August Sales Promotions 

August is shaping up to be an exciting month. Beachbody just released the programs that they will be putting on sale and this month they decided to be generous and put four programs on sale instead of two. Not only are the prices great but so are the programs. They picked some of the best ones they have to be part of the deal. 

The challenge pack would include the workout program, a full nutrition guide, workout calendar, a month of Shakeology and also access to a private accountability group to get your thru the program. 

If you would like more information on the prices and getting into an upcoming accountability group please message me or email me at S.Griffith27@gmail.com 

Body Beast - Guys I'm Calling On You This Time

Body Beast Challenge Group 

Since I have started being a coach, I have mostly just worked with women. Lots of moms and lots of schoolteachers have been my specialty but this August I am looking to work with a new market. Body Beast is going on sale for August and I would like to host a group for the guys. Body Beast is a killer program to get you ripped all from home and the price this month is unbeatable.  It is designed to pack on 10 lbs of muscles in 90 days using Dynamic Set Training. The program was developed and hosted by the champion bodybuilder Sagi Kalev.

The program comes with an in-depth nutrition program in addition to the workouts and supplements to transform you and pack on muscle fast. The supplement system developed specifically for Body Beast puts you on the fast track to achieving the physique that millions of men dream of but fail to achieve due to lack of proper supplementation.

Below is a chart that illustrates what the different workouts would be focusing on: 

Equipment that you would need in addition to the challenge pack would be:

* Pull up bar

* Bench or stability ball

* EZ Curl Bar with weight plates

* Dumbbells

Lucky for me my husband Kevin will be doing the program starting the 3^rd Monday in August. I am pretty pumped to see the transformation that his body will take on.  If you would like to join him and be in my challenge group I would be happy to talk more with you. I don’t know many guys who don’t want to be ripped, and I won’t lie us ladies like it too. Please send me an email to reserve your spot. S.Griffith27@gmail.com 

Dream Boards... Do You Have One?

Dream Boards… Do You Have One?

When we were little everyone always asked us what do you want to do or be when you grown up? People were intrigued by your answers and as you got older those dreams are what most of you majored in college or went on to pursue a career in. Then you achieved those dreams. Now what?? May of us stop dreaming as we get older or we say things like man someday I would like to do _______ but never put a date on when or put a plan into action on how you would like to accomplish it.

Well friends I hate to tell you this but us adults we have it wrong. We weren’t supposed to stop dreaming about what we wanted out of life. That’s why many of you got old and boring - right? Kidding… well kind of.

As I have been working to teach myself how to be more successful I have been spending lots of time working with successful people and reading books that successful people read and basically looking for how to make it big and accomplish dreams that seem far out there.  You see I have the dream I wanted. I have a loving husband, a healthy child, I am educated, I have a rewarding career, a beautiful home, I have great friends and family, I have faith and my struggles in life are not real struggles in life in comparison to most. I will be the first to say I have it pretty darn good, but here’s where I messed up for a little bit. I stopped dreaming. I felt pretty accomplished so I took a break on daydreaming. Well that’s not the right path you want to be on. You need to always be dreaming and setting new goals for yourself. The question becomes what’s next.

I want you to look at your life and decided where do you want to be in a year? What do you want to say you have accomplished in a years time. Have you thought about it? Have you talked with your significant other? If you have someone this is not a task you want to do by yourself. Achieving your dreams takes some support so you will need them by your side. Make it a team effort. You should consider creating a dream board. A dream board is something that you will have as a visual to remind yourself daily what it is you are trying to accomplish. It should have a date that you want to accomplish it by and you need a plan for how you can do that.

The dream board can have relationship goals, financial goals, health goals, professional goals whatever it might be spell it all out write it down and look at it every single day. The likelihood of you achieving it is much great than if you just say some day I would like to do ______________.” When you set the goals make them acheivable but also big dreams. Make yourself work to have to accomplish them.  The board should be something that is fun to look at it, decorate it, include pictures, use some quotes do whatever makes you happy but just be sure to do it.

Time is a wasting… what are you going to accomplish in a years time?

Every Love Story Is Beautiful But Ours Is My Favorite...

On Friday July 25, 2014 I have the privilege to say that I have been Mrs. Kevin Griffith for 5 blessed years. While most of my blog posts have been about health, clean eating and fitness, today I want to share with you what a true love story looks like. Today the love story is mine and I will share with you what it takes to stay married and in love for five years strong.

If you were to ask my 9^th grade self who I was going to marry I would have told you Kevin Griffith and my naive 9^th grade self was so totally right. Kevin and I started dating when I was 14 and never have stopped loving each other since. We literally have grown up together and built a life that many young women would kill to have. There is something so special about sharing all of life’s milestones together. We experienced high school hand in hand and like most high school sweethearts had a few month long break ups here and there testing how much we really loved each other. Many told us “oh you will never marry your high school sweetheart just keep looking.” Those who offered that advice were wrong. Sometimes you do. He cheered me on thru college and promised me that at the end of that degree he would marry me. He proposed at sunrise in Sedona Arizona the summer before my senior year of college with one of the most stunning rings a girl could ask for. Our wedding was one of the very best days of my life. Only coming in a close tie with the day our son was born. He has followed me to where life has taken “me” because he wanted to support my dreams of being a teacher. We moved our life to State College for MY job and my dreams. He stood beside me and we built our new life together here. After two years of renting and enjoying being a newlywed he built me my dream home. We welcomed our first and only so far into the world a few months after we have moved in and the rest is history so far. Below you will see a few pictures of the journey along the way. 

Carefree Days Together

Young And In Love 

Younger Years Together 

College Days 

Marry Me? 

What I kept calling "The Best Day Ever" - Sunrise proposal- looking teary eyed! 

Along with me every step of the way....

Bachelorette Party Night - Getting excited to be Mrs. Griffith 

The Honeymoon 

Settling into our new town as Mr. & Mrs. Griffith

"And then there were 3"

Building me our dream home

Opening the door to our new future the day we closed on the house

"The other best day of our life"

Ugly Sweater Christmas Party Smooch- Still in love after all these years 

"And they lived happily ever after" 

What I will tell you now is something that I remind myself often. Being married and staying married and staying happy takes a hell of a lot of work. Dating is fun, it is easy and carefree but being married and being parents, that is the tricky part. You see for many, at least for me a lot of the romantic things we girls dream about – they tend to disappear a little more than we would like, habits that we never saw when dating surface and you find that there will be days when you have to try really, really hard to make things work. But here is the secret- you have to show up, every single day, you show up and you love them even when it’s hard. Why? Because when you walk down the aisle you make a promise to them, God and your family to love them forever… not just for as long as it’s fun. 

"Signing up for our forever"

If you want to stay married you have to show up and work for your marriage and some days you have to fight like hell to keep it going. After 5 years I have learned that some days are not fun, but if you work really hard, you can create a beautiful life. Not just one that looks good on the outside but one that feels good on the inside. Everybody’s grass looks greener on the other side, but rather than looking on the other side maybe you should water your own lawn. If you focus on your marriage and cultivate love you will find your happily every after.

Above our sink in the kitchen I have two things that make me smile every single day. The first is above the sink and it reads this “And they lived happily ever after.” The second is a quote on the window seal and it says “Grow old with me, the best is yet to be.” It is a reminder daily that I am blessed to have married my best friend and it makes me proud of our hard work together. We really do have our happily ever after and I really do want to grow old with him. Even on the days he makes me crazy, I’d pick him to spend forever with every single time.

"Truly Best Friends"

This week when we celebrate our anniversary we have a few fun traditions that I will share with you and I hope you consider starting these traditions for yourself as well. On our anniversary we plan something special just for us. Some years we go big and some years we go small but every year we make it really special. Why you ask, because it was the best day of our life and its fun to relive the best day of your life right?  This year we are trying something new. We were going to go away but after much discussion a “staycation” sounded even more appealing. We wanted a weekend at home without our little one. Why would we want to do that? Because for as long as we have lived in our home I have either been pregnant with Carter or we had him. Leaving us little time for dates when we want, sleeping in and enjoying our house without having to worry about naps and snacks and bedtime. This weekend our home will be just ours for a little bit of time. While we will miss our little man I am looking forward to it just being us like “old times.” We each are in charge of a day of the weekend. We have many surprises planned for each other. I cannot wait to spend the time with him and am very excited to see what he has planned for me.

We also have a journal that I spend the week leading up to our anniversary preparing. You see when it came time for our first anniversary; I wanted to do something really neat that would start a tradition. I love traditions! I started our love story.  In this journal I write about each month of our year that is coming to an end and all the milestones that happened during that time. Some are happy milestones, some sad, some exciting and some that just make you chuckle. My reason for doing this is that our life is pretty amazing and I don’t want to ever forget how blessed we are. Someday when one of us passes away or maybe when we are both gone our children or the one left behind will treasure this journal forever. I already treasure it so much and I am only 5 years into it.

 

The Anniversary Journal

On the evening of our anniversary we sit down with this journal and have cake, we drink champagne out of our wedding flutes and we read this journal. Sometimes it makes us laugh and sometimes I get choked up but it makes us feel proud of the life we have built together. After we read the journal we also read our guest book and all of the sweet wishes and messages from our family and friends that day. Life is short so we celebrate each year that we have been blessed to spend together. Cheers to year 6 and many, many, many more!

Transformation Tuesday- Jennifer

When Your Why Is Big Enough, You Will Find Your How.... 

Meet Jenn

This Tuesday I am excited and proud to share with you one of my co-workers transformation stories.  She also was one of my first challengers. Initially, I posted to my Facebook friends about trying my challenge group that I had planned to start up in April. She reached out to me with an interest and jumped on right away. She started with the 21-day fix on April 16^th.  If I were going to describe Jenn in one word I would say determined. She had her eye on the prize from day one. She set a goal weight for herself and has refused to stop until she gets there.

I should first tell you that not only does she teach health professions at my school she is also a physical therapist and a personal trainer. This woman is an expert in the field and knew exactly what it would take to get to her goal weight. She is my calculator on all things 21 day fix related and always has wonderful insight and advice for the challengers in my group. She has posted every single day since we started and has truly held herself and many other challengers accountable. The only time we did not hear from her was on her trip to Mexico when she didn’t have any wifi. We missed her while she was away. The group felt much quieter and a little less fun.

In the beginning I remember her being frustrated with the workouts and the change that she had to make in her lifestyle. The first few weeks were rough for her and hard on her body.  I remember her questioning if she could even do the fix. I was worried that she might quit in the beginning but something clicked and she did what many struggle to do. She didn’t quit when it was hard she pushed harder and reminded herself WHY she was here. She also had an accountability partner, which helped tremendously.

To date, Jenn did 3 rounds of the 21-day fix and has now begun to transition into phase 2 of Les Mills Body Pump. At the end of the day I don’t think she will ever “leave” Autumns 10 minute ab fix. It is her favorite ab workout and she still swears by it daily. Since Jenn is a schoolteacher she now has had the summer to dedicate to losing the last bit of weight she has been working to get rid of. I tease her because it has become her part time job. She is working out LIKE a crazy woman!! In addition to doing Body Pump and usually does 10 minute abs, sometimes Piyo and also usually a walk each day that tends to near around 5 miles per day give or take. As you can see she is DETERMINED!! Jenn now practices strict clean eating and like my other challengers is a Shakeology addict. She was able to really get rid of her sweets cravings and was able to replace that with the daily shakes. At the beginning of the summer she signed up to be a discount coach to get her shakes for a 25% discount. She is not currently “coaching” anyone other than the challengers in our group. She said maybe when she gets to her goal weight she would consider it. If she does decide to do this, her challengers will have one heck of a coach!!

Her beginning weight was 168 pounds. She now weights 140 pounds. That is almost 30 pounds in 90 days!! She has also lost a total of 21.7 inches. Her transformation is amazing. She truly looks so much more happy and healthier. Jenn you are beautiful inside and outside. Thanks for inspiring others!!

Clean Eating Ice Cream Sandwiches

Smudgies 

When I found this recipe on pinterest it was called Smudgies - I was looking for an alternative to ice cream sandwiches. My husband enjoys them but I won't buy them anymore. They are too tempting for me. I came across this healthy alternative and it tasted pretty good even if the pictures don't really do them much justice ;)

Needed Ingredients 
2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter
2 ripe bananas
24 graham cracker squares

Directions 
In a bowl combine the 2 bananas as well as the PB
Mash until lumps are removed and creamy

Break the graham crackers in half and line in rows on a sheet of foil

Spread the mixture over 12 graham crackers then cover with the other 12 crackers. 

Stack the sandwiches in twos and cover with foil

Freeze for 6 hours and enjoy 

* These stayed fresh in the freezer for about 3 days* 

Transformation Tuesday

"She Believed She Could So She Did"

When I started coaching in April I sought after friends and co-workers who might be crazy enough to join me on the 21 day fix journey. I loved the change and wanted to show anyone and everyone how great they could feel if they joined me. I made my first official call to action and invited anyone who wanted to join me on the journey and sign up for a challenge group. As one might expect I had many, many “no thank you” messages and many I’ll think about it later replies, some simply ignored my messages and then I had some “YES I AM IN” messages. I started with 12 people who were ready to take a leap of faith and give Beachbody and the 21-day fix a try. As of today I can say that I have been able to help 76 people so far get on track to a better life. To say it has been rewarding would be an understatement, instead I will say it has been life changing. I am a better person because of these people.

Today I want to share with you two transformation stories that are near and dear to my heart. I am proud of all of my challengers but today I want to spotlight two who believed in this with me from the beginning.

I will start with Traci. She is one of my co-workers and teaches health education. We knew each other at work but not very well. I was surprised when she messaged me about possibly being interested in trying the 21- day fix. I suggested we meet over our lunch period and chat about this and see if it might be something she wanted to try. I will be very honest with you; I was very nervous to meet with her, she is a health teacher and I am a business teacher, lets be honest she knows more about nutrition that I did at that point. The meeting went well and I truly believe that she saw this program would work. Traci had the education on how to be healthier and fit she just needed someone to walk her there because life had gotten in the way of her journey. She was worried about having the time for all of this because she was a busy working mom. After many conversations she soon learned that in order to be a better mom you have to become a better version of yourself. Traci had another teacher that joined our group as well who was a partner in crime and truly was her accountability partner and I would say best friend lately. It has been fun to see them hold each other accountable and get towards their goals. The two are now within 5 lbs of the “dream weight” they set out to achieve.

Traci like many of my other challengers is obsessed with Shakeology and has been drinking it regularly since she started this journey on April 14^th. Because of the challenge group she has learned to say no to temptations and keep her goals in mind. She has not fallen off the wagon at all. Not even for a day, in fact she has not taken a rest day since we started this spring. Now that is dedication! She has also went back to running and placed 2^nd in her age group this weekend in the Arts Fest 5k in our town.

Traci started the journey at 144 lbs – She now weights 125 lbs. She has also lost 22 inches overall. She went from a size 12 to a 4. She did the 21-day fix for 3 rounds and has been doing Body Pump as well as running to achieve this. She will be the first to tell you that getting back is shape is a lot of damn work but it feels so good to achieve the goals!!! Traci, you inspire me, thanks for being brave enough to join me!

My next challenger I want to spotlight is Kim. Kim is my yes girl. She is up for everything and is always so positive and determined. The very first day I signed up to be a coach I walked into the school where my son attends and told her my crazy new plan. She looked at me and said “I’m in” just like that. I was astonished that she was ready to believe in my so quickly but she did. I am so thankful that she decided to join me. She kept telling me she was ready to make a change and boy was she ever. There has not been a day go by that she has not been kicking her butt and sticking with this. If I had to make a poster child for the 21 day fix out of all of my girls I would pick Kim because she TRULY LOVES the program!! We tease her that Autumn the trainer in the video is her girl.

Having Kim in the group has been fun but what was even more fun was that I got to see her every single morning as I started my day. I would drop my son off at his school and she would be there almost every day bright and early with her Shakeology in hand and smile on her face. She made me believe that I truly was helping to make someone’s life better. Her positivity was a great start to my day each morning. Because of Kim I have also received fantastic referrals of challengers whom I may have never met on my own. She is the queen of referrals but takes no credit for it. I keep telling her she should be a coach but she prefers me to do the coaching for now. Without her I would not have been able to start my business as strongly as I have so far. For that I am forever grateful.

Kim went full speed ahead with not only changing her own ways but also the ways of her family. If you are a mom you can attest that this is never an easy task. It is one thing to change your own eating habits but to bring your family on board with you takes determination. Her children will now grow up in a house the values clean eating and exercise. How lucky for them.

Kim is working on her 4^th round of the 21- day fix. While the rest of my beginning challengers have moved on to new programs Kim still loves the fix and is sticking with it. She ordered the upgrade DVD’s for a change up and as I mentioned before is our 21-day fix poster child. She did the Shakeolgoy cleanse to break thru a weight loss plateu around Easter and also did the 3 day refresh this past week. Not only does she love her shakes but she also swears by E&E -which is Energy and Endurance- a pre workout drink that BeachBody offers.

Since our April 14^th start date Kim has lost 13 pounds and 7 inches total. She looks amazing and has abs that most women her age would kill for. In fact let me just say most women regardless of their age ;)

I am excited to see what program she picks next – replacing her love for the fix will be tricky!! Kim keep up your hard work – when you put your heart into something you really can achieve it!

If you want to be just like Traci and Kim message me to secure a spot in my upcoming challenge group: S.Griffith27@gmail.com 

Vanilla Berry Shakeology

Vanilla Berry Shakeology

Nice and refreshing for summer! Love the fresh berries! Might even add in a dash of vanilla extract next time~ 

Favorite Workout Gear Alert!

Headband Addict 

Do you have a staple workout something that you cannot live without? I do, it is Under Armor headbands! I have very thick hair and it takes a tight ponytail holder to keep it all back. These headbands are amazing they stick like glue to my head and never ever slip off. I usually get them from TJ Maxx for a better price but you can also find them at Dicks Sporting Goods and other workout clothes stores. At TJ Maxx they will run you about $5.99 for two Dicks will cost you about $15.00. The top two are my favorite and the bottom two are a few of my new ones. Give them a try today, they do not dissapoint!! 

Easy Oven Italian Chicken Potato and Green Bean Bake

Oven Italian Chicken and Potato Green Bean Bake

Last week my son and I went to one of the local farms so that he could play in the "corn box" with the tractors. He loves tractors and they have a fun little set up. I agreed but when we got there I insisted that we buy something first because we couldn't just play with the corn box. We picked red skin potatoes and fresh green beans. When we brought them home that day I decided I would make them for dinner that night. We had a few packets of Good Seasons Italian Dressing dressing laying around so I went for it and things turned out VERY GOOD!

Needed ingredients

2 boneless chicken breasts

2 packets of Good Seasoning Italian Dressing 

1 lb fresh green beans

6 small red skin potatoes

Directions 

1. Prepare the Good Seasons Dressing mix according to the package

2. Cut chicken and place in a bowl to marinde - use half of the prepared marinade on the chicken

3. Cut potatoes into wedges and trim the ends off of the green beans then place into a seperate bowl and pour remaining marinade over to cover. Stir to coat potatoes and green beans. 

4. Place in the fridge for 1 hr to flavor

5. Combine all ingredients into a 13x9 glass baking pan 

6. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hr at 375 degrees

Strawberry Blueberry Apple Crisp

Strawberry Blueberry Apple Crisp 

Ingredients 

Crips Filling

2 cups of diced apples

2 - 3 cups of blueberries

1 cup of diced strawberries 

1/4 cup of stevia 

2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour 

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg

Crisp Topping

1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup of whole wheat flour

3/4 cup of rolled oats 

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 cup of maple syrup

3 tablespoons of melted butter

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees 

2. Mix all of the filling ingredients in a large bowl then scrape into a 9 inch pie pan 

3. In a small bowl combine the crisp topping ingredients - allow to sit for a few minutes to absorb the flavor 

4. Top the filling with the crip topping 

5. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until fruit is bubbly and top is a crisp brown color

Enjoy! 

Call To Action Time

Call To Action Time - July Challenge Groups Forming 

Once every month I give my call to action shout out and this is the time for anyone who has been thinking about giving a challenge group a try a chance to step up to the plate and join in on the fun. I take applicants at the beginning of the month and will put them into the following challenge groups based on their goals and plans for the future.

July 7th - Piyo Test Group - These challengers are going to be lucky enough to be doing PiYo with me as I give the program a try for the first time. These challengers are going to follow the 60 day program in its entirety and follow the nutrition guide as well as the workout schedule. These challengers will be my poster children for PiYo! I am especially interested in having some pregnant women in the group as well as those who have been restricted to exercise in the past because of injury. If you want to be one of the first I have coached with PiYo this is your call to action. Check out the page on PiYo to learn more about the program. 

July 21st - This challenge group will be for anyone looking to learn more about clean eating and exercise. Many challengers will be doing the 21 day fix but I will also take those interested in other programs. This group will last for 30 days - it will be quick, simple and guaranteed to work as long as you do your part! 

July 28th - This will be my first 30 day clean eating group that I will have hosted. This is for those who are looking to learn about clean eating but do not have the time or are not ready for the exercise piece. Research shows that weight loss is 80/20 - 80% nutrition and 20% exercise so why not focus on your nutrition first if this is where you want to start. I will teach you how to meal plan, we will discuss clean eating and teach you how to become better at it as well as share many clean recipes and meal plans. This group will kick off with you doing the 3 day refresh to jump start your system then we will eat clean and drink Shakeology for 30 days. After those 30 days are up we will talk about a plan for how you want to approach your weight loss goals moving forward. 

 In the group I will teach you about clean eating, motivate you daily, post recipes, and support you as you change your lifestyle. This accountability piece is what many of you are missing. Many of us need someone to check in on us daily and see how things are going and to support you when you veer off the path. It happens - we are human but if you have someone to help you will meet your goals much faster.

If you have been watching my posts and considering giving this a try or maybe even have told me no in the past. Now is your time to say yes to this. Say yes to getting your life back on track and feeling good about yourself. This time is now not tomorrow or a month from now it's today because tomorrow is not promised. Join me, you will not regret it! 

Email me to reserve your spot and let me know what challenge group you are interested in: S.Griffith27@gmail.com