The Power of a Deadline

I like to talk about practical fitness, health tips on Tuesday. And so today I thought I would share a little about what's going on in my life this week, just to get the point across of my 'Tip for Tuesday'.

Let's rewind to September 2010. I had an 8 month old baby, and was stuck at 145-147 lbs. I looked okay (my husband said I looked great), but I wanted all the baby weight OFF. I was 137 when I got pregnant (after my first son) so why did I need to settle at that 145ish. I wanted my skinny jeans to fit...again.

So I committed to Turbo Kick instructor training the first week of December. Not because my #1 goal was to be a fitness instructor, but I needed a deadline for the weight to be off. And I had one when I registered for the training. Why did this work?

First, I didn't know what to expect, so I worked out hard so that I would have enough stamina to last the day at the training. Second, I wanted to look 'the part' as a Turbo Kick Instructor. Plus, I wanted my form and technique near perfect if not. This meant I did every Turbo Jam dvd that I could get my hands on. And I worked out 5 days/week for 3 months solid, watching what I ate, crazy extreme lean.

The day I left for Laguna Hills, I was 133 - 4 lbs. below my goal weight. I had lost 13 lbs. in that 3 month period of working out 5 days/week & counting my calories. When I returned home from that ONE-day training, I was actually 131.5 lbs.

Now, I didn't quite stay there, that was some intense working out...but it got me to my goal of 'prior to 2nd pregnancy weight'.

Fast forward to June 1st, an opportunity for a deadline came up. So as much as I can with my 2 little ones, the youngest is now 18 mos. and gets into everything or just simply disappears...I have been working out pretty intensely, not quited the: 'never miss a workout' schedule, but I'm fitting in crazy cardio.

I was up to the 136 lb. mark a few weeks ago...and I was so mad. I hate letting the scale tick upward. It can maintain at 134 and I'm fine, but those 2 lbs. are  not welcomed. So what's my deadline now?

A corporate Beachbody Coach training is this week. I just decided on June 3rd, 11 days ago that I wanted to go. My husband said "okay, go & have fun"...and then momma looked at the scale & said, "I've got a mission with a deadline".

Monday, I was 134 on the scale. (Just about 11 days of focus stripped nearly 2 lbs. off.) To get 1 or 2 more lbs. off, I'm trying a little 'restricted regimen' this week. We'll see how that works out. Which, in 1 day....I've dropped 3 lbs. The scale said '131' this morning! UNBELIEVABLE! I swear, if you want proof, I'll take a pic of the scale w/ my feet on it.

But this is exactly what I needed: a deadline to get me focused. It was easy to get focused on this one, avid P90Xers will be everywhere at this training day. I'm praying to meet Chalene Johnson, she's seriously amazing, positive, and encouraging beyond the sweatin' workouts. Looking forward to it for sure. I do look back and wish I hadn't missed the few workouts I could've tried harder to get in. But I'll chalk it up.

Lesson here: Work out hard every day that you can so that when your opportunity to meet fitness celebrities comes up...You're already in the best shape of your life. No crazy, last chance, carb depletion, double sessions to fit in to our already crazy busy days to look our best....Right?

So what can you do? What can you sign up for to push you to work out and get in shape & look your best?

Find something and email me w/ the goal and the deadline and I'll put it on my calendar. Deal?

Day OFF with the KIDS!

As I reflect over my priorities, I see that my time is not always going to the ones who mean the most to me. Not sure if I can stick to every Friday...but I'm declaring on this Thursday night that Friday is my day off with my kids.

I will still do my workout Friday, Saturday and Sunday...that's a high priority (not lord over my life, just a priority). I will  run an errand to the store (because it will help my home function more comfortably, and that's a top priority).

But my day is going to include them, my time, energy and attention are their's! In the end, I may need them to take care of me, so I better do the best job I can now while I still have them to leave them with fond memories. I want them to be nice to me when I'm a geriatric, ya know...Remember, I only get one shot at this!

(In case of an emergency, dial 911, I am detained for the next 24-72 hours or so! :) Bless ya!)

What does your day look like?

I was thinking about life yesterday, as I watched my family outside playing in the mud. And I thought to myself, "how do I do what I do now, when a year ago I had way less commitments?" Then I thought, 'wow, 2 years ago, I had 1 less child and was overwhelmed then'. What has changed?

The first year or two of life with Daniel, my first son, I was unorganized. I had no goals written out. Never used a to-do list, was always feeling like I was behind with chores. And this was before I was ever on FB. I hated feeling frazzled. Then a light bulb went on, 'why not use a to-do list like you did when you worked?' That was the problem...the 10 years prior to having a child, I used lists. My lists had lists, but staying home was such a culture shock I lost sight of things that worked. So immediately, I implemented a daily list of things I HAD to get done that day!

Then comes my second son, and life...well, it got harder again, it seemed. When Jacob was 5 months old, I was told of this Beachbody coaching opportunity, I signed up, then canceled, afraid that I could not handle it. Oh, if would've just hung on for a minute then, how much farther along I would be...errrrrr. Ever feel like you missed an opportunity? I felt like that for a few months following...I could hear Cher singin'....'if I could turn back time'...But I can't.

Fast forward to now. What does my day look? I have things to do...but I don't appear 'soooooooo stressed out'...(Unless of course I drink too much coffee in the a.m. Then my heart is racing in my chest, and it can get pretty ugly.)

But here's how my days seem to go:
I get up as early as I physically can. Some mornings 5:30 a.m., some may be 6 a.m. This is my chunk of time for the computer (FB, blog, BB stuff). Trying to remove the image of 'mom at the computer' from children's memory. Then in the Word before they wake up...or even after. (I'll admit, missed a lot of devotional time in the beginning with Daniel, but I've realized 'apart of Jesus, I can do nothing'.)

Upon my kids' rising, I feed them & myself, dress them, do the needed asthma stuff, get their teeth brushed...and then it's on like donkey kong.

Then, I blast my Turbo workout and burn a ton of calories (and any pent up stress) while my kids play together and amuse themselves. I will admit I have to pause my workouts for a diaper change or to check on them, but I don't think those quick interruptions are really interfering with my results.

Once I'm done working out, it's shower for me, snack for the kids and errands time. Or on some days, time for the park, play outside. I've learned that because of my 'task-oriented' nature, it is best for my kids for us to get OUT of the house. We'll do lunch wherever we are, most times I pack a lunch to go for us.

Nap-time comes....Somewhere along the way, Jacob falls asleep, and I try to devote this time to reading to Daniel, flashcards, painting, and fun stuff for just him. Some days, it's me racing the clock to fold some laundry, clean some restrooms, or mop floors...and a couple minutes to check my email stuff.

Afternoon arrives and by now, we're outside playing. Or if we didn't get out of the house in the a.m., we run for some last minute groceries.

By 4 p.m. my attention is focused to prepare dinner. This is engrained in my head. My kids are hungry by 5 p.m. and my husband is ready to eat around 6ish. So to avoid melt-downs, I am ready to feed them when the the hunger pains strike!

This is key. A lot of families I've learned recently, eat out for dinner most nights a week. I eat out when on the run & stuck away from house when we get hungry, but hardly, hardly ever dinner...any day of the week. Not condemning you for eating out, but for many of you who know that my husband lost 200+ lbs. - this I believe is why he's been so successful: WE EAT AT HOME/HOME-COOKED MEALS 99% OF THE TIME!

After dinner, the kids are outside playing while I clean up the kitchen.

Then it's nightime routine of asthma meds, baths, teeth brushed, and to bed. If I'm wide awake when everyone else is sleepy, this is when I've been taking time for some FB time and some googling (like 'children and bad dreams', 'pre-k material', 'boost metabolism', etc.) But this week, I decided, I really want to finish my 'life-changing' book, so I'm going to bed at 9 p.m., when everyone else does, and then reading until my eyes are too heavy to keep open.

THIS IS KEY HERE: During the evening or right before bed, I write out my list of to-do's for the next day. I take note on calls I have to make, errands I have to run (included is the list of things for purchase @ what stores), chores I need to do, and usually toward the bottom I have '4 p.m.: Make dinner' there. This helps me know that I have to get it all done by a certain time, I have to be home by 4 p.m. in order for my family's dinner to be ready when they are hungry.

It's my list that keeps me organized. Just like a written out budget keeps my money organized and devoted to where it needs to go, a list of to-dos keeps my time organized & devoted to where it needs to go.

Two years ago, I made a 'Goals Board' for our family...and we reached some of those. In December of 2010, I made a new goals board and I have it hung in my office, over my computer...and I look at it daily. This keeps me mindful of where I want to go, which keeps me focused on where I want my time to go too. This helps tremendously when making my list of to-dos.

What I do around my home isn't heart surgery, and it doesn't take a degree in 'rocket science' to figure out. However, if I want to be successful at home and manage our lives with meaning, I've got to be a great 'life manager'. I've got to be responsible with my time, my money, and my loved ones.  

MY KIDS ARE PRIORITY - I HOPE MY LIFE REFLECTS THAT IN THE END!

It's only because I chart out where my time is going to go that I can do all that I do in one day. Waking up before my family and falling asleep after them is what gives me the extra time to pursue my dreams and manage my Beachbody business, all while devoting time to them when they are demanding it! :)

I think it's John C. Maxwell that my husband has forever quoted around our house, 'In order to be more, you have to become more'... and in my mind, 'in order to be more, I have to do more'. But how would I do that without my 'handy-dandy' notebook of lists????

So this week, I challenge you: sit down and make a list of goals you want to reach by the end of the year (set some to complete by the end of your life). Make them realistic, achievable, measureable goals. And then, put 1 thing on your calendar - daily - to do to get you there. It can be as simple as 'Read 5 pgs. in my life-changing book'. 'Get transcripts from junior college to go to the 4 yr. university', 'fill out job application', 'exercise for 20 min.', 'call a relative I haven't spoken to for...too long'. When you start making time (by managing it) to reach your goals, you don't have to feel this giant pressure of 'achieving something huge'...you just have to show up daily with your list of telling your time where to go!



Baby Steps or Giant Leaps

How do you reach your goals? By baby steps or giant leaps?

My husband and I recently bought a house. The idea had been discussed for nearly a year. The decision to do so in a night. We took a giant leap toward the goal of moving out of our neighborhood and across town.

Last fall I took baby steps toward a goal. The first goal was to lose the last 10 lbs. of baby weight. So I made the decision to go to a Turbo Kick training in Laguna Hills. This deadline to get fit and lose weight was just what I needed to push myself to lose those 10 lbs. and reach my primary goal. Receiving the certification to actually teach a Turbo Kick class gave me a new goal to consider. It made me think & consider whether or not I wanted to be a group exercise fitness instructor. Never had considered it before in my life. But all of the sudden it was an option. And it would be instructing the most fun workout I had ever done in my life - Turbo! But I wasn't sure. I still some steps to go. I had to learn the workout, know the routine by the music, remember each move...and then be able to confidently lead a group through a round of Turbo Kick. (A little intimidating, right?)

Fast forward a few months, I'm a Beachbody Coach (which that was a giant leap I made in a day, something I had considered before, but with the right, fresh business-minded approach I was given, I knew I had to leap out & do it!) Now that I'm a Beachbody Coach, I am starving to be around goal-oriented, fitness-minded people. And what a better place to meet them than the gym, right?

So with incentive of a free family membership, the passion to get out of my momma-cave and meet like-minded people, I said, "I should be a fitness instructor - I should go for it". So the last 2 weeks, I really paid attention to the sequence of the workout...and completed it, to the music (no aid from a dvd), and nearly have the cueing down.

So what is the next baby steps to take? Fill out the application for the position, deliver it & wait for a call back. Thinking about it gives me butterflies. Not sure why. But, I know that once I hand that app over, I am going to work out harder, count my calories more accurately, and be so excited on the inside that I took the last steps IN MY CONTROL to be a fitness instructor. Even if they never called me back, I feel successful! I completed my list of baby steps in becoming a fitness instructor. Perhaps, completion = success...for me!

What's great is I will drop off the application and then leave it in God's hands. If I get the position as a group X instructor, I will have yet a couple other baby steps: get CPR certified & my AFAA group exercise certification. But that's the easy part. I can pass a couple more tests, right?

See, reaching goals and having success in our lives doesn't have to be these huge monumental moments printed on the front page of a newspaper. It's consistently taking baby steps or giant leaps...depending on your time, resources, or faith. It's making your mind up that you're going to do something, figuring out what it takes to get there, then checking each step off a list with persistence. My list is nearly checked off to be a fitness instructor. First thing this Monday morning, I completed the application. This afternoon, I am dropping it off. It really can be that easy.

Need some assistance with setting some goals? Coming up with an action plan to reach them? Email me at jennifermorin@beachbodycoach.com - I would love to help you! Take the first baby step of reaching out and I'll help you take a leap!

STOP PROCASTINATING!!!

So the first half of 2011 is gone and are you where you said you would be? Have you got done what you set out to do?

Who of you said that you would lose weight at the first of the year?

Who of you said that come summer, you'd be in shape?

Who of you are tired of procastinating & just finally want to get w/ the program?

Stop procastinating! Some of you procastinate by avoiding work, avoiding chores, avoiding anything that requires effort or takes any kind of self-discipline. This is then followed by feelings of being overwhelmed, discouragement, maybe even depression. But you can stop this vicious cycle by taking action today!

Today, I want you to set 2-5 goals you want to achieve. Then brainstorm on how you can get there. Set some deadlines, and then start putting action toward those goals. You can do it! Make yourself do what is good for you so that you can have a life that is great!

Enlist me as your free coach! I will help you reach those goals you long for...especially when it comes to weight loss! I am diehard -  you will appreciate it when the inches come off, the lbs. are shed! Let's lose that weight once & for all! Email me at jennifermorin@beachbodycoach.com or friend me on FB.