60 Day Fitness With An Altitude Get Fit Challenge

60 Day Fitness With An Altitude Get Fit Challenge

Beginning Monday Sept. 13th until Friday Nov. 19th I will be hosting a 60 Fitness challenge. Anybody can be apart of this. You don't have to live in Colorado. You can do this from the comfort of your own home or you may join me for my fitness classes or purchase beachbody programs from me to help you along the way!

The holiday season is not that far away!! As much as I love it, we all know that our time, energy, diet, exercise routine and a million other things tend to get pushed to the side during the holidays! That is why I thought NOW would be the best time to host a fitness challenge!

For 60 days all of us as a team will work together to eat right and exercise. I think team work and accountability are key in succeeding in ANYTHING! You will be amazed at how much harder you will work knowing that others are doing all of this right along with you. The knowing that you have to sign in everyday and let people know what workout you did and how well you are following your routine in taking care of yourself, will help you stay on track. Accountability is HUGE in helping you to follow through each day towards your goals! Plus doing this challenge before the holidays will help you develop healthy habits and come Thanksgiving and Christmas, maybe just maybe your good habits will take over and you won't let all the extra food get in your way of your results and goals!!

You will be able to do ANY kind of workouts that you want to do!! Be it walking everyday, running, going to the gym...whatever! Or you may purchase a Beachbody program through me that is designed for you! Beachbody programs have everything you need in one package to follow for 60 days, including nutrition and calendars. So if you need a program just let me know and we will get you started before the challenge begins. For those of you that live in the Gunnison area you may also join me at my weekly classes at the Rec Center! I will be teaching 5 days a week down there, so you will have plenty of chances to workout with me everyday! Things like TurboKick, TurboSwim, Weight Resistance training, Kickboxing...and much more! Plus I will have a separate accountabilty board down there that you can use to keep track of your workouts. If you can't make it to my classes or do not live in Gunnison we will use this page for accountability. More to come on this soon! Lets all work together for 60 days!!! It will be life changing!! Sign up NOW...

To register at the Rec Center go to
www.gunnisonrec.com

To order Beachbody products through me:
www.beachbodycoach.com/jenmangum

P.S. For those of you wanting to make this a college credit, I will also be teaching at Western State Tues and Thurs evenings through extended studies!
www.western.edu/extendedstudies

I'll have more info coming soon! Good stuff like weekly newsletters with recipes, health tips, diet tips, and much more! Sign up TODAY! Don't forget if you bring TWO friends to my classes you will get ONE FREE CLASS!!!

Please let me know if you have any questions or need anything! I can't wait to get in shape and workout with all of you!

Beachbody Coach Jen Mangum
beachbodyjen@yahoo.com
970-209-4053 or 970-641-2186
www.fitnesswithandaltitude.com
www.facebook.com/jenmangum

Finding Happiness Isn't That Hard If You Know Where to Look!

Its been awhile since I've blogged. I don't really have any good excuse, except that I've been busy and have been pursuing many different things. That being said, I've missed blogging and sharing my little personal experiences with life. Plus it feels amazing when I have others ask me why I haven't blogged or that they've missed reading my blogs and that something I said helped them in some way or another. Makes me realize I need to focus on this more than I do. After all if something silly that I say helps someone or helps someone to feel better, than I need to keep doing that! After all every time I help someone else out, I feel that much better about myself, and it ends up helping me out. Its a win win situation all the way around. I guess for all of us, things just come up and keep us from doing some of the little things we like to or want to do. Although honestly I think its ourselves that keep us from doing those things. Its just easier to blame it on life then it is to blame it our ourselves. Sometimes I have to kick my own butt and slap myself in the face, when I know I let this or that slide and put it on the back burner, simply because I don't use my time wisely.

I've been doing a lot of reflecting over the last month about what I want and where I'm going. I've had so many blessings just fall into my lap as well as disappointments, here lately, its been kinda crazy. Funny how that works. I guess if we felt satisfied in every part of our life, we might just stop and do nothing and that wouldn't get us anywhere. I believe though, that finding happiness isn't all that hard, if you know where to look! I think sometimes if we focus on the dark, it makes its really tough to see the light. So this last month I've been working on that more and its been life altering. Not only do I feel happier with me, I feel happier with everyone around me. Judgement, jealousy, and all those terrible things are really the route of all evil. When you find true comfort with who you are and what you want out of life, is when the real happiness and success begins. If you are not grateful for who you are and what you have, you will miss out on all of it and wake up with a lot of regrets one day. You will wake up and realize that maybe you didn't have it so bad and should've spent a little more time being thankful for all of it.

Do I want more money? Do I want to lose more weight? Do I want to have nicer clothes? Do I want a bigger house? Do I want to change this and that about myself or others? You are damn right I do! LOL :) Its only natural to always want to fix, change, alter,...something. Its human nature. We always think we know what's best or how we think something should be. We also think that if all those things we want come true we will finally be completely happy! When in fact, we all need to find ways to be happy now, or it will be too late and true happiness will never happen. The only thing we can control is our attitude and outlook on every situation. Things are always gonna come along that we have no control over and there won't be anything we can do about it. But if we take each and every moment and we handle it in a more grateful, focused, loving, open, ....way, then it will not seem as bad! I'm learning more and more how the little things are really the great things! When I look around at what I have, its makes what I don't have seem so small. I wake everyday to a wonderful husband and two beautiful kids. That in itself is all I need! Yet I will always want more and I plan on having more and thats ok! But its the not having it now that isn't something that should be viewed as bad or negative. Change, growth and success take time! All the wants and needs we have take work, focus, failure, and a whole lot of heart to accomplish. If you aren't happy with yourself now, then you very well may never be. Its ok to want to change this or that, but true happiness comes from finding ways to be happy now and being grateful. Trust me the happier you feel inside NOW, the happier you will be later and more grateful you will be, when something else you want comes true. The work and learning is never done, not with ourselves or with our lives. Each step you take each day takes you towards or away from where you want to be or who you want to be.

Make a to-do list of your life and a grateful list. Write down what you want and who you want to be, along with what you already have and what you are already grateful for. Its so helpful to not only focus on where you want to go, but where you've already been and the good that has handed you. Don't go a day without a smile or sharing a smile with someone else. Don't go a day without telling someone you love them! Don't go a day without looking in the mirror and finding satisfaction with who you are now! Keep working hard and chasing your dreams, but don't let the chase take you away from all the good you have now, that you may not even realize you have! Deep breath in and out! Life is truly what we make it....

Beachbody Coach Jen
www.beachbodycoach.com/jenmangum
www.facebook.com/jenmangum
beachbodyjen@yahoo.com

Register now for Turbokick at Western State College Extended Studies...
www.western.edu/extendedstudies

And soon you will be able to register for a 60 Day Get Fit Challenge and all kinds of Fitness With An Altitude workouts at www.gunnisonrec.com

"Attitude determines ones altitude in life"

If you died tomorrow, what would people remember about you?

Do you ever go through a day, a week, or maybe even years... and wish you could have that time back to start all over again? Ever do something you regret, a mistake you made, didn't say something you should've said, spent precious time being lazy and complacent,...? Boy I know I have. I've spent my time doing each and every one of those things. I know that I'll do one or more of them again at some point too. I have so many moments in my life, I'd love to have back. I've let time slip by that I didn't use wisely and done things I'm not proud of. Don't get me wrong I've also lived right and done things right. I guess that's what makes us human? You live some, you learn some, you lose some, you win some...! But I've come to a place inside of myself where I want to live more and regret less! I want to come to the end of my life and know that I used up all my talents, my dreams, my desires, and that there truly isn't anything left to give or accomplish. I did it ALL!

So if you died tomorrow, what would people remember about you? What would you want them to remember? Have you accomplished a good portion of what you want to accomplish? I know I haven't. I have a long way to go before I'll feel that way. But the one thing I do know, is that I'm using my time more wisely, trying to be more giving, less judgemental, and more focused than ever! I'm a long way from where I want to be, but at least I'm doing all I can to find more direction in where I want to be going.

Do you have a gift inside of you, you are not letting the world see? Do you have a dream you have given up on? If so, maybe now is the time to change your focus and start working towards all the things you want. Life happens and things will always get in the way. We all can come up with a million excuses as to why we can't do this or that. Its just so much easier to say "I can't" than "I can or I should"! Those feelings you get way down in the pit of your stomach that tell you how you feel about things or remind you of things you want to do...are not something you should ignore! Those little, quiet reminders are there to tell you why you are on this earth and what you are supposed to be doing. Those talents you were born with are meant to be used. Not everyone can do what you do or be who you are. Only you can do that! If there is something you've always wanted to do, but keep putting it off, you will never feel completely satisfied. You will always be looking for ways to fill that void and sometimes you might do things that aren't good for you, just to fill it! Listen to what your gut is telling you and do whatever you can to satisfy it, so you really feel whats its like to be ALIVE!

When you leave this earth, leave it with a smile, and that in turn will leave everyone else with a smile. Everyone will remember that you did all you could to LIVE and that you shared your talents and knowledge with everyone around you. Take care of yourself, so you can better take care of others. It may sound cliche, but we all really should be living every moment. After all we just don't know if that moment is our last one!

So I challenge you today to dig up an old dream, past want, hidden talent/gift you know have and share it with the world and start working towards it. If you feel unsatisfied its because you haven't done something you are supposed to do. If you start working on all the things you know you are meant to do, you will feel a state of satisfaction like you've never known. You are here for a reason and you have something none of us have. Don't leave this earth, not letting people see it or denying yourself of what it feels like to truly accomplish something you've always wanted to accomplish. You will hit walls and face challenges, but the baby steps you take to reach your full potential will lead you too a life of fulfillment and fill those voids that suck the life right out of you! If tomorrow doesn't come, make sure you make the most out of today...

Beachbody Coach Jen Mangum
beachbodyjen@yahoo.com
www.facebook.com/jenmangum
www.fitnesswithanaltitude.com

I'm a little left of living RIGHT

Perfection and doing everything right all the time does not exist in my life and I'm so ok with that! I've mentioned perfection before in my blogs, but it seems to be one topic that keeps presenting itself to me in my life. Whether its me taking the foolish way around or someone I know hating themselves for not doing everything right...Perfection is a constant problem for all of us it seems!

We all start out with a BANG and then usually end up rolling back down the hill and wondering what the heck happened. We set out to reach our goals, dreams, jobs, weight loss...whatever and when things don't go just right we quit and give up, or we at least think about giving up! We blame ourselves for not being good at something, not being capable, not having enough resources, not having any luck...and we do this over and over again. Its like walking through a revolving door and wishing like hell we could just stop for a moment and breathe. You get so dizzy going in circles, sometimes even the simpliest things seem the most impossible.

Health really is simple, yet really is hard! Doesn't make sense does it? I honestly think if we looked at health as being as easy as brushing our teeth, it would be no big deal at all. You know you get up every day, put your clothes on, brush your teeth and on to the rest of your normal day in, day out activities. Yet for some reason being thin, eating right, looking good, proving yourself, over coming insecurities, feeling happy...just aren't as easy as brushing your teeth! Dang IT!! And God forbid you have those things they call obstacles in the way! Ya know what I'm talking about. Those little things that just come up out of the blue, that throws you off schedule and the first thing to be thrown out the window that day is YOUR HEALTH!

SO when I say "I'm a little left of living right" what I'm saying is...I no longer do every little thing right and it actually helps me to do more things right. The more I try to be perfect, the more I fail. But when I allow myself some breathing room, accept my body and myself for who I am, the more effort I put in, in taking care of myself. I find if I stress all the time over all the insulin I have to take, over weight I want to lose, over not getting my house spotless clean, over my next job, the next project, the next need....whatever the less I get done and the less results I get!

Excuses are killer and they will hault your results everytime, but allowing yourself some breathing room is NOT the same as making excuses! When you allow yourself to be human, you will actually realize just how important you are. When you accept the fact that taking care of YOU, is just part of your daily routine, it won't be as hard to do. Just as when you allow yourself to let your hair down and have a little fun now and then, you won't feel guilty each time you slip up a little bit! It will be so much easier to get up the next day and get back to your routine. The stress of being perfect won't be there and there won't be any reason to quit. Taking care of yourself will just be something you do and not something you have to do, to be RIGHT! You will WANT to do it and it won't feel near as hard! The straight and narrow will only add to the stress and heartache it requires to believe perfection is possible! Imperfection is my kind of perfect! I wouldn't erase my flaws now if I could. I want to feel good and look good, but I'm not going to kill myself and beat myself down to do it! We all want to be a size two, be successful, be happy, healthy, and a million other things, but if we don't enjoy the ride to the top, once we get to the top, we are gonna just wanna fall back down!

So I challenge you today to enjoy YOU! Make taking care of you as easy as brushing your teeth! Don't over think it, don't adjust your diet to that of a super models, don't kill yourself in the gym,...don't set yourself up for failure! Write down your goals and enjoy the trip to getting them! Because if you don't, you'll just keep walking in circles and you'll never be happy with who you are and you'll never see just what you are capable of! Yes you have to exercise, eat right, get regular check ups, and blah, blah, blah :) But don't make it a bigger deal than it is! Just breathe and know that its ok to live a little left of living right now and then :)

Beachbody Coach Jen Mangum
beachbodyjen@yahoo.com
www.fitnesswithanaltitude.com
www.facebook.com/jenmangum
www.beachbodycoach.com/jenmangum

Register for Turbo Kick at
www.gunnisonrec.com
COME KICK IT WITH ME! :)

Nobody said commitment was easy!

“There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”

I'm as guilty as anybody at seeing something and saying "I'd sure like to try that out." For example seeing the Insanity or P90X infomercial on TV and thinking WOW that looks cool, I'll have to try that sometime. So you order the program, you get it in, it clearly states its a 60 or 90 day program, has the calendar and workouts all scheduled for you, and tells you what you have to do to complete the program. So you start the first week out with a bang. You don't skip one workout, you follow the nutrition plan, and the end of your first week comes, you don't see results on the scale, and so you automatically think it doesn't work and you start trying to change things the next week. What happens? Well usually you do some of the workouts, then you add in some of your own, then you don't do any at all, and before you know it that 60 day program has turned into a 2 yr program and you never know if it worked or not! After all if you don't see life changing results immediately something has to be wrong with the program and its easier to give up, change things, or not follow directions because you are convinced you know better. Trust me I've done this thousands of times. I hate reading directions! I mean can you imagine if marriage or parenting came with a manual you had to follow day in and day out? Eventually you'd stop doing it their way and start doing it your way, right? Its human nature to think we know whats best and at times we do. I've always said listen to your body and do what feels right to you. BUT when it comes to following a workout plan or nutrition plan, you will NEVER know if it works or not if you don't commit to the PLAN!

Goal setting can help commitment and you following through more than you might realize! I'll just use P90X as my example here and repeat that this is a 90 day program. If you begin a program like P90X without that 90 day commitment in mind, chances are you won't do the 90 days. You'll spread them out and before you know it, you'll never have completed P90X. There are a million different workout videos, classes, weight loss plans,...you can buy and take, but if you don't do what they ask you to, you will never know if they work. If you buy a 30 day gym membership and only go 10 days, you will never see the results of what the gym membership would've done for you. You'll end up saying things like "well I went to the gym for two weeks nonstop and nothing happened, oh life got in the way but I got a few workouts in, the gym life just isn't for me, I'm not seeing results...and on and on! You will come up with every excuse in the book as to why the GYM doesn't work for you. You will tell yourself P90X, Insanity, Zumba,...whatever just aren't for you, they just don't give you results for some reason! Yet you'll never admit that you didn't follow directions will you? Life does happen, things do get in the way, you won't be able to get every workout in, blah blah blah...I know! BUT if you sign up, purchase, or get involved in a 30, 60, or 90 day program, in order to see results you have to COMMIT to the 90 days without question!!! Meaning if the first two weeks aren't blowing your mind, OH WELL, you have a lot more days to go and you have to COMMIT to them! I'm not saying every program out there works, but I can tell you that most programs have been tested over and over again and trust me folks if you follow directions you will see results of what that program claims to give YOU! So what if the weight isn't falling off the scale or you're NOT getting immediate inch loss results...if you signed up for 90 days then give it 90 days! You will never know what that program might do for you if you don't commit to it and give it a solid go. 90 days isn't that much time out of your life and its worth it to see if what you are doing is working. After all you might get to the end of 90 days and have this huge confidence boost because you actually completed something! That alone will help you complete even more things! In 90 days you might learn what kinds of exercise you like, what kinds you don't, what you want to do next or for the rest of your life! But if you keep quitting before you get to the finish line YOU WILL NEVER KNOW IF IT WORKS OR NOT!

If you have to, start small. Meaning purchase some classes at your local gym and commit to 8 of them to be completed in 4 weeks. Notice how I said 4 weeks! You have to set a schedule and line up your workouts, so that your body is given the chance to build its self up! Or if you purchase a program for 90 days, write a start date and an end date! Don't question the time in between, commit yourself to those 90 days. If you miss one workout, get up the next day and do it! Don't wait 5 days to get started again, because that will be like starting over. Before you know it you will have started over 30 times and you will not have finished ONCE! Or if videos, classes, gyms...aren't your cup of tea, then set a goal for 4 weeks to walk 2 miles a day, 5 days a week. Sure you can add to that as you need to, but bottom line is make sure you are doing all you can to get those 2 miles/5 days a week in. Write it all out, make it part of your daily "to do" list, and always set a start and end date, then commit to it! I'm telling you if you follow directions every now and then, put your ego to the side, give something the time it tells you to give it, and just follow through...each and every challenge after that will get easier. You will get better, you will grow, learn more about yourself, and you will realize that commitment equals positive change! No matter what form of exercise you take on, if you stick to it, you will see change! Don't give up half way through, don't talk yourself into thinking it doesn't work, take a long look in the mirror and ask yourself are you REALLY doing what is asked of you, are you following directions and setting a plan to see what the end result might be...?!

I challenge you today to set a small plan together. It can be anything physical that you will commit to at least 5 to 6 days a week. It can be anywhere from 30 min to 60 min long or more. Write a start date and end date. Don't question it two weeks from now, just focus on each day and the day you will have accomplished all the work you are required to put in. Follow directions and stick to it for at least 4 weeks. This isn't so much about losing weight, this is about programming yourself into committing to something and setting goals. You have to start somewhere and discipline and commit are key if you ever want to see any real results. You can't just kinda take care of yourself. Commit to yourself as you would your marriage, your children, your job, or anything else that matters to you. The results and body you want will come, but you first have to learn how to follow through with what you set up for yourself to do! Come on guys, lets not just kinda give it go, lets actually finish what we start! Go for it! You will NOT be disappointed!

Beachbody Coach Jen Mangum
www.facebook.com/jenmangum
http://jenmangum.blogspot.com

So you screwed up yesterday, thank God you've got today!

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start now and make a brand new ending." Carl Bard

So though I hate to admit it, I've been a roller coaster since last Wednesday! Life just happens sometimes and comes along and knocks you on your butt! You know how it is... one kid gets sick, then the other one gets sick, then you get sick, then you run out of food and can't wait til pay day, you feel like crap so you eat crap, you look like crap so you just get down on yourself...blah blah blah! I could go on and on with emotions and feelings that tend to find a way into our lives and screw us all up despite our efforts to keep them out! That is exactly what I've allowed to happen in my life over the last few days! Is it just a woman thing? LOL! Seriously! Just when I think I have it all together, I'm always reminded about how far I still have to go! Honestly I think we sabotage ourselves sometimes out of fear we might actually get where we think we wanna be! That might not make sense, but what I'm trying to say is, it just seems when you get headed in the right direction and feel all good about everything, is right when you find yourself running into a wall! At least for me that seems to happen! Although sometimes, like I said, I sabotage myself and that is something I'm still working on and working through!

Isn't fear a bitch? There are two things in this life that I think are the root of all evil and some our biggest downfalls! FEAR AND JEALOUSLY! When we allow either of them to enter our lives, we face big time struggles and failures! For example I'm working my butt off here lately trying to get my turbokick class up and running, but I'm terrified I'm not any good! I get so worked up about it sometimes that I think that's when I sabotage myself and say the hell with it. Like I did this last week. Granted life was all over the place and nobody around me was feeling good, including myself, I allowed it to be the reason I stopped doing what needed to be done! I found ways to push my goals and hard work to the side and make excuses as to why I can't do something. Or how about feeling insecure because you think someone might be better than you? I know for me if I let jealously or insecurities sneak in, then I lose focus and find more excuses to hold myself back. Like how many times have you gone, oh say a solid month of working out, eating right, feeling good, getting your shit all together,...and wham you stop! Just stop! You simply find ways and reasons you just can't keep going. Doesn't that make you feel like crap? You put all this work and effort out there, just to sabotage yourself and have to start over!

So what is the positive in all of this? Where am I going with it? Well slowly but surely over time I'm being honest to myself about my weaknesses. So instead of giving up completely, when I mess up or have a rough week, I don't let that week turn into a year anymore! I'm finding ways to pick myself up and get back to it. Its a process. Taking care of yourself is a process. I think though that's why so many people start out with good intentions when it comes to diet and working out, all to fall off the wagon and not get back up for a very long time! We let fear, insecurities, life, and anything else we can think of stop us from being who we are meant to be. After all if you became everything you know you could be become, it would require a lot of work right? If you got your body, mind, success, dreams, goals...and all the things your really want to fall into place happen, your entire life would change wouldn't it? You would have to do so much just to stay where you are at and you wouldn't have anymore excuses because you would prove to yourself you are actually capable of anything. Its so much easier to stay one step behind isn't it? Its so much easier to find excuses to not workout then to be able to handle a fit and trim body that takes work to keep? Sounds dumb to me, but its true! We get too comfortable with our problems, excuses, fears, jealousy's, doubts...that to not have them around makes us feel uncomfortable! Basically we cling on to our security blanket of living a life of mediocrity and avoid a life of success and happiness! Its not as easy as it looks to be completely satisfied and happy with yourself or is it easy to get to where you know you can be and who you can be!

That's where I'm at anyways. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know what I want and where I want to be. I'm just slowly but surely finding more and more ways to knock down the hurdles and not settle! I'm tired of the old me and old ways. I'm tired of allowing myself to sabotage my success and quit. I'm tired of being jealous of others or things I don't have. And the more I remind myself to keep pushing these negative feelings out of my life, the more I keep moving forward. I've messed up a lot of yesterdays by being lazy and stupid, but it sure is nice to keep waking up to a new day and hopefully getting less and less stupid LOL!

So I challenge you today to kick that self doubt and do something that's hard. It can be anything. Maybe you've been a complete ass to someone because they make you feel insecure, so nows the time to put on a smile and get over yourself and just treat that person with respect. Maybe you can go day in and day out without a drink of alcohol, but come the night you can't help yourself so you drink, drink, drink! Well go one week without any liquor and force yourself to just deal. You'll be fine! Maybe you are one of those people who just can't get up early enough to workout, so for ONE week get up earlier than you need to and workout anyways! Adding in a little pain now and then can actually discipline us and make us better for it in the end! 7 days of not sabotaging yourself and your results, might sound like an impossible task, but just think of how much further along you will be if you just do it! So jump off that roller coaster you've been on lately and just walk at a steady pace until you start breaking some of those bad habits! Treat yourself good! You're worth it! I'm talking to myself as much as I'm talking to you. We really are worth it and we need to treat ourselves damn good! You've got something nobody else has and you are just as important as the next person. So forget about yesterday and start over today and for the rest of your life!

Beachbody Coach Jen Mangum
www.facebook.com/jenmangum
http://jenmangum.blogspot.com

Dave Johel-Jen Mangums 90 Day Holiday Fitness Challenge WINNER!

Congrats Dave! This challenge turned out to be everything I could've imagined and then some! Awesome! Way to go to EVERY ONE that was involved!!!

Dave Johel Story...
You can find Dave at
http://teambeachbody.com/davejohel


Dave Johel (davejohel)
Vienna, Va.
Age: 48
Coach: joycecherrier
Holiday Fitness Challenge 2009-2010

Leading up to the challenge…
October 2009: I was celebrating my one year anniversary with Beachbody workouts. During the past year, I had completed 3 rounds of P90X and was finishing up my first round of Insanity. I had great results over the past year, losing almost 15 pounds and getting below my goal weight. My definition was good, better than I had ever had in my life…and I was 47 years old.

Before P90X, I had done little exercise for the past 20 years. I was active, coaching my son’s basketball and baseball teams. I played softball and windsurfed as often as I could, which was not that often anymore. My nutrition was not good but it was not terrible either. I never let myself get too heavy. Over the years I had purchased dumbbells and a home gym. But I didn’t know HOW to work out, so it never lasted more than a month and I never got results.

A co-worker started P90X and I did not want to be looking back in three months at his results and my more of the same. When I started P90X I did not immediately join the beachbody online community. I tried to get my own group going at work. We encouraged each other and we kept a shared workout log. A few more in the office joined us. After a few months, however, the novelty of a workout routine wore off for the others.

I started slowly getting results, so I kept going. If I had good nutrition, the results would have come much quicker. By the third round I was still working out 5 days a week. I ordered Insanity after reading more and more about Interval workouts and really enjoying P90X Interval Plus. I finally joined beachbody.com in August for two reasons. I wanted support during Insanity, but I also wanted to ‘Pay It Forward’ with my workout commitment, enthusiasm and tips for success. I had started to become obsessed with working out. What a change from 10 months before. I initially found a great message board, ‘Insane Motivation’, and became hooked on the Beachbody Community. I also learned how to push even harder in my workouts because of Insanity.

Once Insanity was complete, I searched the message boards to see if I could find some additional motivation to keep going. Some of the boards had thousands of posts but I wanted something a little more personal, where you got to know the people. I don’t remember exactly how I stumbled onto the ‘Holiday Fitness Challenge’ thread, but I liked the idea to stay accountable and motivated through the holidays, so I jumped in. And how could you deny the enthusiasm that Jen Mangum (jenmangum) brought to the message board.

The Holiday Challenge…
I remember when I started, I told Jen that I had just finished Insanity and was planning on only working out 4-5 days a week, just to maintain my results. Jen said that the accountability chart may change that for me. It sure did. I wanted to see that symbol next to my name every single day. So I started my quest of no scheduled rest days. If I was sick, injured or just could not fit it in, OK. But I would not schedule ahead for a rest day.

I started the challenge with my first round of a P90X/Insanity hybrid. Chris Bush (ChrisBush) had posted a hybrid workout. It looked like there was some real thought put into the workout sequence. Great! That sure saved me some time. I really started to like the accountability and charts kept by Chris. It was also great to start to get to know many of the other challengers who helped me along the way.

Chris Jolley (Xformation) had posted pictures of his dinner plate and refrigerator of ‘clean food’. It really got me thinking about my nutrition. I was good, and each round I got better. But he helped me realize that I needed to keep pushing myself toward better nutrition. Then, with the conference calls with Mark Briggs and Missy Costello, it really got me thinking about how important nutrition is to achieving my overall goals. They were a big help. And although I’m still struggling at times, I can hear them giving me encouragement to make the right choices.

I think it was Jen who asked us all what our goals were for the challenge. I put mine out there to do 100 consecutive push-ups (at the time I could do about 50). I was going to start in about a month, but 2 weeks later, Dale (coachazgremlin) said he was ready to start the 100 push-up challenge so it meant that I had to start, too. I have to admit, I was nervous about it. Posting my results each day for everyone to see, whether I was doing good or bad as I went through the weeks of training scared me. I was afraid about failing. But Dale kept me going and we pushed each other along. In the end, I was able to do 98 consecutive pushups. I just couldn’t get 2 more. I was having too much shoulder pain to continue the work so I had to quit there. Still a good accomplishment I thought. I learned that it was OK to be scared. You push through, do your best. And even if you don’t meet your goals completely, you may just do more than you had ever thought you could.

Throughout the challenge, I was looking for additional DVD for Yoga to put into my schedule. So I asked for help with suggestions. Sandy (sandy429) came back with recommendations almost instantly. I noticed that she did yoga nearly every single day, and looking at the pictures of her handstands on her profile, I could tell she knew what she was talking about. Throughout the challenge when someone would ask a question, Sandy and I would respond with nearly identical answers. She also works out every single day as I try to. I’m really lucky that I had the chance to meet her on this challenge. She motivates me on those days where struggle to push play.

One of my goals now is to increase the number of pull-ups I can do. I’m somewhere in the low teens (12-14). When I hear of Joel (biffman) doing pull-ups with a 20 pound weight vest and Dave (bronze508) increasing his reps from 15 to 20, it really gives me the encouragement that I can get better and stronger and to challenge myself to do more.

I finished my first round of my P90X/Insanity hybrid during the challenge. Now my goal for the rest of the challenge was to increase size in my arms and chest. I was not getting this done with the hybrid workout, so I needed something different. Valerie (dimndntheruf1) had mentioned that she was doing a P90X Muscle Blast routine. Muscle Blast is doing the two P90X resistance workouts twice a week. I modified the workout she posted a little and have been doing this for the past 60 days. I’ve started to see increases in my weights, reps and size. So this has been really helpful. Valerie was the October 2009 Million Dollar Body winner. She knows how to Bring It!

Around January 20th during the challenge (I wrote down the date), it hit me... workouts were no longer a chore. I look forward to them every morning and if I miss a morning, I am worried all day that I will miss it later in the day. It’s become a natural part of my morning and my new lifestyle.

Once March came around and we were into our fourth month of the challenge, getting motivated to workout became a little challenging for me. I don’t know if it was the daylight savings change, spring in the air, little league baseball practice most evenings or what. But what got me through those few weeks was the constant motivation I got from the Fitness Challenge message board, Chris Bush ‘s accountability chart and my posted goal of working out every single day during the challenge.

The Results…
I ended up with over 150 consecutive workouts. I know I’ll miss some coming up. But I also know I’m going to feel better the more I work out and the more I put into those workouts. Intensity is one of the keys. During the challenge, I liked to post my accountability early so that if someone was struggling to get going that day, they could log on and see that ‘davejohel’ was already done, or currently in the ‘supergym’, so they had better get going too.

During the past five months, I’ve had about 10 people ask my advice on one topic or another, for weight loss, finding your abs, gaining muscle or staying motivation. It feels great to be able to share my success (and my failures) so that they can also learn and improve their health, body image and self confidence.

I made not have had dramatic gains physically during the Holiday Challenge, but I do feel that I had gains mentally and emotionally on my fitness journey. I look forward to ‘Pushing Play’ and encouraging others to do the same. I’ve really enjoyed the Challenge and know that it, and the members who contributed to it, made a big difference in my life and I hope I have in theirs.

Day 1 (10/20/08)
Goal: Lose weight and get in shape Day 375 - Fitness Challenge start (11/3/09)
Goal: Gain chest and arm size (strength) Day 520 - Fitness Challenge end (3/31/10)
Weight 184 170.5 172.5
Waist NA 32.5 32.5
Chest NA 38.5 39
Biceps NA 14.25 14.75
Pullups 8 12 14
Pushups 45 50 70 (max=98)
Body Fat % NA 13.4% 9.6%

Holiday Fitness Challenge between Insanity and Holiday Challenge Photos:

Just Jump

Every time I try something new or think about doing something new, I get that uneasy feeling inside. Ya know that, I'm not sure if I can do this or not? What if I fail feeling? For example the first time I moved to Nashville I was scared to death! Seriously! I was a small town girl who was completely clueless how to drive on the interstate, didn't have a flipping clue how to use a GPS, and had no idea where to even begin! I'm telling you when we first got there I wanted my hubby to drive me everywhere and at times just wanted to lock myself inside of my house! Crazy right? And let me tell ya the first time I decided to "just jump" in my car and go for it, everything that could go wrong did go wrong! The rain was pouring down, I was screaming at my GPS, "you stupid you know what", and got lost about three times, before I started to get the hang of what the hell she(GPS) was saying LOL! From that point on it just got easier and easier. I realize most people wouldn't feel the way I did, but for me that was a life altering experience. I realized I could do something I didn't think I could! I have a million experiences like that, as I'm sure most of you do as well. So for me with each and every one, I'm learning that sometimes you need to "just jump"!

Yes I realize that its good to think before you do something, but sometimes thinking gets in the way of just doing and you end up missing out on everything. Seems the more I think about something, the more I just end up talking myself out of it. If we always knew how something would go, then it wouldn't be near as scary or fun. Its the not knowing that you just have to go with sometimes and say "what the heck I'm gonna do this"! I always seem to find a little bit more about who I am and what I'm made of when I just jump and go for it. Sure sometimes I fail and run into regrets, but honestly even the regrets have lead me to a better me. So these days if there is something I really want to try, I do everything in my power to talk myself in to it. Life isn't waiting on me, so why would I want to miss out on it?

Exercise might not be jumping out of a plane, but for some of us just the thought of putting running shoes on and going for a run seems impossible! Exercise can be as scary as bungee jumping to some of us and stop us in our tracks every time! If you haven't worked out in ten years, one might think its too late now to even begin. You might think you can't do anything, so you end up doing nothing. Now I don't know about you, but that is one regret I don't want to feel. I mean ask yourself honestly, do you like the feeling of thinking you can't exercise? How does it feel to believe you are not capable of walking 3 miles or running one? Do you feel good about yourself when you think you couldn't do a set of weights even if you tried? How does it make you feel when at any time in your life you come across some obstacle or hurdle and the first thought you feel is "I can't, I can't, I can't"??? I don't know about you, but anytime I'm faced with something I think I can't do, I automatically feel regret or feel like a failure. My confidence level goes down and I get overwhelmed with doubt. That's why for me, if there is something I find important enough to want to try, I just jump and see what happens!

I find that the trying is better than the not trying. For example I'm NOT a runner, but I just signed up to be a "Girls on the Run" coach, so I can run a 5K in May. This is something I've NEVER done. At first I thought there was no way I'd be able to run this far, but yet with each and every practice and each and every prayer...I'm getting better all the time! Funny how something so small can seem so big, but for me this is one thing I've been nervous about. Or signing up to be a Turbo Kick instructor when I've never lead an exercise class in my life? I'm still shaking and scared to death, but I'm working my ass off every day to figure this out and start teaching. I still don't know how I'll do, but damned if I'm gonna stop. I'm just jumping in head first and hoping to come out on top in the end. Sure I might fail, might make a complete idiot out of myself in front of a group of people, might forget the steps...blah blah blah the mights just keep adding up, but I'm feeling stronger every day and that's what keeps me going!

So maybe you are one of those people who haven't worked out in years, but you are getting so sick of always telling yourself you could never do an hour of weights, or ever run a 5k, or swim 50 laps in a pool,...whatever negative thoughts about what you can't do could be erased with just beginning! Meaning taking baby steps to whatever it is you are sure you would never be able to do. Maybe you want to run a marathon, but haven't exercised in 10 years. Well maybe now is the time to just walk 1 mile today and maybe 2 miles tomorrow. Then heck maybe next week you could walk for 15 seconds and then run for 15 seconds and so on. But if you don't start somewhere, you'll just end up going nowhere. Is that really what you want to keep doing with your life, your health, and your body? Is that really a feeling you enjoy feeling? If it is then just continue living the way you are living, but if its not then maybe its time for you to "just jump"!

So I challenge you this week to do ONE thing you've always wanted to do! Or something you think you could NEVER do. Just a small step in the direction of something you think you CAN'T do! If its swimming 50 laps in the pool, maybe nows the time to at least swim 10 laps and see where you go from there! Just do something that will lead you in the direction of whatever it is you're afraid of and go ahead and dive in head first and see what happens! You might be faced with obstacles...people might judge you, cut you down, you might worry what you look like, that little voice in your head will try to talk you out of it, it might go against the way you live now, and on and on! There just might be a million reasons telling you that YOU CAN'T do this, but I want you to go ahead and do it ANYWAYS!

Beachbody Coach Jen Mangum
www.beachbodycoach.com/jenmangum
beachbodyjen@yahoo.com
970-209-4053
http://jenmangum.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/jenmangum

I know its tough, if it was easy everybody would do it!

I do my very best to never feel as though I've been through more than somebody else or vice versa. Pain is pain. Sure there are worse kinds of pain and others clearly have gone through more than most of us could ever want to go through. I have things I've gone through that have hurt me deeply and you have things you've gone through that I've been lucky enough to not have gone through and hopefully never will go through. In return I hope you don't have to experience some of my pains. But nothing makes me more crazy than the folks that walk around pissed off at the planet and everyone around them and blame everyone for their probs. Its always someone elses fault. Come on you've met someone that no matter how many times you try to help them, they always have a million excuses as to why they CAN'T do something or how its someone elses fault that their life sucks!? Or how about this band-aid society we live in? There is a medication for every flippin problem out there. Anymore you don't even have to work through the pain, you can pop a pill and waalaa all better! Until of course the side effects kick in, but lucky you, you can pop a pill for that prob too. And on and on and on, its never freakin ending!

Did you know that a 30 minute walk has the same effects as Prozac without the side effects? Drinking water can cure a headache just as easy as a Tylenol? Coconut oil can get your thyroid functioning again just as well, if not better then the liver killing thyroid meds can? Deep breathing can help anxiety? This list goes on and on at what we can do ourselves to help our pain, depression, anger, weight problems, high cholesterol...and actually come out better in the end for it. Unlike a drug that will leave you worse off then when you started. But of course that would be way to hard, its so much easier to just stay mad and blame and pop a pill? Right? I mean its too much work to pick ourselves up and do all we can to feel good and better? If a pill has all the answers, why not just do that? I mean your life gets so much better right, when you just put a band-aid on it, and pretend its not there? That makes everything go away? I mean its way too hard to workout and eat right these days, we need a fast fix, no matter what the end result is, and who the hell cares if its killing us and we wake up feeling like crap everyday? Who wants to workout? Isn't it just easier to be mad, fat, drugged up, feel like hell, hate everyone, blame everyone, lay around, and just hate life? Apparently it is easier. After all if taking care of yourself were easier than everybody would do it, but that's not the case.

I know, I know life gets in the way. Things are hard. I don't understand, blah, blah blah...! I know! Trust me, I know. I have days where the thought of lifting a weight makes me wanna vomit! I have times where an eggnog shake just sounds so much better than anything else on the planet! I have times where my blood sugar spikes so high I feel like I'm gonna just curl up a die, but damn I still want to have that piece of pizza! I have days where I have so much to do that there can't possibly be time to take care of me! I'll say it again...if taking care of ourselves was easy, we'd all be doing it! That's why its so easy to fall in to that trap of looking for quick fixes, pills, comfort foods, depression, anger, blame, hate, loss, hopelessness...! Little do we realize just how much work it takes to feel all those things and actually how little work it takes to eat right. But most of us don't see it that way. Most of us look at exercise and eating clean as WORK! And WORK means pain and stress. Though you are already in pain and full of stress now, who wants to work to get better? This trap will suck each of us in at one time or another in our lives. This trap will lead us to think we need a pill, need to blame, need to eat...whatever! We all will fall into this trap! And it does take WORK to get out of it, but that work isn't near as hard as we all think it is. In fact that work can make life worth living. I don't know about you, but I don't want to live a life where there is actually no living involved. Just sitting around dying does not sound like fun to me. I'm READY and willing to do some WORK!

I could go on and on about how much easier life is for me with clean eating and exercise as part of my day to day! I get more done now than I ever have. I feel good! Sure I get stressed and depressed just like anybody, but I get through it so much easier than I ever used too. I don't need to go to the doctor for every ailment I have and I don't turn to pills to lift me up. Exercise and eating right could kick the crap out of Prozac any day! Taking a few deep breaths now and then can sure bring down the anxiety I feel at times. Eating a healthy breakfast gives me the energy I need to workout and continue on with the rest of my day! Yoga tops anything vicodin could do for my sore muscles. Plus I get to remain focused and can be a mom and wife instead of a space case. Is it always easy to take care of me? NO! Buts it a helluva lot easier than walking around dying instead of living! I'll take exercise any day over laying around in my house hating this world and those around me. Cause every time I get out and take in that fresh air and work myself to my limits, I feel like I can fly. I don't need to overdose on vicodin to fly! I don't need a crispy cream to help me feel better cause someone who did me wrong! So all in all eating right and working out can and will start to feel like FUN and not work! You should try it sometime....

Beachbody Coach Jen Mangum
www.beachbodycoach.com/jenmangum
http://jenmangum.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/jenmangum
beachbodyjen@yahoo.com

Confidence takes time, but you've gotta have it!

You are not cocky, you are confident! There is a big difference, but I think sometimes people don't always see it that way. I think sometimes if we feel confident in ourselves and our strengths, it can make us feel like we are doing something wrong. Why? I think because when you stand up for what you believe, think, want in life, do what you are good at, and share with the world that you are good at it, others tend to think you are being cocky! This makes me crazy. I've seen way too many times someone who is REALLY good at what they do and knows who they are, give up because of what others think or say! You know the black crab story? Well I think we live and breathe that kind of situation every day!!

I mentioned awhile back about paying attention to where and who you spend your time with. This kind of goes along with your confidence. If you spend your time with someone always trying to bring you down and say hurtful things like "you're cocky" then you have a tendency to hide yourself and not be who you really are. I think its human nature for us to want others to like us and be our friends, even if it means we are only 1/2 way who we really are! But man the world is so missing out on all that you are capable of and that's a shame!

You know that I always link everything to health and fitness LOL! So of course that's where I'm going with all of this. I know with every inch of my being that I was meant to help not only myself, but others do their very best at being healthy, happy, and fit. I thrive on it. I wake up everyday and think "what can I do better today, not only for myself, but for someone else?" Sure I make mistakes and I'm not always good at certain things and I've hit a thousand walls, but I'm CONFIDENT in what I'm doing and what I'm trying to help others do. I also no longer feel shame in taking care of myself and wanting to look good. I don't feel like I should apologize cause I like to dress up and take care of myself. For years I actually felt guilty about this because of the comments I would get from others and think I needed to TONE me down! Whatever! I know this isn't about vanity or being cocky, this is about believing in who I am and what my purpose in life is. I wear my heart on my sleeve and a smile on my face 95% of the time and I no longer feel bad about that. I really am that happy and I really am that confident in who and what I'm going to be and who I am now. And you should be the same way!

We've all got something special, something nobody else has! We all have more strength inside of us then we even realize. But to get to that something special you have to feel GOOD! You have too! When I say that I mean you have to feel good on the inside and on the outside. You've got to be comfortable with who you are in order to really see all that you have to offer this world! That's where health and fitness fit in to all of this! I'm telling you, if don't take care of yourself, then you won't have confidence! The two go hand in hand! I'm confident in saying that if you are not eating right and exercising, then you won't feel as confident about anything! Why? Because no matter what you might say, you don't feel good! You don't! Come on guys when you eat crap all day long, lay around and do nothing, you don't FEEL GOOD! I'm not talking about losing weight here either! Again this isn't a vanity thing or looking awesome in a pair of blue jeans, although that does make you feel good, its about BEING HEALTHY! Its about getting up everyday and doing something that is GOOD for YOU! Every time you do this, you will build up your confidence. EVERY TIME! And the more confidence you have, the more you are gonna wanna take care of yourself, and the more you are gonna wanna do with your LIFE! YOU WILL! If you notice yourself cutting down every person who SEEMS to have more than you or SEEMS to have a swagger you consider cocky, ask yourself this...Could I being feeling this way because I want to feel that confident, I want that damn swagger, I want to be that sure...?? Sometimes when we vent out at someone or hate them, we are actually talking to ourselves. Its not their fault they have more confidence or direction than you do, its YOURS! I'm not trying to sound mean saying that either, I'm just trying to make you realize the importance of taking care of yourself!

So for today I challenge you to do some form of exercise, to eat clean, and to start believing in that person you see in the mirror. Ask yourself what you are good at? What do YOU like? What dreams do you have? And take at least 3 STEPS every day to reach those goals and become that person you want to be. If you aren't growing, then you are NOT going anywhere! We always have to strive to be more than we are. The minute we get comfortable and settle, is when we begin to give up and let ourselves go! Take care of YOU! You are THAT IMPORTANT TO THIS WORLD! Believe it!

My friend Judy reminded me and sent me this WONDERFUL quote! So I thought I'd add it to this blog!

“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. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Marianne Williamson

Beachbody Coach Jen Mangum
www.beachbodycoach.com/jenmangum
www.facebook.com/jenmangum
www.twitter.com/jenmangum
http://jenmangum.blogspot.com
beachbodyjen@yahoo.com

BE A FRIEND!

I don't know about you, but at the end of everyday its nice to know who my real friends are! I hate to admit it, but I don't think I've always been a good friend. Ugh when I think back on some of my past friendships and the crap I did and said, I want to kick my own butt! Why do we hurt the people we love? I know I have and its not something I'm proud of. High school was hell! Gosh girls can be mean and I know without a doubt I was at times. Its taken me a long time to realize how important real friendships are and how important it is to be grateful, thankful, loyal, honest, and to just be a good friend!

Having said that, I also feel like its important to pay attention to who and where we spend our time. Sometimes friendships just don't last forever and sometimes that's a good thing. As much as I love and will always some of the friends I've made in my life, I know now that I can't spend toooooo much time with them and its best for me to love them from a distance. I believe firmly in the quote "You are who your friends are"! I think without even noticing it, we are kinda like chameleons and tend to become like each other when we are together all the time. I know at times in the past I've taken on bad habits, just because that's what some of my friends did. Weak maybe, but sometimes I don't think I even noticed I was doing it. I've also noticed how when I spend time with people who are far smarter, more talented, more focused, more driven, more together...that I push myself more and work harder at becoming more like them or at the very least learning from them! So I to can take on their GOOD habits! I've watched the negativity just come pouring out of me when I surround myself with negative people! Then I've watched my confidence and attitude change when I'm around people who are positive and happy! They just bring out a better me and I like that ME a helluva a lot better!

Staying fit and healthy has become a part of my life. I want to learn more and more about it every day and I want to become more fit and more healthy than ever! My goals and dreams are a thousand miles long! But time flies by and so I know for me I've got to make the most of every moment. I know the energy and positivity I want to offer my friends and family. I want to be that person that makes them feel good about themselves and offers them hope and maybe just maybe a little guidance. That's who I want to be. I want to be that friend they can count on, believe in, trust in, and know that I have their back. But in return I want them to be that kind of friend as well. I want to take care of myself and be someone to look up to, not look down on. I know that I need those kinds of friends too. Someone who takes care of themselves and is driven to become better and better. So for me I find it much more healthy to spend the majority of my time with people who have goals, dreams, drive, success, hope, and want to become healthier and happier all the time. Then to spend my time with people who hate everyone, are bitter, angry, unhealthy, lazy, unfocused, moody, and have no desire to better themselves or their lives. When I'm around these kinds of people it brings me down and I from time to time will allow their negativity to suck the life right out of me. So like I said "You are who your friends are" and you need to pay close attention to who and where you spend your time. Be the kind of friend you want them to be and hang out with people you look up to and can learn from. Life happens and bad things are gonna happen. People in your life are gonna get hurt and have things that make them sad, and it will happen to you too. You need to be there for them through good and bad! But if there is more bad then good and it becomes a nasty habit of just always being a negative and angry person, than that negativity will wear off on you! That's when you need to decide how much of your time you give them!

I know that I'm healthier and happier because I have made so many great friends in the world of fitness and health! These people have changed me and I've grown so much from them! I'm so blessed to have them in my life and I only hope I can offer them the same in return. These kinds of friends help me want to get up every day and keep working on ME! They make me want to eat better, exercise harder, and be a positive person and not a negative one! I shine and grow in these kinds of friendships! So at the end of everyday I only hope that I continue to become that kind of friend and someone that lifts you up and not brings you down. Hopefully you will be that kind of friend to me too! A solid and strong friendship can be life changing. So be a good friend and find good friends! :) Much love...The photo above is of one my closest friends! Miss Brandee Nielsen! I admire her, love her, learn from her, have grown from her, and I'm so blessed to have her as my friend. Love ya girl! You have forever made my life better! :)

Beachbody Coach Jen Mangum
www.beachbodycoach.com/jenmangum
http://jenmangum.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/jenmangum
beachbodyjen@yahoo.com
www.twitter.com/jenmangum

Perfectly Flawed! Be disciplined , but live a little too!

"I've done everything right, I've been completely perfect, and nothing is going my way or going right! What the hell!?" I hear this statement at least 3 times or more a month and it always breaks my heart. We live in such a "I WANT IT RIGHT NOW" world these days, that I think for ALL OF US, if we don't see results right freakin' away, we flip out! On top of that so many of us begin a diet or fitness program and expect all of our flaws and problems to melt away that week. We become so perfect that it becomes this huge stress on us, then suddenly we begin to hate trying to be so perfect, that we fail and quit! We think screw being so perfect, I'll just be fat, unhealthy, and happy! Its just soooooo much easier! I just can't be perfect!!!! Yet we walk around wondering why we still aren't happy?

I want it all. Perfect skin, perfect body, perfect teeth, perfect brain, perfect hair, perfect nails....yadayada!!! I am HUMAN! And perfection just seems so perfect right? For a long time my flaws mattered more to me than what I was doing right. I went so long trying to NEVER make a mistake, that I think I ended up making more mistakes than one person ever needs to make! I used to make diet and exercise this thing I HAD TO DO in order to be perfect or to ever come close to being perfect! I'd look in the mirror at my less than perfect skin, my terrible stretch marks from having two kids, scars from past surgeries, my out of control blood sugars, injecting needles of insulin into my body on a daily basis, and UGH just be so disappointed with everything about myself, that I'd just quit! That would lead to NOT taking care of myself at all. Not monitoring my blood sugars, not giving a crap what I ate, not working out, not monitoring my meds, blah blah blah I just let it all go! Boy didn't that get me far? I mean nothing better than walking around pissed off all the time and hating yourself. Its like a revolving door. Once you start one BAD habit, ten more seem to follow! Yet even though taking such bad care of myself made me feel terrible, it just always seemed even more terrible than taking care of myself and always have to be perfect. I always thought that once you start a diet and exercise program you have to follow it perfectly and never have any fun again! Just eat right and exercise and never screw up!

It wasn't until I changed my way of thinking and seeing myself as flawed, but so what, that I really started feeling better about me. It wasn't until I dedicated my life to living right, yet allowing myself some freedom now and then, that I actually started enjoying working out and eating right! And it took me a long ass time to realize that things take time. We are all a work in progress. I actually LOVE to workout now. I mean I look forward to it every day, but I'm also ok with the fact that every now and then there might be a day I can't workout! Its just gonna happen! And if I beat myself up over every time I can't workout, then the STRESS alone is gonna add 5 lbs to my body that week! Seriously folks, stress is a major problem for gaining weight! I also do my very best to eat right 7 days a week! BUT every now and then I'm gonna have a cheeseburger and I'm not gonna go home and hate myself for the rest of the month for being human! I'm not going to starve myself and hate my diet anymore, because I know it only leads to more weight gain. I've actually lost more weight by letting myself go now and then, then I ever did when I ate like a saint! I'm not perfect! I also don't look in the mirror anymore and hate my stretch marks. For Godsakes those marks are from my babies! My life changers, the best thing in the world, my two favorite people, everything to me scars, that came from my children! I don't need perfect skin, but I sure the heck need those two kiddos! And every now and then I'm gonna let my hair down and go have some drinks with the girls or my hubby and I'm gonna have a dang good time!!! Sure I might overindulge more than I need toAo, but I know dang good and well that come the next day I'm back on track and working my butt off!! I know I will be, why because I love taking care of myself now!! I love it!

Consistency is the key! No you can't eat bad 7 days a week, not exercise, drink alcohol every night, soak up in your stress, smoke cigarettes, and treat yourself bad day in and day out and expect to see results! You won't see any! And you'll just continue to walk around mad at the world every day! BUT if you give 95% of yourself to taking care of yourself and allow yourself 5% to chill and over indulge now and then, you'll get results! Trust me, you'll get results! If PAIN becomes a factor in the way we eat and workout, then we will always look at taking care of ourselves as painful! It shouldn't be painful to feel good! You've got to take the pain factor out. You've got to find your soul mate workout(you know the one you will really do and enjoy), you've got to eat healthy foods without starving yourself and allowing yourself some of your favorites now and then, and you've got to let your hair down and have some fun now and then! There is nothing wrong with being perfectly flawed! So don't make this months goals about striving for perfection! Make your goals and your day to day living about living a healthy and happy life, but accepting the fact that you are human! And that its OK to be human :)Discipline is so very important and you've got to have it. You've got to be focused and driven to lose weight and have great health. You just can't allow yourself to get so caught up in losing every last pound and being so healthy you are a rock wall of perfection, yet you can't remember the last time you smiled, that you end up hating taking care of yourself.

I'm flawed! I'll always be flawed. I'll always have things about myself I wish I could change or see some girl with the perfect body I want! I'll also continue to make stupid mistakes, but with every year, I seem to be finally learning from them, so thats gotta count for something right? LOL! I know who I am and what I want out of myself and I work hard to continue to grow and become who I know I can be. I have a long way to go, but with consistency on my side and my determination and love for my health, its a nice easy going ride that I enjoy. I don't stress anymore about being perfect and kick myself every time I slip a little! And neither should you. So make a list of all the things you want, changes you want to see in your body and health, exercises you know you will do, foods that are good for you that you know you will eat, plan out your workouts and your meals, but also plan in some fun...(you know a girls night out, date night with the hubby, birthday party, school gathering),...so you know that on THAT ONE DAY, you will throw stress out the window and just enjoy yourself, because starting the next day you are back to your consistent, steady, and fun pace! Be human and be good to yourself. Afterall if you are aren't good to you, why should anybody else be? There is nothing wrong with loving who you are and being confident in yourself to know that with a little time and effort you will feel as close to perfect as you've ever felt! And those little added flaws just make you who you are and add so much character! So please do all you can to stay perfectly flawed :)

Beachbody Coach Jen Mangum
www.beachbodycoach.com/jenmangum
www.facebook.com/jenmangum
beachbodyjen@yahoo.com
http://jenmangum.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/jenmangum
970-209-4053

Give 5 Minutes To Gratitude!

Waking up is hard to do. That alarm goes off and most of us hit the snooze and lay there and think "ugh I do not want to get up". Lord knows I have several mornings a week that I'd much rather just lay there and sleep the day away. Just the thought of the normal day to day can seem overwhelming. So here lately I've been changing things up a bit and I must say its working!

I'm an audio tape nut! I've become totally addicted to listening to audios tapes of all kinds. Everything from self development, to books on tape, and educational stuff. I just love them and though I may not like every single one I listen too, it seems I always learn at least one new thing! I love that I can put my ipod on and go for a walk, clean the house, work...and listen to something that always seems to benefit me! Like here lately I've been listening to some great stuff on feeling grateful! WOW! Though I've always thought of myself as a grateful person and someone who feels so blessed to live the life that I do, I didn't realize what actually sitting down and thinking about it could do for my soul!

I got this idea from listening to an audio tape about how to wake up each day. Like spending the first 5 minutes of your morning laying there in bed and thinking about all the things you are grateful for, things you want to do in your life, goals you have, prayers, what matters most to you, people you love,...and anything else in your life that makes you feel good, blessed, and grateful. Also while doing this taking deep breaths in and out. You will be amazed at what that deep breathing will do for you. Its like a cup of coffee! Instant energy and alertness. The cool thing is this all only takes 5 min! You have 5 min! Heck that will get you to the next buzzing of your alarm! You should try it. Just wake up tomorrow morning and think of everything that makes you FEEL GOOD! Not the negative crap, toss that out. Turn your mind and heart on the things you love, those that love you, the good in your life, the good you want to create in your life, who and where you want to be, goals....anything and everything that makes you feel good. Maybe its thinking about spending a week on the beach because thats your favorite place to be, or the beautiful smile your children have, that feeling you get when your kids, spouse, friends...tell you they love you, the last time you laughed so hard you cried, christmas morning, your goals that you want to see actually happen...ANYTHING that just makes you feel good! I'm telling you it will help you start out your whole day better. Suddenly you will see things differently. Heck it may even make you want to get up and REALLY take care of yourself all day. You might even workout for a good 30 min or call someone you love for just a quick "I love you connection." I'm telling you guys the way you start your day, can really help you end your day on a positive note.

Things are always gonna come up. We all have things that we hurdle over day in and day out. We each have 24 hrs in a day and we each choose how we spend those 24 hrs. Just take 5 min of your day and be grateful. Just blessed and grateful. I'm sure you have so many things to be sad and down about. I get it, those bad things are there for all of us. Yet I don't care who you are, you have something that makes you smile, something that makes you feel good, and something that you love! You know you do! So give 5 min of your morning to it every day and just see if you don't feel a wee bit better! I challenge you for the next month to wake up grateful for 5 min every day! Come on how hard can it be!?

Like I said above I believe if you start your day out on the right foot, chances are you might have a lot more RIGHT things happen to you each day. Feeling thankful is an amazing feeling and I bet you might just find even more to be thankful for that you didn't even realize you were thankful for! Give it try! What do you have to lose? I mean really an extra smile today might lead to 10 more tomorrow...how bad can that be? Here is a great list of things to be grateful for that I love by Grant Cardone...

I Wake Up Today Grateful
I wake up today grateful to be alive and grateful to have this one day that lies ahead of me.
I wake up today grateful to have opportunities and commit myself to making the most of them.
I wake up today grateful to be able to work and will do everything possible to get results today.
I wake up grateful for my mental capabilities and will use my mind to solve problems.
I wake up today grateful for problems and will put attention on solving them, not causing them.
I wake up today grateful for my attitude and will use it to make others smile and commit to spreading good news, not bad news.
I wake up today grateful for the power of choice and use that power to choose how I act today.
I wake up today, grateful for even being grateful. Pass this on to others- It might make someone grateful!~Grant Cardone


Thanks guys! I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your week! I'm so grateful to be able to share my days and life with all of you! Thanks! Jen

Beachbody Coach Jen Mangum
www.beachbodycoach.com/jenmangum
beachbodyjen@yahoo.com
970-209-4053
www.facebook.com/jenmangum
www.twitter.com/jenmangum
http://jenmangum.blogspot.com

Run away from FAKE SUGARS!!! Think you are addicted, they are like a drug?

I'll have a diet coke, sugar-free ice cream, sugar-free yogurt, sugar free candy,...and everything else thats diet or sugar free! Its gotta be good for me right? I mean if it has the words sugar free and diet, how bad can it be? Afterall its sugar and fat that are making us fat right? Hmmmmm? I'm not so sure! I know others out there might disagree with me, but oh well this is my blog and I can say what I wanna :) LOL! Because I have reasons to believe that all that sugar free and fat free crap are poisoning are bodies!

I've never been a pop drinker. Thank God! I'm just not crazy about it, so I honestly can't relate to folks who have a pop or diet pop addiction. I do like an energy drink now and then, but not so much the feeling I get once I'm done drinking them. The headache and stomach ache are just not for me. Or if I have a sugar free yogurt and wonder why I'm even more hungry afterwards? Weird! One would think that having diet pop and sugar free yogurt would be way more healthy than just sitting down and having a bowl of fruit with a whole avacado. I mean the fat in an avacado and all that sugar in the fruit, can't be as good as the diet stuff right?! We live in a world full of diet and fat free stuff, yet we just keep packing on the pounds? If its so good for you, one would think we'd be getting thinner? If you haven't noticed thats not the case.

Considering I'm a type 1 diabetic you would think that I'd be on everything sugar free right? Not so! I can't stand the stuff and know for a fact it makes me sick everytime I have some. I'd rather have honey, stevia, agave nectar, REAL SUGAR, fructose...ANYDAY! People often ask me what I eat and they seem surprised when I tell them that I don't buy anything diet or sugar free. Plus I'm a huge believer in the good for you fats. I have a TON of coconut oil, avacados, eggs, nuts, almond butter...and so on. I keep it real! If its FAKE I'm out! Gods foods, I like to call them. Thats what I eat and so far so good for my health. My diabetes is under control and I feel like a million bucks! The only thing that I drink usually other than water is coffee, but I'm getting a bit excited about all those stevia sweetened drinks coming out. I might have to have one of those now and then. I love GURU for an now and then energy drink and I don't feel sick afterwards! By the way stevia is just a plant! Nothing chemical about it! So thats what works for me and the way I eat.

I haven't been a Beachbody Coach for long but WOW do I have some success stories of folks going off of FAKE CRAP! I won't go into every detail, but I will share this one story that I find awesome! I had a girlfriend buy P90X from me last Sept. Well about a month in she called me and said she wasn't seeing any changes. Nada nothing. She was up everyday working out and eating pretty healthy, but nothing! Hmmmmm? I thought! So I asked her what she was eating. Well on top of all that good for you stuff, she was having about 3 or 4 diet pops a day! On top of that, she was living with nonstop headaches, horrible female issues, and was constantly moody. So I told her to drop the pop. I might as well of asked her to never smile again! LOL! Seriously she was like "no way" I'm not giving up my pop. I thought fine, but I'm telling you, you should try it for like a month. Well two more months went by and she told me that she was loving P90x and the diet, but still wasn't seeing the results she wanted. I asked her about the pop and of course she hadn't given it up. In fact she was having even more because all the exercise was making her thirsty and heaven forbid she replace her fluids with water!!! So once again I begged her to just go one month without it! So I challenged her to give it up on Jan 1st for ONE MONTH! She finally agreed and for about 8 days after the first she hated ME! Seriously she went 8 straight days with a migraine headache and might as well been a drug addict going through withdrawls. She was so sick! But it started getting better and guess what? She weighed herself on Feb 1st and in 1 month she dropped 8 pounds! Now remember the ONLY thing she changed was quitting the diet pop!!! I'm happy to report as of today, she is down 17lbs in TWO MONTHS! She follows P90X and the diet plan, but the ONLY real change she made from that regular schedule was dropping the diet pop. She said she hasn't been able to get to this weight in her entire life!!! I don't know about you, but if I had a diet pop addiction I think I might give ONE MONTH a try without it!!! So if you have one!?? I challenge you today to go 1 MONTH diet and fake sugar free! Think you can do it? If you are struggling to lose weight and feel like you've done all you can and have a diet pop addiction or sugar-free addition cut it out completely! Try stevia and other natural products and just see if it helps you! Now GO... :)

It was important to me to share this story because I think that people out there think they are doing good by their bodies when they eat sugar-free and diet products. After all the success stories I'm experiencing personally from people I'm coaching, I'm firmly convinced these products need to go! We shouldn't be working out so hard and eating right, all to ruin it with the flip of a can! So if you are, I beg you to STOP! Just for a month at least and see! Thanks :)

Until next Monday! Have a wonderful week!

Beachbody Coach Jen Mangum
www.beachbodycoach.com/jenmangum
beachbodyjen@yahoo.com
www.facebook.com/jenmangum

Negativity! Can you go one day without it?

Does it feel good to hate, look down on others, judge, talk crap, be in a bad mood, be angry, be spiteful, resentful, blame, yada yada...? I'm just curious. When you feel all those above feelings, do you feel good? Do you feel accomplished, successful, healthy, rich, happy, confident...? Well as for me, I don't. When I'm feeling down on myself and any one of those above feelings, I just feel like crap. Plus I treat everyone around me like crap. I'm a bad wife, friend, and I don't think I'm a great mom either. UGH! Its def not any fun to feel any of those feelings! So really ask yourself right now if you feel really good when you feel any of those things?

Negativity in my opinion is the worst thing you can allow yourself to feel. Its taken me a long time to pay attention to how I am as a person when I'm feeling negative. So once I started paying more attention to my actions and how I handle things when I'm feeling negative, the more I realized just how miserable I am and just how miserable I am to be around. Its tough in today's world when you can't seem to escape from negativity no matter how hard you try. Plus its even tougher if you spend the majority of your time around negative, angry people. Its easy to just go with the flow and feel what everything and everyone around you is feeling. Its also easy to allow yourself to sink into depression and resentment towards life! Negativity is almost like a drug. Once you start its tough to stop. It can literally take over your life and consume your every thought. I don't know about you, but I just don't want to be hooked on something that sucks the life right out of me!

So what do you do? Well for starters you start tuning into yourself. Meaning start paying attention to your thoughts and watching your actions. Learn YOURSELF inside and out. Know what makes you tick, who pisses you off, what you do and don't like, listen to your words before you say them, listen to your feelings, pay attention to what makes you stressed out...! A lot of times we go around feeling mad and negative and we honestly don't even know why. That's because we don't really know ourselves. Deep down, we don't know WHY we feel the way we do sometimes. So we just go around basically out of control and live life like we are on some kind of roller coaster missing out on everything! When I started paying attention to my thoughts and my feelings, I started realizing that I had control over them. By thinking about them and listening to them, they weren't able to control me. Now when I feel anger or negativity and I pay attention to that, I can literally turn my thoughts around. I can stop myself from saying stupid crap, being mean, hateful, ugly, rude, negative...! I can stop myself! I can take something negative and just for the helluva of it, say something NICE, positive, focused, helpful...and talk myself out of getting down and out.

I know what you are thinking? This is just another post on the power of positive thinking? Well you are damn right! Positive thinking is AMAZING! We can't change the world or the people around us. How many times have you tried to change someone with force, control, manipulation, cut downs,...and wondered why the hell am I not getting anywhere? Yet have you ever tried just saying kind things, no matter what someone else might be saying? Have you ever tried just putting on a smile, telling yourself I got this, who cares what they think, I feel good, I'm happy, I'm blessed...blah blah! Just kept repeating over and over to yourself or others positive things? Try it. It works for me. Plus I'm telling you when you respond with something positive to somebody shouting out negatives, most the time they shut up, get pissed off and walk away, or just simply disagree with you. Or heck maybe by talking positive to them, you can help them look at their situation differently and hell you might ever make them feel good When you respond in a positive way you feel better and maybe just maybe you'll make someone else feel better, which is just another added bonus FOR YOU. Trust me, you will. Try it!

Get out a piece of paper and just write down all the things you are happy about, things you have been blessed with, what you like about YOU...! Do it! We take gratitude for granted. We all do. Being grateful is the start to feeling positive. So make a list and make a list every day if you have to, until you start your day off with a different attitude. A positive one. Then SMILE! Every time you see someone, SMILE! I don't care if they flip you off and give you a go to hell look. Just SMILE! And after you smile try FOR ONE DAY saying ONE nice thing about that person to that person. Just try it. They might disagree, might say thank you, might say whatever....WHATEVER, just try it :) I'm telling you it will make YOU FEEL BETTER!

You know I have to bring diet and exercise in to this as well LOL! Hey its my job :) How many of us look at eating right and exercise as a NEGATIVE? Ugh I don't want to exercise, yuck I hate vegetables....and on and on! So for ONE DAY try telling yourself things like "man I feel good when I workout, mmmmmmmmmmmm that grilled chicken wasn't half bad, my ass is getting hotter with everyday LOL....TRY IT! :) Hey maybe at first it might feel like you're lying to yourself about how you feel about exercise or eating right, but all you are doing is training your brain to start rethinking its thinking. Its not lying! You are simply programming yourself to look at something positive instead of looking at it negatively. If you do this everyday, you will start to believe it! Trust me. Pretty soon those positive thoughts you are feeding yourself day in and day out become reality.

So I challenge you for 7 days to toss out negativity. Every time you are about to say something mean or hateful replace it with a kind word or something positive. Every time you want to turn on someone, cut them down, just say something nice and walk away. For 7 days pay attention to everyone around you. How they talk and how they act. Sit back and observe and observe yourself as well. At the end of every day take mental notes on if you felt any better, had more energy, just felt lighter, or enjoyed life just a little more. Put only good for you things into your mouth, just like only good for you things will be spoken out of your mouth and see if you feel better? Do something active everyday and brag to yourself how much you love it! Look at the mountains, trees, river,....everything! Pay attention. Beauty is all around you. Don't just walk by it! Treat yourself like a precious gem and try your very best to treat others the same. Take care of yourself, eat right, get some physical activity in, listen to your thoughts, pay attention to your feelings....for 7 DAYS! Go....Good luck :)

Beachbody Coach Jen
www.beachbodycoach.com/jenmangum
www.facebook.com/jenmangum
beachbodyjen@yahoo.com
970-209-4053

JustJen's All About Health Blog: JustJen Video Blog! Ask me anything!

JustJen's All About Health Blog: JustJen Video Blog! Ask me anything!

JustJen Video Blog! Ask me anything!

JustJen's All About Health Blog! MONDAYS!! Love 'em or hate 'em?

Monday morning madness! Aren't Mondays fun? How many of us have said this line of crap before? I'm starting over on Monday? Its no wonder we all hate Mondays. We've turned this day into this big significant day! We put everything off til Monday...from changing our lives, to eating right, to getting work done, to getting caught up, to learning something new...blah blah blah! It all begins on Monday! Oh but wait how many of us have failed on Wednesday and instead of starting over on Thursday, we simply say, "Aw hell I'll start over on Monday" so we destroy our body an extra 4 days, all because we messed up ONE DAY? I'm raising my hand right now!!! Seriously is this the pattern of death or what? Trust me folks, this is ME! I do this crap too!? What? WHY? So Mondays...love 'em or hate 'em?

I can tell you that Mondays for me used to be the day I hated the most. I've always looked at Mondays as the start over kind of day. Man has that screwed me up a million times. Sometimes looking back I think, DUH JEN!, why oh why did you always use Mondays as your excuse for starting anything? It wasn't until I realized that there shouldn't be a CERTAIN day to start over!!! When you fall, the key is getting RIGHT back up! Not five days later! This sad but true pattern we all get stuck in, does nothing but harm any progress we might make. Its no different then News Years Resolutions. THE BIG DAY! The day I'll CHANGE! The day I'll be BETTER! WTF? And 90% of us fail!? Right? We do! We fall off the wagon and we stay down until next years resolution or next Monday! And yet we wonder why we are never seeing results, never getting anywhere, never seening any big change, never getting better...? Living this way causes us to give up! It does. When we wait for change, the change never happens! If you don't get out of this pattern, you will continue to walk through a never ending revolving door! Don't do that!

So what do you do? Well you take Mondays off your list FIRST! Monday is now just as important as Tuesday or Sunday! And stop waiting til New Years to come. In fact don't even make a resolution! CHANGE NOW! TODAY! THIS SECOND! Not next week, not next Monday, not next year...RIGHT NOW! Now does that mean you change everything in a matter of seconds? NO! That's where we all screw up. We get going, we go all out, we do everything right, we slip up once, ....BAM we stop! Then we start over again sometime next week. Like Monday! BABY STEPS! Start taking your life one day at a time. TODAY is what matters! Today is what will make tomorrow better, if you live it right. But if you mess up today, then get up and do it right tomorrow, no matter what day tomorrow is! The longer you stay down, the harder it will be to get up. If you keep staying down and you keep living with all the things you want to change, you will NEVER change those things. You'll stay miserable, you'll stay over weight, you'll continue to eat bad, you'll hate anybody that looks good, you'll be bitter, mean, cranky...yada yada yada! You know the drill! Been there, done that. Sometimes I still fall into that! UGH! Not near as much though. I'm slowly but surely taking those baby steps and I'm changing into the me I want to be. You can too!

If you don't have a calendar get one! TODAY! Not Monday!! :) On each day of your calendar I want you to write ONE thing you want to do that day that benefits YOU! ONE THING! This # can grow as time goes on, but for now lets just write ONE THING! For example it could be a 30 min walk, 45 min of weights, grilled chicken and salad for dinner with low fat dressing, listening to a motivational CD, reading through a healthy recipe book and planning this weeks meals, writing in a food journal ...SOMETHING GOOD FOR YOU! Write down something you will do that YOU know will benefit you, make you feel better, make you smile just a little more, give you an extra bounce in your step...and do this good for you thing each day. Planning is so huge in helping you follow through. On that calendar also write your goals for each day. Not just Monday. Each day write a goal that you want to reach. It can be the same goal everyday. For example "I want to lose 10 lbs this month, I want to learn how to cook healthier meals this month" Writing down the same goal everyday is fine, in fact it will probably help you reach it faster. You become what you think about! Just get a calendar and slowly but surely start looking at EVERYDAY as an opportunity to improve. EACH AND EVERYDAY! Not just Monday! Change your way of thinking, so each day is as important as the next! Now if Wed. is a complete disaster and everything you said you were going to do, just doesn't happen. Wake up on Thursday and check out that days goals and start again! GET UP AS FAST AS YOU CAN! Don't wait til Monday to start again! Start again as quickly as possible. Do this until it becomes a pattern. I'm telling you it will make life, success, results, ...and everything else easier! Try it!

I said baby steps and I meant that! We don't change over night or get everything we want in a matter of days. Its a process and it takes time. Honestly I don't ever want to be satisfied or feel like a finished product. I always want to get better and work towards a stronger more healthier me. I want to continue learning and growing because I know I have so much learning and growing to do. I just know if I take my time and work on ME a little everyday, I'll slowly but surely continue to see positive results. Things will pay off. I'm tired of waiting for Mondays and New Years resolutions. I want each day to matter for me and each day to be another step in the right direction. No more WAITING for things to change! I'm gonna start changing EVERY DAY! And so should you!

Until next MONDAY :) Have a wonderful, successful, healthy, energetic....week!

Thanks so much,
Jen

www.beachbodycoach.com/jenmangum
www.facebook.com/jenmangum
beachbodyjen@yahoo.com
970-209-4053