The Secret to Getting the Body You Want

What if you could have the lean sleek body you’ve always wanted… simply by investing 7 min. a week with 7 people. Is that something you’d want to do?

I’m going to tell you exactly how to do that in a minute, but before I do, let me see if this resonates with you…

Are you trying hard to eat right and exercise regularly so that you can lose the fat, get toned and strong, but you’re finding that you’re not doing what you want to do?

Do you find that you’re setting the goals but even with the best of intentions, you are not really following through on them? You’re not holding yourself accountable or taking the steps to get them done?

Before you know it, you’re getting more frustrated because it seems the more you know what you want, the more you stop taking any action to achieve your goals… and you can’t figure out why! You don’t have a structure that supports you.

As Tony Robbins says, “If you talk about it, it’s a dream, if you envision it, it’s possible, but if you schedule it, it’s real.”

So how come you can’t schedule it? Do you know if you simply followed through on all the things you intend to do you would probably get all the results you desire?

Setting goals that you can be held accountable to is one of the most powerful things in terms of going from intention to results.

You want to be first be accountable to yourself by using a scale, body fat caliper, tape measure, weekly progress chart, a daily nutrition diary and a training journal, whatever it takes. Then you can double your motivation and double your results if you had external accountability to a group who is there to support you and hold you to your commitments.

There really is a powerful structure to do exactly that, and it only takes 7 minutes a week with 7 people. You may have heard the term before of masterminding. Let me tell you how this works. This is not coaching. This is about holding you accountable, keeping you motivated, and having a community to check in with once a week.

It’s kind of like going to the gym …if you have to go on your own it’s not quite the same as having a buddy to go with. Well, that’s what this is all about. You are going to have 6 buddies and we’re all going to keep ourselves motivated and accountable. We’re going to celebrate our wins and it’s going to help us in a fun way to make sure we meet all our fitness and nutrition goals and virtually guarantee success.

I’m running a Mastermind group specifically for people who really want to make changes in their life, and really see changes in their body. If you are not getting the results you want, you probably are not changing what you doing. Setting goals are fine, but if you have nothing keeping you accountable to take the action steps necessary, those goals quickly become empty promises that just make you feel frustrated for even trying.

I’m sure you’ll agree, that if you could get all the results that you want, and stop spending money on fitness gear, on nutritional supplements, and all the stuff that you don’t use… but you could actually get results by being in a community of like-minded people who all share your goals, and have access to me, a wellness coach and personal trainer leading your group, I’m sure you would easily agree that is easily worth $49… but really you can’t even put a price on an outcome as important as improving your life!

Because I am launching this new mastermind program, and I want to offer it to you with the first 4 calls free of charge, after that it will be $49.00 per month. If you were to pay one-on-one coaching with me, it would be $300 a month, but with this program you will have access to me for much less. Oh, and I almost forgot, for as long as you stay in the mastermind program, you will have free access to my online training and nutrition program with over 13 custom nutrition plans and a library of over 700 exercises with video descriptions.

The only thing I ask is, if you do participate, you make a commitment to every call. This is not a drop in when you want to and then hear the replay later. This is a team. It relies on your contribution. You are not just receiving benefit, but you are providing benefit too. If you’re not there, you’re not helping, in fact you’re hurting. If you can’t make the commitment to come for each call, don’t sign up.

You are welcome to join, make a difference in your life, and the lives of the others in the group by emailing me: lauren@yourpartnerforchange.com

If you want more details, you can refer back to the previous post: 1-Hour Mastermind

1-Hour Mastermind

First Come First Serve!

Happy November! We are officially into the holiday season. This is indeed a fun time although notoriously stressful as well.

Besides “normal” craziness… there are work parties, social gatherings, and family celebrations that can throw off your routine.

The reason for the statistic of people gaining and average of 10 pounds between now and New Years happens because not only are your normal eating patterns interrupted, but you are shorter on “me” time, that’s where the stress comes in. Before you know it you are cutting out workouts to fit everything in.

While we should all be able to enjoy the holidays it is challenging for anyone trying to stay or become lean.

I am beginning a mastermind group for this reason and I want to keep the group small, 7 people maximum… if there is more interest, I will open more groups based on responses collected.

What is a mastermind?

This will be a 1-hour recorded call, scheduled once a week, and lead by me personally. It is based on the mastermind practices of industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who was the wealthiest man in the world in the 1930’s, wealthy even by today’s standards, and he was also the biggest philanthropist of the 20th century.

Andrew Carnegie was successful for a number of reasons, but notably for doing more with less and optimizing efficiencies for effectiveness. He found an advantage, and used it repeatedly, an advantage that we can all profit from. He regularly used masterminds as his number one tool.

Most people know masterminding from Napoleon Hill’s legendary book Think and Grow Rich. (Chapter 10 for those of you who have it.) Napoleon Hill depicted the success formula of Andrew Carnegie.

What’s all that have to do with weight-loss??

What a mastermind accomplishes is accountability to a group, setting goals and the best practices in getting goals done… in short, easy solutions to achieve your outcome… in this case, staying motivated and taking action to be in the best shape of your life, through the holiday season… and always.

In our 1-hour mastermind, we will meet on a recorded call so you can access and review it at any time, everyone will have a turn to ask a question and get feedback, and then everyone will in turn state their S.M.A.R.T. goal, (specific, measurable, accountable, realistic, and time-bound), for the week and report back each week.

What’s in it for YOU?

If you want to see your body make changes for the better, avoid unnecessary holiday weight gain, and develop the laser-focused attention to get the job done with the support and wisdom of a like-minded accountability group, then this is an amazing opportunity for you. This will not be a time suck… the meetings are succinct yet productive to keep you on tract.

In addition, everyone in the 1-hour mastermind will have access to the self-serve version of my on-line exercise and nutrition program (a $20/month value) at no additional cost. If you would like me to custom design your program, that would be extra, but we could work out an arrangement if that interests you.

To launch this new mastermind program, I am offering the first 2 calls free of charge, after that it will be $49.00 per month. This is a limited time offer until November 15th!

I hope you will consider the Carnegie mastermind formula to achieve your greatest success in this challenging time, and always. While no one can do the exercises for you or eat for you, you don’t have to do this alone. Support from a group has been documented and proven to increase your success exponentially.

If you want to take advantage of this special launch offer, email me at this address: lauren@yourpartnerforchange.com and please be sure to include your time zone!

How would you feel, being in the best shape of your life by New Years 2010 while everyone else is making resolutions?

I look forward to hearing from you,

Lauren

Seven Halloween Tricks to Avoid Weight Gain

What is scary about Halloween is that it is the kick-off season for holiday weight gain. It is no surprise… with all the free candy lying around the temptation is everywhere you look. You’ll find candy at work, the bank, every reception desk, treats sent home with your kids, friends and family. This goes on virtually all month long, not to mention into November with all the left-over candy.
Halloween candy is easily eaten mindlessly and that means weight-gain. With a big bowl of candy sitting on your kitchen counter, it is easy to grab. Even though the portions are usually small, before you know it, a tootsie roll here and a few candy-corns there… the calories begin adding up quicker than you realize. Your body’s ability to burn fat is much harder.
Here are some good tricks:
1- Write down everything you eat, when you see your “honest reporting” on paper the results may scare you! Sometimes you think you are eating in moderation until you take inventory. Remember even fat-free and/or sugar-free candy has calories. Limit yourself to one piece/serving a day or if you can’t control that, none at all.
2- Keep the candy out of sight.
3- Burn the excess calories with exercise. This should never be the end all and the be all to fat loss, (proper nutrition is a highly important component to the mix), but the more muscle you build the faster you burn the calories, and that will help you all the more if you can’t seem to part with the candy bowl.
4- Eat something healthy and include lean protein before you dip into the candy to avoid blood sugar spikes and over-eating and binging on the candy.
5- Get the healthiest treats possible such as raisin packs, trail mix bars, pop-corn, etc. or buy a candy you don’t like to avoid the temptation.
6- Buy your candy at the last minute and be very generous with the last trick-or-treaters to avoid having too much left over.
7- Don’t skip your workouts over the time between Halloween and New Years. This is the time you need to workout most of all. Get started with pumpkin workouts and you could be in the best shape of your life by January 2010 while everyone else is making New Year’s resolutions.

Exercise …Fun?

Reframing is when you create a shift in consciousness to see things in a whole new way. This video at the bottom illustrates the point beautifully.

What happens when you have a choice such as this one in the video, to take the stairs or to take the escalator to go up? Without consciously being aware of it, your mind makes a decision that could be based on many things. Perhaps it’s your time, your level of energy, the shoes you are wearing, your determination to stay fit, or any number of things.

What if you could see all your day-to-day habits in a whole new way… from an entirely different point of view? You can look at any given situation more than one way.

What is your perspective about exercise? Is it work? Is it punishment for over-indulging in food that added too much fat around your belly? Is it something necessary but you absolutely hate doing? Do you have a limiting perspective that is only negative about exercise?

A limiting perspective about something usually fuels your excuses for not taking action. Those thoughts sabotage you! For example, the most common excuse for not exercising is not having enough time. What if you reframed that to: “I make the time for anything I am committed to.” Here is another common limiting belief: “I am too old to change. I just don’t have the energy I used to have… when you get to be my age, there is just no going back!” Reframe: “It’s never too late to make a change. The more consistently I exercise, and eat healthy, the more energetic I become, and I feel younger too!”

How is that limiting perspective about exercise working for you? What if exercise were fun? Would you make the time for it? Can you think of anything enjoyable about your exercise? The results it gives you perhaps?

If you can change your perspective from a negative experience to a more empowering one, you can change your action and emotional state about it. Your perspective about anything directly produces its outcome.

Your mind and body are part of the same system and affect each other. The way you think about something will have a direct impact on the result you will create. If your mind is not aligned with what you want your body to do (you want to exercise but are making every excuse not to) find out more about coaching.

Biggest Loser or Biggest Winner? Do Tell!

I’ve just read four fitness blogs on the subject of the TV show “The Biggest Loser”… shamelessly, I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and see if my readers were willing to have their say… could you please post your comments?

Personally, I don’t watch much TV, sorry if that offends anyone but it is not on my priority list of things to do. That being said, I often find myself “socially challenged” when people ask me if I have seen a particular show.

Because of the work I do, “The Biggest Loser” is one show that pops up frequently in my conversations with people.

If you are clueless, this reality show now in its’ eighth season, showcases obese people struggling to lose weight in the name of ratings and big money. The contestants are whipped into shape in warp speed, with weight-loss exercise and nutrition programs, as their personal trainer Jillian Michaels screams abusive remarks at them.

The contestant who losses the most weight wins 1/4 million-dollars… and audiences all over the world love to come and watch.

Fitness professionals are highly concerned about the methods of training used on the program. Very sedentary, de-conditioned and obese individuals are put into physical situations that are way too dangerous for them… sprints, one-mile beach runs, joint-risking high impact moves, over-training as many as 6 hours each day, to the point of vomiting and passing out, and more than one person ending up in the hospital, certainly not a training session I would want on my watch.

If that were not enough, the contestants are yelled at by Ms. Michaels, with gratuitous profanity, humiliating them about their size and physical condition, making them feel badly about their ability, bullying them and bringing down their self-esteem.

Most trainers are not supporting this unsafe training and work ethic, and are highly suspect of the contestants ability to maintain their weight for the long term.

This treatment is not empowering to anyone especially over-weight people who may already have issues of self-worth. When positive supporting environments have already been a proven method of success in treating the over-weight and obese, what impact do you think a very popular show like The Biggest Loser could have on the obesity epidemic?

Does it give an unrealistic view of what is necessary to lose weight, to the point of why bother trying? Will it discourage those who are losing a safe 1/2 pound to 2 pounds a week they are not doing a good job unless they work out 4-6 hours a day?

The argument in favor of the show is it gives hope to people who struggle with weight because the contestants achieve rapid physical and emotional transformations. It suggests that people need to be pushed with “tough love” even if it involves tough work to overcome their food addiction.

It certainly offers a support group and accountability, although not in a positive or safe environment. It does make a case that hard work and proper nutrition will pay off. For some, maybe it is inspiring because the show is so emotionally charged. Do you think it will cause more people to take action, or to lose hope…“If only that were me?”

What do you think… Exploitive TV? Inspirational? Unrealistic?

If you watch the show or if you have any thoughts… I’d love it if you would kindly post your comments.

Put Your Health Care on the Priority List

I spent last weekend visiting my family in North Carolina… mostly to visit my mom who is in a senior living facility. Myself, and many baby-boomers who may be reading this, have parents who are aging or are already gone.

Seeing the seniors at the facility, I couldn’t help but reflect on what will happen to me as I age?

We all want to live a long productive, fulfilling life, have no serious health problems, a sharp mind, and when it is time, our death be painless, peaceful and short.

We can’t determine our destiny but we can improve our chances for having a better quality of life for a longer time.

Our health should be our number one priority.

While many illnesses, are just bad luck… most leading causes of death are totally preventable by making healthy life style choices.

Healthcare costs would not be skyrocketing and not as many people would be sick if everyone made healthy lifestyle choices.

Those of us who do stay well because of the healthy lifestyle choices we make, are footing the bill for those who choose not to. In fact, we would all be much better off if the US spent more on PREVENTATIVE HEALTH CARE and reforming our food industry rather than our healthcare system.

Let’s face it. We are all busy and we are all guilty of taking our own health off of our priority list… not eating what we should, not exercising consistently or indulging in unhealthy habits.

Some of us are busy parents, or busy professionals, or both. Life is moving fast, it gets complicated, you are thinking: How will I get it all done? Where do I find the time? I’m so stressed out!!!

The more you de-prioritize yourself, the more unhappy and unhealthy you will be. It’s hard to see the effects day by day like you would see if you stopped watering your garden, but eventually not prioritizing your health could kill you… or you could live with difficulty for a long time.

Everything you do in your life depends on your being in good health and in good physical condition. To take care of your job or your family, you have to take care of yourself.

Having a preventable health problem and doing nothing about it because you are so busy taking care of everything and everybody is what will literally take you down… and our healthcare costs up.

Ask yourself: “What is most important to me in life?” Now ask: “Does any of that really matter if I am too sick, too immobilized to get out of my chair?”

If you know you need to change but are not changing… it is time you take action. Enlist the service of a wellness coach… in fact you can’t afford not to.

I have many programs and options available. Why not start with a free strategy session? You have a lot to gain if you do, and a lot lose if you don’t.

Click here for a free strategy session: http://bestbodymakeover.com/strategy.html

How To Get Rid Of Belly Fat

It seems the subject of getting rid of belly fat has been beaten to death already but evidently, it still needs to be addressed. While everyone is convinced they must include an abdominal exercise or two or three or four in every workout if their goal is to lose belly fat, it is not the secret to losing belly fat. The answer may not be what you want hear but if you truly want to reduce the fat around your belly, you need to pay real close attention and more importantly, take action.

Ridding yourself of belly fat is not an impossible feat, but depending on how long it took you to get the fat around your belly or how much fat you have, it can be challenging. It can take a long time to get into a mess, and sometimes longer to get out of one… but you can get out of it and achieve extraordinary results as long as you are focused and on board with taking extraordinary efforts. There is not one single thing that will give you six-pack abs or even a flat tummy; rather it is a combination and synergy of many things working together.

First and foremost, what energy balance are you creating, meaning calories-in and calories-out? If you don’t know the answer to that equation it means you are not willing to measure and be accountable to what you eat. If you knew for certain that people who weigh, measure, journal their food achieve their results, why is that stopping you from doing the same?

If you know for certain that you are honestly reporting the amount of food you eat, and you are burning more than you consume without results, then it is time to look deeper. It’s time to take the guesswork out and make sure you don’t have any underlying causes. Have your blood and saliva tested. Testing can uncover many issues: difficulty with weight loss, fatigue and lack of energy, thyroid dysfunction, adrenal fatigue and imbalance, anemia, hormone or blood-sugar stabilization and much more. Find out. If you find out there is an issue, then take some time to re-frame it. Is this an impossible obstacle, or is it a challenging opportunity?

Next, what are you doing to maximize your fitness plan? Are you simply showing up at the gym dutifully three times a week and going through the weight machines without a real game plan before you even show up there? Are you spinning your wheels doing the belly fat exercises that you read somewhere in a magazine? Does your aerobic exercise consist of walking the dog every morning, or reading a book or watching “CNN” or “Oprah” on the television while on the elliptical?

If you are not honestly ramping up the intensity of your exercise, your body will simply be maintaining what you have. Your muscles will create whatever demand you are giving them. So if you are not increasing the amount of weight you lift, or changing up the type of exercise you do, you will not be building more muscle tissue or burning more fat.

This does not mean you need to spend more time at the gym necessarily, but it does mean you should make the time you are there more effective. You can burn more calories running 30 minutes than walking 60 minutes for example… and that does not mean you have to become a runner… that is just an example.

To lose the fat around your belly, you have to build muscle and work all of your body. The belly is where most of your fat is stored. By building muscle you will increase your metabolism and burn more fat and calories. Your body has to work harder to keep up with the increased demand you are placing on it.

Last and definitely not least, it is not which exercise or nutrition program you follow that will be the secret to losing your belly fat. There are many ways to get from point A to point B. What makes a program great, is when it will motivate you to take action and stay in action for a lifetime.

If you need help getting a program that will keep you on track by all means do not delay, click on this link:

http://www.bestbodymakeover.com/virtual/

Motivation: Create it… Don’t Wait for it

Why do so many people wait for motivation to just fall on their lap?

Do you have a game plan when it comes to making healthy choices for
your body that you will always be inspired to take action on?

Whether it’s to break out of a sedentary life, make better food
choices, run in a marathon, or complete a certain number of
body-weight pull-ups, it’s what is driving you to stay on your plan
that will move you forward.

Most of us try to move forward without any kind of a game plan, you
just wake up one morning and you feel fat, have no energy, your
clothes don’t fit and you realize you need to do something. You may
start walking or try to cut out some junk food and hope it all
works out.
[Read more]

The 30-Day Challenge Team Reports In!

I hope you will gain some inspiration by following the progress of the members of this 30-Day Challenge Team.

These brave people have agreed to stay accountable and committed to their goal for the next 30-days by reporting publicly to you!

Notice the passion and desire they have all expressed for wanting to make their goal successful… do you have a powerful “why” for achieving your goal? I think when you do, the “how” will come easily.

If you are reading this please feel free to support them by following their progress and cheering them on. They will greatly welcome your feedback in the comment box!

Tara Chantler

1.        Lose 5 lbs by August 25^th

^{2.       Clean a 44lb KettleBell}

3.       Be able to do 5 body weight pull ups

Why I want these goals

1.        I need to break this plateau.  I want to create less stress on my joints.  I will feel happier about myself when I do this.  It is important to me to lose that excess weight.

2.       I want to be able to say that I can do that.  I want to feel stronger.  I want to know that I can take care of myself.  It is important to me to be able to do this because I will be proud of myself.

3.       I will be so proud of myself when I can do those pull-ups.  Not many people can do them.

The biggest reason why I want to be able to accomplish these goals are because I want to say that I have accomplished “this” in thirty days … what can I do in another thirty?  I have been stuck in a rut and I think that this challenge will help me focus mentally to keep with the program and not get lost.  I need this accountability and help.  Emotionally I need this too.

Elly Fitzig

My goal for the 30-Day Challenge is to:

(1) Lose a minimum of 5 pounds by August 24, 2009

(2) Prepare my mind and body for gallbladder surgery on August 6^th and minimize recovery time

(3) Reduce stress levels

To lose a minimum of 5 pounds, I will:

–Exercise 15 minutes per day, 5 days a week, either in (3) 5-minute intervals or one 15-minute walk. After my recovery period, I will increase this to 20 minutes, 5 days a week, using the following plan:

Mon.-Wed.-Fri.:

Walking, hand weights, or balance ball

Tues. and Thurs.:

Yoga, meditation, or visualization

–Set aside time each day, 7 days a week to:

Plan healthier meals

Keep a food journal on www.fitday.com

Read about wellness

Develop affirmations

Become more mindful of my senses

–In addition, I will:

Eat organic food whenever possible

Increase my water intake to 64 oz./day

Go to bed by 11 PM 5 nights per week, and build up to 7-8 hours of sleep per night.

Use an online wellness-related support group like Lauren’s blog

To prepare my body for gallbladder surgery on August 6^th and minimize recovery time, I will also:

–Do deep breathing and relaxation exercises for 5 minutes each day

–Visualize myself healing and becoming one with nature

–Watch episodes of “Family Guy” to make me laugh, but not so much that it hurts!

To reduce stress levels, I will also:

–Help my parents resolve plans for assisted living

–Surround myself with positive people

–Listen to Louisa Chan’s tapes on managing stress

I believe it is vital that I achieve this goal, in order to be healthier and make wellness a life-long commitment. I am 61 years old and 5’ 1”. I began this challenge on July 20^th at 159.5 pounds, and am now 155.5 pounds. I find myself winded while walking long distances or climbing stairs. I was recently in the hospital CCU with esophageal spasms and am now having gallbladder surgery.

I will stay on track and make positive, life-long changes. I will break the habit of emotional eating and of dining in front of the TV, which relieves loneliness, as I work from home. I will continue journaling my food. By using an online support group, I’ll have the reinforcement of a team and will be able to help others. I will also plan meals for the week before I go food shopping, and avoid last-minute dinner decisions, which often result in take-out. Meal preparation will be a lot of fun, especially when my husband and I cook together during the weekend for the week ahead. When we do eat out, I’ll look for healthier choices on the menu and continue, as I do now, to take home one-half of my entrée.

I plan to release 30 pounds within the next year by following the plan above. It is essential that I build my endurance, balance, and reduce my weight and stress levels, in order to live longer and improve the quality of my life. I see myself exploring more of the world, climbing up the steps of Machu Picchu or hiking in Antarctica in the next few years. Time to bring it on!

Ellen Goodwin

My Goal:

To release 5 pounds during the 30 Day Challenge. To go from 148.8 (this morning’s weight-July 28, 2009) to 143.8 by the end of the challenge on August 24, 2009. I will do this by journaling what I eat and how I work out (a minimum of 20 minutes per day). I will take a walk every day, preferably after work and before dinner and I will limit my alcohol intake.

Why this is important:

This will represent a jump start to my ultimate goal of releasing 14 pounds. These are pounds that have taken over my mental dialogue and releasing them will prove to me that I can set goals and attain them. That the voices that tell me I am too fat and that I can’t wear cute clothes, can be silenced. That the stories I tell myself about food and exercise aren’t always right.

Sonja Jones

My goals are to increase my cardio by doing a hill run near my home, and take 2 of Marc Leberts boxing classes, and 1 kickboxing class.

I will work up to 20 times up and down the hill and do the hill 2 times each week, and for 30-days I will consistently go take all 3 boxing classes every week.

I will stay accountable by posting this challenge on the blog, and showing up at the boxing classes.

Why? I have put myself on the backburner for years, and it’s my time NOW! That is the driving force behind the working out method. I see myself more fit, with a smaller a*s, smaller stomach, leaner thighs, wearing smaller clothes, feeling great and looking HOT! Vain yes, but at the end of the day it’s to look and feel good.

Peggie Larson

Specific:  I will consistently follow the Insanity Program.  I will keep a food diary.  I will plan my meals and eat 1700 to 1800 calories per day of high quality, non-processed foods.  I will lose 8 or more pounds during the 30-day challenge.  I will continue to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Measurable: I will lose at least 8 pounds during the 30-day challenge.  I will lose 2 pounds per week.

Accountable:  I will be accountable to myself by recording what I eat and my exercise in a journal, which I will add to every day.  I will also be blogging on your webpage.

Realistic – I believe my goals are very realistic.  2 pounds per week is very doable.

Time Bound: I will be able to reach my goals in 30 days.  I will record my food and exercise, which will encourage me to do well each and every day.

Emotional: by eating healthy and continuing an exercise program, I will feel better about my body and not be so hard on myself.

I will feel more energetic and be physically and emotionally strong.

Reviewed often: I believe by recording my food an exercise I will be reviewing my goals often.  I plan on using your idea of writing my goals out on a card and carrying it with me all the time.

I am excited to take the 30-day challenge.

Clyde Matthews

Specific – I was interested with some help in reaching the goal of 100 push-ups and 10-15 pull-ups. I train regularly with kettlebells, bands, total gym, sledgehammers, and martial arts. I will start implementing weighted push-ups and strict pull-ups to failure immediately followed by slightly assisted pull-ups with partner twice a week.

Measurable – 40-45 push-ups and 6-7 pull-ups (baseline of 26 push-ups, 4 strict pull-ups)

Accountable – blog, training partner

Reasonable – I think in 30 days I should be able to complete 40-45 push-ups and 6-7 pull-ups.

Time bound- 30-days

Emotional Reason- I enjoy setting and achieving goals, I will share a couple with you that I have completed. The ultimate goal for a distance runner is to complete a marathon (I’ve completed 2: 26.2 milers & 3 ultras: 31 miles). The ultimate goal for a cyclist is to ride 100 miles (My wife and I have completed Hotter n Hell 2 times on our tandem and Waco Wild West Century once). For years I have heard that doing 100 push-ups and 20-25 pull-ups is quite a feat and when your offer came in my email inbox, I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to begin achieving this goal.

Reviewed often- Keep track of total number of weighted push-ups and strict pull-ups each training session and try to improve each time.

Beth Muhlenkamp

I will jog at least 3 times a week on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday’s in the morning before work for 30 minutes, and work on increasing my jogging time each week.

I have several goals that I am working one at the present time which include physical, emotional, spiritual, etc. but the reason I chose this goal for the 30 day challenge was because I have a goal of someday running a marathon.  I have never been a runner but I have been working on running most of this year.  I was doing pretty good but I have lost my motivation and focus and have let my running slip over the past couple of months.  I am ready to get back on track and work on my running again.

I will be starting out at jogging for 3 minutes and walking 1 minute and increase my jogging time by 1 minute each week so at the end of the 30 days I will be doing a doing a combination of a 6 minute jog and a 1 minute walk for a total 30 minutes.  The 30 minutes does not include warm up and cool down times.

My motivation for doing this challenge and goal is:

1.  So I can feel good about myself for accomplishing I put my mind to.

2.  I know I will feel better all the way around because my body will be toning up and I will like what I see when I look in the mirror.

3.  I just recently found out that I have a pretty high HDL BUT I also have a high LDL on my Cholesterol reading and I am pretty upset about this since I do eat pretty good, exercise currently, and the fact that I am only 26 years old and you never think it can happen to you.  The doctor thinks it’s genetic, and that this is something that I am going to have to battle for the rest of my life.  So this gives me more motivation to exercise and even increase my exercise.

4.  I also tell people that running is my anti-depressant because I know when I am running regularly my mood is a lot better.

5.  I want to be a good role model to my family, friends, and clients.  I want them to see that yes it can be done, no it’s not always going to be easy but what’s the fun accomplishing something that was easy?!

My support system includes:  God, my mom, my co-worker Teresa, and this group.

Michelle Perrone

My goal is to do 3 days of strength training for 30 minutes each day and 3 days of cardio training for 30 minutes each day.

The reason to get this goal accomplished is because  I’ve always gone to the gym and worked out.  It bothers me that I am out of shape. I can tell because I get out of breath easier than before and I see that I am not as toned as before.  I have that tiny pouch in my belly and am anxious to get rid of it. I feel that by having your core strong it makes you physically stronger.

How Lisa Anderson Lost 75 Pounds! Exclusive Interview

LAUREN- Lisa… you went from weighing 212 pounds back in September of 2006 and today, you are 75 pounds lighter weighing in at 137 pounds! First of all, congratulations!

LISA- Thanks Lauren, I always say… “I am the luckiest girl I know” I not only look and feel better…but I am developing “real muscle”… I never knew I could.

LAUREN- I want to thank you for taking the time to share your story on this blog. You are such a model for the message I try to hammer in all the time, I thought it might be nice for everyone to hear it from someone who has been there and done it, and more importantly maintained it!

LISA- You have no idea how much I love to share hoping I can help and inspire others…I know what it is like to want to get healthy… feel better… want to like what you see in the mirror…I want others to know it is possible… just believe in yourself… it’s worth the time…

LAUREN- Was there a root cause for why you put on so much weight in the first place? Did you address this issue in order to lose the weight and keep it off?

LISA- Life just happens.  Days turn into weeks, which turn into months and eventually into years! I still don’t know how that happens… time just seems to fly by and that “starting date” of Monday or the first of the month never seems to come.  I kept putting if off and before I realized it… I found myself 49 years old and weighing 212 lbs.

I was shocked needless to say.  I definitely avoided mirrors and having my picture taken for so long. I just kept wearing the sweat pants with the elastic waist and denying what was truly happening to my body and to me.

I had spent approximately a year taking care of my sick mother not to mention my 4 children and husband and completely did not think about my own self and what was happening to me.

LAUREN- Was there a point where you just hit a wall, a time when something clicked inside you to make you want to change? [Read more]

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