Easter Surprises

We spent Easter with Bryson's family in Ballinger this year. Violet and Parker love playing with their cousins!! The older cousins are so good with the little ones that we barely see them while we visit because they play so well together (most of the time!). We all went to church together Sunday morning. The kids loved watching Nana play in the praise band. 

The Owen Family

Owen Cousins 

It has rained Easter morning so we had the egg hunt up at the band hall. And Parker dominated opening the eggs and eating all the candy! It was so funny to watch! 

He loves the m&ms! 

This past month two of my best friends turned 30! A few weeks ago Kimmy and I planned to surprise Kim at St. Arnold's for lunch. It was so funny to see Kim's reaction when she saw us! She was very caught off guard and surprised! We enjoyed the yummy lunch and cold beer It was so fun to celebrate Kim! Love you!! 

Happy Birthday Kim!! 

Next surprise was yesterday in Austin! Grace was my old college roommate and is the queen of celebrating others. It was her 30th Golden birthday! This took a lot of emails and careful planning with her husband. But we managed to pull it off!! She was out on a family walk and came home to a house full of food and friends!! We had a relaxed time hanging out and laughing! 

Happy Birthday Grace!! 

We have a busy month of May ahead...I'll try to keep y'all posted! 

T25 Day 90

I did it!! Wow!! I can't believe I COMPLETED the 90 day challenge group! Seriously I am so shocked, proud, motivated and inspired!! 

It was SO fun to be part of a challenge group all via Facebook. Everyone in the group was so honest and encouraging! Our coach was great too!! There were days I did not want to exercise! Or I would sleep in and not be able to exercise until after the kids went to bed. I would post "I will work out tonight!" And it would help me stay accountable. People would ask if I worked out! And then I would! 

Final workout! 

As a stay at home mom I do a lot of little tasks all day. Some get finished, some get started, some are sorta started or almost done. I wanted to complete T25 to be healthier, to maybe lose a few pounds or inches. I wanted to accomplish finishing something all the way through. 

Through the 90 days I realized I love to workout! It makes me much more productive, I'm a nicer person, and I sleep better!! I also realized I have a weakness: I love food!  I love the way food taste! And it is SO hard to not eat more of something that taste so good. I don't care if I'm full, if it tasted really good, I want just a few more bites. For me, portion control is very mental and a lesson in self control! So I learned I can workout everyday and eat mostly healthy, but my portions are off. 

Flexing really hard! Haha

I can tell my legs are more toned, my tummy is a flatter, my clothes are looser and fit better, I can do most of the workouts full out, and I am stronger. I definitely still room for improvements! But I am shocked and happy with the results from staying committed for 90 days to a challenge group. 

Left: Day 1, Right: Day 90

I've been measuring and taking pictures every 30 days to record my progress. Its true the scale isn't the best factor when getting in shape! While you may not be able to tell a big difference from above, I can definitely feel the difference! I'm not trying to get six-pack abs or huge ripped arms. I want to make healthy food choices and be in the best shape I can be for me and my family! 

Final results: I've dropped 3lbs and lost over 10 inches!! 

Thanks T25 (and Shaun T) you are an amazing program! I will continue to use your effective 25 min workouts! If you are looking for a challenge group or interested in T25 I would love to help you! Let me know! I have a T25 challenge group starting in May and would love to have you in it!

T25 for-eva! 

T25 day 60

I seriously can't believe we have hit the 60 day mark!! Only 30 days left!

I definitely have slacked in eating healthy the past 30 days. I really need to making healthier choices. It really is a process. I've realized I do mostly eat healthy but sometimes my portions are way to big. I love to eat and I love the way it tastes! 

Also beta isn't as cardio as alpha was. So I have added in a couple double workouts a week with cardio. I do like the added strength training beta has included. 

My 60 day results are.... A total of 8.5 inches lost since starting the T25 program! 

My clothes feel great and not tight like they use too! I can tell my legs have toned up and my arms have slimmed! 

Looking forward to the next 30 days! 

T25

I started the second phase of T25, beta, last week. Just like the first phase, beta is 5 weeks long with 25 minute workouts! 

It is a lot faster and challenging! I felt like I was finally getting down the moves and doing the workouts really good in Alpha and then it was time to change! Change is a good thing! It keeps your muscles guessing and confuses them to work better! 

I've had Bryson snap a fee pics of me the other night while I did "dynamic core"

"Hammer kicks"

"Sprint and balance" (I can't remember what Shaun T calls this one) 

I'm glad he took these bc I know in the balance pic I can stretch more to be more horizontal to the ground. 

So far beta is more about focusing on your core. You still are doing cardio and speed, but we use weights or resistance bands probably 2-3 times a week. I really like adding weights and can tell it gets my heartrate going! I do miss more of the cardio and hope to add in alpha cardio or Turbo jam/fire a few times a week. 

I did "core cardio" yesterday and my legs felt like jello! I had sweat dripping off my face! It was a GREAT workout! 

This is what I looked like after the workout:

A hot sweaty mess! 

I have about 3.5 weeks to go! Woohoo!! 

Focus T25

I've been meaning to blog about this... (is how most of my blogs seem to start lately)

Five weeks ago I started an at home workout program by BeachBody called Focus T25. Since becoming a beachbody coach a few months ago I really wanted to start AND complete a workout program. T25 was created by mastermind ShaunT, creator of "Hip hop Abs", "insanity", "aslyum" etc! 

So I was a bit nervous....until I actually pressed play...

T25 is set up into two 5 week programs, Alpha and Beta. Each workout is ONLY 25mins! (This is my favorite part!) You are given a calendar that tells you exactly what workout to do on what day (5 days a week, 25 minutes) and you are given recipes and meal plans to follow! The Beachbody company makes easy to exercise and be healthy. 

Alpha Day 1

The workouts: I looooove them! Since having kids it has been very hard for me to make time to workout! I'll plan on a walk or run and end up having to stop 250 times bc kids are crazy! So far Alpha T25 workouts are a mix of cardio, strength, stretching, abs, jumping,  agility and speed. It's sorta a mini boot camp but in the comfort of your own home, and no one is yelling at you. and There is a modifier in every workout! (Tania is my best friend :)   

I've made a hard effort to try to go to bed earlier and wake up around 5:30am to workout before anyone wakes up. My only reason for an early workout is bc then it's over and I'm done! 

Some times Violet wakes up early and gets a workout too! 

The workouts push you and make you stronger. BUT you can always modify if you need/want to! I can't believe I have competed 4 weeks already and am actually excited about the next 6 weeks to complete the T25 program. It has been fun to post about it on social media and read encouragement and receive messages about the program and my progress! It definitely has helped keep me going!   

Along with T25 I've been drinking shakeology every day! This shake is literally pumping the best nutrients, all my daily vitamins, superfoods into my body! It has certainly helped my body recover and have energy! 

T25 + shakeology = does a body good! 

Results: To keep motivated and accountable to completeing T25, I have joined an amazing 90 day challenge group on facebook led by a fellow Beachbody coach ("Hi Roxanne!" If you are reading...) It is a group with about 6 other people doing beachbody programs. So we encourage each other to exercise, eat healthy and check in every day.

 On day 1: Roxanne made us take measurements and pictures of ourselves and send them. This was really hard to do!!  but since I decided to commit to this program I did it and email them to her. 

Day 30: We took pics and measurements again...And to my huge surprise and shock I have lost a total of 5.75 inches in 4 weeks!! Y'all this is amazing! I mean I'm trying to eat healthier but still have had indulgences, I've have been working out 5 days a week! I just have never had results like this!! I'm super happy and excited to keep going! Stay tuned for the next update! 

The best workout and fastest results I've ever had!