Why I Am Going To Succeed Even Though All The Cards Are Stacked Against Me

Here We Go.... 

Tomorrow I am taking it back to my old school favorite workout program. The program that got me started on my own fitness journey and my quest to lose my muffin top after having my little one. Tomorrow starts the original 21 day fix. Why you ask - because I have a group starting tomorrow with many of my old 21 day fixers who had fallen off the wagon and I want to join them on the fun. I feel like I will be a better coach because I will be "all in"right there along with them. Since I did the fix last year I changed the way my brain thought about food. I use the 21 day fix system still to this day when it comes to eating but I have gotten a little bit lax in the last few months.

However, I will be really honest and say that all of the cards are stacked against me being successful at this round. WHY? Well let me explain:

1. I start another round of clomid tomorrow for infertility. It's awful - it makes me sick, lethargic, hot and grumpy. I found that during the last two rounds I had no energy to exercise but I refuse to make that my excuse.

2. I leave for the beach on June 12th. My round of the fix won't end until June 21st so I will be doing it while on vacation. I will plan ahead and do some grocery shopping while I am there. Thanks to Beachbody on Demand I will still be able to workout too - the best part will be my workout scenery will have a much better view then the basement.

3. I have several graduation, birthday and end of the school year parties to attend. Lots of unhealthy temptations.

But you know what - I am going to do my best and I am going to put forth all of the efforts I can. If I slip up here and there that's okay because I know I am in it for the long haul. The timing is never going to be perfect. Summers are busy and just in general life is busy. If I keep waiting for a time when I am not going to have something going on I would be waiting the rest of my life. So tomorrow I go all in. Meal are prepped, groceries are bought. I got this so stay tuned!

Some fresh foods to feed my family during week one! 

Breakfast, lunch and snacks for day one - packed and ready to go!

I am excited to also say that on June 22nd (the day after I finish this round) I will be hosting a Stripped Challenge group - How to drop the last 10 lbs. This is going to be a motivator for me while I am doing this round of the fix knowing that I am going to be participating in that next with my clients.

That group will be focused on really cleaning up their nutrition and cutting out the foods that are preventing you from getting to that goal weight you might have been pushing for. I am going to follow some of the curriculum from the Eat Clean Stripped plan that Tosco Reno has written. In addition we will be exercising daily, incorporating Shakeology and also really kicking it up a notch and doing the 3 day refresh at the start of the challenge. We are not messing around in this group!

What you can expect from me is support, accountability and motivation. I am excited to get started with those who are looking to say you know what, so what if all the cards are stacked against me, I am going to give it my best anyways.

Summer is crazy busy but it is not an excuse to give up on your health.

Please fill out the application below if you would like to secure your spot on the June 22nd Stripped Challenge Group.

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Insanity Max 30 - Week 7 in Review

I Think I Can... I Think I Can...

Showing off my new cooling towel that Beachbody sent me from my December Success Club points. 

The end has been in sight this week. Knowing that I was getting so close sure was a good feeling! I think out of all of my weeks I have been doing this program, this past week was my hardest and took the most determination than all of the other weeks combined. I had a million excuses and reasons why I just wasn’t feeling it but I reminded myself that I made it this far. It was time to show up even when I didn’t feel like it. Grad school is taking up so much of my time now, I came down with a terrible cold after my son had it all weekend, my husband and I had a defeating day at the fertility doctors on Monday and then towards the end of this past week my son got the flu. When it rains it pours I suppose, but I had a choice and I chose to pick my butt off the floor and keep going.

Sporting my new headband I won from my December Success Club points. Who wouldn't want an 80's style sweat band right??

My body was telling me to back off this week. The sinus infection and chest cough made working out a true struggle. I couldn’t keep up most of this week with Shaun T so I stuck with the modifier on the days that I felt really sick. Skipped a few days and put them off to the weekend so I could rest my body. While working out with the heart rate monitor on my heart rate was off the charts constantly so I knew it was important to simply modify! Better than nothing!

The only way I made it thru my workout... VICKS to the rescue! 

A few of the moves during MAX30 - This was this night I was feeling pretty darn sick! 

My nutrition was crappy last week. I made a plan, I tried to stick to it but I found myself emotional eating on Monday after being really sad about all of the fertility stuff we are dealing with. Mid week I even made a box cake mix… This is something that I have not done in almost a year. We had no reason for a cake but I just felt like making it. My husband was surprised to see it in a pan but also really excited. I had a few slices here and there this week but at the end of the day I don’t even really like stuff like that anymore. I found myself being so busy that towards the end of the week I was cutting corners. Breakfast Friday was Panera. I went for steel cut oats and coffee but it had some brown sugar in it along with pecans and strawberries. Not horrible but also not what was on last weeks meal plan. I am still sticking with my daily dose of Shakeology though. I made the Snickerdoodle one several times last week. Usually I do chocolate with banana. Can’t believe I am almost at my one-year anniversary for drinking Shakeology. I swore when I started I would do a month of it and wasn’t going to keep up with it. Turned out to be too good of a thing to stop. 

Still one of my favorite Shakeo recipes! Its seriously like eating cookies for breakfast with this recipe! 

Saturday was fun and a much needed break from the stressful week. My mom came up Friday night to visit and celebrate my birthday a little bit early. (Turning 28 on Tuesday yikes)!! Saturday morning we worked out together to MAX 30. She was a champ – I was worried it might be too much since I am on month 2 but she modified and stuck right along with me. So proud of how much she too has taken control of her health this past year.

After we had lunch we treated ourselves to an hour-long massage at one of the spas in town. It was FABULOUS and felt like one of the best I have ever had. We left there feeling energized and in a little Zen like bubble. We headed over to the mall and did a little shopping together before she had to head home.

Mom killed it! Nothing like putting her thru a month 2 workout on her day one! 

Later that evening my best friend and her husband came up to also celebrate with us. We all went to dinner at a place called Carnegie House. It’s upscale fine dining and we decided to go all out! Dinner was delicious! Filet minion, shallots and mashed potatoes for me with cake for dessert and some coffee and Riesling to go along with it! A total treat and a better end to a rough week!

This was the dessert. Flourless chocolate lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream and homeade whipped cream and a coffe to go along with it! Hence the reason for the strict meal plan below! 

Insanity Max 30 - Week 6 In Review

Week 6 of Max 30 - No Quitters In This House! 

Sporting my new Max 30 shirt this week! LOVE how soft it is! 

Can I just say how excited I am getting that I am ALMOST done with MAX 30! Having that daily calendar up in my workout space is quite the motivator! I am still enjoying this program a lot and also still think that month two is rough but not so rough that I hate it. Below you will see a few of the moves. Some were from cool down stretches and some were just during! My workout dates were off this week. I was slept in a few days and was really busy a few evenings this week. I ended up deciding to skip Friday fight because I was catching up on the other ones I missed this week and hate to start on Monday on last weeks exercies. This was the first one out of the 60 that I decided to skip. I kind of regret it but oh well, I am on to a new week. 

People always ask me who takes these pictures... self timer ap ;) I just take a bunch during the workouts and sort thru them after I am done. 

My partner in crime this week for a few of the workouts. Talk about difficult to get the workout in when he joins me. He kept asking me to help him roller blade during the water breaks! The joys of working out at home in your basement!

Mid week I did a 5 am sweat session to preview the 21 day fix extreme that is coming out with some of the coaches on my team. We also did it in memory of one of the coaches husband on our team. He passed away last week from cancer so we decided to sweat for something bigger for those who have fought the battle. The workout was very challenging and has me super excited for its release date on the 2nd of February. I will be just finishing up Max 30 for the start of this! 

Man oh man... my glutes were on fire this week after all those squats and pusle moves!! Still not in love with Tabata moves but I have to say it's working even if I dread it!

Friday brought with it craziness this week. My son woke up with croup causing my whole day to get thrown off. Mom to the resuce, so I had to take the day off from work and take him to the doctors office. It made me behind on my work and he was in quite the mood all day because he was not feeling well. By bedtime mom was ready to throw in the towel. Instead of laying around like I wanted to, I decided I was going to sweat off my stress. 45 minutes later I was soo so so glad I did. I filled up my shaker cup with E&E, broke out my speaker and turned on some loud music before pressing play. Before I knew it the stress had melted away. 

Saturday I did not get a workout in and had to make up Thursdays on Sunday if that makes sense.... Saturday we headed to Harrisburgh for the Farm Show. My son is obsessed with tractors so it was a big deal for him. I packed a lunch for our road trip there and we did have some cheats while we were at the show. I went for a pulled pork sandwich and also homeade ice cream with warm apples. It was delicous but really sweet. The worst part was that after we left we did some shopping at the outlets in Hershey. I hit up the Under Armor outlet for some new workout stuff and then we went out to dinner. Friendlys was the only place that wasn't busy. Talk about bad choices for dinner. There were few healthy picks so I decided to just eat whatever. We had bacon cheese fries for an appetizer, my sandwich was chicken bacon ranch on sourdough bread and I ate half of my sons ice cream sundae. Lets just say I FELT AWFUL that evening. My body hates processed foods and that was way to much of it. In the moment I thought I wanted it but after the fact is just made me sick. 

This week I am back in the game and am going to try SO hard to stick with this meal plan listed below that I made for the week. I am trying to stick to the plan because when the Fix Extreme comes out I want to be ready to make the transition more easily! Have a great week everyone!

INSANITY MAX 30
WEEK 7 MEAL PLAN
www.sarahgriffith27.blogspot.com

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Shakeology	Shakeology	Shakeology w/ half banana	Shakeology	Fried Egg Banana
Strawberries	Eggs - w/ peppers & onions	Eggs - w/ peppers, onions & motz. cheese	Steel Cut Oatmeal w/ cinnamon and natural pb	Shakeology
Ham Sandwich 20 pistachios Greek Yogurt w/ mixed berries	Turbo Fire Chili w/ peppers and onions Mixed Berries Peanuts	Pineapple Stir Fry Chicken Brown Rice Broccoli	Tomato Basil Chicken Penne Pasta Mixed Berries w/ Greek Yogurt	Meatloaf Baked potato Broccoli Peanuts
Red Pepper Strips Peanuts	20 pistachios	Peanuts ½ strawberries	Pepper Strips w/ hummus	Apple w/ natural PB 20 pistachios
Turbo Fire Chili Peppers & Onions in chilli	Pineapple Stir Fry Chicken Brown Rice Broccoli	Tomato Basil Chicken Penne Pasta	Meatloaf Broccoli Apple w/ natural PB	Out for dinner

Insanity Max 30 - Half Way There Baby!

Insanity Max 30 - Week 4 In Review 

Cannot believe I am writing my halfway point review already! A month ago I never would have thought I would have survived the program let alone during the holidays. BUT I am here to tell you I made it! 30 more days to go and I will have completed the entire Insanity Max 30 program.  Feels good to stick with your goals!

My hubby joined me again a few times this week. We got the workouts in during the evening. It seems like the time passes by quicker when I have him to workout with me. We treat working out together like date night. It’s our time after our son goes to bed. Not only is our marriage benefiting, but so is our health. Our picture below is from one of our workouts. We were drenched by the end of our 30 minutes. Cardio challenge is no joke!

 Tabata Strength still seems to get me. My upper body is not as strong as it should be so all of the push-ups really kill me. I think I dislike the diamond push-ups the most. Completely shaking when I do them.  The video below shows a few of the moves from the strength workout.

For New Years we traveled back home to visit family again. Felt like we were just there but nonetheless we were excited to see everyone again. I slept in that morning before we traveled home and sort of wish I hadn’t after the fact. My little man joined me and he was the king of interruptions that day. My 30-minute workout took about 50 minutes. He needed a potty break, some snacks and completely made a mess of the basement. It was a great reminder of why I get up so early to get the workouts in. It’s my “me” time and I don’t always love to share it with anyone. It’s a good thing he is cute.

My nutrition was not great this week. New Years Eve and New Years Day were so-so.  I packed snacks when I traveled home and did fantastic all week with my water. For New Years Eve my hubby and I went out to dinner at a local restaurant back at home. We ate well – fresh bruschetta for an appetizer, we both had filet mignon and mashed potatoes with broccoli and cauliflower. It really hit the spot and was delicious. We also had a glass of wine. I was really filled up but since we stayed up so late for New Years, I did have some pizza around 10 pm. Not ideal but it was there and I just felt like eating it. Friday night I decided I wanted Dairy Queen. I wanted the ice cream more than I cared about staying on track. I hate when it happens but I am human too.  So I picked a peanut buster parfait and he had a cookie dough blizzard. I felt so gross after I ate it. You see once you eat clean all the time sugar and junk food actually makes you feel sick and sluggish.

Saturday I made up for the one workout I missed during the week so I wore my heart rate monitor to see how many calories I burned off in comparison to the parfait. The parfait had 710 calories and my workout only burned 227. I think we you see how hard to have to work for treats like that it makes those treats a little less appealing. At least for me it does.

 I am nervous to start the second half of this program. It will only get harder from here. I suppose I am now conditioned for it from month one, but it still scares me. My goal for this week is to focus on my nutrition and stay on track. I have done a meal plan for myself so that I have no excuses. I am also really excited about this coming week because I have an event for Beachbody in Pittsburgh Friday and Saturday. I will get to spend the weekend with all of the top coaches in my organization as well as the CEO of Beachbody and Autumn Calabrese the creator of the 21 -day fix, which is my favorite Beachbody program. We get to get all dressed up, Friday is a white carpet event and Saturday we have to wear sequin cocktail dresses. Trainings and celebrations! I can’t even wait! Love dressing up and love everything about Beachbody. The opportunity has been a blessing and completely changed my lifestyle. Beachbody coaches truly are some special people. I am lucky to have so many in my life!

Insanity Max 30

Week 5 Meal Plan

www.sarahgriffith27.blogspot.com

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Shakeology w/ banana	Shakeology w/strawberries	Shakeology	Shakeology	Shakeology
Egg Muffins w/Peppers & Onions	Egg Muffins w/Peppers & Onions	Steel Cut Oats w/ diced apples, nat. pb and cinnamon	Apple with natural PB	Apple with natural PB
Vegetable Soup Mixed Berry Parfait with Greek Yogurt Red Pepper Strips	Chicken Parm w/mozzarella cheese Pasta Apples w/natural PB	Frontier Soup Greek Yogurt Parfait with mixed berries Lettuce Wraps with Ham	Mediterranean Chicken Kalamata Olives Green Beans Greek Yogurt Parfait with mixed berries	*Field Trip* Soup Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli
8 organic wheat crackers Peanuts	Peanuts Red Pepper Strips	Hummus with ½ Peppers	Red Pepper Strips	Hummus & Crackers Shakeology Apple
Chicken Parm w/mozzarella cheese Penne Pasta	Frontier soup with Sirloin Egg Noodles	Mediterranean Chicken w/ Kalamata Olives Brown Rice Green Beans	2 Tacos with whole wheat wrap Onions & Peppers Black Beans Taco Cheese	TBD - Beachbody Event in Pittsburgh Luna Bar Peanuts Red Pepper Strips