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