it's all uphill from here...

Peter: Uphill? No, it's all downhill from here.
Ethan: But everybody wants to be up. Nobody wants to be down. So it's all uphill from here.


    I'm not really one to sugar coat anything. If you've ever been to one of my classes or been the subject of my one on one beat downs, you will know that "suck it up" is one of my most commonly used phrases.  I can be Sally Sunshine almost to a fault at times, but when it comes to the gym and losing weight- it can be an all out battle sometimes and it needs to be approached as such.
   There are going to be times in your weight loss journey that are going to suck. Plain and simple, you're not always going to like it- if you loved exercising daily and eating right to begin with, chances are likely you wouldn't be in the position to be starting a weight loss venture at all. There are going to be days that you'd rather hit Happy Hour than hit the gym. Days that you wander listlessly  from machine to machine in the gym completely unmotivated to do anything worth your time. Days that you're tempted to eat from buffet tables at parties, meetings, etc. Days that the only curling you wanna do is on your couch in a snuggie with a DVR full of Jersey Shore reruns. These days are all on the edge of a slippery slope that can send you spiraling ass-first right back into your 'fat jeans'.
   Lesson? Suck it up. Yeah, there's times where its not going be fun, days that its going to seem like cardio is hardest thing in the world-do it anyway . These days are going to happen-that's life.If you treat them as just one day or just one meal and get right back on to your routine- you will be fine. Yes- It's going to be hard.  Its going to take work, alot of it. You didn't gain the weight overnight, don't expect to lose it overnight. Most importantly DO NOT GET FRUSTRATED! Trust the process and toss the scale. Burn Destroy more calories than you take in- you will lose weight. Lift weights and you will gain muscle. Do this at the same time and you will generally piss off any normal woman who expects to see epic drops in the lbs and sees nada. Advice? Keep moving forward and don't ever stop. Take pictures weekly to watch the changes in your body, take measurements, have your body fat tested, revel in the fact that you can finally do a push up on your toes- do anything but throw in the towel.
      It's not going to be a cake walk, cake walks probably got you to this point in the first place (red velvet anybody? HA!).  It's going to be a struggle sometimes but you're going to have to really want it, push past the Negative Nancy thoughts and know its only going to be hard for a little while. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and you just need to trust that you're heading in the right direction. Haven't lost a pound in two weeks? Tell yourself you haven't lost a pound yet. Can't do a push-up? Say 'I can't do a push-up yet'. It will happen, suck it up and be patient! We all know everything worth having is worth waiting for. Weight that comes off 'quick and easy' will come back just as quickly and just as easily. Earn the right to rock your skinny jeans, don't just have it handed to you in a pill. The weight that you have to all out fight to lose, you will fight just as hard to keep it off for good...and you know if  you ever need tough love, or in-case-of-emergency-motivation, I'm always here for you..just keep in mind if it seems like I'm yelling, that's just me motivating. Loudly..

Run for your life!

I HATE running. I can do three hours of cardio classes back to back and still have energy to burn. However, on the few occasions i run from the gyms front door to my car- I nearly pass out every time. Like most people, i don't like to do things I'm not naturally good at and i am not even remotely good at running. Sooo in order to change it all up, I'm taking it up effective immediately! To force myself to run, I signed up for the Warrior Dash in April with a bunch of my favorite fitness fanatics.

Brad, me & Brian post-race

The Warrior Dash is a 5k/mud run/obstacle course madness complete with flaming bales of hay, barbed wire, cargo nets, hundreds of tires and so much more.

I recently did the Spartan Race with my one of my best friends back home in Malibu and it was the most insane thing i have ever done in my life but the proudest i have ever been of myself. I thrive on competition and probably would have never done it had he not told me i couldn't hang(thanks, B-Rad!). When i went full tilt into a training program for it, he then pushed my competitive buttons even further by saying he would be on his 6th beer by the time i finally finished. HA! During the race, at the point i thought i was for sure gonna quit and have to be air lifted off the mountain, one of the course workers (who was swinging hammers and yelling at people as they ran past him btw..nice added challenge) told me i was the 3rd place female at that time. Hearing that got me so hyped up, i got my second wind and sprinted the rest of the way (okay really, sprint isn't the right word...that race was about 90% uphill so it was more like a quick hike). I ended up placing first (female) in my heat, HUGE accomplishment. Only downside is I haven't ran a step since the last sprint to the finish line at the Spartan Race. I've got about 3 months to get my run on... it's not enough for me just to finish, i need to finish fast. Most definitely faster than my Spartan time. Anyone who wants to train with me to get into Warrior-Mode let me know, the race is on April 16th-- lets do this!

It's gonna be a sports bra kind of summer...

be better than the bra

I've never been naturally skinny. Definitely envious (just a lil bit) of the God-given perfect girls (no offense if that's you!) but never in their ranks. I was never the skinny-gorgeous girl in school but I always conveniently managed to have best friends that were (GREAT self esteem builder). I loved them dearly but always envied the gap between their thighs and impossibly tiny waists. I've never had the ability to eat whole pizzas and have Dr. Pepper addictions and still maintain a perfect shape. I have had to work to be where I am now, and work HARD. I'm talkin three hour workouts 5-7 days a week....but I loved every minute of it.

While I've come a looooong way, the one thing I want to accomplish this year that I've always wanted to do is be able to rock a sports bra during a workout. To clarify, I know I can wear a sports bra during a class now, but when I do a ski or jumping jack I want my abs to stop moving when I do. In Texas, where summer temps hit well over 100 degrees and all you want to do is wear as little clothing as legally possible, having the kind of abs where wearing a sports bra doesn't offend the public would be pretty sweet. I'm all in on this, who's comin with me? I know it's not gonna be easy, but nothing worth having ever really is. Me and my abs will see you in June!