Why Not ME?! Why Not YOU?!

So I'm listening to a conference call right now and it's really getting me to thinking....why not me?! Why haven't I reached my full potential in life? Why am I not the woman that God has created me to be? I have one answer for that...ME. I get in my own way of success. Does that sound familiar?!

I'm sure a lot of us do the same thing and we stay in the same situations that we are comfortable with. Why is it soooo hard to step out of our comfort zone? Why am I so scared of the unknown? God wants us to step out and be the woman or man he created us to be. We gotta drop that fear and move through it like a bulldozer. We gotta believe in ourselves!

I'm striving for 2013 to be the best year of my life and my family's life as well.

So this gets me thinking...well what the heck do you want to be when you grow up?!

I want to help people. I want to help people with their health and fitness, with their finances, with their spirituality, with EVERYTHING! But how do I get to that point where I can help others if I'm still on my own journey? I know I need to make a plan to conquer each area of my life and become "that person" who everyone asks when they have a question. I want to be that "guru" for people.

I, myself, need to build up my confidence. And all of my leaders say...this is only done with reading great books. That is what I have been focusing on at the end of this year.

How about you? Do you need to build confidence, get organized, find your way?! How about you join me and a lot of my friends for Chalene Johnson's 30-Day Challenge?! You won't regret it and you don't have ANYTHING to lose...it's totally FREE! It starts January 7th and if you are going to do it then sign up here! Also, let me know so I can add you to a private FB group only for those doing the challenge.

Also, starting in January I'll be doing the following:

1. Reading Gabrielle Bernstein's book May Cause Miracles. You can pre-order yours today...it releases on January 1, 2013! Gabrielle also has a great YouTube channel you should check out.

2. I'll also be doing a sort of cleanse starting January 1. I'll be doing a No Grains, No Cheese, No Sugar challenge for at least 6 weeks. Who knows I might eliminate one, two, or all of the items from my diet completely! Well, maybe not the grains cause I love me some oatmeal and bread...
3. And last but totally not least, I'll be hosting a 30-Day Shakeology Challenge that starts January 7. We'll be replacing 1 meal a day with Shakeology and doing a workout program of your choice whether it's a home program, at the gym, or elsewhere. Order your ShakeO here!

So if you're interested in ANY of the above...shoot me a comment or email and I'll be glad to chat with you about it!

check me out on Instagram: @stephalaniz

check me out on Facebook: fb.com/stephalaniz



WOTD ~ 12.04.12

Today started the challenge I told you about. And guess what...someone at work made my department a lemon cake. Boo! Me no touchy!

So I got up this morning to get my sweat on. I started with Turbo Fire's HIIT 15 and Stretch 10 then followed with Tone It Up's Holiday Hottie circuit and finished with Tara Stiles yoga.

Oh and I found a new workout...its called 30 Day Butt Lift from BeFit on YouTube. I plan to start it tonight ;)

A Much Needed Challenge...

I'm super stoked y'all...my Beachbody Coach is hosting a challenge that I have been excepted to! Yippee! I so need this challenge to hold me accountable. My goal for the rest of the year was to simply "maintain"...I have failed to do that. I know...how hard can it be to "maintain"?! Well, ya can't do it if you are eating like a piglet and not working out.

So this challenge is called Eat Cleaner. Train Meaner. Get Leaner. And it starts.......NEXT TUESDAY! We have to post all our meals and workouts for the day on a private FB group page, incorporate a Beachbody program, drink Shakeology, and take our measurements and weight on Monday.

It's great because I'm starting Turbo Fire on Monday and have scheduled all my workouts for the morning along with some Tone It Up strength training and yoga in there. I know it sounds like a lot, but really the yoga part is what I consider my "stretching" and it's at the most 15 minutes. I'll be doing some Tara Stiles videos from You Tube.

Next up on the list is to go grocery shopping! My fav. I definitely want to make a stop at Whole Foods for some good veggies and free range meats.

Today is day 5 of CJ's Challenge - woop woop! Let's see what is in store for me today!

Chao baby!

Cheers to 2013...

BTW - if you're interested in joining me on this Eat Cleaner. Train Meaner. Get Leaner. challenge just let me know. We can do it together!

You Can Handle It!

Life has been a little chaotic this past week due to a major medical scare with my son. I can't help but think what if he was alone when this happened...what if...what if. Any parent would have the same thoughts running through their mind.

So since his emergency, I keep picturing him laying on the floor unconscious. It constantly runs through my mind. And honestly, I don't want to remember. I don't want those feelings again. But I've realized something...GOD ONLY GIVES YOU WHAT YOU CAN HANDLE.

My morning jog was phenomenal today. Seriously. While I'm jogging Eric Thomas is pumping through my earbuds with messages of T.G.I.M., Bud is enjoying himself as well and all of a sudden flashes of my son run across my mind. I try to ignore them but I'm on the verge of tears. I repeatedly tell myself...GOD GIVES YOU WHAT YOU CAN HANDLE. I jogged longer than I had ever jogged since starting back up with ease. God was with me and he showed me I could do it. That I could push through whatever it is that gets in my way.

I don't know why certain things happen to certain people or why this happened to our family. Maybe its a lesson for my son, maybe its a lesson for me or all of us. What I do know is that it is time to move forward and conquer all obstacles in our lives cause GOD ONLY GIVES YOU WHAT YOU CAN HANDLE.

Till the next time....

Q.O.T.D. ~ "Make the rest of your life the best of your life!" Eric Thomas

Saturday Fun!

It's only 1:15pm right now and I feel like I've had a full day already. Is it dinner time yet?!

Anyways, I started the day at 5am...yes sir I did. It's a new thing for me. If I'm going to get up early during the week, might as well continue on the weekends. Besides my daughter had a game at 9am and I know myself all too well...if I didn't get my sweat on before it wouldn't happen at all. Good intentions to actually workout don't always happen! So I did my daily jog with Bud and blasted the positivity of Eric Thomas (aka The Hip Hop Preacher) for 47 whole minutes - feed your mind folks! Came home and did my Insanity workout...made breakfast (migas & papas), drank me some Shakeology with added glutamine and put some ingredients in the crockpot for Tomato soup (hope it turns out yummy). All of that was done by 7:30am. Then we headed to the game.

I love watching my kids play!

Take No Days Off...

Last night and this morning I've done a lot of thinking while watching videos that "speak" to me. On my jog with Bud I was listening to the new Eric Thomas download I bought last night. This is what I listened to on my jog...

Now this is only Episode 1...make sure you watch/listen to the others too. These are mind-changing messages. We can all achieve greatness and we can all achieve our dreams...but we have to put in the work. We can't just sit on the couch hoping it'll happen. We have to make it happen. We can't just wish or dream for it to happen...get it done.

If you're like me and didn't have a clue who Giavanni Ruffin is...this vid is my fav and my first exposure to him. He too, is an inspiration. Take No Days Off.....

This hottie gets up at 3am to get his grind on. Seriously?! The rest of the world is still sleeping, but not him. He is on the road to making his dreams come true. You gotta put in the time if you want the success you dream of! Don't forget to watch part 2 of this vid. Also check out his YT channel.

I've been getting up for the last 2 weeks at 4am during the week. Not until today did I decide to do the same on the weekend. It's Sunday, but my butt set the alarm for 5am and let me tell ya my body was ready for it. I was eager to get up that I got up before my alarm went off. And I'm happy to say that Bud and I got a full 45 minutes of jogging in. It was great! During the week I sometimes can get in a good 30 minutes, but if I snooze then I try to get him at least 20 minutes. The boy is knocked out now! I finally got my mojo back when it comes to jogging. I push myself a little each time, but I'm still enjoying it. The wind in our hair...Bud's tongue hanging out with a big smile as we stroll down the road.

I'm sorry...but I have to put a little PSA in here - IF YOU ARE A DOG OWNER, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GET YOUR BUTT UP AND TAKE YOUR DOG FOR A JOG. DOGS NEED AT LEAST 45 MINUTES OF EXERCISE DAILY. IF YOU CAN'T JOG OR AREN'T READY FOR IT...START WITH WALKING. YOUR DOG WILL THANK YOU. IF YOU HAVE AN ACTIVE DOG (LIKE I DO) THEY NEED IT IN ORDER TO NOT GET ALL STRESSED OUT OR WILD. AND NO, LETTING YOUR DOG OUT IN THE BACK YARD TO RUN AROUND IS NOT SUFFICIENT. DOG OWNERS NEED TO PUT THEIR LAZINESS ASIDE AND GET THEIR DOG MOVING!

And now on to the rest....

Bud and I jogged for 45 minutes and had a nice little light show thanks to the Man above. We got back and popped in Insanity. I didn't work out yesterday so I did what was scheduled for that day - Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs. My total workout time was 100 minutes with a calorie burn of 996 calories! 4 calories away from 1000...

Oh and if you have a rough time getting some energy in the morning or just want more, I highly recommend Gaspari's Superpump Max. I've been using it for about 2 weeks now and love it! You're supposed to take it 30 - 40 minutes before you workout. I take it right before I go for my jog because I want the extra energy for Insanity. I hope I'm not hindering the effects of it cause I still feel really energetic when Insanity rolls around. I bet I wouldn't be as energetic if I didn't take it and still did the jog and followed it with Insanity. So I'm going to stick with it. BUT if you know for a fact that I could be hindering the effects...let me know!

 

 

And now on to RECOVERY! I made a shake with extra greens in it. Today's concoction was Vegan Chocolate Shakeology with 2 handfuls of baby spinach, 2 T PB2 (powdered peanut butter), 3 scoops of Glutamine, 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, 2 packs of stevia and ice. It was pretty tasty!

Insanity Day 1

I started Insanity y'all! Today was the Fit Test and it still kicks my butt...

I followed my menu all day until I realized that after my 4th meal (@ 1:50pm) - I didn't have anything to hold me over until dinner. Good thing I had a Luna bar in my desk drawer. Dinner is the only meal that I'm not going hard core Insanity Diet, but the meals will still be healthy.

OMG y'all...I found out some AMAZING news today (at least to me it is)! The Crockin' Girls are coming to the ATX this Wednesday. So, I had to rush out to get their cookbook, I can't have them sign nothing right?! I met my mom at Costco since I knew it would be the cheapest there than at Barnes & Noble. And I was right...$20 instead of $33 at B&N. The quality of the book is awesome too so I understand why it is a little more costly.

When I got home I MADE myself do my leg workout. I just wasn't feeling it, but I have to stay accountable to myself the most and to my friends who I'm working out with too. I'm so used to letting myself down and I'm just fed up with it. It's become so easy to do it and the outcome is me in the same spot as I was before. If I continue on this path, my life will never be the way I envision it. I want big things y'all! 

Sexy legs are compliments of the Tone It Up girls!

 

 

 

Tomorrow's a new day guys! Let's werk it hard! Don't regret tomorrow...