Confession Time...

I would say this pretty much describes the past three nights (weeks...whatever) for me. I just cannot get with it. I do ok during the day, except for my Starbucks runs (I don't want to talk about it) but then Harrison goes to bed and I eat everything in sight. It's bad.

I am STRUGGLING.

I have a million excuses too. First, it was that time of the month. So of course I needed some sugar, wine and carbs. Duh! It's just a few days, I'll get back on track. Ha. Yeah.

Then I had quite a few longer runs scheduled. Runners, you know what that means. I was ravenous those days. I ran ten miles, heck I can eat this extra dessert (or five), right??

And then there's my sweet, crazy, rambunctious 3 year old. I love him more than words can say. But oh my goodness this kid exhausts me. And he's been a little rougher than usual the past few days. It was torture putting him to bed last night. My husband had worship team practice then served cleaning the church afterwards. So that meant I was all alone. (I also don't do well alone...I'm needy. Sorry.) So what did I do? I watched Mean Girls and ate little Debbie cakes and drank a beer.

I'm not proud. If this had been the only night, sure whatever, brush it off, start again in the morning.

But I'm going on weeks here. And it's starting to show. In my gut.

Heard this saying before? It's true. And it's sad. Because we don't have to go through this alone. I made this choice to hide the poor decisions I was making for my health. I didn't exercise yesterday. I had a little pity party for myself, ate my 3 year old's desserts for his little party (which means another trip to the store...awesome), and now I'm paying for it. Here's the thing. I'm not only paying for it physically...

I'm paying for it emotionally.

You should hear the things I've been saying to myself. Hurtful things. Mean things. I've been pushing myself back into that lie. You know the lie. You say it to yourself. Society says it to you. 

You're fat.

You're ugly.

You don't look like (insert person of your choice who you THINK is better than you).

This is spilling over into other aspects of my life. Deeper than appearances. So much deeper.

You will never succeed.

What makes you think you deserve to be a top coach?

You're a bad mom.

You're a bad wife.

The house is a mess...again...way to go. Figures. You couldn't keep up.

I could keep going, but I'm not. I'm pissing myself off. 

NONE OF THAT IS TRUE!!!!

They're lies. And I refuse to believe them.

It's amazing how a few weeks of getting off track and poor planning on my part to take care of myself affects so many other areas of my life. Our health matters.

YOUR HEALTH MATTERS.

It's not just about how you look necessarily (though if you're like me...the way I feel about my physical appearance affects my moods!). It's about how you feel. When you feel strong and unstoppable every other area of your life is better for it. The little things don't get to you. You don't wake up in a bad mood and coming up with every excuse in the book to sleep 5 more minutes (which of course turns into 15). You wake up and you're ready. Ready for life. Embracing life. 

So today I'm choosing joy. I'm choosing happiness. I'm choosing to get back on track and reset myself. Today is the start of my comeback. Anyone else ready to make a comeback?

Deuces. 

(It's not going away...embrace it. Choose joy.)

What's for Dinner?! Coconut Shrimp and Chicken

My friend gave me the most amazing recipe the other week. Oh man it's gooooooood!!! Of course I wanted to share it with all of you! So here it is!!

{Thai} Coconut Shrimp and Chicken

Ingredients:
Shrimp (raw or frozen. peeled and deveined)
2 large chicken breasts (thawed and cubed)
Ground ginger
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Sesame Oil
1/2 big sweet yellow onion, sliced
2 zucchinis, sliced in sticks
1 red bell pepper, sliced in sticks
10 shitake mushrooms, sliced
Reduced sodium soy sauce
Thai unsweetened coconut milk (1 can)
Fresh cilantro
Brown Rice

1. Add some sesame oil to a hot pan. Add ginger and garlic and let cook for 30 seconds.
2. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink, juices run clear.
3. Add shrimp and cook until pink. Remove all the shrimp, chicken and spices and set aside in a bowl.
(Meanwhile, cook some brown rice in another pot)

4. Add some neutral oil to the same pan, like coconut oil. Add the onion, saute it for 2 minutes. then add the red pepper and let it cook for a couple of minutes as well. Then add the zucchini and mushrooms. Add a 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro. Mix everything well.
5. Finally, add a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce and the entire can of coconut milk. Adjust seasoning if needed.

Serve over rice. Sprinkle some more fresh cilantro on top. Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday to ME...but the gift is for YOU!

Well it happened. I'm getting older. Hooray. Like lots of women it's hard for me as each year passes. I turned 29 yesterday, which means next year is the big 3-0. I'm a little scared of turning 30 and not having accomplished anything I set out to do. I'm sure lots of people have these fears! But I've decided instead of dwelling on it I'm going to make absolute sure that isn't the case! I have big goals for myself and my business! BIG goals. Scary goals. And there's that quote:

If your dreams don't scare you...they aren't big enough.

Well, mine scare the bejeezus out of me!! What if I fail completely?! Well, if I do, I'll just keep going. I mean, I can't fail COMPLETELY...things are already moving and I'm excited about where God has me and how He's going to use me to provide for our family and change the lives of so many people. 

So what does this have to do with you and this post? Well...I have a gift for you! First, check this out:

Umm holy cow, right?!?! Yeah, seriously! These two ladies are a part of the coaching team I'm in and these are their REAL RESULTS using ShaunT's T25. I cannot wait to do this program from beginning to end! I love ShaunT...he is motivating and inspiring!! And he will work your core! Each workout is only 25 minutes long...you can find 25 minutes at some point in your day to get it done. Yes, you can. No really...get off facebook...put down candy crush...knock it out in 25 minutes! Oh, and guess what?! T25 challenge pack is currently on promo for the month of April! Awesome, right?!

So here's the deal. My T25 Summer Slim Down Challenge Group starts April 21st. I'm doing this with you. My husband is doing this with us. Several coaches and challengers are doing this challenge. We are ready to ROCK our swimsuits and shorts and dresses this summer! How about you? ShaunT will make it happen with those workouts he's bringing to your home. I'll make it happen by providing support, accountability, encouragement and teaching you about proper nutrition and meal planning together. YOU make it happen by giving me 10 weeks of 100% commitment and honesty. Together we can help you succeed in reaching your health and fitness goals!

Oh wait...let me make this even sweeter for you. The first FIVE people to join my challenge group this week will get a gift card from me after the purchase of their challenge pack. It's already on sale. I'm going to give you money back. You're going to lose weight and feel amazing. I'm struggling to see any negatives here! You have until Friday. I can't wait to hear those sweet words:

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

Deuces.

Consistency

Hola! Been a while, huh? I know, I know. This is what I do! I start a blog, I'm consistent for a little while, then BOOM life hits and I forget about my poor blog. Seems I'm always starting it over! But I really don't want to! I want it to become a habit. I want to be consistent. And as the awesome Autumn Calabrese always says...

So I'm determined to be more consistent in life. Consistent with my workouts, consistent with my eating (and not consistently eating junk! Ha!), consistent with my blogging, consistent with my challengers.

CONSISTENT.

Just a word yet it packs in so much and can open up so many doors. Being consistent lost me over 50 pounds. Being consistent helped me run a half marathon. Being consistent in my marriage has made it stronger. Being consistent with my faith draws me closer to God. Being consistent with my rambunctious 3 (almost 4...holy molies!) year old helps keep him in check. Crazy how that one little thing can change so much. 

If you're like me, one mess up and I spiral. One chicken nugget turns into a #10 at McDonalds...and heck, why not throw in the double cheeseburger, extra pickles please?! Oh supersize...sure why not?!

One missed run turns into a week...a couple weeks...a month...

One missed quiet time with God turns into a week...a month...MONTHS...my soul will crave for Him yet I ignore it because it just becomes easier to do.

Am I driving this point home?? Beating a dead horse? Harping on this too much?? You catching my drift?? (See what I did there?!)

Consistency is the key to success. It doesn't matter what your goals are. If you are being consistent with your plan of trying to meet them it will happen. So many times in my challenge groups I hear people getting frustrated with that measly pound they lost and it's been however long. Lots of times this causes people to give up. What does it matter?! I'm not seeing any progress anyway, right?

WRONG!!!!

You may not realize this, but that measly little pound is the catalyst to what is going to happen to your body!! That measly little pound might have resulted in an inch of fat gone from your waist! That measly little pound could mean you can hold a plank for 15 seconds longer than you could when you started! There is so much that pound could mean!! And if you just quit...you'll never know what could have happened! You'll never know what goals you could have crushed!

You'll never know.

So I'm going to challenge you today...right now. Get a piece of paper and a writing utensil (yes, it can be that sparkly gel pen from the nineties you've been holding onto cause let's be real...those things were awesome!)

Got it?! Awesome. Here's what you're gonna do. Pick ONE major goal. Just one. Don't overwhelm yourself. And it HAS to be measurable. Definitive. It could be lose 15 pounds by June 22 (and IF that's the case you should join my T25 challenge group! Email me for info!! victoriasharee@gmail.com!). It could be to hold that plank for 1 full minute (or longer!). It could be to spend 15 min of quiet time with Jesus everyday. It could be to write a book.It could be to knit or crochet a complete afghan by December! (Yes, I can do both of those...they're so relaxing!! Unless my yarn gets all knotted up...you don't want to be around when that happens...you might get stabbed with my knitting needle!)

Write that goal at the top of your paper. Underneath that, write the date you want to meet that goal. Then I want you to set mini goals, as well as deadlines. Make a plan of action. Schedule it into your day. You want to write a book? Awesome...how much time a day (that's right...a day...everyday) will you devote to writing? How many pages of this book will you have written halfway? Who will edit this book for you? WHO WILL HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE?!?! And what happens if you don't meet your deadlines? Are you going to give up? Are you going to cry about it and decide "eh, this wasn't for me. Just forget about it. On to the next thing?!" I most certainly hope not! Set a new deadline. Now, don't be lazy or get slack about things. But show yourself grace. Pick yourself up and keep going.

BE CONSISTENT. I promise, results will come.

Deuces.

(Yeah, I'm not giving up on that.)

Beachbody Baby!

Hopefully you've had a chance to read my last post about my transformation! (If not, read it here!) Remember I said I didn't do this to inspire anyone? That I did it for myself? Well, here's the crazy thing about when you try to be the best you there is...you DO inspire people. It just happens! And it's amazing!

I shared WHY I started my journey, but I didn't really share how. Well, long story short, I started January of 2013 trying to lose weight. I weighed 178 lbs when I started. I decided to start with just cleaning up my eating using South Beach Diet (phase 1 is brutal!!) and doing some walking/running and workout dvd's (started with Jillian Michael's 30 day shred). There were so many days I wanted to give up. Throw in the towel, go back to my old habits, and just be done.

There are lots of reasons I kept going. I had goals! And I'm not typically a quitter. But when it gets hard, you don't remember those things. Lucky for me, I started my journey with a beachbody coach, who has now become a pretty great friend! She was a huge supporter, motivator, and encourager for me. Every time I wanted to stop, she reminded me why I was doing this. I didn't really know much about beachbody then (except that Shaun T is a trainer for them and I think he's awesome! Hip Hop Abs is where it's at baby!) but I did know that my coach cared about me and would do anything to help me stay on my journey! I'm so incredibly grateful for her! (Love ya Kelly! Y'all go check out her blog too...she'll inspire you as well I'm sure!!)

Doing all of that I lost about 20-25 lbs. It was great! Then I kicked it up a notch and reached out to my brother in law for help (he's a personal trainer) and I'm so thankful he believed in me enough to help! He convinced me I could run a half marathon and trained me through it. I lost another 15 or so pounds!!

It was around that same time, maybe two weeks before my race, I finally decided to try out some beach body programs and Shakeology (I used hip hop abs quite some time ago and loved it!). I joined a beachbody challenge and a 7 day trial of Shakeology. I was hooked. I couldn't believe how great the Shakeo made me feel and how much energy it gave me. Since my training and eating didn't really change and all I added was the Shakeo I can only assume it was that specific product.

I also loved the feel of the challenges, how encouraging everyone was and celebrated each success. I especially loved the accountability. I knew accountability was huge based on the past year and I really wonder what my journey would have looked like if I had started with beach body products and challenge groups.

And this, my friends, brings me to coaching. After such an incredible year, how could I not share everything I've learned?? How could I not help when people ask me for advice? How can I not empathize when I hear other people's stories?? I can't. It's in me. It's not surprising seeing as how I've always been involved with people at some level, whether that's with ministry or teaching or caring for these sweet littles. So I decided to jump in and start coaching. I'll be honest...I was terrified at first. Yes, people asked me for advice. Yes, people saw my pictures, heard my story and wanted encouragement, help, motivation. Them asking and me answering is one thing. But now that I'm putting myself out there, offering this up...who would want to join me in this journey? Who would trust my judgement when I recommend these programs to them? When I post a meal plan for my challengers, will they actually go out and buy the groceries on the list and stick to the plan?? It took me 3 months to get started...THREE MONTHS! I look back and wonder what could have been if I had started when I was planning on it. Where would I be as a coach? Guess what? Doesn't matter. Because I'm doing it now. And I love it!

So let me ask a question. Does any of that last paragraph sound like you? Do you like helping people? Are you motivated, passionate, driven, and super into fitness? Oh yeah, and you'll get paid for doing what you love! I'm really wanting to build my team and I'm looking for 5 people who read this and thought "O.EM.GEE!!! (Cause that's really how everyone says those three letters put together!) This chick is talking about me!! I want that!!" If so, please email me!! victoriasharee@gmail.com Or message me on facebook! I would be thrilled to have you on my team!

Deuces. Ha!

It's not over!

Throughout the past year and few months I've had a lot of people talk to me about this change. At first it was words of encouragement. Then it became statements of congrats. Towards the end of the year, about when I ran my half marathon, it became questions of how. How did you do it? What diet did you use? What exercises did you do? How did you find the motivation? How did you stay motivated? Can you help me do what you did? It reminds me of an awesome quote:

I didn't go into this trying to inspire people. I went into this trying to find myself again. The woman who you see in my before pictures, you read about her. Jealous. Miserable. Lethargic. (If you missed that post you can find it here.) All I wanted was to be the woman my husband married. Always smiling or laughing about something. Who loved shopping, loved getting dressed up for her man, loved going out, loved RUNNING, loved laying out in the sun and wasn't ashamed of what I looked like. All I wanted was to be the mama I pictured myself to be. Running after my baby, playing with my sweet boy, rough housing with him, cooking healthy meals, teaching him new things. I never in a million years thought taking control of my health would lead to so many other amazing things! I've met so many wonderful people, I feel amazing and I feel like I found myself again. I have confidence again. And that alone has opened up so many doors! 

So without further ado...my transformation images!

Before: Jan 2, 2013
Current: Mar 16, 2014

I look at these pictures and I am overcome with emotions. Definitely mostly positive.

I HAVE LOST OVER 50 LBS!!! How crazy is that??? I need to do my measurements as far as inches go, but I can tell you that in my waist alone I've lost 11 inches. ELEVEN. I have gone from a size almost 16 (refused to buy them and started this journey not too long after that day in the dressing room) to a size 2 or 4, depending on where I shop. At the risk of sounding braggy (is that a word?!) I have to say I am incredibly proud of myself!

I think H is happy he has a healthy mama!
Also, don't judge! I look like poo and
needed a shower! lol!

But there's something I want to warn you of. It is so easy for me to look at these and think of my next goals. To see the pieces of me that I'm still not happy with. To think of my next workout, or list in my head what I ate that day and if it's going to get me closer to my goal. I am constantly reminding myself to STOP.

STOP focusing on these little flaws.
STOP talking junk about yourself.
STOP putting yourself down.

LOOK HOW FAR YOU'VE COME! (Yes, I talk to myself. All the time. Don't act like you don't! Ha!)

Instead, I have to remind myself to celebrate how far I've come. Celebrate each pound loss. Not because the scale measures my worth, but because the majority of those pounds lost added years to my life! Years where I'll be able to enjoy my family. And one day Harrison's family.

And maybe this is a tangent, but I gotta say it. A lot of people see me today, or will see these pictures, and think "why is she working out still? who cares if she has a cheeseburger? she's "skinny" now. she's fit now. it doesn't matter!" I know people are thinking this because A) I used to think that (remember the whole jealousy thing?!) and B) I've been told already. Either behind my back and via a friend or even to my face. Well, guess what got me where I was in those before pictures?! That kind of mentality. LAZINESS. Thinking "I've arrived." Umm, no. SORRY! It doesn't work that way!

 FITNESS, HEALTH, EATING WELL...those things don't just stop one day because my scale says "oh, you're ___ lbs...yay you. Now go eat all the food and don't exercise!" Those things don't just stop because my pant size goes down. I worked really really hard to get here! Now I need to keep working hard to stay here! Fitness never ends. And that's what I love about it! There is always something new to learn. A new class to take. A new person to talk to. It's a huge reason why I decided to coach through BeachBody. But that's a post I'll save for another day!

So I leave you with this...and don't forget! In the end, all I care about is being STRONG. For myself, for my boys, for my family, for my friends. For my life. And I care about it for you too!

Alright, enough rambling. Deuces.

(Trying out a new tagline...whaddya think?! I don't have a mic to drop so...! Oh, and I guess I didn't mention it in my previous post, but I'm also corny. It's sad really. Just humor me! <Insert winky face sticking his tongue out here>)

Strong

Yay! Welcome to my new blog! Ok, now that the awkwardness of "how am I going to start my first post here?!" is out of the way...! :)

I went back and forth on what I should write for my first blog post. There's the obvious intro post, why I'm doing this, etc. Then there's the transformation post, where I share my before and afters and get into fitness and health and share my struggles and successes. But I decided there's time for that. I'll get to those. You'll learn a lot about me (probably more than you would like since I tend to have word vomit...even when I can go back and delete what I typed! I'm totally an over-sharer!) and I will most certainly share my before and current progress pics! You'll learn that I'm a BeachBody coach (woot!) and why I dived into this and joined such an amazing company (shameless plug...I LOVE doing this and would love to help you on your fitness journey!). You'll also learn that I love wine. A lot. Like some days I run solely so I can really enjoy a glass or two of wine without feeling guilty!

Instead of all that I'm going to start with something different. I'm just gonna throw a few words out there for you all. Just take them in, think about them, process. Here they are...you ready?

Encouragement.

Praise.

Love.

Acceptance.

Support.

Genuine.

When I hear these words I feel good. I think about all of the people God has placed in my life who are these words to me. I think about my amazing, supportive husband who has been with me every single step of this journey. I think about my dad, who I miss so incredibly much, and how he was always one of the first to tell me he believed in me, no matter how crazy the idea. Sure he would always come at me with his pros and cons lists and make sure I knew all the angles before jumping in (his infamous lectures!). But he always BELIEVED in me. I think about my mom, the silent supporter. Always there for me if something fell through. Telling me I could still do it. Telling me she BELIEVED in me. I think of my crazy sisters and brother, who always tell it like it is but also always accepted me no matter what. And also they like to smother me with pillows. It's not fun. But they're GENUINE. And most certainly of my brother-in-law who had and continues to have a HUGE impact on my health and fitness. He's a trainer and around June of last year he started helping me, then put FAITH in me that I could run a half-marathon. No way would I have put that idea in my own head! I'll be honest, I'm pretty blessed with an amazing family.

But for a long time none of those words applied to me. None of them described me. Here are some that did:

Jealous.

Lethargic.

Misguided.

Ashamed.

Sad.

Why? Why did these words describe me and not the previous list of words? I had (and still do have) a great life! I have a husband who loves me and encourages me. A sweet baby boy who thinks the world of me. Clearly a family who believes in me. So why these words? Here's why: I didn't believe in myself. I didn't love myself. I was so ashamed of who I had let myself become. A lazy mother and wife. Someone who would rather sit on the sofa or floor while her wild toddler ran amuck and she was too tired to play with him. Someone who believed what society fed her. Fat, ugly, lazy, and not a size (insert whatever size you want here) therefore how and why should good things happen to me?!

Ok, that's all a bit heavy. Don't forget...I like wine. Scratch that...love wine! Ooooh and coffee!

Ok, back to the heavy stuff. So what does all of that have to do with anything? Well over the past year and 3 months I learned how to love myself again. I learned to look at myself (for the most part) the way my husband and family look at me. Most importantly I learned how to look at myself the way God looks at me. I am His creation after all. So what changed??? What made me go from jealousy to encourager? From misguided to acceptance? My health. Seriously.

Let's be real. I'm a woman. It's important to me that I look pretty. Even more so that I FEEL pretty. (If any of you out there are singing lyrics to I Feel Pretty from West Side Story just know I love you!) So this journey initially started with me wanting to lose weight and be skinny. But guess what?? I lost (and found) so much more than that! I realized something...skinny is awesome...I guess. I mean yes, I enjoy fitting into my clothes better, being in the single digits pant size for the first time in years, not crying every time I go into a dressing room, all that stuff. But do you know what's better? I feel STRONG. Like I could probably kick your butt strong. ;)

Strong.

I love that word. Strong as in I carried another human being inside my body for 41 weeks (that's right...my child is just like his mama...fashionably late!), labored for 30 hours then ended in a c-section strong. Strong as in I ran a half marathon strong. Umm, that's 13.1 miles in case you didn't know. MILES. Strong as in I lost my daddy to cancer last March (March 27, 2013 to be exact) and I still fully trust I'll see him again and I know he's proud of me. He was such an amazing man and to watch him battle cancer, then to have cancer "win"...it sucked. But he left a legacy for his family and I'm such a STRONGER person for it. (Oh, and cancer didn't "win"...he still won...he fought his hardest, showed all of us what strong is, and taught us to NEVER give up...no matter what. Fight for what you want.)

Strong.

So I end with this. One of my favorite quotes and I have no idea who said it.

IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING SKINNY...IT'S ABOUT BEING STRONG!!!

My sole purpose is to help others find what makes them strong. Support them through that. Prove the naysayers wrong. Help them love themselves again.

What does strong mean to you?

(PS: Doing this simply to be skinny...there is NOTHING wrong with that! I just don't personally believe someone can go on a journey like this and it not change you, both physically and emotionally! That's part of what makes this journey so awesome! And hey...rock those skinny jeans along the way! Us mamas still deserve to look good while chasing our kiddos around the park!)