To say I'm fired up about the release of this program is a slight understatement ..just ask my husband, I talked non-stop about it the first week it was announced ;) .. Insanity is my first fitness love, (I'm slightly Shaun T. obsessed). It's the first at home workout to take me from a gym-rat to an at home brat! Having kids made it difficult to get to the gym around their schedules, time is ALWAYS an issue, so I had to find an alternative! If you have ever wanted to try Insanity, but thought you couldn't do it for whatever reason, this is for you! If you have done insanity, ran tough mudders, done crossfit, p90x, etc... this is also for you! This program does not discriminate against fitness level. It launches tomorrow! If you want more info or are ready to jump in, message me! I will be holding an FB group for accountability and support the full length of the program to get us all through!
Monday, December 1, 2014
Monday, November 24, 2014
Food Really Matters!!!
As I lay here in bed, barely able to move, I decided its time I opened up a little bit about what I've been dealing with almost a year now. I want to share because in a world obsessed with the latest weight loss fad, it's hard to tell what's legit versus who's just in it for the dollar!
I used to be one of those who wanted that quick fix, I probably have a good 5 or 6 "diet" books in my library, but none of them promise long term results.... NONE!!! A year and a half ago that all changed... I came across a what I call "a lifestyle" plan that worked... that I was able to stick to realistically, "Clean Eating". Now I'm sure this is probably a term that you are all very familiar with, but do you really knowww what Eating Clean means?! I know I didn't. Google is literally my BEST FRIEND and I really don't know what I would do without her... like seriously! (haha) I spent many nights researching how to eat clean and in reality, I was already doing it, I just had to make some minor adjustments. All eating clean means is eating foods with as little ingredients as possible.. preferably below 3... and if you can't pronounce it... it's dirty! Processed foods are the demise of our bodies, whether you realize it or not, eating foods that God did not place on this earth and that man created, wreaks havoc on our body. Most can't tell the difference until they make the change and then have a cheat day/cheat meal and literally feel like they're dying afterwards. See that's exactly what happened to me.
January it will be a year that I have been dealing with some internal issue in my body. It started with an annoying pain underneath the right side of my ribs, one that made workouts extremely painful. After a trip to my doctor, he was sure it was inflammation in my muscles from strenuous workouts, he treated me for a condition called, Pleurisy. I went through the series of questions, "Do you notice a change after eating certain foods (no), does change in position help (no), blah blah blah (no, no, no)." The pain was so severe it sent me to the emergency room, where that doctor also convinced it was a muscle pain... I went through a series of tests, both blood work and xrays. I was on Percocet for pain management and two other kinds of spasm and inflammation meds, NOTHING HELPED!!! Tests were normal showing I was extremely healthy, I was lost.
Four months in and no sign of relief, I went for a second opinion, this time I went with a little more information. In the interim of my issues, both my grandfather and my husband's grandfather had become terminally ill, my clean eating turned to eating fast-foods on the go while traveling to spend as many waking moments as we could with our families and also eating foods that others had cooked for our families, which you know typically is pasta and casserole dishes cooked for the masses. I noticed that while I was at home, where I ate clean, I felt a little better. The pain was there, but foods didn't make a difference. However, on the weekends, when I ate "dirty" processed foods, I was flu like following any meal. This was the key that unlocked a different door into my issues for my new doctor. She ordered another round of blood work and a series of ultrasounds to check my gallbladder, liver, and pancreas. Unfortunately, once again nothing! The only difference from the first time, was that my extremely great cholesterol levels (best my first Dr. had ever seen) had moved to borderline high... something I found interesting because eating dirty made that much difference in such a short time span! We hit a road block, my doctor was still not convinced that there wasn't something going on with my gallbladder considering the symptoms and family history, so together we created a protocol. Go back to eating as clean as possible, workout pushing through the pain, but don't strain, and take an anti-acid, then come back in 6 weeks. The anti-acids didn't help and despise taking pills so I took those out of the routine fairly quickly, but within a couple weeks all pain was beginning to subside. Something was FINALLY working!!! I felt a sigh of relief. However, with an extremely busy lifestyle where I spend sometimes 2-3 hours in my car a day, I allowed myself to eat things I knew I shouldn't again. It didn't take long for the pain to come back. This time better than before, but now the illness following meals doesn't discriminate clean/dirty. Last night was my worst "episode" yet. We were out of town and had lunch at our favorite Philly sub place and before I had finished eating I was sick. I was able to make the drive home, but by dinner time I had no strength and was in so much pain I couldn't move. The pain was comparable to giving birth to my daughter! I woke up this morning, a little better but not much. I'm now terrified to eat, in fear that I will once again be paralyzed by pain. I'm scheduled for another round of tests, this time with the gastroenterologist for an endoscopy in hopes to finally get to the bottom of all of this, good/bad news! I want answers!!!
I'm writing all this for one reason and one reason only... FOOD MAKES A DIFFERENCE! Yes, I have something going on in my body that is causing all of these issues, but the years of yo-yo dieting and eating foods with ingredients not made for ingestion has caused all of this. If you eat foods that God placed on this earth to eat, your body will thank you! Treat your body with respect and in turn you will be happier and healthier!!!
I used to be one of those who wanted that quick fix, I probably have a good 5 or 6 "diet" books in my library, but none of them promise long term results.... NONE!!! A year and a half ago that all changed... I came across a what I call "a lifestyle" plan that worked... that I was able to stick to realistically, "Clean Eating". Now I'm sure this is probably a term that you are all very familiar with, but do you really knowww what Eating Clean means?! I know I didn't. Google is literally my BEST FRIEND and I really don't know what I would do without her... like seriously! (haha) I spent many nights researching how to eat clean and in reality, I was already doing it, I just had to make some minor adjustments. All eating clean means is eating foods with as little ingredients as possible.. preferably below 3... and if you can't pronounce it... it's dirty! Processed foods are the demise of our bodies, whether you realize it or not, eating foods that God did not place on this earth and that man created, wreaks havoc on our body. Most can't tell the difference until they make the change and then have a cheat day/cheat meal and literally feel like they're dying afterwards. See that's exactly what happened to me.
January it will be a year that I have been dealing with some internal issue in my body. It started with an annoying pain underneath the right side of my ribs, one that made workouts extremely painful. After a trip to my doctor, he was sure it was inflammation in my muscles from strenuous workouts, he treated me for a condition called, Pleurisy. I went through the series of questions, "Do you notice a change after eating certain foods (no), does change in position help (no), blah blah blah (no, no, no)." The pain was so severe it sent me to the emergency room, where that doctor also convinced it was a muscle pain... I went through a series of tests, both blood work and xrays. I was on Percocet for pain management and two other kinds of spasm and inflammation meds, NOTHING HELPED!!! Tests were normal showing I was extremely healthy, I was lost.
Four months in and no sign of relief, I went for a second opinion, this time I went with a little more information. In the interim of my issues, both my grandfather and my husband's grandfather had become terminally ill, my clean eating turned to eating fast-foods on the go while traveling to spend as many waking moments as we could with our families and also eating foods that others had cooked for our families, which you know typically is pasta and casserole dishes cooked for the masses. I noticed that while I was at home, where I ate clean, I felt a little better. The pain was there, but foods didn't make a difference. However, on the weekends, when I ate "dirty" processed foods, I was flu like following any meal. This was the key that unlocked a different door into my issues for my new doctor. She ordered another round of blood work and a series of ultrasounds to check my gallbladder, liver, and pancreas. Unfortunately, once again nothing! The only difference from the first time, was that my extremely great cholesterol levels (best my first Dr. had ever seen) had moved to borderline high... something I found interesting because eating dirty made that much difference in such a short time span! We hit a road block, my doctor was still not convinced that there wasn't something going on with my gallbladder considering the symptoms and family history, so together we created a protocol. Go back to eating as clean as possible, workout pushing through the pain, but don't strain, and take an anti-acid, then come back in 6 weeks. The anti-acids didn't help and despise taking pills so I took those out of the routine fairly quickly, but within a couple weeks all pain was beginning to subside. Something was FINALLY working!!! I felt a sigh of relief. However, with an extremely busy lifestyle where I spend sometimes 2-3 hours in my car a day, I allowed myself to eat things I knew I shouldn't again. It didn't take long for the pain to come back. This time better than before, but now the illness following meals doesn't discriminate clean/dirty. Last night was my worst "episode" yet. We were out of town and had lunch at our favorite Philly sub place and before I had finished eating I was sick. I was able to make the drive home, but by dinner time I had no strength and was in so much pain I couldn't move. The pain was comparable to giving birth to my daughter! I woke up this morning, a little better but not much. I'm now terrified to eat, in fear that I will once again be paralyzed by pain. I'm scheduled for another round of tests, this time with the gastroenterologist for an endoscopy in hopes to finally get to the bottom of all of this, good/bad news! I want answers!!!
I'm writing all this for one reason and one reason only... FOOD MAKES A DIFFERENCE! Yes, I have something going on in my body that is causing all of these issues, but the years of yo-yo dieting and eating foods with ingredients not made for ingestion has caused all of this. If you eat foods that God placed on this earth to eat, your body will thank you! Treat your body with respect and in turn you will be happier and healthier!!!
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
My transformation
I wrote 'My Story' over a year ago, well recently I chose to create a Transformation Video & thought I would share. Singing has always been an outlet for me & a passion, so I chose to cover Colbie Calliet's "Try" for the video as well. Enjoy ;)
-xoxo Coach Jessica
-xoxo Coach Jessica
Monday, November 3, 2014
21 Day Fix Workout Calendar
By popular demand I have created a Printable Workout Calendar for the 21 Day Fix workouts. Feel free to save & print so that you can cross off the workouts as you complete them on your 21 Day fix journey. As always if you need absolutely anything, shoot me a message, and I'll be glad to help!
xoxo- Coach Jessica
Saturday, March 15, 2014
The 21 Day Fix AKA.. Game Changer!!!
So I have had many inquiries of what exactly this 21 Day fix is that I have been non-stop talking about. I figured I might as well go ahead and write it out for all to see. In short, the 21 Day fix is a program created by fitness expert Autumn Calabrese and sold exclusively through Beachbody. It is the first program released by Beachbody that focuses on Nutrition AND Fitness! The program is 21 Days long (3weeks) and consists of 30minute workouts, 7 days a week, and includes a color-coded container system for proper proportions of nutritional food groups; protein, healthy fats, veggies, fruits, carbs. Let me be the first to tell you... this is no quick fix! Yes, I understand that this is only 21 days, but scientific studies have shown that it takes 21 days to break a habit and THAT is where the concept of "21 days" comes from. If you can stick to a healthy regiment of proper nutrition, in the right proportions, and pair it with focus style workouts, you WILL see results. My first test group has had some AMAZING results and we're not completely done with this round yet! It doesn't matter where you are on your journey, if you're a beginner or have been working out for years, the 21Day Fix is for everyone. The workouts have a modifier in each video for those who need it, and let me tell you, I have heard numerous reports of those who have had tremendous success on their weight loss journey (myself included) who thought they were eating the right portions and have had a HUGE wake-up call! It's an eye-opening program when you think you know it all and a game-changer for those who are struggling along the way or need a good solid foundation to start!!!
Friday, January 24, 2014
The Power of YES.... or No?!
I don't know about you, but I have a problem. A VERY big problem! I have a tendency to take on Waaaay too much at once and it all stems from this little issue I have of not being able to say NO! I'm a people pleaser and I don't like to disappoint anyone, so if someones asks me to do something, I say yes. Seems pretty harmless right?! Well the problem occurs when I have taken on sooo much that stress and chaos begins to take over my life. Do I tell the person, I can't...um is that even an option??? NO.. there I said it ;) ... So if you are anything like me, and actually have a hard time saying No, follow these easy steps. It's helped me tremendously in the recent weeks.
Step 1.) Instead of saying YES, say "I'll check my Calendar and get back to you"
Step 2.) If you don't have a calendar that you are using to schedule appointments/tasks... START NOW!!!
Step 3.) Be Realistic... if you have one ounce of anxiety thinking about how to fit this new task into your schedule, you DON'T have the time to commit right now.
Step 4.) Be Honest... You want to build strong, lasting relationships with those around you, be it family, friends, or colleagues. Honesty is the best policy, especially in this case.
Last, but not least...
Step 5.) If you have determined that said task is going to be too much to handle right now, tell the person that right now is not a good time, but please don't hesitate to ask in the future or offer to reschedule for a later date.
Give it a try, let me know how it goes!
Step 1.) Instead of saying YES, say "I'll check my Calendar and get back to you"
Step 2.) If you don't have a calendar that you are using to schedule appointments/tasks... START NOW!!!
Step 3.) Be Realistic... if you have one ounce of anxiety thinking about how to fit this new task into your schedule, you DON'T have the time to commit right now.
Step 4.) Be Honest... You want to build strong, lasting relationships with those around you, be it family, friends, or colleagues. Honesty is the best policy, especially in this case.
Last, but not least...
Step 5.) If you have determined that said task is going to be too much to handle right now, tell the person that right now is not a good time, but please don't hesitate to ask in the future or offer to reschedule for a later date.
Give it a try, let me know how it goes!
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Happy New Year!!!
I embarked on a journey to healthier me in 2013. I had a rocky start with some minor medical issues holding me back in the beginning, but once all odds against me had ceased, it was game on! Yes, I lost weight, but I gained a new perspective on life. I learned about eating what's right for my body, clean foods that are free of harmful chemicals and pesticides, super foods that give you energy, boost weight loss, and suppress hunger... NATURALLY!
I've struggled the last few months of the year because in all honesty, I let life get in the way of my goals. I gained back 15lbs of what I had lost and have been discouraged because although I hadn't given up, I let myself backtrack on the insane amount of work I had put into the person I know I'm meant to be. I went rummaging through my progress photos last night in search for this photo to post today and what was once discouraging, became motivating. I looked at pictures I had taken in April before Insanity, June after completion, July before T25 and mid-August during the middle of it. Every picture was an major
improvement from the month before. So here before you is yet another improvement. I may not have lost the amount of weight I wanted to, have the insane toned up self if could have had, but I am by NO means the same person I was a year ago. 2014 will once again be another year full of change, full of progress, and a roller coaster of life's ups and downs, but that's what makes us stronger, smarter, and human! Cheers to New Beginnings!
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