Overcoming obstacles!

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Obstacles.... boy have I had obstacles the past few weeks! This moving and adjusting thing created a lot more than I had imagined, however, we dug right in & got through them. There are still things to be unpacked, running that hadn't happened, & to-do lists undone, however, we finally healthy & living together as a family again. We are so grateful for the help of friends & family during our adjusting months of the year & for allowing us to stay in their homes, eat their food, and watch our son. 

We might have obstacles to overcome in each of our lives.... actually I know for a fact we all will have them, but it's how you handle them that really matters. How am I going to overcome the obstacles of the past few weeks? I am getting my health back in order & I am getting organized. Super organized. In order to reach any goal you must have a plan. It is KEY.

What am I organizing? Well,.... everything! ha! Ok, not really.... I am organizing my day down to the hour & making the most out of my days. I am organizing our meals... We have planned out each meal for the week & will continue to each weekend. What else am I organizing? My quiet time in His word. My family time. Free time open to serve. My running schedule. As much as possible.... 

Where can you get more organized? What are some obstacles you face today that are holding you back from your goals? How are you reacting to them? Don't let your circumstances control your attitude.

I am focused and ready... are you?

The cleanse... again!

Let's just say I am in love with this stuff... literally. It is fantastic!

I did the cleanse again after all of our traveling and it was quite the experience! I had ups and downs throughout the 3-days, however, overall was MUCH NEEDED. 

Day 1: I was TIRED. This time around my body really needed the cleanse and I could definitely feel it once I started.... I felt worthless. I stuck with it because I knew the results I would have once it was over: weightloss, energy, regularity, etc.

Day 2: I still felt a little sluggish but starting to see the end of the tunnel. I never felt hungry, however, I was looking forward to "chewing" my salad for dinner. It was a pretty good day to say the least!

Day 3: I so badly wanted my oatmeal for breakfast but knew the last day was KEY. I enjoyed mixing up my shakes & really started to get my energy back! I wasn't craving the sweets like I had the first day.... I felt HEALTHY. 

Results: I lost a total of 3 pounds during this cleanse! It was tough bc we aren't fully into a routine back home yet, although, it felt good to have support around me this time! I am so excited to start cooking in our new (rent) house! I couldn't wait to put all my kitchen things in order and ready to fill up the cabinets! I will post more about this later this weekend!

If you would like to try the Shakeology cleanse please sign up as one of my customers (free) here & I will be in contact with you asap. This is a great way for me to keep in touch with you & protect your information safely.

Cost of cleanse: $60 (includes: 9 packets & shaker cup)

I will also email you the nutrition guideline for the 3 days.

Today's tip: The food in your fridge should be frequently replaced because it should be fresh & not have a very long shelf life (no preservatives). This will insure to keep your family eating clean & keep it organized! 

Make a choice to transform your lifestyle! Start with a cleanse!

Goals becoming reality...

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After having Jace almost 18 months ago I made a choice to make a lifestyle change. I chose to take what I have learned through the years & put them into action... to make a difference. I made a choice to get fit & not hold anything back. I never knew that these choices would lead into a passion that is growing inside of me every single day. A passion to be the best me & a passion to help others do the same. 

Today I have 10 miles to run for my marathon training & reflecting on some changes I need to make NOW. You see, I set a goal... a pretty high goal for this marathon in December. My goal is to run the full 26.2 miles in 3:45. Now that we are home & getting more in depth to training it's starting to really hit me... I need to make some changes. 

I have always been a big believer in the 80/20 rule (80% of the time eat clean/exercise- 20% of the time enjoy what you wish). This rule is simply for someone wanting to maintain weight... or maintain their fitness level. Today it all of a sudden hit me that if I want to reach this high goal I have set for myself I better kick it into gear & get my game plan together.... I've got to put the 80/20 rule to the side until after reaching my goal. I am going to bear down & do whatever it takes to reach my goal. This way... even if I don't I can at least say I did everything possible to meet my goal. 

So, what are the changes I need to make? 

-ONLY water, milk, or juice. period.

-Prepare my meals each week so that I know without a doubt I will have healthy choices. (yes, I too like sweets)

-Schedule my runs for each week. Preferrably early morning before the day begins. In Tucson I could be more flexible with our schedule. Back here with work & family I have to be more precise in my planning.

- Ice bath & treatment after my long runs.

-Drink Shakeology daily.

-Stretch after EVERY run/workout. No excuses.

-Start 3-day Shakeology cleanse to kick off my training back home.

These might seem simple to you but these are things I need to share & put in place TODAY. December will be here before we know it & I don't want to feel "unprepared"... I do a lot of these things at least 80% percent of the time but it's time for me to step it up a notch & do it 100% of the time... until I reach the finish line in Dallas on December 4, 2011. 

Bring it on!

Hold me accountable!

What goals are you holding yourself back from reaching? You are the only one that can change it. 

"You cannot walk towards your greatness. You can only walk away from it." -Keith Kochner

Make a choice to not limit yourself! You are capable of more than you think!

***We are moving into our rent house this coming Wednesday. I am hoping to have something set up for videos by next Saturday. I know I keep pushing it back but our lives have been crazy with transitioning home. Thanks for being patient with me lately :)

Happy Weekend! It's beginning to look a lot like fall!

I'M BACK!

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It feels so good to be home, however, along with coming home means a lot of adjusting. You see, during the summer months (aka: baseball season) we are somewhat secluded from family & the busyness back home. Every six months we adjust to the new lifestyle in front of us until the next six months rolls around to start all over again... it's a process. I have a hard time adjusting more than I probably show.. As I have mentioned before: I love routine. Therefore, when my routines change it takes a few days... ok, maybe weeks to really get situated. This adjusting has taken place this past week & still working on the new time zone.... oh, and work :)

Nevertheless, I love being here with friends & family. I love staying busy with my little family. I enjoy going to church where you are loved by your church family, going to cousins football games, seeing my clients on a daily basis, & most of all just simply being together.... being somewhat normal... whatever normal is... 

I promise to be back on a regular basis & post tips, success', etc. but until then I want to soak up this time of being together as a family & letting our new routine soak in a little bit... 

What is it that you need to adjust in your life? It might not be the place you call home for the next 6 months but maybe it's a habit you want to change.... maybe it's your attitude? Make an adjustment today & do it with a willing heart. Trust me, I know from experience that if you don't let circumstances control your mood you will be much more willing to adjust & what I call a "healthy happy" about making those not so fun adjustments. You can do it. I believe in you!

Today's tip: Speak a positive affirmation even when you don't feel like being positive... it will change your perspective!

Enjoy where you are today!

Fitness Class!

Contact me for more information! I am excited help this group of ladies get fit physically, spiritually, & mentally! Come join us!

My passion.

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I have been dying inside to make this announcement but have been trying to be patient on getting the details finshed. Well, the details are not set in stone but I DO have an announcement that I am pretty pumped about to share! As you all know, I have a passion to help women in health & fitness. I desire to help you get fit in every area of life & it has become my place of "ministry". I have always prayed that God would lay it on my heart if he wanted to me to go back to school & guess what? He has done just that... I am going to go back to school & finishing my degree in nutrition. 

I never thought I would be so excited about going to school but I know this will be a huge tool for my business & for God's work in it. I feel that if I can continually educate myself I can serve you better. I want Hefner Fitness & Lifechangeher classes to be more than just fitness... I want it to be about all over health & this will be the first step to having that credibility with you & others. I am pumped! Can you tell?

Well, I just couldn't wait to share the news any longer! Thank you to all of you that support my business, blog & passion! I am working the details out & will know soon what steps I need to take in order to get this goal accomplished. 

What is holding you back from reaching your goals? Go after them!

Happy Labor Day! Rest up & enjoy!

Effort.

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"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." 

-Steve Prefotaine

Growing up I was always taught to give 100% in everything. I learned at an early stage to work hard & do what is right even when no one is watching (although I wasn't always perfect at this), which brings me to my question today: What do you think seperates the great from the average? It's about what you do when no one is watching... how you train. 

I am training for a marathon & have set a pretty high goal for my finishing time. Let's just say I am pretty anxious about my upcoming results. Some days I am really tired & think... maybe I could just go 3 instead of those dragging 6 miles & no one would even know... but guess what? I'm only cheating myself & limiting my abilities! I must train properly to reach my full potential. You must work hard even when no one is watching.... not necessarily just to win but to be able to reach your full potential. God wants your best. For me it's about putting forth full effort into my marathon training. If I don't reach my goal on December 4th it will be ok as long as I gave it my best every single day.

*All you can do is all you can do... just be the best YOU.

So what does this have to do with you & reaching your goals? A lot actually...

Your goal might not be to run a marathon in 3:45, however, I hope you all have set some type of goals in your life. How are you reaching your goal? What kind of training are you doing & how hard do you train? I don't mean how many push-ups you can do or how many calories you ate today... I mean how hard did you work at it today?  Did you give your full effort to your day? It can be in anything that you are doing to get better... family, motherhood, job, fitness, relationship with Christ, etc. God desires ALL of you & desires for you to give your all in everything to glorify His name. Did you go all out throughout your day or did you just go at with a mediocre effort? It doesn't matter whether or not you win or lose, how fast you go, your results, what matters is that you give it your all.. all the time. God desires our best not just sometimes but all the time.

Whatever you are doing today do it full out... you might be surprised at just how strong (physically, spiritually, & mentally) you really are... Give it your all!

**Saturday Videos are still being worked on but coming soon!!! September give-a-way is going to be put on hold because we are moving this week! I might seem distant & not post as much this week but promise to be back!**

"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all out for the glory of God." 

1 Corinthians 10:31

Go all out this week!!

Fueling up!

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What do I mean by fueling up? I mean fueling your body correctly in order to perform at your best. So many times, especially us women, we tend to not fuel our body with enough each day.

I recently was reading an article about how to "Eat Like A Champion" while training for a marathon. One thing that stuck out to me during the article was the fact that just as our mileage changes so should our diet. What they are saying is that my diet for a week of 20 miles should not be the same as a week of running 40 miles. Make sense? This really hit home to me because I am one of habit & don't change my diet up very often.... Looks like I am going to have to work on that this off-season as my miles increase!

If you are training for a half or full marathon be sure to look at your diet & be willing to make adjustments.... It will help you finish that much stronger come race day!

"Diet and training are so closely intertwined, they can't be separated. -Carmichael (author of Food for Fitness: Eat Right to Train Right)

Another thing that I have learned is that eating within 45 minutes of your workouts is so important! Are you incorporating this concept? If not, start today! Eating a good source of carbohydrates & protein is key to fueling your body after a good workout. Stay away from low-carb diets if you are pretty active. If you are low in carbohydrates it can affect your health & your performance according to many... I can always tell when I haven't eaten enough the day before a long run. My body feels completely run down.

Take this into consideration as well:

"Recent evidence shows that adding protein to your high-carbohydrate postworkout meal enables the carbs to move more quickly into the muscles for faster refueling," he says. Carmichael advises a ratio of about 1 part protein to 7 parts carbohydrate, although it's more important simply to strive for a protein-carbohydrate combination than it is to achieve that specific ratio. A postrun meal of rice and chicken (heavier on the rice than the chicken) will get you what you need for a speedy recovery. -Carmichael

Here are a few examples of what you can have for a post-workout meal:

*Shakeology (the healthiest meal of the day- message me for details)

* Multi-grain bagel, peanut butter, & banana

*Greek yogurt & granola

*1 cup of orange juice & hand full of almonds

*turkey sandwich w/a drink filled with electrolytes (gatorade)

*pasta with a good source of protein

*chocolate milk (did you know chocolate milk has 20 g protein & 60 g carbs in 16 oz?)

*pita and hummus

*Oatmeal with protein powder 

*Eggs & toast with peanut butter or almond butter

***Always drink WATER before, during, & after exercise!***

(shoot for at least a 2:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio)

References:

Runner's World 

 Core Performance

Today's Tip: Allison Deaver shared her recipe for Taco Soup! Enjoy :)

Taco Soup:

1.5 lbs of ground turkey (browned)

1 medium onion (chopped), 1 can of Rotel, 1 can Ranch Style Beans, 1 can chili beans, 1 can kidney beans, 1 can of corn, 1 package of taco seasoning, 1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch Powder. Put all ingredients in the crockpot for four to six hours or simmer in a big stock pot for 20 to 30 minutes. Beans are really good for boosting your metabolism!

You can top with sour cream (lowfat), shredded cheese, chives, jalepenos, etc. 

This is great for game day this fall!

Choose your food wisely today!