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Over the last few months, while I have been working out, I haven't been as consistent and at the intensity that I know I need to be.  But, the worst part is that I haven't been taking my own advice when it comes to nutrition.  Even though I KNOW that proper nutrition and water consumption is key to a healthy lifestyle, I've been a little lazy...and my waistline is starting to show evidence of this.  It's so easy to not get that last glass of water in or to have that cupcake that everyone else is having.  I promote an 80/20 healthy eating lifestyle and I've not always been practicing what I preach.

So, now to get back on track!  How am I going to do this?  I'm using July as a time to actively participate in my Challenge Group because I know it works!  I just need to get back on track always drink enough water, eat clean foods and exercise daily...in addition to my Shakeology.  I'm also planning to do another 3 Day Refresh at the end of the month to get a final push before Beachbody Summit in Nashville.

Then, I'm going to take it to the next level and my August Challenge Group will be focused on the 21 Day Fix!  I've seen huge results from the program, so I'm looking forward to leading a group with a common focus and dedication.  Why not join me on this journey?  August can be your step toward a healthy lifestyle and I'll be right there by your side!  The program is at a BIG DISCOUNT this month, so contact me on Facebook if you want more details.

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I decided to order the PT Sandbag since it is made for the program and all of the videos show how to use it.  It sounded like a fun way to improve my performance and boy does it do that.  It holds 20 pounds of sand (you can fill it less if you like) and the grips are really nice and comfortable.

I did one of the first month workouts just to see how it would go and I could tell a difference in the muscles activated and improved form.  I'm anxious to see how it goes over the next 30 days!

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I just finished week 4 of the program and it's time to do my mid-point fit test and measurements! If you remember from my initial post, I had to see how many of five exercises I could do in 60 seconds.  I was pleased to see increases in every category:

• Pushups + 50% reps
• Squat Thrust + 25% reps
• Pull-Ups + 50% reps
• Jumping Jacks + 35% reps
• Plank Hold + 44 % seconds

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On Monday I'll be kicking off my 60 days of commitment to 22 Minute Hard Corps!  Tonight I did the Fit Test which has you do five exercises (Push-up, Squat Thrust, Pull-Up, Jumping Jacks, Forearm Plank) for 60 seconds each.  I had to log how many reps I was able to accomplish for Day 0 and it's obvious I have some work to do.  I will retest at Week 4 and Week 8 and am anxious to see how far I've come.

I then decided to do a sneak peak with the first workout...I can see how the improvements are going to be made.  It was a very high intensity workout and just what I've been looking to add into my routine.

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Day 3

I woke up a couple of times last night, but was still able to get 9 hours of sleep overall which is great for me.  At first, I thought I was just sleeping longer to catch up from my trip...but two days in a row makes me feel like this process is giving me better rest!

Breakfast - Shakeology
Today I decided to have the Vegan Chocolate Shakeology along with half of a banana and a few ice cubes.  The taste is very similar to the regular chocolate, which is my favorite, but without the milk it's hard for me to tell just how similar.  Still, this tasted really good and I'm glad I saved it for the last day.

Mid-Morning - Fiber Sweep
As they recommend, I downed that stuff fast today :)  It still tastes good, lemony...but man it's way better before it starts to thicken like Day 2!

Lunch - Vanilla Refresh
I used half a banana and blended the Vanilla Refresh with Ice today and it was the best version yet!  I wish I'd been doing that the whole time.  I also tried some super spicy hummus with my carrots today and it was delicious.  I'm still stuffed after each small meal, which is amazing to me :)

Dinner - Vanilla Refresh
This meal doesn't allow the use of fruit with the Vanilla Refresh, so I just blended it with some ice which was still good.  Enough ice and it almost comes out like a milk shake.  Once again, I went for the green bean dinner and wasn't hungry after.  I can say I'm ready for real food tomorrow, but healthy options sound great.  I was surprised when I went grocery shopping today, because I wasn't lunging at everything on the shelves...I felt good and made good choices.

RESULTS

It's been a productive and interesting 3 days!  I was never really hungry, which is great, and the shakes were all at good to drink.  I'm down EIGHT POUNDS!  But, the best part is that this kicked me back into gear for healthy living.  I had gotten into a rut for a couple of weeks and wasn't drinking the right amount of water and was eating too much crap.  I started this with a bloated, gross feeling...and that is now gone! I'm really excited about these results and totally recommend it to anyone that wants to get a great kickstart to their healthy lifestyle.

Want to try this 3-Day Refresh journey for yourself? The PiYo & 3-Day Refresh Challenge Pack is on special this month!  PiYo is by far my favorite Beachbody workout and is perfect for anyone, regardless of their current level of fitness.  This is the perfect pack to pair with one of my 4-week Online Accountability groups.  Let me know if this sounds interesting :)

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I was concerned that I might have difficulty sleeping during this, but it turns out the opposite was true.  I slept a solid 9 hours without stirring last night and still wanted to sleep more.  I went for a run and struggled through it a bit, my energy level is significantly lower today...my body is working pretty hard it seems.

Day 2

Morning - Shakeology
Since yesterday went so well, I decided to repeat it.  Tropical Strawberry Shakeology along with some mixed frozen fruit! I have been missing my morning cup of coffee, but not enough that I felt the need to have the optional Morning Tea as part of the plan.

Mid-Morning - Fiber Sweep
They suggest drinking this PROMPTLY after mixing it and today I found out why.  Just a few minutes after it begins to thicken up and is hard to swallow.  I will certainly be downing it immediately tomorrow :)

Lunch - Vanilla Refresh
I repeated the same meal from yesterday (and will likely do the same tomorrow) I love me some carrots and hummus.  The Vanilla Refresh still tastes good.

Afternoon Snack
Carrots and hummus again, see a pattern? :)  I still haven't been super hungry, which is great.  But I have a long time gap before dinner tonight.

Dinner
Yeah...that long gap before dinner was rough.  I had to go on 7 hour road trip to pick up my son, so I didn't get to eat dinner until about 10pm.  I was able to curb my appetite a bit with water and some unsweetened natural tea I found at the gas station (it wasn't caffeine free, but I had to cheat a bit there).

The worst part was being trapped in the car with my son's McDonald's dinner!  The struggle was real people :)  I'm still doing very well overall though and not hungry for the most part.  My cravings for unclean foods has lessened and I'm ready to grocery shop for the right things again.  I'll be doing that tomorrow to prepare for my first day back on normal eating.

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The last couple of weeks have been pretty rough with travel, lack of sleep and excessive beer enjoyment.  So, now that I'm back home and things are back to normal...I decided to give the 3-Day Refresh a try.  I'm hoping it will kick-start me back to my normal healthy lifestyle.  I'm going to document the process here and share my results at the end!

Day 1

Upon Waking - 10 ounces of water
This is something I've been doing recently in order to get my 100+ ounces in easier.

Breakfast - Shakeology
I normally use 2% milk or Almond milk...but the plan requires water.  Luckily I was allowed to mix in a serving of fruit, so I used some mixed frozen strawberries and mango.  The plan also suggests using the Vegan Shakeology version, so I went with Tropical Strawberry and it ended up tasting pretty good in the end.

Mid-Morning - Fiber Sweep
This packed mixed in with 8 ounces of water and looked totally gross when I poured it in...I was not optimistic.  But, it actually tasted refreshing and went down very easy.

Lunch - Vanilla Fresh
I'm really missing the flavor and thickness that milk gives the shakes at this point, but the Vanilla Fresh actually tastes decent with water.  I didn't have a blender at work to mix in my serving of fruit, so I had half of a banana with it.

I then chose a vegetable and healthy fat from the list and was happy that carrots and hummus were an option since I eat that regularly.  I'm not at all hungry at this point and actually feel kinda stuffed.  My snack is at least one hour from lunch, but I may try to extend out a bit further since I'm not hungry.

Afternoon Snack
Meetings forced a 3 hour gap before this snack and I was pretty hungry by the time I got to it.  Carrots and hummus again and it hit the spot.

Dinner - Vanilla Fresh
I had about a 5 hour time gap before dinner, so I was pretty hungry...luckily I got to add a vegetable based dinner in.  I chose the green bean recipe from the booklet, but was pretty bummed to see that I was only allowed 12 beans.  Really?  I would have thought there would be a number based on weight.  But, apparently the 100 lb person gets the same amount as the 300 lb person.

Conclusion
All in all, I'd say day one was a big success.  I was rarely hungry and the shakes were actually pretty good.  I drank a ton of water that wasn't listed above.  Time to see how I sleep tonight :)

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My July Challenge Group recently finished up and I am excited to share some of the results!  I worked with each of them individually at the beginning to see what kinds of goals they had for themselves.  Some examples where: lose 8lbs, fit into my size 34 jeans, and have more energy.

There was varying levels of participation, as with any group, but EVERY person achieved notable results which makes me so happy!  One participant lost 7 of the 8lbs they'd hoped for, but got back into the jean size they hoped for.  Another lost 6 lbs, but said their legs hurt less often now.  I even had a participant lose 15lbs and now their clothes are loose...good problem to have :)

The important thing to realize is that the scale alone isn't the only, or even best, indicator of health improvement.  I went for a long stretch where I was staying at around the same weight, but I was building muscle and endurance.  One participant said she lost a couple of lbs overall...but 2 inches from her waist...that's huge!

For me, I'm just so excited to see that people are able to get the same kinds of results that I achieved when participating myself.  I'm now running groups monthly! The August group is up and running and I've started filling spots for the September group.  The groups are entirely online, so you don't need to be local to participate.

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in participating in, let me know!

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I mentioned in an earlier post that I participated in a Fitness Challenge Group last month and had some great results!  So, I've decided to begin running these groups on my own and help others achieve the same lifestyle changes :)

The group just did their first check-in after a full week of participating and I'm really happy with how they are doing.  The level of commitment is been great and they are already seeing changes in how eating better and exercise are a part of their daily lives.  It's also nice to see that Shakeology is having such a positive impact on energy levels and reducing cravings for things like sweets.

I'm already starting to fill spots for my August group, so if this is something you'd be interested in hearing more about...let me know!  All information and communication is done online in a closed Facebook group.  It's a very helpful and encouraging way to start moving toward you fitness goals no matter where you are in the journey. Let me help :)

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I just did my final weigh-in and measurements for the June Challenge Group that I participated in and I had some amazing results. I honestly didn't expect to have this much success in a 4 week period, but I guess it goes to show what eating right can do to get your body moving in the right direction.

Ever since I lost over 50 lbs 3 years ago, I've hovered around 200 lbs and focused on exercise to keep from gaining the weight back. But, my mentality was to workout daily and burn the calories that I consume.  I even counted calories most days to be sure that I was working it off effectively.  Then if I wanted to lose some weight, I had to deprive myself and would ultimately gain it back after.

During this group I learned to eat more often, eat the right things, and drink plenty of water.  The addition of Shakeology (HUGE game changer for me) gave me more energy and took away my sweets cravings, so that nightly ice cream wasn't a factor any more :)  Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy those things, just actually crave them way less than I used to.

Overall this month, I'm down 11 lbs and hit a goal weight of 189 that I set over two years ago and never came close to!  I also lost 2.5 inches from my waist, 2 inches from my hips and my body fat is down 1.5%  My blood pressure even dropped over 10 points. The most important part is that I didn't do a diet here, I learned how to live better and I don't feel that I need to change anything now that the month is over. I'll continue to use what I've learned and have developed a new healthier lifestyle that is sustainable!

I really want to help others achieve the same success I have, so I have decided to run Monthly Challenge Groups starting in July.  I have spots available starting with the August group, so please let me know if this is something that you or someone you care about would be interested in participating in :)  Post in the comments or contact me on Facebook.

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In my Initial Post about training for my first full Marathon, I posted a picture of my potential training plan.  Since then, I have been trying out the early weeks in order to see how I like it and have decided to make a few adjustments.

My current weekly runs are already longer than the first few weeks of the program, so I just removed that part and I now begin officially training on September 21st.  Still long way off, but I'm doing a good amount of pre-training up until then.  I'm currently using my Tuesday runs as a way to increase my speed by pushing myself for .25 miles at a time and then back to normal pace for a bit.  My hope is that I can use this method to get a new PR for a 5k someday in the near future.

I've moved my long runs from Sunday to Saturday.  I found that I had the available time more often on Saturday mornings and the Y is open at 6am, instead of noon on Sundays, so weather won't stop me.  This also means that I get a full rest day on Sundays which will be great recovery for my legs


A new addition into my routine is PiYo!  It is a fantastic mix of Pilates and Yoga which just uses body weight and focuses on the core.  I sweat more from 20 minutes of PiYo than I do from 40 minutes of running.  I have Mondays scheduled for it, but will also weave it in a couple of more times when I need a good stretch or just feel up to it.

I'm currently keeping Insanity on Fridays as my High Intensity Cross Training workout each week.  I may substitute other things like Body Attack here, so I'm staying open to that.

     

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Most of you probably already know that I went on a diet back in 2012 and lost over 50 lbs.  From that point I started exercising daily to keep the weight off, and have been mostly successful over the last three years.  I run 2-3 days a week, do Body Pump 1-2 times, play softball/volleyball 2-3 nights and then mix in other things like Insanity or PiYo the rest of the days.  Every day I get stronger and can't complain about my results, but I have hit a bit of a wall over the last year or so.  I hover around the same weight and can't get rid of some belly fat.

So I took the advice of my friend and coach, Erica, and joined her June accountability group. It's 4 weeks of support and encouragement from 20+ others that have the same goals I do.  I can get 1 point each day for doing the following things:

• Drinking Shakeology
• Eating every 2-3 hours
• Drinking half of my weight in ounces of Water
• Exercising 30 minutes
• Consume no processed foods, sweets, or alcohol

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I just registered to run in the Disney World Marathon in 2016!

This is something I've thought a lot about over the last six months...for a long time felt like I would stick to shorter distances.  But, eventually I realized that getting a faster time at a distance I've already achieved wasn't impactful for me.  What I really care about is having a distance goal and achieving it.  I made my mind up after doing the 10k last weekend at the Illinois Marathon and seeing all of the Marathon runners working hard to finish.

Then the debate was which race to run and I went back and forth a lot. The Illinois Marathon where I would have so many friends to cheer me on? Or the Disney Marathon in Orlando which is like a second home to me?

In the end, it was the training schedule that made the decision for me.  Being able to do most of my long runs in the Fall while working toward a January race sounds way better than through an Illinois Winter to race in April.

So, that means I'm going to need lots of my Orlando friends to come cheer me on...26.2 miles is gonna be tough!  I'm also hoping I can convince a few friends and family to fly down to Orlando with me to cheer and celebrate my birthday :)

Time to get one of these!

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So far so good!  I was able to get all 10 workouts in during the first two weeks of the program...even though I REALLY didn't want to do some of them.  I did end up cutting back on running, but kept up the Body Pump and Body Attack classes.

I have this calendar printed out and taped to my bedroom door for motivation.  I'm keeping my stats at the beginning of each week and I'm down 3.7 lbs and have lost 1 3/4 inches from my belly!  I'm pretty satisfied with the results so far and am looking forward to where I am in two more weeks.

While I won't keep up the 5 Insanity workouts a week, I'm sure I'll a couple of them each week mixed in with my regular routine.  Right now I'm thinking:

Monday - Body Pump
Tuesday - Run 3.1 miles & Insanity Max Intervals
Wednesday - Body Pump & Yoga
Thursday - Run 5 Miles & Insanity Crazy Core
Friday - Body Pump & Body Attack
Saturday - Insanity Power Plyo  OR Off Day if I need it
Sunday - Long Run (6-10 miles) OR Off Day if I need it

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To celebrate my birthday last month, I decided to head to Los Angeles to participate in the Star Wars Half Marathon.  I love Disney races and was anxious to try one on the West Coast this time :)

On the morning before race day, I headed over to the Expo where I could pick up my race packet and bib for the big day.  It's always fun to walk around the show floor and be tempted by running shirts and supplies.

 I really liked the race shirt and bib for this race!  I don't have many long sleeve running shirts, so this was really nice.  I wore it all day after the race :)

 I also picked up some cool swag at the expo, including this new awesome magnet for my car.  I don't have anything yellow, so I decided to try out this hoodie and like it quite a bit.

Disney does a great job of making the race feel special, they even rolled out the "black carpet" for us.  Little touches like this make the cost of a Disney race worth it.  Now to head back to the Hotel and get to bed early...3:30am was going to come soon.

4am Race Day: They had a stage set up in the race waiting area and kept entertainment going, along with encouragement to head to the start line asap.  It took about 20 minutes to walk over there, so I understand why they were so instant.  They have a really great bag drop service and all of my stuff was waiting at the finish line for me.

This is my third Disney race and I decided to finally stop and take pictures this time.  It's such a unique  part of the experience and I've always passed it up before.

I even stood in the long line to take a selfie with my homie!  I'm really glad I took the time to do this.

It's really cool to run through the parks before they are open!  Getting up super early sucks, but getting to run behind the scenes and see areas that normal vacationers don't is pretty sweet.

This was my first race running without a partner, but I found that I did well across the entire 13.1 miles.  It was tough stopping and starting for pictures, but it was worth it and I got a new PR!

Of course I had to have Ice Cream to celebrate...multiple times that following week actually.

Every runner should experience a Disney race at least once.  They are expensive, but the care and flair they put into each one makes it such a great experience.  Now to start thinking about that Coast to Coast Medal...maybe Wine and Dine needs to happen this year.

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My weekly workout routine was in need of a change.  It usually looks like this:

Monday: Body Pump
Tuesday: Run 4 Miles & Yoga
Wednesday: Body Pump
Thursday: Run 5 Miles or 1 Hour Cardio Machines
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Long Run (6-10 miles)
Sunday: 1 Hour on Cardio Machines

My endurance for running is great and I'm building muscle, but my cross training is minimal currently.  I am going to add Body Attack into my routine starting this Friday to get a high intensity workout in.  But, I really want to push hard this month for results.

So, I've decided to take the Insanity 30 day challenge and I'm using Xbox Fitness!  This is my first exposure to Insanity and it is no joke.  I did the first two days of the challenge and my legs feel like they are going to fall off.  I'm already looking forward to the Thursday off day and even scheduled a massage.

My current plan is to do this in addition to my normal daily workouts, but I realize that may not be sustainable for the entire month.  I'm pretty sure I'll do both days of Body Pump each week and hope to make it through Body Attack.  But, I'm willing to cut back on Running and Cardio Machines quite a bit if my body needs the rest.

There are 5 different Insanity routines and I'll be doing each of them one day a week with two rest days.  Xbox Fitness does a great job of watching how well I'm doing the exercises and giving me points along the way.  I'll try to do a weekly update of how I'm progressing.  I also logged my initial weight and some measurements so I can see just how much of an impact this month will have on me.

Wish me luck!

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I'm focusing on getting back to the things I enjoy and improving myself both personally and professionally this year.  Luckily I have a lot of overlap in those areas :)  So, here's my resolutions for 2015:

Consistent Blogging - I really fell off of blogging last year and missed it a lot.  This year I'm committing to at least one post a week and hopefully much more than that. Part of what I intend to do is regular updates on the progress of the resolutions below.

Game Design Focus - This is one that will be hard to list a set of criteria for, but my goal is to use this year to work hard at improving my craft and being a better Game Designer.  It will be a combination of reading more articles, focusing on getting better with the tools I use daily, and doing more competitive analysis.  I'll just have to evaluate my progress as I go.

10 Hours Played - I realized that finishing more games wasn't realistic for me, so my goal this year is to experience as many of the games in my catalog as I can.  So, I've decided to put 10 hours into each game I play and then move on to try something else.  My hope is that I can achieve this for 25+ games, but really care most about putting in time each week and experiencing all I can.  There will be a handful of games that I play much more than this too :)

10 Pounds Lost - This is actually going to be a difficult one for me because even though I work out nearly every day, my weight is staying pretty consistent.  I'm building muscle and getting leaner, but I really want to get about 10 lbs lower than I am right now and then keep that going forward.  This is going to mean eating better, which sucks...but this isn't supposed to be easy right?

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I'm looking forward to 2015 and want to get back to the things that I've neglected a bit this past year...consistent blogging being a major one.  I'll do a post soon about my Resolutions for the coming year, but first:

Update on 2014 New Year's Resolutions

$1 Increase Savings - I completed this goal completely!  I also have used the money for my Star Wars Half Marathon at Disneyland next month and will be staying an extra week to visit friends, so hit me up if you want to get together!

Try 365 new beers - Complete success and I'll have a post coming up soon about this in detail.

Watch Old Movies - Success, I didn't get to some that I wanted to but I met the goal that I set out to achieve.

Finish More Games - Fail, but I have a better plan for me in 2015...more on that coming soon.

Read more Game Design Articles and Learn Unity - Biggest area for improvement here :/ I'm focused on improving my skills this year and hope to hit these way harder.

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I started training this week for the Disneyland Star Wars Half Marathon in January and am trying to prepare myself mentally for the next few months.

Positives
Disney Races are always a blast
It's on my birthday weekend so I get to spend it at Disneyland
It will cross California off my list of racing in 50 states
Hanging out in LA for a week with friends

Negatives
First ever race and training that I'm doing without a running partner
The training will all be in cold weather
I've focuses on group fitness lately, don't enjoy running alone

So, this is going to be a challenging 11 weeks of training for me staying motivated and I may need some extra encouragement and support from all of you :)  It's very possible this will be my last Half Marathon...I'll likely focus on 10k or shorter races going forward.

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Looks like I'm a little behind on my goal of running 700 miles this year.  I didn't get out as much in the winter and also had some runs without my watch :/

But it's not over yet!  I'm training for the Iron Horse Half Marathon this October as well as the Star Wars Half Marathon in January.  This means I'll be doing a lot of long runs over the rest of the year and still have a shot at getting this done!

You can watch my progress HERE

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