OMG where have you been my whole life! (and why Turbofire might be the best thing I discovered this summer.)

Have you ever had one of those moments? When you were all why the hell haven't I tried this yet? How have I lived 32 years without knowing this exists? I had that ahhah moment about a month ago with almond butter and this is just blowing that moment out of the water.

After some shipping kerfuffles, my Turbofire challenge pack finally arrived. And I thought I was happy
with the Insanity program when I started that. Hah! This is full of dancing and punching and energy and real music. Like Bobby Brown, Wild Cherry, Salt-n-Pepa and The Sugar Hill Gang. There is even some funkified Tina Turner and Kool and the Gang.

As my daughter would say, "what!" (and yes in a Lil' Jon fashion.)

I can't even handle the fact that the music not only rocks but it motivates me to keep going and keeps my energy way up. When I was struggling to get through all the Shawn T yelling at me and jumping stuff, it took everything in me to get geared up for just a few more suicide drills. Go, go, go! With this, I don't even have to think about it. The music starts to pick up and I am singing and jamming along and bam, workout is over and I am ready for more. (and not laying on the floor feeling like I died - although that does have a time and a place. Sometimes laying on the floor with nothing left feels awesome.)

For a girl who always tries to blast music and trick her brain into working out by pretending to choreograph in her head, this may be a perfect fit. I hope I am in love with this forever and ever. (I now think I understand what people mean when they talk about their soul mate workout!) Chalene Johnson is the trainer behind this program and she is just as upbeat as the music. She pushes you to keep going not by yelling at you like a drill sergeant but by telling you things like "You aren't tired!" and "You will believe whatever you tell yourself so tell yourself you can do this."

And any workout that encourages me to shake it as part of my exercise is already at the top of my awesome-sauce list.

So a little more about the program itself --

It is a 90 day program (which with the way I do things means it will probably turn into a 120 day program.)

There is a calendar that gives you exactly what to do every day for the 90 days.

It is cardio focused with kick boxing drills choreographed to pretty great music. Lots of punching, kicking, turning (using that core in a standing position) and using your legs (lunging and squatting) while you punch.

There are two strength building classes incorporated during month 2. For those you need a lower resistance band (included in the base kit) and a resistance band (or dumbbells - which I prefer. The resistance bands and I just do not get along.) I also picked up a pair of weighted gloves this month and added those to my workout. I can totally tell there is more definition from my shoulders from adding them. Yay!

It incorporates HIIT training (which means High Intensity Interval Training.) She asks you to go hard - as hard as you can - for a about a minute. These are spaced throughout the classes and there are classes built out of HIIT (and they are short - whoo hoo! Like 15 minutes short!) but mostly they are sprinkled throughout. There is some jumping but always a modifier so if you can't jump or are working up to that point, there is an option.)

Chalene always talks about how it is your class. And it is up to you to make it your class - whether that means working even harder to get all you can out of it or having to modify because you are coming off an injury or working toward getting stronger. I love this mentality and the thinking about my results being what I get out of these 30 or 45 or 55 minutes is totally up to me and what I make of it.

I am currently working through month 2 of this program and still love it. I am at a place where I am missing weight training (I think the 2 days of strength training on the schedule throughout month 2 have me itching for more) so I am looking forward to adding Chalene Extreme (a weight training based program) to TurboFire once I complete my 90 days.  And I am also excited to update this when I am finished to see if I am still so in love with this program (and of course my results!)



And the big news.... Throughout the entire month of August, Turbofire is discounted when bundled with Shakeology (you can read more about shakeo here.) But is is a super awesome deal (and I am really jealous it wasn't around when I ordered my copy!)

If you are interested in trying TurboFire or have any questions give me a shout. You can message me on Facebook or send me an email at scyobe@gmail.com

The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl (finding inspiration in another's journey)

 The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl isn't the type of book I typically try to review on here since it isn't so much about health and nutrition as it is about an individual's journey to health and weight loss. But there were things about it that I really related to since I am trying my damnedest to stay on the healthy bandwagon.

Here is the basic synopsis -- Girl weights 350 lbs and isn't happy. Decides to make a change and starts to blog about it. Girl starts to lose weight and gain confidence. Girl backslides but gets back on the wagon (Yay!) Girl gains more confidence and moves outside her comfort zone. She starts traveling and enjoying her life instead of hiding from it. Blog becomes way bigger than she ever thought would happen. Blog becomes a book.


So not a super original story but honest and funny. I really enjoyed reading about her adventures, successes and failures. Her failures, in a way, spoke to me the most. She didn't just regain 5 or 10 pounds but 60 pounds (I think....it was quite a bit anyway.) But for her to have the courage and the guts to go after relosing that much weight and continue to lose more spoke volumes to me. I want to throw in the towel if I gain 3 pounds back. I get frustrated and think about the time and effort (and sweat!) I put into losing those 3 (little bitty) pounds and I just want to sit on the couch and eat chocolate. It makes me feel like I will never get there. But reading about her doing it made me feel pathetic and silly, fretting about something like 3 pounds. Yes I have quite a ways to go, but no where near the amount she was aiming to lose. She gave me some inspiration and really made me focus on why I want to lose weight. Why I want to get healthy and in shape. Because the why is what's important. Without a why, getting back on track is so much harder and staying on track is almost impossible.


I think this was one of my favorite moments in the book --

"Weight loss isn't about willpower or motivation. It's just the cumulative effect of tiny actions over time. Putting down the chocoalte bars, putting on the running shoes. you have to keep picking yourself up when you fall, over and over again, for however long it takes."--The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl

Because how true is that! So many times I have reached for a "magic" pill or solution, wanting and praying for it to happen overnight. Or I would become obsessed and go crazy working out and eating healthy for a month and see no change on the scale and be so upset I would just quit. (I have learned my lesson on trusting and using the scale though, so there's that.) And it isn't a matter of if you fall, but when you will fall. Life happens and it is in the attitude toward it is what counts. Are you going to get back up, dust yourself off and keep moving forward? Or are you going to hide in the house, watch all six seasons of Gossip Girl on Netflix and eat snacks by yourself?

She also talks about her "magic" number a lot. That number everyone has in their head thad dictates how much we think we should weight. And really where does it come from? What we weighed in high school? What our best friend weighed in high school? And what is the expectation when we get there? I for one would like the heavens to open and the choir to sing and for everyone to approach me and tell me how awesome I look because I finally reached that number. In reality, I will probably receive compliments up until that point and no one will really notice the last 5-7 pounds. Plus I need to come to terms with the fact that I may not ever reach that number. And that is okay---right? I mean I definitely have more muscle than my prepubescent self so there is that. If I feel great and am living my life to the fullest, have energy and am setting a good example for my family, isn't that enough? Shouldn't it be enough? So why do we beat ourselves up and let it not be enough? Having a goal is important but maybe that goal should be less about a number and more about a feeling.


"You know what's funny about losing a stack of weight? Nothing really changes. All that happens is that you lose the thing upon which you used to hang all your neuroses. Fat has a shape and substance; you can poke it with a stick. It's a scapegoat and a handy excuse. Once you start to lose it, you realize you're stuck with the same moronic core." --The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl

I think one of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much is that is what Shauna ended up learning (*spoiler alert* -- even though this book is more about reading her journey the ups and downs rather than the actual ending.) Through it all it was her learning to love herself that mattered. This is what we should be striving for -- yes health is important and we should relish in what we learn our bodies can do, how much weight we can handle or how hard we can push them -- but in the end if we don't love ourselves we will find reasons other than our weight that makes us feel undeserving.

"You can't compare your aceievements to anyone else's All you can do is compare where you've been and where you are now, and what you chose to do in between." -The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl


I think the lessons I was reminded of when reading this book were really important, especially during a month where everything for me was turned on it's head. I needed to regroup and refocus and decide what I really wanted and recommit myself to that goal.

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For more information on Shauna and her journey you can find her at http://www.shaunareid.com/

Why July was a total bust (and I am so ready to embrace August)

I am so over July.

It was a month of changes (but not where I wanted them) and plateaus. I am super happy to be back in my favorite city (Yay Pittsburgh!) but not dealing with a crabby toddler who suddenly has an opinion about where she wants to be (which is currently anywhere but here.)


In addition to bi-annual cross country trek, I started spending my mornings with crabby teenage girls. I was expecting girls who were eager to work and excited to be there and instead I am getting grumbling, dragging feet and even whining. We spent four days (and three nights) together at cheer camp and there were ups and downs (and some tears) and I thought we made headway on the effort and "your coaches can't care for you" front. But, it seems, we are back to square one when it comes to said effort and dedication. And then I feel like a hypocrite lecturing them about effort and dedication (for the millionth time) when I have let my own effort and dedication slide this month. Big time.

Sure, I can blame it on moving or being away at cheer camp or having my schedule completely turned on it's head -- going from only having to worry about B, getting my workout in and what to cook for dinner. I can blame it on the fact that I have started Month 2 of TurboFire and Month 2 for me is always hard, no matter the program (and how much I loved it the first month.) It is that point where you no longer have the excitement from starting a new program and doing something different, but you also don't have the Month 3 the end is in sight mentality either. I struggle in the middle to get over the hump.  It doesn't help that I am bit of an anal perfectionist either. If I miss a day (or three) on the  schedule and didn't follow it the "right way" I try to repeat the week to do it correctly. So not only do I lose steam in Month 2, but I end up repeating weeks and make it way longer than it should be.

In addition to my failure at TurboFire this month,  I have been trying to add in the C25K training on top of it. The weather, humidity and my asthma has not been kind in that regard. One of the things I am worst at in the world is running so I need to conquer that (before I get too old.) An item that is on my bucket list is running a race (even if it is a measly 5K.) I am terrified of doing one, having struggled to run a single mile my entire life. I can kick box, dance, and out Zumba a lot of people but running is something I am not built for -- and I want to change that or at least prove I can conquer it. My Aunt has fantasies about all of us girls going to Disney to participate in the Princess Half Marathon (and while the idea of running in a tutu sounds like so much more fun than just running) I have no idea how I will be able to huff and puff my way through 13.1 miles (even if I am covered in glitter and fairy dust.) But I have come to the realization that I need to have big and scary dreams to accomplish anything. If what I want to do is way out of reach (and strikes terror in me) then I am more likely to get my a$$ in gear.

So enough whining about my lack of accomplishing anything this month and looking forward. What am I going to do about it? First I dug out all the old jeans I have held onto over the years. (And I used to work retail and hoard jeans--so it's a lot.) After surveying the 25 + pairs of jeans that DON'T FIT I decided to do something slightly dramatic (in my mind anyway.) I posted a picture and put it on the internet. I also decided to do a Skinny Jeans/Drop a Jean Size challenge during the months of August and September. (Read about that here.) By motivating others, I motivate myself and hold myself accountable. (Kind of selfish - yes - but selfish in the way volunteering is selfish. We volunteer to help others and because it makes us feel good. And everything is inherently selfish according to my husband so there's that.)

So I am looking forward instead of focusing on where I misstepped this month. Focusing on what I can do now to fix it instead of saying "Well, I suck. So I might as well eat a pound of chocolate tonight while I still suck and start again tomorrow...or Monday because starting over on Mondays is way better. Much neater on the calendar. Or maybe just next month. Yes! I will have a whole month that is clean and healthy. How great is that. Now hand over that popcorn so I can watch some TV." So changing this mentality is kind of big which if I do say so myself is an improvement. (Maybe July wasn't so bad after all....)