One thing that stuck out to me about this weekend was that we didn’t eat out once. Every meal was home cooked and it felt great to eat clean & healthy.

Here are a few snapshots of some of my meals!

Friday was blackened salmon.

Saturday I had lunch at my friends house she made salads and mini sandwiches.

Ava had so much fun!

Saturday night Marc cooked me steak when I got home!

If you didn’t already know I started my Insanity Max30 program last week and I also have recently became a Beachbody coach.

I already help people with fitness on a daily basis but I am super excited to add in this type of coaching to help people reach their goals. We all need support when trying to lose weight or get fit and this is an awesome way for me to encourage and motivate others!

A week from today I will be hosting a FREE 5-day clean eating challenge (I will talk more about that later this week). I have been following it myself this past week and I feel GREAT. Even though I eat healthy and I’m fit, just like you I have areas of my body that I want to change.

My main struggle over the last year has been tightening my core. For all you women out there with babies you know that “the struggle is real when it comes to belly fat and having a little extra something under you belly button area!”

I eat healthy 90% of the time, but clearly that wasn’t cutting it. On occasion I enjoy a slice of pizza, a small bowl of ice cream, or a glass of wine. I really wanted to see changes and I knew for that to happen, I needed to work on that last 1o%.  I had to give 100% effort, make a commitment and stick to it. When I say I’ve seen a difference in only 1 WEEK,  I absolutely mean it; BELIEVE ME!  All of my meals for 5 days were clean & healthy and I worked out every day.

It was yesterday that I woke up and felt the difference. The little bulge that has been driving me nuts has gone down. I actually should say its tighter. That’s what I wanted!!! It was never about the number on the scale for me, it was about feeling more confident. It is mind boggling to me that I didn’t focus this hard sooner.

The other crazy thing is that I have never been open about this with you. If you could ask Marc, he would tell you too, I’m very insecure when it comes to certain things. Although I may seem positive a lot of the time, I still have my areas of weakness too and my stomach was one of them. I was SO nervous to share with you guys and I can’t say I’m even sure why I was fearful, but Marc convinced me and I am glad I did. If I don’t share my journey with you, then how can you learn or how can I help you change?

Anyways, I will stop rambling and I don’t even know if this all came out clear… but I can honestly say I feel great today and I hope I can help you feel the same!

Without a morning class to teach I am going to jump right into my Insanity MAX workout!

What is the most difficult part for you when it comes to losing weight (Diet or nutrition)?

What is your driving factor to look and feel great?

]]> http://thefitskool.com/?feed=rss2&p=5525 2 http://thefitskool.com/?p=1091 http://thefitskool.com/?p=1091#comments Wed, 23 Oct 2013 14:46:58 +0000 http://thefitskool.com/?p=1091 Continue reading →]]> Are you mentally tough? Can you push through workouts by motivating yourself to perform 10 more reps… or running just 10 minutes longer?

If you are mentally tough you can focus and complete anything you put your mind to. When you set goals you achieve them. I can say that I am mentally tough and I loved to be pushed and challenged and it always feels good to complete anything I set out to achieve. Sometimes we need help of a trainer, instructor, friend, or family member to help us get through a workout but ultimately it is up to you to complete the task or activity.

There are ways to overcome any challenge. If you need someone to motivate you and correct you so that you are convinced you can do it, then that right there is what you need to do. Grab a partner or someone to train with.

As a personal trainer and group instructor I never want to see my clients fail. I want them to succeed and reach the goals that they set out for and push them to complete my workouts. I like to think of myself as a “coach”. I grew up playing sports and having a good coach that can get you through tough situations and let you know their expectations motivated me to work harder and do as I was asked. With a coach I didn’t feel any self pressure and I would  focus on the task at hand.

In comparison to working out, if I were asked to complete 100 burpees I would do it. Yes 100 sounds like a lot but take it one at a time. Before you know it you will be at 100. Don’t se yourself up for failure by saying I can’t do 100 burpees. Focus on completing them one repetition at a time. Stay positive! I use visualization to help me achieve my goals. When I see myself doing something, it happens!

What can you do to improve your mental toughness?