Be an AHB Rockstar: Megan Week 6.

Does vacation spell disaster for Megan?…

As most of you may know, last week was probably not my best post. Since then, I came across a quote on Pinterest that resonated with me the other day. It said “Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good

attitude while waiting.” If you know me, I can be quite impatient at times. I find that I have become more impatient with my weight loss journey. Before I started with AHB I was looking for quick fixes- juice cleanses, Weight Watchers, you name it I probably tried it. But this is the first time I have stuck with something consistently and that I can say I am proud of myself for . Sure, I have had my off days, but who doesn’t? So with that not-so-great post behind me, it is only onward and upward from here!

So, getting back into it. I went on a mini vacay to Florida this week. When I think of vacation I think R&R, drinks with umbrellas, and eating whatever. But this was not the case this time. I had to stick to my guns. I woke up the morning we were leaving and went to yoga. Check one- keeping to my schedule so far and then we were off a few hours after that. When I told Andrea I was going away for a few days we planned out how I could make better decisions while traveling. That part was easy, I packed a few granola bars for snacking and that worked out. It also helps that I can sleep anywhere and everywhere so I wasn’t tempted by the food offered on the plane. The next few days flew by but I was always mindful of what I was eating. For lunches I would use whole wheat bread, have more veggies than pasta salad, and drink more water. The thing I am most proud of though was when we went to a burger joint for dinner. As everyone around me ordered big burgers with fries I opted for the turkey burger with lettuce as the bun and broccoli for a side. Yes, you read that correctly. I was high fiving myself for the rest of the night and could not wait to get back and report to Andrea and Alicia.

Alicia also gave me a body weight circuit to do and you know what? I did it the morning I woke up in sunny Florida! Go me! Before I would use a vacation as an excuse not to do anything exercise related but not anymore. We also kayaked, fished, played yard games and went for a walk. All in all I think I had a successful trip. While kayaking with the manatees I could only think about how much they had the life, just floating around doing and eating whatever. It was then I realized I had been my own sort of manatee for awhile, doing nothing and thinking it was ok. But now I’m being more active and on vacation no less! Yes, it’s ok to be a manatee sometimes but not for long. Now with moving forward the only worry I have is how much bootcamp is going to hurt after missing two days!

Be Healthy. Be Balanced.

www.AHealthyBalanceInc.com

Be an AHB Rockstar: Megan Week 5.

Measurements day….

DUN, DUN, DUN! The most dreaded day has come. Measurements day. I was very discouraged by what that spawn of Satan of a scale told me. I was the same weight. I have been going to boot camps, eating healthier, and drinking more water so I thought I would see a bit more of a difference. Some days I feel different, healthier, and I think “ya, I got this. I’m totally losing weight” and then that freaking scale shows up to the party and ruins it. Seeing how frustrated I was and before I could break down, Alicia did the body fat test and took some measurements. The body fat thing (sorry, I really have no idea what the real name is) said that I was down 1% body fat. My waist had also gone down in the measurements. Don’t get me wrong, I was really happy about this, but I wanted the scale. Alicia said that this was a good start and is progress but she also challenged me. Have I really been doing absolutely everything on my plan and committing to this new lifestyle 100%?

Now, to be fair, I haven’t been the best on my off days from boot camp. For some reason I just can’t get into the dreadmill, I mean treadmill, work out. I get so bored. I would love to fast forward to the running group to be heald accountable and not be stuck on a machine. I want so badly to love running but I just have not gotten close to it yet and it aggravates the hell out of me. I want to be that person to be excited for a run and do well at it. And yes, I know, you have to practice, take baby steps, blah blah blah but I am not one for patience as you can tell. But I will get there…some day. Hopefully soon.

Following measurements, I had the most intense personal training session with Alicia. I don’t want to call it punishment, but that is what it felt like! I was expecting our regular routine but from out of the corner the girl whipped out a treadmill. A. TREADMILL. Clearly I hate those things so much that I am oblivious to the fact there was one folded up in the corner the whole time. And I like that relationship me and the dreadmill have: avoidance. But not anymore. I ran, I sprinted, I lifted, I burpeed, and I died. But it was worth it. And shocker, I was better at it when I was with Alicia vs when I tried to do it on my own. I felt like I could somewhat do it. And with her having me do that, I realized that I am capable I just need to get my butt in gear and go. Easier said than done though. But this is just one little hurdle I can overcome and I will.

Be Healthy. Be Balanced.

www.AHealthyBalanceInc.com

Be an AHB Rockstar: Megan Week 4.

Megan is starting to figure out that being healthy doesn’t just happen inside the walls of AHB. Healthy has to be a lifestyle change.

This week was a good week! I did well nutrition wise and some what improved on my off day workouts.

I had some overtimes at work this week which means I work until 8. They provide the dinner which is nice but lets face it, they order fast, cheap, and easy food. When you stay for overtime you can bank on having a.) pizza b.) wraps c.) pasta or d.) PIZZA! As you

can see, more often than not, you’re going to get pizza. It’s good that I know what I am getting myself into ahead of time (this is huge because this is never the case). And since I knew we would be getting an unhealthy dinner, I planned! Yes, you read that correctly. I PLANNED! I planned out my dinner! Ring the alarm, Beyonce! I usually make my lunch and bring it to work but I rarely take dinner to overtime. Who can resist a slice of pizza or one of those lovely wraps? Well, THIS girl resisted those this week and opted for a veggie burger, peppers, and some brown rice from home. Are you drooling yet? I felt so much better during overtime once I ate my home made meal. I was less lethargic and didn’t feel sick.

To add to the goodness of this week, I had two accomplishments. For starters, Erin, one of the AHB the yoga instructors, told me I was doing a very good chaturanga a.k.a. the yoga push-up or low plank. I honestly didnt even know if I was doing it right, but I was! She also told me that she has seen a lot of improvement in my practice since I have started. That really meant a lot. If you haven’t been to one of Erin’s classes I highly suggest you get to one. It is by far the best yoga class I have ever been to. It is fun, care free, and she is so helpful! I can not say enough. I look forward to Thursday mornings every week and just want to keep improving my inner-yogi!

For my second accomplishment, are you ready? I did a two minute plank! A TWO MINUTE PLANK, PEOPLE! And at the END of boot camp, might I add. I tend to get very competitive so when Alicia decided to have us do a plank contest I knew I had to suck it up and get my stuff together. And then it began! I know I will be made fun of for this but who cares! To keep my concentration on my plank, I imagined that I was on Survivor. Yes, I still watch that show and no I can not get enough of Jeff Probst. There I said it. I could picture him saying “You got this, Megan. Win this plank challenge and you will be named the Survivor of AHB.” Pathetic, maybe, but it worked. Judge away but I won! Holla! That little accomplishment was huge for me and I was so stoked about it. I remember back in my hay day bragging about how I funneled two beers and here I am bragging about how I held a plank for two minutes. My how times have changed! Look, Ma, I’m growing up! Ha!

Looking back at this week and it’s little accomplishments and encouragements, it really got me excited to see what the future me can do. And from what I saw this week, the future me is going to accomplish a lot! Say it with me Charlie Sheen…..I’M WINNING!

Be Healthy. Be Balanced.

www.AHealthyBalanceInc.com

Be an AHB Rockstar: Megan Week 3.

We’re all human… the good, the bad, and the ugly

Well, I can honestly say that this was not my best week. I asked Alicia if I could just skip this write up and just go ahead to the next week, but everything and anything must be documented. I feel like this is an episode of MTV’s Diary (whoa, throwback!). Enter, “You think you know, but you have no idea. This is the diary of  Megan trying to get healthy.”

OK, enough reminiscing. This week started out with a snowstorm so it cancelled work and a boot camp and then there was a work outing one night and we all know how that goes. Now, as you know, I am not one for a lot of motivation when it comes to doing things on my own and especially when there are snow days! So, truth be told, I bailed but managed to go to yoga and a boot camp. I am not proud of it, but I did it. And I came clean to Alicia about it and that was a scarier confession than when they made you do it in CCD. Instead of penance in Hail Marys and Our Fathers, she makes you do squats and burpees. The craziest part about this lazy week was how much of a difference I noticed in that one boot camp. Since I have been consistently going my body was used to it and then I didn’t go for three days. Boy, was I sucking wind! Boot camp is never easy, you just get better and I never thought that comment would hold any truth, and now I can see that it does. It makes me never want to miss a boot camp again! I feel like I came so far and then crashed. I could see that I am getting stronger and that I just need to keep at it.

Dinner is served

But there is always some good with the bad, right? And the good part of this week was meeting with Andrea. Andrea gave me some great recipes to try out for dinner. I’m not much of a cook so I opted for the easiest and fastest recipes. During my snow day from work, I decided I would try out one of the recipes and of course, the dessert. On the menu was Veggie Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf and Whole Oat Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. I am not one for meatloaf, but this was really good and not that hard at all to make. The only thing I did wrong was make it look like a creepy cake by putting it in a cake pan instead of a loaf pan. I mean, honestly, what 28 year old has a loaf pan? Then came the cookies, super easy and ridiculously delicious! For my boyfriend to like these two new healthy recipes was big too.

This week may not have been the best work out wise but it opened doors for healthier eating. What I am slowly learning on this journey is that you cant beat yourself up over the little things. Alicia will do that for you…haha I kid, I kid! In all seriousness, this is real life. I’m a real person and I’m going to have set backs. This isnt one of those cheesy (mmm, did someone say cheese?) infomercials where you see dramatic results in two weeks. That’s not real. This is real. Things are going to happen but the best part of it is that there is a tomorrow’s ass you can kick to make up for that yesterday.

Be Healthy. Be Balanced.

http://www.AHealthyBalanceInc.com

Be an AHB Rockstar: Megan Week 2.

Week 2 and Megan is starting to figure out a routine, making healthy part of her daily habits!

DEAR LORD! This is the saying that Alicia has decided to keep track of while we are training. I seem to have become very religious when I am around her with her having me do burpees, prisoners squats, and everything else. I feel like we lose count as the sessions go on though, so we shall see what our final count will be next week!

I dont want to toot my own horn or anything, but I was quite happy at what I did this past week. I like the schedule that Alicia put together for me. One day of training, two bootcamps, a yoga class, and to two cardio work outs to do on my own. To be honest, it is much easier for me to go to the classes and training because it’s planned and I am held accountable for my attendance. I am trying to become a morning person and to get my workouts done then, but when my alarm goes off it is so hard not to press that snooze button. My boyfriend says I am a Walking Dead extra when I get up in the morning and I can’t argue with that. I have to have him force me to get up and out the door to the gym. But hey, whatever works, right?

Speaking of getting my workouts in early, I would like to mention that I got up at 5am on a Friday to go to 5:30am bootcamp! It may not seem like a big deal, but for this walking dead zombie it was HUGE! And you know what? I had fun! Lets see if I can keep that up.

During the week I was good at sticking to the foods Andrea and I had gone over. For the first time I

Cute new water bottle 🙂

actually made sure I was drinking eight 8oz glasses of water. It made me less hungry during the day and kept me hydrated. It also didnt hurt that I got a cute new water bottle….it’s the little things! I did find that during the week I am much better with the food I choose because I am at work and I have a set schedule. When it comes to weekends, things are everywhere. I look forward to speaking with Andrea about how do choose better options while I am out because I need it. I always see it as a “reward” for doing well during the week but I know I cant look at it that way if I am going to be serious about this.

Be Healthy. Be Balanced.

www.AHealthyBalanceInc.com