I think it's time we catch up!

You guys, we have so much to catch up on!

So for my anniversary, my husband bought me the fit journal that I've really wanted!

I filled out the first week, but by the end of the 2nd day I got crazy "woman" sick.  Boo hiss.

Luckily my husband is amazing, and asked me if I'd start my 12 weeks over and do them with him.  Hallelujah! The time has come!  Yay for a future fit couple!!!

So today was our first day.  

I woke up a little late because we went grocery shopping at 12:30 a.m. so I missed breakfast.  

I had a healthy lunch though.  It was 530 calories and fit within all my dietary restrictions. 

Can I just say that fruit is delicious.  One of my favorite things right now is a banana with peanut, almond, or cashew butter; and sprinkled with cinnamon, nutmeg, and/or cardamom.  It's so good!

Then it was time to workout today...

I went with Zumba Max because I wanted a good 45 minutes of cardio.  It was amazing, fun, intense, and exhausting in a great way! After my workout I tried Almond Milk Light for the first time ever in a post workout fruit & yogurt smoothie... and it was amazing!

After getting cleaned up and cleaning my house I made some homemade hummus for dinner.  It's been warm outside and I didn't want to have to cook anything today.  So I had some turkey, light string cheese, pita, and hummus (with sriracha hot sauce of course)!  It hit the spot!  And the whole meal was only 520 calories. 

I hit 10,000 steps today, 50 active minutes, and burned around 700 calories total.  It's been a great day and a perfect start to the next 12 weeks.  I really look forward to seeing where I'll be in 85 days. 

It's going to be tough sometimes, but it's going to be worth it! 

Much love my dah'lings! 

Mwah!

HealthyMychal

Monday Motivation & Inspiration Anyone... ?

Who needs a pick-me-up?

I do.  

It's Monday. Who doesn't need a little pick-me-up?

The thing about Monday's though...

I love them.

Why? 

Because it's a clean slate, a fresh start, a new beginning.

We get to set the tone for our whole week off of one day.

We get to choose if we'll let it break us, or make us.

That's AWESOME! 

This Monday is a great Monday! 

Know why?

Because I'm going to change my life again.

How?

I'm getting back to basics.

I've been so focused on my "physical" health lately... that I've lost

 track of how important it is to have well rounded health.  

Mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical.

I hadn't realized how poor my emotional, spiritual, and mental health had 

gotten until the past few days.

I genuinely took note of the fact that I felt broken.

The kind of broken I promised myself I'd never let happen again.

I let the heartache of my miscarriages and the determination to get healthy enough to try again cloud my mind to the point that I was nothing but an angry, lonely, bitter, resentful, and sad person.

I was so preoccupied taking care of other people... that I forgot to take care 

of my husband and myself.

I focused so much on berating and beating myself up physically and nutritionally... that I forgot all about nourishing ALL of me.

It's no wonder I haven't made any progress in any of my goals... I'm not working on them; 

I'm working on one.

We all have to find our balance.

No matter how long it takes.

And when we do... we can't be too hard ourselves.  

Not emotionally, not mentally, not spiritually, and not physically.

The great thing about life...

We can always change it.

We can always change ourselves.

We can always change our attitude. 

We can always change our heart.

We can always change our habits.

We can change anything we put our mind to!

All we have to do is try;

and never, never ever, give up.

I love my Powerful "P" words.

We have to be positive, patient, and persistent!

We have to have the right perspective.

Always be proud of who you are, how far you've come, and where you're going.

Persevere through anything life throws at you.

Be passionate about your life and your goals.

Be proactive and never stop progressing!

AND

learn, remember, and love your purpose.

Life is beautiful. 

Life is wonderful.

Life is full.  

Life is rich and it is decadent.

Life is meant to be tasted, to be tested, to be triumphed over.

Life is meant to be LIVED.

So live it.

Live it the way you want to. 

Live it wholly.

Live it completely.

Live it without regret.

Live it with love.

Live it with joy.

Live it because it matters.

You matter.

Your life matters.

Live your life the way it's always been meant to be lived.

A Helpful Idea

I know it's been awhile since I posted anything...

It's been an interesting few months.

March was tough on me because I struggled with my depression again.  But I overcame!

Then, in the middle of April my Grandfather passed away.  It was really difficult and both led me to some pretty stupid dietary decisions.  I guess depression and emotional trauma do that to a person.

Everyday gets a little better and I happened across a photo on Tumblr that has helped me keep my workouts fun, fresh, and spontaneous.  I thought I'd share it just incase anyone else needed a little boost in their daily health routine.

What I did was this:

I know it doesn't look like much, but bear with me.

I wrote every workout, from every workout program I own, on a popsicle stick.  I threw in a few miscellaneous ones (for my Kangoo Jumps) and a few "Your Choice!" sticks into the mix as well.  

The idea is this:

When I don't know what workout I feel like doing, or if I don't feel like working out, I draw a popsicle stick.

There can never be the excuse of boredom, or disinterest... I draw a routine... I DO IT.  No questions. It might be 25 minutes, it might be an hour.  Regardless, I do it.  It's been awesome!

You can do this for workouts at home or workouts you have through your gym.  Just write them down! 

The sticks I bought were $1.25 at Walmart, the sharpies were on sale for $3.29... and the mason jar was FREE in my cupboard.  

My workout popsicle sticks include:

1. Insanity

2. T25

3. Hip Hop Abs

4. Zumba Exhilarate 

5. Zumba Incredible

6. Elliptical/Treadmill workouts

7. Kangoo Bouncing Shoes (run or dance)

8. Wii Zumba (2, Core, or World Party)

9. Wii Just Dance (2, 3, or 4)

If you don't have any of these... that's OKAY!  If you don't have any that's okay!  

You can list ideas like this:

1. Jog around neighborhood

2. Squats & Lunges

3. Jumping Jacks

4. Sprints

5. High Knees

6. Pushups 

And so on and so forth... (also, you may want to add a minute value to each exercise to help yourself be more accountable too!)

The best part about this is the fact that you can ALWAYS add to it!  There will always be new workout programs and routines or activities to add.

So if you need a little push or some motivation... try it!

Much love to you, my darlings!

Confession of Obsession

I have a confession.

And I'm really ashamed of myself.

I've developed an unhealthy obsession.   Let me explain...

One element of my goals for the year was to have a "weekly weigh-in" in order to track what I thought was evidence of success with my new lifestyle.

In theory it was an amazing idea!  I thought it would motivate and push me in my health and fitness goals.

Unfortunately, it had very adverse effect on my journey.

I've become obsessed with weighing myself.

Yesterday my husband had to take the scale and hide it from me.

I've been weighing myself 3+ times a day.  I had to sneak around the house or lock the bathroom door and fake being sick when my husband was home to peel my clothes off and hop on the scale without being caught.

You guys... I was waking up and sneaking into the bathroom into the middle of the night to weigh myself.

The numbers on the scale were impacting my mood and my life more than I thought they ever could.

My weight was making  me afraid to eat; it made me depressed when I saw them fluctuate up and down.  I was consumed by it.

I started looking for quick ways to lose weight fast.  Super foods, diet plans, supplements, programs... you name it I started researching it.

It was BAD.

I don't know why I finally told my husband what was going on... but I just told him what I'd been doing.

He was shocked, to say the least, and he was worried.  He immediately took the batteries and the scale and hid them in separate locations which he won't divulge to me.

We had a long talk about it, what our family goal was, and how far I've come so far.

Zach told me that he loved me, that he was proud of me, that I'm beautiful.

I've grown to understand, and I'm still learning to accept and understand, that the number on the scale doesn't fully represent my health status.  It certainly doesn't reflect my value and worth.

I'm learning to love my body, regardless of it's weight or appearance.  I'm honestly trying to focus more on my health and wellness now, not on my weight or desired weight loss.  It's time to stop hating on and being afraid of my body.  It is the most precious thing I will ever own.  It doesn't matter what other people think of it.  It matters what I think of it, how I use it, and how I care for it.

I need to be better.  I deserve to treat myself better.

So, take it easy on yourself guys.  It's true when they saw we are our own worst critic.  I don't think we really understand how much value we put on things that we are told are important.  We hold ourselves to societal standards more often than we realize.  Instead of focusing on getting to a place where we are our healthiest and happiest... we focus in on that place where we think we "should" be.

I think we should be exactly where we are at this moment.  There is a purpose to everything.  The entire journey is important.  There is never and end, not even when we reach the destination.

All we can do is keep moving forward.

Never give up.  Ever.

Home Gym!

Oh my gosh.

Emotions.

So many emotions.

MY HUSBAND IS THE BEST HUSBAND IN THE HISTORY OF HUSBANDS!

Well, he is definitely the best husband for me; much like your husband/wife is the best person for you.  Funny how life works out that way?  Am I right!? *huge smile*

For a fusion of my Birthday & Valentine's Day gifts, my husband has put together the most awesome sauce gift of all time.

1. ZUMBA CLOTHES!



Love all the Zumba clothes!  I got 3 pairs of pants, 3 tops, AND a pair of shoes.

*SWOON*

Did I leave out the part where he also bought me Zumba Incredible?  Yeah, that's the new Zumba program with a step.  Yes, you read that right... A STEP people!

*SWOONING MORE*

He knows me too well.

2. He built/installed me a home gym too!  

Now I have my own workout space.  Complete with rubber flooring so the cement doesn't hurt my back.  A cabinet for my weights, bands, yoga mat, and Zumba step.  Installed a shelf for my DVD player and workout DVDs. Put my Elliptical in the corner.  Mounted a TV on the wall for me... and put an iHome out there for my music when I'm not using one of my workout DVDs.

I am literally in shock and awe.

*SWOONING AGAIN*

For a brief workout DVD recap, I now have:

• Zumba Exhilarate
• Zumba Incredible
• Insanity
• T25
• Hip Hop Abs
• Rockin' Body

I also have three Zumba and 5 various other exercise games for my Wii.  My husband also set up the TV for quick installation of my Wii if I decide to move it out there too.

I am seriously such a blessed woman.

Life is wonderful. 

I'm ecstatic!

Tomorrow my husband and I are having our first 5am Duo/Family Workout... I AM LITERALLY MORE EXCITED THAN ALL THE CAPS IN THE WORLD CAN EXPRESS!

That is all.

Much love my darlings!

XOXO

Mych

Home Gym

Being a newlywed (I still consider myself that since it hasn't even been a year yet...) means lots of things; namely it means you're poor.

WOO!

So as many of you know, I work out at home because my husband and I can't afford a gym membership.

You may also know... that I really loved the gym.  I miss 24 Hour Fitness in Utah.  That place really changed my life.

You may have heard that I REALLY enjoy working out with people.  Working out by myself, while it can be occasionally cathartic, can also be really lonely and depressing.

As such... my husband has concocted the most incredible plan to remedy all of the above problems.

Ready?!

A HOME GYM.

For a hybrid Birthday/Valentine's Day gift, the love of my life is transforming one bay of our 3 car garage into an at home gym.

He will be installing a foam floor (so that we won't be on concrete), insulating the garage doors and installing a heater, mounting a TV and DVD player, and adding a cabinet for my workout DVD's and accessories.  I already have an elliptical in the garage, and we both have free weights... so Wilson Gym is on it's way.

It should only cost us around $300 and it should be done in about 1-3 months or so!

The best part about this whole situation!?

Working out WITH my husband.

I really like working out in the morning... and my husband happens to get home really early in the morning.  So from now on when he gets home, he will wake me up and we can go down to the gym and have a workout buddy!  I can do Zumba, Hip Hop Abs, or Rockin Body while he uses the elliptical, or we can do T25 & Insanity together (since he isn't much for "dancing" workouts... hehehe).  We can also strength train and lift weights together.

Our family motto/goal is to be happy & healthy.  Our home gym will provide us both with the place, the motivation, and the partnership to workout and live the lifestyle we're aiming for.

I'm so very blessed to have married such an incredible man!

I'll be sure to post pictures of the Home Gym's progress and completion!

Much Love,
Mych

Back to Normal... ish

Hey my dah'lings!

First of all, let me wish you all a very HAPPY LOVE MONTH!  I've never been much of a Valentine's Day fan. If I'm being honest... I hated getting Valentine's Day gifts for my birthday.  People with birthday's around Christmas or Easter can relate I'm sure...

But now that I've grown up and gotten married... it isn't so bad.  I guess the romantic fire in my heart has been sparked.  So... HAPPY FEBRUARY Dah'lings! 

Let's catch up!  It's been a few days.

How've you been!?  What've you been doing?  Are you making progress changing your life?  How are your workouts going?!  Are your New Year goals and resolutions still going strong?!  I have faith in you!

As far as my life goes... 

I'm a bit disappointed in myself. 

I know it's been a few days since I blogged.  Let me explain why.  I'll be brief.

I had some things in my personal life that threw me for a loop last week.  The circumstances I found myself in, along with my husband working long hours, triggered my depression again.  I could hardly get out of bed for a few days.  I didn't want to wake up, I wished I hadn't been born... I didn't workout, I didn't want to eat... I locked myself in my house alone and wallowed in my sadness and depression.  It was... it was bad.

I'm sorry I let you guys down.  I'm sorry I let myself down.

My husband was really supportive when he was home.  He'd hold me, let me cry, take care of feeding me, put me in the shower...

I have to be honest, I don't deserve such a wonderful and loving husband.  He literally is the best man I have ever met and I couldn't be more blessed to be his wife.  

Slowly but surely he helped me work back to getting normal.

I had a few conversations with some close friends about what had happened and why I was struggling. I also spoke to my ecclesiastical leader who counseled me on how to handle my reactions to the situation. 

Needless to say, after a few days I'm almost completely back to normal.  I still have trouble and bouts of sadness, but I'm not letting them incapacitate me anymore. 

I worked out for the first time in 5 days yesterday.  It felt good and I am SORE.

Sometimes... we struggle.  Sometimes life gets hard.  While we may fall down and writhe on the ground in pain, we can ALWAYS get back up again.  It might take a few days and it may require great effort, but we can always get back up.  We MUST get back up. 

Life is about growing, learning, progressing, and changing.  We must keep moving forward.

Thank you for being awesome!  Thank you for listening to me put my crazy into words.  Thank you for supporting me, for understanding, and for sharing your dedication, motivation, and inspiration with me.  

Until next time my loves!

Mych

A Quick Blurb

The scale is moving!  I'm trying really hard to not weigh in until Saturday...

Well it'll have to be after Saturday because I'm going out of town; but none the less, I am trying to utilize patience and not weigh in for a few more days.

It's amazing how watching that number finally move has impacted my mood and attitude today.

I won't lie about how much of a struggle it has been the past few weeks to have the motivation and dedication to not give up.  Between illness and watching how nothing was changing no matter how good I was... it was hard to want to keep going.

But I did.

And I'm glad I did.

This year isn't so bad.  I can lose 50 lbs this year.  A pound a week.  Let's do this!

My journey is about being the best me.  Your journey is about being the best you!

We can do this.  We deserve to do this.

Much love to you guys!  Please keep me updated!

MWAH!

Mych

Struggle Builds Strength

I've been trying really hard to stay positive since it's the new year and all... but life is not making it easy to do that.

My husband and I have been struggling with our health since December.  Illness has run rampant in our house; apparently stress helps colds/the flu creep into your body and not let go.  Not to mention the fact that I've been struggling with getting my body normal since we found out about the insulin resistance and hormone imbalance.  It's been tough.

My husband also was injured at work the other day and the cut got infected.  The doctors were concerned it was a strain of staph so they put him on antibiotics.  Can't catch a break, right?  *sigh*

Then, this morning I woke up with nausea and abdominal cramps.  While my body is handling the birth control and other medications better, I'm still not used to it.  So I'm sick today too! UGH.

In case anyone is wondering, it is REALLY hard to have the desire to workout when you don't even want to get out of bed.

Thank heaven for pain killers and anti-inflammatory medications.  Midol and Aleve are my best friends right now.

I don't even want to eat! You know things are bad when I don't want to eat.

I was really looking forward to this weekend's weigh-in too.  But not now.  My body is bloated and retaining water.

It's hard to keep my chin up and be positive when life seems like it's kicking my ass all the time.

So this morning on my Instagram accounts I posted the following posts.

First this, because I was frustrated:

Then, in the midst of my wallowing, I happened to see this photograph on Facebook.  It struck me pretty profoundly and pulled me out of my self-pity pit of despair.

So, I guess that's all I'm trying to say today is...

It's okay to have a bad day.  It's going to happen; and it'll happen more than we think is fair.

We will struggle; but struggling is part of the journey.  Struggling is part of our story.

We can't give up.  Ever.

We are too valuable to give up on.

We have too much to do, too much to offer, too much to give.

So chin up.  It'll get better.  I promise. I know.

Much love to you my dah'lings!

~ Mychal

Feeling v. Seeing

Hello Lovelies!

It's a beautiful Saturday and I hope that you've all had a wonderful week!

I suppose it's "update" time.  I have some exciting updates, and some kinda not exciting updates.

I'll start with the exciting things first.

Yesterday & today, for the first time I can remember... I nailed my two Focus T25 workouts.  By "nailed" I mean that:

• I didn't have to pause the DVD to catch my breath
• I did every exercise for the entire time allotted
• I pushed through the burnouts and kept up with the T25 Crew
• I embraced the burn and never let up on my energy and focus

It might sound silly to some of you.  But to me that's a big deal.  That is a HUGE improvement in a week.   A mere week before I was pausing the DVD, stopping mid exercise section, and going at half the speed the Crew was exercising at.

I feel so great!  I can feel the change in my body (and I can feel it too.)  My abs and core are getting stronger and I'm able to put more energy and force behind every exercise movement.

My husband even noticed that my pants fit better.  *smiling huge*

NOW

While I can feel the changes in my body, I can't really see anything (though maybe my husband is onto something with the pants).  This week I didn't gain or lose weight.  Which is disheartening, but not.  If that makes sense.

I'm hoping that the high intensity and strength building exercises in my workouts built some muscle (which, if I was losing fat at the same time could explain why I didn't "lose" anything. I did lose, but I gained muscle at the same time.) and building muscles is a good thing.  Being stronger is a good thing.  It means I can work harder and more intensely to lean up.

Regardless of numbers, I am happy and I feel good.  I will never give up! Ever.

I hope the rest of you are doing well! Fill me in on how you're doing, please!

As always, feel free to email or message me if you would like to chat or need some encouragement!

I sure love and appreciate you all!

Much love,

Mychal

Ab Workouts

I just want to take a moment to hate on, and love & praise, ab workouts.

I hate them.

They make me feel inadequate.

They take every shred of self-confidence I've acquired and light them on fire with a maniacal laugh.

BUT

They also make me feel like a RockStar when I start to see myself doing better at certain exercises every few days.

I try to do interval workouts, so I only focus on an ab workout every 2-3 days... which is enough to both make me shout in elation, or cry with humiliation.

Anyone else have this problem?

Regardless... I'll keep moving forward!

Only a couple days away from a weigh-in.  *Holding breath*

How's everyone else holding out with their goals to live a healthier and happier 2014?

Much Love,
Mych

It's Only Been 5 Days...

BUT -

I'm trying to establish a habit and routine, so I apologize for all the blog posts and the obnoxious updates.  My goal is 2-3 posts a week, so hopefully when there are two more days in the week it won't feel like I'm force-feeding you Blog Posts.

On the off chance you don't follow my Facebook Page (Changing My Life Today) I'll update everyone about "The Plan" (duhn duhn DUHN!)

The Plan

• Eat 1,500 calories a day (can be augmented as more will be earned with exercise)
• Eat between 120 & 150 carbs
• Exercise vigorously 30 minutes a day
• Be active as much as possible (always find reasons to get up and boogie!)
• Enjoy life, enjoy food, enjoy the journey
• Don't be too critical if you can't live The Plan everyday... (you're only human!)
• Oh, and Weigh-in Days are Saturday

The end.

Ish.

Yesterday was the first Saturday of the New Year, so that meant it was a Weigh-in Day!

I weighed in and was 5.5 lbs lighter than I was on January 1st, 2014.

Now, don't get too excited... I tried not to be.  That weight was mostly water weight and the bloating alleviating as my body was becoming accustomed to less carbohydrates. 

The additional updates to the New Year, it's goals, and my health status are as follows:

1. I have worked out everyday for a hour (excluding Sunday's which are my rest days... Hey, even God needed a rest day. Just sayin').
2. I have managed to live within my calorie and carb goals.
3. I've found some fun new music to dance to while I clean my house.
4. My medications for Insulin Resistance are working (I think) but now, I've noticed that my throat is especially tender these days.  My throat feels tight when I swallow, and the side of my neck that is home to the extra long part of my thyroid is much more noticeable these days.  I'm looking forward to going to see my endocrinologist next month.

But overall, I feel pretty awesome.  My energy level has picked back up now that my body is used to the birth control medication.  I've also noticed that working out has really helped my stress and tension levels; along with helping me sleep better at night.

So life is good. 

I feel good. 

So now I want to know... how're you guys doing?!

How are you and your New Year Goals panning out? Is there anything I can do to help? 

I'm realizing more and more that an uplifting and supportive community is a critical foundation to lifestyle change. 

I posted this little diddy on my Facebook, Instagram, and Happier accounts... but I thought I'd share it with you guys today as well.

You're incredible, amazing, remarkable, valued, & loved. Whoever you are - where ever you may be on your journey - please know that you ARE important.

I hope you guys really know and understand how important you are to me.  Have a wonderful day, because you are wonderful and you deserve it.

Much love,

Mychal

Reset, Restart, Resolutions

Do you know what I love about the holiday season? Well Christmas, duh...

But more than that, I find the start of the New Year completely invigorating.

Could you as for a better slate cleaner and time keeper? I don't think so. Not only that, but coming off of the holiday season allows for a completely energized and go-get-em attitude when we tackle a new calendar year.

So in the spirit of this fresh start I hereby list my additional life goals. (I would call them resolutions, but resolutions have a finality, an ending. I'm still in the habit of making positive long-term life changes; so goals work better for me.)

1. Get back on the nutrition/healthy eating horse.

Unfortunately, I've fallen off the calorie counting, careful eating, healthy food bandwagon the past few weeks. I'm ashamed. And I'm physically feeling the ramifications of my lax dietary guidelines as of late.

2. Kick ass and take names. AKA workout and get lean and fit.

I have a 25lb weight loss goal by the summer. I'm hell bent, and damned determined to accomplish it. I haven't gotten this close to fail now.

3. Allow myself to be more vulnerable.

I like to bitch and moan about how lack luster my social and love life can be. I'm adult enough to admit that a lot of it is my fault. I am overly protective of my heart and emotions, and I'm incredibly independent and do not like to ask people, or let people, help or love me. I have a goal to be more open, more believing, and more adventurous in the social realm. Things worth having and experiencing don't come without a price. And you can't know love or joy if you don't experience heartbreak and sorrow.

4. Write more.

I need to blog more. I'm sure my followers don't miss me much, but I miss writing. I also want to work more on my novel. I forget what an incredible outlet writing can before my psyche.

5. Love my being.

I am making a conscious effort this year to not look in the mirror and say negative things about my body, my appearance, or my face. I want to be proud and love my entire being: soul, body, heart, and mind, for the remarkable, incredible, and wonderful blessing that it is.


These are my goals. These are my hopes and aspirations for this new year. In addition to all the other goals that I'm consistently working on.

Lastly, I WILL update the blog. I promise you that.

Goals will be updated, photos... All of it.

We are starting fresh people. And I couldn't be more thrilled.

Feel free to email or comment with your new goals for the year ALONG with any topics you'd like me to write about, routines or recipes you'd like me to try, or questions you may have.

I love and adore you all! I'll write again soon.

Until then, I leave you with some thoughts to remind you of how wonderful you truly are AND of how deserving you are - even though you may not know or acknowledge it.

Much love,

Mychal