Month: November 2013

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REST?!?! What’s That?

So how many of you knew EXACTLY what that title meant when you laid eyes on it?   I know some of my running friends are ACUTELY AWARE of what going TOO HARD,  means!  How many of you are guilty of pushing and pushing yourselves until you have NOTHING left to give?  I have been on that ledge MANY times, but I think I was sufficiently HURLED over the edge this week.

My Dad has not been doing well, and Saturday, we almost lost him.  But he is improving and even got to go back to his nursing home last night from the hospital.  Prior to then, I had been “burning the candle at both ends” so to speak for awhile, and not getting proper rest.  I would try to take rest days, but I would just get stressed out and end up doing what I would call “active rest”, but really, I was just pushing myself too hard.  Depending on your way of thinking, either there IS or there ISN’T such a thing as over-training(And to be honest, I do NOT feel that is what was going on with me at all).  But I DO, 100%, fully believe that there is a such thing as UNDER RESTING!  And that is where I have been falling in lately.

Stressing constantly about if I am doing all I can to help all the people who are out there and need or want my help on their fitness journey.  Stressing about making enough money.  Stressing about job security.  Stressing about my Dad.  Stressing about not getting enough rest.  Stressing about the holidays QUICKLY approaching.  I mean….You do realize that Thanksgiving is in 2 DAYS?!?!?  RIGHT?!?!?

But when I could take no more, and I felt the panic attack coming on…You know the ones?  Tightness in the chest.  Can’t breathe.  Head spinning out of control.  Emotions on the scariest roller coaster EVER.  I knew that I had to just take a minute and breath.   And at that moment I took a look at my picture from Saturday with the Girl Scout Daisies, and just HAD to smile and literally LOL!  Because if you can look at that without doing a full belly-laugh, something just isn’t right?

Need a little more help with your smile?

PICTURE THIS -I got the call while I was still in town that my Dad was being rushed to the ER Saturday.  YUP!  I was still dressed like this when I entered the Blessing Hospital Emergency Room!  Talk about some looks!  But maybe I brightened that sick little girl’s day who was waiting to be seen just a little. 🙂  That makes it ALL worth it!

fit to be a princessMy plan is to MAKE time to rest on Thanksgiving one way or another! 🙂  I am even skipping the YMCA Turkey Trot this year 😦  But sometimes you have to do what is right for you over what you really WANT to do.  And for me.  For now.  It is REST!

So make sure you take your rest days.  Better a day off here and there than a week, a month, a year…off later because you get burned out and injured.

MAKE today GREAT!  AND GET SOME REST! 🙂

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What Inspires You?

Two years ago in October, my friend, Charlie, basically dragged me kicking and screaming to my first FIT class at Legacy Martial Arts!  I had lost 125# with the support of a few online friends and a lot of hard work all on my own.  I never had a trainer.  I never followed a specific “diet”, I just slowly stopped eating “junk” and started eating clean and healthy at least 80% of the time.   And I had NEVER been to a group fitness class.  In the beginning, I walked and did Tony Horton’s 10-Minute Trainer.  Then I added some Biggest Loser DVD’s and Jillian Michaels’ workout DVD’s, until I finally got up the guts to join a gym.  After that, I became a gym rat and did cardio and lifted weights 6 days a week.  

But Charlie knew how much I had come to love fitness, and was convinced that Mr Bentley’s FIT class at Legacy would be something I would enjoy.  The rest as they say is history! 🙂  Now, not only do I go to Legacy 3 times a week, I have taken MMA classes, BJJ classes, I am the Zumba instructor, teach a 20-minute Tabata-style class once a week, and have even filled in and taught FIT several times.  They Legacy Family has become my Fitness Family, and I have met some of the best friends I have ever had there.  Choosing to allow health and fitness into my life, has not only gotten me in the best shape I could ever be in, but I have grown so much as a person.

That brings me to why I am writing this post.  Last year was my second year doing the Biggest Loser Challenge with Legacy Martial Arts, in which Mr Bentley offers FREE FIT classes to anyone who wants to participate.   It started out STRONG, but by the end we had less than half of what we started with.  Which is unfortunately pretty typical.  The odds of finishing a fitness goal, especially without support, are NOT good.  And I am not saying that there is not support at Legacy, but you have to be willing to give and receive.  Sometimes even go the extra mile.  This year, I am the Zumba instructor and just like in years past, my classes are also FREE during this challenge.  I have tried to tell people about my website and Facebook pages, because even if they do not want a Beachbody program or Shakeology right now, One, that doesn’t mean they never will, and TWO, Maybe, just maybe I will someday post that one thing that makes “it” click for them!

This year’s Challenge Group, so far has been SO INSPIRING!  I am enjoying it SO much.  Every class has gotten BIGGER!  And each week there is more and more inspiration in the building!  THAT is what inspires me!  Watching people take steps to improving their health.

MAKE TODAY GREAT!!!

It is time to STOP HIDING!  Find YOUR light and get out there and SHINE!!!

stand out

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Are You Living in Fear?

I have been!

Some days my fears are so strong they overwhelm me.  I am scared of what I could be.  I am scared that bad choices I have made in the past are going to come back and bite me in the butt.  I am scared that I will never be the person I want to be.  I am scared that I will never be able to help all the people that I want to help.  I am scared that if I reach out to some people about helping them, they will tell me I am stupid and not support me.  I am scared that people will think I am a joke.  I am afraid that people look at me and think I am not worthy of all that I want out of life, so they won’t support me.

But you know what I just realized?  If I believe in MYSELF, none of those fears really mean SQUAT!  It is GREAT to have support, but if the people around me don’t want to support me in my dreams, my question is…”Do I really WANT them in my life?”

I BELIEVE IN ME!  I believe and stand behind the products I use and promote.  I believe that Beachbody IS a wonderful company.  And I believe that just because I have struggled recently does NOT make me a failure!  I know how hard I work, and I know where I NEED to work harder.  But the journey to health, weight loss, and fitness is rarely a straight line.

weigh loss

 

I know that I have made mistakes and had slip ups and even fallen clean off that proverbial wagon several times.  But when I have fallen, I ALWAYS get back up!  I am 20# up from my lowest weight 2 years ago.  But I am determined to make 2014 my fittest year yet!

I am excited to be getting ready to attend my first ever Beachbody Coach Summit in June 2014 and I fully intend to head there being an ACTIVE Coach, and not SCARED of what MIGHT happen if I reach out to people who I KNOW need and want my help, but they too are scared to take that first step!   I fear that my being fearful is costing others time!  Time that they could be on their journey to health!  Time that they are losing to this horrible epidemic of obesity and all of the health related issues that go with it!  So I am not only doing myself a disservice, but all of you whom I could be helping by sharing my story and the wonderful fitness programs such as Les Mills Combat, P90X, Insanity, TurboFire, T25, etc AND the healthiest meal of my day, Shakeology!  It is NOT JUST a protein shake, or JUST a weight loss shake, or JUST a nutrition supplement.  It is ALL of that PLUS so much more!

So, PLEASE!  If you are ready to start your journey, and I have not yet reached out to you, or I HAVE and you were not yet ready, PLEASE contact me if YOUR TIME is NOW!  My Facebook Page is ALWAYS open!  Find me there at Body By Brenda.  Or by e-mail  bodybybrenda@hotmail.com .  And to go straight to my Beachbody site, Click HERE —> START NOW!

I became a Beachbody Coach because I want to help people realize that a healthy lifestyle is WORTH the work!  It is WORTH the effort!  It does not however come for FREE!  You will pay with it through hard work and making changes to your current life that will NOT always be easy!  Remember that deprivation and killing yourself is NOT what it takes to be healthy!  But it DOES take eating a healthy, well-balanced diet and an exercise routine that you will stick to CONSISTENTLY!  But FIRST, you have to START!!!

yesterdayyousaidtomorrow

Now go out there and MAKE today GREAT!!! 

 

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Feeding America!

Some of you will remember this, but those of you who had no idea who I was 3 years ago, the following video is from my National television debut! 🙂  LOL!  I was chosen by The Biggest Loser Club Online to be featured in one in a cross promotion for their website and the Feeding America/Biggest Loser, Pound For Pound Challenge.  They came to my small town and worked with me, our local clinic, Quincy Medical Group, JACKIE JOYNER KERSEE, and our local Salvation Army Food Bank.

 

It was an honor to work with Feeding America back then, and I am happy to say that I am going to get a chance to work with them again through Beachbody!

“****1 in 8 Americans are struggling with HUNGER****. This is why Team Beachbody is teaming up to help support and give back. For any of you who are out there and happen to see this post we are asking of your support and help in Feeding America!
We have a GOAL to donate ONE MILLION dollars to the “Feeding America” organization. This is how it will work. Every time one of YOU purchases Shakeology® on Home Direct or chooses a Challenge Pack we will donate ($10 for shakeology) & ($20 for a challenge pack) to help feed the hungry. Please let me know so that we can keep a running tally of donations. We BELIEVE we can make a huge impact and it’s an honor to take part in this cause.”  

You can message me individually or you can choose your challenge pack here —-> Give and Receive Beachbody Promotion

Here is a short video with more info.

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NOVEMBER!

november goals

 

Another goal is to get back to writing in here at least 1-2 each week.  Since today is the 1st and I am taking a short lunch break at work, and I am helping sign people up for the Legacy Martial Arts Biggest Loser Challenge tonight, we will count this as ONE! 🙂

MAKE today GREAT!!!