Arm Challenge

I am doing a 30 day challenge for myself. I am doing 2 a days of cardio. I do long walks from 2 miles to 6 miles with up and down hills included. The night time cardio is on the elliptical with resistence of 5 right now, by the end I hope to have it to 10. To pass my time on the elliptical I put ona show on Netflix, so there are no commercials to let me get distracted. If I am distracted I am one that will hop right off the workout train. Here is a picture of me really getting into the show Gossip Girl:

On top of doing the cardio, I am doing a 30 day arm challenge. Once a day I do a series of arm exercises. I use P90X Chest/Back, P90X Back/Biceps, P90X Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps. I have set up a schedule for myself to follow. Here is a picture of me today (Day 6). My oldest snapped the picture as I was trying to get the weight into the correct position.

Last but not least of this 30 day challenge is that I work on my back alone every night. I have a couple set exercises that I do every night before bed. These include doing the superman, the swimmer, tricep dips, and a few other with the foam roller. I love my foam roller to iron out my muscles!!

I can't wait to see where this journey takes me!!

Caramel Bacon Shakeology Fudge

Caramel Bacon Shakeology Fudge

Caramel Bacon Ingredients:
½ pound bacon
Ideal Brown (Brown Xylitol, sweetner that is like brown sugar)

Directions for Bacon:

Heat oven to 400. Put parchment paper down on pan. Lay the bacon out.

Dredge both sides of the bacon with the Ideal Brown.

Place in the oven until the bacon is just cooked about 15-20 min. Take the bacon out and let it cool on a cooling rack. I break up the caramel still on the parchment paper to mix in and top the fudge with.


Shakeology Fudge Ingredients
1/2 cup Shakeology Chocolate
1-2 TBS cocoa powder
2 TBS raw, organic honey
1 tsp high quality vanilla extract
1/2 cup raw, organic coconut butter (also known as coconut oil)
I mixed in about half a cup of raw coconut shavings, delicious!!!

 

Directions for fudge:

Add all ingredients to a small mixing bowl, except for coconut butter. Add softened coconut butter and mix well with a spatula. Line a 8×6 pan with parchment paper, place chopped bacon on bottom of the pan (I reserve some to top the fudge with). Pour fudge over the bacon pieces. If you saved pieces, now top the fudge with those left over pieces. Refrigerate about 30 minutes, or until firm. Store in the refrigerator.
(My pictures during the mixing part of the fudge did not turn out, I will try to make another batch soon and post those). Here is the end result!! YUMMO!!!

 

If you are in need of some Shakeology to make this amazing snack click here.

Healthy homemade chicken noodle soup recipe

Nothing beats chicken noodle soup!! But I can't stand a can of soup any more since I started making my own. It's really easy, yes it takes 3 hours to make but it is so worth it!!! I even make my own noodles because they only take about 15 minutes to make and taste amazing!!!

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
Celery Sticks
Carrots
Onion
Minced Garlic
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Italian seasoning
Dried parsley flakes

Directions:
I put the whole chicken in a pot (be sure you check inside the chicken to see if there is a bag of innards in there, I dispose of this, but if you want them be sure to take them out of the bag). I fill the pot with water and then season with garlic powder, minced garlic, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and dried parsley flakes. Then place the pot on the burner. I set the timer for 60 minutes. This way I keep my eye on the fluid level.

Then I dice up the veggies and throw them in while the chicken is boiling (usually about a half hour into the boiling).

 

Then when the timer goes off I add in more water if needed and let it boil for one more hour. Then at 2 hours I take the chicken out. (It usually just falls apart at this point.)

 

 

 

 

I let the chicken cool for about 15 min. And then I shred it into the pot and let it boil for another half hour.

 

During this time I make up the homemade noodles.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup flour

1 egg (slightly beaten)

3 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/2 Italian seasoning

 

Directions:

 

Mix until it forms a ball. You may need to sprinkle in more flour to make it not sticky. Sprinkle the counter with flour. And roll out the dough, to about 1/4 inch. I take a pizza cutter and slice the dough into small strips. Then put on a pan and let it dry for about an hour (if they don't dry you will get little dumplings when you drop into soup)..

 

 

 

When noodles dry, throw them in the soup. Have soup on low-med heat and let them cook for at least 15 minutes and you are ready to serve.

 

 









95 day workout countdown!!

I have a goal to have a sexy rear-end and kickin abs in 95 days, I started at 101 days. Today is day 95, so I did 95 squats. I used to have a hard time getting the right form for a squat (at least to get the right results!!) So here is something that made see the correct way:

And this is a picture of me on the way back up from probably number 85 squat:

And I was a little to far forward but I had another childe under me on the back side and was a tad worried I might fall on her. HA. See in these pictures you can see that I workout with kids, toys, and even pitbulls. :) Never dull, but ya gotta make the time no matter where you are!!!

I also do sumo burpees, 95 of them today! Here is a picture of me coming up from the plank part of the burpee.

Man these burpees pull muscles I didn't even think were connected to anything!! But I love how I feel afterwards!! Here is one more burpee pic:

This was coming up and at the end of my 95, so it wasn't the best position.. But your legs are supposed to be apart and squating like a sumo wrestler does. So you go down in the sumo position, then you go back to a plank, then you come back to sumo position and then you jump up and repeat. WOOOHOOO!!! I feel the burn!!!!!!!!!!!

I follow those two exercises up with 95 sit-ups. My daughter didn't snap any pics of those for me. I will see what I can do for the next time!! I just wanted to show you that even if you have little kids running everywhere around you, you can make a space and find the time to push play. Have to make time for yourself to get healthy!!! :)

Why do I coach fitness and health???

 

Why did I decide to become a coach back in 2012? Because I wanted to pay forward what I a challenge group did for me. They held me accountable and they taught me different ways to get motivated and just plain helped each other through each day of life.

I opened my email yesterday to an email from my very first client. He was a 300 pound guy, that didn’t have internet access besides email on his phone and he needed an accountability partner. I emailed him and asked what are your goals and is there anything I could help him with. So he said I want to be able to finish Insanity, do you think you can help keep me accountable and what will it cost me for you to do that? I kind of chuckled as I read his reply because that was my reason for not asking for someone to help me because I didn’t want to have to pay someone a ton of money, but REALLY REALLY needed accountability.

So I wrote back that me being his coach will not cost him anything at all. My coaching anyone is free. I do daily email check-ins, phone calls, or facebook groups that help push each other. Heck, I even get together with some and walk everyday or push play to move. And that I would be happy to help in anyway I can.. Well, we finished Insanity and moved on to Asylum and he decided he wanted to do marathons and triathlons.

The email yesterday stated that he had good news for me. He not only completed his first triathlon, but he met a girl that shared the same interest and they are moving in together. This is the reason I signed up to coach. To help others have good news to share and hearing a thank you is AMAZING!!!!!! 

 

I have helped people get their health back in check that they no longer have to worry about being on a liver transplant list and have a few more years with their growing children. I have helped people find a job (becoming a coach like me) and earning an income they didn’t know they could by doing something they themselves love to do. All of this is my “2013 WHY”!!!

Now, if you need help reaching a goal for better health or earning an income for getting healthy in 2013, go to beachbodycoach.com/lexislnmachines and click join or take the Beachbody Challenge. And get me as your coach, there is no fee for my coaching. I have 2 challenges starting on Jan 14^th, one is a nutrition challenge and one is a fitness challenge, message me or comment if you want in on either of these. Or if you just know someone that needs coaching, please send them my way!

Happy New Year all!!

New Year's Insanity 60-day and beyond Challenge

I am going to start this challenge on January 14th. It will go for 60-days and beyond. I say beyond because we will grow a great support group in hear and keep holding each other to our life style  change!! After you follow these steps to get into the challenge, please comment on here or send me an email to lexisleanmachines@hotmail.com. So I can be sure to get you in the group.

Here are the rules:

 

1.     You must have an account on TeamBeachbody.com and I, Alexis, must be your coach. If you haven't made an account, you may do so by going to www.beachbodycoach.com/lexislnmachines and clicking "join." A basic free membership will do. If you are a member and have a different coach, please email coachrelations@teambeachbody.com and ask them to set your coach as LexisLNMachines, coach ID 136180 Thank you!

2.     Challenge packs aren't required, but having Shakeology in your court does help. If you need/want a challenge pack, check 'em out here: http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/BCPSAN205?referringRepId=136180 Challenge packs get you a 30 day supply of Shakeology, Insanity program and 30 days VIP access to the message boards where you can get free workouts, a meal planner and you get in on live chats with the trainers which is pretty sweet.

3.     Insanity by itself can be purchased here: http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/InsDeluxeReco?referringRepId=136180

4.     ACCOUNTABILITY IS MANDATORY! This challenge is centered in my Facebook group which is secret so your friends can't see your posts or even that you're in there. Post about what you ate, what you wish you could have ate, how your workout went, any struggles or questions you have with diet or exercise. Just make sure you check in EVERY SINGLE DAY! This is how we stay on track and the support we can give each other is one of the best motivational tools you can get.

5.     Nutrition is half of this! Make sure you break open the nutrition guide and calculate your calories!

6.     Keep track of what you eat! You bite it? You write it! That goes for what you drink too.

7.     Take a before pic! When you're done with the 60 days, submit that pic with your after photo to the Beachbody Challenge and you get a free t-shirt. Your before pic is a great motivational tool. Especially if you put it in places where you're forced to look at it. Don't want to workout? Look at yourself in your underwear. It works!!!

New Year's 6-week Nutrition Makeover Rules

Are you making your New Year’s Resolutions to get on a diet and lose that weight you told yourself last New Year’s you were going to get rid of? Well let me help you. Have you taken the time to evaluate your nutrition? I had an eye opening experience when I first took a look at mine. Not only was I not getting enough calories in to support my calorie burn from working out, but I was not getting any of the correct food. Take my 6-week nutrition makeover challenge and let me help you get on the right track.  This does NOT mean you will be on a diet. This is a makeover to start your lifestyle change. This does not mean you have to give up your French fries or favorite dessert, it just means you need to learn moderation and to eat well overall. Starting on January 14th we are going to start learning how to do this.

I am putting together an online nutrition makeover challenge group. This group will not meet in person, but will meet in a private Facebook group. In this group I will provide mini realistic challenges, direction, support and motivation. Let me ask how comfortable are you in your own body right now? Before I figured out the better side of nutrition, I was completely uncomfortable with my own body. I ask you this question because this challenge may take a toll on you emotionally and make you a bit uncomfortable. But remember the big picture, we are doing this makeover to help you get comfortable in your own body.

Here are my Rules: (After you follow these steps to get into the challenge, please comment on here or send me an email to lexisleanmachines@hotmail.com. So I can be sure to get you in the group.)

1.      You have commit to do this. I mean truly be committed to doing this with me and learning this lifestyle change. I want people who are serious about getting on the right track. We will be a group that will be keeping each other up and positive during this process and if someone drops out on us, you will be hurting the support system. Please think hard about this.

2.      For the entire 6-week you MUST check in daily. At the very least once a day, but everytime you eat would be ideal. The more you post, the more you are holding yourself accountable for what you put into your mouth. And this in turn supports others and helps motivate them.

3. I must be your Team Beachbody coach to be in on this challenge! If you do not have a Team Beachbody account, you can sign up through my site at beachbodycoach.com/lexislnmachines and click join. A free membership will suffice. If you do have an account, you can set me as your coach by emailing coachrelations@teambeachbody.com and asking them to set your coach as LexisLNMachinesl, coach ID 136180.
4. I am requiring Shakeology on this one. Now I know, it's expensive but I want you to think about something before you say you can't afford it. Is that really true? Is there something else you are spending money on you probably don't need to be that you could put that money toward something that is so incredibly good for your body? If it’s you daily morning Jamba juice or Starbucks, knock it off. I can show you have to make an amazing recipe to replace either one!! Having ShakeO in the mix makes this SO EASY! That's your breakfast right there! BAM! One less meal to have to think about. I absolutely recommend ordering HD (monthly autoship) Shakeology BECAUSE a. you get free shipping so you save some money. b. You're going to be on this challenge for more than one month so you are saving shipping 2 months in a row and c. WE WILL BE DOING A SHAKEOLOGY CLEANSE IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS CHALLENGE so this ensures that you have enough. Also - you can cancel the HD any time with an email to customerservice@teambeachbody.com no questions asked. It does not matter what flavor you get, but I would recommend getting the bag over the packets - you get more servings. You can get Shakeology from my site: beachbodycoach.com/lexislnmachines or my ShakeO site: myshakeology.com/lexislnmachines OR from the Team Beachbody store. Shakeology seriously changed my whole world. (I am a stay at home mom and I found myself always snacking because food was staring at me, but once I started Shakeology I no longer am hungry. So if I look at food when it’s not a scheduled time to snack I walk right by it.) And if you are thinking, but if I absolutely can not stomach Shakeology and then I am out the money. First off, I think you are going to love it. Second off, they have a 30-day money back guarantee!! (There is also a way to get a way to get a discount, if interested send me a message.)

5.      In this there will be absolutely no negative talk, not even about yourself. This group is here to support each other and that also means supporting yourself. If you are an emotional eater, part of beating that is learn to talk and treat yourself positively!!!

So if you want to join me on this, please email me at lexisleanmachines@hotmail.com with the subject reading "July Food Challenge" and I will tell you how to join. I am limiting the amount of challengers to 10 and it is first come, first serve but PLEASE, I ask again: MAKE SURE YOU ARE WILLING TO COMMIT 100%. This is serious business and we all make ourselves vulnerable by entering into a challenge like this. Your being there is a link in the chain of support. So let's help each other be strong, stay on track and do this.