Fitness For Moms and Everyone Else too!

When I was growing up my parents started me in sports at a young age. They taught me exercise and gave me the opportunity to be in sports. I loved it. Unfortunately, this was only half the package to true health and fitness. I missed out on the second half of it, which is good, sound nutrition, until well into adulthood. My parents did not teach me healthy eating habits. Bless their hearts, they were not taught healthy eating habits when they were growing up either, so I cannot blame them. They did not know better. My family often ate fast food, drank sodas, and ate lots of desserts. Many of those desserts consisted of Twinkies, Little Debbie cakes and Dunkin Donuts.

I passed this trait onto my son. I was a single mom for a time, and his favorite place to eat was Wendy’s. He preferred the chicken nuggets and fries combo. I liked the Jr. Cheeseburger and Chocolate Frosty. I let my son eat unhealthy snacks, and I ate them too. We even made many visits to Dunkin Donuts. We thought we were having lots of fun, but in reality, this way of eating was wreaking havoc on our health. Having a poor diet makes one tend to be sick more often. Your body just does not work as well to fight off viruses and bacteria invaders.

It was not until I met my husband at the age of 30 that I was introduced to healthy eating. Slowly but surely my husband’s healthy eating habits rubbed off on me. I say slowly, because it took almost five years for me to get it. For a few years now, I have been eating a diet that is all organic and very low in sugar. I never drink sodas and I never eat fast food or Dunkin Donuts. Neither does my son, who is now almost 13 years old. It was harder for me to get him to change his old eating habits than mine. My son really resisted and battled me in the beginning. I had to take baby steps with him and eliminate one junk food at a time.

I am happy to say that my son no longer drinks sodas. He does not even crave them. He won’t drink them when he goes to a friend’s house or a birthday party. Plus, he has come to like eating organic, including broccoli, carrots, and a variety of salads. We often have a side salad with dinner. He does still battle with his sweet tooth, and I let him have desserts on occasion. But I make sure it is a home made dessert or one from the store (such as Whole Foods or Vitamin Cottage) that does not contain refined white sugar or hydrogenated oils.

My son is proud to be eating healthy. He encourages his friends to stop drinking sodas, and he is an example to the other players on his basketball team. He now has the full package of health. He exercises by playing basketball and running track, and he has a healthy diet. I am proud of him for making this change at his age.

My husband and I have two daughters ages 14 months and 3. We started from the womb giving them healthy nutrition. They are starting out organic and eating veggies, fruits and whole grain carbs. Neither of my daughters has been inside a fast food joint, neither of them have had a single sip of soda, and most certainly, neither of them have tasted a Dunkin Donut. I am thankful we are starting them out young on the path to healthy eating habits. It will just be natural for them as they grow into adulthood.

Habits are hard to break, so why not start your children with good habits right from the beginning? Starting young is the key. Your kids will have good habits that will never need to be broken.

I thought I would share a delicious recipe this week. I am always trying to find treats that will satisfy my sweet tooth without the bad sugar or bad oils. Those can be tough to come by. I have detoxed from sugar many times and my body just cannot tolerate the white stuff anymore, but my taste buds (and emotions) still crave it. I found a recipe that makes my body happy and makes my taste buds just as happy. I got this from a Martha Stewart magazine. I did make some of my own modifications to make them even healthier than hers. The modifications worked, and they did not take away from the taste. Even my kids love these! I encourage you to try them out for a yummy treat that you don’t have to feel guilty about, unless you eat the whole pan in one setting, that is.

2 TBS. of virgin olive oil
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup date sugar (it is just dried dates made into natural date sugar-cool stuff)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 oz. of bittersweet chocolate - melted
2 large eggs
1/2 cup grain sweetened chocolate chips (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Brush 9 inch square baking pan with oil; line with a strip of wax paper and also oil it.

In medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda. Set aside

In another medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, date sugar, applesauce, sour cream, yogurt, melted chocolate, eggs and oil until combined. Add flour mixture and mix just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached.

NOTES: Mine turned out semi-cake like, but were delicious. I did not put any icing on top. The chocolate chips are not sweetened with sugar. They are grain sweetened. They are so good! I purchased the choc chips and date sugar at Vitamin Cottage. Probably any health food store in your area would have these ingreds. They are great. Date sugar is natural and 100% made from real dates.

ENJOY EVERYONE!

The holidays are over and it is time for me to get back on track with my blog entries. I took two weeks off from writing, and now I am ready to go again. I thought the best way to begin my first entry for 2008 would be to write about my Coach Christy Challenge and invite ALL of you to take part in it. This will be a fun and motivating way for you start out the new year with a bang. So, get out your workout program, take your nutritional supplements, eat healthy, and don’t pig out, and you could be the next winner of my challenge. There have already been two winners, and I am excited and ready for there to be a third. All you have to do is use Million Dollar Body and all it has to offer. Then, you can be the winner of my challenge and the winner of being super fit! Your body will thank-you for it, and those around you will want what you have.

So, let’s get on with it. Here are the details of the challenge:

It will begin on Monday, January 14th and end on Saturday, March 1st. Points will be tallied up over the weekend and the winner will be announced on Monday, March 3rd. I will give updates on point standings every two weeks so you can know who your challengers are and where you stand in the challenge.

Here are the ways you can earn points:

1. Log into WOWY at least 4 times per week. I will randomly check everyone’s web site each week to see if you have worked out. All I have to do is go to your member or coach site and click on “My Workouts” and I can see if you have worked out or not. You will earn 10 points for doing this consistently each week. So, if you have not yet given me your screen name, do so now so I can check on your workouts and add you to my buddy list. (10 points)

2. Check in with me, Coach Christy, once a week. Give me updates about your workouts, eating plan, just to say hello, etc. You will earn 5 points per week for this. (35 points)

3. Share a favorite, healthy recipe. At the end, I will share all the recipes with everyone in my blog entry. Earn 5 points for this. Earn an additional 5 points for sharing two recipes. (10 points)

4. Post a before and after picture. The after picture should be posted in the last week of the challenge. 5 points for each picture. (10 points)

5. At some point in the challenge send me an e-mail telling what your favorite thing is about Million Dollar Body. Do you like the trainer tips the most, the Thin Kitchen, the Success Story contest, the customized meal plans? What do you like the best? I want to know! 5 points for this. (5 points)

6. Invite me to WOWY at least two times during the challenge. Even if I cannot WOWY at the same time you do, still invite me. This will let me know you know how to WOWY and that you use it. 5 points for this. (5 points)

7. Become a Million Dollar Body coach and help others. Sign up directly from your member site. Earn 5 points for this. If you are already a coach, then you automatically earn 5 points for this. (5 points)

Total points you can earn is 80 points. Whoever has the most points at the end WINS!

Winner prizes to choose from this time will be nutritional supplements:

1. P90X Peak Health Formula vitamins.

2. Two boxes of P90X bars. You can have one of each flavor or two boxes of your favorite.

3. Cal-Mag and Core Omega-3 vitamins pack. I promoted these in my last blog entry, and I use them and LOVE them, so I might as well make them a prize, right?

4. Peak Recovery Formula in the tub or packets. Your choice.

5. Whey Powder Protein in vanilla or chocolate

Please e-mail me sometime between now and next Sunday. January 13th to let me know you will take my challenge. I am expecting all of you to say “YES!” I need to have at least ten people sign up to make this worth doing. So, let’s beat that number and get a hearty challenge going! Don’t delay, sign up today! Hope to hear from all of you soon!

I have been informing everyone I know about the new P90X Plus workouts that are coming out, but there are even more new goodies MDB has to offer besides The Plus. I only want to mention one thing about the Plus here, and that is if you are a coach you can order yours beginning this Monday, December 17th. MDB members can begin ordering theirs on January 2nd!

Another new product that is already out is the supplement called Core Omega-3. Are you getting enough of the healthy and much needed Omega - 3 fats in your diet? If you are like me and you do not care to eat fish too often, then you probably are not getting enough of this super healthy oil. I know in this dry, winter season my skin is so dry and my fingers are getting the worst of it. I have even had some cracks and cuts from my skin being so dry. No amount of lotion will help clear this condition. It starts from the inside of the body. If you are dried out on the inside you are going to be dried out on the outside. That is why I am going to use the Core Omega-3 supplement. It comes from wild Atlantic cold water fish sources. Carl Daikler says, “It is absolutely guaranteed to be free of harmful PCBs and heavy metal contaminants typically found in supplements available in grocery stores.” These come in soft gel capsules. Carl Daikler also says that is is delivered in the intestine, not the stomach so you will not have to worry about an upset stomach and no aftertaste.

This type of fish oil has many other health benefits other than just making your skin look and feel better. To read more about it go to Carl Daikler’s blog, then try this supplement for yourself! Make sure you scroll down to his second entry, after the P90X Plus entry he wrote about.

Another new supplement that I am ordering for myself this week is the Core Cal-Mag. I don’t know if any of you have read the details about it yet on your own MDB site, but it sounds like a superb combination of calcium and magnesium. We all know calcium helps to strengthen bones and teeth. I like the fact that these tablets come from pure milk and calcium carbonate. There is nothing artificial there. Plus, vitamin D is added to help your body actually absorb the calcium tablet. It would be worthless if your body could not absorb it. Many of the supplements sold in stores are made in such a cheapy way that a person is wasting his time taking the supplement, because the body does not absorb the nutrients.

Magnesium helps all the cells in our body function properly, and combined with the calcium they both work together to help you keep your body healthy and functioning properly. I encourage you to try this great product.

Finally, there are even more new workout programs coming out in the new year. Both Tony Horton of P90X and Shaun T of Hip Hop Abs, will have new workout DVD’s to offer. Not only is Tony offering the P90X Plus but he will also be offering The Ten Minute Trainer for those who have the problem of always being too busy to make the time to work out every day or to work out for a whole hour at a time. He has a very creative idea to help solve that problem. To find out what it is you will have to wait for it to come out and check it out for yourself. Shaun T will be offering a program called Rocket Body. Just the name alone is enough to catch my attention. I hope it caught yours too. Look for them in early January. Let’s not forget the kids! Shaun T is also offering a workout program for kids. It is called, Fit Kid, with a a hip hop beat, and will target medium to older aged kids.

Guess what? There is even more that MDB is offering for the new year for its members, but that is all I am telling about today. Maybe I will give some more hints in my upcoming entries. All I can say is from the sneak peeks I have seen I am really excited about them all. I am both a coach and a member of Million Dollar Body, so I have a double reason to be excited! Stay tuned and remember, no matter what, keep pushing play!

I was actually writing my blog entry earlier this morning before going to church. I was having trouble getting any words typed onto the key board, and I seriously considered not even writing a blog entry at all this week. I have been experiencing the blues this week. That has not happened to me for a long time, but sometimes life gets really hard or things happen in life that really hurt. We have all experienced it more than a few times, I am sure. I was feeling particularly sad this morning and started writing about feeling blue. I even wrote the whole rough draft. I was going to edit when I got back from church.

My family and I headed off to church and I sat in the pew continuing to feel blue and just plain frustrated. I did listen to the pastor, though. His words touched me and helped me to change from feeling miserably blue to happily thankful. I had a change of mind. I began accepting that there are some circumstances in life that I cannot change. I began accepting that there are going to be some people who do not like me and who do not want to be my friend no matter how hard I try to please them. I am who I am and I can only be the best I can be. That is what matters. I began accepting that I cannot turn to food and exercise to TRY to make myself happy. They both keep my body healthy (as long as I do not abuse either of them) and give me the energy I need for this life, but they do not solve all my life problems. I began accepting that it is okay if I am not enjoying being a runner anymore. Just because I have been a runner for twenty-two years does not mean I have to keep doing it. I am already doing P90X and loving it. I could try Turbo Jam, Power 90 Master Series, or maybe even Hip Hob Abs in place of running. I might have fun dancing and grooving for my cardio. The main message I got this morning in church was to be thankful. If I focus on all that I have to be thankful for then there is no room left for being blue. So, I wrote down ten things I am thankful for in a little notebook. It did not take any effort at all. I whipped those ten items out within a couple of minutes. It was easy to do because I have so many obvious things to be thankful for. I could probably easily think of ten more things to add to the list, but I would like to share the ten I did write down with all of you. Here they are:
1. I am God’s child. His Son has given me the gift of heaven, and I have accepted it.
2. I have a family who loves and supports me.
3. I am blessed with three beautiful children to raise and take care of.
4. I have more than enough food to eat everyday. I NEVER go hungry.
5. I have warm clothes to wear and a roof over my head.
6. I have an at home job being a Million Dollar Body coach. Because of it I am making enough income to stay at home with my children this year. Normally, I would have to go off and leave my children everyday to be a teacher like I was for the last nine years.
7. I have good health and access to excellent nutritional supplements and herbs from Million Dollar Body and Dr. Schulze, herbdoc.com.
8. I am athletic and have a fit body. I have the gift for the love of exercise.
9. I am growing in wisdom and knowledge as I am getting older. Getting older has its advantages.
10. I live in America. It is a screwed up place in many ways, but I am very thankful that I have many freedoms by being a citizen here.

That was my list of ten. I hope you also have a list of ten, twenty, or even thirty things that you are thankful for in your life. Some of yours may be the same as mine if you are American, a parent, or if you are always able to go to the grocery store each week and buy food for your family. If you are ever feeling blue like I was, then do your best to turn from what you are feeling blue about and write down all the things you are thankful for, and those blues will be history.

I cannot believe it has already been one week since I had the pleasure of eating at PIG OUT PALACE. I say that with a bit of sarcastic humor. I traveled to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving. I went there to see my father and his wife, Coach Anita. Yes, she is a Million Dollar Body coach with me, and a really good one. My brother and his wife, and three children also live there. Finally, my grandmother on my father’s side lives in a little town called Holdenville, which is about an hour and a half away from where my father and brother live. I had not seen my grandmother in many years and it was her wish to take the family to her favorite restaurant for a special Thanksgiving meal. Yes, her favorite restaurant is The PIG OUT PALACE. This would be the only opportunity I would have to see her, so I had to say yes to going to the palace. I will have to admit, I was a little frantic about it all week leading up to the big day. I am very picky in my eating, and when at home I eat only organic foods. I stay away from fried foods, white sugar, hydrogenated oils, and white breads. Those used to be my favorite staples, but after that type of eating almost ruined my health I have no desire to go back to them. Well, sugar is still a slight weakness. I will sometimes still give into a dessert or something chocolate, but I try to make it on occasion only.

The big day came. We drove to Holdenville to pick up my grandma, then we had to drive another thirty minutes to get to the Palace. When we got there I noticed it was much smaller and less fancy than I had envisioned. We walked in and it was sort of cute in there. The buffet area was not big, it was just one small area filled with the traditional Thanksgiving eats and treats. I filled my plate with a big salad, and piled on some broccoli, carrots and cucumbers. I was impressed because the lettuce was not iceberg; there were some nice, dark greens in there. The sweet potatoes looked good too, so I put some of those on my plate. I even grabbed a slice of turkey and roast. I took a few nibbles of the meat but had to leave them be. The meat was scary tasting and not something to eat in my opinion, but the salad and sweet potatoes were delicious, and I even gave in and ate a white roll. Eat my words above about never giving into white bread.

I had fun visiting with my grandmother, who for eighty-one, is spunky and full of energy. She is a real fireball and made all of us laugh and smile. I will have to admit, after looking around I noticed there were some strange looking characters in there. There was one family sitting to the left of us. They looked very unhappy and I never saw them smile or laugh once. There were some single Thanksgiving feasters all scattered about the palace. I did feel sad that they were alone with no family. One guy in there was even making the moves on Coach Anita. Well, who could blame him? She is really pretty and fit as a fiddle.

When we finished our meal, we strolled around in the gift shop. My father pulled out a purple souvenir t-shirt that had a pink pig on the front advertising Pig Out Palace. My dad bought the shirt for me and I have been wearing it as a pajama top. It is very nice and comfy, by the way.

I had many more memorable events on my Thanksgiving trip, but this was the one I wanted to share about this time. I had a few eating set backs while there, but in the end I survived and made it through. I did ask myself many times before eating, “What would Tony Horton do? ” I even wondered about him and what he was eating for Thanksgiving, and what he eats when he is traveling. It’s tough business maintaining healthy eating habits while traveling away from home. I actually did well at the Palace and it was not near as bad as I had conjured up in my mind.

I hope all of you had a happy and healthy Thanksgiving, and most importantly, some special memories of being with family that you can keep with you for a lifetime. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Now, are you ready for Christmas?

As most of you know, the winners of the second Coach Christy challenge are TheBigBoss and TheRealBoss. All they did to win was use what Million Dollar Body has to offer them. It is that simple. They checked in with their coach once a week, they pushed play everyday, they logged into WOWY and met up with success buddies each morning, they took before and after pictures and updated them at each 30 day mark. Their progress is tremendous, by the way. It shows in their pictures. They both shared a short bio and transformation story. Finally, they entered into the success story contest. Someone wins every month in each age and sex category, so why not go for it? They just might win that too. You for sure cannot win a challenge or a contest by not entering or doing nothing, but if you enter and do something then you could be the one to win. Why not? That is how these two looked at it. They decided, why not go for it and have a lot of fun doing it.

I know they are having fun with P90X. Otherwise, they would not have taken it with them on their romantic cruise for two. They would have not gone out onto the deck of the ship and pushed play with Yoga if they were not loving it. Matter of fact, TheBigBoss says in his transformation story, “We’ll its now been 60 days and I’m loving the way I look and feel. My wife tells me she sees it even more than I do! It’s also official - I’m addicted to P90X!” TheBigBoss also says he would like to look like Tony Horton. Well, I think he is well on his way. If you would like to see for yourself and read more about him then click here.

Did you know this couple has five boys ages ten and under? TheRealBoss has had some tummy stretching over the last few years, but by looking at her after picture one would never know. I think she would be a perfect candidate to be in one of the P90X DVDs. There are some strong, lean women in each workout DVD and TheRealBoss would fit right in. She gets up very early every morning, and together, her and her husband join together as a team to work out to P90X. Here is what TheRealBoss says, “Now I have finished month two and there is no stopping me now! I feel great, I am seeing continued progress, and I’m still going even with a seven-day cruise that my husband and I took at the end of our second month.” You go, girl! To read more about TheRealBoss and see her before and after picture click here.
Congratulations both of you. I am so proud of you and I am honored to be your coach.

There will be a 3rd challenge beginning after the holidays on Monday, January 14th. I will send out information on it starting 7-10 days before the official start date. So, I hope ALL of you will join the challenge and go for it. This will be a great way to help you reach all of your goals and to get the most out of being a Million Dollar Body member.

I wish all of you a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving this coming week. Remember,Thanksgiving is about gratitude, not FAT-itude. I just had to put that in there. One of my members wrote me an e-mail reminding me of this and I thought she hit the nail on the head. That is exactly what Thanksgiving is about. So, may we all remember to be thankful on this special day and leave pigging out, over indulging and feeling sick to someone else, who has the wrong attitude.

“Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.”

This is a quote I got from my father that I wanted to share because I think it can help you become the champion you desire to be. Do you feel like a winner when you are faithfully pushing play and consistently eating healthy foods; not packing in too many calories? What about when you skip a workout or eat three chocolate chip cookies instead of just one? Do you feel like a winner then, or do you feel like a loser? I know I have felt like a loser in the past when I have over eaten or used food for emotional reasons.

If you are able to live by the quote above, then you will not let a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad month cause you to not pick yourself up again. One bad day could cause you to spiral out of control and have a second bad day, then a third, and before you know it, you have gained ten pounds, and you haven’t pushed play for weeks. After something like this happens, most of us feel like we have been crushed and defeated. Well, we have, but that does not mean it has to stay that way. To be a champion, it means admitting you have lost because you have given into your old ways. Then, it means getting back up and going on to win again. I have had to start over with my eating so many times that I have lost count. It is a miracle if I can go an entire week not screwing up. For so many years of my life I gave into poor eating habits and many times did not want to try anymore. Only by the grace of God and deciding I wanted to be a winner, have I been able to find the strength to get back up over and over again.

Now, after almost 37 years of living, I am to the point where I am able to get up a lot faster after a fall, and recover a lot quicker. I am getting closer and closer everyday to being that TRUE CHAMPION who keeps going and keeps trying to the very end. Heck, I already know I am going to get that true champion title. You see, I am really good at losing, but I have finally learned how to not allow the losing to keep me down. I have discovered how to learn from losing. At this point in my life, all that losing has made me stronger and more determined. At the end of my life I want to be able to say I did my best and gave it my all, and that is in all areas of my life, not just exercising and eating right.

So, who are you? Have you fallen down? Are you on the ground right now? Have you been flat on the ground more than you have been up off the ground? Do you feel like you have lost? If so, then just know that you still have a chance to be a true champion. The game is over only if you give in to losing. The game is over only if you never get back up. As long as you are still breathing and have two arms and legs, then there is that golden chance for you to rise up from defeat and become the champion that you are meant to be. So, get on up, right now. Who cares what your past is or how many times you have screwed up. It DOES NOT MATTER! Look ahead and start today by picking yourself up after a crushing defeat. Get up and make your way towards being a true champion. Remember, a true champion is someone who does not win ALL the time. A true champion is someone who sometimes or even often loses, but then always comes back for the win!

I encourage you to join me as a Million Dollar Body coach. I want to have a team of true champions. I don’t want anyone who claims to have it altogether. I don’t need anyone who is a certified this or that. I don’t want anyone who has big, ripped muscles. I don’t want anyone who eats exactly 1600 calories per day and never gives into eating more. I don’t want someone who thinks they have all the answers and thinks he or she is an expert in the field of health and nutrition. I only want a normal, everyday person who is doing the best he or she can to become a true life champion. I want someone who cares for themself and who cares for others. I want someone who enjoys cheering others on and giving them encouragement. That is all it takes to become an MDB coach. You don’t have to write blogs like I do, and you don’t have to give out challenges, you just have to be willing to send an encouraging e-mail to MDB members who e-mail you first and are wanting to get onto that road to becoming true champions. Please join me by becoming an MDB coach. I will be your mentor coach, and together we will help others. Click here to learn more about becoming a coach.

Wow! that is what I have to say about this week and the amazing e-mails I have gotten from some of my Million Dollar Body members. I feel honored and blessed to be their coach. I have three examples of buddies I would like to share about who are pushing play and bringing it everyday! If you are in need of some encouragement or just want to read about some people who are using MDB to the fullest, and being successful, then this is the blog entry for you today!

The first great examples are TheBigBoss and his beautiful wife, TheRealBoss. Don’t you love their screen names? Both of them have been training with P90X, getting ready for a special cruise together. They are on that cruise right now. They were about half way through the 90 days of P90X when it came time for them to go on their cruise. They had both gotten great results so far and were looking awesome for their vacation. You would think they would leave P90X at home this coming week and just take it easy, relaxing and eating well on their vacation. Oh no! You are wrong if you thought that. They are doing just the opposite. They took P90X with them, including all their supplements. They are pushing play every morning and sticking to their healthy eating habits. They know that by doing this they will enjoy their cruise even more, because they will be energized all day long to enjoy their vacation activities. I doubt it even crossed their mind to leave their workouts behind. Way to go you two! You both know the importance of making fitness a daily part of your lives, no matter where you are or what you are doing. I look at it this way. Each of us would not dare miss eating dinner because this is an everyday part of life, and we need to eat for energy and nourishment. Well, it is no different with exercise. It should be a daily part of life because we need it for energy, and physical and mental health.

The next person I want to share about is Spunky Laura. She is a mom to three young children ranging in ages from 1-4. You can imagine how busy she must be taking care of her kids, while her husband is at work as a Naval officer. She started doing P90X around the same time as TheBigBoss and TheRealBoss. She wrote me the other day giving me an update on her progress. I want to share a little of what she wrote:

” I threw my scale away in June so I have no idea how much I weigh or anything, but I can see my muscles more defined and I feel stronger and I like that! My stomach has always been my problem area and where I gain extra weight, and it is looking the best it EVER has, even after 3 kids!!! I am shocked at my progress!”

Spunky Laura and I have had discussion e-mails about our bodies and their inner clockwork, and decided that should be our guide rather than a number on a scale. We decided that instead of being a certain weight, what is important is being healthy, strong and fit. This happens by listening to our bodies, eating right, and consistently exercising. Your body will let you know when it is hungry or full. If you keep stuffing in the food when it is telling you it has had enough, then you are going to gain excess weight. If you don’t eat when your body is telling you it is hungry then you are depriving it and messing with your natural metabolism. If your body is tired and sore and is asking for a rest day, then don’t try to force it to do a hard workout. Instead, stretch or massage. Listening to our bodies will let them be the weight they need to be and are meant to be, not some weight we try to force them to be. Spunky Laura went on to say,

“For so long I tried to make my body fit someone else’s mold! Isn’t it INSANE to do that? If I workout, eat healthy, and give my body the food it needs and sometimes even what it craves, then I will be who I am meant to be!”

Well said SpunkyLAura. All of us have different body types and we cannot and will not all be the same weight or fit into the same mold. That is impossible. Some of us are larger boned than others, some of us have more muscle definition than others. We cannot help or change that. So, don’t focus on what you don’t have or what someone else has and you wish you had. Instead, focus on what you do have, and that is a body and brain that work, so use them to be the best you can be. We are all unique and special, so we should celebrate our uniqueness. I know I am not able to get big, ripped muscles no matter how hard I work out. I can only achieve that lean musclar look, but that is okay. That is just as beautiful as someone who is able to have larger, more defined muscles. Both are fit and healthy, and that is what counts.

Thank-you, my special buddies, TheBigBoss, TheRealBoss, and SpunkyLaura for sharing a portion of your stories with all of us. All three of you are great examples, and not only do you constantly encourage me, but I know you are also encouraging those around you in your everyday lives.

I received an e-mail from one of my members last week. Her name is Connie. I have been her coach for a little over a month now, and we have become fast friends. I want to share a portion of her story today and with her permission, quote a part of her e-mail.
Connie wrote,

” I have lost 25 pound so far! I am thrilled. I really believe that no one is too old to exercise……not ever. We may have to tone down the exercises, modify them to fit our bodies, but we can, and should push ourselves. We are meant to move!”

This came from Connie, who is 58 years old and started doing P90X only a few short weeks ago. Yes, she is tackling P90X! Connie has already lost 25 pounds, and she is determined and on fire to lose the rest of the weight. Nothing is going to stop her. Connie has been very overweight for many years and has not exercised. Now, she is doing yoga, riding her bike and loving Core Synergistics. She says that workout rocks! It is my favorite, too, by the way. Way to go Connie. This just goes to show that no one is too old or too out of shape for P90X. Anyone can do it. You just have to have a strong desire and put your mind to it, and it can be done. Connie goes on to say,

“Those of us who have not moved our bodies to their full capacity in a long time need to approach this slowly and carefully, but WE NEED TO APPROACH IT!!! This is the cure, I repeat, the cure for chronic pain…. and take care of the soft tissue in between your workouts with massage, and I think anyone will be pleased with the outcome, just like I am.”

Connie also mentioned that she can only do about half of each P90x workout so far. But she started out only being able to do about five minutes of a workout. Look how far she has come in only a little over a month. I know Connie has the goal of being able to do entire P90X workouts. I am sure she will reach this goal, because she believes she can, and she never ever gives up. She keeps pushing forward, and she keeps pushing play every day.

So, if you have been thinking that you are just too old for P90X or even another workout that MDB offers, then pay close attentions to Connie’s story, and think again. If you think you are too far gone, and too overweight to get moving, then remember Connie. She told me when she first began she looked like one of the “Biggest Loser” candidates, who start out very obese at the beginning of the show. When most people get that overweight, they throw in the towel, but at the age of 58, not Connie, so not you either. Get up, and get moving. It is never too late!

if you are already a Million Dollar Body member or coach, then good for you. You are on the right track to reaching all of your fitness and health goals. I believe you have chosen the best company out there to help you accomplish your goals. If you use MDB and the tools they give you, then you cannot fail. I know, because MDB worked for me, and has and is working for so many others that I am blessed to be coaching. If you are not a member or a coach and would like to be a part of this supportive and upbeat community, then become a member for only $38.87 for every three months. That comes out to only $2.99 per week. You can’t get much more affordable than that, and MDB has so much to offer. Click here to find out more and sign up today. One of the best tools you will receive is your very own online personal coach who you can e-mail anytime for advice or help. If you are already on your way to reaching your fitness goals and would like to help others reach their goals. then click here to become an independent Million Dollar Body coach and get paid for cheering others on.