Month: June 2015

The Continual Prodigal

It ain’t over till it’s over! You can turn it around!

Most have heard the phrase “the prodigal son returns.”  Sometimes it seems that is my story over and over again; I’ve set my goals, planned the work, and am working the plan, then BOOM. Something happens, and it is not always a bad something. In fact, it is often a good something: a night out with the girls, a weekend retreat with co-workers, a family reunion. Then my plan gets put on hold and it is Katy-bar-the-door and it is party time. And, while I do keep my goals in mind, I seem to over indulge from time to time…

So, come Monday (it’ll be alright – come Monday, I’ll be holding you tight… sorry, old Merle Haggard song popped into my mind…) But, seriously, come Monday, I return to my father, aka, my plan – though sometimes, literally, to my Father when I’ve over-indulged to the point of sinful (and yes, I totally believe that is possible – all things in moderation…). Hence the title “The Continual Prodigal.”  I’m so thankful that God’s grace is able to reset me, to forgive me, to help me. Where would we be if we could not return home, right?

Likewise, we can return to our healthy lifestyle. I think some think, “well, I’ve blown it so, let’s just keep eating cake!” But that does not have to be the case. Phil and I have learned – tested and proven – that it is a simple thing to just get back on track. If you have a weekend of family, food, and fun, it’s just a weekend. Come Monday, put on your robe of right living (please don’t kill the fatted calf – that would simply not help your health at all!); instead, get back to your disciplined lifestyle.

This, my dear readers is the key. It is a LIFESTYLE, and NOT A DIET! People go off diets. Conversely, people enjoy their lifestyle and keep at it. As a person who has pretty much done what I please, eaten what I please, not done what I didn’t want to do (that was my lifestyle), I can now tell you that with some support and encouragement – people you know that will move you forward and not condemn you if you go backward – and with a doable plan, you CAN have a healthy lifestyle, have fun, and NOT STARVE.

In the past 3 months I’ve gone from a size 10 to a size 6.My husband has gone from a 36 to a 33. I have energy and breath to do things I want to do. Today, I not only mowed my yard, but I trimmed all the bushes with a hedge trimmer (thank you upper body strength) and while doing so, I purposefully tightened my abs which wasn’t too difficult because I had to in order to maneuver the trimmer) – then I edged the whole front yard, weed-eated, then cleaned up the whole mess. After which I had my Shakeology, blended with banana, strawberry, and blueberry SO GOOD! Then I went to the pool with a friend, came home and did the back yard – same thing.

You may say “goodie for you,” but this past weekend I had a reunion where I ate tortillas, beef tips in gravy, rice and beans and free margaritas. woke up Sunday to a Mexican breakfast – tortillas again, beef again, eggs and guacamole. And of course it was Father’s Day, so we went to The Angry Dog in Dallas for supper AT 8:00!! and had hamburgers (not turkey!), fries, fried pickles… etc… Thus, the prodigal daughter had to run back to the plan on Monday!

Here’s the thing. If you are looking for a way to live a normal life WITHOUT going to the gym 3 or 4 times a week (you can do it at home!) doing crazy crash diets, feeling like crap, then just check out Team Beachbody. I can help you stay on track. It’s not easy at first, getting into a routine, but it gets easier – for me, I noticed a huge change in two weeks. Depending on where you are, it may take less or a bit more, but you WILL see a difference all around in a month.  And what’s really cool, is there are so many plans to choose from. Me, I like quick and effective. That’s why my thing is the Ten Minute Trainer by Tony Horton. You might find that the 21 Day Fix is for you, or perhaps, PIYO, or P90X or a million other things (not really, but there is a lot). But, hey. It’s time. Stop eating the slop fed to the pigs and realize that the road home is there for you. No one is going to berate you, laugh at you, or turn you away. You can do this. You can be healthy. Don’t let the title Beachbody intimidate you. Not every one is going to be a swimsuit model. That is not the purpose, but you can have a “beachbody” one that CAN wear a swimsuit – maybe not a bikini – but then… maybe so!  Everyone’s healthy body is different, and that is great.

So here we go. Come home to good health. Come home to being positive. Come home to the Father if need be. We’ve all squandered our lives at one time or another. Leave it behind. Start over. You can, you know.

Check it out: beachbodycoach.com/suddenfit.  consider becoming a member for free and get on the team. Then, consider becoming a premium member and stream workouts in the comfort of your own home – or hotel – or cabin… wherever there is internet.

Talk Later,

Vickie…

It’s Definitely Doable

Workouts as a part of life…

I do not believe in the Theory of Evolution, but I believe that we are all evolving – not that we will one day become a fish or a butterfly literally – but that we are changing. I look back even 10 years, and I see so much change in myself that it freaks me out sometimes and makes me wonder if I even know myself. I’ve always been so confident. I’m still confident, but the things that I knew that I knew that I knew 10 years ago – well, now I know that I know…differently.  How can this be?

Perhaps the biggest difference is my attitude toward fitness. Most of my life I was simply fit, and it seemed no matter what I did – or didn’t do – or ate – or didn’t  – nothing changed… until it did.  I have always said, If I get fat, I’ll just get fat because I’m eating what I want. Then, when I looked in the mirror, I changed my mind. My son was getting married and I wanted to look cute, so I had to do something. My confident nature kicked in, and I did just that; I did something.

Before you say, “Here she goes on that health kick stuff” let me just say, I’ve tried the different “health kicks” and did without this, ate only that, drank this, walked 2 miles, etc. etc.  I will be the first to say, it was gung ho for a couple of weeks – a month perhaps, and then, ffft. Ain’t nobody got time for this!  I couldn’t stay satisfied and I simply don’t have time to walk two miles, or go to the gym or whatever! It was not sustainable and I flat didn’t like it.  It is my nature that, if I don’t like it, I’m not doing it. I’m not getting up at the crack of dawn to exercise – I hate mornings. I’m not shopping at the expensive whole food stores that are miles away, then cutting and chopping and throwing away vegetables and fruit that do not get eaten.

So the fact that I was able to get cute before the wedding, had to buy new clothes that fit my new body – including new bras because I shrank there too, and new underwear because my old ones were falling off – and the fact that I’m not starving or craving “something” all the time, tells you that I have discovered something that is sustainable. Something that does not require getting up at the crack of dawn, cutting, chopping, wasting, blah, blah, blah. Something that I can do for the rest of my life.

Wanna know what it is? And, I’m not getting paid to say this. What has worked for me is Tony Horton’s 10 Minute Trainer – you know, the guy who does the P90X and a host of other killer workouts. I have no desire to do 90 minutes, but I can do 10 minutes a day. I don’t have to cut and chop veges and fruit because everything I need is in the Shakeology. I’m not always hungry because I can eat normally – no abnormally mind you: rabbit food and nuts and berries – who wants to do that? Who does that! Rabbits. Of course I can’t eat fast food all the time, and/or crazy fatty stuff that will kill us anyway, but I follow his calorie counter chart, figure out the calories for my body, do my 10 minute workout daily, and live my life. Some days I do two workouts: One after I do my morning devotions, lay in the sun – you know, before I start my day, then another a few hours before I go to bed. Or… sometimes I’ll just do two in a row.

What is the coolest is that I really look forward to working out and doing my Shakeology every day. If I don’t, I feel blah. Even better, God willing, I will have grandchildren and be able to play with them, run in the park with them, and spoil them in the best kind of ways and NOT be one of those elderly people who have to have a motorized chair to cart me around with the bane of my conversations being about what’s wrong with me. I do not mean that arrogantly. I realize things happen and situations arise; may God’s grace prevail. Should such circumstances arise, it won’t be because I dug my grave with an unhealthy lifestyle.

I love the Beachbody mindset and lifestyle. There is something that will work for you too. Check it out. Try the On Demand and see what appeals to you. This may be all you need for a while because here you can sample many different workouts. You’ve got 10 minutes, right?

’til next time,

Vickie P…