This is all of me on flex Friday submission to Silver Threading for Writer’s Quotes Wednesday. This is the place where I seek solace and inspiration. Please check out all the talent that resides there. Thank you. ❤️
Writer’s Quotes Wednesday
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Taking back me challenge continues on
*Image found on Facebook , and not my own.*
What was your week like with meeting your fitness goals?
Jsack Mom:
I had a great week I worked out everyday and completed my four week fitness challenge. My clean eating was on target and my stress levels were managed.
Tracy on the Rocks:
This past week was tough. I had an event out of town so it was hard to control what I ate as well as I could have if I had been at home. I did my best to make healthy choice though, and I brought workout clothes so I could hit the gym at the hotel!
How many times did you work out during the week?
Jsack Mom: I worked out everyday this week for 30-45 minutes a day. I’ve been taking more time to stretch since I saw a massage therapist last week. She said my back was a mess of knots. After a year of going without a massage or chiropractor treatment it didn’t surprise me.
Tracy on the rocks:
I squeezed in 3 workouts last week.
How was your eating plan, did you stick to it or cheat a little?
Jsack Mom:
I ate well for the first four weeks of my first fitness challenge. Now I’ve been eating a very strict menu plan. I’ve allowed myself to have a handful of nuts at the end of the day. I find its just what I need for the tummy growlies, and helps me sleep better.
Tracy on the rocks:
I actually got a stomach bug at the beginning of the week, and then at the end of the week I was out of town and “cheated” as well as drank wine! So hopefully not being able to eat much at the beginning of the week balanced things out!
Do you allow yourself to have a cheat day?
Jsack Mom:
I was on a new fitness challenge so the food menu was quite regimented for results. I had an extra snack later at night because I was starving and I couldn’t sleep.
Tracy on the rocks:
I had a book signing Thursday with some of the other contributors to an anthology I am in, so yes, I cheated. Mostly with wine. And some sweet potato fries at lunch! Eekk
How are you feeling, sleeping better, eating clean, stress relief wise?
Jsack Mom:
This was a detox fitness challenge so it was tough on me physically, emotionally, and mentally. I felt good the first couple of days then mid week I developed a cold with headaches. That made for difficult sleeping habits,and not getting enough rest made me stressed out. The workouts and drinking tons of water, (at least 2 litres a day) helped a lot.
Tracy on the rocks:
I am entering my 3rd week and I am sleeping better, waking up a little easier and overall have more energy! When I work out, it makes me WANT to keep eating healthy!
Have you noticed any results since you began your fitness challenge?
Jsack Mom:
I have never owned a scale not since I was at my heaviest. But I take measurements and I lost 2 inches around my hips, waist, and I lost a pant size! This is after one month and recovering from my back injury!
Tracy on the Rocks:
I’ve lost a total of 7 lbs so far!
What do you hope to gain from your fitness challenge?
Jsack Mom:
I hope to gain more strength, endurance, and the knowledge to eat a clean, and healthy diet. I’m changing my mindset so this is not a “diet” for me this is a new lifestyle change.
Tracy on the rocks:
I hope NOT to gain- I hope to lose…weight! Haha But, I hope to gain healthy habits too! Joking! ?
*Image found on Facebook, and borrowed from my coach Ryan Luhning.*
What’s the one thing that’s keeping you motivated throughout this time?
Jsack Mom:
Knowing that I’ve had Tracy to team up with has helped me a lot for support and accountability. My Beach Body coach Ryan Luhning with www.yycgamechangers inspires and motivates me everyday with his positive charged up attitude, expertise, guidance, and never ending energy!!! Him and his wife Carolyn are an incredible team who’s passion for fitness inspires my own again. And after a long time of putting myself last it feels incredible again to have that support. ?
Tracy on the rocks:
Fitting into my skinny jeans!!
What’s been your favourite meal that helps fill you up and still have you eating healthy?
Jsack Mom:
I’ve recently been eating brown rice again mixed with steamed veggies and skinless chicken. I forgot how much I loved brown rice. I stopped eating it because of the convenience factor. But I made a big batch of it and had some for lunch and dinner.
Tracy on the rocks:
This is more of a condiment- I put hot sauce on everything! And that helps make bland food like chicken and vegetables have some zip without the sugars of other sauces.
Do you have a favourite snack?
Jsack Mom:
For my go to snack I’ve fallen in love with Greek yogurt mixed with oatmeal and fruit. The creamy texture and sweetness of the berries fills me up and satisfies my sweet tooth. I will include the recipe at the end of the interview.
Tracy on the rocks:
I have been trying to cut back on snacks, but my mom had dried out a huge bag of sliced apples and I asked her to send me some more because they are good when I need something sweet, but still healthy!
Did you clean out your cupboards to avoid temptations?
Jsack Mom:
No I didn’t, there really wasn’t a point because not everyone was eating the same meal plan as me. There’s trigger foods in my house all the time I just avoid them, or eat them in moderation.
Tracy on the rocks:
No, because my roommate and I live like bachelors and we never have any food to begin with hahaha. ?
Have you weighed and measured yourself since you started a month ago?
Jsack Mom:
No I didn’t weigh myself I only do that once a year at my Dr’s physical. I did measure myself though, my best method is to how well my clothes are fitting. I also took daily pictures to motivate me and keep me on track.
Tracy on the rocks:
I only weighed myself. I should measure myself and take pictures. But I don’t want evidence of the “before,” just hurry up and get to the “after” portion!
What are your results?
Jsack Mom: inches lost and down a whole pant size!
Tracy on the rocks: 7 lbs down total!
What’s the next goal for yourself?
Jsack Mom:
I’ve been invited to participate in another challenge, the Beach Body 21 day fix. And another personal one with a friend and her team. I will weigh out the commitments to each and make my decision from there.
Tracy on the rocks:
I am hoping to continue at 2 lb loss increments
Will this become a lifestyle change or is just to drop some weight?
Jsack Mom:
Absolutely lifestyle, I want to teach my children more about healthy choices and eating clean. My oldest son already eats very healthy, but he’s a big snacker. Now I have healthier options for him to choose from. My youngest has a lot of food texture issues so I just try to get him eating lots of fruits, and he’s content with carrots so I don’t force the issue. I make the sneakiest and healthiest pasta sauce because I blend up tons of veggies in there. Jessica Seinfeld’s cookbook Deceptively Delicious is pure genius with her methods of incorporating vegetables into a family food menu.
Tracy on the rocks:
Lifestyle! I don’t want to yo-yo diet! The fitness part is definitely something that I need to incorporate into my life and not just as a fad. I also realize I was drinking alcohol way too often. Before I started keeping track of what I was eating, it was easy to make drinking a glass (or a bottle) of wine nightly a habit.
Do you keep yourself accountable to a group, friend, or partner?
Jsack Mom:
Yes I’m accountable to myself, my Beach Body coach Ryan, my fitness teams, and of course to Tracy and all you wonderful readers following along. I’ve been blessed to have many supportive friends and family in person and online cheering me on as well.
Tracy on the rocks:
Myself and knowing I’m going to have to report my results in this challenge!
Name 5 things that are keeping you motivated today.
Jsack Mom:
- 1. Keeping track of my progress through pictures, posts, and hard work.
- 2. That wonderful feeling of adrenaline and euphoria before, during, and after a workout.
- 3. Beach Body fitness trainer Shaun T. His workouts are geared for results. His exercise progressions are small in increments but very powerful. His ecouragement and his hotness factor are motivating me too. ?
- 4. My energy level at the end of the day is amazing. Before I was dragging my butt at the end of the day; I could’ve carried it to bed with both hands. Now I feel so much better and what little sleep I get (die to my son’s sleep disorder) it’s solid and rejuvenating now.
- 5. Being pain free with my chronic back pain is my goal. As well as being an active Mom who teaches, learns, and grows with my children. While teaching and implementing healthy habits for my whole family to use.
Tracy on the rocks
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Fitting into my jeans
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All the sacrifices I’ve already made will be for nothing if I don’t stay on track
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Fitting into a new dress for my friend’s wedding (which happens to be on my birthday)
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Umm…being too busy to eat
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That’s all I’ve got.
Name someone who’s been supportive of you meeting your fitness goals.
Jsack Mom: Tracy on the Rocks! She’s been incredible with cheering me on and always so supportive with my posting schedule when answering her own fitness questions. My coach Ryan from YYC Game changers is a bottomless well of health, enthusiasm, advice, and motivation. Him and his lovely wife Carolyn really walk the walk, and talk the talk. I’ve been following their fitness journey on their blog, and now their motivating You tube channel as well as Instagram. They live, breathe, and promote their passion daily with Beach Body health and fitness.
Tracy on the Rocks: Jsack Mom!
Everyone’s actually been really supportive! My roommate is getting married so she’s doing her own challenge and my girlfriend found out I was doing Medifast and she told me she did it too so she keeps checking in. Everyone wants me to succeed!
Is there anything that’s sabotaging you to not meet your goals?
Jsack Mom:
Yes right now with this detox challenge it’s the yummy, tantalizing foods I can’t have. My husband brought home a honey ham for dinner and I had to leave the house. It smelled so good I was afraid I was going to cave. So I took a quick jog around the block and felt better when I got home and everything was put away. Honestly though it was a long night and I sulked while eating my salmon salad and NOT having a beer while watching the hockey game. ?
Tracy on the Rocks: Not yet….
Recipe: Greek yogurt and berries
Here’s my favourite new snack so easy and so delicious.
- 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup of fresh fruit (raspberries or strawberries or both.)
- 2 Tablespoons of oatmeal.
- Mix together in a bowl and BOOM ? you’ve got a delicious, healthy snack.
So there you have it Tracy on the Rocks and I will be back next week to share tips, recipes, and what’s making us feel great on the #takingbackmechallenge. Thank you for coming along on our journey. ❤️
#Taking back me challenge Part 1
Today we embark on a new journey to fitness and beyond. I Jsack Mom and Tracy on the Rocks are teaming up and are in it to win it! Follow us as they embark on individual fitness challenges. We will log our personal results, our struggles and more importantly our wins! Getting fit isn’t easy- especially when you’ve fallen off the wagon! But we are determined!!!
My Story:
I looked in the mirror tugging at the extra skin left over from two emergency cescarean sections. Looking at my body that housed my children not with respect, but with disgust. This body used to be strong, and now I wake up everyday in chronic pain. I cringe as I get out of bed each morning and slowly get my son up for school. After a old back injury of a bulging disk five years, ago mornings are the worst for me.
My youngest is up and breakfast is served and we eat together I set him up with a cartoon. I get my yoga mat and settle in to do my yoga routine. I do this so I can move throughout the day. I wish this was relaxing and zen but the pain doesn’t allow me to feel that until I loosen up. I don’t talk about my chronic pain it’s just something I’ve lived with. So now I’ve decided after surviving life I want to thrive so the fitness challenge began. So let the Q&A begin!
What is your history/background with fitness?
Jsackmom: I remember doing my first Jane Fonda workout in the 80’s and I loved it. Compared to what they teach now it was contraindicated scary aerobics but no one knew the difference back then. I embarked on a fitness career after high school when I took my training to teach general choreography aerobics, step aerobics, weight training, and personal training. I ended up teaching for seventeen years as well as yoga for ten years.
Tracy on the Rocks: Unfortunately, my relationship with fitness has been a sordid one over the years. My mom’s side of the facility struggles with weight and my grandmother was morbidly obese. Weight issues definitely run in the family. I have never loved working out and when I am working out regularly, it’s not because I get some great high or rush out of it…it’s because I’m very conscious that it’s good for me and that I should do it.
Have you always struggled to stay on track to be fit?
Jsackmom: I was always really active playing sports in and out of school. Fitness and weight gain didn’t become a problem for me until I was sixteen. I moved a long ways away from my family to live with other family members. I was very homesick and depressed so I gained the “freshman fifteen.” I ended up losing it all with the Fit for Life plan written by Sam Garcia. Then I moved back home to my former province and became serious about working out regularly at the gym.
Tracy on the Rocks: It pains me to admit, but like many adolescent women, I didn’t like how I looked starting in Jr. High and into high school. But, the first time I gained a bunch of weight was in college. I worked my butt off to get back in shape. The short answer is yes. I will get at a good weight and be on a great streak of working out and eating healthy for a few years. But, it’s been a pattern that I’ll gain weight and then have to work really hard to take it off again. I really want to find a healthy balanced lifestyle so I don’t “Fall off the wagon” every couple of years. Side Note-To my point that I’ll stay on a good streak for a couple of years, here’s a post from my blog from 2 years ago about working out. It is one of my most popular posts and I think you might find it quite amusing.
Who is your biggest inspiration to getting healthy and fit?
Jsack Mom: My inspiration is my children. I want to be fit and healthy so I can keep up with their activities. I’m classified as an “older parent” with two young children in my early forties. I want to teach them healthier ways to eat, think, and live. My husband and I will be those parents that are keeping are children’s minds and bodies fit and active with physical literacy.
Tracy on the Rocks: I wish I had some answer here that made me seem less shallow. But the truth is, my pants stopped fitting and I don’t feel very good about how I look right now. I kind of hit rock bottom with tipping the scale and having to buy new pants so um yeah it was glaringly obvious that I needed to reel it in..
Is this about not liking the numbers on the scale or for health reasons?
Jsack Mom : I personally don’t own a scale so I weigh myself once the year at my Dr’s office or a friends house. My clothes are my deciding factor of whether I’ve put on weight. I had a health scare back in December and I had to get a complete blood panel to rule out diabetes. I’m happy to say that I’m healthy and my Dr told me to keep doing what I’m doing. My pain level has increased and I need to address that as well. I don’t sleep a lot with my youngest son’s sleep disorder. I very rarely feel rested so my body doesn’t feel refreshed or healed. I need to do more than have stress and anxiety be my chosen weigh to shed pounds. I don’t have a great balance right now and I’m feeling the adverse affects of late nights, poor eating choices, and sleep deprivation. I’ve been researching for the last while about the affects of losing sleep and it scares me. I don’t want to be a statistic!!!!
Tracy on the Rocks: It’s about both. What I said above is true, feeling bad about the number on the scale and having my clothes not fit…that’s a reason for sure. I saw a friend a couple of weeks ago who has lost a lot of weight recently- I can tell he is feeling good about himself and that was probably ultimately the catalyst. I was jealous- not in a malicious way, but envious nonetheless- of how what he had done and I wanted to remember how it feels to not be ashamed of how I look. That said, I also care about being healthy and fit. I care about being more active. I care about having a healthier lifestyle. I care about balance- right now I have many of the other areas of my life balanced: career, friends, family, writing….and the one area that’s really hurting right now is my fitness. I notice that usually it’s one thing that I let go unattended. When I had a job I hated, I would use working out and my blog as an outlet for my stress. So while my blog and fitness were doing great, my career was not. I hope that this last go of it will be my way of finding balance in all areas. I know it won’t be perfectly balanced but I’m working on not neglecting one area too much for too long.
What program are you doing?
Jsack Mom : I’m doing the Beachbody program complete with workout, meal plans, shakeology, and fitness challenge group. With them and my coach they keep me motivated, supported, and accountable for my daily check in’s.
Tracy on the Rocks: I am incorporating exercise into my schedule including boot camp and fitness classes. I am also trying the Medifast meal plan.
What was the deciding factor for choosing that program?
Jsackmom: My health, motivation, and my pain level has increased so I need to get that in check. Plus I’ve spent the last few months getting to know my amazing coach before I signed up. He’s a great motivator, supportive, fun, and energy I wish to bottle and sell to make my millions. His experience with the program and how honest he’s been about his and his wife’s own personal journey has been the deciding factor in a long list of positives.
Tracy on the Rocks: Boot camp and yoga are paid for by my work and they are right at my office so I have no excuse. I also have a bunch of co-workers who go and who can hold me accountable and shame me if I don’t show up haha. As for the Medifast, my friend reps it and honestly I am just lazy. I needed an easy “grab and go” solution because I am sososoos busy and I just don’t have time right now to shop, prepare and cook health meals all week. I opted for just shakes and bars for convenience. I didn’t realize that there is a whole diet/restricted foods business to go along with it. I recommend you do a little research before diving into a system like I did though hahaha. #lazybones
What are your ultimate goals with this challenge?
Jsack Mom : My goal has been to
