22 minute Hard Corps Free Download Nutrition Chart

I am one of the coaches in an 8-week bootcamp. We are all doing the newest Beachbody program from Tony Horton, 22 minute Hard Corps. I absolutely love it so far! The workouts are super quick and effective. It is challenging enough for someone who is already well conditioned, but can be done by a beginner as well with lots of options to modify. The workouts are 22 minutes. Hello? Who DOESN'T have 22 minutes??

Recently I took a class at Orange Theory Fitness. They use your heart rate to maximize calorie burn. One of the takeaways from the class is that you want to reach 12-20 minutes when your heart rate is in the "orange zone" or anaerobic basically. If you do, then you will have "afterburn effect" where you burn calories even after the class is over. These 22 minute workouts will give you exactly that. 12-20 minutes of heart-pumping work! Awesome!

The nutrition is almost identical to 21-day fix. I made a handy-dandy chart that is a 4x6 printable. If you are doing this program here is what you need to do.

1. Download my super awesome chart.

2. Have it printed at your local photo center.

3. Laminate it.

4. Glue a magnet on the back. I like the flat kind that come on phone books.

5. Stick it on your fridge. Using a dry erase marker fill in the boxes. Use hash marks to record your rations. Lasts a whole week. Erase and start over next week.

You can thank me in the comments below and sharing with your friends. It took me a couple hours to make this chart, but it will be super helpful and I am giving it to you FULL-RESOLUTION for FREE!! Cause I'm awesome like that.

Click Here to Download

What's in My Gym Bag? - Hat

When I go to the gym I always bring a big backpack with me. I guess I like my stuff and I like to be prepared. Here are the things that I keep in my gym bag. When I am done with a workout, I make sure and put them right back in. That way they are ready for next time. By the way, these are my own opinions and I am not getting reimbursed in any way.

Headsweats Hat.

Sometimes I wear a hat to the gym as part of my outfit. But I like to keep an extra in my bag too. Why? Bangs. I have bangs. AND I have naturally curly hair. When they get wet and sweaty, they curl. Do you think curly bangs are cute? They are not cute. It's handy to have a hat around in case I want to wear it during my workout, or afterward when I am going around town.

This hat by Headsweats is incredibly comfortable. It feels like nothing is on your head at all. It's really secure too. Great for running outside in the summer, boating, soccer games, and any other time you need a hat. I have one in grey and one in white. Those two colors seem to meet all my hat needs. Nike and other make a similar product, but this one is great quality for a reasonable price.

What I Love about Beachbody On Demand

Beachbody On Demand BOD is awesome! I have been using it for the past 9 months and here are the reasons I love it.

Workouts. The workouts are awesome. There is something there for everyone. Personally I have done Insanity, Brazil Butt Lift, and Chalean Extreme all the way through. They are all excellent. I have tried many others like Body Beast, PiYo, T25, Cize and others. They have a range of offerings to suit all levels and time commitments. When I'm in a hurry, but want to sweat like crazy, T25. When I want an awesome weight training session, Chalean Extreme. When I want a dancy fun workout, Brazil Butt lift.

Convinience. You can do these any time and anywhere. So great for traveling. I did them in a hotel room last Thanksgiving. 5 in the morning or midnight, it's always there. You can pause and come back. You can even do the workouts with kids at home and not have to worry about child care. 

No Self-Consciousness. Throw on your sneakers and a ponytail and you are set. No one cares if your activewear looks amazing, or if your messy bun is perfect, or if you put on makeup. No one cares if you stumble, hit a wall, or have to modify a move. It's just you.

Professional Training. The trainers that designed the programs are professionals and give great tips on how to have proper form, which is important to avoid injury. They are also very motivational and keep you going to the end of your workout.

Great Value. Your first month is free. So you get to try it out. After that, it is super affordable. Way cheaper than any gym membership.

Bonus Material. As well as all the workout videos, you get access to the files that contain the workout schedules and meal plans. Plus, you get all the deluxe workouts as well.

Those are the things I love about BOD!!! You should give it a try!

My Pledge to You as Your Coach

One of my reservations about becoming a Beachbody coach is that there are so many out there on social media that are fairly annoying. Posting pictures of their shakeology and talking about nothing except joining their challenge group. So, I decided that I want to be different. If you are thinking about joining my challenge team, here is my pledge to you.

Honesty. I will not push products on you that I don't personally believe in. I will give you my true opinions, always.

Sincerity. I will be sincere. I have a sincere desire to help others. I will give you helpful feedback. I will share with you what I know.

Helpful. I will not be a constant shakeology commercial. I will give you tips that will actually help you in your real life. I feel 100% confident that if you fully apply what I can teach you, you will get results. I can't promise that they will come quickly, but they will come.

Respect. I respect your journey. I respect where you are in your journey. I have no judgement. We all have different life challenges and struggles. We all have different medical problems. We all have different levels of readiness or commitment. I get all that and I respect you and do not judge you.

Kindness and Compassion. I will be your biggest cheerleader. I will help you with kindness and compassion. I will motivate you. I will give you virtual smiles and hugs. I will listen.

Knowledgeable. Finally, I will share my knowledge. I have read or listened to many health and fitness books. I have tried and failed and succeeded at weight loss. I will share with you what has worked for me. I do have a lot of knowledge to share and I continue to learn more daily.

Positive. I promise to be positive. I truly believe in the power of a positive mind and will share that with you in the challenge groups!

Not Pushy. I will not push things on you. I will tell you about the things I love and why I love them and let you decide.

Why I became a Beachbody Coach

Last April, I moved my fitness journey forward when I decided to try out a beachbody challenge group. I had tried previously, on my own, to lose that last bit of baby weight with minimal success. We did the 21 day fix. I learned a lot about portion control and nutrition. I also stepped up my game with exercise. What I loved most about the challenge group, was the accountability and support. That added element was just what I needed to kick myself in the butt and really go for it! I completed a few rounds of the challenge group and then moved on to the graduate group.

I kept in touch with other challengers and my coach via private Facebook groups. My coach invited my to become a coach. A lot of things about becoming a coach really appealed to me. But, I was afraid. I am not a salesy person. I don't want to be annoying on Facebook. I don't like to pressure people. It's scary to put myself out there. I worried what other would think about me etc. etc.

However, with all that in mind I thought it might be good to challenge myself. To reach out, to invite, to inspire, and to go outside my comfort zone and try something totally new. I created this blog, an Instagram account, and a Facebook like page. My goals of those platforms are to educate, inspire, and share great ideas. And, finally, I took the plunge and signed up to become a coach. Here are my reasons why.

Stay at home. I can do everything mostly from home. My kids are getting a little older but I still like to be here during the day for them. This job will allow me to do exactly that.

Help others. This might seem cliche, but I really do have a sincere desire to help others. When people ask me what I'm doing, I love to share. I get excited to teach them the things I've learned. I know how amazing it feels to reach a goal and feel better inside and out and I want to help other achieve that as well.

Teaching. I am a teacher. I love teaching whether it's preschoolers or grown-ups. For some reason, I love to teach. It's just part of my personality.

Health and Fitness. Hello! This is a huge reason. I absolutely love health and fitness! From my high school days, when I ran cross country, I learned to love the natural high that follows a good sweat session. The nutrition side has taken a bit longer to learn. I am still learning so much in this area and have a lot of room for improvement. But, my life experiences and watching others has helped me become more convinced of the importance of nutrition. 

Accountability. Talk about accountability. When I have made the leap to put myself out there and share with others about health and nutrition, I better walk the walk! Just knowing others are watching me (even if its just my small handful of followers) makes me think twice about digging into a bag of chocolate chips in the afternoon.

Social Media. Most of the things I need to accomplish as a beachbody coach are done through social media. I love to read, comment, and share on social media anyway. I might as well up my game and get paid for it, right?

Fits my Schedule. Being a beachbody coach fits my schedule. I can make the time for it working around my schedule and my kids' schedules. Since a lot of the work is done through social media (phone), this means I can take it with me wherever I go. Waiting at a sports practice, waiting at carpool, etc.

Unlimited potential. As a beachbody coach there is unlimited earning potential. I can have this as a hobby and earn a part time income, or I can go all in and the potential is to earn way more.

What's in My Gym Bag? - Fragrance Mist

When I go to the gym I always bring a big backpack with me. I guess I like my stuff and I like to be prepared. Here are the things that I keep in my gym bag. When I am done with a workout, I make sure and put them right back in. That way they are ready for next time. By the way, these are my own opinions and I am not getting reimbursed in any way.

Bath and Body Works Fragrance Mist.

Do I really need to explain why I keep this in my gym bag? It's nice to smell nice. B&BW fragrance mist is not overpowering. Just a few spritzes in the areas you sweat most.

My fave scent is being discontinued, Velvet Sugar. My other fave was discontinued already, Amber Blush. I guess I need a new fave. What's yours??

Healthy is a Journey

I think I heard this little pearl of wisdom in the book, Foodist. Whenever I hear something insightful, I jot it down in my colornote app on my phone. So, the wording might not be exact, but it had meaning for me.

I think a lot of people are sucked in by claims to lose weight fast as a quick fix. Or participate in a 30 day challenge, but what happens on day 31?? It's important to make changes that can last for the long haul. I whole-heartedly believe this. 

You can download this for FREE! and print it out to keep as a reminder.

Click to download

What's in My Gym Bag? - BB Cream

When I go to the gym I always bring a big backpack with me. I guess I like my stuff and I like to be prepared. Here are the things that I keep in my gym bag. When I am done with a workout, I make sure and put them right back in. That way they are ready for next time. By the way, these are my own opinions and I am not getting reimbursed in any way.

Maybelline BB Cream
More makeup in my gym bag? Yes. I love this stuff. First of all, it's a foundation and moisturizer in one. It goes on sheer so your skin looks natural. It has a non-irritating, non-chemical sunscreen, titanium dioxide. I can't count how many bottles of this stuff I have gone through over the years. I have it on subscribe and save with Amazon.

If I rolled out of bed and could do one thing (make-up wise), it would be this. It takes seconds to apply and evens out my skin tone while moisturizing at the same time. What could be better?

Routine of Good Habits

Here is another inspirational quote you can download and print.

Daily Routine 4x6 printable

Here is a tutorial on how to change the color of the printable using photoshop.

After you download the quote, you need to open it in photoshop.
Select the magic wand tool. I drew a red circle around it.

Make sure the box labeled contiguous is unchecked (I circled this too).
Then using the magic wand tool click on the color part of the design.

With the color selected, you will need to create a new layer. Go to LAYER > NEW > LAYER
or you can type shift + ctrl + N

On your tool pallet, click on the top color and it will open a color picker window. Use the tools to select whatever color you like, then click OK.

Choose the paint bucket tool (circled in red). Click on the color that you want to change and it will make a new layer with the new color.

Finally, go to FILE > SAVE AS
Save the file as a JPEG and choose a place to save it. And you are done!

I am completely self taught in photoshop. I have just tinkered around with it and figured out more and more tricks over the years. I have been using it for almost 10 years now and have gotten quite proficient. If my tutorials aren't the "official" way of doing things, it's because it's just the way that I figured out. You can use this trick on most printables. Good luck!

What's in My Gym Bag? - Lip Stain

When I go to the gym I always bring a big backpack with me. I guess I like my stuff and I like to be prepared. Here are the things that I keep in my gym bag. When I am done with a workout, I make sure and put them right back in. That way they are ready for next time. By the way, these are my own opinions and I am not getting reimbursed in any way.

Revlon ColorBurst Balm Stain
Yes, I'm one of those girls who wears makeup to the gym. Lip gloss tends to wear off rather quickly. I love this lip product from Revlon. It goes on smooth and soothing like a balm, but lasts like a stain. It's not sticky and never bothers me when drinking from my water bottle. I keep it in my gym bag so that my lips have a little color. I use honey. It's not a loud or bright color. It lasts throughout my workout. You can twist the bottom to use more product. It will last a very long time. Yep, this is good stuff.

Success = WORK, and lots of it.

Here is another fun printable you can download. I really do hope that you take the time to print these as a hard copy and put them somewhere that will inspire you daily.

click here 4x6 free printable download

What's in My Gym Bag? - Bluetooth Headphones

When I go to the gym I always bring a big backpack with me. I guess I like my stuff and I like to be prepared. Here are the things that I keep in my gym bag. When I am done with a workout, I make sure and put them right back in. That way they are ready for next time. By the way, these are my own opinions and I am not getting reimbursed in any way.

Bluetooth Headphones.

Do you ever wonder what everyone is listening to while they are working out? I always wonder. 100% of the time, I am listening to a book. Since October, I have completed 5 books almost all while working out. And I have listened to hundreds of books over the past several years.  Now, I might miss a thing here or there while counting out my reps. But, it's not that hard to workout and pay attention to a book at the same time. I use Audible. My monthly subscription to Audible is one my splurges that has added profound value to my life. After all, I am a busy mom who doesn't have time actually to sit down and read a book. I am on my feet nearly all day long, whether it's doing dishes, cooking, exercising, or just being with my kids. The times I actually do sit down are when I'm driving or folding laundry. I listen to books then too.

I can't count the number of times I have accidentally yanked the cord from my headphones out. They they get launched out of my ear and I have to rewind and figure out where my book left off. Especially during dumbbell rows. When I saw these bluetooth headphones on Amazon, I was like, "where have these been all my life?"

Pros:

They have a big button that does what you need. Hold it down to connect to your device and turn on. Tap once to pause, resume, or answer a call. Hold it down again to turn them off. They also have a big plus and minus button for volume control. Other headphones have not been so simple for me.

The two ends are magnetic. They click together like a necklace when you aren't using them. AWESOME!

Another great feature is that they charge with a USB Micro cable. This is the same charger I use to charge my phone, so I can recharge the headphones while driving if needed.

They are also very useful for talking on the phone while driving or even just around the house. It's really nice to have your hands-free while talking on the phone.

These headphones have a long range. I can have my phone charging in the other room and still listen to a book with them. That's pretty nice too.

No more cord down your shirt getting in the way. 

Cons:

You have to remember to charge them: **ugh. another device to charge** This means you can't keep them in your gym bag. You have to remember to bring them everyday. For this reason, I keep two pairs of regular headphones in my bag as back-ups. Heaven forbid I have to workout and be alone with my thoughts. Ha! It happened once, and wasn't so bad.

When you are doing something that makes your bounce ie: kettlebell swings, plyometrics etc. The plastic thingy that has the buttons bangs into your neck. I don't see how these would be amazing for running. Maybe I'll break down and run on the treadmill one day just to report on the experience. But I can say, they are kind of annoying for kettlebell swings.

They are a tad hard to keep in your ear. Try out all three sizes of ear bud. The smalls worked best for me.

Go get some of these. I'm sure there are probably nicer brands. I saw some at Costco that were $50. These are middle of the road and work great for me.

The Only Path to Success

Do you wish there were a quick fix? We seem to have a "microwave mentality" and want instant results. Results, or success, takes daily tedious sacrifice. Here is another quote based on the book, The Compound Effect. Enjoy this free printable!

Free printable download Click here!

I also made a 4x6 version (they are cheaper to print)

Free printable download 4x6

What's in My Gym Bag? - Weight Lifting Gloves

When I go to the gym, I always bring a big backpack with me. I guess I like my stuff and I like to be prepared. Here are the things that I keep in my gym bag. When I am done with a workout, I make sure and put them right back in. That way they are ready for next time.

B Nooch Lifting Gloves. I have delicate wrists. I fractured my right wrist in 7th grade and it has bothered me ever since. This is one reason I wear these gloves. The wrist straps help support my wrists and keep them from breaking when doing moves like bicep curls.

They also help my hands feel comfortable. They are essential if you do kettle bell swings!

I own two pairs of these. A small and a medium. The mediums were way too loose, so I got smalls, which are very tight. They are stretching out a bit and getting better with time. Just make sure to measure before purchasing.

These are my own opinions. I am not being reimbursed or compensated in any way.

Knowledge Without Action is Wasted

Here is another gem of inspiration from the book, The Compound Effect.

This quote is similar to another, "if you know better, do better." This is a printable download. Enjoy!

4x6 Free download

8x8 or 12x12 free download

My Weightloss Journey

I was one of those people who ate whatever they wanted. In high school, I ran cross country and track. I also lifted weights in the off-season as required by my coach. Plus, I was a teenager with a fast metabolism. I always weighed around 130/135.

In college I ran, lifted weights, roller bladed, and rock climbed. I was in amazing shape in college. I never really had access to a scale, but I do know I got down to 125 at one point. I probably weighed around 130 on my wedding day. But after I got married, I developed some bad habits. I never exercised. I ate snacks late at night. Lots of carbs, Lots of TV. I'm sure you know the "lazy lifestyle" quite well.

6 months after I got married I became pregnant. With my first pregnancy I threw up every. single. day. Even they day he was born. It went fom 20 times per day, to 10 times per day, to once a day at the end. But still, I managed to gain a lot of weight. I was about 160 after my first baby. I stayed at 160 the whole time I was nursing and came to accept that as my new normal. I decided to sign up for a half-marathon to lose the baby weight. I ran and ran and ran. I did lose about 10 lbs. But, I didn't change my nutrition whatsoever.

During my pregnancy with baby number 2, I ate constantly! It was the only way to stave off nausea. About a year after he was born, I learned about whole foods. I changed my diet, probably for the first time ever, and lost about 25 lbs. I got down to 148 and felt really great about that. I did not exercise though.

After baby number three, I was back up to 175. When she was about 5 months old, I participated in a boot camp and lost about 30 lbs. I got down to 145. This was through strict nutrition and a LOT of exercise. I did Shaun T's Insanity program from Beach Body.

After baby number four, I had lost my motivation to lose weight. I was back up to 175. I did manage to get down to 165 after she was about 10 months old. Then, I received a cancer diagnosis. Thyroid cancer. It was a fairly large tumor and spreading fast. I had surgery and radioactive iodine treatment. This was a difficult time for me mentally and emotionally. Between the time of the cancer diagnosis and the surgery, I decided to eat an alkaline diet. I did lose a little more weight from that change. However, after my surgery and treatment, I gave up on the alkaline diet and went back to my old bad habits.

Since that time, I have struggled with exhaustion and lack of energy. My thyroid blood tests always showed "normal" yet, I did not feel normal. I have had my dose changed about 5 times 4 times increased and once (most recently) decreased. I think I finally have my dose under control. I actually feel kind of normal now. I still get tired, but it is not longer the perpetual exhaustuion I used to feel. I think a combination of getting my dose fixed, exercising, and eating better I got down to 155/150 range.

About two and a half years after the cancer experience, I decided to get serious about my health and nutrition! I wanted to get back to my high school/wedding weight which I determined to be 135. I joined a 21-day fix challenge group. I followed the 21-day fix eating plan. I really liked the eating plan because I felt like it was well balanced and made sure you got all the important food groups. I did the 21-day fix workouts. I also did the Chalean Extreme program on Beach Body on  demand. I chose this program because I love weight lifting. The challenge group started at the end of April. I was 153 at the beginning of the challenge. I lost the most weight at the beggining.

From July until now I have steadily lost about 1 pound per month. It has been so slow, that I have been extremely frustrated at times. I kept seeing these posts online of people who lost 30 lbs in 30 days. What was wrong with me? Why was my progress so slow?? BUT, I kept telling myself that if I kept going I would continue to see change. The time would pass anyway. I could either give up and stay the same, or keep pushing and make progress, even if it was slow progress.

Slow progress is better than no progress!

Here are two swimsuit pix. One from after baby number 3 and the other from this summer. I'm still not at my goal yet, but I'm feeling much better and motivated to keep going.