Read, Reflect, Develop.

My coach, Allan, was kind enough to share this excerpt with others so I decided to re-share it with you.  I find that this read is quite valuable and can possibly change your life around, but only if you let it.  Be willing, be brave!

"All successful people are faithful in the small things. There is power in taking small steps.

Many people are not moving forward today simply because they were not willing to take the small step placed before them. If you have a dream to go into any particular area, you should leap at the opportunity - no matter how small - to move in the direction of your dream. For example: if you dream of being a college basketball coach and are sitting at home waiting for an invitation from Roy Williams at North Carolina University, you should know that call will never come. You need to find an opportunity to coach somewhere, anywhere. Find a young person, a young team. Jump in and coach with all of your heart, like you would if you were coaching at the highest level.

Don't be afraid to take small steps. There's something powerful about momentum...no matter how small. Many times the impossible is simply the untried.

I can remember a time in my life when I was immobilized with fear, consumed with what I was supposed to do. It seemed so huge a task; I was unable to bring myself to face it. A friend came to me and spoke two words that broke that paralysis in my life. He said, "Do something!" I'll never forget that day...taking some small, seemingly insignificant steps. Momentum began to come into my life.

If you are at a point of paralysis in your life because of what you feel you're supposed to do, the words today are, "Do something!" Don't worry about the long-term goal right now; just take the steps that take you past the starting point. Soon you'll get to a point of no return. As you climb higher, you'll be able to see much farther.

As you begin, don't be afraid. Eric Hoffer said, "Fear of becoming a 'has-been' keeps some people from becoming anything." Every great idea is impossible from where you are starting today. But little goals add up, and they add up rapidly. Most people don't succeed because they are too afraid to even try. As incredible as it sounds, they decide in advance they're going to fail.

Many times the final goal seems so unreachable we don't even make an effort. But once you've made your decision and have started, it's like you're halfway there. Start - no matter what your circumstances. Take that first step!

It's simple. Grow wherever you're planted."

- An excerpt from "An Enemy Called Average" by John Mason

Motivated Mondays

This past weekend, I went to Philly's Game Plan event and had the honor of meeting some incredible individuals who really touched my heart.  Two in particular have been on my mind because they are so inspiring that I feel the need to acknowledge them.  Their names are Valerie and Scott, a married couple who has struggled with weight for years and years.  They just about tried every single diet there is out there and had very little success until they came across P90X.  With proper nutrition and regular exercise, the husband has since lost 48 lbs and the wife has lost 63 lbs.  They are currently on their 2nd round of P90X together and plan on finishing a 3rd round before doing Shaun T's Insanity program.  They had such great energy that it was inevitable to smile when listening to their heartfelt story.  It's especially wonderful that they are sticking to their goals and traveling this fitness journey together.

This couple failed numerous times to get healthier and while they could have given up they decided to keep on trying.  It is because of their struggles that they managed to find something that actually works.  Now they are on their way to transforming their bodies and in doing so are inspiring others.  I can't wait to see them again because their determination and pride really fired me up.  What's important to know is that they weren't always happy with themselves and they chose to do something about it.

#LiveFitter

Sriracha

Yes, I admit it.  I'm addicted.

#sriracha
#ImInLove
#iwantthatshirt

The Power of a Yogi

Be it P90X or Les Mills Pump, it's Thursday so I'm in a yoga kind of mood.  Namaste.

If you have ever tried yoga then you would know that these moves are ridiculously hard.  
I'm in awe.

#jawdropping

#amazing
#mesmerized

Be Mindful of Your Nutrition

Source: greatist.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Lead It

Live with Love and Lead with Passion.

The rest will surely follow.

My Unit

It was just two years ago when a friend of mine convinced me to get up early on a Saturday morning to attend a group workout.  I used to be very athletic until college got in the way (ha!) so I didn't think much of it.  Still, I had no idea what I was in for...
As I walked into the workout room ready to kick some butt I suddenly became anxious with all the faces I realized I did not know.  I was overwhelmed with all the introductions with everyone's names going in one ear and out the other (not to mention I was still half-asleep).  I did manage however, to quickly get familiar with one particular face, that of Derek Heikes.  He was the man who was to lead the workout, the man I would soon blame for all the misery in the world.

I can't tell you how many different moves we did but from I remember, I was already panting after the warm-up jumping jacks.  I also remember hurting through the pushups (which were in terrible form by the 5th one mind you), and crying (not literally) with every variation of the squat we had to do.  There was a moment when I felt like vomitting the last two years worth of food and many moments to follow where I regretted having had a single sip of alcohol the night before.  Let's just say I reeked and it wasn't pleasant whatsoever.

By the end of what felt like hours of pain and suffering, I could barely remember my own name.  I had no idea who I was anymore!  How is it that I went from being one of the most athletic girls in my high school class to feeling like death after one hour of cardio and plyometrics?  I knew right then and there that I had to change some things in my life and I knew this was the perfect opportunity to do so.

Immediately, I opened up and made conversation with two of the guys there named Allan and Chris, both of whom cordially invited me to workout more regularly with them.  I knew that I would need support if I was going to be serious about getting healthy again and they were kind enough to offer exactly that.

Over the course of the next few months, I went to Chris's house (AKA "HQ") and worked out in their basement (AKA "The Dungeon") about 5 times a week. There were several people who joined in with our smaller group workouts but 4 in particular were there each and every time. In addition to Chris and Allan, there were the Ces brothers, James and Jon. 

With my days wrapped around better eating, regular exercise and such warm friends who shared the same goals, it was inevitable for us to become as close as family in due time. Everywhere I went people would ask which of the 4 was my boyfriend and I would laugh and say, "all of them!" (It's a joke, Mom.)  In short, I ended up referring to them as my Unit because it was just easier that way.

To this day, I am grateful to have met this wonderful group of friends when I did.  You guys saved my life whether you realise it or not.  In addition to My Unit, who are also the "Core 4" founders of That Team, I was blessed to meet Derek, Kim and Maia that day, and so many other great leaders and friends thereafter.

Little did I know the mere conversation of getting back into shape would lead to such greatness!  Cheers to January 16 and this being my 2nd anniversary with That Team. 
I love you all dearly!

Here are some pictures because pictures are fun!

This is Allan, Derek, and Chris at one our group workout/cookout events.


Jon (left) and James (right) just so happen to be Irish twins.

The matching therefore makes sense (haha).

Feb 2010 - Me and My Unit after an intense workout in the Dungeon.

For more information about Beachbody, That Team, or any of the Beachbody Coaches mentioned above, please click on the following links:

Beachbody
That Team
Derek Heikes
Allan Mackiewicz
Chris Batu
James Ces
Jon Ces
Kim Bemis
Maia Carney

Vegetarian Wednesdays -- How it all came about

Let's rewind a little, shall we?

When I was really young I had such trouble eating and holding my food down.  I don't know, I guess my stomach was just really sensitive as a child.  I remember being the only one in nursery sitting in the dark cafeteria with my teacher watching me take very small bites of my lunch, chewing ever-so-slowly with disgust.  It was frustrating for her, you could tell by the look on her face.  But it was even worse for me.  It was painful.

It wasn't until the 6th grade that I started to really enjoy food.  I still wasn't eating all that much but at least I wasn't throwing away my entire lunch everyday or giving it all to my friends.  [[ Sorry, Mom! ]]  I found that I had this ridiculous love for red meat and mangoes and jelly beans and oreo cookies.  Yepp, that was about it.

Come 7th grade when I started playing sports and getting really active in school, I was constantly craving food and particularly meat.  I suppose it was the protein and iron my body liked so much, and with the way my dad grilled those bad boys, it became quite evident that my fave food in the world was steak.  All kinds of steak.  T-Bone steak, Porterhouse steak, Ribeye steak... If you said the word "steak" then I was there ready to eat.  Mouth salivating and all, as it is right now.

I was also big into chicken legs, but seriously who isn't?!?  My parents would laugh every time I ate any kind of meat because all that would be left was the bone.  Completely naked.  No cartilage, no traces of meat, nada.  And the T-Bone steaks?  Same deal.

Fast forwarding to 2009, I was at a pretty low time in my life and I needed something to fill the void in my spirit.  It wasn't that I was completely unhappy, it wasn't that I was completely unhealthy, I just didn't feel whole.  So I began to think about my life and reflect.

With my friends all being of diverse backgrounds, I was always surrounded with such practices as Lent and Ramadan.  Fasting is not something I ever wanted to do because I'm not religious (although I'm very spiritual) and I never believed in dieting, which in my mind meant starving or depriving myself.  But then I realized how much more there was to it.  There was a matter of sacrifice and patience and refocusing on what really mattered.  It suddenly dawned on me that I needed to sacrifice something special, something I truly loved.

You guessed it!  I chose to sacrifice my love for meat.

With more thought, I decided I didn't want to just sacrifice for a certain period of time but rather do it all year round.  I chose to give up my Wednesdays because I was given life on a Wednesday in 1986 and it only made sense to me to spare the lives of all living animals on that very same day.

What you have to understand is that it's not just a matter of sacrificing meat.  It is a day I truly focus on my life.  I become mindful of everything I have, everything I do, and everything I am.  I become mindful of the purity of life, of the air I breathe, of the love that surrounds me.  And this awareness, this mindfulness, it brings me back to the Now and the Here and it makes me humble all over again.

See, we all tend to get carried away in our every day lives with work and traffic and partying and stress.  We forget what's really important and we take for granted all that we have.  We complain about the smallest of things while the rest of the world would die just to experience a day in our shoes.

While we all have our own belief systems and go about things differently, we're all actually very alike.  I found what works for me at the age of 23 and I have stuck to it ever since.  Find what nurtures your mind, body and soul.  Find what brings together all the elements of your world and you will find true happiness.

#Namaste

A short story taken from The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

The Water Hyacinth

The water hyacinth is a beautiful, delicate-looking little plant.  Prized as an ornament, it sports six-petaled flowers ranging from a lovely purplish blue, to lavender, to pink.  You can find it floating on the surface of ponds in warm climates around the world.

The water hyacinth is also one of the most productive plants on earth; its reproductive rate astonishes botanists and ecologists.  Although a single plant can produce as many as 5,000 seeds, the method it prefers for colonizing a new area is to grow by doubling itself, sending out short runner stems that become "daughter plants."

If a pond's surface is fairly still and undisturbed, the water hyacinth may cover the entire pond in thirty days.

On the first day, you won't even notice it.  In fact, for the first few weeks you will have to search very hard to find it.  On day 15, it will cover perhaps a single square foot of the pond's surface ... a barely significant dollop of color dotting the expanse of placid green.

On the twentieth day (two-thirds of the way to the end of the month), you may happen to notice a dense little patch of floating foliage, about the size of a small mattress.  You would be easily forgiven if you mistook it for a boy's inflatable life raft, left behind during a family picnic.

On day 29, one-half of the pond's surface will be open water.

On the thirtieth day, the entire pond will be covered by a blanket of water hyacinth.

You will not see any water at all.

It Finally Feels Like Winter

What would be more appropriate than a healthy chili soup on a really chilly day!?  I found this recipe that is simple, vegetarian and easily freezable so you can always make it in advance for freezing days like this! =))

INGREDIENTS
(Serves 4)

2 tsp cumin seeds

large pinch chili flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
5 oz red split lentils
1 1/2 pint vegetable stock or water
14 oz can tomatoes, whole or chopped
8 oz carton chickpeas or 1/2 a can, rinsed and drained
small bunch coriander, roughly chopped
4 tbsp 0% Greek yogurt, to serve

METHOD
1.  Heat a large saucepan and dry-fry the cumin seeds and chili flakes for 1 min, or until they start to jump around the pan and release their aromas.  Add the oil and onion, and cook for 5 mins.  Stir in the lentils, stock and tomatoes, then bring to a boil.  Simmer for 15 mins until the lentils have softened.
2.  Whizz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until it is a rough puree, pour back into the pan and add the chickpeas.  Heat gently, season well and stir in the coriander.  Finish with a dollop of yogurt and coriander leaves.