Weigh In Wednesday

Hello Readers,

My apologies for the delay...as you could have guessed I didn't do so well on the scale. I gained 2.6 pounds.

I had such great momentum going into this and now I here I am...gaining.

This weekend was a bit emotional...Michael has been sick...about a week to be exact and when any of us are sick in the house, it throws off the entire dynamics of the household; everything just gets thrown out of whack..if you will.

Watching him sleep all day and having no life in him brought back memories of my Mom, when she was ill...I would never tell Michael this and no...he doesn't read my blog, so please don't say anything to him. It was hard dealing with it....and to mention how hard it was for him not being to get well.

Even as I type this....my eyes are filling with tears and I just want to cry....actually I am...I can't hold bck the tears...they're streaming down my cheeks with every stroke of the keys.

You see, I'm not exactly a Florence Nightengale nor a Mother Theresa when it comes to adults being ill and think thats why it was emotional for me. He was sik and I wanted it to be a simple solution...drink liquids, eat soup and sweat the fever out....like I hoped with my Mom... and when it wasn't.....I did what I knew could make ME feel better.....and it was food....I ate. I slept in the living room and stayed up late and ate and ate and ate...whatever I could get my hands on, I ate.

I know...not the way to deal....but it was the only way I knew I could deal at that moment.

Well today I'm happy to say he's doing so much better, and my support system keeps giving awesome words of encouragement and reminding me why I am doing this journey.

Like in any type of journey that we set ourselves on, there will be many a road blocks, but its how we deal with them.

Some will say,"...hey it's just a block in the road...just go around it." But what I say...is to go around it just means it will pop up again later down the road...why not just BREAK THROUGH it, so you don't have to worry about it later down the road.

THAT's what I need to do.....I need to break though these blocks so I'm not dealing with them as often as I am.

One day at a time, my readers. One. Day. At. A. Time.

Until the next time my words meet your eyes.

Remember to Continue to:

Be Inspiring , Be Inspired

Weigh In Wednesday

So I'm not going to be beating around on how I did.....
Last week we left off at a loss of 4.6...ahhh....4.....point....6.

Well today! I....*head bowed*.....I gained .4.....let me clarify POINT 4....less than half a
pound...ugh...my toes were really looking forward to that pedicure!


But I know what did me in.....

(*see below)

VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Though my darling of a husband didn't bring home chocolates...what he did do was...take me out to dinner.

What was on the menu you ask? Why I shall tell you...

I had lobster bisque for an appetizer (*I shared that by the way) and lobster thermidor...what is that, you say?

Well the description says:

One pound of Maine lobster, exoctic mushroom, truffle oil & parmesan be chamel sauce

Hmmmm...I should have known that when the words truffle and sauce are in the same sentence it's no bueno for my thighs...but boy, was it goooooood...was it worth it? jury still out on that one...what this has taught me was I can still have a great meal, just cant over do it.

My husband can eat like this everyday and not gain an ounce...I just look at the food and I can feel the seams busting on my skirt.

Though I gained less than a half a pound, I'm not too discouraged because I know exactly what it was and I just start right back up.

How's the challenge working out? Boy, you guys have a lot of questions...

I must say oretty good...the first two days were lil rough, but i figured what I needed to walk to get my 10,000 steps in and so far its been great. My lil Prince and has been a great motivator and keeps me moving.

This week's challenge....I need to work on my flabby arms...I feel like I have wings and I'm about to take off.

My brothers tell me I need to start doing pushups..so pushups here I come...I can barely do one. Currently the measurements on my arms is 12.5 inches...need to get that number lower.

Til next week my readers...until then:

Remember to continue to:

Be Inspiring , Be Inspired

The quarrel I lost....but the battle isn't over!

How I felt last night.

Good Morning Readers,

Last night was a rough night with me and food. I got home last night with every intention to change into my workout clothes go for a walk to get in my 10000 steps, but instead....I opened the fridge and there staring back at me ....was a gallon of ice cream.

Did I shut the fridge? uh....nope! I "talked" myself into a bowl, because I did after all lose 4.6 pounds...not a smart move. I justified my eating, not because I was hungry but because it was there.

After I finished the bowl....I felt like crap...but shook it off quick because I was off to my Boogie Box class and there....I was about to burn 1100 calories, whew...so I was "safe".

Just like weeks before I show up to class early, stretch and ready to get this work out ON! Our instructor arrives and goes through the basics for the newbies and we begin.

I jump, I hop, I glide, I bounce...every step done with more resistance then the last....I HAVE to work off that ice cream I just had. Sweat is pouring down my head, even into my eyes...if I did nt know better i could swear it smells like cookie and cream....thats the ice cream I just ate.

"That's right ice cream, I'm sweating you OUT!!!" I tell myself.

After class was over, I go home, take a shower and have some jello before I go to bed...that was my cue....the jello is last thing I was to have before I end my night.

Just then, Michael comes home from a dinner date he had with his best friend and he brings home left overs. They had dinner at BJ's and BJ's has the best shrimp and pasta....mmm yummy. The thought was to bring the leftovers for lunch....but I "had" to have just one shrimp...one, turned into two, then three, then four with pasta...then when I looked down....I had finished the whole thing.

I was upset with myself, I had just worked off the ice cream ,now I'm about to go to sleep and this food will just sit. What did i just do???

Okay, see what I did there? I'm making food out to be my enemy, when in fact its not....its about discipline...I could've eaten the shrimp and pasta...just not at 10 o"clock at night. Had I just talked to myself a lil longer...was I really THAT hungry...when in fact I wasnt, the jello was enough for me, I wouldnt have gone to bed feelign guilty.

I woke up this morning weighed myself and what happened....of course I ganined a pound and I knew I would.

However, I cant beat myself up over it, I allow myself my splurge day...and instead of it being Saturday...I made it last night.

I also have to remember......i could have easily been like..."well since i screwed up, let me finish the ice cream" but I didn't. I went to bed.

I woke up this morning and thought..."I need to share this...I'm an emotional eater...I'm not perfect and neither are you; there will be quite a bit of pitfalls along my journey what matters is how we pick ourselves up after we have fallen."

Last night I fell, today I dust off my knees and I'm moving forward.

Until the next post my readers, meanwhile:

Remember to continue to:

Be Inspired, Be Inspiring

Weigh In Wednesday!

This is my new Wednesday Weigh In Image...

Did the scale make me cry out of happiness or sadness?

As you all are aware I gave myself a challenge....to become more disciplined where my eating habits were concerned. I had found an article on the Women's Health website that had a 7 day Healthy Eating plan; the article stated that if I followed the plan, I would loss weight quickly.

Below is what the past seven days consisted of and what exercise I did during those 7 days:

DAYS 1 Thursday 2/3

Breakfast 8:15am
Omelet with 4 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1/4 c asparagus, 1 c green tea, 12 oz water
Snack 10:30am
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt and blackberries , 20 oz water
Lunch 11:45am
6 oz grilled chicken breast, 3 c lettuce with lemon juice, 1/2 c steamed broccoli, asparagus, green beans, peas, or carrots, 20 oz water
Snack 2:30pm
8 almonds , 20 oz water

7p-8p Workout:
Boogie Box

Dinner 8:30pm
Boca burger (no bread/bun), 1/2 c steamed asparagus, 3 c plain lettuce with lemon juice
20 oz water
Snack
*Did not do a snack

Day 2 Friday 2/4

Breakfast 8:15am
Omelet with 4 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1/4 c asparagus, 1 c green tea, 12 oz water
Snack 10:30am
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt , 20 oz water
Lunch 11:45pm
6 oz grilled chicken breast, 3 c lettuce with lemon juice
1/2 c steamed broccoli, asparagus, green beans, peas, or carrots, 20 oz water
Snack 2:30pm
8 almonds , 20 oz water
Dinner 7:00pm
Boca burger (no bread/bun), 1/2 c steamed asparagus
3 c plain lettuce with lemon juice, 20 oz water
Snack 8:45pm
8 almonds

DAYS 3 Saturday

8am-9am Work out Boogie Box

Breakfast 9:30am
Omelet with 4 egg whites and minced asparagus and 1 slice plain whole-wheat toast , 1 c green tea, 12 oz water

10: 15am-2.5 mile walk

Snack 11:30 am
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c mixed berries
Lunch 2:30pm *I was at a children’s bday party so I had to work around the food that was provided.
No bread had lettuce and tomato WITH grilled chicken *I also had a beef patty, 20 oz water

AND I PASSED ON THE BDAY CAKE….very big deal for me.

Snack 4:30pm
8 almonds , 20 oz water

Dinner 7:30pm
6 oz sirloin steak WITH 1/4 c steamed brown rice , 20 oz water
Snack 9pm
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c berries

DAYS 4 2/6 *Super Bowl Sunday…..this was really rough for me….but the idea for this challenge was to be disciplined!

Breakfast 7am
Omelet with 4 egg whites and minced asparagus and 1 slice plain whole-wheat toast , 1 c green tea, 12 oz water
Snack 11:30am
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c mixed berries, 20 oz water
Lunch 1:30pm
1 slice whole-wheat bread WITH Boca burger (no bread or bun) , 20 oz water
Snack 3:30pm
8 almonds 20 oz water
Dinner 6:30pm
6 oz sirloin steak WITH 1/4 c steamed brown rice , 20 oz water
Snack 8:30pm
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c berries
*snuck in 4 meatballs <----had these about 9:30pm while cleaning the kitchen

DAYS 5 Monday 2/7

Breakfast 8:15am
Omelet with 4 egg whites and minced asparagus and 1 slice plain whole-wheat toast , 1 c green tea, 12 oz water
Snack 10:30am
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c mixed berries, 20 oz water
Lunch 11:45pm
1/4 c brown rice *I added pico de gallo for flavor WITH grilled chicken *from El Pollo Loco…no skin, 20 oz water
Snack 2:30p
8 almonds, 20 oz water
Dinner 6:30pm
*I actually did a Boca Burger WITH, 1/2 c mixed vegetables *with lemon juice
20 oz water
Snack 8:30pm
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c berries

DAYS 6 Tuesday 2/8

Breakfast 8:15am
Omelet with 4 egg whites and minced asparagus and 1 slice plain whole-wheat toast , 1 c green tea, 12 oz water
Snack 10:30am
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c mixed berries, 20 oz water
Lunch 11:45pm
1/4 c brown rice *I added pico de gallo for flavor WITH grilled chicken *from El Pollo Loco…no skin, 20 oz water
Snack 2:30p
8 almonds, 20 oz water

WORKOUT:7p-8p BOOGIE BOX

Dinner 8:30pm
*I actually did a Boca Burger WITH 1/2 c mixed vegetables, 20 oz water
Snack 9:45pm

1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c berries

DAYS 7 Wednesday 2/9

Breakfast 8:15am
Omelet with 4 egg whites and minced asparagus and 1 slice plain whole-wheat toast , 1 c green tea, 12 oz water
Snack 10:30am
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c mixed berries, 20 oz water
Lunch 11:45pm
1/4 c brown rice *I added pico de gallo for flavor WITH grilled chicken *from El Pollo Loco…no skin, 20 oz water
Snack 2:30p
8 almonds, 20 oz water
Dinner 6:30pm
*I will actually do a Boca Burger WITH 1/2 c mixed vegetables 20 oz water
Snack 9:45pm
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c berries

Well, after all this, what did the scale tell me this morning? It loved me!!!! I lost 4.6 pounds!!!! My new weight today is 190.4....my BMI? ready...32.7! I dropped it by 1.1 points!!

There you have it readers....the healthy eating plan worked and I was disciplined, especially during Super Bowl...well... that was until I had those bloody meatballs...*head bowed

So, the question now is..though I didnt lose the complete 5 pounds...do I still get the predicure?.....if I had to break the 5 pound goal per each toe...that was half a pound each...and I lost 4.6...let me say it again.....4.......point.....6...*aaahhhh makes me smile.....I missed goal by half a pound...so that would mean that one of the toes doesn't get painted??? hmmm...could be my pinky toe...no one ever really notices it...no...no....I said the goal was 5 pounds and I didn't reach it, so I have to lose the half pound to get the pedicure...and I better lose at least a half a pound by next week.

Now this week's challenge? I was watching an episode of Dr. Oz and he constantly is promoting 10,000 steps a day, so this week I am taking on the challenge of completing 10,000 a day. I have a new pedometer and I'm going to put it to the test.

We'll see how I do.

Until next week my readers....

Remember to continue to:

Be Inspired, Be Inspiring

What Type of Eater are you?

You know I never really understood that question, what do you mean, what type of eater am I?

I’m one that likes food; all kinds of food! Mexican, Italian, Puerto Rican, Chinese, Indian, I don’t discrimínate.

I was having a conversation with an Aunt of mine and the topic came up about what typr of eater we were and she stated , “Humph….I’m a bored eater.”

Bored eater…what does that mean? You get bored with the food you eat…I’m thinking check out the Food Network I’m sure they’ll give you ideas on how to spice up your food.

Then she proceeded to tell me that when she has nothing to do around the house, she’ll automatically go to the fridge and find something to eat, if she finds nothing…she’ll find something.

Interesting….”a bored eater”…I wondered what I was?

Then one day, I found out.

I was in a former boss’ office and we were going through our yearend figures. I was doing my presentation and apparently I said something about department he did not like and proceeded to start yelling at me about my performance and production of my team.

I sat there and let him go on and on about what reports I wasn’t doing, what assignments I wasn’t delegating, what phone calls we weren’t making and all the while when I was looking at him, you know what I saw……….I saw a vat of chocolate chip ice cream screaming at me and “wahhh wahhh wahh wahh“ coming out the lid…you know the voice?… the Peanuts teacher voice.

All I kept thinking was, “When I get off work today, I’m going home, eat some chocolate chip ice cream ,Michael just went grocery shopping and I know he bought a half gallon!”

At that moment that was the only thing that was going to make me feel better. I think I associate ice cream with my childhood memories of whenever I got hurt, my mom gave me an ice cream pop to make be feel better. You know what? And it always did.

So here I am as an adult…whenever I am upset…I turn to food to help me feel better…so it was then that I found out I was an emotional eater.

Just like when a dam bursts from over flooding, that’s exactly what happened to me when I made that revelation. All sorts of past visions started to pop in my head of me eating from some type of emotional breakdown I had: My first breakup, a fight with my mom, an argument with my brothers, bad news, a bad day; all with the same end result….my head in the fridge or the cabinets searching for any type of food that would make the pain go away.

When I think about when I gained the majority of my weight when was when my family was at odds with each other. It was a tough time for all of us, I am happy to say, we’re all in a much better place and I’m very thankful for that. However, during it….it was very emotional and no amount of food was making it better.

Now, today? I deal with my emotions differently.

For instance, last night I was watching an episode of House. Don’t know if any of you watch it but the episode revolved around the Dean of Medicine, Lisa Cuddy and her mother. The mother was ill and the doctors were trying to figure out what was wrong. If you followed me a few years ago, you know this is what we went through with my own Mom. Needless to say, this was a rough for me.

Lisa argues with her mother about how hard she was on Lisa growing up, pushing her to do good in school and try out for different things at school , like becoming Yearbook Editor. The mother, who is played by Candice Bergen, claims she never was hard on her. They argue some more in typical mother- daughter fashion then to the next scene.

The scene is Lisa telling her mother, “I know why you were hard on me all those years, it’s because you wanted me to be all the things you never got to be, I see how proud you look when I talk about my job.”

When her mother gets well, the camera pans to how the mother reaches for her daughter's hand to hold it.

Just then…..I completely lost it. It was my mother and I all over again and at the moment I felt like I was right back at the hospital with her on January 1, 2009.

My initial reaction was to get up and grab something to eat, but instead….I grabbed the keys to the car and went to pick up my daughter from work. When I arrived to get her, I parked the car and had myself a good cry, it seems that was just what I needed, not ice cream, not chicken, not cookies…but a cry.

I did just that and didn’t step one foot in the kitchen when I got back home.

Ask yourself what type of eater are you and instead of turning to food, what can you do differently?

Remember to continue to
Be Inspiring, Be Inspired

The Warrior's Declaration by Patricia Moreno, creator of intenSati

When I first read this declaration I found this picture on the web. She symbolizes everything this declartion states. Move Forward Mis Reinas, Mis Warriors!!!

The Warrior Declaration

Today I stand as a warrior and I choose to be all I can be.

I stand for excellence in all areas of my life.

I am dedicated to loving my life and living my life's calling.

I choose perseverance, courage, integrity, and impeccability.

I look for confidence and approval in my own heart and mind, and what you think of me makes no difference.

I know that it is ultimately how I feel about myself that gives me the experience of my life, and shame, guilt, regret and resentment are the most deadly of all opponents. The only way they can be defeated is by absolute integrity, or the absence of contradiction between what i know, what I profess, and what I do. I know that when lie to myself i am severed from my truth, which is my power, and an inharmonious relationship to my truth is deadly.

No one is born a warrior, just like no one is born an average man. We make ourselves that way by the accumulation of steps we take towards one or the other. I know the power of my mind and I begin every journey confident of victory. I am only defeated when I have accepted defeat and the moment I turn my back on myself and my vision may be the moment I halt just short of my goal and I will make useless all my previous efforts.

My work is to discover my work and with all my heart give myself to it. By honoring this path I will achieve the greatest victory of all, a life of love, a life I love and a life well-lived.

Today I choose the path of the warrior!

For more on Patricia Moreno and intenSati please see the link below:

http://www.satilife.com/

Remember to continue to

Be Inspiring, Be Inspired

Lean-Belly Strategies for my journey....

I want Jason Statham.....actually his abs, Wow!

Happy Friday My Readers!!!

A few weeks ago I had signed up to get a daily newsletter from Eat This, Not That, the tips I have gotten from them have great and very helpful while on my journey.

The link below is what I received today, so I thought how great it would be for me to post at least one of these newsletter on Friday…so here I am posting the first of many.

Enjoy!
*Note: What is typed in pale turquoise is from Men’s Health Magazine…what is typed in Pink is what I have to say…cuz I ALWAYS have something to say….remember I’m Mexican Italian married to a Puerto Rican…since when do we EVER stay quiet.

Link to the article:
http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/lean-belly-countdown/

How did they do it? That's the first question anyone asks when they see a friend or colleague who's lost a lot of weight, or remade their body into a healthier, leaner version. How did they do it? Well, it's no mystery. In fact, one of the most important and intriguing studies ever conducted was put together by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) back in 2006. This is our tax dollars at work, and I'd say we got our money's worth. The pages of the study—its catchy title is "Dietary and Physical Activity Behaviors Among Adults Successful at Weight Loss Maintenance"—take all the world's weight-loss theories and compare them to what works for real people in the real world. It looked at people who won the fat war by losing at least 30 pounds and then keeping the weight off using strategies that will work for you, too.Keep in mind: It wasn't a 100 percent success story. The CDC studied 2,124 people, and only 587 of them actually lost the weight and kept it off. But those who succeeded used many of the same strategies, the strategies outlined here.


Lean-Belly Strategy #1

Pay Attention to What You EatMindless eating is excessive eating. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts discovered that people who watched TV while they ate consumed nearly 300 more calories than those who dined without an eye on the tube. You need to pay attention to the messages your stomach is sending to your brain; if the TV is blaring, you won't see the "slow" and "stop" signs.

*This is sooo true, I use to watch movies on Lifetime while eating Ice Cream (by the way…this is my vice..ugh…I’ll get into that on a later post) and since Lifetime is about tugging at your heart strings or ready to grab a gun and shoot somebody for harming your family…I found myself eating and eating the ice cream….one time…I actually finish a half a gallon by myself….UGH!! Really!!! These days it’s a lil better…baby steps.

Lean-Belly Strategy #2

Slow DownFast eaters become fat people. If you consciously stop to take a breath between bites, you can cut your food (and calorie) intake by 10 percent, according to researchers at the University of Rhode Island. Special bonus: You can do this in social situations—Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Marge's—and nobody will even notice. That is, until you show up next year minus 20 pounds of flab.

*Aunt Marge? Nope don’t have one of those…what I have is a Tia Maria …and she used to chase us around the house with food, which is probably the reason why I was a fast eater…all those calories I burned from running away from her I’d eat quickly…I never felt full and kept eating and eating. Now, I actually to savor each bite…especially my husband’s cooking….he such a good cook, that brothers have thanked me for marrying him.

Lean-Belly Strategy #3
I Said Slow Down! It takes 20 minutes for the news that you've had enough to eat to travel from your gut to your brain. The reason: Hormones that trigger the "I'm full—stop!" sensation are at the end of your digestive tract, and it takes a while for digested food to reach there. If your mouth is filled with conversation, it won't be so full of food. Talk more between bites, and weigh less when the conversation/meal is over

*Okay apparently we didn’t get this the first time….yes, slow down when you eat, enjoy the food and by the time 20 minutes roll around you’ll feel full and look at your plate…half filled….time to take it home or left over for lunch tomorrow.

Lean-Belly Strategy #4

Beware the "Healthy" Menu If you order the stuff that's supposed to be good for you, you're likely to underestimate a meal's calorie total by more than a third, according to a study in the Journal of Consumer Research. The restaurants know that; now you do, too. So be especially aware when ordering "healthy," and make sure you have a "to go" box handy to carry leftovers home.

*oooooh I fell victim of this, my Comadre Jenny could attest to it…check it out..we were at Cheesecake Factory one day and I wanted a Cobb salad (Cobb salad I said) doesn’t seem too crazy does it?…Well out of curiosity I wanted to see how many calories it had…ready??? It had 930 calories…. 930!!!! I was like what the fumbling fire trucks was that!!!??? Now I’m more conscious of the food I order and to make sure I don’t go over my daily allowed of 1600 calories. It’s crazy….so pay attention to what you order…and on salads…order the dressing on the side…or even better…lemon juice works wonders….I love lemon juice on my salads, it give it that tangy taste my taste buds enjoy.

Lean-Belly Strategy #5

Beware the Community ChestAlways serve snacks in a bowl or dish, and put away the packages. Never eat from the bag or container. That way you won't ever eat an entire bag of something in a single sitting.


*Uh…..*hand raised* I’m such a culprit of this, especially when it comes to cheeto puffs….mmm puffs *homer voice* I have to remember moderation…moderation…anything is fine but in moderation.

Lean-Belly Strategy #6

Beat Hunger with Your MindHave a craving even though you ate just an hour ago? Before you indulge your mystery hunger, here's how to test whether your appetite is real or not: Imagine sitting down to a large, sizzling steak. If you're truly hungry, the steak will sound good, and you should eat. If the steak isn't appetizing, it means your body isn't actually hungry. You might be bored, or thirsty, or just tempted by something you don't need. Try a change of scenery: Researchers at Flanders University in Australia found that visual distractions can help curb cravings.

*what works for me….chew some gum…sugar free gum…matter of fact…I’m chewing gum now…I just had my snack, so I’m not starving and I’m drinking water with lemon (did I tell you I love lemon?)…am I hungry now? Nope. Like the Ghetto Boys would say… “My mind is playing trick on me.”

Lean-Belly Strategy #7

Redecorate, Repack, Remember If you don't have a countertop fruit bowl, buy one so you can grab a peach, banana, pear, or other piece of fruit on your way out the door in the morning, to munch on during your commute. (Plus, it's fun to throw the core out the window.) Plan a 10 a.m. apple-a-day break. Toss an orange in your briefcase to help you past the mid-afternoon lull (otherwise known as Temptation Time). Make fruit part of your entourage, and it will beat up lesser foods.

*Yes! You can never have too much fruit. I’m a berry girl…strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. I put them in a zip lock baggy and eat them through the day.

Lean-Belly Strategy #8
If You Can't Bear to Eat Vegetables, Drink Them InsteadThat's right, you could have had a V8—as long as it was the low-sodium variety. It has pureed tomatoes, beets, carrots, celery, spinach, lettuce, parsley, and watercress, and 8 ounces supplies two of your five recommended daily servings of vegetables. It also heats up nicely as a base for soups.

*Unless it’s Bloody Mary…I personally have a hard time drinking it…so I eat them raw….especially with lemon juice.

Lean-Belly Strategy #9
If You Can't Bear to Eat Vegetables, Hide Them in Your Pasta SauceAnd no, neither you nor the kids will notice. Using a fine grater on your food processor, grate 2 cups total of onions, garlic, carrots, beets, and zucchini (or any combo thereof), then sauté the microscopic vegetable bits in a tablespoon of olive oil. Add 4 cups of basic marinara sauce and simmer to an anonymous tomato flavor.

*Hmmmm, I’ll have to forward this to the hubby when he attempts to make his own sauce….right now Prego…is in our cabinets…I know I know…I’m half Italian…this is hsould a basic for me to know…but remember it’s the Puerto Rican cooking.

Lean-Belly Strategy #10
If You're Not Yet Drinking Smoothies, Why Not?Have you read the label of your fruit juice? Lots of sugar (however "natural" it is) and not much fiber, which means it's a carb bomb when it hits your bloodstream. Not so with a blended smoothie, because ingredient number one is whole fruit, making the sugar content drop and the fiber climb. Two tips: Use frozen fruit; buy it by the bag in your store's freezer section. And buy a wand mixer and a small pitcher so you can mix your smoothie in the same container you drink it from; it's much easier than washing out a blender. Almost any fruit-and-berry combo will do, but you can start with this recipe: 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1/2 banana (peeled ones freeze well), 2 tablespoons peanut butter, 2 tablespoons whey powder (it's in the supplements aisle in the grocery store), 1 cup 2% milk, and 1 cup water.

*Our blender broke…I think I may be getting one for Valentine’s Day….lucky me…* nooooo, no sense of sarcasm there…it would be a good thing so I can start making smoothies.

Lean-Belly Strategy #11
Buy Smaller DishesAccording to the food scientists at Cornell University, people tend to eat as much food as will fit on their plates. That's where "duh!" overlaps with dangerous. Over the past 100 years, our plates have grown, decade by decade. And we also know that the nation's obesity rates have grown exponentially in that time as well. No, it's not a coincidence. If you dine off of smaller plates, you'll grow smaller, too. Shoot for 9 inches in diameter, and you'll be on your way.
*I actually use child plates. They use to be my son’s…so once I eat all my food…Spiderman is there to tell me “well done”. But……don’t get it twisted….it does not mean that you can keep going for seconds, thirds and fourths because the plate is smaller….remember…. mod…er…a…tion!

Lean-Belly Strategy #12
Drink out of Skinny GlassesAs have gone dinner plates, so have gone drinking glasses. And if you fill the newly cavernous ones with any kind of sweetened beverage, you'll overindulge in calories. But here's a smart tip: We tend to gauge our drink sizes by how tall, not how stout, our drinking glasses are. So if you buy tall, skinny ones, you'll think you're drinking more even though you're drinking less

*not a bad thought there….however, I prefer my water with lemon I can have as much as I like and guess what….no calories ;) and I fill the glass mostly with ice and then add the water, I let it get real cold….your body burns calories to warm the drink…aha…no calories added when drinking but burning calories when it is in my system…..what does that mean??? I may hit the 50 pounds sooner than I think!

Lean-Belly Strategy #13
Never Eat from the Box, Carton, or BagThose same clever food scientists at Cornell did an experiment in which they gave one set of moviegoers giant boxes of stale popcorn and another set smaller boxes of stale popcorn. The big-box people ate more than the small-box people. The theory: You gauge the amount that's "reasonable" to eat by the size of the container it's in. Put two cookies on a plate, put a scoop of ice cream in a bowl, or lay out a small handful of potato chips on your plate, then put the container away; you'll eat far less of the treat.

*I love popcorn….but I only buy the small size….that’s all I have to say about that.

Lean-Belly Strategy #14
Limit the Fried StuffFun fact: Fast-food burgers and chicken from KFC and McDonald's are the most frequently requested meals on death row. It kinda makes sense. The inmates won't be around to suffer the aftermath. Fried foods are packed with calories and salt, and that crunchy, oily coating beats down any nutritional qualities that whatever is entombed inside might have. That said, eating one piece of fried chicken won't be, um, a death sentence, if it's surrounded on the plate by generous helpings of vegetables and you follow with fruit—not more fat—for dessert. What's more, the fat in the chicken will help you absorb the fat-soluble vitamins in the veggies.

*Mexican.….Italian…..Puerto Rican…..fried food…..need I say more. I have learned to add the more color to my plate…lots and lots of veggies and one piece of the fried stuff….I don’t need 3-4 pieces…because the one piece will do what I need it to do…satisfy the craving.

Lean-Belly Strategy #15
Eat the Good Stuff Make sure your diet is filled with healthy fats in the forms of fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines), fatty fruits (avocados), extra-virgin olive oil, eggs (among the healthiest foods known to humankind), and healthy-fat snacks (nuts are nutritional powerhouses and keep you feeling full). I even give bacon in moderation a green light; at only 70 calories per strip, it carries big flavor and belly-filling capabilities.

Lean-Belly Strategy #16
Wear Your Milk Mustache with PrideMilk, yogurt, cottage cheese, and cheeses all contain slow-to-digest protein and healthy fat, so they can be excellent belly fillers. And studies have suggested that the calcium in dairy products may aid weight loss. Make them part of your diet and you'll find the cow elbowing aside lesser members of the food kingdom

*great for snacking…I have fat free yogurt for my morning snack and string cheese for the afternoon snack.

Lean-Belly Strategy #17
Eliminate Sweetened BeveragesIf you're going to follow only one piece of advice in this article, make it this one. I've said it before, but it's worth repeating: Drinks with added sugar account for nearly 450 calories per day in the average American's diet. That's more than twice as much as we were drinking 30 years ago. If you're looking for a way to cut unnecessary daily calories to help you lose a pound a week, wean yourself from the overload of sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages. No, artificially sweetened sodas are not okay. Even if they have few calories or no calories, they maintain or increase your taste for highly sweetened foods, so you seek out the calorie payload elsewhere. Worse yet, they crowd out the healthy beverages. My prescription: Out with the bad, in with the great—in taste and nutrition.

*WATER, WATER, WATER, and MORE WATER!! I was a Diet Pepsi feen and I do mean feen….I was drinking 4…count them FOUR, 32 ounce cups…..A DAY!!!! That’s waaaaaay to much soda….so I started to wean myself off it with flavored water, then plain water….which was just too plain for me, but then I added the lemon and I can drink it for days and not feel like I’m missing something.

Lean-Belly Strategy #18-the site didn’t have an 18…think they missed it…but let me add one

Lean-Belly Strategy #19
Reduce Your Intake of Food Prepared Away From HomeWhen you let somebody else prepare your food—especially if it's a teenager in a paper hat—you lose control over what you eat. And the fast-food companies, being what they are, encourage all of your worst eating habits by stuffing their products with crave-inducing ingredients like unhealthy fats, sugar, and salt. If you can stay out of the drive-thru, you can shrink your calorie intake every day.

Lean-Belly Strategy #20
Keep a Food DiaryClearly, this weight-loss technique isn't for everybody. It's a hassle to write down every little thing you eat, day after day. But it's strikingly effective for those who do it. My advice: Try it for a week so you can get a handle on how many sodas you drink and under what circumstances, when you're most likely to veg out with a bowl of chips in front of the TV, and when your dessert cravings strike. That will help you identify your dietary danger zones and lead you to strategies that save pounds.But it wasn't just dietary changes that helped all those folks lose all that weight. Becoming active was another enormous factor in leading the successful losers into the promised land of the lean (but not hungry): exercising for 30 or more minutes per day, and adding physical activity to daily routines. Clearly, these are Lean Belly Prescription kind of people. And that provides a great segue to talking about the activities that these "successful losers" used to shed fat and keep it off .Here's why it's so important to keep both healthy eating and exercise going as your one-two punch against belly fat. A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology reported that when people chose healthier foods and combined that benefi t with exercise, they torched 98 percent of their weight directly from their fat stores. People who changed their diets alone were much more likely to break down muscle for fuel, and that's a big problem. Muscle is one of your prime metabolism boosters, so it will help you burn fat for up to 24 hours after a workout. So let's tackle the activity list, and give you strategies to make the most of it.

*I’m HUGE on this…I write down everything I eat each day and what happened that day; I review it each week. By doing this, it lets me know what my triggers may be. For instance, if I had a bad day at work and I ate nothing but junk that day and noticed that only ate like this when I had a bad day…I knew I was an emotional eater and need to find another outlet for my emotions and not turn to food. So keep those journal with you at all times. It could be an actual food journal or a lil steno notebook, whatever it is, just remember to write in it and keep track, you’ll be surprise to see what your triggers may be.

Lean-Belly Strategy #21
Walk for ExerciseI consider that great news. Is there a simpler exercise than walking? Is there a better way to incorporate talking with friends and loved ones into your fitness plan? Is there anything else that gets you out among your neighbors at a pace that lets you say hello? And is there anything that makes your dog happier than your saying the magic word walk? A study from the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada (a lovely place for a walk, mind you) found that largely sedentary people who wore a pedometer for 12 weeks increased their total steps by 3,451 a day, to about 10,500. By walking more, they also lowered their resting heart rates, BMIs, and waist measurements. Once you start paying attention to footsteps, you'll find ways to bank the extra strides. Thirty here, 300 there, 1,000 after dinner, and suddenly you're walking away from your old weight. Why not start right now? The closer you pay attention, the more you'll walk. And the more you walk, the greater the temptation will be to mix in an even bigger calorie burner: running.

Lean-Belly Strategy #22
Lift WeightsI suspect that for 81 percent of you, the picture that just flashed in your mind was of a no-neck Bulgarian weight lifter straining as he hoisted a steel beam over his head in the last Olympics. I know that isn't you.But you should still be taking advantage of the weight lifter's advantage: Muscle is the all-night convenience store of fat burning—it never shuts down. Not only do you burn a ton of calories while you're actually exercising, but there's also a big afterburn effect that kicks in. Your body has to expend energy to cool you down and repair the small tears in muscle fibers that happen when you lift. (Don't freak out. If you lift reasonable-size weights, you won't tear muscles, you'll just push the muscle fibers hard enough to make them grow.)

Lean-Belly Strategy #23
Exercise RegularlyBelieve it or not, "none of the above" is a legitimate option when it comes to physical activity, because there's nothing magical about running or weight lifting or even walking. They're just the most common activities people choose in order to add more activity to their days. The only one that's important to you is one that a) you enjoy, b) fits into your life well enough that you can do it most days, and c) allows you to up your energy expenditure.You can do that by adding three 15-minute walks to your day or by scheduling 2-hour bike rides on weekends. Or simply by walking more, standing more, lifting more, and sitting less.Just look at your whole day as an opportunity to make the smart choices that will help you lose weight and feel better. Achieve that, and where might you be next month? Or next year? Some place far better than where you are today!

*Even if you start out with just 15 minutes a day and work your way up from that...any type of exercise you do will help....I love dancing...so why not have a good time while burning calories.

So there are the strategies, My Readers, that i will be using on this journey to the path of 50 pounds down.

Let me know your thoughts or if you want to add anything, we're all open.

Remember to continue to:

Be Inspiring, Be Inspired

Weigh In Wednesday

Hello All,

Here we are the first Weigh In Wednesday entry.

Let's get down to what you all want to know, "How did she do?"

I think the picture might be giving it away...but I just love how excited she is.....just as I was when I stepped on the scale this morning....I LOST TWO POUNDS!!!! yeah me!!!

I went from 197 lbs to 195 lbs....my waist 33!! 2 pounds and an inch down *cabbage patch dance...yeah me yeah me!!!....48 to go!!!!

That kickboxing class really helped, Thanks Rob!!!! By the way....I'm really feeling it today. Ouch!

To help me stay on this path to a healthier lifestyle, I reward myself with non food items; knowing that I will get something new when I reach that goal...keeps me motivated.

For instance: When I lost my first 5 pounds I purchased a $10 iTunes gift card for myself to celebrate my accomplishment. When I lost 10 pounds, I got a new journal. When I lost 30...a pair of new shoes. I try to stay away from clothing only because it may not fit after a wear or two....you know...because of the weight we're losing.

When we reward ourselves for meeting our goals no mater how big or small, it helps us stay focus on the big prize!

A healthier and more fit YOU!

This week's challenge to stay disciplined on eating right. I have a difficult time doing this and get sidetracked very easily. When I'm out with my 7 year old...I just want to eat whatever he eats... however, I forget my metabolism is no where near his and I have to be careful what I eat.

So, I found this healthy weight loss eating plan on the Women's Health Magazine website that seemed interesting.

Here it is:

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/eating-plan

WEIGHT LOSS EATING PLAN

Eat to Lose Pounds

Lose weight fast with this seven-day healthy eating plan

Fit back into your jeans faster: Trainer Jay Cardiello created this seven-day eating plan to help his celeb clients achieve their lean Hollywood looks. The idea is to switch up your carb intake throughout the week—alternating low-carb days with moderate days—to keep your metabolism humming and lose weight fast. Plus, you'll always feel full and have energy to spare.

DAYS 1 and 2

Breakfast
Omelet with 4 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1/4 c minced broccoli or asparagus, 1 tsp shredded low-fat cheese
1 c plain coffee or green tea
12 oz water

Snack
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt and 6 cherries OR 12 oz protein shake with 1 scoop protein powder (low-carb, low-sugar, less than 115 calories)
20 oz water

Lunch
6 oz grilled chicken breast
3 c lettuce with 2 Tbsp light or low-fat dressing
1/2 c steamed broccoli, asparagus, green beans, peas, or carrots
20 oz water

Snack
8 almonds OR 12 oz protein shake OR Apple OR banana with 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter
20 oz water

Dinner
8 oz grilled chicken, beef, turkey, OR Boca burger (no bread/bun)
1/2 c steamed broccoli or asparagus
3 c plain lettuce with 2 Tbsp fat-free dressing, lemon juice, or balsamic vinegar
20 oz water

Snack
1/4 c cottage cheese with 1/2 c mixed berries OR 6 cherries


DAYS 3 to 7

Breakfast
Omelet with 4 egg whites and minced asparagus and 1 slice plain whole-wheat toast OR 12 oz protein shake and 1 apple with 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter
1 c green tea
12 oz water

Snack
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c mixed berries OR 6 cherries OR 8 almonds
20 oz water

Lunch
Pick one: Small sweet potato OR small baked potato OR 1/4 c brown rice OR 1 slice whole-wheat pita or bread
WITH
Pick one: 6 oz tuna in water; grilled chicken, tuna or turkey; turkey or Boca burger (no bread or bun) OR 2 c plain lettuce with 2 Tbsp lemon juice or low-fat balsamic vinaigrette OR 1 c broccoli with 2 Tbsp honey mustard
20 oz water

Snack
8 almonds OR 6 cherries OR Apple with 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter
20 oz water

Dinner
Pick one: 6 oz sirloin steak, beef burger, grilled chicken or turkey OR 8 oz tuna, salmon, or freshwater fish
WITH
1/4 c steamed brown rice OR 3 c lettuce with 2 Tbsp fat-free dressing OR 1/2 c mixed vegetables or 1 c broccoli OR 2 Tbsp honey mustard
20 oz water

Snack
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c berries OR 1/4 c cottage cheese with 1/2 c berries

I am going to stick to this plan and see how I do.

With that, this week's goal?

To lose 5 pounds and my treat?....a pedicure...'cause Lord knows, Mama needs a new one.

Until then my readers....

Remember to continue to:

Be Inspiring, Be Inspired!

"Prepare for the worst & the best will happen!"

This quote by Tito Ortiz is the first thing I noticed when I walk into the gym. How perfect is this quote especially during this journey of mine. If I'm prepared for the worse THEE best will happen....but...what I wasn't prepared for was the training that our kickboxing instructor was about to give us.


But....before I get to that, let me describe the setup that Tito has done with this amazing training center for anyone who wants to get into MMA shape or someone like me who wants to lose...let's say.....50 pounds?


There's an actual UFC cage, that is done to the same specs as the ones the professionals fight in. In a corner there was a mat area where Tito was teaching a wresting/submission class...watching the students, you could see they were in awe...for most, they were being taught by their idol. In another corner was an Olympic style weight center....I took one look at it and thought...."uh they're gonna laugh at me if I even attempt to step one foot in there"


Then I see what I felt was my holy grail of this gym....the rows and rows of red punching bags and I couldn't wait to get my hands in them gloves and start beating the heck out of one of those bags.


7pm rolls around and our instructor, who happens to be a UFC fighter himself, Rob Emerson comes out and tells us it's time to warm up. When I first see Rob, I notice he has a HUGE black eye…I thought to myself… “what the hell did I get myself into??? I thought I was fighting a bag, I didn’t sign up for some one to hit me!” He then explains to us that he was fighting this past weekend so some the moves he won’t be able to do with full force as he normally would. Whew! That’s a relief.



He had us running laps, side steps, swinging our arms round and round to loosen the joints, crawling like a bear on all fours, frontwards AND backwards, kick butts (that's where you kick as if you're actually kicking your own butt), then hold on to the bag and swing you leg back and forth and switch legs...this was to loosen those joints. Then if that wasn't enough, he had stretch our calves, thighs and core and THEN it was time for the workout......HUH???? You mean that wasn't it?


Now it’s time to get the gloves on; Rob starts us off with basic combinations of jab, cross, jab. Oh, this seems easy enough, I could sooo do this. I forgot to mention we have to be in our kickboxing stance, for me since I’m right handed, that my left foot front and my right foot back and I’m on my toes…kinda like bobbing and weaving…..ooooh float like a butterfly sting like me…Muhammad Ali ain’t got nothing on me!...as we’re all bouncing back and forth, Rob starts to yell out numbers…what we need to do is whatever the number he yells out that how many times we need to do the jab combination…so for instance…he yells out TWO! We jab jab cross jab and back to bobbing and weaving….FOUR! jab jab jab jab cross jab, ONE! Jab cross jab…you get this idea…so I’m thinking “what??? I got this”…well Rob must have seen the cockiness in my eyes because then he adds another combo…it’s a jab, cross jab, upper cut, hook…..huh???


Then before I have time to think I hear, TWO!...okay what did he say….jab, jab, cross, jab. upper cut, hook? Yeah that’s what it was….FOUR! jab jab jab jab, cross, jab, upper cut, hook! THREE! Jab jab jab cross jab upper cut hook…just then Ron notices that I’m doing the hook incorrectly, he sees I was hitting with my thumb and what I needed to do was hook my arm and hit with my fist…TWO! Jab jab cross jab upper cut hook…he tells me it was much better…OH I GOT THIS!!! Give me another number, I tell myself..ONE! jab cross jab upper cut hook. So far I’m loving this class……well, I spoke too soon, Rob then informs us he’s adding another combination…jab, cross, jab, upper cut ,hook, knee. Oh boy! Okay, okay I'm ready.



He demonstrated to us how the combination will look when done correctly….uh yeah…I will get as close to that as I could but I’m not quite the professional kickboxer that he is.
FOUR! jab, cross, jab, upper cut ,hook, knee…I grip the bag as best as I could considering I’m wearing 16 oz gloves and proceed to knee the bag as hard as I could…you don’t wanna know who I was thinking of when I did that….but I will say this….it felt gooooood!


This is such an awesome workout, by this time I’m sweating and my legs are shaking. We stop for a few minutes to get some water….by the way when doing any type of extensive workout, remember to take a bottle of water….I…uh…forgot mine….one of the students had an extra bottle and was nice enough to give it to me. I started to drink it as if this was the last time I was ever gonna have a water break… “mmmm…It was the best water I ever had….what is this? Fiji???”

Back to work! Rob had us do the same combinations he had taught but this time we had to switch legs for the knee part. So instead of kneeing with my right, I was kneeing with my left. Yiiiyahhh, that took a lil bit more coordination then my dehydrated behind was ready for…but….I did it…not with as much finesse as he did…but I did it!

We did that combination a few more times and then we had a freestyle period…that’s where we hit the bag anyway we want, with combinations or not, as fast as we can for a minute. I jabbed, I kneed, I hooked, I jab cross jab hook, as fast as I could and when he said stop I finished it off with a slap! "Uh! Take that you bag...you Ha! You didn’t beat me!"

Now it was time for ab work…whoa! wait…we’re not done yet? Rob proceeds to take us to the semi official UFC cage, because the mat in there is so much cushy than the hard floor we were working on. we all lay on our backs,but not before he shows us what ab workout he wants us to do. First one was lay on your back, lfit your legs and reach and tap your feet without bending you legs…you want to me what?? First of all, “the girls” were having a hard time letting me get passed them so I could attempt to touch my feet , but I finally got the momentum and I was actually doing it…reach tap tap reach tap tap reach…ugh this hurts and then here comes Rob…I was doing such a great job I just knew he was gonna tell the class “this is how it’s done”, however, so not what he said…what he did say was, “you’re going too fast; you wanna slow down so you could really feel the muscles in your abs contracting when you tap your feet and try to keep your legs straight” oh gee thanks, I couldn’t get them any straighter than I had them and my legs were shaking by this time…I tried his way…kill me now! 5, 4, 3,2,1…ugh!

Next ab workout…on our backs, knees bent and try to lift our knees to the ceiling while lifting our hips at least 1 inch off the ground. He showed us and it look sooo easy, psh…I could do that and I could use my arms to help push me up…yup yup I could do that.

I do exactly as he says…and lift! Nothing….not a movement happened I could not lift myself I centimeter let alone an inch. I looked at him so defeated and he said, “don’t worry, not a lot of people starting out could do it, it will come with time but you need to practice.”

The last workout was more of a yoga move, lay on our tummy and stretch up, did that for 30 seconds and we were finally done.

I thanked Rob for his time and told him what I was doing with my blog and the challenges I'm presenting to myself to help me achieve the 50 pounds I plan on losing by August. He wished me luck and said he hope to see me back and that I had good form and picked up the moves pretty quickly. Not a lot of people get it that quick.

HA! Bag, in your face…my instructor said I rocked it!!! (you like how I heard what I wanted to hear that)

All in all is was a pretty good class and an amazing workout….I will definitely be back.

I thought I was in pretty good shape considering I had lost 30 pounds before putting myself out there in cyber world. However, after that ab workout…I need to get out there more.

Below is a flyer that shows what classes the Center offers and I also included the website for more information.

Maybe I’ll see some of you at one of the classes.

Now time for bed…I've got weigh in tomorrow and I hope today’s class was well worth it ;)

Only the scale will tell.

G’nite.

Remember to continue to

Be Inspiring, Be Inspired

As far as the cost for this facility and the ammenities you can visit the Center's website at http://www.punishmenttrainingcenter.com/

The Kickboxing Instructor, Rob Emerson and myself...my face is red from the workout he just gave us...I know I shedded enough weight for weigh in tomorrow. Yeah!

Navigating thru my Blog

Hello Readers....I'm baaaaack...so I hope by now you have spread the word that I'm on a mission to lose 50 pounds by when? You know what? I didn't say...but let's plan the date together. As in any type of goal setting you set for yourself, you need to make sure that it is measurable and manageble....in other words....REALISTIC!!!

There's nothing worse than we set ourselves up to fail because we didnt set realistic goals.
For instance...I want to lose 50 lbs...my initial goal was Valentines Day 2011....yeah it was realstic when I set the goal last year, but I did not factor on what I was eating nor how much exercise I was not doing, so is it realistic for me now?....not by Valentines day it isn't. Yeah maybe if i starve myself and exercise like a crackhead or like one of my Boogie Box Coaches would say, "Do Weight Watchers on Crack"....maaaaaybe I could....but then what would happen? I would gain it all back and then some....so not what I'm trying to do.

My Goal to lose the 50 pounds is by my 42nd Birthday, which is August 9th.

I dont' want to diet and I want a lifestyle change and that change begins with my mind!

So my mind and myself have added links at the bottome of my blog, that will help me and you stay focused on what we are trying to achieve.

The links are:

The Magic of Succeeding-helping to improve your quality of life
My Boogie Box grind-my exercise regimen that I found and love
The Daniel Plan-this was set up my our church and Dr. Oz, Dr. Hyman and Dr. Amen have agreed to help the entire congregation get healthy.....ANYONE can join.
The Pay it Forward Movement-when you want to read feel good stories or get ideas on how we can pay it forward, visti this site. Its truly amazing
Twitter-Follow me and see what new things I'll try
Formspring-Ask me anything...i will answer to the best of my being.

*please keep in mind. I am in no way a licensed professional in nutrition, fitness or health. Like with any new exercise or diet changes please consult a physician.
This blog is about ME and what I am doing to achieve my weight loss goal and the healthy measures I plan on taking to get there.

With that being said:

Today's challenge will be doing is in the area of fitness. I normally take a Boogie Box...I will get more into that on a later post, however, today Tito Ortiz is opening his new gym in Huntington Beach called Punishment Training Center and I have been asked to take a kickboxing class there this evening.

Yeah, right...I wish this was me today....but soon it will be!!

I will keep everyone posted on how the class goes and how sore I will be tomorrow...

OH! Before I forget: tomorrow is Weigh In Wednesday...I'm treating tonight's class like a

"last chance workout".

Wish me luck, Readers!!!

Until then, remember to continue to:

Be Inspiring, Be Inspired