Cut the Crap Out of My Life: Week 3 Recap

Well....surprisingly I am shocked at how different I felt this past week.

Legit, my headaches were to a minimum.
I wasn't nearly as hungry.
I actually was struggling to eat the food.

Tiger Blood Phase

Tiger Blood means that you suddenly get boundless energy, cravings are under control, clothes are fitting better and your workouts are starting to improve. This really did happen. Honestly, I was so skeptical, my workouts have been terrible for the first two weeks, they got done, but not on my level. It would take longer rest breaks, more water breaks and extra motivation just to finish that last repetition. But this week, I wanted to workout, I actually didn't have to talk myself into any of the workouts after work.

Nutrition during week three

Nutrition remained very simple, my proteins were steak, shrimp and chicken. Everything was cooked in coconut oil, spiced very simply and I utilized salt and pepper. Nothing fancy with my protein prep. For my complex carbs, they remained as sweet potatoes. Probably the last time I ever eat sweet potatoes this much lol. Personally, I am just very skeptical with trying new food so I keep new plans basic for success. Snacks remains with fruit (apples and bananas) and Cashew Cookie LaraBars. 

The odd part of this week was cravings, it wasn't that I was craving food. But when I would

see a donut shop, or someone eating chocolate I would immediate think about eating it? When I was at the grocery store this week, I walked by chips and almost bought them. It's not that chips are a big deal but I don't even eat them while not during a nutritional reset lol. There was a moment, on Sunday morning, where it almost all went to hell when I walked by the bakery on my way to the produce section and fresh donuts were out lol. But I had to remind myself, one more week. However, I will say I am bored with the food and I really miss peanut butter and brown rice.

Continuing side effects

For me, during this Whole 30, I have had over side effects which have been related to medication. The nausea from my medicine is FINALLY calming down thankfully. That has been one of the hardest parts during this journey since my body is adjusting to something new and I felt awful for the first half of this already and then you add on Whole 30 and woahhhh. Whole 30 is a great system for people with internal health issues and for me that is why I embarked on this journey. 

Changes I have started to see

There have been some very surprising changes since beginning this journey. Recently, I noticed that I had eczema on my elbows. It's a common thing, my dad had it. My elbows had been rough for

months even with lotion and then I noticed it was similar to my dad's skin and I was developing eczema. That is GONE. Like legit....it's not there anymore I keep staring at my arms lol I couldn't believe it.

Sleep.....I am sleeping through the night, every night. I have zero trouble falling asleep and zero trouble staying asleep. Each night I am exhausted from a busy day being a traveler and a coach. I have the energy to accomplish everything I need but also feel sufficiently tired at the end of the night to successfully sleep without being anxious. 

Gains --> my body is changing. Finally, I am starting to physically see the bloat go away. Personally, I have been able to up my weight game all week which has been nice. My body truly is starting to transform thanks to The Master's Hammer and Chisel. For the first time, my legs are getting definition while also being strong. Personally, my goals do not involve weight-loss. Solely, they are to become healthier, happier, more confident and stronger. To me, women who are fit are beautiful and I love scrolling my IG and seeing so many fit, focused, amazing women going after their goals.

Going into the last phase....what's next

This is it folks, this is the last phase. Home stretch and for me I am trying to improve my nutritional variety so for me my meal plan includes the same breakfast as always SHAKEOLOGY, I would have never survived this program without it. Lunch is beef stir fry with peppers, onions and sweet potatoes. Snacks are apples, bananas and LaraBars. Dinner is chicken, sweet potatoes and broccoli. Trying to change things up without failure since I am commuting again two hours a day for work.

Besides that, my focus this week is on doubles in my workout. Because I earned a free trip to Punta Cana at the end of the month, my second round would end during that time. So I am going to double up this week to end the program right before I go on this amazing trip. Lastly, my goal is to find time to look up the reintroduction phase again and have a plan for next week.

As always if you have any questions, or need help on your own health and fitness journey fill out this quick form! ---> FORM <---

Cut the Crap Out of My Life: Week 2 Recap

Well....friends, week two was something else that's for sure lol.

Going into week two, I knew from reading the Whole 30 book that I was in for a rough road but I wasn't quite sure how rough until I hit days 8-9. Personally, I have been experiencing headaches since day one of the program. After meeting with my doctor, we found that my headaches in week one were from detoxing but the headaches from week two are related to medication I had to start taking.

To say my energy has been low would be an understatement.

Week two was rough, my workouts took more motivation, more internal push and more encouragement from my health and fitness focus groups than ever. Each day I would start my workout and it would take about five minutes before I felt like I was really able to push. Sometimes, I had to hit pause on my Hammer and Chisel workouts honestly. It took some convincing but I would a way to get through.

Nutrition, surprisingly isn't as hard as I thought.

During week two, I kept up with simple recipes that didn't require a lot of time or preparation because I had to travel for work and start to prepare to move to my next assignment. This caused a lack of time which meant, simple recipes, consistency with  meals and utilizing my Shakeology as my saving grace for long car rides. My meal plan was:

Breakfast-Shakeology with cold unsweetened coffee
Lunch- chicken, broccoli and sweet potatoes
Snack- Cashew Cookie Lara bar and an apple
Dinner- Steak, asparagus, rice cauliflower
Occasionally I had on hand a banana and organic fruit strips for when my sugar was an issue on my long days

Noticeable results during week 2 going into week 3.

During week two, I experienced the typical bloating, my abs disappeared and my pants felt tighter but that subsided by the end of the second week. During this time, I noticed that I was sleeping significantly better. I wasn't waking up panicked each night like I normally do wondering how I was going to fit everything in. Physically, I didn't notice any changes, some days I had to back off my weights and others I was able to increase. I am able to get through my rounds of push ups with less breaks but noticeably having a more difficult time with dynamic movements like split squats.

What to expect going into week 3.

So...what am I expecting in week 3? Honestly, not a whole lot other than successfully completing this week while moving and transferring to a different state. This week I will be leaving DC and moving to PA for another work assignment. During this time, I'll be moving so I am focusing on simple meals again, limiting my grocery purchases to avoid waste and focusing on crushing my workouts and getting in my bonus leg workouts this week.

Personally, the internal issues I have been struggling with are all medication related. After speaking with my doctor last week, these are not going to change until my body adapts to the medication. As a result, it will be important to focus on my health during this transition and not so much change. This week I am hopeful for more energy and to have less headaches.

For nutritional purposes, my meal plan is as follows:
Breakfast-Shakeology with cold coffee
Lunch-chicken, broccoli, sweat potatoes and an apple
Snack-cashew cookie Lara Bar and a fruit strip if needed
Dinner- steak or shrimp with asparagus and mixed veggies

Bring on week three!

If you're interested in getting started on your journey fill out this quick form!

Cut the Crap Out of My Life: Week One Recap

Cut the Crap Out of My Life: Week One Recap:

When I started this journey, I won't lie. I had put it off for two months. Several of my friends had successfully completed the Whole 30 and had amazing results. But for me, honestly, I wasn't nervous about the change in plan, the food or even the duration, I was truly afraid of failing.

This whole clean eating, lifestyle thing.

It's only been two years for me.
That's not a long time in the grand scheme of things.

So to take on something like Whole 30 when you read the first part of the book and are willingly going to complete something that makes you feel like crap for the first half, it's nerve wracking. The reality though, these masses of cysts have been raging for far too long the addition of this injection has turned my world upside down. I don't know even when I broke hand into a bunch of pieces, I ever experienced this kind of pain. But these side effects, they're brutal. Some days I feel like I have the flu, I start to vomit while I workout, I've lost so much strength and the lows, are scarily low.

Nutrition has amazing healing benefits.
Especially when you remove all of the processed garbage.
Yes, for the most part, I eat clean.
But when I'm tired, I frequent Starbucks.
My schedule has been insane lately, so there have been more quick fixes for food.
Meal planning has been hit or miss.
I know that my choices aren't helping.

Insert my quest for the Whole 30. The reason why I am not tagging my posts as strictly Whole 30 is because I am modifying and continuing with my Shakeology. It would be silly to stop utilizing the only thing that got me off my medication for my vitamin deficiencies, the only thing that has regulated my system even after seeing a GI specialist. It doesn't interfere or change my results, honestly, I think it's going to be my saving grace due to my food allergies I am even more limited on this plan.



So...what's it really like? What can you expect?

Week one, has been brutal. I was reading the book and it said for those who had poor nutrition prior to starting would struggle more. Even though I eat clean, exercise and drink my superfoods. I still frequent Starbucks 3-4 times a week, I still have snacks when I cannot find time to eat at work. So for me, it took five days for the headaches to go away. They're not regular headaches, they felt like my head was going to explode on days 1-3.

Day one the only thing I noticed was a headache, but by day two, I was moving slower. At work, it took longer to form thoughts and I could tell my body was fatigued. By day three, I was crabby, I won't like I was short-tempered. Then on day 4, I had to force myself to get my workout in because I knee the detox was clouding my judgment. By day 5, I felt "normal" still tired but without a headache.

How does the nutrition plan work?

The meal plan food wise has not been hard at all for me. Personally, I had a dairy and egg allergy, so not having dairy hasn't been any different for me. However, going from eating 6 times a day to 3 times a day has been struggle bus city. My body has yet to adjust and I am hungry. I've incorporated a snack utilizing Cashew Cookie LaraBars because being gone 11-12 hours a day at a job you never stop meaning burns my energy fast.

Shakeology is my breakfast modified with unsweetened cold coffee. No I actually don't like coffee, I just like the fancy drinks at Starbucks full of sugar. To actually sit down and drink a cup of coffee, no thanks. But my body enjoys it in my shake so that's been a beneficial way to avoid just drinking black coffee. Lunches have been chicken or steak with veggies and sweet potatoes. Dinner is the same rotating proteins as I am able.

Personally, I did not want to use the recipes in the first week. They are complex and involve a lot of things I don't own or even know honestly what they are. I stuck to lean proteins, vegetables steamed with no oils and baked sweet potatoes plain. Honestly, it's not hard to not having dressings, or anything fancy added to my food. Hydration has been huge, anytime I am hungry I drink more water, it's really helping.

Changes in my body that I've noticed:

There hasn't been any drastic changes yet. But because I am doing Hammer and Chisel, I do notice I am getting leaner which is my overall goal with the exercise program. My sleep has been completely off which is partially due to a change and the stress involved from my job. By the end of the first week, the weird bloat I had obtained after having to start on medication has completely gone away.

Also, I've noticed a different type of resilience. My mind is strong and focused. During my first week, I had a party and we went out. Instead of caving and eating the food, I ordered off a menu, stuck to my plan and drank water. It honestly wasn't hard, when you're doing something that your body needs and it isn't just a physical desire for a number on the scale, cheating just isn't going to happen.

What happens next?

Week two meal plan is simple. Easy to follow. For me, in the next two weeks, I'll be working, traveling and potentially moving either home or to a new assignment. As a result, complex meals are just not going to happen. This week I am focused on success, they say most people quit in week 2 and I am not about to save. Thus, I've got a meal plan written out, going shopping after work and have my workouts planned from Hammer and Chisel to set myself up for success. What I've noticed is keeping this as basic as possible yields success. It was initially overwhelming with all of the recipes but I am just doing me and doing this in a way I know I can achieve.

No goal is impossible with a little trial and error. 

Interested in learning more about my upcoming health and fitness focus group?

---> Fill out this form today <-----

Cut the crap: 30 days of eliminating processed crap and negativity

If you're anything like me, you're busy, like multiple job, working all of the time, hustling for a better life busy and when life happens and tries to slow us down we only speed up faster. But that doesn't necessarily mean great things for our bodies and our minds.

Three months ago, I got my Nexplanon injection, after the reality that my masses of cysts were getting worse. As an option for internal control, I got the injection, but underestimated the side effects. They've been brutal, weight gain, weakness, irritability, low points, poor sleep cycles, headaches. It's been a whirlwind watching my body try to adjust.

When I started talking to my doctor about the side effects, I heard "very common," "it just takes time." That's easy for the person not watching their body do 180 wondering what's going to happen next. There have been days I have woken up and it has taken everything in my power to find the motivation to keep moving. It's crazy what we have to go through to be healthy when we have a condition and the reality that medications don't always do what we need them to do.

Insert--> my 30 day Cut the Crap challenge where I am going to incorporate Shakeology, Whole 30 and emphasis on personal development and positivity. A lot of people have asked what exactly I am doing and I find this platform to be the easiest.

Whole 30 is 30 days of no cheats, no grains, no alcohol, no sweeteners, nothing processed, artificial or chemical. It's not a weightless program, it's a program to help you optimize your internal and natural health that bases it's results from the inside out. The focus is not on the scale but on how one feels.

What I am looking to achieve?

Personally, I am looking to improve my sleep, consistent sleep. Looking to continue on the positive weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight. Also, looking to clear up my skin, since my injection I have developed issues with breakouts that I never had before. Lastly, when Ia m in a pinch I've lately been resorting to quick fixes, like quick meals and less portioned consistency like I normally follow. As a result, I am hopeful to rid my body of the bloating and no longer be dependent on coffee for energy on my long work days.

What fitness program am I going to do?

During this challenge, I will be doing Hammer and Chisel. It's a program based off of high level activity with emphasis on weight training. Honestly, it's my soulmate workout. It's my favorite of all of the Beachbody workouts I have done and has enabled me to get to a healthy weight again after my injection. Hammer and Chisel is 60 days so I will complete the first half during the elimination phase and continue it  as I reintroduce foods into my diet. 

What kind of meal plan will I follow?

Today, I spent an hour reading through the book again reviewing the food options, recipes and meals provided in the book. Honestly, I am not really great in the kitchen, so I am going super basic this week to yield success. This week my breakfast will be Shakeology with coconut milk and unsweetened black coffee. Lunch will be grilled chicken and sweet potatoes. Dinner will be a steak with the balsamic grilled vegetables from the cookbook. I will be making my own ketchup from the book as well since ketchup on the shelf is not allowed. Lastly, my snack will be an apple with almond butter. 

This week and the first half of the challenge I will be doing a lot of traveling and I will also be moving so I have found some quick snack options just in case I get in a pinch. I am using the Larabars I choose the Cashew Cookie, I got raw cashews and to go almond butter serving packs.

 

What are your options for support and accountability this month?

This month I am still running a health and fitness focus group for busy people like yourself who need motivation, support and accountability but need a realistic approach to changing their lifestyle. This month I am running Food Meets Fitness: A realistic approach to health and fitness for the busy woman on the go. This is for anyone who wants to start their journey, continue their journey, or are tired of falling off the wagon. You can apply for your spot today. The group opens on March 20th!

Apply Here!

Marketing Impact Academy 2.0: Changing the Course of My Life Forever

Have you ever wanted to go somewhere, like an event, but you didn't have anyone to go with you or you weren't quite sure what it would entail? But, something pulled at your heart and you just knew you were meant to be there?

That was me.
That was the Marketing Impact Academy (MIA) event.

For those of you who follow me, not for business advice, MIA is a online course for ANY business owner who wants to learn how to properly execute and successfully run an online business with passive income options. For me, I went because I am a student of Chalene Johnson's in the MIA online course and this was a no brainer. This training teaches you EVERYTHING you need to learn to be successful with building an online business and gives you the tools to succeed.

So, on Thursday, I left SUPER early and boarded a plane that ended up being delayed twice. But it enabled me to get more work done so I wasn't even remotely upset lol. As the plane landed, all of my worried anxious feelings went away. My Uber driver got me talking and it was easy to chat about my brand Gina Marie Fit and this community I am building along with a successful online health and fitness business. It wasn't hard to see my excitement and hear the passion in my voice, I was meant to be here.


That first day, I checked into the Hyatt Regency, busted out a workout to calm my nerves and then of course what else would one do when coming to California? I went to Target. Legit, no lie it was the second thing I did because I needed healthy options for snacks for the weekend. Then, I hopped on my life Beachbody northeast mastermind leader group call and headed downstairs to listen to register. After registration, I hopped on another ranked coaches call and found myself totally in my own element.

Finally, I went to dinner. I was starving, crushed a steak and took in all of the palm dreams and beautiful weather. I laid out my outfits, bagged my bag full of snacks, notebooks, pens and of course highlighters #nerdstatus. Then it was time for sleep....yeah right. I was so excited  I couldn't sleep so I got to work. Honestly, the coolest thing about running an online health and fitness business is that I can do it from ANYWHERE! Legit in the airport, on the plane, in the hotel, at the conference, walking down the street. You name it I made it happen.

DAY ONE: There is absolutely no risk involved

As I walked down to the conference room, early as usual, I sat in line and took it all in. There was this weird feeling coming over me, it's like God was guiding me to my purpose. As the doors open, I found a seat as close to the front row as a I could and breathed. The event began and there she was, my mentor, my favorite fitness instructor, Chalene Johnson! The whole time she had music playing and she came out announced by Kim Cole who I got to meet #loveher! They got down as we did and then it was time to learn.

 

Dreams, you have to align yourself with your dreams and then align your work ethic to achieve those goals. They explained the importance of being captivating, not entertaining, we are in the business of changing lives, we must lead from the front. There was an awesome training on the four types of people and I learned I qualify as a "Processing Perfectionist" someone who loves processes, having a business, but it's just not going where you want it to and your desire for perfection is robbing you of your greatness.

After our first training, then it was time for the speakers. Our first speaker was Brock Johnson, from UnwrapSnap.com training us on SnapChat. It was awesome to see someone so young becoming successful and using such a personal platform as SnapChat to run his business. If you run a business and have a SnapChat account utilize his academy. I joined right after MIA. If you're on Snapchat add me at: ginamariec17.

Then our next speaker was Nicole Walters, an income strategist and entrepreneur. Nicole was a big time corporate worker and one day she decided to become an entrepreneur. Honestly, the biggest takeaway from her story and training was her story about adopting her three girls who were born to a drug addicted mother. Tears. So many tears. I resonated with some of the things her daughter said about not feeling worthy being abandoned by a biological parent. Seeing how selfless Nicole was shows why she's successful. My biggest business takeaways were:

• Part of dealing with being an entrepreneur is dealing with the hard stuff while life is happening
• Set realistic goals, not fantasy
• Ask for resources and help
• Know who you are and what you're doing

Our last speaker of the day was Brendon Buchard, not going to lie, huge fan girl moment when he walked out on stage, my jaw dropped. Beachbody is bringing him as one of our key note speakers for our annual event this year. That's how important Chalene Johnson is. Brendon became an entrepreneur after a string of circumstances that almost caused him to take his life. He was in an accident and almost died. He said as he watched the blood and his life leave his body he realized he still hadn't lived.  My biggest business takeaways were:

• Every moment in life is a second chance, be intentional
• Inspire and instruct others on hot to improve their lives and achieve their goals
• Care enough to decide to do it and align your goals with your actions
• Create products structured around helping people improve their lives

DAY 2: HOW YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN

On Day two, we started with another training with Chalene, talking about the importance of quality content. There was a heavy emphasis on no longer putting out content that we feel we should because everyone else does it. Also, the emphasis was established to arrange your business with organization, structure, persistence and patience. Lastly, to determine the qualities in your ideal coach/customer and be specific with your posting towards them.

Day two one of our speakers was Sean Cannell the YouTube expert. This training was focused around live video, video content and the importance of establish libraries of information that people find beneficial. His top five mistakes for those that create video content were:

1. Weak Intros
2. Low energy
3. Distracting backgrounds
4. Lack of planning
5. Self focused instead of being focused on your audience

DAY 3: IMPLEMENT WITH A PLAN

On day 3, the focus was on establishing an effective plan with set to do list items that we could leave and implement with success. During this training, we were trained on passive income which I am currently in the process of creating and will be launching this month.

Part of the training was on the importance of the right message, sent at the right time, with the right segments. There's nothing worse then signing up for something and being spammed with multiple emails. Instead, create quality, valuable content, with segments so you know who you are sending it to.

Day 3, our speaker was Pat Flynn, an entrepreneur and podcaster from Smart Passive Income (I downloaded it immediately and recommend it). One day Pat "decided to become an entrepreneur." The top takeaways for me, were to create quality audio and take your audience on a transformation so even though they're on a podcast they can visually see where you're going with your story and see your purpose.

So....what's the point of all of this?

For me, personally, I've had a dream for a year of a community base, of a website, a portal for people to go to find quality information, to find value, inspiration and assistance. To thrive even in the most difficult of times and to have the kind of support system we tend to lack with starting an unconventional opportunity.

It took coming to MIA not only to establish the confidence, but to learn the tools to become an effective leader and to truly become a business builder. Now, I have set actions plans, I have steps to follow and a passion burning so bright it's hard to sleep. That's what events  can do for you and your business. Not only does it recharge you but it gives you the things that you don't always find in your daily business life.

Since leaving the live academy training I have implemented more systems, processes and passionate action steps then I have in the past two years combined. It's truly amazing what can happen when your interest, passions and desires align with the plan set for you and your willingness to work for every single second of it. If there is something that you think about, that keeps you up at night, that fuels your soul and you're not doing it yet....just start. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to begin.

Here is a list of all of the speakers and their academies. I know over the next year and a half I have a plan to incorporate all of them to reach a different level in my business to make more of an impact.

Brendon Buchard: The Expert's Academy

Nicole Walters- Fierce Clarity and $1 k in  day

Sean Cannell-YouTube trainings

Pat Flynn-Business/podcasting

Brock Johnson- UnWrapSnap.com

Foodie Friday: Barbecue Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients

• Parchment paper
• 1 medium spaghetti squash (about 3 lbs.)
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided use
• ¼ tsp. sea salt (or Himalayan salt)
• ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 cups shredded green cabbage
• 1 cup shredded red cabbage
• ¼ cup vegan mayonnaise (or all-natural mayonnaise)
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 dash ground celery seed (optional)
• 1 dash ground white pepper (or ground black pepper)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• ½ tsp. ground cumin
• ½ tsp. ground paprika
• ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 2 Tbsp. low-sodium organic vegetable broth
• ¼ cup all-natural smoked barbecue sauce, no sugar added
• 12 small whole-grain dinner rolls, cut in half lengthwise, toasted (if desired)
• 24 thinly sliced pickles, low-sodium if possible

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375º F.
2. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and membrane.
4. Place spaghetti squash, cut side up, on baking sheet. Evenly drizzle with 1 Tbsp. oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place cut side down.
5. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until tender.
6. While spaghetti squash is baking, make coleslaw by combining green and red cabbage, mayonnaise, mustard, celery seed (if desired), and white pepper in a medium bowl; mix well. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.
7. Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
8. Add onion; cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent.
9. Add garlic powder, cumin, paprika, and red pepper flakes (if desired); cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
10. Add broth; cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Set aside.
11. Scrape spaghetti squash flesh into stringy noodles. Add to skillet; cook, over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until broth is absorbed.
12. Add barbecue sauce; cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until well coated and heated through.
13. Evenly top each bottom roll with spaghetti squash mixture, coleslaw, 2 pickles, and top roll; serve immediately.

Containers

2 Greens

2 Yellows

2 tsp.

Mantra Monday: What do I sacrifice to be successful?

Happy Monday everyone! <- Yes I am saying happy and Monday in the same sentence!

I have been crazy busy traveling, working and the usual chaos of life.

So I'm back! I'm preparing for another trip this week to California (so excited).

But I'm not falling by the way side again.

I feel like today is the perfect day to talk about sacrifices.

This year I deemed as the year of sacrifices.

What that means is that I'm going to say no, when it would be fun to say yes.

Because my goals and dreams are too big to put on hold for short term gains.

So...what do I personally sacrifice to be successful?

1. Gave up on the excuse that I don't have time to live a healthy lifestyle.

Yes, I used to be that person who said they didn't have time. No time to cook. No time to make it to the gym when I was working seven days a week. No time to meal prep or plan. I just went to the grocery store and picked whatever was microwaveable, quick, easy and didn't require the stove or the oven. I skipped the gym when I worked late. I skipped the gym when I was tired. I skipped the gym on the weekends and binge watched Netflix.

I had to sacrifice my excuses and learn to budget my time to live a healthier lifestyle. Health is your number one priority always. I know you're probably rolling your eyes, saying no money is. I get it. I'm still in debt, grinding hard to get ahead one day. But if you overwork yourself, like I have in the past, and end up at the hospital. You don't work to make that money. So having a healthy diet and participating in daily physical activity has been EPIC for my lifestyle. Take it one day at a time and you'll soon notice you have less stress, more time and less overwhelm.

2. Gave up on the instant gratification

This honestly, was in all aspects of my life. I used to be the type to try every fad diet, every pill, wrap or quick fix. I had to quick up the over-exercising, starvation nonsense an realize the results would come over time when I did it properly. There is no longer working out for a summer body.

This also pertains to my lifestyle and my business. Being a health and fitness coach is not overnight success, it takes time, consistency, determination and failure to eventually achieve your goals. Instead of setting monthly goals, I set yearly goals with three month progress plans. I broke the year down into four quarters and focused on the long term gains by establishing a no-excuse mindset.

3. Gave up by obsession with perfection

I'm a red. My personality color. It means I am a perfectionist in all aspects of life. If I see something is supposed to be done one way, I have to do it exactly that way. If someone tells me I should be successful in a certain amount of time, then I have to follow the plan. The reality, there is no possible level of perfection in all aspects of life. Truly, if you're living a lifestyle path and not a short term gain path, you should always be growing from experience and failure. There were so many missed opportunities over my first year as a coach because I thought I had to have it all together. When in reality, all I had to do was start.

This obsession had to also resonate with my lifestyle. I had to learn to have compassion for myself like I do those in my life. There are days where I cannot push 110% and that's okay. There are days where grief takes over my whole body and I have to rest. There are days where sometimes I just have to check off my own to do list boxes and say that's enough. I had to respect myself and my body. I had to learn my worth and be okay with the fact that not everyone sticks around in your life and that's okay.

4. Gave up trying to do it all at once

Prior to this year, I had an awful habit of doing a lot of multi-tasking thinking that people who are good at multi-tasking are successful people. But that's a bold faced lie lol. If I was on a team call, I was doing something else. If I was talking to someone, I was texting a client. If I was home visiting, I was thinking about everything I should have been working on.

Slowwwww downnnn my friends. Be present in this moment, the moment you are given. Stop focusing on everything else and focus on the task at hand. How did I change this awful habit? I stopped. I spend 10 minutes every night before I go to bed planning out my day, one task at a time, not putting down multiple things to do and I set timers for tasks. As a result, when it was time for a team call, I was on the team call with a notepad in hand. If I was with family, my phone went down. If I was at a conference, I was listening and my phone was in my bag. Be present. Not perfect.

5. Gave up giving a crap what people thought of me

I am a chronic people pleaser. It sucks sometimes. I always do for others and thought they should do the same. What I had to learn was to only have expectations for myself, I know you are thinking that's crap. But hear me out. I used to live my life one way and expected if I put in the effort others should to. The reality, that's not the case. You don't know what someone is thinking of, struggling with or going through. You cannot expect someone to do things like you. Instead, now, I embrace people for where they are and what they bring to the table.

This helped me to learn to stop giving a crap what other people think of me. My entire life I've been a free spirit in secret thinking I was weird for always wanting freedom to just be where I wanted to be. But honestly, when I stopped living my life by other people's standards I started to excel in my business. Comparison truly is the thief of joy and I have my joy back now. Now, I embrace my compassionate heart, my sometimes foul mouth and my desire to be the positive change I wish to see in this world. Maybe, just maybe, I can inspire other people to be their true self along their way.

So...now what?

Be you my loves always. If you want to be successful in this world, eliminate the excuses, remove the people who don't support those big scary goals and establish a flexible so that when life happens, because it always does, you have the ability to just roll with the punches. STOP worrying what others will think and just put yourself out there. You will find your tribe. They will love you hard. It will change your life, if you let it.