Wow! It was so amazing to see the outcome for the challenge tonight. I didn't quite know what to expect. Their was such mixed feedback from everyone, that it was hard to tell.  But tonight was one of those nights for me personally that I will remember always. I was so deeply  moved and touched to see how many of you were willing to come our of your shells and do this with me. You may not have thought of it this way, but you weren't alone there tonight when it comes to being uncomfortable showing a little skin. And I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that we would have come so far.
For some of you reading this, you may be wondering what the big deal is all about? So people worked out in their sports bra! Big deal... I see that all the time. Well, not in Medford you don't. And especially at our gym. So thats why it was soooooo coool! And the biggest thing to me that really hit like a rock was that you were willing. You were willing to try it out... to work on a new you for 8 weeks, to show others what you've been working on, and to put yourselves out there. And you know what? You did it! Just think about that for a minute! You took a class tonite in your sports bra! Ya baby! I'm so proud of you and how far you've come. You all may think that I motivate you...... but tonight you all truly motivated me.

If you think that I do this just for fun..... well you're right! :) But I also do it to keep me on track and to challenge us in new ways. And now, there's no stopping us. Little by little, I'm going to keep it up, and keep you on track with your eating and exercise. Wearing  a sports bra in class is a great way to keep yourself motivated to watch your eating and to come to class. And just think of the new colors you can pick !!!!!!

Thank you again for being a part of such a wonderful night with me and joining me in a personal fitness journey that at many times, I never thought I would see. I'm excited to see your comments below, so let me know all your thoughts and tidbits. Can't wait already for the next challenge. Any ideas?

Hey there everyone!

It's finally here -  our final week before our Sports Bra Challenge. And I've been so motivated and touched to hear all of the positive feedback that you've all been giving me. But we are down to the last week and it's time to evaluate -" What next?"

What's the next step for us? We've discussed more water consumption, not eating late, portion control, supplement intake, and yadayadayada. What do we discuss next when it's down to the last week?

Well that thought has crossed my mind several times in fact. We talked about motivation and how to stay motivated when our taste buds get tempted, and that our motivation, whatever it may be, needs to remain strong. But there's one thing to remember and to keep in mind - Keep doing everything we've talked about so far! Portion control, drinking more water, supplements to meet the nutritional demands your body needs, not eating late at night, counting calories, and everything else written in my notes and discussed in class. But there are two things that I want you to take in and chew on:

Commitment and Consistency.

There it is folks!
Commitment: How committed are you to your goal? That's different than motivated. Not how motivated are you to your goal - but how committed are you? We all want to lose the weight without the work. And it's during those hard times( like when your husband ordered pizza and a movie right when you need to leave to the gym),that our commitment to ourselves fades. And that's truly what it is: A commitment to yourself. Are you truly committed to your workout routine and your healthy lifestyle. We have the motivation - remember?, our leotard picture. But do we have the commitment that it takes to stay the course?
And consistency: How consistent have you been with your workouts and eating? Are you working out one time this week, and three times last week? Were you consistent with your snacks today or did you just eat when you were starving? Consistency is a way for you to tell your body that food is constantly coming in on regular intervals and that exercise is on its way. Kind of like the body's way of not having to guess when the next meal is and to hybernate the fat in case you forget to feed your face.

So upon evaluation - how did you do? What I suggest is going back to my very first blog ( I believe it is) and read about recording what you've been eating and how regularly you exercise. Ohhhhhhhh............so you didn't do that you say? Well, theres never a better time to start - NOW! Start right now writing down how often you're exercising and what you eat. It's a great eye opener and a great way to reevaluate your calorie intake and what is working and what is not. And in your workout routine, are you adding weights?

It is essential to have a weight workout in your workout regime. Can I say that again? It is essential to have a weight workout in your workout regime! Lifting weights helps to raise our metabolism which means how fast we burn our calories AND did you know that muscle burns 3x more calories than fat? Don't be afraid of bulking up. In my eyes, I'd rather bulk up on muscle than be bulked up on fat. Where do you stand?
And plus, it's just not going to happen. Some of us, I agree, tend to put on thicker muscles than others, but just think of how you feel now - wouldn't you rather have muscle than fat? I would. So get a weight routine in your workout.

One more week until our Sports Bra Challenge- but a lifetime of a higher quality of life and being healthier. Don't just stop with one week, continue to evaluate where you stand with your exercise and eating right. Eating healthy and eating natural. Oh nat-u-ral.
Eat as natural as you can get. It's pretty hard to go wrong when you eat food that is taken from it's most natural source. Minus the additives and chemicals and preservatives. Go natural baby! Til the next time........

I'm sending you happy thoughts  about weights and natural foods. Ohhmmm.......

Okay,
So I took off  a little time to breathe, and to let you digest all the info I've given to you. We're several weeks in, and I want to know: How are you doing?"

How is this transformation going for you? Are you beginning to lose motivation, or did you not have any at all to begin with?

So that's what Im going to discuss: Motivation!
Motivation is the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action towards a desired goal; the reason for the action;that which gives purpose and direction to behavior;the condition of motivation.

What? arouses an organism to action? Sounds kinda fishy to me. Here's how I describe it: It's what gets you off your butt to come down to the gym when you're already exhausted, put on your most comfy pair of sweats and baggiest t-shirt, sweat your heart out to moves that only a contortionist or She-Ra should do, slap each other a high-five for making complete fools of ourselves, and then say we'll see each other the next time. Motivation is the tool that we desperately need, but forget to include in our workout routines and eating. We have the want, but sometimes the wanting to lose weight, or the wanting to get fit isnt enough when we are lacking spunk and energy to finish a class.

So I want you to give yourself a second and think about some things that motivate you towards your goal..................................
And that may even begin with" What is my goal?" Is it to tone up the belly to do our Sports Bra Challenge? Or to lose 10 pounds? Or to get rid of the love handles? What is your goal? Is it small enough that you can actually see yourself achieving it? Heres what I mean- You may have a goal to lose 60 pds, but that's a long term goal. 60 pds isn't going to come off quickly- it took me a whole year. But.... if you think of a pound a week, then you've shortened your goal and made it more achievalbe. Then, you will be happier once you've achieved your goal, and can be excited towards the next.
But you won't get anywhere if you don't have something to motivate you. And I mean something like a picture, a pair of pants, something to hold or to see. This way, you can go back to your motivation when youre really needing it during those difficult times, and you can concentrate on the reason why you made a goal in the first place. I've had to change my sources of motivation many times. Because something would work for me for awhile, and then either I passed that goal, or it no longer motivated me like I needed it too.

I had this picture for forever of this girl in a leotard- dont ask me why, but it made me so crazzzzzyyyyy  to look like that in a leotard and it kept me going to eat healthier and stay on track. But then after staring at her for forever, it no longer persuaded me to do my best, and I started to eat more and go back to old habits.

Then I changed my motivation to something else and it worked. Bottom Line is this: Dont lose sight of your motivation, and if you need to, change it. Your motivation is what's going to get you towards your goal and to succeed. So make sure its something strong and really inspiring. Until next time............Sionara!

Hi there everyone! First I just wanna say " thanks" for keeping up with the blogs. Your helpful feedback is the reason that I do them; and knowing that the advice and education is helping YOU reach your goal.

So I'm going to post one of my personal favorite brownie recipes for when I am longing for something sweet, fluffy, squishy, baked and of course chocolate. But with this recipe you have to keep in mind that it's not going to be like the double fudge frosting topped brownies that you're used to. This recipe is lacking some of those ingredients that cause that over the top need some milk now sweetness........... followed by the wanna throw up afterwards for eating way to many calories and now staring at your fat belly feeling. :)
This recipe honestly will seem a little bland compared to what you're used to. But I don't want you to compare it to your regular brownies. I want you to take it for what it is: a less calorie, healthier option that won't leave you feeling so cheated after you've eaten one. So the point overall is this- you won't be so tempted to eat 100 of these yummy things just for taste. You'll get that chocalate baked good craving kicked with it and not feel so bad. And a cheat for me is to pound the milk as I'm eating one. That way, I get fuller on a calcium- fortified drink that's healthy instead of that 100 brownies that I really wanted to eat.

FYI- you may substitute the sugar in this recipe for splenda or any other sugar substitution. But I have my warnings about those. It's no good to die of cancer and be thin, then it is to die of a heart attack due to obesity. Either way, you don't look good and you still die. Eat foods that come from a natural source instead of genetically made. They are healthier for you and lack all the carcinogens in them such as aspartame. In my house, I can have a sweet as long as I make it. That way, I know what all the ingredients are that go into it, and I can vary the recipe with egg whites or less sugar and butter if I want to. Ilove to bake believe it or not, and I allow myself to do that. But I won't eat sweets unless their mine. And that also goes for nothing out of a box all you Betty Crocker's! HaHa! Enjoy! ( But not too much!)

Hollys Cheater Brownies:

1/4 c (1/2 stick) light margarine- or none at all!
2 egg whites
1 egg
3/4 c sugar ( or substitute)
2/3 c flour ( I use unbleached, but use bleach if you'd like)
1/3 c Hershey's cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350*. Line mini muffin pan or spray lightly with olive oil spray.(Healthier fat) Melt margarine over low heat; cool slightly. Beat all eggs until light and fluffy, gradually add sugar until lighter in color and thicker. Stir together flour, cocoa, b. powder and salt; then add the egg to the mixture. Gradually add melted margarine and pour into muffin cups.  Bake approx. 15-18 minutes turning halfway through.

*Guzzle a gallon of water and a cup of milk with one brownie and your on your way to a happier, chocolate-baked goods satisfied you. :) :) Okay, 2 gallons of water, 2 cups of milk and 2 brownies!
 

Okay gang!
We're moving on at a steady pace, already into our 2nd week!. So how have you been doing?

It's a great time to evaluate where you are with your goals. Yes, you're only two weeks into it, but you constantly need to keep in check your progress. Just like how the weight just creeped up on you, you need to be constantly aware. Otherwise, you'll get back into the same old habits as what got you in trouble before. So.... this week I want you to evaluate yourself. Take the time for yourself to study.......YOU! For at least two days, I want you to keep track of four things when it comes to eating:
1. How much water intake  are you getting?
Do you get water with every meal? Or how do you remind yourself to drink water? When it's too late? Did you know that water flushes out toxins that can make you extremely fatigued and unhealthy? Everybody talks about how important that water is, but you need to really use your body as a gauge. Think of it as a car at the gas pump, if you don't keep it filled up, it won't go. And the great thing is; is that water is free!
2. Evaluate your calorie intake:
Take at least two days; just two days to re-evalutate or to begin evaluating where you stand with calories. I'll admit it, this part is an eye opener and takes your breath away. Either two things will happen, you are not getting enough calories, or way too much. For me, of course it was way too much.  Log onto www.caloriecount.com to determine calories for things that aren't  labeled. This is a very helpful tool to use. You also can go online to determine where you would like to stand for calories. My favorite site of course is teambeachbody.com/hhowell. You can subscribe to this membership for$2.99/week and it opens up a whole new world of recipes, training tips, BMI calculators, videos, and amazing information, not ot mention all the things I'm telling you now. It also has a food journal specifically made for you that helps you with your goals. This site has been monumental in my personal weight loss, and to be honest, I would pay more for it if I need to.
3. Calculate your protein intake:
Most likely, you're not getting enough, and of the right and healthy kinds of protein. So you're thinking chicken right? Well, yes and no. Chicken is not the only healthy protein for you to absorb. Did you know that alot of your protein intake can come from dairy? Cottage cheese, string cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs, and yogurt. Yum!Yum! Ilove cheese. Here's the thing: Portion size! So don't just think that you need to stick to fish and chicken. I also love ground turkey and turkey bacon. Just limit how much of it,. But it still counts as a protein source.  Just read the labels. Take the extra 5 seconds to see what type of fuel you're giving your body.
Another great source of protein is supplements. You need to really think about  supplying your body with all the nutrients it needs. i know that for the longest time that I didn't know anything about supplements, so I didn't take them. But, as active as you are, and the fact that you're taking in fewer calories now, means that your body has a higher demand for nourishment due to the extra exercise and the decrease in calories. Supplements are a great way to get in those much needed  nutrients and less calories, all wrapped into one. I currently am on a meal replacement and a whey protein.  But here's something you need to think about; I don't want you on them so regularly, that when you don't have them, or can't afford them, you gain weight back because you never learned how to effectively nourish yourself with your eating.  Here is my site; which provides everything you need to help you. Make sure you hit the view details button below the product to view its content before purchasing to make sure it's right for you. And of course, you can always contact me or email me for any questions. Here it is: www.teambeachbody.com/hhowell. But so you know, many products are great and trustworthy, you just need to research them. The reason I offer these, is cause the research is already done for you, and they're a trustworthy product that I take.
4. Calculate how often you're eating.
You know that from my other blog, I explained the seriousness of eating often, so you can always scroll back to that.
Whew! Okay, so this is your homework for the week. Take care and take it to heart. I guarantee you will reach your goal, but you're gonna have to work hard at it. That's why so many people are overweight, cause it's not easy. But..... I honestly believe that we lose sight of how great we feel when we are thinner and healthier. You start eating better and you'll see. It's amazing how when you've been eating great and then you eat something bad, how awful you feel. It's like putting Arco in a porsche that deserves and NEEDS that premium fuel. You're going to run terribly and ruin your motor. So begin anew and remember: everyday is a new day to begin on a new slate. Til next time.....

So here's one of the ways that I eat chicken breast and brown rice. It doesn't matter how much the serving size is, just don't eat it all yourself. Share the love!

And....... it's extremely simple:

Brown Rice
Chicken Breast
Light zesty italian dressing

I cook up the chicken breast on the non-stick pan using olive oil spray. Toss a couple of tbls of dressing on as it's cooking and serve it over the rice. Add some broccoli on the side with parmesan cheese on top and you have now created an exceptionally healthy and might I say tasty meal. Add dressing to your liking, but remember that calories count! You can also add some lemon pepper to the chicken for a little extra zing.

So of course you knew that we were going to have to do this: talk about portion control. AAAAAAHHHHHHH!

It's the dreaded science behind weight loss. Nobody, and I mean nobody wants to cut back on portions. I mean, okay... so I need to eat more healthy things; veggies, fish, chicken, brown rice. But now you're telling me that I have to eat smaller amounts of the things that I already am struggling with? That's right! I want you to work for the next 7 weeks, or more, on your portions. Portion size is EVERYTHING.

I want you to start working on cutting your food back to 3/4 of what you would normally have. You can do that!      3/4.

How do we do that?
Automatically get a to go box when you're eating out and fill it up with the remainder 1/4. Only put 3/4 of the amount of food on your plate. USE SMALLER PLATES! Fill up first on the things you don't like, and then eat the others. There's so many cheats, and I can't tell you what will work for you, but you need to consume fewer calories than you've been. Think of calories as units of energy. Each calorie you eat is a unit of energy, and that calorie is what fuels your body to live and do things like class. When you consume less units of energy than you are using, you will tap into your extra energy source-fat. So in class, you're using those units of energy up with all the movement you're doing. Whatever you ate that day gets used up first, and when there's none left, you begin to lose weight because you're tapping into your store.
So the less amount of units of energy- the better. Each time you take a bite, ask yourself- " Am I going to be able to burn this off today?" One of the things I do when I am particularly struggling is I write on my hands. I write something like: count calories!, or think skinny, or something dumb like that, but it works. I've also been known to search out for pictures of people or things that motivate me and I put them around me.
Most of the time when it comes to weight loss, it's not the discipline I believe that we're lacking; it's the motivation. Think about it: the discipline will come once you have a main focus of motivation. I am motivated to lose the weight ( for some goal or particular reason) which keeps me disciplined to eat right because I keep thinking about what is motivating me. ( Whew!)
What motivates you? Do you have something? Maybe that is why you're struggling with weight loss. Maybe you have something that does motivate you, but it's not very strong. Remember Peter Pan, and how they had to think of a wonderful thought to fly? It couldn't be just any happy thought, but something wonderful. That's how you're motivation needs to be. Not just to get you through, but to help you stay the course. It needs to be strong enough to pull you through when you are being tempted by that chocolate brownie, or late at night when you're watching a movie, or whatever. For me, my motivation was extremely strong, but even at times fell short. But I regathered my direction and picked back up where I'd left off.
Let's stop being a community who settles for the extra 40 pounds! It's become okay and acceptable to be overweight, and we can't even say that someone is fat anymore for fear of hurting their feelings. We need to recognize the fact that we are carrying extra weight and do something about it! And the great thing about weight is  just that - you can change it! You can change your weight. Just because you have extra weight on doesn't mean you're not a beautiful person, it just means you've got extra weight on. It's that simple. And I'm talking 8 lbs to 100.
So your homework this week is to cut back to 3/4 of the amount that you normally eat, AND FIND SOMETHING THAT MOTIVATES YOU! I know that we can do this together, if we just stay focused and committed to ourselves. You are so worth the effort; don't you think? :) I do, and I want to help you succeed. And I love hearing from you and I want to know what motivates you or is currently motivating you. Post it in the my comments section. who knows: maybe your motivation could inspire and motivate someone else?

So I'm posting one of my favorite cheat tricks for helping me to slim down. You may be surprised by it, but it works for me.

I have a hard time with eating as I'm sure you may also; that's why you're looking to drop a couple of pounds off. Food had become my life. It was so easy to not think about what went into my mouth; just eat whatever. And it was cheaper also. So when I decided I was done with the bad habits and I really was sick of the extra weight, I made a decision. Everytime that I needed to evaluate my hunger level, I would do this. Whenever I was unsure how hungry I really was, or whether I just wanted to eat out of boredom, loneliness, something to do, or pity eating. ( Pity eating is when someone else wants to eat it, but not necessarily you....... and you or she says that they'll share it with you, so you or they don't feel so bad about it). Ever done that? I am the #1 pity eater in all of Oregon.:) Anyways....... I would test my hunger level by asking myself," Am I hungry enough right now to eat raw carrots?" It may sound stupid, but pick a vegetable you don't particularly enjoy, or just one you don't eat enough of, and pack it around with you. Really try this!
Ask yourself that. It's a great way to really evaluate whether or not you are hungry or just pity eating or bored. 8/10 times you'll just want to eat out of habit. But if you truly are hungry, you'll be eating healthy vegetables that will get you by until you can get some real food. It has worked great for me and helped me to still eat something, but it was much better for me than what I would have eaten. And I can only eat so many raw carrots til I'm done with them. Switch up the veggies and gauge you're hunger on a scale if you need to. 1 is not hungry and 10 is starving to death! Pick where you are on the scale before you eat. When you go out to eat, automatically to begin with, put 3/4 to 1/2 in a to go box. Get it out of site. We were trained since young to eat what's on our plate, whether it's big or small. The smaller the portion, the better. And you'll still feel satisfied because you finished it all and now you've got leftovers for your afternoon snack that's in a couple of hours. That's my cheat trick #1!
Let's start this new week off with a bang! Good Luck!

My favorite bread: SaraLee's whole wheat 45 cal/slice
Smaller size and it's actually good. Find it at Wal-Mart superstore, Food 4 Less, and Freddys. 2 slices are only 90 cals!

Okay, so now we begin our journey. It took some thinkin' to decide on what I wanted to go over in the beginning. So many things to discuss and to talk about; so many recipes to share and foods to learn about; and so much education to encounter with you. But I decided on three things that I wanted to be our main focus on this week. This is for people who have been on a weight loss program already, and for those of you who are just beginning. Many of you put in your requests for what you needed help with, so if it's just review for you, reevaluate where you are with your eating and exercise and come back to these three things. It's very easy to get off track and get back to old habits.

1. I want you to quit your night time eating. Eat no later than 3 hours before you go to bed, and I want you to eventually work your way down to 7pm, 6pm for me or you if you're ambitious. Here's why; Your body needs calories to function. It takes calories to sleep, pump your heart, breathe, and do all the functions to live. If you eat before you go to bed, your body is taking the calories from the food you just ate and is using those instead of the calories from fat you have stored. So don't eat late! When you get that craving, have some tea, go to bed early, do anything to keep from popping food in your mouth. A really good cheat for me is to chew gum. The craving, depending on how bad your habit was,will take a couple of days to kick. But when you wake up in the morning, you'll begin to notice a difference. For me, I pack food in the car and eat after class. I try to eat as early as I can, but still have it be dinner. You'll see; it's hard at first, but knowing you'll wake up feeling thinner makes it worth it.
2. Consume more protein with every meal. I won't eat a meal unless it has protein. And lean protein at that. I don't eat just chicken, and I hate fish; so for me I still eat red meat. But I make sure it's extra lean. I also love turkey bacon, cottage cheese, Beachbody's whey protein powder, hard boiled eggs, eggs, tuna, lean pork, and I eat ground turkey in place of ground beef in some of my recipes. Your body needs that protein to function. And when you're working out as much as you are, it's imperative that you feed it the right kind of nutrients to sustain your active lifestyle. One rule of thumb I have is to visually have more protein than noodles- aka carbs. Sometimes it takes some guesswork, but is my second cheat on the list.
3. I had a tough time with this one but had to remind myself that this is just for you to start the 8 week program. So I'm saying water. Drink a glass of water before you eat your food. It's better if you can do it a couple of minutes before, but just a glass before you eat. It will hydrate you and it will keep your portions smaller. That will cause you to become hungry again in a couple of hours, which will cause you to be eating every couple of hours like you should. When you don't eat every couple of hours, your body will store the fat... it doesn't know when it's going to eat again, so it makes sure to keep a little reserve for later. So gracious isn't it??!! That glass of water will make all the difference you need right now in your diet and eating habits. So there's what I want you to concentrate on for this week. Those three things and take them seriously. Right them on your hand as a reminder. Do whatever it takes to remind yourself constantly about your goal. I remember when I first started eating every couple of hours. It stunk because I felt like I was constantly thinking about food and what I was going to eat next. It was so much work to make sure their was always food around and that it was healthy. But it will get easier. Remember, you've had some bad habits for awhile, it's going to take a little while to undo them. You will, just like I do, get hungry on your own naturally every couple of hours and find you're eating without even thinking about it. Don't give up on yourself just cause it's taking too long or is too hard. Give your body a chance to work out the results and STAY COMMITTED! We live now where we want to see results and we want to see them now; but let me leave you with this thought: Say that you tried this out and it took too long to see the results; you went back to eating unhappily and gained the weight back or maintained your weight; wouldn't you be better off slowly and gradually losing weight than to just do nothing about it to begin with? At least that way, you'd still be making some ground. So don't give up, it will happen. Just take it one day at a time. So you messed up today, start fresh tomorrow. Tomorrow's always a new day! :)

Favorite popcorn:
Orville Redenbacher's Kettle Korn 100 cal. bags! Yummy!

Okay, so I'm making it known and public- we're starting a sports bra challenge in class. It starts next monday, the 19th. For 8 amazing weeks, we're gonna rock our bodies into the best shape possible, to have one class, one class where we branch out, put aside out sensitivities and modesty, and SHOW SOME SKIN BABY!!!!!! That's right! I'm going to give some helpful, insightful tips on getting the body you want and to flaunt it. It's going to be a challenge for me too. I've always, always been extremely modest and shy when it comes to anything skin, and doing this goes against everything in my being. BUT........I told myself when I was preggo, (over 200 pds!) , that I would never again be that size and I was going to teach class in my sports bra. And here I am! So.......... what's your goal? Could this be one for you? Decide it now that you're gonna do this with me. We are going to put all aside and work our butts off to be able to join the elite group that can say they actually showed skin in public and looked dain good at it!  Don't make up any excuses like, oh my bellies got too much loose skin, or I can't lose enough by then, or whatever lame excuse you can find. ( I have to wash my hair that night!). It's one night out of your whole life..... and it's going to be a blast! And the best thing is...... is that if we all do it together, their won't be just me sticking out like a sore thumb! Next week starting monday....................!