Back at IT!!!!

About six months ago, I started to experience this horrible thing called "ANXIETY". I had a couple personal events happen, loosing a friend and realizing that its okay to mistakes sometimes. I woke up one day and felt like my world had been flipped. My heart rate was stuck at 120-130 waking up, I couldn't eat, I wasn't sleeping. It was horrible. I was experiencing panic attacks a couple times a day, I felt like I lost my happy soul. Instead of hiding from the world... I took action. Doctor visits, talking to someone, re-connecting with my mother(who I would be lost without) and holding my husband tighter during the hard times. 

I am a very open person, so when this anxiety came about I didn't want to hide it, because I am sure some of you experience it as well. It has been six months and I still experience some anxiety but no panic attacks as of now. I took action.

I FEEL HAPPY

LETTING GO?

Oh, how I miss High School. Back when your biggest worry was what you were going to wear and if you could hang out with your boyfriend that night...(haha at least that was mine...) I made some mistakes that I pushed behind for a long time. But, sometimes its good to face those, forgive yourself and LET GO. Kind of like your prom dress that you will probably never fit into again... or those size double zero Seven designer jeans... SO...

CUT THOSE JEANS BABY!! LET GO!!

ACCEPTING IS THE BEST MEDICINE 
We are human, we make mistakes..we gain weight..we hurt..we cry.. 
BUT we are human and we are all fighters and we all deserve to be happy. 
So I leave you today with the message of just accepting the past.. let go.. 
MOVE FORWARD

I know that I don't want to be the Danielle from High School.. I want to be Danielle now. Who is constantly growing, fighting for her happy, and learning about myself and others everyday. 
SO... What will you let go of today, and how will you earn your happy?
YOU DESERVE IT


xoxoxo - Danielle

It's OK to Mess Up...

It's OK to Mess Up...

I took a couple weeks off from the blog to process the loss of a friend... It's never easy loosing those you love...and it always takes time to grieve and process everything. I contacted my coach and some ladies who are currently doing the challenge when I found myself wanting to eat bad foods and wanting to drink to numb the pain.  My orders were to take the weekend off...grieve with my husband and after that..no excuses. After all, my friend would be so proud of my success and wouldn't want to get in the way of me reaching my goal. So for the remaining days of my challenge.. This one is for you Jeff. Love ya.

Back on the Grind

I have lost 8 lbs in a month. I gained some muscle and for the first time in months... I felt comfortable AND pretty in a tight maxi dress with NO SLEEVES. For my close friends and family... they know that is a check off my list! So this was super exciting for me.

Room To Improve

The weeks where I have the best results and most energy are when I wake up in the AM and get my workout DONE. Then I have the rest of the day to stay motivated and eat CLEAN. I find that if I wait to do my "lifting" for the afternoon..I am not as successful. So- I do my workout in the AM and cardio in the PM.  In reality.. what is that "extra" hour of sleep...? Plus it sets your day up perfectly..if you ask me!!

Eating Clean....

Who knew if you don't eat processed food and drink alcohol you will feel AMAZING???

Chips and cheese are my ultimate weakness but the weeks I don't touch any of it I feel so much better. So my challenge within my challenge is to not even treat myself after a "good week" with any of that crap. 

My work is probably the biggest challenge for me. I see people eating processed box foods EVERY day. I smell popcorn and top romen at 9 am. I hear people snacking on chips all day... 

It drives me insane but I have to realize that I can't change people if they don't want it. So I stick to my office with my blender for my shakes. I can't lie and say its easy though. 

So with that said.. I feel that I have really tapped into my inner will power and that is another thing to check off the list!!! Yay me!

Life Testing Me

I was on a roll for the first three weeks. There was NO stopping me...and then I found out about my friend. Once I got past the shock and initial "can't stop crying...why is life so unfair" stage... I told myself.. Life is truly a test of how strong you are. I have lost a couple friends now and of course like many other people experienced some pretty unfair things in life. BUT... I could choose to take the "poor me" route.. but that just isn't in my blood. 

I accept these heartbreaks and turn them into life lessons. My husband and I were talking about how many more losses we will experience in life but you just have to take it day by day. I thought my husband and I were already close but this loss really put things into perspective and I count my blessings.. and my husband is on the top of that list....

SO...

A message from my coach..

Today YOU choose what attitude you want to LIVE in. You can be happy, frustrated or sad.... Just know, that whichever you choose is exactly what you are going to get more of. Stick to one and watch. I promise you that forcing yourself to be positive and happy is easier than living in self-loathing and sadness.

I am ready to make these last few weeks I have remaining on the challenge my *****

**Again.. Thank you to everyone who is so sweet and encouraging ..I am learning SO much about myself and its just really nice to know that I have people cheering me on. Even people I haven't heard from in years!!!**

Cheers to week 3!! (with a protein shake of course..)

                                                        CHEERS TO WEEK 3!

I have officially made it to week 3! I am starting to see a change in my body but its been a slow process. I am one of the people who wants results over night...yeah, that doesn't happen. . . I have been working out like a maniac and I am extremely sore...about 80% of the time, which leads me to the picture below.

                                                  
                                                                        TRUTH

People have been asking me what I am eating and what my gym routine is. . .
I am supposed to eat 5 times a day... and that is a challenge for me. Basically it goes something like this...
Meal 1- Protein.Fruit.Starch.Big glass of water, tea, or lemon water
Meal 2-Protein.Good Fat. Fruit or veggie. water, tea or lemon water
Meal 3- Protein. Veggie. Starch. Water
Meal 4- Protein. veggie or fruit. Water
Meal 5- Protein.Veggie. Starch. Good fat. Water
(I do Isagenix protein shakes as a meal replacement as well.)
Proteins that I have are- a shake, egg whites, turkey, shrimp, whey protein, salmon, tuna, etc.ree Greek yogurt,chicken.
Starches- small sized whole wheat tortilla,1 cup butternut squash, 1/2 cup couscous, 1 slice Ezekiel bread
Fruits- small apple, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi, whole grapefruit I tend to stick to those for now because they are on the Low-Glycemic Index)
Veggies- Green Beans, Broccoli, Spinach, Asparagus, Romaine lettuce, cucumbers, mushrooms, Garlic, celery, endive, peppers, onions, etc.
Good Fats- 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1/2 small avocado, 1 tbsp all natural peanut butter, 20 almonds, 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds.

I am starting to cook dinner more and I use recipes from my coaches cook book. 

                                               Busy Girl Healthy Life Cookbook

My workouts are pretty intense. To me.. someone who used to workout all the time and then completely stopped..... 

I do my coaches workouts 3 times a week. They incorporate cardio and lifting. I am dripping in sweat when I am finished. It hurts so good! I also do cardio the other 4 days. Lori gives me 3 workouts and they consist of about 10 circuits. So it takes me around a hour to complete it so far. Week 1 you do the circuits 3 times. Week 2 you do them 4 time through. Week 3 you go back to 3 times through and week 4 you finish with 4 times though. THEN next month I will be given a new set of workouts. . . So my weeks look like this.. 

Monday- Workout 1 with Cardio.

Tuesday-Cardio(45 minutes)

Wednesday- Workout 2

Thursday-Cardio(45 minutes)

Friday-(off day)

Saturday-Workout 3

Sunday-Cardio

stretch stretch stretchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

So my life pretty much consists of work, working out, school, spending the little time I have with my husband, and sleep. I loveeeeeeeee my sleep. Because I am really working my booty off.... you can find me in bed by 830/9 on the weekdays and I am not ashamed of that. .  

This has been a total lifestyle change for me..... I am so lucky that my husband loves fitness so much and he is so encouraging  I am also grateful that he never pushed me...I married a personal trainer but he doesn't tell me what to do and that is a great husband. Now that I want this more than ever he is right by my side helping me... I love you J. 

So... my challenge this week is to get through the circuits 4 times through. I have only been able to do 3 times through... so this week I am going to kick some ASS! 

Thanks again for everyone who is excited for me... you have really helped me get though these past two weeks. 

So cheers to week 3!!! Anyone who needs a workout partner and goes to 24 hour... just let me know...I would love to put you through one of my workouts :) 

~Danielle

60 Day Challenge!!

It's April 1st, which means two things, It's April fools and my 60 day challenge starts today... Normally I would make an excuse and say...welllll its April fools so I can't possibly start today. NOPE. Not going to happen. I have been waiting for April to get here since I signed up for this challenge.

What is this challenge I speak of? 

                                                    SEXY BACK IN 60!!! 

Lori Harder is one of many things:

Personal Trainer/Nutritional Consultant

Oxygen Cover Model

Ms Bikini Universe

Ms Bikini America

Ms Figure America

Who would not want that body, right??? Amazing. Well anyway, she does a 60 day challenge and it consists of 3 personal training workouts a week, meal plans for the week, a personal Facebook page with the current members doing the challenge with you and she also holds two live phone calls a month. It is such an amazing program and I am so excited for it.

I hesitated signing up because I don't want to fail...but the responses I got from starting my blog were so motivating. I received over 400 views, people at my work came to me for advice and thanked me, I had people reach out to me from High School, people from my hometown of Bandon Oregon... I even had a couple teachers message me telling me how brave I was. The support has brought many smiles to my face, so I thank each of you who read this blog. Now that everyone knows my plan- I REALLY have to stick with it...yikes! Just kidding, this is the motivation I needed.

I want to make clear that I don't think I overweight...but I certainly do not have the toned body I want. This program is directed towards that. Its a lifestyle change and you have to want it! Here are a couple photos of people who followed through with the program.

The results are so AWESOME! 

I take my before picture tonight-which I of course have anxiety about sharing..but I know that in the end it will be worth it! I have spent two summers avoiding any activity that involved the word: SWIMSUIT. I am not going to hide anymore. Its time to be that confident Danielle I once was. 

I want to thank my husband for supporting me through this journey... I also want to thank everyone for being so encouraging and supportive through this. It means a lot. I can't thank everyone individually because  I don't even know who actually views my blog...but hearing from you means a lot. 

Checking in every Monday seems a little much..I don't want people to get bored of me or annoyed! So I think I will post every other Monday :)

I may not look like Lori Harder in 60 days ........

BUT- It will happen eventually... You have to want it.... and I do!!! 

Here I goooooooooooo

~Danielle

My Journey Starts NOW

I have been flirting with the idea of starting a blog. Not because I am a good writer, or because I want people to read about my life. I am starting this blog for me. . . This will be a journal for me as I start the road to getting back to being fit. So if your a snob about writing then don't read my blog! :)

I am 23. Married to the most wonderful guy. He happens to be a personal trainer. Aren't I lucky? Well yes, he eats healthy, works out a lot, etc. He also doesn't make me do anything I don't want too. When I first met Jared I was fresh out of High School. I remember being able to eat Taco Bell every Friday with my girlfriends and it didn't even phase me. Now- I feel as if the world has ended and am so mad at myself. I was probably to most- too skinny in HS, but I felt healthy and happy. I never made myself starve, I just worked out a lot and was always on the go. When I met Jared I was in really good shape and working out with him made me extremely lean. It wasn't that hard because I didn't have a lot of fat to loose.. just muscle to gain. 

Jared and I have been together for 5 years now. A lot of things have changed. I got busy with work and school. I currently work 40 hours and take 15 credits. Insane, but I know I am not the only one. I got comfortable, happy, and found a new love for food and alcohol. As soon as I got busy, working out became less important and food became comfort. 

Now, I am not by any means overweight.. I am 5'2 and 139 lbs. I am uncomfortable and my clothes are tight. . .
My husband and I talk a lot about getting myself back to where I am most happy. Nobody can make me do it but ME. I also have discovered that I need to want this. Now, more than ever.... I want this BAD. I miss who I used to be when I was in good shape. I was happy, confident, always smiling and never negative. I have to make a change.

SO- my journey begins today. I need cheerleaders. I'm not afraid to admit it. I will post every Monday and check in with where I am at..physically and emotionally. Here we goooooooooo!

My goal this week is to hit the Gym everyday. If I have learned anything about this struggle I am encountering, is to make small goals. Don't make goals that are impossible- It will only bring you down and make you feel like a failure if you don't complete it.
Please follow my blog and feel free to comment. I appreciate it all!

                            You are not what you have been told, you ARE what you BELIEVE.

~Danielle~