Focused.

When you want to hit something, you focus on your target. You don't swing blindly, do you? This is how you have to view your fitness goals--- as a target. You are either on the path that moves you toward that target, or you are on the wrong path, or perhaps you are just wandering around in the forest. 

Get Focused. I know I am. 

Everything that I was missing in the past, things that were a part of my fitness journey for a while, those things are back. I've got my calendar on the wall in my office and after every workout, I record what I did, I rate it anywhere from 3-5 stars and then I record my calories burned. This way, I can always see a pattern of crushing it or FAILING. If I see a bunch of "OFF" days, I know it's time to get back on the right path. 

Simple things, simple habits make a HUGE difference. 

Today's workout for me was Cathe's Butts N Guts, a favorite of mine. Here is a simple little addition to your healthy habits, especially if you workout from a home gym like I do most of the time. Have you ever found yourself quitting early? Like, you think "I don't need to stretch", or your legs are burning and you stop before you finish the last 3 reps? I've certainly done that in the past and guess what? That's like doing a DRIVE BY WORKOUT. If you had a personal trainer, they'd be yelling at you to PUSH IT and DON'T STOP. Do what you have to do, imagine that someone is there yelling at you to PUSH IT. Imagine someone you detest is watching you and they are predicting you will quit. Then you just SHOW THEM A THING OR TWO. 

SHOW UP AND DO THE WORK. ALL OF IT.

I did the entire 50 minutes of Butts N Guts. I did not do Core today - and that is my QUESTION OF THE DAY: How often do you "train" core? once a week? twice? every day? Just curious. 

This is one of my favorite core moves, the Flutter Kick:

OMG! This can be so killer for your abs. What is your favorite way to work your core? 

Also! Bonus! As you know, on Tuesday nights, I work with General Mills as a panelist for the Multi-Grain Cheerios Twitter parties with NBC's The Biggest Loser (#client)! We start gabbing on Twitter at 8pm CST- so join in by following the hashtags #MGCheerios and #BL11 (#client). Tonight, I am able to share a pretty cool fitness prize provided by Multi-Grain Cheerios:

YUM and coolness for taking your MultiGrain Cheerios snack to the gym! BOOYA! Want to enter to win? Simply leave a comment telling me what you usually eat for a pre or post-workout snacky!! And in the mean time, check out the MultiGrain Cheerios Site for all kinds of cool tips, recipes and promotions. 

NOW This is a Must-Have!

OH that's not all!! What about THIS??? 

Guys, I've been having a whole lotta fun Tuesday nights with the peeps from General Mills- co-hosting Twitter Parties with Multi-Grain Cheerios and NBC's The Biggest Loser (#client). We have so many amazing people sharing tips and ideas and recipes, you really need to hop on over and join us some time!! Just tune into to Twitter on Tuesday nights at 8pm EST and follow #MGCheerios and #BL11 (#client) to join the gab!

Anyway, we always have some fun "recipe" ideas, from those as simple as adding Cheerios to greek yogurt (hello yum!) and then some more complex, cooked recipe ideas. Now, I'm able to - with these great gifts provided by General Mills - offer a prize tonight! Not only will you win these 2 Biggest Loser Cookbooks, you'll also win what I consider a must-have for a healthy kitchen:

I'm gonna tell you, a good food scale can change your food portion world. Seriously. Even with healthy choices like grilled chicken or fish, sometimes "eyeballing it" doesn't work. Use a scale!! ;-) And of course, the winner this week gets some New Multi-Grain Cheerios as well. Totally yummy and lo-cal kids! HELLO. Good Stuff. 

To be entered in this yummy giveaway, tell me in the comments two things. Tell me your favorite thing about me (hehehehe hohohoho) and tell me a fun creative idea for using Multi-Grain (or any Cheerios) in a recipe!!

Mix it UP!

(Sorry, checked the site today and half of the picture I posted before was GONE?? Had to slide in a quick replacement!)

A couple of years ago I would have looked at this picture and scoffed and said, "Who on earth would want to run outside when it's cold and snowy?" Now I am that person that can't WAIT to do just that!

Pretty cool. 

And I am realizing more and more how GOOD it is for us to MIX IT UP- in our workouts and our diets. Keeps our body guessing, keeps us from getting bored and it makes this fitness journey FUN! ;-)

You know what I'm most looking forward to in my own fitness quest? Seriously ~ being able to know that I've reached an ideal fat loss goal and can then simply enjoy all the various fitness activities I love without being so DANG preoccupied with fat loss. Sigh. See- you kids have to realize that even I, Miss Motivation, can get seriously down sometimes. I'm SO impatient and am putting in SO much effort, it is beyond frustrating to feel like SOMETIMES I am the only one at a plateau like this. And I know TOO WELL that it is way too early for me to be whining. I only started adjusting my "diet" with the 4HB approach in late December, and then, as I shared, I realized I screwed that up and wasn't spot on with a few important details. So this Sunday, I've 'begun' my FitDay.com caloric tracking, and hitting only a specific target limit and keeping my workouts to a more reasonable 45-60 minutes, as opposed to the 90 minute + sweatfests I was aiming for in the past. 

Anyway, I hope you kids are having a fabulous day. This evening, if you are free, join us on Twitter at 7pm CST. I’m working with General Mills as a panelist for the MultiGrain Cheerios Twitter Parties. Tonight will feature Danny Cahill, winner of The Biggest Loser Season 8 answering some questions. Coolness! (#client) Hint Hint- I'll be doing a giveaway here at the close of this Chat tonight:

You likey?? Then stay tuned!!! WOO-HOO!! ;-) I am so not lying- and anyone that has been to my house can attest to this, Cheerios has always been one of my favorite cereals- hello- a great portion size for the calories. Serious Yum with some Almond Milk. Werd UP. Leave a comment to be entered into the drawing!

Now, sit back and enjoy some babboliciousness with Kelly: