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