Are you ready for your BEACH BODY?

I don't know about you, but if you live in PA like me or any other cold area, I'm sure you are as ready for summer as I am!! But what is one thing  that we fret as those amazing summer days arise?? Yep, wearing that bathing suit, bikini, or even shorts! After putting on those 10 tens during the winter and holidays, we are ready for that change!
One thing we all deserve is to be comfortable in our own skin, let alone the clothes we will be putting on to go to pool parties, the beach, and so on.  So what better way to get our Beach body (or even a better body), than joining a support/accountability group to help us get through the tough times?!
Most of us have tried the gym... If you go to the gym now and have been going for at least 30 days... I want to ask  you.. are you getting the results you are looking for? Are you being held accountable 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week?  Although 30 days does not seem long enough to get results, I PROMISE you, it is enough time! It is plenty of time to reach some amazing goals and get into healthy habits!
One fact I have learned that 30 minutes of intense workout with short breaks can give you more results than 1-2 hrs of spending at the gym and taking breaks in between (too long of breaks, or chatting with friends). Its all on what you make of it!
One workout that I have experience with, as well as many of my other fellow coaches is Focus T25. This workout made life easy for me.  I am a mommy of two young boys, I have 2 jobs, so I cannot just pick up and run to the gym at any time of the day.  I needed to find something that worked for me and that was convenient for my family, but still give me the results I needed.  Before T25, I was not able to see my abs.  I did not have far to go, but we all know how hard it is to get rid of those last couple pounds and those last few inches to get the definition just right!  So I decided after going through my other fitness programs, I took a chance with T25.  I stuck with the workout schedule that was given to me (ten week program) and followed the nutritional guide, and even within 30 days, I saw a significant difference, but more importantly, I felt a significant difference!
You will notice, this workout is for ANYONE!! Male or female, with smaller goals and bigger goals... No matter the age, size, or gender, YOU can make this work!  There is NO excuses for not having time to workout! If you cannot make 25 min a day to be healthy, your WHY is not big enough and important enough.  I was there... I would make excuses, I would take the easy way out, but I realized I was then suffering consequences by not meeting my goals and was living with regret!
Don't wait until you are unhappy and disgusted with yourself.
I am here to support you, to encourage you, and to guide you to success!
My 60 day support group is held in a closed group on face book (only the challengers can see) and each day, me and my fellow coaches (yes, you get more than one coach!) will post something motivational, health and nutrition tips, recipes, and meal plans to help you stay on track and keep you accountable for reaching your ultimate health and fitness goals!
To help you maximize your results and health, we incorporate Shakeology, our health shake meal replacement to give you the proper dense nutrition that you do not get from your every day foods.  It is time to get rid of the bloating and cravings, and time to improve your energy levels, your digestion, and your heart health all with NATURAL ingredients!
Take a look at this video with Tony Horton (creator of P90X) and you will see why Shakeology is valued so much and what these ingredients really do for your body! CAUTION- May make you LOL!

 Oh how I love Tony!! Just FYI, he is just as funny in person too after finally meeting him on our Beachbody Success Club Cruise I was able to attend last week! :)

On with the Challenge group:  For your own accountability, you are required to take just 2 minutes of your day and check in with the group. You tell your group and coach if you drank your daily Shakeology, did your workout, and rate your food on a scale 1-5, 5 being the best and 1 being you totally bombed your day! There are no penalties for making mistakes, its simply a support group to help you improve and make progress towards goals you are not able to do on your own! There is NO shame is having support and encouragement along your journey! This is exactly how I started my own fitness journey and this is how I reached my ultimate goals!

If you are ready to commit and make the change to a healthier and more fulfilling lifestyle, please fill out my challenge group application below for an exclusive spot in my next fitness challenge starting April 14th!
 Spaces are limited so act soon!

Just to leave you all with a little message of encouragement, I know many of us fail to start a journey because of the fear of failure... BUT I want you to think about this... Isn't the feeling of regret even worse?
If you do not step out of your comfort zone and take a leap of faith, you may never see your potential, and more importantly, your success that is waiting at the end of the tunnel!

Online contact and registration forms from Wufoo.

New Challenge Group, great start to a new week!

Yesterday was the start of yet another challenge group that I am so excited about!! These people are so motivated to reach their goals and I am loving the positivity in this group!!!

You may be wondering… what exactly are challenge groups??

Challenge groups are 60 or 90 day support groups that I make on face book that helps people stay motivated and holds them accountable to reach their health and fitness goals.  This is a closed group that only the members of the group can see.  I post daily motivational posts, nutrition and health tips, recipes, and even help with meal plans, so you have the opportunity to maximize your results and learn the right way to make that lifestyle change!  

On your end, your job is to pick any Beach Body program of your choice and follow the schedule, eat clean, and drink SHAKEOLOGY once daily! This is going to improve your overall health and really give you the best results! You want 100% results, the tools are right in front of you!!

This is not about a diet just to get into bikini season.. This is a long term, in it for the long run type of change.  Its learning how to stay committed to yourself and learn a lot of self-discipline.  What I love about these groups, is you not only learn this new lifestyle, but you learn so much about yourself! 

I run these challenge groups every month, so if you are interested in making that change, I would love to have you in my group!  I limit my groups to 5 people per challenge, this way I can focus on each as an individual. 

So, since my new challenge group started, I become even more motivated, which I do not even know how I do that because I thought I was at my max, but I surprise myself each time! Today was a great day and had some awesome workouts, and awesome meals!

I woke up this morning at 5am, got my workout in and posted in all my challenge groups!! My workout today was T25 Beta Dynamic Core.  Definitely worked up a sweat!

I ate protein berry pancakes, which are sooo yummy and easy to make!! 

Snack was Shakeology with PB2 and unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Lunch was Whole wheat English muffin pizzas ( I used mushrooms, onion, and red pepper) which is also another easy meal and awesome when your craving pizza!!

I did slack off on the rest of the day, I had nothing until after my Fit Club, which was a protein bar.  Overall, not bad though! I feel great, and btw did another T25 workout at Fit Club! So I definitely burned calories today! 

Does this look like a lifestyle you want to have for yourself? join me in my next challenge group starting Sept 23rd and get ready for an awesome journey ahead!! Whether you want to tone, lose weight, bulk or even just learn to eat healthier... we do it all!! Message me for details!

Deidra.penrose@yahoo.com

find me on facebook at facebook.com/deidra.penrose

Focus T25 Week 1 day 3 and 4

I am almost through the 1^st week of my BETA phase of FOCUS T25 and this is such an awesome experience!! So not only do I love that my agility is improving, but I LOVE incorporating weights into my workouts!! I missed using weights and love having them in my workouts now!!

My meals are great, and I am getting just enough calories throughout the day that I am not even craving snacks at night! I realize that it is so psychological with snacking at night.. Majority of people tend to be late night snackers more as an emotional eater or when they are bored.  If you find yourself doing this, try drinking Green Tea or read a book, OR go to bed!!! 

Eating breakfast makes me feel so powerful!! It gives me energy for the day!! 

1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 tsp flax seed and  1 1/2 tablespoon almond butter!!

I love working out, but something almost as fun is decorating your clothes to workout in!! I was going to throw this cheap shirt away, then I realized WHY not have fun with it!!?? So I put a little excitement to it!! :>) 
Do you LIKE??!?

This was my awesome lunch!!! Mediterranean Grilled Cheese!!

 You need to try this!! You can get the recipe under my CLEAN EATING RECIPES!!!

 Dinner anyone?!?! How about a little SPAGHETTI SQUASH?!?! This is for all you spaghetti lovers out there!! We know pasta is not always the best choice, and it always makes you want more right?! Why not replace the pasta for some spaghetti squash!? You wont even know the difference!!!!

Are you exercising to lose weight or to eat?? Many people exercise constantly, but are not getting results.. It is important to re-evaluate your schedule... 
How many times a day are you eating?
Are you snacking in between?
In taking too many liquid calories?? 

If you do not write it down, you may not realize what you are missing that you need to get your results!! For me, having my weekly meal plan is so helpful for me and really keeps me on track of where I am with my progress!! Here is my meal plan for the week.. Although we are half way done, you will notice I stick to my plan! If I think about snacking, I just think of WHY I am doing this in the first place and think of my short term vs long term satisfaction of having these snacks!!

	Aug 19-25th
	T25 Core cardio	T25 Speed 2.0	T25 Rip’t circuit	T25 Dynamic core	T25 Upper focus/ cor cardio	Rest	Rest/stretch
	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Meal 1	Shakeology W ½ banana and 1 tsbp natural peanut butter, 1 tbsp PB2	Shakeology w 2 tbsp pb2/ ff sugar free butterscotch pudding mix (2 tbsp)	1 cup cooked oats, 1 tbsp almond butter 1 tsp flaxseed	1 cup cooked oats, ½ chopped apple, 1 tsbp flaxseed, ½ tsb cinnamon	Egg white omlette with mixed veggies	Egg white omlette with mixed veggies	Egg white omlette with mixed veggies
Snack	Greek yogurt w ¼ mixed kasha go lean cereal, ½ fresh fruit	Greek yogurt w ¼ c mixed berry kashai go lean, ½ cup fresh fruit	Shakeology w 1 tbsp peanut butter	Shakeology ½ banana and 1 tbsp natural peanut butter	1 string cheese, 1 oz cinnamon almonds	shakeology	shakeology
Meal 2	Spinach salad with chicken salad (light mayo)	Greek salad with grilled chicken	Meditteranean grilled cheese	Meditteranean grilled cheese	Turbo fire chili (blog)	Turbo fire chili (blog)	Turbo fire chili (blog)
Snack	Peppers and hummus, edamame	Peppers and hummus, edamame	1 string cheese, 1 oz almonds	1 string cheese, 1 oz amlonds	shakeology	Peppers and hummus	Peppers and hummus
Meal 4	Baked not fried chicken (blog), baked sweet potato ff, green beans	Baked not fried chicken (blog), baked sweet potato ff, green beans	Spaghetti squash (blog), greek salad	Spaghetti squash (blog), greek salad	Off meal, party	Greek salad grilled chicken	Greek salad, grilled chicken
Snack	2 shakeology balls	2 shakeology balls	edamame	edamame		Edamame/goji berry mix	Edamame goji berry mix
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WEEK 3 DAY 1 complete!!!

Week 3 day 1 was a great success!! This is why I do what I do.. I FEEL AMAZING!!! I am so mad that I wasted time last week eating those extra meals, but no more dwelling, time to move on and be stronger than ever!! I got my total body circuit in (T25) in the morning, and also had FIT club and did Turbo Fire (Fire 45) and ohhh how I missed Turbo Fire and Chalene!!! She is definitely my motivator and just LOVE the energy with those workouts!! By far, my favorite workouts to do!!! 

I drank ONLY water the entire day and got my 64 oz in!!! MY meals:

1. Breakfast- Egg Whites with 1 slice Ezekiel bread, little fat free cheese and 1 piece low sodium ham
2. Snack- SHAKEOLOGY (chocolate with 1 tbsp Natural Peanut Butter)
3. Lunch-Turkey Stuffed Peppers (used my banana Peppers from my garden) ½ sweet potato
4. Snack- 3 oz grilled chicken
5. Dinner-Spaghetti Squash (amazing!!!!)
6. Snack post workout- Turkey stuffed peppers ( veggies and protein- light on sauce)

• What helps me the most is eating ONLY every 3 hrs and NOT snacking in between.. You would be surprised on the extra calories that you add when you snack!!

• Drinking a lot of water before your meals really helps you determine your hunger vs. thirst!

• Not eating 3 hrs before bed will let you sleep better, and when you wake up, you are not bloated and have that YUCK feeling in your belly!!

• If you are having problems sticking to healthy diet, try writing everything down, whether it be on paper, on your computer and printing it off, OR MYFITNESSPAL APP on your phone!! I love it and it really helps me with seeing the calories and other nutritional facts in the foods I am eating!!

**ADVICE- Make a meal plan, PREPARE ahead of time,  STICK WITH IT and BE PERSISTENT!! It will go a long way!!!! Make yourself happy and be happy with the body you live in!! You only get one so treat it with respect!!! 

T25 WEEK 2 complete~

T25 End of week 2

This week was definitely more challenging than usual.  I did get all of my workouts in this week, including while I was away at the beach, my husband ran with me and it was amazing! I just love the beach and warm weather and having the support of your spouse trying to be healthy with you is amazing!

 Food wise, I did take healthy snacks with me to the beach, and did great throughout the day eating oatmeal with natural peanut butter for breakfast, whole wheat wraps, veggies and hummus, almonds, ostrich sticks, and string cheese for lunch and snacks, and for dinner, one night I had baked chicken with salad, stuffed peppers with turkey burger, and seafood without the butter, corn, and potatoes. 

But the bad part was sweet frog 2 times (Ice cream buffet), and 10 wings (into 2 meals). That definitely put me off track a bit.  The thing that is making the biggest difference is not having my shake for 5 days.  I now see why I drink SHAKEOLOGY! It is not because I am a coach and that is what I have for my product, it is because it TRULY makes a difference!  I feel bloated, not as energetic, and I am craving food like crazy!! So excited to drink my shake as soon as I am done with this post!!

Since last week was such a mess, it is the start of a new week and time for progress!! I will be waking up at 4 am for my workouts ( I have workout buddies to keep each other accountable), I have my grocery shopping done for the week, and my meals prepped!! I have some left- over turkey stuffed peppers, grilled chicken, veggie stir-fry, quinoa salad, and spaghetti squash! I am using a few meals from the Ultimate Reset, which I absolutely LOVED!! It really helped me understand food, even food that I would never eat prior to the reset.  Now, I use them in my weekly meal plans!  I also made a yummy snack that is easy to make, and healthy.. KALE CHIPS!!

 I am officially ready to rock this week!! Are you?? What are you doing to set yourself up for success this week? Meal planning, food prepping, get yourself into the right mind set?

Reaching health and fitness goals is not something that comes easy.  It is something that takes dedication, thinking ahead, preparation, and will power!! Persistence is key!! If you don’t stick with it, you will be stuck in the same place you started.  In my eyes, for me and my challengers… the only failure is when you give up!! If you TRY and KEEP going, you WILL SUCCEED!!  Do you feel it’s your time to make the change and reach your fitness and health goals? If you’re reading this, most likely, it’s for a reason!  Join me in my challenge group starting Aug 12^th! You will be in a support group and me as your coach to give you motivation, nutrition and exercise tips, meal plans, and recipes!  Do any work out with TEAM BEACH BODY of YOUR choice, along with drinking SHAKEOLOGY once a day!  You also will be held accountable to reach your goals by doing before pics and measurements, along with 30 and 60 day follow ups! This is a great way to make new friends, along with a new transformation!!

*If you are interested in joining my challenge, message me to get started deidra.penrose@yahoo.com

T25 DAY 7~

Today was the last day for my first week of T25! Today I did my 2 extra workouts to make up for my off days this week, so I did cardio, and abs! They definitely gave me a sweat! Here was my meals plan...

Breakfast: Egg whites with bruschetta, reduced fat feta and 1 slice Ekekiel bread
Snack: black bean chips with laughing cow cheese
Lunch: veggie spicy chicken burger
snack: 2 reduced fat graham crackers with natural Peanut Butter
Dinner: SHAKEOLOGY (Strawberry Cheesecake)
Snack: 1 cup kashi go lean mixed berry Cereal

I do feel like I need to improve since the past few days, I have already fallen off a little.  I am OK saying this because, YES I am A Beach Body Coach, BUT I am also HUMAN!! So, my goal for next week, is to have 1 off meal, and stay on track with ALL of my meals! Now, I will be at the beach, BUT I will be grocery shopping tomorrow for everything I need, so I have NO excuses!!  Also, I will keep up with my water intake!! Water is the only liquid I intake, so I do not have issues with that, it is just the amount that I need, sometimes I forget to drink.. I usually do really well when I set myself up to drink 16 oz water 30 min before I eat.. This helps me get the amount of water in I need, along with helping me stay full for longer! 

Excited to start WEEK 2 tomorrow!!!

T25 Day 4~

Day 4 T25-

Today was my off day for working out, which was needed because I have been going to bed at midnight and waking up at 4 am to workout before work.  I also did 2 workouts yesterday of T25 since I had FIT club.  So I woke up exhausted!  I worked again today and packed awesome, but did not follow.  I had my SHAKEOLOGY of course for breakfast (Butterfinger), which you can find under my SHAKEOLOGY RECIPES, I had plain Greek yogurt with fresh blueberries and strawberries and ¼ cup Kashi Go Lean mixed berry for snack (amazing)!! For lunch, I made it my off meal, which probably was not the best choice, but I enjoyed it and made it during the day so I burned it off!! I had Panera- Fontega Chicken ½ sandwich and small cup of French onion soup without the bread! Since my friends and I went to lunch together, we decided we wanted to splurge on a fudge brownie.. We are human, that’s what we do… BUT we helped each other!! HOW??? We splint 1 brownie into 5 different servings and each had 2 small bites!! Remember, the 1^st bite always tastes good, the 2^nd is the best, and the rest is not needed after the best!!! So you only need 2 bites to get satisfied!!  For my next meal, I had 1 fat free string cheese, 4 oz salmon, and grilled mixed veggies!!

 Around 5 pm, I decided to have some natural peanut butter and 1 low fat cinnamon graham cracker with my son, and I am done for the night!! I am so full from all this food, today was definitely my off day!! Better day tomorrow!!!Will wake up early workout, and travel to Pittsburgh to see my mom for the day!!  Healthy snacks will be with me!! 

I also got my water in that I need! How do you know how much water intake you should have daily?

Take you weight and divide by 2.. that is what you should have in OUNCES!!!

DRINK UP!!!

P.S. If you are tired of the same old water, add a little flavor... Lemon, Lime, fresh fruit, mint.. make it fun and enjoy every drop!!!

Prep Day-T25 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Sunday is here already!! I swear time goes by faster and faster! If your a mommy or daddy, you know exactly what I mean! So I am so excited to start tomorrow because I have not one, but 2 fitness challenge groups starting tomorrow!! I usually only do one, but I have found a great group of people who are ready to make the change!! I am so excited for these ladies!!! I also will be doing the challenge with them, which I am so excited about! Just because I am a BEACH BODY COACH, does not mean I do not need guidance myself!  So what better way than to work hard with them?!?  I also have a surprise for these ladies because I am doing a prize for each 30 day winner!! This helps keep everyone motivated and nothing wrong with a little friendly competition right?!?! So here it goes!! My groups got to pick what workout they want to use for the challenge- some are using Slim in 6, Insanity, Turbo Fire, and most are using the new T25!  I chose to use T25 for my challenge!! Its new and I am anxious to see what kind of results an intense 25 min workout/5 days a week will do for me, along with using SHAKEOLOGY and CLEAN EATING!!  I will be posting on here and keeping everyone updated on my journey of T25 challenge!!

So of course on Sunday, the day before my challenge starts, I do a meal plan, make a grocery list, and cook up my food for each week! This helps me follow through with my plan and allows me to succeed every single week!! When I am on the run, that is ok.. I am prepared!! There is nothing like setting yourself up for success!! It just makes you feel like you have accomplished so much and you can move on and focus on other daily to-do's!!  So here is my meal plan for the week!  Follow me on my journey and you can always join me in my challenge!! Message me for details!!

deidra.penrose@yahoo.com

Find me on Facebook @ facebook.com/deidra.penrose

My fitness page- facebook.com/foreverFITmommy

	July 15th-21st
	T25 cardio	T25 Speed 1.0	T25 Total body circuit	T25 Ab interval	T25 Lower Focus/cardio	Insanity prep- class	Rest
	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Meal 1	Vanilla Shakeology 1tbsp natural PB/almond milk	4 Egg white w 2 slice 1 slice ff cheese, 1 slice Ezekiel bread	Vanilla Shakeology 1 tbsp natural pb/almond milk	Vanilla shakeology 1 tbsp natural pb/amond milk	4 egg whites 1 yoke, 1 slice ff cheese, 1 slice Ezekiel bread	Protein berry pancakes (blog)	Protein berry pancakes (blog)
Snack	½ c plain greek yogurt, fresh fruit 1 cup, drizzle pure maple syrup	1 oz cinnamon almonds 1 ff string cheese	½ c plain greek yogurt, fresh fruit 1 cup, drizzle pure maple syrup	½ c plain greek yogurt, fresh fruit 1 cup, drizzle pure maple syrup	1 oz cinnamon almonds, 1 ff string cheese	Green berry shakeoloy w almond milk	Green berry shakeology w almond milk
Meal 2	Grilled chicken salad w spinach, tomato, feta, oil n vin	Dijon Chicken pocket (t25 meal plan), spinach salad w kalamata olives, feta, oil n vin	Dijon Chicken Pocket (t25 meal plan), spinach salad olives, feta, vin n oil	Large greek salad, cucumber tomato salad	4 oz salmon w  steamed mixed veggies	Large greek salad w tuna on melba snacks	English muffin pizzas (blog)
Snack	Peppers and hummus	Peppers and hummus	Peppers and hummus	Peppers and hummus	2 rice cakes w 1 tbsp natural peanut butter	2 rice cakes w natural peanut butter	Home made trail mix (goji, almonds, tree nuts, dried cranberries)
Meal 4	Going away dinner (will have grilled chix/steak salad)	Bruschetta chicken (blog) w broccoli	Bruschetta chicken (blog) w broccoli	4 oz salmon w steamed mixed veggies	Cucumber tomato salad, grilled chicken	English muffin pizzas (blog)	Large steak salad w tomato, feta, olives, oil n vin
Snack	½ c edamame	Vanilla shakeology almond milk	1 rice cake w peanut butter	1 rice cake w peanut butter	Vanilla shakeology w almond milk	2 shake balls	2 shake balls
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