Merry Christmas

Good Morning World! It's Christmas Morning. You would think it would be a zoo in here but it is absolutely silent. It is 7:00 and all my family is still sleeping away. I was the one up and felt like I slept in but that's ok. They all in one way or another have been feeling a little off with colds and flus and general just over doing it. My poor hubby and Emma Grace have been sharing a cold and Alex' tummy has been off from not eating well and Alicea went on a marathon of finals and a trip to Disneyland then drove all the way home. So I guess we all needed some sleep. So I am sitting here waiting for them all and reflecting on our wonderful year together. My wish to all of you is to enjoy your family not just today but every day of the year. Have a wonderful and Merry Christmas! 

Pushing through Struggles

Many of us struggle this time of year to workout and may have many reasons. One I hear often is being stiff or in pain. It's also one I used to use I have had 4 knee surgeries in my life, starting at 18 years old. I was an athlete and ballet dancer for the majority of my life. This last couple of weeks it's been extremely cold and my knees have been killing me, once my knees start to hurt it spreads throughout my lower body and lower back making it difficult to walk.  

I've struggled to get 3 workouts a week in when my norm is 4-5. As I started to feel myself slipping in to the abyss of self loathing I remembered the reason I started Beachbody last April to begin with. It was to build strength so I could stop being in pain and missing out on activities that I loved. So this morning with my house at 60 degrees and me limping around I got on the treadmill and walked. I have to tell you at first it hurt and I considered stopping but pushed on and ended up feeling great and starting my day off great. 

So I challenge you, I encourage you all with old injuries acting up, joints that are swelling, conditions that worsen in the cold to get out there, don't quit. Maybe you can't do a full workout right now but you can walk you can stretch. Stream a low impact workout on your Beachbody On Demand, try Plyo Fix on 21 Day Fix, try a Yoga  workout. It will make you feel so good I promise. 

Transformation in Progress

So many of us get in our own way of being successful whether it be in our jobs, our family or our health. I did it too, I made excuses for my lack of motivation. For me, it was always I'm too busy, I'm in too much pain. But hopefully one day a spark, a moment of clarity will prompt you to make a change. Mine was 4 years ago. 4 years ago I was 40 lbs heavier, exhausted and in pain. I lived on triple mochas, iced tea, coca cola, CAFFEINE.....I had to have it to keep going. I was like most of the woman my age searching for the newest fad diet, Atkins, The Suzzane Summers Diet, Weight Watchers, whatever I could do with the littlest amount of effort. I kept wondering why it didn't make a difference and my bosses wife would laugh at us girls in the office and she would say, "When you are serious I can help you." And then my day came, it was in the winter and I could barely walk down the stairs. I have had 4 knee surgeries and without continued strength training I would be in constant pain. So exhausted and in pain I came to her and said, "I'm ready". I began to meet with her once a week. We talked about diet, exercise and personal well being. After 4 months I began to understand clean eating, proper diet and exercise. I lost 34 lbs. in 4 months just by changing my eating habits and have continued clean eating and my nutrition. But the one thing I still couldn't make work no matter how I tried was getting my workouts in. I would constantly cancel or leave the gym because of work and she kept telling me to check out Tony Horton 10 min Trainer. It took me almost 3 years to finally check it out and near the same time I was asked to be part of a Challenge Group which took all the things I had learned from her with a workout I could do from home. I was so excited. A program that had all the things I had learned with a low impact workout I could actually do! So I started my first group and love of Chalene Johnson with PiYo. I have new goals now, to continue to work hard with my own health and fitness and to help as many others to live a healthy lifestyle.I have found a company, Beachbody that has the same beliefs and long term help in lifestyle to help me achieve my goals.  From that point on I have made the decision to never go back. I will always strive to be healthy, happy and teach my children and others how they can do it too.   

I have become so passionate about helping others and my family is the people I want to help the most. My sister Erin has an amazing story and I am in awe of the strength she has shown me. 

Erin's Story:

I am a mother of 2 ages 14 and 9. I have been with their father for 16 years this month. I have been overweight from teenage years to Adult. I have struggled with self esteem and insecurities most of my life as well. My problem with weight loss is I lack motivation and assurance that it is possible for me to do it by myself. I look for people who motivate me to reach this goal of weight loss. I have dieted for a long time which has resulted in weight loss and then getting stuck and loosing the will to continue. Its so easy to give up when things don't happen right away or stop at a certain point. I had a good success in 2009 I was going to the gym on a regular basis and then couldn't afford it so stopped going and doing the healthy things altogether. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia 9 years ago. It causes joint stiffness to the point I can barely get out of bed or walk some days. I'm tired very easy, my back aches, along with many other things. When I workout im down for a day or two sometimes more depending how my body decides to react that day. I try to push through most days and keep telling myself I can do this. As far as eating goes, im not much of a sweet eating person my worst habit is salty foods like chips. Also my portion control is not so great. Some days I eat little some days I feel like I'm starving so eat a lot more. When I decided to get on track was when I had a weird and alarming medical episode happen in November of 2014. I noticed one day my legs were starting to get numb. I thought maybe I had a pinched nerve making my legs feel that way so I decided to wait and see if it would go away in a few days. I thought it was odd that I didn't have any back pain like a pinched nerve would give me. Then it went from numb from feet up to my chest. Then I freaked out. This was on week 2. I decided it was time to go in. I dragged my daughter to the ER with me thinking it would be something minor and I was freaking myself out. As they Triaged me they looked puzzled but alarmed at the same time. They called a Neurologist Specialist right away stating they thought maybe it was MS. I was so nervous and scared to death that it could be MS. The Specialist came and did a brain MRI and some routine tests and decided a Lumbar Puncture the next day so they admitted me. After 3-4 days in the hospital they determined it was Transverse Myelitis. 

(Transverse myelitis is an inflammation of the spinal cord, which often targets insulating material covering nerve cell fibers (myelin). Transverse myelitis may result in injury across the spinal cord, affecting sensation below the injury. The disrupted transmission of nerve signals due to transverse myelitis can cause pain or other sensory problems, weakness or paralysis of muscles, or bladder and bowel dysfunction. Several factors can cause transverse myelitis, including infections and immune system disorders that attack the body's tissues. It may also occur because of other myelin disorders, such as multiple sclerosis.) 

After this scare I decided I need to get my health under control.When I decided to loose weight I was at my highest weight ever almost 300 lbs. At that time I was drinking 7-8 cans of soda a day and sometimes more of it with absolutely no water intake at all. I decided to quit completely and only drink water mainly. I didn't really notice a difference in weight but it did take a huge toll on my teeth for all those years of excessive drinking of it. Shortly after I decided I would try to loose weight and exercise. I started working with my sister and Coach online, Sherri Degraffenreid. I lack motivation, self esteem and willpower to go through with it. Sherri gives me determination, motivation, accountability and so much more. Sometimes exercising is more painful then it should be on my joints. Sherri helps me push through with her great encouraging words, nutrition and recipes even though she is 4+ hours away from where I live. I have been struggling with weight loss almost my entire life. Since February of this year I have lost 33 lbs. I just started doing Cize from Beachbody and love it so far. I'm hoping with my awesome Coach, my shakes and workouts I can achieve my 1st goal of loosing 7 more lbs by the 1st of the year. I would highly recommend my Coach, she is very resourceful, encouraging and gives you the motivation I need. Speaking from someone who is overweight and lacks any type of motivation it can be done. It takes time and dedication and we are all worth it.

-Erin Pardue