I need a snack!!!!

It is no secret that I attribute much of my fitness success to P90X, but I needed energy to do that exercise program. I found that with Shakeology. You can learn more about all the specific ingredients at www.shakeochick.com. I did not have much of an appetite because of my MS but Shakeology gave my body the nutrients it needed to begin to function correctly. It was at that point I was able to begin losing weight. I have lost over 70 lbs and have been able to keep it off for 2 years and counting! I love to drink my Shake just shaken in a shaker cup because it is quick and easy. Here is another way to have the amazing nutrients for when you are on the go and do not have a cup with you..also works for a quick sweet treat!

NoBake Energy Bites

1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1/3 cup honey
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1 scoop chocolate Shakeology
1 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients together well then shape into bite size pieces. Store in an air tight container in a cool place.

Sounds Yummy!!!

I personally LOVE Sweet Potatoes so I'm excited to try this recipe from Melissa Costello, Tony Horton's personal chef!

Sweet Potato Hummus

1 lb. Sweet Potatoes
1 t Cumin Powder
1 large Lemon, juiced
1 t Sea Salt
3 T Olive Oil (more, if necessary)
1 T Agave Nectar
1-15 oz. can rinsed Chick Peas (garbanzo beans)
2-3 T Tahini
fresh Ground Pepper
dash Cayenne Pepper (use more if you like spice)

Bake or microwave sweet potatoes until fully cooked. Allow the potatoes to cool, then remove the skins and discard them, retaining the flesh.
Add sweet potato to the food processor together with lemon juice, cumin, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, agave, check peas and tahini. Add olive oil while blending. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add more oil if needed or a small amount of water if hummus is too thick.

This sweet & savory hummus is perfect for picnics, parties and snacks for the kids, dipped into with carrots, celery, cucumbers or multi-grain chips & crackers.

The Next X: What's New About P90X2™

I have people asking me what is so special about P90X2 and most of those people ask with a measure of skepticism. For this reason I am posting a wonderful in depth explanation from Steve Edwards who has been intensely involved in both P90X AND P90X2 so in his words I offer the following...

Steve Edwards

"How can you improve on the world's number one fitness program?" is a reasonable question that I'm often asked when I tell people I've been working on its successor, P90X2. As Hollywood has quite clearly shown, sequels rarely live up to the original. But once in a while something bucks the trend, and we're fairly certain we've made The Godfather: Part II and not Staying Alive. In this series of articles, we'll be giving you a rundown on what to expect from the next P90X®.



MC2

The working title of this project was MC2. That's for Muscle Confusion™ 2, and of course, there's going to be more of what made the original so special. But this time around, we're taking Muscle Confusion to a whole new level, maybe even times two. To understand why requires a little bit of history.
P90X was developed to answer customer requests for a program more challenging than Power 90® and Slim in 6®, Beachbody's original blockbusters. So we set out to make the type of training program that an athlete would use to prepare for a season, except the sport we chose was life in general. Combining the theories of cross-training, progressive overload, periodization, and the specificity of adaptation, we began a series of test groups to try and estimate the tolerance of difficulty that the general public could handle, or more appropriately, would want to.
Turns out this was more than we knew at the time—though the fact that we cast test group subjects because they outperformed professional fitness trainers should have given us a clue. The program was so advanced that many professional athletes began using P90X instead of their own team trainers. This we hadn't anticipated. We knew we had a solid program, absolutely, but we didn't count on athletes who make millions of dollars a year ignoring highly paid professionals and working out to a video. If we had, we might have done things a little differently.
Knowing that the world was watching, we began P90X2 development searching for a consultant. We traveled as high up the food chain as possible, where we found Dr. Marcus Elliott. His training facility, P3 (Peak Performance Project), is at the absolute cutting edge of sport. Using the latest in equipment and applied science, P3's client list reads like, well, the front page of the sports section. Dr. Elliott signed on as head of our Scientific Advisory Board, ensuring we had the means to raise the bar.
That's not to say we weren't already succeeding. Anyone who ordered the P90X ONE on ONE® workouts could see we'd been experimenting with many new training modalities. Tony's newfound love of training on unstable platforms, honed by his relationship with functional trainer Steve Holmson, became, literally, the foundation of P90X2.
Access to P3 and Dr. Elliott also provided challenges. Because our customers are not primarily athletes, we needed to do a lot of homework to determine how to best integrate P3's elite systems into our demographic. Research was done, numbers crunched, theories were applied and tested, and test pilots (often yours truly) were beaten into submission. In the end, the collaboration resulted in a program that we think improved on our wildest expectations.
The program

While it's still based around the periodizational principles of P90X, X2 has a broader scope. In short, it's more versatile, which is saying something, considering that P90X is by far the most versatile training program on the market today. Here are the three training phases of P90X2 and what you can expect from them.
Foundation. The first training phase is about your foundation, as in your base, or more specifically your attachment to the ground. What we mean here is not just your legs but your entire kinetic chain. There's a saying that goes, "You can't shoot a cannon from a canoe" that relates to your base, meaning that if it's not solid, you're going to wobble like the visual this saying evokes when you attempt to do anything explosive. The goal of the Foundation phase is to help you create a solid attachment to the earth so you do all other movements without compromising your form. When this happens, you'll look better, feel better, perform better, and be much more resistant to injuries.
Strength. Next, we take your strong foundation and strengthen it big time. This training phase will be most familiar to P90Xers because it's similar in structure to what you're used to. However, the individual workouts have evolved. You'll continue to work from instability or athletic positions, because this will help you integrate your strength gains more seamlessly into your real-world movements.
Performance. Finally, we take all the physiological changes we've been making with your body and focus them on pure performance. The key to this phase is something called Post-Activation Potentiation or P.A.P. (which we'll explain next time), and doing repeat series of movements called complexes. These workouts will destroy you in an oh-so-beautiful way. After a few weeks of P.A.P., your body can feel more springy, loose, and young. It almost feels as if, to borrow a phrase from King Arthur of Camelot, "You don't age. You youthen."
In conclusion, we think we've created an "Oscar winner." P90X2 is a training program anyone with a decent fitness base can succeed at. It can be done by someone who has only completed one round of Power 90 and still be challenging to the world's best athletes. It's versatile enough so anyone who sees it through to its end can achieve major increases in performance. And while it won't replace P90X (or make it feel as dated as The Godfather), it should absolutely take your results to the next level.

Celebrity review of Hip Hop Abs...Chris Pratt from Money Ball

About 3 minutes into this clip Chris talks to late night talk show host Conan about how he lost weight and got in shape for his role in Money Ball with Brad Pitt. I love how he even demonstrates the key moves that he used in Hip Hop Abs! He gives the most sincere, heartfelt shout out to our very own Shaun T as well.

I love Beachbody for this exact reason, we have such high quality tools within Beachbody from the workout programs,the nutritional supplements to the support we offer. Send me a message if I can help YOU in anyway!

P90X over, now what? Enter P90X2

You all know my story, if you don't then take a moment to watch my video at the top of this post.  P90X and Shakeology changed my life in so many ways.  Through these two products and the amazing support and motivation from my Beachbody coach (my awesome husband Dan Lusk) I was able to lose 76 lbs, go from a size 22-24 to a size 6-8!  I feel better than I have ever felt but also hungry for more.  Now it is here...the next step...P90X2!

I am thrilled to announce that available TODAY, September 1st, 2011, you can officially PreOrder this program to insure Christmas delivery.  If you don't preorder, the program will not be available until Jan 2012. If you want to learn more about it check out the video at the top of my blog and go to our website for more information

http://www.noxcusefitness.com/P90X2

I can wait to open MY Christmas present this year!  Let me know if I can help you in anyway

My thoughts today

My 15 year old posted this on his Facebook page in my honor and it made me examine myself a bit.

YOU DON'T LOOK SICK! No, I don't. It's hard to explain to someone when they have no clue. It's a daily struggle feeling sick on the inside while you look fine on the outside. Please put this as your status if you or someone you know has an invisible illness, Anxiety, Bi-Polar, P.T.S.D., LUPUS, Fibromyalgia, Crohns, DIABETES, Arthritis, chronic back pain,Epilepsy, MS,Depression,COP


It is amazing how true that is!  All of us who deal with a chronic “silent” disease deal with this issue.  I would love to take this time to educate those that don’t deal with it on a daily basis with a window into the life of a chronically ill person. 

We go through our days with a smile on our face because we know that something painful could be just around the corner so we are truly enjoying that moment in time.  We refuse to be weak because once we give into that weakness we may never come back to a strong place again.  We appreciate others around us who love us and support us because we know of others that just couldn’t handle the constant roller coaster of emotions/realities and just walked away. 

We don’t feel sorry for ourselves, but we do feel the pain of our loved ones around us.  We watch those same people who are our lifeline become broken, spending so much energy making our life better that they forget to take care of themselves.  To top that off, our caretakers very rarely have anyone who takes care of them.  The focus is usually on the person who is ill, not on those that are depleting all they have to make life bearable for the entire family.  We try to help, but they don’t want to burden us with that added stress so they keep pushing on even though they have no physical or emotional energy left.  Simple every day things that “normal” people take for granted are huge undertakings for people in my situation and it’s the caretaker in our life that moves mountains to make us feel like we aren’t different. 


Easy things like shopping or going out to eat or shopping are easy only because the caretaker makes sure our environment is workable.  Including scouting out all the sidewalks to find the cutouts so we can make it across the street.  Finding a table that a wheelchair can fit under.  Moving racks and making a path so we can look at whatever we want.  Making sure dressing rooms are accessible so we don’t fall or have to struggle figuring out how to change.  All of this is done for us so we can concentrate on just enjoying ourselves without the thought of how much work it it for the caretaker. 

They do not enjoy seeing us this way and definitely don’t enjoy watching us struggle or in pain.  In the case of some of us, our caretakers remember a time when things weren't that way and they ache for that time to return.  If we have children it becomes even more difficult because the healthy spouse becomes the sole provider of all daily activities especially if the chronically ill person can not drive.  The pressure to be everything to everyone in the family is too much to ask from one person but we all do it almost subconsciously.  We do this because we have no one else and sadly neither does the caretaker. 


I’m  not writing this so that you can look at someone who is chronically ill and feel sorry for them, I’m writing this for those that no one supports or thanks often enough....the caretakers.  Life is hard for them.  They are pulled in so many directions that they are dangerously close to exploding at any given time.  They are silently screaming in their heads asking for a break from all of this so I ask that you wrap your arms around them and simply ask them..How are YOU doing?  Seriously listen to them when they answer. If they tell you they are fine, ask them again..No, how are you DOING?   Keep them in your prayers because sometimes God is the only one that holds them together.   Life is hard for the chronically ill but I truly believe it is harder for those that are the caretakers. 

To my caretaker:

From the bottom of my heart I say THANK YOU to my amazing husband who makes my life better just by being with me, for loving me and being the glue that holds our family together.  I know this isn’t how we imagined our life together, but you have through your strength and love kept us all lifted up and moving forward.  You deserve so much but ask for so little.  You are incredible and I pray that you will let me lift you up as well.

My biggest problem..not eating enough!!!!!!

I have to admit this was the hardest mental shift for me when I started P90X 2 years ago.  I was a consummate  "dieter" for my entire life.  Of course I thought diet meant stop eating because it had to be the quantity of food I was eating that was making me gain weight and not the numerous trips to McDonald's and Dairy Queen that was making my clothes become tighter with each passing month.  As you can imagine it took tremendous effort to overcome that blueprint in my head.  Fortunately I had my husband/coach to encourage me to look at the science behind the meal plans offered with the workout program.  I realized that I was working hard and my body NEEDED fuel not the other way around.  Here is an article that explains what I'm talking about..don't just take my word for it!  There is no trick to becoming healthier..it just takes effort (exercise) and fuel (good food)!  If you are doing the work, and not seeing results try upping your intake by 100 to 200 calories for a two week period just to see what happens.  If you are just beginning your journey, commit to eating regularly right away...you will see better results.  Food is not your enemy!

Have a terrific HEALTHY day :)

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Am I eating enough?
Contrary to popular belief, sometimes you have to eat more to lose weight. While that may sound counterintuitive, it often does the trick. Here's why:

1. Metabolism is the key to weight loss. If you don't eat enough, or often enough, your metabolism slows to a crawl and weight loss becomes more difficult, especially when you're exercising. That's why skipping meals isn't a good idea if the goal is to shed pounds.
   
   Tip: Always eat breakfast to kick-start metabolism and try eating mini-meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism fired up.
2. To keep your metabolism up, you MUST eat. Conventional wisdom dictates that when you first start dieting, the less you eat, the better. While it's true that you often should eat less, eating too little can backfire over time. As your body composition changes, your body will think it's starving, which can make it hold on to fat. (The process actually has to do with excessive release of a hormone called cortisol, but you don't need to know the details, so we'll just call it fat.) To avoid this, most experts agree that over time, you shouldn't eat fewer than 1,200 calories per day for women, 1,500 for men. If your daily diet consists of fewer calories than that, consider eating more.
   
   Tip: Keep a food diary to track calories.
3. You need more calories when you work out. If you're exercising while following a low-calorie eating plan, you'll need to take into account the calories you're burning. That's because it's now easier to enter starvation mode. Let's say you're burning 400 calories and only eating 1,200 to 1,300 calories per day. This means you're really only taking in 800 to 900 calories per day before you begin to calculate how your body composition is changing. Muscle burns more calories at rest than fat does, so as your body changes, you need to eat more to keep the weight loss coming.
   
   Tip: Drink an after-workout recovery drink like P90X Results and Recovery Formula^®. After hard workouts, its calories are utilized so quickly by your body, some people refer to them as "free calories." They really aren't, but those calories will ensure that your muscles (and metabolism) recover quickly.

And remember this:
Figuring out to what to eat, how much to eat, and when to eat isn't easy. That's why people often refer to losing weight as a journey. It takes a few different paths to get there. Sometimes you have to adjust your ratio of protein, fat, and carbs to start losing again. Or adjust your calorie level, which can include eating more to lose weight.
Tip: Use the Team Beachbody^® Meal Planner. It can make figuring out your calories much, much easier. You can personalize an eating plan that takes your workouts into consideration.
Finally, if you're still on the fence about needing to eat more to lose weight: You might be thinking, "How come I know some really skinny people who barely eat?"
The answer is this: You can eventually lose weight by not eating. It's called starving. Reduce calories enough and your body will start breaking down its muscle tissue, and this will result in weight loss. However, it makes your body increase its emergency hormonal responses, which also causes your body to be stressed and hang onto fat, making it.very easy to gain the weight back again.
So I hope you take this thought away with you today: The idea is to keep your metabolism revving and running. This will help you get healthy and stay strong. Eat the right amount of food to help your body continuously burn calories, and you're more likely to shed those unwanted pounds.

Do you think Fat is the enemy?

You might think that to lose weight, you need to cut the fat out of your meals. After all, fat is higher in calories than protein and carbs, and low-fat diets have been popular since the Senate Nutrition Committee first recommended them in the late 1970s. But research shows that a moderate-fat diet (with about 35 percent of calories consumed coming from fat) will help you drop pounds permanently, feel full longer, and avoid bingeing. The trick is to eat the right kind of fat to increase satisfaction and boost weight loss. Here's why it's important to eat fat—and we offer five of the best fat sources to add to your diet.

How eating fat will help you lose fat.

In 2008, researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel found that people who followed low-fat diets lost less weight than people who followed low-carb or moderate-fat diets. The low-fat group lost an average of 6.5 pounds over 2 years, but the low-carb and moderate-fat groups lost about 10 pounds. Women did especially well on the moderate-fat diet, losing an average of 13 pounds during the study.
Fat is an important element in weight loss for several reasons:

• Fat helps your body control blood sugar and insulin spikes after eating carbohydrates. Better sugar metabolism means less fat storage.
• Fat slows down digestion and aids nutrient absorption. You'll stay fuller longer and get more health benefits from the food you eat.
• Essential fatty acids (like omega-3s) may boost your metabolic rate and increase fat burning.
• Fat tastes good. It also provides a "mouthfeel" that is satisfying, which can help you be happy with less food.

Eating more fat may also help you stick to your diet longer. In a study conducted by Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, participants got either 20 percent of their calories from fat or 35 percent of their calories from fat. After 6 months, both groups had lost weight. But after 18 months, only 20 percent of the people in the low-fat group were still following the diet, compared with 54 percent of the people in the moderate-fat group. Likewise, the subjects in the moderate-fat group had maintained their weight loss, while the low-fat group participants had gained most of the weight back.
If you reach for a box of low-fat or fat-free crackers or cookies because you want to lose weight, you may actually be sabotaging your diet. Manufacturers frequently replace fat with sugar in packaged food items to make them taste better. You think you're making a good decision by eating fat-free products, but the excess sugar and refined flour can lead to fatigue, cravings, mood swings, and weight gain caused by the overproduction of insulin—the fat-storage hormone. As a snack, a sliced apple with some peanut butter or a salad with oil and vinegar dressing would be a better weight loss choice. The complex carbs and healthy fats will maintain your blood sugar levels, boost your energy, and keep you satisfied longer.
What kind of fat should you eat? To get lean, you need to eat the right kind of fat. Avoid saturated and trans fats (which are found in red meat, full-fat dairy products, and many packaged foods), and instead choose monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Here are some of the best sources of fat to help you reach your weight goal.

1. Fish. Fish like salmon, albacore tuna, herring, mackerel, and sardines contains beneficial amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Most experts agree that eating two servings of fatty fish per week is safe for people who are worried about mercury or other toxins. (Pregnant women should consult with their doctors about consuming fish.) If you don't like fish, a quality supplement like Beachbody's Core Omega-3™ will give you the benefits without the fishy taste.
2. Olive oil. Heart-healthy oils like olive, canola, and peanut oil are excellent sources of fat for dieters. They have also been shown to lower bad cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Use them sparingly when sautéing, or drizzle them over your favorite salad or vegetables with a little vinegar and some herbs to maximize the absorption of nutrients. Moderation is important: You really only need about a teaspoon of oil to get all its benefits. Using more will add significant calories.
3. Avocados. Eat a spinach and carrot salad with a little avocado, and you'll not only get a dose of good fat, but you'll also absorb more phytonutrients like lutein and beta-carotene. Scientists at Ohio State University in Columbus found that more antioxidants were absorbed when people ate a salad containing avocados than when they ate a salad without this tasty fruit. One-quarter of an avocado will add flavor while only adding about 75 calories.
4. Nuts. Almonds, walnuts, pecans, and peanuts are powerhouses of good nutrition—full of antioxidants, minerals, and monounsaturated fat. The Nurses Health Study, where more than 86,000 nurses were followed for 14 years, found that those who ate nuts regularly (about an ounce per day) tended to weigh less than those who didn't. The protein, fat, and fiber make nuts more filling, which helps dieters stay on track. Plus there's a psychological bonus to eating nuts: Because they're rich and satisfying, you probably won't feel like you're on a diet.
5. Flaxseeds. Packing the triple wallop of fat, protein, and fiber, flaxseeds are a delicious and healthful addition to any diet. You can grind them up and add them to oatmeal, yogurt, salads, or vegetables, or pretty much anywhere you want a nutty crunch. They're a plant source of omega-3 fatty acids, making them a good choice for vegetarians or the aforementioned non-fish-loving folks. Ground flaxseeds also have 3 grams of fiber per tablespoon, which helps slow digestion and keep your blood sugar stable.

Making room for fat.

Certain fats might be considered necessary for health, but that's not a cue to overindulge. At 9 calories per gram, fat is a more concentrated energy source than either protein or carbohydrates (each has 4 calories per gram). You need to be mindful of your overall caloric intake if you want to eat more fat and lose weight. But when you feel full and satisfied after eating the right kinds of fat, you'll probably find it a bit easier to manage your calories.

Do you skip Breakfast? Run through a Drive thru?

Breakfast. It seems like forever since Mom told us breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but one study shows it's actually true—she wasn't just nagging us. Breakfast is a key component of weight management: A study presented at the 90th annual meeting of the Endocrine Society showed that participants who consumed large breakfasts high in protein and carbohydrates followed by a low-carb, low calorie diet for the rest of the day lost almost five times as much weight as the participants who followed a low-carb, high-protein diet throughout the day. So what's the big deal about breakfast? And what is a big breakfast anyway? It doesn't seem like the lumberjack special at the local diner would do much to get the pounds off, so what should we be eating?



The study supported the idea that when we wake up in the morning, our bodies want food. You've burned through all the fuel from the previous day, and now your body's ready to burn anything—even muscle—to get a jump-start on the day. And if you skip breakfast, muscle is indeed what your body will burn. Later in the day, your brain is still in starvation mode from breakfast (or lack thereof), so your body will store all the calories you eat as adipose tissue, or fat, to save up for the next day when you try to starve it again. This study also found that levels of serotonin, the chemical responsible for controlling cravings, were much higher in the morning, which is why breakfast is the meal so many of us are willing to skip. But if our bodies are left unfed, our serotonin levels drop, and our bodies' craving for sweets begin to rise throughout the day.
But before you hit McDonald's for their 800-calorie Big Breakfast, or worse, their 1,150-calorie Deluxe Breakfast, or swing by Denny's for a 740-calorie Grand Slam or 950-calorie All-American Slam with hash browns, keep in mind, these weren't the breakfasts the study participants consumed. The big-breakfast group had a 610-calorie breakfast as part of a 1,240-calorie day. Breakfasts included milk, lean meat, cheese, whole grains, a serving of healthy fat, and one ounce of chocolate or candy to defray the craving for sweets. The other group's participants consumed 1,085 calories per day as part of a high-protein, low-carb diet; only 290 of their daily calories were consumed at breakfast. Both groups were on their respective diets for eight months. The high-protein group lost an average of nine pounds, but the big-breakfast group lost an average of 40 pounds. And, perhaps not surprisingly, the big-breakfast group complained less about cravings and hunger.
The big-breakfast group's breakfast consisted of 58 grams of carbs, 47 grams of protein, and 22 grams of fat. Study reviewers attribute some of the success of the big-breakfast group to the fact that the protein and healthy fats eaten kept the participants full and reduced cravings. They also said that nutritional requirements were well met and that there weren't empty calories consumed, because the breakfasts included lots of whole grains, fruits, lean proteins, and healthy unsaturated fats. So bad news for the lumberjack-special devotees—a big plate of greasy hash browns, bacon, and biscuits with gravy isn't going to get the job done, unless the job we're discussing is clogging your arteries.
Here are some healthy big breakfasts, similar to the ones consumed by the study's participants.

Chicken and the Egg

2 large eggs, scrambled
2 slices whole wheat toast
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, grilled
1 grapefruit

589 calories, 52 grams carbohydrates, 48 grams protein, 19 grams fat, 5.5 grams saturated fat, 12 grams fiber.

Oats 'n' Berries Breakfast

1 packet plain instant oatmeal, prepared, with 1 scoop Beachbody^® Whey Protein Powder
1 cup fresh blueberries
3 oz. roasted turkey breast
1 large hard-boiled egg
1 oz. dark chocolate

631 calories, 62 grams carbohydrates, 47 grams protein, 21 grams fat. 8 grams saturated fat, 10 grams fiber.

Two Egg Sandwiches

2 whole wheat English muffins, toasted
2 large poached eggs
2 slices low-fat Swiss cheese
2 slices Canadian bacon, grilled

597 calories, 57 grams carbohydrates, 45 grams protein, 13 grams fat, 5 grams saturated fat, 8 grams fiber.

Vegetarian Breakfast

1 cup cottage cheese (2% milk fat)
1 cup sliced peaches, canned in juice, not syrup
1 slice whole wheat toast
1/2 avocado
2 vegetarian sausage links, cooked

621 calories, 62.5 grams carbohydrates, 47 grams protein, 26.5 grams fat, 4.5 grams saturated fat, 16.5 grams fiber.

Pescetarian Breakfast

1 6-oz. can light tuna, canned in water, drained
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise (preferably olive oil- or canola oil-based)
2 slices whole wheat toast
1 oz. dark chocolate

592 calories, 45 grams carbohydrates, 51 grams protein, 22 grams fat, 7 grams saturated fat, 10 grams fiber.