INSPIRATION: How and Where I Got It From

 "Life has no limitations, except for the ones you make."
-  Les Brown, Motivational Speaker

When I started working out, I was a huge fan of The Biggest Loser and it was my dream to be a contestant on that show. Jillian Michaels inspired me to workout. I loved her no nonsense attitude. I wanted her as a personal trainer! I knew she would motivate me to work hard. So I bought her workouts and started busting my ass. The show inspired me because it was real people who were extremely overweight like me who lost amazing amounts of weight. I thought, "If these people can do it, then so can I." I never thought I would get this far. The fact that I got this far inspires me to continue to explore what I can do. 

I was never ever a runner. I was the one that walked the mile runs in gym class. I would have laughed at you if you told me this is where I would be today. I am actually planning on running a marathon! Some days I still think, "What the hell am I doing??" I have an issue with that though. I hate the words "I can't". I stopped using that phrase. My daughter says it alot and I keep telling her not to say that. Especially because I know that she can when she is saying that. She just doesn't want to. Excuses! It is so easy to say I can't and quit. I said that a lot. I always got into that negative self talk and let myself quit when it got too hard. That applied to pretty much everything in my life. It's funny how that happens right? Everything in life comes around full circle. Everything affects the other. It isn't until you start changing one thing in your life that you recognize the other things in your life that need a change. 

So here I am losing weight and starting a whole new life. I was making my outside look great and started exploring what else needed it too. I made changes in my interactions with family and friends. I actually started seeing who I needed and who I didn't. People who were poisonous to my progress started making themselves known. Most of those people are gone now. I understand that I cannot really get away from family. They are there always, but I knew that I could set boundaries as to how much I would take from them. Once I did that, I found that I was feeling much happier. There isn't alot of stress about who is doing/saying what things to me. I was stressed out enough with making sure I was keeping up with my eating and workouts! Why do I need to add their poisonous behavior to it? Life is a roller coaster in itself. Things always go wrong in my life and I just didn't need more to happen for unnecessary reasons. I can tell you that I am much happier and much more productive now than when I had all that added stress. 

My current inspiration?  I get inspired by my body and all the things I can do now. I look at my Before and After pictures and that motivates me to keep going. I can't even imagine being that person again. I don't even remember her. I think that the person I am now is a TOTALLY new person. I am outspoken, energetic, motivated, and just a take charge kind of person. Before, I was this amiable person who let everyone tell her what to do and usually did it. I let other people make decisions about my life. I let them use me. I let them make me feel terrible about myself. Not anymore! I love my new body and mindset. I don't even think that what I did was a huge deal to many people but to me it was the best decision I ever made. I will never look back. I am going to continue my path and see where it takes me. So far it's going toward a marathon. There's alot of forks in the road, but I refuse to derail. 

So what will inspire you to make yourself happy??

"Don’t ever underestimate the capacity of a human being who is determined to do something."
-  Edna Adan

Angela
         xoxo

Links:

Podcast:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/HealthyEverydayLifestylePodcast

(Also on iTunes and Stitcher)

BeachBody:  www.beachbodycoach.com/fitpersonified

Facebook: www.facebook.com/healthy.everyday.lifestyle.podcast

Twitter:  @HELPPodcast

James Mariano:  https://www.facebook.com/james.mariano13

Dan Barnes:  https://www.facebook.com/acefisher1

Fitness Friday Link:  http://www.thehealthymoms.net

Chandra Sullivan
Spark Your Motivation
http://www.sparkyourmotivation.com/the-blog.html

Tere Scott
Teachable Scott Tots Homeschool
teachablescottstotshomeschool.blogspot.com

Danielle Nabozny
Lip Gloss and Yoga Pants
lipglossandyogapants.blogspot.com

Lisa Belanger
Inspire Me Well
inspiremewell.com

Maryann Mitchell
It's Not Food, It's Me
fattink.blog.com

Angela Barnets
Fit Personified
fitpersonified.blogspot.com

Wendi Barker
Wendi's Book Corner
wendisbookcorner.blogspot.com

Lacey Baker
Love Lacey 365
lovelacey365.blogspot.com

Fitness Friday: Progress

Progress

When I started l was 315 lbs. I am now 170 lbs. I went from a size 28 to a size 6. I started my Journey in 2009 before knowing I was 4 months pregnant. When I found out I was pregnant, I just ate what I wanted and gained back what I lost before that. So after l had my daughter in October of 2009, I started over. In the 2 years in between my 1st and 2nd daughter, l lost 100 lbs. When I was pregnant with my 2nd, I actually ate really well and exercised through my whole pregnancy. l only gained 25 lbs and lost that and then some after I had her in 2012. My motivation to keep my weight loss going was the way I looked in the mirror. It sounds extremely vain but I was never skinny or athletic. I didn't have confidence or near the amount of self-esteem that I do now. Now I know that I have the power to change myself. If I don't like something then I will work and get the results I want. This is an extremely powerful thing to learn! Weight loss is just as much mental as it is physical.

The next step for me is to work on my diet and toning up. I am also working on my running goals. Right now we are doing a hybrid of P90X and Half Marathon Training. I am having alot of trouble progressing with the toning of my midsection because my diet is not on point. I have gotten to a point where I am allowing myself more cheat days than there should be. I have some loose skin on my midsection that I was told that only surgery would take care of. I personally don't believe that. I think I can get it to go away (atleast mostly) with proper diet and exercise. I am going to look into some bodybuilding diets and workouts targeting this area. I'm hoping that will help me lose the excess unnecessary fat I have on my arms, midsection, and thighs. I think that once I cut out all the bad things I am eating and step up my workouts a bit I will be back on track again. I have been letting myself slide lately and that doesn't feel good! I need to buckle down and get back to how I used to workout when I started. I want to make more progress!

Beachbody

l have been working to "Pay Fit Forward" to anyone I can help. l know how difficult it can be. I know that it is the slowest thing to do! Results are never instant and that is the most frustrating part! l started being a Beachbody Coach last year, but gave it up to pursue other things. l have started that again. I look forward to sharing my knowledge with more people. I have groups on Facebook that I am part of that I give alot of motivation to as well as give my help to my friends. I would love to be a coach to anyone who would like to lose weight. I don't want to sell anything. I do make commission but I am not going to sell something that I don't think will work. I have tried alot of the workouts and supplements that Beachbody makes and I believe they help with weight loss. I have gotten great results using the products. I am more or less a coach to get a discount on the workouts for my own personal progress with what I want to do for me as well as get access to more people to Pay Fit Forward. If I think that a Jillian Michaels workout will help you then that is what I am going to point you towards. I know that there are a ton of products out there and I just want to be a resource for people to get help from. 

Healthy Everyday Lifestyle Podcast

We recorded the eighth episode of Healthy Everyday Lifestyle Podcast tonight. We had Dan Barnes and James Mariano as special guests. The podcast was about Bodybuilding basics. We went over how to get started, tips for eating, supplements, etc. James Mariano is a professional bodybuilder. He has been doing it since he was a teenager. If anyone has any questions about bodybuilding you can contact him and he would be glad to answer your questions. Dan is a personal friend of mine and he is just starting out with bodybuilding as a way to lose weight and keep healthy. He is not one to do alot of cardio or DVDs. He likes the way bodybuilding makes him feel and he has lost over 50 lbs doing it. Although he has not been doing it for a long time, he knows alot about it as well. You can go to him with any questions you have about it. He also has a podcast called Box Press Radio. If you are interested in geekery and cigars, be sure to listen to his podcast! 

Well I look forward to what next week brings! I am hoping to have some better progress to share with you as far as getting my diet under control.

Strive for progress not perfection.

Angela

LINKS:

Podcast:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/HealthyEverydayLifestylePodcast

(Also on iTunes and Stitcher)

BeachBody:  www.beachbodycoach.com/fitpersonified

Facebook: www.facebook.com/healthy.everyday.lifestyle.podcast

Twitter:  @HELPPodcast

James Mariano:  https://www.facebook.com/james.mariano13

Dan Barnes:  https://www.facebook.com/acefisher1

Fitness Friday Link:  http://www.thehealthymoms.net

Chandra Sullivan
Spark Your Motivation
http://www.sparkyourmotivation.com/the-blog.html

Tere Scott
Teachable Scott Tots Homeschool
teachablescottstotshomeschool.blogspot.com

Danielle Nabozny
Lip Gloss and Yoga Pants
lipglossandyogapants.blogspot.com

Lisa Belanger
Inspire Me Well
inspiremewell.com

Maryann Mitchell
It's Not Food, It's Me
fattink.blog.com

Angela Barnets
Fit Personified
fitpersonified.blogspot.com

Wendi Barker
Wendi's Book Corner
wendisbookcorner.blogspot.com

Lacey Baker
Love Lacey 365
lovelacey365.blogspot.com

Fitness Friday: Motivation! New H.E.L.P Episode!

Motivation

When I started working out 4 some odd years ago. I wanted to get healthy because I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I had always been overweight. I did lose 50 pounds in high school but gained it back and doubled it. Seems to be a trend with everyone huh? We lose weight and then we think we are done and start going back to the old ways and gain back double! It sucks!! I was working for a company that valued health and fitness for their employees. They got new insurance and that insurance included getting the employees a nutritionist and personal trainer at a discounted rate. So I decided this was the time I was going to lose weight and keep it off for my health and personal happiness. I lost 50 pounds and my boyfriend at the time dumped me for an even bigger girl (I know right?! WTH?). I started dating my now husband and found out I was 4 months pregnant. I still worked out but only for a couple months until my 3rd trimester. Needless to say I gained it back. After I had my daughter though I started again and lost 100 lbs and got pregnant again. Then gained 25 and lost 70 after that. I'm still on my weight loss journey and plan to lose a little bit more and achieve some major goals. My biggest motivation to start was to get healthy and feel better about myself.

The thing that motivates me everyday to work out and continue my journey is the happiness I feel for myself. There is no better feeling in the world than knowing you achieved something so huge with yourself. I am motivated by the way I feel after a hard run or hard workout. I set goals for myself and keep pushing myself to achieve them. I think it keeps me excited to cross the finish line. I workout with a friend and keep the competitiveness there. That's a huge motivator for me to get up and go if I know she is going to be running a certain pace or distance and I know I have to do that too. It took me a long time to get where I am and I know that I can achieve more. So I will keep you updated on my progress!

Half Marathon Training

So far this month I have run 28.05 miles with an average pace of 9:56. I just keep pushing myself in all my runs to run longer and to improve my pace. So far the furthest distance is 5 miles. The next run is 6 miles. Then next month we will get into 8 mile runs. I have never run longer than 6 miles so I look forward to breaking that distance. 

Episode 7 of Healthy Everyday Lifestyle Podcast

We recorded Episode 7 this week. The episode is about weight loss surgery. I wanted to get some information out there about this. As I mentioned in my last blog, I think that there are alot of misconceptions about it. It is NOT the easy way to lose weight. Either way you do it, it will be hard! I wanted to get more info about what happens before, during, and after the surgery. What to expect when you start preparing for it and what to expect once you get done with it. No matter how you do it (surgery or not), it is a lifestyle change. I had to change everything. I had to change the way I eat, the way I think, the way I live, etc. If you get the surgery, you will have to make more drastic changes and pretty quickly. There is also the skin removal surgery you will want to consider once you lose the weight. You also need to think about the money involved. Weight loss surgery usually can be covered by insurance, but the skin removal surgery is not. So you will lose a bunch of weight, which is amazing, but can you afford cosmetic surgery after? I cover all of these and more in my podcast. I have two guests (Maryann and Steve) who both had the surgery on there. They give all the details from their journeys through the surgeries and weight loss. Maryann is also in the list of Fitness Friday blogs so definitely read her blog! You can find Steve McMichael on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/imaginerealestate?fref=ts) If you have questions about weight loss surgery before and after you can always get ahold of them. Please listen to my podcast and give me any feedback. I am always looking for tips on what you want to hear and any topics you want me and Chandra to cover. 

Peace XOXO

Podcast:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/HealthyEverydayLifestylePodcast

(Also on iTunes and Stitcher)

Facebook: www.facebook.com/healthy.everyday.lifestyle.podcast

Twitter:  @HELPPodcast

Fitness Friday Link:  http://www.thehealthymoms.net

Chandra Sullivan
Spark Your Motivation
http://www.sparkyourmotivation.com/the-blog.html

Tere Scott
Teachable Scott Tots Homeschool
teachablescottstotshomeschool.blogspot.com

Danielle Nabozny
Lip Gloss and Yoga Pants
lipglossandyogapants.blogspot.com

Lisa Belanger
Inspire Me Well
inspiremewell.com

Maryann Mitchell
It's Not Food, It's Me
fattink.blog.com

Angela Barnets
Fit Personified
fitpersonified.blogspot.com

Wendi Barker
Wendi's Book Corner
wendisbookcorner.blogspot.com

Lacey Baker
Love Lacey 365
lovelacey365.blogspot.com

Fitness Friday: Goals and Upcoming Accomplishments!

The picture above is a testament to how far I have come in the last 4 years since starting my fitness and weight loss journey. I will be doing "Fitness Friday" Blogs which will be featured on TheHealthyMoms.net (links below). I am going to give you a little bit of an idea of what my goals are and what is motivating me to keep at this journey. 

So far I have lost over 150 lbs in 4 years. I am training to run a half marathon and then a marathon after that. My main focus is not on weight loss any longer. I am more focused on getting my endurance level up with running, and possibly toning up a bit more. So my friend Chandra and I are doing intermediate half marathon training on RunKeeper.com and P90X. 

What is motivating me to keep this up is the amazing self esteem I get from achieving these crazy goals I set for myself. I never thought that when I started I would be where I am. I never had this much confidence in myself. I found that this is what motivates me to continue achieving these goals. I also do a health and fitness podcast called Healthy Everyday Lifestyle Podcast. Doing this podcast helps me stay focused on my goals as well. I love to be able to have something out there for people just like who need advice on how to live a healthier lifestyle. 

I was out with a friend tonight and she received a call from her sister who is in high school. Her sister is overweight and she is wanting to do the surgery to lose the weight. My friend and I proceeded to explain to her that she should try diet and exercise first since this is something she CAN control. She CAN exercise and eat healthier. The surgery isn't always the answer. She is not morbidly obese and it is not medically necessary. She is just tired of being bullied about her weight at school. I can completely understand where she is coming from and why she wants to do the surgery so bad. We were trying to explain to her the consequences of her actions, but this is something she will have to find out on her own as to if it is right for her to get it done. I personally am not a fan of the surgery as a fast weight loss tool if you are able to do it yourself through diet and exercise. It made me think back to my high school days and the low self esteem I had because I was fat and people picked on me about it too. I thought that the surgery would help me back then as well but never actually looked into it, because of my fears of botched procedures and all that. Plus I knew some of the crazy things you go through as a side effect to the surgery and that didn't make it look good to me. SO what I am getting at with this story is that I hope to inspire people with my blogs and progress. I want people to know that you don't have to go through the surgery if you are able to exercise and eat healthier to lose weight. I hope to share valuable insights as to how you can do so. 

Below you will find links to other blogs that are a part of the Fitness Fridays as well as links to my pages and podcast. Please let me know what you think and follow me!!

XOXO,

Angela

Podcast:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/HealthyEverydayLifestylePodcast

(Also on iTunes and Stitcher)

Facebook: www.facebook.com/healthy.everyday.lifestyle.podcast

Twitter:  @HELPPodcast

Chandra Sullivan
Spark Your Motivation
www.sparkyourmotivation.com/the-blog.html

Tere Scott
Teachable Scott Tots Homeschool
teachablescottstotshomeschool.blogspot.com

Danielle Nabozny
Lip Gloss and Yoga Pants
lipglossandyogapants.blogspot.com

Lisa Belanger
Inspire Me Well
inspiremewell.com

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New and Better Times Ahead!

I realize that is has been since March that I have been here. I apologize if I let anyone down that may have been following my blogs. I also apologize to myself for letting myself down during my journey last year. Just like my blog dropped off, so did my journey to a half marathon. I didn't end up running the half marathon, but I did run my first 10k. I did accomplish something still, but it could have been better if I stuck with it. 

So here I am again starting over with my journey....

Since December I have started half marathon training again with my friend Chandra. We are also doing a hybrid of that with P90X to get strength training in there too. We have also started a podcast called Healthy Everyday Lifestyle Podcast. We are covering all healthy lifestyle topics along with tips and tricks to lose weight. I am really excited this time with my training. I think that since I am not doing it by myself and I have the podcast (and now this blog again) to hold me accountable, I will achieve my goals. I am committed to achieving this. I know that I could have done it before so now I will get it done. I am here to hopefully show myself what I can achieve and teach others that they can achieve the same results I have. This blog is about a real person with real body issues and how she overcame them to achieve weight loss and personal goals. 

The Podcast we have been recording has covered so many things. The one we recorded tonight was about toxic relationships and overcoming them to gain control of your life again. This is one of the most important topics to cover with weight loss because so many people stop their journeys because other people are making them stop because they feel they have to. So here are the 7 ways of overcoming these relationships that we covered. I will also give a little info from my personal experience with each of these. I had to overcome a toxic relationship with my mother to be able to achieve what I have in the last couple years:

• Move on Without Them
• If you can, just tell them that you cannot be around them and stop being around them.
• Stop Pretending the Behavior is OK.
• It is NOT OK for them to make you feel like you aren't good enough. They should not make you feel guilty for improving YOUR life. 
• Speak Up
• You have to speak your mind. Tell them it is not ok. Tell them how they make you feel when they treat you badly. Bottling things up is toxic to yourself. 
• Put your foot down
• This goes along with speaking up. Once you tell them it's not ok, you need to put up boundaries or shut them out completely. Whatever you decide, you need to stick with it or they will see that and use that to control you. 
• Don't take the toxic behavior personally
• It's THEIR problem not yours. That's a huge lesson! It's hard to overcome that specific idea.
• Practice Practical Compassion
• If you must deal with the toxic person in your life, be compassionate but don't let them control you. Say things like, "I understand you feel that way, but this is how I feel...."
• Take time for yourself
• This the most important of all. It is something you must do all the time whether or not you are dealing with a toxic relationship. It helps you keep in touch with yourself as well as blow off steam. 

This is a huge lesson that took me 28 years to learn. I was always letting toxic relationships rule my life because I wanted people to like me and accept me. I was always more worried about them than myself and I suffered. Once I realized that and changed my point of view, I saw myself flourish. I became the person I wanted to be and am now able to physically do more things because my mental state isn't holding me back. When you free your mind, there are no limits to what you can do. I keep saying that my journey has been more of a mental fight than a physical one. Fighting my mind and how I perceive myself is the hardest thing to do. 

Here are the links to my FB, Twitter, and Podcast:

Me:

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/angela.barnets

Twitter: @thapeachyone

Podcast:

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/healthy.everyday.lifestyle.podcast

Twitter:  @HELPPodcast

RSS Feed:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/HealthyEverydayLifestylePodcast

iTunes:  Search for Healthy Everyday Lifestyle Podcast

Chandra and I have made this journey our #1 priority so I am looking forward to sharing this journey with you. I hope that you will be there for me as well as allow me to share this with you. You will hold me accountable and I can do the same for you. Please also comment and share your experience with me! Let me know how you are doing and if you have any suggestions on what you want us to cover in our blogs and/or on the podcast please share.

Peace for tonight,

xoxo