Brought it!!! Day 1...

I've decided to venture into the realm of extreme. Yes that's right, I'm using P90X to get fit. I've incorporated it and Yoga Booty Ballet into my regiment, because I need to get strong and fit. There's just no question, I have to get fit and strong, or my body isn't going to forgive me.

I went to the chiropractor today, and the news was good. Better than I had anticipated. About three years ago I was given the degenerative disc disease diagnosis, as my L5 S1 vertebrae was decaying. Not a huge thing. We all have some degree of decay over time, just not in the early 30s. Mine was a combination effort of falling down some stairs and many years of playing sports. Basically, I made myself this way and now I have to fix it.

The good news is that my disc isn't as decayed (if at all) as I was once told. It is actually pinched and bulging, because my sacrum (tailbone) is actually twisted. All this time, I've been in so much pain, because of a twisted tailbone. Its a relatively easy fix.

But here's the kicker: My tailbone curves out more than it should (according to my chiropractor it's common in women, because...) because I don't have strong abdominals. I wanted to melt.

Me? Not have strong abs? After all the crunches and core work I do?

Apparently, I haven't done enough or done them properly.

My pinched disc can be alleviated by doing crunches.

UGH!! The indignity of it all...

So, basically, my chiropractor told me I had to work out. HAD TO. And I had to do crunches to strengthen my abs so I could pull my tailbone in. HAD TO!!!

Well, if there was ever a time to begin P90X, it would be now, since I HAVE TO. Not that I wasn't going to, I just now have a prescription for it.

For those of you who don't know about P90X, it's Beachbody's latest fitness program, created by Tony Horton, and it incorporates various exercises to keep you from reaching a plateau, while creating muscle confusion to keep the body engaged. The program consists of 12 different dvds which you use in a set pattern for 90 days. You don't do the same program over and over, and you don't do the same set of dvds for more than a couple of weeks. This helps keep the body invigorated to work hard and build muscle.

What many don't know is that P90X actually comes with three different ways you can use the dvds. There is P90X lean, that helps burn off more fat while building muscle. It has more cardio than the other programs, classic P90X which is a program designed to totally rip up the muscles and created a very lean body and P90X doubles for those who want a bit more cardio for either weight loss and/or performance.

This isn't for the timid.

There were moments when I thought, I must totally be off my rocker for doing this, but as I continued, sweating profusely, I thought about my back and how if I didn't do something now, I could end up unable to walk one day.

Do I really want to look back and think, man, I wish I would have done more, while I'm sitting in a wheel chair or standing behind a walker?

If I can keep this demon at bay, why shouldn't I continue? Why shouldn't I bring it?

So I brought it.

And I hope you do to, because, believe me, you won't regret it.

Go extreme! Bring it with P90X!

P.S. Don't forget to sign up for Team Beachbody! Join for free and work out with me! You could win up to $1,000 just for working out with WOWY in the Team Beachbody community.

I could use $1,000, how about you? Sign up today!

Stress? What stress?? I exercise!

Yes, believe it or not, the best stress relief is not a glass of wine, or something that comes to you in pill form, but exercise!

There's that dreaded 'E' word again. Exercise.

There's no getting around it. Exercise not only keeps you physically fit, but mentally and emotionally fit as well. Research has shown that just 20 minutes of exercise a day, this includes house cleaning, walking around the local shopping center, or doing a fitness program like the fabulous ones over at Beachbody, can improve your mental health dramatically.

Basically, going for a walk or a run is your way of telling your body and mind: "Hey, I'm worth taking care of. I'm important enough to be maintained. I should be maintained. I am well-maintained and cared for!" This can lead to a more positive attitude, a better self-image and more self-confidence.

Oh, but who needs all that?

Who really cares about good self-image, or strong self-confidence, or having a firm connection between body and mind?

Who really needs to have a better night's sleep, or improved memory?

Who really needs better muscle tone for better posture?

Who really needs better blood flow to their brains for better circulation and brain chemistry?

Sorry to say, but we all do!

Just exercising 20 minutes a day can increase and better your daily functions. Just 20 minutes! So why aren't you getting out there and doing it?

Those are all excuses, and you know it. No time, no energy, I have family. What you have is a failure to get creative. Make exercise fun by including your family. Instead of going to a restaurant, go to the park, plan a picnic, then partake in the beauty of nature as you walk around the park with your family.

Instead of driving through the local fast food restaurant, plan and cook a meal together, and go for a walk afterwards, discussing the day's event. Include working out as part of the dinner table bonding.

Invite your kids to work out with you, as you are doing a fitness program, like Turbo Jam or Hip Hop Abs. Many Beachbody customers find that their children enjoy the programs as much as they do! Not only are you spending time with your family, but inviting your children to exercising with means a healthier future for them as well.

Aren't your children worth it?

And if you are completely pressed for time, there are programs designed to help you get fit and in shape in the space of 10 minutes! Tony Horton has a great 10 minute trainer program which can help those strapped for time get fit.

There really are no excuses. It's worth it to you and your health to get out there and get motoring. Just think of all the positive things that come from exercising. They completely out weigh the bad!

Join the Beachbody Revolution!

Need something to read???

Hey guys, if you're looking for some good, informative health articles, check out my work on eHow.com.

Don't worry if you don't see anything that can benefit you right now. There's many more coming!

Carolyn's eHow Page

Do you need help?

At some point, everyone needs a little help. The Beatles even wrote a song about it; yet so many people are scared to ask for help. Myself, included. It seems so much easier to plug through, shouldering the burden of life without drawing attention to what you are doing. I don't know if it is fear, shame, guilt, a combination, or something completely different, but the fact of the matter is most people are afraid to ask for help.

Even when it comes to exercising. Everyone thinks that they can exercise on their own and get the results they want. While there are exceptions, not everyone is that disciplined. If you are, congratulations, you're step ahead of the curve. But for most people, you need a helping hand. Someone to guide you and assist you through the massive amounts of information out there.

Guess what?

I can help.

As a Beachbody fitness coach (and soon to be a NESTA certified weight management and lifestyle coach), I can help you find the program that is right for you, guide through the oceans of information available, inspire and motivate you through scheduled work out dates, and be your support through everything, even the tough times during every day life that can ruin a fitness program.

Beachbody offers many great programs, like Turbo Jam, P90X, Hip Hop Abs, Yoga Booty Ballet and Slim in 6. We have programs for children and seniors, for individuals with medical conditions like diabetes, and individuals with common aches and pains. If you have a need, Beachbody has a program for it.

Beachbody also offers great supplements to help with your weight loss or muscle building programs. Shakeology is a meal replacement that is filled to the rim with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to help you be healthy and lose weight.

Its all right if you need help. We all need a little help from our friends sometimes.

If you need some fitness help, just know that I am here. I can help!

Join the Beachbody Revolution!

The weight of emotions

I've been doing a lot of thinking on emotions and weight gain lately. While I'm still formulating thoughts on it, I am nonetheless convinced that emotions are one of the greatest factors in weight gain. Whether it be overeating to numb the pain of emotional upheaval or being emotionally thwarted in every day life that causes the subconscious to store fat as a means of insulating from pain, there is a strong connection between emotions and weight.

At least, I know that is the case with me.

I began to think back to when I started gaining weight, and it was linked to a time when I was emotionally vulnerable. I had been in a terrible relationship, in which I was more invested than the significant party than they were with me, and I was just emotionally raw for years afterwards. It was then that I started putting on weight. In fact, I remember the offensive party actually pointing out to me one evening that it looked like I was putting on weight (at the time I was a size 4) and I needed to start hitting the gym.

I think at that moment I realized that no matter what, I would never be enough for this person. That's when I began to insulate myself. If they didn't want a chubby girlfriend, then that's what I would become, unconsciously. Unfortunately, I just never stopped insulating. I was too pained to stop. I kept adding more and more weight to keep all men at bay, then I wouldn't need to feel anything anymore.

Six years later, I'm finally tired of insulating myself from the world, because I am missing so much.

This is one of the reasons I started working out again, because I wanted to feel beautiful for myself, not because of a guy, or some event. Those are momentary fixes, and while they do have a place (believe me, I get the 'I need to lose five pounds to get into this dress' thought and there's nothing wrong with that), when it comes to a bigger transformation, it should be about you, not something external to you.

If you are losing weight because you think it will make someone else happy, then you are setting yourself up to fail. Weight loss and body transformations should be about you, it should be a decision that you make for yourself and by yourself. Someone (other than a physician) telling you to lose weight will just leave you emotionally dissatisfied and forced into weight loss.

Honestly, if someone you loved told you you need to lose weight and you started working out because of it, how much would you resent them while you're pounding away on the treadmill or weights and they're nowhere to be seen? The thought of them saying to lose weight can eat away at you and cause you to self-destruct, ruining your work outs and your diet.

Your health is your responsibility and no one else should tell you any different, unless they are a physician.

So, even though the significant party and I have somewhat amended the turmoil between the two of us, there is still that part of me that is still hurting from the things said to me. I still remember that night when my weight was called into question. I still remember the feeling of not being enough, when I know that I'm way too much for him.

It is time. I'm going to lose this weight, because I'm tired of carrying around that time of my life with me. its a constant reminder of the turmoil, of the pain, of the insecurities I don't want anymore. I carry it around in the form of cellulite and excess weight. When I get rid of the emotional weight, the physical weight will follow.

Then I can formulate new and exciting relationships and not feel vulnerable due to the weight of yesteryear weighing me down.


Join me in the Beachbody Revolution!!

A moment of silence

This last week has been quite difficult for me, more than I thought, exactly. In fact, it has been so mentally draining, I fear that I have made myself sick.

Is there anything that horrible that can make a person sick by their own accord?

Yes.

I'm proof.

I didn't know that I would feel so sad about the situation, I was positive that I would feel a sense of closure when it happened, but alas, I did not. So what was distressing? They sold my grandparent's house. Not a huge deal, really. At least, I didn't think it would be, but it hit me harder than I thought.

It began about two weeks ago, when I started having dreams. Every night, I would be in their house, I would see them. In some capacity, their house, my old street, appeared in my dreams. It was enough to drive a person mad.

Last week they sold the house.

Last week, I had to face reality. There was no going back. It was over. My childhood was officially over, locked up in a cardboard box with scraps of paper and bent photographs.

Sitting this weekend, along my feelings, I thought long and hard about my grandmother. I remembered I still had the last birthday card she gave me, two weeks before she passed. I remembered my grandfather smoking more and more, as if trying to get to her faster. I remembered the suitcase full of dreams my grandmother stored away in the shop, in an effort to pale them away. To allow them to rot away, without anyone noticing.

But I noticed.

I also noticed that their lives were cut short by smoking. I noticed how they grew more and more decrepit with each passing year, begging them at Christmas to give me one gift: give up smoking. I tried to get my grandmother out walking, but it would last a day or two, and then it would be 'too hot' or she was 'too busy.' There was always something.

Though my grandparents are gone, they did leave me something very valuable. No, it wasn't some rare antique, or a nice sum of cash. Those wouldn't have mattered anyway. No, what they left me was much more precious and priceless. They left me the appreciation of health and the zest for life.

They gave me the knowledge that I didn't want to live as they did. If anything, they taught by example.

So even though I've been sick with sadness, I was reminded of a few things during this time that I needed to hear.

I thought back to the suitcase, and remembered that dreams are worth pursuing, despite what anyone has to say. If it's your dream, seek it. Seek it until you obtain it.

I thought back to the grapevine in their backyard, the one I feared may be removed, and remembered, life takes patience before the grapes can be picked. It takes years for a vine to grow to a point where the grapes are ready for picking. The vine in their yard was thick and lively, producing so many grapes that we could never pick them fast enough. Opportunities, much like grapevines, will produce when you give them room to grow and when they are allowed to grow, they produce more than you could ever conceive.

I thought back to the cartons of cigarettes I have seen my grandparents smoke over the years, and I remembered, it was their choice. It was their choice to smoke, their choice not to quit. No matter what I said or did, I can't change anyone, I can only help when they are ready to change. I had placed too much importance on me changing them, and didn't realize their actions actually changed me.

I thought back to my grandmother's funeral, how she held my hand in her hospital bed. She was so frail and sick, and I was so alive. Yet there was nothing I could do. She decided it was time to go, time to resign herself to the path she choose. I resigned myself too. I resigned myself to doing everything I ever wanted, no matter how crazy or absurd or preposterous. I didn't want to leave this place knowing I hadn't done something because I was afraid to change.

I thought back over all these things, and realized that this sad path had led me right to where I needed to be. Concentrating on who I am, where I'm going, and how I treat myself. I may have just started on the path that will get me to my true self, but at least I'm on it. There is always time to change, because, everyday, in every way, I am getting better and better.

In the darkness of my self-evaluation, I heard a voice that calmed me. A thought deep within speaking to me and only to me. I heard my grandmother's voice saying that she was proud that I had learned so much from her mistakes. That's when I knew, I was right where I needed to be.

I knew that my recent re-interest in health and fitness, spurned by the passing of my grandfather two months ago, and my own health issues was where everyone and everything was guiding me. While it was not a comfortable journey, it was one I needed to take, and still take. There's still more I need to work on, but through exercise and self-evaluation, I shall cross that road too, and come out on the other side better for it.

Many don't think of exercise in this capacity, but while exercise is great for dieting, it is also the best way to alleviate anxiety, stress, and emotional turmoil.

Sometime exercise can be the best therapy out there.