Week 2 BodyFX Cleanse & Whole 30 Wrap-Up

The best thing about Week 2 of Whole30 is my strange "Oh hell, I just took a bite from a popcicle" dreams came to an end! Seriously, guys -- I had so many strange dreams in Week 1 where I bit into something sugary or filled with gluten, then spit it out and generally freaked out that I almost messed up this challenge! How crazy is that?

The worst thing about Week 2 of Whole30 is... well, to be honest, there isn't a worst thing. I was so scared that I would be angry and mopey and crying over my lost M&M's and ice cream, but I haven't missed them at all. I honestly can't believe it. Me! Without sugar cravings! It's a baby Jesus miracle.

Also, the splotchy red patches on my face seem to be disappearing. I have some new lame blemishes popping up, but I expected that, so I can deal for now. Here's my three week face-o-rama:

This picture freaks me out. It's like attack of the Kelly-clones.

I don't think you can really tell from the photos, but I feel like my wrinkles are even reducing! Amazing what happens when you give your body the water it needs. While taking the BodyFX Cleanse, which I finished on Day 10, it's uber-important to drink tons of water. Now that I'm back in the habit of drinking around 100 ounces of water a day, it's pretty much the only liquid I crave. Even the desire to drink wine is gone. And between Whole30 and CleanseFX, I'm down 12 pounds in the first 14 days! Unbelievable.

 Best meal of the week: Paleo Butternut Squash Lasagna, sans cheese.

Thanks to the brilliant minds at Health-Bent for this scrumptious meal!

Also, I used ground pork to make my own italian sausage instead of buying it prepackaged. And added olives and spinach. Oh lordy hallelujah, this stuff is good. I felt like I was eating a "bad" meal.

Worst meal of the week: I'm not sure I can call it a meal, but I've been juicing once a day just for the hell of it, and I added dandelion greens to one of my juices. A little bitter. Next time I'll need to add an extra fruit to sweeten it up a bit.

What was new in week 2?
This week I've also noticed a surge in energy. I don't feel like I need coffee -- but I definitely want it for the flavor. We haven't been working out, since I really wanted to focus on things I'm noticing with food, but I felt the need to get moving this week so we went on walks around the neighborhood each night and basically just adventured and checked things out. Again, I was struck by how much more laid back life is this way. Even with the time it takes to prep and cook our meals, we were still able to go on a 45-60 minute walk in the evening. I definitely prefer this to the old merry-go-round dizziness that we were speeding by on before. Somehow, we're doing more but we have more time. I can get used to this!

Also, chia seeds! I am in love with chia seeds. I'll share some yummy recipes later this week, and explain how eating gelatinous foods like chia seeds actually helps detox your body.

I expect I'll actually start some workouts in week 3, because my energy levels have increased and I finally feel the need to be active. I love the rewards of listening to my body instead of telling it what to do! I've been wanting to review Figure 8 Fitness for you guys, so this seems like a good time to get moving and do some dancing! Can't think of a better way to reintroduce more frequent workouts.

Sounds good to me!!

What are your workout plans for the week? I hope you keep it fun!

#AtoZchallenge Victory!

Today I came home ready to jump into my workout clothes and kill some fat! Unfortunately, my husband wanted to wait, and as the night went on my motivation flopped.

However! Later on in the evening he came into the living room and started up the JNL Fusion Bicep Builder DVD. Not to be outdone, I hopped up and got ready to get to work. 

The first two circuits went by fairly easily and I was thinking this was going to be another fast and furious workout like yesterday -- all fun! Yikes. We hit circuit three and started getting into all sorts of crazy pushup variations. By the end of the 30 minutes I was a sweaty mess and my arms were completely spent.  I crumpled onto the floor and lay there hoping someone would magically transport me to bed.

No such luck - but, this is a fabulous victory! It's Thursday night of a very strenuous work week and I have kicked my workout routine into gear. I'm excited about where I'm headed as a BodyFX coach and eager to see the transformation my body goes through with these killer workouts. I could have folded up and gone to bed without a workout tonight, but now I have one more victory to take pride in!

#AtoZchallenge Be Unstoppable!

JNL Fusion TKO Blast - This Girl is Unstoppable Now!

Today was another long day at work and after! But I promised myself a better day, and promises are important! Especially the ones we make to ourselves.

Even though it was another day getting home late, I popped my JNL Fusion TKO Blast DVD in and got to work! I love kickboxing, so this was a great workout for a day with low motivation. Since the workouts are only 30 minutes, and doesn't require any drive time to and from a gym, the time factor was perfect too. JNL keeps a great pace, and doing the workout with my husband was pretty funny. We keep each other going with plenty of trash talking, laughing, and even had a little mock sparring going on with all the boxing moves!

After I got my bootie kicked with the TKO Blast video, I popped in the Stretch video and thoroughly enjoyed the next 30 minutes of stretching out all my tight and sore muscles. I have been needing this for a while! A great wind down to a very busy few days.

And since yesterday was such a bashing, making sure I did things right for myself today makes me feel unstoppable. It would have been easy to just tell myself I could workout tomorrow. But I have big dreams! Making the extra effort on a day when I'm feeling less than motivated will keep me on the right path.

What have you done lately to make yourself feel unstoppable?

#AtoZchallenge - Why Choose a Metabolic Workout?

Metabolic Wow Factor with JNL Fusion

You guys! I was super bummed because I thought my JNL Fusion DVDs were going to be sitting on my doorstep when I got home from work today. It was a rough day and I couldn't wait to jump out of my car and grab those DVDs.

Sadly, I arrived home to an empty doorstep. I went inside, plopped down on the couch and started fantasizing about burgers and fries.

Even though there was some delicious salmon waiting in my fridge. I was pouting.

But wait! There's more! At nearly 7:00 tonight, there was a knock at the door. I ran to the door, flung it open, and found my beautiful box of DVDs waiting for me.

"Thank you!!" I yelled to my friendly UPS driver, who was already back at his truck. He laughed and yelled a thanks back to me, and I bounced into the house to show off our awesome boxes of happiness to my husband.

Super excited to get my Fusion on!

The reason I'm so pumped about these workouts is pretty simple -- one, they're metabolic in nature. This is my favorite type of workout. Fast and furious, baby! 30 seconds of weights followed immediately by 30 seconds of plyo-style cardio. You are engaging muscles all over the place, burning away the fat, and you're done in 30 minutes. Bye-bye steady state cardio!! Another great benefit to this type of workout is it seriously revs your metabolism. Do a high-intensity circuit of weights and cardio in the morning, and that workout will keep your body rockin' away the calories all day. And I don't know about you, but I want my fat burning ability to be super-charged all day. I'm a fat killer, and proud of it!

So, metabolic workout = metabolism bonus! Yay!

Because my DVDs came so late in the day, I didn't take the time to do measurements and get all my pics ready to post. I'll measure in the morning before I do my second workout in the JNL Fusion set. At the end of the week I'll post a review of the first 6 workouts, and I'll have all my starting stats posted in the sidebar.

Today's workout was the Shoulder Shredder, and it was a-maz-ing. I loved the modifications shown throughout the workout -- definitely helped me find the right pace. I was sweating within the first 5 minutes. By the end of the 30 minutes, by arms and legs were spent. Great workout, and left me plenty of time to go cook that salmon, afterall!

You'll notice I'm holding two boxes of DVD's in my pic! Since I signed up with BodyFX as a Coach, I also received the Figure 8 workout set. I didn't have time to check them out today, but I'm excited to try them out as well -- and soon!

Loving my new journey to my healthiest body ever. Loving these metabolic fat busting workouts! Loving where I'm headed. And right now, that's to bed! I need my rest so I can get right back at it tomorrow.