black flies and running

Hello There!
I know I have taken several days off in a row, I know , I know! I will be posting each day this week, so keep coming back. I also have some exciting news for tomorrow! So stay tuned for that.



I have 2 topics today the first is my enemy- the black biting fly, and the second is running.

Every ( well most) Sunday I meet my friend Val and we go for a run, its normally always a 5 mile hilly, sandy, trail run, filled with pretty water views, tons of moss covered hanging trees, and tree branches to duck under, hop around, or fallen trees to jump over. Its normally a good time. However- about 6 weeks ago, i decided that I was going to wear bug spray ( for the first time EVER) and about 1-2 miles into the run, we started to get ATTACKED by massive amounts of black flies.
Now keep in mind- we were in the middle of the woods, on a loop. We cant just say Ok, I'm done and hope off the trail. We were stuck and we had to keep going.
So for the next 2.5-3.5 miles i ran, screamed, and cried while continuously and furiously swinging my arms around my head. It was quite the site.  I normally run for 10 minutes ( i carry a stop watch) and then walk for 2 minutes. Well, I couldnt walk at all! The attack would increase like CRAZY if I slowed down at all. I am not used to running that fast, or used to running while swinging my arms all over the place! My back and core hurt so bad from all of the swinging, I kept needing to just stop and lean over to relax my back for a second, but was bit each time I tried. AH!
I was so mad, so mad that words can not explain it. I mean, really, I was being attacked by BUGS. BUGS! Finally- we got out of the trail and onto the road for the .75 mile walk back to the cars. We were supposed to run 8 miles that day. Needless to say, I didnt run 8 miles and I could not get out of the woods fast enough that day.
Since then, I have been back to the trail TWICE, but havent ran that 5 mile loop b/c i was scared.
We also thought MAYBE the bugs were attracted to my organic bug spray. So I blamed Jason for buying it. ( only KINDA, LOL)
Today- no bug spray. First 2 miles were great....swatted the bugs 2 or 3 times. Then all of a sudden, BOOM! Attacked! For 2 more miles! TWO MILES! All the same stuff that I was doing last time, I did today. These flies were in my ears! On top of my head! Bitting the front , back and sides of my arms, and flying into my eyes! Each time i swatted an arm- i hit 1-2 bugs with EACH ARM. I wanted to cry. I saw RED. I was SCREAMING. I actually yelled out for God to please make it stop. TWO MILES.
 Can you imagine being attacked by something biting you for TWO MILES? Well- let me tell you....its AWFUL.
 We made it out of there and I told Val i will NEVER run that trail ever again! At least not unless it is freezing or there is snow on the ground! HA!

Stupid bug! I was searching for pics of "biting black flies" and I wasnt finding what I was looking for, and then Jason said, thats b/c its a HORSE FLY. Ok. LOL! So here is a pic of the stupid horse fly that terrorized me for over 2 miles!

Thats my story for the day and it had to be shared! Even though I was attacked, I am glad the 5 miles got done early! Only 4 more weeks till the Rock N Roll 1/2 marathon! YAY!

A pic of Bryson just to make you smile....

and one of Alivia- also to make you smile!

Come back tomorrow for some exciting news!

Im looking for YOU

I am looking for you IF

1. if YOU have 30,50, 75, 100 pounds or more to lose.
2. if YOU would like to be lead by me for free
3. if YOU will cut the excuses and listen to what i tell you
4. if YOU will commit to do a workout program by beachbody
5. if YOU will commit to food journaling EVERY DAY and emailing it to me once a week
6. if YOU would like the chance to win $300-$1000 each week day that you log your workout on WOWY ( ask me about wowy later)
7. if YOU would like to win $12,000 just for being a finalist in the body makeover challenge
8. if YOU would like to win $25,000 for being one of the TOP 12 finalists
9. if YOU would like to win $100,000 for being the number ONE male or female body challenge winner ( based on votes)
10. if YOU are ready to DECIDE, COMMIT and SUCCEED

Does this sound like you?
If you....... the contest starts August 1st! You can apply here.....
http://www.teambeachbody.com/connect/beachbody-challenge?tracking=BEACHBODYCHALLENGEDOTCOM

and leave me a comment here telling me you did so!

Start taking charge of your life people! Stop making excuses and start making CHANGES!

as for me, I have been doing well this week ( i had a small pity party for a few reasons on Monday overate and didnt workout, and then I woke up refreshed and renewed on Tuesday)...... i am doing a 5 mile run tonight with 2 friends, and an 8 mile run on Sunday with a few friends as well. Everyday I am working on my fitness. I will never stop.

Roasting Artichoke, I am Free, and me

Well Good Morning!

Would you like to see me 18 months ago? How about 8 months ago? How about me yesterday? Check it out...

Pretty Crazy huh? Check out how miserable and unhappy I looked? and look at how happy I look now! Its been a long and rough weightloss journey. Gaining 60 pounds with Bryson, and starting 10 pounds heavier than I started my first pregnancy really hurt me.  I still have 20 pounds to go and I am not going to stop working on it! I workout 5 days a week, I drink my shake almost everyday, and I try to watch what I eat. However, I am a big food lover. I can lose 3-4 pounds during the week and gain it all back during the weekend.
Anywho...... This is what I looked like yesterday!

 I love artichokes. I love them them whole, i love the hearts, I love them anyway you can make them. I bought a can the other day from trader Joes of Artichoke hearts in water ( NOT OIL) and i drained them, Tapped them with some papertowels to dry them off, placed them ( and 4 other veggies) on a cookie sheet and roasted them at 350 for about 30 minutes ( with a little olive oil, kosher salt and pepper) and they were soooooooooooooooooooooo good! 1/2 a cup of artichoke hearts is only 60 calories. I ate slightly more than a cup ( the whole can).
 It was so darn good. If you have not tried to roast artichoke hearts, you must try it.

I heard this song on the radio today for the first time in a long time. So I turned it up nice and loud, opened my windows all the way ( it was 84 degrees at 6 am on my way home from bootcamp) and had a little praise and worship by myself.

  LOVE THIS SONG! They used to sing it alot at the church I went to for 5 years in Clifton Park, NY.

 Thats about all today! I hope my weightloss struggle, journey and success so far can inspire you to do the same. I would love to help you on your weightloss or fitness journey.

Have an amazing day!

10 days and food rules

Good Morning!


 I was tormented in my dreams last night. I tossed and turned all night b/c my dreams were crazy and not in a good way! But a " i cant believe I am dreaming this" kinda way. Any whoooo, I got up and taught BCC even though more than 1/2 of my class decided to stay home!!!!!!! Then I came home and did 35 minutes of Brazil Butt Lift BUM BUM workout and then 35 minutes of the Brazil Butt Lift SCULPT workout. I am really liking lifting weights. Muscles burns fat right? RIGHT!

I am getting ready to make some much needed breakfast ( 4 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1 cup broccoli and 1 slice of dry whole wheat toast). Then I am taking the kids to the beach by myself so Jason can do some uninterrupted work without anyone here.

6 months ago I hosted a Shakeology 10 day slim down challenge, and I plan to do so again in about 2 weeks. This time I am doing it myself first. So starting today, I am following the exact same plan that i gave to the 32 customers and clients who signed up to take on the challenge.

I constantly yo-yo back and forth with 5-10 pounds. those pounds need to STAY OFF and another 20 need to come off. I set a goal, I achieve it, or come one small pound away from achieving it, and then I gain it back. time to stop that.
My dad, his fabulous girlfriend Joyce, and my sister are coming here in 4 weeks. Then 4 weeks after that I will be heading home to NY. I need to look good!

So I will continue to do what I have done for the past 2 years....WORK ON IT! But this time, I will stick to it. I know, I know, same story different day. We all struggle with this. Although its my job to motivate YOU, I still need someone to motivate ME. :)
Before I go eat and head to the beach..... here are a few "food rules" from Micheal Pollans books titled " food Rules"

#4. Avoid food products that contain high fructose corn syrup - HFCS is added to hundreds of products- breads, cereals, condiments, dressings, basically everything packaged! sugar is sugar and its no good!

#10 Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not - imitation butter aka margarine, nonfat cheese, soy based mock meats, artificial sweeteners etc. Non fat cream cheese contains neither cream or cheese. so what the heck is it?????

#13  Eat only foods that will eventually rot - REAL WHOLE FRESH FOODS!

and last one for now

#24 Eating what stands on one leg (mushrooms and plant foods) is better than eating what stands on two legs (fowl) which is better than eating what stands on four legs (cows, pigs and other mammals) - WOW. I love this one.  However- it leaves out fish which are very good for you.

Think about what you are eating people! Plan ahead! Make yourself and your nutrition a priority!

Have a great day!

Always setting new goals!

Hello there! Have you all missed me? I missed you! :)
My vacation was fun! The food I ate was mostly not so tasty or good for me. I did have a shakeology ONCE while gone. I was planning on having one everyday but that did not work out. First I will show you a few shots of some of the food I ate while gone and then I will tell you what my new goal is....

too many to leave comments on! Some was good, some was gross, and some was just ok. the best meal was the last 2 pictures and the fish sandwich. YUMMY.

OK, so for my new goal.... I am going home to upstate NY on September  16th.... i want to be 15 pounds less by then. In the meantime, I will be training for a 1/2 marathon ( and running in it on the 4th of sept) and doing P90X......as well as food journaling everyday. Beth said that she will hold me to it! I need to do it.  I want you to hold me to it as well! Being fit feels fabulous, but being FIT AND THIN would feel soooo much better. I will be taking pics every 7-10 days and when this is all done I will post them.

Pictures help me!
heres a little tip....
Frome Michael Pollans "food rules" book....
" rule #3 avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry"

Yep! Thats a good one. Ethoxylated diglycerides? WHAT? Cellulose? Calcium propionate? What the heck is all of this stuff? I dont want to eat this crap. I want to eat whole fresh foods. Not foods that came from a lab and tested on rats!
Have a great weekend. lol

day 6...final day!

Hello Hello!
This will be my second post today- so make sure you read the first ( day 5)
...... I am leaving for vacation tomorrow with a 7:30 am flight. So I will not be able to blog for a whole week! You know that you will miss me and my food pictures! :) Dont worry- when I come back I will post a TON of pics of what I ate while on vacation.
I am also taking today as a rest day. NO WORKOUT! I am feeling slightly sore all over  and VERY sore on my booty from my 600 walking lunges. I LOVE IT though. It takes a lot for me to get sore, and I am a very happy girl when i am.
FOOD!
My breakfast today was some leftover oatmeal with 1/2 of a banana and 2 tbsp walnuts mixed in. I ate only about 1/2 of it. Wasnt feeling the oatmeal this am. And 2 eggs over medium with some Texas Pete hot sauce on top.

Then I had a salad at 10 am! LOL! I know! Silly, but I was already awake for 6 hours and I was hungry for lunch. It was 1 large cup arugula, 1 cup chopped romaine, about 1/3 cup cherry tomato, and 1 whole (smaller sized) avocado with 2 tbsp Trader Joes Italian dressing. I was venturing away from my vinegar....but after a few bites, I ended up adding some on top for that special kick. ha!

Then at 12:00 we headed over to Yotinis for Brysons teeny bday party....everyone got there before us and then we strolled in 10 minutes late. HA! First of all who throws a noon time ice cream party for a 2 year old on a weekday with 2 days notice? I DO!!! I had to do something for my little man, even if its small. So while there i had 6 oz of choc and white choc swirl frozen yogurt with strawberries and sliced almonds on top, 2 peices of brownie ( i am NOT lying when I say the brownie pieces are the size of a quarter....so small) whip cream and about a 1/4 cup of HOT FUDGE. oh yeah! Bill, the owner of Yotinis told me i was SKINNY! What?!?!?! Thats not a word I am used to being called, so of course I had to have some frozen yogurt!

Im about to cook up some summer squash and have that as a snack.

Dinner is a whole roasted chicken with roasted veggies- carrots, celery, red onion, red and purple potatos and some beets. Its going to be seasoned with garlic ( 2 whole heads), lemon ( 2 of them),  Italian seasonings and NO OIL.

I will have a green berry shake as well!

While on vacation we plan to make our own breakfast each day, eat sandwiches and salads for lunch and have shakeology for a snack. We plan to go out to eat every night. I am so excited!

- I didnt take a picture of the dinner b/c I couldnt find it!

THE WINNERS OF THE GIVEAWAY ARE

1. LINDA Y
2. DALE B
3. KRISTINA H
4. DIANA
5. STACY from S&B
CONGRATS GUYS AND GALS!!!!!

I will be contacting you for your mailing address when I get back from vacation and will be sending you each a sample of SHAKEOLOGY!

Sorry the pics are all together, I am super tired and I am still not yet packed at all for my trip tomorrow and we leave here at 6am.

ANd just b/c/..... here are a few pics of my birthday boy, Bryson John!

dont mind how crazy i look here ( its late, no more makeup, tired, yada yada) and dont mind the knife he is holding! LOL....
 and one short video....

Ok Guys and Gals! Thats it! I will be off for a week and I will talk to you and write to you when I get back! Make sure you make good food choices, and WORKOUT!

day 5!

Good Morning!

 Its 6:44 am and I am feeling tired and hungry. I still need to upload my food pics from yesterday. I didnt write any of it down b/c the day was busy, but I did take a pictures of everything, but one, that I ate.
  For my workout- I went out to do a run, hoping for 4 miles, but after about 15 minutes I realized I was dying for some reason, then remembered I did 60 minutes of plyometrics yesterday afternoon. So I started doing walking lunges. I did then in sets and I kept count. I did 600 walking lunges in a combined total of 15 minutes, and I went a total of 2ish miles. I didnt both to calculate b/c I would do some lunges then run, then do some lunges then run again. It was good and I am feeling it this morning!

  Livi took this pic of me right before my run...

and Jason took this pic of me after. Notice how my whole shirt is wet? it was HOT and I was working hard! and mt arms aren't as fat as they used to be! getting there!


After my workout I only had a FEW minutes to get showered, eat and to Rachels office.....here is what I had....

    I had 1/2 a banana, 1/4 cup sliced frozen strawberries, and 1/4 cup fresh to frozen pineapple (we froze it) with a scoop of green berry Shakeology

B/c I was so super hungry I also had 1 slice of wheat toast with 1 tbsp organic peanut butter. I dont really like this peanut butter, there is no added sugar and I feel like it needs some. Just peanuts and salt. Not much taste. But hey, its organic.

When I came home from training, I had a quick bowl of left over soup with 2 tablespoons of shaved Parmesan cheese and then took Livi to Target to help me get Bryson some birthday gifts ( my baby boy is 2 years old today!)

YUMMY. About 2 hours later I made another one of the- arugula, strawberry, feta salads, with my SPECIAL VINEGAR.

Its very very very low calorie. It was a snack. For an early dinner I had 2 eggs and about 2/3 cup of hand picked ( by me) crab meat, with almost a cup of blueberries...so good but it needed some HOT SAUCE! lol

Then I left to go teach my second bootcamp class which was first supposed to be moved indoors ( with only an hours notice due to stupid thunderstorms) and then on my way there ( 30 minutes before class) I get a txt that the room is n ot available b/c they just waxed the floors. THIRTY MINUTES! So with 30 minutes I had to send an email out that class was canceled. Not how I like to do things. Bummer. I need a new indoor location!

So that cancelation lead me to go get groceries last night instead of this am, and i bought myself a small container of blue cheese stuffed olives, 1 grape leaf wrapped over lemon rice ( small roll) and 4 slices of marinated artichoke hearts, and 2 small sweet/hot red peppers. YUMMY. I did not get a picture of that.

My snack was funny. I baked Bryson a birthday cake and had to slice the tops off of both b/c they rose so high, me and alivia each ate one. Here is a pic of mine....plus i added a tbsp of whipped chocolate frosting....

I held the cake in my hand so you could see how big it was, but it was VERY thin, i actually had to fold it in 1/2 to eat it. Here is a pic of the finished cake. I hate making cakes, I hate frosting things, I am just awful at it. But my little Bryson boy is 2 and he wont care. Plus its just for us and him anyway.

I go on vacation tomorrow. I will update the blog later today and list the FIVE ( or 6) winners of Shakeology samples......and I will update with pictures of all of my food from the day.

Arent you gonna miss me when I am on vacation and cant blog?????

day 4!!!!!!!

Day four was pretty good. I taught BOOTCAMP CHALLENGE from 5-6 am like I normally do on MWand F at the oceanfront. I came home and had one of these....

Greenberry Shakeology with 1/2 a banana, water, ice and about a 1/4 cup frozen strawberries!

 I normally do my workout in the am but I kept working on different things for bootcamp, and BEACHBODY, and even spent almost 2 hours going through every one of my drawers and getting rid of clothes. and i hate cleaning and organizing! Then I was too tired to work out and feeling hundry so I had one of these...

just one whole wheat organic frozen waffle ( thats only 1/2 a serving) with 1/2 tbsp organic agave nectar on top. and also......some squash and 1 egg- left over that the kids didnt want to eat.

These are seasoned with salt and pepper, garlic powder and my fabulous balsamic vinegar. My freind Stacey over at STONEWASH AND BLOOM asked me where I get my " $18 balsamic vinegar" and this is where i got it SEDONA ARIZONA...but they ship to you.  Maybe it wasnt stacey that asked me, but I am linking her blog anyway!

I also made some homemade soup with- bonesless skinless- fat removed- chicken thighs. 1 big box of organic chciken broth, 5 carrots, 1 onion, 1 head of celery, 1 cup of ORGANIC WHEATBERRIES . After it all simmered together for hours, i pulled apart the chicken and added in a cup or two pf peas. I seasoned it with a large bay leaf, salt , pepper, red pepper flakes, italian seasonings, and of course garlic. It was soooo yummy. I ate it 3 times yesterday. Low calories, high protein and fiber, and all real, whole foods, and very filling.....

I  took a pic of my first 2 bowls but not of my 3rd.
This was my first time cooking with wheat berries and i bought them a few months ago. I really loved them, they are small and chewy with a kind of POPPY texture. They kinda POP when you bite into them. I loved it.


I also had a fiber one bar during the day, and I made a 2nd greenberry shake and brought that with me to bootcamp at 6pm.

While the soup was cooking I struggled through P90X Plyometrics....here are 2 pics...

frog hops 2 forward and 2 back....unlike me, Tony H doesnt make us tough the floor. :)  {
we have lived in this house for one year and 3 months, i still dont have anything hanging up on the side of my tv and i have nothing hanging up over my large fireplace. what the heck is wrong with me? We also do not have curtains! LOL i need some help}

This is an arms up, side to side ski thingie, it works your core and love handles GREAT. I also made a short video but I need to edit it and I dont have time right now. I struggled through this workout b/c i normally workout between 7-9 am, and if I dont start by then, I am in trouble. I dont like to workout in the afternoon or at night. If I miss my " window of willingness" in the am, I am a grouch all day and lose energy and motivation and then I start to want to eat badly, all b//c i did not get in my morning workout!

I drank TONS of water yesterday plus all of the fresh veggies that went into my soup, and the fruits that went into my shake. So all in all it was a really great day.

Today is going AWESOME so far and I cant wait to post pictures of my food in the am!
Have a great day! Remember to
1. forward this blog onto your friends
2. be a follower of this blogy blogerson
3. leave me a comment below!

day 3.....

Yesterday was not that great. I started to fail after dinner. Here goes...
I got up had my coffee, and then went for a run. This time I wore my running water belt thingie...I ran 3.28 miles. The numbers are always random b/c i just run to a certain street and then run back, and time was an issue for me yesterday, as I had to get home cool down, stretch, eat and shower and be at a clients office in a short amount of time.

here is a pic of me in my belt thingie after my run.... not the most flattering pic, but neither was the one I posted yesterday!

My breakfast was FABULOUS..... 1/2 cup fresh green beans, 1 cup sliced summer squash, 2 whole eggs, 1 egg white, balsamic vinegar and 30 ox of water,,,,,

 For a snack I had 7 whole strawberries and they were super yummy and super sweet

and this super cute kid watched me eat my food while playing around with his daddys P90x BRING IT hat!

My lunch was also amazing..... I had left over whole steamed crabs from my bday last month ( i froze them) so I sat at the table for an hour getting all the meat out of them.... I ended up with a bowl FULL of crab meat. 1/2 a cup of it ended up on my salad for lunch... i wish i got a better pic....

2 cups arugula, 1/2 cup cherry tomato, 1 small cucumber, 2 tbsp feta, 1/2 cup crab meat, 2 tbsp chopped walnuts, balsamic vinegar.

I then snacked on one serving of blue corn tortilla chips and 1 serving of hummus....

I did portion out the hummus.

 My dinner was 1 cup whole wheat pasta shells, 3/4 cup fresh broccoli, 1/4 cup leaks, 1/4 cup black eyed peas, 1/4 cup fresh carrots, 1/2 tbsp EVOO ( thats being generous, i put 2 tablespoons in the whole pan, so i probably ate less than that) and 1/2 tbsp butter ( again- 2 tbsp in whole dish so i am over estimating here) and 1 tbsp shaved ( yum) parmesan cheese. Jason took the camera to bootcamp, so I didnt get a pic of my perfectly portioned out bowl, so we took a pic of his when he came home.

 It wasnt the most flavorful meal. I only seasoned it with salt and pepper and garlic powder. and NOPE, i did NOT put balsamic vinegar on it! LOL

  After that I really wanted some chocolate....so I had a fiber one bar.

 Then the kids wanted more dinner after their bath so I made the each a small bowl and stupidly, I made myself another one as well. Not as big as my first bowl, but STILL- i didnt need it.

 Before bed I had 1 cup fresh blueberries. This was a big eating day.
The total calories fats proteins and carbs for teh day were......
Calories- 1494

Carbs- 198

Fat- 54

Proteins- 74


I feel bad about the 2 servings of dinner. Probably b/c it was pasta based and as you can see, I dont eat very much bread or pasta ( except for the pizza for dinner on the 4th).

Since I ran yesterday and skipped P90X, I plan to do P90x Plyo today and then also do some yoga and abs. I have not yet weighed myself and I wont untill Friday night.
I also have not had my shakeology for 2 days. I hate when that happens and I plan to make one right now for breakfast.
Please leave your comments below, and make sure you are a follwer of this blog. I am giving you all who are reading this a all to action....... Please send the link to this blog to 2 of your friends who you think may be interested.
Have a super fabulous day and thanks for reading!