and the journey continues- T25 day ONE

Today kicks off another 21 day challenge group round with my AMAZING challengers!

So far in my journey to losing the baby weight, round 2, I have completed (and I use that word LOOSELY) two rounds of the 21 day fix. I missed days, and even WEEKS during these rounds and as to not discourage myself, put the scale away (in fact, hubby hid it from me) and decided NOT to use the scale as my measure of progress, so as of right now, I couldnt tell you how many pounds I have lost, but I see a difference already!

Despite the imperfection of my workouts and inconsistency with following my meal plan, I still feel like I walked away with some pretty amazing results! I still have quite a ways to go though before I reach my goal. I am officially 3 months postpartum as of today so I am not being too hard on myself.

Also, I am finding more and more that the 21 day fix meal plan + Shakeology is REALLY helping to keep my milk supply up while exclusively nursing Caleb. It is a super nutrient dense combination and really, it is pretty fool proof.

Weight loss using Shakeology, the 21 day fix diet plan
and Focus T25

I decided for the next challenge group that I will be doing Focus t25 along with the 21 day fix portions. I KNOW that this combination WORKS as this helped me get to my goal weight last time around. The pictures speak for themselves! 

I know my biggest struggles are TIME, ENERGY, and just out right GETTING IT DONE. So I am taking it slow, keeping my eye on short term goals, and just focusing on GETTING THROUGH THIS WEEK. Thats it. 

To set myself up for success, I planned out my menu and prepped (almost) all of my food. It saves SO much time doing it all at once and I HIGHLY suggest everyone do the same. It is essentially that bridge between what you PLAN on eating and what you ACTUALLY eat. Like the saying goes, if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail and I find in my life that to be SO TRUE! 

 There is seriously NO excuse for me not to eat on target this week now since it is literally written in front of me and prepped ready to just toss in the oven!

You will notice my menu plan this round is gluten free! One of my friends and challengers was recently diagnosed with celiac disease and to help her with her own menu planning, I decided to cut gluten myself and join her for the ride!

I will be sharing some of my favorite gluten free 21 day fix approved recipes as I try them out and test them on the family. 

With the menu's planned and my workout gear laid out the night before, I seriously set myself up for a successful monday and official day 1 of my t25 journey! I am SO excited to see where this round leads and the kind of results I can get at the end of the 10 weeks! 

Life is crazy in the Baez household...we had 2 sick kiddos this past week, which meant boogies and vomit GALORE. I know life is not slowing down any time soon and in order for me to be CONSISTENT with my workouts, I need to get up before the rest of the family and power through before I can give myself a chance to talk myself out of it! TRUST ME... more than anything this morning, I wanted to just stay in bed and sleep while the boys were sleeping, But 25 minutes is a small price to pay for the confidence and health changes that follow. SO, I didnt wait for the motivation to strike, I simply dragged my tired booty out of bed and pressed play. And what do you know? I have had more energy today than I have had in DAYS! Its amazing what proper diet and exercise can do ;-)

I have gotten such great feed back from my challengers lately too with their own amazing results and non-scale victories, that I decided to run another 21 day group this month starting on JUNE 21! The 21 day fix has completely changed our lives in the way we see food and portions and I have seen it help SOOOO many of my challengers develop a healthy relationship with food and achieve the results they have been looking for all while complaining THEY CAN'T EAT ALL THIS FOOD. Those little tiny containers are DECEIVING. Trust me, you will NOT go hungry on this plan. Since it has my utter dietitians seal of approval AND is on sale this month, I think we should take advantage of that and help spread the fire for fitness and nutrition as much as possible. 

I will be accepting applications until Friday, June 19th, so if you would like to be considered for this group, fill it out and lets get you to your goals!!! Trust me, you will NOT regret the decision to CHANGE YOUR LIFE. 

Fill out my online form.

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Make it a fabulous day today everyone! Until next time.....XOXO

Women, can you just knock it off please?!?

Hey, you. 

Yes you. 

The one sitting behind the screen reading this right now. 

I'm talking to you. Especially if you are pregnant, or postpartum....if that's the case, read this twice. No, make that three times. 

Can you please just knock it off?!

Stop body checking. Stop comparing. Stop Envying. Stop wishing you were different. Stop weighing yourself every day. Stop feeling embarrassed and self conscious about your body. Stop the negative thinking. Stop worrying about your weight. Stop beating yourself up!!!

Just....stahhhhhp!!!!!


YOU.... yes YOU....are beautiful and perfect just the way you are. I HATE the unrealistic expectations put on women. From the media to the doctors office. Yes you heard me right, even the Dr.'s office (Really, who can gain only the 25 lbs recommended during pregnancy?!?! gah!).  More than that- I hate that these unrealistic expectations translate into negative self-beliefs and the reoccurring mindset that you aren't good enough just the way you are.

Now, I am not saying to stop trying to advance yourself and be passive about life. Nope. You should ALWAYS be looking for ways to improve, but NOT  because you don't love yourself...but because you DO love yourself! 


It is PERFECTLY acceptable to set goals for yourself, and in fact, I encourage it! But, you need to realize that you will not reach your goals, and maintain your goals, until you learn to


KNOCK IT OFF! 

You have to first love yourself. Love yourself enough to take care of yourself. Love yourself to take the first step. Your heart listens to your what your mouth and mind are telling you and sorry to burst your bubble, but you will never be successful with your goals if you continue to put yourself down! What you speak into your life, whether audibly or not, you reap. God did NOT put us on this earth to feel worthless, helpless, or inadequate...We are created in HIS image. Stop insulting Him. He has MUCH bigger plans than that for our lives. 

Now, do me a favor, will ya??

Throw the scale out the window, stop comparing yourself to others wishing you could look like them, and focus your energy on building yourself up not beating yourself down. Focus on being HEALTHY and BALANCED in mind, body and spirit. 

Just do your best to BE  healthy, Feel healthy. Stop labeling yourself.

Hey, you. Yes you. (especially me)....Go and just be YOU.

UNAPOLOGETICALLY YOU. 

Day one melt down!

oiy,,,,Day one and I already want to throw in the towel.

Don't act surprised...Dietitians struggle too, and those that don't are liars. WE ARE HUMAN!!! More than I want to throw in the towel, I want to finish these 21 days. TWENTY ONE DAYS. thats it. I can do this.

I totally nailed my nutrition today,

Jacob is seeing an occupational therapist to help him with a few things like kicking a ball and using utensils and one of his homework assignments this week was to try chocolate pudding to see if that would motivate him to use a spoon. Well, this kid is not allowed that stuff usually so he has never ever even tasted chocolate pudding. So we bought chocolate pudding to do his homework and when he refused to try it, I was SO tempted to eat the remaining! I am so thankful though to have my challenge group there to support me though and I proudly tossed the pudding in the trash. May seem like a simple thing but really, thats huge for me.

 I completely forgot how much food is on the 21 day fix plan! man those green containers hold a lot! I have NOT been eating enough vegetables (until today that is..)! I also conveniently forgot what a proper portion of carbs looks like haha...glad I have my little cups to keep me on track! have I mentioned how much I LOVE the 21 day fix portion cups?! its a genius system.

Day one- I did NOT want to do my workout. I was up with Caleb at 12 am, 2 am, 3 am, 5 am...hubby woke me up at 6:30 am and I was up with Jacob at 7am. Lets just say I am TIRED.

It was really just ONE OF THOSE DAYS! I think Jacob completely forgot how to listen today. Misbehaving up a storm! Refused to nap. Refused meals. pulling my hair. Just completely acting out. Not sure if it is just a normal thing adjusting to his brother? or perhaps because he was too tired since refusing to nap? well...once 7:30 finally rolled around, I sat on the couch for a minute and cried. Fellow moms, I know you can relate!

After my pitty party was over, I strapped on my sports bra, slipped on my Nikes and pressed play anyway. And boy am I glad I did. I feel so much better mentally now that I sweat it out! Physically I feel like Jello though lol! what a great total body workout! phew!

I SURVIVED DAY ONE! one day at a time...one day at a time.

if you are wondering what the 21 day fix is, check out my previous blog that details it HERE

eeek.....and the journey begins again!!!

first and foremost... HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

Thanking God today for sending His only Son to die on our behalf. He is risen, truly He is risen!

tomorrow starts a big day for me...it is my official first day on my journey of losing the baby weight again! I am 4 weeks postpartum and feeling GREAT. honestly, recovery after delivering my lil Mr. Caleb has been a BREEZE. Actually, every bit of the pregnancy and delivery was a breeze too! Just an hour after I was admitted to the hospital to deliver Caleb they told me to get ready to push...say WHAT?!  I was NOT prepared for that. Four contractions later, there he was!

I didnt maintain a perfect diet but I made a conscious effort to eat balanced meals and remain active throughout the entire pregnancy, even until the very end. We would go for walks and I would workout to the P90 program and it was the perfect combination to keep me physically fit without overdoing it while pregnant.

Also- I must say, Shakeology helped me sooooooo much while pregnant in managing cravings (it SERIOUSLY tastes like a chocolate milk shake, no joke) and they helped me manage leg cramps! I honestly only had ONE leg cramp while pregnant and I credit that to taking my daily calcium and drinking shakeology daily. I skipped shakeology for a few days for no particular reason and then BAM... such a bad charlie horse in the middle of the night! YOWZER!

two days before I delivered

Overall, I would like to think that I staid fairly fit this whole pregnancy...

I avoided the scale like the plague though and did not worry for a second what it said since I knew I was doing my best in staying active and keeping my nutrition on point. I figured, whatever it is, it is, as long as I am staying healthy, THAT is what truly matters.

Well...I was able to avoid knowing how much I weighed through the entire pregnancy UNTIL... delivery. When I was admitted to the hospital to deliver caleb, they had me step on the scale...mid contraction mind you and proceeded to announce to me what the scale said.

YES. I wanted to punch someone in the throat.

I gained a grand total of 59 pounds this pregnancy. YIKES. hard to admit that but this blog is all about honesty! I share my victories AND my struggles!

Better than the 80+ lbs I gained with Jacob but still, Not the 25-35 lbs recommended, oops. I tried at least.

Good thing I know the secret solution in how to lose it, right ?! ;-)

Last week, I dabbled with the new Beachbody On Demand feature (essentially netflix for the fitness world) and was quite pleased with the variety of workouts offered! I noticed the 10 minute trainer by Tony Horton (the P90x guy) was on there and....well...I couldn't look without trying it out! I miss working out! I NEVER thought I would say this but its true! I have really come to the mindset of working out as my ME time and I dont do it for vanity but more for sanity haha!

I was pleased that I was able to do the 10 minute trainer without a struggle at 3 weeks postpartum. Yes, my push-ups are not as many as they used to be but I can still keep up pretty well! Of course, I am highly in-tune with my body and listening as to not push myself beyond what I am capable of postpartum.



SO I decided to begin the 21 day fix tomorrow in a group led by one of my amazing coaches.

I have set some small reasonable goals-

1) do my workouts daily (7:30pm is the time I have set...it is after Jacob is in bed and hubby is home.)
2) drink at least a gallon of water a day
3) drink my shakeology daily

THATS IT. those are my goals for right now. I am committing to 21 days of consistency with those 3 things. I will do my best, I wont push myself too hard, and I will not weigh myself until the end.

Wish my luck, folks! this is going to be fun!!!<3

Stay tuned for updates on my journey, before and after pictures and my official stats! I will be sharing all with you guys to help me stay accountable and to help encourage those who need it! WE CAN DO THIS!!!

If you would like to join me on my journey, send me a message, we can be workout buddies and I would LOVE to help you reach your goals too!!!

yourcoachbarbara@gmail.com

XOXO

Spring/ Summer Cycle Menu!

wow oh wow! WHERE HAVE I BEEN?!

I cannot believe I let my blog slip THIS LONG!!!

WELL...before I get into the topic of this post, I think I need to fill ya'll in briefly with whats been going on in my little world over here!

Since my last blog post...We sold our house, bought a new house and moved (week of Christmas), my oldest son turned TWO (sad face, where has time gone?!), and I had our second son who spent his first 11 days of life in the NICU ( a story for another day).

Holy moly thats a lot going on in a short amount of time!

Needless to say, life has been a bit crazy over here in the Baez household. Which draws me to the reason for this post. With two littles to love, snuggle, and look after now, I have ZEROOOOOO (did I emphasize that enough?) desire to be menu planning, cooking, and basically doing anything other than loving on my two precious boys.

However, somethings in life need done, whether you want to do them or not, and menu planing IS an essential part of taking care of my families health AND budget. But that doesn't mean it has to be complicated.

Insert- Two Week Menu Cycle.

A cycle menu is simple- its two weeks worth of meals, that you repeat, over and over again, until... well..you decide to change. Basically, use what works and don't re-invent the wheel each week. It saves time, money, and keeps everyone happy (and sane).

To create a cycle menu, sit down with your family and pick various recipes TOGETHER (especially if you have a toddler, I highly recommend involving them in the process and keeping their preferences in mind to encourage them to actually EAT the food you prepared...moms out there- you know the struggle!) Keep in mind your time (be realistic!), your budget, and the season! Try to keep it balanced too, especially if you are feeding kiddos- a protein, a carb and/ or a fruit ,and a vegetable.

With the weather warming up, I like to add outdoor barbecue items on the menu at least twice a week.I also like to keep a few things similar each week on days that tend to be the busiest: For instance...Meatloaf mondays, taco tuesdays and pizza on fridays.

So after sitting down with hubby and my little man, we came up with this cycle menu together to get us through the spring/ summer months (and sleepless nights with a newborn).

and there it is! that simple....

here are some links to the recipes I use in this menu cycle...feel free to steal this and use it for your family too, or use it for ideas to recreate something similar....happy planning everyone <3

Turkey meatloaf
Fish Tacos
Grilled Chicken Kabobs
Clean Eating Turkey Burgers
Clean Sausage and Spinach Pizza
Clean eating Veggie Pasta Salad 
Chicken and Vegetable Stirfry
Clean eating Taco Casserole
Parmesan Crusted Tilapia
Tomato Basil Pasta 
Baked Chicken Fingers and Sweet Potato Fries

$10 cell phone plan REVIEW!!!

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't blogged recently, life has been CRAZY and soon I will post a complete update on EVERYTHING going on :-)

Until then, I just HAD to take a minute to share my review of my recent $10 cell phone plan adventure.

So if any of you follow me on facebook you'll remember when my poor little iphone 4 passed away.  For 2 weeks I tried to repair it myself- spent hours on the phone with apple to no avail. My 4 year old phone had bit the dust.

Im a penny pincher, frugalista to the max, so that made me super sad since I was on a great $30 a month pre-paid phone plan and this meant I would have to take the plunge and buy a new phone, OUT OF CONTRACT. ouch. That is, unless I wanted to sign a 2 year agreement somewhere and pay $80 + a month. No thanks.

Per the recommendation of my brother, a super duper tech savvy genius, I decided to give Republic Wireless a chance. It is a cell phone company that uses the At&t towers but also uses wifi.. plans start from $5 (wifi only coverage) and go up to $25 (unlimited talk, text, and data on or off wifi networks). I opted for the plan in-between, the $10 a month plan (unlimited talk and text and then my data usage comes off wifi networks). yes that meant I would sacrafice being able to google a quick recipe while grocery shopping (although most places you can find a wifi connection any how these days), but I felt it was worth the sacrafice. The great thing is, you can switch plans up to twice a month, so if the no internet while away from wifi was really such a big deal for me, then I could always opt to switch to the $25 plan (still cheaper than what I was paying prior at $30 with page plus and $85 with verizon back when I had them almost a year ago now).

The catch to using Republic Wireless is that you have to buy one of their phones to get started, you can't use your current phone and switch. For me, that was no big deal because I was at a place where I needed to buy a phone any ways. The phones range from $99 and up. I opted for the Moto G which is the $150 one since it had a better camera and Lord knows how many pictures I take with my phone (moms out there, can I get an amen?!)

So, just about a month ago, I took the plunge and ordered my phone. I must say, I truly love it so far! I waited until today to port my other number over just in case I didn't like it. See, they give you 30 days to try it out so I knew I didn't have anything but shipping to lose if it didn't work out and if it did, I could save a significant amount of money each month!

The phone itself is great, I love it...it has taken me a bit of time to adjust to it, but now that I am getting the hang of it, it is pretty similar to my prior iphone in what I can do with it, except its like a million times faster.

The no data while out and about has actually been great. It forces me into being more present which I think we all need. I mean, really, how many of us REALLY need unlimited internet access EVERYWHERE WE GO?! I get it, it is convenient, but it is also completely doable to live without it for the extra savings.

Now for the service. It has been really good. No dropped calls as of yet. It does sound a little choppy or muffled sometimes on the wifi connection but it automatically flips over to using a cell tower so while there have been a few times ive had to say "sorry, can you repeat that?", it resolves itself rather quickly, and for only $10 a month, I think that its doing a darn good job!!! I also love that I have unlimited minutes so I can freely chat without worrying that I am going to run out. Same with the text messages.

Overall I would highly recommend that if your contract is up, or you are looking to switch, you should really look into republic wireless. It is by far the cheapest no-contract service I came across and im really happy I gave it a shot!

Lies that have been holding you back.

I wanted to talk about something tonight that has been weighing on my heart. It is the lies that hold us back from reaching our fullest potential.

This lie usually reveals itself in the form of FEAR.

This fear holds us back every single day without us even realizing it half the time!

Sometimes it the fear of insecurity. The fear of failure. The fear of disappointment. The fear of not following through. The fear of commitment. The fear of the unknown. The fear of the known. The fear of letting someone down.

There are so many different ways that the devil uses fear to create SELF DOUBT. It steals our confidence in ourselves AND our confidence in GOD!!! It PROHIBITS us from following through with the things that God has laid out for our lives. It STEALS the blessings that God has promised for obeying his word. God has CLEARLY commanded us to put our TRUST in HIM. Not ourselves. HIM. The phrase "do not be afraid" appears 365 times in the Bible. What does that tell you? Yet why do we still fall into this trap?!?!

This has been on my heart because, honestly, I have fallen into this trap as well. Honestly, for me, it has been the fear of not following through as well as the fear of failure. 

I was doing SOOOOO good with my workouts and staying on track but then I found out I was pregnant and BAM first trimester was SERIOUSLY the pits. It threw me out of my routine. Once I started feeling better, I started coming up with excuse after excuse. I had lost my MOMENTUM.

"When Jacob starts sleeping better, then I will start waking up early to do my workouts"....."When I get caught up on house work, then I will make time to cook healthy meals"...

Our Pastor talked about this a few Sundays ago...we tend to use the "WHEN/ THEN" sentence through many aspects of our lives and it is literally robbing us from the plans God has for us...the blessings that HE has laid out for us.


ANY TIME YOU USE THE PHRASE WHEN/THEN, YOU ARE LYING TO YOURSELF.

Yes, I said it. I probably ruffled a few feathers with that statement but it is the truth.

Your list of WHEN'S will never end and your THEN'S will never come. Its simple. You cannot wait for the perfect conditions BECAUSE THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS THE PERFECT CONDITIONS! There will ALWAYS be SOMETHING. Its just life.

The only way to truly change your circumstances is just to DIVE in HEAD FIRST and GO FOR IT.

HAVE FAITH.

That self doubt that fear creates is depriving you of your fullest potential. It is robbing you blind. It is destroying your dreams.

What about failure???

Why are we so afraid of failure?!

At first, while thinking about this...I couldn't pinpoint what it is about failure that I am personally afraid of.

But then I realized- its judgement. What if I fail- what will people think of me?!?

Then I step back and realize what a foolish thought that is. Nobody thinks I am perfect. Why do I care what people think? If I try my best, no matter what the end results are with my workouts and fitness journey, then I am a success.

If you never try, then you will never fail. But if you never fail, then you will never know just how great the plans are that God has laid before you. You will never know what your potential is if you never try!

Take a look at this list of famous failures. Does it NOT just totally give you peace of mind knowing that WE ALL FAIL! The difference is in those that have faith and pull themselves back up. 

You see, Michale Jordan never let being cut from his high school baskeball's team stop him from continuing to push after his dreams. Oprah did not let the constructive criticism from her early boss telling her she wasn't fit for TV prevent her from trying harder.

The ONLY way that we will EVER see our fullest potential is when we understand that the EXCUSES that we tell ourselves are just LIES.  

We need to simply DIVE IN.....we need to GO FOR IT, WITH ALL OUR MIGHT!

Do not let FEAR stand in your way any more.

Think about your goals. If you don't have them, now is the time to set them. What are you doing TODAY that will get you to your goals eventually? If the answer is NOTHING, then IT'S TIME FOR A DETOUR!

Think about the excuses you have used in the past and just tell yourself NO MORE!!!!!

Think about the plan that God has for you, the potential that you can reach for yourself, and throw that doubt out of your mind and set your eyes and faith on things from above AND JUST GO FOR IT.

GO ALL IN.

If you have been struggling with self doubt, fears of commitment, failure, or just find yourself coming up with excuse after excuse to do the things you know you need to do to take care of this temple that God given you, then PLEASE, let me help you!!!

I have space available still in my next challenge group and I would LOVE to help you achieve your goals and start the NEW YEAR out feeling ACCOMPLISHED, CONFIDENT, AND BLESSED.

You can ALWAYS request for me to be your official FREE coach by clicking here and I encourage you to apply to my next nutrition and fitness accountability group! I guarantee you that your life will be forever changed.

Fill out my online form.

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