STATurday: My Journey with Piyo and Shakeology

YESSSS!!!!!!!!!!  This week has been amazing.  I am down 3 pounds and can literally FEEL my body getting tighter and leaner by practicing PiYo.  I am currently to 150 pounds!!!  YIPPEE!!!!

My next push is to get down to 140 pounds - which is very doable but will take a LOT of willpower.  I will keep being good about tracking my food these next few weeks and post my end pictures and results on here at the end of the first 8 weeks. Once the first 8 weeks are done, it goes into another phase of the program (Part 2).  So, I will be sure to keep you posted! 

Another thing that I did this week was incorporate T25 in 3 times (Monday, Wednesday, Friday).  The PiYo workouts like DRENCH and SWEAT are pretty intense, so I was concerned that doing TOTAL BODY CIRCUIT with T25 wouldn't be a good idea on those days.  But, I think that this cross training between the two programs has also helped a bit this week as well.  It's nice to see Shaun T again, he totally motivates me to kick some major butt in the mornings.  Charlene is also a big pusher and such a sweetheart!  She motivates me by the quotes / messages that she says during the workout.  AND, she does the workouts WITH me.  Shaun T makes me want to punch him in the face when he stops jumping and walks over to another person that is doing all the work. - I love the guy, but he makes me so mad when he does that. LOL!  If I am doing all this work, you gotta do it with me dude!  

Here is my FAVORITE recipe!  

Another big thing this week is that I have been drinking Shakeology twice a day, versus just once a day.  I have had it as my snack or a few times as my lunch / dinner.  It really helped curve my cravings for sweets in the afternoon hours of the day.  This week at work was also great because I made my homemade hummus and brought in fresh veggies to help keep me and my colleagues in line for those moments where we wanted a snack.  That alone was a HUGE shift and made a huge difference in my weight loss this week.  

Overall, this week has been incredibly successful and I look forward to next week.  Could I FINALLY get into the 140s?!  I am sure going to try my hardest... I know I can do it!  :)

If you are following me on my Facebook wall, I am sure you have already heard about my next 7 Day FREE Clean Eating Challenge that I am starting September 1, 2014.  If you're interested, please let me know and I'd be happy to share some more details with you.  Or check out my upcoming challenge groups page for further details on how to apply to sign up.  Or , as always, just shoot me an e-mail:  coachmelissamckim@gmail.com 

STATurday - My Journey with PiYo and Shakeology

Well, it is now week 4 since I began PiYo!  This past week has been a challenge for me - as the office was stressful and I found myself breaking back into old habits to cope.  In other words, while I was still exercising every morning, I wasn't eating very well at during the week.  As a result, I knew that when I got on the scale and measured myself this weekend that I would not expect much of a result.  And sure enough, no change, not even a budge. Not even an inch.

Now, I will NOT let this get me discouraged, as all changes must take place in small ways over a long period of time.  Most people give up when they don't see instant results - but I know what I did wrong last week and this week I'll focus on being better.  It's all about your mindset and PLANNING.

So this next upcoming week, I am going to be doing a mixture of PiYo and T25 moving forward.  I have a fun group of girls that are in my T25 Challenge group starting on Monday and I think that the PiYo stretching and training will really help keep my muscles from getting too stiff.  I will try this out this week and see what happens.  WISH ME LUCK!  :)

Another thing that I am going to focus on this week is TRACKING my food - I mean EVERYTHING.  I have MyFitnessPal.com - so I plan on using it this week to hold myself more accountable.  Last week I didn't do a good job of prepping all of my meals throughout the day - which gave me the mental excuse to eat a candy bar here or there, throughout the day at work.

I think that with all of the above focuses this week, next week is going to be a BIG number and I will feel 100% better.  Stay tuned for my results next STATurday!

Cheers to a healthy happy pure life - it's all a journey... and it won't take 24 hours to change 28 years of old habits... little steps each day will add up in BIG ways over a long period of time.  So, if you're listening out there and you're like me... don't give up!  Let's do this together.  If I can do it, YOU can do it.

SWEAT SHOT!!!!! :)

Some Reflection Over My Last 7 Months as a Beachbody Coach

***GETTING REAL HERE***

December 30th, 2013, I made a promise to myself to make a change to my health and habits.  This was at a time when I was nearly 25 pounds overweight and mentally/physically/emotionally very unhappy with "letting myself go".  While everything was going right in the world around me on the outside, on the inside I wasn't feeling very good about myself.  I knew I needed to do some work on Me.  It was this promise to myself that has been my reason to keep on this journey these last 7 months and continue on this path for the rest of my life.  What was that promise?  My promise was simply this:

"I promise to lose the weight I've gained, get back to my healthy & fit self, and help others on their journey to live a healthy and active lifestyle."

By making this promise and constantly reminding myself of it every morning, the universe continues to open doors for me and every decision and opportunity I've taken and continue to take, has allowed me to move forward and hold me to my promise.

As some of you may or may not know, I began my fitness journey with Shaun T's FOCUS T25 program, got a great Coach (thank you Lisa!) ordered Shakeology, joined a FB Challenge Group, and stuck to a great clean eating nutrition plan!

It was because of the support I had with my challenge group and coach, that after completing FOCUS T25,  I lost 13 pounds during the 10 week program. The little voice inside my head that kept telling me to stop or quit, was certainly there throughout the entire thing and even today, I have off days where it decides to pop in from time to time.  But, no matter what, I continue to pull through because of that PROMISE that I made for myself.

I continue to still workout at 5am every week-day morning.  This time I'm doing the new program, #PiYo.   And what keeps getting me motivated and pushing through is that I keep reminding myself that 28 years of bad habits can't be broken in just 7 months.  However, making small changes and working towards being a little better each and every day will help get me closer to my goals and the promise that I made for myself.

So what have I learned so far these last 7 months?  What I can tell you is that I have learned a lot about myself - my strengths, my weaknesses, my motivations, my failures, my stressers, etc.  I've learned and read so much on personal development, health and nutrition that I dream about it.  I have even learned from all of you that have joined in on my challenge groups this year!  I've learned that I absolutely love coaching and working with others to help them achieve their health and fitness goals.  But most of all, I've learned that I love supporting and teaching (I even got Yoga Teacher Certified).  It is so important to me to pay it forward in life and I love being a part of something bigger than myself.

So that's my story and my moment of reflection as I look back over the last 7 months of this year.  I'm still continuing down this path and working things out.  I'm not perfect by any means.  But I keep learning.  I keep growing.  I don't quit.  I don't give up.  I made a promise to myself and I don't break my promises...

So, I have a question for you...

What promise would YOU make to YOURSELF right now?  Will you keep it?

STATurday: My Journey with PiYo and Shakeology

When my PiYo program arrived in the mail 2 weeks ago, I was genuinely excited to open it.  I had been reading about this program ever since they made the announcement a few months ago. Superstar trainer Chalene Johnson created this program to help people get an ultra-lean and an intensely defined physique - without bulking up or straining your joints.  This to me was a HUGE selling point.  

Another big selling point for me was the fact that this program only uses your own body weight - there is no P90X type weight training.  By using your body weight you'll carve every muscle in your body and keep it nice and lean.  It's incredibly low impact, yet high intensity.  For instance, the PiYo Sweat session REALLY DOES make you sweat.  I couldn't believe how much sweat was dripping down my face!  This all happening with no weights and no jumping (say what?!).  Ultimately, I love the fact that it fuses Pilates and Yoga together for an optimum workout with hardcore results.  

So, I ordered the Deluxe Package Kit as I wanted to get the strengthening discs and a new yoga mat (you can never have enough of those laying around the house).  The basic kit comes with the program DVDs, calendar and meal planner.  

Between summer cookouts, vacation, my birthday, etc - I gained some weight (and body fat) back.  One of the main things that I love about being a Beachbody Coach though is that is encourages me to get back on track when I fall off the wagon.  After all, I am only human, right?  No one is perfect and that is what I tell my clients all the time.  You can't expect to be perfect, but you can try to do little things each day that will help get you closer to that goal.  The support that I get from my own coach family and friends is amazing.  This PiYo program, I already can tell will bring me back down to a nice comfortable weight and tone me up!  See for yourself below - it starts working right away and I already fit into my jeans a bit easier than last week.  All great signs! 

Day 1 STATS (Monday, July 14, 2014):
Weight:           156 lbs

Waist:              33 in.

Hips:                38 in.

Chest:              38.2 in.

R. Arm:           11.8 in.

L. Arm:           11.8 in.

R. Thigh:         22 in.

L. Thigh:         22 in.

Body Fat %:    32%

DAY 6 STATS (Saturday, July 19, 2014):

Weight:           152.6 lbs

Waist:              32 in.

Hips:                36.9 in.

Chest:              36.5 in.

R. Arm:           11.5 in.

L. Arm:           11.5 in.

R. Thigh:         21.3 in.

L. Thigh:         21.3 in.

Body Fat %:    30%

Here is my meal plan for this first week on PiYo - it is all clean eating and created from the booklet that the program comes with; these are most of my favorite healthy foods!  :)  This was incredibly easy to do for this first week and I found myself NEVER hungry.  

If you'd like to join me for upcoming challenge groups, please feel free to visit my "JOIN CHALLENGE GROUPS" page for the current ones running.  To make sure that you're on my team, sign up by clicking the following here and I'd be happy to send you further details as well:  https://www.teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=330957   You can also friend request me on facebook or send me an e-mail at coachmelissamckim@gmail.com if you have any questions!  I am always here and happy to help!  

  

SUMMER BEACHBODY SALE! Ends June 9th!

It's that time of year again folks and I didn't realize this but the first day of summer is right around corner (JUNE 21)!  I just spent the day at Ocean City yesterday with my fiancee and I felt the best I've felt in a LONG time.  Seeing myself in photos, I find myself no longer saying "ugh, I look fat" or "man, I need to lose weight".  Now, I look at my photos and say, "Dang, that hard work paid off!" or "I look so happy!".  I am so glad that I put in all that work over the long and grueling winter, because I'm really proud of the body I have right now - it is definitely summer ready!  

But I must state, if you want to make a change, you don't need an entire winter to start making one!  If you want to look and FEEL amazing, confident, carefree...then it's time to buckle down!

For those of you who have workout A.D.D. like me or who just want to get started with something new... now is the perfect time to stock up on some new workout programs because TeamBeachbody is having a Summer S-A-L-E!!  YIPPEE!

When: WEDNESDAY,  June 4th at 12pm PST until MONDAY,  June 9th 12pm PST (that's 3pm EST)

What: Beachbody Summer Sale MANY items are marked WAY down for a limited time

Why: Beachbody wants to help you feel CONFIDENT this Summer ;)

**I am HAPPY to help support & encourage you no matter what your health or fitness goals are. I work with a new group of women EVERY month in a private group on Facebook. I'd love for you to reach out & contact me if you need some support!**

So.... here we go guys!!!

I can't emphasize this enough - if you see something you WANT -- you better grab it! 

This stuff sells out VERY quickly! ..... like cupcakes!

Why should I do yoga?

Yoga is INCREDIBLY GOOD for you!

 

There's a good reason it's been around for thousands of years. Yoga trains all of the muscles in the body to work in harmony. This does not just include voluntary muscles (prime mover and stabilizer) but involuntary muscles (smooth and cardiac) as well, resulting in a workout that's more like a full-body tonic than a sweat or pump fest. A regular yoga practice almost ensures that you'll age gracefully and sleep incredibly well!

So what are you waiting for?  Google "Yoga Studios in YOUR CITY" and get OUT there.  Get HEALTHY!  And know that the people that you will meet at yoga studios are lovely, inspiring and motivating. 

 

Part One: The Root Chakra - What is it exactly?

 

 

 

THE ROOT CHAKRA

There are 7 Chakras (in Kundalini Yoga there are 8) that are associated with special aspects of human awareness.  They are energy centers (also called energy vortexes) and when we have blocks in our life - whether they are on the MENTAL, SPIRITUAL, EMOTIONAL, and PHYSICAL side - it can cause problems in our chakras.  Blockages.  By doing yoga, meditating, and working through these chakras, you will begin to notice changes not only in your body, but in your life. 

The ROOT Chakra, also known as the First Chakra, is located at the base of our spine.  It's primary function is to GROUND us and provide SECURITY.  It is our primal energy, the part of us that wants to take care of ourselves as well as others.  The part of us that wants to belong!  It is the part of you that likes to makes things simple, easy, and basic.  It is also where our sexual energies and primal instincts emerge from. 

In the simplest form, if you are not feeling safe or secure - you're probably what?....  You guessed it- you're probably Anxious and are under lots of Stress.  You live in Fear of the unknown, of not belonging, of not feeling stable and grounded.  If this is sounding like you - you need to get working on your First (ROOT) Chakra.

How do you work on the First Chakra? 

I am currently reading a great book called "The Seven Fold Journey: Reclaiming Mind,  Body, and Spirit through the Seven Chakras" by Anodea Judith and Selene Vega.  They provide a step-by-step approach to healing and balancing one's life using contemporary psychotherapeutic techniques, yoga, bioenergetics, journal exercises, meditation, dance, and ritual. I would HIGHLY recommend it.  It will really get you to start thinking about things, notice patterns in your life you may be able to fix, as well as how you can make changes NOW. 

My plan is to post some of my own findings on here as I work through the process.  In "Part Two: The First Chakra"- I will share some of my process and findings while working through it as well as offer some meditations and advice.

Stay TUNED...

OH... and in the meantime, I also wanted to share the following for your viewing pleasure!  I found this great image (below) on www.projectinnerpeace.org and description of the Chakras that I think will help in giving you a picture of how the energies relate to us and those entities outside of us:

"This image shows how the chakras extend outward from our physical bodies.  Most of the chakras extend forward and backward, as a spinning cone-shaped vortex of energy.  The root chakra extends downward, connecting us to the earth while “grounding” us.  The crown chakra extends upward to our higher self and the spiritual planes, connecting us to the divine!"

It's pretty neat, huh?  I am such a geek when it comes to this stuff - I love reading and learning more and more about it!  It is fascinating!