyes are on me and I made it publically known.

Being a Beachbody coach has proven to be one of the greatest choices I could have made for myself at this point in life. For the sole reason of, I love seeing others success. I see someone who has asked me for help in the past and now they are the newest success story. I see people say, "this is exactly what I needed right now" when they get added to one of our challenge groups.

Since I've become a coach it has inspired me to really continue to push myself past my limits because I want to show others that if I can do it then they can most definitely do it. When I eat I began to slow down and enjoy the taste of every bite instead of choking it down and getting on with my day. I listen to my taste buds, my stomach, and my mind.

Have you ever eaten a carrot and tried to describe what it tastes like?

Let me try it for you:
Crunchy, slightly grainy, hard to chew,  feels like eating an uncooked potatoe.  Uhhhhhhhh

I got nothing else. But do you want to know one thing I did think about while eating it? I appreciate that crunch. I gave up potatoe chips when I started all of this and that crunch of a carrot gives my mind the crunch that it wants. Do carrots taste like chips? No. But they trick your mind.

I think a lot of things that we eat are to serve our mind not what our stomach actually wants. Can you actually taste the things you're eating? Do you eat because it's time or do you eat because you're hungry? Tomorrow I want you to slow your meal down and as you eat each thing try to describe the taste to yourself. Appreciate the nutrients you're getting from the food and enjoy the taste. Don't eat so fast that you can't remember an hour later what you had for lunch, savor every bite.

As of this morning I am down 37 pounds! 37!!!! I'm pretty sure I'm a rock star. ☺️

XOXO,
Audrey

Ready to take the plunge into your own fitness journey? Start with one of my favorite Beachbody products by following this link: http://www.beachbodycoach.com/audwhee
Create your own account and start your journey today!

Down and Discouraged

Hi, I'm Audrey and dieting is hard. Everyone keeps asking me how I am staying motivated and how I am doing so well. Truth is, without Ross, I would have given up already. I cried my eyes out for an hour in the truck the other day and wanted to throw in the towel. Ross told me how proud he was of me, and surprised at the motivation that I had to do this. Friday we will have been dating for 6 months so we are still in the learning stages of our relationship. I have learned a lot about him through my diet, as I'm sure he has learned about me as well. I have learned that he is loving, patient, encouraging, funny, and my rock.

Friday night, I decided to share some popcorn with the group I was with while watching my brother play in his first football game as a senior (GO BULLDOGS!). It was pointed out to me that "popcorn is what makes you fat".. It took everything I had to not break down right there and cry. I know that everyone wants the best for me, but when I'm trying to lose weight, don't point out that it's going to make me fat.. Kindly suggest that I will regret that choice later and should choose something healthy. Because people like that are the reason that eating disorders form. ATTENTION, I have a dirty little secret. I battled bulimia on and off for 2 years because of people like this. Pointing out that if I would just give up sweets or if I would eat less, I would be so gorgeous and skinny! To a girl that wants to lose weight, she wants that food out immediately because she feels so guilty, she feels like if she gets it out she can be 'skinny and pretty'. Don't be the person that drives people to eating disorders. Please for the love of pete find a kinder way to suggest a healthier alternative to them. 

I got discouraged that night on the way home but Ross picked me right back up and put me in my place. He told me that if I gave up now I would have to start all over from the beginning when I wanted to jump back on the train again. Starting over gets old. Stick it out and keep going even if you want to beat yourself up for a small cheat. You have to have those cheats, or you will always cheat. Eventually the cravings will leave you and you will only be craving healthy foods. Give it time and don't over do the cheat. A good friend of mine gave me some awesome advice the other day. He told me to PLAN a cheat meal every 7 to 10 days. Reward yourself for all of the healthy eating in the previous days and schedule ONE cheat meal (not a full day).

I have been going to the gym for almost 2 weeks now.. Can you believe that?!? Time has flown faster than ever. I have been eating healthy for almost a month! CRAZY! I took my sister with me to the gym the other day and it was probably my favorite gym session so far just because I love her so much and love getting to do things with her. :)

Kels doesn't do the working out thing. So this was her annual session, and her soreness showed for it. We just lifted weights that day, mostly arms, with some light cardio.

Working on our biceps and learning how to use all of the weight lifting machines that day was the highlight. My gym was having some water leak issues so we got the pleasure of being the only 2 in the gym that day.


Ross's mom is on Weight Watchers so she is VERY supportive of my diet and I couldn't be more thankful for that. Because of her my weekend of eating was healthy and easy. She stocked the house with all healthy foods and gave me no other options. Tomorrow we are trying a new chicken that I would like you to have the recipe for so if you are looking for something new to try on your day off, you can try it to!

Chicken with Lemon-Cucumber Relish (from Midwest Living magazine)
Prep 18 minutes      Grill 12 Minutes
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 1/2 cups chopped seedless cucumber
1 large tomato, chopped (1 cup)
1/4 finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon milk

1. Brush chicken with oil; sprinkle with cumin, salt and pepper. Grill chicken on a covered grill directly over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes until done, turning once.
2. Meanwhile, for Lemon-Cucumber Relish: In a medium bowl, combine cucumber, tomato, onion, lemon peel, lemon juice, and garlic. For yogurt sauce, in a bowl, stir together yogurt, honey and milk. Serve chicken with lemon-Cucumber Relish and drizzle with yogurt sauce. '

Per serving:
283 calories
8 g fat
109 mg cholesterol
503 mg sodium
12 g carbohydrates
1 g fiber
40 g protein

I am back to being enthusiastic about my journey and I am ready to tackle this week. My biggest thing that I want to remind you of is be sure to find your support group. Without a support group you may succeed but not hold yourself as accountable. Find the ones around you who are ready to push you to be your best, BUT also understand when you can't be at the top of your game. Find someone you can cry to and ask for guidance, even if that person wants nothing to do with weight loss at all. As I say every week, I can do this! YOU can do this!

Never, never, never give up. -Winston Churchill

xoxo, Audrey

 

Failed Fads

QUICK! Call now to order your limited time offer of "insert weight loss supplement here" before time runs out!! You could cut 20 pounds in just TWO WEEKS! 

Anyone else laughing at that? because I definitely am. I am writing this a night early because I am in the process of moving and I found all of my failed fad diet supplements. I am not saying that these do not work for some people, but I am saying they did not work for me. At the end, I'll even show you how much money I have wasted in my lifetime on these diets instead of buying a bag of lettuce or some healthy food. 

I am welcoming you to join me in a little bit of laughter! Everyone needs a laugh in their life, especially when you are going through a diet. Anyone who is losing weight, even if its just two pounds, we are a team. If you have ever been on a team, you know that laughter only brings you closer together. So get ready to laugh, and even ask yourself the question, "Where in sam-heck did she find that thing?!"

1. Acai Berry Cleanse.. I call this one spending WAY too much time on the internet and following the rules of 'if it's on the internet it's true'. I reasearched so much about acai berry and how THIS was the fruit that would easily melt away belly fat. IN 14 DAYS! High school girls best dream! At the age of 17 I managed to read right past the word 'cleanse' and go straight for the weight loss part at the bottom. Cleanse come to find out, means you and the bathroom are best friends for 14 days. Take back the every high school girls dream part. 

2. Zantrex.... 3! It's the third one, so that means 1 and 2 were REALLY good... right? The real story behind this was my loving sister knows how much I have been trying to lose weight for years now and told me, and I quote, "You can have it, dont buy your own. It started making me puke. I guess I'm just already skinny enough."......yep, I was pumped. I had 3 bottles of this and this is the only one left. What person in their right mind wouldn't just throw this in the trash to begin with!? 

3. Ultimate Body Applicator.. One of those parties you go to and see a ton of fantastic pictures of how this really worked for people and it can be you too! You feel like you can't leave without buying something or you'll feel bad. You seriously wrap yourself in seran wrap for 8 hours with patches of what feels like icy hot under it and drink a ton of water. A way of detoxing from the outside, in. I think I failed this one on my own because I didn't do it every 72 hours like the instructions say. Still, add it to the failed fad list.

4. Advocare Watermelon Spark.. Now this product I am not complaining about. I love it a ton. I feel like it really gives me energy just not any dietary help. If you purchase this and add it to your morning smoothies, YUM!!!!!!! However, still didn't make me lose weight, failed fad list.

5. Omnitrition.. Someday I may return to this diet but I was not ready for the discipline that I had to have to be on the omni drops program. I went from 0% diet to 210% diet in 2 days. I saw results on it, lost 7 pounds! But when I quit, gained 12! OUCH! I learned from this product that you bounce back quicker than you lose if you dont start out NATURAL!

6. Garcinia Cambogia Extract.. I cant even pronounce the first word so we all know how this one is going to go. What is it anyways!? It is supposed to make you eat less when you drink it with a full glass of water 8 hours before each meal, and curb cravings. I really could have just drank the glass of water and eaten less, but oh well. Pretty much another giant waste of money for me, because I had no motivation to actually do it before every single meal. Failed fad list.

While this is all of my failed fad diets that I can find pictures of, I can promise you this isn't all of it. Going back to my first post, being the bigger friend, its hard. Peer pressure finds you every time! My only suggestion to people is do it for you. Find the motivation within yourself, not within others. In the end you will feel good being looked up to by others, for doing it for yourself. 

Math time!

I went to the store a week ago and bought fruit. Fruit can add up quickly. My grocery list consisted of:

Frozen Raspberries

Frozen Pineapples

Blueberries

Strawberries

Peaches

Mangos

Apples

My total was $20.37.. this fruit lasted me 7 days. That is $2.91 a day! CHEAP! Even for a broke college kid.

I bought my first diet supplement at 17. That means I have been buying for a little over 3 years. The total for the 3 years is:

Acai Berry Cleanse- $10.79

Zantrax 3- $25.95 X 2(2 bottles)

Ultimate Body Applicator- $74.99

Advocare Spark- $49.50

Omnitrition Drops & Pill- $127.70

Garcinia Cambogia (3 bottles) - $79.99

GRAND TOTAL- $394.87

That is $131.63 per year approximately for products that I didn't even finish! Wasted!

I could have taken 19 and a half trips to the grocery store for healthy foods and instead I chose to take the quick way out.. Well guys, this time, I choose the slow way. I choose to be healthy and happy and lose my weight little at a time so that I can keep it off FOREVER! Who is with me!?