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

After a long silence!

I know it's been a little while since I wrote one of these. I have been kind of busy and really just forgot to write. I have been trying to train for the half marathon in September and I think that time is not on my side here. I can barely make it to 5 miles right now. I think I might just do the 10k this year and then keep trying to up my miles for next year. I can barely get to the gym to run on the treadmill more than 2 or 3 days a week and that is mostly on the weekends. I am on weeks 5-7 of my P90X. It's starting to get really easy so I am thinking of starting a hybrid. I feel like I should be doing more and I'm starting to plateau. So its time to kick it up a notch! Just gotta make up my mind as to what hybrid I would like to do. There are alot of good workouts out there. There is also the money issue that stands in the way of buying it. I have lost 2 more inches from the last blog post. I am now in a size 8 jean! I am very close to that bikini this summer. I am extremely excited about shopping for bathing suits! It will be strange looking for a bikini LoL Shopping has been something I always dreaded. I have always hated to go and not be able to just pick something up and it fits. Walmart had a huge clearance rack and I picked up a pair of jean shorts and they were size 8. They fit me perfectly. It's so easy now! Before I used to have to comb the racks just to find the plus sizes then to find something cute that I actually wanted to wear. I am very proud of where I have come this year and hope that I am inspiring other people to do the same. It's not easy but if you are determined then there is nothing you can't do. 

Starting Phase 2 of P90X Tomorrow

So I am starting Week 4 Phase 2 of P90X tomorrow. I took my measurements for the first month and I have made some progress! 

Weight: 169.4 to 165
Waist: 33.5 to 32.4
hips:  41.3 to 40.7
Chest: 36.8 (stayed the same)
Arms: 12.4 to 12
Thighs: 25.1 to 23
Body fat %: 29 to 28

Starting picture:

2nd week:

Now:

I have started running 3 times a week as well as doing P90X. I am on a plateau right now. I am going up and down between 165 and 167. So I am going to start tweeking my food intake. I started drinking Shakeology in the morning. I also got the P90X Recovery Drink today so we shall see what happens in this next phase. Wish me luck!

Week 3 of P90X

I am starting Week #3! I am so happy I started this workout program. So far I feel like I have lost inches. Weight is staying about the same. I have now started Shakeology and replacing a meal with it. I have also started training for the half marathon I will be doing in September. I figure I should be ready by then right?? I will be doing my measurements to see how much I have lost in inches and update you next week with pictures and measurement changes. 

I am also looking for anyone who is focused on fitness and weight loss to join me in my business. Anyone who loves to help others. You don't have to be skinny and fit. You just have to be focused on your fitness goals, helping others reach their fitness goals, and want to make extra money with some AMAZING products! Message me for details! 

Week 2 of P90X

So it is now Week 2 of P90X. Here are some pictures of my progress:

I think there is some progress :) I still have ALOT of work to do but I got this!! I was recently in the YMCA's Downtown Weighs in and came in 10th place losing 10.4 pounds! Not bad considering I don't have alot to lose right? Anyway I had to stop P90X for a few days because of the sickness that is everywhere, but I am back to it and loving it! I really enjoy P90X and think the workouts are amazing!

P90X = Amazing Workouts!!

I have finished my first week of P90X. I had to stop in the middle because a sickness took over our household. Yes the dreaded flu hit all of us! I am over it and back in the game. I missed it after 3 days of being sick. These workouts are fun! They are so motivational too! Tony really makes you feel like you can do it. There is alot on there that I am not very good at, but I am hoping that I will get better at it. Tonight I did Kenpo X and this workout is amazing! I was having fun and sweating by the time I was done! Time just flew by. I was sad to see it end. So far since I started this I have lost 2 lbs. Which isn't bad because I don't have that much weight to lose. I want to tone my stomach up so I am mainly concentrating on that right now. I want that bikini this summer! 
I am still looking for people who want to focus on their fitness goals. I want to help you do something amazing for yourself. I know I feel so good about what I did so why not you? 
The next thing I am going to start is Shakeology. These shakes are so good for the body! They have vitamins and minerals and help build the immune system along with tons of protein!! They are supplement shakes that I will use either for breakfast or an after workout drink. Im so excited to try these and see if they help me lean up faster. 

Curious about P90X, Shakeology, or the other amazing Beachbody products? My websites:
http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/fitpersonified
http://myultimatereset.com/esuite/home/fitpersonified
http://myshakeology.com/esuite/home/fitpersonified

This is me right now. Starting P90X this week! I am on Day 3 and it has so far been challenging and yet doable. I love to feel challenged in my workouts. If I feel sore and tired afterward, then I am doing a good thing! I will be updating my picture as I go through this 90 day process. I am also dedicating myself to logging all my food everyday. I am doing a challenge group on facebook as well so I am helping others through coaching them with health and fitness techniques that I have learned in this 3 year journey. If you want to join my challenge, there is still time! http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/fitpersonified go to my website and pick your workout. Then go to my facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/Fitpersonified and let me know you want to join and make a better you this year. I am so dedicated to this. I WANT to love myself and be the type of person I always wanted to be. I have already lost a whole person in weight so now it the time to clean it up! Hopefully after this 90 days I will have a bikini body! *fingers crossed*