My Advice To My Online Community

I'm a bad blogger...I'm sorry :(

BUT I have a few minutes, and I'm INSPIRED to begin anew! So...here we go.


Today I logged into my MyFitnessPal account and tracked my breakfast. I haven't done this in...it's been a while.

SHUT UP!

Anywho, with this super moon eclipse just around the corner, there has been this energy in the air that has just been pushing me to do SOMETHING, and I had a question from a friend on my account that I felt needed a good answer. The exact question asked by ealeal99 (username...duh) was, "Are you still using this? I use it off and on but really going to try to stick with it." My inspired response shocked even me, because I'm usually so scientific about the actual science of weight loss, and this response seemed to be such a mix of emotion and science. I think I may have analyzed myself to a point of change, so I thought I'd share my response:


"Sorry it took me so long to get back to you! Obviously, I have issues using this site/app consistently. BUT, when I do use it for weeks at a time, I get great results. The issue is dealing with the psychological issues surrounding health in order to do things consistently and make permanent changes for lasting results. Here's where I am right now. Step 1: Make a routine out of my meals. This makes them easy to track, easy to buy/budget, easy to analyze how your body reacts, easy to plan ahead, easy to know what to pack for when, and so on. It also makes you start thinking of your food in terms of fuel and not treats. And if you can throw in some extra veggies each day, GO FOR IT! I am literally starting over today, and today is a good day to begin anew, don't you think?"


That's about it! I hope you all have an inspired day as well. And today I CHALLENGE you to start something you want to finish with your whole heart!

And...GO!!!


Your Workout Buddy,

Roxy

My Body Hurts...OWIE OWIE OWIE!!!

And today makes THREE!!! Three posts in a row…I’ll try to make the day these come out more consistent, but until then…

They’ll come out when I say they’ll come out :p

It was a pretty good week, but a rough weekend.

This week, I added exercise back in to my routine and lowered my calorie consumption to my goal-weight RMR…

It did not go exactly as planned.

I probably made too many changes at once and didn’t consider how much sleep I should be getting (hint: 5 hours is not enough).

However, despite the current exhaustion I’m experiencing, I was able to stick to my workout plan all week for 5 days straight. One hour a day, plus ½ hour of yoga, full hour of yoga once on the weekend. The hour of exercise varied from my usual spinning classes and biking outdoors to Jillian Michaels and Just Dance routines. I even added in an hour long muscle sculpting class (that kicked my shrinking ass).

The weekend threw me a bit. I knew I was having family coming over. I knew we were having a BBQ. I knew there would be booze, and I knew I would have to clean house…

Then, my exhaustion really set in on Saturday. After being on my feet for days straight getting my house ready for guests, pushing around a heavy vacuum, I also ended up staying on my feet all day helping my dad prepare the BBQ. I’ve never enjoyed sitting so much!

So, Sunday…I crashed. SURPRISE!!!

I woke up super late and also overate. On the bright side, I didn’t resort to my usual unhealthy, smothered in grease-like treats. Just some sugary goods with peanut butter.

Everybody gets to crash, and I still dropped a few ounces, so, I’m ready to get back to it!

At about an hour and a half of working out daily, according to Pete Thomas’s book (see previous posts), I should be dropping 2-3 pounds per week. This should help me hit my goal in time. Stay posted!!!

That’s about it for now. I did want to share my motivational board with you that’s hanging on a wall in my house:

And most of those photos of me are only 20 pounds ago...
and obviously, the "Game of Thrones" photo is a costume idea lol.

It’s filled with my personal affirmations, outfits I want to wear at goal weight, and my favorite photos of me; any photo that basically makes me feel sexy lol. I think I’ll post it on my social media accounts as well. Feel free to follow me (links under the “Contacts” tab), and share your motivational board and tips with me!

And as always, hang in there!!!

Your Workout Buddy:

Roxy

Let's Get Scientific, SHALL WE?

Holy crap…two blogs, two weeks in a row!!! Not possible. NOT POSSIBLE!!!

OH BUT IT IS!

Happy Sunday workout buddies! It’s been quite a week. My goal for this last week was just to eat to maintain my weight. I’ve been counting calories (and calorie cycling, which I’ll explain a little bit more about in a minute) to stick around my current weight’s RMR (definition here: http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_BMR.php).

With my spinning instructor out of town all week, I even took most of this week off from hard exercise. Just the dog walking, and one Jillian Michaels workout at the end of the week because my sleep schedule is still not where I want it, and I’m testing my energy levels.

With all that said…I dropped over 6 POUNDS…since Tuesday (the actual day I started calorie counting)…that’s 6 pounds in 5 days!

So starting tomorrow, I will be eating my goal weight RMR (which is 1,462 calories), and developing my workout schedule. I cannot wait until my weigh-in next week!!!

Now to get scientific on ya’ll. Let's discuss one of several innovative ideas I’ve received by reading Pete Thomas’s book “Lose It Fast, Lose It Forever”.

Calorie cycling…basically you take your RMR, and throughout the week you either subtract 10 or 15%, or you add 10 or 15%.

Start off Day 1 subtracting 10%, Day 2 adding 10%, Day 3 subtracting 15%, Day 4 adding 10%, Day 5 subtracting 10%, Day 6 eating at your RMR, and Day 7 adding 15%.

What this accomplishes:

• It prevents your body from getting accustomed to having a certain amount of calories daily, which helps to stave off plateau; pretty much the same idea behind muscle confusion, but in terms of nutrition.
• It allows you to eat more calories on certain days, so you won’t feel like you’re depriving yourself all week (which I can attest to just from this week).
• It makes you think ahead a week calorie-wise, so you can plan out meals and events, and by the end of the week, you are still consuming your RMR on average every week.

I’ve heard A LOT about calorie counting (pretty much my entire life), but I’ve never heard of it being taken to this level. So far so good on my end!

I promise to get a little more fun and psychological with you next week, but for this week, YOUR CHALLENGE is to try this out! Get a calorie counter (my personal favorite is the My Fitness Pal app and website, and you can find me there @RainmakerRoxy), calculate your RMR for both your current weight and goal weight (Pete Thomas’s website has a great calculator: http://petethomas.com/calculators/), and see what results you can come up with!

And if you’re following this blog, find me on Twitter, Vine, Facebook and Instagram (see contact page for links). I would LOVE to follow you back ;)

Your Workout Buddy:

Roxy

Road to Thirty!!!

Oh, my patient followers…all two of you…

I have returned! After months of trying to figure myself out, I am ready to travel forward on my journey to becoming healthy.

After such a long absence, some of you might ask my why this blog is so important to me. Honestly, the first thing I had in mind when I started this blog was to use it as an accountability tool. The more I write, the more I reveal, the more I have to stick with my plans because it would be embarrassing to not show any progress post to post, right?

Well, several months in between posts and countless weight fluctuations later, I’m back at 235.2 pounds, quitting the Isagenix program I started in the previous post, not exactly swimming in cash (as if I ever was), and starting over anew.

Photo of My So-Called Progress

The difference between now and then? I have just a little over a year before I’m Dirty Thirty, and I have a new tool in my fight against obesity: Pete Thomas’s book “Lose It Fast, Lose it Forever”.

A MUCH Happier Photo

For those of you that don’t remember who Pete Thomas is, he is the 2^nd season at-home winner of “The Biggest Loser”. He dropped about 185lbs and has kept it off for OVER SEVEN YEARS!!! In terms of health, he is the show’s biggest success story. Pete is a man that I want on my team.

Which leads me to my new reason for keeping this blog alive. I’m building my team! All ya'll (sorry for the "ya'll")!!!

At the end of the first step in Pete book, which is about discovering “Your Power”, he advises readers to build a team of people that can help hold you accountable; people you know support you and your goals.

SO WELCOME TO MY TEAM!!!

It’s time this blog is used the way it was originally intended. I’ve already set up my S.M.A.R.T. goals (you can learn more about what that means in Pete’s book), and I’d like to share them with you now:

• I want to lose 40 pounds in 70 days (October 5^th when I set the goal, just in time to buy a new Halloween costume).
• I want to lose a total of 80 pounds in 216 days (7 months, March 1^st, when I set the goal)
• This averages out to about 2.66 pounds per week and 10.64 pounds per month

With these goals in place and met, I will start off my 30s in the best of health and be ready to kiss my 20s BUH-BYE!

SO TEAM! Your turn. What are your goals? Maybe you don’t like to go by weight specifically. What about physical challenges you want to take on? Doing a pull-up? Running a 5K?

Go on…GET IT OUT THERE!!! GO TEAM, GO!!!

Your Workout Buddy,

Roxy

Getting Back To Your Regularly Scheduled Life

It’s hard to avoid a good workout in Cleveland…

during the winter…

when the storms come.

PERSONAL LOG OF RAINMAKER ROXY

Day 1 of 2014 – Woke up, shoveled snow, ate, slept

Day 2 of 2014 – Woke up, ate, slept, shoveled snow

Day 3 of 2014 - …hasn’t happened as of yet, but maybe I should just fill in the blanks?

Ok, a lot of other things happened too, but the shoveling.

Who can forget all the shoveling!!!???

I mean, I love seeing my dad’s face when he comes home from work and sees that he doesn’t have to do anything to our driveway and walkway, but we need to get a damn snow blower (if my brothers ever read this, make a note for next Christmas, his birthday or Father’s Day, PLEASE???).

But, as I said before, I have gotten some things done AND I’ve stuck to my diet (two days straight, hooray!!!)

Now is the time to get organized, before I officially get a new job, before I get too deep in my Isagenix journey and stop being that slug that shovels snow and then sits and watches TV for the rest of the day. MAYBE gets out of the house to eat something full of heavy calories.

So, I bring to you, my basic schedule of activities. And I say basic because I want to be able to have a life. However, having a basic checklist of the things I want to accomplish daily and weekly, and the best times of the day to fit them in, will help me stick to my goals.

RAINMAKER ROXY’S ACTIVITY SCHEDULE (BETA)

           

Activity	Daily	Weekly	Morning	Afternoon
Spinning Class		* - Two Days	*
Spreaker Podcast		* - Two Days	*
Meditation	*		*
Brain Training Games	*		*
Spanish Lessons	*		*
Spiritual Lessons		* - Two Days	*
Music Theory Lessons		* - Two Days	*
Elliptical (30 Minutes)	* - 5 Days		*
Workout of the Month	* - 4-5 Days		*
Guitar Lessons	*			*
WoBN Blog Post		*		*
WoBN Video		*		*
Yoga	*			*
Piano Lessons		* - Two Days		*
Vine Character Story		*		*

And now, here’s your BUDDY TOPIC OF THE WEEK. How do you stay organized? Share your tips and tricks for keeping yourself on track with all of your goals and ambitions. And don’t forget! You can still share what you feel makes you sexy using #sexypartsWoBud on Twitter. Find me @RainmakerRoxy.

Until next week!

Your Workout Buddy,

Roxy