One down, two more weeks to go!

Hello there!!!


It's been one week since I started my diet!!!  Here's my thoughts on it so far the only meal I don't care for but can get through is the chicken and green beans meal in the middle of the day.  It's not so much the green beans really because I like all veggies but I have to say it.....it's the chicken.  I've been relying on my girl Mrs. Dash to season that freakin' chicken but alas it seems bland.  Oh well, there are worse things than a planned meal you don't necessarily like.  It reminds me of the grandpa from Little Miss Sunshine (be advised this scene is hella funny but does contain some curse words so just prepare your senses to laugh...)




Yeah that scene runs through my head every time I warm up this meal haha!  But everything else I'm loving or liking so it's not too bad so far!

I had my session with my trainer yesterday too!  It was a leg day and I love and hate legs all at the same time.  We continued to focus on engaging my glutes throughout each exercise.  For some reason it didn't feel like it was mentally clicking as much as the last time but turns out today I definitely feel sore in my glutes.  So although it didn't feel like it so much at the time I was engaging them a little.  Hopefully I'll get better.  And then today I did my cardio and I got a better hang of the ArcTrainer machine.  It's a combo of an elliptical and stair master and I can't quite get the strides per minute up to the goal but I am getter better.  SO like I said I would have weekly updates and post progress pictures too.  Now you must realize that this is not my favorite thing but again it's accountability.  I have NOT weighed myself but my clothes are fitting better and although I still have some jeans I'm waiting to fit into but I do feel different, even if it's just a little bit.  So I guess I'll stop this stalling business......here we go:

Left- first day
Right- One week later 

Left- Day one
Right- One week later

AND I also got some new kicks!  I'm feeling the purple as my color for this year, seems to be popping up everywhere for me :)  These are the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12.  I've had two pairs of the 10's and I personally just love this design of running shoe because it's so comfortable!  Well no need to jabber on any more!  I guess the kitchen is not going to clean itself....blah! haha

I hope everyone is having a fabulous kind of day wherever you are!

Cheers,
Ash

BOOM!

Hola amigos, buenos tardes!

I've been having a few amazing days and of course it's time to share, show and tell!  So let's start with the fact that I started crossfit up again.  I really enjoyed the workouts I've done before but since I had a little break I felt that "uh...do I really wanna go to crossfit?" kind of moments.  But box up those thoughts and throw them right out!!!  I went to two workouts this week and before the workouts started I had that feeling of doubt and that I would "try my best and see what happens".  I catch myself doing that from time to time, I judge my own abilities and performance based on everyone else.  What I learned is that I don't need to benchmark my best based on what others appear to be (taller, skinnier, faster, more fit) because my best IS my benchmark.  I decided what I will do from now on when given a challenge is this:
1.  I will look at the challenge realistically and set realistic goals.
2.  During the workout I will push to go just a little past those goals.
3.  Then I will say to hell with realistic and just a little past those goals, I'm aiming for great and then blow that shit outta the water!!!  BOOM!

Which is exactly what I did yesterday in my cross fit workout!  I walked in and was the only girl in the class with 3 other guys.  I started to compare my abilities to others and whether I would be able to keep up with the guys in my workout.  Once the workout started I decided to focus on me, keep my pace steady, I took small breaks only when my muscles needed them.  And before I knew it I had finished my reps before the guys and I thought "wait did I miscount?  I must have done something wrong."  I went up to the instructor and told him what I was thinking and he told me that no he had been watching the group and I had kept a steady enough pace to be done with the reps.  So I took off out the door and finished with my 800 meter run and BOOM just like that I had a kick ass workout and I beat the boys!  I know that every workout won't be like this, where I win first, but here's the real deal now I can go into the situation thinking that winning isn't out of the question for me.  I can feel that part of myself coming back that I really enjoy.  The more high spirited and fiesty part of my personality and it makes me feel amazing.  I had my first day where I felt more committed to my journey and to my potential.  I looked at myself and thought "I can SO do this!!!!".  And I wanted to share that because I think I spent too much time on the sideline judging myself by other people's potential and not my own.  I think a lot of people do this in their lives and maybe sharing this can help someone realize that you are amazing and unique and special and there's no reason not to be!  So don't ever sell yourself too short, you have more potential than you know!

And I never posted a pic of my last meal of the day so here it is:

Flank Steak, spring mix salad, lots of raw
green, yellow and red bell peppers and
broccoli and balsamic vinaigrette  

The other thing that has me feeling great is that I heard back about a job opportunity!  We've been in our new house for a month and I know that being home is awesome but I really am more productive when I'm busy.  I hope this opportunity works out because I know I would be awesome :)  I've been trying this new thought process out and I don't know if it's working or if I just feel happier but here's the idea of it.  I am trying to approach everything with kindness in my heart and happiness for others.  By doing this I just feel like if I continue to send good vibes into the world then I'll notice more when good things are on my path.  So I hope good things are on your path wherever you are!

Cheers and positive thoughts your way!
Ash

My friends can always make me smile :)

Hello, Hola, Konnichiwa! :)


The last couple of days I've had some friends reach out to me and let me know they are following my journey and are very excited for me and it made me feel like I'm on cloud nine!  Not only were they excited to follow me along my journey but they are committed to being at my competition with signs, bells and whistles (and CAKE :)  When I envisioned myself at the end of my goal I figured I would have my husband cheering me on in the crowd but now I've got friends traveling in for the event!!  I didn't even imagine it!!!  It makes my heart happy and now when I picture my goal I picture all these fabulous people at the end with me (is it crazy that I also picture them holding cupcakes :)  I never dreamed of the support I would feel from all my friends and I feel extremely lucky and I know I shouldn't be surprised because my friends are great people but to feel that kind of love when I don't expect it is absolutely amazing!  So thanks to you fabulous people reading for your support and for all the text messages my friends have sent me to encourage me along the way, I'm going to need it and it means oh so much!!!

Cheers Amigos!
Ash

Nights out are a little different now....

Hello!

I had a fun night out with my hubs and friend Ang on Friday night!  We went and listened to a speaker series that was being held and it was pretty interesting.  I'm on this new kick to be inspired in life and create something all my own and listening to people's motivations, journeys and speeches is pretty eye opening sometimes.  So afterwards we did what any normal group of friends would do, we were concerned about food.  Now I had already eaten my meal before hand because I didn't want to reach starvation point and since I'm not eating out for the 21 day stretch I walked over to a local coffee place and got a hot green mint tea.  I'm not a big tea person, but I just might turn into one.  This tea was pretty awesome!  It kept my mind off the fact that my friends wanted to grab a few slices of pizza (in the past I would have def been in line ordering my cheesy goodness!) but I had my tea and met one of Angie's friends from work and had an awesome time telling jokes and stories with the group.  Afterwards it was time to celebrate that it was Friday and have some drinks.  We went to a bar we love and I got cozy with my water.  Before I would have enjoyed a nice cold beer, or one of the many lovely drinks on the menu and relaxed, but alas my goal is much bigger than a drink and if I want to see changes I have to make changes.  But again it was great to be in such awesome company and enjoy my friends.  There were moments where I recognized the habits I had built and made a conscious effort to break them.  My husband got one of my favorite beers, Delirium Nocturnum, and I found myself almost taking a sip of his beer.  Several times my hand went out and I almost said "can I try a little" but that's exactly what I used to do.  Our other friend got a drink on the menu I would definitely have ordered and he asked if I wanted to try it, the truth is I did want to try it but I can't.  But it made me think of all these little habits I had made that were detrimental to my goal.  While I cook I almost always want a snack, or when one of my friends wants to share their food I usually say yes.  But that night was a great practice night too and really I am super lucky.  No one made me feel stupid or ridiculous or asked me a ton of questions like "why am I doing this?" or had any negative points, no one really asked me even why I wasn't having a drink.  There will be times I might get asked why or what for but for right now I am so glad I got to go out with my friends have a normal night with good conversation, getting to know new people and just enjoy life.  No fixation on food or having a few drinks all my focus was on my goal and the people I have in my life are the most supportive people I could ever ask for.  And I guess my friends have a designated driver for the next 34 weeks :)  I hope that everyone is having a great day wherever they are at in the world and if you are making any positive changes in your life I wish you well!!

Cheers,

Ash

Measure it out....

Hola Amigos!

So yesterday I didn't wake up early enough to have eaten all my meals.  I ate 4 out of 5 of them (remember Wednesday was a few drinks and staying out too late as a last hurrah....) But I took pictures of all the meals I ate so I could share!  My previous post shows the eggs and oatmeal I had for breakfast.  I spent last night grilling up a few chicken breast and measuring them out in 4oz. amounts and after I cooked 3 chicken breast I ended up with 5 portions.  And I steamed up some green beans today to measure out.  And this has been the only pre-prep I've done so far.  So without further adieu here are my super duper culinary skills!  

Protein powder, flax oil and raspberries
Pretty dang yummy!
and BOOMER SOONER :)

Prepping my green beans

Chicken Breast with Chicken
Mrs. Dash seasoning and 3/4 cup green beans
BOOM!

1 cup Greek Yogurt, ground Chia seeds
and blueberries
again, another yummy treat!

And it took me two days my
first try but I finally finished my
gallon of water.....and I woke
up 3 times that night!

Today I also did my cardio, a treadmill workout that was very interesting.  There were intervals of running, walking lunges and walking and the incline went from 1-8 for 45 minutes.  I consider myself to be a coordinated person but the past two cardio session have given me moments where I have no idea what my body is doing.  Here's a little info about me, I have gym nightmares.  It sounds crazy but there are some things I do not EVER want to happen to me at a gym and falling off a treadmill ranks pretty dang high.  But no worries my friends I stayed on the treadmill during my walking lunges but I had to drop the speed down from what was suggested.  I just don't fel comfortable yet lunging at the 1.6 speed that I started at and I could feel the edge of the treadmill behind me so I dropped the speed down to 1.1.  I was trying to focus on pushing up through the heel and engaging my glutes but I think that will get better with time.  I haven't decided what I will do for my 4 training sessions and the cardio has made me tired enough that the rest of the day for the past two days I haven't felt like training afterwards but I'm going to make a plan for those days so there isn't any last minute deciding at the gym on what my workout will be.  I need to sign back up for crossfit this week so I can get a good 3 days workout and build a training session for the 4th day on my own.  Once I get in a rhythm of a workout schedule I will post what a normal week looks like for me.  Till then I gotta eat down my chicken and green beans, finish the last half of my gallon of water and continue my eating every 3 hours.  I hope everyone is having a great day/night wherever you are in the world and if things aren't going your way I hope they will be soon!

Cheers!
Ash

I've got a question, I just can't raise my hand above my head.....

Hell to the O!

My trainer gave me my diet and said that I didn't have to start my 21 days until Sunday at the latest but I planned to start it today (Thursday February 21st).  SO last night I went out with my friend Angie and had a fun time.  I met a lot of new people, which is nice because I just moved and it's nice to meet some pretty cool people.  I allowed myself a couple drinks early in the night as sort of a last hurrah, I mean I wasn't getting crazy and that wasn't the plan.  But as I looked around when it started getting pretty late in the night I just realized that while I enjoy times with my friends, I don't think I'll miss this college feel kind of nights.  I'm ready for regular, and disciplined.  I find it sort of refreshing to know that I will have to plan out my time and meals.  There's no stress in the last minute procrastination details.  It's time to start getting that balance in my life and enough planned sleep :)

When I got up this morning it was difficult to raise my arms too high as my shoulders and lats were super sore from my workout with Coach!  I can bend at the elbow but if I was in a western movie and they asked me to "stick em' up" I'm afraid that would not be possible.  So I got my cardi-o on today and on an empty stomach.  Which isn't the norm for me now, I usually wake up and have a protein shake within 30 minutes.  Back in the day (which was a Wednesday :) when I used to run cross country and track I wouldn't eat much before races, mostly because I was too nervous before hand and don't like running on a full stomach.  But today I did my 45 minutes of interval cardio on a machine that I am absolutely not good at yet (It took me about 15 min to not look like a newborn horse).  I wasn't able to keep up the strides per min for some of the higher level and resistance but I tried to get as close as possible and maintain as much as I could but I didn't stop throughout the entire session and it was my first planned cardio.  I'm interested to see how I improve on my pace/strides.

Zinger Tea, egg whites with Mrs. Dash, oatmeal with raw cacao

Here's what I got to eat after my cardio:

- 3 egg whites with Fiesta Lime Mrs. Dash (can't have salt and Mrs. Dash has NO sodium, adds a lot of flavor and is Super delish!)
- 1/2 cup oatmeal with a little stevia sweetener and 1 tablespoon of Raw Cacao
- One cup Zinger Lemon tea and a little bit of stevia

Plenty of food and pretty good, now I just have to finish my gallon of water.



So now that I am starting this 21 days I figured that I needed to monitor where my starting point is.  Now let's get one thing straight, taking a picture of yourself and then showing everyone is just not my cup of tea.  And I'm not a yoga pants and sports bra kind of gal either, I'm more of a sleeveless t-shirt and basketball shorts kind of gal.  But accountability is accountability and I am looking forward to my "after" photo.  I will take a picture each week of the 21 days and post.  So here goes nothing:  Day 1

 I had to stand on the tub to get the picture

Side view.....

So now you know where I'm at and I would appreciate it if we never talked about it again, ok :) Sweet!
If there are any specifics that I am leaving out or any details that anyone is interested in leave a comment or question and if not I'll just keep doin' my thing.  I'll post the rest of my food pics later today/tonight!  Hope everyone is having a fabulous day and enjoying life!

Cheers!
Ash

21 days

Hello bloggy world!

This morning bright and early at 7:00am I had my session with my trainer and todays muscles of torture:  Back and a little bit of shoulders.  Just when I think we've done enough sets and I think she's going to walk to the next machine, she doesn't.  We stay on that machine until my mind totally starts telling me that it's not physically possible to do anymore reps and then I do reps until I think my muscles are literally going fall off and then I hear Coach Candice say "5 more reps" or even worse and believe me I have heard this number also "10 more reps".  So after some super sets and working my back like I have never worked in my whole life we got down to the brass tacks of my diet and workout.  So although I'm meeting with my trainer once a week for right now she gave me a plan for the rest of the week.  5 days a week I'm up and at em' with cardio each morning for 45 min.  3 of those days I have planned workouts for the elliptical and treadmill.  Those cardio workouts are more interval based so I will using a heart rate monitor to monitor my progress.  The other two cardio days are my pick as long as it's 45 minutes.  And during the week I get to spend 4 days a week training and it's my pick on how I spend that time.  I will probably sign up again for crossfit and do 3 workouts a week with crossfit and 1 workout I make up on my own.  And for now I get 2 rest days that I get to pick.

Now you might be thinking what is with this whole 21 days business?  Welp I got my diet plan and I'll start posting pictures of my food as I start making it and I'm pretty happy about the plan.  It's nice to not have to worry about whether I'm making the right choices or not.  I just prepare and eat what is listed on the paper about every 3 hours.  I do this for 21 days straight.  No cheats, no eating out.  I'm experimenting with my body now and measuring the changes along with my trainer.  This won't be my diet forever and I will have to probably eventually have to make some changes that I won't really love.  But that's what you do when you have a goal, you have to adjust, change or give up something in order to get a new outcome.  So I will officially start the 21 days tomorrow, I've already done some grocery shopping for my new diet and had to pick up and add some stuff to my diet that I've never really eaten before.  Chia powder, raw cacao, flax seed oil to name a few and get excited about my life because I get to eat.....wait for it..................blueberries and rasberries!!  I know, I'm freakin' excited too!!  And wait for it again because............I also get to eat.............greek yogurt!!!!!  It's like I won the lottery!!!  And then, and then guess what!!!!!  I also get to eat.............oatmeal!!!!!  I know I know stop being jealous!!!  You might think this is sarcasm but it most def is not!!  I am actually happy!  I haven't had any of these items in my normal diet in a long time!  Maybe by day 15 I'll be wishing for something different but for right now, I am excited in a totally geeky way.  So I hope everyone is having a fabulous day wherever you are in this fabulous world!

Cheers,
Ash

I got a hankerin' for some cupcakes

For all you cupcake lovers out there:

No cupcakes were harmed in the making of this video :)

Last weeks fun

So these are some videos and thoughts from last week after I had spent time with my trainer :)

Finished product:  yummy eggs and pico de gallo

Had a Mammoth of a time.....

Hello!

I haven't been able to post anything this weekend because I was having a fabulous time snowboarding in Mammoth this weekend!!!

We had beautiful weather but could have used a little more snow.  I had a few amazing flops and got snow all up in my face a few times.  I definitely was out of my snowboarding shape and I had my cheat meal moments out in Mammoth.  I can't go snowboarding and not enjoy a peanut butter and jelly on the chair lift or have a beer after a long day :)  We def had some fun nights around the area and plenty of fun stories!  But I'm glad to be home and get to sleep in my own bed, we might have had fun but I swear I didn't hardly sleep due to the lumpy bed.  But I had a great time and I really enjoy spending time with my husband.  So I had a break from my original workouts and since I am a snowboarder I get a workout because I have to skate everywhere, strap in my bindings and Lord help me when I loose momentum on the catwalks and have to unstrap and skate to an uphill.  But good times and a good workout without having to be in the gym!  I hope everyones long weekend was enjoyable no matter what you're were doing!  Here's to me starting back up on my cardio routine!

Cheers!
Ash

The second day is the worst.....

I hope everyone had a great Valentines day!  I had no chocolates on my Valentines but hanging out with my husband having dinner and watching The Perks of Being a Wallflower was better than chocolates :)
Well after training with my trainer on Wednesday I have been pretty sore.  On Thursday I was busy cleaning and organizing the house and my legs were sore enough to be pretty uncomfortable.  Stairs were not my friend and I cursed when I dropped something knowing I would have to reach down and pick it up.  Well today is a little worse.  A little more sore, I'm still able to walk without looking like a zombie, but sitting down is a B word.  I didn't go to the gym yesterday, but I will be headed there today and incorporating some non-weighted ab and core strengthening per my coach's orders.  AND I need to start my water gallon challenge each day, this is going to take some serious focus.  I don't know about anyone else out there in the world but I go through my day thinking "I drink plenty of water" and the truth is I don't drink enough water for what I need to be doing.  There was a day in my life when I drank nothing but diet cokes, seriously.....I'm not kidding.  I have no idea how my body even functioned!  I was always busy at work, always on the go and never planned my meals.  My main nutrition I swear was freakin' chocolate, candy, popcorn and diet coke.  I had unhealthy food around me all the time, I enjoyed lunch with my co-workers and there is no way I was getting salads, bacon cheeseburgers for me!!  French fries?  Um...is that even a question...hell yes I want french fries!!!   Plenty of salt and plenty of ketchup.  What was I thinking?  I was so unhappy with myself and I think about what a waste of my life it was to be so irresponsible with what I'm eating just creating a cycle that was going no where.  But hindsight is 20/20 so learn and move on to other things with what I already know.  So I'm planning on working through this soreness today because we are going on a snowboarding/ski trip this weekend!!  I'm pretty excited about it!  I know it's going to be a little more painful because I'm already sore but hopefully the snow is soft so my falls won't hurt as bad :)  Welp I'm going to get my act together and start doing something today (because it's my job to pack up the ski equipment today for both my husband and myself, no pressure :)  I hope everyone has a great day whether it's working out, working, spending time with family or friends, doing something that you love,  or if you are having a bad day I hope it gets better!!

Cheers,
Ash

"You're going to feel it in your glutes....."

Hello all,

I am sitting down to write this, that might seem normal to most but right now it's out of necessity.  My ass is tired, lit-er-ly.  Coach Candice and I worked legs today to judge where I'm at and to teach me a few things.  We did several variations of squats, lunges, leg extensions and leg curls all while engaging the glute muscle throughout every movement.  Now this might sound like a simple task but let me tell you, when your muscles start getting tired your body will resort to a survival mode and you start to loose focus with the movement and just start worrying about reps.  I caught myself several times losing the connection between muscle and mind which would then break my form.  I had to bring myself back into focus several times, but I'm just starting out on learning how to maintain a connection.  During each exercise I was focusing on engaging the glute muscle, it's a large muscle and will take some time to form that's why each exercise has to engage it.  I worked out for 50 minutes with Coach Candice and I only had a few moments when I was looking at the clock wondering how long I had been working out because it felt like forever.  Within those 50 minutes my legs were exhausted, I was sweating and I had a new appreciation for my glutes and no appreciation for stairs (seriously why do we need them?  They are just torture!) Usually I can do cardio and crossfit in one day, but today I'm not sure I will be able to do more than my workout......Today was not the quantity of workout but def the quality.  I've never worked out like this before and that to me can only mean I'm on the right path.

Now about my Coach.  She is pretty awesome.  She makes sure that if I don't get something right away that I don't get too worried about it.  We're building something and with each piece it will start to make sense.  She calls me "Mama" or "Mami" a lot which is cute and keeps it light and on a personal level.  It's interesting the questions she asks me that seem personal for anyone else to ask but when someone is training your body those are the things they need to know.  She gave me some assignments to do.  First I have to write down a food journal for three days.  The last thing is that on my own I need to incorporate ab and core workouts three days a week.  I will update the blog with the info of my journal that I will send to my Coach.  I'll continue cardio as normal until she decides that it needs to be changed to something different.

Well I'm ready for a nap, I had a large coffee last night about 8:00pm and I rarely drink caffeine SO it was NOT a smart decision.  I couldn't fall asleep until late last night and I knew today would be a little rough since I was waking up at 6:30am.  I was a little scared I would over sleep my alarm and plus the caffeine, it just wasn't a good combo at all.  So I'm off to make some eggs and pico de gallo and then have some nap time and hopefully I won't be to sore to move when I wake up :)

Cheers,
Ash

Um yeah, I'll take Jamie Eason for the win!

Hell-O!

So my trainer had asked me to put together some pictures of athletes or a collage of athletes that I admire and what qualities they have that I admire (physique, arms, legs, amazing abs.....) and the thing is I really admire A LOT of athletes, so how am I supposed to pick from all these gorgeous people?  I mean Kelsey Byers, CeCe Canary, Ashley Horner, and Andreia Brazier just to name a few.  So I thought back to when this all started, who did I admire from the beginning.  Who is the person that has what I would consider the total package?  Well I've found my answer.......and it's Jamie Eason.  One of the most recognizable faces in the fitness modeling industry, a previously featured columnist for Oxygen magazine and a spokesperson for Bodybuilding.com.  You can say I've admired her for a long time and I follow her facebook page for useful advice and motivation.  BUT if you need a refresher here is a pic of Jamie Eason.

I mean the girl is super cute and beautiful, has hella strong arms, and pretty freakin' amazing abs.  The truth is there is a lot that plays into what your body changes into, genetics, diet and how your body responds to workouts.  At the end of my journey there is a HUGE chance I will not look exactly like Jamie Eason (I mean I wouldn't be mad being the half Mexican version of Jamie Eason :)   But I admire a lot of things about her and hopefully my path will take me somewhere close!  So hopefully my trainer doesn't look at me like I'm insane when I show her this picture haha.  Welp it's off to bed now so I can rest up for my training session in the morning and crossfit in the afternoon.  Sweet fit and healthy dreams to all!

Cheers,
Ash

Are you scared of the light?

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us."

I know that the purpose of my bloggy bloggyness is for my journey through fitness but when you take on a new task or journey there are a lot of things that go along with it.  There are doubts, nerves, the unknown, and all of these emotions and questions can alter your course.  When I think about it I am more afraid of my light rather than my darkness.  My darkness keeps me safe, it keeps me in my comfort zone, it doesn't let me branch out too far into the unknown.  And when I think about my light, the chance to be great, well that can be scariest of all.  If I become great then what happens if I fail?  How can I maintain it?  These are questions I ask myself all the time.  So along my journey to train and feed my body in a healthy way, I know these questions will be there.  It's not just a journey for the outward appearance, it's a mental journey too.  It's time to let go of doubts and fears that hold me back, that keep me from my light.  I need to alter my view from "If I become great" to "When I become great".  And I'm excited to be put on the right path with my new Coach, I'm excited to figure out more about myself, I'm excited to put myself to the test.  


Here's to the light in each of us,
Ash

I've got a date with the gym and my new trainer

Welp, looks like Valentines will be a little interesting this year.  I might not be able to move because I've got my first session with my trainer on Wednesday at 8:00am in the morning.  I'm interested and nervous about what this session will be like.  Here's the scoop on who I will be spending my gym time with:

Candice Houston, IFBB Pro Body Building Athlete

After spending a little time with Candice it was clear to me that she's the person supposed to help me on my journey.  Her focus is the whole person, not just the body but the mind and body working as one.  There are plenty of things in our lives that hold us back from being great, I trust that she's going to be able to help me hit a wall and figure out how to break it down.  It's been a rough year for me, and this is my way of trying to figure myself out.  I can't wait to get into the gym and I can't wait to see where this journey takes me.  I will update more on here after my session with her on Wednesday, plus I also have to survive my cardio and crossfit workout today.  Gotta do work :) 

Cheers

Ash

I had to do homework.....

It was my first set of homework from my new trainer, Candice Houston.  I had to make 2 lists, and here they are:


Reasons why it could NOT work:

• I'm scared I won't know what I'm doing
• I'm scared I won't be able to handle the workouts
• I won't be fit enough by competition
• Everyone will think I'm crazy
• My husband will doubt by abilities to finish
• It will be hard to hang out with my friends
• When I get my new job it will be too difficult to train
• I'll be too tired to have fun
• I'll be too weak when it comes to withstanding all cheats
• We won't be able to afford training
• I'll do everything and still won't see any changes
• I'll miss having drinks or dinner with friends
• I'm scared I will fail

These are all just thoughts in my mind, I am not saying that any of these are true.  They just exists as doubts.

Reasons I CAN do this:

• I do have a supportive husband for both my nutrition and workouts
• I am healthy and able bodied
• I have a car to get to and from my workouts
• I am stronger than I think
• My friends are supportive
• I have friends that have been through this before
• I actually enjoy eating healthy
• I want to do this for me
• I want to increase my mental strength and confidence
• I want to think about life first and food later
• I'm smart enough to learn from this experience, follow the diet and handle the exercises
• I'm ready to be what I've always wanted to be
• I look forward to my goal, to the day and to the moment every single day
• I am ready to put discipline in my life
• I have access to a gym
• The trainer I have is experienced and passionate about what she does
• I live close to the gym where my trainer is and where I'm training 

I'm supposed to take the first list and burn it, to let all the negative thoughts and doubts out of my mind. The second list I keep as a reminder of all the reasons I can do this even when I have tough moments.

Maybe this can be useful for someone else's life when they are starting out on a new journey. 

I decided on a trainer/coach to help me along with my journey, just a quick video about some thoughts I had......yeah I know, I'm looking my absolute best in the morning.

Hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but wanna train me?

This is my first video I have ever made and I made it just after I had scheduled to meet with a few trainers and I was pretty excited.

Every idea comes from a SPARK......

Hello Blogger world!

My name is Ashley and currently I am on a fitness journey.  Don't get too far ahead of me, I am just starting this journey.  I have been an athlete most of my life, I love basketball and played as many sports as the school had for girls when I was growing up.  But let's just say I myself have a love for the sweet things in life.....literally.  Cupcakes, donuts, diet coke, candy, you name it and I loved it.  With my active lifestyle in high school it really wasn't a problem for me, I was on the go from one practice to another so often that my bad choices weren't showing yet.  Then we all know what happens, I went on to that magical place called College.  Where the adult supervision is gone, the food you eat is cheap and abundant, and the beer mug is always full.  I had a great time in college and I have some amazing friends from it too.  But my weight was sometimes up and sometimes down.  I didn't have the whole picture on how to be healthy.  I would go to the gym and then meet my friends for burgers and fries later.  The balance was all off and I was working in the gym but not getting any benefits.  SO long story short fitness wasn't getting me my goal so it fell off the priority list.  But the weird thing is mentally I considered myself to still be athletic.  Then I made a goal for myself one year, I would run a half marathon.  I never dreamed I would be capable of such a thing, but I did it!  The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon was my first completion of a fitness goal!  I've run a few more half marathons and even got roped into a really crazy idea of doing a full marathon,  I have since checked that off the to do list and moved it to the never do that again list!  So maybe I had reached my fitness happiness?  No not really.  I was still not where I wanted to be and I lacked a lot of discipline.  I still had moments where I didn't want to go out with friends or dress up because I would be uncomfortable in what I was wearing, who wants to go out with their friends and be the pudgy short girl?  Yeah I didn't think many hands would rush up for that one.  
SO where am I now?  I'm at the hard part, the beginning.  I had a friend do a bikini competition a few years ago and she did great!  I was so proud of her dedication and motivation, and slightly envious.  I have looked at and purchased Oxygen magazine and I wanted to look like the girls in those magazines. Healthy, fit and athletic.  But the diet discipline just wasn't there my interent friends.  I loved food way too much.  I enjoyed group lunches at work and meeting my friends for just dessert.  But this last year I started working out more, started trying to understand my body and diet.  And the goal of entering a fitness bikini competition was still there, and it's been there this whole year.  Welp, I think its about time to start that journey towards that goal.  I've starting cleaning up my diet and enjoying one cheat meal a week (which I will soon have to say goodbye to!  That will be a tough one for sure!)  I've met with a couple of trainers and I have decided on the one I will be going with!  Another post to follow with those details.  So I've been in the gym and starting on my own, just focusing on cardio right now.  I've joined a crossfit gym to jump start my strength building in a new way.  I really enjoy it.  My husband is supportive in my goal and my efforts too.  I've got a great support system, now all the work falls on my shoulders (which I hope are looking quite awesome soon!)  And if you are interested in following along on my journey then awesome!  If you aren't, then I can't imagine how you read this entire post, but thanks for your time!  SO here we go!!!!