Some Monday Motivation and Making Time to Work Out Even When You Are Busy

The Dreaded Monday is among us yet again! Lol. 

Time For #MotivationalMonday!!

A lot of my close friends have been making some life changes and seeing some AWESOME results and I'm just sitting here like:

I just look at how amazing they are doing and know that there is no reason that I couldn't be doing the same.

This is one of my best friends, Stephanie:

The before pic was her almost 3 years ago, with my babygirl.  She has lost 50+ lbs in about a year (a little less)! She has been making time to get healthy by clean eating, running and lifting weights all while working and going to school, both full-time!

Another bestie of mine, Jess has recently started working out again and look at what she has already accomplished by changing her eating habits and working out!

Another dear friend, Kayla has been doing great as well... Better than great! I mean she has already dropped about 20 lbs!

CAN YOU SAY MOTIVATION!!!!

That being said, I know why I haven't had much success and when I do take two steps in the right direction, I end up taking three backwards. 

I usually tend to make lots of excuses as to why I can't do this or that. But now I really have no excuse. If I didn't work out one morning, I figured I would have to wait until after I got off work and got my little girl to sleep and the majority of the time, I would go to sleep with her. The fantastical two-hour lunch break I have wasn't gonna work either because I didn't have a way to get home to work out and I didn't want to go for a run or do any kind of anything that would cause me to sweat and not be able to go take a shower and have to go back to work. By me not being able to go home for lunch meant another temptation. FOOD.  Going out to eat three days a week. Not good, especially when you aren't making even halfway good choices. 

But now, I have a car so I can go home, workout, take a shower and eat. YAY ME!! That is exactly what I came home to do today. 

And this is what I plan to do everyday. I can't let anymore time fly by and me continue to be unhappy with how I look and feel. The excuse of being too busy or too tired is no longer valid for me. 

If you are struggling to find the time to work out, here are some tips on how to make some:)

1. SCHEDULE YOUR WORKOUT!-- If you go ahead and schedule your workouts for the week, you will have already set that time aside for it and you will be less likely to skip it.
2. WORK OUT AS SOON AS YOU WAKE UP-- Now if you are like me, and arent a morning person, this one can be a bit tough. Set your alarm earlier, and set it across the room. That way when that alarm buzzes, you HAVE TO get up and turn it off.  Then the hard part is over. Drink some water (it helps boost your metabolism if you drink it as soon as you get up, set a glass or a bottle beside your bed), eat some breakfast, wait a little bit and then get that workout in! Do you know how great it feels to already be done with your workout before most are even out of the bed?! No one is up to distract or interrupt you. It feels pretty freakin awesome. And you have also boosted your mood for the day! 
3. WORKOUT BEFORE BED!-- If the morning workout is out of the question for you, then try it before bed. I know I tend to sleep better when I work out at night. I don't know if its just where I am able to clear my mind, or work out that extra stress but it still feels good. Everyone is in bed, once again, no distractions or interruptions
4. PUT IN WORK ON YOUR LUNCH HOUR-OR-KIDS NAP TIME!-- If you have enough time during your lunch break, or while the kids are napping, get your workout in at that time. Perfect way to de-stress midday! 
5. MAKE IT A FAMILY THING!- If you have kids, take them outside and go for a walk or a bike ride. If weather doesn't permit that, you can always have fun inside with games like Wii Fit and all the fun dancing games. As long as you are having fun and being active, that's all that matters. My little one loves to do planks and squats with me and she LOVES TURBO JAM!!

Hopefully some of these tips are able to help you make some life changes for the better. No time like the present for you to get healthier and happier!

On your busiest days, how do you make the time to work out?

Toddler Temper Tantrums and Terrible Twos

 

So this is not fitness related at all...well I guess it could be. I was stressed out and worked out at the same time! But I have to get this out about my little pride and joy.

 

She had an appointment monday afternoon at 1:15pm. On any other day, she is at pre-school getting ready for her nap. This isn't the first appointment she has had during her regular naptime, so I already knew that Bug would not be a happy little lady.  But I had no clue what she had in store for me. NO CLUE AT ALL!!!!

 

When I picked her up, she was in a fairly good mood considering. We get to the office and I am filling out paperwork, when she decides that she wants to write too. I told her to hold on a second and that I would get her something to write on. That didn't work for her. A lady behind me hands her a piece of paper and a pen so that she can write. Well she didn't want that either. She wanted to write on the pink sheet of paper that I was writing on because it is her favorite color (and those were her words lol). At that point, she starts this crying and screaming and drooling everywhere. I don't know what is up with the drooling, its like her thing now. Her nose started running and that made her more upset so we went to the bathroom to clean up her nose. She blows it, washes her hands and comes out of the bathroom a brand new child. She goes and plays with the blocks and a little doll until she gets called back. She cooperates very well with myself and the nurse as I undress her for her to get weighed and measured. But as soon as the nurse said that it was time to get dressed again, something flipped in this child's brain. I managed to get her pants and sock on without an excess of struggle but her shoes were a different story. She started SCREAMING like I was killing her or something, crying and doing the whole drooling thing (and for some reason that drives me crazy!). Everytime I would get one shoe on, she would kick it off with the other foot. I would sit her up in the chair and she would throw herself back down to the floor. I would get down on the floor to get them on her and she rolled around so that I couldn't grab her feet. All while screaming non-stop. She was swinging and smacking at my arms. Just flipping out! The nurse looked shocked at how Ari-Bug was acting...no she didnt just look shocked, she genuinely was shocked and really so was I. She has never acted like that before. At home or in public. I mean she has had her moments but NEVER THAT BAD!  I knew she was just sleepy so I tried not to get too upset with her but I could only take so much of it. I managed to get one shoe on her and said F it with the other shoe. I was done trying. Then out of nowhere, Bug says " I want to go to the lady!" and walks over to her and gets on her lap and lays her head on her chest.  At this point, I think she was too tired to keep it going much longer. When we were all done, I carried her out to the car, still with only one shoe on, and take her back to school. I was so wore out by the time I got back to work, I'm not really sure how I managed to get through the massages I had booked for the rest of the day.

 

I've been told that 3 year olds are even worse than the whole TERRIBLE TWO stage, but her 3rd birthday is only a couple months away. I don't know if I am getting the late terrible two tantums or a preview of whats to come from my soon-to-be three year old.  

 

 

How can my usually oh-so-sweet and precious little girl turn into THAT!! LOL All I can say is keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I'm going to need some serious strength and way more patience that I have to deal with that. I'm going to have a head full of gray hairs by my 23rd birthday in November!!!!

 

If you have a toddler, (or an older child- either way you've been here before) WHAT IN THE WORLD do you do when your child is having a tantrum like that?

She has had tantrums in the grocery store as well and I honestly just kinda ignore her there. I can only ignore so much though, especially when she decides she is just gonna walk or run away from me.

SHE TURNED HER CAN'Ts INTO CAN's AND HER DREAMS INTO PLANS!!

Geez. I feel like most of my posts have been about me falling off track and how I plan to get back on. Every time the problem is stress. It goes away and then it comes back 10 times worse. This time was different. I almost lost my job over something that wasn't really in my control. It was from me having to depend on someone else and then pretty much getting screwed over.. That started a big argument and things became...ugh... just crazy intense. It almost pushed me to my breaking point. But just when I got to my darkest place, things suddenly took a turn. Things have started to turn. That has caused me to look back on how far I have come. I don't mean as far as my weight loss because that has been a roller-coaster. I mean as far as everything else in my life. I have so much to be thankful for and with that I have so many positive things I need to think of, rather than all the negative that surrounds me. 

I definitely have a problem with that though. All the negative seems to greatly overpower all the great things in my life. I don't want it to be like that anymore. With so much in my life that is good, why would I let all this stupid negativity get me down, break my spirit, and constantly keep me depressed.

The only thing holding me back is me. I know that I am far from perfect and all these problems in my life will make me appreciate this journey and everything in my life. It still does get aggravating when I keep starting over. I think I will start keeping a journal. Maybe then when these problems and stressful situations do arise, I can get them out and down on paper, out of my mind, and hopefully that will help me handle everything a little better, just a thought.  

I never want to go back to the negative place I've been in over the past couple weeks and I will do everything in my power to prevent that. Working out can be such a good way to relieve stress.  You would think I would be doing it all the time. But I've gotten so depressed, I've barely done anything. I would have my daughter taken to daycare, go to work, have her picked up and then myself picked up and go home. When I got home, I wouldn't do too much then either. Make Bug something to eat. Depending on how I felt, I maybe ate something, watched TV and went to bed.  It was almost like I didn't care anymore. But everyday I looked in the mirror I didn't like what I saw. I still don't. I know what I need to do to change that picture, but somehow that didn't make it any easier. It didn't make it any easier even though I know I just had to do it. Just do it.  And at the time, I guess I really didn't want to do it.  

And I'm sick of all the reasons why I don't want to or don't feel like starting and following through with my healthy lifestyle change.  Have you ever been SO COMPLETELY SICK AND TIRED of how things have been that no matter what you are gonna do what you have to do to make a change? I think I am finally there.  If I'm not, I need to be.  No one can make these changes but me. So that's what I am going to do. 

When things get tough, I will adjust so that things can still work for me. I am sure there are people out there with worse situations than what I have been in and still manage to reach their goals and make things happen to better their life. So why can't I? 

Thats the thing. I find myself using "can't"  wayyyyyy too much. I have to turn my CAN'T's in to CAN's and my DREAMS into PLANS!

That is the only way I am going to succeed in ANYTHING! 

And I am so ready. I deserve to be happy, healthy, successful and full of life!

I deserve to reach my goals and make things happen in my life!

Every Journey Begins With a Single Step....

The past few weeks have been nothing but chaos and stress for me... then again, when isn't it? I get myself in these situations when I try to help others and I feel like I get taken advantage of.  All this stress threw off my eating and I binged. Damn emotional eating. And I barely worked out. I am not gonna try to make excuses for why I didn't do better, I just have to learn how to handle stress in my life better. What I have been doing has been hurting me instead of helping me.  The crazy part is I can stop this particular cause of stress and hadn't done anything to stop. Mainly because every time I did, it seemed to only cause more problems. But I can't and won't do it anymore. 

With that problem behind me, I am back to focusing on ME! My mind, my body, my spirit, and my child. 

I had to work until 6pm yesterday and had a rough night Sunday. Bug didn't sleep very well, so neither did I. But as soon as we got home, I made her some dinner and I almost didn't work out. I was tired and honestly not in the mood. But then I had a realization. The only reason I am still so miserable and unhappy with the way I look is because there have been so many times I haven't been "in the mood" to work out. So instead of letting the old J'Wana make the decision to not work out, the NEW J'Wana stepped forward and took control!! I can't let my old mentality keep me from getting healthy, fit, and happy.

IT WAS TIME TO SWEAT!

Brazil Butt Lift's Bum Bum and Turbo Jam 20 Min and I was pouring sweat! The FAT was definitely crying a river last night! I love TJ because of the music and its fun to do. Chalene is so upbeat and motivating! I just love it! Dare I say, my soulmate workout<3

BBL on the other hand, KICKS MY BUM BUM!!! Don't get me wrong, it is an amazing workout! But there is definitely a Love/Hate relationship. My legs and booty are so sore! I am very happy I only had to give a 30 min massage today. Lol! 

I am gonna eat some lunch now and take a nap! Gonna get my sweat on later! 

What are you having for Lunch?

Turning Heads in 2013- Brazil Butt Lift Challenge!

Making Some Heads Turn in 2013-Brazil Butt Lift Challenge Group!!

WE ALL want a nice round booty, right?! Summer time will be here before we know it and 2013 is the year for us to get the body and booty we have always wanted! Whether you have too much junk in the trunk or you are as flat as a pancake, you can lift, shape and round out that behind so that you can be confident working that bikini on the beach! Brazil Butt Lift is the way! Give it 30 days and see how much your body will change!

You see this gorgeous lady below? She is Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio... and guess how she keeps her booty looking like this? 

You Got It! Brazil Butt Lift!

You wanna know what I love about Brazil Butt Lift?? You can do this program in the privacy of your own home. I hated going to the gym because I felt like I looked like a hot mess. But really, there is no reason to throw your hopes, dreams, and goals out of the window just because you are afraid of the gym! 

 Look at these awesome results!

Want to join in this challenge to a beautiful bikini body and a booty that will turn heads?!

• Order your copy of Brazil Butt Lift here.
• Register on my site with me as your coach: http://bit.ly/11MQK4I. If you already have a Beachbody Coach, make sure you check with him or her about any challenges they may have.
• You must have a Facebook account. Makes it so much easier to check in! Add me as a friend- facebook.com/jwana.saunders. Once you message me that you want in, I will send you information to join the group. You can also email me at massagemama@beachbodycoach.com for info.
• We will keep each other accountable through secret group on Facebook.  No one can see that you are in the group or what you post, except for us in the group.  We will post daily check-ins about our workouts, how we’re doing with our eating, recipe ideas, questions, good days, bad days, any day, every day!  You must check in daily! There will also be some weekly challenges.
• I want to see some before and after pics!! So we will take one pic the first day of the challenge, so we have something to look back at and be proud of in 30 days.
• Along with working out, we are also going to work on making better, healthier food choices. We don't diet. Diets never work. Lol. Lets work on something we can maintain for the rest of our lives/
• Schedule a time for your workout everyday. When you schedule ahead, you know when you’re going to workout so there’s no last minute struggle to fit it in– that’s how workouts get missed.
• And last thing is  – HAVE FUN!  Brazil Butt Lift is a super fun workout, incorporating Brazilian dance, cardio, and sculpting moves, but is definitely not a joke when it comes to giving you results!

LETS RAISE OUR GLASSES AND OUR ASS-ETS TO THE NEW YEAR!!!WE WILL START ON FEBRUARY 11TH!! SEE YOU THERE!!

BRAZIL BUTT LIFT- HIGH AND TIGHT....AND IT BURNS! LOL

So, as you know from my last  post, I am restarting Brazil Butt Lift. The workout I have the most trouble with, I would have to say High and Tight and I have heard that is not everyone's favorite ;). Now don't get me wrong, High and Tight is a great routine. But my body doesn't like it. I am so out of shape that it is really hard for me to keep going during some of the exercises. But there is always Leandro in the background saying "Never settle for less...Give it all you've got...keep pushing... you can do this" and so on. So I keep trying. I know if I stay consistent and keep working hard, it will get easier.

With that being said, I am going to use High and Tight as a progress video if you will.

I want to track my progress with this round and see how I improve. I recorded myself doing some of the exercises. In a few weeks, I will compare them! I am excited to see how this goes!

So this first one is called On the Beach. You lay on your side. Elbow in line with your shoulder, your other arm/hand in front, supporting you. Legs straight or slightly bent. You lift both legs off of the floor, and then lift your top leg while squeezing your bum bum. After a set of those, you lift both legs again, but then you lift the top leg up and hold it. Lift your bottom leg to meet the top (tough stuff lol)... 

The next is the Clam Shell and Suspended Clam Shell. So with this one, you are still laying on your side but you can lay all the way down. Put your legs out in front of you and then bend your knees so that your feet and parallel with your spine. Keeping your heels together, open and close your legs, squeezing your butt. Keep your feet flexed. Then you have to do some small, controlled, quick movement (ouch) For the suspended clam shell, you are in the same position but you lift your feet up, and then do the same motions (I have no clue how to explain that one lol)

The Corkscrew.
So you are still lying on your side legs bent, you take your top leg and turn it so that is in front of you and the bottom of your foot is facing the ceiling. You just press straight up into the air while tightening your glutes (I wonder how many different ways I can refer to the butt in this post :) haha)

These last ones, I'm not sure what the name is but....I struggled lol
So pretty much, you get on all fours... well, on your knees and elbows. You hold your abs in, and with control, lift your bent leg up into the air. Then you have to do those lovely short ones. -_-
Next, you lift your bent leg up in the air and then take it across your other leg. Up, across, up, down.
Then you straighten out your leg and lift and squeeze and then take it back down...then those short movements again....
Then you make a V-shape with your leg. Up, across, up and down.
Lastly, you bring the same leg you are working out to the side and you are going to want to make an arc. A rainbow shape. All while keeping your glutes tight and your abs engaged.

These are the moves I am going to be looking back to in a few weeks to see how I improve!

What is your least favorite exercise to do???

BRAZIL BUTT LIFT!!! JUST THE BEGINNING!

Ok so as I have told you guys before, I have been the queen of being inconsistent. Starting a workout routine and never finishing it. And I am sick of starting over so I am simply not gonna stop this time. Its gonna be hard, of course. I am gonna have days when I would rather not work out, or would rather eat a whole tub of ice cream than to make a healthy food choices. There have been a lot of those days recently. Sometimes I swear the world is against me.

If I want to reach my goals, I have to push through all the obstacles, work hard and just do it! I have to make make healthy meals for me and my little girl. I will have to force myself to wake up at 4:30am or 5 am just to make sure I get my workout in... I say force because I am in no way a morning person, but I also know I will get used to it and start looking forward to starting my day with some sweat:) I have to give this my everything and that is exactly what I am going to do!!

I made a little video for you to get to know me a little better!

Excuse my looks today....Been doing housework all day! You know how that is...

How do you keep the negativity around you out of your way and push through your obstacles?

Quality Time with my Ari-Bug- The Cool kids on the Playground!

Well, today was a lot better for me. I got off work at noon. 

(Tuesday and Friday are my favorite days for this exact reason LOL)

So after I picked up my Ari-Bug from her aunties house, we walked towards our apartment and stopped at the playground. We were gonna go on Sunday but it was wayyy too wet from the rain so I promised we would go today.

She took off as soon as we got there.... 

First she hit the slides!!

Down the little slide...

AND THE BIG SLIDE!

Running to go for a little test-drive  

Stopping by the swings to say hi to Mommy

Having a BLAST on the swings!

And even slowed down long enough to take a picture with Mommy!

We definitely had a great time today playing and we will have another playday on Friday!! Its crazy how fun for kids playgrounds are, and even CRAZIER how much fun I actually had! Nothing wrong with being a kid at heart!

We were definitely the COOLEST KIDS ON THE PLAYGROUND! 

Oh wait, we were the only kids on the playground! LOL!

Off here to get some BBL in before bed!

What is your favorite outside activity to do with your kids?

Uhh...I ripped my pants! Time for some BRAZIL BUTT LIFT

So today started like any other day... I worked out early and went to work (I work at a Chiropractors Office) at 8 am. As I sat down in my chair, and because I apparently can't sit down like a normal person, I put my right leg (well ankle/foot) under my butt. BIG MISTAKE. As soon as I got all the way down in the chair,

 RIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPP!!!! 

I RIPPED MY FREAKIN PANTS!!!

I was absolutely MORTIFIED! I joked around with my co-workers about it and laughed hard about it. But deep inside, it wasn't a joke. This was/is serious. I mean it wasn't anywhere that was super noticeable, unless someone was just hanging out between my legs LOL. I tried to hide it the best I could for the rest of the day. I went to do a massage and while I was just sitting on my stool massaging my clients neck and shoulders, I happened to try to roll to the right a little and it ripped more. UGH!

 When I got home, I couldn't get this off of my mind. I thought back to before I had my daughter, when I was smaller, and someone told me I had "elephant legs". It didn't bother me then. I was/am known for my ghetto booty, the junk in my trunk, so I always just felt like I had legs to match the butt..I felt like I had to have the foundation to hold it all. They were big, but not huge. But I have had a child and gained quite a bit of weight and with my scrub pants ripping at work, it all hit me at once.  I mean I have already started my weight loss journey and promised myself that this was it and I was going to get healthy and fit, but now, ITS ON!!

I know I am going to work harder for this than I ever have.

I am going to do AND complete Brazil Butt Lift. 

I've been doing it here and there, but now its really gonna get some attention from me!

My legs and butt were always something I wanted to improve on, what better way to do that than by a workout where those areas are the main focus, while still getting full body results!

So tonight here I am, with a before pic and I want you to hold me accountable. 

In about 2 weeks, Ill post a progress pic. In 2 more weeks, Ill post another. I will probably do it for 8 weeks, even though it is just a 4 week program. I want to keep changing my booty and body, and still be known for this badonk-a-donk of mine, but it be 1000 times better:)

BTW-It kills me to put this pic out for the world to see but you won't be seeing this for long!!

Have you ever ripped your pants in public?! If it's a funny story, I want to hear it LOL

If this has never happened to you, BOOOOOOOOOOOOO !! :P

First Workout of 2013!!

Well, I guess the Mayans and the movie "2012" were wrong! Here we are, New Years Day 2013!! I am so excited to start this New Year with a NEW ME!!! I am done with making excuses for myself and why I haven't lost this weight or reached any of my goals in life. I am claiming 2013 to be MY YEAR!! So I planned to start it off right. Didn't know I would be sick.

Even though I still feel terrible, I wasn't gonna let this day pass without getting a workout in.

I managed to get in Brazil Butt Lift-Cardio Axe and half of Bum Bum... before I started getting sick again. :( I hope whatever this is that I have is gone by tomorrow. I have to go back to work.. but not if I am still feeling like this.

Felt so good to sweat and I definitely feel the burn! I felt fat burning off of me.... I heard it whimpering. lol. 

Anyways, this post will be short and sweet. Not feeling so good again. Looking like it will be a liquid diet for me today. Gonna try some chicken broth from myself, and make some grilled chicken and sweet potato fries for little Miss Picky Eater! Sometimes I wonder how she became so picky. She used to eat just about everything. Now I am lucky if I can get her to eat what I cook. She wants noodles, macaroni and cheese, and cereal. That's about it. I guess that's toddlers for you! I think one of my next posts will be about 

kid friendly, healthy meals. 

Toodles!

-J