I just came home from Jillian Michael's Maximize your Life Tour!! It was very inspiring, the perfect start to the perfect end of my 1st 90 day challenge.

Jillian started her show off asking the audience what their "why" is for wanting to lose weight or make a transformation. For those of us on the challenge, we know all about this, don't we? We are asked to figure out our why when we commit to the 90 day challenge.

How many can relate to this? We have a ton of motivation at the start of a challenge. We are excited and we give everything we have to it. We see some success and suddenly we feel great. We become a little lax and start to slip back into old habits. We lose focus. We stray and fall.

What do you think the difference is between those of us who see our challenge through to the end from those of us who struggle to keep going?

The difference is in the "Why." Is your "why" connected to your heart, does it hold conviction for you? 

Your why has to mean something, more than the basic words 'to get healthy' more than 'to fit those jeans from high school'  Your why needs to be so strong that it is what will pick you up from that fall. I am not saying health can't be a why. What I AM saying is, what is it about 'getting healthy' that makes it your why?

Dig deep, find your "WHY" and write it down. True transformation is possible when you have faith, an action plan that you execute, and a WHY that you cannot let go of.

I am really proud of myself for completing my 1st EVER  90 day challenge!!! I have a few days left and I am rocking them out with everything I've got! During this challenge I learned some very important things that I will carry with me into my next.

Self Talk - Most important Messages You will Receive come from Yourself. How you talk to yourself makes all difference. I know it sounds silly but if you can tell yourself one positive thing in the morning i.e. I am so excited to go to boot camp tonight (even if what you want to say is, damn I have boot camp tonight) your positive thoughts will become your reality. Trust me, this is so true! Send your positive vibes out into the universe and you will receive that positive energy back tenfold. 

Energy - We all know this is the key to action. Good Energy can only obtained through healthy eating and giving our body the nutrition it needs to function optimally.  Cutting out the crap like high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and white refined sugar is a necessity if you want to see your body change. I am a past serial denier of this. I read all the facts a few years back about the dangers of these two specific demons. I wanted so much to prove them wrong, so I focused on cutting calories while still incorporating them into my diet. Unfortunately, I soon had to face reality. It is only when I cut these two things out of my diet when I see results. HFCS is in so many pre-packaged foods, read the labels, if it is there, don't buy it. Even if you love it, even if it is cheap. The money you save for your instantaneous indulgence will cost you so much down the road in terms of your health and will sabotage your efforts in the present to reaching your goals. A little side note: HFCS messes with the chemicals in our brains and tricks us into thinking we are still hungry. It seriously is the devil.  HFCS is used as a stabilizer and a cheap additive to make foods 'taste better.' Companies are profiting at the expense of our health. 

Baby Steps - In the past, whenever I started a plan to lose weight and improve my health I would set some very aggressive goals. When I didn't accomplish my first goal by the deadline I set, I would feel like a failure and throw in the towel. I did something different in this challenge. I focused on losing inches and gave myself small attainable goals, I told myself that I will do as many 90 day challenges as required to reach my ultimate healthy place. This gave me permission to take things slow and what an amazing eye opener this was for me! I could focus on the mental aspect of what made me eat, focus on the self talk, focus on connecting the negative behaviour to triggers and put a plan in place to change it. It gave me permission to forgive myself and to carry on.

This 90 day challenge started off as a weight loss plan and became so much more... It became life giving.  Simply amazing.

I am so excited ~I never imagined I would feel this elated when I hit rising star. I am ever so grateful to my sista girl, Erin, for sharing this challenge with me and for helping me achieve this amazing step! I am also so very blessed by my family & friends who have joined me in this challenge ~ Together we will achieve great things and We WILL reach our goals! 
I am so tired right now but cannot sleep, I am too full of passion & drive. I want everyone I love to reach their health potential and make some extra cash while doing it!!
Why Not? Why not earn an income while transforming your own health? Why not earn your kit for free by sharing the challenge with at least 3 of your loved ones? My question is simple: Why not?
Dream & inspire with me. xoxo

Every inch lost is something to celebrate! Every workout completed is something to be proud of! Even if others cannot 'see' your success, even if at times you feel as if it is you against the odds, even when you feel temptation is getting the best of you, you have to keep going. And above all else, you have to have faith. And a little tequila. ;)

Changing lifestyle habits is so tough! It all starts with self talk. Today in Winnipeg, I woke to a blizzard. I am not sure about you, but unless it is Christmas Morning, waking up to three feet of snow all over my car sucks. My response: It is a Starbucks Kind of Day! I can find any reason to indulge. I did create a yummy new smoothie though, I am calling it the Breakfast Split! So good!! Be sure to check out my recipe page and let me know how you like it! 

Day 69. Wow, I do not think I can effectively write how it feels to be here right now. I never thought I would get the courage to do this, to be so forthcoming and public with my health transformation. It still shocks me and I still feel a little vulnerable. I am inspired by my Mom and Dad who both made amazing health transformations last year. I am inspired by the CNN documentary I watched last night about the obesity epidemic in North America. I am encouraged and energized because of the Body By Vi 90 day challenge. Accomplishing small goals every 90 days is so doable. Looking forward to having a delicious "desert" smoothie when a sugar craving hits makes this program a perfect fit for me. I've been able to lower my BP meds to the lowest dosage possible as a result of the changes I've made. This alone is worth every single step I've taken. I've always wanted the best for those I love and I share this program with everyone because it may just be 'the thing they were looking for' to get motivated and started on their own health transformation, regardless if it is for weight loss or improving their current level of fitness. Whether people join me on a body by vi challenge or they join me while participating in their own challenge, doesn't matter. What matters, is that people start. They take action and change their health for the better. I will not go all political here, but obesity is expensive. Canada's health system is over extended and already failing Canadians. Getting fit, eating well, loving more... all of this will make a difference.

Lately, I've been spending the majority of my time outside of my comfort zone ~ And what a remarkable experience it has been! I am working through my fear of public speaking, I am stepping up and owning what I believe in, even if it annoys a few negative ninnies along the way. Most importantly, since making the decision to promote the 90 day challenge, I've experienced some remarkable and magical moments. There are no words to describe the feeling of helping someone gain the courage to begin their own health transformation. I am so proud of each of the ladies who have joined me, whether they are choosing to utilize the body by vi 90 day challenge or not. Their excitement is inspiring and contagious! I cannot wait to see where this new adventure will take us! :)

What a turn around from last week! I am so proud of myself for not giving up by ending the challenge (Giving up the challenge when I fell off track is a past pattern of behaviour of mine.) This week I did not give in to my temptations (the cravings were back due to my previous week of sugar intake.) 

What I did do... I gave it everything I had. I did much self talk (get up and make your smoothie/go straight to the gym/water water water/my excuses won't define me, my determination will!) I found that even though I didn`t have the natural positive energy to do these things, by having a `self talk`plan for when my self doubt and my self sabotaging thoughts started, I was able to give it all I could this week and the results are remarkable! :)