Inspiration ...Do You Have It, Do You Need It???

Well, I survived the two day feeding frenzy of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I am Italian..100% at that. Holidays, birthdays and pretty much 'every day' revolve around food in these households. Did I eat and drink a bit too much--I suppose so. Was I prepared to do that--absolutely. There's no escaping days like this, so the best you can do is just be prepared and work with it. To this day I still get grief over what I choose to eat and not eat. To be honest, I really don't care what people think of my choices anymore. I know what I'm doing is helping to keep me a fit, healthy, strong and happier person. I don't find it always easy, but I find ways to push through. Who and what you choose to surround yourself with can play a major factor in the success or failure of your plan. This is where my 'inspiration' comes into play.

I'm still pretty new to the whole world of Social Media, but I'm gradually getting it. I've spent time in the world of Valerie Waters, and I've gotten stronger myself by working with these awesome girls. Watching them overcome their struggles and proclaiming their successes has meant the world. I've also developed some incredible relationships through the world of Twitter and Face Book. The people I follow (and who follow me), and the people I've befriended on Face Book have taught me, encouraged me and kept me going through some struggles of my own. A simple word or comment can change the whole way you think about yourself. The exchange of ideas with what others are doing and teaching also do the same. There is a world of knowledge out there and I'm gaining more of it daily. I'm also getting the extra push I need to go further myself, and work on my own plan. I have things I want to do, but not sure about the courage to follow through. Strength comes from places you'd least expect sometimes. I've found some in abundance and I thank all of you special, wonderful people I've been talking with. Your behind the scenes words, encouragement, and advice (oh, off-color conversations included ) have done so much for me.

I am looking forward to great change starting in 2010...I do so with a lot of trepidation, but also with inspiration from all of you. If you have a plan of your own, and not necessarily the wherewithal to make it happen, put yourself out there. Ask and be asked..let others give you their two cents now and then. You may be surprised at exactly what you can take from all of that.

'Tis the Season of Change...

Hey everyone! It has certainly been a while (pretty much a year!)… While I’ve been absent, I have not forgotten about what I attempted to start here. In looking over old posts, I find it very ironic that on this same day last year, I wrote a post entitled 'Tis the Season ...' -- something I did not even realize until I finished drafting this post. Strange how the mind works. Well, it’s been a long year of ups and downs for me and mine, and some of the price paid was the price of time. Of course, there is never enough for any of us, but we make do with what we have. The past year has had its share of every type of malady around: health issues, family issues, and the economics of the world we live in these days, just to name a few. They all took their toll, but I vowed to myself that I would make every effort to get back at this before year’s-end. Well, I made it, not by much, but I did. So what have I learned over the past year? I learned that while I didn’t always feel good mentally or physically, I am a strong person. I won’t say I overcame certain challenges that came my way, but I dealt with them and moved forward. With some of that strength, I most importantly tried to maintain harmony and sanity within my family, I put in extra time and effort developing my gym business, I also continue to also work my office job, and lastly, I always remembered to take care of me. I still hold very true to my belief that you must at some point take time for yourself to care for yourself. That is what helps keep you not only physically strong, but sometimes more importantly, mentally strong. I will reiterate old posts by saying that the kids will always need something, there will always be a schedule to follow or deadline to maintain, there will always be cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc… to be taken care of. The thing that won’t always be there though is your health. Why is it that so many continue to put it on the back burner and think it will take care of itself like magic? Believe me, if there was a magic pill, I'd be first in line for it, and would pay almost anything for it! That, right there, is what I want to focus on as we end yet another very fast-moving year.

It physically pains me to sometimes see the way people struggle to go up some stairs, chase or play with their child, or merely walk from one end of the room to the other without getting winded. What does this tell you? Are you at your optimum health, is your heart working at the rate it ‘should’ be, are you heading into your future with a clean bill and long road ahead? Probably not. Why do you keep putting this off? You can give yourself every excuse in the book, but in the end that’s all you are doing, making more excuses to yourself. Over the course of this year, the one thing I never stopped doing was working out. There were days it was all I could do to get out of bed, but I did it—and I felt amazing afterward. I have said since I started this, ‘think of exercise as the one good thing you will do for yourself that day’ … and that’s what I did. No matter what happened after that, I knew that while I couldn’t control the things taking place around me, I could only control me—and I did.

My wish for you for this upcoming new year is that you find the courage to take that first step and that you start taking care of you. Take care of yourself before it’s too late. Here’s something to get you started. Since the Fall of last year, I’ve been helping out LA-based trainer Valerie Waters on her fitness forum by giving input when her girls needed advice on their diet and exercise. I’ve been following these girls since Val’s inception of her famous Red Carpet Ready Program. I’ve also been lucky enough to meet many of girls personally and be there with them through their personal triumphs over getting control of their own health and well being. Seeing the results in person is believing…this program is believable. I've watched total transformations taking place. This is a program that pretty much anyone at any level can partake in. It’s great for just about anyone with any type of body issues. Check it out—this could be the jumpstart you’ve been looking for. Click to be Fit!

Are you ready to roll?

Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend...

And they look even more smokin on a shapely, well defined, healthy body!

Well I'm a day late, but it's still not too late for you! Valerie Waters, whose work I've praised in separate posts, has put together another great program for anyone wanting to get that Red Carpet Ready Body. If you've been following along with her Red Carpet Ready TV, you know that her stars, Cody and Mary Bess, both had outstanding results. And, psst, you still have a chance to see them in all their glory as the finale is set to run this coming January 7. Well following the success of Red Carpet Ready TV (and now the demand for more), Val is again offering everyone a chance to work with her. She has a new program called the "Diamond Club" program. Diamond is offering the same structure of Val's Red Carpet Ready program, but Diamond is offering many additional things as well..this will have more one-on-one with Val herself and also has different programs which will allow you to choose the option of the 'look' you are trying to achieve. Click this link below and get a little tease of what's to come with the Diamond program:

Valerie Intro and Tips

If you've been looking for a plan that does work and still allow you to lead a normal every day life, this may be just what you're looking for. Happy 2009 all..let's make it a strong, healthy, and happy one!

P.S. -- This just in, today, 1/4/09 -- Here's another tidbit that just came along for you to check out:

6 Week Personal Transformation Diary

I Hereby Resolve Not To ...

Okay, it's almost New Year's..have you made the dreaded 'Resolution(s)' yet?? Well I haven't and I'm not going to. How many of you make these every year and thus end up condoning yourself for months over your failure to follow through?

I'm going to continue to just strive to make things better for myself and my family--the very same things I've been working on regularly of late. My body and health I got a handle on a number of years ago--I worked hard and continue to do so daily to maintain what I've achieved. My family is a daily work-in-progress. Like most, we have ups and downs (and with two teens there are many ;-) ), but I continue to take that one day at a time and hope to make the best decisions for all of us. I will continue to work daily on my job and financial future because, of course, I want more (and who doesn't, right?!). I work my butt off constantly to achieve this, but that's just not something I can 'resolve' to make happen instantaneously.

Therein lies my point I guess. How can the turning of a new year 'make' things happen for you. If you want certain things for yourself, why haven't you been trying all along to find a way to achieve them? Why does the strike of a clock and a champagne toast commit or condemn you to things you should have been working towards this whole time?

With this coming of 2009 right around the corner, why not decide to just like yourself a little better..that right there can set the wheels in motion to a brighter future for you and those you care for. It will give you a more positive, clearer outlook on things, things that once seemed so far out of reach. Start living in the now, instead of resolving for the later.

'Tis the Season...Survival of the Fittest

Hey, it’s been a while, but I’m back. Things have been crazy busy and I’ve been working really hard on some cool (well at least cool for me) things. Recently, we moved our personal training business to a new location. That took up a good amount of time packing and such, and then getting ourselves and our clients reacclimated to everything. So far, so good..have been training a lot and we’re putting together a new boot camp to get everyone through the holidays and beyond. Hey if your in the Chicagoland area, drop me a line--bootcamp is gonna kick some major butt!

Then, in the midst of all of this happening, I got involved with Valerie Waters and her Red Carpet Ready Program. Val started up a new club for her Red Carpet Ready exercise plan and I started moderating her forum. I help the clubbers with any questions, comments, issues, whatever, that they may have while doing the RCR plan. It’s been a great experience and I’ve come to look at these girls just like they are my own friends. It's been such a fulfilling thing watching the progress of all of them and knowing that at some point during their journey, I may have said or done something that helped even just a little with their success. At one stage during all of this Val came to Chicago for another project, and she decided to start filming here for what is now her Red Carpet Ready TV. I had the pleasure of finally ‘meeting’ Val (haha, all our contact prior to that had been via phone, twitter, email—you know, the American way!), and the two stars of her show Cody and Mary Bess (shown left and right of me respectively). They each flew in the from Colorado and Texas just for this purpose. That weekend was blast..we had a lot of laughs, but also got some good work done. Watching Val in action was great--when it's time to work, she's all business, but in such a way that you still have a great time while you're getting your tail worked off--literally! These two girls have been working diligently and putting it all out there for the rest of us to see—high points and low ebbs as well. They tape their adventures each week and every Tuesday night, it airs for our viewing pleasure. There’s also a live chat and everyone can talk with Val and the girls. They show us how they work out and where (and yes, they work out in their homes, in the gym, the great outdoors—everywhere), as well as what they eat, etc. We also get glimpses of what they have to overcome daily and how they make this program work for them. The girls are doing great and they’ve done themselves and the program proud. They’ve both lost weight and inches, but more importantly they feel great about themselves! They now know how a little dedication to a great program and some simple changes in diet can make all the difference. They have both now learned how to lead healthy lifestyles without starvation and hours and hours of exercise. I love these girls--I'm just so happy to see their success each week. Helping them (and ALL the RCR girls) along the way with all of this has made me feel very proud to be a part of it all, and I thank Val for trusting me to help all these great people out when she can't be there.

So why have I gone on about what I've been up to all this time..well we are now approaching what is, for a lot of people, the diet and exercise downfall of the year. The Holidays! We all have things to figure out to survive this. Parties all over the place all the time, insane schedules for every person in the family, and, in the craziness of all of this, still trying to find the necessary time for ‘you’ and your own routine. As busy as I've been in the past few months I've still not missed a single workout. I know if I start, the next one is easier to miss and so on..the excuses just get better and better. If you don’t manage to stay somewhat in a groove, you can undo months' worth of hard work in these few short weeks. Don’t let that happen. Don’t put off what you can do right now..if you keep saying you are going to start exercising after the New Year, don’t kid yourself. After the first of the year, you'll find some reason to wait a bit longer. Start now before you do any real damage. It may be a cliché, but there really is no time like the present. You may find that this is the perfect time to jump start your body—every little bit you do now will make it that much easier for you later.

And in the grand scheme of things, aren’t you worth it?

If It Isn't Broke Why Are You Trying To Fix It?!

I learned that lesson the hard way this week. I know what works and what doesn't when it comes to my body and my workouts. I've been lifting some good weights for the past few years and got my body to the place where it really liked being, and I was keeping it there just fine. Well the past months have been kinda crazy in more ways than one for me and I started really trying to push the weights up. I think I was using them as a stress-reliever. I was actually doing just fine with that, but suddenly got to the point where I'd worked some parts too much and they were a tad more developed than what I'd wanted. I like looking healthy and fit, but I also like looking feminine and girly at the same time. That's when I discovered Valerie Waters and her Valslides. They sat unopened for the longest time, but when I finally started using them--they worked their magic. I followed her plan and 'voila'... I was able to bring down the parts that needed it. I then started incorporating a lot of her moves into my lifting program and found a perfect complement with the two programs. I was able to manipulate both to work for my body--oh things were wonderful. My food and exercise were on track and Linda was a happy girl.

Fast forward to the past month. Don't know why I did it, didn't need to do it, just decided to try it--I got a whole new program and started doing work I know better than to do (but did it anyway). I've been orchestrating my own workouts for quite a while now and I'm just a bit tired of it. I wanted someone else to train the trainer for a while. I wanted someone else to run the show so I could just go in and do the work. Well, I should have just left well enough alone. If you have certain body parts that can't tolerate certain moves, you stay away from them. Well, most people do--and I have been up until this last week when I received the new program. I thought, well let me give this a shot--it's new--my body will love something new, right?! Ha-Ha...NOT! I did in one week what I managed to avoid doing over the last three years. I hurt myself. I have an ankle that is held together by plates and screws on both sides, with a couple pins thrown in just for fun (and to hold my heel bone on too). I also have lame elbows so just can't do certain isolation work. Now mind you, I've been running on that ankle since I broke it and have had no residual problems..well after jumping rope twice this week on it..it's killing me and almost dropped me to the floor when it gave way today. The elbows were put through the paces with triceps work and endless curls that they aren't used to doing either--the pain I had today almost brought tears to my eyes! It's so true that compound moves are all you really need--I've done minimal isolation work in the past and still managed to get some nicely defined muscle without putting myself at risk.

What I was doing was working...I should have researched more and thrown in a few new things to entertain myself for a while. Everything was running smoothly and the body was feeling good.

I taught myself a good lesson..don't mess with what works. Don't let a temporary lapse bring you down--take a step back until you can clearly see the situation. Is this a life and death health issue that I'm rambling on and on about--no it's not (and I realize that). But this is the only body I have and I wanna keep it running nice and smooth for as long as I can. If I don't take care of it, nobody else will. Hopefully I didn't do anything that a little rest and ice won't cure.

Lesson learned--not soon to be forgotten!

Maintenance..Or Is It?

When people undertake a new fitness or weight loss goal they always want to know how they can 'maintain' after that point. They want to know if they can go back and eat cookies, candy, cake, more fat, more carbs, etc... They think that once they've reached their goal, they can start to 'enjoy' again. I was one of those people too--which is probably why it took me so long to get the point of taking it off and keeping it off. I also used to refer to the post diet glory as Maintenance too-oh if I only knew then what I know now. These days I try to refer to my post diet simply as 'this is how I eat now--this is the new me'. It really is a life style vs. just the simplicity of maintenance. Once you reach your goals, you have to keep moving forward along that same path. You can't just go back and start eating all the things that got you into this fix to begin with. Would I love to be able to eat bread, pasta and candy on regular basis--you bet I would! I'm a sandwich kinda gal--could eat them for lunch and dinner every day--the bigger, wetter, messier the better..yup, those were the glory days! Now I know better. I know that if I do want to 'maintain' what I've achieved, I have to continue to eat the way I have been eating. I've learned how to make healthy, albeit satisfying choices. I learned how eating in moderation is not a bad thing..I can still feel fulfilled without eating the whole cow. A lot of people have the mentality that if they reach their goals, they deserve a reward. Am I saying that you can never have a snack or treat again--no way, that's just not realistic. But this is where you need to be careful so that the cycle doesn't begin to repeat itself. A reward here, a little treat there, then the snowball tends to get bigger and bigger. Try and think of it like this--you undertook a new endeavor. You succeeded at accomplishing your goals. Do you really want to go back to the old ways? I don't think so. You've taught your body a whole new regime..one it really seems to like. It makes you feel better, look better, and your heart probably thanks you every day..try and hang on to that for as long as you can.

You've created a whole new you--it's worth more than just some routine maintenance..this is a 'Lifestyle' for you now. It's something that's going to take you toward a longer, more happy, healthy future. Don't let the old ways overtake the new--hold on to what you've accomplished.